All right, guys...here's my take on
"Move Along Home"!
Let me begin by saying that this episode has serious sentimental value to me. I'm not sure I was even 10 years old when I first saw it, so the concept of our characters getting stuck in a game was really wonderful. The episode was one of those that I had a VERY vivid memory--even in the visual sense. The sets and costumes really stuck in my mind and I know some people may like them or find them gaudy--but I think with my childhood nostalgia in the mix as well, they really are a lot of fun. (And I admit now that I'm older, there are some of the Wadi men who are rather easy on the eyes. What can I say--long hair!
)
But even on re-watching, as far as I'm concerned, this episode still holds up, and I think a lot of the trashing it gets is quite unfair. This is a badly underrated episode, and I even had to take notes the whole time I was watching to make sure I got all of the food for thought I wanted to discuss--just like I've done for some of the more well-regarded episodes.
The character interaction seems to be getting better here than it did in earlier episodes. Jake still comes off a little bit stilted, sometimes, but I think when Lofton really let the exasperation show, he did very well. I think once Lofton learns to deliver less "charged" lines well, things in a more normal voice, that he'll do a lot better. (And I think he does, later in the series.) I should also add, on a non-canon note, that the interaction seen in scenes like this is brought to life in DS9 novel #6 (Betrayal) just wonderfully by Lois Tilton!
I also thought it was fun to see the cocky early-DS9 Bashir cut down to size no less than three times in this episode...and I wonder if this might even sow the first tiny seeds for the new character later? First we got that wonderful scene where Jadzia and Kira assured him it would be "fine" that he forgot his dress uniform--only for Sisko to show up and chew him out. I laughed there...even wondered if it was intentional! Also, Julian's terrified screaming when he first found himself in the game: someone mentioned this scene when I discussed Siddig's bad acting in "The Passenger," but I actually think this one is far less distracting. Reason? The rest of our crew acknowledge just how ridiculous he sounded and had a little "fun" with him for it! This culminates in Bashir admitting (though after a joke about the scientific method) that he just made a guess about the drink containing the antidote for the poison gas.
Quark and Odo, of course, are pure gold (especially that contemptuous blow on the dice from Odo). Right from the start Armin Shimerman's acting is as good as it will be at the end, so he always steals any scene he's in. I found myself wondering if perhaps (as we later find out in the series) Quark really DID care for the lives of those trapped in the game...or if he was just afraid to get in trouble. It's not unlike making sense out of Garak's motives...
And in the character interactions section...that brings us to Primmon. His flippancy at losing four members of the crew was just loathsome, and I have to think when THAT got back to Sisko, Sisko reported that to Starfleet and from there he was ordered to get his ass on the next shuttle back to Earth. I've seen some speculations, including on Memory Alpha, that Primmon was simply waiting for his next assignment, that he was just a temp there to guard the deuridium shipment, but I don't know how he WOULDN'T have got his butt fired for his attitude in this episode. And even early on, we know Sisko doesn't take crap from people.
I also enjoyed seeing the philosophical difference between Bajor and Starfleet, that the service Kira comes from is a no-bones-about-it MILITARY, instead of this funky UN hybrid like Starfleet. (And the look on her face when she had to sing "Allamarain" (sp?)--PRICELESS!
) Just one thing that irks me...Kira's a little too willing to identify herself as an "administrator." That doesn't ring true.
And now in the food for thought section...I really found myself wondering how the Wadi game worked. I picture it as something of a cross between a holodeck and a transporter, not unlike what Scotty did to the transporters of the
Jenolen, except done on purpose and a lot more sophisticated to the point that you can remember what happens while you're in it. (Maybe we should put Barclay in this thing. Mixing transporters and holodecks might be JUST the thing to cure his holo-addiction!) One thing I did wonder that I was not so sure was plausible was this. How did the game get them into their uniforms when it pulled them out of their bedrooms in their PJs? It did SOMETHING, because when they came back out of the game, they were still in their uniforms when in my opinion they should've rematerialized in their PJs.
About the Wadi...they did seem reasonably friendly until Quark decided to cheat them (and that game was no doubt punishment for that). I find myself wondering now, post season 7, if they might well be one of the first races to come back through the wormhole to explore the Alpha Quadrant. Though I think it would be well worth perhaps having an "e-mail" exchange of cultural guides beforehand.
One other note that's rather creepy in retrospect. Knowing what we know now about "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night," does it strike any of you as weird that we have Bajoran dabo girls in a situation where they are constantly subjected to on-the-job sexual harassment? I think if I were a Bajoran woman, I would be horrified at Quark's behavior and I sure as hell wouldn't work for him! (I know we had one woman complain during "Babel," but that was never resolved that we saw.) Or is their willingness to subject themselves to that a sign of the damage the Cardassians did to the self-image of some women?
In our continuity notes section...I couldn't help noticing that the first time we see clapping in what will later be identified as Bajoran fashion is not from the Bajorans. It's the Wadi. (Heck, I remember in a previous episode seeing Bajorans clapping and they did so the Earth way!) Also, we hear Quark saying "Good Lord!" in response to something--a mistake on the part of the writers, maybe?
to the early Jadzia... I remember I used to find her a little dull at first when I watched DS9 for the first time, she was still a bit insecure and didn't seem like such a strong character yet, but eventually my opinion of her changed completely and I started liking her more and more in the later seasons, for her confidence, a sort of relaxed strength, mischievous humor, open-mindedness and love for life.
) would have been better. This would both shock the viewer, especially if she is killed off suddenly, and give us time to appreciate Ezri, without having the final season full of Ezri episodes, denying characters like Quark, O'Brien and Jake screentime in the final season.
Oh well. Hopefully at least it won't last long?". They felt so wrong together and it was obvious it was only because he couldn't separate her from Jadzia, and she still had issues with having other people's memories.
