First-Timer's Impressions of Deep Space Nine

[Jimmy Bob]

Sanctuary

*soothing music in Quark's bar*

You know, I think I'm really starting to fall for the show. Sure in the first season I kept thinking of T'Pol and Enterprise in general... I guess every Trek viewer has felt that when starting to watch a new show. They long for what they saw before. And since in Trek first few seasons usually suck so they keep running images of greatness from the previous shows in their head, and I did the same now. But I'm thinking now that I don't long for Enterprise anymore. We're past that moment. Especially after A Necessary Evil which was just amazing...

*refugees beam aboard*

Hey, isn't that kid the one who just... oh god the hair, what ridiculous hair! Jesus!

*it turns out that the universal translator is malfunctioning so there a lot of awkward stares*

Hmm, is this the new Darmok? I bet that music guy is very important in this episode. I bet all those aliens will hear him playing and we will all bask in the joys of the universal language that is music and witness a true brotherhood of sentient species that goes beyond words. Seems to be promising stuff.

Oh god the hair!

*food scene*

You know, as a person who has been eating only "just add water" meals for the past month, this really made me hungry.

*Ridiculous Hair talks about how in her world men are the lesser gender*

Ha-ha-ha. Yes it is so very ironic that in your world the men are considered emotional and fickle, because in our world where we are watching this show it used to be the opposite and in some cultures it still is the opposite. Man this sci-fi stuff is so great. It really broadens the mind with different possibilities you know.

*other skreaans come on board*

Wonder if every woman has that ridiculous hai... oh yes they do. What is wrong with them?

*Quark's xenophobic rant*

'kay. I really hope that this won't be the direction the episode is now taking. Where did the music guy go?

*Ridiculous Hair wants to have Bajor*

You know, I think I'll call her Ray. So Ray is a leader of 3 million people and she is offered a free planet just for her people and she wants some corner in Bajor? Why? What is the significance of this "Kintana"? It's never explained. She just demands a corner for her and it's acted out like it's a tragedy that it was denied to her. Man those immigrants are nothing but trouble. We should kill them all! Stupid ridiculous people with ridiculous hair. They want to take away our jobs!

The problem with this episode as a morality play on immigration, is that there is no other problem than some weird stupid desire from the Skreaans to make their lives more miserable. Free planet!! Wohoo!!! But no! Because Ray just uttered Kintana and it's supposed to say it all. They don't want a free planet. They just want to be a nuisance.

It's just some stupid woman, who's supposedly better than the male sex, with her stupid obsessions and demands. It's a proof why the male sex should be in power. Yeah.

Well obviously I'm not being serious. I don't really see this as a proof why "female leaders are wrong" and why "immigrants really just want to be a nuisance, not a better life". I was just... I don't even know what I was just trying to do. This episode is just stupid.

*Koenig kid goes all Kamikaze!*

Didn't we just have this thing before? A guy takes a ship and flies it into certain death? No? Not familiar?

What the fuck? What was this supposed to be? Why? Man those immigrants want nothing but trouble. You guys have a free planet for chrissakes... but no! "Kamikaze we must go!"

Ray: "I think you've made a terrible mistake. All of you. Maybe we could have helped you. Maybe we could have helped each other. The Skreeans are farmers, Kira. You have a famine on your planet. Perhaps we could have made that peninsula bloom again. We'll never know, will we? Fifty years of Cardassian rule have made you all frightened and suspicious. I feel sorry for you. You were right. Bajor is not Kentanna."

No. Just no. Ray, you're not being deep and insightful here. You're not delivering the significant deep meaningful speech to end this morality play. You're just being a stupid woman with a stupid suicidal kid. Education, no? Not really? That's what I thought too. Gotta teach them kids early.

Certainly xenophobia and a mom losing his kid are tragic things, but the problem is that this episode does it all wrong. It's just very confused.

When will His Awesomeness That Is Sir Ronald Of Moore come and save this show?

Completely not an edit at all. Seriously. It's not an edit: Hey! A second reference to Dominion! Wohoo! I rule at Dominion Pokemon! Call me king Jimmy now!

 

[Eyes]

I consider Sanctuary the worst of Season 2. The Promised Land schtick has been done a million times before, and this time, the makeup and the horrible handling of the language bit at the beginning really makes it a bad episode. Did they really need to have a problem with the UT just to flesh out the episode?
All the other aliens from the GQ, and pretty much the rest of the galaxy, could speak perfect English as soon as they appeared on the screen

A whole episode about the music guy would have been better than this.

 

[TheGodBen]

You know, I think I'm really starting to fall for the show.

Good, good. All you have to do is renounce any Voyager fandom you may proclaim and you'll officially become a Niner. You get a free coffee mug!

(There is no coffee mug.)

Wonder if every woman has that ridiculous hai... oh yes they do. What is wrong with them?

Have you ever seen There's Something about Mary? It's like that, but on a planetary scale.

It's just some stupid woman, who'se supposedly better than the male sex, with her stupid obsessions and demands. It's a proof why the male sex should be in power. Yeah.

Damn straight!

Hang on, isn't PKTrekGirl the mod on this forum?

Clearly, what I meant to say was that women are just as good as leaders as men, except they're better because you can fantasise about them. Like Margaret Thatcher.

When will His Awesomeness That Is Sir Ronald Of Moore come and save this show?

Season 3. And he'll bring a warship with him. But the show is well on the way to rescuing itself by that stage.


Sanctuary, it has its problems, but I don't think it's as sucky as some. It doesn't really stand out, most people either remember it for for the aliens with psoriasis or as the episode with the second Dominion reference. By the way, you failed to catch it, so you fail at Dominion Pokemon.

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Good, good. All you have to do is renounce any Voyager fandom you may proclaim and you'll officially become a Niner. You get a free coffee mug!

No! Voyager rules! I heart Neelix! Sisko sucks! Voyager has these deep and complex characters like Chakotay and Kes, who really inspire you with their humanity and spirit. DS9 has... a space station. When Janeway is a true breakthrough for female characters in television, a powerful matriarch that inspires and empowers oppressed women all over the world, then DS9 has Sisko - an obvious gangsta rap stereotype. I mean, it's like the writers of DS9 were reading Darryl F. Gates when coming up with Sisko. Compare that with alien rubber-mayans of mesoamerica of Voyager and everyone with half a brain will realize that Voyager indeed is the more nobler show.

Voyager expands my spirituality with made up native american beliefs. After Voyager I too am one with the sacred bones. But in DS9 you have this creepy priest programming orbs so he could get laid. Voyager respects religion, but DS9 is an anti-clerical and atheist propaganda. It's despicable. Assuming that every priest is sexually challenged. Lies.

Voyager preaches family values and the unity of mankind. Our differences don't matter, let's put them aside and work together. We are a family. But in DS9 everyone is fighting with each other. It's pure nihilism. A nihilistic view of humanity that they tell us is "more real" than Voyager's optimistic view of humanity. Well it's only "more real" if you too are a nihilist. And nihilism leads to nazism.

Don't support Hitler, support Voyager.

I'm Jimmy Bob and I endorse this message.

Like Margaret Thatcher.

Palin who? Real men fantasize about Thatcher. Have you ever had that dream when she's all dirty with laissez faire and you're this young guy from a trade union and she's going to teach you to appreciate "privatisation" (if you know that I mean)?

It doesn't really stand out, most people either remember it for for the aliens with psoriasis or as the episode with the second Dominion reference. By the way, you failed to catch it, so you fail at Dominion Pokemon.

Did I?

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Rivals

I guess when you're having a really good morning then seeing Bashir in silver tights is the last thing you want to see.

That's what a real man looks like.

Ah. This episode was much better. That scene in the prison. With that "monkey paw" and the guy dying... it had such a good vibe. Twilight Zone. Outer Limits. Something like that.

I really loved the monkey paw storyline. However, I'm afraid that the ending was just botched. Yeah sure, a monkey paw ending is that the guy gets it bad... but it just lacked the horror and satisfaction what a good monkey paw story needs.

Good start, but a bad beginning. Sisko and Dax should have been the last people to solve it. And to solve it in such a unsatisfying way. Should have been the guy himself figuring it out and trying to solve it... but with monkey paw ultimately winning.

I'd really like to see this El-Aurian guy again. He was kinda fun.

I also loved this scene.

For some reason, it reminded me of Christina Hendrick's Letter to Men - http://www.esquire.com/women/women-issue/christina-hendricks-sexy-0510?click=pp

 

[TheGodBen]

Voyager preaches family values and the unity of mankind. Our differences don't matter, let's put them aside and work together. We are a family. But in DS9 everyone is fighting with each other. It's pure nihilism. A nihilistic view of humanity that they tell us is "more real" than Voyager's optimistic view of humanity. Well it's only "more real" if you too are a nihilist. And nihilism leads to nazism.

Don't support Hitler, support Voyager.

For the sake of peace on this board... I must... not... say who I... think you sound like.

Palin who? Real men fantasize about Thatcher. Have you ever had that dream when she's all dirty with laissez faire and you're this young guy from a trade union and she's going to teach you to appreciate "privatisation" (if you know that I mean)?

Dream? I've actually done it in real life!

Carpet ≠ drapes!

I guess when you're having a really good morning then seeing Bashir in silver tights is the last thing you want to see.

Having apparently seen Margaret Thatcher in the nip, I can honestly say that seeing Bashir in in silver tights is the second last thing I want to see.

I'd really like to see this El-Aurian guy again. He was kinda fun.

Nope, he's gone forever! This was a Joe Menosky episode, things introduced in Joe Menosky episodes tend not to carry over. Although this episode did finally name the El-Aurians, and Guinan was only confirmed to be one in Generations.

Rivals... I don't hate it as some do, but it's not a great episode. I do enjoy the b-plot though, O'Brien and Bashir's chemistry is great even when they're not getting along.

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Good start, but a bad beginning.

Why did I do this? It's supposed to say ending, not beginning.

I'm afraid Jimmy Bob that you just don't make a lot of sense. Sorry.

 

[InklingStar]

I'd really like to see this El-Aurian guy again. He was kinda fun.

Nope, he's gone forever! This was a Joe Menosky episode, things introduced in Joe Menosky episodes tend not to carry over. Although this episode did finally name the El-Aurians, and Guinan was only confirmed to be one in Generations.

According to the DS9 Companion the El Aurian Guy was originally written as Guinan's son, but they couldn't schedule Whoopi Goldberg. Bummer.

 

[Jimmy Bob]

The Alternate

Odo is actually the best thing about DS9 at the moment. There will always be at least something interesting in his episodes.

Like how similar Odo looks to his "father". And James Sloyan is one of those very memorable Trek guest actors. Which is one of the things I like about Trek - sometimes these guest actors really get to shine and deliver something awesome. Actors I would otherwise never now about. In CSI the guest actors don't shine at all for example.

And The Defector was a very powerful episode, but imo purely because of James Sloyan alone.

But. To be honest. During the mid-acts I kept repeating "bored now" to myself. It was only when James Sloyan had that heated discussion with Odo when the episode finally emotionally captured me.

I'm not sure I quite understand the episode. The scene with trapped "Odo" and James Sloyan going all "what I has done, oh noes" was definitely powerful to watch, but I couldn't quite get the symbolic reference. Somekinda freudian father-son thing?

And... was Odo self-aware before being discovered? What is Odo and what is the fluidic being? They've really created something interesting and "mind-expanding" with Odo. I just wish I could understand what happened in this episode.

Speaking of which. I just had a very interesting "being one" experience with Bashir. You know that scene with Dax inviting Bashir to dinner and he going "no have work" and she going all "i see you so through - sleep tight". I was just thinking then how much I hate when girls (women... I don't know, I'd still count early twenties as "girls") do that. You just want to hump them now, and it's all so unresolved and you're trying to be this "I'm not interested in you" guy but it turns to be even more of a torture... and it was quite weird when Bashir echoed my thoughts. I like Bashir.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Joe Menosky wrote for DS9? ... (Checks Memory Alpha) ... It's true!

 

[DevilEyes]

The Alternate

Odo is actually the best thing about DS9 at the moment. There will always be at least something interesting in his episodes.

Like how similar Odo looks to his "father". And James Sloyan is one of those very memorable Trek guest actors. Which is one of the things I like about Trek - sometimes these guest actors really get to shine and deliver something awesome. Actors I would otherwise never now about. In CSI the guest actors don't shine at all for example.

And The Defector was a very powerful episode, but imo purely because of James Sloyan alone.

It was originally planned to have Auberjonois play Dr Mora as well - since Odo obviously modelled his humanoid look on him (I think he said at some point in the show that he could never get the Bajoran nose right, which should explain the lack of ridges on his nose ) - but when they expanded his role, they had to cast another actor.

And yes, Sloyan is great. I loved him in every one of his Trek roles. And of course, Rene Auberjonois is just awesome. Odo will always be one of the best things about DS9, even when almost everything else on the show becomes awesome, too.

You're now going through the "meh" middle part of season 2, though I love episode 14 ("Whispers"), before the stretch of great episodes at the end of the season and the beginning of season 3. Personally, I really enjoy episode 18, so I would say that this is where the great stretch of episodes starts. Episodes 20-21 and 22 are among my favorites. And there's the season finale, which.... you'll see.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

The Alternate is the best of this batch of episodes, but I'm still not crazy about it. Overall this may be the weakest stretch of episodes in DS9, but fear not, Whispers is coming soon and that's awesome.

 

[TheGodBen]

The Alternate is okay, but at its core it's mostly a "Odo becomes a monster" episode. The best parts of it are easily the Odo/Mora stuff, and that tends to take a back-seat to the sci-fi story for too much of the episode. Luckily, Dr Mora will show up again and that episode is much better because it focuses almost entirely on their relationship (well, the a-plot does) while the sci-fi story mainly serves to drive their relationship further. That episode will be written by Rene Echevarria, and if there's two things he likes writing its character episodes and Odo episodes.

Overall, The Alternate represents a missed opportunity, but that's what happens on shows where things aren't planned out in advance.

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

Give up?

 

[TheGodBen]

Now now, there's no need to think he's a quitter. He's probably just dead, or something.

 

[DevilEyes]

Now now, there's no need to think he's a quitter. He's probably just dead, or something.

Or having exams, which is more or less the same thing.

 

[apenpaap]

Or maybe he got kidnapped by rampaging Voyager/Babylon 5 fans.

 

[TheGodBen]

Hmm, they must have heard about the DS9 review guy that was trash-talking their shows and mistaken Jimmy Bob for Sykonee.

Ah well, whether he's dead, kidnapped or, worse, studying for exams, I think we can all agree that Jimmy Bob not being around is no great loss to the forum. Lets be honest here, he was terrible, far too interested in lame attempts at being funny rather than being a reviewer of substance.

 

[Jimmy Bob]

I guess the big secret is out. Yes, I'm in fact dead.

Happens.

I've been dead for a long time now. You get used to it. In fact, it's not that bad when a mad scientist has reanimated you.

The only problem is that as a reanimated corpse I need a certain electrical treatment every now and then, but that bloody self-involved bastard dr. Frankenstein forgot to do it and left me all unanimated before my laptop. I wanted to watch the show. But I couldn't. Because I was dead.

Oh well. What happened to me wasn't as bad as the episode I just watched.

Armageddon Game

Oh god it's the revenge of ridiculous hair! Run!

Everyone: "Bla-bla-bla. We did it."

Bored now.

Oh dear, more ridiculous hair. Remind me why you even had that civil war in the first place? Was it to find out who's hair is more ridiculous? Well, you win. I bet you're evil too.

And you are. Wow that went by pretty quickly. Cue some predictable emotional manipulation and everyone making speeches about the dead characters.

Oh god, it's almost as bad as a Voyager episode (Coda). When you have to kill someone so that we finally could establish the relationship the deceased had with other characters then things are really bad.

And let's not forget Sisko. Honestly I know even less now about the man than I did before Emissary.

And Dax. Who's she anyway? If anyone should "die" so anyone could pretend that she was a person who's absence will be sad, then it's her.

And here comes Quark.

Quark: "To our dear departed comrades... we may have had our differences, but I'll say this for them--and it's the highest tribute I can think of: They were good customers. They always paid their bar bills on time."
Kira: "...Thats it?"
Quark: "I'm not done yet. At times like this, I'm reminded of the 57th Rule of Acquisition. Good customers are as rare as latinum... treasure them."

Wow. That was actually pretty touching. It's the first good thing about the episode. Quark rules!

And finally when Keiko was all "the tape is a lie" I couldn't care less. Now Bashir and O'Brien have had great chemistry together. But I couldn't feel it in this episode. I was just bored to death... I mean being into unanimated again, since I am already dead... by all that predictable talk about past loves. There was no spark. Okay in the end when BAshir was all "facing certain death creates bonds..." there was a spark. But mostly, no.

Okay, I give it that it wanted to be all playful with these cliches, when that evil guy turned not out to be evil, because everyone was evil and when it was revealed that O'Brien does in fact drink coffee in the afternoon. But...

You know, I've been watching this little show called Spartacus. There was this guy and his penis was cut off and then he was crucified and then the camera just zoomed into his disfigured penis as he slowly died. Now that was interesting.

Let's see if Whispered can make DS9 as interesting again as penis-slashing.*


*While I enjoy a good penis violence every now and then in my soap-opera, I naturally lean towards sci-fi, so DS9 probably wins.

 

[Jimmy Bob]

Ah well, whether he's dead, kidnapped or, worse, studying for exams, I think we can all agree that Jimmy Bob not being around is no great loss to the forum. Lets be honest here, he was terrible, far too interested in lame attempts at being funny rather than being a reviewer of substance.

I agree. Good riddance.

I'm Billy Frankenstein by the way. I'm new here.