The Maquis.

They were created for Voyager, but it was DS9 that really fleshed out the story of this group of settlers caught in the middle of a conflict between the Federation and Cardassia. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing examine how governments forget the little people when making concessions to enemies, how the blind eye of the Federation Council led to an insurgency that cost the lives of many innocent people, and how the Maquis found themselves in a position of real life that was beyond the imagination of the decision makers sitting comfortably back on Earth.

The Dominion War.

By the second season it became clear that Deep Space Nine was going to be more about characters and real life than any previous Star Trek series. And the pursuit of this led DS9 across a line that no one had dared cross before. The introduction of the Dominion set up one of television's greatest story arcs, but one that has been criticized by fans, by Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and even by Rick Berman himself. For many, open warfare has no place in Star Trek. But is that so? In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing take a first look at the Dominion War, focusing on the setup, how it changed our characters, how Cardassia paid the heaviest price of all, and why the Dominion War was good for the core mission of Star Trek.

Vic Fontaine.

Deep Space Nine always marched to the beat of its own drum, but with the introduction of a 1962 jazz lounge in the sixth-season episode "His Way" the show began to swing, too. Vic Fontaine was only on the show for a short while, but in the ten episodes in which he appears or is mentioned he became a key part of the family and touched the lives of the entire crew. He tickled the eardrums of the audience, too… and probably made you tap your foot once or twice. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing take a look at the guy who knew what he was—a light bulb—and how the leading man of holoprogram Bashir 62 added so much to the uniqueness of DS9 and helped provide some of the show's most touching moments.

DS9 Season Two.

The first season of Deep Space Nine took a while to find its footing as it established a new kind of Star Trek, and it wasn't until the end of the season that we saw those seeds truly planted. But when the show returned for its sophomore outing it had clearly grown up a bit. The Circle Trilogy—with its Bajoran political intrigue—set the tone for storytelling that was deeper and more character-driven than what had come before. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing go for a walk and talk through the Promenade to examine Season Two, how writing mandates and set changes influenced the direction of the show, and what we see as the highs and lows of the season.

In the Pale Moonlight Commentary.

It's widely held as the darkest moment of not only Deep Space Nine but all of Star Trek. Captain Sisko's decision to trick the Romulans into entering the Dominion War rocked the foundation of Roddenberry's world and the principles of the Federation. Despite this—or perhaps because of it—"In the Pale Moonlight" is one of Star Trek's finest pieces of storytelling. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing take you through the episode with a full commentary. Because we felt that, maybe if we just laid it all out in our logs, it would finally make sense.

Impressions of a First-time Niner.

As hard as it is for we die-hard Niners to believe, there are many Star Trek fans who are just now viewing Deep Space Nine for the very first time. In many cases, they've heard from friends how DS9 is a rich series filled with character depth and complex story threads and have decided they must see this for themselves. And then, they get into Season One and wonder what all the hooplah is about. In this episode of The Orb we're joined by Trek.fm's own TOS editor Drew Stewart to find out about his own experience as he explores this corner of the Alpha Quadrant for the very first time. Plus, we reveal how "Move Along Home" could have been an instant classic.

The Breen.

When the writers of Deep Space Nine needed to throw one more challenge at the Federation Alliance, they turned to a name we all knew but a race we knew nearly nothing about: The Breen. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing take on these menacing aliens in Boushh cosplay as we look at what we think we know about them, their role in the culmination of the Dominion War, and why they were an excellent creative choice. We touch on both what we've seen on screen and what has been developed in the expanded literary universe, and reveal our own ideas of what's going on under those suits.

The Visitor.

The only episode of Deep Space Nine to be nominated for the Hugo Award, "The Visitor" is a moving story that works with or without the Star Trek elements. This account of Jake Sisko's life following the apparent death of his father tugs on the heartstrings and effectively conveys an enormous sense of loss, anguish, and guilt. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing are joined by sociology professor John Tenuto to discuss this unique and powerful episode, what it says about the importance of fathers, and why it is quietly one of the greatest Star Trek episodes of all time.

Bad Episodes We Love.

Okay, maybe "bad" is too strong a word; but we all have different tastes in Star Trek, even within the series we love most. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing examine episodes that were a ratings flop with fans but which we think get a bad rap. From gunji jackdaws to arrogant scientists to micro universes, find out which stories deserve a fresh viewing and why we see something good in DS9's often forgettable moments.

The Defiant.

After the disastrous first encounter with the Jem'Hadar left the Galaxy-Class USS Odyssey in ruins, it became clear to Sisko that they would need something more than runabouts to protect the station and to venture into the Gamma Quadrant. So he returned to an old project he had worked on and asked Starfleet to pull a unique warship out of storage—the USS Defiant. It's a little ship, as Riker would call it, but also one that—as Sisko pointed out—has teeth. In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing take a close look at the Defiant, the key role it played in both general storytelling and the Dominion War, and whether its introduction to the show was a natural evolution of the DS9 storyline or an admission that the stationary nature of the show wasn't working.