Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season 3 [DVD] [1995]

Simply, this gets 5 stars because from here on in DS9 doesn't put a foot wrong. All the episodes are great and quite a few are excellent. Characters, story lines and situations all get a fantastic boost. This is where DS9 rises above the contempary sci-fi and even above TNG and VOY. Beautiful, this gets 4.7 stars with the coverted 5 stars saved for seasons 4 onwards.

In short, it stumbled to begin with, but got pretty good.

Trek 2-parters generally adhere to an unwritten rule - set 'em up good in part one, then kinda flap about a bit in wrapping everything up in part two. The third season opener, 'The Search', does this exactly. A new starship (The Defiant), a new starfleet antagonist (Michael Eddington), and an important mission (contact the Founders to avert conflict with The Dominion). The first part is a blinder, ending with the crew split asunder and Odo's people found. Unfortunately it all falls to pieces in the second part, as the crew are subjected to a plotline ripped straight from Red Dwarf (Back To Reality, anyone?), whilst Odo’s race turn out to be pretty bland (until they are revealed as the Founders themselves).

The next episode, ‘The House Of Quark’ features Quark (no, never) in the first of three comedy episodes. This one stands above ‘Prophet Motive’ and ‘Family Business’ by actually being funny. TNG fans can enjoy Robert O’Reilly’s first appearance as Gowron. Fans of the Ferengi… well, lets face it. Ferengi-centric episodes are not really that funny. ‘Prophet Motive’ de-mystifies the Prophets by having them make a mistake (brainwashing the Grand Nagus into being nice), whilst ‘Family Business’ consists of Quark, Rom and Ishka (their mother) arguing about whether females should be allowed to work. Yes, you read right. Needless to say, the social-commentary-sledgehammer is wielded with full force in this instalment.

A far more effective use of social commentary in a science-fiction setting is the acclaimed two-parter, ‘Past Tense’. Revolting against the Star Trek norm in two ways (showing humanity to be less than perfect, and having a damn good second part), this wonderful tale shows us not only how DS9 as a series has matured, but also how strong a character Sisko is. Perhaps as an answer to those who criticised his measured performance in the early seasons of the show, Avery Brooks really lets go here, showing a Jack Bauer-like psychotic need to get the job done when he tries to keep hostages alive. Gaining a goatee (‘Explorers’) and shaving his head (Season 4) would further unleash the beast within.

Two episodes would shed more light on Jadzia Dax and Trill culture. Both involve delving into her past lives, and ‘Equilibrium’ comes off as an efficient mystery with a too-talky ending, whilst ‘Facets’ comes across as filler show, akin to the classic series episodes when Spock would show emotion (here, Odo becomes merged with Curzon – a past host of Dax – and learns to live).

Louise Fletcher makes two welcome appearences as the overly odious Kai Winn. In ‘Life Support’, she manages to get rid of her rival Bareil (he is dosed with radiation, has his brain replaced by a computer and dies) whilst gaining credit for his work, whilst in ‘Shakaar’, she tries to take over the government and instigate a civil war. Thankfully, Duncan Regehr in his only effective appearance as the titular Shakaar is on hand to see her off.

Bajoran culture infiltrates throughout the series. Kira mourns her dead lover, the Bajoran Gratitude Festival provides the backdrop for the forgettable ‘Fascination’, featuring Majel Barrett as Lwaxana Troi, and most overtly in the episode ‘Destiny’. There, an ancient prophecy foresees the destruction of the wormhole, and Kira has to balance her personal beliefs with her professional life. (It’s better than it sounds).

Andrew Robinson as Garak deserves a mention, not only for being in just about every episode this season, but for being so damn good, whether as Mirror-Universe Garak (‘Through The Looking Glass’, featuring a gratuitous and pointless cameo from Tim Russ as Tuvok), a telepathic virus inside Bashir’s mind (‘Distant Voices’), or plain simple Garak, overhearing top level Cardassian command codes whilst hemming someone’s pants.

However, the flavour of the season is The Dominion. A young Jem’Hadar causes havoc aboard the station (‘The Abandoned’), Odo’s loyalty to Kira is tested (‘Heart Of Stone’), and the Romulans and Cardassians launch an all out attack on the Founders (hinted in ‘The Defiant’, featuring Jonathan Frakes, and seen in ‘Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast’). The two-parter in which this happens is truly magnificent, and contains hints of later seasons in its rich characterisation (Garak as defector, torturing Odo) and impressive space-battles (The Defiant looks its best all season blowing up Jem’Hadar warships left right and centre). The season culminates in ‘The Adversary’, a show reminiscent of The Thing in which a changeling gains control of The Defiant. Taut, claustrophobic and very good, the episode leaves the show up in the air, with the promise of changeling infiltration throughout the alpha quadrant.

As is to be expected, the extras are functional, but lack any greatness. Frustratingly, the alien make-up feature fails to shed any light on the Jem’Hadar or Vorta, looking instead at Ferengi and aging techniques. Having said that, it is fun to watch the various pieces being applied. One documentary charts the creation of The Dominion, and it is interesting to see the bad guys evolve. Also worth mentioning is the piece devoted to the new ship, The Defiant. All the early sketches are on shown, and an impressive display of the firepower in a clip from First Contact. Odo’s profile contains no surprises for anyone who has seen the whole run of DS9, and the Hidden Files are not very well hidden.

Overall, the show got pretty damn good at the highs of this season (‘Past Tense’, ‘Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast’, anything with Garak or Kira, ‘The Adversary’), but the set lacks a good strong set of features to support the show. I know Season 4 is one of the best, and I hope the features for the next set will live up to the quality of the show.

Episodes such as The Die Is Cast, Explorers, Visionary, Distant Voices and Second Skin allow each of the regular and some non reglar charcters to show real insight into their complex and multi faceted personalities.

Season 3 also introduces The USS Defiant, by far the coolest and most exciting ship in the history of Trek. At last the audience gets the sense the crew have the means to defend theirselves, as well as a gradual development of experience.

In my opinion DS9 is Trek at it's best.