DS9 Versus: A viewing experient

[Sykonee]

Week 22: (Ending 03.28.99)
VOY - The Fight (Airdate 03.24.99)

The teaser shows Chakotay screaming nonsense about aliens on a med-bed, while the bridge crew go on about 'chaotic space' while the shakey-cam is in full effect. Right away I have small hopes for this episode, and then it follows this up with a lengthy, dull flashback leading up to this 'climax'. G'uh.

Say, have you been watching that WWF Raw show that's on lately? Man, has that ever been entertaining! Stone Cold Steve Austin battling against Vince McMahon, The Rock battling Mankind, Undertaker getting all wicked-evil with his Ministry Of Darkness. Hoo boy, and the action in the ring's pretty fun too! Now there's some crazy 'staged' fighting to watch.

Anyway, VOY. It was on TV. Some stuff happened, whatever. I'm checking out some more WWF action now. That's so much better than this dreck. Hm, maybe VOY should get a WWF Superstar to guest, help gain more exposure outside the sci-fi niche. Nah, that'll never happen. Guess they'll just have to settle for former sitcom stars like next week.

Weekly Winner
VOY

Next:
VOY - Think Tank

 

[Pemmer Harge]

The Fight is one of those episodes of Voyager that had me wondering why I was bothering to watch it.

 

[TheGodBen]

The Fight is the episode that rekindled my meth addiction. It was the only way I could sit through the whole thing.

 

[Tosk]

I don't get all these reactions. The Fight was pretty dang good, I thought.


Oh, wait...which one is The Fight? I was getting them mixed up. I remember now.

 

[Seven of Five]

I only saw it once as it was boring and silly. I still don't understand what they were going for. I also wondered what the point of Boothby was?

 

[Sykonee]

Note: The reason for current delays stems from a recent addiction to thatguywithglasses.com vids. Holy cow, is there ever a lot of backlog there!

Week 23: (Ending 04.04.99)
VOY - Think Tank (Airdate 04.01.99)

Stunt casting can make or break an episode, and in this case, I had a difficult time buying Jason Alexander as Kurros. I'm sorry, but his portrayal of Eric Tiberius Duck is just so ingrained in my psyche, I can only think of him as a fowl-mouthed, perverted anthropomorphic duck with glasses.

Okay, so Ol' Jase did a reasonable job here, and the premise was sound. There's some nice plotting moments, a few decent character moments (mostly for Seven, of course), and "just-desserts" action at the end. There were also silly, pointless moments as well, like a freakin' montage of the crew thinking. Yes, just standing around in little group sessions trying to THINK of a solution to their dilemma! Methinks there needs to be YouTube dub of Eye Of The Tiger playing for that scene to make it truly shine.

Huh. Not bad, not great. Simply average fare from VOY, which is same ol' in '99. DS9 returns next week to start its big push for the Finale, so hopefully it can build upon that goodwill offered from its last episode, because Lord knows VOY's squandered its opportunities this season.

Weekly Winner
VOY

Next:
DS9 - Penumbra

 

[Tosk]

his portrayal of Eric Tiberius Duck is just so ingrained in my psyche, I can only think of him as a fowl-mouthed, perverted anamorphic duck with glasses

Anamorphic duck? Awesome!

 

[Sykonee]

his portrayal of Eric Tiberius Duck is just so ingrained in my psyche, I can only think of him as a fowl-mouthed, perverted anamorphic duck with glasses

Anamorphic duck? Awesome!

Oh, wow, that's definitely the wrong word! To the EDIT button!

 

[Bones2]

I like Think Tank. It's a good idea.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Jason who? Hmm, checked Wikipedia and I vaguely recognise his face, but I never watched Seinfeld.

As I recall, this episode was pretty decent. What I remember most about it though is that it featured what I can only describe as "that prop" playing the artificial intelligence. The thing seemed to mysteriously reappear several times in subesequent seasons, each time pretending to be something completely different. I think it may have been more important than Harry.

 

[Sykonee]

Week 24: (Ending 04.11.99)
DS9 - Penumbra (Airdate 04.08.99)

Well, this certainly bodes well. Quite a few arc threads being established here, but also tie into previous DS9 lore. There's Dukat returning to become a Bajoran - ooh, what could he be planning? Hey, remember that Changeling virus? Yep, that's still a problem for the Dominion. More Ezri angst? Actually, since this refocuses on her relationship with Worf, I'm quite for it - makes for good drama (and is it me, or is Nicole really channeling Terry for her banter with Worf?). Then, of course, there's Sisko and Yates looking to tie the knot.

Y'know, that opening scene between the two reminds me why I like this show so much. Here's two people that have naturally grown into a couple, reflecting on past events and pondering their future. It feels very ...real. Sure, the setting may still be in space and outer-dimension aliens are involved, but aside from that, it's a conversation that you can imagine nearly any couple having. Yet, even if this was your first DS9 episode, you get a strong sense of history between the two. Good dialog, and strong acting to pull it off. Man, I really like that scene.

Can you tell I'm taking a screen-writing course right now?

Weekly Winner
DS9

Next:
DS9 - Till Death Do Us Part

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Penumbra's a good episode. Not exactly thrilling, but among the lesser episodes of the Final Chapter I think this one stands out for its strong character work. I liked Sisko planning his future and Ezri looking back on Jadzia's life with Worf.

 

[flemm]

Y'know, that opening scene between the two reminds me why I like this show so much. Here's two people that have naturally grown into a couple, reflecting on past events and pondering their future. It feels very ...real. Sure, the setting may still be in space and outer-dimension aliens are involved, but aside from that, it's a conversation that you can imagine nearly any couple having. Yet, even if this was your first DS9 episode, you get a strong sense of history between the two. Good dialog, and strong acting to pull it off. Man, I really like that scene.

Agreed. While the Dominion War and the more action-oriented side of the show tend to get a lot of attention, scenes like this are why I love DS9. At the end of the day it's the character work that sets the show apart from other Treks.

 

[Kai Winn]

Week 24: (Ending 04.11.99)
DS9 - Penumbra (Airdate 04.08.99)

Well, this certainly bodes well. Quite a few arc threads being established here, but also tie into previous DS9 lore. There's Dukat returning to become a Bajoran - ooh, what could he be planning? Hey, remember that Changeling virus? Yep, that's still a problem for the Dominion. More Ezri angst? Actually, since this refocuses on her relationship with Worf, I'm quite for it - makes for good drama (and is it me, or is Nicole really channeling Terry for her banter with Worf?). Then, of course, there's Sisko and Yates looking to tie the knot.

Y'know, that opening scene between the two reminds me why I like this show so much. Here's two people that have naturally grown into a couple, reflecting on past events and pondering their future. It feels very ...real. Sure, the setting may still be in space and outer-dimension aliens are involved, but aside from that, it's a conversation that you can imagine nearly any couple having. Yet, even if this was your first DS9 episode, you get a strong sense of history between the two. Good dialog, and strong acting to pull it off. Man, I really like that scene.

Can you tell I'm taking a screen-writing course right now?

i like that you can see good where there is none (i wish you tried with voy once), because this episode is so forgettable. had to look up what it was about, ah yes, the one with the beauty and the beast cast away love story. i wish ds9 had spared us a subplot of ezri and worf exploring feelings for each other, because it was so predictable, and pathetic. dukat appearing as a bajoran is the redeeming factor of this mess. his best transformation.

 

[Sykonee]

i like that you can see good where there is none (i wish you tried with voy once)

Hey, I praised the bridge banter and that one tracking shot in The Disease, which is more praise than most give that episode.

And be nice, it's your favorite episode up next!

Week 25: (Ending 04.18.99)
DS9 - 'Til Death Do Us Part (Airdate 04.15.99)

They did a good job of foreshadowing doom-n-gloom for Sisko if he weds Kasidy, and at the same time showing he isn't willing to play the Prophet's puppet despite how much faith he has in them. Also, intriguing twist seeing Dukat and Winn together. Where might this be leading?

On the other hand, the Worf-Ezri stuff didn't work as well this time out, mainly because its pacing was too herky-jerky (brief talk, zapped, dragged off, repeat a few more times... meh). Also, when it's revealed the Dominion and Breen are joining forces and Weyoun says, "Changes everything, doesn't it", I thought, "It does?"

Trouble is there's a lack of other Major Powers in the Alpha/Beta Quadrants for the Dominion to team up with that would be threatening - the Feds, Klingons, and Romulans are already allied, and the Cardassians are under the Dominion's control, so who else is there? The Ferengi? Hah!

I guess the Breen make more sense than most others since we've actually seen them in action a couple times, and name-dropped often enough in DS9 to be recognizable. Until we see them do more than zap-stab Worf and Ezri a bunch of times though, I'm not convinced this is as big a deal as the end of the episode tries to make it. Guess we'll see how it plays out.

Weekly Winner
DS9

Next:
DS9 - Strange Bedfellows

 

[Pemmer Harge]

If I recall correctly, this one's very similar to Penumbra. It doesn't quite stick in the mind in the same way though, I find.

I agree about the Breen thing. I found these guys kind of cool in the Final Chapter, but I don't recall much suggestion prior to this that they were a big deal, so the big revelation falls a bit flat. Maybe they should have used the Ferengi - after all, back in TNG those guys had warships that could take on the Enterprise.

Or how about the Tamarians (Darmok) - they were supposed to be a powerful race, although that might have been a bit depressing, all things considered.

Ooh, or maybe the Tzenkethi - didn't Sisko fight against those guys in his backstory? Really though, short of announcing an alliance with the Borg, there's probably not much they could have done at this point to make this more dramatic.

Decent episode overall though.

 

[Sykonee]

Week 26: (Ending 04.25.99)
DS9 - Strange Bedfellows (Airdate 22.99)

Now this is weird, a spiritual follow-up to Paper Moon. By that, I mean this episode's primary focus is on secondary characters, mostly Kai Winn and Damar. What's even better is that it builds upon each character's history and points them in a direction that makes sense for each. Winn is unable to relinquish the power she desires, thus turns to the Pagh Wraiths (god, I wish they'd come up with a better name for them - it sounds so clumsy no matter who's reading the line), and Damar total lack of power plants some seeds for rebellion. Interesting twists, to say the least!

There's a number of little things that make this episode fun to watch too. Martok and Sisko discussion about marriage being an enjoyable war (how very... Klingon), Worf snapping Weyoun's neck out of the blue, Winn turning to Kira for advice - great moments, all.

And for some reason, I feel the resolution to the Worf-Ezri thing here actually helps further legitimize the Worf-Jadzia relationship. Moore seemed to get that one better than anyone, which is remarkable considering there wasn't much to work with.

So DS9's built up some good momentum in its solo time, but VOY returns next with with... huh? Two episodes? Hoo boy... it may be a bit before the next update, my friends.

Weekly Winner
DS9

Next:
DS9 - The Changing Face Of Evil
VOY - Juggernaut
VOY - Someone To Watch Over Me

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Hmm, Strange Bedfellows. There's some good stuff here (Damar!), but to me it feels a bit too much like Penumbra part 3. This Worf-Ezri thing already feels like it's been going on forever. It's about now I'd appreciate an episode with a bit more oopmh. Maybe next week...

 

[Geck]

The Dukat/Winn stuff was easily the most interesting part of the Final Chapter for me, at least for the first couple of episodes. The two play off each other so well. But it all fell apart with Winn's conversion at the end of this episode, and the laughably over-the-top "dead leaves before an angry wind" speech.

The Worf/Ezri stuff was just grating, but I never liked Ezri (for the most part), which may have been part of it. I just felt there were other more important things to focus on rather than sorting out all the romantic subplots.

Overall, I found each of the first three episodes stronger than the last, with the peak coming next week.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Bump.