This period, the first after Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s cancellation, marks the first Next Generation film and the debut of Star Trek: Voyager, the first two seasons of which aired alongside seasons three and four of Deep Space Nine.

Deep Space Nine drastically changed at the beginning of its third season. With the third-season debut, the show introduced the Defiant, a powerful military ship left stationed at the station. This gave the show a ship, making more traditional stories possible. At the same time, the dark themes of the show expanded, beginning with the second-season finale. Previously, the show dealt with tensions between the Cardassians and the Bajorans, but now the show introduced new powers in the Gamma Quadrant, including the Dominion, which would provide a major new threat for the entire franchise. The show changed further at the beginning of its fourth season, with the addition of Worf to its cast.

Despite the demise of Next Generation, Q still managed an appearance on the second-season Voyager episode “Death Wish.” The Borg, however, did not appear during these two years; although they would later become a mainstay of Voyager, producers wished to wait until they were used in a Next Generation movie. Interaction with the original series continued with Generations, which included James T. Kirk and featured cameos by as Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov. It also introduced Hikaru Sulu’s daughter, Demora Sulu. In addition, the Mirror Universe was featured in two more episodes of Deep Space Nine.

This period contains a total of 94 episodes — 52 of Deep Space Nine and 42 of Voyager — plus one movie (Star Trek Generations).