Garak vs. Obrien, who is Bashirs best friend?

[Laughing Dragon]

Yes. Bashir and Garak were friendly acquaintances, that's all. Garak didn't know about Bashir being enhanced, or wishing he'd been good enough to do it professionally, or wondering about his lost love. Bashir knew practically nothing about Garak except that he liked Cardassian literature.

But Bashir did stick by Garak at his worst through the withdrawals. You can say he was just being a doctor, but it seemed more. He could have let other staff take part. That had to have brought them together a bit especially since Garak attacked him during it and they were still lunch buddies after. And Bashir even went so far as to seek out his father and he knew about his claustrophobia. Garak let him see him at his worst. And When Bashir thought Garak had died, he looked clearly upset. It could be seen as one-sided but then Garak had a lot on his plate and probably was just keeping his cards close to his vest. And at the end of the series, he called Julian a good friend. He did not even have to do it at that point. He would not even need to "use" him anymore.

Remind me, what is shipping?

Its putting two together in a romantic relationship. It can be gay or straight.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

But Bashir did stick by Garak at his worst through the withdrawals. You can say he was just being a doctor, but it seemed more. He could have let other staff take part

That is but a conventio of storytelling. If Bashir were a school teacher and the writers wanted a positive, compassionate portrayal of the character, he would have been shown being troubled by and involved in a student’s problems. He would be more involved than most real-life teachers would be. In DS9, he is the sole doctor, and although there is a recurring nurse, there is no other developed health care worker on the station. The Wire teased details about Garak's life, which given the nature of his profession, would only be available at great personal pain. The doctor--any doctor on a Star Trek show, and probably any hospital drams save House--would have been the perfect audience for the story about to be spun by the patient.

 

[kkt]

But Bashir did stick by Garak at his worst through the withdrawals. You can say he was just being a doctor, but it seemed more. He could have let other staff take part. That had to have brought them together a bit especially since Garak attacked him during it and they were still lunch buddies after. And Bashir even went so far as to seek out his father and he knew about his claustrophobia. Garak let him see him at his worst. And When Bashir thought Garak had died, he looked clearly upset. It could be seen as one-sided but then Garak had a lot on his plate and probably was just keeping his cards close to his vest. And at the end of the series, he called Julian a good friend. He did not even have to do it at that point. He would not even need to "use" him anymore.


Its putting two together in a romantic relationship. It can be gay or straight.

I'm afraid I do see Bashir in The Wire as just being a doctor. The station is not exactly full of other doctors Garak could have gone to who have bothered to learn something about treating Cardassians. Garak went to Bashir because he had no other choice, and Bashir had to treat him because he took that pesky oath. As far as the end of the series, Garak was accentuating the positive a bit... and you never know when it will be useful to have a friend in Starfleet. A good lesson for spies is not to burn your bridges because you never know when you'll need someone.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

That is but a conventio of storytelling. If Bashir were a school teacher and the writers wanted a positive, compassionate portrayal of the character, he would have been shown being troubled by and involved in a student’s problems. He would be more involved than most real-life teachers would be. In DS9, he is the sole doctor, and although there is a recurring nurse, there is no other developed health care worker on the station. The Wire teased details about Garak's life, which given the nature of his profession, would only be available at great personal pain. The doctor--any doctor on a Star Trek show, and probably any hospital drams save House--would have been the perfect audience for the story about to be spun by the patient.

DS9 is supposed to bigger than the Enterprise-D regarding internal volume. TNG had a full medical staff. How does DS9 have one doctor, one nurse?

 

[Bad Thoughts]

DS9 is supposed to bigger than the Enterprise-D regarding internal volume. TNG had a full medical staff. How does DS9 have one doctor, one nurse?

Recurring guest stars cost money. Would you rather have a recurring nurse or a recurring ambiguously gay former Cardasdian spy?

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Recurring guest stars cost money. Would you rather have a recurring nurse or a recurring ambiguously gay former Cardasdian spy?

Do what TNG did: use dialogue and extras. You had extras all over the Promenade. Put some in Starfleet uniforms, have them tooling around the infirmary, pushing buttons, looking at things, tending to injured extras, problem solved.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Do what TNG did: use dialogue and extras. You had extras all over the Promenade. Put some in Starfleet uniforms, have them tooling around the infirmary, pushing buttons, looking at things, tending to injured extras, problem solved.

That's compelling television: replacing the dialogue between Garak and Bashir with a Garal monologue with a non-speaking character played by a lowly paid, probably untalented actor.

 

[fireproof78]

That's compelling television: replacing the dialogue between Garak and Bashir with a Garal monologue with a non-speaking character played by a lowly paid, probably untalented actor.

Not a fan of theater or monologues?

Recurring guest stars cost money. Would you rather have a recurring nurse or a recurring ambiguously gay former Cardasdian spy?

Nurse.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

That's compelling television: replacing the dialogue between Garak and Bashir with a Garal monologue with a non-speaking character played by a lowly paid, probably untalented actor.

Did I suggest that? No.

 

[Oddish]

Sometimes they take comfort in hiding behind a little ambiguity. I remember the kerfuffle when "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) was supposed to feature the first openly gay character... he was actually very much in the closet.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Sometimes they take comfort in hiding behind a little ambiguity. I remember the kerfuffle when "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) was supposed to feature the first openly gay character... he was actually very much in the closet.

If you like "Beauty and the Beast," check out the 1987 series. It's the only version I've actually liked. It ran 3 seasons and starred Linda Hamilton and Ron Pearlman.

 

[Oddish]

If you like "Beauty and the Beast," check out the 1987 series. It's the only version I've actually liked. It ran 3 seasons and starred Linda Hamilton and Ron Pearlman.

I did see it, when it was still airing. But the last few episodes really pissed me off. Catherine deserved better.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I did see it, when it was still airing. But the last few episodes really pissed me off. Catherine deserved better.

Linda wanted to leave the show due to her pregnancy. They could have just ended it with S2, but they wanted to do a third season. Naturally, it just didn't work without her, so no S4.

 

[Oddish]

Linda wanted to leave the show due to her pregnancy. They could have just ended it with S2, but they wanted to do a third season. Naturally, it just didn't work without her, so no S4.

Trying to imagine the Disney version without Belle in it... doesn't go well.

My inherently dirty mind isn't helping, either.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

DS9 is supposed to bigger than the Enterprise-D regarding internal volume. TNG had a full medical staff. How does DS9 have one doctor, one nurse?

I got the impression that DS9 had relatively little habitable area. Most of its internal volume is probably taken up by mining apparatus, cargo storage, and things like that. That's what Terok Nor and its ilk were designed to be - mining stations.

A Nor-class station's total crew complement is certainly much less than a typical Starfleet vessel, particularly a Galaxy class.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Did I suggest that? No.

"You had extras all over the Promenade. "

 

[Frontis]

Just want to add, thanks to the excellent writing in DS9 we have this discussion here.
The stories let some things open and it's up to the viewer how to interpret it.
So for me between Bashir and O'Brien it was clearly a friendship while the relation between Bashir and Garak stays mysterious with open questions...

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

"You had extras all over the Promenade. "

I only suggested stuffing extras into the infirmary, so it looks like Bashir has a staff.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I got the impression that DS9 had relatively little habitable area. Most of its internal volume is probably taken up by mining apparatus, cargo storage, and things like that. That's what Terok Nor and its ilk were designed to be - mining stations.

A Nor-class station's total crew complement is certainly much less than a typical Starfleet vessel, particularly a Galaxy class.

Well, the habital parts of the station would be the rings, not the docking arms which were likely only in use when a shop was docked or for maintenance work. There's the station core, the inner ring which would be a mix of residences and docking bays (for the Runabouts), and then the outer ring which was likely a mix of whatever they needed it for, plus numerous docking ports and cargo bays.

I feel they never decided exactly how big the space station was.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I feel they never decided exactly how big the space station was.

Yeah, that's probably true. I'm not even sure if, canonically speaking, we even know DS9's normal crew complement.

And while Bashir may have been the only doctor when Starfleet first moved in, they could always have added more medical staff later.