Emissary (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

"Emissary" is the two-part series premiere, comprising the pilot and second episodes, of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Not to be confused with The Emissary (Star Trek: The Next Generation).
"Emissary"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes
Episode nos.Season 1
Episodes 1 & 2
Directed byDavid Carson
Story by
Teleplay byMichael Piller
Featured musicDennis McCarthy
Production code(s)401 & 402
Original air date(s)January 3, 1993 (1993-01-03)
Guest appearance(s)

Set in the 24th century, the series begins following the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, in orbit of the planet Bajor. In this episode, Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) arrive with Starfleet personnel on the station shortly after Cardassian occupation forces have departed. While working to repair the station and assist the Bajoran people, Starfleet discovers a mysterious wormhole which promises to bring astonishing change to the galaxy.

Plot

Benjamin Sisko is assigned to command space station "Deep Space Nine" in orbit of Bajor. Bajor has won independence from Cardassian occupation and invited Starfleet to assist in their recovery, much to the disgust of Major Kira Nerys, the station's Bajoran first officer. Sisko contemplates resigning from Starfleet, having lost his wife Jennifer three years prior during the Battle of Wolf 359. He receives orders from Captain Jean-Luc Picard, whom he blames for Jennifer's death, and barely contains his hostility.

Sisko visits the Bajoran spiritual leader Kai Opaka, who shows him an orb that the Bajorans believe was sent by their gods, "the Prophets". Opaka calls Sisko the "Emissary" and tells him he is destined to discover the Prophets' home, the Celestial Temple. Sisko's science officer, Lt. Jadzia Dax, determines that the orb is connected to mysterious phenomena in the nearby Denorios Belt.

Dax and Sisko investigate the Denorios Belt in a runabout, discovering a wormhole leading to the Gamma Quadrant on the opposite side of the galaxy. As they attempt to return, Dax is teleported back to Deep Space Nine, while Sisko remains in the wormhole.

Kira, recognizing the wormhole's value, orders the station moved to its mouth. Gul Dukat, the Cardassian former commander of the station, enters the wormhole, but the station's staff are unable to follow. Cardassian ships arrive to investigate Dukat's disappearance, assuming he has been killed. Disbelieving Kira's claims about the wormhole, they order Kira to surrender DS9 or be destroyed. Kira bluffs that the station is heavily armed.

Sisko encounters entities in the wormhole who have no understanding of corporeal and linear existence. When Dukat's ship attempts to pass through, they close the wormhole, irritated by the presence of corporeal lifeforms. When Sisko attempts to explain linear time, the entities point out that he continually returns to the moment of Jennifer's death. Sisko realizes he is "living in the past" by not moving on from his grief.

The Cardassians attack Deep Space Nine, but as Kira prepares to surrender, the wormhole opens up, with Sisko's runabout towing Dukat's ship from it, and the Cardassians stop their attack. Sisko reveals that he negotiated with the wormhole aliens to allow ships to pass through. Later, Sisko informs Picard that he plans to remain in Starfleet.

Reception

"Emissary" first aired on January 4, 1993. It received a Nielsen rating of 18.8 percent, placing first in its time slot and becoming the highest rated episode of the season.[1] It has been noted for including a fictional Star Trek spaceship of the Nebula-class, which appears to be similar to the Galaxy-class.[2]

In 2012, Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club pointed out there were several significant differences compared to previous Star Trek shows. For instance, he noted the primary protagonist was an "angry man" with a tragic backstory, and commended the fact that the main characters were a more "disparate ensemble" with conflicting viewpoints, neither of which were featured in past installments in the franchise. Handlen reacted positively to the new characters, calling them "fascinating individuals", while complaining of a few instances of poor acting and writing. He disliked the scenes involving the magical orbs and wormhole aliens, finding them unnecessary. Handlen concluded his review by saying that, of the Star Trek pilots, this was "the one most rife with possibility" he had seen.[3]

In 2013, Keith DeCandido reviewed "Emissary" for Tor.com, writing that while the episode served its purpose to set up elements of the series, "as a story, it doesn’t have much life to it". He called the characters the episode's most compelling aspect, saying "it's a refreshing change to have characters with a bit more acid in them". He gave the episode a score of six out of ten.[4]

A 2015 binge-watching guide for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by W.I.R.E.D. recommended not skipping this essential episode.[5]

In 2015, Geek.com recommended this episode as "essential watching" for their abbreviated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine binge-watching guide, along with "Past Prologue", "Vortex", "Battle Lines", "Duet", and "In the Hands of the Prophets" from season one.[6]

In 2016, SyFy ranked "Emissary" as the number one best out of 6 main Star Trek TV show pilots.[7]

In 2016, Vox rated this episode one of the top 25 essential episodes of all Star Trek.[8]

In 2018, CBR ranked the "Emissary" two-part episode, as the 19th best episodic saga of Star Trek overall.[9] The Hollywood Reporter ranked "Emissary" of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the 4th best presentation of the series.[10] In 2017, Gamespot ranked this as the 2nd best pilot episode of a Star Trek series.[11]

In 2018, SyFy included this episode on their Jadzia Dax binge-watching guide for this character.[12]

Space.com ranked "Emissary" the seventh best episode of all Star Trek television.[13]

In 2019, Comicbook.com ranked "Emissary" the tenth best episode of Star Trek:Deep Space Nine.[14]

See also

Notes
  1. "Season 1 Ratings". TrekNation. Archived from the original on October 3, 2000. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  2. Sorrells, Paul (2013-04-02). "13 Awesome Star Trek Ships". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  3. Handlen, Zack (January 19, 2012). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Emissary"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  4. DeCandido, Keith (April 23, 2013). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "Emissary"". Tor.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  5. McMillan, Graeme (2015-05-13). "WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  6. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine condensed: How to watch the most story-driven Trek". Geek.com. 2015-01-19. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  7. Roth, Dany (2016-01-15). "First Contact: Every Star Trek pilot, ranked". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  8. Siede, Caroline (2016-09-06). "Star Trek, explained for non-Trekkies". Vox. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  9. Star Trek's Greatest Episodic Sagas, Ranked by Michael Weyer – on Nov 23, 2018
  11. Complex, Valerie (2017-10-20). "Every Star Trek Pilot Episode, Ranked From Worst To Best". GameSpot. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  12. Lane, Carly (2018-02-05). "A binge-watching guide to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Jadzia Dax". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  13. Entertainment, Elizabeth Howell 2017-09-20T16:19:28Z. "The 10 Best 'Star Trek' Episodes Ever". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  14. Lovett, Jamie. "The 10 Best Episodes of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'". Star Trek. Retrieved 2019-07-11.

References
  • P. Farrand, Nitpicker's Guide for Deep Space Nine Trekkers New York: Dell (1996): 3 - 12
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