Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 4 (1995–96)

Star Trek: DS9: Season 4 (1995–96)

26 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

S4 kicked off with another two-parter, the fan-favourite The Way of the Warrior, which saw a new regular crew member join the existing family. It's a character that was new to DS9 but not to Trek.

Unusually, after his timely and eventful introduction he isn't used much for the next few episodes. It's a situation that I rather enjoyed because it meant that he wasn't brought in with the intention of upstaging anyone else. He was treated as just another crew member, equal in stature and screen-time.

Also of note, at least to me, is that Sisko finally looks just like he does on the box art that was used for all seven seasons. He shaves his head and, like some kind of reverse Samson, turns into a stronger character.

There's a saying amongst DIY enthusiasts that if you have a roll of gaffer tape and a can of WD-40 then you can mend 90% of anything. Which brings me to one of my favourite DS9 crew members, the underappreciated miracle-worker that is Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney). The Chief can mend 90% of everything with just his hands, but give him a hyperspanner, an ODN recoupler and enough time and he'll hit the 99.9% mark.

Regarding individual episodes, there are a couple of great ones to choose from:

• The previously mentioned two-part Season opener, The Way of the Warrior.
• Ep 03: The Visitor is an emotional journey for one of the station's residents; it's frequently cited as one of the Season's best. (According to Wiki, it was nominated for a Hugo Award, but lost out to Babylon 5's superb The Coming of Shadows.)
• Ep 18: Rules of Engagement is interesting, twisting the beliefs of a crew member, blending past and present, and even has dialogue scenes spoken direct to camera.
• Ep 19: Hard Time is a quality sci-fi premise that works well in the DS9 universe, with an actor in the lead who's very much up to the task. Good work, Mr Meaney.
• Ep 21: The Muse might not make much of a blip on many fans' radars, but it did on mine because it was the last time we saw a beloved Trek character onscreen. Beyond that it's a touching story about relationships and the complicated duality of loss.

The wormhole in the Denorios belt, Alpha Quadrant. The connecting terminus is in the Gamma Quadrant, approximately 70,000 light-years away. The anomaly is known by various names, but to the Bajorian people it's the Celestial Temple, wherein the Prophets, their gods, reside.