Part III, Chapter VI: "Building Tension"
“We had a plan for the entire show going into the third season. We already had a soft guarantee from Paramount that should we keep the rating high, we’d get the full eight seasons that we wanted. So we went all in, creating this big story involving the Alpha, Beta and Gamma Quadrants. Star Trek had never really done a proper war story before, so that was what we decided to do. Show what the Federation was really like when it was forced into a corner.”
- Ira Stephen Behr on the story of
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Season Two of
Deep Space Nine had been a big success. The move to UPN had seen its ratings increase, and gave UPN a solid start on becoming a “fifth network”. While its other shows were not doing quite as well, UPN was able to market itself as “the home of
Star Trek”, a slogan that would only become more true with the announcement that starting with its second season,
Odyssey would also be moving to UPN.
Season Three would see the beginning of the “Dominion arc” that would come to dominate much of the rest of the show’s run. This season would see the Federation enter into a state of cold war with the Dominion, following their encounters with it during the second season. It would also see the tone of the show shift even darker, as fear of a Dominion invasion rises after they easily cripple a
Galaxy-class vessel.
Many important players would also make their first appearances this season. Most notably, the Kzinti, who had not been seen since
The Animated Series, would make a return in the two part season finale “Kilkenny Cats”. This story would also see the return of the Caitians, who had not been seen since
Star Trek IV. [1]
The recurring cast would continue to expand this season, with the addition of Commander Solaris, Leeta, Kassidy Yates, Michael Eddington and Commander Arpad Tigan. Commander Tigan, who would be the
Lakota’s new first officer, would appear first in the story “Rejoined”, which would tackle Trill culture, and explore the reason why Trill had not been accepted into the Federation. [2]
But Season Three would bring a change more important than these. Season Three’s two part opener, “The Search”, would introduce the
USS Valiant, the first Starfleet vessel built explicitly for war. It would differ vastly from previous ships visually, being small and highly manoeuvrable. Writer Ira Stephen Behr would describe it rather than being an exploratory vessel, that it was “on a five-year mission to kick some a**”.
This would make
Deep Space Nine the first
Star Trek series to feature two “hero ships” simultaneously, though
Odyssey would feature other hero ships joining its convoy throughout its run. The third season opener would also see Commander Sisko being given a promotion to Captain, as he takes command of the
Valiant. Lt. Kelly would be appointed as the first officer of the
Valiant, as an extension of his role as Strategic Operations officer. [3]
Commander Arpad Tigan, played by Bryan Cranston, would be introduced as a joined Trill that had been exiled from Trill culture after he entered a relationship with Dr. Lenara Kahn, another joined Trill he had been involved with in a previous host. The first story to feature him, “Rejoined”, would see him dealing with the effects of being cut off from the rest of Trill society, and would paint the Trill in a different light to how they had been previously. [4]
Commander Solaris, who had been introduced as Sub-Commander Jenai in the previous season, would be the first recurring Romulan character on the show, as she is appointed to the station to oversee the use of the
Valiant’s cloaking device.
With the beginning of the Dominion arc, many smaller plot points would appear that would be paid off in following seasons. Using such a long arc was a serious risk for the show, but it was the hope of both the writers and producers that it was one that would pay off, and hopefully would earn
Deep Space Nine a legacy as being a ground-breaking show. [5]
[1] The idea to bring back the Kzinti, and the story "Kilkenny Cats" are works of @The Chimera Virus.
[2] I've said this before, but the Trill are possibly my favourite species in all of Star Trek, and canon is unclear as to whether they are a member of the Federation. "Rejoined" is different as Jadzia is in a relationship, so I decided to use it to tackle that question.
[3] Kelly is filling the role of Worf from OTL, though obviously his character is different.
[4] Arpad will be very different to Jadzia, and they won't get along.
[5] DS9 is a bit of a more adventurous show compared to OTL, as Berman isn't involved. Pay close attention to some stuff this season.
.