My DS9 Rewatch Odyssey
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That was a great review. I don't think I can add anything of substance.
I agree that only DS9 could gave taken this episode as far as it did.
I agree that only DS9 could gave taken this episode as far as it did.
Ananta wrote, Avery Brooks is on top form throughout, filled with passion, determination and genuinely aggrieved by the injustices he’s witnessing. The parallels to the way African Americans have been treated for centuries perhaps influence Brooks’ heartfelt performance...
Agree completely – and was reminded of this from The Fifty Year Mission (Altman and Gross) -- Avery Brooks said, after season 3 --”The contradiction between what we were playing and reality is this: oftentimes we worked until two or three in the morning. Cars are going through the gate, there’s a line of cars. Then when I get there, the gate comes down and security says to me, ‘Open your trunk.’ I said. ‘No. Why-- all these other cars just…Why? What do you think I have in this Volkswagon Rabbit—the Defiant?’ What I’m trying to say is that the contradiction, the paradox of it all, we can’t get away from. I wish the fact that I played Sisko would make some kind of difference on the street, not only on the screen.”
Agree completely – and was reminded of this from The Fifty Year Mission (Altman and Gross) -- Avery Brooks said, after season 3 --”The contradiction between what we were playing and reality is this: oftentimes we worked until two or three in the morning. Cars are going through the gate, there’s a line of cars. Then when I get there, the gate comes down and security says to me, ‘Open your trunk.’ I said. ‘No. Why-- all these other cars just…Why? What do you think I have in this Volkswagon Rabbit—the Defiant?’ What I’m trying to say is that the contradiction, the paradox of it all, we can’t get away from. I wish the fact that I played Sisko would make some kind of difference on the street, not only on the screen.”
Having a black man as a Star Trek captain did make a difference, I think, just not right away. It was one more step towards acceptance, a journey that certainly has its share of setbacks as well.
Great review, and I agree this is one of the 3 or 4 best episodes.
Unfortunately, you're right.
This is also an episode I love, and rewatched a couple of weeks ago.
Politically, it's one of two episodes where DS9 surprised me: this two-parter and "Bar Association". For the most part, DS9 gives me quite right-wing vibes, but here, as you say, the flaws of neoliberalism are laid bare. And in "Bar Association", Rom literally quotes (a translation of) the Communist Manifesto!
It is very DS9, but the story is also too big for television, in many ways. The only complaints I have about Past Tense is that it feels like it is working on a small budget and on standing sets. Oh, and I am a little disappointed that neo-Victorianism didn't become a fashion beyond cosplayers and LLARPers.
I have to say, I was confused by the word "neoliberalism" given I tend to think of liberalism as a fairly positive thing, until I read up on Wikipedia and learned that neoliberalism is more of an economic than political principle.
I'm similarly confused as to what right-wing vibes DS9 was projecting, though. Especially relative to TNG or VGR.
I'm similarly confused as to what right-wing vibes DS9 was projecting, though. Especially relative to TNG or VGR.
I am a newcomer and just discovered this thread and I must tell you. I love it!!!
Thank you for a very good read.
Thank you for a very good read.
“LIFE SUPPORT”
“A robotic zombie, you say? But wasn’t he always like that?”
Whether the results are good, bad or middling, there’s invariably at least the seed of a great idea behind most Star Trek, and “Life Support” is no exception. The original idea was a riff on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; a story that addressed medical ethics in the 24th century and, specifically, just how much of a human being you can artificially replace before they cease being a human being.
There are certainly moments in “Life Support” when this theme works quite well; particularly a wonderful confrontation between Bashir and Kai Winn, who, in a far cry from her first appearance in season one’s “In the Hands of the Prophets”, is very much intent on keeping Bareil alive, no matter the cost to the Vedek. So, there’s definitely some meat here, and Nana Visitor once again acts her socks off, adding some emotional weight to Bareil’s death/s...but, unfortunately, the episode just never quite comes together.
A large part of the problem is the horribly schizophrenic juxtaposition of the A and B stories. Quite often a light-hearted sub-plot can work well alongside a heavy, emotionally-intense main plot (“Progress” springs to mind), but here it’s just jarring and awkward. The Jake and Nog storyline isn’t bad in itself, although it’s not stellar either. I did love the fact that Sisko has gone from being blatantly prejudiced against Nog back in the first season to fighting his corner now. The idea of Jake and Nog double-dating and Ferengi culture causing consternation is understandable given what we know of Ferengi. It really doesn’t work very well here, however.
First of all, Nog is no idiot, yet he sure as heck acts like one in this instance. Cultural relativism aside, there are certain universal values shared by all people across all cultures, because they’re based on a code of treatment based on mutual expectation. No sane person, no matter where they’re from, wants to be hurt, injured or diminished, which is why we inherently know it’s not right to treat others that way. Nog ought to know that, as a non-Ferengi, Riska would most definitely not respond well to being treated as a Ferengi woman would be. There’s no real justification for his behaviour, which makes him seem incredibly arrogant, dumb and just plain insufferable. (It’s fortunate, however, that perhaps the character’s least endearing appearance on the series would be followed the very next episode by one of his best.) I’d happily have done away with this sub-plot, or at least relegated it to an episode where it wasn’t such a jarring tonal shift with the main storyline.
Speaking of which, the main plot isn’t all that successful itself. Frankly, it comes as a more of a relief than anything that the writers decide to dispense with Bareil. Personally, I think the Vedek ought to have stayed a one-episode character, having worked quite nicely in the season one finale. In spite of some efforts to inject him with depth and dimension in “The Collaborator”, and give him a little passion, he still comes across as an incredibly wooden, one-note character—and a large part of the problem is the performance. In a cast as as strong as this, and playing opposite such stellar recurring stars as Louise Fletcher, the weakest link is bound to be all the more conspicuous. I’m not saying Anglim is a bad actor, because for all I know he’s been fantastic in other things, but his portrayal of Bareil pretty much sucks the life out of any scene he’s in and he lacks chemistry with any of the other cast, including Nana Visitor, who—bless her—acts her heart out nonetheless.
Bareil’s hasty exit seems like damage control and, tellingly, the character is unconscious for most of the episode and has few lines and no real sense of agency. If anything, Bareil is just a plot point here. It’s probably just as well, too, because the staggering thing is that even when Bareil’s brain has largely been replaced by positronic implants, Anglim’s performance—which is meant to be rather lobotomised and zombie-like—is barely different to the way he was playing the character in the first place. There’s no question about it: Bareil must die! And, frankly, as terrible as it sounds, I found myself getting impatient and wishing he’d just croak it and get things over with. Every few minutes Bashir would pop up to deliver terrible news, which later would be confounded by even more bad news. Just get on with it, already!
As I said, there are glimmers of greatness, with a fantastic confrontation between the Doctor and the Kai, the latter of whom initially seems to have turned a new leaf and become a better person since her election. But, no, not really—it would seem she’s just keen to grab a moment of glory (Make Bajor Great Again!) and she really doesn’t care who has to pay the price of that glory.
Kira doesn’t really play much of an active part in the story, except for occasionally sniping at Winn and, at the end, begging Bashir to keep Bareil alive even though we’ve seen more animated tricorders. But, as I said, Visitor is nonetheless excellent and sells her grief and devastation beautifully. She truly is a wonderful actress and it’s a testament to her performance and some effective directing and music that the final scene plays so poignantly, even for those of us who might be relieved to see the back of one of Trek’s dullest of characters.
Unfortunately, in spite of the touching finale and some good scenes scattered here and there, I felt the episode lacked finesse, focus and conviction. It meanders for the most part, jumping between two uncomfortably mismatched plots, while feeling a little underdeveloped and undercooked. Unlike Quark’s “Kai Winn soufflé”, which, for a desert, looked decidedly unappetising...although I suppose that may have been the point. Rating: 5
“A robotic zombie, you say? But wasn’t he always like that?”
Whether the results are good, bad or middling, there’s invariably at least the seed of a great idea behind most Star Trek, and “Life Support” is no exception. The original idea was a riff on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; a story that addressed medical ethics in the 24th century and, specifically, just how much of a human being you can artificially replace before they cease being a human being.
There are certainly moments in “Life Support” when this theme works quite well; particularly a wonderful confrontation between Bashir and Kai Winn, who, in a far cry from her first appearance in season one’s “In the Hands of the Prophets”, is very much intent on keeping Bareil alive, no matter the cost to the Vedek. So, there’s definitely some meat here, and Nana Visitor once again acts her socks off, adding some emotional weight to Bareil’s death/s...but, unfortunately, the episode just never quite comes together.
A large part of the problem is the horribly schizophrenic juxtaposition of the A and B stories. Quite often a light-hearted sub-plot can work well alongside a heavy, emotionally-intense main plot (“Progress” springs to mind), but here it’s just jarring and awkward. The Jake and Nog storyline isn’t bad in itself, although it’s not stellar either. I did love the fact that Sisko has gone from being blatantly prejudiced against Nog back in the first season to fighting his corner now. The idea of Jake and Nog double-dating and Ferengi culture causing consternation is understandable given what we know of Ferengi. It really doesn’t work very well here, however.
First of all, Nog is no idiot, yet he sure as heck acts like one in this instance. Cultural relativism aside, there are certain universal values shared by all people across all cultures, because they’re based on a code of treatment based on mutual expectation. No sane person, no matter where they’re from, wants to be hurt, injured or diminished, which is why we inherently know it’s not right to treat others that way. Nog ought to know that, as a non-Ferengi, Riska would most definitely not respond well to being treated as a Ferengi woman would be. There’s no real justification for his behaviour, which makes him seem incredibly arrogant, dumb and just plain insufferable. (It’s fortunate, however, that perhaps the character’s least endearing appearance on the series would be followed the very next episode by one of his best.) I’d happily have done away with this sub-plot, or at least relegated it to an episode where it wasn’t such a jarring tonal shift with the main storyline.
Speaking of which, the main plot isn’t all that successful itself. Frankly, it comes as a more of a relief than anything that the writers decide to dispense with Bareil. Personally, I think the Vedek ought to have stayed a one-episode character, having worked quite nicely in the season one finale. In spite of some efforts to inject him with depth and dimension in “The Collaborator”, and give him a little passion, he still comes across as an incredibly wooden, one-note character—and a large part of the problem is the performance. In a cast as as strong as this, and playing opposite such stellar recurring stars as Louise Fletcher, the weakest link is bound to be all the more conspicuous. I’m not saying Anglim is a bad actor, because for all I know he’s been fantastic in other things, but his portrayal of Bareil pretty much sucks the life out of any scene he’s in and he lacks chemistry with any of the other cast, including Nana Visitor, who—bless her—acts her heart out nonetheless.
Bareil’s hasty exit seems like damage control and, tellingly, the character is unconscious for most of the episode and has few lines and no real sense of agency. If anything, Bareil is just a plot point here. It’s probably just as well, too, because the staggering thing is that even when Bareil’s brain has largely been replaced by positronic implants, Anglim’s performance—which is meant to be rather lobotomised and zombie-like—is barely different to the way he was playing the character in the first place. There’s no question about it: Bareil must die! And, frankly, as terrible as it sounds, I found myself getting impatient and wishing he’d just croak it and get things over with. Every few minutes Bashir would pop up to deliver terrible news, which later would be confounded by even more bad news. Just get on with it, already!
As I said, there are glimmers of greatness, with a fantastic confrontation between the Doctor and the Kai, the latter of whom initially seems to have turned a new leaf and become a better person since her election. But, no, not really—it would seem she’s just keen to grab a moment of glory (Make Bajor Great Again!) and she really doesn’t care who has to pay the price of that glory.
Kira doesn’t really play much of an active part in the story, except for occasionally sniping at Winn and, at the end, begging Bashir to keep Bareil alive even though we’ve seen more animated tricorders. But, as I said, Visitor is nonetheless excellent and sells her grief and devastation beautifully. She truly is a wonderful actress and it’s a testament to her performance and some effective directing and music that the final scene plays so poignantly, even for those of us who might be relieved to see the back of one of Trek’s dullest of characters.
Unfortunately, in spite of the touching finale and some good scenes scattered here and there, I felt the episode lacked finesse, focus and conviction. It meanders for the most part, jumping between two uncomfortably mismatched plots, while feeling a little underdeveloped and undercooked. Unlike Quark’s “Kai Winn soufflé”, which, for a desert, looked decidedly unappetising...although I suppose that may have been the point. Rating: 5
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While I do agree that the tonal shifting of the episode does hurt it, there's a lot of good here.
First, the performances of Louise and Nana are first rate, as usual. Siddig is no slouch, either, because he got some great scenes throughout the entire episode. I really liked Bashir here... he's definitely a doctor I'd want in my corner.
One thing my wife actually pointed out on her viewing, which is something I never noticed across a dozen or more rewatches. Look at the final scene with Bareil and thevway he looks. Throughout that last bit, either because of the canera angle or maybe this was on purpose, he looks like a Pope. Laying there with one of those types of hats you see them wear. She said this was probably because, after all his service and his final act in getting the treaty done, he essentially became a saint. Like a visual way of saying to everyone he just became one.
Since I was never raised religious, I never looked for that. My wife was, and as she explained this to me, I totally saw it. One of the greatest joys in rewatching STAR TREK with my wife... brand new insights I never considered!
While I understand viewing Bareil as boring, I will still defend it as more the appearance of someone with such an inner peace and serenity that it simply comes across the wrong way. Plus, I feel he was a key ingredient in Kira's growth.
First, the performances of Louise and Nana are first rate, as usual. Siddig is no slouch, either, because he got some great scenes throughout the entire episode. I really liked Bashir here... he's definitely a doctor I'd want in my corner.
One thing my wife actually pointed out on her viewing, which is something I never noticed across a dozen or more rewatches. Look at the final scene with Bareil and thevway he looks. Throughout that last bit, either because of the canera angle or maybe this was on purpose, he looks like a Pope. Laying there with one of those types of hats you see them wear. She said this was probably because, after all his service and his final act in getting the treaty done, he essentially became a saint. Like a visual way of saying to everyone he just became one.
Since I was never raised religious, I never looked for that. My wife was, and as she explained this to me, I totally saw it. One of the greatest joys in rewatching STAR TREK with my wife... brand new insights I never considered!
While I understand viewing Bareil as boring, I will still defend it as more the appearance of someone with such an inner peace and serenity that it simply comes across the wrong way. Plus, I feel he was a key ingredient in Kira's growth.
Yes, this is a very ham-fisted look at how people negotiate cultural differences. I belong to two minority groups, a fact that does not leave my isolated from the majority of American society. I might not know all the intricacies of how Christmas is celebrated, but I know many practices and symbols associated therewith. Nog has numerous models to show him what customs and practices a relevant to living on the station. He works in his uncle's bar, thus can see how people date outside of Ferengi society. Moreover, he has no mother to "dote" on him the way a typical Ferengi mother might. Indeed, it seems that he would be the second generation of Ferengi boys who would not have a woman chew their food for them. (That fact, of course, would not be revealed until later, IIANM.) It seems like too much of a regression. However, I tend to give it a small pass because it is probably setting up Nog for his next story.
(Cleaning up the coffee I just spit everywhere.)
This and the next episode are among the last times Visitor does her modulated performance of Kira. She'll still have some campy acting ahead--mostly because she embodies different personalities--but the sort of extreme ranges of emotions get replaced by more nuance.
Another fine review!
I rewatched this yesterday--and I agree the Jake/Nog subplot made Nog too extreme a caricature, even for a Ferengi. [He does behave better with Varis Sul in the “Storyteller” episode and she gives him a kiss on the cheek—I think the only time he has anything like a romantic relationship.]
To me, the Vedek’s character is meant to be low-key, subdued, not dynamic…at the end when Kira talks to the dying Bareil, she says she now knows he was just as confused as everyone else, but he was at peace with it, and she loved him for that. Seems like Kira goes through a number of sad goodbyes in the series…to both men and women.
Lark Voorhies was a great choice for Leanne -her smile lights up the whole Promenade.
I rewatched this yesterday--and I agree the Jake/Nog subplot made Nog too extreme a caricature, even for a Ferengi. [He does behave better with Varis Sul in the “Storyteller” episode and she gives him a kiss on the cheek—I think the only time he has anything like a romantic relationship.]
To me, the Vedek’s character is meant to be low-key, subdued, not dynamic…at the end when Kira talks to the dying Bareil, she says she now knows he was just as confused as everyone else, but he was at peace with it, and she loved him for that. Seems like Kira goes through a number of sad goodbyes in the series…to both men and women.
Lark Voorhies was a great choice for Leanne -her smile lights up the whole Promenade.
@ananta: Believe it or not but this was the very first DS9 episode that I've ever watched... and it almost cured me of my desire to watch the series. Fortunately, I didn't stop there and watched the next one, aka "Heart Of Stone" which was much better and made me want to learn more about these characters.
Anglim's performance is terrible. We're told that he's virtually turned into a robot but you can hardly tell...
Nog is odious probably the most odious in the entire series even more than back when he was a petty thief!!! And his behavior is just offensive and stupid, it's painful to watch Sisko trying to rationalize and excuse it. I couldn't understand what Jake saw in him, fortunately, he redeemed himself in later episodes.
Anglim's performance is terrible. We're told that he's virtually turned into a robot but you can hardly tell...
Nog is odious probably the most odious in the entire series even more than back when he was a petty thief!!! And his behavior is just offensive and stupid, it's painful to watch Sisko trying to rationalize and excuse it. I couldn't understand what Jake saw in him, fortunately, he redeemed himself in later episodes.
I am a newcomer and just discovered this thread and I must tell you. I love it!!!
Thank you for a very good read.
Aww thank you, Swedish Borg! Glad you’ve enjoyed the thread
Indeed, I ought to say,in some ways it’s the strongest showing for Bashir yet, and really shows how far he’d come from those difficult early days. Siddig was in great form.
It must lovely watching it again with your wife! None of my exes liked Star Trek, and the one that did refused to give DS9 a chance. Sad times.
yes! It wasn’t until this rewatch that I finally realised why she seemed so familiar. It was Lisa Turtle from Saved By the Bell. Never twigged until now. Both she and Cirroc have wonderful smiles.
Oh my goodness, that’s not an auspicious place to begin. I’m glad you stuck with it!
Regarding Bareil, I agree that I think Anglim's performance is just supposed to reflect a man at peace...unfortunately, a man at peace is kind of boring to watch. 
I may have alluded to this in previous comments, but I remain curious as to whether the people who take issue with Bariel also have problems with Commander Sinclair in Babylon 5, as I think the acting style is similar.
I may have alluded to this in previous comments, but I remain curious as to whether the people who take issue with Bariel also have problems with Commander Sinclair in Babylon 5, as I think the acting style is similar.
I've consistently stated that the 1-4 on B5 have either been wooden or over-acted. Only the alien players impressed me.
Idk, the hero in the old movie "Gandhi" was pretty much at peace with himself, but he wasn't boring. (I'm sure there are more modern examples, too.)Regarding Bareil, I agree that I think Anglim's performance is just supposed to reflect a man at peace...unfortunately, a man at peace is kind of boring to watch.
Yes. Maybe not quite as bad, but yes.
Btw., I think I saw the Bareil actor in something else and found him equally underwhelming.
