I like move along home a lot. I love the idea that what is scary and weird to one group (in this case our characters) is not a big deal at all to another (the aliens). Also I love how it's built up as this potentially scary and dangerous situation and then turns out to be quite literally child's play. Also I won't belabor the point but I also happen to like Masks.
Yeah that. That's what's so great about it on repeated viewings -- when you see Quark on the floor, really, really scared, and really being Quark, groveling for the lives of Sisko, Kira, Dax, and Bashir, and you know it's just a game and so do the Wadi. The Wadi were interesting also.
I liked the episode quite a bit too. It had a cool premise and while it wasn't executed fantastically; it wasn't bad. Sometimes when I'm walking somewhere and I'm bored I'll hum the song and do the jumps to the stares of a few people stopped at red lights XD The Muse is my least favorite I like Jake and I like writing but they coudn't do a more annoying episode after that.
I definitely agree this episode gets a lot of unfair hate, but it is hard to argue that this episode is just plain weird. And it has some extremely corny moments. It almost feels like an episode that would have been done on "Are You Afraid of the Dark" or "Twilight Zone" or something. I saw some say this would've fit more on TNG or VOY, but to me this really feels like a TOS episode. Event the "game" set looks kind of old. Having said that, I think this episode has a certain "charm" to it. It's meant to be surreal and I think it fits with the constant complaint of "Trek doesn't do enough exploring or outside of the box thinking". This episode kind of encompasses that. The Starfleet crew weren't going to outphaser the Wadi. They had to survive their "game". And since this was the first Gamma Quadrant aliens we see (if you exclude Odo), it made it all the more interesting. So on the one hand, I can see why people would be off put by the way this episode came off. But on the other, this episode did a really good job of having that standard Trek story before this show got heavy on the war.
I always liked "Move Along Home." It was funny in a ridiculous sort of way. My brother cracks up whenever he sees the scene where Sisko and the others have to repeat that children's rhyme to get to the other side of a chamber. Allemaraine!
I agree with that. They basically did do it on Are You Afraid Of The Dark only with pinball. I wouldn't be surprised to find out they did it on TZ too. But it was first season before they figured out what DS9 was.
There was a 1983 movie called Nightmares, which presented different stories like Twilight Zone. It was directed by TOS vet Joseph Sargent. One segment had Emilio Estevez pulled into a video game.
You know I've noticed that with every Trek series there are always rough first season episodes (TNG being the best exsample!) and after a season or two it gains momentum and better writing. I feel that "Move Along Home" is one of those episodes you have to grit your teeth and slog through to get to the good stuff like "In The Hands of The Prophets"! You got to accpet that in the beginning things are a little undevoloped! All of this being said it wasn't as horrid as the TNG first season episodes which make me shake violently just thinking about them! "Move Along Home" is no "If Wishes Where Horses", which is a laugh a minute! As for the later shit nuggets for episodes, I think the writers where just gettig lazy and dug up something they could throw at the screen, especially when it comes to Riza, The Hooker Planet™!
I, too, am a big fan of this episode. Personally, I consider it one of my DS9 favorites, if I'm honest. It feels like Trek (odd aliens, tech, etc.) but with a bit of uniqueness with the DS9 characters. It also has a nice balance of drama and quirkiness, with touches of humor here and there. As for some of the others mentioned here, I kind of like "Meridian" too. I could have done without the romance which makes it drag at points, but it's one of those rare post-S2 DS9 episodes where they're actually exploring strange new worlds! "The Muse"...meh. "Without Sin..." double meh. "Profit and Lace" is okay, certainly not the worst of Trek ever, but nothing super great.
The exception is TOS, whose 3rd season is generally considered its worst, and the show was then cancelled.