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DS9 Rewatch Blog

glenniebun

glenniebun

Commander
Red Shirt
Hi all! I'm doing a new rewatch/analysis blog for DS9 I hope y'all will like, kicking off right now with "Emissary." Topics covered include: the specific niches the show fell into, the ways it differentiated itself from TNG, the spikiness of its characters, PTSD triggers all around, and the suffocating power of grief.

If interested, I previously wrote an anniversary article about the state of the larger franchise in 1994, including what DS9 was doing at that time.
 
This week, in A Man Alone: the uncertain assimilation of diaspora populations, a murder-mystery plot that's solved almost completely in the background, an impromptu lynch mob contrasted with casual interspecies friendship, and unchanging justice enforced by an ever-changing man.
 
I just finished a rewatch and sort of want to do one again. It's hard for me to get through seasons 1 and 2 though knowing how awesome it gets later.
 
I generally find the first couple seasons underrated. It's easy to say the show gets better when Worf gets there or when the show focuses more on the Dominion and the war, but there's something to be said for the early focus on Bajor and the ability to explore the world of the show a little more. There's a charm to a series that can do "The Storyteller" and "Duet" within a couple months of each other. And certainly the Circle trilogy could go up against any height the show reached later in terms of sheer quality.

Admittedly, off the top of my head, after the Bajoran political situation stabilized at the end of the Circle trilogy the show did take a bit of a dip through the middle of the second season.
 
This week in Babel: an episode that focuses on character except when it doesn't, the overworked technician, kidnapping for a good cause, sitcom logic, the release at gleaming, bread the arrive seem earlier, simple hesitation, way link complete. Way link!
 
This week, in Captive Pursuit: diplomacy averted, the doorway to new life and new civilizations finally opens, the virtues of stepping outside the rules once in a while, cultural relativism, and a short note on the death of Harve Bennett.
 
This week, in Q-Less: a vision that will prove untenable, some early missteps regarding how and why to mix TNG and DS9, guest stars from TNG who really should have stayed there, and an ex who won't take no for an answer. Q is here.
 
This week, in Dax: the building of Dax and the building of our selves, the nature of identity and the nature of obligation, and wars from long ago.
 
This week, in The Passenger: demonic possession along with a host of other horror tropes, Serious Acting, the "Kirk Character" in Star Trek, and Lieutenant George Primmin.
 
This week, in Move Along Home: an attempt at redeeming an episode with a poor reputation, gaming substituted for diplomacy, more on Quark and sitcom logic, an excuse to post that screencap of DS9 in HD from Birthright, and the virtues of Space Hopscotch.
 
This week, in The Nagus: The Ferengi comedy aesthetic dominates for an episode, including a Very Special Episode for Jake. The mechanisms of power, the building of a society around cartoon capitalism, and multiculturalism in action. Zek is here!
 
This week, in Vortex: the beginning of serialization in DS9, the construction of Odo as an outsider among outsiders and as a mystery to be solved, the importance of family, and a moral act by a police officer.
 
This week, it's The Storyteller! Stories within stories, DS9's most advanced genre mashup yet, and the beginnings of a friendship between two men that will define them both in ways they cannot yet realize.
 
This week, in Progress: There are always those who get run over by progress, those who don't want to step into a bold new future and yet have to watch their world come crashing down to create it. Major Kira isn't sure which side of that divide she belongs on.
 
This week, in If Wishes Were Horses: Genres aren’t just melding any more, they’re crashing into each other: fairy tales and softcore and sports nostalgia, oh my. A low point for Nice Guy Julian Bashir as well, from a certain point of view, though not without its redeeming points.
 
This week, in The Forsaken: Lwaxana Troi shows up to get Odo to drop part of his carefully-maintained facade by dropping part of her own. DS9 gets another guest star from TNG to disrupt the proceedings, but handles it far better this time.
 
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