Star Trek: The Sword of Kahless

Episode: "The Sword of Kahless"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 9

Original Air Date: November 20, 1995

via Wikipedia

Legendary Klingon warrior Kor arrives at the station.  After regaling Quark's patrons with tales of past glories, he invites Dax and Worf to join him on a quest for the Sword of Kahless, a long-lost Klingon artifact.  The story is probably the closest Star Trek ever got to Indiana Jones.  

This was the first DS9 episode to feature Worf as the lead character.  Not long before watching this, the Purple Penguin asked me how I felt about NextGen Worf vs. DS9 Worf.  In truth, I see them as the same character with a broadened story.  He was brought onto the new series in hopes of improving Nielsen ratings and unfortunately, it didn't work.  Viewership for all Trek series steadily declined over the 11 years following TNG's finale.  However, popularity doesn't necessarily reflect quality.  Critical ratings for DS9 consistently improved over time.

As I outlined in my post for the Season 4 premier, I think Worf's return brought all kinds of good to the series, allowing meaningful expansion for Dax and Odo in particular.  By the end of NextGen, Worf's exploration of his Klingon heritage had in many ways just begun.  In DS9, he has opportunities to go a lot deeper and it all begins with "The Sword of Kahless."  

Fortunately for all of us, we get one more Kor episode in Season 7.

Acting Notes

via Ice Age Wiki

Rick Pasqualone played the role of Toral, son of Duras, who tried to get to the sword before our friends in hopes of using it to stake his own claim to rule the Klingon Empire.  Pasqualone was the second actor to play Toral.  J.D. Cullum played the part in two NextGen episodes.

Pasqualone was born in Albertson, New York, March 30, 1966.  He has also made guest appearances on Friends, NYPD Blue and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation among others.  Films include Alpha Mail, Greenland and Mank.