star trek deep space nine whispers

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Star trek ds9: why "whispers" is the franchise's darkest episode.

Deep Space Nine's "Whispers" is easily one of Star Trek's darkest episodes and it even spawned one of the franchise's darkest trends.

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  episode “Whispers” is remembered as one of the franchise’s darkest episodes. It is a story rife with paranoia and fear, breaking the long-held Star Trek convention of everyone uniting behind a common, greater purpose. Instead, it shows series regular Chief Miles O’Brien confronting a station-wide conspiracy, where nothing is as it seems, and the very fate of the Federation may be at stake. There are shades of such gritty suspense thrillers as The Manchurian Candidate and The Parallax View , as the entire utopian world of the 24th century begins to unravel.

DS9 's "Whispers" begins with a beleaguered Chief Miles O’Brien in a stolen Runabout, leaving what may be his “last log entry.” The viewer is then brought into a flashback of O’Brien’s recollections of the past 52 hours and, from the moment he wakes up, it is clear something is off. His own wife and child are distant and cold; trusted crew members are evasive. Even Commander Sisko , as honor-bound as anyone in Starfleet, is caught lying. As the Chief begins to suspect a conspiracy in the highest order of Starfleet, his loyalty to the Federation and even to his family is brought into question. This is not Gene Roddenberry’s sterling view of a better humanity.

Related:  Star Trek: What Happened to O'Brien After The Next Generation

Contributing to the dark, brooding feel of "Whispers" is veteran Star Trek director Les Landau’s choice to lens the episode in a film noir style . He keeps the camera close to O’Brien, creating a claustrophobic sensation and dialing up the already gloomy, shadowy interior of the former Cardassian uridium ore refining station, DS9. The viewer is meant to feel the Chief’s fear on a visual, visceral level. But beyond how it looks, the story lacks any "B-plot" and, instead, dives into a heavy, thought-provoking story that continues to impact Star Trek to this day.

A typical DS9  episode would have the main plot (in this case, focused on O’Brien) while at the same time breaking away to discover how others are living on the station. In the case of “Whispers,” that light-hearted B-plot reprieve proved impossible. As Paul Coyle, writer for the episode, explained in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , “ We had to stick entirely on O’Brien for every minute. We couldn’t cut away to any of the other characters because they’d obviously be saying, ‘We don’t think O’Brien is O’Brien.’ So we could never open the story up for the audience and get to a B-story, or even linger on two characters after O’Brien leaves the room because it’d be giving the story away .”

The episode concludes with the startling revelation that the O’Brien story has been following was a “ replicant ” of the real O’Brien, created by an alien race to sabotage peace talks. The replicant O’Brien never knew he wasn't the real Chief and never understood that he was the cause of the strange actions and behaviors of the crew. In the end, he dies, telling the real O’Brien to give his love to his wife, Keiko. It is a fitting introduction to the semi-annual trend known to fans as “O’Brien Must Suffer” wherein the Chief is subjected to all manner of horrors. One of the darkest episodes of one of the darkest series kicks off the darkest trend in all of Star Trek .

Next:  Star Trek: Every Major Character Who Died & Was Better For It

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Season 2, Episode 14

Where to watch, star trek: deep space nine — season 2, episode 14.

Watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Season 2, Episode 14 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV.

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Avery Brooks

Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko

Rene Auberjonois

Alexander Siddig

Dr. Julian Bashir

Terry Farrell

Lt. Jadzia Dax

Cirroc Lofton

Colm Meaney

Chief Miles O'Brien

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E14Whispers

Recap / Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 02 E 14 Whispers

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"O'Brien, personal log. Stardate 47581.2. I've gotta try to set the record straight about the last 52 hours. I don't know who's gonna hear this. I don't even know if I'll be alive by the time this log is recovered. I figure they'll be coming after me." —Miles O'Brien

It began when he returns from the Parada system. In preparation for a peace conference about DS9, he underwent basic training for the security measures aboard the station. When he wakes up in his quarters, things are off. Molly refuses to touch him, and Keiko seems nervous. It's also 5:30 AM. With the excuse of several essays to read, Keiko hurries off to daycare with Molly.

Shrugging off the oddness, he heads in for duty only to find an Ensign named DeCurtis repairing a system O'Brien was waiting to fix until Odo returned to the station. DeCurtis informs him that he was given direct orders from Sisko to do this. Fairly annoyed at being overstepped like this, O'Brien heads off to speak with Sisko, only to see Sisko and Keiko having a suspicious conversation outside the school.

Back in the present, O'Brien is 53 minutes from the Parada system when sensors detect the Mekong in pursuit. They can't catch him at warp, so he continues his log on the events of the past few days.

Arriving at Ops, the crew is acting suspicious as well. Sisko and Bashir are oddly forceful about him reporting in for a standard physical. In Sisko's ready room, he quizzes O'Brien on any information he has about the Paradas. All O'Brien can come up with is that they emit a foul smell when they're upset.

While being assigned to fix three pylons that have oddly broken down, O'Brien asks what Sisko was talking to Keiko about outside the school. Sisko assures him that he was simply discussing Jake's slipping grades. Reporting for his physical, O'Brien is rather peeved that it's taking an exceedingly long time and makes the leap that everyone is acting weird and the overly long physical is because he's dying. Rather than respond, Bashir quickly gives him a clean bill of health and lets him leave.

Heading back to work, he runs into Jake, who asks if O'Brien can help him with an upcoming science project. This little interaction turns odd when O'Brien mentions Jake's slipping grades, only for Jake to say his grades are just fine. That means Sisko lied.

It just keeps getting weirder for him. Ensign DeCurtis opens a door he insists only Kira had access codes to. Jake suddenly falls ill and not being able to come over for help with his project. Keiko cooks his favorite meal and yet continues acting oddly distant.

Late that night, O'Brien pores over every conceivable scan he think of, from unknown chemical agents to telepathic activity. Coming to a dead end there, he goes through the station logs and runs across a suddenly restricted file that requires level 1 clearance. Even though he has the clearance, his security code is rejected.

After fiddling with the system to get into the logs, he's shocked to find his personal logs have been broken into. Odo returns shortly after this, and O'Brien reports this weird activity to him. Odo is on his side, advising him to not act suspicious while he investigates things.

When he meets Odo again in his office, however, even he's acting weird now. And to compound things, Sisko and Kira advance on him with weapons drawn. Drawing a hidden flashbang from his sleeve, O'Brien scurries through the vents and transports himself off the station.

O'Brien contacts Admiral Rollman, but she orders him to give up and return to DS9. With even the highest ranks of Starfleet apparently corrupted, O'Brien can do nothing but seeks answers on Parada II.

Beaming down to the planet, O'Brien finds Sisko and Kira already waiting for him with two Paradas. As O'Brien orders them to drops their weapons, one of the Paradas claims a nearby door holds all the answers to this weirdness. As he prepares to open it, the other fires on O'Brien, fatally wounding him.

"Whispers" provides examples of:

• Bluff the Imposter : Bashir asks the replicant O'Brien several questions under the guise of a routine physical, including one about O'Brien's parents. The replicant, however, snaps that Bashir knows full well that O'Brien's mother passed away two years ago.
• Butt-Monkey : Even replicants of O'Brien are destined to suffer.
• Call-Back : When visiting Quarks, he recalls the canceled racquetball match from "Rivals" .
• Copied the Morals, Too : The replicant O'Brien is too good a copy to fulfill his intended purpose as an assassin because he has all of the original O'Brien's personality. He actually spends most of his time on DS9 trying to investigate why things seem off in the hopes of protecting the station.
• "Die Hard" on an X : Die Hard on Deep Space Nine for the replicant O'Brien.
• Downer Ending : The O'Brien we've been following dies, even though by all appearances he was just like the real O'Brien.
• Foreshadowing : When O'Brien is checking station logs, there's an entry by Sisko mentioning Cardassian movements along the border, and complaints from Federation colonies in the Demilitarized Zone. This is actually the franchise's first mention of the DMZ, which will go on to have major long-term ramifications for the Trek universe.
• Gone Horribly Right : The O'Brien replicant was designed a tad too perfect.
• How We Got Here : The episode opens with the replicant O'Brien fleeing the station, convinced that something's wrong with the rest of the crew. Everything leading up to that point is told by flashback as the replicant records a personal log.
• Irony : The episode's premise is built on this, combined with a Cruel Twist Ending : O'Brien suspects the rest of the DS9 crew has been replaced or subverted by an unknown alien force ala Invasion of the Body Snatchers , only to find out that he's the one who was replaced.
• La Résistance : The Paradan rebels, who O'Brien thinks are the bad guys, are actually the ones who rescued the real O'Brien and tipped off the crew of DS9 about the replicant.
• Locked Out of the Loop : Downplayed. Jake and Quark are the only people to treat the replicant normally, as they are not Starfleet officers and have no reason to know that anything is wrong. Near the end of the episode, Jake is looped in to help search for the replicant.
• Manchurian Agent : The replicant's role was to assassinate someone at the Paradan peace conference, though we are never told who.
• Must Have Caffeine : Replicant O'Brien orders "coffee, Jamaican blend, double-strong, double sweet" several times.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business : O'Brien becomes suspicious because Keiko is unusually cold and antsy around him: not communicating with him, not reciprocating his physical affection, and acting jumpy and uneasy around him.
• Plummet Perspective : When the replicant O'Brien drops his phaser down one of the Jeffries tubes.
• Quark quotes one of the Rules of Acquisition but doesn't quite remember which one it is (he thinks it's "one of the high numbers"), even though in earlier episodes he's always remembered the exact number. This seems to support replicant O'Brien's suspicion that the people aboard Deep Space 9 have somehow been changed or replaced, but in the end, it turns out to be a complete coincidence.
• The shift in Odo's behavior (from supporting the replicant O'Brien to falling in with the rest of the senior staff) also seems to support something being wrong. But Odo had been off-station when Sisko learned O'Brien had been replaced, and once he came back Sisko likely explained what was really going on.
• Rewatch Bonus : Watching the episode knowing The Reveal properly contextualizes the behaviors of the other characters — Keiko is initially dodgy around "O'Brien" and gets herself and Molly away from him as quick as she can, but after a talk with Sisko, she acts normal around him but is still on edge. The crew is probably not fully aware of what "O'Brien" is capable of and how he might react if confronted, and they're not even sure if he's a replicant or not, so they don't take direct action against him and keep him occupied with other tasks while keeping him out of the loop about conference security. When they do take action, they try to take him alive, likely to interrogate him and find out what his mission was.
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog : A Paradan rebel shoots the replicant right before The Reveal , eventually killing him.
• Shout-Out : The term "replicant" was lifted from Blade Runner .
• Silent Running Mode : The replicant O'Brien does this with his runabout in the Parada system. "Shut down all engines, all main power systems. Maintain silent running status."
• Surprise Party : Replicant O'Brien briefly wonders if everybody's odd behavior is just a prelude to one of these, which wouldn't make sense as his birthday's not for another few months.
• Tampering with Food and Drink : When Keiko makes him a special dinner, but refuses to eat any of it herself, O'Brien begins to wonder if she put something in it.
• That's What I Would Do : O'Brien speculating on why his replicant did what he did. "If it were me, I'd be trying to warn somebody there was something wrong at the station."
• Tomato in the Mirror : The O'Brien replicant didn't realize he was a fake until the very end.
• Wham Line : When O'Brien manages to get a Starfleet admiral on the comm to report the apparent "takeover" of Deep Space Nine: Admiral Rollman: Listen to me very carefully. Return to D.S. Nine immediately. Turn the ship around and go back. You will not be harmed.
• Wham Shot : After "O'Brien" is shot by a rebel, a door opens...revealing another O'Brien on a biobed.
• Whole-Plot Reference : The episode is a combination of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Imposter by Philip K. Dick .
• When Odo shows up on the station after a trip to Bajor, it seems like O'Brien finally has an ally that can help him figure out what's going on with the crew. But then the next time he talks to him, Odo is acting suspicious too, convincing O'Brien that "they" got to him.
• While on the run from security, O'Brien bumps into Jake, and tries to warn him that something's wrong with his dad, only for Jake to report his location and encourage him to surrender.
• O'Brien manages to escape the station in a runabout, and immediately calls up a nearby Starbase to warn them that Deep Space 9 has been compromised, only for the admiral to tell him to turn around and surrender, making him wonder if all of Starfleet has been affected.
• Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 02 E 13 Armageddon Game
• Recap/Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 02 E 15 Paradise

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Published Jan 30, 2024

The Hardships of Miles Edward O’Brien

An examination of the inexplicably painful Starfleet career of the galaxy's unluckiest Irishman.

StarTrek.com

The life of a Starfleet officer can be fraught with danger.

As Captain Kirk put it, "Risk is our business." But what about the life of a non-commissioned officer? As it turns out, the Starfleet grunts bear the brunt of that risk business. None more so than Senior Chief Petty Officer Miles Edward O’Brien, whose career is a resume filled with an unfair excess of pain and suffering. So why is Chief O’Brien so unlucky?

It’s time we get to the bottom of Miles’s monumental misfortune. With a thorough exploration of several of the chief’s most harrowing experiences, perhaps we can determine the possible causes of his undue grief, and maybe even put his cursed career into the larger context of his life to truly determine if Miles Edward O’Brien really is as unlucky as we give him credit for.

So, let’s take a look at that time Chief O’Brien was…

Shoved into a Jefferies Tube with Spiders

" realm of fear ," star trek: the next generation.

"Realm of Fear"

During a mission on Zayra IV, the arachnophobic chief was forced into a Jefferies tube overrun with Talarian hook spiders.

If the thought of slipping into a tight, coffin-shaped (emphasis on "coffin") tube filled with giant spiders fills you with dread, then just imagine the shear terror that erupted in poor O’Brien — who grew up with a morbid fear of spiders — when he was told that the mission relied on him becoming an unwilling contestant in Fear Factor: Starfleet Edition !

"All’s well that ends well," wrote William Shakespeare, a man whose plays usually didn’t end well for their characters. However, for O’Brien, this terrifying session of exposure therapy did succeed in freeing him of his phobia. Aboard the Enterprise -D, he kept a Lycosa tarantula named Christina. Still, I’m not sure the reward was equal to risk. Crawling through spiders is not where most Starfleet recruits sign up to "boldly go."

Nearly Killed by a Biogenic Weapon

" armageddon game ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Armageddon Game"

After O'Brien helps to disarm stockpiles of a deadly bio-mechanical weapon known as Harvesters, he is accidentally infected and faces a painful death.

No good deed goes unpunished. That thought was surely on the chief's mind when, moments after helping to end a centuries-long war by destroying the bio-weapons, he and Dr. Bashir are ambushed by Kellerun soldiers determined to make sure the secret of the Harvesters dies with everyone in the room. Though they survive the attack, O'Brien discovers that he’s been infected and now faces the prospect of dying alone with a babbling Bashir. As Miles tells Keiko later, "It was hell…you can see for yourself, the man never stops taking!"

The poor chief can't even die in peace. And as if that’s not enough, mere moments from a firing squad, O’Brien let slip that serving with Bashir was an honor. How will he ever live that down?

Replaced by a Replicant

" whispers ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Whispers"

While on a mission to the Parada system, Chief O'Brien is captured and replaced with a replicant programmed for peace conference mayhem.

No, technically this hardship isn’t Chief O'Brien's. Still, it's further proof that Miles is so unlucky that even copies of him must suffer. Xerox-O'Brien is a perfect clone, with no idea he's a fake. So, when his friends and family begin to act strange around him, he assumes it’s a conspiracy and becomes a paranoid wreck.

Because the counterfeit chief wholeheartedly believes himself to be the real deal, it's heartbreaking when he takes a fatal phaser blast and discovers the truth. His last words, "Keiko…tell her I love—" could easily have been uttered by the genuine O'Brien. A pretty raw deal when you consider that Commander Riker's double, Thomas Riker, gets to live out his days at a sunny Cardassian labor camp. Life can be so unfair.

Framed and Imprisoned on Cardassia

" tribunal ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Tribunal"

On the way to some R&R with the wife, Chief O'Brien is framed and imprisoned by the Cardassians.

Yes, even on vacation, the chief can't catch a break. Within minutes of arriving on Cardassia, O'Brien is stripped naked, slammed into a chair, and has a molar painfully ripped from his mouth with pliers — and that’s just the booking process. Worse, in the Cardassian’s Law & Order & Unwanted Dental Surgery legal system, the trial is just a formality. O’Brien's execution has already been scheduled.

Thankfully, back on Deep Space 9 , Miles’ crewmates succeed in uncovering the Cardassian conspiracy and secure his release. Still, to put O'Brien’s brutal week on Cardassia in perspective, three years later when Dr. Bashir is captured and held prisoner by the Dominion for more than a month, he makes it out without losing a single tooth! Hardly seems fair.

Killed and Replaced by a Future O’Brien

" visionary ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Visionary"

Yes, you read that right — O'Brien ACTUALLY DIED.

Thanks to a workplace accident involving radiation and a cloaked Romulan warbird, O'Brien is pulled into the future. Every time he time jumps, O'Brien gets a glimpse of DS9’s impending destruction. The only way to save DS9 is one more jump to the future. Unfortunately, that final jump is one too many, and the Miles we’ve known and loved is killed by radiation. No last minute medical miracles or techno-babble resurrections, just a reluctant swap with the O’Brien from that future.

While future-O’Brien's presence succeeds in keeping DS9’s crew manifest from being short one "living O’Brien," it’s little comfort for ex-O’Brien, who’s shuffled off his mortal coil and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible. That O’Brien never sees his family again. The poor stiff doesn’t even get a memorial plaque for saving the station. Rough.

Mentally Imprisoned on Argratha for 20 Years

" hard time ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Hard Time"

O’Brien is arrested and implanted with the memories of a savage 20-year prison incarceration. Back on the station, Miles returns to his normal routine but has difficulty coping. O’Brien’s haunted by the memories of his cellmate, Ee’Char, whom he killed in cold blood. Overwhelmed by guilt and rage, Miles snaps at his friends, assaults Quark, and nearly hits his daughter, Molly. Terrified of the man he’s become, the chief swipes a phaser from a weapons locker and presses it to the soft flesh beneath his trembling chin. With his eyes clenched shut, Miles is ready to end his life.

Julian, who’s been keeping a keen eye on his friend, finds and convinces Miles to put the phaser down and get help. O’Brien returns to his family and embraces Molly. All of this for showing a little interest in Argrathi technology. The chief may want to reconsider ever leaving his quarters again.

Stuck with a Pah-Wraith Possessed Wife

" the assignment ," star trek: deep space nine.

"The Assignment"

O’Brien’s wife Keiko returns from Bajor’s famed Fire Caves with a stowaway — she’s been possessed by a Pah-wraith, the ancient nemeses of the wormhole aliens that the Bajorans' refer to as the Prophets.

The Pah-wraith commandeering Mrs. O’Brien is hellbent on killing the wormhole aliens. To complete its mission, it gives Miles a detailed list of modifications to make to the station. Any deviation from its plan and the Pah-wraith will kill Keiko. With Keiko held hostage in her own skin, Miles must convince his daughter and friends that everything is normal or risk becoming a widower.

Worse? The chief’s only hope at survival might be Rom.

Marriage is difficult under the best circumstances, but when your significant other is possessed by a Bajoran demon? Somehow playing house with a sadistic spirt seems like just another day for unlucky O’Brien.

Berated by James T. Kirk

" trials and tribble-ations ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Trials and Tribble-ations"

O’Brien travels through time and gets to meet the legendary Captain Kirk, only to be reprimanded by him.

The DS9 crew travel back to 2268, to stop an incognito-Klingon named Arne Darvin from exacting revenge on Kirk with a tribble-time-bomb. In the process, O’Brien and Bashir are swept into a brawl with Klingons onboard Space Station K-7. Every Enterprise crew member involved in the melee (including the two masqueraders from the future) are lined up for a chest-puffed-to-attention dress down from Kirk, who rips into his crew for fighting.

They say never meet your heroes. It’s easy to see why. When pressed directly for an explanation, O’Brien, who’s blushing redder than his 23rd Century velour uniform, is forced to lie to Kirk. While Dax shares a playful shrug and Sisko gets a friendly chat, O’Brien meets Kirk with all the dignity of a pup caught chewing on a shoe.

Invited to a Klingon Bachelor Party

" you are cordially invited ," star trek: deep space nine.

"You Are Cordially Invited"

O’Brien jubilantly accepts an invitation to Worf’s bachelor party only to discover that Klingon and Human bachelor parties are tragically light years apart.

Kal’Hyah is Klingon for "the path of clarity." We can safely assume that some vital information was lost in that translation, because what’s touted as a mental and spiritual journey for the groom-to-be and his closest (or unluckiest) friends, could easily be a deleted scene from a Saw movie. While on the path to kal’Hyah , O’Brien endures searing heat, starvation, and an itinerary that includes ample bouts of hanging from a ceiling above hot coals.

At the end of Worf’s four-day "bachelor party," the chief’s only solace is beating the groom senseless with a ma’Staka , the traditional Klingon wedding-bludgeon. When measured against Dax’s wild bachelorette party, it’s hard to see Worf’s stag party as anything but abject suffering. O’Brien better hope Worf never remarries.

Donnie-Brasco-ed by Starfleet Intelligence

" honor among thieves ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Honor Among Thieves"

Enlisted by Starfleet Intelligence to infiltrate a crime ring known as the Orion Syndicate, the success of O’Brien’s mission means the death of the mobster he’s befriended.

The Orion Syndicate rules Farius Prime, but among its operatives, in a seedy bar, waits Miles O’Brien. Posing as a "fix-it-man" named Connelly, O’Brien befriends a low-level mob man named Liam Bilby. The two quickly strike up a friendship and trust that O’Brien uses to gain access to the criminal organization. Because Bilby vouched for him, when O’Brien’s true identity is revealed, Bilby is destined for death. Miles can’t help him and must live with the consequences of his undercover mission.

Undercover work is hard enough without the added stress of an impossible, damned if you do, damned if you don’t success. Even when he wins, O’Brien loses!

Forced to Raise a Feral Teenager

" time’s orphan ," star trek: deep space nine.

"Time's Orphan"

During a picnic on Golana, O’Brien’s daughter Molly falls through a time portal and is marooned in the past. When the chief beams Molly back, she’s lived alone for a brutal decade and emerges a wild, barbaric teenager.

The teenage years are considered the most difficult for parents, so naturally, Miles’ first brush with the experience comes as dad to a manic, bite-happy teen who sleeps in trees. Without a copy of, What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Feral Teenager on hand, the O’Briens do the best they can to re-assimilate Molly to life on Deep Space 9 . Then an epic meltdown and rampage at Quark’s sends Molly to the DS9 equivalent of juvie — Odo’s holding cells.

While returning feral Molly to the time portal brings eight year-old Molly home, one can’t help but wonder why even an O’Brien family picnic has to be an agonizing affair.

24th Century Martyr?

" what you left behind ," star trek: deep space nine.

"What You Left Behind"

Miles O’Brien, a man who plays darts against a genetically-enhanced opponent, and whose idea of a peaceful retirement is returning to Earth to teach. So, at the very least, he’s a glutton for punishment. But is he unlucky? Now that we’ve strolled through the daily trauma of the chief’s life in Starfleet, what’s the verdict? Does Miles live a charmed or cursed life?

In examining only the valleys of O’Brien’s life, it’s easy to get lost in shadows, but when taken with the peaks, we get a fuller portrait of a life that isn’t so unlucky after all. While he surely suffers more than your average Starfleet officer, O’Brien’s achieved something that’s eluded many of Starfleet’s finest — Miles found time for a family. A caring wife and two beautiful children whose love and unwavering support pull him through each undeserved hardship. Isn’t that worth a little blood, tears, and pulled teeth?

Indeed, we’re fortunate to have lucky O’Brien. In the chief, we have a flawed man who suffers, goes home to the waiting arms of his family, and then wakes up and does it all again. A 24th entury reflection for many of us 21st entury chumps. That’s a comforting notion, to know that even in Gene Roddenberry’s perfect future society, there’s room for imperfect blokes like Miles Edward O’Brien — and us.

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This article was originally published on April 24, 2020.

Andy Bray (he/his) is a husband, father, and co-author of the memoirs, Making Fake Star Trek and Making More Fake Star Trek. He developed his unhealthy obsession with Star Trek as an embryo. In his twenties, he acted in an official Star Trek production no one’s ever heard of: “Spock’s Brain,” the stage play. After cultivating a collection of obscure credits on his IMDB page, Andy now spends his days writing and embarrassing his children. You can follow him on Instagram at @AndyBrayAuthor and on Twitter at @TheAndyBray. 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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Keiko O'Brien

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Adm. Rollman

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Molly O'Brien

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Miles O'Brien (replicant)

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A replicant of Miles O'Brien was created in 2370 by officials of the Parada government after abducting the real O'Brien . The O'Brien replicant had all of the real O'Brien's memories and in fact believed himself to be Miles O'Brien, most likely to make him more convincing. However, it was believed that a trigger would activate programming to assassinate someone at the upcoming peace talks on Deep Space 9 between the government and rebel forces, possibly the entire rebel delegation.

However, the rebels learned of this and warned Deep Space 9 personnel before the replicant arrived. The O'Brien replicant was understandably puzzled when his crewmates and wife began acting strangely around him. He became more suspicious when he was removed from working on security arrangements for the peace talks, and further more when logs showed his movements were being watched. The medical exam by Bashir was not exactly helping ease his paranoia.

When confronted by station personnel, he fled the station in the runabout Rio Grande . He attempted to contact Admiral Rollman and Starbase 401 to inform her of the situation, but when she ordered him back to the station, he became convinced that whatever was wrong on Deep Space 9 was beginning to spread to all of Starfleet .

The O'Brien replicant then altered course towards the Parada system in the Gamma Quadrant with his crewmates in pursuit in the runabout Mekong . The O'Brien replicant managed to outmaneuver them and later followed the other runabout to Parada II where he discovered Commander Benjamin Sisko and Major Kira Nerys meeting with Paradan rebels. Believing them to be conspiring with the rebels, the O'Brien replicant trained his phaser on them, but was shot by one of the rebels; rather unnecessarily as he would have only set it to maximum stun. Seconds later, the real O'Brien emerged from another room, having been rescued by the rebels.

Coutu , one of the rebels, wondered aloud why the replicant had returned. The real O'Brien speculated that he was trying to warn someone something was wrong on the station. Apparently, the government scientists had done too good a job in recreating O'Brien, as the replicant had the same commitment to his duty and even expressed love for his "wife" before dying.

His personal log in the runabout would provide testimony that he had only ever acted upon and honored the will of the original O'Brian. ( DS9 : " Whispers ")

Background information [ ]

Like the real O'Brien, he was played by Colm Meaney .

The decision to use the word " replicant " when referring to the fake O'Brien was motivated by the desire to use something other than " android ", which was deemed to be too familiar with the character of Data , or the term " clone " which didn't seem to fit in this instance. Writer Paul Robert Coyle ultimately chose replicant as an homage to the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner and the fact that the term hadn't already been used in Star Trek . Coyle commented; " Obviously, this guy wasn't a clone or an android or a robot. So what's left? I used replicant and nobody objected. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 118))

Colm Meaney said of playing the replicant O'Brien; " In order not to give away what was going on to the audience, we tried to keep him exactly the same, even though it was a different O'Brien. I played it exactly the way I usually do. It was only the circumstances around him that were weird and gave you the feeling that something else was going on. " ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 117))

In their review of "Whispers", authors Mark Jones and Lance Parkin expressed the opinion that duplicate O'Brien came across as "a man of integrity and determination." ( Beyond the Final Frontier , p. 198)

• 2 Reaction control thruster

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine : “Armageddon Game”/“Whispers”

“Armageddon Game” (season 2, episode 13; originally aired 1/30/1994) In which Bashir and O’Brien get stuck in the hell of Molasses Swamp

This week, we get two episodes about warring alien civilizations; everybody’s looking for peace, but by the end of each episode, it doesn’t look like anyone had much luck finding it. O’Brien keeps getting the short end of the stick, because no one suffers quite so entertainingly as Colm Meaney. And both episodes demonstrate how the show is working towards more ambitious and morally complex storylines, without quite knowing how to handle them. Of the two, “Armageddon Game” is the most straightforward, as O’Brien and Bashir are inadvertently sucked into a peace-motivated massacre, barely escape with their lives, and have to struggle for survival while Sisko and everyone back on the station believe they’re dead. For the most part, it plays out as you’d expect: Bashir and O’Brien squabble a bit, O’Brien gets sick and Bashir tells a story about his past; meanwhile, Keiko doesn’t believe her husband is dead, and Sisko trusts her judgment. Things only get strange when we learn the motivation behind all the death. This is a plot that plays out on traditional lines while trying to experiment with twistier themes, and the effect, of a series which wants to be better but isn’t quite sure how to get there yet, is one that’s been coming up fairly often this season.

There's nothing seriously wrong with "Armageddon Game." There are strong character beats, some fine suspense, and a fun pay-off at the end; if I tuned in looking for some fun, low-expectation Trek , I would have been completely satisfied. The only sour note is the reveal that this whole thing came about because the two races which brought Bashir and O’Brien in to help are now trying to kill anyone with knowledge of the super biological weapon they needed aid in destroying. The Kellerun and the T’Lani governments have teamed up to ensure that their newfound peace will be sustained, and they’re going about it in the worst way imaginable, sealing their treaty with blood. This is Trek in its social-commentary mode, and while the story never goes full lecture, neither Ambassador Sharat of the Kellerun, or E’Tyshra of the T’Lani are more than one-note antagonists. They want to bury the past by eradicating the evidence, as though that would ever work for long. It’s a complex idea, and would’ve been better served by an episode that was more willing to embrace the complex. What we get instead are two bad guys who do the exact same bad guy things we’ve seen bad guys do in countless shows before, only they’re doing it to, in their minds, protect the future of their respective civilizations.

There’s a certain amount of sense in that, I guess; it’s not a smart plan, but it has a certain blind arrogance to it that makes its own kind of sense. They don’t like their past, so they’re just going to erase it. That’s pretty old school Trek , and I’m surprised we didn’t find out computers were somehow responsible for the whole mess. The situation gets more complicated with Starfleet personnel involved, though, to the point where it stops being a dark satire of extremism, and starts being pretty damn stupid. Bashir and O’Brien are outsiders, and while neither are huge names in the Federation, their deaths will be noticed. The cover-up for the mass-killing isn’t bad, but it’s a huge, and unnecessary, risk. If they’d just waited until Bashir and O’Brien had left, the T’Lani and Kellerun might have gotten away with their plan. It’s not as though anyone from DS9 was going to keep checking in. Sharat and E’Tyshra insist that Bashir and O’Brien have to be killed along with everyone else with knowledge of the Harvesters. This despite the fact that both men have access to a universe full of unthinkable weapons through their various Federation contacts. Is the worry that the doctor and the engineer are going to sell back what they know? And it gets even more ridiculous once Sisko and Dax manage to beam their erstwhile colleagues onto a runabout. Instead of accepting that the battle is lost (at this point, Sharat and E’Tyshra could’ve just stonewalled any Starfleet investigation), they decide to fire on the runabout, effectively making a direct declaration of war, for no real reason. Yes, people make bad decisions in the heat of the battle, but the villains in this case are so archetypal in their vehemence that there’s not enough character to hang their behavior on. By the end, they seem to be pursuing our heroes simply because heroes need to be pursued. If their reasoning had been more overtly selfish, this would’ve been understandable; but because they’re ostensibly driven by a need to save lives, we need more justification for their willingness to take them.

That's the only major flaw, really. The episode even uses a trope I normally dislike—everyone grieves over protagonists we know very well aren’t dead—to satisfying, and at times moving, effect. While Bashir and O’Brien are struggling planetside, Sisko gets the news the two have died in an apparent radiation blast, triggered by O’Brien’s own mistake. (This, by the way, is also kind of dumb. Did they decide to blame O’Brien in order to throw off suspicion?) We get the expected arrangement of various cast members mourning the (not really) dead, but it doesn’t come off as a waste of time or some kind of padding. Keiko’s reaction is understated and sad, and Kira and Dax’s conversation about Bashir’s journals is a sweet, revealing conversation. Hell, Quark gets in on the act, delivering a toast to the fallen which is both character appropriate and strangely moving. There’s the voyeuristic thrill of imagining what it would be like to pull a Tom Sawyer and eavesdrop on your own funeral, but there’s also a great sense of how close this ensemble has come together over the past season and a half. None of this comes across as over-stated or forced sentimentality, and it helps to reinforce our own sense of connection with the ensemble.

And then there are the scenes between Bashir and O’Brien on the planet. The two are still struggling to come to terms with each other; O’Brien still finds the doctor annoying, and Bashir is still eager to please. They have some good moments of connection in this episode, as O’Brien gets infected by a Harvester and is forced to rely on Bashir to do the necessary repair work to get them back home. They discuss marriage; Bashir has his doubts (and he expresses some audience concerns when he mentions how Keiko and O’Brien sometimes seem less than delighted by each other's company), and O’Brien settles the score on why his family means so much to him, despite the difficulties that might arise between them. Bashir even gives some backstory about the only woman he ever loved, a dancer he gave up when he decided to commit to a full-time career in Starfleet. There’s a charming honesty to these conversations, well played by both actors, and while there’s little surprise in the way they bond by the end, surprise is not the issue here. It’s just enriching to watch characters we like grow to tolerate each other, as it means from now on, whenever they’re together on screen, we know they share this history, and whatever harsh words pass between them, the history will remain.

Stray observations:

• Another reason to appreciate this episode: when Keiko decides something is wrong with the security tape, Sisko trusts her judgment and gets to work. We don’t waste time with a lot of, “Dear, I know you miss your husband, but are you sure that isn’t clouding your judgment?” crap. It’s refreshing.
• That said, the reveal at the end that Keiko’s whole reason for being suspicious was invalid (O’Brien does, in fact, drink coffee in the afternoon) is terrific.

“Whispers” (season 2, episode 14; originally aired 2/6/1994) In which O’Brien is not himself today

I love puzzles. I’m not obsessed or anything, and whenever I try and do a jigsaw or solve a crossword or figure out a logic problem, there’s a decent chance I’ll get distracted and bored after ten minutes and wander off, but I love the idea of a puzzle. I love a game that has rules and a solution and you just need to look at it the right way to make it all work out properly. I find that very satisfying. It’s one of the reason I love genre stories so much; science fiction and horror are often inclined towards the puzzling, establishing mysteries and raising unanswered questions to pull readers through a narrative. (Weirdly, I’ve never been a huge fan of mysteries in and of themselves. I like I just like magic and weirdness.) I’m a huge sucker for well-constructed trickery, although I don’t believe that sort of thing is ever entirely satisfying in its own right. The only drawback to all this is that the more you love the puzzle part of storytelling, the more primed you are to go into a movie or a book or a TV show looking to “solve” it. At least, that’s how it works for me. I don’t much like it when people accuse me of thinking too much about fiction—this is basically just how my brain works, unless I’ve got a “Good/Nitpicking Bastard” switch on the back of my skull—but the line gets fuzzy when it comes to something like “Whispers.” Because it was so odd, and because there was so clearly something going on with O’Brien and the rest of the cast, I spent a good portion of the hour trying to figure it all out. And when you put your effort into figuring out where a story is headed, odds are, you’ll get the basics. I didn’t know that the O’Brien we spent most of the episode with was a clone of the real man, but I did figure out about twenty minutes in that the problem was with him, and not with the rest of the characters. So I spent every scene after that hoping I was wrong. It’s funny how it works; unlike a real puzzle, I never want to “solve” a plot. I want to be surprised. I just can’t help thinking it through, thought, and sometimes coming to conclusions.

Now, arguably the most striking aspect of “Whispers” is the fate of the O’Brien clone, and, again, I didn’t see that coming at all. But this happens in the last three minutes, which means we have just enough time to be shocked by the revelation, but not much time for anything else. To a certain extent, I don’t have problems with that; I like any work of art that can get in and get out without needing to over-stress its talking points. But while the abruptness here basically works in and of itself, it doesn’t make up for the decent but sort of one-note episode which preceded it. I mention how I dig puzzles, and how I’ll often reflexively work towards figuring out the end whenever I watch or read something, to try and give myself a little leeway. Maybe I’m being too harsh when I say the middle of “Whispers” feels like padding. It’s not awful, and I appreciated how long the writers and actors managed to maintain a spooky ambiguity about everything, but once you realize that it’s almost certainly O’Brien himself whose the source of the problem, it turns into the same scene over and over and over again. O’Brien talks with someone he should be friends with/married to, they behave strangely but not so strangely you could put your finger on it, and he gets suspicious. Rinse, repeat.

The episode starts well enough. O’Brien is in a runabout, headed to the Paradan System to warn the Paradas about… something. He’s vague at first, but instead of leaving us completely in the dark, the Chief opens up a personal log and starts trying to sift through the events of the past few days. Given the final twist, this is smart; we already have a definite investment in O’Brien (and we have no idea this isn’t the real one), but by starting with him on the run and alone, we’re put in a position where we automatically trust whatever he says, at least at first. He’s our perspective on events, and we’re conditioned straight away to be on his side when he flashes back to Keiko and the other’s strange behavior. Most of the episode takes place in O’Brien’s flashback, and after every commercial break, there’s a brief scene of him in the runabout, musing on his destination and wondering where it all went wrong. So in addition to making this O’Brien’s story (which comes into play at the end), the runabout scenes also serve to repeatedly reminds us that this is all going somewhere. O’Brien’s life hings on a question mark, and he’s determined to find out what comes next.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just, once the basic idea of the flashback becomes clear, they’re a lot less exciting. Seeing O’Brien wake up and find Keiko already out of bed, his daughter reluctant to touch him, his wife clearly uncomfortable having him in the apartment? That’s excellent, demonstrating straight off that even the people who are nearest and dearest to the Chief have been affected by whatever is going on. It strips our hero of a safe place, even if he does initially dismiss Keiko’s behavior as a bad mood. Watching Sisko smile at O’Brien in a way that never touches his eyes? Also excellent. Nobody does ambiguously creepy as effectively as Avery Brooks. “Whispers” does a fine job suggesting that all of this may be a bad case of body-snatchers. First, Bashir demands O’Brien come in for a physical, and when O’Brien (after getting marching orders from Sisko) is forced to comply, the session goes considerably longer than he was expecting; almost as if Bashir wasn’t just checking his health, but getting a complete rundown on his body for means of duplication. Later, O’Brien meets Jake, who doesn’t seem to have any problems at all with the Chief—at first. But Kira calls Jake away, and the next time the Chief sees the boy, he treats O’Brien the same everyone else has, as though the Jake we saw earlier had somehow been replaced. The same basic transition (minus Kira) happens with Odo.

Repetitive or not, this is a decent con, and the conclusion is even better. As mentioned above, when O’Brien finally gets to his destination, he gets shot, and we discover that he isn’t the real O’Brien at all, but a clone created by the Paradan government with the design of sabotaging the peace talks that were scheduled to be held on DS9. The poor clone didn’t realize he was a tool, and no one on the station could tell him; they weren’t certain he was a duplicate, and there was no way to be sure what might set him off. Even if there’d been some way to determine that the clone was a complete pawn and honestly believed himself to be the real O’Brien, there was no way to explain the situation to him without risking a disaster. Which means that as upsetting as it was, the clone’s death was largely inevitable. Maybe if he hadn’t been so determined to do the right thing and warn the Paradas, he wouldn’t have stumbled across the truth at such an inopportune moment. It’s the tragedy the whole episode has been building to: a man gives everything he has to do the right thing, and dies knowing the only meaning he had in the world was to cause grief to the people he loved. That’s heavy shit right there, and “Whsipers” makes no attempt to mitigate the sadness. The moment the clone is shot and the real O’Brien is revealed, the focus of the scene moves away from the copy and onto the original. The dying man calls out his wife’s name, but even then, he’s barely understood, and while everyone feels bad, there’s nothing anyone can do.

All right, if I’m so keen on the conclusion, if I like the beginning and have nice things to say about the middle, why am I mixed about the episode? Well, like I said, it isn’t that hard to figure out O’Brien is the one with the problem, not the rest of the crew; and once I started to suspect this, it became impossible to invest too much in what happened next. But let’s put that to one side. The twist here is legitimately surprising, playing off our assumptions in a way that would be nearly impossible to predict, and yet it doesn’t come off as a cheat. It’s just, well, the most interesting part of this episode happens in the last five minutes. The rest is well made and well acted, but it’s only when Clone O’Brien gets shot and we learn the truth that the episode becomes anything more than just another one-off about an ensemble member having a wacky solo adventure. This doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time or outright bad, but it does keep “Whispers” a few steps shy of greatness. Even re-watching it with the knowledge of the clone’s true identity (and his eventual fate) wouldn’t change much. Since he’s a copy of O’Brien, he is O’Brien up until the moment when we learn the truth. We don’t learn anything about him, beyond being reminded that the actual O’Brien is a smart, determined, and resourceful man, and just as importantly, we don’t see any real drama in his interactions with others. They treat him like an impostor, because he is an impostor, but because we don’t know for sure that’s what’s going on, the tension is mostly theoretical. As smart as the in media res opening is to get us on Clone O’Brien’s side, it also has the unfortunate side effect of rendering large portions of the flashback unnecessary. Like, say, the clone’s escape from the station.

Really, then, this isn’t a question of me over-thinking it, or of the writers failing to sufficiently blow my mind. “Whispers” holds together and has a subversively dark conclusion. The downside is, that conclusion doesn’t have any larger implication beyond, “Boy, it would suck to be a clone.”

• What was up with all the coffee Clone O’Brien drank? Every few minutes he was hitting up a replicator for a “Jamica blend, double strong, double sweet.” I thought he was being drugged somehow.
• The twist ending reminds me a lot of Philip K. Dick’s “Impostor.” It was made into a terrible movie starring Gary Sinese, but the original short story is quite good, and worth checking out. Although I think I basically just spoiled it. Er. This is awkward.
• Quark mentions the racquetball game from “Rivals.” Nice bit of subtle continuity there.

Next week: Sisko and O’Brien win two tickets to “Paradise,” and Vedek Bareil returns for some “Shadowplay.”

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Editorial Reviews

Suspecting a conspiracy afoot, O'Brien finds ample evidence that a kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers scenario may be underway, and he bolts from the station in a Runabout under a hail of fire. Searching for answers, the good chief runs smack into a cruel discovery about the nature of destiny and identity. A fine mystery from beginning to end, "Whispers" draws upon a favorite Star Trek theme, that of questionable realities and fear of madness. --Tom Keogh

Product details

• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.32 x 4.19 x 1.12 inches; 6.13 ounces
• Release date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 1998
• Date First Available ‏ : ‎ October 25, 2006
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Star Trek Deep Space Nine
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Paramount
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0792146263

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Whispers Stardate: 47552.1 Original Airdate: 7 Feb, 1994

<Back to the episode listing

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• Strange New Worlds

Chief O’Brien is a contented Starfleet officer who has just been transferred to Deep Space Nine. He is looking forward to his new life, but soon discovers that things are not quite what they seem. An old friend of O’Brien’s, Ensign Lenara Kahn, has also been assigned to Deep Space Nine and O’Brien is disturbed to see her. He had met her on a mission to the Gamma Quadrant and they had formed a strong bond, yet he finds himself reluctant to talk to her.

The two of them are soon called away on a mission to an uncharted planet. O’Brien quickly realizes that something is wrong when he finds the planet is populated by telepaths, creatures capable of reading minds. The telepaths can see into O’Brien’s thoughts, including his memories of Lenara. O’Brien is disturbed to find out that Lenara is a telepath as well, and that she is keeping her true identity a secret because of her fear of being judged.

O’Brien and Lenara soon discover that their feelings for each other are still strong, despite the secrets they have kept. However, their relationship is soon threatened by a group of rogue telepaths, led by a powerful telepath named Varani. Varani is determined to use the telepathic powers of the planet’s inhabitants to her own ends.

O’Brien and Lenara soon find themselves in a desperate race against time as they try to stop Varani’s plans of domination. With the help of Chief Odo and Quark, they must find a way to protect the planet while also protecting their relationship. The stakes are high, and the consequences of failure could be devastating for all involved.

Will O’Brien and Lenara be able to fend off Varani and her minions? Will they be able to protect the planet and their relationship? Or will Varani’s plans of domination come to fruition? The answers lie within the whispers of the telepaths.

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Replicants In Star Trek? DS9’s Blade Runner Link Explained

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine featured its very own replicant, drawing a direct link to the dystopian world of Blade Runner.
• Lt. Commander Data's struggle for individuality mirrors Blade Runner's themes, while O'Brien's replicant in DS9 is hunted like Roy Batty.
• Blade Runner connections extend beyond DS9, with actors and stunt performers bridging the gap between the two beloved sci-fi franchises.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine made a direct link between the Harrison Ford movie Blade Runner and the Star Trek franchise by featuring its very own replicant. Based on Phillip K Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Ridley Scott's 1982 movie was much more dystopian than the utopian science fiction of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek . Intriguingly, an archived lot at Heritage Auctions reveals that Philip K. Dick was in possession of a Star Trek: The Original Series writer's guide , suggesting that Gene Roddenberry had sought to recruit the acclaimed sci-fi author.

Though his positronic brain was based on the work of author Isaac Asimov, the struggles of Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) to be seen as an individual, treads similar thematic ground to Blade Runner and Dicks' original novel. However, the most explicit reference to Ridley Scott's sci-fi movie comes in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 14, "Whispers". The episode, in which Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) returns to Deep Space Nine to find everyone acting strangely, introduced Star Trek 's very first replicant.

Sci-fi author Isaac Asimov was friends with Gene Roddenberry and served as a science consultant on Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Chief O'Brien's 10 Best Star Trek TNG & DS9 Episodes

Star trek: ds9’s link to blade runner’s replicants explained.

The twist ending of "Whispers" reveals that Chief O'Brien has been replaced by a duplicate that genuinely believes that they're the real deal . When writing this episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Paul Coyle decided that he couldn't refer to the O'Brien duplicate as an android because that would draw a link with Brent Spiner's Star Trek character , Data. Paul Coyle further discussed how he approached the O'Brien reveal in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion , saying:

" Obviously, this guy wasn't a clone or an android or a robot. So what's left? I used replicant and nobody objected. "

Replicant is obviously a direct nod to Blade Runner , and characters like Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) and Pris (Daryl Hannah). Both characters are also synthetic humans that have gained sentience and individuality, but are being hunted by Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard. There's a small echo, or whisper, of Blade Runner in the way that the O'Brien replicant dies in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , seemingly turning himself off, like Rutger Hauer's Roy in Blade Runner .

Another big influence on "Whispers" was the classic Don Siegel movie Invasion of the Bodysnatchers , the remake of which starred Star Trek 's Leonard Nimoy.

Other Links Between Star Trek And Blade Runner

Chief O'Brien's replicant isn't the only link between Star Trek and Blade Runner . The biggest connection is probably Joanna Cassidy, who played Zhora, the exotic dancer that Deckard guns down in Blade Runner . Cassidy later appeared as the Vulcan T'Les in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise season 4. T'Les was the mother of Enterprise 's T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), and was also an instructor at the Vulcan Sciences Academy. As well as Joanna Cassidy, a number of stunt performers from Blade Runner have also worked on various Star Trek movies.

For example, Jeff Imada was George Takei's stunt double in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , succeeding Jim Halty, who had doubled for the Sulu actor in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier . More recently, Star Trek: Picard's Peyton List voiced the character of Josephine Grant in the animated series Blade Runner: Black Lotus , which also featured Stephen Root. A prolific character actor in his own right, Root played Captain K'Vada in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Unification I". All of which proves that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's replicant was the first of many links with Blade Runner .

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

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.

Blade Runner

The original Blade Runner is a sci-fi neo-noir film set in 2019 in a dystopian cyber-punk society. Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard as a Blade Runner for the LAPD, tasked with hunting rogue replicants, genetically engineered humans designed to tackle tasks that human beings cannot. When four replicants go rogue and begin killing humans, Deckard is forced out of retirement to hunt them down and stop them - but the truth isn't as simple as it seems. Deckard will have to reckon with the philosophical dilemma of what makes someone human.