10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Revered as a true classic of the Star Trek universe and my all-time favorite series

Deep Space Nine gave fans the USS Defiant, the villainous Gold Ducat

Sisko's Baseball, and the Dominion. However, for all the great and the good that pervaded the seven seasons of cross-quadrant dealings

that provided the hallmark of the third live-action series, there are a few questionable things that crop up during its run

These points just don't really make any sense, or are unnecessary within the Star Trek franchise

Questionable also means actions, people, and objects that leave fans scratching their heads so much that it causes splinters

Now don't get us wrong here, DS9 is a fine, nearing perfect in my opinion, series

that explores the perils of war and the intricacies of religion through a set of thought-provoking and at times truly outstanding stories

Yet for every Kira Norris, there's also a Doral or perhaps even a Rumpelstiltskin

More of these tend to fall into the earlier years of the series when it was still finding its feet and establishing its lore

However, they might just be unforgivable errors that nearly disrupted the flow of everything so much

that even the Prophets were begging for linear time. If you've come looking for a high-end intellectual DS9

here you will be disappointed, and I'm sorry, As we plummet to the depths of Rom's closet, I'm Bree from Trek Culture, and here are 10 of the dumbest things in Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Let's start with a classic, and a rabbit hole that might never end

While Deep Space Nine's head of station security becomes a clear security risk himself by the beginning of Season 3

there are character relationships which help to iron out that little wrinkle

The bigger issue is his shape-shifting ability. From the very start, it's clear that his appearance is the best approximation that he can manage to humanoid

This is backed up by the fact that his hair is based off of that of scientist Dr. Mora

By the alternate future in Children of Time, his ability to retain form and define features has become substantially better

So this then begs the question of how Odo's comm badge can exist

There are two options here. One is that it is a comm badge and is somehow hidden within each form he takes

whether it's a rodent in Man Alone or a spinning top in Shadowplay

However, that doesn't explain how it's seen to dissolve when Odo changes form

or when moving around in a gelatinous state, such as escaping from the Cardassian storage locker in Emissary

Given the intricate circuitry taken to construct such a subspace communications device

it seems very unlikely that Odo could create its functionality in such a minute detail, given that he finds noses rather difficult anyway. Take into account

as well that he not only maintains his humanoid form, but also has the clothing too, which is in

itself textured and moves as he moves. There's a lot to be dealing with when taking a solid form

is all I'm saying. Number nine, the only engineer in Starfleet. Bless. Aside from being the most

important person in Starfleet history, Chief Miles Edward O'Brien, has a really tough time

when it comes to Deep Space Nine. There must have been occasions where he thought about requesting

a transfer to go back and stand in the transporter room of the Enterprise-D. Evidently, a talented

engineer, O'Brien is regularly tortured, not only by his storylines, but apparently by the fact that

he's either the only engineer in Deep Space Nine, or the only one who actually knows what he's doing

Take Babel, for example. O'Brien is running around attempting to fix multiple system failures

which inadvertently leads to the release of the aphasia virus. Luckily, everyone recovers from

their bout of story-borne illness, though Sisko is still peeved with the fact that his replicated

coffee is still not right. Surely there's another engineer around to help. When Miles is away during

the passenger and move along home in season one, the references to his absence tend to lean on the

concerning side. For the previous six years, O'Brien has mainly been responsible for the USS

Enterprise's transporters and not the whole engineering complement of a space station

Either his teams are woefully untrained on maintenance, or the station should be written

off as a health and safety hazard in every respect. Deep Space Nine does right this wrong

the further along we go, with shiny examples of engineers perhaps exemplified by the ill-fated

crewman Munez in Season 5's The Ship. Although, even by the time of the Bar Association, it's

clear O likes to be busy rather than twiddling his thumbs in the transporter room 8 Defenseless Nine Aside from assigning a guy who runs the transporter room and a total newbie doctor to the most remote outpost in the Federation

Starfleet lets the USS Enterprise do a runner while leaving the former mining platform

with less defense than the 2024 Manchester United squad. And before I get any comments

no, I didn't get that reference. Decked out with just six photon torpedoes and minimal phaser power

this, and we'll quote, remote outpost at the edge of the final frontier

gets a cheery wave and is left to its own devices, only for Cardassians to show up in a matter of minutes

Kira even stamps this very clearly on the hull when confronting the Cardassian trio of the Galar-class ships

stating that the Federation wouldn't leave them defenseless. It's a risky gambit that does pay off at least

While the first meeting between Sisko and Dukat isn't phasers at the dawn

it does bear ominous tones and the subsequent discovery of the wormhole only adds to the tensions in the quadrant

Even when confronted with the potential contact from new and possibly hostile life from the gamma quadrant

it takes another three years before DS9 receives any form of additional installed protection

The Borg-busting USS Defiant is present from season 3 on, but it does spend a large amount of its time away from its home base

At no point are there any other starships offering to provide backup should everything go south

It does eventually receive an upgrade with more than standard defensive armaments following its elevation from remote to the most important location in the quadrant

Still, there was a precarious three years before that time where it was just unprotected

That's a little bit dumb. Number seven, prepare to dock somehow. The image of Deep Space Nine is now almost as iconic, if not equal to, that of the USS Enterprise

The sweeping pylons majestically arching into the night, the concentric circles marking out the sections of the station

and the fiddly docking ports. A firm statement of Cardassian dominance in the Bajoran sector

the Norclass stations are a monstrous reminder of the occupation. However, when it comes to the

practicality, they do leave more than a bit to be desired. Take the six pylons, for example

Park anything of a substantial size against one of them, and there's inevitably a traffic jam as

ships attempt to arrive or leave. Curving them inward looks glorious, but in terms of practicality

their shape reduces the room for maneuverability significantly. Viewers have seen Dominion

battleships and a Galaxy-class USS Enterprise docked there, but only ever one of them and never

anything else at the same time. This severely reduces the operational capacity of DS9

Perhaps the worst offender of this is the docking ring. With its recessed ports, ships are left to dock nose first

Both the USS Defiant and Martox Ritaran are fine examples here and designed to fit and fiddle in ways for the crew to leave the ship via the nose section

which is just blatantly missing on screen. The only sensible way to dock at DS9 seems to be the limited runabout pads

only used for non-Federation craft in the form of the Romulan shuttle from In the Pale Moonlight

Number 6. Plain Simple Ex-High-Ranking Cardassian Intelligence Agent Garrick As the meme sort of goes, especially the plain simple tailors

Appearing only once in the first season and having to wait until season 2's Cardassian for a reprise

Andrew Robinson's fantastic exiled station resident is a true highlight of the series

and one of my all-time favorite characters. Odo does, as with Quark, keep tabs on his activities, but given Garak's talents and history

that doesn't seem enough and is quite clear on several occasions. Capable of sneaking a subspace communicator out to Gul Dukat in The Way of the Warrior

and more critically switching sides temporarily during Improbable Cause and the Dias cast

Garak is given significant free reign when it comes to his place on the station

probably up to the beginning of the sixth season. Even after torturing Odo for information

his sins are quickly forgiven and forgotten, which is odd. Even Quark never did that

There are advantages to his presence. I mean, he dropped Dr. Bashir into a changing room to

overhear the Duras sisters' conversation. He knows one or two contacts in the Cardassian Empire

However in the grand scheme of checks and balances there more than a swing towards highly dangerous than there is towards absolute ally In Broken Link Garrick almost manages to fire on the Founder homeworld which begs the question as to why no

one was checking on his whereabouts. Number five, mirroring. A goateed Spock or a duplicitous

Hoshi Sato might be conjured up in the mind when it comes to the mirror universe. However

DS9 was the biggest advocate for the parallel timeline. Well, pre-discovery. With five outings

tying in the alternate versions of the main and secondary cast, yeah, we're even looking at you

Vic Fontaine. The big klaxon that can be heard in the background now is a reminder of just how

difficult it can be to get into this universe in the first place. The original series Mirror Mirror

required a transporter and a parallel set of skills, sorry, conditions, to make it all work

By the time of the Emperor's New Cloak in DS9's final season

there seems to be a regular bus service in operation. While it was customary for everyone in the main cast to appear at some point

within the framework of the alternate 24th century, it wasn't necessarily mirror

The original Federation was downtrodden rather than being the oppressors of the original series

and it steadily got easier to cross. Considering the bells and whistles for potential domination and infiltration

Smiley strolls onto DS9 as though he's been following a public footpath

and then there's the idiocracy of the Ferengi stealing a Klingon cloaking device to get the Nagus back

Dumbing down the potential and the darkness of the mirror universe, made all involved on both sides of the coin, look increasingly stupid

And as for the Vic Fontaine appearance, while it's a little too far out of left field to make much sense

though luckily he doesn't last for very long. Number 4. Mpok Nor

As if by magic, another station appeared. Portrayed on screen at a fabulously jaunty angle

so as not to be confused with its fully operational counterpart, Terok Nor

Mpok Nor was conveniently forgotten about for a whole five years. And then Starfleet remembered it existed

and decided to drop on by for an away day to scavenge parts for their main base of operations in that sector

Echoing ghost stories, the eponymous episode from the late fifth season also highlighted the hazards of the Norclass Station

But what really concerns here is that this place has been completely unchecked

since the departure of the Cardassians, and is just packed full of useful materials

Aside from the sleeping Cardassians and the psychosis-inducing gases, this is a perfect holiday spot at a commutable distance from Bajor

It's rather odd that it's not a location that the Dominion ever considered using

when they made their incursion into the Alpha Quadrant. More palm-to-the-face inducing has to be the fact that by DS9's seventh season

Dukat has managed to reactivate and repopulate the station with his own cult

seemingly without anyone even noticing. It all seems a bit off given that the war footing the Quadrant is on

Mpachnor wasn't manned and repaired, or at the very least monitored given its proximity to both Bajor and the wormhole

Tactically, that's a misfire of quadratic proportions. Number 3. Alamarain So as to not make this list predictable, let's move along home right now

This far, no further. A toss-up between the fluffiness of the Dalrak and the Wadi's attempt at tabletop gaming was always gonna land Quarkside up

However, these two episodes do carry one similarity. The problem is that neither actually needed to happen

The villagers of the storyteller cause and defeat the angry Cumulonimbus cloud

and just seemingly never question why it's only their village that's ever attacked

But yet, Move Along Home is just a little bit more silly. Located in the very early days of DS9

when character exploration and establishment were key to the future of the series

The infamous episode almost manages to disassemble four of the main cast in just 45 minutes

The game itself has a great build-up, yet it fails to deliver anything at any point aside from making Avery Brooks dance

and some tragically quotable lines that have been served with classic reverence in Lower Decks

It affects nothing. the reasons for Sisko, Kira, Bashir, and Dax to be within the game are non-existent

and at no point is anything reasonably explained. Also, there seems to be no repercussions for the

kidnapping and imprisonment of Starfleet officers. Number two, the time frame of what you leave

behind. An unusual entry now focusing more on the storytelling narrative rather than a place

person or situation Both All Good Things and Endgame deal with time travel and somehow DS9 closing chapter manages something similar if not immediately obvious

There are two threads here to consider. One is that Sisko and the Federation-slash-Klingon fleet travel all the way to Cardassia Prime

in order to end the war and bring the Dominion to justice. Interwoven with this, we have a second storyline wherein Dukat and Kai-Win travel to the fire caves beneath Bajor

to awaken and release the Pa Wraiths. Ultimately, it becomes the setting for the final fisticuffs

between Sisko and his Cardassian nemesis. Now let's place this into a bit more context

The journey to Cardassia Prime, including a stock footage space battle and the subsequent drink, or lack thereof

in the halls of government, take all the first half and trickle into the second hour

Sisko then travels back to DS9 to celebrate the end of the war

before he's interrupted and has to travel to Bajor for his last stand

Consider that while all of that happens, Dukat and the Kai take a walk down into the fire caves

and commune with the resident Pa Wraiths before the arrival of the emissary

From an episode perspective, the two stories weave together and provide balance versus narrative

However, in terms of the passage of time, it makes absolutely no sense at all that these events would take place at the same time

Sisko manages to travel across a not-so-insignificant amount of space twice, and in that whole period, the two antagonists on Bajor have managed a few hundred feet underground

They must be some slow walkers. Number one. And you're in the room

Truly the Ferengi laser whip of the Deep Space Nine experience is the thankfully short-lived holographic communications array used in just two episodes

Dr. Bashir, I presume, and for the uniform. Seemingly an inspired story choice

the holographic communications device offered a new way of storytelling. Characters didn't just need to be on the view screen or heard over the speakers

because now they could be seen on the bridge or in Cisco's office

in a full life-sized three-dimensional view. On paper, this probably reads well, but in execution on 1990s TV

it just couldn't pull off making the whole process less than awkward

In For the Uniform, it does mean that Sisko can have a series of visceral one-to-ones with Eddington

who also happens to have such a device. In Dr. Bashir, I presume, the presiding admiral is in the room for the key conversations

However, in the staging, it's more than clear that we have an actor standing in a nicely lit rectangle

In universe, it makes perfect sense, and it's a bold step forward

But in terms of an absorbing story, it's just not that clever

Discovery achieved this same effect with better results, making the characters appear to be more projection than physically present

Ditched after just two episodes, the writers realized that it distracted from the feel of the series

leaving characters to stand motionless and recite dialogue. So, why so dumb and why at the top of the list

Well, because it's a brilliant concept that wasn't ready for its time

and sadly wasn't completely thought through before its execution. Hi, I'm Duncan Relic, no relation, and I collect relics from before the burn

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Get your t-shirt quick. Who's your daddy? And those were 10 of the dumbest things in Star Trek Deep Space Nine

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