DS9 Versus: A viewing experient

[TheGodBen]

But, considering folks are making predictions that are four years away tells me I better get crackin' on this again. So...

Yes, hurry up already, pound that grindstone. Wait, that's not a phrase, and it doesn't even make sense.

Screw it, I'm creating it as a new phrase. Pound that grindstone, Sykonee. Pound it hard!

I like Living Witness, I think it's probably one of the better Voyager episodes, but I must be one of the only people who loves The Reckoning. I was always a fan of the Prophets-Pah Wraiths stories, and anything that gives Jake something to do is fine by me. The best part is Louise Fletcher. For me, Winn was one of DS9's best characters, and I think her character arc is fantastic. What's her motivation here? Is she showing compassion by saving Jake and Kira, something Sisko couldn't do, or could she simply not stand the Emissary's piety as he showed up the Kai once again? I love it.

I don't dislike The Reckoning, although it is a little silly and underwhelming, and I was one of the happy few who liked Space Jesus Sisko, but Living Witness is my favourite episode of Voyager so it easily beats most of DS9 in my reckoning.

Godsdamn, I'm so witty.

 

[apenpaap]

Pound that grindstone, Sykonee. Pound it hard!

Yeah, pound it already!

 

[Tomalak]

I don't dislike The Reckoning, although it is a little silly and underwhelming, and I was one of the happy few who liked Space Jesus Sisko, but Living Witness is my favourite episode of Voyager so it easily beats most of DS9 in my reckoning.

Godsdamn, I'm so witty.

*Groan*

 

[Sykonee]

Week 20: (Ending 02.12.96)
B5 - Dust To Dust (Airdate 02.08.96)
DS9 - Sons Of Mogh (Airdate 02.12.96)
VOY - Dreadnought (Airdate 02.12.96)

Feb Sweeps, so you know what that means. B5 has Koenig again! This time, he teams up with the good guys to beat the even-more bad guys. Eh, the whole drug caper thing is really pedestrian, but at least we get a few good Bester-isms out of the deal, plus seeing him 'on our side' was a nice change of pace.

Then there's the whole business of G'Kar. Well... what can I say? His epiphany comes out of nowhere and totally steals the episode. It's one of those character-altering moments that we seldom get a chance to see, especially back in those days of few serialized TV shows. A powerful, emotional scene that never oversells, and leaves the viewer feeling just as elevated as G'Kar in the end.

Yeah, DS9's downer ending really can't compare. Hey, I'm all for some more Worf angst, and Tony Todd is always watchable, but the ending feels contrived. Was that really the only option available to Kurn? Somehow I doubt it, and was something of a convoluted sci-fi solution anyway.

And VOY? Eh, it was alright but I was very disappointed at no point did Dreadnought say, "I wouldn't do that, B'Elanna." Wasted opportunity, I say! Plus, what's with the non-ending? No denouement at all? A thank-you farewell from the aliens? Just... the weapon is defeated, Torres is saved, and off we sail again.

Bottom line: it's an inspirational ending versus a downer ending versus a non-ending. Easy choice here, my friends.

Weekly Winner
B5

Next:
DS9 - Bar Association
VOY - Death Wish
B5 - Exogenesis

 

[Kai Winn]

and an easy choice next week. death wish wins by default. to beat that one you need something like living witnesss, which is also voy.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Can't comment on VOY this time, but B5 easily beats DS9 this week. I really like Dust to Dust - the tension and drama over Bester's arrival, the Bester/Garibaldi interactions and of course the G'Kar stuff. B5 is definitely building things up at this stage, introducing important developments in this episode and the one before that will have major consequences down the line. And let's face it, Walter Koenig is Bester by now.

Unfortunately, I don't like Sons of Mogh at all. It reminds me of that TNG episode where Worf was paralysed, just less good. For me, it's another disappointing Klingon episode, although not as bad as The Sword of Kahless.

 

[Eyes]

Both Treks have average episodes this week. I'm not a fan of Worf or Klingon episodes, so Sons of Mogh didn't do much for me, but it does rank above other Klingon 'episodes' like The Sword of Kahless or Soldiers of the Empire.

Dreadnought I quite liked for giving B'elanna something to do, and it was miles better than Prototype, but it would have given the episode a better impact if the peaceful aliens had been destroyed by Dreadnought, as opposed to the happy ending. If the writers are going to the trouble of making Dreadnought so advanced and built by terrorists, they could at least show us that it is as powerful as the episode makes it out to be.

 

[Tomalak]

Soldiers of the Empire is a classic! At least I think it is. A lot of the Worf episodes can be quite dull, because let's face it, Worf is quite dull. However, this has got Jadzia and Martok to spice things up. And a great Klingon sing-song at the end.

I love The Sword of Kahless too, for similar reasons, but this time it's Jadzia and Kor to balance out Worf's dourness. Kor is probably my favourite Klingon of all time, so it's automatically a winner. Once More Unto the Breech is even better though - Kor and Martok, and lots of singing.

Sons of Mogh is rubbish though. I was never convinced that Kurn was Worf's brother, even in TNG.

 

[mattyhugh]

Soliders of the Empire was my favorite episode of Star Trek: Klingon.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Not wishing to get ahead of myself, but I rather like Soldiers of the Empire. I don't have a problem with Klingon episodes in general, but DS9 had some real teething troubles with this sort of thing. I think that this may have had something to do with Worf - much as I like the guy, he didn't really become a worthwhile DS9 character till Season 5. I also think that the addition of Martok as a frequently recurring character really helped make the Klingon episodes more interesting.

 

[Sykonee]

Week 21: (Ending 02.19.96)
B5 - Exogenesis (Airdate 02.15.96)
DS9 - Bar Association (Airdate 02.19.96)
VOY - Death Wish (Airdate 02.19.96)

B5 does X-Files? I suppose, and it's an alright hour of TV here, though oddly stand-alone for a show that has managed to keep some semblance of arc going lately. Good to see Marcus getting an episode centered around him though. He's a fun character to watch, certainly more-so than Rom.

Okay, so DS9 was somewhat entertaining at points, but an episode centered around a union, with Rom as its leader, isn't exactly riveting. The fact so few of the cast's regulars had much of anything to do doesn't help. Even Worf's b-story barely registers as little more than mildly amusing filler.

Let's not beat around the bush though. VOY came through once again, with a solid philosophical debate centered around one's right to choose to die, and a fascinating opportunity to get an inside look at just what the Q culture is like. Some of it was undermined by a needless 'get home' sub-plot and Q's flirting with Janeway (was that really necessary?), but Death Wish holds strong despite it. VOY wins another in Feb Sweeps.

Weekly Winner
VOY

Next:
DS9 - Accession
VOY - Lifesigns
B5 - Messages From Earth

 

[Kai Winn]

b5 will probably win that one, though both star trek episodes are solid. i always felt accession is a bit problematic because it reverses everything established about the prophets in the pilot. were they didn't know beings could exist in linear time, so they should have no clue that bajor exists. now, they declare they are 'of bajor', what could hint they are sort of descendants of bajor, and have always cared about that world. they lied in the pilot. ultimately, it turns out sisko's mom was a wormhole resident.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Exogenesis is probably not the most popular of episodes, but I rather enjoyed it. Nice character interactions and it was good to see Lt Corwin get his day in the limelight. The title makes it sound like an episode of Voyager, however.

Bar Association is erm, OK, I guess, but it's a bit bland all in all and an episode that features Rom and Leeta so prominently is not exactly what I've been crying out for!

I understand that Death Wish is seen as a classic, but I've not seen it, so I'll have to give B5 the win.

Next:
...
B5 - Messages From Earth

Oh boy! Here we go!

 

[Kai Winn]

I understand that Death Wish is seen as a classic, but I've not seen it, so I'll have to give B5 the win.

oops. go to youtube, there it is. buckle up and enjoy the ride, the smartest fun episode of st ever. the icing on the cake is possibly riker's appearance, and the charming way he meets janeway.

 

[TheGodBen]

Death Wish is okay, but for an episode about a guy who wants to commit suicide it spends too much time on pointless fluff and takes half an hour to get to the meat of the issue. It has all the elements necessary to be a classic episode, but it squanders it by having crap like Isaac Newton showing up, or Voyager being turned into a Christmas tree ornament. When the episode started to take itself seriously and they show us how boring life is for an immortal being it was excellent, but it took too long to get there.

Still, it's better than Bar Association.

 

[DevilEyes]

Let's not beat around the bush though. VOY came through once again, with a solid philosophical debate centered around one's right to choose to die, and a fascinating opportunity to get an inside look at just what the Q culture is like. Some of it was undermined by a needless 'get home' sub-plot and Q's flirting with Janeway (was that really necessary?), but Death Wish holds strong despite it. VOY wins another in Feb Sweeps.

I was especially annoyed when Q said something like "I am impressed how you can have so much authority without losing your femininity" Why the hell would an all-powerful, immortal alien being, talking to a 24th century person, sound like a lame 20th century TV critic? There are times when Trek pisses me off so much by showing that the writers can't move on from the narrow mindset of their own time and place to the extent that they're ascribing it to every being in the galaxy. And specifically, moments such as that one when modern Trek sounds as unintentionally sexist as TOS often did. Surely, by the 24th century it should be a completely normal and unremarkable thing for a woman to be a captain of a starship, rather than something that anyone (let alone an alien) would point out as something extraordinary, and surely people wouldn't still be holding on to such silly and already outdated notions as that strength or a position of authority should be expected to make women less feminine?

Other than that, a good episode, when it focused on its theme and didn't spend time on fluff. A good Q episode on a show other than TNG - now, that's a rarity.

 

[Tomalak]

I was especially annoyed when Q said something like "I am impressed how you can have so much authority without losing your femininity"

Haha! I've not seen the episode for over a decade, and I can barely remember it. That's an absolutely awful, cringeworthy line.

 

[Sykonee]

Week 22: (Ending 02.26.96)
B5 - Messages From Earth (Airdate 02.22.96)
DS9 - Accession (Airdate 02.26.96)
VOY - Lifesigns (Airdate 02.26.96)

Y'know, I've noticed an unfortunate trend on DS9's part when it comes to Feb Sweeps: the show seems to slump when compared to its competitors, as the last three seasons has seen very few victories. And then these only seem to come when the show has a focus on either O'Brien or Sisko (or it's a battle of 'meh' episodes, which could go either way).

Well, DS9 is once again getting thumped this February, despite this being one of the strongest showings for the month yet. All that's missing is the obligatory O'Brien-or-Sisko episode to secure a win, which we finally get with Accession. Sure enough, it's easily the best episode we've seen since the show's regular Solo-January showing, with a good study of exactly who Sisko is at this point. It's definitely been long coming, as the character has been in need of growth. I think the writers finally realized focusing on his roll as the Emissary was a potential well-spring of fresh material for Trek, and began planting seeds with greater regularity, culminating with Sisko's acceptance of the role here. Under most circumstances, a strong Character Episode of this sort would easily win.

But then B5 just had to throw in a big ol' Event Episode this week and steal DS9's thunder, didn't it. It's got everything you could want in an Event Episode. Action, intrigue, humor, quiet character moments, and a cliff-hanger ending! That's right, folks, just when you thought things would be nicely wrapped up until the next dilemma, we're instead confronted with it right at the very end. No rest for the weary now! Plus, it's great to see Vejar finally get something really meaty to direct.

VOY was good too. While I have a bit of trouble buying into yet another EMH Miracle Procedure and his feeling romantic notions, this remains a touching story regardless. Heh, it almost felt like I was watching two geeky young adults figuring out intimacy for the first time, which probably isn't far from the truth of the matter either. Oh, and then there's some sub-plots involving Paris and Jonas that seem to be culminating throughout the month. Eh, compared to B5's larger arcs, this is rather tame stuff, but at least they're trying. Maybe we'll have a good pay-off though.

We'll have to wait for a while to find out, however, as both Treks head into re-runs now. Maybe that's a good idea, because if B5 can keep up the momentum it's started here next week, they'd have to bring something extraordinary to the arena.

Weekly Winner
B5

Next:
B5 - Point Of No Return

 

[Pemmer Harge]

They way I see it is Messages from Earth > Lifesigns > Accession.

I generally like the emissary episodes, but I thought that Accession was nowhere near as good as Destiny or Rapture. It's just hard to stomach the whole Bajoran race going insane because of one man. It's lucky Sisko's such a good guy, because if they'd picked someone else as emissary I shudder to think what could have happened. Also, the hand wave to explain why none of this time travel stuff makes sense was annoying. Of course it doesn't make sense, but you could at least pretend it does!

Lifesigns is one of my favourite early Voyager episodes. It's hardly remarkable, but it was touching and I was left kind of sad that Denara wasn't going to stay with the Doctor, which I think is a good sign in a romance episode.

But this is really all about Messages from Earth, the first part of one of the best story arcs in science fiction TV. It does that classic first part of a trilogy (or is it a tetralogy?) thing of being almost a self-contained story, but setting up what's to come, and it's all the more effective for being the culmination of various things that have been developing during the season so far. There are so many great things about it: Mike Vejar's direction, the characters' responses to the things they find out, the appearance of a certain spaceship, the Ottoman Empire, Sheridan and Delenn on the White Star. And the ending - as Commander Sinclair once said "nothing's the same anymore". Funny thing is, it only gets better from here on in.

 

[Seven of Five]

Very strong week for me. B5 probably wins, like Sykonee suggests, but I also loved the DS9 and VOY episodes, despite both being very different types of story.

B5 is steaming along nicely at this point.