Season 4 of DS9 gets off to a shiny bang with "The Way of the Warrior", a double-length season premiere that sees everything change in the Alpha Quadrant! When Gowron goes on the warpath Ben Sisko calls on TNG's Mr. Worf to come try and smooth the situation over. Before long the Klingons are reigniting every old conflict they can think of and DS9 becomes the epicenter of a massive battle!

Also this week: root beer, "Lower Decks", and shoehorning.

[Timestamp: "The Way of the Warrior": 01:13]

The schedule got a bit mixed up by that secret two-parter a few weeks back, so we're only covering one episode this week! But we're not shortchanging you, as we also do our Season 3 wrap AND give you a little peek into some future fun! In "The Adversary", a plot very much like "The Thing" plays out on the "Defiant" when a Changeling that isn't Odo sneaks aboard, but it's totally not based on "The Thing", you guys, we swear!

Also this week: the case of the missing pencil, starship scale, and stew v. soup!

[Timestamps: "The Adversary": 2:47; S.3 Wrap: 45:37; surprise announcement: 1:02:44]

Who's in the zone? Everyone! O'Brien is in the darts zone and Kai Winn's latest nonsense has Kira back in the revolutionary cell zone in "Shakaar"! After that, Dax is in an awkward zone when she has to meet up with her previous selves in "Facets"!

Also this week: live from the Midwest, TNG's sexiest guest, and Shatner v. Brooks!

NOTE: "Discovery" s.1 spoilers 49:07 - 49:39

[Timestamps: "Shakaar": 02:13; "Facets": 33:57]

First up: sorry about 1/4 of our sound. Chris didn't switch audacity over to the correct microphone. But everyone else sounds great!

This week on DS9, family stories abound! First up, Ben convinces Jake to go all Thor Heyerdahl with him in a ship based on centuries-old Bajoran plans; as they trace history, they discuss their futures in "Explorers". After that, Quark's in trouble for not reining in a family member. No, Rom didn't somehow bumble his way into crime: their mother Ishka turns out to have a rebellious streak and her sons disagree on how to handle it in "Family Business"!

Also this week: 200th Episode Spectacular, drunk acting, and the Ferengi head shade!

[Timestamps: "Explorers": 03:30; "Family Business": 41:56]

A spy is adaptable, and so is a shapeshifter. Forced together but ultimately at odds, Odo and Garak find themselves embroiled in a completely daft Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order scheme to end the Dominion threat in the sneaky two-parter "Improbable Cause" and "The Die Is Cast"!

Also this week: worst plan ever, a RDA love-in, and little Jake on the scene!

[Timestamp: summaries start at 1:09]

It's you, but it's not you, or is it? First up, O'Brien keeps running into himself and undoing the future's mistakes before they can happen in "Visionary". Next, Bashir is stuck in his head with himself played by everyone else in "Distant Voices". And finally, Ben takes a jaunt into the mirror universe to replace himself in "Through the Looking Glass"!

Also this week: don't think about anything too hard, birthday idiocy, and the constancy of the Chief.

Spoiler Warning: Discovery S.1 spoilers from 49:20 - 50:06

Timestamps: "Visionary": 1:49; "Distant Voices": 23:08; "Through the Looking Glass": 41:29

Everything is the Prophets' fault on DS9 this week! First up, giving a dude a prophetic vision 3,000 years ago leads to some loose interpretations during a scientific experiment in "Destiny"! After that, Grand Nagus Zek has seemingly turned over a new, altruistic leaf and Quark can't deal with it in "Prophet Motive"!

Also this week: pun types, that guy from everything, and adapted from a "Taxi" script.

[Timestamps: "Destiny": 02:28; "Prophet Motive": 42:24]

This week, Nog is technically the B plot but we don't really care because he's more interesting! First up, Vedek Bareil is becoming more machine than man as he spends an hour dying, while Nog and Jake realize cross-cultural relationships can be difficult in "Life Support". After that, Kira's world is getting rocked and Nog wants to join Starfleet in "Heart of Stone"!

Also this week: playing with Caitlin's emotions, society breaks down, and upsetting math!

SPOILER WARNING: Spoilers for S.1 of "Picard" from 25:30 - 26:27

Timestamps: "Life Support": 1:59; "Heart of Stone": 44:15

Chris has been beaten up by some ghosts, so Ames has taken this podcast hostage and is demanding better treatment! Attica! Blame Biddle if she edits this week's episode poorly.

It's an eerily prescient week as we look four years into our future in "Past Tense," parts I and II! Sisko, Bashir, and Dax have blasted into the past and need to survive the troubling year 2024 and the impending Bell Riots, so that's something to look forward to.

Also this week: So many movies about hostage taking, was this a bootstrap paradox??, and another Clint Howard sighting!

Anything but romance is in the air this week on DS9, but it was the only link we had! First up, Riker drops by DS9 to make a pass at Kira...and steal the titular "Defiant"! After that, someone decided DS9 needed its own space crazies episode, but they went all TNG with it and decided it would just make everyone thirsty in "Fascination".

Also this week: is gout hot, the Siddig/Visitor timeline, and let us never speak of this again.

[Timestamps: "Defiant", 1:36; "Fascination", 33:12]