‘A TIME TO STAND’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Welcome to Season 6 of ‘Star Trek: DS9’. This is where things get really exciting as we now begin the Dominion War arc of the series. Things get serious when our DS9 heroes fight against the Dominion.
Season 6 begins with a six-episode storyline following the climax of ‘Call to Arms’. Ideally, this could have been a seven-part story, but I don’t believe that the episodes make it seem like a seven-parter.
In the first episode called ‘A Time to Stand’, we are now three months after the events of ‘Call to Arms’. Things are grim, especially with the Cardassian-Dominion alliance taken over the DS9 station.
The Federation-Klingon alliance is also losing badly in the Dominion War. The seventh fleet had almost been obliterated. Captain Sisko’s crew also aren’t happy when they’re not assigned on the front line.
But it may not be bad. Captain Sisko’s crew get assigned to pilot a captured Dominion ship. They’re to take it into Dominion/Cardassian territory so they can destroy a ketracel white asteroid depot. 🙂
Actually, the captured Dominion ship happens to be the same Jem’Hadar ship from the Season 5 episode ‘The Ship’. As a reminder, ketracel white is the drug used by the Jem’Hadar foot soldiers. 😐
Joining Sisko in his mission to the ketracel white base are Dax, O’Brien, Bashir, Aron Eisenberg as Nog and Andrew J. Robinson as Garak. The crew must get used to the Jem’Hadar ship’s limitations. 😐
Sisko himself struggles to use the navigational eyepieces used in the Jem’Hadar ship since he gets headaches using them. Garak uses one eyepiece himself since they had no ill-effects on Cardassians.
The espionage team of Sisko’s does face problems like when they run into the Federation starship Centaur who’s unaware Sisko’s team is aboard the Jem’Hadar ship. Thankfully they get to the depot.
Sisko’s team manage to destroy the ketracel white depot. In the process however, their ship’s engines get damaged in the explosion and they have no warp drive, many years’ journey from home.
The episode concludes on that note with Sisko’s team being stranded in space. Imagine how hard that must’ve been for Sisko’s team initially when they had to make the long journey back home here.
Elsewhere on the Dominion-occupied DS9, frictions arise between Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat and Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun. Dukat is optimistic with winning the war whilst Weyoun has his doubts. 😐
Dukat hasn’t been able to see to it that the minefield blocking passage to the Dominion’s home territory in the Gamma Quadrant is disabled. Dukat tries reassuring Weyoun it will be attended to. 😐
Major Kira is clearly uncomfortable about the Cardassian-Dominion occupation of DS9, but Odo and Quark remind her that it’s not bad as the previous Cardassian occupation of Bajor many years ago. 🙂
Sisko’s son Jake also struggles as a reporter for the Federation News Service. Weyoun claims his articles are biased against the Dominion, refusing to broadcast them unless they are ‘open-minded’.
Dukat also refuses to employ Bajoran security deputies to the frustration of Odo. Thankfully Odo, with persuasion by Major Kira, uses his status as a Changeling to get cooperation from Weyoun here.
Weyoun instantly accepts Odo’s request, although Odo gets offered a seat on the station’s ruling council, giving him a voice in station policy. Kira’s not sure about this while Odo accepts the position.
The guest cast for this episode also includes Brock Peters as Joseph Sisko, Sisko’s father on Earth. Sisko Snr. is very unhappy about the news that Jake decided to stay behind on DS9 and not evacuate.
J.G. Hertzler guest stars as General Martok in the episode. Jadzia Dax gets to reunite with Worf, her fiancé, although he has concerns regarding their forthcoming wedding. This she’s quite surprised by.
There’s also Casey Biggs as Damar, Dukat’s right-hand man, who’s easily suspicious and was in ‘Call to Arms’ recently. This episode also introduces Barry Jenner as Admiral Ross in the ‘DS9’ TV series. 🙂
‘A Time to Stand’ is a good beginning to Season 6. It does end on a cliff-hanger with Sisko’s team stranded in space, but I looked forward to seeing more and I hoped that our heroes will get DS9 back.
‘A Time to Stand’ (DS9) rating – 9/10
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