TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine

[Dover]

Why not have the Pah-wraiths be seeking acceptance for their contribution? Tie the Wormhole Aliens/Deities arc back into the original "peaceful culture turned to terrorism" arc that was so important to the show's early seasons and its portrayal of Kira and the Bajoran culture.

That's really interesting. I forget exactly when we first learn about the Pah-wraiths, but I recall it being relatively late in the series. If the writers had conceived of these anti-prophets from the beginning, maybe it would have turned out more like you're suggesting.

Maybe there could have been a serious schism in the Bajoran religion: there are the people who seek peace through faith in the Prophets alone (like that speech where Winn tells Kira, "we were fighting, too, but we didn't have any weapons to protect us"). And then there are the people like Kira who follow the Pah-wraith variant, which says that it's Bajor's destiny to free itself by force. That would make the already touchy subject of whether the Bajoran terrorists were acting honorably into not just a moral question, but a religious one.

That could have been cool, especially because before the Pah wraiths came along, the internal religious conflict didn't seem to be that big a deal. Were Winn's policies really all that different from Bareil's in a way that would affect everyday life for Bajorans? Would there be protests in the streets if their favorite Vedek didn't win? I don't know that DS9 really needed to focus more on Bajoran religious politics than it did, but if they wanted to go that way, it would have been a stronger choice if there were really serious consequences to who was elected Kai.

As for the statement that Bajor wouldn't have survived the occupation without the religion, I always took that to be more about the unifying power of religion, rather than the specific tenets of their faith. The Cardassians were trying to destroy their identity as a people, and the religion was the one thing they could hold onto as a unique part of their culture, and the Vedeks and Kais became the figureheads of Bajoran identity, since they didn't have an organized government.

 

[Malformed]

As much as I would love to read your reviews of the last 2 seasons of Doctor Who with Matt Smith, I would love, love, love, love to hear your take on TNG Season 1. It was so incredibly blandtastic that I am already laughing, thinking of all the droll and clever things you will tease from it.

So please, TNG Season 1. After that, whether you do the rest is up to you

 

[BruntFCA]

Another vote for TNG

 

[DalekJim]

I think TNG S1 is too obviously bad and unintentionally funny to make for meaty reviews. It's like how reviews of The Room are never as funny or put across how bad it is more than watching the thing.

 

[Praetorian]

If I may be so bold, I would suggest reviewing Farscape next. I would be quite interested in seeing how TheGodBen reacts to a such over the top, quirky, controversial and polarizing show.

 

[DonIago]

I'm always up for reading reviews of Six Feet Under or Lost myself, though I suspect mine will be a minority vote.

Lost has potential. I used to love it, but the time travel stuff in season 5 bored me, and the ending left me a bit soured on the whole experience. As such, I have the first four seasons on DVD but haven't bothered rewatching any of it since the finale. A rewatch from that perspective might be interesting.

Also, I'm playing Far Cry 3 at the moment and that game is putting me in a bit of a Lost mood. A tropical island, smoke pillars, mysterious happenings, bears...


I'm waiting on the bluray release.

Well, I think it would be awesome if you went through Lost, as I consider it one of my favorite shows. I admit I kind of enjoy the way it tends to polarize viewers as well; love it or hate it, at least you'll walk away with an opinion.

And it looks and sounds -spectacular- on Blu Ray.

I was kind of bummed when I started a SFU rewatch; I'd forgotten the show was in 4:3.

 

[InklingStar]

I would be happy with either Farscape or TNG. I think the latter might be interesting because in my opinion seasons 1 and 2 are underrated. There are some good ones amongst the fluff, such as The Big Goodbye, Coming of Age, Heart of Glory, Measure of a Man, and more.

 

[Skywalker]

I actually thought you might wait until all of TNG was out on Blu-ray, but while I'd love to hear your thoughts on Farscape, I'd be happy to see your take on TNG.

 

[TheGodBen]

Season 7 Review

After a slip in quality in season 6, season 7 of DS9 rebounds fairly impressively. The average score for the season is 6.64, making this the second highest rated season in my DS9 rewatch. It's not up to the same level of quality as season 5 (6.808), but after a slow start season 7 finishes relatively strongly.

Like the last two seasons, I rated 6 episodes this season to be absolute classics, with four 9s and two 10s becoming a recurring feature of these graphs. Three episodes were rated below average, which is only half of the number of below average episodes in season 6. Six episodes were rated average, while sixteen were rated above average.

Best episode: Tacking into the Wind
Worst episode: The Emperor's New Cloak


The Writers

There's no changes to the writing staff this season, although Robert Hewitt Wolfe returns as a freelancer to write a single episode.

Ron Moore gets a staggering average score of 7.857, which leads me to worry that my fanboyism may have biased the results of my scoring mechanism. Everyone else actually fell below the average score of the season, something we haven't seen since Peter Allan Fields dragged up the season 1 average. Behr and Beimler have a combined score of 6.571, which is the best performance by Behr so far. Echevarria falls back to an average of 6.429, while Thompson and Weddle have an average of 5.5. Wolfe's single episode earned a score of 5.

The final results for the writers will be in the overall series review.


Statistics

Runabouts Lost: 9 (+1)
Form of... : 38 (+5)
Wormhole in Peril: 10 (+1)
Sykonee's Counter: 36 (+1)
Stupid French Things: 7 (+2)

Season 1 Average: 5.211
Season 2 Average: 6.231
Season 3 Average: 6.192
Season 4 Average: 6.4
Season 5 Average: 6.808
Season 6 Average: 6.423077
Season 7 Average: 6.64


In Summation

Season 7 is a divisive season of DS9 for many reasons. If you hate Ezri Dax then you're probably not going to like this season, she is featured a lot this season. Personally, I like her well enough, although I find it completely understandable why some fans don't. If you don't like the Prophets/Pah-wraith conflict then you might not like this season. I don't particularly like the way it developed myself, but it's a small enough element of the season that I'm able to focus on the good stuff. If you don't like Vic Fontaine then you'll be annoyed by his inclusion into the recurring cast this season. Personally, I think that he's a silly addition to the show, but he has some good moments so I'm willing to give him a pass.

The big problem with this season is the same one as the previous season; there's too much fluff and too much stalling. Little happens to move along the Dominion War arc in the first half of the season, and we get treated to holodeck adventures instead of the "real" adventures we came to see. Some of those fluff episodes are good, but there's quite a lot of them for a series that's taking place during war time. Thankfully, the second half of the season is almost absent of fluff as the show went into arc-mode, but it does create an odd imbalance of tone between the two halves of the season.

Out of the main cast, Ezri is clearly the character with the most development this season. While this is understandable considering she was a new character and the writers only had one season to tell stories about her, she does take away screentime from other main characters such as O'Brien, Quark and Jake. We don't get treated to a Torture O'Brien™ episode this season, Quark's role is largely reduced to lusting after Ezri, and Jake barely even appears on the show any more. But while Ezri dominates the first half of the season, the character that dominates the second half of the season is Damar, and I consider that to be very welcome indeed. The entire Cardassian arc worked really well, and it's a testament to the writers and Casey Biggs that a character who started out as a named extra became a highlight of the series.

DS9 is a flawed show, and season 7 is a flawed season. But it's also a recovery from the weaknesses of the second half of season 6, and it's a strong effort to send the show out on a high note. I have my problems with it, as do most fans, but on the whole I find it to be a satisfying conclusion to the series.

If I may be so bold, I would suggest reviewing Farscape next. I would be quite interested in seeing how TheGodBen reacts to a such over the top, quirky, controversial and polarizing show.

Quirky and OTT in what way? I'm not necessarily opposed to those qualities, but I fear that it would be similar to Doctor Who, which is also quite quirky and OTT. That's kinda why I never got into DW, and I fear that Farscape may be the same way from what little I've seen of it.

I actually thought you might wait until all of TNG was out on Blu-ray, but while I'd love to hear your thoughts on Farscape, I'd be happy to see your take on TNG.

But they wouldn't work in my trusty old DVD player. I don't have a blu-ray player, nor any interest in getting one. It's nothing against HD, I love HD games, I just don't feel like paying money to purchase an experience that's already functionally available on my shelf.

 

[DalekJim]

Definitely can't agree that Season 7 is better than Season 6, which apart from a few junk episodes at the end was a very consistent season. That occupation arc and episodes like Far Beyond The Stars, In The Pale Moonlight and Waltz are DS9 at the peak of its powers.

Never really thought about it until now but if I had to rank the DS9 seasons I'd go:

5 > 6 > 4 > 3 > 2 > 7 > 1

Season 7 is the only season where I consistently have problems with the arc. The Prophets/Pah-wraith stuff is ridiculously cookie cutter for the generally morally ambiguous DS9 and the space Jesus shit was too much.

Still, the finale was really good when it wasn't focused on these plotlines and I have no big beef with Ezri or Vic Fontaine. Better than the nonsensical cartoon caricature Dukat was this season.

I love DS9 and consider it one of my favourite shows but the first and last seasons are the hardest for me to rewatch. Much as I love Emissary, Duet, Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges and What You Leave Behind.. little else captures my imagination.

 

[Lindley]

Quirky and OTT in what way? I'm not necessarily opposed to those qualities, but I fear that it would be similar to Doctor Who, which is also quite quirky and OTT. That's kinda why I never got into DW, and I fear that Farscape may be the same way from what little I've seen of it.

Not really the same. Doctor Who is unabashedly looking to have fun without too much concern for plausibility. Farscape takes itself more seriously from a story perspective, it just isn't afraid to go to some bizarre places along the way.

 

[Praetorian]

Quirky and OTT in what way? I'm not necessarily opposed to those qualities, but I fear that it would be similar to Doctor Who, which is also quite quirky and OTT. That's kinda why I never got into DW, and I fear that Farscape may be the same way from what little I've seen of it.

Not really the same. Doctor Who is unabashedly looking to have fun without too much concern for plausibility. Farscape takes itself more seriously from a story perspective, it just isn't afraid to go to some bizarre places along the way.

Better than I would have put it!

I would say that the show knows not to take itself seriously all the time, but when it must, it does. And as Lindley puts, the show goes places most science fiction shows don't. Sometimes the result might not be the best, other times it is, but it won't leave you indifferent.

However I do think the show, like Babylon 5 or DS9, has a somewhat rough beginning.

 

[DalekJim]

The Gathering is a very iffy pilot but I love Babylon 5 Season 1 a great deal. Much more ambitious than DS9 Season 1.

 

[Thestral]

Not really the same. Doctor Who is unabashedly looking to have fun without too much concern for plausibility. Farscape takes itself more seriously from a story perspective, it just isn't afraid to go to some bizarre places along the way.

Better than I would have put it!

I would say that the show knows not to take itself seriously all the time, but when it must, it does. And as Lindley puts, the show goes places most science fiction shows don't. Sometimes the result might not be the best, other times it is, but it won't leave you indifferent.

Agreed with these. Farscape can be very funny and downright strange at times but when it's serious it doesn't pull punches. It also has, for my money, the best romance in scifi/fantasy tv.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Hey, this is the first I've seen of this thread since I've not visited this site for ages, but I broadly agree with this verdict on Season 7. I love DS9, but Season 6 was a bit of a letdown for me - the occupation arc was really good and there were some strong individual episodes after that, but overall I felt that after Sacrifice of Angels the season lacked direction and had too many episodes that seemed inconsequential to me. I was actually getting kind of bored with DS9 by the end.

Season 7 really got me excited about the series again. It was flawed, certainly, but I feel the show recaptured some of the élan it had in Season 5. Looking at the episode list, there are quite a few questionable episodes, but it didn't seem to matter at the time - I guess that even when it was bad it was rarely boring (apart from some of those Ezri episodes). The Final Chapter had flaws aplenty and I think Tacking Into the Wind is head and shoulders above the rest of the arc, but it was ambitious and felt like it mattered.

Chimera and Tacking Into the Wind are the real standout episodes from this season for me and I think they're right up there with the best of Star Trek.

The thread looks interesting, I'll have a look at the older posts!

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Hey, this is the first I've seen of this thread since I've not visited this site for ages

I recognise the name though. Welcome back to the madhouse!

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Hey, this is the first I've seen of this thread since I've not visited this site for ages

I recognise the name though. Welcome back to the madhouse!

Thanks!

 

[DalekJim]

Hey, this is the first I've seen of this thread since I've not visited this site for ages, but I broadly agree with this verdict on Season 7. I love DS9, but Season 6 was a bit of a letdown for me - the occupation arc was really good and there were some strong individual episodes after that, but overall I felt that after Sacrifice of Angels the season lacked direction and had too many episodes that seemed inconsequential to me.

The final batch of episodes are weak (And the finale is the worst of the series!) but otherwise it is a very strong season. One of the strongest, with 2 of my all-time favourite Trek episodes.

Season 7 seemed to intensely focus on everything I disliked about the Season 6 finale, with the dumbed down Dukat/Pah-wraith plotline in particular irritating me.

Then again, it's hardly rare that I disagree with TheGodBen. I like Crusade . And Galen!

 

[TheGodBen]

Apologies all for not getting this up sooner, but I was busy recently, and a little ill, and a little lazy, so I didn't get around to it until this weekend. But hey, it wouldn't be one of my review threads without unexplained delays.


Star Trek Deep Space Nine Review

Taking account of all seven seasons and 173 episodes, DS9's average score is 5.271. That is the highest score of any Star Trek series I've reviewed, narrowly beating Enterprise by 0.065. But DS9 was trounced by Babylon 5, which had an average score of 6.121. Why is this? Just look at the trendline, it shows only a slight increase in quality across the seasons, whereas Babylon 5 improved massively from its lacklustre first season. It's almost as if DS9 just kept repeating its first season over and over again with slight fluctuations so that the graph doesn't look quite so repetitive to the casual observer.

This graph is quite telling, DS9 fluctuated from poor episodes to good ones with very few average episodes in between. This is very similar to the final graph for Enterprise, but the numbers are bigger.

I rated 83 episodes below average, 3 episodes average, and 87 episodes above average.


Top and Bottom 10 Episodes

173. Let He Who Is Without Sin...
172. Profit and Lace
171. The Alternate
170. The Emperor's New Cloak
169. Blood Oath
168. Second Skin
167. Ferengi Love Songs
166. Duet
165. The Die is Cast
164. Profit and Lace
...
10. Improbable Cause
9. Meridian
8. Call to Arms
7. Rocks and Shoals
6. Profit and Lace
5. Necessary Evil
4. Profit and Lace
3. The Visitor
2. Duet
1. The Magics of Megas-tu


The Writers

Honestly, I don't see the point in even bothering to run the numbers or make a graph for this segment because it's obvious Ron Moore is going to win. I'm a huge Ron Moore fanboy and I've stacked the episode scores in his favour since season 3. So, congratulations to Ron, you're a perfect specimen of a man.


Final Statistics

Runabouts Lost: 36
Form of... : 69
Wormhole in Peril: 3
Sykonee's Counter: 0
Stupid French Things: 63,460,000 (2011 estimate)

Season 1 Average: 5.271
Season 2 Average: 5.271
Season 3 Average: 5.271
Season 4 Average: 5.271
Season 5 Average: 5.271
Season 6 Average: 5.271
Season 7 Average: 5.272

Overall Average: 5.271

Voyager Overall Average: 2.657
Enterprise Overall Average: 5.206
Babylon 5 Selected Average: 11.769


Rankings: B5 > DS9 > ENT > VOY > BrBa


Final Judgement

My final judgement is that if you read this far and still don't get that this is an April Fools joke then you're a fool. An April Fool. Which I guess makes today your birthday? I don't know, I don't even know why I spent an hour doing this.

 

[Sykonee]

165. The Die is Cast

You had me until that.