Deep Space Nine Rewatch

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Every time I watch DS9, I gain more appreciation for the Ferengi episodes. DS9 did a great job turning them from annoying aliens we saw in TNG to an actual race in the Alpha Quadrant and their arc really decent.

I never cared for the Ferengi, on either DS9 or TNG. I mostly hated those episodes. But Quark, and Nog, as characters were better than when the focus was on Ferengi stories in general. Especially when he sparred with Odo. But don't get me started on Zek and Moogie...


1-11 The Nagus

While I like Quark as a character (especially when sparring with Odo) I generally loathe the Ferengi. Not for the "obvious" reason of them being greedy, selfish pricks, but because of the ridiculous and over-the-top anti-capitalist crap that they are stereotypes of. Gah! We get it, the supposed "evolved" humans of the 24th century have moved past that now… Geez! The thing is that this evolved Federation attitude in the end comes of as not only condescending but also racist, which is quite ironic. But then I've often encountered supposedly enlightened people and they have turned out to be awfully boorish and prejudicial.

So, with the above said, it should come as no surprise that I didn't like The Nagus. The comedy didn't work and I frankly found it offensive. I admit it was slightly amusing to see the shameless rip-of (or homage) to The Godfather.

But I did like when Jake in secret kept teaching Nog, and Sisko's approval.

However, I must grade this one as very much below average with 3-.


1-12 Vortex

I really liked Vortex. We get a glimpse into Odo's origins and we're as curious about them as Odo is himself. It's very intriguing and quite poignant. For the first time I could really feel the terrible loneliness that Odo must feel being the only shapeshifter he knows, and now he learns that there are others somewhere in the Gamma quadrant.

It was also rather moving to see him display a compassionate side when he learned the true story behind the fugitive Crodon. He even smiled at the little girl. The performance by Crodon was a little so-so, at least at first. And I recognized Randy Oglesby (ENT's Degra) as the Miradorn twins (a neat concept by the way).

The episode did raise some odd questions about shapeshifter/changeling physiology. How much does Odo really weigh? As a glass Rom had no problem carrying him on a tray, but as a humanoid Crodon thought he was heavy. And how could he get knocked out like that, just like a real humanoid. Wouldn't he be protected by the fact that he's just a big blob of dough? For that matter, when he's unconscious wouldn't he return to his "blobby" self?

My grade for Vortex has to be an above average 7-.

 

[tomalak301]

Regarding your last paragraph, I was wondering when the boulder hit him, wouldn't it have gone through him because he's a liquid. I chalked it up to him not really embracing his changeling nature until he met the founders but I still found that odd.

 

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

^ I'm not really sure what Odo's state of matter really is. It appears he's somewhat solid when he's in his humanoid form, or pretending to be a glass or whatever. Or is he more like a dough? Or liquid, or like syrup? Maybe if he's quick enough he can transform (parts of) himself to allow objects thrown at him to go through him (like in the pilot). At any rate he shouldn't be able to get knocked unconscious like a regular person, like he was here, no matter how much he had embraced his changeling nature. I'd just chalk it up to the writers not having settled on a definite set of rules for his physiology at this juncture.

 

[tomalak301]

Battle Lines

If Season 1 hadn't ended so strongly, I think Battle Lines would have been my favorite episode of this season. We get so much character depth for Kira and Opaka here, especially when Kira breaks down admitting the violence she's had to endure and go through all her life. I also love the idea of a prison in which you don't die, which seems to be the ultimate punishment. You go through life fighting each other that it doesn't matter any more. It's all routine and boring. Like Opaka said, they're so used to fighting they forgot how to live.

In terms of the follow up, I wish we would have gotten a follow up. I then read the follow up novel to this episode, "Rising Son", and I really liked how they dealt with Opaka in that book. In fact, that book is making me appreciate exploring the Gamma Quadrant more because we're seeing this part of space take on a life of it's own and have a personality. This planet is just another in a list of the species/worlds we've been to this year, adding to the Tosk, Crodan's planet, the changelings, and the Wadi.

Great episode.

 

[Seven of Five]

The Nagus is pretty decent for a Ferengi episode, and Zek is at his most tolerable here. The more screechy he became, the less interested I was, and his pairing with Ishka was awful. But that shouldn't take away from The Nagus.

Vortex is a better episode for me. I was just such a sucker for Odo early on, and he remained one of my favourites to the end. I love the hints at his origins, and it is intriguing that what we actually found out about the Founders was pretty in sync with the description of Odo's race here. I also loved his relationship with the girl.

Battle Lines is pretty good for me. Whilst I appreciated the development of Kira, I always seem to find the story on the planet with the Ennis and Nol-Ennis less interesting. Opaka's initial 'death' doesn't do much for me either. Perhaps I am callous and strange?

 

[DonIago]

I think the first time I watched "Battle Lines" I was shocked that they would kill the Kai so soon after introducing her, and it screamed "potential story arc", something we hadn't gotten much of in TNG.

Then she came back to life and I thought "Oh, a reset button episode..."

Then it became clear she wouldn't be leaving the planet and I felt stirrings of hope again.

Of course, the impact of her initial death is lessened with repeated viewings, but overall the episode still stirs the pot in a way TNG rarely did, especially this early in its own run. And it lays the groundwork for significant things to come.

But in and of itself, while I find the premise interesting, the two warring factions were generally so unsympathetic that it was hard for me to care about them being trapped in their situation.

Is it true that TPTB did this episode in part because they weren't overly impressed by the actress playing Opaka? ETA - MA indicates that they chose Opaka because she was considered the most "expendable" recurring character, which makes me wonder who else they considered (thank god it wasn't Garak!).

 

[tomalak301]

I wouldn't call Opaka a recurring character. She was only in Emissary. I wish the actress would have been given more opportunity though but this episode did set up the Circle trilogy. Also in terms of not liking the actress, if that were the case why bring her back.

 

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

1-13 Battle Lines

For some reason this episode didn't really grab me. I felt that the death of Kai Opaka was rushed and frankly not "worthy" enough. One would think that she'd want to accomplish more on Bajor, but it seemed from the start that now all of a sudden she thought her time was up. I realize this opens up tons of new Bajoran story lines, but the new cause for resurrected Opaka seemed a bit trivial in comparison. In short, I thought that Opaka was wasted in Battle Lines.

That said, I really liked the Opaka and Kira scenes. You could really feel the loss and grief of Kira - both when Opaka had "died" and then when she was counselled by the resurrected Opaka.

And please, stop this annoying spouting of technobabble! Here the major culprits were Dax and O'Brien. I cannot for the life figure out why they writers insist on all this gibberish!

I'll grade Battle Lines as slightly below average with 4.

 

[tomalak301]

And please, stop this annoying spouting of technobabble! Here the major culprits were Dax and O'Brien. I cannot for the life figure out why they writers insist on all this gibberish!

Is it me, or was it really bad on early DS9 than it was throughout TNG. I'm glad Season 1 was the only real technobabble season of the series.

Also, I'm enjoying reading your reviews and how different they are from mine. I thought I was hard on the season but I'm trying not to be.

 

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

^ Thanks! I enjoy reading yours as well.

In my reviews I'm always bluntly honest. To some that might seem I don't really like Trek much, but in fact it is precisely that I like it so much that I can get so invested in it to think about the different episodes, characters and storylines, and write extensively about it. And I generally prefer watching even a bad Trek episode over a lot of other things that's on TV. My grading system is Trek calibrated, which means that a grade of 2 (quite bad) would rank a bit higher in a general TV grading system.

 

[tomalak301]

The Storyteller

I like this episode. It's not great, but I still found it really enjoyable. This is really our first glimpse at what would be the bromance between Miles and Julian, and their dialog together is great. I can easily see though how much Bashir is annoying in the early seasons because the dude never shuts up. I know what to expect so I will start to like him more, but I think one interesting thing I will look out for in this rewatch is when that will actually happen. So far we're almost done with Season 1 and I can safely say it won't be this season. Loved Obrian have no idea what he was doing with the Dalrok and Bashir kind of having fun with it. DS9 really wasn't heavy with effects in season 1, but I really wonder what the Dalrok would look like in HD. Maybe just the same cloud.

The stuff with Jake, Nog and Varis was lightweight fun. Man DS9 really pushed the Jake/Nog friendship quite a bit in season 1 because this is really an arc in itself. It's even going to continue in the next episode which I will get to in a bit. As for the negociations about the river, it was ok I guess but it was really a non-issue. This episode was really good further developing Jake and Nog as friends and starting Miles and Julian towards being friends.

Progress

I liked this episode too, even though Mulibok was a little too friendly and charming. Who wouldn't want to stay and hear his stories. He's like a grandpa, cuddly and endearing and kind of possessive. You shouldn't like him because he's holding up an important project, but you also don't want to see him hurt either. It was an interesting episode for Kira too, especially coming after Battle Lines where Kira confessed to Opaka about her violent nature and now having to work in the uniform against a "fanatic". The B Plot features Jake and Nog again in a story that was probably their best story of this little arc. Ok, so Jake teaching Nog how to read was cool, but we got to see all of this story about them making trades and, to spoil an episode from Season 7, going down the great river of materialism. It was a fun story and really highlighted Nog at his best in the early part of the series.

If Wishes were Horses

I find this episode dull, and think it's worse than an episode like Move Along Home, which while not great, was not as bad as people say it is. This one though didn't have much of anything going for it, and I think it would have been better had they all started singing pure imagination at the end. At least this was the episode where Sisko got his Baseball, so that was a plus. I do wonder how he got it though. Didn't all the imaginations disappear, or was the Baseball real the whole time? I guess it could have been Jake's too.

 

[tomalak301]

The Forsaken

This might be my favorite Lwaxana episode of the franchise, or at least it's really close to Half a Life and Dark Page has my favorite. She was brought on for comic relief, but her serious episodes really do add a lot of depth and Majel Barrett plays it really well. Loved her scenes with Odo in this episode, and how intimate they got. It was also a sensitive kind of intimacy, which I really appreciated. The rest of the episode is pretty good too, with the Computer thing causing havoc around the station and the three ambassadors and Bashir. Bashir wasn't annoying in this one, but one episode does not make a compelling character.

 

[tomalak301]

Dramatis Personae

This episode was weird. It kinda felt like a Voyager episode, with the crew mutinying against each other because of some ancient race. In fact, I just saw the Voyager episode Repression a few weeks ago and this episode reminded me of that, a mind control technique takes advantage of the crew and pits them against each other. This episode is like a lot of other episodes this season. Average but uninspired. Also, the next episode is what I really want to talk about.

Duet

Here is where DS9 got a kick in the Ass in a big big way. I would call this the first classic of the series, and I think it's probably a top ten episode of the entire franchise for me. Last week, someone on facebook asked the question I found fascinating. What episodes of Trek would work great as a live play? The first episode I thought of was Duet.

This episode has everything that makes DS9 great: Strong characterization, insane amount of backstory between the Bajorans and the Cardassians, Odo doing his job extremely well, and one of the best written, and best acted episodes of Star Trek up to this point. The biggest thing here was with Kira and Marritza of course. Hearing Marritza talk is one of the most spine tangling things you will ever here. I mean just thinking about these two lines:

"...You can only execute me once"

"What you call genocide, I call a days work"

That second line is scary and the way Yulin says it is disturbing. This is a fictionalized version of Hitler speaking, and to say that in front of a Bajoran made me tense up. Still, the interplay between the two is incredible and the back and forth between whether or not Marritza is who he says he is or the Butcher of Gallitep is just really great to watch. Then we get to the ending where Marritza reveals why he's doing this and I think I started to choke up. To do it so Cardassia can admit his guilt is one courageous thing to do. Also, DS9 dealt with Cowardice a lot during the course of the series, and this episode deals with it too. I think what I like about this aspect is it's ok to be a coward, or there is nothing wrong with it Just is such an incredible episode and it really kick started DS9 again. One can even say this was the unofficial season 2 premiere because where we go from here in the next four episodes is some of my favorite stuff from early DS9. I can't wait.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

What episodes of Trek would work great as a live play? The first episode I thought of was Duet.

Duet meets Man in the Glass Booth

 

[tomalak301]

Duet meets Man in the Glass Booth

I just watched the first episode and it was pretty decent. Didn't like the constant hum though, but they got the opening scene to Duet pretty much spot on.

I just say take two great actors, put them in a room together and let both chew the scenery and good things can happen. In fact, this episode was like Chain of Command with Picard and Madrid but only on a much bigger scale in that this was the only plot.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Visitor and Auberjonois did a cold reading of their first meeting from Necessary Evil. It was for Spock Days in Canada. The clip is on YouTube. Absolutely amazing.

 

[tomalak301]

Visitor and Auberjonois did a cold reading of their first meeting from Necessary Evil. It was for Spock Days in Canada. The clip is on YouTube. Absolutely amazing.

Thanks for sharing that. Great clip.

 

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

1-14 The Storyteller

The Storyteller wasn't very good. I understand that Bashir and O'Brien will become quite the comedic pair on DS9, and I could see the beginnings of it here. But the surrounding plot (with some energy cloud being summoned by the negative feelings of some Bajoran villagers) was so silly and unbelievable that I couldn't really care.

Surprisingly I liked the subplot on DS9 better, with Jake and Nog befriending a young (and cute) Bajoran ruler. I actually thought the prank with Odo's bucket was rather funny.

I'll grade this episode as below average 4-.


1-15 Progress

I enjoyed Progress a lot more. It featured a no-win situation for Kira when she must decide where her loyalties are, with Bajor and Sisko or with a lonely farmer that refuses to leave his homestead so that the moon can become a vital energy source for Bajor. The old scoundrel was likeable enough and he had good chemistry with Kira. I'm progressively (if you pardon the pun) finding that I like the Kira character, her struggles and conflicts. Contrast her with the all too bland Jadzia Dax. Hell, I even think Kira is more attractive than Dax, and it's not just about her tighter uniform!

Again there is a subplot featuring Jake and Nog - this time with self-sealing stem bolts (so this is where this running gag on Trek comes from). To my eternal surprise I find myself actually liking this pair. Considering how I normally feel about kids on Trek, this is a great compliment to the writers and actors. But I wish they'd ditch Jake's embarrassing civilian attire. Poor Cirroc Lofton!

Still, in the end I grade this episode as average, but a strong average, a 5+.


1-16 If Wishes Were Horses

This episode was rather forgettable. The weirdness and supposed danger coming from the make believe fantasies fell flat. There was no sense of urgency. And Fantasy Dax was actually a bit offensive. Had I been the real Dax I would've been really pissed of at Bashir. The Buck Bokai guy was nice, I guess, and the most interesting of the fantasies.

But I seriously rolled my eyes at the staggering amount of technobabble. Even Kira said something about "what the hell does that mean" after she was forced to spout some of it. I'd like to think that was something Nana Visitor ad-libbed as a mild protest.

So If Wishes Were Horses gets a below average grade of 4-.


1-17 The Forsaken


The plot of The Forsaken was nothing much to speak of, very uninspiring and the resolution of course came from another bath of annoying technobabble. The obnoxious VIP guests terrorizing poor Dr. Bashir was clichéd. How can the Federation even function if its representatives are such jerks?

I absolutely hate the character of Lwaxana Troi and have ever since she made her first appearance on TNG. So imagine my horror when she showed up here on DS9. However, as loathsome as she was at first, I was surprised at how she changed after getting stuck in the turbo lift with Odo. For once she felt tolerable and it was almost endearing to see her when she helped Odo out as he was turning into goo. That said, please tell me that this was her first and last appearance on DS9.

Another below average grade, another 4-.

 

[tomalak301]

That said, please tell me that this was her first and last appearance on DS9.

Unfortunately no, but this was probably her best appearance on DS9.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I see If Wishes Were Horses as an episode that makes fun of technobabble. Technobabble is what caused the situation to become near catastrophic and stopping the technobabble is what solved it.