Star Trek In Significantly Fewer Seasons, Season 11: Dark Frontier

When I started this journey of creating a guide to watching the best of Star Trek, there were over 550 hours of content. Well, a few years later, and we're over the 700 hour mark, as we've added four completely new shows: Strange New Worlds, Picard, Lower Decks, and Prodigy to the list. And there are more series coming (although Picard will end after Season Three).

I've watched some of each of those properties, and am excited that they'll eventually work their way into the chronology, but we're not quite there yet.

This season sees The Dominion War in full effect on Deep Space Nine, while the crew of Voyager plods their way back out of The Delta Quadrant. This is a season that really celebrates 7of9, Doctor, Dax, Sisko, Weyoun, and more. There's more loss in this season than there tends to be in pre-21st century Star Trek and that really gives it a bit more weight than some previous seasons.

Episode 1: Sacrifice Of Angels
(Sisko, Gul Dukat, Odo, Kira, Rom, Ziyal, Weyoun, Quark, Jake, Garak, Worf, Martok)

The Dominion War is truly underway, and it's about to go horribly awry for both sides.


Episode 2: Waltz
(Sisko, Gul Dukat, Odo, Worf, Kira, O'Brien, Dax, Bashir, Weyoun)

This is a defining moment in the series, and I considered making it the end of the previous season but, uhm, there are some events that happen that I don't want to give the sense of importance that the original series of Deep Space Nine did.


Episode 3: In The Flesh
(Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Doctor, Boothby, 7of9, Torres, Paris, Neelix, Kim)

I remember thinking that Barclay was the weirdest legacy character to show up on a Star Trek series where they're lost in an uncharted region of space. But then Riker showed up. And now ... Boothby? The crew of Voyager is back on Earth at, of all places, Starfleet Academy. Nah. Something ain't right here.


Episode 4: Who Mourns For Morn?
(Quark, Sisko, Worf, Odo, Kira, Dax, O'Brien, Bashir)

Quark's most reliable, most silent customer, who's been in almost every episode in our chronology, and yet has never spoken a single line, dies and leaves Quark a fortune. Nah. Something ain't right here, either.


Episode 5: Change Of Heart
(Worf, Dax, Sisko, O'Brien, Bashir, Kira, Quark)

Worf's relationships have traditionally Not Gone Well. His first wife died just after surprising him with the existence of their son. Then he was married to Troi in a parallel timeline. Now he's married to Dax, the parasitical symbiont who can be any species, race or gender. And it's been going really well. But can he prioritize his most recent marriage over his duty to Deep Space Nine?


Episode 6: Inquisition
(Bashir, Sisko, Worf, Odo, O'Brien, Quark, Kira, Weyoun)

Wait...is Bashir a spy for The Dominion? Section 31 (Holy Holy, we haven't seen them since the Discovery story arc. Finally, we see their origin in the Star Trek Universe.) is determined to find out.


Episode 7: Timeless
(Chakotay, Kim, Janeway, 7of9, Doctor, Paris, Tuvok, Torres, Neelix, Laforge?)

Voyager toys with a new technology, hoping it might get them home faster. But Henry Kim fucks it all up and they lose fifteen years marooned on a planet. 


Episode 8:  In The Pale Moonlight
(Sisko, Garak, Bashir, Quark, Weyoun, Odo, Kira, Dax, Worf, O'Brien)

War is a constant shifting of allegiances and ethical dillemas, so nobody should be surprised at how wrong everything goes when Sisko tries to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War.
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Episode 9: The Sound Of Her Voice
(Sisko, Bashir, O'Brien, Kira, Odo, Quark, Dax, Worf, Yates, Jake, Morn)

In the midst of The Dominion War, The Defiant hears a distress call and sets out to rescue a woman stranded on an alien planet. During the trip she gives advice to several members of the crew about their personal lives. Quark also dispenses love advice to one of DS9's newest couples.


Episode 10: Counterpoint
(Janeway, Chakotay, Torres, Paris, Neelix, Doctor, Tuvok, 7of9, Kim, Naomi)

The crew of Voyager takes on telepathic refugees in a portion of space where telepathy has been deemed illegal, and must figure out a way to protect the refugees from hostile forces.


Episode 11: Latent Image
(Doctor, Janeway, Kim, 7of9, Chakotay, Torres, Neelix, Tuvok, Naomi)

Can a hologram have a psychotic break? Is it morally ethical to erase the memories of someone who isn't precisely sentient in order to help them do their job when it is imperative that they can always do their job to the best of their ability?


12: Tears Of The Prophets
(Sisko, Dax, Dukat, Worf, Kira, Bashir, O'Brien, Quark, Odo, Garak, Nog, Weyoun, Martok, Ross, Jake)

Every war has to have its great casualty. When Dukat returns to the picture to help the Cardassian/Dominion alliance win the war, he sets events in motion that change the whole feel of the show. 


Serial 1: Dark Frontier
(Janeway, 7of9, Chakotay, Torres, Paris, Neelix, Doctor, Tuvok, Borg Queen, Naomi)

Booooooooooooooooooooorg drama, as Voyager's heist goes awry and 7of9 is confronted with her memories of her life when she was human.


15: Someone To Watch Over Me
(7of9, Doctor, Janeway, Chakotay, Torres, Paris, Neelix, Tuvok)

Do I need to say anything more than In This Episode 7of9 Explores The Idea Of Dating With Help From Everyone's Favorite Sort Of Sentient Hologram, Doctor?


16. Shadows And Symbols
(Sisko, Dax, Worf, Bashir, O'Brien, Quark, Martok, Kira, Weyoun, Jake, Ross)

Guess who's Dax? Dax again? Sort of? Lots of changes take place as Kira battles the Romulans, Sisko battles his faith and self-doubt, and the rest of the crew collide head-on with The Dominion.


17. Relativity
(70f9, Janeway, Torres, Chakotay, Paris, Kim, Tuvok, Doctor)

Time travel on Voyager is always pretty wonky. This time, 7of9 is sent into the past to find and deactivate a bomb that would shift the timeline, but a wily past-Janeway figures things out and everything gets all timey-wimey complicated-womplicated.

18. Treachery, Faith, And The Great River
(Weyoun, Odo, Sisko, O'Brien, Nog, Rom, Quark, Martok, Kira, Dax, Worf, Bashir)

Multiple Weyoun episode? Yes, please. While Odo and one of the Weyouns see if they can diffuse the Dominion War, O'Brien, Nog, and Rom try and fix smaller problems on the space station.


Serial 2: Equinox
(Janeway, 7of9, Doctor, Tuvok, Neelix, Torres, Paris, Kim, Chakotay, Naomi)

We end the season on the discovery (no, not The Discovery) that there's another Federation ship lost in the Delta Quadrant trying to get home. But instead of everyone being chummy and helping each other out, the crew of the Equinox decides to dispose of Voyager to speed up their journey.