Category: Star Trek

Star Trek: DS9’s Cardassian Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Elim Garak explained

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Cardassian Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) was more than a simple tailor on Star Trek: Deep Space 9. With its premiere in 1993, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 introduced a darker tone to Star Trek, with its morally gray characters and lengthy Dominion War storyline. Introduced in DS9 season 1, episode 3, “Past Prologue,” Garak was one of the show’s most lasciviously gray characters, but he nevertheless became a fan favorite. Despite appearing in only 33 of 176 episodes, Garak remains one of the show’s most memorable and beloved characters.

The Cardassians were introduced as villains on Star Trek: The Next Generation and remained enemies of the Federation for most of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. DS9 more fully explored the Cardassians, showing that, as with most species, not all are the same. Garak was a tailor aboard Deep Space 9 and befriended several station personnel, including Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Constable Odo (René Auberjonois). Garak also had a dark history that became useful during the Dominion War.

Garak Was A Cardassian Spy Before Becoming Star Trek: DS9’s Tailor

“Do you know what the sad part is, Odo? I’m a very good tailor.”

Before the events of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Garak was a high-ranking member of the Cardassian intelligence agency known as the Obsidian Order. Garak’s father, Enabran Tain (Paul Dooley), was head of the Order and raised Garak in his image. Tain mistreated Garak as a child and refused to acknowledge the adult Garak as his son. Garak once spent time on Romulus posing as a Gardener at the Cardassian Embassy. Although several prominent Romulans died while Garak was there, the Cardassian never confirmed or denied his involvement.

While working for the Obsidian Order, Garak became an expert interrogator, and his skills for lying and misdirection were well-known. At some point, Garak betrayed Tain, who tried to have him killed. Garak managed to escape but was exiled from Cardassia Prime and took up residence on Terok Nor (later known as Deep Space 9). Once the Cardassians left Terok Nor and Starfleet took over, Garak set up a tailor’s shop on the Promenade. Garak hated exile because he loved Cardassia and desperately wanted to return.

Why Garak Fought With Starfleet In DS9’s Dominion War

“That’s Why You Came To Me, Isn’t It, Captain? Because You Knew I Could Do Those Things That You Weren’t Capable Of Doing.”

Star Trek DS9 In the Pale Moonlight Sisko Garak


Despite being Cardassian, Garak fought alongside Starfleet during the Dominion War. When Starfleet was forced to withdraw from Bajoran space, Garak joined the crew of the USS Defiant, saying that he did not want to live on the space station while it was under the command of Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo). Throughout his time on Deep Space Nine, Garak formed friendships with many of the station’s crew members; some had even come to trust him. Garak fought alongside his Starfleet friends not because he hated Cardassia but because he believed defeating the Dominion was the best course of action.

Not only did Garak’s knowledge of the Cardassian tactics prove essential during the war, but his background as a spy and assassin established his significance, making him an invaluable resource. In DS9 season 6, episode 19, “In the Pale Moonlight,” Garak infamously helped coerce the Romulans into joining the Dominion War by fabricating evidence and assassinating a Romulan senator. Garak spent the latter part of the Dominion War decoding Cardassian transmissions for Starfleet Intelligence. Although he was troubled that his actions would likely lead to Cardassian deaths, he understood that defeating the Dominion was best for everyone involved.

What Happens To Garak After Star Trek: DS9

“The Truth Is Usually Just An Excuse For Lack Of Imagination.”

When the United Federation of Planets planned an invasion of Cardassia Prime near the end of the Dominion War, Garak helped lead a civilian uprising on Cardassia. After the Dominion wiped out a Cardassian city in retaliation, the Cardassian soldiers began turning against the Dominion, shifting the tide of the battle. Once the Dominion War ended, Garak decided to remain on Cardassia, presumably to aid in the reconstruction efforts. With over 800 million Cardassians dead and much of the infrastructure destroyed, Garak lamented that Cardassia would never be the same. Still, he acknowledged that his people had also caused much harm.

Garak’s last conversation on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was with Dr. Julian Bashir, who he called “such a good friend,” adding that he was “going to miss [their] lunches together.”

Although Star Trek: Deep Space 9 did not reveal much about what happened to Garak after the conclusion of the series, several Star Trek tie-in novels have told more of Garak’s story. In A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson, Garak remained on Cardassia, aiding in the planet’s recovery and helping push for democratic reforms to the government. In other novels, Garak eventually became the Cardassian Ambassador to the Federation. Regardless, Garak would likely remain on Cardassia for the foreseeable future, considering how much he cared for his planet and missed it during his exile.

Garak Returns In Star Trek: Lower Decks — With A Twist

“In Some Dimensions, I’m A Tailor…”

Throughout Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, Starfleet has been searching for the cause of numerous quantum fissures that have opened wormholes to the multiverse across the galaxy. Lower Decks season 5, episode 9, “Fissure Quest,” reveals that Section 31’s Captain William Boimler (Jack Quaid) has assembled a crew of alternate universe Starfleet officers to investigate these rifts. Among Captain Boimler’s crew is none other than Elim Garak, who serves as the ship’s surgeon on the starship Anaximander. This Garak is a brilliant surgeon, but he does mention that he’s a tailor “in some dimensions.”

While on the Anaximander, Garak met an Emergency Medical Hologram of Dr. Julian Bashir, and the two got married. When Garak goes to rescue his crewmates (who have been captured by “feral Khwopians”), Dr. Bashir protests that Garak is “just a surgeon,” to which the Cardassian replies, “I am a surgeon, but not just.” Garak proves himself a capable fighter in any universe, taking out the Khwopians and rescuing his crew. Garak remains one of Star Trek: Deep Space 9’s most significant characters, and his return in Star Trek: Lower Decks is a pitch-perfect comeback for the lovable, morally gray Cardassian.

Krenim Temporal Weapon Ship

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In the vast tapestry of the Star Trek universe, brimming with alien species, starships, and unimaginable technology, a haunting question lingers: who wields the most fearsome ship of them all? Sure, the galaxy has seen its fair share of planet-killers like the Doomsday Machine, an unstoppable juggernaut of destruction that gobbled up entire worlds. And let’s not forget Species 8472’s nightmarish bioships, living vessels capable of overwhelming even the mighty Borg. But one ship stands apart among this pantheon of terror—not for the worlds it burns or the fleets it decimates, but for something infinitely more chilling. It can erase you from existence entirely.

Enter the Krenim Temporal Weapon Ship, often referred to simply as the Krenim Timeship. Introduced in Star Trek: Voyager, this vessel isn’t just a weapon of mass destruction—it’s a weapon of mass erasure. Commanded by the obsessed Annorax, the ship is the centerpiece of one of the most unsettling concepts in science fiction: the ability to rewrite history.

The Krenim, a species dabbling in temporal mechanics, constructed this monstrous ship with a single purpose—to alter time itself. But this was no mere time travel device; it was far more sinister. The Timeship’s weapon didn’t just destroy its target. The ship didn’t leave debris or wreckage when it fired its temporal incursion beam. Instead, it targeted an object, species, or even an entire interstellar empire and erased it from the timeline altogether. Imagine facing an enemy who didn’t just kill your people or destroy your world but made it so you never existed in the first place. The sheer existential horror is unparalleled.

The story behind the Timeship is as fascinating as it is tragic. Annorax, a brilliant Krenim scientist, originally designed the weapon to restore his people’s once-great empire, which had crumbled due to political and temporal shifts. His goal was noble—bringing prosperity and power to his civilization. But the first use of the Timeship yielded devastating consequences. His calculations, meticulous as they were, failed to account for the butterfly effect of tampering with time. By erasing a single species that stood in the Krenim’s way, Annorax inadvertently wiped out his wife from the timeline. She ceased to exist, leaving him with a hollow victory and an unrelenting obsession to fix his mistake.

Annorax spent centuries aboard the Timeship, trapped in a paradox of his own making. He continuously fired the temporal weapon, attempting to craft the perfect timeline where the Krenim empire thrived, yet his wife still lived. But every change unraveled others. Sometimes, his people were mighty but brutal conquerors. Other times, they were peaceful but weak. He was never satisfied, and the Timeship became a harbinger of chaos rather than restoration.

The Krenim Timeship’s capabilities were so immense that it didn’t need an armada to enforce its will. With a single shot, it could rewrite galactic history. One of the most harrowing moments in the Voyager two-part episode “Year of Hell” occurs when the Timeship targets entire civilizations. Planets, species, and cultures vanish without a trace, their presence erased so thoroughly that no one but Annorax and his crew remembered they ever existed. It’s a godlike power wielded by a man consumed by his inability to accept loss.

What makes the Timeship so terrifying isn’t just its power—it’s the moral implications. Destroying a fleet or even a planet is horrifying, but it’s finite. The Timeship’s weapon is infinite in scope. It doesn’t merely end lives; it eradicates legacies, erases art and culture, and nullifies entire histories. Imagine if Vulcan had never evolved to develop space flight, if the Borg had never assimilated their first species, or if humanity had never reached for the stars. The timeline we know would crumble, replaced by an alien and unrecognizable reality.

Ultimately, the Timeship’s downfall came from the flaw that birthed it: hubris. Annorax, in his relentless pursuit to restore the timeline where his wife was alive and his species was powerful again, did not account for and continued to underestimate the complexity and fragility of existence itself. In the climactic moments of “Year of Hell,” the crew of Voyager manages to exploit a temporal paradox, forcing the Timeship to destroy itself. As it disintegrates, the timeline resets, undoing all of Annorax’s changes. But the philosophical questions it raises linger: Should anyone have the right to wield such power? And at what cost?

In a universe teeming with adversaries—Klingons, Romulans, Borg—few can rival the sheer existential dread the Krenim Timeship inspires. It doesn’t just challenge its enemies; it challenges the fabric of reality itself. And while its destruction brought relief, the specter of its power remains a haunting reminder of the dangers of playing god with time.

Enterprise (NX-01)NX-01

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“We’re making history with every light year.“
– Captain Jonathan Archer, 2152 (S1E23 “Shockwave“)

In the vast universe of Star Trek, where space battles and technological marvels are a dime a dozen, one thing stands out: the resilience of its ships. But what about those vessels that not only survived but thrived after suffering catastrophic damage? Among these brave survivors, one ship stands as the symbol of endurance: the NX-01 Enterprise.

The NX-01, Earth’s first deep-space exploration vessel, was not designed for battle. Its primary purpose was exploration, a pioneer in uncharted space. But fate, as it so often does in the Star Trek universe, had other plans. The ship was constantly caught in dangerous situations, often facing enemies far more powerful than its own crew could have anticipated. Without shields and relying instead on thick hull plating, the NX-01 endured countless hits during its voyages, each one pushing it closer to the brink of destruction. It wasn’t unusual for the ship to come out of battle with massive damage—broken nacelles, gaping holes in its hull, and systems that barely functioned. Yet, each time, it managed to pull through, patched up by its ever-resourceful crew.

The Xindi arc serves as one of the most notable examples of the ship’s battered yet indomitable spirit. After the initial devastating attack by the Xindi, the Enterprise was reduced to a shadow of its former self. It limped through the stars with damaged sections, a fractured hull, and struggling systems. But through sheer determination and sometimes a little ingenuity, the crew kept it together, literally and figuratively. They reinforced the ship, used whatever parts they could find, and pushed the NX-01 to the edge of its capabilities. It wasn’t just the ship that was broken—it was the will to keep going and survive. Yet, this makes the Enterprise’s survival story so compelling: it’s not about the ship but about the people who refused to give up on it.

Then, there’s the question of why it mattered. The Enterprise was a symbol—of exploration, of humanity’s reach beyond its limits, and of the willingness to face any challenge, no matter how impossible. In a way, every crack and every broken system told a story. They weren’t just signs of battle damage; they were the marks of victory, of surviving when the odds were against them. Each repaired hole was a testament to resilience, to the idea that survival wasn’t just about technology, even in the worst conditions. It was about the people who piloted that ship, who could face a disaster and say, “We’ll keep going.”

While the NX-01 faced challenges, it wasn’t the only ship in Star Trek to survive unbelievable damage. The USS Enterprise-D, for instance, was destroyed in the film Star Trek: Generations, but it had its history of surviving catastrophic damage. The Enterprise-D had seen everything from the Borg invasion to the battle with the Romulans in The Next Generation. Yet, even with its hull scarred and systems in disarray, it always found a way to survive. Much like the NX-01, it wasn’t the ship’s advanced technology that saved it; the crew’s ingenuity and resolve turned the tide repeatedly.

Another notable survivor is the USS Voyager. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, the ship was forced to fend off enemies in a region of space filled with dangers. Its crew, led by Captain Janeway, constantly had to repair and improvise. Voyager’s ability to endure came not just from its technology but from the unyielding spirit of its crew, who faced each new battle with the same determination to survive and return home.

In these stories, Star Trek isn’t just a series about high-tech ships and alien worlds. It’s a narrative about overcoming adversity, about pushing through even when the worst seems inevitable. Like the people who crew them, the ships bare the scars of their battles, but those scars tell a story of survival, resilience, and, ultimately, triumph. Whether it’s the NX-01 Enterprise or the USS Voyager, these ships endured the worst because they were always about more than just the technology—they were about the people who believed in them and never gave up.

It’s all in Tommy’s head.

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What is the most expansive fictional universe ever created?

The Tommy Westphall Universe. A long time ago, in a fabled era known as the ’80s, there was a TV show called St. Elsewhere. It was about a run-down teaching hospital named St. Eligius in Boston and the doctors who worked there. Dr. Donald Westphall was the director of medicine, a widower who raised his two children by himself. One of those children was his autistic son Tommy. Tommy only appeared in fifteen episodes of the series. St. Elsewhere ran for six seasons and won eleven Emmys, but all anyone cares about today is its final episode. In the final scene of the final episode, Tommy Westphall holds a snow globe that reveals the building of St. Eligius inside it. And his father, who is not a doctor, comes in and says the following:

I don’t understand this autism thing, Pop. Here’s my son; I talk to him; I don’t even know if he can hear me. He sits in his world all day long, staring at that toy. What’s he thinking about?

The entire six seasons of St. Elsewhere were, in fact, a child’s daydream while looking at a snow globe.

Here’s where things get a little complicated. The character Dr. Roxanne Turner from St. Elsewhere appeared in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, where authorities accused her of murder. But if Dr. Turner was just a creation of Tommy, how could she possibly be on Homicide? Unless Homicide was also Tommy’s daydream. There is an episode of St. Elsewhere where the doctors of St. Eligius decide to go out for a few drinks at a local Boston bar. That bar is Cheers, the titular bar from the sitcom Cheers. So, Cheers, and Frasier are again products of Tommy’s imagination.

Detective John Munch was a character played by Richard Belzer, who starred in Homicide: Life on the Street, which we know never existed. After the cancellation of Homicide, the character was moved to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Detective Munch also appears in The Wire, The X-Files, and Arrested Development. So, Tommy Westphall had to create all those shows.

Cheers spun off Frasier, who crossed over with Caroline in the City, with Friends, who shared a character with Mad About You, who crossed over with Seinfeld. In a few centuries, the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be Star Trek, but its distant past (sorry, spoilers) is the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Doctor Who is canonically taking place in the same universe as I Love Lucy, Hannah Montana, Grey’s Anatomy, and All My Children.

All of it is the creation of one child, which probably explains the continuity errors. For example, no one acknowledges the zombie outbreak in Georgia in The Walking Dead, which is happening at the exact same time as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Arrow.

If you map everything out, there are at least 419 shows that are in the same continuity with each other and canonically the creation of Tommy Westphall.

The first person to propose the Tommy Westphall Universe was legendary writer Dwayne McDuffie in a blog post criticizing comic book continuity. It was about just how silly it was to try to fit vast and mutually incoherent works all into the same rigid continuity. But he was kind of onto something with that whole Tommy Westphall stuff. They did all crossover with each other.

By the way, the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy has Tobias Fünke on his ship, which means Tommy Westphall is responsible for the MCU.

Cmdr Annorax – The Krenim Imperium

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Which villain’s backstory was the most understandable for them to become a villain in Star Trek?
I’ll nominate Annorax from Voyager’s two-part “Year of Hell.”

Annorax was a temporal scientist working for the declining Krenim Imperium. He developed a ship with a temporal weapon that, when fired, completely removed an object from the timeline, changing history so that it had never existed. Only ships with temporal shields like his would even remember the old timeline.

The Krenim fired this weapon against a rival species, erasing them from the timeline and briefly restoring the Krenim Imperium to its former glory.

Interbreeding with that species turned out to have made the Krenim immune to a deadly plague that began to run rampant throughout the empire. To correct the error, he fired again and restored almost the entire empire—except for his home colony and his beloved wife.

Annorax, never aging inside his shielded ship, spent the next two centuries rewriting the timeline to restore his wife. Each time he fired that terrible weapon, his species’ fortunes would rise and fall, but the fate of Annorax’s home and wife was never restored.

Through a large portion of the two-parter, Annorax is barely aware of Voyager; the restored Krenim Imperium is simply battering our heroes. Eventually, Voyager develops temporal shields like Annorax’s to protect themselves from Krenim torpedoes, and these shields disastrously disrupt Annorax’s subsequent firing. Annorax sets out to track down Voyager and remove it from the equation; although the ship escapes, he manages to abduct Chakotay and Paris. But he’s impressed by Chakotay, and together, they devise a way to alter history—without additional deaths—so that Voyager never encounters the Krenim in the first place.

With Chakotay’s approval, Paris provokes a mutiny that drops the temporal shields, allowing Voyager to attack and trigger a weapon overload that erases the ship from history. Commander Annorax is finally restored to his home with his wife, and he never decides to build the ship. Following the advice of a less aggressive Krenim patrol ship, Voyager slightly alters its course, unaware of the timeline it had averted.

Annorax stands out as a villain with very relatable motivations. He was not trying to exterminate all life or take over the galaxy; all he wanted to do was restore what he and his species had lost. He was the hero of his own story—always the mark of a great villain.