"The Forsaken" is the 17th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, in orbit of the planet Bajor. In this episode, Dr. Julian Bashir is assigned "babysitting" duty for four visiting ambassadors, Chief Miles O'Brien deals with an alien computer program downloaded from a probe, and Odo copes with a deeply infatuated Lwaxana Troi.
This episode aired in broadcast syndication on May 24, 1993.
Casting
This episode cast Majel Barrett as the flirtatious Ambassador Troi (Lwaxana Troi), a character previously established on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the mother of Deanna Troi (aka Counselor Troi). Majel Barrett was cast in many Star Trek shows, including the 1960s pilot, the original series (as nurse Christine Chapel), and as the voice of the ships computer in multiple shows.
Other guest stars include Constance Towers, Michael Ensign, Jack Shearer, and Benita Andre.
In 2013, Keith DeCandido gave the episode a rating of 6 out of 10 for Tor.com, writing: "The corridor explodes, everyone panics, we don't know what's happened, and then we find out that Bashir got them into a crawlway, and apparently they bonded while trapped in there, because they're all friends now. I would rather have been shown that than told it. (Although the look on Kira's face when she realizes that Bashir saved the day is priceless, and a particularly good example of how great Nana Visitor is with facial expressions.)"
In 2019, Io9 noted "The Forsaken" for pairing the characters Odo and Lwaxana.