I'm a big fan of Deep Space 9 (surpassed only be Firefly and Battlestar Galactica [2004 - 2009] in that order) as the best Sci-Fi ever created for TV.
The thing that makes me a REAL fan of DS9 is the Story Arc of the Dominion War. So when I decided to re-watch the whole DS9 series (which I have on DVD) for the 3rd or 4th time, I decided that this time I would make an episode guide that would definitively document what episodes make up the whole story arc of the Dominion War. The idea here is a guide that will allow someone the ability to follow and understand the Dominion War story arc, and separate out those episodes that don't serve the larger narrative.
This turns out to be harder than you might expect: The final episode of DS9 wraps up the Dominion War, but it also wraps up the Emissary Plot Line, and there are all sorts of characters in there that have back story that is being wrapped up and discussed. Here is the dilemma, how do I get you thru to the final episode so that you don't find yourself going "whhaaa? what does that mean, who is that person, why are they saying that?" right at the very end. Over 7 years of episodes with a big wrap up at the end, makes it much more difficult to make a Definitive Dominion War Guide.
So here is my plan: I'll rate each episode on 3 separate criteria.
1. Art of War: Applicability to Dominion War Arc
Definitive (Level 1)
All War, All The Time, we ignore all fluff, if you know your DS9 and just want to see the war, and can fill in the big voids that will arise (from memory) watch just these episodes.
Required (Level 2)
If you want to understand all the nuances of the War, but don't need to worry about side plots (like all that silly Emissary stuff or Bajor Vs. Cardassian nuances) then watch Levels 1 & 2 episodes only
Recommended (Level 3)
Has it been more then a couple of years since you watched DS9, do you want to make sure you get all the major and semi-major plot issues related to the War, then watch Levels 1, 2 & 3.
Background (Level 4)
Do you want to see the Final Episode and understand every word you hear, and understand every character's motivations, why they do what they do? then watch Levels 1, 2, 3 & 4
Deep Background (Level 5)
Do you want to understand every nuance of the Final Episode, and do you want to understand every word you hear and understand every character's motivation for all episodes you watch?
"What is Brain?" (Level 6)
Complete fluff, doesn't do anything to advance the Dominion War Story Arc or any related plot point, skip with impunity!
2. Rating: How good is the episode
- Nerd-vana
- Great
- Good
- Not so good
- Poor
- What is Brain? (pure drek, STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS).
3. Relationship: How does this episode contribute to the Final Episode (Note: this is NOT mutually exclusive per episode)
- Dominion War
- Emissary Plotline
- Cardassian Story (Dukat, Garak, Dumar, etc)
- Bajoran Story (Kira, Winn Adami, etc)
- Federation Story (The Humans)
The Episode index is marked for the complete DS9 set of original disk release (will be updated if they every blu-ray DS9, don't hold your breath).
And so let's get started, eventually I have this all set up so you can select your criteria and get out a listing of what episodes to watch.