In my TNG season 1 rewatch, I finally got to the season finale, "The Neutral Zone." Though best known for Picard's utopian declarations to the cryogenically frozen people from the 90s about the post-scarcity future, it also centers on a tense confrontation with the Romulans. I noticed many parallels with the setup of the Discovery premier, "The Vulcan Hello" In both, our heroes confront a foe that has not been heard from in many years -- the Klingons for Discovery and the Romulans for "Neutral Zone." In both, they are befuddled by a cloaking device. And in both, there is a dispute about how to respond to the situation -- Burnham and Worf both insist that they must fire first or risk annihilation, and both are drawing on the experience of their parents being killed by the respective species. And I suspect that this parallel is intentional on the part of the writers, because of the crucial difference -- Worf is 100% wrong about the need to fire first, while the verdict is much more ambiguous for Burnhan. She agrees that she was wrong to attempt mutiny, but was she wrong to try a preemptive attack under the circumstances? We never know for sure, and even she never directly repents of her desire to strike first. By creating a parallel with a well-known TNG episode and then inserting a crucial difference, the writers are sending the signal that we are definitely not in the utopian TNG era.

But what do you think?

When doing some digging about the nature of Bajoran orbs I found an interesting piece of unused dialogue spoken by Bashir in the episode 'Accession' when discussing the neurotransmitter psilosynine:

"It's a neurotransmitter involved in psychic phenomenon [sic]. We all have a little of it, but people who've been exposed to things like... Vulcan mind melds... the Bajoran orbs, are often left with more."

This draws on canon information from TNG stating that psilosynine is chemical used in Betazoid telepathy- which is among the more powerful versions we have been shown. Since the Orb's increase the amount of this chemical in the brain it may convey telepathic ability.

We know that telepathic ability can be granted in this way from T'pol and Tucker's experiences. After melding they experienced a profound psychic link far beyond what a human should be able to experience. But as Bashir notes both mind melds and the orbs increase psilosynine.

Another interesting tid bit is the Bajoran clergy's annoying habit of grabbing ears to read one's 'Pagh'. However some, like Opaka, were able to gain uncanny insight into those they touched. While this might all be a strong example of good research and cold reading Bajoran spirituality touches on enough metaphysical (in a very literal sense) areas that we can keep an open mind.

Given that the clergy keep the closest presence to the orbs and consult them often it is likely they have a far higher psiloslynine count than most. If Bajorans have a psychic potential then then the clerics are the most likely to express it.

Further evidence for this is the Sidau village from 'The Storyteller' Bajorans born and raised in the presence of even an Orb fragment develop powerful psychic abilities together including telekinesis and energy manipulation.

Its possible then that Bajorans are touch telephaths- when their brains are sufficiently stimulated- such as by the orbs. This explains how they are able to form such insights not to mention their prediliction for prophecy. Whatever connection the Prophets, the wormhole and the Bajorans have it is clearly a deep one- influence their culture for tens of thousands of years. Is this enough time for psychic potential to evolve? Hard to say but given that spatial phenomena can unlock telepathic potential in humans- such as with Gary Mitchell and Elizabeth Dehner its not outside the scope of possibility that the same could happen to Bajorans.

If the unlocking of Bajoran potential continues then this may form the basis of the link between the Bajorans and the Prophets. If the Bajorans continue to evolve into psychically powerful beings beyond space and time then they may indeed become their own gods.

In recent years, I have been surprised to find one part of DS9 that keeps on getting better with age: the Ferengi. As vehicle of social commentary, they go where Trek never went before.

Today, I want to focus on Ferengi society being used as an indictment of what we might call "patriarchal masculinity" (as in, expectations that a patriarchal society has about what masculinity is and how its men should embody it), specifically, by contrasting how Quark and Rom react to their father’s perceived shortcomings.

What do we know about Keldar?

Quark idolizes him as the traditional head of the household. He recalls Keldar’s exasperation and gloom with respect to his wife, Ishka — “Quark, I don’t know what I’m going to do about that female!” Quark acknowledges that Keldar was successful enough in business, but feels that he could have been much more so, if not for Ishka’s troublesome behavior. In short, he recognizes his father’s shortcomings, but blames his mother for them.

Rom, in contrast, sees their father in more mundane terms. Unlike Quark, who left home right away, Rom stayed for years and, as an adult, perceived Keldar’s lack of business acumen. “He couldn’t hold on to latinum if you sewed it into his pants!”

Ishka speaks lovingly of her deceased husband, but does little to hide her belief that he did not have the “lobes” for business. If memory serves, she once privately remarked to Quark that Rom had inherited his father’s lobes, referring to his poor business skills (though I may be recalling that incorrectly).

So, it appears that Keldar was lacking in terms of that which makes someone a “real Ferengi.”

Let’s consider his sons.

Rom follows in his father’s footsteps, trying to be a successful businessman, for many years, with apparently just as little success. It’s only after watching his son join Starfleet and forming the union (at O’Brien’s encouragement) that he changes, seeking his own path outside of Ferengi culture and its expectations.

Rom witnesses his father’s suffering and himself suffers for decades for not living up to Ferengi standards and eventually responds to that suffering by leaving the game altogether (until he comes back to reform it— a story for another time).

Quark, in contrast, witnesses his father’s suffering, and beyond being ashamed of it, does everything he can to avoid it— both by leaving home as quickly as possible, and by cultivating what we might call “hyperferengity” in himself— an unparalleled focus on being a “true Ferengi”, beyond the shadow of anyone’s doubt. He responds to his father’s suffering by doing everything he can to avoid the shortcomings that caused it.

Quark sees an unfair game and responds by obsessing over winning; Rom sees an unfair game and eventually leaves to play something more fair.

Rom’s suffering is obvious in the early seasons of Deep Space Nine. Mocked and despised by a brother who likely sees him as the embodiment of their father’s shame, his own natural talents and interests squelched by a system that has no use for them.

But I think the costs that Quark pays are more subtle. He is presented opportunities for growth— Pel, the union, the post-Zek New Economy— and he either agonizes over accepting them, or dismisses them out of hand. This culminates in his declaration of the bar as the “last outpost of what made Ferenginar great”— a steadfast and unrelenting commitment to an idealized version of the past, with a refusal to engage with the future. (Make Ferenginar great again, anyone?) I might not describe any of this as a “cost,” except that I believe that Quark is doing it all basically as a reaction to his father (or more specifically, his shame for having such a father). He is driven by his own pathos more than anything else. He is not his own man: he is driven by fear— fears that his brother could overcome, but not he.

Now, Ferengi business acumen is often coded as masculinity— “he has the lobes for business”, “you wouldn’t have the lobes to do something so gutsy!”, “he has the tiny lobes of a female!” (not direct quotes, but those are the sentiments). Here, I have coined the term "hyperferengity" in the same vein as "hypermasculinity."

So, take the informal psychoanalysis above, and replace all the references to business acumen with references to masculinity, and we find an allegory for how societal expectations of masculinity can end up hurting everyone— both those who “pass the test” and those who fail— and how the trauma of one generation gets passed down, in manners subtle and gross, on to the next.

It's a classic, if somewhat exaggerated trope in Star Trek: The ships first officer, second officer, tactical officer, chief engineer, chief medical officer, and a random ensign beam down to an unsecured planet while some dangerous problem is either ongoing or likely to occur. The Doylist reasons for this are as obvious as the Watsonian reasons it seems so silly: these are the main characters who are supposed to get the bulk of the screen time, so they are constantly thrown into situations which real world commanding officers and department heads are generally kept well clear of.

But what if this wasn't the precedent established in TOS and continued in every subsequent series (including, to a slightly lesser but very real extent, Lower Decks)? What would a Star Trek show look like which still had senior officers who we are meant to care about and who still get significant development and screen time, but who aren't thrown into unrealistically dangerous situations on a regular basis? Could such a show survive telling stories without visibly putting those regulars lives on the line so frequently? Would it be viable to keep the focus on things that happen either aboard ship or in nominally safe situations? Alternately, could a show successfully develop a cast of lower ranking "away team" characters who get the "dangerous" screen time while keeping significant focus on the major decision makers on the bridge? And how could the shows manage such a visible separation between "expendable" and "not expendable" crew while maintaining that humanist, optimistic, everybody-has-an-equal-right-to-life ethos?

It wouldn't be an easy thing to pull off, certainly. But how could it have been done?

It will surprise few members of the Daystrom institute who are familiar with me and my work that cartoons are one of the only things I enjoy as much as I do Star Trek. One of my favorite animated shows of all time is Cartoon Network's 2010-2019 surreal fantasy-comedy Adventure Time with Finn and Jake. The creative crew of Adventure Time were notorious Star Trek fans, and particularly of TNG. Over the course of their ten seasons they cast numerous Star Trek alumni, including George Takei, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Wallace Shawn, Marina Sirtis, and LeVar Burton, not to mention many more that would later appear on Star Trek-- mostly career voice actors and comedians with roles on Lower Decks or Prodigy such as Tom Kenny, Paul F. Tompkins, Grey Griffin, Lauren Lapkus, Paul Scheer, and Dee Bradley Baker, but some that are more well-known for live action such as Tig Notaro, Rebecca Romijn, and Rainn Wilson.

For those of you that may be unfamiliar with Adventure Time, it primarily centers around the adventures of teenage boy Finn the Human and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake the Dog, a pair of fantasy adventurers in the land of Ooo, a fantasy realm a thousand years after global nuclear war ends civilization as we know it and heralds the return of magic to the world. As the show went on it explored many corners of their world, often devoting entire episodes to supporting characters where the two leads make minimal or no appearances. One of the most acclaimed and beloved episodes of Adventure Time is season 5, episode 16, "Puhoy", the series' first Emmy winner. Many fans, including tiresome internet personality Doug "That Guy With The Glasses" Walker, have noted the similarities between Puhoy's story and that of Star Trek: the Next Generation's "The Inner Light", an episode I am sure requires no introduction to the members of the Daystrom Institute.

More than merely riffing on a shared trope, however, I argue that Puhoy constitutes a specific parody of The Inner Light, a joke helped along by the appearance of not one but two notable Star Trek alumni: Jonathan Frakes as a grown-up Finn, and Wallace Shawn as village wise man Rasheeta. Finn, held back from adventuring by the arrival of a dangerous storm and melancholy about the state of his budding relationship with Flame Princess, constructs a pillow fort with Jake. Jake advises Finn that the problems he worries about are imaginary ones borne of attachment, and to demonstrate, thoughtlessly destroys his favorite mug by pitching it out the window into the conflagration. Unsure about the lesson, Finn enters the pillow fort to meditate and finds a mysterious door, which appears to lead him to another realm made entirely of pillows and blankets. While there, he slays a dragon, and dances with Roselinen, the daughter of a local villager named Quilton, but finds himself wanting to return home soon.

Meanwhile, Jake uses a fishing rod to retrieve his cup, and when questioned about this apparent hypocrisy by their roommate BMO, a living video game console, Jake offers to share some hot chocolate with them. Back in the pillow world, years have passed. Finn and Roselinen have married and had two children, named Jay and Bonnie (after Jake and another main character, Princess Bubblegum, also called Bonnibel.) Quilton arrives and informs him that he has learned of a way to return to Finn's normal life-- a door that appears only infrequently and for a short time. Years later, Finn consults with the oracle Rasheeta about the door, but Rasheeta offers no clear answers, except that Finn will soon leave. Finn finds he can no longer clearly recall Jake, and when he tries can only recall a figure that more closely resembles Rasheeta telling him to stay with Roselinen. Roselinen encourages him to return home, asking only that he remember her and the children when he does. Finally, Finn dies of old age, surrounded by family, and emerges from the pillowfort, still a young boy. His attempts to relate this experience to Jake is interrupted by a phone call from Flame Princess, causing him to forget the whole thing like a dream.

Almost every beat of Puhoy is the opposite of The Inner Light. Unlike the crew of the Enterprise, Jake and BMO make no attempt to rouse Finn from his other life, and indeed scarcely appear to be concerned at all. Unlike Aline, Roselinen is supportive of Finn's desire to resume his old life. Unlike Picard, the experience can leave no lasting impression on Finn, and the episode is at best ambivalent about the idea of sentimental mementos, adopting as many of Adventure Time's most poignant episodes do a highly existential, Zen philosophy that it is best to focus neither on the past nor the future. But Finn and Picard's journey is alike, the tension between their old life and their new life is alike, and it only serves, alongside the casting of Frakes, to highlight the irony of how unlike the details of the episodes around them are in a way that brings the audience in on the joke.

@[email protected] invited contributors from the old Daystrom to repost some favorites, so here is one of mine.

Throughout Star Trek, but especially in TOS and TNG, we are commonly asked to be very stressed out about our captain being overruled or displaced. Regardless of whether the replacement does a good job, it seems clear that we are supposed to resent him simply because he is not the usual captain we have come to know and love.

A particularly striking example of this is TOS "The Deadly Years," where Kirk is aging rapidly and apparently going senile. This seems like a clear case where Spock should step in -- but a good chunk of the episode is taken up with the procedings to relieve Kirk of command. In the end, the inexperienced starbase commander who replaces him turns out to be a disaster, and the ship is only saved when a cured Kirk is able to come in and be his usual decisive self.

The most gut-wrenching example, of course, is Captain Jellico, who arbitrarily changes everything, criticizes the way Troi dresses, won't let Riker do his job -- and regards it as a foregone conclusion that Picard is dead.

I have seen several comments to the effect that the crew's response to Jellico is a little childish, and I think that's a clue to what's going on with this common plot. Namely, I believe that the captain is put forward as a father figure and that the displacement plots are speaking to a cultural anxiety about divorce. The replacement captain is the step-dad who always appears to be an illegitimate usurper -- and in the end, we get the fantasy outcome that mom and dad get back together again.

This may seem far-fetched, but the earliest TOS episodes do a lot of work to establish Kirk as a father figure (most explicitly in "Charlie X") and the ship as his wife ("The Naked Time"). This is more subdued in TNG, where Picard is awkward with kids -- but Picard's emotional distance completely fits with the "traditional" image of the father. Surely "Captain Picard Day" is something like Father's Day for the Enterprise children! And more broadly, the backstory of many Enterprise crew members includes broken families, alienation from parents, dead parents or spouses -- all factors that lead them to identify the ship as their true family (and invite the misfits in the audience to do the same).

Over the years, of course, our culture became less and less stressed out about divorce as it became more routine -- and so those plots suggested themselves less and less. In DS9, it is far from a dominant theme. I haven't rewatched in a while, but I don't remember even a single plot that hinges on someone taking over for Sisko -- when the Dominion takes over the station, the emotional focus isn't Sisko's lost command, but the loss of the station itself. [ADDED: I wonder if the fact that Sisko is the only captain who is presented as a literal father somewhat undercuts his role as father-figure thematically.]

And Janeway's command is never seriously disputed. Of course, in-universe you can say it's because she's so far away from the admirals, but symbolically, she's the mom -- and in a typical divorce narrative, it's never a question of whether mom will remain in place. The one clear example I can think of where the crew rebels against her authority is "Prime Factors" -- and their main rationale is that they believe Janeway's judgment is clouded by her obvious attraction to the leader of the vacation planet. In other words, the kids get restless when it looks like mom might have a boyfriend.

The theme of the displaced captain comes back somewhat in Enterprise, but to me it feels different. The issue isn't Archer being replaced by a step-dad -- instead, the problem always centers on Archer's masculinity. In "Hatchery," he becomes overly maternal toward the Xindi Insectoid babies, which leads to a mutiny. Similarly, in "Bound," the Orion Slave Girls compromise Archer's judgment with their aggressive sexiness. Archer's either becoming a woman or being dominated by one -- which calls back to the early episodes, when it could sometimes be unclear whether he or T'Pol was really in charge. Archer represents not a father, so much as an emasculated human race ready to prove itself -- a more reactionary theme for a more reactionary time (the early 2000s).

It is Stardate 2369.2, and Enterprise is docked at Starbase One. Chief Fleet Inspector Commander Pelia from Operational Support Services and her team are performing systems checks and upgrades.

No lawyer will take up Una’s case, not even the lawyer Pike and Una have in mind. The authorities have offered Una a plea deal but Pike advises urges her not to resign. Pike offers to confront the lawyer face to face. She is on the other side of the quadrant, 2.5 days round trip in “one of the newer shuttles”, indicating they are warp capable. Spock becomes Acting Captain, although he points out the lack of a Chief Engineer, a Security Chief and Una’s absence.

M’Benga notes Spock seems to be suffering from stress. He points out that Vulcan emotions are stronger than human ones, but that they control them through suppressive cognitive blocks. Spock removed those blocks to fight the Gorn (SNW: “All Those Who Wander”), so his emotions are flowing more freely.

M’Benga presents Spock with a lyre, to help him channel emotion into expression. The lyre was first seen in TOS: “Charlie X”, and subsequent appearances in canon have established it as a Vulcan lyre (or lute). This suggests that it was M’Benga who gifted Spock his lyre at this moment. This is consistent with M’Benga being familiar with Vulcans because he did his internship on the planet (TOS: “A Private Little War”). Spock’s heart rate goes down as he plays it, only for him to stop and have it shoot up when Chapel enters.

Chapel tells M’Benga she’s thinking about applying for a fellowship in archeological medicine, which will be 2 months on Vulcan. This is probably how she will meet her future fiancé Dr Roger Korby (TOS: “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”), who was a renowned figure in the field.

Ortegas has reversed the pitch and yaw controls on her helm console because the standard configuration wasn’t fast enough for her. Uhura is at the communications station and is no longer wearing her cadet insignia, indicating she’s graduated and is an Ensign.

Uhura tells Spock she has detected a distress signal from La’An originating in the Cajitar system, on the edge of Klingon space. April denies Spock permission to investigate, despite the message saying that there is a dangerous, anti-Federation threat on Cajitar IV and Enterprise’s resources are critical. Cajitar IV is a rich dilithium mining planet - the Federation alternates access to it with the Klingons thanks to a carefully negotiated treaty and for this month it’s the Klingons’ shift. If Enterprise shows up it will be an act of war.

Spock briefs the featured crew, including navigator LT Jenna Mitchell, on his plan to get the inspectors off the ship and steal the Enterprise to help La’An. This foreshadows Kirk & Co. famously doing the same thing to help Spock in ST III, a sequence called “Stealing the Enterprise” on the soundtrack album.

Mitchell triggers an intermix chamber coolant leak alert in Engineering. Plasma coolant dissolves flesh, as seen in ST: First Contact, and lack of coolant can cause a warp core breach.

Pelia teaches a course in warp core breaches at Starfleet Academy. Heightened temperatures around an intermix chamber is the most common factor mistaken for a breach. Purposely simulating coolant leak on the sensors violates about 17 Starfleet regulations.

Pelia notes the Vulcan inability to lie (a myth, as we’ve seen on several occasions, and Spock will get much better at it in future) and that they don’t do things without a good reason. She reveals she knows that Spock is Amanda Grayson’s son and suggests Ortegas to vent ionized plasma from the warp nacelles. Doing so triggers an alert on Starbase One, with Docking Control blowing the docking clamps and ordering Enterprise to make space between the ship and the station.

Pelia offers her services as Chief Engineer and says it’s been 100 years since she’s gone out with engines of her own. Ortegas scoffs, and Pelia says it’s a really long story. Uhura identifies her accent as Lanthanite, and Pelia confirms it.

Spock’s go-to-warp catchphrase is, “I would like the ship to go. Now.” Mitchell’s previous captain’s was “Zoom”, and Ortegas has been workshopping “vámanos” (“let’s go” in Spanish).

On Cajitar IV, La’An wins a bloodwine drinking contest with a Klingon, Kr’Dogh. She gets a meeting with someone named Greynax. One wonders how La’An is outdrinking a Klingon since the sense was that she was not genetically enhanced like her relative Khan - unless we’re being set up for another revelation like with Una, which might be over egging it with two genetically modified people in the main cast.

M’Benga approaches La’An, drawing a line under his eye with a finger like he did in SNW: “Strange New Worlds”.

Cajitar IV became a valuable source of dilithium during the war. When it ended, a new mining syndicate made up of ex-Klingon and Federation soldiers decided peace was bad for business and want to restart the war. To an unknown end, they are acquiring Federation technology, and a recent mining explosion exposed the town to ion radiation, including Oriana’s parents. M’Benga says that ion radiation isn’t from dilithium, but can be created by photon torpedoes.

Both Chapel and M’Benga served in the Klingon War (she implies that they served together). M’Benga likes reading up on weapons systems, and notes that the war produced 100 million Federation deaths for “a parsec of space or two”.

M’Benga and Chapel go to offer aid to the afflicted, and Oriana recognizes them. M’Benga suggests inducing recombination to repair genetic damage on her parents, which Chapel administers via a hypospray. They are then taken at gunpoint by a female Klingon and her henchmen.

(Continued in comments)

While some may argue in transparently bad faith that it isn't so, it's obvious to even a casual observer that Star Trek's setting depicts in the Federation a vision of society in which the goals of both the social and economic left wing have largely won out and largely been attained. The people of the Federation have relatively complete equality of race, gender, sexuality, and even species. Resources are abundant and housing, food, shelter, healthcare, education, and beyond even the necessities even most of the pleasures of life are provided to virtually all. The environment is protected and even controlled on many populated planets to protect the ecosystem.

What, then, is at the cutting edge of politics for the Federation? In the interests of disclosure, I have identified as an anarcha-feminist and a pacifist for more than a decade (albeit not a tremendously intellectual one), and my analysis here is based in large part on the issues I believe that, as a civilian living in Star Trek's universe, I would likely have strong positions on.

A few candidates immediately present themselves:

• AI rights. A major theme of 24th-century Star Trek, from the beginning of TNG right up to Picard, is the debate over the rights of artificial intelligences, whether in the form of androids and synths like Data and Soji or photonics like the Doctor, Vic, and Moriarty. Less attention is given to less anthropomorphic forms of artificial intelligence. As we see in Lower Decks, Starfleet and the Daystrom Institute keep rogue AIs such as AGIMUS, Peanut Hamper, and 10111, with no evidence that they received any kind of trial or evaluation. The tragedy of 2385 became a major impediment to AI rights, but after the events of season 1 of Picard they seem to be back on track, at least for Synths. The personhood of photonics and non-anthropomorphic AIs remains up in the air.
• Augment rights. This may be an internally contentious issue. on the one hand, it is clear that genetically-altered individuals are marginalized as of the Dominion War. It is by the narrowest of margins that Bashir avoids being drummed out of Starfleet for being the recipient of a medical procedure he had no ability to consent to or refuse, and the Jack Pack are in some ways treated more like inmates than patients. Less than a century and a half before, Illyrians were persecuted and La'an Noonien Singh faced bullying as a child for being the distant descendant of Khan. However the memory of the Eugenics Wars looms large in the human imagination and genetic augmentation may still be viewed by some as inherently hierarchical.
• Humanocentrism and Vulcan Supremacy. Azetbur's remarks on the Federation as a "Homo sapiens-only" club are not strictly true, but they're not strictly unfounded either. The Federation's capital has always been Earth, Starfleet's headquarters are on Earth, Earth seems to have more colonies than any other member world (and stay tuned while we discuss that further), Humans make up the bulk of Starfleet (even on the Cerritos, by far the most species-diverse ship shown in Trek canon, the majority of the crew seem to be human), Federation Standard is closely descended from English, and four out of six Federation Presidents named or depicted across Star Trek canon are either human or of partial human ancestry. Vulcans, meanwhile, are frequently openly prejudiced against other species and seem to face little opprobrium for being so. This is more prominent in the 22nd and 23rd century, with anti-human terrorism on Vulcan, Spock's childhood bullying, and Starfleet even declaring entire vessels (such as the Intrepid) Vulcan-only; but it still seems to be present in the 24th and even, in some respects, as far ahead as the 32nd century.
• Seceding worlds (and the Maquis.) Unlike the United States of America, which had a whole civil war over the matter, Federation member worlds, and even colonies, appear to have the right to withdraw Federation membership. Aside from the Cardassian Border colonies that produced the Maquis rebellion, Turkana IV is perhaps the most prominent example in the 24th century. We know later in history most of the Federation's worlds, including Earth, Ni'Var, and Andoria, will secede as well in the aftermath of the Burn, and there are some indications that M'Talas Prime may be ex-Federation by the time of Picard. Turkana IV and M'Talas prime serve as an effective demonstration of exactly why this might become a progressive issue: neither seems to have thrived without the Federation, and the Maquis secession resulted in years of violence ending in mass murder on the part of the Dominion. On the other hand making Federation membership irrevocable is not exactly respectful of the sovereignty of those worlds' people. This is likely an issue that sees divided perspectives.
• Expansionism and Imperialism. This may be another controversial one. It is undeniable that the Federation is expansionist, always settling new worlds, welcoming new members, and pushing its borders outwards. As an organization Boldly Going Where No Man Has Gone Before is a central element of Starfleet's mission. However it is clear that one of the key goals of the Prime Directive^1^ is in ensuring that this expansion does not come at the expense of sovereign indigenous civilizations. Nevertheless, we often see the citizens of other polities feel their people are pressured, or even subtly coerced, to join the Federation, especially in DS9. It is not hard to believe that these concerns are shared by at least some Federation citizens.
• Social issues in neighboring societies. It is clear that many of the Federation's neighbors do not place as high a value on the rights of the individual or of the people as do the Federation, from Ferengi misogyny to Klingon classism to Cardassian totalitarianism. This is the opposite side of the coin from the prior issue, and it seems like the dominant strain of thought in the Federation is to pursue a policy of not intervening even in other advanced societies in the name of inalienable rights, or even providing more than token support to internal resistance movements much of the time (witness the struggles of Bajor, for instance.)
• Section 31. It remains unclear how much of the existence of Section 31, particularly in its modern form, is known to the public. However if it is known, an organization willing to violate the Federation's every high-minded principle in the ruthless pursuit of protecting its interests is doubtless a fraught subject. If their existence only became public knowledge after the fact of their indiscretions, one could easily imagine it being a scandal that tarnishes entire governments.
• Criminal Justice. While crime is no longer as widespread as it is in our own time due to lack of deprivation, the Federation still practices a form of carceral justice. Better minds than I discuss elsewhere the matters of police and prison abolition. Here is one 21st-century left-wing cause that hasn't yet become obsolete.
• Militarism. A common criticism of Star Trek is that everything in the Federation seems to revolve around Starfleet. While that's partly a limitation of the nature of the show, it raises the question: how true is it really? And how true do the people of the 24th century perceive it to be? How comfortable are civilians with the prominence of Starfleet?

Please use the comments to offer your own insights, or to suggest any issues I may have overlooked.

^A subject about which liberal and left-wing arguments both for and against are so played out as to be not worth any further mention.

In the finale of Picard Season 3, the Titan, armed with a 100 year old cloaking device, manages to successfully evade detection by the Borg controlled fleet. This raises some questions. How on earth is it that the Titan was able to accomplish this with a seemingly obsolete cloaking device?

I postulate two things, the first is that what we call the cloaking device is merely one component in a whole system of invisibility, and the second is that StarFleet was certainly obeying the letter of the treaty (Pegasus and Section 31 aside) by not developing cloaking technology, but was, in reality, building ships ready to accept cloaking devices at a moment's notice.

What do we know about cloaking devices, and how are they defeated? The cloaking device ties into the ship’s deflector shield control (as per TOS: The Enterprise Incident) and it obtains invisibility in part by bending light around the ship (as per comparison to the Aldean planetary shield in TNG: The Bough Breaks and description from DISL Into the Forest I Go)

However, using the deflector shield to remain unobserved does not necessarily require a cloaking device. As per the opening of TOS: Assignment: Earth, the Enterprise was able to use its defector shield to remain unobserved to 20th century technology.

And there are countless examples of a cloaking device being imperfect. The most famous example is likely Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, where a torpedo set to target ionized gas is able to trace down the location of a Bird of Prey, summarized as “The thing has to have a tailpipe.”

But that is not the only example. Detecting energy distortions, subspace radiation, high speed warp signatures from neutrino radiation, and looking for tetryon particles all worked as forms of passive detection. (I will not cover active detection mechanisms such as the tachyon net, as the Borg fleet never deployed them.)

To add to all this, the clocking device is very small. A device about the size and weight of a man can make a ship invisible.

Here I switch to speculation.

First, I suggest that the cloaking device is primarily a computer. It is not the thing which makes the ship invisible - you could plug it into a building and it would not work, unless it has its own projectors. It must be plugged into a ship with a deflector array, to enhance and perfect its ability to make the ship invisible.

Second, the quality of the ship is more important than the quality of the cloaking device. A cloaking device “merely” needs to look at all incoming radiation of all types, and calculate how to move it around the ship for total silence. But it cannot protect against a ship which emits radiation, leaks gas, etc. Thus, a ship designed with high quality shields and high quality emission control will be more stealthy.

Side speculation: The design decision to not use an antimatter core in the first Bird of Prey we see during TOS: Balance of Terror (their power is simple impulse only implies fusion) and the later TNG-era decision to use a forced singularity despite the downsides, may be rooted in the notion that the Romulans felt that emissions from antimatter annihilation were a liability. Selling the Klingons the cloak and not telling them about this problem seems entirely on brand for the Romulan Star Empire.

There is something of an exception here, the phased cloak. A ship out of phase would, presumably, emit radiation which is also out of phase. (Extrapolated from TNG: The Next Phase where Ro shoots Riker in the head and he does not notice.) The phased cloak represented an attempt to fix emission control on a completely new level. But the phased cloak had problems, and is is seemingly a dead end for the ability to fire while cloaked. Plus, research was a treaty violation.

So now we return to the Titan. We know that plugging a 100 year old cloaking device into the Titan produced an invisibility effect which worked admirably. StarFleet may have seemingly kept their commitment to not build ships with cloaking devices, but this was always a hand wave agreement. StarFleet was ready for the day when they needed invisible ships, and having ships ready to accept cloaking devices was seemingly an unspoken but very intentional design consideration.

When the Titan needed to be invisible, she was missing only one piece of the puzzle.

In "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", captains Sisko and Solok form teams of their own crewmen and play a baseball game in one of Quark's holosuites. Unlike most Holosuite programs, the real people involved are extremely spread out, with Rom (in the stands behind home plate) and Dax (climbing the center field fence) at least 450 feet apart at one point, with the dugouts roughly 200 feet apart along the opposite axis. We see the interior of various holosuites in prior episodes and they are nowhere near that large. Does Quark really have close to 100,000 square feet worth of holosuites, or does the holodeck have some special tricks to deal with this sort of situation?

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Enterprise Episode Guide

Season 1

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Featured Characters	Essential?	Temporal Cold War/Time Travel
1 & 2	"Broken Bow"	Captain Archer assembles his crew on the Enterprise NX-01 to return an injured Klingon to Quo’Nos.	All	Engage!	Affirmative
3	"Fight or Flight"	First encounter with alien ship, Hoshi faces her fears.	Hoshi	Just for fun	Negative
4	"Strange New World"	First planetary away mission, M-class planet, paranoia agent	Trip, T'Pol	meh	Negative
5	"Unexpected"	Trip gets preggers		Just for fun	Negative
6	"Terra Nova"	70 year old Earth colony is investigated.	Archer, Phlox	Meh	Negative
7	"The Andorian Incident"	Archer, Trip and T'Pol visit a Vulcan monastery at an inopportune moment. Also, Shran!	Archer, T'Pol, Shran	Engage!	Negative
8	"Breaking the Ice"	During an exploratory mission, Archer learns how to appease a Vulcan Captain	Archer, T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather	Avoid	Negative
9	"Civilization"	First instance of attempting to prevent interference with pre-warp society.	Archer, T'Pol	Meh	Negative
10	"Fortunate Son"	First example of freight in Federation, and introduction of Nausicaans.	Mayweather, Archer	Avoid	Negative
11	"Cold Front"	Crewman/Operative Daniels arrives to warn of a Suliban saboteur.	Archer, Trip, Daniels	Just for fun	Affirmative
12	"Silent Enemy"	Phasers are brought online	Archer, Reed, Trip, Hoshi	Engage!	Negative
13	"Dear Doctor"	Prime Directive foundation laid by debate between Phlox and Archer	Archer, Phlox	Engage!	Negative
14	"Sleeping Dogs"	Second, more complete interaction with Klingons, rescue demonstrating honor.	T'Pol, Reed, Hoshi	Engage!	Negative
15	"Shadows of P'Jem"	Shran demonstrates how far he goes to repay a debt by rescuing Archer and T'Pol	Archer, T'Pol, Shran	Just for fun	Negative
16	"Shuttlepod One"	Reed and Trip are trapped, laying groundwork for friendship.	Reed, Trip, T'Pol's bum	Just for fun	Negative
17	"Fusion"	Emotionally volatile Vulcans, likely reference to Sybok.	Archer, T'Pol	Meh	Negative
18	"Rogue Planet"	First instance of hunter/predator species.	Archer	Avoid	Negative
19	"Acquisition"	Unofficial first contact with Ferengi.	Trip	Just for fun	Negative
20	"Oasis"	Rene Auberjonois guest stars, first instance of potential holographic sentience	Archer, T'Pol	Meh	Negative
21	"Detained"	Suliban outside of Cabal are established.	Archer, Mayweather	Meh	Negative
22	"Vox Sola"	First creature episode, Archer and Trip become closer via telepathic creature	Archer, Trip, Reed, Hoshi	Avoid	Negative
23	"Fallen Hero"	Second Vulcan Ambassador on the show after Soval, much more open with emotions.	Archer, T'Pol	Just for fun	Negative
24	"Desert Crossing"	Archer's reputation for fighting for the underdog is spreading, gratuitous shirtless scenes with Archer and Trip, guest star Clancy Brown.	Archer, Trip	Just for fun	Negative
25	"Two Days and Two Nights"	Risa episode! Archer gets some well-needed R&R, Hoshi meets a cunning linguist, and Trip and Reed are comic relief	Archer, Hoshi, Phlox, Trip, Reed	Just for fun	Negative
26	"Shockwave, Part 1"	First real entrance into the Temporal Cold War	Archer, T'Pol, Soval, Silik, Daniels	Just for fun	Affirmative

Season 2

Episode	Title	Keypoints / milestones	Featured Characters	Essential?	Temporal Cold War/Time Travel
1	"Shockwave, Part 2"	Huge win against the Suliban, the crew starts earning the respect of Sovol	Archer, Daniels, T'Pol, Trip, Hoshi, Silik	Engage!	Affirmative
2	"Carbon Creek"	T'Pol either reminisces or embellishes about the first first contact with Vulcans	T'Pol	Engage!	Negative
3	"Minefield"	First encounter with the Romulan Star Empire, space mines	Reed, Archer, Trip	Just for fun	Negative
4	"Dead Stop	Fully automated (kinda) repair station, first instance of replicator technology	Archer, T'Pol, Reed, Trip, Mayweather	Just for fun	Negative
5	"A Night in Sickbay	Considered one of the worst episodes of Enterprise, Porthos gets sick	Archer, Phlox, T'Pol, Porthos, Hoshi	Avoid like the plague	Negative
6	"Marauders"	Klingon jerks rob a mining colony until the NX-01 shows up	Archer, T'Pol, Trip	Just for fun	Negative
7	"The Seventh"	First real look at T'Pol's past, first mention of fullara memory treatment, guest star Bruce Davison	T'Pol, Archer, Trip	Meh	Negative
8	"The Communicator"	Reed leaves his communicator on a technologically primitive, paranoid world	Reed, Archer, Trip, T'Pol	Meh	Negative
9	"Singularity"	Radiation turns crew obsessive; "Reed Alert" is easily the best pun of the series	Archer, T'Pol, Trip, Reed, Hoshi	Just for fun	Negative
10	"Vanishing Point"	Hoshi disappears and the audience barely notices	Hoshi	Avoid	Negative
11	"Precious Cargo"	Trip frees a beautiful and entitled alien princess; guest star Padma Lakshmi	Trip	Just for fun	Negative
12	"The Catwalk"	The only safe place to wait out a space storm is the access conduit inside of the nacelles, jerks try to take the NX-01	Archer, T'Pol, Trip	Meh	Negative
13	"Dawn"	Enemy Mine episode with Trip and random alien	Trip	Avoid	Negative
14	"Stigma"	Vulcan hypocrisy on Pa'nar syndrome; Phlox's wife flirts with Trip	T'Pol, Archer, Trip, Phlox, Feezal	Just for fun	Negative
15	"Cease Fire"	Archer, T'Pol, and Soval attempt to make peace between Andoria and Vulcan on a contested planet	Archer, T'Pol, Soval, Shran!, Tarah	Engage!	Negative
16	"Future Tense"	First contact with the Tholians, a TARDIS analogue is found	Archer, T'Pol, Trip	Engage!	Affirmative
17	"Canamar"	Archer and Trip are kidnapped and imprisoned	Archer, Trip	Meh	Negative
18	"The Crossing"	Ghosts try to steal the bodies of the crew, possible reference to TNG "Lonely Among Us"	Archer, T'Pol, Trip, Reed, Hoshi	Meh	Negative
19	"Judgment"	Very similar to Kirk prosecution in Star Trek VI; guest J.G. Hertzler	Archer	Just for fun	Negative
20	"Horizon"	Episode about Mayweather's family goes about as expected	Mayweather	Meh	Negative
21	"The Breach"	Historical information on Denobula, cave rescue of scientists	Phlox, Reed, Trip, Mayweather, Archer	Meh	Negative
22	"Cogenitor"	Second-class citizenship due to gender identity issue explored; guest Andreas Katsulas	Trip, Archer	Just for fun	Negative
23	"Regeneration"	One of the more controversial episodes of Enterprise, because Borg	Archer, T'Pol, Trip	Just for fun	Negative
24	"First Flight"	Easily the best episode of the season; explores the NX program; guest Kieth Carradine	Archer, Trip, T'Pol	Engage!	Negative
25	"Bounty"	The T'Pol pon'farr episode	Archer, Phlox, T'Pol's skimpy clothing	Avoid	Negative
26	"The Expanse"	Xindi attack, 9/11 analogue, return of Duras, Enterprise weapons refit, MACOS, NX-01 entrance into Delphic Expanse	Archer, T'Pol, Trip, Silik, Forrest, Soval	Engage!	Affirmative

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Petrus4's guide to 'Star Trek: Voyager'

Voyager is my favourite Star Trek series, although for most people it seems to be the most infamous. It's bizarre, it's humorous, it often has fairly epic action, to the point of being low-budget Lethal Weapon or Die Hard, IN SPACE! It isn't as strong in the first three seasons as the last four, but there are still some gems to be had. My job is to help you separate the gems from the viscous brown substance that they are hidden in.

The rules are simple. If I mention it, I enjoyed it for some reason or other, and I think you should watch it. Since reading Optical Data's guide on this wiki, I've realised that Voyager actually has a lot more continuity than I thought. I don't list every single episode here which somehow has continuation somewhere else. Instead, I only list those episodes which I personally felt to contain solid entertainment. Some of the episodes I list here are acknowledged as Voyager's worst, and I will usually also admit that as well, where relevant. If those episodes are here, then it usually means that said episodes either still contained some element of humour which I liked, or had continuity which I considered too important to miss.

My Top Ten Episodes

This is the shortest possible version of this guide. If you are coming into Voyager completely blind, and don't want to watch the whole thing, these ten episodes are the true unmissables out of the entire series in my opinion, (in chronological, not preferential order) and will also help you figure out whether or not you want to spend time watching more of them.

Faces

The Thaw

Sacred Ground

Year of Hell

Prey

Timeless

Gravity

Dark Frontier

Equinox

The Void

Season 1

E01S01. Caretaker: Pilot. Boldly going 70,000 light years in order to visit a holographic alien nursing home, and then adopting a homeless love child of the Night Hob from The Never Ending Story, and Hoggle from Labyrinth. Also, we get the series' first recurring Big Bad, who turn out to be Space Rastafarians. Think Psychlos with anorexia, lower technology, and no John Travolta. As Chief Engineer, we also got Roxann Dawson/B'Elanna Torres, who went on to become the most chronic actor/character crush of my existence, so far.

E04S01. Phage: Space lepers steal Neelix's lungs. Janeway rages at space lepers, orders return of lungs. Space lepers can't give them back, but give Neelix holographic lungs instead. Janeway tells space lepers that if she ever encounters them again, she will end them as they have never been ended before. Space lepers look appropriately terrified.

E09S01. Prime Factors: Tuvok becomes insubordinate, and attempts to steal propulsion technology from space swingers.

E10S01. State of Flux: Space Rastafarians first seen in the pilot, blow up their ship after mishandling Federation technology, which they shouldn't have. Voyager has a traitor on board, who turns out to be Chakotay's ex-girlfriend. Small universe.

E13S01. Faces: Voyager provides masturbation material for Klingon fanboys.

E14S01. Jetrel: Voyager asks us a question. What if Robert Oppenheimer and Joseph Mengele had a love child, who was also born as a Talaxian?

Season 2

E01S02. The 37's: Amelia Earhardt and Bill Clinton meet up and shoot the breeze, in the Delta Quadrant.

E03S02. Projections: Voyager tries to provide the audience with the legal simulation of an LSD trip. This won't be the last time.

E05S02. Non Sequitur: Voyager does Sliders.

E10S02. Maneuvers: The next episode in the "Seksa and the Space Rastafarians" arc.

E12S02. Prototype: It's a B'Elanna Torres show. Enough said. Go and watch it immediately.

E16S02. Threshold: Voyager makes its own contribution to the cause of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Recommended not due to how good it is, but how bad. Do not watch while sober.

E17S02. Meld: Grima Wormtongue makes a special guest star appearance on Voyager, and he's still a psychopath. Tuvok performs a mind meld with him because, as anyone can see, it was obviously the only logical thing he could have done. Chaos, lulz, and general merriment ensues.

E18S02. Dreadnought: It's another B'Elanna Torres episode. You know what I'm going to say, don't you?

E19S02. Death Wish: Q and son show up on Voyager. Serious Business ensues.

E20S02. Lifesigns: One of the space lepers from last season comes aboard Voyager, and temporarily becomes a holographic girlfriend for the Doctor. Romance and mild Glurge ensues.

E22S02. Deadlock: Harry Kim establishes his reputation as Voyager's answer to Kenny from South Park, or Waspinator from Transformers: Beast Wars.

E24S02. The Thaw: What Barney the Dinosaur should have been. Despite my flippant description, this is seriously one of Voyager's greatest episodes in my opinion, even if only because the level of weirdness here exemplifies Voyager's contribution to Trek as a whole. Recommended.

E26S02. Tuvix: Tuvok and Neelix develop an intimate relationship. Janeway gets in touch with her inner Jack Kavorkian.

E28S02. Basics, part 1: Die Hard With a Voyager, part 1. Grima Wormtongue plays Bruce Willis, and we get Space Rastafarians instead of Alan Rickman. Seska sets a trap for Voyager. Chakotay takes acid, has a conversation with his dead father, and as a result, decides that voluntarily falling into Seska's trap would be a good idea. Janeway and the rest of the crew get dumped on a barren planet.

Season 3

E01S03. Basics, part 2: Die Hard With a Voyager, part 2. Grima gets shot in the back with a phaser rifle before he can say, "Yippee Kiyay." Paris and some Talaxians also help save the ship. Voyager goes back and rescues Janeway and the crew, and none of the crew consider staging a mutiny against Janeway and Chakotay for getting them into the situation in the first place. Seska dies, and Space Rastafarians leave for the last time.

E03S03. The Chute: Paris and Kim get sent to a Space Prison and meet a 1960s version of Karl Marx, who's still a homeless person.

E06S03. Remember: B'Elanna Torres/Roxann Dawson episode.

E07S03. Sacred Ground: Voyager does Contact, but also adds a dash of Shirley McClaine's Out On a Limb, and a pinch of Labyrinth.

E08-09S03. Future's End: Voyager meets a time travelling version of Lex Luthor, who looks more like John Farnham. The Doctor gets shot at by some rednecks who think he's a demon, and they get back to the future with the help of a crazy homeless person.

E10S03. Warlord: Kes gets possessed, and then gets dangerous. Kes' finest hour, and the episode which Kes/Jennifer Lien's fans will usually talk about, when they explain why they think she was awesome.

E16S03. Blood Fever: On rewatching this episode, it is a lot more awkward than I remember. The opening scene where Vorik essentially tries to rape B'Elanna is particularly cringe inducing. Most of the rest of the episode is good, and we get continued clues about Tom and B'Elanna's developing relationship, (especially in the final scene) but some of the stuff with Vorik is forced, and just comes across as off-key.

E17S03. Unity: Chakotay goes on summer camp with the Borg.

E18S03. Darkling: The Doctor goes postal. Kes and Neelix break up.

E19S03. Rise: This episode is fairly thin, and doesn't really have much that is exciting or interesting. The one reason why it is worth mentioning, however, is that it has some good character development and interaction between Tuvok and Neelix. Tuvok does not like Neelix, and Neelix confronts Tuvok about this. Personally, I'm not sure how justified I feel this was, simply from the point of view that if there is one thing I've learned about Vulcans, it is that it's completely inappropriate for anyone to expect a Vulcan to react or behave in non-Vulcan terms. Most of the character conflict that occurs with Vulcans, anywhere in Trek, happens for this reason; Humans or some other more emotional race will expect a Vulcan to react to them with Human psychology or emotion, and they will typically then initiate conflict with the Vulcan when that does not occur.

E20S03. Favorite Son: "They killed Harry again! You BASTARDS!" Part Three of Voyager's Trifecta of Doom. Mostly included for surreal comedy value. You may, however, need therapy afterwards.

E21S03. Before and After: Kes' Excellent Adventure.

E22S03. Real Life: The Doctor gets a holographic family. Seriously good episode, from which the Doctor gets a lot of character development.

E25S03. Worst Case Scenario: The last episode of "pre-Seven Voyager", and a decent one at that. Seska comes back for one last encore performance.

E26S03. Scorpion: The point at which Voyager grew the beard according to consensus opinion. The first major appearance of the Borg, and Trek's first non-rubber headed alien race. Strong action, very nice CGI for the time, and a decent story. John Rhys-Davies is seen for the first time as a hologram of Leonardo DaVinci.

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OpticalData's Guide to Voyager

Season 1

Episode	Title	Why should I watch it?	Is it optional?
1 & 2	Caretaker	Included for obvious reasons. This sets up the entire premise of the show.	No
3	Parallax	This is an important episode as it establishes the Starfleet/Maquis command structure that remains for the rest of the series, also good character development for Janeway/Chakotay/Torres.	No
4	Time and Again	If you can get past the ridiculous costumes, it has good character development for Janeway/Paris and introduces Kes' telepathic abilities.	No
5	Phage	Introduces the Vidiians.	No
6	The Cloud	"There's Coffee in that nebula!" and beginning of the deeper Janeway/Chakotay relationship	Yes
7	Eye Of The Needle	Voyager's first glimpse of home... Except not. (NB: The events of this episode are explored further in the 'Dark Matters' book trilogy)	Yes
8	Ex Post Facto	Heavy Paris development, the first time we see him as the 'underdog' in a story	Yes
9	Emanations	Harry Kim development and introduction of Seska	No
10	Prime Factors	More Starfleet-Maquis clashes. Character development for Tuvok, Torres and Carey.	Yes
11	State Of Flux	Beginning of the Seska-Kazon arc and revelation of Seska's past.	No
12	Heroes And Demons	The series' first holodeck episode. Janeway sports a new haircut.	Yes
13	Cathexis	The crew is possessed by a disembodied Chakotay.	Yes
14	Faces	Further development of both the Vidiians and Torres' character.	No
15	Jetrel	Development of Neelix's backstory. This episode is referenced multiple times throughout the rest of the series.	No
16	Learning Curve	Tuvok character development. Starfleet-Maquis clashes.	Yes

Season 2

Episode	Title	Why should I watch it?	Is it optional?
17	The 37's	The first time we get to see Voyager land.	No
18	Initiations	Chakotay gets captured by the Kazon and we see some of their culture.	Yes
19	Projections	Doctor-centric episode with good character development.	Yes
20	Elogium	Examines details of Kes's Ocampan biology which are referenced throughout the rest of the series	No
21	Non Sequitur	Kim gets transported to an alternate reality in which he is home and has everything he wants but decides to return to Voyager.	Yes
22	Twisted	General character development. A solid episode.	Yes
23	Parturition	Paris and Neelix fight over Kes and end up adopting an alien. Resolves the Tom/Neelix bickering and Neelix's jealousy.	No
24	Persistence of Vision	Reveals many characters' backstories, and one of the few times we see the relations of the Voyager crew.	No
25	Tattoo	Chakotay development, focussing on his spiritual beliefs.	Yes
26	Cold Fire	Wraps up questions from Caretaker.	No
27	Maneuvers	Seska outwits the Voyager crew and Chakotay is captured by the Kazon again. Setup for a plot line in Basics.	No
28	Resistance	Janeway character development.	Yes
29	Prototype	Torres character development, solid episode.	Yes
30	Alliances	Gives some back story to the Delta Quadrant.	No
31	Threshold	An infamously bad episode, on the order of "Spock's Brain".	Yes
32	Meld	Tuvok and Suder character development. Important for season resolution.	No
33	Dreadnought	A small insight to Maquis and Cardassian Technology. Janeway nearly sacrifices the ship.	Yes
34	Death Wish	The series' first Q episode. Looks into the issues of being a Q.	No
35	Lifesigns	Backstory about the phage and Vidiians, Doctor character development. Introduction of side characters.	Yes
36	Investigations	Important Paris development. (NB: Features a cameo from King Abdullah II of Jordan)	Yes
37	Deadlock	Deals with the Vidiians, the birth of a Naiomi Wildman, and the death of Kim prime. One of the best 'action' episodes of the franchise. Highlight: Kate Mulgrew acting vs herself.	No
38	Innocence	Tuvok crashes a shuttle and finds children on a planet, but all is not as it appears. Tuvok development.	Yes
39	The Thaw	One of the creepiest episodes of the franchise.	Yes
40	Tuvix	Poses some excellent moral dilemmas. What would you have done?	Yes
41	Resolutions	Sets up the will-they-won't-they element of the Janeway/Chakotay relationship and a chance to see what Voyager would be like with Tuvok in command.	Yes
42 & 43	Basics	Wraps up the Kazon arc.	No

Season 3

Episode	Title	Why should I watch it?	Is it optional?
44	Flashback	Gives Tuvok some back story and develops Tuvok-Janeway relationship. Also features appearances from some TOS cast members.	Yes
45	The Chute	Kim and Paris development. Both go temporarily insane.	Yes
46	The Swarm	Doctor development. Highlight: Picardo vs Picardo	Yes
47	False Profits	Wraps up the TNG episode "The Price". Ferengi.	Yes
48	Remember	Torres has dreams about a major event in an alien society.	Yes
49	Sacred Ground	Good character development for Janeway.	Yes
50 & 51	Future's End	Introduction of The Doctor's mobile emitter that will be used throughout the rest of the series. (NB: Sarah Silverman guest stars)	No
52	Warlord	Showcases the acting abilities of Jennifer Lien (Kes).	Yes
53	The Q and the Grey	Details about the Q continuum. Introduces the recurring Female Q.	No
54	Macrocosm	Voyager is attacked by "macroviruses" in a Die Hard-like premise.	Yes
55	Fair Trade	Neelix stops being a guide and receives some backstory development.	No
56	Alter Ego	Kim and Tuvok development.	Yes
57	Coda	Develops Janeway	No
58	Blood Fever	Introduces a number of elements seen in later episodes and examines the Pon Farr	No
59	Unity	One of the few episodes that develops Chakotay properly.	No
60	Darkling	The Doctor becomes Jekyll & Hyde	Yes
61	Rise	Neelix and Tuvok get stuck in a lift	Yes
62	Favourite Son	Harry Kim almost starts an interstellar war and begins to turn into an alien.	Yes
63	Before and After	Introduces the Krenim. An interesting episode about what could have been.	No
64	Real Life	Character development for The Doctor.	No
65	Distant Origin	A solid episode, good Chakotay development.	Yes
66	Displaced	Development of Torres/Paris relationship. Comedy moments	Yes
67	Worst Case Scenario	Wraps up Seska arc and shows 'what could have been' with the Maquis/Starfleet joint crew.	No
68 & 69	Scorpion	First proper appearance of the Borg and introduces Species 8472 and Seven of Nine.	No

Season 4

Episode	Title	Why should I watch it?	Is it optional?
70	The Gift	Departure of a series regular, wraps up Scorpion.	No
71	Day Of Honour	Important Paris-Torres development.	No
72	Nemesis	Chakotay and Beltran at their finest.	Yes
73	Revulsion	Tuvok gets promoted. A hologram tries to kill Torres.	Yes
74	The Raven	Important Seven backstory, referenced later.	No
75	Scientific Method	Quite a creepy episode if you think about it. Worth it to see Janeway go full crazy.	Yes
76 & 77	Year Of Hell	The best two parter of the series. What Voyager should have been.	No
78	Random Thoughts	Torres gets arrested for thinking a violent thought on a planet where they're a crime. Torres and Tuvok development.	Yes
79	Concerning Flight	Janeway development, end of a Holodeck distraction.	Yes
80	Mortal Coil	One of the few Neelix episodes where Ethan Phillips really gets to act.	No
81	Waking Moments	Chakotay development, excellent episode.	No
82	Message In A Bottle	Doctor development, referenced later in series.	No
83	Hunters	Introduces the Hirogen.	No
84	Prey	Continues Hirogen story, finalizes questions about 8472.	No
86 & 87	The Killing Game	Wraps up Hirogen arc. Jeri Ryan sings.	No
88	Vis à Vis	Tom Paris becomes a victim of body swapping.	Yes
89	The Omega Directive	A solid episode, Seven-Janeway relationship development.	No
90	Unforgettable	Chakotay falls in love with a woman he can't remember. Chakotay development.	Yes
91	Living Witness	Voyager's idea of a mirror universe episode.	No
92	Demon	A good episode, referenced later.	No
93	One	Good Seven development.	Yes
94	Hope and Fear	More Janeway-Seven development, consequences of Scorpion explored.	No

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Algernon_Asimov's reviews of the Deep Space Nine relaunch novels

These books are set after the end of the 'Deep Space Nine' TV series, following on from the events of the DS9 finale. If you have not watched DS9 to the end, then be warned: HERE BE SPOILERS!

Prequels

The Lives of Dax, edited by Marco Palmieri

This book is not officially part of the relaunch - as the editor writes in the introduction, it was inspired by Jadzia's death at the end of Season 6. Also, most of these stories refer to the earlier hosts of Dax, which means they take place before the 'Deep Space Nine' TV series. However, some of the events in these stories are referred to in the later relaunch novels, so this book has de facto "Season 8" status: it was originally released as a generic Star Trek book, but later editions feature the DS9 relaunch logo and styling on the cover.

It's an anthology of nine short stories, each written by a different author and focussing on a different Dax host.

Ezri: Second Star To The Right ... And Straight On 'Til Morning

This framing story focusses on the current Dax host: Ezri. She's in the holodeck with Vic Fontaine, and starts telling him her history, starting with the story of how Ezri Tegan came to be joined with the Dax host. So, this story has three layers: Ezri Dax in the current day in the holodeck; Ezri Tegan in flashback on the USS Destiny; then the lead-in to the stories of the various previous Dax hosts.

As a framing story, it fulfils its purpose: it sets up the premise for us, the readers. As a stand-alone story, it's not so good.

The scenes in the holodeck with Vic Fontaine are laboured and overly descriptive. We spend way too much time learning that Ezri is wearing a blue-sequined spaghetti-strap cocktail dress with uncomfortable high heels. Vic doesn't talk like the Vic we've seen in the show. But, it's just a set-up.

Then, Ezri starts telling the story of how she came to be joined. And it gets worse: the Ezri Tegan we meet on the USS Destiny is nothing like the Ezri Dax we meet on Deep Space Nine, even allowing for the changes brought about by being joined with Dax. We learn that Ezri Tegan is one of the few Trill who have not been screened for their suitability for joining with a symbiont, which is what we expect based on what we saw in the show: Ezri was a surprise host. However, more than simply neglecting to be screened, Ezri is actively against the concept of joining. She believes that "the whole of Trill society was dedicated to brainwashing its children into believing there could be no higher goal than sacrificing their individuality to a parasitic race of slugs", and thinks of the symbionts as "parasitic brain vampires".

The Ezri Dax we met at the start of Season 7 of 'Deep Space Nine' was confused, lost in her multiple identities, having trouble coping - all these things and more. But there was no sign that she resented having been forced to join with a "parasitic brain vampire". Even if she'd learned the truth about the nature of joining from Dax itself, there should still be some residual hints of this anti-parasite Ezri in the post-joining personality. But, there's none - because the authors of this story have created conflict just for the sake of it, without considering character continuity.

This story does its job competently in framing the book, but it's not great itself. It's clunkily written, it's laboured, and it introduces contradictory characterisation.

Lela: First Steps

The first story naturally centres on Dax's first host: Lela. And, one important thing to note with most of the hosts is that we don't have much first-hand information about these characters - most of them made only one on-screen appearance, in the Season 3 episode 'Facets'. This, plus a few off-hand remarks, is all we know about them. This gives the authors in this anthology more room to move, and makes it less likely that they'll contradict what we know of these characters.

Lela is a junior member of the ruling council of Trill at a time when Trill has only recently learned about the existence of other species. The Trill people's response to their first encounter with the Vulcans has been to withdraw into ignorant isolation, shutting everyone else out. However, an alien ship has now appeared in orbit, making a request that noone can understand...

Each story is prefaced with a quote from the TV show about the relevant host. In this case, the quote is naturally about Lela. However, a more relevant quote would be the one by Captain Sisko in Season 7 when Ezri goes off to search for a lost Worf: "She's a Dax. Sometimes they don't think. They just do." Because Lela does things, when the rest of the council won't. We also learn that the Dax symbiont has a wish to see the stars, which Lela herself did not have before being joined. This shows how the symbiont's qualities influence and are part of the joined Trill's personality.

Along the way, she meets a character we have met before: T'Pau. This is another common factor of these stories - they all have some reference to a character and/or event we already know from other Star Trek canon. In a minor digression in a larger conversation, T'Pau tells Lela about a recent species the Vulcans have encountered; even without naming names, we know she's talking about the events seen in the movie 'First Contact'. The reference is awkwardly inserted, even if gratifying, but it sets this story in the 2060s or 2070s.

Overall, this is a good story, and well told.

Tobin: Dead Man's Hand

Tobin, Dax's second host, is an engineer who is socially awkward. He's nervous. The Human captain of the ship he's on gave him a deck of Human playing cards, together with a book on card tricks, "to keep your hands busy. You fidget too much." The victim of his attempts to practice his card tricks is the only other non-Human on board: Skon, a Vulcan mathematician (here's the character from canon - Skon is mentioned as the father of Sarek in 'The Search for Spock'). The two of them, together with other engineers and mathematicians on the ship, are working on a secret prototype. Well, it must be secret, because we the readers don't get to learn what it does until more than halfway through the story. Suffice to say that it's a significant piece of technology that we see a lot of in Star Trek.

The story is prefaced by about a page of dialogue between two characters who are not named or identified in any way, and nor do we understand what they're talking about until later in the story. This preface is awkward, unhelpful, and ultimately unnecessary - it adds nothing to the story. In fact, the paragraphs after this preface make a much better opening to the story.

The story focusses on some Romulans' attempts to gain knowledge of warp drive by hijacking the ship that Tobin and Skon are on, because Romulus only has slower-than-light travel at this time. There is mention "that the humans and Romulans had been engaged in a vicious border war for the better part of three years", which places this story in the mid-2100s. Some of the references to the Human-Romulan war in this story may have been superseded by events in 'Star Trek: Enterprise', which was not even a twinkle in a producer's eye at the time this book was written.

The story operates a bit like a card trick itself: key pieces of information (such as the nature of the prototype) are hidden from the reader to artificially build suspense, and only revealed at the right "wow" moment. It's frustrating. The character of Tobin is written a little too simply: there really does seem to be nothing to him beyond him being an engineer and playing card tricks - the author has not added anything to what we know from on-screen references.

It's an okay story.

Emony: Old Souls

This story is actually told from the point of view of someone other than one of Dax's hosts: a young Leonard McCoy. It's basically an expansion of a brief exchange in the episode 'Trials and Tribble-ations', between Sisko and Jadzia Dax:

JADZIA: McCoy... McCoy... Leonard McCoy! I met him when he was a student at Ole Miss.

SISKO: Who met him - Curzon?

JADZIA: No. My host at the time was Emony. She was on Earth judging a gymnastics competition. I had a feeling he'd become a doctor... he had the hands of a surgeon.

McCoy is "a small-town boy a few months shy of his eighteenth birthday" who goes to a gymnastics competition with his Ole Miss dorm-mate, only to see the famous gymnast Emony Dax acting as one of judges. His mother was a fan of Emony when she won her three latinum medals in the '24 Olympics... twenty-one years ago. This sets the story in 2245, some twenty years before McCoy serves with Kirk on the Enterprise.

It also seems that Emony is old enough to be McCoy's mother! And, yet, they make a romantic connection. Brief, but still real. The romance is set against some interspecies conflict at the gymnastic competition, but this is basically a love story. And, it's nice. The story is short and sweet, like the romance itself.

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Algernon_Asimov's guide to 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'

I've compiled an episode guide for 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'. This shows major milestones and character development - hopefully without giving away too many spoilers.

If you want to know which episodes are essential to watch (and which to avoid!) in the early seasons of Deep Space Nine, this is the page for you!

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Season 1

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1 & 2	Emissary	Commander Sisko, a man still suffering the consequences of the Battle of Wolf 359, takes command of space station Deep Space Nine in orbit around Bajor, after the end of the Cardassian occupation. A wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant is discovered nearby.	All	Engage!
3	Past Prologue	First appearance of Garak. Cross-over appearance of Lursa & B’Etor.	Kira	meh
4	A Man Alone	Jake and Nog first meet. Keiko starts a school.	Odo Keiko Rom	meh
5	Babel	Gibberish virus.		Avoid
6	Captive Pursuit	First visitor from the Gamma Quadrant.	O’Brien	Just for fun
7	Q-Less	First and only appearance of Q.	Sisko Q Vash	Just for fun
8	Dax	Examination of Trill host/symbiont relationship.	Jadzia	meh
9	The Passenger	Mysterious dead/non-dead person.	Odo Bashir	Avoid
10	Move Along Home	First official delegation from Gamma Quadrant. Commonly regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series. (But I like it!)	Quark	Just for fun
11	The Nagus	First appearance of Grand Nagus Zek. Development of Jake/Nog friendship.	Zek Quark Jake Nog	Just for fun
12	Vortex	Odo character development. First mention of "changelings". First time Morn is mentioned by name.	Odo	meh
13	Battle Lines	The end of Kai Opaka's story.	Opaka	Engage!
14	The Storyteller	O'Brien the storyteller. Beginnings of O'Brien/Bashir friendship.	O'Brien	Avoid
15	Progress	Kira versus crusty old Bajoran farmer. Jake and Nog and self-sealing stem bolts.	Kira Jake Nog	Just for fun
16	If Wishes Were Horses	Dreams become real. Sisko gets his baseball.		Avoid
17	The Forsaken	First appearance of Lwaxana Troi. Nice character development of Odo.	Lwaxana Odo	Just for fun
18	Dramatis Personae	Psychic invaders take over the crew.		Avoid
19	Duet	Widely acknowledged as the best episode of 1st season DS9, and one of the best of the series. Kira and a Cardassian war criminal.	Kira	Engage!
20	In The Hands Of The Prophets	First appearance of Winn (huzzah!) and Bareil. Keiko's school in trouble with Bajoran religion.	Winn Kira	Engage!

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Homecoming	[Part 1 of 3] Bajoran war hero turns up.	Kira	Engage!
2	The Circle	[Part 2 of 3] Coup on Bajor.	Winn Bareil	Engage!
3	The Siege	[Part 3 of 3] Take-over of Deep Space Nine.		Engage!
4	Invasive Procedures	Threat to the Dax symbiont.	Jadzia	meh
5	Cardassians	Controversy about Cardassian war orphans on Bajor.	Garak Dukat	Engage!
6	Melora	Wheelchair-bound Starfleet Officer.	Bashir	Avoid
7	Rules of Acquisition	Grand Nagus Zek sends Quark to Gamma Quadrant. First mention of the Dominion.	Quark Zek	Just for fun
8	Necessary Evil	How Odo got started in law enforcement during Cardassian Occupation.	Odo Kira Dukat	Engage!
9	Second Sight	Sisko meets a mysterious woman.	Sisko	Avoid
10	Sanctuary	Refugees from Gamma Quadrant, fleeing the Dominion.	Kira	Engage!
11	Rivals	Quark has a business rival.		meh
12	The Alternate	Odo's mentor visits. Odo character development.	Odo	Engage!
13	Armageddon Game	Development of Bashir/O'Brien friendship.	O'Brien Bashir	Just for fun
14	Whispers	O'Brien gets worried about his colleagues' behaviour.	O'Brien	meh
15	Paradise	O'Brien and Sisko stuck in a pre-technological paradise.	Sisko O'Brien	meh
16	Shadowplay	Odo and Jadzia investigate disappearing people from a colony. Odo makes a friend. Jake tries apprenticing with O'Brien. Bareil/Kira sparks.	Odo Jadzia Jake	Just for fun
17	Playing God	Jadzia mentors a Trill initiate from the joining program.	Jadzia	meh
18	Profit and Loss	Quark's old flame is a Cardassian dissident. We learn something about Garak's background.	Quark Garak	meh
19	Blood Oath	Three old Klingons - Kor, Kang, and Koloth - invite Jadzia on a mission of revenge.	Jadzia	Just for fun
20	The Maquis, Part 1	Introduces the Maquis [for the purposes of setting up 'Voyager'].	Sisko Dukat	Engage!
21	The Maquis, Part 2	Sisko and Dukat work together against the Maquis. Sisko's famous "It's easy to be a saint in Paradise" speech.	Sisko Dukat	Engage!
22	The Wire	Garak is getting headaches - but nothing is ever simple with Garak.	Garak	Engage!
23	Crossover	1st "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
24	The Collaborator	The election of the Bajoran Kai: Winn versus Bareil. Did Bareil collaborate with the Cardassians?	Bareil Winn Kira Odo	Engage!
25	Tribunal	O'Brien on trial in Cardassia for being a Maquis.	O'Brien Odo	Engage!
26	The Jem'Hadar	We meet the Dominion's soldiers: the Jem'Hadar.	Sisko	Engage!

Season 3

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Search, Part 1	The Defiant arrives. A new security officer. The search for the Dominion's Founders. Odo searches for his people.	Odo Sisko	Engage!
2	The Search, Part 2	The Dominion makes approaches to the Alpha Quadrant. Odo meets the Changelings.	Odo Sisko	Engage!
3	The House of Quark	Quark kills a Klingon and gets involved in a Klingon feud.	Quark	Just for fun
4	Equilibrium	Jadzia learns about a new previous Dax host.	Jadzia	meh
5	Second Skin	Kira is really an undercover Cardassian operative and meets her father.	Kira	Engage!
6	The Abandoned	Quark finds a Jem'Hadar baby. Odo raises it (they grow fast!). Sisko meets Jake's girlfriend.	Odo Jake	Engage!
7	Civil Defense	An old anti-slave-uprising program is accidentally triggered on the station. Dukat comes to help and gloat.		Just for fun
8	Meridian	A planet shifts in and out of existence. Quark tries to capture Kira's image for a special hologram request.	Jadzia Kira	Avoid
9	Defiant	Commander Will Riker (from the Enterprise) comes to Deep Space Nine. Sisko and Dukat try to prevent a Maquis attack.	Riker Kira Sisko Dukat	Engage!
10	Fascination	Lwaxana returns to DS9. Everyone's in love with the wrong people at the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. More Odo development.	Lwaxana Odo	Avoid
11	Past Tense, Part 1	Sisko, Bashir, Jadzia find themselves on Earth in 2024, and get involved in the Bell riots.	Sisko	Engage!
12	Past Tense, Part 2	The timeline is broken and needs fixing.	Sisko	Engage!
13	Life Support	Bareil is dying, but is needed by Winn for peace negotiations with the Cardassians.	Bareil Winn Kira	Engage!
14	Heart of Stone	Odo and Kira trapped in a cave. Essential Odo character development. Nog wants to apply to Starfleet Academy.	Odo Nog	Engage!
15	Destiny	Emissary "trilogy" I: An old Bajoran prophecy predicts that three Cardassians and the Emissary will destroy the wormhole.	Sisko Kira	meh
16	Prophet Motive	Grand Nagus Zek has rewritten the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.	Quark Rom Zek	Just for fun
17	Visionary	O'Brien gets flashes of the future while Romulans demand information about the Dominion.	O'Brien	meh
18	Distant Voices	Bashir finds himself on an abandoned Deep Space Nine, with Garak and the crew acting strangely.	Bashir	Avoid
19	Through the Looking Glass	2nd "mirror universe" episode.	Mirror	Just for fun
20	Improbable Cause	[Part 1 of 2] Garak's tailor shop gets blown up, and Odo investigates. As usual with Garak, there's more to things than meets the eye. We meet Enabran Tain.	Garak Odo	Engage!
21	The Die is Cast	[Part 2 of 2] The Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar are working together. Garak and Odo have some intense moments. The Battle of the Omarian Nebula changes things irrevocably.	Garak Odo	Engage!
22	Explorers	Sisko builds an old-style Bajoran lightship, and he and Jake enjoy some father-son time while flying it to Cardassia. Jake tells his father he's going to be a writer. First mention of Kasidy Yates.	Sisko Jake	Engage!
23	Family Business	Quark's mother is in trouble with the Ferengi Commerce Authority. First appearance of Brunt. Sisko finally meets Kasidy.	Quark Nog Brunt Sisko Kasidy	Just for fun
24	Shakaar	Election for the new First Minister of Bajor. Kira's old leader, Shakaar, runs against Winn. Kira/Shakaar.	Kira Shakaar Winn	Engage!
25	Facets	Jadzia performs the zhian'tara ritual, which allows her to meet Dax's previous hosts "in the flesh". Nog passes the Starfleet Academy tests.	Jadzia Odo Nog	Just for fun
26	The Adversary	Sisko is promoted to Captain. The Defiant is sabotaged. Changelings enter the Alpha Quadrant.	Sisko Odo	Engage!

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Serialized Deep Space 9 Episode Guide

- /u/Darth_Rasputin32898

Introduction

The goal of of this guide is to provide an episode order to watch Deep Space 9 (DS9) that will deliver maximum impact of the series' overall story arcs in a minimum of episodes. My personal motivation in this matter was to introduce someone I know to Star Trek, a person interested in Star Trek who overwhelmingly favors non-episodic story-telling (a fan of HBO's Game Of Thrones). As such, I decided DS9 would be most appropriate.

Put another way, the purpose of this guide is enable new viewers to quickly 'rush' through the DS9 series without losing the benefits of essential plotlines or character development. No prior Trek experience is required, though reference to the 'Background' section may be helpful initially. All you need is simply the patience to sit through about the first and/or second seasons, which are quite abbreviated in this guide (since they're more episodic and generally considered lower quality).

The total number of episodes by my count is 125.

About Spoilers

This is a non-spoiler guide. Spoilers for any given episode will not be used in the Key Points for that episode. Spoilers for episodes may be included in the Key Points for episodes after that episode. These details will be contained in the spoiler code. Here is an example:

SeasonXEpisodeY

So, if you'd seen episode Y of season X, you'd be able to view that spoiler.

Background

The year is 2369. Humans have, over the past three and a half centuries, have made contact with aliens and helped form an interstellar government, the United Federation of Planets (simply, Federation) that is at the time of DS9 one of the major powers of the known galaxy. It is a post-scarcity, democratic, idyllic society dedicated peaceful to contact with other species and other inter-species governments. Its 'navy,' so to speak, is Starfleet, a 'peacekeeping and humanitarian armada,' jointly operated by its members. It is an exploratory organization, and the main focus of all Star Trek.

Unfortunately, most other known interstellar governments are not as peaceable. The chief rivals of the Federation at present are the Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, and the more recently encountered Cardassian Union. All of these are expansionist military powers, and all of them have been at war with the Federation at some point. (However, the Klingons are now allied with the Federation.)

Anything else important is quite clearly shown in episode 1.

Episode List

Right! On to the episodes at last!

Season 1

Episode	Title	Key Points
1&2	Emissary	This is the pilot of the series. It is often cut as a single feature-length episode, so don't panic if it's only shown as one. This episode does have spoilers for one of the best Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parters, but addressing those would far overcomplicate things.
3	Past Prologue	Introduction of Garak: a very important character. More development of Cardassian-Bajoran history.
4	A Man Alone	Keiko begins a school at DS9, and Odo deals with an odd murder case.
11	The Nagus	Background on the Ferengi and Quark. Introduction of Zek.
12	Vortex	Odo character development and background and more visitors from the Gamma Quadrant.
13	Battle Lines	One of the best early DS9 episodes. Changes up the dynamic in the Bajoran government for future seasons.
19	Duet	This is often considered the best episode of season 1. It's more development of Kira and the Occupation of Bajor.
20	In The Hands Of The Prophets	Tensions mount between traditionalist Bajorans and the Federation citizens on DS9 regarding Keiko's school. Important episode in the SE1EP13.

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key Points
1	The Homecoming	Bajoran extremism and history with the Cardassians. The first multi-part episode of DS9.
2	The Circle	A continuation of the story begun in Homecoming.
3	The Siege	A continuation of the story begun in Homecoming and continued in The Circle.
5	Cardassians	More Dukat development and Cardassian/Bajoran history. An excellent dilemma regarding orphaned Cardassians left on Bajor.
7	Rules of Acquisition	First mention of the 'Dominion.' Pay close attention to the Gamma Quadrant developments.
8	Necessary Evil	Odo and Dukat development and background; includes flashbacks to the Occupation.
10	Sanctuary	More visits from the Gamma Quadrant and mentions of the 'Dominion.'
12	The Alternate	Great Odo background and character development. Some more exploration of the Gamma Quadrant.
20&21	The Maquis	This is a two-part episode and is hugely important. It establishes a new political force and a new source of conflict between the Federation and the Cardassians.
22	The Wire	Garak gets a headache...
24	The Collaborator	It all comes down to this: SE1EP13.
25	Tribunal	One of the first 'O'Brien must suffer' episodes. Development of Cardassian culture and background.
26	The Jem'Hadar	The title is self-explanatory: the Jem'Hadar species is introduced. More about the Dominion is revealed.

Season 3

Episode	Title	Key Points
1&2	The Search	The DS9 crew gets a new toy, and a new officer, Michael Eddington. More development for Odo, the Founders, and the Dominion.
5	Second Skin	A really mindbending Kira episode. More Cardassian background and development.
6	The Abandoned	Extensive background on the Jem'Hadar, Founders and Dominion.
9	Defiant	Commander Will Riker (from the Enterprise in The Next Generation) pays DS9 a visit. The Maquis story progresses, and Federation-Cardassian politics become more tense.
13	Life Support	The winner of the election for Kai needs the runner-up's help in important negotiations with the Cardassians.
14	Heart of Stone	Odo, Kira, Founder, and Nog development.
20	Improbable Cause	Further advancement of the Alpha-Gamma Quadrant tensions.
21	The Die Is Cast	The second part to 'Improbable Cause.'
22	Explorers	This episode is more stand-alone then most, but introduces an important new character (Kasidy Yates), has more background on the Bajorans and Cardassians, and has more Sisko relationship development, like in the Visitor.
24	Shakaar	Shakaar is introduced. The election for First Minister of Bajor begins.
26	The Adversary	Sisko development, and advancement of Founder-Federation tensions.

Season 4

Episode	Title	Key Points
1&2	The Way of the Warrior	An old friend arrives on DS9 as the new Strategic Operations Officer. Tensions with the Klingons and the Founders escalate.
4	Hippocratic Oath	More development of the Jem'Hadar, O'Brien, and Bashir.
5	Indiscretion	Kira/Dukat development. Introduction of Tora Ziyal. Kasidy moves to DS9.
11	Homefront	Founders step up interference in the Alpha Quadrant. The crew goes to Earth. Brilliant 9/11 terror allegory, even though this episode is from 1996.
12	Paradise Lost	Continuation of Homefront.
13	Crossfire	Odo, Kira, and Shakaar development. Follows up on SE3EP24.
14	Return to Grace	Further development of Cardassian-Bajoran SE2EP24 and tensions with the Klingons.
15	Sons of Mogh	Except for a bizarre and off-putting decision by Bashir and Sisko, this is a very good Klingon-centered episode.
16	Bar Association	Rom takes a stand against Quark's exploitative business practices.
17	Accession	Development of Bajoran culture, the Emissary, and Miles O'Brien.
22	For the Cause	Is a member of the DS9 crew a Maquis? Garak/Ziyal development.
23	To the Death	Introduction of Weyoun. Jem'Hadar tensions escalate. Further development of the Jem'Hadar.
25	Body Parts	Quark, Kira, and O'Brien family development.
26	Broken Link	Odo and Founder development. Essential advancement of the Klingon plot.

Season 5

Episode	Title	Key Points
1	Apocalypse Rising	The DS9 crew's response to what they learned at the very end of Broken Link. Advancement of the Klingon plot and tensions with the Gamma Quadrant.
10	Rapture	Is Bajor ready to join the Federation?
12	The Begotten	Odo development and plot advancement.
13	For the Uniform	Further development of the Maquis.
14	In Purgatory's Shadow	Dominion tensions advance. Development of Garak.
15	By Inferno's Light	The continuation of In Purgatory's Shadow.
16	Doctor Bashir, I Presume?	As the title indicates, Bashir development. Very important Bashir development.
19	Ties of Blood and Water	Kira and Cardassian development.
21	Soldiers of the Empire	Worf, Martok, and Klingon development.
23	Blaze of Glory	Maquis and Dominion plot advancement.
24	Empok Nor	More of a standalone episode than most, this still sets up a plot device which becomes important later on. Cardassian development.
25	In The Cards	Advancement of Dominion tensions.
26	Call to Arms	Advancement of Dominion tensions.

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#Algernon_Asimov's guide to 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

I've compiled an episode guides for 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. This shows major milestones and character development - hopefully without giving away too many spoilers.

Whether you want to track the development of Worf during Next Generation, or skip the Wesley-heavy episodes, this is the page for you!

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Season 1

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1 & 2	Encounter at Farpoint	Captain Picard takes command of the Enterprise-D. The new crew faces a dilemma at Farpoint Station, and an unknown adversary called "Q".	All	Engage!
3	The Naked Now	The Enterprise crew is infected with a virus which causes drunk-like symptoms. Data proves himself "fully functional" to Tasha.	All	meh
4	Code of Honor	The leader of the Ligonians wants Yar as a wife. A fight to the death ensues between Yar and the Ligonian's First Wife.	Yar	Avoid
5	The Last Outpost	The Enterprise deals with some Ferengi, and both get caught on a random planet. Introduction of the Ferengi.		meh
6	Where No One Has Gone Before	A Starfleet engineer arrives to upgrade the Enterprise's engines. We meet the Traveller. Picard appoints Wesley an Acting Ensign.	Wesley Traveller	Engage!
7	Lonely Among Us	An energy creature takes over various Enterprise crew.		Avoid
8	Justice	Paradise has thorns. Wesley is sentenced to death.		meh
9	The Battle	The Ferengi present Picard with the wreckage of his old ship, the USS Stargazer.	Picard	Engage!
10	Hide and Q	Q returns, and gives Riker the power of the Q.	Q Riker	Just for fun
11	Haven	Troi has to fulfil her duty - an arranged marriage. First appearance of Lwaxana Troi (Deanna's mother).	Troi Lwaxana	meh
12	The Big Goodbye	Picard plays detective Dixon Hill on the holodeck. Naturally, the holodeck malfunctions.	Picard	Just for fun
13	Datalore	The Enterprise crew find another android, identical to Data: his "brother", Lore. Some background on Data.	Data Lore	Engage!
14	Angel One	Riker has some sexy time in a female-dominated society.	Riker	Avoid
15	11001001	The crew has some downtime while the Bynars upgrade the Enterprise computer. Riker creates a fantasy woman on the holodeck: Minuet.	Riker	Just for fun
16	Too Short a Season	The Federaton negotiator, Admiral Jameson, seems to be getting younger...		Avoid
17	When the Bough Breaks	The Aldeans kidnap some children from the Enterprise during negotiations.	Wesley	meh
18	Home Soil	Terraformers discover unexpected life on a supposedly barren planet.		Just for fun
19	Coming of Age	Wesley sits the exams to enter Starfleet Academy, while an Admiral is investigating the Enterprise.	Wesley Picard	Engage!
20	Heart of Glory	Enterprise takes some Klingons on board. Lots of background on Worf.	Worf	Engage!
21	The Arsenal of Freedom	An automated weapons-selling demo. LaForge in command. Picard and Crusher have a moment.	LaForge Picard Crusher	Just for fun
22	Symbiosis	Two planets and their medicine trade tests the Prime Directive. Worst anti-drug speech EVER.	Picard Crusher	meh
23	Skin of Evil	Data learns about grief after a crew member dies on an away mission.	Data	meh
24	We'll Always Have Paris	Picard meets an old flame, while experiments with non-linear time go awry.		meh
25	Conspiracy	Picard investigates a conspiracy at the top levels of Starfleet.		Engage!
26	The Neutral Zone	The Enterprise is sent to investigate what is destroying outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone. Three humans from 20thC are unfrozen.		Engage!

Season 2

Episode	Title	Key points / milestones	Characters featured	Essential?
1	The Child	Troi gets impregnated by an alien. Staff changes: Dr Crusher gone, Dr Pulaski arrives; Worf is Chief of Security; LaForge becomes Chief Engineer; Guinan runs Ten-Forward; Riker grows a beard. Data: "One is my name; the other is not." Uniform change: no collar stripes.	Troi	meh
2	Where Silence Has Lease	A curious energy entity toys with the Enterprise. Musings on death.		Just for fun
3	Elementary, Dear Data	LaForge challenges the holodeck to create an adversary to match Data's Sherlock Holmes. It does: Moriarty.	Data Moriarty	Engage!
4	The Outrageous Okona	A charming rogue inspires Data to investigate comedy.	Data	Just for fun
5	Loud As A Whisper	Troi is attracted to a deaf negotiator.	Troi	meh
6	The Schizoid Man	The man who mentored Dr Noonian Soong, Data's creator, tries to take over Data's body. This is the only time we see Doctor Selar.	Data	Engage!
7	Unnatural Selection	Pulaski catches an old-age disease from genetically engineered children. The Transporter Chief, who we've seen five times before, finally gets a name: O'Brien.	Pulaski	meh
8	A Matter of Honor	Riker serves aboard a Klingon ship.	Riker	Engage!
9	The Measure of a Man	A hearing to determine Data's personhood. Widely acknowledged as the best episode of the first two seasons of TNG, and one of the best of the series.	Data Picard	Engage!
10	The Dauphin	Wesley falls in love with a girl who's destined to rule a planet.	Wesley	Avoid
11	Contagion	Enterprise infected by a computer virus. Discover Iconian gateways. First mention of 'Earl Grey'.		Just for fun
12	The Royale	Crew discovers a real-life replica of a hotel from an old book.	Riker	Avoid
13	Time Squared	A duplicate Picard from six hours in the future arrives and "present" Picard must prevent the destruction of the Enterprise.	Picard	Engage!
14	The Icarus Factor	Riker is offered a promotion. His estranged father visits. Worf celebrates anniversary of his Rite of Ascension.	Riker Worf	Just for fun.
15	Pen Pals	Data corresponds with a young girl from a doomed planet. Prime Directive.	Data	Engage!
16	Q Who	Q transports Enterprise to meet... the Borg!	Picard Guinan Q	Engage!
17	Samaritan Snare	Picard and Wesley bond while on a shuttle together. Enterprise and Pakleds.	Picard Wesley	Just for fun
18	Up The Long Ladder	~~Irish~~ Bringloidi refugees help a colony of clones.		Avoid
19	Manhunt	Lwaxana has a hyperactive sex-drive, and is looking for a man. Picard hides in the Dixon Hill holodeck program.	Lwaxana	Just for fun
20	The Emissary	Worf meets an old flame, K'Ehleyr, and old feelings re-ignite.	Worf	Engage!
21	Peak Performance	Picard versus Riker in war games. Data out-competes someone in a table-top game: "I 'busted him up'!"	Data Riker	Just for fun
22	Shades of Grey	Worst! Episode! Ever! Due to a writers' strike: a clip show.	Riker	AVOID!

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Algernon_Asimov's guide to The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series (previously 'The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek') is the unloved and rejected stepchild of Star Trek series. For decades, it wasn't even considered canon. However, after CBS' acquisition of the rights to TAS in 2006, they incorporated all of its episodes and elements into their canon articles on StarTrek.com, thus making it officially canon. (Although, this might simply have been due to the fact that they released the DVD box set of the series that year, and wanted to encourage people to buy it...)

Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it was made for children's television. But, it was produced by Gene Roddenberry and Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana, two of the main creative talents behind the original series. It was voiced by (most of) the actors from the original series. Many of the writers had also written episodes for the original series. And, some of its episodes are better than some episodes from the original series. For all its faults, it's still Star Trek. It deserves our attention, as much as any of the other series.

Beyond The Farthest Star (1x01)

Production number: 22004

Summary: "Kirk's crew come across an ancient derelict vessel, but something is still living inside it."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This first episode of the new series was written by Samuel A Peeples, who also the (second) pilot of the original series, 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'.

The crew have personal lifebelts which are humanoid-shaped forcefields (instead of using spacesuits). This series is the only series that uses these lifebelts: they are never referred to in any Star Trek series - but they'd be handy devices. Imagine the fight scene on the deflector dish in 'First Contact' if Picard and Worf weren't wearing spacesuits!

The Enterprise is out "beyond the fringe of the galaxy", "mission: star charting".

The science is not strong in this episode: we have a star with negative mass, which attracts the Enterprise more strongly, whereas negative mass should actually repel other mass; there's a reference to a civilisation which existed three hundred millions years ago, "before life existed on Earth", when life has has existed on Earth for billions of years (maybe Kirk meant before Human life...?).

However, it takes good advantage of the new medium of animation: there's an alien ship unlike any we've seen before (and unlike most we've seen since); there's a three-armed crewman of a new species at the navigation console on the bridge.

Yesteryear (1x02)

Production number: 22003

Summary: "Spock travels back in time to prevent his own demise during his youth on Vulcan."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This episode was written by Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana, who was story editor during the first two seasons of the original series. She wrote a few classic episodes, including 'Journey to Babel', which 'Yesteryear' builds on.

This episode contains a number of firsts:

• It's the first time we see the planet of Vulcan (what we saw in 'Amok Time' was just one ceremonial arena).
• It's the first time we see that great big round non-moon object in Vulcan's sky. (It seems that both Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana wrote "NO MOON!" on the preliminary sketches they were shown... and were ignored.)
• It's the first time we see a sehlat.
• And... more importantly, it's the first time that anyone acknowledges that Vulcans do actually have emotions. Until this time, it's been assumed or implied, at best.

It's interesting to note that Spock, despite the stereotype that Vulcans can't lie, does actively lie about his identity in the past: he tells his father that's he's a cousin, and his name is Selek.

It's a great episode, and essential viewing for any Star Trek fan.

A weekly episode discussion about this episode in /r/StarTrek.

One of Our Planets is Missing (1x03)

Production number: 22007

Summary: "The Enterprise crew learns that a massive, planet-destroying cloud has entered Federation space."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

This was actually the first animated episode produced; the standard episode order is based on the order the episodes aired.

This is the first time that Lieutenant Arex speaks - he's the three-armed, three-legged Edosian who sits at Navigation in Chekov's place.

The Enterprise gets swallowed by the planet-eating cloud, and Captain Kirk has to decide whether to kill a possibly intelligent being to save a planet of over eighty million people.

A weekly episode discussion about this episode in /r/StarTrek.

The Lorelei Signal (1x04)

Production number: 22006

Summary: "The Enterprise is drawn to a planet populated solely by women who dominate the male crew members's minds to the point where Uhura must assume command to rescue them."

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

Lieutenant Uhura takes command of the Enterprise for the only time in any series or movie.

Nichelle Nichols voices the Enterprise's computer - probably to prevent Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel talking to herself as the computer! In fact, because of the high number of female characters, both Nichols and Barrett do a lot of work in this episode (there were no guest stars).

Captain Kirk says "Beam us up, Scotty" in this episode - which is the closest he ever comes to saying the classic phrase "Beam me up, Scotty." (He does say "Beam me up" and "Scotty, beam me up" at other times.)

The writer of this episode, Margaret Armen, also wrote three episodes in the original series, and another animated episode.

More Tribbles, More Troubles (1x05)

Production number: 22001

Summary: "While escorting a shipment of grain to Sherman's Planet, the Enterprise encounters three "old friends:" Koloth, Cyrano Jones - and tribbles!"

Rating: Just for fun

Points of interest:

This was written by the same writer who wrote the original tribbles episode: David Gerrold. Gerrold managed to get himself drawn in as a cameo appearance (he's the unknown Ensign in the transporter room).

Also returning was the actor who played Cyrano Jones (although Koloth was played by James Doohan).

It's a light bit of fun, but it's good fun.

It also has one of my favourite lines of the series, from Scotty to Kirk: "But we've got tribbles on the ship, quintotriticale in the corridors, Klingons in the quadrant... it can ruin your whole day, sir!"

The Survivor (1x06)

Production number: 22005

Summary: "The Enterprise encounters the ship of a noted Federation philanthropist, missing for nearly five years, near the Romulan Neutral Zone."

Rating: meh

Points of interest:

This is the first appearance of Communications Officer Lieutenant M'Ress, a female Caitian (she's a feline humanoid). She is voiced by Majel Barrett.

And, while Uhura doesn't say or do anything in this episode (her function is filled by M'Ress), Nichelle Nichols voices the guest female role of Security Officer Lieutenant Anne Nored. Quite confusing!

I was a little disappointed that they used the Klingon Birds-of-Prey for the Romulans rather than the Romulans' own Warbirds.

The Infinite Vulcan (1x07)

Production number: 22002

Summary: "A species of intelligent plants, led by a clone of a Eugenics Wars-era scientist, clones Spock with the intentions of creating a master race to keep the peace."

Rating: Engage!

Points of interest:

This is the only Star Trek episode ever written by a main cast member: Walter Koenig. Even though Keonig wasn't included as one of the voice actors in this series due to budget constraints, he was still asked to contribute a script (Gene Roddenberry had seen another screenplay that Koenig was working on, and was impressed). Keonig auditioned to voice the guest character role, but was rejected (this character, like many many other guests characters in the series, was voiced by James Doohan). Koenig still managed to write himself into the show in a subtle way: the plant that Sulu discovers is called a "retlaw", which is "Walter" spelled backwards.

Captain Kirk says "Beam us up, Scotty" again in this episode: the second and last time he says this phrase. (See also 'The Loelei Signal'.)

We meet another refugee from the Eugenics Wars - one of the genetic scientists.

This episode includes only the second reference to the Vulcan IDIC.

And... we see Spock do a "Vulcan mind-touch" with himself!

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Kraetos' guide to Star Trek

You know. 1966? 79 episodes, about 30 good ones.

- Phillip J. Fry

Ah, The Original Series. Where it all started. The show was tragically cancelled after three seasons, but on the other hand, it's easy to see why: the show missed more than it hit.

This guide has two sections:

• Complete guide. This is a list of all the episodes, sorted by production order with a quick description and it's rating, on a simple four tier scale: Engage, Just for Fun, meh, and Avoid.
• "30 good ones." If we take Fry's comment as gospel, which thirty episodes comprise the "good ones?"

Complete Guide

Season 1

Episode	Title	Description	Rating
00	The Cage	Aborted pilot, didn't air until 1988. No Kirk—instead, it's Captain Pike. Rejected for being "too cerebral."	Just for fun
01	Where No One Has Gone Before	Pilot, but didn't air until after the next two. The Enterprise leaves the galaxy and some crew members exhibit extraordinary powers.	Engage!
02	The Corbomite Maneuver	Kirk attempts to bluff his way out of a scrape with a much meaner alien ship.	Engage!
03	Mudd's Women	The Enterprise encounters freighter captain Harry Mudd, who travels with three beautiful women.	meh
04	The Enemy Within	A transporter accident splits Kirk into two halves—a "good" one, and an "evil" one.	Engage!
05	The Man Trap	Something is not as it seems when the Enterprise runs into one of McCoy's old romanic interests.	Just for fun
06	The Naked Time	The Enterprise crew becomes infected by a virus that has a similar effect as alcohol.	Engage!
07	Charlie X	A human boy raised by aliens has supernatural powers—can he adapt to Federation culture?	meh
08	Balance of Terror	A Romulan warbird strikes against Federation border outposts. Kirk must defeat the Romulan commander.	Engage!!
09	What Are Little Girls Made Of?	The Enterprise encounters Dr. Roger Korby, leading medical archaeologist, and Nurse Chapel's once fiancée.	meh
10	Dagger of the Mind	The Enterprise inadvertently picks up a stowaway from a penal colony.	meh
11	Miri	The Enterprise investigates a planet where virus kills everyone once they reach puberty.	meh
12	The Conscience of the King	A mass murderer may be loose on board the Enterprise.	meh
13	The Galileo Seven	McCoy, Scott, Spock and four other crewmen crash land on a planet, and not everyone gets along with Mr. Spock.	Engage!
14	Court Martial	When an officer (and friend) under Kirk's command dies in an ion storm, Kirk is accused of foul play.	Just for fun
15	The Menagerie (Part I)	Spock kidnaps his former captain, Pike, and takes the Enterprise to forbidden planet Talos IV for reasons unknown.	Engage!
16	The Menagerie (Part II)	Kirk discovers why Spock has stolen the Enterprise.	Engage!
17	Shore Leave	Kirk orders shore leave for the Enterprise crew, but the planet they've selected seems to be fulfilling everyone's fantasies.	Just for fun
18	The Squire of Gothos	The Enterprise is captured by Trelane, a seemingly omnipotent being.	Just for fun
19	Arena	The Metrons, an advanced alien species, pit Captain Kirk against a Gorn captain in personal combat.	Engage!
20	The Alternative Factor	The Enterprise is sent to investigate a mad scientist after a galaxy-wide spatial disruption.	Avoid
21	Tomorrow is Yesterday	The Enterprise accidentally travels back to the 20th century where they destroy a US Air Force aircraft and rescue the pilot, creating a time paradox as the pilot gains foreknowledge of events to come.	Engage!
22	Return of the Archons	The Enterprise visits a planet where an Earth ship was last seen before reported missing, 200 years ago.	meh
23	A Taste of Armageddon	The Enterprise discovers two civilizations fighting a computerized war—but the casualties are real.	Just for fun
24	Space Seed	The Enterprise rescues the SS Botany Bay without realizing the war criminal and genetic "superman" Khan is aboard.	Engage!
25	This Side of Paradise	The Enterprise investigates a colony where everyone should be dead from radiation exposure, only to discover the colonists are alive.	Just for Fun
26	The Devil in the Dark	The Enterprise crew must find a creature that has killed more than 50 workers at a vital Federation mining colony.	Engage!
27	Errand of Mercy	War breaks out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and Kirk is sent to fight the first battle over a planet called Organia.	Engage!
28	The City on the Edge of Forever	Dr. McCoy changes history in a manner which prevents the Federation from even existing. Kirk and Spock must follow him back and stop him.	Engage!
29	Operation: Annihilate!	Colonists on a distant planet are taken over by neural parasites.	Just for fun

Season 2

Episode	Title	Description	Rating
01	Catspaw	Kirk and co. beam down to a Halloween themed planet.	Avoid
02	Metamorphosis	The Enterprise finds Zefram Cochrane, inventor of warp drive, on a distant planet, even though he's been believed dead for 150 years.	Just for fun
03	Friday's Child	Kirk attempts to negotiate mining rights with a primitive, honor-bound civilization.	Just for fun
04	Who Mourns for Adonais?	The Enterprise encounters an entity which claims to be the Greek god Apollo.	meh
05	Amok Time	Spock undergoes Pon Farr and must return to Vulcan to mate or he will die.	Engage!
06	The Doomsday Machine	The Enterprise encounters a planet killer and must stop it before it strikes again.	Engage!
07	Wolf in the Fold	Scotty is accused of murder during shore leave.	Just for fun
08	The Changeling	The Enterprise encounters Nomad, a human-built probe which has been altered to have one mission: the sterilization of all life.	Engage!
09	The Apple	A landing party explores a beautiful planet with primitive natives, before the planet begin killing redshirts.	Avoid
10	Mirror, Mirror	A transporter accident sends Kirk, Scotty, McCoy and Uhura to the "mirror universe," where good and evil seem to be inverted.	Engage!
11	The Deadly Years	The Enterprise crew becomes infected with a rapid-aging virus.	Just for fun
12	I, Mudd	The Enterprise bumps into Harry Mudd once again after a new crewman hijacks the ship.	meh
13	The Trouble with Tribbles	The Enterprise responds to a distress call from Space Station K7 when Klingons arrive at the station.	Engage!
14	Bread and Circuses	The Enterprise discovers a parallel Earth where Rome never fell.	Just for fun
15	Journey to Babel	The Enterprise transports Federation ambassadors to a conference on Babel. One of the Ambassadors is Sarek, Spock's father.	Engage!
16	A Private Little War	Kirk suspects that a primitive culture may have been armed by the Klingons.	Just for fun
17	The Gamesters of Triskelion	Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are kidnapped while preparing to beam down to Gamma 2. Spock must determine where the landing party has gone.	Avoid
18	Obsession	A cloud creature kills a number of redshirts on an away mission—but Kirk has encountered this creature before, and is determined to kill it.	Just for fun
19	The Immunity Syndrome	The Enterprise investigates the loss of the Federation starship Intrepid.	Just for fun
20	A Piece of the Action	The Enterprise encounters a planet where the culture is based entirely on 1920's mobsters.	Just for fun
21	By Any Other Name	While investigating a distress call, the Enterprise discover survivors who need the Enterprise to get home.	Just for fun
22	Return to Tomorrow	The Enterprise receives a distress call from a distant planet.	Just for fun
23	Patterns of Force	In search of Federation historian John Gill, the Enterprise discovers a planet modeled after Nazi Germany.	Just for fun
24	The Ultimate Computer	Kirk is ordered to test M-5, an advanced computer which can command a starship.	Engage!
25	The Omega Glory	A Federation captain breaks the Prime Directive and arms a primitive civilization.	Avoid
26	Assignment: Earth	The Enterprise travels back in time to 1968 and encounters secret agent Gary Seven.	Just for fun

Normally the Prime Directive would forbid contact between Starfleet from open contact with a species incapable of interstellar communication. It is generally taken for granted that a similar rule or law must be in force for Federation civilians. It is hard to imagine the Horta could have warp drive, or even something like subspace radio. The Horta are almost obligate subterranean dwellers, finding even an open cavern uncomfortable compared to their own narrow tunnels. It is unlikely any Horta has ever deliberately traveled to Janus VI's surface. Even if one were to, they give every indication of being blind in the conventional sense-- or at least poor enough of vision that it took a mind meld for the Mother Horta to even understand what her unexpected guests even looked like. The Horta simply cannot look up to the stars and wonder, as other species can. They live in a world where the idea of flight could barely occur to anybody. It's debatable whether even the idea of tool use would be meaningful in such an environment (though the Mother Horta clearly understood the idea enough to understand how to sabotage the miners' life support.) And yet they are clearly an intelligent and sophisticated people, if alien. Extracanonical materials see the Horta join the Federation and become a vital part of its mining infrastructure, and even on a few occasions show mature Horta who have joined Starfleet, serving on such prestigious vessels as Kirk's Enterprise and Riker's Titan.

There is no indication that either the Federation miners nor the crew of the Enterprise encountered any reprisals for establishing a formal relationship with the Horta, even despite the fact that in the former case, their actions so interfered in the future of the species and their indigenous culture as to actively jeopardize their survival! Granted the miners had no way of assuming that the Mother Horta was sapient until long after the deed was done, but it was certainly clear to Spock before he attempted the Mind Meld.

This raises the question: why? Does Starfleet carve out some sort of exception for a species that may be incapable of ever meeting the standards for first contact? Did the fact that the contact by civilians was completely accidental create a justifiable breach, as it seems to have in "A Private Little War", and if so does that mean that in Picard's era Starfleet would have been obligated to ignore the Horta as the interpretation of the Prime Directive grew stricter?

Recently a user on Mastodon had a thought about Lt. Ortegas. She is clearly part of the Engineering/Operations division, which is abnormal given the triad of gold that normally sat on the bridge during Kirk's five year mission.

So I began to dig. José Tyler wore Command gold with an engineering insignia. Detmer wears bronze on the Discovery, which continued into the 32nd century. Gary Mitchell wore the darker operations color with a Sciences insignia. I think this suggests Helm can be a multidisciplinary position, though it is typically staffed by a young Command officer. The Command division tends to be more administrative or dedicated to control functions, but we also have Vice Admiral Toddman who wore Security yellow and Earth Starfleet's Maxwell Forrest who also did not wear Command colors.

Continuing forward the exceptions to the rule become less frequent. Lt. Leslie manned the helm as an Operations officer several times under Kirk and Demora Sulu wore Operations gold as the Enterprise-B's helm officer.

I have not dug terribly further, but outside of the 23rd century, the only notable helm officer not wearing command colors is Hector Illario.

Are there any other notable helm officers who don't wear Command colors?

To answer that question, let's talk about Starfleet's expectations for a new class of heavy cruiser/explorer. The Constitution class was in service for at least 50 years. NCC-1701 was commissioned in 2245, but it wasn't the first Constitution class ship. So lets say that the first one was launched in 2243. They were in service until at least 2293, but probably even later than that. It also had three significant refits over the course of it's 50-year service life.

The Excelsior was commissioned in 2290 after the great experiment failed. By 2293 it was Starfleet's pride and joy, and the first Federation ship named Enterprise that wasn't a Constitution class was an Excelsior. The basic Excelsior frame is apparently extremely durable and versatile, since Starfleet began producing them en masse.

It was Starfleet's biggest, meanest ship for about 20-30 years, from the 2290s until the 2320s. This mirrors the Constitution's service life as well. When Starfleet designs a new front-line heavy cruiser/heavy explorer, they apparently expect it to serve for at least three decades in that capacity, and then at least another two as an auxiliary cruiser/explorer.

The Ambassador was clearly slated to replace the Excelsior as the pride of the fleet. But for whatever reason, the Ambassador didn't have as privileged a run as the Excelsior.

Why?

Politics.

In the early-mid 24th century, the Federation didn't have many enemies. It was a time of relative peace. The Romulans had withdrawn behind their own borders, the Klingons were still recovering from Praxis, the Ferengi were unknown and the Cardassians were upstarts. They didn't really need another big mean ship like they needed the Excelsior in the 2280's, at the height of the Federation-Klingon Cold War.

Furthermore, because the Federation is in such a strong position relative to the other galactic powers, Starfleet has returned to it's original mandate: exploration and humanitarian operations.

Think about it from the perspective of the admiralty. The year is 2340 and you're the admiral with ultimate authority over the construction orders at all of Starfleet's various shipyards. The situation is as follows:

• The Rear and Vice admirals commanding fleets out of frontier Starbases tell you they need more ships to support the expanding Federation border.
• The Romulans are quiet.
• Peace negotiations with the Klingons are proceeding smoothly, especially since Capt. Garrett gave her life, ship and crew to defend a Klingon outpost.
• First contact with a race called the Cardassians has occurred recently. They have some bad blood with the Klingons due to a dispute over a dilithium-rich planet in the Betreka nebula, and the Klingons are our allies now, and they might require our assistance. However, all intelligence on the Cardassians indicates that they are several decades behind Starfleet in terms of technology and they don't appear to be catching up to the Federation's tech level.

So, Admiral, Utopia Planitia wants to know: what are we building for the next few years?

• Build more Ambassador class ships. The Ambassador class design is about 15 years old now, tried and true. Ambassador class ships are expensive, both in terms of time and material. However, they easily outclass the known Cardassian counterparts of the time. On the one hand, building more of them would be a potent show of force, but on the other hand, we need a larger fleet more than we need tougher ships.

Or,

• Build more Excelsior class ships. The Excelsior space frame is aging at this point, over 50 years old. But the Excelsior class is one of the most successful ship classes the Federation has ever built. They are durable and easily refittable, and they have enough internal space to be fitted for a wide variety of missions. In fact, the Excelsior herself is still in service at this time, 50 years after her commissioning. Unlike the Ambassador class they are no more powerful than Cardassian counterparts, but we have perfected the manufacturing process at this point and we can build a lot of them cheaply and quickly, and we need lots of reliable, speedy ships to support our growing network of colonies.

The choice is pretty obvious. The Ambassador class, despite being a better ship by just about every measurable metric, gets sidelined. Meanwhile, Excelsior production accelerates because the Federation needs more ships. This is why, by 2365, there appear to be more Excelsiors in service than Ambassadors, despite the fact that the design is 80 years old.

No worries, we'll figure out how this works someday.