Star Trek Deep Space Nine Feature Length Episodes: Ranked

Star Trek Deep Space Nine is the most mature of the pre-Discovery/Picard era of Star Trek. It dealt with heavy themes on a week-to-week basis, occasionally suffering in the ratings because of it.

It experimented with serial storylines and strayed the farthest from Gene Roddenberry's vision of a Utopian future. It was the last iteration of Trek that Roddenberry was aware of before his death, as the planning stages had already begun. The Dominion War, one of the most thrilling and heartbreaking aspects of the series, went entirely against what Roddenberry would have wanted for his future.

So, what makes Deep Space Nine so good? For one, its setting was such that the characters had time to develop and face the consequences of their decisions. The mix of species and crews led to drama and conflict between the characters. The focal point of the Quadrant, the Wormhole allowed for new and exotic aliens to appear each week, along with greater threats than had been seen before.

The feature length episodes of Deep Space Nine initially focused on smaller stories before expanding into multi-part arcs, better allowing direct continuations of stories. The first example would come early with the three-part Bajoran serial, before finally the nine-part finale brought the series to a close. Which of these were strongest and which were weakest? This list breaks them down.

Perhaps it is a little mean to kick off the list with the pilot. There is a lot to like in this feature. The opening battle of Wolf 359. The station moving to the mouth of the wormhole. Odo's take-down of the thief. It is the strongest Trek pilot, pre-Discovery era. Several of the characters arrive almost fully formed.

Quark and Odo embody their characters, while Kira and Bashir seem to be well on the way to becoming the characters they would end up becoming. Perhaps the most established is O'Brien, as of course he was moving over from The Next Generation.

But the star of the show is Avery Brooks. He shows in this first episode many of the traits that his Sisko would become famous for. He is both calm and quick to anger. He can show vulnerability and bravery. He opens talks with the Prophets and helps guide a shaky peace with the Cardassians.

The only reason that Emissary comes in at this ranking is that from the off, Deep Space Nine proved itself to be one of the finest examples of the Star Trek franchise. Like many of the series, its first and second seasons were a little shaky, but not without excellent entries. Emissary is a fantastic introduction to the show, immediately grabbing the viewers and holding their attention. The bottom of this list, perhaps, but still one of the best Trek has to offer.