Different perspectives with age

[Lindley]

I watched Trek in general and DS9 in particular far more in high school than later. I took a few of my tapes with me to college, but quickly lost interest as I discovered (via cable, which I hadn't had before) many shows which I'd never seen much of----Babylon 5, Earth: Final Conflict, Stargate, etc.

Now I'm rewatching DS9 for the first time in about 4 years via DVD. Some episodes I barely remember, to the point where they're essentially new; some I remember partially, but not the important twists; some simply come across in a different light than they did before.

"Life Support" is one such. I remember blaming Kai Winn for Bariel's death when I first saw it; and she is not blameless, since she refused Bashir's request to continue the negotiations without him. But watching again now, I see that Bariel wouldn't have accepted Winn claiming she didn't need him in any event. Nothing would have been changed. Quite honestly, Winn doesn't come off as half bad here, which is a series first.

I'll report back with any other insights I have.

 

[nx1701g]

I remember that when I was a kid during DS9's first run I had little interest in the show. Now that I'm older I think of it as my favorite.

 

[Jono]

^Same. The pilot came out when I was 10 and it did nothing for me. I didn't get into the show until 1996/7 when I saw rented In the Cards/Call to Arms. Rented most of season 6 and 7 when they came out, even bought some of the VHS. Then in 2000 I caught an episode of season 4 or 5 on TV and started to watch that. Didn't really see the early seasons until I started buying the boxsets a few years ago. 2006 was when I'd seen the entire run of the show and I can definitely say that it wouldn't have really interested me if I did try to watch it in those early years. With a bit of age I enjoyed the series much more.

 

[Saxman1]

I remember that when I was a kid during DS9's first run I had little interest in the show. Now that I'm older I think of it as my favorite.

Same here: at the very least it's one of my favorite ST series. When DS9 first came out, the happier world of TNG was more to my and my now-wife's liking. Now that we've taken plenty of knocks over the years, WOW - DS9 is a great show! As someone once said:

TNG: Paradise exists

DS9: Paradise exists but it's not free - there is a cost/price

TOS/TNG/DS9 are my favorites - love them. I like VOY and ENT and enjoy them, but they aren't as good.

 

[Lindley]

I think my first exposure to DS9 was the novel Fallen Heroes.

It probably says something that I started out with a story that killed 90% of the main characters.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

As someone once said:

TNG: Paradise exists

DS9: Paradise exists but it's not free - there is a cost/price

This is a great way of putting it.

 

[TEH BABA]

DS9 was teh baba's favorite trek series no suprise bsg is babas favorite tv show of all time.

 

[Lindley]

Wow. I had totally remembered "Hard Time" as being Cardassian-related. Must have gotten it confused with the earlier O'Brien-imprisoned episode. Very good one, though.

Just spotted a goof in "The Muse". Jake's handwriting is way too good for someone who claims he's never worked with paper before....

 

[nx1701g]

^ I think that his Muse was affecting his writing ability.

The episode involving the Cardassians was Tribunal in Season 2.

 

[Lindley]

Yeah, but Ben commented that his spelling was atrocious, so I don't think her effect was with regards to the physical act of writing.

Anyway, is that the only Lwaxana episode that isn't intended to be a comedy, ever?

 

[Lindley]

Whoa. In "For the Cause", Quark says to Garak at one point, "The pants are about a meter too long."

What the hell?!

 

[Geck]

Anyway, is that the only Lwaxana episode that isn't intended to be a comedy, ever?

I wouldn't consider TNG's 'Half a Life' or 'Dark Page' to be comedies at all...nor her role in DS9's 'The Forsaken'.

And woah Those are some long pants! Haha, never picked up on that line before!

 

[nx1701g]

^ Her first appearance in Haven on TNG was somewhat serious too... to an extent.

If you read the novels The Battle of Betazed and The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned (I know not canon so not important) she's very serious in those.

 

[Trekwatcher]

I have been making similar comments about DS9 as well. I am am watching it start to finish and am midway through S3 right now. The show did not really ever GRAB me during the original run, but I did watch (and tape!) them all nonetheless when they first aired.

Watching them now, some 10+ years later, it has been a whole different experience. It is in some ways like watching new trek as I have only seen these eps one time each and it is great to rediscover them anew.

Quark, who used to just irritate me, is endlessly fascinating, as are Kira and Odo, who seemed silly to me the first time around. Shimmerman is just a genius, btw. I still have my issues with Avery Brooks' portrayal of Sisko, but I am warming up to him.

Of note, for those of you who were not ENT fans, the same is true for that show as well. ENT plays so much better the 2nd time than the first it is almost like watching another series. I became a HUGE ENT fan after my 2nd run through of the series.

 

[Lindley]

Shimmerman is just a genius, btw.

Yeah...especially considering that towards the end of the show he was portraying both Quark and Principal Snyder on Buffy, opposite characters if there ever were two such. Would have been quite something to be watching *those* at the same time. Sadly, I missed out on the whole Buffy thing until years later.

In "To The Death", I'm rather disappointed that Weyoun had to explain to Sisko why the Federation wouldn't like the rogue Jem'Hadar getting their Gateway operational. That really should have been bloody obvious.

 

[Lindley]

In "Broken Link", why did the Founders make Odo a human? Wouldn't it have made more sense to make him a Bajoran? They were the race he was imitating, after all.

 

[nx1701g]

^ I always assumed that it was to further separate him. While he had been trying to imitate the Bajorans he never was one. If the Founders made him Bajoran he would be one of them, by making him human he was still an outsider and possibly still wasn't accepted by them.

 

[Darth_Pazuzu]

I watched Trek in general and DS9 in particular far more in high school than later. I took a few of my tapes with me to college, but quickly lost interest as I discovered (via cable, which I hadn't had before) many shows which I'd never seen much of----Babylon 5, Earth: Final Conflict, Stargate, etc.

Now I'm rewatching DS9 for the first time in about 4 years via DVD. Some episodes I barely remember, to the point where they're essentially new; some I remember partially, but not the important twists; some simply come across in a different light than they did before.

"Life Support" is one such. I remember blaming Kai Winn for Bariel's death when I first saw it; and she is not blameless, since she refused Bashir's request to continue the negotiations without him. But watching again now, I see that Bariel wouldn't have accepted Winn claiming she didn't need him in any event. Nothing would have been changed. Quite honestly, Winn doesn't come off as half bad here, which is a series first.

I'll report back with any other insights I have.

Louise Fletcher had a particularly bad case of the flu at the time of filming this particular episode, so as a result I think Kai Winn lacked a certain "edge" that she may have had in other episodes. Consequently, Winn came off a bit more vulnerable and sympathetic. Not even her promise/threat to Dr. Bashir (to remember what he said) had much fire to it, really.

 

[Lindley]

Odo regains his shapeshifting ability only 10 episodes after losing it---not even halfway through the season. Major changes like that usually don't happen at odd times.....my I assume someone high-up wasn't happy with the solid Odo?

 

[Navaros]

In "Broken Link", why did the Founders make Odo a human? Wouldn't it have made more sense to make him a Bajoran? They were the race he was imitating, after all.

Sure would have, the writers just weren't thinking at all about this point IMO and made Odo a human simply because it was the default thing that popped into their heads. This is definitely a fubar of the show.

Wolfe made comments that back up this point, originally responding to a fan question asking this exact same thing by saying Odo was just made to be solid, not specificially human or Bajoran, but then a fan corrected him that Bashir said he was human, to which Wolfe then jokingly replied something like "Bad doctor, bad!".

Wolfe also said that they always only intended for Odo to be a solid for a little while.