The Orb: A Star Trek Deep Space Nine Podcast

Our Man Bashir Commentary. From the moment he first encountered Garak, Julian Bashir had a fascination with the mysterious Cardassian. But why? Could it have been a secret fascination with James Bond and the spy games of 1960s Earth? During Deep Space Nine's fourth season, Ronald D. Moore and Bob Gillan brought us a delightful holodeck story with life or death stakes for the station's crew. And li...

Trials and Tribble-ations. When the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek rolled around in 1996, Deep Space Nine chose to pay homage to The Original Series with an ambitious episode that would push the computer technology of the time to the limit. Inspired by the revolutionary techniques of Forrest Gump, the DS9 writers set out to pen a story that would insert Sisko and his crew into the middle of one of...

The Final Chapter, Part 2 of 9: 'Til Death Do Us Part. If Sisko had his way, the story of Deep Space Nine would have ended with a happy wedding. Benjamin Lafayette Sisko and Kasidy Danielle Yates would have ridden off into the Bajoran sunset for a life of comfort in their Kendra Province home. But the Prophets had different plans for Ben. So did Dukat. And Winn. And the Pah Wraiths. The list goes...

Trill on Trial. The concept of a joined species is an interesting and mysterious one. Two separate beings—each with their own will and identity—come together to form one. If it were a once-in-a-lifetime event for both, the union might be easy to define. But in the case of Trill, one half of this merging gets to do it over and over again—which raises the question of culpability. Can a current host...

Remembering Cliff Bole. Star Trek is known for finding great directors and sticking with them. But few directors had as much influence over modern Star Trek as Cliff Bole. With 42 episodes to his name, Bole is responsible for some of our favorite stories. Seven of those stories were told on Deep Space Nine. Sadly, Bole passed away on February 15. In this episode of The Orb we honor his contributio...

Runabouts. On The Original Series and The Next Generation we saw plenty of shuttlecraft moving our heroes around from ship to planet to station. But these craft were really just the space equivalent of a ferry boat. You couldn't travel large distances in them—at least not in a reasonable amount of time—and they were essentially defenseless. Starfleet needed something beefier that could still be tr...

The Final Chapter, Part 1 of 9: Penumbra When Sisko arrived at his new post in "Emissary," he had no idea that the journey he would go on would turn him into a god. As viewers, we had no idea that the series that felt much like TNG in stationary form at the start would lead us to one of the most epic finales in television history. In fact, the writers didn't even realize what they were creating. B...

Ezri Dax. Normally when an actor decides to leave a show early, it doesn't turn out well. It means either the death of a beloved character or an almost always-failed attempt to continue the role with a different face. When Terry Farrell left DS9, however, the writers seized the moment and used the twist to tell Dax stories that weren't possible with Jadzia. While it took many fans a while to warm...

Raising Children on the Station. The children we saw on The Next Generation were raised in a very controlled environment. Sure, flying around on a starship is dangerous, but you're surrounded by Starfleet officers, people who have been brought together for a shared goal, and you have all the resources you need. On DS9, the situation was different. This was much more like the real world. Children o...

Ferengi Values vs. Federation Values. The stationary setting of Deep Space Nine was a concern in the beginning and has often been criticized by Star Trek fans. But what the premise lacks in terms of discovering strange new worlds it makes up for in getting to know strange new cultures. Forcing Federation personnel and aliens from many different societies to live together day after day allowed the...

Move Along Home as a TOS Episode. One of the most infamous episodes of Deep Space Nine, "Move Along Home" is almost universally hated by Niners. The moment of first official contact with a race from the Gamma Quadrant—a moment that Sisko took very seriously—was turned into a night of games. Nothing could be less DS9 than "Allamaraine!" right? Well, in this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jone...

Implications of Genetic Enhancement. Ever since "Space Seed" the idea of genetic enhancement has been something that is viewed almost universally as a negative within the Star Trek universe. After the devastation wrought by Khan and his fellow enhanced humans in the Eugenics Wars, genetic enhancement was outlawed by the Federation. But then came Deep Space Nine and Julian Bashir to cast shades of...

Doctor Bashir, I Presume Commentary. What would a Star Trek cast be without a doctor? From Bones to Beverly to Bashir, the first three series brought us great human physicians. Then came Voyager and the concept of medicine in the hands of a hologram. The Holographic Doctor was yet another great character, but the EMH was never intended for extended use. Deep Space Nine picked up the concept and ex...

Sisko: Captain vs. Commander. When Deep Space Nine premiered there were a number of things that set it apart from earlier series. It was set on a space station instead of a starship. The crew was made up of many non-Starfleet members. And Avery Brooks was cast as Star Trek's first black captain—only he wasn't a captain. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing examine...

Dominion Invasion Tactics. When it comes to conquering other worlds, the bad guys in Star Trek use many methods. Some use brute force like the Borg. Others scheme like the Romulans. And some play a longer game to quietly suppress unless forced to use violence. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing discuss the invasion tactics of the Dominion, how the Founders use o...

His Way Commentary. Odo spent much of the series brooding over Kira, and it seemed like he was never going make the move. As it turns out, all he really needed was a little jazz and a push from a well-intentioned lightbulb. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing bring you a commentary for "His Way" and discuss how Odo went from a square to a cool cat, how easy holog...

Bajoran Prophecies. Life as a religious figure started for Benjamin Sisko almost the moment he arrived at the station. Coming to terms with that life took a bit longer. One of the elements that made Deep Space Nine so rich and unique was the Bajoran belief system. The writers wove elements of spirituality—or mysticism depending on your perspective—into the series in a way that requires a long view...

Time Travel and Alternate Realities. Like all Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine has its fair share of time travel stories. Some, like "Visionary" are your standard trips through time. Others, like "Past Tense," carry strong social commentary. And still others, like "Children of Time," create alternate realities and mind-boggling paradoxes that can send you in search of the aspirin bottle if you tr...

Lwaxana Troi on DS9. During Deep Space Nine's first season, the writers attempted to woo fans of TNG by bringing familiar faces aboard. Picard appeared in "Emissary" while Miles and Keiko joined as regulars transferring over from the Enterprise. So far so good. But then came our beloved Q and Vash. These last two didn't quite work on DS9, and so when Lwaxana Troi, daughter of the Fifth House of Be...

Looking for par'Mach In All the Wrong Places Commentary. Love is in the air aboard Deep Space 9, only it isn't between the people you might expect. Quark has eyes for his Klingon ex, Jadzia has eyes for her Klingon colleague, and Miles and Kira have… well… something neither of them really wants. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing bring you a commentary for the e...

Waltz. Sisko and Dukat have one of the most dynamic relationships of any hero/enemy combination in Star Trek. It transcends even the obvious Starfleet-Cardassian conflict and extends into the spiritual realm. It's enough to be men on opposite sides of galactic politics—who have each commanded DS9 (or Terok Nor)—but as emissaries to opposing sides of Bajoran religion they represent the timeless bat...

Undeveloped Stories. With Deep Space Nine's complex story arcs and extensive cast of characters it was difficult for the writers to explore every story idea they wanted. Many concepts were left on the table, ranging from a visit to Gre'thor to the return of Sito Jaxa in a follow-up to TNG's "Lower Decks." In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing discuss eight undevelo...

Aliens of Deep Space Nine. As the gateway to the Gamma Quadrant—or the Alpha Quadrant depending on where you normally hang your hat—DS9 saw countless alien races walk down its dimly-lit corridors. Some were familiar from TOS and TNG, some were new to Star Trek, and some were possibly from 1980s music videos. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing discuss a few of th...

Sacrifice of Angels Commentary. What appeared to be the culmination of The Dominion War proved to simply be one of several turning points in the conflict. "Sacrifice of Angels," the culmination of a six-part arc, is about as exciting as they come. But beyond these fun superficial elements is a story a love, betrayal, and loss. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing...

Greatest Sisko Episodes. From "Emissary" to "What You Leave Behind," Deep Space 9's commanding officer had many wonderful character moments. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing pick some of the best that highlight the passion, drive, determination, and caring that all came together to make Benjamin Sisko a unique leader within Star Trek—to say nothing of a friend...