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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Full Cast & Crew

74 Metascore
Drama, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
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Different races try to coexist peacefully in the third 'Star Trek' spin-off. This one takes place on a 24th-century space station that serves as a frontier town on the edge of a wormhole that enables travellers to journey vast distances in short periods of time.

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Executive producer, assoc. producer, music director, cinematographer, production company, art director, sound effects, special effects.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast and Character Guide

The groundbreaking Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revealed a darker side of the final frontier. Here's a guide to the main cast and characters.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke new ground for the venerable franchise when it debuted in 1993. For seven seasons and 176 episodes, it explored the dark corners of the Federation aboard a strategically vital space station far from the rest of Starfleet.

For the first time, Gene Roddenberry's bright future showed its flaws: expanding the scope of what the franchise could do in the process. Part of its success comes from an amazing cast and compelling characters, whch is one of Star Trek's staples. Here's a brief breakdown of the central figures on the show, along with the people who played them and where they are now.

RELATED: Lower Decks Season 4 Takes a Stab at Deep Space Nine's Most Controversial Episode

Avery Brooks Is Captain Benjamin Sisko

Ben Sisko is a survivor of the Borg attack at Wolf 359, who takes command of the show's titular space station at the edge of a stable wormhole near the planet Bajor. He becomes a kind of Moses figure to the Bajorans when he makes contact with the "Prophets" -- advanced beings who live in the wormhole -- as well as playing a central role in the Dominion War. Avery Brooks portrays him as strong and decisive, as well as a good father to his son Jake.

Like many Star Trek actors, Brooks has a Shakespearean background, and theatrical work has dominated much of his career. Television fans got to know him as Hawk in the 1980s detective series Spenser: For Hire , where his shaved head became something of a signature. He had a major role in 1998's American History X alongside Star Trek: Voyager actor Jennifer Lien.

Nana Visitor Is Kira Nerys

Major Kira is the Bajoran liaison to the Starfleet officers on Deep Space 9 and is a former guerrilla fighting Cardassian rule over her planet. From the beginning, she's portrayed as an "anti-Riker." While Picard's Number One is loyal and supportive, Kira often challenges Sisko, and rarely takes "no" for an answer. Over time, they evolve into close companions, as she grapples both with Sisko's revered status among her people and her own trauma from the Cardassian occupation.

Actor Nana Visitor started her career onstage, and worked steadily throughout the 1980s with one-off television roles in the likes of Knight Rider, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Murder, She Wrote. She's continued her TV work after Deep Space Nine with recurring roles in Dark Angel , Wildfire , and voiceover work in Family Guy .

RELATED: Lower Decks Season 4 Promises the Return of a Classic Deep Space Nine Couple

Terry Ferrell Is Jadzia Dax

Jadzia Dax is a Trill , a joined species consisting of a worm-like symbiote (almost centuries old) inhabiting a humanoid host. It makes her wise beyond her years and possessing a serene self-confidence in her duties as Deep Space 9's science officer. She also serves as Ben Sisko's trusted advisor, and becomes something of a big sister for other members of the crew.

Ferrell got her start as a very successful model, then transitioned to acting with the likes of Back to School and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth . She had a smattering of television appearances before Deep Space Nine made her famous. She quit the show after Season 6, citing mistreatment from producer Rick Berman, and subsequently joined the cast of Becker , where she remained for the show's first four seasons. She retired from acting in 2002, though she still makes regular appearances at Star Trek conventions and expos.

Alexander Siddig Is Doctor Julian Bashir

Bashir serves as a counterpoint to the quiet experience and professionalism of Beverly Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation : chatty, enthusiastic and often with his foot planted firmly in his mouth. He's a skilled and compassionate doctor -- almost naïve at times -- and yet he carries a dark side to him, possibly due to his status as a secret Augment. He forms an especially close bond with Chief O'Brien, and regularly participates in holosuite scenarios with him. Garak, the station's decidedly shady Cardassian tailor, also makes a singular connection with the good doctor.

Alexander Siddig came to the attention of Star Trek's producer for his role as King Faisel opposite Ralph Fiennes in the made-for-TV movie A Dangerous Man: Lawrence after Arabia . Since Deep Space Nine , Siddig has gone on to a number of prominent roles: appearing on the big screen in the likes of Syriana, Reign of Fire, and Game of Thrones. Batman fans will recognize him as a very effective Ra's al Ghul in the Gotham TV series.

RELATED: Deep Space Nine's Most Unusual Couple Deserves a Chance in Another Star Trek Entry

Colm Meaney Is Chief Miles O'Brien

O'Brien serves as a recurring character on The Next Generation for over 50 episodes before departing to serve as Deep Space 9's Chief of Operations. He's effectively an homage to Montgomery Scott in The Original Series : pleasant, stalwart, extremely knowledgeable about how things work, and stout as an ox when the situation calls for it. Unlike Scotty, O'Brien is a family man, whose wife Keiko is a recurring character on both series as well. He's close friends with Julian Bashir, and the two spend a lot of leisure time together on the station.

Actor Colm Meaney followed the pattern of many Deep Space Nine actors, with television appearances in such fare as Moonlighting and Remington Steele before joining the Star Trek universe. He remained very active in movies and television both during and after his run as Chief O'Brien. That included prominent roles in The Barrytown Trilogy -- The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van -- as well as Hollywood fare like Under Siege and Con Air . He remains active as of this writing, and is slated to appear in the upcoming thriller In The Land of Saints and Sinners with Liam Neeson.

René Auberjonois Is Constable Odo

One of three primary characters who don't belong to Starfleet, Odo is a shapeshifting Changeling who serves as the station's chief of security. His people control the sinister Dominion, having launched a war against the entire Alpha Quadrant in the series' last two seasons. However, he knew nothing of them most of his life, and turned his back on them in the face of their ambitions. He's stoic, methodical, deeply cynical, and very reliable with a strong sense of justice to guide his actions. In many ways, he's the loneliest character in the entire franchise.

As memorable as he is, Odo is just one component in the amazing career of actor Rene Auberjonois. He first rose to prominence in the 1970s: appearing in the likes of M*A*S*H, King Kong, and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, as well as numerous television shows and animated features. He starred alongside fellow future Star Trek alum Ethan Phillips in Benson , playing fussy straight man Clayton Endicott III, and made a minor appearance as a treacherous Starfleet officer in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country before playing Odo. Afterward, he continued to work regularly, most notably in Boston Legal as a series regular from 2004-2008. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 79.

RELATED: Star Trek's Next Great Villain Is Hiding in Deep Space Nine

Armin Shimerman Is Quark

When Deep Space Nine began, Star Trek: The Next Generation had thoroughly botched the Ferengi's potential as threatening villains. Quark serves as a redemption project: recasting the species as interstellar used car salesmen and making them wonderful additions to the final frontier in the process. Ostensibly, Quark runs the station's bar , which comes equipped with games of chance and "holosuites" that serve salacious purposes as well as innocuous ones. He's also routinely engaged in more overt criminal activities, which leads to his adversarial relationship with Constable Odo. Despite that, he's preferable to most alternatives, and even finds himself on Starfleet's side more often than not.

Like many Deep Space Nine actors, Armin Shimerman has been active in the theater for much of his career. Before Deep Space Nine , he was best known for the gentle piper Pascal in the Beauty and the Beast TV series. Afterwards, he continued to work steadily in television, as well as providing voice acting for numerous animated series and video games. His resume is impressively full -- with over 200 acting credits in IMDB -- and he returned to the role of Quark for a Star Trek: Lower Decks episode in 2022.

Cirroc Lofton Is Jake Sisko

Jake is Ben Sisko's teenage son, who comes with his father to Deep Space 9. His mother died in the Borg attack at Wolf 359, and he and his father have grown close. He's smart and inquisitive, though also very much a teenager. His unlikely friendship with the Ferengi Nog becomes one of the series' most important subplots. Jake runs against expectations by declining to follow his father to Starfleet, opting for a career as a writer instead.

Lofton is still primarily known for playing Jake, though he's made sporadic television appearances since then. That includes roles in the likes of 7th Heaven and CSI: Miami. He was also one of the main cast members of the Showtime series The Hoop Life.

RELATED: Star Trek's Version of Secret Invasion Has Lessons for the MCU

Michael Dorn Is Lieutenant Commander Worf

After seven seasons aboard the Enterprise-D, the Klingon Worf joins the cast of Deep Space Nine starting in Season 4. Worf is very much a man in exile on Deep Space Nine , as his feud with the Klingon Chancellor Gowron becomes more pronounced. He finds ready support with his new friends, and falls in love with Jadzia Dax only to see her murdered on the eve of their wedding. He remains one of Star Trek's most popular characters and returned for a curtain call in Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard .

Before his career-making role as Worf, Dorn was best known for Jebediah Turner on the hit cop show CHiPs in the early 1980s. Post- Star Trek , he has amassed an impressive array of voiceover credits, including Kaliback in the DCAU's Justice League and Kraven the Hunter in Spider-Man:The New Animated Series.

Nicole de Boer Is Ezri Dax

Terry Ferrell's departure meant killing off Jadzia Dax at the end of Season 6. The Dax symbiote lives on, however, and finds a new host in Ezri: a young ship's counselor who was the only compatible Trill available at the time. It makes her markedly different from Jadzia in many ways. She's still getting accustomed to the radical shift in perspective, and lacks her predecessor's self-confidence. (Jadzia was also quite a bit taller to boot.)

A native Canadian, Nicole de Boer began her career at the age of 11 and was a successful child actor before transitioning into grown-up roles. She's worked regularly in television both before and after her stint on Deep Space Nine, most notably opposite Anthony Michael Hall in the cult classic series The Dead Zone . Other roles include the sci-fi thriller Cube and a recurring part in the mystery-comedy show Private Eyes.

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Published Jul 7, 2019

Getting into it With the Grand Nagus, Wallace Shawn

We talk to one of our favorite guest stars about his path to 'Trek,' what it's like inside that makeup, and more.

StarTrek.com

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “ The Nagus ” gave fans their first taste of playwright-author-producer-actor Wallace Shawn as Grand Nagus Zek. Shawn made the wily Ferengi leader his own over seven appearances on DS9 — that's one each season. The role added to his impressive list of previous and future memorable characters, including Father Abruzzi ( Heaven Help Us ), Vizzini ( The Princess Bride ), Mr. Hall ( Clueless ), Rex (the Toy Story franchise) and Cyrus Rose (The CW's Gossip Girl ).

StarTrek.com at long last caught up with the amiable Shawn, who recounted his Trek experiences, detailed the surprising paths his career has taken, and filled us in on his current projects.

How surprised were you to be asked to do DS9 ?

I was totally shocked because I've never owned a TV, so I was not really an expert on the show. On the other hand, having spent a lot of time in hotels, I’d sit flipping through channels and I always landed on Star Trek and thought "Oh, this is the one that looks so attractive visually." That would be The Next Generation . I always thought, “Wow, the cinematography is so great and it's so interesting-looking, with these interesting-looking people and creatures.” So, when I was asked to do DS9 , I was thrilled. I loved the idea.

The character was such a Ferengi, cunning and funny, but also wise. How much fun did you have playing him?

To be in that world and to be in that makeup really liberated me in a way that I never experienced before — or since. I felt completely free, so it was a joyful experience. But it was physically very, very arduous, and I couldn't have done it on a regular basis. Once a year, which is what I did, was basically perfect for me. But to be trapped inside that head for at least 12 hours, not counting three hours to put the makeup on and an hour to take it off, was a little bit disturbing and uncomfortable and exhausting. And if you had to scratch your forehead, you couldn't.

Was that your decision to only do it once a year because of the makeup? Did they want you more often? Or was it their idea to have you on once a year?

I think that that was just the choice of the writers and producers, and it worked out very nicely. That was just how often they wanted me.

How did you enjoy working with your fellow Ferengi, Armin Shimerman, Max Grodenchik, Tiny Ron, Cecily Adams and Aron Eisenberg?

I loved all of [them]. I don't know if I ever saw Tiny Ron outside of the makeup. Cecily was enchanting and lovely. Armin, I've seen subsequently and I did fairly soon, I think, see him out of makeup. I guess, ultimately, I saw Max out of makeup, too. But mostly I knew these people as Ferengi, really. Max and Armin, most of our relationship was Ferengi to Ferengi, really, with only these strange glimpses of each other out of makeup. So, the reality seemed in some ways less real than the made-up versions.

You appeared in seven episodes. Was there an episode, a scene, you were most satisfied with?

The first episode was the one where the character was invented. The fake death was an amazing plot twist. The writers invented the character and, basically, I had all of three seconds to figure out how to interpret him based on the script. And the makeup, going through that the first time, that was an unforgettable moment. I also remember that, maybe even on the first day, an executive from upstairs — I don't know what sort of executive he even was — came down and took me aside and said, "Now, you do understand, this is a serious program? Star Trek is not a comedy."

I’m not quoting him exactly because I don't remember his exact words, but in effect he was saying I was being too funny or I was clowning. I was not; it wasn't appropriate for the show. Well, I wasn't an expert on the show because, as I said, I don't have a TV and I never did have one. I really never had seen a complete episode of the show. So, I was a little nonplussed. I told the director, “Wow, a guy from upstairs told me this and I don't know what to do now.” He said, “No, I love what you're doing. So, keep on doing it.” That was fortunate because I really wouldn't have known what to do.

Considering that your seven episodes were spread over seven seasons, the Grand Nagus really had a full arc, even initiating reforms.

Oh, absolutely. I knew that the writers were taking particular enjoyment out of my character when they presented me with a companion — a wonderful female Ferengi. That was amazing. I knew they were taking my character seriously and giving me great, wonderful stuff to do in every episode. There were no throwaway episodes for me, where I was just there, which sometimes can happen on television. Each episode that I was in I had something fascinating to do.

Your career spans 50 years. When you started out, what did you aspire to?

I began in my 20s as a writer, and at least in my own personal belief, I still am, even though only a small cult of people appreciate my writing. Most people have never heard of it and, if they have, they aren't particularly attracted to it. But I’ve been a writer for 50 years and continue to write.

There was never a time when I thought I would be an actor. It happened before I thought of it. A friend put me in a play and I kept at it because I’d not found a way to support myself, because my plays were odd. It was clear they couldn't support me even in immodest living, much less a bourgeois living. So, when I was offered a part in the play, despite the fact that I was not an actor, I said sure. The play was quite successful and I was, you might say, discovered by Juliet Taylor.

When people recognize you on the street, do they want to talk about your plays, your political writings, or is it usually Clueless, Star Trek, Toy Story and The Princess Bride ?

Well, a lot of people do speak to me on the street, usually in a friendly way. Sometimes I don't know quite why the person is talking to me at first because I do have the different parts of my life. So, I don't sometimes even know whether someone is complimenting me for an angry political polemic that I've written or for my strange plays, or for being a comical blackjack dealer in Vegas Vacation .

So, you’re saying they don’t come up to you and specifically comment, "Hey, aren't you the guy from…" or "I loved you in…"? Or, “I loved this play or that article?”

Often, they don't.

Sometimes, and sometimes people think that you are someone who has only done one thing, the thing that they like. So, people have often said to me on the street, "Your film is great," and I don't know what they mean. But the Star Trek fans are a particular group. They're very distinctive as people. There seem to be no evil Star Trek fans. They're a distinctly goodhearted group of people and, in many cases, they are people who have experienced some type of isolation or disadvantage. I’m going to guess that Donald Trump is not a Trekkie. It's an interesting group of people. And, of course, I don't really look like the Grand Nagus physically. I was wearing an incredible amount of makeup, so the people who recognize me from Star Trek really looked closely at that show. Star Trek fans see things again and again, and it’s even easier to do that now because DS9 is on Netflix and there's a whole new crowd of fans.

What are your current projects? Will you be part of Ira Steve Behr’s DS9 documentary, What We Left Behind ?

Absolutely. Ira recorded me for that, and it should be very interesting and fun when it comes out. My small, very small book called Night Thoughts is available probably still at your local bookshop, if you have a local bookshop, or on Amazon. It’s kind of a long political essay, political in my own style, you might say. Book Club is coming out, and so is Toy Story 4 . I've done a number of TV things. I'm on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, She's Gotta Have It, Mozart in the Jungle and Mr. Robot . I don't know, I seem to be doing an awful lot of these shows. I can't explain it. It's great. And I've got nice parts.

This interview, which originally ran in March of 2018, has been edited and condensed.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Magnificent Ferengi (Review)

In some ways, The Magnificent Ferengi serves as a logical end point for the Ferengi.

It is, after all, the last good Ferengi episode of the Berman era as a whole. The Dogs of War is not terrible, but it has serious problems. It looks much better following on from the double-header of Profit and Lace and The Emperor’s New Cloak , which rank among the worst episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ever produced. Then again, it is not like the other Star Trek series had much better luck, with Inside Man on Star Trek: Voyager and Acquisition on Star Trek: Enterprise also falling flat. However, there is more to it than that.

The comedy really Pops here.

The Magnificent Ferengi is an episode that revels in one of the franchise’s most reviled recurring alien species, serving as a grand celebration of the work that Ira Steven Behr has done with the Ferengi since The Nagus during the first season of Deep Space Nine . This is reflected within and without the text. The Magnificent Ferengi is about a band of Ferengi who finally get to be the heroes of their own weird little war story. However, it’s also a celebration of how well-developed the species is that the episode has seven distinct major Ferengi characters.

Indeed, it could reasonably be argued that the best thing about The Magnificent Ferengi is that it puts a cap on the Ferengi as a concept, rendering any further Ferengi episodes completely superfluous to requirement.

Ira Steven Behr was a producer with esoteric interests. Most discussions of Deep Space Nine tend to focus on the bolder and more iconoclastic elements of the series, whether the needling of Gene Roddenberry’s utopia in episodes like The Maquis, Part I and The Maquis, Part II or the more experimental narrative choices like the long-form storytelling that led to the Dominion War. These aspects of Deep Space Nine are undoubtedly important and influential, but they are not the only contributions made by showrunner Ira Steven Behr.

It is interesting to look at Behr’s script credits on Deep Space Nine . As showrunner, Behr’s name is attached to most of the “big” episodes like season premieres and finales and epic two-parters; The Jem’Hadar , The Adversary , The Way of the Warrior , Broken Link , Apocalypse Rising , In Purgatory’s Shadow , By Inferno’s Light , Call to Arms , A Time to Stand , Favour the Bold , Sacrifice of Angels . However, Behr is also responsible for some of the weirder episodes; Prophet Motive , Through the Looking Glass , Shattered Mirror .

A Gaila premiere.

However, Behr invested a lot of time an energy in developing the Ferengi as a credible culture. His second teleplay credit on the show was The Nagus . He wrote two tie-in books centred on the culture, The Rules of Acquisition and Legends of the Ferengi . Behr made sure that each season of the show contained at least one episode focusing on Ferengi culture and traditions, many written by Behr and his writing partner; Rules of Acquisition , Family Business , Bar Association , Ferengi Love Songs . He also loved writing for Quark; Babel , Little Green Men , The Ascent .

Behr’s commitment to the Ferengi was striking, particularly since they had effectively been written off in the later seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation . They had been hinted at in Encounter at Farpoint and introduced in The Last Outpost as iconic new adversaries for the crew of the Enterprise. However, they were an immediate flop, appearing sporadically as unconvincing antagonists in early episodes like The Battle or Peak Performance . They were already a joke by the time Behr joined the series, serving as gag villains in The Price and Ménage à Troi .

Coming to Ishka’s (Promen)ade.

Behr responded to the Ferengi, seeing them as a relatively unique alien species in the larger context of the Star Trek mythos. To Behr, the Ferengi were a lot more familiar than the Klingons or the Vulcans :

Ferengi are us. That’s the gag, the Ferengis are humans. They’re more human than the humans on Star Trek because they’re so screwed up and they’re so dysfunctional. They’re regular people.

The Ferengi are not heroic individuals. They are clumsy. They are awkward. They are flawed. Quark is willing to compromise on his ideals in ways that Kira or Bashir would never fathom, whether selling arms in Business as Usual or making peace with the Dominion Occupation in A Time to Stand .

“We’re all ears here.”

However, this flawed nature makes the Ferengi more heroic in a way. The other characters might be skeptical of Quark, but the character has his own moral compass. Rom is perhaps the most innocent character in the entire cast. As The Magnificent Ferengi points out, it was Quark who freed the captive resistance in Sacrifice of Angels , which allowed Sisko to retake the station. It was Rom who set up the minefield in Call to Arms and who sabotaged the weapons in Sacrifice of Angels . It is Nog who joins Starfleet in Heart of Stone .

From their unique vantage point, the Ferengi seem to see truths about the universe. Quark explains the Federation as intergalactic root beer in The Way of the Warrior . Quark understands (and is entirely comfortable with) the kinds of moral compromises that Sisko has to make in In the Pale Moonlight . Quark can recognise the erosion of Federation ideals under pressure in The Siege of AR-558 . The Ferengi make first contact with the Dominion in Rules of Acquisition and The Jem’Hadar . They even get the first hints of the forthcoming Breen alliance in The Magnificent Ferengi .

Infirm opposition.

However, the Ferengi have never been heroes. They have generally been tricksters, characters who offer a wry commentary on the grand narrative arcs of the larger Star Trek franchise. Even in their most influential moments, whether suggesting minefield blockades or springing rebels from prison, the Ferengi are wild cards. They are not the unsung heroes of these stories. They are simply the clever twist in the tale, the most unexpected cavalry, the joker dealt from the bottom of the deck.

And so The Magnificent Ferengi feels like an attempt to correct this. It is an attempt to construct a story in which the Ferengi are unequivocal heroes. The name naturally evokes the classic western The Magnificent Seven , an adaptation of The Seven Samurai that finds a rag-tag bunch of cowboys assembled for one last heroic hurrah. In The Magnificent Ferengi , Quark is tasked with putting together a crack team of Ferengi to rescue his mother from the sinister clutches of the Dominion on Empok Nor.

Crack-up commandos.

Of course, it’s best not to worry too much about the ridiculous contrivances of the plot. Why did the Dominion kidnap Ishka in the first place? After all, the Ferengi have repeatedly been identified as non-combatants in this conflict, and the Dominion has worked hard to prove to non-combatants likes Bajor that it can be trusted? Even if they did kidnap her, why wouldn’t they immediately try to leverage her over Grand Negus Zek? Even if they don’t know about the relationship, they know she had “special dispensation” for a cosmetic operation?

More than that, why would Zek instruct Quark to embark upon a rescue mission to save Ishka? It seems like Zek genuinely cares about Ishka, but episodes like The Nagus and Rules of Acquisition suggest that he doesn’t really have that much faith in Quark. Why wouldn’t Zek just hire a gang of Klingons or Nausicaans? Why wouldn’t Zek reach out to the Dominion himself? The plot for The Magnificent Ferengi hinges upon any number of ridiculous contrivances. But it doesn’t matter. They are not important.

“Yep, it’s a plot hole alright.”

The Magnificent Ferengi is both funny enough and focused enough that these logical leaps feel incidental. This is really about getting the Ferengi their moment in the sun, their opportunity to be heroes of their own Star Trek narrative. The Magnificent Ferengi hammers this theme heavily and repeatedly, from the teaser of Quark’s heroic negotiation story getting up-staged by the Defiant’s more conventional heroism through to the closing exchange between Quark and Rom. “So, brother,” Rom asks, “how does it feel to be a hero?”

Indeed, assembling this dirty half-dozen becomes a point of patriotic pride for Quark. “We could put together a commando team,” Rom suggests. “Gather the toughest mercenaries we can find. Nausicaans, Breen, Klingons.” Quark objects. “We don’t need Nausicaans, Breen or Klingons,” he states. “We’ll just use Ferengi.” He insists, “Ferengi can be just as tough as Klingons.” Even Rom seems unconvinced by this assertion. “They can?” he asks. Quark responds, “Of course they can.”

Surrendering their ambitions.

The first couple of acts of the episode loosely evoke the tone and style of House of Quark , a charming juxtaposition as Quark is thrown into a situation that he is ill-equipped to handle. After one disastrous training session, Quark confesses, “We’re wasting our time, Rom. We couldn’t get anywhere near Moogie, let alone rescue her.” Rom acknowledges, “I guess we’re not cut out to be heroes after all.” However, The Magnificent Ferengi pivots around this point. The problem is not that the Ferengi can’t be heroes, it is that they need to set their own narrative terms.

Sitting at the bar, reflecting on their situation, Rom has an epiphany. “Brother, I think we’ve been going about this the wrong way. We’re not commandos, we’re negotiators. We make deals. That’s what we’re good at. The Dominion has something we want, so we need to find something they want…” Quark finishes the thought. “And then we make a trade.” The Ferengi will not succeed by playing by the same rules as the Klingons or the Jem’Hadar. They will succeed by finding a way to shift the engagement to terms on which they can compete.

Cutting retorts.

Although there are certainly action beats in The Magnificent Ferengi , the episode suggests that the Ferengi succeed because they eschew traditional combat. The team only needs to kill two Jem’Hadar rather than an entire platoon, thanks to Quark’s shrewd negotiating. The team gets around the accidental death of Keevan through good old-fashioned hustle and false advertising. “Your people have a reputation for cunning,” Yelgrun acknowledges. “I see that it’s well earned.” It certainly is.

Indeed, The Magnificent Ferengi is a celebration of the failed antagonists in more than just its willingness to cede them the spotlight. It is also an acknowledgement of just how meticulously and carefully Ira Steven Behr has expanded and developed the Ferengi as a species. The Magnificent Ferengi features seven major Ferengi characters (Quark, Rom, Nog, Brunt, Gaila, Leck, and Ishka) and each of those seven characters has their own unique voice and characterisation. It is too much to say that they are all fully-formed, but they are all distinct.

Keeping them in the dark.

This is a remarkable demonstration of just how much energy Deep Space Nine has invested in the Ferengi. After all, it is hard to recall seven distinct Ferengi characters from the entirety of the run of The Next Generation . What is the difference between Letek in The Last Outpost and Bractor in Peak Performance , two early Ferengi played by Armin Shimerman? How might one distinguish Sovak in Captain’s Holiday from Par Lenor in The Perfect Mate, two slightly later Ferengi played by Max Grodénchik? However, the characters in The Magnificent Ferengi are all unique.

Quark is the leader of the bunch. Rom is his well-meaning idiot brother. Nog is a trained Starfleet officer. Brunt is a cowardly bureaucrat. Gaila is a convicted criminal and former arms’ dealer. Leck is a kill-crazy sociopath. Ishka refuses to be ignored, even in the middle of her own hostage exchange. To be fair, there is some slight redundancy there; both Brunt and Gaila are characterised as inept cowards. However, even then, there are shades to the characterisation; Brunt is just a bureaucrat out of his depth, while Gaila simply doesn’t really want to be there.

Bearing the Brunt of his animosity.

Even more impressive, none of these characters are entirely new. All seven major Ferengi guest stars were established in earlier episodes, although Leck was only fleetingly referenced in Ferengi Love Songs and might as well be a wholly original character. Still, Deep Space Nine has a deep enough bench of supporting characters that it can pluck five recurring Ferengi characters out of the ether without using Grand Negus Zek. It is an impressive testament to how carefully and meticulously the production team have built this world.

Indeed, The Magnificent Ferengi is populated with callbacks and references to earlier episodes, a reminder that the Deep Space Nine writing staff have embraced serialisation and long-form storytelling even beyond the season’s epic six-episode opening arc. The Magnificent Ferengi picks up with Brunt from Ferengi Love Songs and Gaila from Business as Usual . Keevan returns from Rocks and Shoals , and gets a pitch black comeuppance. Kira references the events of Sacrifice of Angels . There is a sense that even in a comedy episode, the past still has weight to it.

Hidden Jems.

The Magnificent Ferengi feels true to its characters. Keevan is the same slimy self-centred jackass who made his debut in Rocks and Shoals , just as creepy and manipulative. Yelgrun is played relatively straight, cut from the same clothe as Weyoun or Keevan. Even in the middle of a hostage negotiation, Yelgrun is still working on his sales pitch. “Perhaps one day the Ferengi will take their place as valued members of the Dominion,” he suggests to Quark. He also hints at negotiations with the Breen, which will pay off in Strange Bedfellows .

However, there is also the simple fact that The Magnificent Ferengi works so well because it is funny. This is the funniest episode of the sixth season, a season built around a horrific and brutal war that still finds time for no fewer than four separate comedy episodes. It is at least as funny as In the Cards . It is the funniest Ferengi episode since Little Green Men , if not since House of Quark . The episode is relatively cohesive in terms of internal logic, but it is also abundantly clear that the audience is never meant to take things too seriously.

One fer(angi) all..

The Magnificent Ferengi looks and feels like an episode that was great fun to produce. Jeffrey Combs conceded as much in an interview with Cinefantastique , citing it as one of his favourite episodes:

Recalled Combs, “As far as behind the scenes, I would say that one was the most fun, because you had seven character actors in this Ferengi makeup. Some of the things that we were doing just sitting around, or waiting for the camera to roll, some of the dialogue was really cool. It was great fun. I made some friends on that show, Josh Pais, and Hamilton Camp. I thought those guys would come back. They just ran out of time in terms of doing everything they wanted to do. I’m sure they would have loved to have The Magnificent Ferengi return.”

Of course, one suspects that a sequel episode might have undercut the charm significantly. After all, the mirror universe had become a source of diminishing returns. Still, it is hard to imagine a sequel being worse than Profit and Lace or The Emperor’s New Cloak .

This plan went down the tubes.

The jokes in The Magnificent Ferengi come thick and fast. There are all manner of great jokes from the outset, from the sly gag about a Ferengi travelling to Vulcan “to have her ears raised” through to the confusion of Quark and Rom arriving in Sisko’s office. The Magnificent Ferengi is packed with jokes that work on various levels, offering a very broad selection of humour that hits with surprising frequency. If an audience member doesn’t like an individual joke, there will be a different type of joke momentarily.

There is great banter. After a failed rescue simulation, Quark criticises Leck in particular. “This is the eighth run through and you haven’t been able to hit a single Jem’Hadar. And you shot Moogie.” Leck shrugs, “I saw we weren’t going to rescue her so I put her out of her misery.” Boarding the Ferengi shuttle that will take him to Empok Nor, Keevan warns his fellow travelers, “The moment we leave this station, you’ll have signed your death warrants.” His point made, he deadpans, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap.”

“… you realize that there is such a thing as truly funny.”

There is well-observed character-driven comedy. When Quark is assembling his team, he understands exactly which buttons to push to get Nog to sign up. When Nog declines the first invitation, Quark reflects, “Too bad, though. We were going to make you Strategic Operations officer.” Nog pauses. “You mean like Commander Worf?” Quark agrees, “Exactly like Commander Worf.” It is an exaggeration of Nog’s anxieties and ambitions, the same characteristics that drive Valiant , but it is very much in character and well-observed.

There is even some great physical comedy, from the repeated sequences of the Ferengi scurrying like panicked mice through to the extremely dark fate of Keevan in the final act. Improvising after accidentally killing him, the Ferengi improvise a twenty-fourth century version of Weekend at Bernie’s . As zombie! Keevan staggers through the corridor, Yelgrun seems genuinely horrified. “What have they done to him?” he asks, perhaps all the better for not knowing.

Keevan’s career could use a shot in the arm.

The episode leaves zombie! Keevan stuck in a perpetual loop, like a really bad robot. Keevan is stuck forever, constantly walking into the same bulkhead, taking a step back, and trying again. It is an incredibly black piece of humour for a Star Trek episode, one that could easily feel like a monstrous violation of Keevan’s body. However, the image is just absurd enough that it works and Christopher Shea ensures that Keevan is so wonderfully skeevy that this feels like a fitting end, even if the audience missed his brutal betrayal of the Jem’Hadar in Rocks and Shoals .

It helps that the episode’s sense of reality is already heightened by the presence of a very special and very eccentric guest star. The Star Trek franchise has a long and interesting list of celebrity guest stars, from Mick Fleetwood in Manhunt to Christian Slater in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country to the Rock in Tsunkatse . Even Deep Space Nine has its own long list of memorable guest stars, including the all-time great guest cast of Steven Berkoff, Josh Pais and Lawrence Tierney in Business as Usual .

He forgot one Kee(van) detail.

Still, Iggy Pop is a very memorable guest star. He is a beloved musician, but not a veteran actor. His role in The Magnificent Ferengi is not a cameo, but he is hardly a featured player. Keevan is featured more prominently than Yelgrun, who plays a major role in three scenes over the course of the episode. However, Iggy Pop is never sidelined or maginalised. No attempt is made to disguise his presence or to write around his relative lack of experience as a film and television actor. Iggy Pop is right there. Yelgrun is even introduced through his distinctive voice.

It is a very weird guest appearance, but one that fits the tone of the episode around it. There is something very surreal in seeing Iggy Pop’s face on a fairly standard Star Trek alien, the prosthetics pronounced without obscuring his distinctive features. Unlike his frequently collaborator David Bowie, Iggy Pop never quite mastered a perfect screen persona. Iggy Pop is nowhere near as convincing as a manipulative Vorta as Jeffrey Combs or Christopher Shea. The Magnificent Ferengi would be a different episode if Combs pulled double duty as Weyoun.

And yet, it works. There is something ever so slightly “off” about Pop’s performance, in the same way that there is something ever so slightly “off” about his very presence in a Star Trek episode. Yelgrun seems curiously detached from the drama unfolding around him, never launching the same insincere charm offensive as Weyoun or Keevan. Iggy Pop delivers compliments and platitudes, but he never seems invested in them. It is almost as though Yelgrun has turned down his inner “diplomacy” setting because he is dealing with the Ferengi.

Instead, Pop’s performance works best when Yelgrun seems bemused or confused, aloof somewhere between genuine curious at the contours of his situation and bored out of his skull with what should have been a routine assignment. Pop plays Yelgrun as the straight man to the chaos around him, somebody who is game enough (and willing enough) to go along with the eccentricities of the Ferengi without feeling particularly invested in any of this.

Dis(Yel)gruntled.

There are points at which Yelgrun seems almost inscrutable. As Ishka and Nog fight over which one might be a Founder, Quark apologises, “Family. You understand.” Yelgrun responds, “Not really. I was cloned.” Pop delivers the line as a statement of fact, suggesting no real angst or curiosity, but some sense ambivalence. Rom wonders, “No parents? That explains a lot.” Ishka clarifies, “No parents, no sweetheart, no investment portfolio…” Yelgrun cuts her off, “And no patience.” It’s not a threat. It’s not especially rude. But it does suggest an edge to him.

Yelgrun’s final scene opens with Ishka raving about her latest skincare products. Yelgrun listens politely. He even runs his hand along her lobes to feel how smooth they are, acknowledging that they are pretty smooth. Once Ishka has made her pitch, he responds, “Fascinating. I’d love to hear more, but if your son doesn’t show up soon I’m afraid I’m going to have to kill you.” Pop’s delivery is delightfully deadpan. It is not campy. It is not sarcastic. It is not playful. It is not angry. It is just a statement of how things are. It’s a beautiful scene.

Cutting commentary.

The Magnificent Ferengi feels very much like the perfect place to leave the Ferengi, barring maybe the coda that plays out as a subplot to The Dogs of War . It is a celebration of all the work that Ira Steven Behr has done in fleshing out the Ferengi and instilling them with a weird sense of dignity that was so sorely lacking during their appearances on The Next Generation . It is confirmation that Behr has fashioned the Ferengi into a multifaceted species that can produce seven unique characters and stand at the centre of a (slightly warped) heroic narrative.

More than that, The Magnificent Ferengi is just fun. It is packed to the brim with clever jokes and wry observations, built into a straightforward plot that balances very carefully between having enough substance to sustain an hour without ever suffocating the jokes. The Magnificent Ferengi is… well, magnificent.

You might be interested in our reviews of the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine :

A Time to Stand
Rocks and Shoals
Sons and Daughters
Behind the Lines
Favour the Bold
Sacrifice of Angels
You Are Cordially Invited…
Resurrection
Statistical Probabilities
The Magnificent Ferengi
Who Mourns for Morn?
Far Beyond the Stars
One Little Ship
Honour Among Thieves
Change of Heart
Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
Inquisition
In the Pale Moonlight
The Reckoning
Profit and Lace
Time’s Orphan
The Sound of Her Voice
Tears of the Prophets

14 Responses

This was one of the episodes that I watched expecting disappointment, and then was pleasantly surprised that they pulled it off pretty well. Loved the scene with Keevan – it’s rare that Star Trek will actually make me laugh out loud but that scene cracked me up.

I wouldn’t recognize Iggy Pop if I saw him on the street, but I thought Yelgrun was a nice difference from other Vorta simply because he wasn’t being an ingratiating creep so much as deadpan serious.

Keegan is a fantastic character, delightfully wry and deadpan.

Do you mean Keevan, Yelgrun or both Darren?

Both! Sure, why not?

Both Vorta and Ferengi in this episode are priceless. The stark comparison in the matter of their nature makes an impossibly absurd frontal clash. Although it’s not really that frontal for Ferengis; they basically hide behind Keevan’s dead-walking body. And we’ve got to see a rather different kind of Vorta; not necessarily good, but still different.

It’s a great episode – great for laugh, great as in consistent characteristics, great to provide a much-needed diversity. I remember the first time i watched it, I was seriously considering what it would be if the Ferengis were the main decision-making force in the confront with the Domanion. Like Quark once pointed out, it would be totally different and perhaps less deadly.

Have watched this episode many times, always can’t help laughing at Keevan’s last words “I hate Ferengi” and Yelgurn’s confusion at Keevan’s odd-style walking. It is horrifying but such a suitable end for that selfish and cunning bastard, and feels like a prophet of the Founders’ fate.

It is a fantastic little episode. If Waltz should have been the last Dukat episode, then The Magnificent Ferengi should have been the last Ferengi episode.

Rewatching it, I noticed that both Quark and Nog were laughing right at the end of the ep, when they were trying to “turn Keevan off”. I doubt that was in the script, but I’ll bet there’s some behind-the-scenes story there.

Also, when Quark and Rom accidentally enter Sisco’s office at the beginning, I really like that Sisco was kind of sitting there silently, as if awaiting them. He wasn’t doing paperwork or engaging in negotiations via viewscreen.

“Wrong turn.”

“Looks that way.”

Great gag in a great episode.

For a long time, The Magnificent Ferengi topped my personal list of best episodes of DS9. It no longer occupies that position but it’s definitely near the top of the tree when it comes to Ferengi episodes, only nudged into second place by Little Green Men.

Being a Ferengi episode you know beforehand it will be a comedic one, not a genre blessed with glittering examples, but unlike its S6 stablemate Profit and Lace, The Magnificent Ferengi is a howlingly funny success (the other was just howling).

It’s all the more welcome at this time in DS9’s history but in spite of the risk of becoming too broad and farcical, it never becomes either (Profit and Lace on the other hand…). The joy of it is the way it takes disparate Ferengi from a lot of disparate episodes and brings them together to form one classic episode.

The plot is no great shakes – an inept group of losers are forced to team up and we watch them bumble they’re way towards a happy ending, complete with all of the obligatory cliches of the genre. But in spite of that, The Magnificent Ferengi is remarkably successful.

Like you said Darren, all the Ferengi are clearly defined and each one brings something, even relative newcomers like Josh Pais and Hamilton Camp. But the veteran Ferengi anchor the story so that it never loses sight of what is at heart a rather risky endeavour – rescuing Ishka from the Dominion (it was to be the Nagus but Wallace Shawn’s unavailability shot that idea in the head).

The episode overcomes the bumps in the screenplay by several inspired ideas. One is the use of Empok Nor, the Cardassian space station that was the setting of such misery and mayhem last year, put towards a very different use this time. It forms the second part of a trilogy (the final one Covenant is next year) where Empok Nor is used as the backdrop for whatever the writers need it to be, from horror to comedy and back again.

But the most inspired touch is the casting of rock god Iggy Pop as Yelgrun, the Vorta the Dominion send to trade Ishka for Keevan (last seen in Rocks and Shoals). Usually when singers and pop stars get it into they’re heads that they can be actors too, the results are cringeworthy. Just look at Madonna’s failed attempts at an acting career. One rare exception was David Bowie, who did possess acting ability (which was no different from taking on different personas in his heyday). Bowie played aliens Ziggy Stardust and The Man Who Fell to Earth and Iggy Pop does equally great work here as Yelgrun.

Pop lacks Bowie’s charisma but his flat delivery works rather well as a Vorta. Yelgrun freely admits he’s a clone, one that hasn’t been programmed with Weyoun or Kilana’s diplomatic skills. Its clear he regards this whole assignment as something beneath him and he doesn’t care who knows it. I especially liked the way the episode plays into Pop’s rock persona when he starts throwing a strop at Quark’s feet-dragging (Vorta have always seemed divas at heart).

The Magnificent Ferengi takes what could have been an eminently predictable episode and through the use of some truly inspired ideas and twists (Keevan’s sudden death and reanimation is the height of hilarity), it becomes a comedy classic. Ferengi episodes are in a very different place now from where they first started in The Last Outpost. If only they had known when to stop.

It really is fantastic, isn’t it?

Could that have been an alternate title – The Fantastic Ferengi?

I know you, Darren, feel not so positive about Season 6, but aside from the almost perfect start I always liked the middle stretch of it so much that it can compensate for some garbage in its last third. “Statistical probabilities” (thanks for the great review/discussion which mirrored a lot of my thoughts) and this one are so perfect in their own account. So many of those mid-season-6-episodes are personal, very nuanced, feeling very “alive” and vibrant, light-hearted against the background of the war. I am very fond of this and it might not be as consistent or seamless like the most part of season 5, but it is more memorable to me. DS9 is always best represented by Season 6 to me. It felt like it really hit its peak here and continued it until the end of the series. And yes, I admit it: I also like the first half of season 7…

PS: This episode reminded me a lot about “One little ship” in the way it shows some heroes in a very unlikely tale. It seems almost like the writers invite the audience to doubt the narrator (beyond the “sane” doubting of a work of fiction) somehow. Still, the irony never diminishes the appeal of the story.

I’d agree with a lot of this. I’m less fond of season six than most, and more fond of season seven than most. I think a large part of that is what you said, season six has no idea where it’s going after they retake the station, which means that the quality of individual episodes is a bit of a crapshoot. Season seven at least has the looming finale to impose a sense of structure on the season.

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Season 6, Episode 10

The magnificent ferengi, where to watch, star trek: deep space nine — season 6, episode 10.

Watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Season 6, Episode 10 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

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Cast & crew.

Avery Brooks

Capt. Benjamin Sisko

Rene Auberjonois

Michael Dorn

Lt. Cmdr. Worf

Terry Farrell

Lt. Cmdr. Jadzia Dax

Cirroc Lofton

Colm Meaney

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Episode Info

April 30, 2024 | See Alexander, Nog, And Jake Deal With Q Jr’s Time Loop Shenanigans In ‘Sons Of Star Trek’ #2 Preview
April 29, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 506 With New Images. Trailer And Clip From “Whistlespeak”
April 28, 2024 | Interview: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Writer Carlos Cisco On Unmasking The Breen And Revisiting The ISS Enterprise
April 26, 2024 | Michael Dorn Wanted Armin Shimerman To Play The Ferengi That Worf Killed In Star Trek Picard
April 26, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Gets To Know The Breen In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ 505, “Mirrors”

Michael Dorn Wanted Armin Shimerman To Play The Ferengi That Worf Killed In Star Trek Picard

| April 26, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 27 comments so far

Earlier this week, TrekMovie’s All Access Star Trek podcast team spoke to Star Trek: Deep Nine Star Armin Shimerman along with his wife (and DS9) guest star Kitty Swink, TNG vet Jonathan Frakes, and television writer/producer Juan Carlos Coto, brother of late Enterprise writer/producer Manny Coto. They had all gathered together to talk about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and their team Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer for the Purple Stride walk this Saturday, April 27th. During the wide-ranging chat, Shimerman told a funny story about a suggestion for him to appear in the final season of Picard .

Armin says no to Worf chopping off his head

The subject of how other actors have played Ferengi in some of the new Star Trek shows came up, including the character Sneed in the latest season of Star Trek: Picard . Armin Shimerman had nothing but “kudos” for actor Aaron Stanford, who played Sneed:

“I was in awe. It was just astounding.”

Aaron Stanford as Sneed in Picard ‘s “Disengage” (Paramount+)

Kitty Swink then prompted her husband to tell the “Dorny story.” Armin obliged, retelling this conversation he had with his former DS9 co-star:

“Before they cast [Sneed], [Michael] Dorn me up and said ‘I’m doing an episode of Picard where I kill off a Ferengi? Wouldn’t it be great if it were you.’ [laughs] I said, ‘No, it would not be great.’ I told him to just forget about that idea, altogether.”

TrekMovie confirmed with Swink and Shimerman that Dorn was suggesting Armin play Sneed on Picard , not that he reprise his DS9 role as Quark. After others noted the scene was rather brutal—it involved Worf cutting Sneed’s head off, Swink jumped in again:

“I got to say, for all the times I have baked bread for Michael Dorn, that was really a shitty thing for him to say.” [laughs]

Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker and Michael Dorn as Worf in Picard ‘s “The Bounty” (Paramount+)

Jonathan Frakes tried to be diplomatic, suggesting Dorn might have not known Worf was going to cut off Sneed’s head, but Armin said Michael was at least sure Worf was going to kill the character. Frakes (who appeared in every episode of Picard season 3 and directed 2 episodes) noted Sneed was still somewhat based on Quark, complimenting Shimerman on the layers he brought to a previously unsympathetic species:

“The tightrope you walked—all levity aside—to represent what [Gene] Roddenberry thought of as this despicable capitalist pig with huge ears. And yet the humorous, smart, charming, cleve—all the qualities that Quark had and still be an essentially a villain, and do it through rubber. It takes a special actor, which you are.”

Armin Shimerman as Quark in Deep Space Nine

High praise for return on Lower Decks

Shimerman has had a recent return to the franchise, voicing Quark for the season 3 episode “Hear All, Trust Nothing” of Star Trek: Lower Decks . During the podcast discussion, the actor talked up his experience:

“I did have fun, and I did get to ad lib. It was a great, great, great fun. And they couldn’t have been nicer. They were very sweet. And both Nana [Visitor] and I were very touched that they wanted to make it a tribute to Deep Space Nine . The opening sequence of shooting the station brought tears to both of our eyes because it was just so nostalgic. And we love working there. It was a it was a great, great experience. It couldn’t have been nicer.”

Lower Decks “Hear All, Trust Nothing”

If you can, please join Purple Stride, donate to the cause, or both. If you can’t, please spread the word via social media and word of mouth. For more info,, visit the Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer participation and donation page

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I think that would have been one of the most divisive moments in Trek history had it happened.

Agreed. They could have called that Ferengi ANYTHING but as soon as Worf’s blade went through his neck, it would’ve been “Worf killed Quark!” and I don’t think I could have ever forgiven him (Worf or Dorn).

I think it would have been cool. It’s not Dorn killing Shimerman, it’s Worf killing Sneed. People are being real weenies about this.

It has to be a joke. Seriously.

My recommendation would be no one listen to Michael Dorn regarding casting and plot ideas.

I wish I could upvote this a thousand times.

Dorn had mentioned to Shimmerman in jest. I do not believe he was serious about having Worf do that. The two are friends in real life – it was just a joke between the two. Dorn never suggested it to the scriptwriter or director. Don’t read too much into it.

I know I’m about to be verbally pummeled, but is there that much adoration for Quark out there? I wouldn’t have minded him having a cameo to be killed off, ala Shelby. Just imo, I don’t feel a great affinity for the character. No shade on Armin Shimerman either, by the way. He played the role to a tee.

I liked Quark, but I feel that having any main character killed off in such a fashion would be a bit shitty. Shelby only appeared in two episodes (even if the character was featured in the books more), so it would be a bit different for the fans. Just think back to the way fans reacted to the deaths of Jadzia or Trip, and they at least died in their own shows.

I can dig that. It would have certainly been an emotional punch. It did suck quite a bit when Jadzia left us.

it would also be a very weird dramatic turn for Quark after the character development he displayed in DS9 – to then be in such a state that Worf would kill him

I like Quark as much as any Star Trek character but it really has nothing to do with that. Having any character show up and do something the audience KNOWS they wouldn’t so you can generate a cameo out of it is sooooooooo lazy and apathetic about the world they’ve built. This is the kind of thing new star trek does a little too much. I’m not against writing a character out….I’m against things that suck and that would’ve.

Yes, well put. And part of the reason I asked that was exactly because I would expect that from these showrunners, kill off a main legacy character simply because they can. It is totally lazy if it’s simply done ‘just because.’

Quark is one of the most popular characters of the 1990s-era Star Trek.

Quark and Worf were on DS9 together for years and never seemed to have any serious beef. Worf was very conscientious; Quark was an okay guy for a Ferengi, not one of the really scummy ones. So what exactly would precipitate Worf to lop Quark’s head off, that wouldn’t mangle one character or the other?

Quark is the classic anti-hero. Sure he plays the villain but in the end, he always manages to do the right thing. And in TOS and TNG everyone is beyond good. Quark was the first main Trek character to be dubious. Those are just a few reasons why he is so beloved.

I prefer Sneed. He was an interesting character. I don’t want to see Quark beheaded. Luckily, they didn’t go that route.

Sneed seemed more like Roddenberry’s original intent for the Ferengi. Too bad he was barely on screen, he was a fantastic villain, probably the best of the series.

Anybody read above? Nobody was going to kill Quark, Armin would have been playing Sneed. So, uh what??

I caught that, but as you can see, many, many, many folks would simply see/read “Worf killed Quark” and go to town on it.

Nobody would have been fooled. “That’s Quark using a false name!’

Yes, I caught that he was joking.

I love Dorn as Worf and he’s one of the few old characters I want to see more of, but what a lousy idea! There would have to be a LOT of backstory to explain to us why Worf would ever kill some guy he knew back in the day on Deep Space Nine and never seem to have issues with. For a Ferengi, Quark was a pretty okay guy. What could he possibly do to make Worf so angry at him?

Totally rewatching that ep now!

It’s interesting to see other sites blowing this up as if Armin formally “turned down” an offer from Picard’s casting director to play Sneed. From what I’m reading here, it was just a side conversation between two friends – and that was as far as it went.

If you listen to the podcast, you can hear them all laughing as Armin tells the story. That’s exactly what it was!

Michael Dorn wanted Armin Shimerman to play the Ferengi Worf killed in Star Trek Picard

W orf's return to Star Trek: Picard came with a brutal entrance as he saved Raffi's (Michelle Hurd) life by decapitating the Ferengi Sneed who was played by Aaron Stanford. It was a powerful scene that reintroduced the warrior side of Michael Dorn's character. And after learning he'd gotten the role and what it entailed during that first scene, Dorn had an actor in mind to play the dead Ferengi walking— Armin Shimerman , who spent seven years playing the greedy but somewhat lovable Ferengi, Quark, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

According to Shimerman, who was on TrekMovie’s All Access Star Trek podcast this week to talk about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Dorn shared the idea that Shimerman play Sneed on Picard. Needless to say, Shimerman wasn't enthralled with the idea, especially knowing his character would meet his end at Worf's blade.

“Before they cast [Sneed], [Michael] Dorn me up and said ‘I’m doing an episode of Picard where I kill off a Ferengi? Wouldn’t it be great if it were you.’ [laughs] I said, ‘No, it would not be great.’ I told him to just forget about that idea, altogether.”Armin Shimerman

Kitty Swink, Shimerman's wife, who was also on the All Access Star Trek podcast, stood up for her husband and said that after all of the bread she'd baked for Dorn, it basically wasn't a good thing to say...only she expressed that a little stronger.

“I got to say, for all the times I have baked bread for Michael Dorn, that was really a shitty thing for him to say.” [laughs]Kitty Swink

Of course, we know this is all in good fun as Dorn and Shimerman spent four years working together on Deep Space Nine and obviously share a friendship. Why else would Swink be baking bread for him? Still, it would have been quite funny to know that was the former Quark behind the new Ferengi mask on Picard!

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Michael Dorn wanted Armin Shimerman to play the Ferengi Worf killed in Star Trek Picard .

Michael Dorn wanted Armin Shimerman to play the Ferengi Worf killed in Star Trek Picard

‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Best Crossover Character Changed the Show Forever

It also results in some of the best relationships within the Star Trek universe.

The Big Picture

Worf's arrival on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine deepened the exploration of Klingon culture and his personal identity.
Worf's relationship with Jadzia adds depth to his character and highlights his humanity.
Worf's struggles adjusting to life on DS9 test his loyalty, friendship, and honor.

Worf, son of Mogh ( Michael Dorn ), is a beloved character initially introduced to audiences in Star Trek: The Next Generation , known for his battle-hardened stoicism and the comedic relief that his upright and rigid demeanor brings. Worf crossed over to Deep Space Nine in the fourth season, much to the delight of Star Trek fans. Initially, his arrival on DS9 allowed the show to explore the Klingon Empire in-depth by extrapolating his inner conflict between his roles as a dutiful Federation Officer and a fierce Warrior of The Klingon Empire.

However, Worf's presence on DS9 would also forever change the series , allowing a deep exploration of the machinations of the Empire through its saga with Gowron ( Robert O'Reilly ). His relationship with Jadzia ( Terry Farrell ), a Trill learned in the ways of the Klingon, would help highlight Worf's humanity, act as a romantic counterpoint to his rigidity, and provide context for the curious observer. Jadzia and Worf are similar in some respects, as they both have multiple identities to reconcile. Jadzia would be the first non-Klingon woman that Worf could be with in the traditional sense, giving a vulnerability to the character that would carry on throughout the series and provide a deep richness to DS9 that helped cement it as a critical series in the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

In the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, the Federation space station Deep Space Nine guards the opening of a stable wormhole to the far side of the galaxy.

What Is 'Deep Space Nine' About?

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the fourth series in the Star Trek universe, created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller . Deep Space Nine ran from January 3, 1993, to June 2, 1999, for 176 episodes over seven seasons. It was the first Star Trek series to be created without the involvement of series founder Gene Roddenberry , the first to be set on a space station, and the first to boast a Black captain in Benjamin Sisko ( Avery Brooks ). The series follows the exploits of a hybrid crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers on the titular space station, in orbit above Bajor and adjacent to a wormhole leading to the distant and mysterious Gamma Quadrant. Starfleet has come to oversee the transfer of power from the oppressive Cardassian Empire to the Bajoran civilian government, which has been under the heel of the Cardassians for some time.

The series is much darker than its predecessors . At one point, Major Kira Nerys ( Nana Visitor ), the first officer of Deep Space Nine, is a Cardassian prisoner of war, and even Sisko himself saw his wife killed during a Borg raid on a space station. The currents of trauma that run through the ensemble invoke feelings of loneliness, desperation, and fear, which the characters must overcome in typical Starfleet fashion. The well-roundedness of the characters makes them very compelling and adds a layer of sophistication to the series, which, while present in its predecessors, came into its own during DS9 and became a recurring theme on the show.

One particular theme that runs through Deep Space Nine is the duty to one's station and the duty one has towards one's individuality. This exploration of where duty and individuality meet is present in many characters. Take Odo ( René Auberjonois ) , for example, a Founder separated from his people and planted firmly in the camp of the Alpha Quadrant. In contrast, his people wage war on the planets of the Federation. Odo must choose between his people, Starfleet, and his cultural identity and individuality. So, too, must Kira, whose hatred for the Cardassian is a defining feature of her character, and who has to learn to overcome this so that it does not interfere with her duties to Starfleet. This war between the Founders, their allies, and Starfleet is the primary conflict in the series . They are a formidable race of shapeshifters backed by the Jem'Hadar, a warrior race of beings whose soul existence is to crush opposition. They are a tough, genocidal race, terrifying in their methods and fearsome enough to give the Klingon Empire a run for its money.

Worf's Arrival Changed 'Deep Space Nine' for the Better

Worf joins the crew of Deep Space Nine during the feature-long premiere episode of Season 4 in "The Way Of The Warrior." At the beginning of the episode, the Klingon Empire, led by Gowron, shows up at the space station to aid them in their fight against the Founders. This is a serious boon for Starfleet and the Alpha Quadrant, as the Klingons are such fearsome and brutal fighters that they may tip the balance of power throughout the war. But they push things too far, illegally searching Bajoran ships and starting a war with the Cardassians, whom they believe to be comprised of the shapeshifting Founders. Worf is brought to gather intelligence by reaching out to the Empire. He is very close with Gowron, who has absolved Worf and his family of their generations-long disgrace. Worf learns of the Klingon plans to invade Cardassia and must choose between fulfilling his duties to Starfleet or joining Gowron in battle. Worf's choice to maintain his honor by remaining in Starfleet is a moral choice that tests his individuality against those of his bloodthirsty cultural traditions.

Throughout the series, Worf meets Deep Space Nine's chief science officer, Jadzia Dax, a Trill and the host of the symbiont that once belonged to Curzon Dax . Due to the Dax symbiont carrying all its previous hosts' memories, Jadzia can tap into Curzon's familiarity with Klingon customs. The characters are exciting foils to one another. Worf is glib, stoic, and utterly humorless, while Jadzia is more irreverent and open, owing to the many past lives she recalls through her symbiont. However, the two also have more in common than one might think ; they are both people who have multiple identities. The critical difference is that Jadzia has reconciled her identities, while Worf remains at odds with his.

Jadzia is the only person aboard Deep Space Nine who can genuinely understand Worf , and it is this factor that blossoms their innocuous meeting into what may be one of the most fantastic love stories ever told in the Star Trek universe. Their connection is marvelous as their conflicting natures are both points of contention that allow for humorous moments where Jadzia's tenderness assuages the beast within Worf. It is delightful to watch Worf babysit chief operations officer Miles O'Brien's ( Colm Meaney ) daughter, paving the way for the couple to conceive a child of their own — which is made all the more tragic by Jadzia's murder and Worf's spiral into despair.

Worf Had a Difficult Time Adjusting To Life On Deep Space Nine

Initially, Worf has his former Enterprise crewmate O'Brien to help ease his transition into life on the space station. The two were close, and their relationship strengthened on The Next Generation , after Worf helped O'Brien's wife Keiko ( Rosalind Chao ) give birth to their daughter. When Worf joins the crew of DS9, O'Brien is among the first to receive him to help him acclimate — introducing him to Doctor Julian Bashir ( Alexander Siddig ), a rival suitor for Jadzia's affections and eventual boyfriend to Ezri ( Nicole de Boer ), who becomes the host of the Dax symbiote after Jadzia's untimely death.

O'Brien is the only person Worf can genuinely confide in after the death of his wife, and he heartbreakingly confesses to his friend that he fears Jadzia's soul may never make it to Klingon heaven because she hadn't eaten the heart of her enemy after a night of too much blood wine. Worf longs to be with his wife in the afterlife, making Ezri's relationship with Bashir a sore point for the commander. But Worf eventually becomes a friend to Ezri, who, in effect, helps Worf to properly grieve Jadzia's death so that he can move on and step up to be the man that the Klingon Empire needs.

It isn't an easy transition for Worf after he accepts the commission of Special Operations Officer on Deep Space Nine — yet Captain Sisko has incredible foresight when he offers Worf the position. He sees Worf as a profoundly knowledgeable and capable military strategist whose intuition and extensive knowledge of warfare, particularly Klingon warfare, would greatly benefit the station and Starfleet. This position puts Worf in direct opposition to his people and weighs heavily on his mind. By siding with Sisko over Gowron, Worf again sees himself as an outsider among his people . His frustrations are palpable, but he can sublimate these into his work and subsequently earn a place of deep respect in Sisko's heart. It is summed up rather nicely between the two with a hearty handshake when Worf accepts the role of Ambassador to the Klingon homeworld.

Until this point, Worf wants to restore his family's honor, and ironically, he loses it again while pursuing what he believes to be honorable. Here is the show's crux: how far someone is willing to go to do what they believe to be correct. Sisko tests the bounds of his morality while making difficult choices about defeating the Founders. Odo turns his back on his people. On the fringes of the known universe, a brave crew of deeply traumatized heroes will learn exactly that. Worf's crossover on Deep Space Nine marks the point where the series descends into a dark rabbit hole spurned on through the fog of war, but it also results in some of the best character relationships within the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+

Den of Geek

Star Trek Just Addressed One of Deep Space Nine’s Biggest Unanswered Questions

The Star Trek: Discovery episode "Mirrors" includes a HUGE reveal about the Breen, an odd alien species from Deep Space Nine.

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers.

“I wonder what the Breen look like under those helmets?” asks Ezri Dax in the Deep Space Nine season seven episode “‘Till Death Do Us Part.” That’s a strange question, given that Ezri and Worf had been captured by the Breen and interrogated for some time. But despite their close and uncomfortable contact with the hostile alien species, neither hostage learned much about them.

“They say no one has ever seen one and lived to speak of it,” Worf answers.

Ezri continues in her usual lighthearted manner. “Maybe they’re all furry. It’s supposed to be very cold on Breen.”

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“One thing is certain.”

“They’re horrible cooks?”

“They are dangerous,” responds Worf, with even greater gravity than the Klingon usually assumes. “They do not tolerate incursions into their space. During the Second Empire, Chancellor Mow’ga sent a fleet of Klingon ships to conquer their homeworld, and they were never heard from again.”

Until today, that bit of dialogue encapsulated everything that Trekkies knew about the Breen. First mentioned in The Next Generation, the Breen appeared most prominently in the final season of Deep Space Nine , in which the Breen presented a threat that undid whatever gains the Federation had made in the Dominion War.

When the Dominion first entered the Alpha Quadrant through a wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant, they threatened to immediately overwhelm the Federation. As a result, the Federation had to align with longtime antagonists the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire. That confederation was more than a match for the Dominion/Cardassian alliance, but then the Dominion upped its hand by enlisting the terrifying Breen. It would take a miracle for the Alpha Quadrant forces to win. Fortunately, the Federation had a miracle on its side in the form of the Prophets (and the morally flexible Section 31 ) and won the war.

The Breen rarely appeared after Deep Space Nine concluded, and it’s easy to see why. They felt like they came from another universe, even moreso than the alien oddities that often appeared on Star Trek . With their monocular helmets and gravelly, indistinguishable voices, they felt like something out of Star Wars — specifically, they felt like riffs on Princess Leia’s bounty hunter disguise at the start of Return of the Jedi . Although they get a couple of nods in Voyager and, of course, Lower Decks , the Breen were largely relegated to a handful of non-canon novels.

That is, until the Star Trek: Discovery season five episode “ Mirrors .” In that episode, we finally learn that L’ak, a courier who has been chasing past Discovery in a search for Progenitor tech with his partner Moll, is a Breen who doesn’t wear helmet that hides his face, showing us for the first time what the species actually looks like under the armor. That’s a surprise because L’ak appeared to be just a regular green-skinned alien, a little lizard-esque in appearance, almost like a Reptilian Xindi from Enterprise .

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In fact, “Mirrors” does a lot more than just show us the face of the Breen. We also learn more about their culture, getting a sense of why they refuse to use a Universal Translator in conversation with other races and of their political system. In a move that recalls another Star Wars property, The Mandalorian , the Breen consider their helmets their true faces, and in fact have a transparent look when they remove that helmet.

But as L’ak makes clear, the Breen have the capacity to change, something hinted by the warmth and softness performer Elias Toufexis brings to his imposing character. Not only has L’ak made his skin non-translucent, but he’s adopted Federation Standard (aka English) and moved beyond his hierarchical culture.

Those changes are a good thing, because the Breen have always created problems for Star Trek canon. As many fans have noted, although Worf insisted that no one had seen the Breen under their costumes, Kira and others stole Breen uniforms to move behind enemy lines at one point on the series. They must have gotten a glimpse of the Breen then, right?

For Ronald D. Moore , one of the key creatives during the ’90s Star Trek era, that’s not necessarily the case. “There’s nothing in those helmets. I don’t think there’s a guy in there, which is something we never got around to saying,” Moore said in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion . “Or maybe there’s a little slug, some tiny little creature in there. I never wanted them to be humanoid in any way.”

“Mirrors” goes against Moore’s wishes then, but that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Discovery started its life by radically altering the Klingons. Looks like it will be ending its life by radically altering the Breen. But this time, it’s for the better.

Star Trek: Discovery is streaming now on Paramount+.

Joe George | @jageorgeii

Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!

Screen Rant

Star trek’s 10 most evil mirror universe characters.

Star Trek's Mirror Universe is home to the most evil versions of our favorite Starfleet heroes, but which ones are the best of the worst?

The Mirror Universe boasts evil versions of beloved Star Trek characters — Mirror Spock, Mirror Sulu, Regent Worf, & more stand out.
Evil Mirror Universe variants like Mirror Kirk and Intendant Kira showcase the dark side of well-loved Star Trek characters in a compelling way.
Mirror Universe characters like Emperor Georgiou, Captain Killy, and Dr. Phlox display extreme evil actions, making them the "worst of the worst."

Star Trek 's Mirror Universe is home to the most evil versions of some of the franchise's most beloved heroes, but which ones are the best of the worst? First introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 10, "Mirror, Mirror", the Mirror Universe is the Federation's darkest timeline, where humanity embraced brutal fascism over peace, love and understanding. Although the Mirror Universe only appeared in one episode of TOS , bearded Mirror Spock (Leonard Nimoy) left a huge impression on popular culture, leading to multiple returns to the dark timeline and its evil alternates in later Star Trek TV shows .

Arguably, the most evil Mirror Universe character was Mirror Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), who met the visiting Vulcan delegation with a shotgun blast . Cochrane's murderous first contact established how the Terran Empire would go on to subjugate countless species in Star Trek 's Mirror Universe. However, it was just the human Star Trek heroes that had evil Mirror Universe variants , the franchise's best-loved Bajoran, Klingon, and Cardassian characters also had their dark opposites. In a whole universe of evil Star Trek characters, it can be hard to narrow down exactly which ones are the best at being the worst.

Star Trek: Voyager & DS9 Crossed Over In The Mirror Universe

10 mirror hikaru sulu (george takei), "you will also appear to have killed him after a fierce battle. regrettable, but it will leave me in command.".

Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was thrown into the complicated power dynamics of the Mirror Universe when he and his away team were stranded there in "Mirror, Mirror". After preventing Mirror Chekov (Walter Koenig) from assassinating him, Prime Kirk then had to contend with an attempt on his life from Mirror Hikaru Sulu (George Takei). Sulu versus Kirk was the climax of "Mirror, Mirror", as the ISS Enterprise's lieutenant tried to murder his way to the center seat.

Star Trek: The Original Series

*Availability in US

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Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

Mirror Sulu was, predictably, a more cruel and bitter version of his Prime Universe counterpart. Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichele Nichols) got a sense of Mirror Sulu's harsher side when she had to play on his infatuation with her Terran counterpart. Although he wasn't the worst of the worst of Star Trek 's Mirror Universe characters, Mirror Sulu is a great example of the dark side of some of the franchise's best loved characters . However, despite being cruel, conniving, and a stone-cold killer, Sulu was bested by Prime Kirk in a final showdown.

9 Regent Worf (Michael Dorn)

"this time, i will deal with the rebels myself.".

Regent Worf (Michael Dorn) was the ruler of Star Trek 's Mirror Universe during the 24th century, so he was obviously an evil guy. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revealed that the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance enslaved all Terrans and Vulcans in various regions of their territory. As the Regent, Worf oversaw the violent oppression of these slaves throughout his reign . The Regent relied on his Intendants to keep the Terrans under his heel, and was enraged by the loss of the Terok Nor space station .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Worf doled out cruel and degrading punishments to those that failed him, including Mirror Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) who was forced to wear a dog collar for losing Terok Nor to the rebels. However, as evil as Regent Worf may have been, he was presented as a fairly ineffective leader whose empire was crumbling around him . He suffered two embarassing losses in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , at the hands of Prime Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and the ISS Defiant, and then even got duped by Prime Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Rom (Max Grodenchik) who installed a faulty cloaking device aboard his flagship.

Michael Dorn Wanted Armin Shimerman To Play The Ferengi Worf Kills In Star Trek: Picard [UPDATED]

8 mirror dr. phlox (john billingsley), "will you kindly die".

The Mirror Universe version of the avuncular Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) was a sadist who specialized in torture . Phlox conducted horrific experiments on living beings in pursuit of medical advancement, and served as the chief medical officer aboard the ISS Enterprise NX-01. Phlox specialized in concocting new means of torture to punish the enemies of the Terran Empire, leading to the creation of the Agony booth. This technology conducted a synaptic scan of any humanoid, so that it could stimulate every available pain center, keeping its victims in a state of constant agony.

The Agony booth or "Agonizer" was used across the Terran Empire, having been seen in Star Trek: The Original Series ' "Mirror, Mirror", and the Mirror Universe episodes of Star Trek: Discovery .

Despite being an evil sadist, Dr. Phlox was eventually convinced to join the attempt to stop Mirror Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) from using the USS Defiant to become Terran Emperor. However, as ever in Star Trek 's Mirror Universe, Phlox's actions were driven by self-interest more than moral duty. Phlox only agreed to stop Archer because he believed that, by saving the life of the incumbent Terran Emperor, he would be rewarded with multiple concubines and an impressive new medical facility .

7 Mirror Commander Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)

"more like a federation of fools".

In Star Trek: Enterprise 's Mirror Universe, Jonathan Archer was still a Commander, serving alongside Captain Maximillian Forrest (one of Vaughn Armstrong's multiple Star Trek roles ). Archer's feelings of inadequacy compared to Forrester led him to commit some reckless and evil acts. After stealing the USS Defiant, Archer wanted to gain the respect of his crew, and so launched an assault on a Gorn foreman that had remained aboard the ship. Archer's attack on the Gorn resulted in many of his MACO troopers being killed, and also left Major Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) seriously injured.

Mirror Archer is the earliest Star Trek captain to face a Gorn in any timeline.

Mirror Archer was insane, taunted by an illusion of his superior Prime Counterpart, who drove him to more and more reckless actions. Archer murdered Admiral Black (Gregory Itzin) and assumed command of the USS Defiant, with which he intended to stage a military coup. Archer became increasingly unhinged, and ordered the deaths of the Defiant's alien crew members, except for Dr. Phlox. Archer was eventually stopped from assuming control of the Terran Emperor, putting an end to further evil acts from the Enterprise captain.

Enterprise’s Mirror Universe Episodes Marked The Sad End Of The Star Trek Prequel

6 emperor philippa georgiou (michelle yeoh), "i'm extremely wicked, even for a terran.".

Star Trek: Discovery 's Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) has certainly gone some way to redeeming her actions in the Mirror Universe. However, it might take a lot more than ending the Federation-Klingon War to wash away the sins of Georgiou from her reign as Terran Emperor. Georgiou rendered the Klingon home world Qo'noS uninhabitable, subjugated the Betazoids and destroyed Mintaka III. Emperor Georgiou also launched a bombardment against the Talosians for trying to trick her with their mental projections .

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Georgiou was less xenophobic than her predecessors, happily accepting the native titles of the Vulcans, Andorians and Klingons that she ruled over. It was perhaps this openness with "lesser" species that made her opponents see Emperor Georgiou as a weak leader. The failed coup against Emperor Georgiou led to her traveling to the Prime Universe, where she now lives as a Section 31 operative. It's said that the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 movie will see Georgiou confront the sins of her past, continuing the redemptive journey she began in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 .

5 Captain Sylvia "Killy" (Mary Wiseman)

"i'm gonna have nightmares about myself now.".

Captain Sylvia "Killy" (Mary Wiseman) was the captain of the ISS Discovery, and a close colleague of Emperor Philippa Georgiou . Tilly rose to her position by murdering the previous captain while they were recovering from an illness, which is one of the most ruthless in a long list of Mirror Universe murders. As captain of the ISS Discovery, the Mirror Universe version of Tilly was just as responsible for the subjugation of the Betazoids and devastation of Mintaka III. However, unlike Georgiou, Mirror Tilly, who had earned the nickname "Killy" never got a chance to redeem herself later in Star Trek: Discovery , nor would she likely want one .

Mary Wiseman's character, Lt. Sylvia Tilly was named after the niece of Star Trek: Discovery producer Gretchen J. Berg.

The Mirror Universe Tilly was terrifying to her Prime Universe counterpart, who worried that she'd have nightmares about herself. With such nicknames as "The Slayer of Sorna Prime" and "The Witch of Wurna Prime", it's no wonder that Tilly was so unnerved by her Mirror Universe counterpart. "Killy" was the darker, more ambitious version of Star Trek: Discovery 's Tilly, and she had an impressive, if terrifying list of accolades;

Medal of Valor
Master of Poisons Medal
50 Kills Medal

Star Trek: Discovery Proves Starfleet Academy Show Doesn’t Make Sense Without Tilly

4 empress hoshi sato (linda park), "you're speaking with empress sato. prepare to receive instructions.".

The Mirror Universe version of Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) from Star Trek: Enterprise was an incredibly smart woman who knew which powerful man to throw in her lot with. Effectively playing off Mirror Archer and Mirror Forrest against each other, Hoshi placed herself in a position where she could use the USS Defiant to hold Earth to ransom. Staying close to Archer as his lover during his plot to steal the technologically superior USS Defiant from the Tholians, she waited until the time was right to depose the ambitious leader.

Mirror Archer ordered that any information about the Federation held on the USS Defiant's systems be erased so as not to inspire a rebellion against the Terran Empire, a reference to Mirror Spock being inspired by Prime Kirk's tales of the Federation.

Hoshi seduced Mirror Archer's personal security officer, Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) to help her with a poisoning plot. Killing Archer with poisoned champagne, Hoshi became commanding officer of the USS Defiant. She then holds the entire planet Earth to ransom with the USS Defiant in a hostile takeover of the entire Terran Empire. Hoshi's military coup was one of the boldest moves achieved by any of Star Trek 's Mirror Universe variants .

3 Intendant Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor)

"i have no taste for violence. i regret using it even when it seems necessary.".

Intendant Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is the only character to feature in all five of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Mirror Universe episodes . Mirror Kira was a fascinating character who ruled Terok Nor at the behest of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. Although she was very clearly evil, Intendant Kira Nerys was less brutal than some of her Mirror Universe contemporaries, preferring instead to use manipulation and her sexuality to get what she wanted. That being said, the Intendant regularly veered from ordering the execution of Terran Rebels to subjugating others as her personal slaves to her every whim.

Nana Visitor once described Intendant Kira as such: " I t's very much me. I mean, I hope I don't send people to their deaths or anything like that, but yeah, that is more of who I am ."

The Intendant was so vain that she was even attracted to Major Kira from the prime Star Trek timeline . As with many Mirror Universe variants, Intendant Kira Nerys was adept at self-preservation, and she would easily stab her allies in the back if it saved her life. For example, Intendant Kira murders the Mirror Universe's Nog (Aron Eisenberg) even though the young Ferengi had freed her from prison. In her final Star Trek: Deep Space Nine appearance, the Intendant orchestrates the sabotage of Regent Worf's flagship, leaving behind the ruler of the Mirror Universe to face the punishment of the Terran Rebellion .

Major Kira's Best Star Trek DS9 Episodes

2 mirror captain james t. kirk (william shatner), "has the whole galaxy gone crazy".

The majority of Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 20, "Mirror, Mirror" has Prime Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) fill in for his Terran counterpart. This means that it's hard to get a handle on how truly evil Mirror Universe Kirk actually was. However, there is a staggering list of crimes attributed to the Terran Empire's Captain James T. Kirk in "Mirror, Mirror". As well as murdering Captain Christopher Pike to assume command of the ISS Enterprise, he used stolen alien technology, the Tantalus field, to vaporize his enemies.

William Shatner had pitched the return of Mirror Kirk to Rick Berman as a potential episode of Star Trek: Enterprise season 4.

Mirror Kirk is also said to have executed 5000 colonists on Vega IX, and also destroyed the home planet of the Gorlans' . None of these genocidal actions are depicted on-screen in Star Trek: The Original Series , as the real Mirror Kirk is largely confined to a cell aboard the Prime Universe's USS Enterprise. However, there's no question that the Mirror Universe's Captain Kirk was one of the very worst of the worst of Star Trek 's Mirror Universe characters.

1 Mirror Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs)

"i have been to another universe and back. you think i'd come all this way without a plan".

Budding Terran Emperor, Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) is the greatest Star Trek: Discovery villain and the most evil of Mirror Universe characters. Following his unsuccessful coup against Emperor Philippa Georgiou, Lorca fled to the Prime Universe, where he assumed the identity of his counterpart. This was one of Lorca's most evil moves, as he infiltrated his Prime Counterpart's life and career, including his romantic relationship with Admiral Katrina Cornwall (Jayne Brook). Not only did Mirror Lorca embark on a sexual relationship on false pretenses, he " groomed " Mirror Michael Burnham, proving that he was a sexual deviant as well as a brutal oppressor .

Jason Isaacs originally wanted to turn down the role of Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery out of respect for Star Trek: The Original Series .

As well as his sexual crimes, Lorca was responsible for killing his entire crew by destroying the USS Buran on arrival in the Prime Universe. While Lorca claimed he was saving them from the brutal treatment they'd receive as prisoners of the Klingon Empire, his actions elsewhere suggest he was simply removing an obstacle to his goals . By inveigling his way into Starfleet and the USS Discovery, Lorca then goes back to the Mirror Universe to launch another attempt to seize the throne of the Terran Empire. Lorca's wholesale murder of his Mirror Universe crew, his manipulation of the women in his life, and the betrayal of the USS Discovery crew make him the Star Trek character with the blackest of black hearts.

All episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Star Trek: Discovery are available to stream on Paramount+.

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