Background

Retro Review: Way of the Warrior (Comms Highlights)

All    Features    Universe    Categories    Fleet Alert    Comms   

Article arrow_drop_down

Whenever you ask a DS9 fan where to start, the answer is rarely from the beginning.

The first seasons of the show were good, sometimes great. The foundations were laid for a darker show than the flagship adventures of the Enterprise We had Federation turncoats in the Maquis; an uneasy peace between Bajor and their former oppressors in Cardassia; there was politics and religion crossing over on all fronts and from the end of season two we had the Dominion lurking on the far side of the wormhole teasing their incoming takeover of Federation Space.

It was a packed show with a lot of threads running. And then Paramount made a decision. They wanted more Klingons. They hired Michael Dorn to carry Worf over from the Enterprise to DS9. Decisions made above the producers heads forced them to change course, push their planned Dominion story to the back burner and focus on something new. But after a chaotic season that had many challenges behind the scenes, no one got angry and threw a shoe. They saw an opportunity and they ran with it.

What was supposed to be the season opener became a (very good!) mid-season episode and Ira Behr and Robert Wolfe sat down and wrote something new. Without knowing it at the time, that something new would be the episode that many considered to be the second beginning of Deep Space Nine.

Often called a second pilot, or new beginning, Way of the Warrior is the episode near everyone recommends a new fan to start from. As the first episode under Behr’s reign as the man in charge the fourth season built on several of the ideas and themes laid out within the third season. The framework of what DS9 was and what it can do had already been laid out, but it hadn’t quite met it’s potential yet. Even though it did utilise the shows history, and wasn’t an entirely clean start, Way of the Warrior would set a new template for the red headed step child of the Trek franchise and as all eyes were on the launch of Voyager – Star Trek’s new flagship exploration show – DS9 found itself in a new groove.

As Sisko prepares his station and his crew for the inevitable Dominion attack, we’re introduced to General Martok as he requests his fleet – his ENTIRE fleet – stop by for some R&R. Knowing the Klingons are up to something as they scowl around the station intimidating Quark and beating up the local tailor, Garak, Sisko knows that they won’t spill their secrets with any outsiders and not even Odo can crack their wall of silence. He needs a Klingon to help figure it out, and lucky for him… Starfleet has one in their ranks.

A familiar face to audiences, Worf had spent seven seasons and – at that point – one feature film with The Next Generation; a wholly different show from DS9. Yet Worf fit the show like a glove. He was a complex character with a troublesome past. An honourable and decorated officer, but one that had reached the limit of what he could do in the Next Gen world and was destined to be Chekoved into being support staff until retirement.

As much as DS9 had to adapt to him, he adapted to Deep Space Nine and one of the biggest successes of the show was bringing this familer character and presenting him with a new cast of characters to integrate with; characters that were less polite and in many ways more of a challenge. In one conversation with Odo you could see Worf was thrown in the deep end. No one was going to react to his moody by putting the kettle on. He had to take a scolding, make a decision and live life the DS9 way. And it worked.

In the same vein, so did the Klingons. Life in the Bajor sector was already complicated. Sisko was challenged on all sides. But the Klingons joining in didn’t just delay the Dominion story, it helped emphasise just how much damage they would – and had done – to the status quo. People were scared. The Klingons were scared. They just drew blades where the Federation sat on hopes and rainbows; camping out in Quarks and hoping it all blows over.

Adding to the depth of DS9 would be something that played out over many seasons, resulting in the Klingons being so integrated by the end that you can’t imagine the final episode without Martok by Sisko’s side. In this one episode though it balanced out that depth rather nicely in re-introducing you to the show.

The Way of The Warrior had a bit of everything. All of the shows characters had matured and grown from their cardboard cut out form of the actual pilot episode. The show’s history had formed a strong, but not too overwhelming, The action was by far the best that Star Trek had seen at the time and instead of jumping straight to it, the drawn out build made it all the more satisfying. And of course, the introduction of Worf and Avery Brooks sudden comfort in the role felt like the show had found a piece that was missing.

It may not ave been an official pilot, but this was one of the finest hours of Star Treks history.


This article was originally published in it’s full form in SFCQ2 Comms Discover More Edition published January 2019. Members can read the full review by logging into Comms or by downloading their latest copy. If you’re not a member and want to read more or enjoy more of our membership benefits, you can enlist today for free!

About the author

About the author

ADM JT Marczynka, DoFA

Creator of things, writer of words, caffeine addict. Director of Communications for Starfleet Command Quadrant 2.

More posts Follow

trending_flat
Fleet Support Recruitment: Alpha Quarter 2025

Following SFC's 50th anniversary, and looking ahead to whats to come in 2025 and beyond, we've been working on bolstering our fleet-wide operational support and opening the floor for officers to take a larger role in our operations. As part of our redefining our Fleet Support department, five roles were opened up to give more room for members to contribute beyond their unit and help shape the next generation of the club. Our first recruitment event saw two members brought on board to the Fleet Support panel and as we race through our first quarter of the year, we have the final three roles ready for recruitment! FLEET SUPPORT SFCQ2's Fleet Support division has been designed to aid and supplement membership opportunities and solidify a helpful, informative and supportive structure. Each role acts as a secondment to allow members to […]

trending_flat
For The Uniform: The Muted Tones of The Motion Picture

Starfleet's wardrobe always seems to change. Different producers and designers always bring something new to the table, whether it's a need to create a more militarised uniform, something nice and simple for a more real-world feel, or sometimes – just sometimes – space pyjamas. In the 1960s, colour television was all the rage and Star Trek was at the forefront of that huge leap in visual technology. It's outfits and set design were crafted to be bold and brash, resulting in the bright paintwork, scenes lit with vibrant pinks and purples and of course the now iconic division coloured uniforms. In both the planned launch of Phase II in 1978 and the earlier animated series in 1973, the iconic look of Starfleet was retained in all its bright and colourful glory. But when plans were scrapped and Paramount opted to […]

trending_flat
A Fistful of Star Trek Online’s Best Bits!

This week marks fifteen years since the launch of whats become Star Trek's most consistent and longest reigning video game, Star Trek Online. Developed following the relaunch of a new movie franchise, STO told the other side of the story. While NEro went back in time and created the Kelvin Timeline offshoot, STO focused on the galactic politics following the collapse of the Hobus Star. Customising your player character, you begin at the Academy, get yourself a star ship and rank up as you balance exploration, politics and shooting a lot of things! Over the years the game has changed and developed with expansions, new additions, rotating Executive Producers - and now new owners! - using multiple guest appearances into the mix for story mission while allowing group events, developing annual traditions and generally letting us all play with cool […]

trending_flat
Upcoming Away Missions in Glasgow & Edinburgh for the Tesla!

As we enter 2025 (or... 2402...?) there's no rest for the crew of the Tesla as the team are already back in action making a return to two of the biggest events in Scotland! One of the most active and welcoming crew, the year is already off to a flying start with more to come through the year! The first events of the year include.... Capital Sci Fi Con February 15th & 16th, O2 Academy Edinburgh Always the best way to kick start the year, Tesla is once again heading to Edinburgh for their first away mission in 2025! This years guest line up is one for the Whovians! This year the Fifth Doctor himself Peter Davidson will be in attendance for photo and autograph opportunities alongside co-star Janet Fielding, better known in the TARDIS as Fifth Doctor Companion Tegan! […]

trending_flat
Across The Universe! Black Ops Missions & Lifetime Achievements!

The year begins with a New Trek bringing us to even strange new worlds while franchise - both old and new - celebrate upcoming awards ceremonies. Section 31 Released... After a long, long wait the potentially least anticipated project in the Star Trek Universe was released on January 25th as Section 31, starring Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as reformed (kinda) Emperor Georgiou displaced in time and recruited to rejoin Section 31 for a dangerous mission to protect the Federation in the most non Federation way possible. Initially developed as a full series exploring the nature of the organisation's questionable origins and motives, the project was placed in the hands of new writers to transform the concept into a made for streaming movie as a condensed action piece that limited the original intention and replaced it with something a little […]

trending_flat
Boldly Going Nowhere: Section 31 Quick Review

REVIEW SCORE   FLEET SCORE   Focused on the outliers of the Star Trek Universe, the idea of the Section 31 film was to go beyond Starfleet and present the universe from a different perspective and in a different way. An idea thats been done with some hit and miss success over the past ten years. Section 31's initial pitch and writing team was something that had the potential to be something we could enjoy and even with mild hesitation, we were eager to see where the once series would go now a new writer had condensed the vague idea into a one off experiment, a streaming based movie to add to the tapestry of different flavours Star Trek has offered in resent years. It was also an experiment in offering a first real glimpse at a batch of heroes […]

Related

trending_flat
No One Expects The Starfleet Inquisition! Retro Review: Inquisition, DS9 S6E18

Stopped from heading to a quiet medical conference, Doctor Bashir is locked down with the crew of Deep Space Nine when internal investigations officer Sloan arrives. Apparently Deep Space Nine has a security breach. Information's being leaked to the enemy and all leads point to one person: Julian Bashir. It's a nice rarity when this era of Star Trek plays out it's story of the week without a B-Plot and Inquisition does it all quiet nicely. Especially as everything's played out from the perspective of Bashir as he's separated from his colleagues which enhances the tense paranoia of whats happening as Sloan probes through evidence that points to the doctor betraying the Federation. Thematically it's a story told many times before, even previously told in Star Trek, but with DS9's tone becoming a little darker by this stage, it worked […]

trending_flat
[Retro Review] Generations (1994)

Kirk's era my have started the phenomenon, but 1994 was a different era. Picard's Enterprise crew had just finished more than twice the amount of seasons of the original with one spin off finding it's feet and another in the pipeline. With the original crew having said their goodbyes in the Undiscovered country, the old was already out and the not quite as old were ready to take over the film branch of the Star Trek franchise. But not without a weird handover ceremony. Years after his final voyage as captain, Kirk is dragged out of retirement to sit in a chair and smile politely as a new captain launched with a new Enterprise. Of course, the new captain was typically useless so when the Enterprise was the only ship in range again, and the ship was dragged into an […]

trending_flat
[Retro Review] Schisms; TNG Season 6

Alien abduction isn't exactly an innovative or creative plot device. Long before the X Files became the most popular brand of alien conspiracy in media, we had everything from the memorably dazzling abduction in Close Encounters of the Third Kind to the found footage wonder The McPherson Tape. For Star Trek, however, it's an odd concept to include. Humanity is a space faring species and some of our best pals are aliens. If one crept into your bedroom in the middle of the night and took you on board their ship, that's more of a diplomatic nightmare than a horrific conspiracy. So when it did happen in Next Gen's Schisms it all felt a bit weird and creepy. Mostly in a good way.

trending_flat
[Retro Review] The One With The Whales (1986)

Closing off an accidental trilogy, Kirk and his disgraced crew wrap up chilling out on Vulcan to go back to Earth for a bit of a wrist slapping. While they saunter back home in a stolen Klingon ship, an alien probe pops round for tea and biscuits on Earth. Except, there's neither tea nor biscuits buit a confusing sense of chaos as it sucks everything around it of power and soaks up Earths oceans for what seems like no apparent reason.

trending_flat
[Retro Review] The Search For Spock (1984)

The Wrath of Khan was the end of the road, or so many thought. So killing off Spock was a way to close that chapter of their lives and move on to other projects. But of course, the second outing was also a success, but director Nick Meyer had a feeling it would be and put in a caveat. Before his death, Spock mind melded with Dr McCoy and told him to remember...

site2025m

Serving the fan community since 1974, SFC is an international not for profit fan organisation bringing together collective of fans collectively enjoying strange new worlds in science fiction media.

Star Trek and all related, derived or inferred ideas are the intellectual property of Paramount and Paramount Global. No infringement is intended in the use of this material. Starfleet Command Quadrant 2 (SFCQ2) does not generate any income or profit from their endeavours as a fan organisation, no part of which is sanctioned by the Paramount Global group or any sub-division of the legitimate copyright holders.

Core Website layout by Ghostpool. Managed and Maintained by Aim to Misbehave on behalf of Starfleet Command  Quadrant 2

© 2401 Starfleet  Command Quadrant 2 (SFCQ2)

Login to enjoy full advantages

Please login or subscribe to continue.

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Unfollow Cancel

Cancel subscription

Are you sure you want to cancel your subscription? You will lose your Premium access and stored playlists.

Go back Confirm cancellation