My DS9 Rewatch Odyssey

[Farscape One]

Awesome "REJOINED" review, and thank you for sharing your insights of what you felt in that era.

I think the reason why this episode worked so well was because the same sex coupling was a non issue. I will say that when it first aired, my jaw dropped to the floor when they kissed. Two attractive women kissing, 16 year old me at that point watching... I'm a straight guy, so yes, I loved seeing that. To be honest, two women kissing is far more acceptable than two men kissing. I know it's a double standard, and I don't think it's right, but what turns people on... turns people on. I have no other way to explain that. I truthfully think that is the only reason this moment and romance could happen in STAR TREK at that point in time, otherwise we never would have gotten same sex coupling at all until DISCOVERY. TNG's "The Outcast" was a good try, but it can't hold a candle to this episode. Frankly, NONE of the romance of the week episodes in the franchise can compete with this one.

"REJOINED" was a slam dunk. Season 4 keeps on hitting it out of the park.

(I know I've said this before, and I'll likely say it again, and my wife says I can be very repetitive... but if she can live with that, I'm sure you all can, too. )

 

[Swedish Borg]

Fine review as usual but I am just not too fond of episodes like that. Although admittedly this one is one for the best of its kind.

I must point that the trill taboo about relationships seems to be limited to sexual ones, for example, there are no problems with Sisko being a friend to two or even three Dax hosts. And no problems associated with Erzi reassociated with the same group of friends as Jadzia. So in fact what is really forbidden is to have sex with someone a previous host has had sex with or with someone carrying a symbiont that was assigned to a previous host that a previous host of theirs has had sex with (I hope I got it right). And I find regulating the sexuality of consenting adults really stinks, no matter the reason given.

 

[mastadge]

“Second Sight”

Continuing to lag behind your odyssey with my own. A couple observations:
- The professor seemed very TOSian, which was cute, and I agree, seeing everyone's reaction to him was fun.
- That scene where Dax asks Sisko if he's going to eat his french fry, takes it off his plate, cuts it and then doesn't eat it is weird.
- Logistically this episode is weird because it's not the fourth anniversary of Jennifer's death. It is about a year after the pilot, but when that episode said "three years later" it wasn't actually three years later. Wolf 359 was in January '67, Emissary in May '69. This is like the 3.33 anniversary or so. I guess he could be talking in Bajoran years or something. But it's also weird because the whole "I miss her" thing pivots into the insubstantial Fenna romance. Like I guess it's good to see Sisko is in a space where he's ready to move on but what does Jake feel about that? And wouldn't it have been stronger to put the "fourth anniversary" talk in the Season 3 premier, when it's actually the fourth anniversary? Plus then they could have done a whole "four years ago the Borg came and mom died. Now you're going after the Dominion. I can't lose you too, dad" thing. Oh well.

 

[ananta]

“LITTLE GREEN MEN”

I, for one, welcome our Ferengi overlords.

Season four continues its winning streak with what could well be the best of all the show’s many Ferengi outings—and one of Star Trek’s finest comedies to boot. The premise is simple but inspired: what if the Roswell aliens were actually…well, Quark, Rom and Nog?

Of course, this necessitates a fair bit of contrivance and a truckload of technobabble, but the latter is delivered tongue firmly in cheek (“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”). Like most Ferengi episodes, if you take it too seriously you’re going to find it silly and far-fetched but if you put the brain into neutral you may well join me in finding this a delightful romp with a number of truly funny moments.

According to the writers, this episode is largely intended as a pastiche of 50’s alien invasion B-movies, complete with all the familiar stereotypes and tropes of that era. That was admittedly far before my time and I probably didn’t watch many, if any, of those movies growing up, but I can still see what the writers were intending. The guest characters are more caricatures than people, but it works in the context of the episode’s humorous tone. Some of it is just a little overdone, such as the literally endless sparking of cigarettes and cigars, but the interaction between the Ferengi and these primitive hew-mons is generally superb. The faulty universal translator gag is one of the show’s best laugh out loud moments and I loved Quark’s growing realisation that he can exploit these lesser human beings and end up running the planet (“we’re helpless! We’re harmless! We just want to sell you things!”).

Amongst the gags there’s some scathing social commentary, with Nog declaring at one point that “they weren’t just stupid. They were violent, petty, bigoted and selfish.” The Ferengi are hardly the standup citizens of the Alpha Quadrant, but once again, they do point out our foibles pretty well. I think it would be both fascinating and depressing if we ever had a Star Trek episode that travels back in time to our current era; you know, the post-truth, Qanon, social media addicted, cosmetic surgery-adled dystopia we currently inhabit. It’s possible our Ferengi friends would have been even harsher in their condemnation. Incidentally, there’s more than a touch of hypocrisy to their polemic given not only Quark’s nefarious scheming but also the creepy sexual advances all three of them make toward Megan Gallagher’s Nurse Garland, coaxing her into performing Oo-mox right in front of her fiancé. I know the Ferengi are chauvinists and misogynists by nature, but it’s a tad icky to watch and not particularly funny.

The episode’s dues ex machina comes in the form of Odo, who stowed aboard Quark’s ship and spends most of the episode disguised as a German Shepherd dog...as one does. There’s never any doubt that our little green (nay, orange) men will get back to the future, along with the amorphous Constable, and the ending perhaps feels a tad rushed, but it’s best not to dwell on the improbable kemocite shenanigans.

Where the episode excels is its snappy dialogue and the wonderful performances of both our favourite Ferengi family and the guest stars, who all manage to bring some colour and charm to their broadly painted characters. The characterisation is good, as well, with Quark at his scheming best and Nog exhibiting considerable character growth as he demonstrates just how much he’s already internalised Starfleet values and directives, what with his warnings about not altering the timeline. Rom is...well, Rom, and always fun to watch, particularly as he displays his beaming pride in his son as he auctions off his childhood belongings in a delightful teaser. One slight disappointment I have with the episode is the score, which could have been so much better, and really needed something of a 50’s style accent in order to play to the fun. But that’s about all I have to say about this one. I found it a joy from beginning to end. Rating: 9

 

[Farscape One]

Excellent review. I can't really add anything more, except I have seen a lot of earlier era scifi movies and they pretty much hit the mark with their intentions. I think a big reason for that was having James L. Conway direct this one, someone who's done some outstanding episodes... "Frame of Mind", "DUET", "NECESSARY EVIL", "THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR", "LITTLE GREEN MEN", "SHATTERED MIRROR", "DEATH WISH", "BROKEN BOW", "DAMAGE". That's about half his directing list for the franchise, but a very, very solid list.

 

[Trekker09]

Loved “Little Green Men” --funniest Ferengi episode, put a smile on my face the whole way through. Quark, Rom, and Nog all shine in their roles, Odo’s German Shepherd stowaway fits in perfectly. Enjoyed the Roswell UFO connection, the Gabriel Bell in-joke, the forehead slapping, Nurse Garland’s starry-eyed speech [I think Beverly Garland was an actress in those vintage sci-fi movies]. The time travel and universal translator explanations are muddled but it didn’t matter. I never would have guessed Charles Napier, the tough-as-nails general, had played Adam from TOS “Way to Eden.”

 

[Farscape One]

You are right about Beverly Garland, which was another little nod. She had a lot of small roles in scifi and action B movies from that era.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Great review, which with you is business as usual (another Ferengi episode.). This is by far my favorite Ferengi episode and one funny irony is that the General is played by the same actor who was a hippie in "The Way To Eden".

 

[Bad Thoughts]

the Gabriel Bell in-joke

(Warning: nerdy tangent ahead.)

I used to love the retort from Quark that all humans look alike, a jab at racial insensitivity. However, I've learned that there is some neurological basis for the difficulty for recognizing faces outside one's ethnic group. Not only does the brain have trouble distinguishing faces in outgroups, growing up in multiethnic environments only improves the problem a small amount. It might be because the part of the brain designed for facial recognition gets repurposed for reading, and the ability to recognize faces migrates to another part of the brain. People who are literate are far worse at facial recognition than people who are illiterate. Quark having difficulty distinguishing between humans might not have been a reflection of his indifference or attitudes toward humans.

Again, nerdy tangent. Thanks for reading.

 

[Swedish Borg]

(Warning: nerdy tangent ahead.)

I used to love the retort from Quark that all humans look alike, a jab at racial insensitivity. However, I've learned that there is some neurological basis for the difficulty for recognizing faces outside one's ethnic group. Not only does the brain have trouble distinguishing faces in outgroups, growing up in multiethnic environments only improves the problem a small amount. It might be because the part of the brain designed for facial recognition gets repurposed for reading, and the ability to recognize faces migrates to another part of the brain. People who are literate are far worse at facial recognition than people who are illiterate. Quark having difficulty distinguishing between humans might not have been a reflection of his indifference or attitudes toward humans.

Again, nerdy tangent. Thanks for reading.

Yet, dogs recognize people by their faces. If your dog doesn't see your head it might not recognize you and in some cases attack you. It happened to a neighbor of mine once, he was walking toward his house in the driveway and bearing a stack of boxes that was blocking part of his head when inexplicably his dog (who never did that before) attacked him and tore his pants!!!

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Yet, dogs recognize people by their faces. If your dog doesn't see your head it might not recognize you and in some cases attack you. It happened to a neighbor of mine once, he was walking toward his house in the driveway and bearing a stack of boxes that was blocking part of his head when inexplicably his dog (who never did that before) attacked him and tore his pants!!!

Spoiler

Perhaps, but did you do your tests with literate dogs?

ETA: Redacted for snippiness. My apologies to Swedish Borg.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Perhaps, but did you do your tests with literate dogs?

My point being that even though dogs are very different animals from us, not only do they recognize our faces but studies have shown that they can read emotions (just by looking at a picture, so with no other indications) and that's truly remarkable.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

My point being that even though dogs are very different animals from us, not only do they recognize our faces but studies have shown that they can read emotions (just by looking at a picture, so with no other indications) and that's truly remarkable.

Fair enough.

ETA: Studies like those studying own-race biases tend to be done on people who are literate. There aren't many societies that have broad illiteracy rates that allow for granular studies, IIANM, and even low levels of literacy affect major changes.

 

[kkt]

Great review, which with you is business as usual (another Ferengi episode.). This is by far my favorite Ferengi episode and one funny irony is that the General is played by the same actor who was a hippie in "The Way To Eden".

Really? I didn't know that!

Of course everybody smoked a lot. It was 1947, probably the peak of smoking in the USA, and they smoked more in stressful situations like trying to communicate with a shipful of little green men.

 

[kkt]

That little piano-playing Democrat's not as dumb as he looks.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Yeah, that General probably wasn't a registered Democrat.

 

[DonIago]

People who are literate are far worse at facial recognition than people who are illiterate.

Do you have a source for this? Not challenging it at all; it just sounds genuinely interesting and I'd be curious to read more about it, so to speak.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Do you have a source for this? Not challenging it at all; it just sounds genuinely interesting and I'd be curious to read more about it, so to speak.

The easiest sources would be Stanislas Dehaene, who has several popular science books out on how the innate abilities of the brain are used to construct cognitive abilities. The stuff about own-race bias is in a lot of papers.

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[Swedish Borg]

Do you have a source for this? Not challenging it at all; it just sounds genuinely interesting and I'd be curious to read more about it, so to speak.

Well, it could be that generally, people who are bookish are less sociable than people who aren't and therefore are less trained at facial recognition...

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Well, it could be that generally, people who are bookish are less sociable than people who aren't and therefore are less trained at facial recognition...

I haven't read that far in order to find an answer for that. Perhaps that is where social intelligence steps in, building back up abilities that were otherwise displaced?