It is true that Ben and Jake have the best family relationship - though they're not aiming for the widowed mom/high-IQ w/low EQ child trope this time around, though when Wesley acted up, Bev managed to remain collected and calm (e.g. "The Ensigns of Command" when he returns and he makes one stinger of a comment, not wrongly so...)
It is always great to see Avery and Cirroc act together - the chemistry is perfect. (getting Brock Peters as Ben's dad was a fantastic coup as well. Loved everything he's in, from "Soylent Green", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Star Trek VI", and so on.) The story almost contrives to get Jake on board (no pun intended) but they do bring back Jake's desire to be a paperback writer (cue Beatles' teeniebopper song here, preferably the cover sung by the B-52s).
But I'm watching the story and it requires a suspension of disbelief. Not about the characters but the situation they're put into (e.g. not the premise, but the execution):
Which is appreciated in a way, since DS9 has to show that not every week is rip-roaring adventure but downtime, otherwise all the characters would have major burnout visiting all the time. Not to mention the historical aspect, there is a certain intrigue here and Avery Brooks clearly sells it with panache.
And yet, at warp 1, just how much shore leave time does Ben have to be able to do this? (true, the goal was the asteroid belt, halfway or so into the Bajoran solar system, since Ben would otherwise not engage in guesswork to figure out how such a ship could end up in the Cardassian star system with the time available...)
But how did their Replicator make all those ship parts? As Lego bricks requiring only a blow torch to assemble? (Okay, I liked certain touches, about the gravity net, and this isn't the first time a character's attributes are being adjusted for the sake of plot. That trend even goes back before TOS.) Was it due to the Prophets?
Which goes into a quick segue: Ben is the Emissary so I can see why he would want to do this journey and with such enthusiasm. And Avery's acting, again, helps make the audience curious and intrigued as well.
Given the tense relationship with the Cardassians and Dukat, the setup implies they're going to visit the tiny light ship and play a game with their phaser banks. A game known as "target practice", never mind that no Starfleet commander would be allowed to do this sort of thing (but then we'd have no show. After all, the trend started with Kirk leaving the ship all the time when most of the assignments would be given to the crew and not "the big three", which TNG tried to correct until Patrick Stewart rightly pointed out he wasn't given anything to do - real life mixed with fiction becomes a fine line to sell situations in a way that wouldn't work or be allowed in real life).
Why? Up to this point, Cardassians still seem to loathe Bajorans and left the station in a mess just to make life nasty for the Federation staff moving in. even a few episodes later the Cardassian tension is brought up again (albeit Nog in a simulation prior to an Academy test).
Okay, it's a red herring. Gul Dukat doing some sort of straight face for every situation no matter how benign, to keep Sisko guessing. I can roll with that.
But the celebration and fireworks, why what amounts to a bait'n'switch followed by immediate episode closure to ensure no explanations had to be made? (Dukat having some form of admiration for Ben? The scene doesn't come off as sarcasm but I don't always have the best sarcasm detectors.) The episode spends 10 seconds on it and then the episode ends. At least we know the Cardassians aren't breaking the treaty since, by next episode, all is safe and well on DS9 again. Perhaps the Cardassians too were curious over events so long ago. That I could believe off the bat, which in turn has me second-guessing Dukat's perceived threat toward Ben earlier in the episode.
As usual, DS9's wardrobe people do a stellar job (pun not intended) with getting the perfect wardrobes for characters and this episode is no exception. I'm about to make yet another "Why can't it be on blu-ray proper where I'd pay MSRP as opposed to the '50% off MSRP that TNG sold at on day one' whine since the details in the outfits, right down to fabric, can be hinted at through even the SD material and must really look fantastic in high resolution.
The explanation for the light ship (whose sails looks similar to Tron's) reaching warp being a tachyon eddy thingy is kinda cool and unexpected, while explaining how the Bajorans first reached the Cardassians and all the subsequent (eh, not fun) that ensued. Am surprised their Federation communications equipment would conveniently break down as well, but up to that point with the ship going off course and slowly breaking - I'll admit the tension and suspense did get build up reasonably well for a story that seems hit or miss.
The O'Brien/Bashir subplot wasn't exactly as engaging, though it does tell of character conflict and development in the way TNG rarely could or would (Ensign Ro being the exception, Shelby less so). Still, it felt forced.
Ultimately, it's not DS9 season 3's strongest episodes, but is not by any means the worst. Overlook Ben's character shift and being a master spaceship building craftsman in a matter of weeks, and there's some intrigue to be had and, yeah, there are some great set-pieces in this uneven little outing. As even the weakest would be a 5 ("Facets"), "Explorers" is a pretty good outing, elevated much by Ben and Jake - even though their conversations would have worked equally well inside their quarters. Something about some plot elements feel forced and glossed over, or inconsistent with characters for the sake of the setup.
7/10
It is always great to see Avery and Cirroc act together - the chemistry is perfect. (getting Brock Peters as Ben's dad was a fantastic coup as well. Loved everything he's in, from "Soylent Green", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Star Trek VI", and so on.) The story almost contrives to get Jake on board (no pun intended) but they do bring back Jake's desire to be a paperback writer (cue Beatles' teeniebopper song here, preferably the cover sung by the B-52s).
But I'm watching the story and it requires a suspension of disbelief. Not about the characters but the situation they're put into (e.g. not the premise, but the execution):
Ben, in his spare time, is making a ship that can only travel just shy of Warp 1. He does so because he wants to experience life the way the ancient Bajorans had.
Which is appreciated in a way, since DS9 has to show that not every week is rip-roaring adventure but downtime, otherwise all the characters would have major burnout visiting all the time. Not to mention the historical aspect, there is a certain intrigue here and Avery Brooks clearly sells it with panache.
And yet, at warp 1, just how much shore leave time does Ben have to be able to do this? (true, the goal was the asteroid belt, halfway or so into the Bajoran solar system, since Ben would otherwise not engage in guesswork to figure out how such a ship could end up in the Cardassian star system with the time available...)
But how did their Replicator make all those ship parts? As Lego bricks requiring only a blow torch to assemble? (Okay, I liked certain touches, about the gravity net, and this isn't the first time a character's attributes are being adjusted for the sake of plot. That trend even goes back before TOS.) Was it due to the Prophets?
Which goes into a quick segue: Ben is the Emissary so I can see why he would want to do this journey and with such enthusiasm. And Avery's acting, again, helps make the audience curious and intrigued as well.
Given the tense relationship with the Cardassians and Dukat, the setup implies they're going to visit the tiny light ship and play a game with their phaser banks. A game known as "target practice", never mind that no Starfleet commander would be allowed to do this sort of thing (but then we'd have no show. After all, the trend started with Kirk leaving the ship all the time when most of the assignments would be given to the crew and not "the big three", which TNG tried to correct until Patrick Stewart rightly pointed out he wasn't given anything to do - real life mixed with fiction becomes a fine line to sell situations in a way that wouldn't work or be allowed in real life).
2. SPOILER ALERT: At the end of the story, Ben and Jake are greeted by three Cardassian ships and are celebrated with fireworks.
Why? Up to this point, Cardassians still seem to loathe Bajorans and left the station in a mess just to make life nasty for the Federation staff moving in. even a few episodes later the Cardassian tension is brought up again (albeit Nog in a simulation prior to an Academy test).
Okay, it's a red herring. Gul Dukat doing some sort of straight face for every situation no matter how benign, to keep Sisko guessing. I can roll with that.
But the celebration and fireworks, why what amounts to a bait'n'switch followed by immediate episode closure to ensure no explanations had to be made? (Dukat having some form of admiration for Ben? The scene doesn't come off as sarcasm but I don't always have the best sarcasm detectors.) The episode spends 10 seconds on it and then the episode ends. At least we know the Cardassians aren't breaking the treaty since, by next episode, all is safe and well on DS9 again. Perhaps the Cardassians too were curious over events so long ago. That I could believe off the bat, which in turn has me second-guessing Dukat's perceived threat toward Ben earlier in the episode.
As usual, DS9's wardrobe people do a stellar job (pun not intended) with getting the perfect wardrobes for characters and this episode is no exception. I'm about to make yet another "Why can't it be on blu-ray proper where I'd pay MSRP as opposed to the '50% off MSRP that TNG sold at on day one' whine since the details in the outfits, right down to fabric, can be hinted at through even the SD material and must really look fantastic in high resolution.
The explanation for the light ship (whose sails looks similar to Tron's) reaching warp being a tachyon eddy thingy is kinda cool and unexpected, while explaining how the Bajorans first reached the Cardassians and all the subsequent (eh, not fun) that ensued. Am surprised their Federation communications equipment would conveniently break down as well, but up to that point with the ship going off course and slowly breaking - I'll admit the tension and suspense did get build up reasonably well for a story that seems hit or miss.
The O'Brien/Bashir subplot wasn't exactly as engaging, though it does tell of character conflict and development in the way TNG rarely could or would (Ensign Ro being the exception, Shelby less so). Still, it felt forced.
Ultimately, it's not DS9 season 3's strongest episodes, but is not by any means the worst. Overlook Ben's character shift and being a master spaceship building craftsman in a matter of weeks, and there's some intrigue to be had and, yeah, there are some great set-pieces in this uneven little outing. As even the weakest would be a 5 ("Facets"), "Explorers" is a pretty good outing, elevated much by Ben and Jake - even though their conversations would have worked equally well inside their quarters. Something about some plot elements feel forced and glossed over, or inconsistent with characters for the sake of the setup.
7/10
