"Children of Time"

[Sakrysta]

I'm watching my way through DS9 again for the eleventy-seventh time. And I just watched "Children of Time." I think this has to be my all-time favorite DS9 episode. All the guest actors do a phenomenal job - the casting directors get a kudos from me on matching personality, spirit, and even features of the descendants to those of the regular cast. Even the child actors do a great job - especially little Molly.

I love the dilemma. I love that there is no easy answer, and that both conclusions are given equal weight. I honestly don't know how I would answer the question of what was the "right" thing to do. There is a part of me that REALLY wishes they'd found a way to make the quantum doubling succeed. We could have had a happy ending, as well as had the opportunity to possibly visit the settlement and characters again. And I don't know how I feel about what Odo did, and why. I don't think "today's" Odo would have made the same choice that Gaia Odo made.

I absolutely love the planting scene. The music is just perfect. And the transition from sorrow over the fate of the colony to the conviction that they simply can't let them die is really presented quite believably. And when their determination to sacrifice their futures to save their descendants fails, the heartache of the vanished colony is just so real.

The time paradox is a bit of a tangle, but one I can completely dismiss for the sake of the story told. This episode beats out "The Visitor" hands-down for me.

So, anyone in the mood to chat "Children of Time" with me?

 

[superstring01]

"COT" was, indeed, a fantastic episode. I especially loved Odo's role in the whole thing.

~String

 

[Sisko4Life]

This episode was good all the way up until the end. Personally, I found the ending stupid and unbelievable. Sisko was completely out of character... When O'Brien said "You can't tell me that I can't return to my family!" A normal, sane Sisko for any other episode would have agreed with that... which is what he did at first. Sisko is a very rational thinker and is adamant about protecting his crew, just like any great captain. But Sisko also holds family values very dear, and having lost Jennifer I can't believe his "character" would have allowed the crew to do the same to their immediate families even if they had found their descendents. All in all, this episode had an interesting topic... but the ending sucked and made it more of a Janeway episode to me... something abserd that she would do on an "intergalactic good will mission."

 

[Mr. Fergy]

I loved this episode soo much, it is sad how the episode was going to end. It was a necessary evil to continue the series. Would have made an interesting end of season 2 part cliffhanger.

 

[nx1701g]

I absolutely love the planting scene. The music is just perfect. And the transition from sorrow over the fate of the colony to the conviction that they simply can't let them die is really presented quite believably. And when their determination to sacrifice their futures to save their descendants fails, the heartache of the vanished colony is just so real.

A little bit of trivia:

The planting scenes were filmed at Ahmanson Ranch, near Ventura, California, but on the day of the shoot, there were gale force winds (evidenced by a few scenes with Nana Visitor with her hair blowing), and equipment trucks had to be used as wind blocks. It was so cold, that the crew were all wearing snow jackets, but the actors had to wear shirt-sleeves because it was supposed to be a beautiful day. Between takes, the actors had to be sprayed down to make it look like they were sweating.