DS9 Episodes- Silly Mistakes, NitPicks, Inaccuracies

DS9 like all of Trek, has a lot silly mistakes that anyone can see, and a lot of mistakes that a trained eye can see too.

And some of them just CAN'T be explained no matter what, but it would be fun to.

It's as if the writers just forgot what they were thinking, or even common sense sometimes.

DS9 has a lot of them, not as many T.N.G in my opinion, but very close to it.


I'll start with "In Purgatory's Shadow", and "By Inferno's Light" for example.


Julian gets kidnapped by the Dominion after he goes to bed. But for a good while he's been wearing his Starfleet uniform! They must really be comfortable.

After recieving a mysterious message from the Gamma Quadrant, Sisko sends Worf and Garak to investigate in a runabout.

Keywords here are "Gamma Quadrant", and "Runabout", after all the threats from the Dominion, and after receiving a mysterious transmission from the Gamma Quadrant, would it be wise to send just a Runabout?

Why would the Jem Hadar (or their Vorta) decided to just let the Runabout stay in orbit around the asteroid, so Julian and co. can conviently contact it and escape?


Do Jem Hadar have a sense of comaraderie? In one scene in the background, after a fighting match with Martok, you can see one Jem Hadar place his arm around the one that just finished fighting

Julian states he's no engineer, but later Julian is later revealed to be genetically engineered with enhanced mental abilities. He and the other "mutants" could break into high security codes somewhat easily.

Couldn't Julian had figured out how to contact the Runabout as well?

How many Jem Hadar did Martok defeat before he got wore down?

After going through that many Jem Hadar single handedly in personal combat, (and saving the Klingon empire) maybe the Klingons should consider giving Worf his honor back.

Dukat is mentally all over the place! He deliberatly leaves his daughter to be blown up by the supernova, but later when the Dominion retakes the station she's "all that matters".

The changeling on the station seems to have missed a lot of opportuneties; tampering with the food, infecting Gowron with something, sabotaging the station, implanting a virus in the systemsetc..

 

Common changed premise for most of season three and four.

Have you read the Nitpickers guides by Phil Farrand?

 

Only for The Next Generation, I've never read the one for DS9.

It always striked me as odd that Starfleet would send their officers, even civilians into the Gamma Quadrant with just a Runabout considering the Dominion threat, and they ran into them quite a bit.

Either really foolish, or really courageous...

 

A runabout served the purpose of tracking down Tain's message - if it turns out to be a trap (which it wasn't intentionally, but...) only two people are at risk, as opposed to the crew of an entire starship. Likewise, the message was tracked to a nebula. Cloaking devices probably don't work well in nebula - too much to try and filter, so using a small, two man craft instead of a ship that can carry anywhere from twenty to one hundred (I think) crew means that it's easier to hide. They weren't expecting there to be a Dominion battle fleet the size of what Worf and Garak found there.

 

Hi DGCatAniSiri;3104656;

That's true, but that's also one of the problems; it seems Starfleet hardly expects to encounter the Dominion when they go into the Gamma Quadrant and after sending just a single Runabout, they often do.

In "The Ship", Sisko and his crew are in the Gamma Quadrant exploring a planet, and arrived in a single Runabout. One of their reasonings is that the planet was far enough away from Dominion supply lines to be safe.

Sure enough, a Jem Hadar ship crashes on the same planet, and another arrives and destroys the Runabout in orbit.

Sisko and his crew barely escaped in that one.

 

This nit is a general one througout all the DS9 episodes- Starfleet's logic in fighting or lack of it.

Bashir brings a good example.

In "Statistical Probabilities" Starfleet discovers that the Dominion wants a certain planet so they can manufacture Ketracel White, the drug the Jem Hadar need to survive.

Bashir notes that if they do get the planet, they can keep the Jem Hadar supplied indefinetly.

At this point, the Dominion's Ketracel White facility was destroyed, creating a dangerous shortage and near crisis.

So, the reasonable tactic would be to deny them the planet, maybe after drawing out the discussions a long time, boister defenses around the planet, and take advantage of it.

Bashir's suggestion? The Federation should give them the planet, because if they don't the Dominion would launch a massive attack costing many lives on both sides.

A few months prior, that was exactly what the Dominion was going to do had those 2,800 ships went through!

The Dominion would launch a massive attack sooner or later anyway as soon as they got the chance- and being able to supply the Jem Hadar indefinetly would give them that chance.


Plus, Starfleet has a weird attitude about enemies that are trying to destroy you or attack you- be concerned about the enemy's casualties first.

Bashir mentions casualties on both sides if the Dominion launches an attack, as if to say, 'we really don't won't to hurt them if they attack us' isn't there some other way?'

Did anyone else see this line of reasoning?


It is the same thing with Bashir's suggestion that the Federation surrender after going through the calculations- the fear of having so many casualties and the idea that they just can't win, why not just surrender right now, to a violent, ruthless enemy (take your pick, Cardassia or Jem Hadar).

Do not attempt to take more time creating solutions and alternatives since this a big decision anyway...

It's not that the Federation is weak-no way-big territory, advanced technology, lots of ships.

But are these an example of the Federation's peace keeping idealogy going too far?

 

OK, I’ll gripe about something. I just watched “Rivals.” This episode features “The Grudge Match of the Galaxy.” I totally bought into Quark’s hype. Last we saw, O’Brien was leading by a score of 9-3... and then we never find out what happens! I tuned in every week for the next five and a half years hoping to find out who won that raquetball game and never did. I felt so cheated by the series finale.

 

It was mentioned in Whispers that they were to have a rematch, though that never came about either. O'Brien and Bashir probably enjoyed stickin' it to Quark since he conned them into it in the first place.

Here's a couple of nitpicks that ALWAYS get to me in Cardassians:
1. Sisko mentions to Bashir that he wants to have a meeting with Garak in his office at 20-something hours. Meeting never takes place.
2. If you look just above the wrists and to the arms of Pa'Dar as he sits down with O'Brien, you'll notice his skin turns from a healthy grey to a sickly pink.

Also, anyone else notice that the Wadi ship seems to float into the station in Move Along Home?

 

You mean they never bothered to finish the game? The grudge match of the galaxy and they never bothered? Grr.

But I’m probably just bitter because I’m a cold Bajoran orphan with no blanket.

 

The one that always stands out to me took place in Way of the Warrior. The actor who portrays Lt. Jones escorts Dukat to the bridge of the Defiant in one scene. In the very next scene we see him strolling down the Promenade with a phaser rifle, before the Defiant has even returned from Cardassian space. The Defiant must have one hell of a transporter.

 

Something I noticed yesterday while watching Statistical Probabilities. In the scene where Bashir is playing Dabo right before he explodes the alien standing next to him looks very familiar. Maybe they were running short of costumes, but his resembles a Jem Hadar way too much.

 

1- Only thing I can figure, is that Bashir sometimes falls asleep working...
2- No, they're insane.
3- Maybe they were downloading its latest databases etc? They never would have guessed anyone could get to it, moving it wasn't a priority.
4- I don't think so... got a picture? Units are close- to a point. But I just re-watched it, the fighting soldier says "I won" as he walks by, meets another soldier, and gets touched on the arm by another soldier- but given how the other guy then sweeps his other arm, the soldier could have been tutoring the fighting one- when someone grabs your arm, hit them in the face...

 

1. In "Visionary" when Sisko calls the Romulans out on their plan to destroy the station and collapse the wormhole he says to Odo (or someon else) "Escourt our guests to the transporter room" I think a transporter room on DS9 would have been cool but in seven seasons I never saw it.

2. Prior to the first mention of The Dominion in "Rules Of Acquisition" there was no mention of The Dominion at all by any of the other aliens that came from The Gamma Quadrant. You would think something as monolithic as The Dominion would have been worth at least one mention.

Note: Personally I don't believe in nitpicking any show, especially science fiction because no matter how well written, acted and produced every show is going to have a myriad of errors but it sure is fun

 

I don't really see 2 as a fault.

Logically The Dominion only became aware of the wormhole/Alpha Quadrant when it was opened in Emissary so for all we know they could have put a 'no talking about The Dominion' law in action until they decided what they were going to do. And Rules of Acquisition is only 26 episodes into the series and we went to the Gamma Quadrant or talked to those aliens a handful of times.

 

You saw that one too - it's kind of hard to see, but while Martok is talking to Worf, it looks the one Jem Hadar is placing his arm around the shoulder of the victorious Jem Hadar.

That's normal behavior for other beings, but Jem Hadar are said to be so hardwired, that they care little about even themselves.

It's interesting to see them act that close.

Yes, when some races first come through the wormhole, there are no warnings about the Dominion, no stories, no nothing-then suddenly - pow! nothing but warnings, stories, rumors.

 

I don't have a problem with Runabouts going into the Gamma Quadrant. The Dominion pretty much gave the wormhole a wide berth until they invaded and since it took two years for confirmed contact with the Dominion their space can't be right on top of the wormhole.

The runabouts were also the only other craft permanently assigned to DS9. The Defiant can't undertake every mission and given it doesn't have its own crew sending the Defiant drains the station of all its top officers and 40-odd other crew. If you can undertake a mission with one or two people no point wasting the Defiant.

Nitpick: After the loss of the Chin'toka system Ross complains they have lost their only foothold in Cardassian space, yet an episode or two before we know that the Klingons took Septimus III, which was the HQ of a Cardassian Order. Given it is a HQ it must be in Cardassian space, especially if the 11th Order is a reserve unit as Martok describes it. It would have been nice to hear about it after it fell, if only to say that the Cardassian's reclaimed it with Breen help. Though it would have been more interesting if they used it with their mini-Klingon plot at the same time as the Klingons would be holding onto their only foothold with no support from either of the other militaries of the alliance.

 

Hmmm, yes, good catch.

 

Yes, good catch- not only is it a stronghold, but it is great stronghold- even if it was a reserve unit, it was the actual headquarters for the 11th Order.

That could mean secrets, codes, plans, high ranking prisoners etc.


With the Runabout thing, once the Dominion threat was revealed, it just didn't make sense to send the Runabouts out like that knowing they had little chance of defeating a Jem Hadar vessel if it encountered one.

The problem is they often encoutered Jem Hadar anyway. In the Ship, they needed the Defiant's help anyway eventually.

It's true, they can't send the Defiant on every mission to the Gamma Quadrant, but on important ones, it would make sense- but why a single Runabout? Why not two for safety reasons?


Here's an irony too; one that the Dominion could use in an argument; (although it has flaws)

When Alpha Quadrant ships came into Gamma Quadrant, despite numerous conflicts, they kept the wormhole on their side open and gave it a wide berth.

The Federation attempts to mine resources, trade covertly with Dominion members and other activities.

When the Cardassians joined the Dominion, and the Dominion began sending ships and supplies to the Cardassians, after some time, the Federation decides to completely mine the wormhole and blocking it off.

From the Dominion's twisted point of view, it would be seen as hyprocritcal.

 

You mean this part, when Ikat'ika stops the fight, right?


It looks like he touches the Jem'hadar who was fighting's elbow? Hard to tell that that distance...
But yeah, it's interesting to see that interaction among them. You also see it in "Hippocratic Oath" when the Jem'Hadar gets shot in the leg... even though the soldier believes he must kill his fellow soldier.

 

Hi, and thanks Marie,

It's another shot, close to this one, right after Martok fights, and the Jem Hadar are walking away, in the background, two Jem Hadar are walking away, and it looks like one is putting his arm around the shoulder of the other Jem Hadar.

It's quick and hard to make out, but that's what it looks like, can anyone see this one too, and get a shot of it?