A Time to Stand
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| "A Time to Stand" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Allan Kroeker |
| Written by | Ira Steven Behr, Hans Beimler |
| Featured music | Dennis McCarthy |
| Production code | 525 |
| Original air date | September 29, 1997 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"A Time to Stand" is the first episode of the sixth season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the 125th episode overall. This episode was broadcast on television starting on September 29, 1997.[1]
The previous season finale, "Call to Arms", ended with the hostile Dominion taking control of the titular space station, Deep Space Nine, at the beginning of the Dominion War. The sixth season begins several months into the war, with the Dominion-Cardassian forces stationed at Deep Space Nine, commanded by Gul Dukat and Weyoun, while DS9's erstwhile captain Benjamin Sisko is about to lead a raiding mission deep into Cardassian territory.
Plot
Three months after the events of "Call to Arms", the Federation-Klingon alliance is badly losing the Dominion War. After hearing news that the Seventh Fleet was almost obliterated, Captain Sisko and his crew are assigned to pilot a captured Dominion ship into Dominion/Cardassian territory and destroy a valuable stockpile of Ketracel White, the drug that controls the Dominion's Jem'Hadar foot soldiers.
The navigational eyepieces used on the stolen Dominion vessel induce headaches in Captain Sisko. Cardassian ex-spy Elim Garak, a guest of Sisko's crew, observes that the eyepieces seem to have no ill-effects on Cardassians, so he volunteers to wear the device. Later, Sisko's ship is fired upon by the USS Centaur, unaware that Sisko's ship is staffed by fellow Federation officers, and Sisko is forced to return fire. Both ships escape but the danger is not over yet: the Starfleet officers are now deep behind enemy lines.
They succeed in destroying the Ketracel White depot, but the ship's engines are damaged in the explosion; without the use of warp drive, they are many years' journey from home.
Meanwhile, on Dominion-occupied DS9, friction arises between Dukat and Weyoun. Dukat is optimistic about how well the way is going for the Dominion-Cardassian alliance; but he has not yet been able to disable the minefield blocking passage to the Dominion's home territory in the Gamma Quadrant, and Weyoun reminds him they are vulnerable without reinforcement and resupply.
Major Kira Nerys is uncomfortably reminded of the Cardassians' 50-year occupation of Bajor, but Quark points out that the Dominion's occupation of DS9 is at least less brutal, and the Dominion is holding the Cardassians in check. Sisko's son Jake is on DS9 as a reporter for the Federation News Service, but Weyoun claims his articles are biased against the Dominion, and refuses to broadcast them until he sees "open-mindedness".
Dukat refuses to employ Bajoran security deputies, to the frustration of security chief Odo. Major Kira convinces Odo to use his status as a Changeling, a member of the species that rules the Dominion, to get what he wants. Genetically programmed to see him as a god, Weyoun instantly accepts Odo's request to reinstate his deputies. Odo is also offered a seat on the station's ruling council, giving him a voice in station policy. He accepts.
Related
The captured Dominion ship is the same vessel recovered in the fifth-season episode "The Ship".
"A Time to Stand" was one of the recommended episodes by Geek.com in their condensed Deep Space Nine binge guide for this season, along with 4, 5, 6, 10, 18, 19, 26.[2]
Reception
A 2015 binge-watching guide for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by W.I.R.E.D. recommended not skipping this essential episode.[3]
In 2015, Geek.com recommended this episode as "essential watching" for their abbreviated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine binge-watching guide.[4]
In March 2019, SyFy rated Martok and Worf as the #1 and #2 greatest Klingons of the Star Trek franchise respectively.[5]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter rated "A Time to Stand" with the first 6 episodes of the season, collectively the 38th best episode of all Star Trek television episodes.[6]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter also rated "A Time to Stand" along with six following episodes as the among the 20 greatest episodes (or sequences of episodes) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.[7] This six-episode arc is noted for its serialized format compared to shorter two-episode pair stories that had been more common to the Star Trek franchise up to that time.[7]
The six-episode arc:[7]
- "A Time to Stand"
- "Rocks and Shoals"
- "Sons and Daughters"
- "Behind the Lines"
- "Favor the Bold"
- "Sacrifice of Angels"
In 2018, SyFy recommend this episode for its abbreviated watch guide for the Bajoran character Kira Nerys.[8] They also recommend watching it as a sequence including previous episode "Call to Arms," then "A Time to Stand," followed by "Rocks and Shoals," "Sons and Daughters," "Behind the Lines," "Favor the Bold," and "Sacrifice of Angels"; this includes from the season finale of season 5 and the first six episodes of season 6 of the show for a total of seven episodes.[8]
Watch Guides
It has been suggested that this is part of a seven episode story arc, that continues with the first six episodes of the next season.[3][8]
References
- ^ https://www.tor.com/2014/08/08/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-qa-time-to-standq/
- ^ https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/star-trek-deep-space-nine-condensed-how-to-watch-the-most-story-driven-trek-1613741/
- ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (2015-05-13). "WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine condensed: How to watch the most story-driven Trek". Geek.com. 2015-01-19. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
- ^ Silliman, Brian (2019-03-07). "It is a good day to die: Ranking the top ten Klingons in all of Star Trek". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ Hollywood Reporter 'Star Trek': 100 Greatest Episodes
- ^ a b c [1]
- ^ a b c Krishna, Swapna (2018-01-16). "A binge-watching guide to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Kira Nerys". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
External links
