Rules of Engagement (1996) User Reviews (13)

Those Klingons can be tricky jerks!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 January 2015]

In a recent humanitarian mission, Worf commanded the Defiant and was responsible for destroying a Klingon vessel that de-cloaked in the Pentath system. Now a Klingon prosecutor, Ch'Pok (Ron Canada) has arrived on DS9--looking to prosecute Worf for his heinous act. Admiral T'lara will preside over a tribunal, Ch'Pok will prosecute and Captain Sisko will defend Worf. However, there is far more to the case--and Ch'Pok freely admits outside of court that he doesn't care if Worf is guilty or not!

This is an odd episode in that this is the only plot. Usually, shows have two concurrent plots--but not this one. Overall it's well worth seeing and shows a tricky side of the Klingons that seems very unusual to say the least!

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you ... ... ..

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 5 July 2021]

Call me a cold hearted guy but if you fly into a battle zone I think you are responsible for all potentialities that may occur.

This is another episode of Worf locked in battle with between his human/klingon duality. His thirst for revenge and innate love of battle lead to a questionable (?) decision about firing on a ship full of knuckleheads who decided to fly into a space battle. I have sympathy for Worf. I would hold a grudge after the total BS he's been through the past 9 years too.

I gotta be honest ---- This type of subterfuge does not seem like it would be an action that the Klingon's would be even capable of. Maybe they have a spec op secret agency for this type of Obsidian order work?

This episode just doesn't work for me because I take issue with the very premise that Worf was actually negligent in the first place.

Ron Canada is wonderful as Ch'Pok. I just love how everything is a battle with Klingons. I just picture a Klingon child sitting down to paint and vowing to not the blank Canvas defeat them. I also enjoyed how the actors performed the court testimony while on the defiant during the incident ---- it added a bit of flavor to get out of the courtroom for a while.

The performance of Ron Canada strengthens this episode from average to 'good' territory.

Saved by style and performance

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 15 October 2022]

Following the destruction of a civilian Klingon ship, Worf is on trial for extradition.

This is an enjoyable episode that is well made and acted.

The plot has an interesting premise, but the way it unfolds is quite a formulaic courtroom drama with an uninspired resolution. Ironically one of the more memorable lines is that the "truth must be won", yet the truth feels like it comes very conveniently and with little effort on the part of the writers.

What works well are the flashback sequences as they feel quite unique for Star Trek. Every time the actors address the camera it is feels slick, well timed, and they do a great job.

One of the standout performances comes from Avery Brooks, who appears to revel in episodes where Sisko has to passionately defend other characters at trial. For me his dramatic verbal delivery is perfectly suited to this type of scene.

Ron Canada makes a fine Klingon character who is both fiery, devious and can hold hold the stage with Sisko in courtroom battles.

Michael Dorn could have done with more screen time, but as always, when his character is in focus, he is on good form.

Perry Mason in Space

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 24 October 2018]

It is nothing new to have Star Trek characters face trials, going back to Scotty's murder trial in the Original. This is another. Worf, doing combat against his fellow Klingons, is accused of killing over 400 civilians by firing on an unarmed ship. There is no question that he is responsible, but the issue is whether or not they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are some surprises along the way, but it is pretty standard stuff ultimately. Worf's vacillating has become a key issue in his return to active duty after being at the center of things on the Picard "Enterprise."

Amazing episode

[rskolek · 10/10 · 4 September 2020]

Evidently, I am in a minority, but I think this is an outstanding episode. The actor playing the Klingon advocate did an amazing job and the episode has a great plot that explores the chasm between the Klingon heritage and the Federation rules.

Worf on trial

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 4 June 2010]

After an indecent when a Klingon civilian vessel is destroyed after decloaking in the middle of a battle the Klingons want to extradite Worf who was in command of the Defiant at the time. At his hearing his friends and colleagues are called to give evidence but the more evidence we hear the more it seems that Worf lost control in the heat of battle. While the hearing is going on Captain Sisko has asked Odo to use his contacts in the Klingon Empire to see if he can find any possible motive for the Klingon ship to have deliberately decloaked in the middle of a battle.

This was a decent episode and Ron Canada did a good job as Ch'Pok, the Klingon advocate seeking Worf's extradition. In an break from the usual for the series we the people giving evidence explain what happened while we see a flashback of the events; so, for example, we see Dax giving evidence while she is engaged in combat training with Worf. While it was eventually revealed to be a Klingon plot to discredit Worf and the Federation it was nice to see that Sisko still reprimanded Worf; after all it could easily have been a genuine civilian vessel he destroyed.

One of the bad ones....

[dontspamme-11 · 7 August 2011]

I am about half-way through the entire Deep Space Nine series, and some of these 'filler' episodes are agitating to watch. Don't get me wrong, I understand that to enjoy most Star Trek materials, there needs to be some suspension of logic (especially the time travel episodes). Deep Space Nine is prime-time TV science fiction from the 90's, it can't be measured with the same yardstick as more mature and sophisticated productions like Battlestar Galactica: Re-imagined. This is where Ron Moore cut his teeth, and I always felt that many of Deep Space Nine's episodes were quite impressive and demonstrated his writing talent. But having made that disclaimer, I have to say that the script for this episode stands out as particularly bad.

The Klingons have declared war on the Cadassians. Since the Federation refused to support the invasion, Chancellor Gowron declares the Federation-Klingon peace treaty/alliance to be null and void. Worf, while commanding the Defiant on a convoy escort mission in a 'combat zone', is harassed by Klingon warships. After a number of 'shoot-then-cloak' attacks against the Defiant, Worf decides to adapt to the strategy and fires on a ship just as it de-cloaks, destroying the ship. As it turns out, the ship is actually a Klingon civilian transport with some 400 passengers on board. So the Klingons are apparently outraged and demand Worf's extradition to the Klingon Empire where he can stand trial for "murder." The premise for the story is virtually nonsensical. It is inconceivable that the Federation would even consider extraditing Quark under such circumstances, let alone one of their own officers. That the Klingons would make such a request is suspicious enough, but what's worse is that none of the obvious questions were asked during Worf's extradition proceedings.

Why would a Klingon civilian transport ship be equipped with a cloaking device? Why would you install classified military hardware on a civilian transport ship to begin with, then send it to a combat zone? What conceivable reason would there be to cloak a run-of-the-mill civilian transport ship? Are there cloaking device dispenser booths on every planet in the Empire to ensure that every Klingon and their grandmothers owned a ship cloaking device? Why did the civilian transport ship de-cloak in the middle of a battle between Federation and Klingon warships? It seems the answers would be obvious, and one hardly needs to rely on Odo's contacts in the Klingon Empire to dig up some incriminating evidence that would indisputably establish this extradition as a farce (speaking of which, for someone so anti-social, Odo seems to have a lot of social 'contacts'....). I would not have taken this episode so seriously if it didn't take itself so seriously (I don't care to run the premise of the Ferengi episodes through a fine comb, because they are just plain fun to watch), and as I said, this one stand out as particularly bad.

Let That be your Last Battlefield

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 20 June 2012]

Worf is once again in The Arena: The Legal Arena. But where he cannot fight himself, he has The Sisko as his Advocate.

Worf is in The Defiant, which is battle-Damaged. All around him are the corpses of Klingon Civilians: Men. Women, and... Children. This is a dream Worf has in the teaser, and effective it is.

Worf has been accused by the Klingon Empire of obliterating a Klingon Transport Ship that had accidentally crossed into his field of fire.

As each witness comes out, the truth unfolds. Each Witnesses story is illustrated by small "Vignettes" showing their POV. The Klingon Prosecutor, played by Ron Canada, is using all kinds of unethical legal trickery to get Worf moved to Qo'noS for trial.

But the trial is a sham-Would the Klingons use this kind of deception? We have to remember, the Klingon Empire is being manipulated by The Founders: Chancellor Gowron has at his right hand, a changeling pretending to be Martok! So it is just natural that the Klingons would be doing all kinds of Un-Klingonish deceits. We know now with 20/20 hindsight, that most of these things the Empire was doing were probably set in Motion by Martok/Founder.

If we do not take this into account, then it appears that the Klingons are acting very unscrupulously- And not like the Klingons we learned about in 7 years of TNG.

In the end, the deception is revealed-How could Worf have killed the people on this transport, when they had already been killed in an accident on another planet? And so Worf is chastised, lightly, by The Sisko for not waiting to see what vessel was uncloaking before he fired on it - But such things, soon, will not matter in the Deep Space Nine Universe: Because WAR is coming- And even The Sisko will have to set aside the Prime Directive to win it.

Deborah Strang (From The X-Files: Aubrey) is the JAG Admiral T'Lara

So so

[ThisisFizban · 6/10 · 4 December 2022]

I always enjoy the Star Trek trial episodes. This one was kind of strange and ultimately didn't come together for me. First off, the Klingon prosecutor admitted to Sisko in Quark's bar that the Klingons had ulterior motives about the trial. I can't remember his exact words but the fact that Captain Sisko didn't bring that up in the hearing was kind of ridiculous. The whole situation was so suspect and the Klingon prosecutor was so obviously up to something that it was hard to take seriously. I have to say, I still have the rest of the seasons to watch but so far I'm not a huge fan of this new Sisko. I've heard so many people talk about how he got so much better after the goatee. His increased seriousness just seems forced to be honest.

Just Wait 'til You Get Four Pips on that Collar

[CharoleaWood · 8/10 · 4 February 2024]

It's a cheat that the solution for this episode comes out of nowhere --- we should have been involved in investigating and uncovering the revelation presented.

That being said, Rules of Engagement is a fun episode with creative scenes involving criminal witnesses giving testimony while embodied in flashbacks.

It's the final scene between Lt Commander Worf and Captain Sisko that I particularly enjoyed.

I felt that Worf truly was being celebrated as a worthy commander even as an important and difficult lesson was being hammered home.

There's also the message about keeping morale even at your own expense as a commanding officer --- "Part of being a Captain is knowing when to smile" --- excellent stuff!

Never attack an unarmed man? I mean a defenseless man

[bigman-28834 · 6/10 · 21 May 2023]

This episode is a bit of weird one. Its alright to watch on the first go but after that, it's merely a skip filler episode. The aha gotcha moment was a bit cringe as well. Asking worf if he wouldn't attack a defenseless man, proceeding to provoke worf knowing he would attack, to follow up with I thought you never said you wouldn't attacked an unarmed man. Klingons are warriors, though the original question was correct, would worf attack the defenseless? No. It always infuriates me when they don't point these things out to create this drama that realistically in a court hearing would not exist. That said. The episode is fair overall, aside from that particular scene. I've watched it a few times.

Poor Execution

[dwanuga · 3/10 · 27 January 2021]

The primary focus of this episode is the discussion of the nature of command in intense situations, an experience that few can relate to, but many would be curious about. Worf is required to defend himself in an extradition hearing related to the decisions he made in a combat situation with Klingon Birds of Prey. Naturally, the high stakes nature of the hearing and the investigation of what it truly takes to lead draws the audience in. With that immediate hook, I had high hopes for the episode, but as with many episodes of television set in a trial environment, reality and story-telling clash hard. The trial is utterly unbelievable with irrelevant testimony, hypocrisy, unacceptable conduct, and a presiding judge which seems to tolerate all forms of nonsense over the course of the hearing. The trial culminates with Cpt. Sisko delivering an impassioned speech is his odd manner that combines a loud delivery with odd rhythm and pregnant pauses; distracting from the message. The episode has potential and ultimately it tells a good story, but realism (I probably shouldn't be complaining about a lack of realism in Star Trek) is cast aside.

Courtroom episode that is a little forced

[dirvingman-62136 · 5/10 · 29 August 2023]

I love Star Trek courtroom episodes. Even though they play fast and loose with actual court procedures, they usually yield great insight into characters.

This one does have its insights, but it's weighed down by oversteps in suspension of disbelief that are the most egregious out of all the courtroom episodes I've seen. As someone with only a cursory knowledge of the rules of evidence and how to question witnesses on the stand, I could not help but feel that the Klingon lawyer's every line of questioning was beset by lapses in logic and calls for speculation that should never be allowed in a fair trial. I'm sure any actual attorney would be pulling their hair out at how the trial is conducted in this episode.

It results in a situation that does not feel like a fair fight for our heroes, and their ultimate way out of the situation is not particularly satisfying either.

I think the direction is great - the fourth wall breaking is a clever move to make this one stand out. The performances all around are great too, and there are some good character moments for Worf and Sisko. But I cannot give this one a positive score, given the contrivances that come up in the trial. Pretend this isn't a formal hearing, and this episode becomes a decent watch.