Station log: stardate 48212.4

Season Three of DS9 got under way on 26 September, 1994, and brought some changes to the show. With the threat of The Dominion hanging not over only the station, but the entire Federation, the game had been raised.

Season three opens with a two-parter, the first half was written by Ronald D. Moore from a story by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe. It also introduced a new weapon to help combat The Dominion. The station takes possession of the new warship, a tough little ship, with a cloaking device (overseen by a Romulan officer named T’Rul played by Martha Hackett, who would be making the jump to Voyager very soon), christened U.S.S. Defiant.

And Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his crew are ready to take the fight to the Gamma Quadrant. Travelling through the wormhole, he and his crew are determined to track down the legendary Founders, who rule the Dominion.

And who they are, ends up as a surprise for everyone, but none more than Security Chief Odo (Rene Auberjonois). But the shapeshifter has some problems on the station as well, when Starfleet assigns a security officer to work in conjunction with Odo, and serve on the Defiant, Lt. Cmdr Micheal Eddington (Ken Marshall – who was Prince Colwyn in Krull).

The Search in this case not only applies, then, to a mission to find the Founders, but also where Odo fits in. Not only in his job, his life, but the universe as a whole.

The characters have nicely developed, there’s some nice banter between them, and the show is increasingly enjoyable to watch…

And that makes the kick of the cliffhanger that much more of a surprise! Odo gets a discovery, and the Defiant suffers a horrible defeat and boarding by the Jem’Hadar!

Station log: stardate unknown

Jonathan Frakes directs the second part of the season opener which was written by Ira Steven Behr, from a story by Behr and Wolfe. It first aired on 3 October, 1994.

Odo, with Kira (Nana Visitor) at his side, has discovered his homeworld, and the Changelings there refer to themselves as The Great Link. More than that… they are the Founders.

Meanwhile Sisko and the rest are limping back to DS9 where they discover that most of the Federation, and it’s allies, and enemies, are being drawn together to decide how to deal with the Dominion threat.

The Jem’Hadar arrive to begin peace talks with all of them. When Sisko learns what the peace talks entail, and mean for the Alpha quadrant, he’s furious, and worried about the effect of the Dominion on the sector. It becomes clear, fairly quickly, that no lasting peace can be achieved in the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion is going to have to take what they want by force.

As Odo discovers horrifying secrets on his homeworld, Sisko and the others fight to keep the Dominion out of the Alpha Quadrant.

But a reveal at the end of the episode is a surprise, but will also weigh heavily on what else will come this season, and beyond.

The Human Adventure continues Thursday when I continue exploring Deep Space Nine – The Complete Series on DVD available now from Paramount Pictures.