Revisiting DS9...
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
I find it more interesting this way and I feel it tends to keep my perspective fresher, rather like drinking a glass of wine while you eat a meal which feels like it freshens the palette.
A few notes:
Emissary: Star Trek franchise's best pilot amongst a stellar list of choices. The pilot most relevant to the series with a good dramatic story and some excellent adventure and FX. This really started out the series right! I believe its still the highest rated syndicated drama episode ever as well, so very popular too. A resounding ***** stars
Past Prologue: One of any ST series' best 2nd episode! It immediately brings Kira and her past into the forefront and gives her some tough choices. I was so impressed after 2 episodes I really thought they could do no wrong! *****
Captive Pursuit: Still in my top TEN favorites of DS9 ever. A tough moral choice, some alien looking aliens with a foreign cultural thought process. The episode has a good sense of humor and a sense of adventure along with good pacing. Another very good episode in the first bunch! *****
Ok now up to date: Battlelines: This episode just feels like it could have been better, it has a good concept, which is really kind of dark for Trek...imagine not being able to die when caught in an eternal struggle. Somehow it doesn't really all come together in a completely satisfying manner. Hard to put my finger on this one. ***1/2
Emissary: Star Trek franchise's best pilot amongst a stellar list of choices. The pilot most relevant to the series with a good dramatic story and some excellent adventure and FX. This really started out the series right! I believe its still the highest rated syndicated drama episode ever as well, so very popular too. A resounding ***** stars
Past Prologue: One of any ST series' best 2nd episode! It immediately brings Kira and her past into the forefront and gives her some tough choices. I was so impressed after 2 episodes I really thought they could do no wrong! *****
Captive Pursuit: Still in my top TEN favorites of DS9 ever. A tough moral choice, some alien looking aliens with a foreign cultural thought process. The episode has a good sense of humor and a sense of adventure along with good pacing. Another very good episode in the first bunch! *****
Ok now up to date: Battlelines: This episode just feels like it could have been better, it has a good concept, which is really kind of dark for Trek...imagine not being able to die when caught in an eternal struggle. Somehow it doesn't really all come together in a completely satisfying manner. Hard to put my finger on this one. ***1/2
Well some men just don't like "tough" women, its not a crime. You can always go back to watching the submissive, scantilly clad ones of TOS. Don't think your comments will be missed.
RAMA
But they had no intention of creating Winn at this point of the show, and they had no intention of making her Kai until they started writing the episode where it happened. No, Battle Lines is an example of what's wrong with season 1: they had an important character that we should have seen more of but instead she's used as a random character in a planet-of-the-week episode and they discarded her without ceremony.
While I disagree vehemently with Bill's assessment of Visitor/Kira, and I also don't like the way women are treated in TOS (one reason I despise most of TOS), I have no idea how you got from his comments to that very personal remark. A man not liking a particular woman does not make him a sexist.
I thought I'd read somewhere that one reason Opaka was done away with was due to issues with the actress' performance, but I might be wrong. Obviously there's not a lot of plot tension to be had when the kai is someone as "harmless" as Opaka, though maybe they could have spun that later on.
Well, I just looked it up in my trusty Deep Space Nine Companion, and they say the original plot idea was to have some random red shirt die in the shuttle craft accident. And the writers thought, "But no one cares if a red shirt dies, there's no surprise or tension. We should try to surprise them by actually killing off a regular." At which point someone said out loud, "Let's kill Kai Opaka!" After discussion, they decided that she was indeed the most expendable recurring character - a small enough character that her absence could be made up for, but a big enough character that the viewers would be surprised. And I think I agree with their logic - so there you have it. That seems to be the reason they did it.
Funny. I have no problem with either Jadzia Dax, Be'lanna Torres or my wife. Could it just be that I find Kira whiny?
I wouldn't call her a recurring character when she was only in one episode. I like the episode too, but I wish we got more Opaka before they killed her off. In that case, maybe it might have been better to have this episode in season 2 and have her involved greatly with the Circle Trilogy somehow.
Sometimes a character becomes fascinating precisely because of how little time we get to spend with them. I agree Opaka never became a recurring character, but she was someone who, after the pilot, felt like one, so the writers' goal of having the audience slightly shocked by her death probably would have been successful. I'm also not sure whether Opaka would be as interesting to us if she had been around a lot. Perhaps she is so interesting because she is so distant and enigmatic. In any case, her absence made way for Winn, and for that reason alone, I respect the choice they made.
I guess the thing that irks me about Opaka's death is that it had nothing to do with Bajor. Emissary set up an interesting political and social situation on the planet and season 1 mostly ignores it in favour of alien-of-the-week stories. When Opaka showed up, I was expecting an episode about Bajor, instead she was used to tell a story about something completely different. This is the reason why I hold season 2 in much higher regard than season 1, because season 2 used DS9's unique situations as the basis for episodes far more than season 1, which was content to use stories that could have worked in any sci-fi series with a bit of work.
Enjoying the reviews so far. 
I've been avoiding your other review threads because one of these days I'm gonna get off my lazy ass and do some of my own and didn't want other opinions influencing me. Maybe I'll do it after I'm done watching Stargate SG-1 for the first time (ten seasons takes a while to get through
). However, if I ever do review DS9, it will be the last Trek series I do. So, I think it's safe to take part in the current DS9 review threads.
Only thing I got to say thus far is about the Ferengi. Clearly someone has massively misinterpreted what capitalism is all about. They are presented as the personification of free-market capitalism and yet they are about 180 degrees from it. They have a society that is so highly regulated that it would make a true free-marketeer's head explode. They're sexist to a laughable point. What capitalist would intentionally deny him/herself of that much profit?
It seems like the powers that be created a parallel to modern life, which is always falsely called capitalism, and continued to call it capitalism. They then proceed to denounce "capitalism" for its inherent racist, sexist, greedy attributes when want they are really criticizing is mercantilism.
I've been avoiding your other review threads because one of these days I'm gonna get off my lazy ass and do some of my own and didn't want other opinions influencing me. Maybe I'll do it after I'm done watching Stargate SG-1 for the first time (ten seasons takes a while to get through
). However, if I ever do review DS9, it will be the last Trek series I do. So, I think it's safe to take part in the current DS9 review threads.Only thing I got to say thus far is about the Ferengi. Clearly someone has massively misinterpreted what capitalism is all about. They are presented as the personification of free-market capitalism and yet they are about 180 degrees from it. They have a society that is so highly regulated that it would make a true free-marketeer's head explode. They're sexist to a laughable point. What capitalist would intentionally deny him/herself of that much profit?
It seems like the powers that be created a parallel to modern life, which is always falsely called capitalism, and continued to call it capitalism. They then proceed to denounce "capitalism" for its inherent racist, sexist, greedy attributes when want they are really criticizing is mercantilism.
Fairly often when men find women "whiney" its because they can't stand outspoken women. His overblown criticism just sounds like the stereotypical reaction I'm used to seeing.
RAMA
Kira wasn't supposed to be the kind of character everyone likes, but "whiny" is a bizarre description. She was far too powerful of a personality to be called "whiny."
Anakin Skywalker is "whiny." Kira Nerys is a big ole bitch who gets what she wants and doesn't care who she steamrollers to get it. Love her!
Anakin Skywalker is "whiny." Kira Nerys is a big ole bitch who gets what she wants and doesn't care who she steamrollers to get it. Love her!
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