The Least Disliked Episode 2025 - DS9 Season 5

[BlueStuff]

So, here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your least favourite or the one you deem the 'worst.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode just because you feel it would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Hall of Champions
2011 - In the Pale Moonlight
2013 - In the Pale Moonlight
2017 - Improbable Cause
2019 - Tacking Into the Wind
2021 - Duet
2023 - Call to Arms
2025 -

Season 5
Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Let He Who is Without Sin...
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
A Simple Investigation
Business as Usual
Ties of Blood and Water
Ferengi Love Songs
Soldiers of the Empire
Children of Time
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Let He Who is Without Sin. Ironically titled as this episode is riddled with eye rolling antics from Worf that are not amusing or charming. The low point of another stellar season.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
A Simple Investigation
Business as Usual
Ties of Blood and Water
Ferengi Love Songs
Soldiers of the Empire
Children of Time
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[Farscape One]

That was the only dud from the entire season. (And that did at least explain the why of Worf at the end with hus talk with Jadzia.) Second best season in the franchise.

Tough to pick with all these great ones.

I'll start with "A SIMPLE INVESTIGATION".

I think the timing of this was just off. This should have been done while Odo was a solid... it would have been more effective for him.




Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Business as Usual
Ties of Blood and Water
Ferengi Love Songs
Soldiers of the Empire
Children of Time
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[Victoria]

I think this is the first season I have no "stand out" spisodes for choosing.

I am going to go with "Children of Time" because, for some bizarre reason, I struggle to remember anything about this episode. I mean, I "know" what it's about but I just can't visualise anything that happens in the episode. (At one point I was convinced I'd never seen it but that turned out to be untrue.) Clearly the episode is so underwhelming that it has made no impact even after more than one viewing.



Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Business as Usual
Ties of Blood and Water
Ferengi Love Songs
Soldiers of the Empire
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Eliminating Ties Of Blood And Water. I'm not a huge fan of the original episode, but the problems are worse here. They try too hard to make it seem that there is a bond between Kiran and Gemor. It seems creepy at times.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Business as Usual
Ferengi Love Songs
Soldiers of the Empire
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I thought I'd have to think about this, but then I spotted "Ferengi Love Songs". When it comes to DS9 I tend to rank Ferengi stories in a pile down at the bottom, but this one I found more awkward to watch than most.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Business as Usual
Soldiers of the Empire
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[Farscape One]

Closing down "BUSINESS AS USUAL".

Dax was written out of character here. Out of everyone, she should have understood why Quark went in business with Hagath. (A point he brought up with her at the Replimat.) She can still disagree with his decision, but she was FAR too cold and more angry with him than she should have been.



Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Ascent
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Taking out The Ascent. There are better choices to go for if you want to enjoy good Quark/Odo rivalry and banter.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Assignment
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call to Arms

 

[BlueStuff]

The Assignment - I found Keiko's possession a little goofy.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
Blaze of Glory
Empok Nor
In the Cards

 

[Farscape One]

Ironic... I found her to be VERY creepy and well done. (Kind of sexy, too.)

Taking out "BLAZE OF GLORY".

Only because I like Eddington's other appearance this season a better episode.




Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
The Begotten
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I'm going to remove "The Begotten", as it demonstrates the upper limit to how much a talented actor can elevate a story of a guy talking to orange goop.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
Empok Nor
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Seven of Five]

What a ridiculously good season, easily my favourite.

Empok Nor is an episode I always struggle to get into.

It's a shame because i liked seeing Garak and O'Brien getting scenes together.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
Rapture
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the EmpirE
In the Cards
Call To Arms
Like

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Rapture is my next victim. It's perfectly okay but weaker than its bretheren. And Sisko's uniform error winds me up.

Apocalypse Rising
The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Removing Apocalypse Rising. it's weak as a season opener. The absence of Dax in the mssion is glaring. I think that the pacing is off, and it seems they could have done a better job explaining why revealing the Martok Shapeshfter would not stop the war.

The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Farscape One]

No longer "LOOKING FOR PAR'MACH IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES".

Only because the Kira/O'Brien thing seemed a bit forced.


The Ship
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Doctor Bashir, I Presume?
Soldiers of the Empire
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Seven of Five]

Doctor Bashir I Presume? has fun moments in it with Robert Picardo guest starring. That said its a shame that Bashir's enhancements didn't come into play sooner.

The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
Things Past
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Soldiers of the Empire
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Sakonna]

"Things Past" doesn't come together, though I love seeing Terok Nor days again. But the setup for this story just doesn't hold water. It's overly contrived.

Also, so weird how Garak is just there again, without any real "getting out of prison" moment.

The Ship
Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
Trials and Tribble-ations
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Soldiers of the Empire
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Eliminating Trials and Tribble-ations. Sorry if this is controversial, but it's just a fun romp that doesn't have the same level of accomplishment outside the Forrest Gumping. Lots of fun moments, and I enjoy it. The rest of the episodes in this season are thought provoking.

The Ship
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
Soldiers of the Empire
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Soldiers of the Empire is probably the weakest of the remaining bunch. It doesnt say a lot and takes a while to say it.

The Ship
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
The Darkness and the Light
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
In the Cards
Call To Arms

 

[Farscape One]

Very, very tough to take out any... I find all but two of these are 10s.

One of them is "THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT".

I give it a 9, which is really the only reason it is leaving.


The Ship
...Nor the Battle to the Strong
For the Uniform
In Purgatory's Shadow
By Inferno's Light
In the Cards
Call To Arms