A Star to Steer Her By

So right off the top, big CONTENT WARNING. An episode contains attempted suicide and we discuss it. This week on DS9 everyone is having their psyches attacked. First up, time to put O'Brien thru the ringer again with the episode that has come to epitomize his suffering: "Hard Time"! After that, Jake has to deal with his mother being back from the dead, but not really because it's an alternate dime...

Is there something immutable at a person's very core? Inborn abilities, values, traditions? Let's find out this week on DS9! First up, in "Accession", a man from the past becomes the new Emissary and decides it's time to reinstate the Bajoran caste system, which surely won't cause any disasters when people are suddenly in jobs they've no training for! After that, in "Rules of Engagement", Mr Worf'...

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide. Family values get a bit crazy in space. First up, Kurn drops by DS9 with a death wish that he wants Worf to help him with in "Songs of Mogh". After that, Rom has had enough and decides it's time for the bar staff to unionize in "Bar Association"! Also this week: plots that actually dovetail, origins of Bajoran culture, and Ferengi bedroom fun! [Timestamps: "...

It's three men chasing a lady in this week's DS9s, but only one is going to manage. First up: Odo's inability to express his feelings for Kira catches up to him when First Minister Shakaar goes all high school crush on her in "Crossfire". After that, Gul Dukat has been brought low by his decision not to kill his illegitimate daughter but that doesn't keep him from having a thing for everyone's fav...

We've somehow been at this for four years, and we're celebrating with DS9 Fanfics! But unlike our previous stories, these ones have been put together in the form of mini-scripts and your favorite "Trek" podcasters are playing all the roles! There's action, laughs, love, and a whole slew of impressions! Join us for the fun! Caitlin's script: 02:51 Ames's script: 14:30 Jake's script: 37:07 Chris's s...

DS9 continues to be frustratingly, depressingly relevant this week as we take a look at a sneaky two-parter composed of "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost". When an act of terrorism reveals there are Changelings on Earth, everyone decides Civil Liberties are overrated! Troops are in the streets, citizens must prove their humanity with random blood tests, and the military is taking over! But is the thr...

It's a series of adventures this week on DS9! First up: Kor is back and brings Jadzia and Worf along on a quest for the holy stabber in "The Sword of Kahless"! After that, Julian's Bond-esque holoprogram goes awry while Garak makes fun of his fantasy in "Our Man Bashir"! Also this week: which number, not the One Ring, and spy type v spy type! [Timestamps: "The Sword of Kahless": 01:17; "Our Man Ba...

DS9 is tackling two different genres this week, and we're all along for the ride! First up, the "Defiant" hides in the clouds of a gas giant and things get all submarine movie in "Starship Down"! After that, temporal shenanigans have our favorite Ferengi and former Founder stuck in a 1950s B picture in "Little Green Men"! Also this week: an alternate title, sexy lamps, and Ferengi luck! [Timestamp...

Relationships are at the core of both our DS9 episodes this week, and they all end in heartbreak! First up: we find out that Dukat had a Bajoran War Bride and a secret child by her that he now plans to straight up murder in "Indiscretion"! After that, in an episode that's not about same-sex relationships (no really, the writers PROMISE!) Dax comes across a former spouse in their new host and old f...

Can you change the past? Can you fight fate? Both issues face our DS9 crew this week! First up, old Jake Sisko tries to undo an accident that made his father a temporal sleepwalker in "The Visitor"! After that, Bashir is conscripted by a Jem'Hadar to find a cure for Ketracel-white addiction in "Hippocratic Oath"! Also this week: making sure we're never sponsored, Brooklyn Jake, and two many racist...

It's a surprise as big as Arnold hiding under a middle-aged lady's head! Welcome to the unexpected 15th Ten Forward, where we continue looking at the movies of Paul Verhoeven with "Total Recall"! In a future where memories of vacation and adventure can be implanted, everyday schlub Douglas Quaid decides to have some fake fun on Mars...until the memory process jogs some secret real ones loose! Or d...

Season 4 of DS9 gets off to a shiny bang with "The Way of the Warrior", a double-length season premiere that sees everything change in the Alpha Quadrant! When Gowron goes on the warpath Ben Sisko calls on TNG's Mr. Worf to come try and smooth the situation over. Before long the Klingons are reigniting every old conflict they can think of and DS9 becomes the epicenter of a massive battle! Also thi...

The schedule got a bit mixed up by that secret two-parter a few weeks back, so we're only covering one episode this week! But we're not shortchanging you, as we also do our Season 3 wrap AND give you a little peek into some future fun! In "The Adversary", a plot very much like "The Thing" plays out on the "Defiant" when a Changeling that isn't Odo sneaks aboard, but it's totally not based on "The...

Who's in the zone? Everyone! O'Brien is in the darts zone and Kai Winn's latest nonsense has Kira back in the revolutionary cell zone in "Shakaar"! After that, Dax is in an awkward zone when she has to meet up with her previous selves in "Facets"! Also this week: live from the Midwest, TNG's sexiest guest, and Shatner v. Brooks! NOTE: "Discovery" s.1 spoilers 49:07 - 49:39 [Timestamps: "Shakaar":...

First up: sorry about 1/4 of our sound. Chris didn't switch audacity over to the correct microphone. But everyone else sounds great! This week on DS9, family stories abound! First up, Ben convinces Jake to go all Thor Heyerdahl with him in a ship based on centuries-old Bajoran plans; as they trace history, they discuss their futures in "Explorers". After that, Quark's in trouble for not reining in...

A spy is adaptable, and so is a shapeshifter. Forced together but ultimately at odds, Odo and Garak find themselves embroiled in a completely daft Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order scheme to end the Dominion threat in the sneaky two-parter "Improbable Cause" and "The Die Is Cast"! Also this week: worst plan ever, a RDA love-in, and little Jake on the scene! [Timestamp: summaries start at 1:09]

It's you, but it's not you, or is it? First up, O'Brien keeps running into himself and undoing the future's mistakes before they can happen in "Visionary". Next, Bashir is stuck in his head with himself played by everyone else in "Distant Voices". And finally, Ben takes a jaunt into the mirror universe to replace himself in "Through the Looking Glass"! Also this week: don't think about anything to...

Everything is the Prophets' fault on DS9 this week! First up, giving a dude a prophetic vision 3,000 years ago leads to some loose interpretations during a scientific experiment in "Destiny"! After that, Grand Nagus Zek has seemingly turned over a new, altruistic leaf and Quark can't deal with it in "Prophet Motive"! Also this week: pun types, that guy from everything, and adapted from a "Taxi" sc...

This week, Nog is technically the B plot but we don't really care because he's more interesting! First up, Vedek Bareil is becoming more machine than man as he spends an hour dying, while Nog and Jake realize cross-cultural relationships can be difficult in "Life Support". After that, Kira's world is getting rocked and Nog wants to join Starfleet in "Heart of Stone"! Also this week: playing with C...

Chris has been beaten up by some ghosts, so Ames has taken this podcast hostage and is demanding better treatment! Attica! Blame Biddle if she edits this week's episode poorly. It's an eerily prescient week as we look four years into our future in "Past Tense," parts I and II! Sisko, Bashir, and Dax have blasted into the past and need to survive the troubling year 2024 and the impending Bell Riots...

Anything but romance is in the air this week on DS9, but it was the only link we had! First up, Riker drops by DS9 to make a pass at Kira...and steal the titular "Defiant"! After that, someone decided DS9 needed its own space crazies episode, but they went all TNG with it and decided it would just make everyone thirsty in "Fascination". Also this week: is gout hot, the Siddig/Visitor timeline, and...

We're back for week 2 of remote podcasting, and we're sounding a lot better! DS9...well, it's serving up a more mixed bag. First up, old Cardassian traps are sprung on DS9 in "Civil Defense", and everyone's lives may very well be in the hands of Gul Dukat. After that, we're served up a middling space-"Brigadoon" so bad that we try to mostly talk about the also-bad and deeply problematic B plot in...

Well, our hands were finally forced. Welcome to the first ever remote-recorded SSHB! The audio is a bit rough, but it's going to get better in future weeks and, honestly, should've been a lot worse considering. But while we're stuck at home DS9 finds characters struggling with what their home might be. First up, in "Second Skin", Major Kira goes looking for answers about her past and finds out...s...

Schemes are afoot this week on DS9, of wildly varying quality! First up, Quark finds himself embroiled in Klingon political scheming after an accident at the bar, but his acumen may be more useful than warrior ways in "The House of Quark"! After that, the Trill confuse everyone with a weird plot and ill-defined details and maybe it should've just been a circus instead in "Equilibrium"! Also this w...

It's all Dominion all the time in the three-part epic that closes out season 2 and opens season 3 of DS9! A simple camping trip brings Sisko and Quark face-to-face with the loyal foot soldiers of the Dominion in "The Jem'Hadar". After the drubbing Starfleet takes at their hands Sisko decides he's not going to wait around and goes looking for the leadership to have either a talk or a donnybrook in...