I think the difference between the writing/show-runners of Voyager and the same group on DS9 is the difference between Janeway and Sisko.  Voyager writers gave Janeway a promotion for her incredibly questionable actions over 7 years. I feel DS9 writers would have put her in prison or tried her for dereliction of duty.

Roddenberry was a strange person with some strange utopian ideals that aren't really realistic. I thank him for starting things off…but he was often his worst enemy (as seen by the first couple of seasons of TNG, which are mostly dreadful).

Can you imagine trying to pitch the character of Troi today? Nobody would buy it.

True. My time away from TNG means my memory is somewhat cloudy. Although I always thought the vineyard episode to recover wasn't about Picard being Locutus…but being a brother. But your other points are all valid - again…my memory of TNG is still hazy. I was never the fan of TNG that I was of DS9.

There was an article I read the other day about how the original plan on Voyager was to do an entire season of nothing but "Year of Hell."  That might have redeemed the show in a great way. They would have hit reset at the end of the season, in all likelihood, but it would have been gripping to watch.

I think if DS9 was being made now…you'd have that be a thing. One has to keep in mind that this aired in April of 1996.  DS9, X-Files and Babylon 5 were just starting to restart the idea of serial stories told over arcs…this was revolutionary…nobody was doing that. And we're still 4 years from "The Sopranos" showing a…

This is opening my eyes. Geordi was in a co-dependent relationship with Data. It all makes sense now.

A fair point. I can't argue with you, really. Trek often has this problem where life changing events happen and then are ignored. The most you ever got on TNG was Picard playing his flute from "Inner Light" on a couple of eps…or seeing it in the background. That and the Locutus thing that was only brought back up in…

I'd never really thought about that…but you're absolutely right. And he hates himself so much that eventually, he has his visor completely replaced because he thinks he's a freak.

Sorry - wasn't clear. I wasn't saying exactly that. I think it's just apples to oranges, honestly. And obviously, you haven't seen the episodes that come later. Avery Brooks is even more on the top of his game in some later episodes than he is in "The Visitor."  Which should be saying something about how good the show…

That also is an outstanding ep. I only ding it b/c I detested the whole Vic Fontaine thing and while he isn't "in" the episode, his music is. Honestly, if you strip out Fontaine and make that just be Sinatra playing that somebody introduced Bashir to…that's a pretty perfect episode, too.

I loved how the writers evolved the friendship b/w Bashir/O'Brien over the course of the seven seasons. By the end of the program…you really believed these two men were not just friends…but best friends. They felt real…like real friendships you had with other people. Geordi/Data always felt a bit more cold - more…

It's Avery Brooks' tears and crying at the end of "The Visitor" that gets to me - such pain and anguish. And yes, Tony Todd is pretty great. And let me make it clear…I love that episode. A lot.  But the entire scene between O'Brien and Bashir as Miles is contemplating suicide and then telling the truth about Ee'Char…

I assumed as much, Zack, since you're writing the reviews new. It is arguably the finest hour Star Trek has ever had…and easily the most controversial. I have had so many arguments with other people about that episode. There's little doubt in most people's minds that Gene Roddenberry would have hated it.

I'd call "The Visitor" a no-hitter.  It's very good…but it's not one I come back to again and again as an example of how the show is more than just science fiction.  There's less technobabble here and at the end of "The Visitor," they essentially hit the reset button.  This one…the reset button is taken away in Act 1…

For my money, "Hard Time" is my absolute favorite DS9 episode. There are a lot of fine hours on this show, but this is the one I go back to and watch again and again and again. Ee'Char's final, "Be well, Miles." gets to me every time. There are a number of "no hitters" that DS9 threw during it's run, particularly as…

I'm somewhat surprised not to see Crime and Punishment/War and Peace on this list (or in the next 10).  I'm not certain any comedy on television has ever been as brave as to show not only the abuse to Jackie and her reaction but also to show Dan's very human reaction to the news.  The acting John Goodman does at the…

Excellent write up.  Personally, I prefer "Hard Time," which I think does a better job in similar circumstances (and does not hit the reset button at the end), but this was a moving hour of TV and a moving write up.

Excellent write up.  Personally, I prefer "Hard Time," which I think does a better job in similar circumstances (and does not hit the reset button at the end), but this was a moving hour of TV and a moving write up.

Ah yes…Season 4.  :-)  This is the season where the show started consistently hitting the ball out of the park on a weekly basis.  There are the occasional clunkers, but this is the year where the writing staff really starts putting everything together and has actors and directors and everything in sync.  Everybody…