The Orb: A Star Trek Deep Space Nine Podcast

Odo on Terok Nor. Long before he was chief of security for Captain Sisko, Odo served in the same position under Gul Dukat during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. It was a time when Odo was just beginning his life amongst solids, and as a result his sense of right and wrong were not well developed. He changed a lot in the years that followed, and that change was shared and contrasted with the au...

The Other O'Briens: Miles and Kira. When an actress becomes pregnant during the run of a television show, the writers often have trouble figuring out how to deal with it. You can try to hide it with camera work and props, as they did with Roxann Dawson, or you can send the character on a trip somewhere. There are many options, but finding one that truly fits with the show can be difficult. Luckily...

Worf with Earl Grey. Over the course of seven seasons, Worf became a fan favorite on  The Next Generation . With Michael Dorn now free from the week-to-week requirements of life aboard the  Enterprise -D, he was available to lend a hand on that old Cardassian space station—which those in power felt was just want the young spinoff needed. The idea was praised by some, rejected by many. While it may...

The Final Chapter, Part 8 of 9: The Dogs of War. Through the first seven parts of DS9's final arc, the writers set up an unwieldy number of threads. Some were concluded along the way, but many remained. As a result, a bridge was needed between the bulk of the story and the events of the finale. That bridge came in the form of "The Dogs of War," an episode that spread out the pieces of the puzzle,...

In the Cards Commentary. Just before it all hit the fan, station Deep Space 9 played host to an auction that gave birth to a wild chase for a rare baseball card. It's a unique story within Star Trek that flips the usual format on its head by relegating the serious elements to the B-story whilst focusing primarily on what many might consider the frivilous—a vintage mint-condition 1951 Willie Mays r...

The Battle of the Omarion Nebula. The build up to the Dominion War was a slow one, with hints about the Founders and skirmishes with the Jem'Hadar setting the stage. But it wasn't a one-sided affair. Fearful of the Dominion, the intelligence services of the Cardassian Union and the Romulan Empire—the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar—teamed up for a preemptive strike against the Founders' homeworld...

Red Squad. Cadet Training Squadron 47, as it is formally known, is an elite group at Starfleet Academy that receives special treatment, and thus is the object of desire for many Cadets. They played a pivotal role in Admiral Leyton's attempted coup on Earth in "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost," and they operated a Defiant-class starship behind enemy lines in "Valiant." Along the way they raised a num...

The Final Chapter, Part 7 of 9: Extreme Measures. With the end of the DS9 story looming and the Alpha Quadrant swirling with chaos, the writers gave us a chance to catch our breath with a surprisingly positioned bottle show. With so many threads left to tie up, it would have been a shame not to revisit the bromance between Bashir and O'Brien and the shadowy activities of Section 31 for a final tim...

Kai Opaka. Religion held a rare position of importance within Star Trek during the seven seasons of Deep Space Nine, and right from the outset Benjamin Sisko was ushered into the world of Bajoran spirituality. Rather than the contentious atmosphere of Kai Winn, however, Sisko was introduced to his role of Emissary by the kinder, gentler hand of Kai Opaka. And while we never truly got to know her,...

Time's Orphan Rewrite. What happens when your reach the end of a season, need another episode, have little money, and dust of a thrice-rejected script? Nothing good, that's for sure. For all the wonderful writing in the sixth-season of Deep Space Nine, not all rises up to the standards of the show. The antepenultimate installment of Season Six is a story about an eight-year-old Molly O'Brien falli...

The Orb Supplemental: The Orb of Mail Feedback Show. In each episode of The Orb we delve into the minutiae of Deep Space Nine, which generates a lot of feedback for you, our loyal listeners. When the messages start piling up, it's time to gaze into the Orb of Mail. In this special show we share our thoughts on your thoughts and questions about past episodes. Join us as we expand upon the Breen att...

The Final Chapter, Part 6 of 9: Tacking Into the Wind. After "When It Rains…" resolved parts of DS9's Final Chapter and set new ones in motion, the second half of the overall story kicks off with what may be the longest cold open in all of Star Trek. There is no "previously on Deep Space Nine," no explanation of why you are seeing an examination of a Jem'Hadar ship; and you won't see any credits f...

The Bajoran Solar System. Deep Space Nine is first and foremost a story about characters. More so than any other Star Trek series, technology, science, and other worlds take a backseat to how events affect our characters on a personal level. So one easily overlooked part of the DS9 framework is the enormous solar system in which the series is set. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones...

You Are Cordially Invited Commentary. From the very moment Worf and Jadzia met in Quark's, it was clear that there was a spark between them. Dax's history with Klingon culture made her a natural for a potential relationship with the new arrival, but that alone can only go so far. The onscreen chemistry between Michael Dorn and Terry Farrell helped lead Ronald D. Moore to revive a plotline he had t...

The Cult of the Pah-wraiths and the Book of the Kosst Amojan. From the very start, the Bajoran religion played a key role in the story of Deep Space Nine. As the story grew more complex in the final seasons, the influence of the Prophets got some competition from their evil counterparts, the Pah-wraiths. With the show's shift deeper into mythology, these two sides were critical to the endgame of t...

The Final Chapter, Part 5 of 9: When It Rains… The first four parts of Deep Space Nine's final arc established many threads and challenges the many players both on the Station and beyond. "When It Rains…" firmly plays the role of middle chapter as it jumps straight into the continuation of "The Changing Face of Evil" without so much as a mention of "previously on." As the name suggests, a deluge o...

Casting DS9 with Larry Nemecek, Part 2. Choosing the actors who will bring new characters to life is one of the many creative challenges in launching a new Star Trek series. The process itself can change the nature of the roles, resulting in adjustments to name, the background story of a given character, and their relationship with others. In this episode of The Orb we bring you the second part of...

Casting DS9 with Larry Nemecek, Part 1. One of the many creative challenges in launching a new Star Trek series is casting. Finding the right actors to bring the characters to life takes time and careful consideration. And the process itself can change the nature of the roles, resulting in adjustments to name, ethnicity, background story, and in some cases requiring a completely new character to b...

The Cardassian Underground. Throughout Deep Space Nine we see Cardassian government and society threatened by several different incarnations of resistance. From early dissidents such as Amin Marritza to later leaders like Tekeny Ghemor and Damar, something running deep inside Cardassians seems to cause dissident movements to continually spring up. In this episode of The Orb we discuss the unique e...

The Final Chapter, Part 4 of 9: The Changing Face of Evil. The first three parts of Deep Space Nine 's final chapter set up key plotlines that set the Dominion War's resolution in motion. It also set our characters on courses that would eventually lead them down separate paths. In the final piece of the initial four-episode block, the Dominion turns to The Breen Factor to break a stalemate in the...

Moogie. Let's be honest. Ferengi episodes are not amongst the fan favorites—even for die-hard Niners. But even in the midst of ludicrous social customs and the grating laugh of Grand Nagus Zek, the writers found a wonderful vehicle for discussion of women's rights in the character of Ishka. She's better known simply as "Moogie," mother of Quark and Rom, and she threw the lives of her children and...

Imagining an Abramsverse DS9. It's been five years since the reimagined J.J. Abrams Star Trek landed on the big screen. In that time we've only gotten two movies, but the alternate timeline has expanded greatly off-screen through IDW's Star Trek Ongoing comics. A visit by Q to the Abramsverse in The Q Gambit will send James T. Kirk on quest that will see the Enterprise joining forces with familiar...

Great O'Brien Episodes. Miles O'Brien was always a likeable character even when he did little more than man a transporter room on the Enterprise-D. But when the Chief came over to DS9 he took center stage and Starfleet's everyman—and the brilliant acting talents of Colm Meaney—really began to shine. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing pick some of their favorite...

The Final Chapter, Part 3 of 9: Strange Bedfellows. With the outcome of the war uncertain, The Dominion turned to an unlikely ally in the Breen—a move that set into motion a series of events that would turn out to be their undoing. One such event was the changing face of Damar, whose growing disillusion with the Dominion comes to a breaking point. Meanwhile, back on Deep Space 9, Kai Winn continue...

Jake Sisko. After tri-divisional phenom Wesley Crusher, the writers of Deep Space Nine wanted to let kids be kids and gave us Jake Sisko. Breaking the stereotype that children of Starfleet officers long to enter the Academy themselves, Jake really was just an average child. Star Trek has never really done well with its younger characters. How do you tell stories about children and family on a show...