I officially began my journey through all Star Trek on October 9th...

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

You have one more to sit through, but that one is a Ferengi Comedy first, a mirror universe story second.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Is O'Brien and Bashir the best bromance/relationship in all of Trek?

I think so.

Unequivocally yes. What I really like about it is that we're their for the entire process of them becoming so close. Kirk/Spock and Data/Geordi, for example, we join as close friendships already in progress.

 

[locutus101]

Unequivocally yes. What I really like about it is that we're their for the entire process of them becoming so close. Kirk/Spock and Data/Geordi, for example, we join as close friendships already in progress.

And started the show hating each other, at least O'Brien did hate Bashir. Not sure how Bashir felt about O'Brien though.

 

[Griffeytrek]

Well, the Dominion has its vulnerabilities, but we only learn them much later in the series.

The Dominions vulnerabilities play out better than say The Borg's. It isn't Technobabble. It is actual strategy, politics and structure. They feel more organic. The federation has to slowly learn how to deal with, how to fight the Dominion. There is no magic "Off" switch. No big glowing "Shoot Here" weak spots that let the hero ship swoop in and kill them all. And the kicker is all of the major weaknesses of the Dominion have been shown from their first introduction. Things like Ketrecel White and the extreme Top Down nature of their Command and Control. We just get to watch the Federation learn how to exploit these weaknesses in a brutal learning process as opposed to a single episode third act bit of magic.

 

[Griffeytrek]

And started the show hating each other, at least O'Brien did hate Bashir. Not sure how Bashir felt about O'Brien though.

Be honest. Everybody hated first season Bashir, even Sidig.

 

[Griffeytrek]

Is O'Brien and Bashir the best bromance/relationship in all of Trek?

I think so.

It's the one that feels natural. That we organically see. Whereas the later Archer v Tripp Bromance drops us into an already established pair. And leaves us to guess "do they just tolerate each other cause Tripp is running an illegal meth lab in the engine room, and archer is hooked on his home brew?"

 

[MacLeod]

Can DS9 please stop doing the Mirror Universe? It's one of my few criticisms for this show.

The Mirror episodes in DS9 feel grim and unoriginal, especially this Bareil show which doesn't really make any sense.

The first 3 MU episodes weren't too bad, the later ones not so much so.

 

[locutus101]

Be honest. Everybody hated first season Bashir, even Sidig.

I am always honest.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Be honest. Everybody hated first season Bashir, even Sidig.

I'm not sure everyone like Siddig. If I am not mistaken, Larry Nemecek has said that TPTB wanted to boot him from the series several times. And of course, there were those things Siddig did to piss off the studio executives.

 

[locutus101]

I'm not sure everyone like Siddig. If I am not mistaken, Larry Nemecek has said that TPTB wanted to boot him from the series several times. And of course, there were those things Siddig did to piss off the studio executives.

Do tell.

 

[locutus101]

Ferengi episodes are always very amusing, even the not-so-good ones.

Love shows like The Magnificent Ferengi. No one does homages or callbacks like DS9.

Hey, I even like Profit and Lace, even if most people hate it with a passion.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Do tell.

Consult Larry Nemecek's appearances on The Orb podcast. Siddig's antics, OTOH, are well known.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Ferengi episodes are always very amusing, even the not-so-good ones.

Have you gotten to "Profit and Lace" yet? If not, this is gonna get thrown back at you.

 

[locutus101]

Consult Larry Nemecek's appearances on The Orb podcast. Siddig's antics, OTOH, are well known.

Could you give a few examples?

 

[locutus101]

Have you gotten to "Profit and Lace" yet? If not, this is gonna get thrown back at you.

I don't think it's that bad.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Could you give a few examples?

There are no examples to give of the former. However, Siddig changed his name and refused to show up for cast photos to screw with the execs.

 

[locutus101]

There are no examples to give of the former. However, Siddig changed his name and refused to show up for cast photos to screw with the execs.

Oh yeah, I remember the name change. I didn't know he used it to piss people off, though.

 

[locutus101]

Nope.

Some say it's bad, and by "some" I mean almost every one.

 

[RAMA]

I don't know if I think of it as loftily as that, but it's certainly a good episode..just telegraphed for the 90s.

RAMA

Having watched The Original Series, The Next Generation, eleven of the movies, three seasons of Voyager, and almost six of Deep Space Nine, this episode, Far Beyond the Stars, is by far one of the boldest and most daring Star Trek episodes I've ever seen.

We're halfway through the sixth season, and like a few other episodes this season, it has little to do with the Dominion War. Instead, in a dream of Sisko brought on by the Prophets, we're brought back to 1950s America where a black man named Benny, played by (and the episode directed by) none other than Avery Brooks, is working for a science-fiction magazine and has to write a story about a futuristic space station called Deep Space 9. All of his co-workers and acquaintances are played by regular and recurring cast members of the show, so for the first time, we get to see everyone without their heavy alien makeup and space suits.

Far Beyond the Stars shows why DS9 is not just the best-written of all the shows, but the one that shows more progressiveness, political expression and more social conscience than any of the other Treks. This episode is the best addressing of racial issues I've seen yet as we see just how unfair life was for African-Americans in '50s America. Racial segregation and bias was ever present, and it's beautifully and depressingly put on display here in Far Beyond the Stars, almost too heavily. Never did I expect to hear the word 'negro' (or worse) on DS9, but this just added to the impact of the story. Cirroc Lofton's line (you know the one) took my breath away, and his character's death later in the episode and the subsequent beat-down Benny takes from the two cops was incredibly hard to watch.

This episode BELONGS to Avery Brooks. In the climax of the episode, Benny is told his story has been rejected by the owner and he's been let go. Brooks' acting in this scene, when Benny breaks down, is chilling, not only terrific acting but a touch personal.

It's the type of episode you show to someone who wants to know what Trek is really about. It's moving, it's political, it confronts a real-world issue and provides a discussion for it in the form of science-fiction... it's one of the best the show has to offer.

 

[Griffeytrek]

I'll confess I always found that one a little to heavy handed in the messaging for my tastes. A very 90's exploration of the social issues of the 50's. (Written by middle class white 20 somethings in the 90's.) Extremely well acted and a bold experiment. Worth making and worth watching, but not one I go back to watch much. For emotional impact this season has two other episodes that hit me more. "In the Pale Moinlight" and "The Sound of Her Voice".