TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine
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There probably is some validity to that (the 'cultural' thing, that is). Garak isn't a Federation citizen, so his intents may not be applicable in a Federation trial, only the actual crimes he did commit: unauthorized access to Starfleet property and assault on a Starfleet officer.
That or the Federation has a ridiculously lax criminal justice system. 
Neela wasn't a Starfleet cadet; she was a member of the Bajoran militia...just FYI. 
I don't think torture, like the Cardassians would've employed, would be necessary, but certainly some unpleasantness (psychological manipulation, etc.) should be allowed.
I don't think torture, like the Cardassians would've employed, would be necessary, but certainly some unpleasantness (psychological manipulation, etc.) should be allowed.
Season 4 Review
Graphs!
The average score for this season is 6.4, the highest score I've given to a single season of Star Trek, but still lower than the scores awarded to the final three seasons of B5. This is a slight step up from seasons 2 and 3 (which were virtually tied), but it's not a huge increase in quality. The trendline shows a slight decrease in quality over time, but with The Visitor in the first half of the season and The Muse in the second half, the season is more or less consistent.
I only rated two episodes this season below average, a new Trek record, but still one more than B5's fourth season. Sadly, while there's a number of good and great episodes in this season, I only rated one as a classic, The Visitor, which is part of the reason why this season's score is only a small step up. A substantial number of episodes had a score of six, so while the show is getting better there is still room for improvement.
I rated two episodes this season below average, three were average, and twenty were above average.
Best episode: The Visitor
Worst episode: The Muse
The Writers
Hans Beimler joins the writing staff this season, otherwise it's the same four guys from season 3.
Wolfe finally wins a season with a score of 6.875 from his eight episodes. In fact, this is the first time that he has managed to beat the season average, so he has had quite a good year. Next up is Moore with a score of 6.6 from five episodes, which is a drop from his work in season 4. Next up is Behr with a score of 6.5 from his 8 episodes, while Beimler has a score of 5.75 from four episodes. In last place is Echevarria who gets an average score of 5 from three episode, which he can blame on The Muse.
Fields lead (7.571) has widened due to Ron Moore's slight decline in season 4, dropping his average to 6.9. Echevarria also drops some, down to 6.125. Wolfe and Beimler both average out to a score of 6, but Wolfe has an edge as he has considerably more episodes under his belt. Behr's score increases to 5.833, while Piller remains in last place on 5.5.
Statistics
Runabouts Lost: 4 (+1)
Form of... : 28 (+13)
Wormhole in Peril: 4 (+0)
Sykonee's Counter: 19 (+3)
Stupid French Things: 3 (+2)
Season 1 Average: 5.211
Season 2 Average: 6.231
Season 3 Average: 6.192
Season 4 Average: 6.4
Overall Average: 6.062
Voyager Average After 4 Seasons: 4.914
Enterprise Overall Average: 5.206
Babylon 5 Average After 4 Seasons: 6.079
In Summation
Season 4 is often presented as being a major turning point for the show, the point at which is truly became great, but upon rewatching it that is not the impression I am left with. This is a small step up from season 3, the the number of below average episodes is astonishingly low for a Star Trek series, but the show is still struggling to reach the highs it needs to. The season was dominated by three star reviews, episodes that are enjoyable but not memorable, on balance they're positive but they still contain flaws. The show has broken away from the balance of good and bad episodes that dominated the other two Trek shows that I reviewed, but it still needs to convert mostly enjoyable episodes into something special.
The show is also struggling somewhat when it comes to serialised storytelling. In the back half of this season I had to deduct points from three separate episodes for screwing up continuity in some way, which is surprising for a show that's commended for this kind of thing. This is an awkward stage in DS9's development, the writers are clearly interested in developing story arcs and having major events, but they're still somewhat comfortable with the TNG format and they're not doing enough to break away from it.
So, which character "won" this season? Kira was clearly the best character in the first two seasons, then Odo took her place in season 3. But as the Dominion threat took a back seat this season, Odo's role also diminished and season 4 was more balanced across the ensemble. The introduction of Worf shook things up a bit, but he fits the show very well and he already has good chemistry with the rest of the cast. He didn't dominate the series the same way Seven did when she was introduced on Voyager, but he did get some additional screen time to facilitate the adjustment. I did notice that technobabble is less prominent on the show which means that Jadzia and O'Brien, though perhaps getting less screen-time, are being treated more like characters and less like officers, which is good. If I had to give an edge to a single character this season, it would be Sisko. The shaved head completed Sisko's visual transition, but it also affected Avery's performance for the better. He appears more comfortable and commanding, and while he doesn't dominate the show in the same way that Picard dominated TNG, he has become a more active participant in the stories. So, in my opinion, this was the year of The Sisko.
Now we head into the final year of the Dominion Cold War, the much praised season 5. Is it much of a step up from season 4? I guess I'll find out...
Graphs!
The average score for this season is 6.4, the highest score I've given to a single season of Star Trek, but still lower than the scores awarded to the final three seasons of B5. This is a slight step up from seasons 2 and 3 (which were virtually tied), but it's not a huge increase in quality. The trendline shows a slight decrease in quality over time, but with The Visitor in the first half of the season and The Muse in the second half, the season is more or less consistent.
I only rated two episodes this season below average, a new Trek record, but still one more than B5's fourth season. Sadly, while there's a number of good and great episodes in this season, I only rated one as a classic, The Visitor, which is part of the reason why this season's score is only a small step up. A substantial number of episodes had a score of six, so while the show is getting better there is still room for improvement.
I rated two episodes this season below average, three were average, and twenty were above average.
Best episode: The Visitor
Worst episode: The Muse
The Writers
Hans Beimler joins the writing staff this season, otherwise it's the same four guys from season 3.
Wolfe finally wins a season with a score of 6.875 from his eight episodes. In fact, this is the first time that he has managed to beat the season average, so he has had quite a good year. Next up is Moore with a score of 6.6 from five episodes, which is a drop from his work in season 4. Next up is Behr with a score of 6.5 from his 8 episodes, while Beimler has a score of 5.75 from four episodes. In last place is Echevarria who gets an average score of 5 from three episode, which he can blame on The Muse.
Fields lead (7.571) has widened due to Ron Moore's slight decline in season 4, dropping his average to 6.9. Echevarria also drops some, down to 6.125. Wolfe and Beimler both average out to a score of 6, but Wolfe has an edge as he has considerably more episodes under his belt. Behr's score increases to 5.833, while Piller remains in last place on 5.5.
Statistics
Runabouts Lost: 4 (+1)
Form of... : 28 (+13)
Wormhole in Peril: 4 (+0)
Sykonee's Counter: 19 (+3)
Stupid French Things: 3 (+2)
Season 1 Average: 5.211
Season 2 Average: 6.231
Season 3 Average: 6.192
Season 4 Average: 6.4
Overall Average: 6.062
Voyager Average After 4 Seasons: 4.914
Enterprise Overall Average: 5.206
Babylon 5 Average After 4 Seasons: 6.079
In Summation
Season 4 is often presented as being a major turning point for the show, the point at which is truly became great, but upon rewatching it that is not the impression I am left with. This is a small step up from season 3, the the number of below average episodes is astonishingly low for a Star Trek series, but the show is still struggling to reach the highs it needs to. The season was dominated by three star reviews, episodes that are enjoyable but not memorable, on balance they're positive but they still contain flaws. The show has broken away from the balance of good and bad episodes that dominated the other two Trek shows that I reviewed, but it still needs to convert mostly enjoyable episodes into something special.
The show is also struggling somewhat when it comes to serialised storytelling. In the back half of this season I had to deduct points from three separate episodes for screwing up continuity in some way, which is surprising for a show that's commended for this kind of thing. This is an awkward stage in DS9's development, the writers are clearly interested in developing story arcs and having major events, but they're still somewhat comfortable with the TNG format and they're not doing enough to break away from it.
So, which character "won" this season? Kira was clearly the best character in the first two seasons, then Odo took her place in season 3. But as the Dominion threat took a back seat this season, Odo's role also diminished and season 4 was more balanced across the ensemble. The introduction of Worf shook things up a bit, but he fits the show very well and he already has good chemistry with the rest of the cast. He didn't dominate the series the same way Seven did when she was introduced on Voyager, but he did get some additional screen time to facilitate the adjustment. I did notice that technobabble is less prominent on the show which means that Jadzia and O'Brien, though perhaps getting less screen-time, are being treated more like characters and less like officers, which is good. If I had to give an edge to a single character this season, it would be Sisko. The shaved head completed Sisko's visual transition, but it also affected Avery's performance for the better. He appears more comfortable and commanding, and while he doesn't dominate the show in the same way that Picard dominated TNG, he has become a more active participant in the stories. So, in my opinion, this was the year of The Sisko.
Now we head into the final year of the Dominion Cold War, the much praised season 5. Is it much of a step up from season 4? I guess I'll find out...
To be fair, a couple of the 6 and 7 point episodes were actually 8 and 9 points but got a whole star deducted from them. So those episodes were actually a lot more memorable than it seems from the numbers. Personally I would probably have rated Season 4 higher than you as a whole; I thought the only below average episode was The Muse. (I am okay with the µ episode and would probably have given it 5 or 6)
Agree with you there, by TheGodBen's rating systems there were three of four episodes which were either 8 or 9 points but future continuity meant two points were deducted. I'll say this for season 4; it is an incredibly balanced season and one which is almost consistently very good. Season 5 may have a higher average but the ratings are more likely to go all over the place...
Definitely agree with this, and I'm one of those that was lured over to DS9 from TNG because of Worf. When Seven came to VOY it became the Seven show. When Worf came to DS9, he fit in quite well on the Island of Misfits Officers. And to me "fitting in" doesn't mean he became everyone's BFF, but that his character worked well. I wish they had done more Worf and Odo, cause I really liked their "I don't like you even though we have a ton in common" dynamic.
But, by definition, by adding one more character but not adding anymore episodes to the season means that there's less screen time to go around. Ironically, I think it's Dax's characted who will suffer the most from Worf's introduction. When it initially happened way back when I figured Kira would be the one to lose out with their roles on the station being so similar (cause, essentially, Sisko has two first officers now) but Dax kind of loses her place as the "resident Klingon" when he comes aboard and end ups being nothing more than his sidekick for the rest of her time on the station.
(Not that any of this is necessarily a bad thing, I think she was probably the weakest regular character anyway)
Yeah, that was awesome. Both are definitely 'opposites attract' types, so logically similarities repulse. They had some great moments where they almost sounded like friends, though, like when they were discussing how best to be antisocial and prevent people from visiting, and in Broken Link when Worf was trying to convince everyone not to visit Odo.
Yeah, I just loved that scene. They could have had a bromance to rival Miles and Julian
I agree, I tend to think in the overall scheme of things, "The Visitor" is a tad overrated. Kind of like TNG's "The Inner Light." (sacrilege, I know)
Though I think it's funny that both the best and the worst are Jake episodes, and the best being the one where Lofton isn't playing Jake. Hmm...
My favorite Worf\Odo scene is when Worf comes into Odos office to complain about security issues and says "this would not have happened on the Enterprise" to which Odo replies "Oh really?" and proceeds to pick up a padd and list off various Enterprise security breaches. The reason I love this scene is the fact that Odo had a list of Worfs mistakes sitting on his desk just waiting to be thrown in Worfs face.
That's a fair point and it does mess with the graphs a little bit, but I think that including those deductions in the season average score is fair. But yeah, Hard Time should have been a 9.
I don't see how it's unfair, both were sci-fi shows that aired around the same time and had very similar concepts, I'd say that DS9 actually has more in common with B5 than it does with Voyager.
It's interesting that B5's average has just overtaken DS9's by a fraction of a percent, which means that I think both shows are about level. But because DS9 had a longer run than B5 it has a good chance of catching up once B5 is finished in season 5.
I'm surprised that the gap isn't bigger myself, but I think it may may be the case that I had underestimated seasons 2 and 3 and their scores were higher than I imagined they would be. I was expecting those seasons to be in the 5.9 region but they both came out around 6.2. Before starting this thread I would have expected season 4 to come out around 6.3-6.5, so it's about where I originally would have expected it to be, but seasons 2 and 3 surprised me and I was half-expecting season 4 to do the same.
A few years ago I might have agreed, but those episodes, though a more important part of the series arc, do have issues, particularly Paradise Lost. But even though I've seen The Visitor 6 or 7 times already, it still managed to bring me to the brink of tears, and there's something special about a show that can do that. It may be a boring, safe choice, but there's a reason why it's so often picked as one of the best episodes the series had to offer.
One thing I liked about that scene was that all those incidents actually happened on TNG, none of them were invented by the DS9 writers to make Worf look bad. It's a nice nod to continuity between the two series.
I tend to agree, if for no other reason than that B5 was largely plotted out in advance while DS9 was much more improvised. I tend to give B5 points for being a generally well-written overall narrative, but I have to give DS9 props for situations where the non-planned out writing still came together very well.
Apocalypse Rising (***½)
In the middle of a war, Starfleet decides to send one of their top commanders, the captain of a strategically vital space station, on a covert mission into the heart of Klingon territory. You'd think that Starfleet would have a division devoted to these kinds of high-risk undercover operations (in fact they do, Starfleet Intelligence), they they decide to send Sisko instead. Maybe some admiral at Starfleet Command knows Sisko and knows that his... eccentricities would allow him to disguise himself as a Klingon quite easily, but it's still an unusual choice, and it's one that the episode hinges on. But while it doesn't make much sense in-universe, it does lead to an enjoyable adventure, one where we see beloved characters as Klingons, and one which allows us to see a little more of the culture and traditions of one of Trek's most famous races.
I'm kinda torn on the reveal that Martok was the Changeling and not Gowron. On the one hand, it does add a twist to the episode that serves to shake things up from the expected, but on the other hand it is an easy way out of killing a popular recurring character. Killing off Gowron would have been a big deal, killing off a guy that we've only seen once before isn't such a big deal. On the third hand, in was in this episode that the writers came to appreciate J.G. Hertzler's work and decided to introduce the real Martok, who goes on to become a great character. So there are pluses and minuses to this whole thing.
As a season opener, this is a step down in scale from what we've come to expect of DS9. Revealing a Changeling at the heart of the Klingon government sounds big on paper, as does almost assassinating Gowron, but compared to the galaxy-shaking events of The Search and TWOTW (and arguably even the Circle trilogy), this doesn't feel as big. It's a good episode, an important episode, but it comes across a bit low-key. Something I did appreciate about this episode were all the little nods to past events. Dukat (and Damar) show up in a Klingon ship, Martok reappears, Odo is still adjusting to being a humanoid, Kira has a few cute scenes about her pregnancy. The show is coming together really well even if it's not willing to commit to full serialisation just yet.
In the middle of a war, Starfleet decides to send one of their top commanders, the captain of a strategically vital space station, on a covert mission into the heart of Klingon territory. You'd think that Starfleet would have a division devoted to these kinds of high-risk undercover operations (in fact they do, Starfleet Intelligence), they they decide to send Sisko instead. Maybe some admiral at Starfleet Command knows Sisko and knows that his... eccentricities would allow him to disguise himself as a Klingon quite easily, but it's still an unusual choice, and it's one that the episode hinges on. But while it doesn't make much sense in-universe, it does lead to an enjoyable adventure, one where we see beloved characters as Klingons, and one which allows us to see a little more of the culture and traditions of one of Trek's most famous races.
I'm kinda torn on the reveal that Martok was the Changeling and not Gowron. On the one hand, it does add a twist to the episode that serves to shake things up from the expected, but on the other hand it is an easy way out of killing a popular recurring character. Killing off Gowron would have been a big deal, killing off a guy that we've only seen once before isn't such a big deal. On the third hand, in was in this episode that the writers came to appreciate J.G. Hertzler's work and decided to introduce the real Martok, who goes on to become a great character. So there are pluses and minuses to this whole thing.
As a season opener, this is a step down in scale from what we've come to expect of DS9. Revealing a Changeling at the heart of the Klingon government sounds big on paper, as does almost assassinating Gowron, but compared to the galaxy-shaking events of The Search and TWOTW (and arguably even the Circle trilogy), this doesn't feel as big. It's a good episode, an important episode, but it comes across a bit low-key. Something I did appreciate about this episode were all the little nods to past events. Dukat (and Damar) show up in a Klingon ship, Martok reappears, Odo is still adjusting to being a humanoid, Kira has a few cute scenes about her pregnancy. The show is coming together really well even if it's not willing to commit to full serialisation just yet.
A quick thought, may post more later: I'm really glad that the "first" Martok was killed off. The way he was portrayed in "The Way of the Warrior" just wasn't interesting. He was just another belligerent, reactionary Klingon. But killing him off here allowed the writers to bring back the great actor of J.G. Hertzler and use his skills much better, in Martok 2.0, who had fantastic interactions with Worf.
I thought Avery was utterly awesome in this episode. It's like the little craziness that occassionally shows up when he's playing Sisko is all let out in this episode and makes it very enjoyable to watch him.
I do wonder what made the Martok changeling think it was such a great idea to respond to the accusation he was a changeling with a tentacly attack while a hundred Klingons with disruptors were watching, instead of just punching Odo and going "PaTaQ!" or a similar response.
I do wonder what made the Martok changeling think it was such a great idea to respond to the accusation he was a changeling with a tentacly attack while a hundred Klingons with disruptors were watching, instead of just punching Odo and going "PaTaQ!" or a similar response.
"Say what ever you want but don't get between me and the blood wine!" Sisko after punching out a boasting Klingon...
BEST LINE EVER and quoted at many a party
BEST LINE EVER and quoted at many a party
The Ship (***)
This is kind of an awkward episode to judge, it does a lot of good stuff, but it doesn't quite come together and it leaves certain elements feeling out of place. The ending seems to imply that if the two sides had trusted one another then there wouldn't have been so much needless death, but this is an episode about a guy who's stealing a ship so that he can gather intel about a hostile race, and the end of the episode suggests the cost may have been worth it. The episode just doesn't seem to work thematically, it's trying to do that traditional Star Trek thing about enemies learning to trust one another while at the same time saying that that distrust was justified and that they'll continue to be enemies into the future.
Meanwhile, Worf, who has served with humans for about 15 years now, and as head of security on the Enterprise for 6/7 years has seen more than his fair share of death under his command, completely forgets how humans deal with death and picks a fight with O'Brien. I know that the pressure was getting to him and that's why he was being such an ass, but I don't like it when they use Worf in that way, the character is more complex than that. I thought that Jadzia's misplaced humour and Sisko's reaction to it was more effective.
Overall, the episode is enjoyable, it has some good moments, and some good tension. I think this was the first time we saw the interior of a Dominion ship and it's interesting because it's upside-down, which confused me a bit the first time I saw it. I thought having their consoles coming out of the ceiling was an interesting piece of set-design and was disappointed when we saw the same set the right-sway-up a season later and realised my mistake.
Runabouts Lost: 5
This is kind of an awkward episode to judge, it does a lot of good stuff, but it doesn't quite come together and it leaves certain elements feeling out of place. The ending seems to imply that if the two sides had trusted one another then there wouldn't have been so much needless death, but this is an episode about a guy who's stealing a ship so that he can gather intel about a hostile race, and the end of the episode suggests the cost may have been worth it. The episode just doesn't seem to work thematically, it's trying to do that traditional Star Trek thing about enemies learning to trust one another while at the same time saying that that distrust was justified and that they'll continue to be enemies into the future.
Meanwhile, Worf, who has served with humans for about 15 years now, and as head of security on the Enterprise for 6/7 years has seen more than his fair share of death under his command, completely forgets how humans deal with death and picks a fight with O'Brien. I know that the pressure was getting to him and that's why he was being such an ass, but I don't like it when they use Worf in that way, the character is more complex than that. I thought that Jadzia's misplaced humour and Sisko's reaction to it was more effective.
Overall, the episode is enjoyable, it has some good moments, and some good tension. I think this was the first time we saw the interior of a Dominion ship and it's interesting because it's upside-down, which confused me a bit the first time I saw it. I thought having their consoles coming out of the ceiling was an interesting piece of set-design and was disappointed when we saw the same set the right-sway-up a season later and realised my mistake.
Runabouts Lost: 5
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