Down the Rabbit... er Wormhole: My Rewatching Journey

[C_Miller]

When Deep Space Nine debuted, it wasn't a huge hit in my house, now since I was just 6, I really didn't care all that much. However, when then 7th Season came around, I was hooked in. But this was before I had money or anything of the sort, so I wasn't able to get the VHS tapes as they came out, so it was lost to time for me.

That is, until this past spring. I discovered the Youtube account with all of the DS9 episodes loaded and I started watching random episodes and I was hooked even more. I loved the stories, the characters, the races, and the settings. So for my birthday I ended up with season 1 on DVD.

Since I had so much fun with the rewatch thread from a few months back, I decided to start my own to use as a log. I would love feedback and other comments on the episodes as they come up. The more the merrier!

One thing is that I'll be watching with my roommate at school, so there will be some breaks, but we both live near each other, so updates won't completely drop off over vacations.

Well, I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you all further on up the road (most likely tomorrow morning)

 

[C_Miller]

And by tomorrow morning, I meant midnight... Anyways:

Emissary

"On the edge of explored space, a new crew takes command of an abandoned space station and makes an incredible discovery that will change the galaxy."

Here we go. I've watched all of the pilots fairly recently and this stands on its own as the best. All the characters are introduced well and by the end you know who they are and their motivations for why they are.

I really did enjoy how the western archetypes are played up. Sisko: The new Mayor from the Feds, Kira: The local who doesn't want the Feds to come in, Odo: The rogue lawman, Bashir: The Old Country Doctor, O'Brien: The Jack of All Trades, Quark: The Bartender, Dukat: The Outlaw. Can't really think of one for Dax. Probably why she doesn't work for a lot of people. The fact that I can do this after one episode is very telling of how well done it was.

What's really striking is how alien the station looks. Really impressed seeing as Star Trek's idea of alien is sticking on strange ears or a bumpy forehead. Also, the Prophets come off as very alien, which is another problem of Trek. The aliens tend to be personifications of aspects of humanity. Really enjoyed the explinations of linier time as explaining things to children can shed a lot of light on the human condition and experience. And the Prophets really are like children, when it comes to their lack of understanding of humans.

What struck me again was the sense of wonder that this episode had. The Original Series was really good about this. The unknown was emphasized a great deal as a major facet of the series and in many ways, DS9 is a direct relative to that idea. TNG had it early and lost it towards the end of its run, when the Enterprise served as a diplomatic transport (Still my favorite series thus far).

Oh! I also really liked Miles O'Brien leaving the Enterprise and saying his goodbyes to Picard. First time I saw this as it was edited out of the syndacation broadcasts. Nice way of passing the torch, more so than the last scene with Picard and Sisko.

Anyways, really good starting point, can't wait for what follows.

8/10
Favorite character of the ep: Sisko. You can really feel his pain and trace his character arc through out this one episode. He features more character development in this episode than Harry Kim did in seven seasons (even gets promoted more in this one episode too...)

Annoying Character of the ep: Dr. Bashir. My God. Is it really possible for someone who spent probably almost a decade at Starfleet Acadmey to be that green? Thank God he's not like that all the time. Just when he's not working... I've seen the 7th Season, so I know he grows. I just hope it's soon...

 

[JoeD80]

Annoying Character of the ep: Dr. Bashir. My God. Is it really possible for someone who spent probably almost a decade at Starfleet Acadmey to be that green? Thank God he's not like that all the time.

I believe this is supposed to be Bashir's first assignment, so he hasn't had any real-world experience yet. It takes him a couple of seasons to grow. There are some good episodes early on that pair him with O'Brien and allow good character growth ("The Storyteller" in season one and "Armageddon Game" in season two are two off the top of my head).

 

[C_Miller]

Annoying Character of the ep: Dr. Bashir. My God. Is it really possible for someone who spent probably almost a decade at Starfleet Acadmey to be that green? Thank God he's not like that all the time.

I believe this is supposed to be Bashir's first assignment, so he hasn't had any real-world experience yet. It takes him a couple of seasons to grow. There are some good episodes early on that pair him with O'Brien and allow good character growth ("The Storyteller" in season one and "Armageddon Game" in season two are two off the top of my head).

Oh, I know. I'm just having a little bit of fun. But I do feel the writers were trying to play up the fact that he's a kid, almost to the point of caricature. Almost.

 

[C_Miller]

Past Prologue

"A Bajoran terrorist tests Kira's loyalties to the Federation when he attempts to rid Bajor of the Federation for good."


I feel like this episode had better elements than the episode itself. First of all, we are introduced to Garak, who was one of the characters that got me to want to check out this series. We got a little conflict and a continuation of a subplot that I hope continues through out the first few seasons, which is the Sisko and Kira plot (This is how Janeway and Chakotay should have been from the start). We got to see a strong woman, that doesn't feel somehow contrived. Everytime Troi or Crusher had an action scene, it felt like they were throwing it in because it was cool to have strong women. And we got a great scene between Kira and Odo.



Anyways, this episode comes off as a bit slow for me. All the elements, were there, but the excecution was not. I was not a fan of Lursa and B'Etor showing up. It seemed like it was just thrown into get TNG viewers. So, because of the magic that is Youtube, I looked up the trailer and they aren't featured, which struck me as odd. So that makes me think their appearence was ineffective. One of Quark's goons could have easily fit the bill and it wouldn't have taken me out of the show as much.


I really like Garak. If the 7th Season is any indication, they never reveal if he's a spy or not, which is really cool, leaving all of that up to the viewer. The way he speaks is just cool, it's almost as if he's a super spy, pretending to be normal, pretending to be a super spy. Very well done by Andrew Robinson.


Anyways, I'm thinking that my bad thoughts about this episode have more to do with the fact that it followed Emissary and for the most part, my only experience with DS9 was through really good episodes (In the Pale Moon Light, Way of the Warrior, It's Only a Paper Moon, ect).


6/10: Average, but still better than what I would call the normal weak Star Trek episode.


Favorite Character of the Week: Garak. Every scene he was in, he stole. Granted he only shared scenes with Dr. Bashir and the Duras Sisters, but still. He could have been in a room with Dr. McCoy, Chief O'Brien, Worf, The Doctor, and Captain Picard (My top characters) and he still would have stolen the show. I'm also still liking Sisko. Maybe it's because I think he's about ready to deck anyone that disagrees with him, but he's the only guy I can see doing this job.


Annoying Character of the Episode: Dr. Bashir. Everytime he went to Ops to tell the crew he made contact with Garak, it screamed "I'm the middle child, give me attention." I know, he's just doing his job and he's young, but still. After two episodes the combonation of Harry Kim and Neelix is starting to wear thin. If I didn't know it was going to get better, I'd make an annoying Bashir moment for every episode.

 

[DevilEyes]

I really like Garak. If the 7th Season is any indication, they never reveal if he's a spy or not, which is really cool, leaving all of that up to the viewer. The way he speaks is just cool, it's almost as if he's a super spy, pretending to be normal, pretending to be a super spy. Very well done by Andrew Robinson.

Actually they did reveal exactly who he was/used to be, as early as season 2/season 3, although there are still quite a few things about his past we don't know.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Emissary's a really good pilot. Season 1 in general has trouble living up to it (apart from the last two episodes, which are great), but that episode definitely showed that DS9 had a lot of potential. I know people tend to hate him early on, but I actually kind of liked Bashir right from the start, although he definitely became a lot better round about Season 3.

 

[snakespeare]

I really like Garak. If the 7th Season is any indication, they never reveal if he's a spy or not, which is really cool, leaving all of that up to the viewer. The way he speaks is just cool, it's almost as if he's a super spy, pretending to be normal, pretending to be a super spy. Very well done by Andrew Robinson.

Actually they did reveal exactly who he was/used to be, as early as season 2/season 3, although there are still quite a few things about his past we don't know.

Garak is an awesome character. When I rewatched Season 1 I was shocked that he wasn't in the pilot, but there he was at the beginning of the second episode. Yay! If you like the way he talks, here is an exchange from one of the Reeves-Stevens novels:

O'BRIEN: You're a good man, Garak.
GARAK: How kind of you to think so.

I just laughed so hard when I read it, I had to share.

 

[C_Miller]

A Man Alone

"After a man is murdered behind locked doors, investigation reveals that the only person who could have committed the crime is Odo, station Chief of Security."

A relatively good mystery story, although it's never a good sign when you know the prime suspect didn't do it. Not sure what more I can about this episode, it was kind of just there for me.

I did like the interaction between Quark and Odo. Quark kind of reminds me of a Bizzaro-World version of Rick Blaine from Casablanca and I suppose that would make Odo Captain Renault, perhaps. Despite being enemies, they do respect each other in many ways.

5/10: Relatively middle of the road, still compared to the awesomeness that is the pilot.

Favorite Character of the episode: Odo. I'm really starting to grow fond of his character. TOS never had a security officer (Giotto doesn't count), Worf was ruled by a personal honor code and Tuvok was ruled by logic. Even when Worf killed Duras, it was hard for anyone to fault him. Odo really developed into a morally grey character this episode, even though he was innocent.

Annoying character of the episode: Dr. Bash... just kidding. No, I'd say it was every member of the Bajoran people who wasn't called Kira. I'm not sure I need to explain.

 

[DevilEyes]

I did like the interaction between Quark and Odo. Quark kind of reminds me of a Bizzaro-World version of Rick Blaine from Casablanca and I suppose that would make Odo Captain Renault, perhaps. Despite being enemies, they do respect each other in many ways.

He he, wait for season 2 "Profit and Loss". That episode really was an homage to Casablanca with Quark as Rick.

Favorite Character of the episode: Odo. I'm really starting to grow fond of his character. TOS never had a security officer (Giotto doesn't count), Worf was ruled by a personal honor code and Tuvok was ruled by logic. Even when Worf killed Duras, it was hard for anyone to fault him. Odo really developed into a morally grey character this episode, even though he was innocent.

Season 5 Things Past is one of my favorites for exploring the moral grayness of Odo's character and his position during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor.

Annoying character of the episode: Dr. Bash... just kidding. No, I'd say it was every member of the Bajoran people who wasn't called Kira. I'm not sure I need to explain.

When I rewatched the first few episodes a while ago, I noticed that, after Emissary, the next 3 episodes (Past Prologue, A Man Alone and Babel) featured a bunch of Bajoran assholes of all sorts - ruthless extremist terrorists, black marketeers, xenophobic jerks,

Spoiler: Babel

shady scientists with total disregard for anyone's life but their own

. You really get to see the negativity produced by the years of Occupation. It shows what a smart show DS9 was: after we got introduced, in the pilot, to Bajoran religion and their history as oppressed people (OK, if we had already seen TNG season 5, we already knew them, but anyway) and only got to know them through the edgy heroine Kira and the saintly Kai Opaka, it would have been easy and predictable to have Cardassians constantly as villains - but instead, we get 3 episodes in a row where main villains of the week - or the closest thing to it - are Bajorans.

I also forgot to mention that I loved your comment on Emissary:

I really did enjoy how the western archetypes are played up. Sisko: The new Mayor from the Feds, Kira: The local who doesn't want the Feds to come in, Odo: The rogue lawman, Bashir: The Old Country Doctor, O'Brien: The Jack of All Trades, Quark: The Bartender, Dukat: The Outlaw.

I never thought about it before, but you are so right.

Dax is the hero's eccentric and wisecracking but wise older friend/mentor. (Well, sort of.)

 

[Kira Nerys]

Enjoy the show

 

[C_Miller]

I'm super behind on my reveiws. I've gotten through The Passenger, so I'll try to be quick.

Babel

"A virus infects the station's residents, making everyone unable to speak coherently."

This is a weird one for me. I can't say I was raving about it, but I enjoyed most of the elements. I liked the Sisko and Jake scenes. I really believe them as father and son, which is an added bonus. There were times when I just thought Beverly wanted to push Wesley out an airlock. I was also really impressed with Quark in this episode. Rising to the occasion, not to make a profit, but to help. I also really liked a lot of the acting. The ephasia virus didn't seem forced at all.

But all in all it was slow for me. I didn't really get a sense of urgency, which I should have from this situation.

7/10: So far, it's a standard, vanilla episode. Which seems to have been a lot of the episodes. There hasn't been a bad episode yet, just ones that are completely neutral. It gets a plus 1 for some awesome character moments.

Favorite character: Odo again. The more he has scenes with Quark the more I like him. For most of the 7th Season, he wasn't very active, so it's nice seeing him actually play Security Chief. Very interesting character.

Annoying Character: Jaheel easily. If it weren't for the station being in danger, I would have just as soon let him blow up his ship and say good riddence.

***

Captive Pursuit

"O'Brien helps an alien from the Gamma Quadrant as hunters descend on the station searching for their humanoid prey."

Yes! This is what I'm talking about and I think this is where my roommate finally got what I've been raving about. And this is where I'm starting to believe the hype. I don't know where to start with this one other than it is the best episode so far, perhaps because it's the first to really run with the Gamma Quadrant premice.

And at the heart of it all, we have a very engaging story between O'Brien and the first truly unfamiliar face from the unknown. And we also get a major shift in O'Brien. When we first met him, he was an unnamed helmsman and then moved to the transporter room, then he's given a last name, then he's given a first and middle name and then he's promoted to the senior staff of another show. During his time on the Enterprise, he was a yes man. Now he's defied orders for the first time and his character is better off for it. O'Brien has been one of my favorite characters and this just makes him more so.

9/10: A very solid episode, the best so far.

Favorite character moment: O'Brien's conversation with Quark. I have a strange feeling that Quark making people realize something about a situation is going to become a common occurance.

Annoying Character of the week: ...Morn? I honestly can't think of one for this episode. I didn't especially like the First Hunter, but he was well acted and written and you weren't supposed to like him.

 

[C_Miller]

Q-Less

"Archaeologist Vash arrives from the Gamma Quadrant as Q plagues the station and an unknown force threatens to destroy it"

I love Q. I like Vash (though I can't say I liked either Captain's Holiday or Q-Pid). I didn't like this episode. For one, Avery Brooks and John De Lancie don't have any chemistry. Two, despite not having any chemistry, I don't think he would have taken pleasure in watching the Station destroy itself. Q wants people to learn. It's hard to learn when your station is destroyed. However, he didn't even show up to teach a lesson, which is more annoying.


3/10: For a poor use of Q and not a good story to back it up.


Favorite character moment: Sisko kicking Q's ass. I love Picard, but the reason I love Sisko is because he's not Picard.


Annoying character of the week: Q. For the reasons stated above.


***

Dax


I've looked around and found that this isn't a popular episode, but I liked it. This was the first episode where Jadzia's uniqueness was utilized in a way other than namedropping hosts in the same way that the Salahis namedrop celebrity connections. While it didn't answer the question as to whether Jadzia was responsible for Dax's past lives, I'm not sure that was the point. The point was to think critically about the subject and it got me to. Plus we got some nice scenes of Odo playing Sherlock Holmes.


Final Score: 7/10. Not Captive Pursuits or even close, but is quite compelling when it comes to the origin of the Trill.


Favorite character moment: Sisko and Dax talking about the old times and glory days. It was the first time I really believed them to be old friends and a Mentor/Student relationship.


Annoying character: Gregory Itzin. Well acted, but his actions just didn't make sense to where he seemed to be completely incompetent.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Keep going, you're almost thru the crap of S1. It gets much better, don't worry. Duet will knock your socks off.

 

[C_Miller]

Keep going, you're almost thru the crap of S1. It gets much better, don't worry. Duet will knock your socks off.

I've heard a lot of bad things about the next few episodes. I didn't really mind some of the earlier episodes. A lot of neutral, compared to the crap of TNGs and VGRs first seasons, but the ones that have a really bad rap around here (Move Along Home, The Forsaken, Storyteller, If Wishes Were Horses) are right around the corner. But I know this pays off. I loved the 7th Season and I heard the show went down hill there.

The Passenger

"An alien criminal, attempting to prolong his life, hides his consciousness inside the mind of a station crew member."


I want my hour back. The pacing was boring, the story was uninteresting, all the characters were annoying me. This just didn't have anything working for me.


2/10: Just downright bad. +1 point for not being Threshold.


Favorite Character of the Episode: Chief O'Brien. Simply because he decided not to show up.


Annoying Character of the Episode: Umm... Odo, Primmin, Sisko, Rao, Bashir (of course)... you know, every character in this episode was annoying, so I'll grant this award to Paul Lynch, the director.

 

[C_Miller]

Move Along Home

"A visiting delegation from the Gamma Quadrant turns four crew members into "pieces" for a bizarre game."

Maybe it's because this episode has such a bad rap, but I didn't hate it. That's not to say I liked it, but I'm really interested in the Gamma Quadrant as a whole. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is only the second episode outside the pilot to really utilize the Gamma Quadrant and its cultures (I'm not counting Q-Less).

It had merits. One of my favorite aspects of Odo's character is when he's playing off of other characters who are foils to him (Quark, Sisko, and in many ways Kira). This featured a lot of character work for Odo showing how he's morally gray. I also like how Quark was able to get a serious role. I'm really starting to like him and it seems as if his role in the series is to be a shining light in bad episodes.

Final Score: 4/10. Completely 100% average, yet non offensive. +1 point for its inclusion of the Gamma Quadrant. While Bajoran politics are very interesting to me (I'm a political science major), I feel there is a lot of potential in the Gamma Quadrant to create two directions that the show can go into and remain strong. It seems like the episodes that don't feature Bajor or the Gamma Quadrant tend to be the weaker ones (The Passenger and Q-Less).

Favorite character moment: Any scene with Odo. "Well, I'm not in Starfleet" was a line that probably sums up why I'm such a fan of his.

Annoying character of the episode: Primmin. While he did give Odo some good scenes, I really don't believe that any security officer would just stand by while officers under his juristiction are lost. Even the moral characters of TNG would have done what Odo did.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Yeesh ... SIX out of TEN for this episode? Methinks you've been to PIGS once too often, my friend. Take my advice and stop over at Mias, or even Pizza Paul's to sober up enough BEFORE you review an episode like this one.

~signed a thoroughly understanding Geneseo Alum

 

[C_Miller]

Yeesh ... SIX out of TEN for this episode? Methinks you've been to PIGS once too often, my friend. Take my advice and stop over at Mias, or even Pizza Paul's to sober up enough BEFORE you review an episode like this one.

~signed a thoroughly understanding Geneseo Alum

Pigs was shut down last year.

Anyways, while I am more or less new to DS9, I am not new to Star Trek, so I hear things about episodes before I watch them. I was going into this episode expecting it to be up there with the best of Voyager (See what I did there? ), but it was better than that. In fact, I was mildly entertained through parts of the episode, like Commander Sisko playing hop-scotch. Granted, it was Mystery Science Theater entertained, but entertained none the less.

You know, I'm kind of craving a trip to Mia's... probably will go one last time before the semester ends. It's always nice to meet a Geneseo grad on the internet. Cheers!

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Pigs was shut down last year.

The horror! Ah well ... it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Anyways, while I am more or less new to DS9, I am not new to Star Trek, so I hear things about episodes before I watch them. I was going into this episode expecting it to be up there with the best of Voyager (See what I did there? )

Nicely done. You make The Tundra proud.

but it was better than that. In fact, I was mildly entertained through parts of the episode, like Commander Sisko playing hop-scotch. Granted, it was Mystery Science Theater entertained, but entertained none the less.

Well, it's quite possible that you are better than me, my friend. This was an episode I simply could. not. stand. If you managed to find a redeemable quality, that's pretty cool. As someone going through the DS9 experience for the very first time myself, I know I'd be hard-pressed to sit through the experience of "Move Along Home" ever again.

You know, I'm kind of craving a trip to Mia's... probably will go one last time before the semester ends. It's always nice to meet a Geneseo grad on the internet. Cheers!

Cheers! And if you do make it to Mia's before the end of the semester, have an extra slice for me!

BTW, is the go-cart track still there?

 

[C_Miller]

I actually read your review after you posted on here. It seems we disagree quite a bit, but I didn't make this thread to just have people agree with me. That would be boring. However I do agree with you on many things. It appears that I'm a lot kinder on dull episodes. On second thought, I probably did rate it too high. It probably would be a four with the extra point for dealing with the Gamma Quadrant. Although I think every episode should get at least +5 for having 100% less Neelix.

Now the Passenger on the other hand, by the end of the episode, I just wanted to push everyone out an airlock.