| "Armageddon Game" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 2 Episode 13 | ||
| Directed by | Winrich Kolbe | ||
| Written by | Morgan Gendel | ||
| Featured music | Jay Chattaway | ||
| Production code | 433 | ||
| Original air date | January 31, 1994 (1994-01-31) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Star Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 2 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Armageddon Game" is the 33rdepisode of the Americanscience fictiontelevision seriesStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the 13th episode of thesecond season.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures onDeep Space Nine, a space station located near a stablewormhole between theAlpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, near the planetBajor. In this episodeChief O'Brien andDr. Bashir help two races to destroy their biological weapons; but both governments want to ensure no technical knowledge of the weapons can survive.
This television episode aired insyndication starting on January 31, 1994.[1]
Dr. Bashir andChief O'Brien have spent the past week helping two races, the T'Lani and the Kellerun, dismantle deadlybiological weapons known as "Harvesters". They assure the T'Lani and Kellerun ambassadors that all files related to the Harvesters have been destroyed, so as to prevent them from ever being created again.
When the moment comes to destroy the final Harvester, two Kellerun soldiers enter the laboratory and begin shooting the scientists, T'Lani and Kellerun alike. Bashir and O'Brien overpower the soldiers, but a drop of the Harvester liquid falls on O'Brien's skin. To escape, they are forced to beam down to the surface of the planet they are orbiting.
The T'Lani and Kellerun ambassadors informCommander Sisko that O'Brien and Bashir died in an accident, and provide a recording purportedly showing the deaths of the entire science team due to an automated security routine. The senior staff of Deep Space Nine grieve the loss of their crewmates, and Sisko informs O'Brien's wifeKeiko of his death.
Meanwhile, Bashir and O'Brien are stranded in anabandoned town on the planet's surface. O'Brien tries to repair a broken communications system in order to inform the T'Lani of the Kelleruns' apparent betrayal. Bashir discovers that O'Brien has been infected by the Harvester and, as O'Brien's condition begins to deteriorate, is forced to take over the repair effort.
Keiko insists that the recording of the supposed accident has been falsified: the video shows O'Brien drinkingcoffee in the afternoon, something she is certain he would never do. Sisko andLt. Dax travel in a runabout vessel to visit the site of the "accident", where Dax investigates O'Brien and Bashir's runabout and finds evidence that its logs have been altered.
The T'Lani and Kellerun ambassadors show up together at Bashir and O'Brien's hideout. They reveal that the attack on the science team was a joint endeavor meant to erase all knowledge that could potentially be used to make Harvesters, and prepare to execute Bashir and O'Brien. Sisko and Dax rescue them by transporting them to their runabout. The T'Lani and Kellerun demand their return and fire upon the runabout when Sisko refuses; but Sisko deceives them by escaping safely in the other runabout.
As Chief O'Brien recovers from the Harvester poisoning back on Deep Space Nine, Keiko is stunned to discover that hedoes drink coffee in the afternoon.
The episode was written by Morgan Gendel, who also wrote the story for "The Inner Light", aHugo Award–winning episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation. The episode's title was chosen by fellowDeep Space Nine writerRobert Hewitt Wolfe as an homage to the title of a 1967 episode ofStar Trek: The Original Series: "A Taste of Armageddon".[2][3]
Zack Handlen, reviewing the episode in 2012 forThe A.V. Club, said there was "nothing seriously wrong" with the episode, and was happy with the writing of the characters.[4]Tor.com gave it 6 out of 10.[5]Doux Reviews called it a "fun, well-written episode" and gave it 3 out 4.[6]
The episode was nominated for anEmmy award for hairstyles.[7]
It was released onLaserDisc in Japan on June 6, 1997, as part of the half season collection2nd Season Vol. 1, which had 7 doubled sided 12" discs.[8] The discs had English and Japanese audio tracks.[8]
"Armageddon Game" was released onVHS, paired with "Whispers" on one cassette.[9]
On April 1, 2003, Season 2 ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine was released on DVD video discs, with 26 episodes on seven discs.[10]
This episode was released in 2017 onDVD with the complete series box set, which had 176 episodes on 48 discs.[11]
