Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Season 5

"Apocalypse Rising" brought about an end to the Klingon "problem" and opened the door for the return of the Changelings.

Season five also had other things going for it. Star Trek was celebrating its 30 anniversary that year, and both DS9 and Voyager were going to do special episodes to commemorate that fact. Voyager brought back George Takei and Grace Lee Whitney as Sulu and Rand in a so-so tale adventure that brought Janeway to the bridge of the Excelsior during the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. DS9 would go the distance and bring everyone back from TOS. Of sorts, anyway. Thanks to the breakthrough technology used in the Oscar winning film Forest Gump, the crew of DS9 travels back into the events of TOS episode "The Trouble with Tribbles." In the humorous and slightly goofy "Trials and Tribble-ations", Sisko and his crew have to stop a plot to kill Kirk before all of time is destroyed. The writers worked a miracle, by placing the crew into a 30 year-old episode.

The 100th episode, "The Ship" also aired, along with "Looking for Par'Mach in all the Wrong Places", "Nor Battle to the Strong" (a special episode for Cirroc Lofton, a birthday present for the actor from the producers, as he was now 18 and no longer had to have a teacher on the set), "Things Past", "The Ascent", "Rapture", "The Darkness and the Light", "The Begotten" (where Odo gets his shapeshifting abilities returned),"For the Uniform", the two-part "In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light", "Doctor Bashir, I Persume?"(which featured a performance from Voyager's Robert Picardo as the real Dr. Zimmerman), Business as Usual", "Ties of Blood and Water" (a sequel of sorts to season three's "Second Skin"), "Ferengi Love Songs", the brilliant "Children of Time", the darkly humorous "In the Cards" and the shattering finale "A Call to Arms".

As I've mentioned before, there are always stinkers (the less said about "A Simple Investigation" the better), but overall, the series was in its stride. The fifth season would also see a magnificent visual effect of all of Starfleet heading towards DS9 -now overtaken by the Dominion and the Cardassians. It was an awe inspiring, jaw dropping effect.

And as the ships head towards DS9, Gul Dukat -now back in his office -discovers a message that Sisko left him.

A baseball.

Dukat, as he holds the ball, tells a puzzled Weyoun that Sisko intends to return.

And the war begins...

My favourite episodes are (in no particular order):
- APOCALYPSE RISING (Sisko is formidable as a Klingon)
- LOOKING FOR PAR'MACH IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES (Cyrano de Bergerac in space with a twist)
- NOR THE BATTLE TO THE STRONG (great acting by Cirroc Lofton as Jake)
- THE ASSIGNMENT (Another "Let's torture O'Brien" episode. Rosalind Chao gives a creepy performance as the possessed Keiko)
- TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS (the famous "crossover" episode)
- THINGS PAST (Odo's past catches up with him)
- THE ASCENT (Quark and Odo make a great duo)
- THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT (A kind of "Ten Little Indians" in space)
- THE BEGOTTEN (Odo gets his shapeshifing abilities back in a special (and moving) way)
- IN PURGATORY'S SHADOW / BY INFERNO'S LIGHT (One of the best double-lengths episodes of the series, in which one of Garak's secrets is revealed)
- TIES OF BLOOD AND WATER (we learn more about Kira's past)
- CHILDREN OF TIME (One of the best episodes of the season that shows what Odo is capable of)
- BLAZE OF GLORY (Eddington says goodbye with a bang)
- EMPOK NOR (Although a little predictable, still very good in terms of both action and acting)
- CALL TO ARMS (the start of the Dominion war, and one of the best season endings)

The special features are all in the same league with the other season, with two features on TRIAL AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS, which are rather interesting, MICHAEL WESTMORE'S ALIENS, O'BRIEN'S CREW DOSSIER (which could have been a little longer) and 10 hidden files.