Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Season 4

After the Dominion-related adventures of seasons two and three, one would expect season four to continue building up those storylines. But the writers and producers neatly subverted expectations by throwing the emphasis in other directions. While there certainly are some stories which keep hyping the threat of the Dominion, the bulk of the uber-story is focused upon what effect the Dominion has had on the Alpha Quadrant. We therefore see huge changes for the Cardassians, the Klingons and the Federation. The Dominion, the Jem'Hadar and the Founders do pop up from time to time, but they're kept to the shadows -- a menacing presence quietly trying to manipulate events for their own agenda.

Adding Worf to the cast was an interesting and successful evolution. I think what I enjoyed the most about it was the fact that after being thrown into the middle of this ongoing storyline at the beginning of the season, Worf doesn't immediately find himself at home. Given that this is Star Trek we're talking about, I was half expecting Worf to become "part of the family" within a couple of weeks. But he doesn't. In fact, he is continually irritated by this new crew, and is nostalgic for the calm ordered structure that existed on the Enterprise. By the middle of the season, he's become so fed up that he moves his living quarters onto the normally empty USS Defiant. It was great to see a new face on board the station, and it was satisfying to see the creators not violate the individual characters to ease the transition.

Although reviews of Deep Space Nine seasons will tend to talk about what big galaxy-shattering events were going on in that year, I would be neglectful if I didn't also praise the standout standalone episodes. Of particular note is "The Visitor", a story rightly hailed as one of the best of all Star Trek series. And "Little Green Men" is a hilarious romp concerning the real story behind Area 51; it was the Ferengi.

The extras on this DVD are focused towards the events of this season, and most of it concerns itself with how the addition of Worf to the cast affected things behind the scenes. The writing/producing crew explain how it changed the dynamics among the characters. Michael Dorn appears in a handful of interviews (taken from various points during the filming of the series and beyond) talking about how he enjoyed playing the character and what directions he wanted to go in. The producers also mention the freedom they had with Star Trek: The Next Generation being off the air, and Voyager set in a distant corner of the galaxy. Now the Federation, the Klingons and the Cardassians were theirs alone to play with. Also included among the extras is the requisite look at the special effects and the alien makeup featured during this year.

I feel like I'm getting into a rut describing these Deep Space Nine season box sets, but yet again we are left with a year that takes the show in bold new directions while also dropping plotlines to be developed later. I had gradually faded away from the show around this season when the episodes were originally airing, but I'm very glad that I have finally decided to get back into the show now through its release on DVD.

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That was up to the fans...

While season three ended with idea that the Changelings were already in the Alpha Quadrant and possibly on Earth, it would nearly half way through the fourth year before these story threads would be picked up again.

It appeared, as the third season was coming to a close, Paramount was already thinking toward the fourth year and was in active -if secret - negotiations with Michael Dorn to bring one of the most popular characters on The Next Generation to Deep Space Nine. Once it was decided, the plot lines from "The Adversary" would be pushed aside and a new direction would have to take center stage.

With Worf now coming to DS9, the writers had to figure out how too not only get him on the station, but also keep him there. The writers hatched onto the idea that Klingons, long now the friends of the Federation, were growing restless due to pending invasion of the Dominion and Federations lack of action. Discourse was brewing and as Ben quoted his old friend Curzon Dax, the best people to deal with the Klingons, was a Klingon.

The two-hour opener, "The Way of the Warrior", reintroduced the Klingons as bad guys and series was off in a new direction. And that was a good thing.

Over all, the fourth season would see the series really grow stronger, building on what was delivered during the previous season. There was "Hippocratic Oath", the brilliant acted and directed episode "The Visitor", "Indiscretion", the controversial, same-sex kissing of "Rejoined", the cat mouse and mouse game of "Starship Down", the comedic "Little Green Men", the James Bond take off "Our Man Bashir", the paranoia two-parter "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost", the silly "Bar Association", the next chapter in the Mirror Universe saga, "Shattered Mirror" and another brilliant, if quiet season finale, "Broken Link".

Yes, there were a few stinkers, but overall, it was a strong season that would lead into an ever-stronger fifth, sixth and seventh year.

And once again, we are left with disturbing news. As Odo was being judged by his people for the actions in last season's "The Adversary", he believes that one of his own people -a Changeling -may be in command of the entire Klingon Empire; an Empire on the brink of war with the Federation...

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Between the third and fourth seasons Paramount prompted the producers to "shake up the series" but didn't tell them how they wanted them to do it. This initially left them shaking their heads until they touched upon a quote from "The Die is Cast" in which a Changeling stated that in the future all they had to worry about was the Klingons and the Federation and that wouldn't be for much longer. As time would prove, this quote set them on the path to an outstanding story arc that would carry the series all the way through to the final episode of the seventh season.

The addition of Michael Dorn and his character Worf was pure brilliance. Of all of the STNG characters, his was the most beloved by a majority of the fans and despite the character feeling that he didn't fit in too well with those around him on the space station, he fit in perfectly!

One extremely important change is Sisko's promotion to Captain which should've happened previously. Also shaking up the series was the addition of a much more powerful defensive system on DS9 itself as the Klingons would soon find out in the season opener. We're also introduced to Martok, played brilliantly by J.G. Hertzler, which was unknown at the time but his character turned into to one of the most popular recurring characters of the series.

A brief synopsis of the more outstanding episodes, (Every episode of the season was outstanding but unfortunately there's a 1k word cutoff):

Way of the Warrior - In this extraordinarily exciting season opener the Klingons have decided that the Cardassian government has been taken over by Changelings and stage an invasion fleet at DS9. In order to help deal with the issue, Sisko sends for Worf, after all, who better to deal with Klingons than a Klingon. This episode was but the first of many huge space battles involving countless ships that the series produced so beautifully.

The Visitor - In this emotionally charged episode that is one of DS9's most popular episodes, Tony Todd guest stars as an older Jake Sisko that witnessed the death of his father! Captain Sisko would periodically show up for a few minutes leaving Jake to try and figure out how to get his father back!

Rejoined - Dubbed one of the series and Star Trek's most controversial episodes, this episode highlights what one would think would be a prominent thing among Trill, two symbionts who were previously married when they were with two different hosts. Directed admirably by Avery Brooks, this episode highlights what Star Trek is all about!

Little Green Men - In this hilarious Ferengi episode Quark's cousin Gaila has given him a shuttle and he decides to use it to take Nog to Starfleet Academy on Earth. Unbeknownst to him, the shuttle isn't exactly in the best working condition and an accident occurs. Quark, Rom and Nog wake up to find themselves in Roswell, New Mexico in the 1940's being interrogated by the military.

Our Man Bashir - This is the first of the exceptionally entertaining episodes where we visit Bashir in the holosuite as he's playing out his fantasy of being a 1960's spy for her majesty's government! Unfortunately for the rest of the crew, there's been an accident on a runabout and they've been integrated into the running program. Along for the fun is the real spy, Garak.

Homefront & Paradise Lost - Originally set to be the season three cliffhanger and season four opener, these pivotal episodes show exactly how much chaos the Founders can create when they blow up a conference on Earth, prompting a recall to Earth of Captain Sisko. We meet his father who had previously been intimated to have died.

Sons of Mogh - Tony Todd makes a return as Kurn, Worf's brother! Due to Worf's disgrace in the Empire, Kurn requests that Worf kill him which would make his death an honorable one.

Hard Time - This is a superb O'Brien episode as we see him deal with the after effect of being convicted of a crime on another planet and sentenced to twenty years in prison. He was hooked up to a machine and did these twenty years in his head in a relatively short period of time.

The Quickening - This is an extraordinary episode in which Bashir finds himself on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant that had defied the Dominion. As punishment, they've been suffering the "blight" for nearly two centuries. Bashir does everything he can to come up with a cure.

Broken Link - In this pivotal episode, Odo becomes sick and must be taken to Founders who seem to be the only ones who can save him. Upon arrival in Dominion space, the Founder leader shows up and tells him that his sickness was no accident and that he must come to their new homeworld to be judged for his crime of being the first Changeling to ever harm another. The conclusion of the episode is astonishing to say the least and sets up the fifth season beautifully as we learn that Chancellor Gowron has been replaced by a Changeling.

Special Features:

Charting New Territory: DS9 Season Four
Crew Dossier: Worf
Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Four
DS9 Sketchbook: John Eaves
Photo Gallery
Ten "hidden" Section 31 files

Episode list:

The Way of the Warrior
The Visitor
Hippocratic Oath
Indiscretion
Rejoined
Starship Down
Little Green Men
The Sword of Kahless
Our Man Bashir
Homefront
Paradise Lost
Crossfire
Return to Grace
Sons of Mogh
Bar Association
Accession
Rules of Engagement
Hard Time
Shattered Mirror
The Muse
For the Cause
Tot the Death
The Quickening
Body Parts
Broken Link

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