Best known for playing Lt. Commander Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, actor Michael Dorn also directed four episodes of Star Trek. Dorn is one of many Star Trek: DS9 actors who became directors. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Avery Brooks (Captain Benjamin Sisko) and Rene Auberjonois (Constable Odo) each directed nine episodes of DS9. TNG's LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), and Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris) and Roxann Dawson (Lt. B'Elanna Torres) have all become successful television directors.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Michael-Dorn-Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation-021623-c7a2bd5edba9422899eebf32522e1317.jpg)
Many Star Trek actors, including Dorn, got their chance to direct episodes because Star Trek producer Rick Berman's "Director's School" let interested actors from 1990s Star Trek shows get hands-on experience as directors. The Star Trek Director's School was inspired by Dorn's Star Trek: The Next Generation cast mate Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), who may be Star Trek's most well-known actor-turned-director since there are many new Star Trek episodes directed by Frakes. The four episodes of Star Trek directed by Michael Dorn range in tone, yet Dorn handles each one adeptly.
4 Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1, Episode 25 - "Two Days and Two Nights"
Archer's Visit To Risa Misses The Mark
When the NX-01 Enterprise gets to Star Trek's resort planet Risa in Star Trek: Enterprise season 1, episode 25, "Two Days and Two Nights", the crew expects to enjoy a peaceful shore leave, but the two-day visit to Risa isn't that easy. Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating) are robbed by shapeshifters. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) is targeted by a Tandaran spy for information about the Suliban. Even Dr. Phlox's (John Billingsley) hibernation is interrupted by Ensign Travis Mayweather's (Anthony Montgomery) injury. Only Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) actually has a good time.
Archer's story in "Two Days and Two Nights" is strongly evocative of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's trip to Risa in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 19, "Captain's Holiday", when Picard becomes entangled with the alluring but morally dubious archaeologist Vash (Jennifer Hetrick).
The various plot threads in "Two Days and Two Nights" pose a challenge for Michael Dorn's fourth and final Star Trek episode as a director, especially since each storyline needs a slightly different tone. The sickbay scenes are funny, and Hoshi's date is appropriately romantic, but the bulk of the episode just doesn't mesh that well. Archer's connection with Keyla (Dey Young) is played straight and weighed down with exposition from Star Trek: Enterprise season 1, episode 21, "Detained". Tucker and Reed's subplot being played for laughs is awkwardly transphobic in retrospect, making it a tough watch today.
3 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7, Episode 21 - "When it Rains ..."
Tensions Rise On DS9 During The Dominion War
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 21, "When it Rains ..." is the fifth chapter in the nine-part saga that ends Star Trek: DS9, with characters moving into their places like pieces on a chess board, as each side angles for their own brand of victory against the Dominion. Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) and Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) join forces with Legate Damar (Casey Biggs) to help the Cardassian uprising against the Dominion, Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) investigates Odo's mystery illness, and Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) conspires with a disguised Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo).
Dorn capably handles many characters in the aptly-named "When it Rains ...", and it helps that Dorn's involvement as Worf is relatively minimized, with the focus of the Klingon story trained on Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) and General Martok (J.G. Hertzler). The setup for DS9's thrilling conclusion moves along, showing that Dorn understands where and how to sustain interest in an otherwise dark chapter of Star Trek. Most interestingly, the storytelling in Dorn's framing subtly conveys the characters' alliances: pairs like Winn and Dukat or Worf and Martok do see eye-to-eye, whereas Kira and Damar aren't on the same page yet.
2 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 5, Episode 25 - "In the Cards"
Jake Sisko's Baseball Card Quest Lightens DS9's 5th Season Ending
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 25, "In the Cards", is Michael Dorn's directorial debut. The episode follows Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) as the pair try to get an authentic Willie Mays baseball card for Jake's father, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). The boys' misadventures trading favors and tracking down items for the station's crew recall earlier attempts to gain profit, way back in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1, episode 15, "Progress", when the "Noh-Jay Consortium" got stuck with 100 gross self-sealing stem bolts.
Like most lighthearted episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "In the Cards" stands out as a breath of fresh air amid the bleak surrounding circumstances. The episode's structure emphasizes Jake and Nog's quest instead of the looming Dominion threat, and Dorn's direction respects the central message of hope instead of pushing the comedy too far. Instead of being motivated by profit, this series of trades is driven by Jake Sisko's love for his father. Best of all, Jake wanting to do one nice thing for Ben starts a ripple effect that affects most of DS9's characters positively.
1 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 6, Episode 18 - "Inquisition"
Michael Dorn Directs Star Trek's Introduction To Section 31
In a story that director Michael Dorn calls "Kafka-esque", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 18, "Inquisition" sees Dr. Julian Bashir at the center of a multi-layered test orchestrated by Director Luther Sloan (William Sadler), the director of Starfleet's special intelligence division, Section 31. Sloan cites Bashir's humanitarian efforts from earlier episodes as evidence that Julian is actually a Dominion spy, a story which seems to be corroborated by Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs). Bashir comes to the opposite conclusion, that Sloan is the spy before the reality of Bashir being in an elaborate simulated test is finally revealed.
Because Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was much more serialized than its contemporary Star Trek shows, chances were always pretty high that the seeds planted by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 18, "Inquisition", would eventually bear fruit, but when Michael Dorn directed "Inquisition", there was no way to know just how much of an impact Section 31 would have on Star Trek 's future.
"Inquisition" is a complex Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode that requires deft direction, and Michael Dorn pulls it off spectacularly. The story would fall apart if the truth about Sloan's mission was telegraphed too soon, but Dorn's directorial sleight of hand makes sure that the audience is compelled to figure out the mystery alongside Dr. Bashir. Sloan's test exists within its own believable reality before the reveal of Section 31 and their clandestine mission hits with a stunning amount of weight. "Inquisition" is proof that Michael Dorn can direct dramatic Star Trek episodes just as well as comedic ones.
