The idea of preserving the memory of your race by sending out an interactive mind-movie that can only ever be used once is so dumb. No wonder they went extinct.
Well, remember the clone patrol in "Up the Long Ladder", the people who took only seven kids in "When the Bough Breaks", or those aliens who almost fried Kirk's body in that TOS episode whose title I don't remember? Dubious self-perpetuation methods seem to be a thing on Star Trek.
Most of the Inner Light episode isn't really that engaging while it's in progress. It just has a large emotional payoff at the end. If that particular payoff moment doesn't appeal to you, I can easily understand it to be a very boring episode, yes.
I must say one of the reasons I liked Far beyond the Stars is a bit of a guilty pleasure of seeing many ds9 actors out of makeup . Will have to disagree with those on this thread dumping on Inner Light. But admittedly , I do like quiet ,contemplative stories on occession . I did find "the slow parts" engaging with the growing friendships, relationships, community spirit and mystery ( when I first saw it). But I can see why that many may not resonate with those themes within a science fiction show
There's no need to assume that due to The Inner Light being all the things y'all mentioned that anyone who doesn't like it is turned off by those elements in general.
I have found it very interesting reading some of the responses. It comes down to the acting for me I guess. I much prefer 'Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night.' This episode has important themes as well, but I feel the acting is so much better, subtle and yet still very effective. I like Avery Brooks a lot as Sisko, I just feel he had.a habit of going over the top quite a lot the time. This is connected to my comment on Duet as well. It's a wonderful episode however the breakdown scene in that episode I also feel is guilty of overacting. I simply don't believe people act like this in reality, even in extreme conditions, and I find it somewhat distracting and takes me out of the moment.
I love “Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night”! But I suspect there might be a slight bit of double standard going on here, because that episode has some absolutely glorious overacting from Marc Alaimo as Dukat. He chews every last drop of drama out of each line of dialog, and it’s so wonderful! Just like Avery Brooks he can be subtle and quiet when it serves the scene … or loud, over-the-top and intense when the moment asks for it. As for that breakdown scene in “Duet” — yeah, that’s some incredible acting! I get goosebumps even thinking about it. And no, people don’t really act like that in reality. But that’s not reality, it’s a TV show with some healthy dash of theatre thrown in the mix. I totally get how some viewers are thrown off by this style of acting, and we’ve certainly seen less and less of that on the small screen since that episode aired, so future audiences will likely be even more alienated by it than you are now. I for my part love that kind of stuff. Not because of any claim to being realistic, but because of its intensity and power.
If budget weren't an issue, then how might the episodes really come across? A lot easier as any old CGI nowadays can sell the ideas more easily, but how much exposition can sell what isn't shown? Then again, we had a handful of extras kidnap Picard and that worked... "Bough" is only constrained by season 1's budget limitation so they had to put the blinders on. Imagining if they nicked 400 kiddies or whatever the ship's complement is, then handing them over to how many Aldeans? Of all the stories, this one I've got the most sympathy for. The clone patrol ( nice term ) was also a neat way of dealing with costs in terms of number of extras, especially if the number of identical siblings is low and there's a problem with dwindling population due to their genetic whoopsie. (Yeah, two colonies branching from the same root species, with each being the exact opposite of the other made for an oversimplified and too-tidy solution, but it's better than having the remainder of TNG's run being limited to watching Riker cleaning feet every week while character actor Barrie Ingham overacts with enough amazing charisma despite it all.) TOS... "That Which Survives". Yup. That one also had no budget, but it was in the latter half of season three. The problem sticks out far worse, or - in universe - the computer the Kolandans (sp?) used was an impressively pitiful one. Especially when future-technology is concerned and yet their security 'puter only made copies of one person, not different images, and saved the big trick of producing multiple copies until the very end when we all know that said 'puter should have made all four copies at once and be done with the perceived infiltration that much sooner. Even by 1969, it's too much a stretch - for a story I still find entertaining despite its issues. Still a good episode overall and the destructive nature is tied to a person's unique DNA - a clever idea that's also woefully undersold, but one has to roll with a lot.
Number of kids wasn't "Bough's" biggest problem... it was the sheer solvavility of the problem: all anyone (Riker, Picard, Crusher, whoever) had to do was offer to trade the Enterprise's seven children for hundreds of Aldean-produced replacements. I've often said that the Aldeans' sterility should have been permanent, which would have made Picard's use of force necessary. And, given the "take care of your ozone layer" message some real teeth. Maybe, though given the sheer number of extras among the Brinloidi, it barely matters. Just dress them in different clothes, and no one will notice. And, this is just weird: why did the clone patrol produce adult clones? You shorten their lifespan by 25% or so, and create adult-sized people who cannot walk, talk, or care for themselves (life experience is not coded in our genes, no matter what you see in "Assassin's Creed"). Simple answer: because they didn't want to have Riker vaporizing babies.
A strong 'no' from me. Not overrated at all and still intensely powerful, relevant and resonant in today's climate. Oh, and Brooks's performance? Superlative.