The fourth series of Deep Space Nine can be summed up in one word: Klingons! The show's producers apparently felt beset from all sides. Babylon 5 was a huge hit, as was Star Trek: Voyager, the flagship of new channel UPN. Stepping up DS9's action quotient seemed to be the answer. Time would tell, however, whether doing so via Trek's tried-and-tested former bad guys was the best solution. Opening with a special two-hour extravaganza, the new year was immediately unfamiliar. Dennis McCarthy's original theme--despite winning an Emmy--was deemed too subdued. As its upbeat new rendition kicked off, the station was seen in battle and swarming with activity. Moments later, we met old/new crewmember Worf, whose sudden appearance was the result of a brewing invasive strategy by the Klingons. This initiated the first of many loyalty shifts, as the Cardassians became the victims. With plenty of re-appearances by Gowron, Kor and Kurn, it was clear that an ongoing space opera was being crafted. Dukat revealed a tragedy-ridden daughter; Odo's relationship with his people (and Kira) became increasingly melancholy; and even the Jem'Hadar foot soldiers were given a sympathetic angle by their drug addiction. Adding to the layers of ambiguity about Earth's (read: the Producers') position over being at war, was the "outing" of Eddington and Sisko's girlfriend as rebel activists. Lest we forget the homely/spiritual side of the Captain, time was spent with a future version of Jake, with his father (Brock Peters), and on the nature of his role as "The Emissary". Avery Brooks worked behind the camera a couple of times, but this year the surprise was LeVar Burton directing five shows. There was still time for comedy: the Ferengi warped back to Roswell in 1947 and Bashir played at James Bond. But the year will be recalled predominately for its violence. One of the episodes Burton directed had its fight scenes drastically cut, while the series as a whole won an Emmy for its space battle effects.
On the DVD: Deep Space Nine, Series 4 contains more than two hours of extra features. Although they might all have been better compiled into one long documentary, the sections devoted to Aliens, Production Design and Artwork are, nevertheless, nicely contained. "Charting New Territory" is a 20-minute featurette on all the big changes attempted this year: Worf's introduction, arming the station and being daring with stand-alone episodes. There's also a terrific and candid dossier on Michael Dorn (Worf), ten mini-cameo cast tales, four seasons' worth of episode introductions, and a well-stocked Photo Gallery. All this can be found on the set's seventh disc; there's also the fourth CD-ROM disc, which allows you to build your own station at home. --Paul Tonks END
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