Behind the Lines (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

"Behind the Lines" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 128th episode in the science fiction show.

The episode was written by Rene Echevarria and directed by actor-director LeVar Burton. It was broadcast on television on October 20, 1997.^[1]

The series, set in the 24th century, follows the adventures of the crew of the space station Deep Space Nine near the planet Bajor, guarding a wormhole connecting Bajor to the distant Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy; the Gamma Quadrant is home to an aggressive empire known as the Dominion, ruled by the shapeshifting Changelings. The episode is set during the early months of the series's Dominion war storyline after the Dominion has absorbed the nearby planet of Cardassia and gone to war against the United Federation of Planets. This episode is the fourth in a six-episode story arc, during which Deep Space Nine is occupied by the Dominion–Cardassian alliance under a non-aggression pact with Bajor. The station's usual Starfleet crew and their starship, the Defiant, having fled the station in the previous season finale, are pursuing the war in other venues.

This had a Nielsen rating of 5.1 points, about five million viewers when it premiered.^[2]