The Dogs of War (episode)

Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

Kira, Damar, and Garak are ambushed on Cardassia; Quark receives a message from Grand Nagus Zek appointing him the next leader of the Ferengi Alliance. (Part 8 of 9)

Summary

Teaser

Admiral Ross presents Captain Sisko with a new Defiant-class starship, the USS Sao Paulo. On the surface, the ship looks identical to the USS Defiant, recently destroyed in the Second Battle of Chin'toka. However, this new vessel is equipped with cutting-edge Starfleet technology to counteract the Breen energy dampening weapon. As the crew become acquainted with their new "friend," Ross also leaves Sisko special orders to rename the vessel Defiant, in honor of their recently lost ship.

Aboard Damar's attack ship, Kira, Elim Garak and Damar approach Cardassia Prime. Leaving the ship in Seskal's hands, they beam down to the planet to meet with Gul Revok and Legate Goris, both of whom have agreed to join Damar. However, the trio arrive at the beam-down coordinates on a cave ledge, overlooking a massacre: Cardassian resistance fighters are being shot dead by Jem'Hadar troops. Gul Revok has betrayed them. Kira hails the ship for beam out, but in orbit, Seskal reports that they're under attack and has the shields up. He does his best to fight back, but the vessel is quickly destroyed by Breen warships. On losing contact with him, Kira realizes the three are stranded on Cardassia Prime; they carefully start making their getaway.

Act one

The three decide to stealthily proceed to the Cardassian Capitol, to the house where Garak grew up. His father, he reveals, was the head of the Obsidian Order, who never publicly recognized Garak as his own son. Mila, the head of housekeeping, provides them a safe haven in the basement; they politely ask her for a communication device, and begin cleaning their new headquarters.

In the Infirmary on Deep Space 9, Doctor Bashir certifies Odo fit for duty, however he feels the need to inform him that Section 31 infected him with the morphogenic virus that is plaguing his people, the Changelings, and that Odo had transmitted the virus to them, not the other way around. Odo expresses his disgust with the situation with which Bashir is in complete agreement. Odo then asks what the Federation intends to do about it.

In his quarters, Captain Sisko tells Odo that after considering the issue, the Federation Council decided not to give the Founders the cure to their disease. Odo thinks that the Federation is simply abetting genocide, but Sisko reminds Odo that while Section 31 might have been responsible for the virus it was the Founders that started the war, and that giving them the cure would only strengthen their hand, something unacceptable given that millions of people are risking their lives fighting the Dominion. Sisko then asks Odo to promise him he won't take matters into his own hands. Odo gives the Captain his word, but before he leaves notes that while the Federation is officially condemning Section 31's ethics and tactics they are more than happy to turn a blind eye when they need dirty work doing. Sisko doesn't like the facts very much, but can't deny the truth of Odo's statement.

As Leeta and M'Pella, another Dabo girl, decide to ask Quark for a pay raise, Quark retires into his bar's backroom to answer an incoming call from Grand Nagus Zek on Ferenginar. The Nagus, over a shaky, tenuous communications channel, informs Quark that he is retiring to Risa with Ishka, Quark's mother. He then shocks Quark by apparently naming Quark his successor as the next Grand Nagus, in between static breakups of his transmission.

Act Two

Bashir and Ezri Dax, who have been tiptoeing on eggshells around one another, finally get a chance to speak to one another openly; they express their common attraction to one another, but agree to remain just friends.

As Quark revels in fantasies of wealthy extravagances, Brunt appears without his usual swagger at Quark's. Quark confirms the rumor of him being the successor to the Nagus. Brunt, completely out of character, kneels and begins repeatedly kissing Quark's hand, heaping praise upon his new Nagus.

Meanwhile, on Cardassia Prime, Weyoun broadcasts to all the population the news of Damar's "death," even as Damar listens to the message from the basement cellar. Weyoun's report that the Dominion has destroyed all 18 Cardassian rebel bases is a bitter pill for the trio to swallow. With a smile, Weyoun states this is the first step to the Dominion's final victory. Also, the trio are unable to contact the Federation to be retrieved, as a signal strong enough to reach DS9 would be easily traced in a matter of seconds. The news devastates Damar; Kira, unwilling to spend the rest of the war in a cellar, tries to stir Damar to action, to no avail.

Act Three

Brunt, who is graciously giving Quark a pedicure, shocks Quark by informing him of recent social reforms on Ferenginar, including the introduction of taxes to finance welfare programs such as universal health care and retirement pensions for the elderly. Quark vows to enact sweeping changes, but is informed by Brunt that the position of Nagus is now on equal terms with a "Congress of Economic Advisors," which must ratify any legislation proposed by the Nagus. Quark worries about the future challenges facing the next Nagus.

On Cardassia, Kira, Garak and Damar lie on their cots in dejection and lament recent events to Mila when she brings them food. They consider themselves to have been stupid to have ever believed that they had a chance of toppling the Dominion and that everyone will be glad they're dead. Mila tells them that the citizens of the capital don't believe they're dead, and there are whispers going around of their survival. While Damar doesn't think this amounts to much, Kira realizes they still have a chance. The resistance might be gone, but they can create something far more powerful… a revolution! Kira and Garak attempt to stir Damar to action. It works: he asks how to start, and Kira asks for directions to the nearest Jem'Hadar barracks.

Axis of Evil — The Founder reveals her latest defensive battleplan

Weyoun introduces Legate Broca, the new leader of the Cardassian people. He pledges his loyalty to the Founders and the Breen. The Female Changeling announces that Starfleet has developed a countermeasure against the Breen weapon, and thus a new strategy is required. She orders a fighting withdrawal, insisting to the Breen Thot Pran that it is not a surrender, just a chance to regroup and eventually redouble their shipbuilding and replenishment efforts.

Act Four

Quark is back in his bar venting to Rom about Zek's new regulations that he will inherit. He's frustrated that these regulations are stifling the Ferengi entrepreneurial spirit. Rom listens, but is only concerned with Quark's bar. Quark can't get his mind off of it, and, as a consequence, spontaneously sells his Bar to him for 5,000 bars of latinum, without haggling over the price. When he suddenly realizes this, and also that he has been allowing his staff to keep their tips and was considering Leeta's request for a raise, Quark has to accept that he himself has been becoming softer and more lenient while eschewing traditional Ferengi practices. He compares this to the reforms which have "come to ail" Ferenginar, pledging a return to the old, traditional ways once he gains power. If Zek refuses to let him do so, he will in turn refuse the job, despite the wealth it will bring him.

Meanwhile, on Cardassia, Damar and Kira wait for Garak, who is planting an explosive device in a Jem'Hadar barracks, but he is detained by Jem'Hadar guards while attempting to leave. There's only seconds left.

Act Five

With a three-minute fuse delay, Damar and Kira come to Garak's rescue, killing one guard; Garak quickly slips a knife through the other Jem'Hadar guard's throat. The blast from the explosion draws a crowd, who quickly recognize Damar… the man the Dominion couldn't kill! He unites the throng with a speech, stirring them to join the rebellion against the Dominion, then retreats.

Julian and Ezri, still agreeing to remain friends, both board the turbolift for Ops; but by the time they reach Ops, they are locked in a passionate embrace, obviously disregarding their friends-only stance. As heads turn throughout Ops to watch Ezri and Bashir making out, Worf cuts the spectacle short by pressing a button at his console, sending the turbolift back down to the Habitat Ring.

When Grand Nagus Zek and Ishka arrive at Quark's, they are befuddled by Quark's statements; disregarding him, they turn to Rom, and announce him as the next Nagus. (Zek, in the garbled transmission a few days earlier, had mistakenly thought he was speaking to Rom, not Quark.) Rom is to be the next Nagus–and Ishka takes the credit for the idea, reminding Quark how he has always underestimated his brother. It seems her influence over Zek has spread to more than just social reform.

Quark is astounded at the sudden turn of events, even more so when Rom happily gives Quark the bar back for free. Quark realizes that Rom is the perfect leader for the new Ferengi society, and that his bar will stay exactly the same. The drinks will continue to be watered down, the dabo tables will still be rigged, the staff will continue to be underpaid and overworked. Quark's will be the last outpost of the old Ferenginar. Nevertheless, Quark cannot help but be delighted for his brother.

While Quark returns to running the bar, the unassuming Rom begins his new tenure as Grand Nagus. His son Nog escorts the unabashed Brunt away from him, to stave off Brunt's corrupting influence. As his loving wife Leeta embraces him and wishes him good luck, Rom is left pondering his uncertain future as he tries out the Cane of the Grand Nagus for the first time, offering only a soft-spoken "Wow".

In the DS9's wardroom, Sisko, Ross, Romulan Sub-Commander Velal, and Klingon Chancellor Martok discuss the Dominion's pullback and their new defensive perimeter. While Velal believes that containment will weaken the Dominion, Martok counters that the Dominion now has less territory to defend and retreating allows them to shorten supply lines, and the Alliance should attack before the Dominion has time to rest and re-arm. Velal argues, and Ross cannot disagree, that breaching the Dominion's new defensive line, even if done successfully, will come at a high cost. But Sisko says that if they do nothing, the Dominion can sit happily behind their borders building vessels and cloning soldiers for the next few years, until they eventually launch a new offensive that would spell certain defeat for the Alliance. Ross reluctantly agrees, and, with Starfleet and the Klingon Empire both voting to attack, Velal agrees as well.

After the briefing, Benjamin returns to his quarters to find his wife Kasidy still awake on the couch. She is pregnant, she announces. While happy, she is unsure of the future, given the Bajoran Prophets' warning to Benjamin, the Emissary of the Prophets, to walk his path alone. The loving couple comforts one another, while on the horizon is the end of the Dominion War, and the release of the Pah-wraiths…

Memorable quotes

"I hate the carpet. I do."

- Bashir giving his verdict of the new Defiant

"I don't get it. He's interested, she's interested… what's the problem?"
"He is an overgrown child and she is very… confused."
"It could still work."

- O'Brien and Worf, discussing Ezri and Bashir

"The glamour of being a revolutionary."

- Garak, while hiding as a fugitive in a basement, after Kira tosses him a cloth to do some cleaning

"My greed has to be a shining light to everyone, a testament to the rewards of avarice."

- Quark, if he were to become the next Nagus

"Hello, ship."

- Benjamin Sisko, getting acquainted with the new USS Defiant

"Interesting, isn't it? The Federation claims to abhor Section 31's tactics, but when they need their dirty work done they look the other way. It's a tidy little arrangement, wouldn't you say?'"

- Odo, commenting upon the Federation's refusal to cure the Founders

"It's never too early to suck up to the boss!"

- Brunt

"You should hear the stories. "Damar's alive, my cousin saw him on Kelvas Prime.' 'He faked his own death.' 'He's plotting a new offensive from his secret mountain hideaway.' "
"You never told me you had a secret mountain hideaway."
"I was going to surprise you."

-Mila, Garak, and Damar

"We are not spending the rest of this war in this cellar! Are we?… Are we?"

- An angry and commanding Kira to Garak and Damar, both doubtful how to operate in their own planet

"Perish the thought; the Dominion has never surrendered in battle since its founding 10,000 years ago."

- Weyoun

"Once the new perimeter is established, we will redouble our shipbuilding efforts and increase production of Jem'Hadar troops. Retreat may prolong the war, but in the end, we will emerge stronger, and in a far better position to take the Alpha Quadrant once and for all."

- Female Changeling

"Taxes go against the very foundation of free enterprise! That's why it's called 'free'!"

- Quark

"Whatever happened to the survival of the fittest? Whatever happened to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Whatever happened to pure, unadultered greed?"
"Greed." (spoken in unison with Quark)

- Quark and Brunt

"I won't preside over the demise of Ferengi civilization! The line has to be drawn here! This far, and no further!"

- Quark (A joke reference to Picard's famous line from Star Trek: First Contact)

"Citizens of Cardassia, hear me! The Dominion told you that the rebellion has been crushed. What you have seen here today proves that that is yet another lie. Our fight for freedom continues! But it will take place here in the streets. I call on Cardassians everywhere to rise up, rise up and join me! I need you to be my army! If we stand together, nothing can oppose us. Freedom is ours for the taking!"

- Damar

"This is insane. You ACTUALLY want Rom to be Nagus?"

- Quark

"I didn't know we were getting another Defiant-class ship."
"That's what happens when you miss staff meetings."

- Ezri and Sisko, a reference to a similar line in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

"In fact, as far as I'm concerned, the Ferenginar that I knew doesn't exist anymore. No, I take that back, it WILL exist: right here in this bar. This establishment will be the last outpost of what made Ferenginar great: the unrelenting lust for profit!"

- Quark

"You're my brother."
"And YOU'RE an idiot! But I love ya."

- Rom and Quark

"If we do nothing the Dominion could sit behind that perimeter for the next five years rearming themselves. And when they're ready to come out…God help us all."

- Captain Sisko

Background information

Title, story, and script

This episode takes its title from the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, General Chang quotes the same line; "And Caesar's spirit ranging for revenge, with Ate by his side, come hot from hell, shall in these confines, with a Monarch's voice, cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war, that this foul deed, shall smell above the earth, with carrion men, groaning for burial." This is the second episode in the seventh season with a title taken from a line from Shakespeare and quoted by Chang, the other being "Once More Unto the Breach".
Although this episode was relatively unaffected by any of the last minute changes made over the course of the previous seven episodes (such as moving the wedding from "Strange Bedfellows" to "'Til Death Do Us Part", or having Kira and Odo become involved with the Cardassian Rebellion plot), it was still not an easy show to put together. As René Echevarria later explained, "Writing it was very complicated because we were simultaneously breaking the final two-hour show and certain things needed to be in place." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
Prior to beginning The Final Chapter, the writers had discussed the possibility of having Quark become Grand Nagus, but as Ira Steven Behr later explained, "That was wrong. Quark had to be in that bar at the end of the show. I felt that the audience needed that continuity even more than whoever was going to run the station. Quark is the center of the station – and I needed that center. So we wouldn't make Quark Nagus. And I didn't feel that we could leave Zek in the office, because we'd put him through all kinds of changes in the past few years." As such, it was decided to have Rom become the new Nagus. However, there was more to it than simply "making" him the new Nagus and moving on; as Behr said, "We had to figure out what would happen to Ferengi society that would enable Rom to become the Nagus. We were in love with the idea, but Rom wasn't up to being the Nagus of the old Ferenginar. They'd eat him alive. But to oversee a new Ferenginar that had a heart and compassion and was trying to be more progressive, well Rom has those qualities." As René Echevarria elaborated, "To some extent, we'd laid some pipe in that direction with Moogie's influence on the Nagus. The audience had accepted the leap Moogie had accomplished for females, so we figured they'd be able to make this leap too." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
Originally, after deciding that Rom was to become Nagus, the first draft of the script had Quark wanting the job but not getting it. However, this was subsequently altered to him thinking he has indeed gotten the position only to subsequently realize he hasn't. In the original version, there was nothing about the new Ferengi society, and when Quark turned down the job, Rom simply got it by default. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
The USS Sao Paulo was named after the ship San Pablo in the 1966 Robert Wise movie The Sand Pebbles. Sisko's line, "Hello, ship," is a homage to Steve McQueen's salute to his new ship in that film. (AOL chat, 1999)
The reason the Defiant was essentially brought back after having been destroyed was because it was felt that to have the final battle of the Dominion War without it seemed preposterous. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
Although the character of Velal previously appeared in "When It Rains...", the script of this episode established a name for him, as he had been an unnamed character previously.
Rom's final word ("Wow") was an adlib.

Cast and characters

Avery Brooks directing 'Dogs of War' — Brooks directs Max Grodénchik and Aron Eisenberg

Both Armin Shimerman and Max Grodénchik hated the idea of making Rom the Nagus without having any mention of Ferengi society changing, as they felt that without somehow contextualizing how Rom could actually lead the Ferengi was preposterous. As Shimerman said, "The decision was kind of akin to making Jake the head of the Federation." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
No one was happier than actor Armin Shimerman that Quark didn't become Nagus, but instead, stayed exactly where he was seven years previously; "Quark is the station. He is as much a part of the station as the carpets, the pylons, and the transporters. Everybody goes through Quark's. Everybody deals with Quark." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Shimerman also commented, "I had seen various characters go through major arcs and changes over the years. Other characters had started in one place in the first episode and were in totally different places at the end of the seven years, so I was concerned a few episodes before we ended that Quark really hadn't changed much in the seven years. But when they presented me with the script of 'The Dogs of War', I was shocked to see how much the character had changed – and I was delighted that it had happened while I wasn't looking. I was quite happy about that." ("The Magnificent Ferengi", Star Trek Magazine issue 127)

File:Combs as Weyoun & Brunt.jpg

Credit for Combs' dual performance

Although the stars of a series typically play dual roles on occasion, this episode features a guest star (i.e., Jeffrey Combs) playing dual roles, specifically the characters Weyoun and Brunt. This is perhaps most noticeable in a transition from a scene in Quark's Bar (with Brunt kissing Quark's hand, lavishing him with praise) to Cardassia Prime (with Weyoun addressing the entire population with a speech extolling the Dominion). Brian Markinson had previously played the dual roles of Sulan and Pete Durst in the I AM ERROR episode "Faces".
Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) does not appear in this episode.

Production

The costume worn by stunt actress Elle Alexander was previously worn by Tricia O'Neil as Korinas in the third season episode "Defiant". [1]
This episode was filmed between Wednesday 17 March 1999 and Thursday 25 March 1999. The first day of filming featured scenes aboard the Jem'Hadar bridge and the interior of the Cardassian caves on Paramount Stage 18 and Replimat scenes on Stage 17. (Call sheet)

File:Brooks directs Robinson, Biggs and Armstrong.jpg

Avery Brooks directs Casey Biggs and Vaughn Armstrong

During the filming of this installment, Avery Brooks helped Damar actor Casey Biggs with a long speech he had to deliver. "We're on the set, and I go through [it], and I fumbled it a couple of times. Avery just looked at me. He comes up and he says, 'Glide. Dig?' And he walks away," Biggs recalled, with a laugh. "And I said, 'Okay, I get it, because it's glide. You just, move your way through it.'" Brooks had previously given a similar piece of advice to Jeffrey Combs, having told him to "slalom." (What We Left Behind)
Footage from "Valiant", "Tears of the Prophets", "A Time to Stand", "Call to Arms", and "Once More Unto the Breach" was used to depict the destruction of various Cardassian resistance bases destroyed by the Dominion.
In a deleted scene, Garak, Damar and Kira got drunk in Tain's basement.
This is the last episode of the series to have music composed by David Bell.

Reception

Some fans questioned the wisdom of destroying the USS Defiant in "The Changing Face of Evil" only to effectively bring it back a few episodes later, in this installment. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Series.

Continuity and trivia

Quark's speech about Ferengi values and how "the line has to be drawn here, this far and no further" echoes a line said by Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: First Contact. This was deliberate on the part of Ronald D. Moore, who co-wrote both the film and this episode, and remarked, "I take great glee at mocking my own work." (AOL chat, 1999)
Quark's line, "This establishment will be the last outpost of what made Ferenginar great," is a reference to TNG: "The Last Outpost", the first episode to feature the Ferengi (one of whom was played by Armin Shimerman).
Sisko's line to Dax, "That's what happens when you miss staff meetings," is a homage to Kirk's line to McCoy, "That's what you get for missing staff meetings, Doctor," in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Quark's claim that he is the last great Ferengi in this episode echoes Dukat's claim in "Return to Grace" that he is the last great Cardassian.
The dedication plaque of the USS Sao Paulo has a launch stardate of 52889.3, yet the stardate of this episode is 52861.3. The plaque also includes the names of forty-six Star Trek executives, including Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr, David Livingston, Ronald D. Moore, Peter Lauritson, René Echevarria, Steve Oster, and "Chief of Staff" Gene Roddenberry. It also quotes Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty or give me death…"
The Sarah Prophet's warning that Sisko would "know nothing but sorrow," issued in "Penumbra", finally pays off in this episode – Kasidy is pregnant, and Sisko is going to have to leave his new child behind without ever having seen him or her.
This is the only episode of Star Trek in which the Breen logo appears.
This episode reintroduces the character of Mila, Enabran Tain's housekeeper and confidant, who was first seen in the episode "Improbable Cause". This is the second of three appearances of the character, as she is also present in series finale "What You Leave Behind".
This episode marks the final appearances on the show of several recurring characters (and some of their actors): Rom (Max Grodénchik), Leeta (Chase Masterson), Zek (Wallace Shawn), Ishka (Cecily Adams), Maihar'Du (Tiny Ron) and Brunt (Jeffrey Combs, although he plays Weyoun in "What You Leave Behind"). This is also the last episode to feature background characters Broik (David B. Levinson) and M'Pella (Cathy DeBuono) as well as the only installment in which they speak. (Grodénchik, Adams, and Levinson, along with Combs, however, can be seen, out of Ferengi makeup, as uncredited guests at the farewell party at Vic's lounge in the following episode.)
Seskal is killed in this episode, having previously appeared in "When It Rains...".
Like Avery Brooks, Patrick Stewart also directed the penultimate episode of his series, I AM ERROR (i.e., "Preemptive Strike").
This episode bookends Zek's first appearance in "The Nagus" in a number of ways. In both episodes, Zek announces his retirement and Quark is led to believe he is Zek's successor. In "The Nagus", Zek also considers Risa as a possible destination (among others) for his first vacation since 2284. In this episode, he finally gets to go. In "The Nagus", Quark laughs at the idea of Rom taking over the bar (and later attempts to forcibly take it by killing Quark) after Quark becomes Nagus. In this episode, Quark sells him the bar, though Rom gives it back after he becomes Nagus.
The costume Elle Alexander wore in this episode was later sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [2]

Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 7.12, catalog number VHR 4822, 22 November 1999

This is the final DS9 volume released by CIC Video. The last volume, 7.13, was distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment after the dissolution of CIC.

As part of the DS9 Season 7 DVD collection

Links and references

Starring

Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko

Also starring

Rene Auberjonois as Constable Odo
Nicole de Boer as Counselor Ezri Dax
Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Commander Worf
Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien
Armin Shimerman as Quark
Alexander Siddig as Doctor Julian Bashir
Nana Visitor as Colonel Kira Nerys

Guest stars

Previous episode:
"Extreme Measures"

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 7

Next episode:
"What You Leave Behind"

The Dogs of War (episode)

Contents

Summary

Teaser

Act one

Act Two

Act Three

Act Four

Act Five

Memorable quotes

Background information

Title, story, and script

Cast and characters

Production

Reception

Continuity and trivia

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

Guest stars

Special guest star

Co-stars

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt doubles

References

Dedication plaque references

External links

Fan Feed