Yeah, that General probably wasn't a registered Democrat.
Both the political parties were pretty much unrecognizable from their current composition!
My DS9 Rewatch Odyssey
- Thread starter ananta
- Start date
Both the political parties were pretty much unrecognizable from their current composition!
Yes. That was from our very close and contested 2000 election. Before that there was no particular pattern to associating parties with colors.
Shortly after the end of WW II, the military was very popular with both parties. Truman was making sure most of Western Europe stayed (small d) democratic, but it didn't seem as compelling as it did after the Communist Chinese revolution of 1949. Eisenhower's "military industrial complex" speech was in his farewell address in 1960, quite a bit later, and he didn't do much of anything to restrain the military-industrial complex while he was president.
That particular general was down on Democrats, but in 1947 there was no expectation that military leaders would usually belong to one party.
Ananta wrote,
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-addled dystopia we currently inhabit.
Yes…and if they landed again in the US, they’d have to add “flat-out gun crazy”
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-addled dystopia we currently inhabit.
Yes…and if they landed again in the US, they’d have to add “flat-out gun crazy”
Truman's relationship with the military was complex. Going into Korea wasn't necessarily done at a time when the US was at high preparedness, coming just after WWII. Relieving MacArthur wasn't particularly popular. I get the impression that the military saw him demanding more of them without giving them the autonomy they wanted. Conversely, Eisenhower seemed more dedicated to using non-military policies to build alliances in lieu of military development. True, the military-industrial complex trope emerged only at the end of his presidency, he gave many speeches throughout his presidency in which he talked about how spending on the military depleted resources for developmental policies that might be useful averting war. He was always concerned about that trade-off.
“STARSHIP DOWN”
“Is that a torpedo or are the Jem’Hadar just pleased to see us?!”
Although I quite enjoyed this episode (more so than I remembered), it is clearly the weakest of the first half of the season and, indeed, one of the weakest of the season as a whole. The premise feels especially familiar as it very much echoes “Civil Defence” from the previous season, and “Disaster” from TNG’s fifth season. I’d rate this higher than “Disaster” as, despite some great moments—including the birth of Molly O’Brien courtesy of reluctant midwife Worf—that episode really suffered from a chronic lack of tension and urgency. “Starship Down” fares better, but it’s definitely no classic and not as fun as “Civil Defence”, which at least had Garak and Dukat to spice things up.
It starts off well and the teaser and first act set things up nicely. It’s certainly more effective in building up to the crisis than “Disaster”, in which the invisible, abstract threat literally came out of nowhere and never quite set the pulse racing. This, on the other hand, starts off pacily and it’s always exciting to see some conflict with the Dominion.
If “Little Green Men” took its inspiration from alien invasion movies, “Starship Down” is clearly inspired by disaster movies such as “The Towering Inferno”. It also less than subtly riffs on submarine movies, right down to the use of sonar to detect the enemy (ala Kira’s echo pulse suggestion). Alas, the results are middling. Put it this way, Trek has done this far better before (I’m thinking of both “Balance of Terror” and “The Wrath of Khan”). Alexander Singer’s directing is proficient if lacklustre at times and I feel tighter helming may have contributed a greater sense of tension and foreboding. The real thrust of the episode, of course, isn’t the actual danger at hand, but, like “Disaster” and “Civil Defence”, the interwoven character vignettes. These, alas, are variable in terms of success.
I found the scenes between Kira and a gravely wounded Sisko the most compelling by far, and that could be down to the brilliance that is Nana Visitor. It was established in season three’s “Destiny” that Kira does, in fact, see Sisko as not just her commanding officer but also the Emissary to the Prophets, a position meriting significant reverence in Bajoran religious life. It’s an interesting, unique dynamic and one that understandably makes Sisko feel awkward and Kira a little conflicted. It’s good to see this examined again, although Kira’s fangirling of Sisko does seem maybe just a tad forced given that we see them interact each week without a hint of adulation or tension between them. Nevertheless, it makes for some interesting scenes and Nana Visitor sells the hell out of it, once again proving herself one of the finest actors ever to bless Star Trek. The way the episode is cut makes it seem like her story about the kava farmers goes on FOREVER—and perhaps it does, to be fair—but it’s just one of several cute touches, and I love that the ending sees a deepening of the friendship between the two. Sisko’s joyous smile in the closing scene is worth the price of admission alone.
We all know Kira’s cap should read “I
the Emissary”.
The Worf sub-plot, in which O’Brien urges him to refine his approach to dealing with subordinates, makes some sense in that he is new to command and has never been the greatest “people person”. It does, however, feel a little forced because Worf’s people skills suddenly seem to have regressed by several years. He served aboard the Enterprise for over seven years and he saw how top level command officers such as Picard and Riker conduct themselves, so his sudden cluelessness feels a little inexplicable. Plus, we got to see Worf mentoring a subordinate in the form of Ensign Sito in “Lower Decks” and he handled himself pretty well there. Still, it’s nice that we get a rare to chance to meet some of DS9’s junior officers, too, including Ensign Muniz, who would make a further two appearances in the series.
The Quark and Hanok scenes have a certain charm, largely due to the fun and lively performances of Armin Shimmerman and a completely unrecognisable James Cromwell, (who was either about to or had just finished playing Zefram Cochrane in First Contact). Leave it to Quark to convince a disgruntled customer that the art of scamming and gambling is actually a good thing. He certainly lives and breathes Ferengi values; something that would, however, be called into question at the end of the season. Something I don’t quite buy is that the Karema, as part of the Dominion, would risk doing business with the Federation, albeit via the Ferengi. What could the Federation possibly offer that isn’t available in the Gamma Quadrant, and would that really be worth pissing off the Dominion? Something I also never quite understand with Trek is why we still have trading of any sort in a universe where replicators exist, but that’s a whole other topic.
The episode’s final thread involves Dax and Bashir as they huddle in a turbolift and Bashir reminisces about his initial pursuit of Jadzia...something which we’d all, quite frankly, done our best to forget about and didn’t need reminding of. However, the admission that Jadzia did secretly quite enjoy the attention would later be verified by her next incarnation, Ezri, who would tell Bashir that if it hadn’t been for Worf, Julian would have been “the one”. To be honest, I much prefer the relationship Jadzia and Julian have developed over the past year; best of friends, with an almost sibling-like level of teasing. I loved the scenes of Julian chaperoning Jadzia in “Rejoined”, which demonstrated just how a solid a friendship they’d developed. This plot thread isn’t bad, but it does feel redundant. Like much of the episode, it lacks the solid drama and powerful characterisation of the previous batch of episodes and feels rather like the writers were on autopilot this week.
Incidentally, the original premise for the episode was for the Defiant to crash into the ocean and to be compromised by the water pressure. I guess the budget wouldn’t have stretched that far, although Farscape did this very thing in “The Peacekeeper Wars” mini-series and it was pretty damn spectacular. “Starship Down”’s compromise is to have the Defiant plunge into the atmosphere of a gas giant and it really doesn’t work as well it might have. The scene in which the breached corridor fills with coloured gas was clearly originally intended to be water, and that would have been far more effective. What we get is serviceable but underwhelming. The focus of the episode is too fragmented to really ratchet up the tension, although we do get some nice pyrotechnics at the end and it’s always good to see the Dominion involved. Overall, this is an enjoyable but flawed episode; certainly not bad, but definitely a step down from the high quality the fourth season had maintained from its premiere. Rating: 6
“Is that a torpedo or are the Jem’Hadar just pleased to see us?!”
Although I quite enjoyed this episode (more so than I remembered), it is clearly the weakest of the first half of the season and, indeed, one of the weakest of the season as a whole. The premise feels especially familiar as it very much echoes “Civil Defence” from the previous season, and “Disaster” from TNG’s fifth season. I’d rate this higher than “Disaster” as, despite some great moments—including the birth of Molly O’Brien courtesy of reluctant midwife Worf—that episode really suffered from a chronic lack of tension and urgency. “Starship Down” fares better, but it’s definitely no classic and not as fun as “Civil Defence”, which at least had Garak and Dukat to spice things up.
It starts off well and the teaser and first act set things up nicely. It’s certainly more effective in building up to the crisis than “Disaster”, in which the invisible, abstract threat literally came out of nowhere and never quite set the pulse racing. This, on the other hand, starts off pacily and it’s always exciting to see some conflict with the Dominion.
If “Little Green Men” took its inspiration from alien invasion movies, “Starship Down” is clearly inspired by disaster movies such as “The Towering Inferno”. It also less than subtly riffs on submarine movies, right down to the use of sonar to detect the enemy (ala Kira’s echo pulse suggestion). Alas, the results are middling. Put it this way, Trek has done this far better before (I’m thinking of both “Balance of Terror” and “The Wrath of Khan”). Alexander Singer’s directing is proficient if lacklustre at times and I feel tighter helming may have contributed a greater sense of tension and foreboding. The real thrust of the episode, of course, isn’t the actual danger at hand, but, like “Disaster” and “Civil Defence”, the interwoven character vignettes. These, alas, are variable in terms of success.
I found the scenes between Kira and a gravely wounded Sisko the most compelling by far, and that could be down to the brilliance that is Nana Visitor. It was established in season three’s “Destiny” that Kira does, in fact, see Sisko as not just her commanding officer but also the Emissary to the Prophets, a position meriting significant reverence in Bajoran religious life. It’s an interesting, unique dynamic and one that understandably makes Sisko feel awkward and Kira a little conflicted. It’s good to see this examined again, although Kira’s fangirling of Sisko does seem maybe just a tad forced given that we see them interact each week without a hint of adulation or tension between them. Nevertheless, it makes for some interesting scenes and Nana Visitor sells the hell out of it, once again proving herself one of the finest actors ever to bless Star Trek. The way the episode is cut makes it seem like her story about the kava farmers goes on FOREVER—and perhaps it does, to be fair—but it’s just one of several cute touches, and I love that the ending sees a deepening of the friendship between the two. Sisko’s joyous smile in the closing scene is worth the price of admission alone.
We all know Kira’s cap should read “I
the Emissary”.The Worf sub-plot, in which O’Brien urges him to refine his approach to dealing with subordinates, makes some sense in that he is new to command and has never been the greatest “people person”. It does, however, feel a little forced because Worf’s people skills suddenly seem to have regressed by several years. He served aboard the Enterprise for over seven years and he saw how top level command officers such as Picard and Riker conduct themselves, so his sudden cluelessness feels a little inexplicable. Plus, we got to see Worf mentoring a subordinate in the form of Ensign Sito in “Lower Decks” and he handled himself pretty well there. Still, it’s nice that we get a rare to chance to meet some of DS9’s junior officers, too, including Ensign Muniz, who would make a further two appearances in the series.
The Quark and Hanok scenes have a certain charm, largely due to the fun and lively performances of Armin Shimmerman and a completely unrecognisable James Cromwell, (who was either about to or had just finished playing Zefram Cochrane in First Contact). Leave it to Quark to convince a disgruntled customer that the art of scamming and gambling is actually a good thing. He certainly lives and breathes Ferengi values; something that would, however, be called into question at the end of the season. Something I don’t quite buy is that the Karema, as part of the Dominion, would risk doing business with the Federation, albeit via the Ferengi. What could the Federation possibly offer that isn’t available in the Gamma Quadrant, and would that really be worth pissing off the Dominion? Something I also never quite understand with Trek is why we still have trading of any sort in a universe where replicators exist, but that’s a whole other topic.
The episode’s final thread involves Dax and Bashir as they huddle in a turbolift and Bashir reminisces about his initial pursuit of Jadzia...something which we’d all, quite frankly, done our best to forget about and didn’t need reminding of. However, the admission that Jadzia did secretly quite enjoy the attention would later be verified by her next incarnation, Ezri, who would tell Bashir that if it hadn’t been for Worf, Julian would have been “the one”. To be honest, I much prefer the relationship Jadzia and Julian have developed over the past year; best of friends, with an almost sibling-like level of teasing. I loved the scenes of Julian chaperoning Jadzia in “Rejoined”, which demonstrated just how a solid a friendship they’d developed. This plot thread isn’t bad, but it does feel redundant. Like much of the episode, it lacks the solid drama and powerful characterisation of the previous batch of episodes and feels rather like the writers were on autopilot this week.
Incidentally, the original premise for the episode was for the Defiant to crash into the ocean and to be compromised by the water pressure. I guess the budget wouldn’t have stretched that far, although Farscape did this very thing in “The Peacekeeper Wars” mini-series and it was pretty damn spectacular. “Starship Down”’s compromise is to have the Defiant plunge into the atmosphere of a gas giant and it really doesn’t work as well it might have. The scene in which the breached corridor fills with coloured gas was clearly originally intended to be water, and that would have been far more effective. What we get is serviceable but underwhelming. The focus of the episode is too fragmented to really ratchet up the tension, although we do get some nice pyrotechnics at the end and it’s always good to see the Dominion involved. Overall, this is an enjoyable but flawed episode; certainly not bad, but definitely a step down from the high quality the fourth season had maintained from its premiere. Rating: 6
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I did toy with a 7, but it was one of those episodes that the more I thought about it the more it sort of unravelled. For such a great cast of characters, the character pieces were surprisingly weak. The DS9 writers are capable of much better than this. If I weren’t a touch OCD about decimals I’d give it a 6.5 though for entertainment factor
I didn't like this episode very much. There were too many things in it that irked me.
First, they can go inside the corona of a sun, as seen in TNG and in DS9 seventh season but they can's go inside the atmosphere of gas giant!! The conditions are about a million times less drastic in the latter than in the former!!!
Anyway, who died and made Sisko king of commerce in the gamma quadrant? I don't see how whether Quark overcharges his merchandise is any of Sisko's business. Plus if Quark gets only a small percentage of all the commerce the Ferengi do in the gamma quadrant he should be able to buy Ds9!!! and then some...
It's funny they can never decide if Dabo is a game of chance or one of "strategy". I mean if it's a game of chance then I don't see how ignoring Quark's advice would make winning a certainty, unless the game table is rigged!!!
Plus one thing. The people on the ship are in a life and death situation, I don't see why they would even care how Worf speaks to them unless they are utterly stupid prima donnas!!!
I mean if your engineering skills are the only thing between you and death the last thing you care about is how your superior officer speaks to you!!!!
Kira's story is stupid and would have put me to sleep faster than the most potent of sedatives!!!
When the forcefield went down Jadzia should have been compressed like a plastic cup in the hand of an angry gorilla!!!
Plus other things but the list goes on forever.
First, they can go inside the corona of a sun, as seen in TNG and in DS9 seventh season but they can's go inside the atmosphere of gas giant!! The conditions are about a million times less drastic in the latter than in the former!!!
Anyway, who died and made Sisko king of commerce in the gamma quadrant? I don't see how whether Quark overcharges his merchandise is any of Sisko's business. Plus if Quark gets only a small percentage of all the commerce the Ferengi do in the gamma quadrant he should be able to buy Ds9!!! and then some...
It's funny they can never decide if Dabo is a game of chance or one of "strategy". I mean if it's a game of chance then I don't see how ignoring Quark's advice would make winning a certainty, unless the game table is rigged!!!
Plus one thing. The people on the ship are in a life and death situation, I don't see why they would even care how Worf speaks to them unless they are utterly stupid prima donnas!!!
I mean if your engineering skills are the only thing between you and death the last thing you care about is how your superior officer speaks to you!!!!
Kira's story is stupid and would have put me to sleep faster than the most potent of sedatives!!!
When the forcefield went down Jadzia should have been compressed like a plastic cup in the hand of an angry gorilla!!!
Plus other things but the list goes on forever.
Ananta, it’s so rewarding to have these thorough, perceptive reviews - and a good excuse to rewatch the episodes, a quarter century old but still compelling entertainment.
I enjoyed “Starship Down” - thought it was a fairly strong ensemble episode, and I agree it’s like TNG “Disaster”--the crew stranded in different parts of the ship. To me, the weak spot was - did Sisko really need to risk everything to rescue the Karemma ship? That felt a bit forced. But, meaningful dialogues throughout --Kira telling Sisko old Bajoran stories to keep him awake, O’Brien helping Worf work better with the engineering crew, Quark and Hanok joking about the defective torpedo (“Maybe I should offer them a refund!”), Bashir and Jadzia hugging in the turbolift, recalling his early attempts to get close to her.
You could tell James Cromwell had fun doing this one. Surprisingly, to me anyway, he was married to Julie Cobb, who played Leslie Thompson in TOS.
I enjoyed “Starship Down” - thought it was a fairly strong ensemble episode, and I agree it’s like TNG “Disaster”--the crew stranded in different parts of the ship. To me, the weak spot was - did Sisko really need to risk everything to rescue the Karemma ship? That felt a bit forced. But, meaningful dialogues throughout --Kira telling Sisko old Bajoran stories to keep him awake, O’Brien helping Worf work better with the engineering crew, Quark and Hanok joking about the defective torpedo (“Maybe I should offer them a refund!”), Bashir and Jadzia hugging in the turbolift, recalling his early attempts to get close to her.
You could tell James Cromwell had fun doing this one. Surprisingly, to me anyway, he was married to Julie Cobb, who played Leslie Thompson in TOS.
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Ananta, it’s so rewarding to have these thorough, perceptive reviews - and a good excuse to rewatch the episodes, a quarter century old but still compelling entertainment.
I enjoyed “Starship Down” - thought it was a fairly strong ensemble episode, and I agree it’s like TNG “Disaster”--the crew stranded in different parts of the ship. To me, the weak spot was - did Sisko really need to risk everything to rescue the Karemma ship? That felt a bit forced. But, meaningful dialogues throughout --Kira telling Sisko old Bajoran stories to keep him awake, O’Brien helping Worf work better with the engineering crew, Quark and Hanok joking about the the defective torpedo (“Maybe I should offer them a refund!”), Bashir and Jadzia hugging in the turbolift, recalling his early attempts to get close to her.
You could tell James Cromwell had fun doing this one. Surprisingly, to me anyway, he was married to Julie Cobb, who played Leslie Thompson in TOS.
Why si that surprising?
I would give Starship Down more like an 8. A good episode, not the very best but one I look forward to watching each time. Quark and Hanok were priceless. Kira and Sisko very well done. Yes, the plot has a lot in common with submarine combat, but that's still better than the technobabble we get a lot of the time.
In particular, I think this is better than Balance of Terror. The main plot is similar, but Balance had that transparent tug on your heartstrings of the interrupted wedding. I'd trade Worf's learning to command in a crisis for that.
I'm glad we got the Defiant going into the gas giant. There are apparently numerous gas giants in the galaxy (thought they didn't know that in the 90s) but planets with deep oceans seem to be scarce.
In particular, I think this is better than Balance of Terror. The main plot is similar, but Balance had that transparent tug on your heartstrings of the interrupted wedding. I'd trade Worf's learning to command in a crisis for that.
I'm glad we got the Defiant going into the gas giant. There are apparently numerous gas giants in the galaxy (thought they didn't know that in the 90s) but planets with deep oceans seem to be scarce.
Great review, as always. And those are possibly the funniest screen shots and quotes you've done yet, right along with the one you did for "THE DIE IS CAST".
I will disagree about something. I think this is better than you rate it. Everyome gets great moments, and none of the stories feel forced or felt like they ran too long. Episodes that utilize the full cast are always favorites, and this one does it in spades.
This was a turning point on the relationship between Sisko and Kira. They definitely relaxed more around each other from this point on. Plus, we see her suggestion of the shift rotation working out well a few more episodes down the line.
I also feel Worf was written fine here. Yes, he worked with Picard and Riker for those years and had good role models for command, and he was good with his own security like Ensign Sito, but as O'Brien pointed out, these guys dudn't really go to the Academy, so it's a different mindset than most of the officers Worf worked with previously. Plus, he was more comfortable with security than command, and it shows here. It makes sense he would lean a little hard on the guys here because he is still very new to command. Plus... observing good role models at a job and trying to enact what you learn are very different things. I thought it was good growth for him.
Regarding what someone said about the Defiant not being able to withstand the gas giant for long vs. a star... remember that an atmosphere like that is crushing a ship with massive force, like a sub going down too deep in the ocean. Against a star, it's more about radiation and heat, which shields and the hull help make the ship last longer. Pressure is much more grueling on a hull.
This one is always a rewatch for me, and I give it a 9.
I will disagree about something. I think this is better than you rate it. Everyome gets great moments, and none of the stories feel forced or felt like they ran too long. Episodes that utilize the full cast are always favorites, and this one does it in spades.
This was a turning point on the relationship between Sisko and Kira. They definitely relaxed more around each other from this point on. Plus, we see her suggestion of the shift rotation working out well a few more episodes down the line.
I also feel Worf was written fine here. Yes, he worked with Picard and Riker for those years and had good role models for command, and he was good with his own security like Ensign Sito, but as O'Brien pointed out, these guys dudn't really go to the Academy, so it's a different mindset than most of the officers Worf worked with previously. Plus, he was more comfortable with security than command, and it shows here. It makes sense he would lean a little hard on the guys here because he is still very new to command. Plus... observing good role models at a job and trying to enact what you learn are very different things. I thought it was good growth for him.
Regarding what someone said about the Defiant not being able to withstand the gas giant for long vs. a star... remember that an atmosphere like that is crushing a ship with massive force, like a sub going down too deep in the ocean. Against a star, it's more about radiation and heat, which shields and the hull help make the ship last longer. Pressure is much more grueling on a hull.
This one is always a rewatch for me, and I give it a 9.
“STARSHIP DOWN”
“Is that a torpedo or are the Jem’Hadar just pleased to see us?!”
Although I quite enjoyed this episode (more so than I remembered), it is clearly the weakest of the first half of the season and, indeed, one of the weakest of the season as a whole.
Really? I love this one.
I could still have done without Kira's stupid story. Boy, these Bajorans are dull... I can understand Quark's frustration with them.
But the story of the three brothers had a nice message. I'm actually curious what the next story she was going to tell him.
I kinda liked the story
Quark's just frustrated with the Bajorans because they aren't drunken, gambling, holosuite-sex-having maniacs.
“THE SWORD OF KAHLESS”
Worf and Kor both got themselves a bad case of sword envy.
Surprisingly, we’ve actually seen very little of Worf since his introduction, bar a couple of sub-plots and an obligatory line or two in each episode. So, it was probably time for the writers to explore the character a little more, and what better way to do that than to bring back the marvellous John Colicos as the original Klingon himself, Kor. “The Sword of Kahless” does a fine job setting up the quest for the eponymous blade, and both Worf and Kor have noble motives for finding it; each believing that its return might bring stability back to the tumultuous Empire.
As I said in another review, I have a soft spot for “quest” episodes, even if budgetary constraints mean we’re unlikely to see much other than the inside of a runabout and those dreary cave sets. And, sure enough, we get plenty of both—particularly the caves. It’s a shame they didn’t manage to do something to improve those scenes visually. “Improbable Cause” demonstrated that, with the right lighting, the effect can be impressive. But as I pondered that, I realised it didn’t make sense for the caves to have any lighting at all, because where is the light source?
What I liked most about this episode was the grand and epic tone it managed to capture from the offset, and I think the earnest performances, solid directing by LeVar Burton and David Bell’s appropriately weighty and momentous sounding score all contributed to that. I was initially surprised just how quickly we actually recover the Sword, as the episode then takes an unexpected turn. While we get a set of villains, led by the obnoxious little Duras brat from “Redemption” (who has now grown up into just another teeth gnashing Klingon warriorrrrr), the real conflict comes closer to home, in the form of Worf and Kor.
How well this works will depend upon individual taste. Some may find this a fascinating psychological thriller about how power, or the promise of power, corrupts, whereas others might find it a tedious hour of two grown men acting like petulant assholes. I actually found it compelling throughout, although it does push credulity just a tad. Apparently, a lot of viewers were expecting a technobabble reason for Worf and Kor’s behaviour; perhaps assuming that the Sword was emitting some kind of mystical effect that drives people insane, much as the Holy Grail in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. There’s no such insinuation here, although it would have perhaps made more sense. We don’t know Kor quite as well as Worf, so I can buy that he’d perhaps be blinded by the lust for glory, but Worf’s behaviour reflects especially poorly on him as a Starfleet officer. At one point he actually tries to trick Kor into falling to his death. Certainly, it does make sense that Worf’s current disgrace amongst his fellow Klingons would cloud his objectivity, but his behaviour here well and truly crosses the line.
You have to feel sorry for Dax being stuck with these two. It’s a wonder she didn’t phaser them down far sooner than she did. Fortunately, it knocks some sense into both of them and realise that the power of the Sword—specifically, its ability to turn Klingon against Klingon—is something their people simply aren’t ready to handle. That an inanimate hunk of metal can potentially unite or destroy an entire race of people is a nice exploration of the power of symbols and myth. Their ultimate solution, to simply beam it into space, is maybe just a little head-scratching, but it does allow for a lovely closing shot.
On the whole, I enjoyed this one, even though I’m not the greatest Klingon fan. It’s a story that has some interesting things to say and it’s a wonderful showcase for the always brilliant John Colicos, even if it is the weakest of Trek’s four Kor episodes. Michael Dorn acquits himself well, but it’s possibly Terry Farrell that steals the show, delivering another charming, assured and feisty performance as Jadzia, who plays the voice of reason while also getting to do some first rate ass-kicking. All in all, I wouldn’t consider this one of the show’s most effective psychological thrillers, but it’s engaging, interesting and well performed. Rating: 7
Worf and Kor both got themselves a bad case of sword envy.
Surprisingly, we’ve actually seen very little of Worf since his introduction, bar a couple of sub-plots and an obligatory line or two in each episode. So, it was probably time for the writers to explore the character a little more, and what better way to do that than to bring back the marvellous John Colicos as the original Klingon himself, Kor. “The Sword of Kahless” does a fine job setting up the quest for the eponymous blade, and both Worf and Kor have noble motives for finding it; each believing that its return might bring stability back to the tumultuous Empire.
As I said in another review, I have a soft spot for “quest” episodes, even if budgetary constraints mean we’re unlikely to see much other than the inside of a runabout and those dreary cave sets. And, sure enough, we get plenty of both—particularly the caves. It’s a shame they didn’t manage to do something to improve those scenes visually. “Improbable Cause” demonstrated that, with the right lighting, the effect can be impressive. But as I pondered that, I realised it didn’t make sense for the caves to have any lighting at all, because where is the light source?
What I liked most about this episode was the grand and epic tone it managed to capture from the offset, and I think the earnest performances, solid directing by LeVar Burton and David Bell’s appropriately weighty and momentous sounding score all contributed to that. I was initially surprised just how quickly we actually recover the Sword, as the episode then takes an unexpected turn. While we get a set of villains, led by the obnoxious little Duras brat from “Redemption” (who has now grown up into just another teeth gnashing Klingon warriorrrrr), the real conflict comes closer to home, in the form of Worf and Kor.
How well this works will depend upon individual taste. Some may find this a fascinating psychological thriller about how power, or the promise of power, corrupts, whereas others might find it a tedious hour of two grown men acting like petulant assholes. I actually found it compelling throughout, although it does push credulity just a tad. Apparently, a lot of viewers were expecting a technobabble reason for Worf and Kor’s behaviour; perhaps assuming that the Sword was emitting some kind of mystical effect that drives people insane, much as the Holy Grail in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. There’s no such insinuation here, although it would have perhaps made more sense. We don’t know Kor quite as well as Worf, so I can buy that he’d perhaps be blinded by the lust for glory, but Worf’s behaviour reflects especially poorly on him as a Starfleet officer. At one point he actually tries to trick Kor into falling to his death. Certainly, it does make sense that Worf’s current disgrace amongst his fellow Klingons would cloud his objectivity, but his behaviour here well and truly crosses the line.
You have to feel sorry for Dax being stuck with these two. It’s a wonder she didn’t phaser them down far sooner than she did. Fortunately, it knocks some sense into both of them and realise that the power of the Sword—specifically, its ability to turn Klingon against Klingon—is something their people simply aren’t ready to handle. That an inanimate hunk of metal can potentially unite or destroy an entire race of people is a nice exploration of the power of symbols and myth. Their ultimate solution, to simply beam it into space, is maybe just a little head-scratching, but it does allow for a lovely closing shot.
On the whole, I enjoyed this one, even though I’m not the greatest Klingon fan. It’s a story that has some interesting things to say and it’s a wonderful showcase for the always brilliant John Colicos, even if it is the weakest of Trek’s four Kor episodes. Michael Dorn acquits himself well, but it’s possibly Terry Farrell that steals the show, delivering another charming, assured and feisty performance as Jadzia, who plays the voice of reason while also getting to do some first rate ass-kicking. All in all, I wouldn’t consider this one of the show’s most effective psychological thrillers, but it’s engaging, interesting and well performed. Rating: 7
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