10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

A goateed Spock or a duplicitous Hoshi Sato might be conjured up in the mind when it comes to the Mirror Universe. DS9 was the biggest advocate of the parallel timeline, pre-Discovery, with five outings tying in the alternative versions of the main and secondary cast. Yes, even you Vic Fontaine.

The big claxon that can be heard in the background now is the reminder of just how difficult it was to get into this universe in the first place. The Original Series' Mirror Mirror required a transporter and a particular set of skills (sorry, conditions) to make it all work. By the time of The Emperor's New Cloak in DS9's final season there seems to be a regular bus service in operation. 

While it was customary for everyone in the main cast to appear at some point within the framework of the alternative 24th Century, it wasn't necessarily "mirror". The Federation was downtrodden rather than being the oppressors of The Original Series and it steadily got easier to cross. Considering the bells and whistles for potential Dominion infiltration, Smiley strolls onto DS9 as though he's following a public footpath and then there's the idiocracy of the Ferengi stealing a Klingon cloaking device to get the Nagus back. Dumbing down the potential and the darkness of the Mirror Universe made all involved on both sides of the coin look increasingly stupid.

And as for the Vic Fontaine appearance, it's far too left-field to make any sense. Luckily, he doesn't last very long.