Rounding Up and Coming Up

Hold the front page!

What a weekend! While we didn't manage to make it to Destination Star Trek we did get some interesting updates especially from our favourite Official Starships Collection.

Now we know a LOT more about the coming years. The end of October (30th to be precise) will see the arrival of the USS Vengeance which looks oh so sweet from every angle but also that the fifth special in the series will be (not much of a shock) the USS Kelvin. Do we take it then that the sixth will be the model that Ben Robinson has openly declared is his biggest nightmare, the Narada?

Destination Star Trek gave fans the chance to get up close with the models and some of the ones yet to be released but it was also revealed that the NX-01 refit would be among those released and that a Borg cube was still a possibility as a special edition not just as a fancy plastic light up box for subscribers. Also the Norway Class would make an appearance after some serious rebuilding after it was deleted a long time ago. Ben explained to those in the audience at the Excelsior stage that he would want to make it super-detailed.

On news of the USS Titan petition, Robinson also ensured fans that if 5000 signatures on it were received there would be a model. If you've not signed it, get over there now.

So the big news that was tweeted out live by Collection fan Dennis Mosselmans is that issues 51 through to 55 were confirmed and here they are...

Issue 51 - Hirogen Hunter

Love it. I've been waiting for this beauty - we needed one of the more major enemy race ships from Voyager and now we'll have it - in about two years time...

Google Images

Issue 52 - Centaur Class

One of the two ships we were told "had been involved in a big battle" when issues 41 - 50 were announced. It was also one of the ships on the original announcement posters. Nice design but not the one I was quite waiting for. More on that shortly....

Memory Beta

Issue 53 - Klingon Attack Ship

The one from the three-part Augment story in the fourth series of Enterprise. Also not a very popular ship but it does tick the box for "ship that was hijacked" - my guess of the Enterprise-A got blown out then.

Ex Astra Scientas

Issue 54 - Steamrunner Class

Now THIS is the one I'm ticking off the days on my calendar for. One of my ultimate favourite starship designs of all time. Not one of the classic hull/two nacelles/saucer designs it just looks damn brutal and I want it. Now.

Google Images

Issue 55 - D'kyr Class

A second entry in the series for the Vulcans after the Surok Class in the mid-30's. Still busting that central ring design, I did consider that this might have been the T'Plana'Hath.

Memory Alpha

So what else can we reveal today (or at least update you on?) How about the next few months worth of releases from Simon and Schuster?

October

Star Trek: Voyager - Act of Contrition - Kirsten Beyer

Sequel to this year's Protectors.

November

Star Trek: Section 31 - Disavowed - David Mack

Could this resolve Bashir's predicament from the superb The Fall series?

Star Trek Ships of the Line - Doug Drexler

Hubba hubba - the return of the best visual Star Trek book ever, revamped with a whole load of new images and pics from the last few years of calendars.

December

Star Trek: The Original Series - Foul Deeds Will Rise - Greg Cox

Interesting choice of cover art with the movie uniforms...

January 2015

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Missing - Una McCormack

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Takedown - John Jackson Miller

February

Star Trek: The Original Series - Savage Trade - Tony Daniel

No details at present.

March

Star Trek: Rise of the Federation - Uncertain Logic - Christopher L Bennett

Another in the faux-Enterprise series overseen by Christopher L Bennett. 

Are there any of these releases you're looking forward to? Which ones are getting you itching for publication date? Let us know!

A New Venture: David Mack Opens Seekers

Taking us into the first of the new Seekers series is our newest scribe, Thomas Marsland...!

As my first book review, I wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. An avid fan of Star Trek though, I was very happy when I received my book in the mail from Simon and Schuster, complete with a personalized note from the person who packaged it for me.

Star Trek: Seekers: Second Nature is set in The Original Series timeframe; the era of Trek I was least familiar with. But it was exciting. David Mack does an excellent job of describing a Starfleet still being founded more on the traditions of the current US Navy than later eras in Star Trek. With somewhat of a focus on the enlisted side of Star Trek, the USS Sagittarius has a Master Chief for a Chief of Engineering and plenty of enlisted crew throughout the story. This lends towards a realism not seen on the big screen.

The Seekers series tells the story of the USS Sagittarius, an Archer-class scout. A tiny little thing with a crew of 14, the Sagittarius is sent on a mission to investigate an area known as the Taurus Reach. On the planet Nereus II, where they arrive due to picking up some strange energy readings, they discover the Tomol - a species whose members all commit a ritualistic suicide just as they reach the cusp of adulthood.

Enter the Klingons, hell-bent on capturing one of these Tomol and figuring out a way to weaponize their abilities; a strange energy transformation that takes place if they don’t commit that ritual suicide, turning them mad. David Mack does an excellent job of integrating the captaincy of Clark Terrell into the story of the Sagittarius - the same Captain Terrell we see in The Wrath of Khan, turning his own phaser on himself after Khan ordered him to kill Admiral Kirk.

This is a crazy story, one packed with adventure. We never really get to see the story on the screen of the small Starfleet, the Federation-behind-the-scenes, so to speak, so reading about the story of the small scout ship, capable of planetary landings, with all of a couple decks and a tiny crew, makes us feel as if we’re on the frontier, and we are!

Complete with a battle between the Klingons and Starfleet in orbit around Nereus II, asteroid-dodging and all, as well as tons of excitement on the surface, the Seekers saga is one that I would gladly keep reading. We learn quite a bit about the Tomol as a species in this book, but I’m left wanting more. I’m satisfied with what I was given, but like I said, I must have more! It’s hard to strike that balance when writing a series, and David Mack does a wonderful job of it.

It’s an exciting book, and one that left me a bit upset - upset that I won’t be reviewing the second installment of the Seekers series, as that gets to be left to Clive. I’ll have to convince him to send it over when he gets done with it, if he’ll oblige me.

Thanks for tuning in to our reviews here on Some Kind of Star Trek, and stay tuned for more!

So what were your thoughts about this new novel series? Did Mack do a good job and did you want to get book two?

Our review of Seekers Two will be up shortly but until then, why not drop onto one of our social media sites!

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Another Two Ends of the Spectrum: The Official Starships Collection Issues 30 and 31

Eh?

The first one of these two really had me stumped y'know.

For the first time in 30 issues I had to look up where this squat piece of brown plastic and metal had first appeared when I saw it on the official release list. I mentally narrowed it to Enterprise but beyond that, hey, anyone's guess.

With a little bit of online research (how did we ever manage with books?!) this craft first appeared in Fortunate Son which was very memorable as you can tell. Actually I'm being quite harsh there because the ECS Fortunate was recently announced as being one of the issues between 41 - 50 which makes it a bumper ep for ships.

Digression over. With the Nausicaan Fighter restraint is key. I returned home, opened the box and then handed it over to my dad who was dogsitting. Just as he was about to lever the ship out of its plastic I remembered a comment from Nicholas Garratt on Facebook this morning that underneath the rear of the ship is a little gun turret - and I'm glad I did remember because that's the natural point your hand goes to when you attempt to pop the fighter out of its packaging.

So what do I think to this one? As a one episode ship it does fall into a category also filled by the Dauntless in that all we have to go in is 44 minutes of screentime and with this fighter it's much less than that I expect. As with all Enterprise releases the detail is precise and it's certainly more unusual in that there are no transparent plastic sections - even on the inboard warp engines which are painted greeny/yellow. Nice to see that the hull is marked and worn sporadically which adds to the effect. I seriously believed this would be the weaker of the two releases in October however I seem to have been in error as the finished result holds up well and looks better than the marketing image on the website - unlike last time's Maquis Raider.

Comparing the ship to the image in the magazine there's more detail on the model than there is on the pictures with the ship showing up more hull plating lines although it does appear darker in the flesh than on the page. While it's not the most popular of models judging from the feedback on the collection's Facebook page, you can't help but (again) be impressed with this new Enterprise release (again).

The entire top section of the Nausicaan fighter is metal while the underside insert comes in plastic with the only minor disappointment being the thickness of the aerials and cannons which are moulded in that section. However, from a breakage and safety point of view I can see why they are a little more bulked out than the magazine views show. She is a bit of a lump but the finish is superb and with the rear-locking stand being one of the best fits, there's no concern that gravity might play a part in those antennae becoming a lot shorter very quickly.

It's aquatic origins are fairly glaring in the shape of the hull but there's also a somewhat retro feel through the flaring and excesses on the hull shaping. Nice to note that Eaglemoss managed to mark the cockpit windows in the right place this month. There is a bit of flash around the antennae and cannons on close inspection but this doesn't detract from the solid quality of the issue 30 starship. Mind, there has been a spate of fighters recently (Jem'Hadar, Maquis and now this one) although that looks to be over for the foreseeable future.

Over to the literature and with this being a "one-off" content was most certainly going toswing slightly off topic. The background on the ship is good but more reliant on information about the Nausicaans themselves than the fighter craft they used and also has only Fortunate Son to use as reference material onscreen. Indeed the Nausicaans, as you soon realise, were not big players which is probably why there's a nice section talking about the visual effects of Enterprise rather than stringing out and watering down the appropriate material. As it is, there's a picture of two fighters close to their base asteroid which is repeated on two separate pages. Whoops.

The VFX section is a great addition this month and not an area of the show I was ever familiar with. It is brief and could do with its own book (publishers take note) but there are a couple of trade secrets revealed and you realise that Enterprise was a very different beast to the other four series that preceded it at least in this respect. My question for the issue on ECS Fortunate Son is how are you going to fill those pages without repeating some of the material we've got here? By the way, I won't ruin the surprise of which episode is listed in the Key Appearances section.

The second release which will be hitting shelves mid-October is the Romulan Valdore from Star Trek Nemesis - just about as far at the other end of the Star Trek universe as you can go seeing as this ship appeared in the closing scenes of the tenth movie. 

My dad did the "where the heck is this from?" furrowed brow when I said it was coming out but then got quite excited as he realised it was a Romulan design and would probably look pretty sweet alongside his Warbird from issue six. I may rent it out. Possibly.

The Valdore is an elegant vessel and, like the Enterprise-D to the Enterprise-E there's hints at a stretched D'deridex class minus that lower hull section. Looking at her now it also does suggest a close relationship with the Klingon Bird of Prey through the style of wings and lengthy neck/head section. That said, the familiar darker green hull and more rounded features does remind you of the familiar Romulan style. For once we have a "later era" ship that features some incredible hull detail in every possible orifice from prow to stern. Every surface has a marking, a line, a recess or a window both ventral and dorsal and matches up well with the narrative in the issue 31 magazine.


The lines of the hull and the double-wing are absolutely meticulous in their construction, retaining both the open hull trademark of the D'deridex class as well as the legendary lines of the should-have-been-Romulan Bird of Prey from Star Trek III. Those double warp nacelles are a great touch and pretty well attached - as is the stand when you dock the Valdore. This is another one that won't have to worry about the Fall of Fate from you display shelves with a mightily snugg fit around her rear end. This warbird is definitely one of the more stunning - and wide - releases but has been presented in a far superior manner to the Enterprise-E which is a shame although scale has a deft hand to play in that I'm certain.

She's also fairly light in comparison to the Nausicaan fighter with only the forward neck section and top central hull rendered in metal. There is a joint slightly out of alignment at the back of the neck where it meets the engineering hull but that's hidden underneath. Overall though I have given it the official SKoST nod of approval and now suggests that if a ship is from a less adored piece of the franchise the model will be better than you expected - and better than some of the ones you did want.

Turning to the pages of issue 31 it's like a whole new story covering one of the lesser featured starships. If you recall, the Valdore makes it's appearance almost at the end of Nemesis and then only to get pummelled by the Schimitar and buy the Enterprise some time. This issue does fill out the details on its design but as with the Nausicaan fighter the overview of the ship is very limited in parallel with its screentime. There's a note on the reason behind those two pairs of warp nacelles but the section does fall into the plot of Nemesis very easily once this more unusual feature is explained.

There is a first within this edition though in that we're treated (if that's the right turn of phrase) to an interview with writer John Logan who penned Star Trek Nemesis with assistance from, among others, Rick Berman, Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart. Regarded by many as the worst The Next Generation movie and possibly one of the worst of the ten films in the Prime Universe, I was fascinated to see Logan's thought processes even if, as always, the interview was confined to four (half) pages and some big pictures to space fill. I think I'd like to speak to Logan and get a lot more in depth about what actually happened as here we only get the lightest touch of the surface. Aside from a couple of gorgeous CGI shots the pictures are a bit disappointing, coming as you would expect, from Nemesis alone.

As both of this month's ships were 100% CGI creations the Valdore doesn't get a filming section but there is a superb piece which tells of how two separate designers were tasked with bringing something new to the game for the Romulans to use. When you consider that it was 1988 when the D'deridex class first appeared in The Neutral Zone it was a long time coming. Examining the CGI render here and comparing it to the model really does show how precise the Eaglemoss production has been. Now all I need is a second one in bronze and the Schimitar...not much to ask.

Perhaps even bigger news was the additional in some deliveries this month of the flyer for the USS Vengeance which we'll be seeing around the 30th October. Thanks to Chris Warnes on Facebook for posting this up! This is massive news and for some reason either it's got into a few deliveries by error or most of us missed it?!

For those of you who might not have noticed, the collection website got an update on Thursday 2nd October with a whole new selection of 360 degree virtual tours of every ship up to issue 35 which is the Klingon Bird of Prey from Enterprise. I've included the four we have yet to see in stills below for reference. This means that next month we'll be getting two Deep Space Nine releases (yay!) with the Runabout and the Cardassian Hideki class.

Also remember that if you're heading along to Destination Star Trek this weekend you'll get to see the new models for issues 50 through to 55 on Stand Three!

Starfleet Runabout

Cardassian Hideki Class

Vulcan Surok Class

Klingon Bird of Prey 2252

What are your thoughts on this month's issues? Drop us a line below and let's discuss!

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Tipping Point: When Did Sisko Ramp It Up?

Shaved heads or the growing of beards usually indicate a turning point in quality but for Ben Sisko I think it was later than that.

It's actor Avery Brooks' birthday and while I missed the event last year I couldn't in 2014. But what do you talk about to mark the finest captain in Star Trek?

In Sisko's case there could be nothing better than the discussion of just when he went totally badass. Adding the goatee for Explorers was a start at least in appearance but for the first three years of Deep Space Nine, the commander as he was then, is much more a builder, forging links with his community and restoring not just the station but the relations with Bajor and begrudingly by-proxy the Cardassians. It may not be his first choice to become the Emissary as part of that deal but over these initial years it's something he does come to accept and to some extent like especially when it's taken from him for a short time in Assession from year four.

That fourth year, which I've just re-watched, does have the fabled shaven head of The Sisko but it's more than that - it's his Rubicon. Fans laud praise more than appropriately onto the series' greatest achievement, In the Pale Moonlight for Brooks' performance as the captain takes an unusually darker path than we've ever seen a main character - let alone the commanding officer - take before but the origins of that temperament were born earlier than the pre-title sequence.

In fact while the episodes spanning from Emissary through to The Adversary do have Sisko in his fair share of action and predicament it's the mid-point in the fourth year that it all comes to a head and the change of focus and direction becomes more distinct. It's a well-known point that the writers found Sisko hard to write for and it does show up when he's pushed to the limit. His response to Calvin Hudson in The Maquis is restrained, almost apologetic as he gives his friend every chance to step away from the terrorist group or his pacifistic approach to Alixus by returning to his cage in Paradise says a lot. Had this been Kirk or Picard we might have expected a fire-fight or some serious one on one talks backed up by the Federation flagship but here at the edge of the frontier it's a lot more lonely.

Watching through season four you see how Sisko has built up key relationships not only with the key players in his staff and on Bajor but also within that valuable recurring cast, specifically Kasidy Yates and Michael Eddington. It is these two characters who are key to the change in Sisko's demeanour in an episode I used to think was OK but now see as one of the key 45 minute segments of the whole run; a character game-changer.

Season four has a lot of this going on as we'll be discussing shortly but For the Cause changes the direction of Brooks' station commander forever. Not only does one character close to him emotionally lie and deceive him (Yates) but also a trusted member of his staff, his chief of Starfleet security, Eddington, fools him completely and manages to get away with it. In fact from the audience perspective we feel this too because it's only when Eddington sets his plan in motion that you realise he's been operating for the Maquis all the time he's been on the station. The look on Sisko's face becomes more stern, the rumble in his voice deeper and the need for vengeance is bubbling under from those closing shots alone in the cargo bay.

Yates pays for her crime and Sisko is more than happy to see her when she returns to Deep Space Nine in season five but lying under all that is the fact he didn't see Eddington's real nature and beats himself up about it for the next eight months. When he catches the former Starfleet officer in For the Uniform his temper is more than a little frayed and having that assignment taken out of his control and passed to Captain Saunders (Eric Pierpoint) and the USS Malinche is the final straw. Sisko managed to control his anger back in For the Cause, allowed some of it to be channelled for his mission undercover as a Klingon in Apocalypse Rising but facing off against Eddington who seems to always have the upper hand is too much and we see the fire burning behind his eyes from the first moment the two are face to face in the refugee camp.

Step further forward into the episode and the punch-bag scene really allows the emotional control to be switched off. Never before in a Starfleet captain have we seen such raw pain and anger displayed and it does make me wonder how much of that was acted or just Brooks venting at the bag. It's a rare occasion where Sisko totally opens up, beating himself up over his apparent failure.

The story is, as Eddington signposts, straight out of Les Miserables as Sisko relentlessly pursues the man who hoodwinked him like no other leading to him making one of the most shocking decisions ever - to knowingly poison the atmosphere of a planet and force its Maquis-allied inhabitants to leave places Sisko into a position that sets him up for the dangerous line-crossing we see arise in In the Pale Moonlight.

In the whole of the series though there is no other character who raises as much passion and hatred from Sisko as Eddington and it's one of Brooks' best performances easily standing alongside Far Beyond the Stars and In the Pale Moonlight. There is something in this episode that harks back to The Wrath of Khan and The Best of Both Worlds in its epic nature - but with that twist at the end that there's really no clear hero or villain of the piece - another hint that Sisko has a much darker side for us to explore. For the Uniform is a Deep Space Nine classic - one of the best and an episode that sizzles in every direction from start to finish; you even feel a little sorry for the Defiant getting it's memory banks wiped and by the end of Act One you want Eddington behind bars more than ever. No-body does anger or drive like Ben Sisko.

In fact this unpredictability is one of Sisko's best features - he thinks outside the box more than any other captain, perhaps even verging on territory that Rudy Ransom stepped into in Voyager aboard the USS Equinox and just as he did it for the "right" reasons, Sisko holds no punches (as Q once discovered) to bring about the resolution he desires. He is a captain like no other but only after the events of For the Cause. That is his turning point, his moment of realisation that there can be no perfect world for him; he is their sherriff, upholding justice whatever the cost. While a key feature of his personality it does make him blinkered to dangers and helps waiver his moral compass -  but it is all for good isn't it?

Best wishes to Avery Brooks on his birthday!

Was this Sisko's key turning point? Was there an earlier one? Why not let us know here!

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UK Marks 24 Years

26th September 1990; 6pm; BBC2. I was nine.

Where were you?

I was watching Encounter at Farpoint for the very first time as today marks 24 years since the first broadcast on UK terrestrial TV. Most notable is the fact that after this all the shows would be first shown on the satellite channel SKY One before hitting the BBC (or Channel 4 with Enterprise). IN fact I was sitting in our lounge in Ilkeston, Derbyshire at the time. Don't ask me what was for tea, I have no idea; it's been a long time.

It truly harks back to a different age and falls nicely a week and a bit before Destination Star Trek arrives in London for the second time. Sadly though with the recent announcement that Jonathan Frakes won't be attending, the full The Next Generation cast reunion has taken a slight turn although Colm Meaney has now joined the guest list.

Anyway, yep, it's 24 years today - and it was a Wednesday. We'd waited an extra three years for the show to make it across the water and at the time it was well worth it. I know I've talked about all the niggles I have looking back at these fledgling years but without it we wouldn't have the vast amount of material, the reboots and, dare I say it, Some Kind of Star Trek either. 

The big benefit of BBC2 was that we got to see Encounter at Farpoint without a single advert in its full 90 minute run time. For those who had the cash, they could have splashed out in April of the same year for the first in the run of VHS cassettes (78 in total). It's an exceptionally Roddenberry vision and many steps away from the direction that Rick Berman, Michael Piller and co took the show from the beginning of the third season. Watching a Klingon on the bridge was such a big thing even if he was effectively a bit part until the demise of Tasha Yar in Skin of Evil. How it all changed in seven years huh? Just a gimmick...never go anywhere.

From that first shot of the majestic, new USS Enterprise dropping onto the screen until the immortal "Let's see what's out there." it had me hooked. For my Dad it would always be Kirk but for me Picard was the way forward and this was my generation - until Sisko came along that is. It's strange to look back and think I knew nothing about this show before it aired, I knew even less about the characters - who was the guy with the gold eyes? What was that visor thing? I know I enjoyed every second of the show and was right back the following week for The Naked Now which suggested it was all going to be homages to The Original Series and reuse lots of ships and bits from the motion pictures. How wrong was I.

So what were the high points from the episode? Undoubtedly the saucer separation, the arrival of Q and McCoy's cameo (she'll always bring you home...) marked this out as the start of something special. While there were moments of action it wasn't about just phaser fights - there was real substance to this show. 

Picard totally intrigued me (he was all shouty) even at the age of nine and was nothing like Captain Kirk; which was good. Datawas pretty cool especially the bit in that holodeck when he pulled Wesley out of the water. The aliens at the end were a bit drippy and it was all a tad cuddly but hey, this is the utopia of the future. But there were so many sparks which erupted here and a few that didn't - how about the Troi/Riker romance which blipped in and out from here to Nemesis? Those wonderful "skant" uniforms were another which, fortunately didn't make it much further. For one more thing, September 28th marks the anniversary of the first episode of The Next Generation airing in the US in 1987 (27 years for reference) and we covered that anniversary last year with some little homage pics.

It's Been a Long Road

And yes, in 2001 Enterprise premiered today with the rather impressive Broken Bow. While not my favourite, coming behind Emissary and Caretaker in that top six it's a solid effort with some wonderful moments and scoops of prospect, interesting characters, a different spin on the Star Trek universe and the opportunity to see how it all began - which is a shame that it took nearly four years to really hit it's stride and then got cancelled. We can only imagine what that fifth season would have been like and if a certain campaign gets its way, one day we might. We also did a little piccie for the 12th anniversary last year.

For now we can at least bask in the brilliance of that pilot and the later episodes (but not These are the Voyages). It does take a battering at some points but I think there's a place for Enterprise within the family. At least it tried to do something different if nothing else. Stripping back the formula was a risky strategy rather than making another jump into the further future beyond the years of Picard, Sisko and Janeway.

What a great week for Star Trek in the anniversary stakes and all just ahead of Destination Star Trek. The guest list is spectacular, we know that both Simon and Schuster and Eaglemoss will be attending thanks to our sources as well as many other businesses linked into the Star Trek universe. Got your tickets? If not, you can follow the link at the top of our page.

What were your memories of your first viewing of Encounter at Farpoint? Where were you at the time? Let us know below!

For Every Warrior There's a Way: Worf's Initial Influence on Deep Space Nine

"Just what the station needs - more Klingons."

Quark's words as a certain Lieutenant Commander set foot on Deep Space Nine for the second time couldn't have been more correct. It was precisely what the station - and the show - needed.

The Way of the Warrior is not just a high-point of the show but of the franchise as allies became foes and the paranoia and preparations for war slipped up a notch. You could tell it was getting serious because Sisko shaved his head, Kira got a new uniform (in The Visitor) and even Bashir and Dax got promotions. Def Con One, people.

There were even new, less casual titles with ships and workbees buzzing around the station - we even saw the Defiant docked which was nice and amalgamated with the thumping undertones of the remixed theme, everything pointed to a new beginning.

The double-length season premiere did punch out a new era for the show. The board and the pieces had all been laid out over the course of the first three seasons - and then we took a huge left turn and went to war with the Klingons. Like we all saw that coming after The Adversary...

It made perfect sense in hindsight for the Dominion to kick back and let the two remaining Alpha Quadrant superpowers duke it out and then take on whoever was left standing but we were all ready for huge battles and - oh, hang on...that's what we got.

Bringing Worf over from The Next Generation might have been a plot device to draw in some of that show's viewers who hadn't migrated to the Bajoran Wormhole but his appearance did change the dynamic of the show. The grit was there as ever but now there was more heart; Avery Brooks stepped up his game, Dax got frisky and made Kira play Guinevere at Camelot, Bashir became more cynical, Odo tried to forget killing one of his own and got slapped down for it and O'Brien took more of a beating from the writers and his wife to boot. To be fair to the chief, this was pretty much business as usual for him until Keiko got pregnant.

While that didn't all happen in The Way of the Warrior it is a key turning point, one of the significant game-changers in the history of the show alongside Call to Arms and In the Pale Moonlight at the very least. J G Hertzler and Robert O'Reilly bring a lot of fight and honour to the roles of Martok and Gowron here as their return to the Old Ways take hold and that's only multiplied with the first appearance of the mammoth Negh'Var.

The series opener is bleaker, there's less musical scoring and Quark has taken to much darker observations which conversing with Garak can only magnify. Not only does the former spy take a pummelling from some Klingon opportunists, but we even see the tailor taking up arms alongside long-time adversary Gul Dukat to save the Cardassian civilian government. It's a great moment that seethes with tension and hatred but also a begrudged admiration between the pair. It's a change - not only in the way our core of characters have had to mature and evolve but also in the very geography of the galaxy. The Cardassians are the ones in need of help (enter Dukat) and worth risking life and limb for while avoiding Klingon disruptor fire. It's a blaring contrast to Emissary where we were firmly told these guys were not to be trusted and that Deep Space Nine was only significant for the fact it was close to Bajor who wanted in on the Federation's act ASAP. That pilot is a lot calmer in comparison and to some degree closes a lot more optimistically.

How times have changed. The once six-torpedo defended station is now bristling with armaments that would make a weapons dealer blush and has a captain who chews out Klingons for breakfast (wait til we get to season five's Apocalypse Rising...). I for one was in fan heaven back in 1995 when I cracked open the VHS case and slotted the tape in for the first time. They'd even changed the cover art for volume 4.1 going for the full on war effect, tilting the station and sticking a ton of Klingon ships around Deep Space Nine. Another tick on the Impressed List.

Worf has lost none of his gruffness and seems to fit much better here in the darker, less "perfect" environment of Deep Space Nine. Dorn's arrival might have been a shoehorn in for ratings at the time but he kicks more butt in this episode than he managed in a couple of seasons on board the Enterprise. Once he stops moping around and gets into command red it's all plain sailing. I love The Way of the Warrior just as much now as I did back on the first run and to this point it was my favourite episode of the show. As the script suggested, Worf did indeed have a purpose again although he effectively became a galactic traffic warden as Strategic Operations Officer and while it wasn't security it allowed the role to grow and Dorn to explore the Klingon a lot more. The station suited his ways but we wouldn't get many indications of that for some time as the producers chose to move Worf-centric episodes to later in the year so as not to ignore the rest of the ensemble.

Over on Voyager at the start of their fourth year we saw the introduction of Seven of Nine to do a similar thing and reboot the show. That meant the exit of Jennifer Lien's Kes and a focus on the character from day one. Seven provided the much-needed human observer role that the show had lacked from Caretaker. Both the former Borg and the ex-communicated Klingon changed the feel of the show, leading them both into a darker period where their main adversary would rear its head but in Seven's case her appearance put a new character at the forefront of the show and a lot of the stories - there was a lot that could be done with the character.

But let's stick with Worf in this fourth season because he becomes much more a part of the wheel rather than the axle if you forgive the analogy. His appearance is a big hit in The Way of the Warrior and brings the Klingons closer into the story for the first time, perhaps obviously developing the bond to the seven year voyage of The Next Generation further by having two of its former cast among the crew. Placing Worf alongside Kor in the Klingon-heavy The Sword of Kahless allows for more exploration of the culture but it doesn't do much to back the reasons for bringing him on board but Sons of Mogh and Rules of Engagement do add some layers to the character but again there's not much keeping him around in these Worf-driven stories.

The bigger influence he has comes when placed in conflict with the established senior staff or when put into a military command position. Here he truly flourishes during the year and I would highlight Starship Down and Paradise Lost to see these moments in action. In fact To the Death works because of his inclusion among the crew and adds true edge to the story which is one of Deep Space Nine's more violent episodes. Having the Jem'Hadar relishing a fight with a Klingon here paves the way for By Inferno's Light in season five as well as making the relationship with Gowron even more delicate when he turns up from time to time and of course we would get the semi-regular full-blooded General Martok to bounce against Worf in the future.

Seven in comparison has to be at the core of an episode to make her character work but Worf is a team player through and through even if he doesn't agree with everything that happens.While Worf wants to be accepted by the culture he left, she wants the exact opposite - to leave the Collective behind and never return even though it's offered on a plate several times.

Worf isn't a revelation to the show but instead reinforces it's darker, more hard-edged tendencies and almost drags the show towards the inevitable war with the Dominion. His attitude towards the Klingon Empire might not sit too well initially but the role of the outcast is perfect with the withdrawal from the Khitomer Accords and, absolutely, the Dominion's desires to spread discontent in the Alpha Quadrant ahead of their invasion. While glory might await on Cardassia according to one Klingon Chancellor, Worf's true virtues hold out when he, as we all knew he would, picks the Federation over his people.

And while Worf has influence on the direction of the show, the show likewise has designs on him. This is initially a troubled and lost Worf doing his duty by the numbers than because he wants to be in Starfleet but season four allows him a great deal more openness and perhaps closer,  more emotional relationships than he experienced on the hi-tech Galaxy Class USS Enterprise. It would take perhaps another year for Worf to fully integrate and maybe the arrival of an occularly challenged general might have further effect on his development but with The Way of the Warrior leading the season it was easy to see that Worf was one of the team and we were in for a change of pace like never before.


Was The Way of the Warrior such a key moment in the history of Deep Space Nine? Let's talk below...