TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine

[Ln X]

Presumably, the pylon was reattached somehow. There wouldn't have been time to build an entirely new one.

It was blown to pieces! Ain't no way it would be reattached when it is in a few thousand pieces!

You are absolutely right TheGodBen about Weyoun, the character's greatest strength was that he remained so consistent, from beginning to end. Of course Jeffrey Combs is amazing with his acting range; going from stately to deferent to arrogant to smug to curious and it flows so naturally. Jeffrey Combs is definitely in the top five actors of Star Trek. The other four being Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Marc Alaimo and Andrew Robinson.

 

[Sykonee]

All that being said, I'm deducting a whole star from this episode for blowing up one of DS9's pylons like it's no big deal. When I first saw this episode, that shot of the station was jaw-dropping. The problem is that if you pull off a big moment like that and then pretend it didn't happen in the next episode, it loses its power and you become desensitised to epic moments like that. DS9 is usually pretty good with continuity and having the big moments matter in later episodes, but that doesn't happen here and that's disappointing.

Huh? What are you talking about? They've been foreshadowing that in the credits since the beginning of the season, and clearly it's had to have maintenance done on it ever since, as every episode you see those workers still repairing it in the credits. That's incredible continuity!

 

[apenpaap]

It would've been cool if they had kept the station looking like that (well, with all structural damage closed off, but the pylon still missing), or at least for a few episodes. But I guess they must've found a spare pylon somehwere on Cardassian ebay, presumably from another Nor-type station that had been deconstructed.

 

[Satyrquaze]

Maybe the next time they visited Empok Nor, it could have it missing a pylon...

 

[Deranged Nasat]

It would've been cool if they had kept the station looking like that (well, with all structural damage closed off, but the pylon still missing), or at least for a few episodes.

Indeed. Or at least mention in dialogue something about finishing repairs on the pylon.

There's another example of "magic restoration" coming up before the season's done, and while in both cases I understand not wanting to alter your sets or visuals - both from a costs point of view and from the view of not alienating viewers by changing iconic designs - it does distract a little from the emotional power of the events. I suppose it's another reminder that DS9, for all its impressive continuity and arc-based plots, still wasn't quite ready to discard the episodic format. It's nowhere near the level of "Hard Time", of course, but the next episode definitely loses a point or two in my mind for not reinforcing the initial impact of seeing DS9 with major damage. As TheGodBen says, it's a jaw-dropping moment, but ultimately it means nothing.

 

[TheGodBen]

Presumably, the pylon was reattached somehow. There wouldn't have been time to build an entirely new one.

That's about the only way to explain it, the pylon must have floated away by the time the Defiant got there.

Huh? What are you talking about? They've been foreshadowing that in the credits since the beginning of the season, and clearly it's had to have maintenance done on it ever since, as every episode you see those workers still repairing it in the credits. That's incredible continuity!

Actually, I would have been okay with that. I'm reminded of the season 2 finale of B5 when a section of that station was blown off, and the first shot of season 3 was a work-crew reattaching it. All DS9 had to do would be to not show the station at the start of The Quickening, several weeks go by with Bashir on that planet, and at the end show a shot of some guys in EVA suits welding the pylon back on.

It would've been cool if they had kept the station looking like that (well, with all structural damage closed off, but the pylon still missing), or at least for a few episodes. But I guess they must've found a spare pylon somehwere on Cardassian ebay, presumably from another Nor-type station that had been deconstructed.

I think it would have been cool if the new pylon had been built using Starfleet technology so that it looked different from the Cardassian architecture, sort of like a Franken-station. But I can understand why they didn't do it.

 

[TheGodBen]

The Quickening (****)

This week on Dr Bashir, Medicine Woman, the good doctor causes so much suffering that his victims beg to be euthanised. You know, it didn't seem that bleak when I was watching the show, but when I write it down I realise just how fucked up this episode is, in a good way. And it's not just that one scene either, there's a whole species of people for whom death is the best part of their lives, they live to enjoy the comfort that death will bring. We get a glimpse at a post-apocalyptic society, and while the production for this episode was excellent, it's the customs and changed attitudes of these people that really drives that home.

I like that this episode ties itself back into the Dominion arc, even if just in a minor way. It would have been easy for this to be just some random planet with a random disease, but the simple change to the story gives us another little insight into how brutal the Dominion can be. These people had nothing that the Dominion wanted, but they opposed them and the Dominion wouldn't let that stand, so they destroyed their entire civilisation without firing a single shot. This does beg the question why the Dominion are never seen to use biological warfare again, and the uplifting ending is marred by the thought that the Jem'Hadar could lob a few torpedoes at the planet and finish this species off whenever they want, but those issues are really minor.

But the core of this episode is the Bashir story, and it really is the Bashir story, it's like a condensed version of his own arc throughout the show. He starts out an arrogant young doctor, he thinks he's the bee's knees and relishes in the opportunity to be a hero, things go south, he realises he's in over his head, he comes to a half-way decent solution, then he relaxes in the holosuite with O'Brien (probably). It's a good story, perhaps a little too obvious at times, but it works.

 

[Lindley]

Ah, the Physician Assisted Suicide episode. I studied up on this recently, and the death scenes in the episode are very much the way PAS advocates describe them.

 

[Ln X]

I like this episode because it didn't get that preachy (both sides arguments were balanced out), besides I barely really felt like I was being hit over the head with the euthanasia thing. It was good to see Bashir really stumped and for the ending to not be all TNGish.

 

[TheGodBen]

Body Parts (****)

Even though this episode is centred around three Ferengi characters, it doesn't feel like a typical Ferengi episode. Quark's not scheming, Rom's not acting like an idiot, and Brunt is being utterly sadistic. Ferengi episodes would typically be described as broad comedy, but this is more of a black comedy, which makes a nice change for these characters. And it's a good Quark episode, it shows him as a man so desperate for approval from his own kind that he almost kills himself, but he ultimately decides to sacrifice everything that he has to spare his life. Everything except his friends, because that's all that really matter in life. Awww. Okay, so the ending is a little corny, but after four seasons of playing the greedy businessman that tries to exploit everyone, Quark earned a moment like that.

Meanwhile, O'Brien and Keiko's baby gets misplaced, with wacky results! Okay, the results aren't really wacky, in many ways they're heart-wrenching. But this plot is actually pretty clever, it's a neat idea to explore through the medium of science-fiction, and it's a clever way to write Nana Visitor's pregnancy onto the show. I can imagine a major eureka moment when the writers came up with this idea, I bet many backs were patted. If there's one bad thing about this story-arc it's that they never fully explore the loss that Kira feels after she gives birth, but that's a discussion for another day...

 

[Ln X]

Glad you gave the episode 4 stars! I feared you would give it less for it being a Ferengi episode, but this is one quirky episode. What with Quark tempting death, Kira becoming a surrogate mother and Brunt going out for revenge, this is strangely memorable...

 

[Seven of Five]

Yeah I really like Body Parts too. I love how paranoid Quark is after he tells Garak to kill him. I love dark humour.

I loved how the writers dealt with Visitor's pregnancy - I can't remember if they knew she was pregnant when thet decided to make Keiko have another kid. Either way it worked very well.

 

[Skywalker]

During the Keiko/Kira baby storyline I just kind of rolled my eyes and said "Only Star Trek could do something this overly complicated." But it was a pretty clever workaround that freed the filmmakers from having to shoot Visitor at certain angles, and it made for some pretty interesting character moments.

 

[TheGodBen]

Broken Link (***)

This is an unusual season-ender for DS9. The last two seasons ended with a threat of the outbreak of war, season 5 will end with an actual outbreak of war, but in this episode the threat of war with the Klingons is in the background while Odo's story takes centre-stage. It's an interesting deviation from what's expected, a quieter, more reflective type of event episode. It's also a good follow-up to the events of The Adversary, Odo gets judged for his actions in that episode, and we also get a confirmation of the threat that ended the third season. The Changelings are everywhere, they've reached the highest levels of the Klingon government, they've been screwing with the Alpha Quadrant powers for a whole year and nobody suspected it. This is a great way to tie the Klingon conflict into the larger Dominion threat, so I must compliment the writers on this stroke.

But I must also chastise them, because they completely forgot that Garak was sent to prison in this episode. I love Garak's actions here, once he is confronted with a serious threat against his people he is willing to do whatever it takes to save them, even if that means sacrificing himself and committing genocide. This is what's so great about Garak, he presents himself as an intelligent, amiable guy, you begin to let your guard down around him, then he does something like this, reminding us that he's a ruthless lone agent. He may be on the side of the main characters most of the time, but he'd kill them all if he thought it was in Cardassia's interest. Sadly, the lack of consequences from this act cost the episode a whole star.

As a side note, it's chilling to hear the female Changeling threaten the entire Cardassian race as doomed considering what happens in the finale. When I first saw WYLB I thought her genocidal order was just a cheap move to make her appear more villainous, but seeing this scene again informed her motivation. She was willing to work with the Cardassians when she thought they'd be useful, but the moment they betrayed her her fury about the Omarion Nebula incident came back and she attempted to make good on her threat.

Mostly, this episode is an Odo story, and it brings him to some strange new places. There's the obvious change in that he has been transformed into a solid, and there's the more emotional change about having been rejected by his people. He has always been an outsider, but when he met his people he was the one that rejected them, which made it easier for him to live with. So Odo is now in an interesting new phase of his life, a good place to leave the character heading into season 5.

 

[DonIago]

I rather thought that extinguishing the Cardassians was always in the cards; Gul Dukat just managed to make them useful to the Dominion for a little while.

 

[Sindatur]

During the Keiko/Kira baby storyline I just kind of rolled my eyes and said "Only Star Trek could do something this overly complicated." But it was a pretty clever workaround that freed the filmmakers from having to shoot Visitor at certain angles, and it made for some pretty interesting character moments.

Only Star Trek? Nope. Have you not seen Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars? They took it one step further

 

[Skywalker]

During the Keiko/Kira baby storyline I just kind of rolled my eyes and said "Only Star Trek could do something this overly complicated." But it was a pretty clever workaround that freed the filmmakers from having to shoot Visitor at certain angles, and it made for some pretty interesting character moments.

Only Star Trek? Nope. Have you not seen Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars? They took it one step further

I have seen that, but it's been about eight years or so.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

During the Keiko/Kira baby storyline I just kind of rolled my eyes and said "Only Star Trek could do something this overly complicated." But it was a pretty clever workaround that freed the filmmakers from having to shoot Visitor at certain angles, and it made for some pretty interesting character moments.

Only Star Trek? Nope. Have you not seen Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars? They took it one step further

Of course, Farscape always takes things one step further. Actually, it's usually several steps beyond anything remotely resembling sanity. I say that as a huge fan of the show, naturally.

 

[Ln X]

Here's a strange thing; season 4 was obsessed with exiling some of its main characters. We have Worf; exiled from his people for not supporting Gowron. Quark for breaking his contract with Brunt and Quark losing his business license. Finally we have Odo, judged in the Great Link and cast out a solid and condemned to whatever fate befitteth him.

To be fair on the writers, Garak only showed up halfway in season 5, so maybe Garak did go to prison and because no photon torpedoes were fired he got a six month prison sentence? Sort of like Kassidy smuggling weapons for the Maquis, she too was sentenced to six months in a penal colony.

 

[TheGodBen]

To be fair on the writers, Garak only showed up halfway in season 5, so maybe Garak did go to prison and because no photon torpedoes were fired he got a six month prison sentence? Sort of like Kassidy smuggling weapons for the Maquis, she too was sentenced to six months in a penal colony.

But a few weeks later in Looking for par'Mach... (I think) Keiko mentioned Garak working on some clothes, so he's either out of prison by then or he brought a sewing kit into his cell and people are sneaking him in fabric to work on. His next appearance is in Things Past, which is two episodes before Kasidy returns from her six month stretch even though she was sent away several weeks before Garak. It's possible that Garak's sentence was commuted for good behaviour, but that was never mentioned, and nobody ever brings up Garak's arrest again. I think it's fair to say that the writers dropped the ball on this one.