My Trek through The Dominion War

[Lindley]

With regards to the CGI---just watched "Call To Arms", and indeed, it's right on track with where it would have been at that time. It looks good, but that's more a function of them knowing what not to try than what they were actually capable of at the time. All the explosions look essentially the same, whether it's a polaron hit, torpedo detonation or ship going up. They aren't the same explosion, but they're clearly the same type, CGI-wise. Debris is also minimal; ships tend to just disappear when an explosion engulfs them. That may have worked for B5's fighter craft, but it's less convincing for Trek's cruiser-sized vessels. There is a token effort to portray damage on some ships, but not a lot and they don't give you any lingering looks at it.

As late as its early third season, Babylon 5 was using particle effects in its explosions to simulate debris. (This would have been concurrent with DS9 season 4). That never really looked very good, and I guess they decided not to try that here. "Shadow Dancing" did include some more advanced debris effects, however, so they were starting to get the hang of it by the time Foundation went Trek-exclusive.

Unfortunately, there is little attempt in this episode to do any of the more interesting camera angles that CGI allows. Most likely this is to keep the look consistent with the angles they used for model work, but it's still a bit of a shame.

 

[Lindley]

The battle damage shots in A Time To Stand are a bit better than those used in B5's "Severed Dreams", but it's pretty clearly the same basic effect: a pulsing glow with a slight trail of particles. The decision to use orange rather than red in DS9 does help somewhat, but once you know what to look for the similarity is more obvious than I would have expected.

 

[Sisko4Life]

Cool, Lindley your going through the 6th season as well? I look forward to reading your opinions!

"One Little Ship" - cool episode. Very good. The real selling point was seeing the runabout fly all over the ship right behind the Jem'Hadar, haha. It was also funny seeing a microscopic photon torpedo destroying the Jem'Hadar soldiers. We also begin to see the main problem with the Dominion: Leadership. I thought those clones were bred to be obedient, not bicker...

"Honor Among Thieves" - I had to rewatch this episode because my parents kept talking and ruining it for me. But definately a deep episode that was solid. The Dominion calls in crimelords to destabilize the Klingon-Federation alliance... nice try. Damn Dominion... theyre everywhere!

"Wrongs Darker than Death or Night" - I had to skip to this episode (sorry Worf and Dax) because I love anything with Dukat in it. Another one of those episodes that bring out the complexity of him as a villain. You see it more from his point of view here: A kinder dictator than most, but still orders the execution of thosands of Bajorans. But you began to see that Dukat can't possibly hate them all by how he treats his mistress. I think he's just mad at his assassination attempts, which he has a right to be. I guess thats why the writers tried harder to make him a bad guy. It's so easy to almost accept Dukat's reason for his madness. Just seems like a tormented guy to me... still...

 

[Lindley]

Heh, the restricted conduit in "Behind the Lines" is marked "A51".

 

[Lindley]

"Sacrifice of Angels" improves the visual effects significantly. Better debris handling, certainly.

 

[Sisko4Life]

"Change of Heart" - Aw, Worf.

"Inquisition" - fantastic episode. Had me fooled all the way through, and kept me pretty entertained. I like the way Section 31 operates. The Federation needs an agency to keep them in check. I definately agree with Sloan morally too about the principles of their work. "Dr. Bashir, did the people whos lives you saved as a doctor care if you lied to get the job?" ... He has a point...

 

[Lindley]

It never occurred to me before, but when they wear the grey uniforms without the jacket, they *really* resemble TOS uniforms. That's a neat bit of continuity.

 

[Sisko4Life]

Finally got a chance to see it this morning, the most hailed episode of the series..

"In the Pale Moonlight" - wasn't as magnificent as I had expected to be, but still very good. I think what sets it apart from the other episodes is that it ties in morality, a storyline, and the war all in one episode. I hated Vreenak and I keep wondering why it took 2 days for the bomb to blow up his ship (and why he wouldnt just send a transmission to the Senate saying what happened while he was en route). Garak was his typical self and the incident with the criminal and Quark made me chuckle. I wonder what people would think if Sisko hadn't erased his log?

"His Way" - surprisingly good filler episode. Mainly because I can relate a bit. Wonder where they go from here?

 

[Sisko4Life]

I had a little Marathon today because I was getting behind, and finished out almost the rest of the season.

"The Reckoning" - I don't care much for episodes like these that are centered 100% around Kai Winn and the prophets. What the hell? I think I saw Dax blow Sisko a kiss...

"Valiant" - This isn't a bad episode by any means. It just makes Nog and the other cadets look bad. They really thought they can take on a Dominion Battleship??? How silly!

"Profit and Lace" - Are you serious? It's a good thing I was in a good mood while watching this episode because it was pretty poor. Seeing Quark as a woman isn't exactly the best humor.

"Time's Orphan" - This was another episode I didn't particularly like. Seemed too irrelevant to the context of what's going on.

"The Sound of Her Voice" - This was a very strong character episode. I definately enjoyed it. I was a little sad at the end and I know the crew was but we learned a lot about the characters and what was really going on in their personal lives during the war.

 

[Sisko4Life]

"Tears of the Prophets" - A Sad episode but in a good way. Really sets up the next season. The Federation Alliance finally goes on the offensive, Dukat starts his evil schemes, and Sisko takes some time to think. Still, one of the top episodes of the season and I look forward to season 7.

 

[Sisko4Life]

So here comes my analysis of the season as a whole. Season 6 had some very strong episodes and less of a Dominion focus than I had originally thought. A lot of the war was indirectly tied into the storylines (with the obvious exception of the opening war arc). On a whole, there weren't too many weak episodes, mainly only the handful i mentioned towards the end. Anyway, here are my top 5 "must" see episodes of the Season that are rewatchable countless times:

Sacrifice of Angels - really the entire war arc is solid, but this is a nice action packed climatic ending.
Waltz - Can't get enough of Dukat?
Far Beyond the Stars - Brilliant Trek masterpiece.
Inquisition - Very interesting thought provoking episode.
In the Pale Moonlight - Best of Trek in terms of morality, desperation, and cause.

Honorable Mentions:

Tears of the Prophets - just a strong episode.
One Little Ship - Great entertainment!

Those were my personal reviews. Feel free to discuss your own thoughts on the season as a whole.

 

[Augustus]

Yeah season 6 and 7 of DS9 are incredible for the most part.

Thought for some reason I could never really care about the section 31 episodes... I don't know, I am glad you enjoyed it though..

 

[Tralah]

I hated Vreenak and I keep wondering why it took 2 days for the bomb to blow up his ship (and why he wouldnt just send a transmission to the Senate saying what happened while he was en route).

It's a time of war, and Vreenak's detour to meet with Sisko was strictly off the books. I can't imagine them risking a transmission under those circumstances.

I'm glad you're enjoying watching DS9, and I'm having fun reading your reviews of them. "Far Beyond the Stars" remains one of my favorite TV episodes of all time.

 

[Sisko4Life]

So I took a little break from writing comments but I was in fact watching the show. In fact, I watched the entire seventh season in just a few days. It was mainly the fact that I was bored and all the episodes tended to tie together. I was appalled at how different it was from Season 6, where only the first six episodes were tied together. Season 7 just seemed like a long chronicle of incomplete episodes that was good as a whole. I finished the entire final ten episode war arc in the last two days for the simple reason that I couldn't stop at one episode. So I actually think I will have to go back through the season to evaluate each individual episode, as my memory of all the episodes is mainly of the bigger plot that was happening. For example, if I were to mention the first two episodes:

"Image in the Sand" - Sisko sees an image and seeks its true meaning; the Romulans take advantage of Bajoran hospitality; the crew misses Sisko.

"Shadows and Symbols" - Sisko searches for the lost orb; Kira blockades the Romulan fleet.

These two episodes kind of blended together when I was watching them. The second episode was amazingly predictable. Still, it was a good two-parter. My main problem with this season was that episodes like these had up to three different settings at once. This wasn't as profound in Season 6.

 

[Lindley]

I was appalled at how different it was from Season 6, where only the first six episodes were tied together. Season 7 just seemed like a long chronicle of incomplete episodes that was good as a whole.

I can't tell whether that's a criticism or not.

If it is, don't ever watch 24.

 

[startrekwatcher]

Season seven is my favorite DS9 season owing in no small part to the Final Chapter saga. Really the entire season could have been one massive arc much like Lost or Heroes employ.

What I really like was how cleverly the writers managed to pull together so many threads the show established over seven years with no real plan and weave them together in such intriguing and entirely plausible ways. Loved the character pairings, the suspense, the way the crew was paired off into their own various crises, the visual effects, the twists, the upping of the ante (i.e. the destruction of the Defiant, the attack on San Francosco, the mass murder of 800 million Cardassians), the resolution of the character arcs etc.

 

[Sisko4Life]

"Afterimage" - Good introduction to Ezri. Everyone was pretty hard on her... Damn Garak. I don't blame them though, I liked Jadzia a lot better. Ezri was a punk and annoyed me this season.

"Take me out to the Holosuite" - This was a good refreshing episode. I spent at least 20 minutes laughing in this episode, especially seeing Rom and Worf being uncoordinated. Those Vulcans! I hated Solorock or whatever his name was with his small grin (I swear he was grinning). My question is: If Vulcans are soooo much stronger than humans... then why are Romulans so weak? They are supposed to be the same descendents.

 

[Cyke101]

"Afterimage" - Good introduction to Ezri. Everyone was pretty hard on her... Damn Garak. I don't blame them though, I liked Jadzia a lot better. Ezri was a punk and annoyed me this season.

"Take me out to the Holosuite" - This was a good refreshing episode. I spent at least 20 minutes laughing in this episode, especially seeing Rom and Worf being uncoordinated. Those Vulcans! I hated Solorock or whatever his name was with his small grin (I swear he was grinning). My question is: If Vulcans are soooo much stronger than humans... then why are Romulans so weak? They are supposed to be the same descendents.

Same descendents don't automatically mean same modern-day traits. I'm lead to believe that Vulcan and Romulus could be very different planets (perhaps Romulus is a naturally dark and cloudy planet to go along with their overall clandestine culture, as opposed to the bright and sunny Vulcan?). Environment and culture could have affected Romulan physiology over the centuries, just as how your typical American is an offshoot of a European ethnicity, yet your typical American probably weighs more than his counterpart.

Also, I don't think there's anything on screen that clearly denotes Romulan strength or lack thereof, unlike the Klingons and Vulcans who have clear strength feats. But that's just me being a stickler.

To note, Romulans generally don't have psychic powers like the Vulcans do. (also, odd that there's a Reman who does).

 

[Sisko4Life]

Interesting... I had a revelation today... I uhhhhh loved Seasons 6 and 7 so much that I keep thinking about if I should go ahead and get Season 5 too. I felt like I'm missing the pre-lude to the crisis and I bet Season 5 has a bunch of tension in it. Not only that, I'm really starting to feel such a connection to the characters... DS9 crew is the best by far! I remember seeing "By Inferno's Light" and "In Purgatory's Shadow," but never saw "Call to Arms" and cant remember any of the rest of the season. Seasons 3 and 4 are where most of my DS9 memories are (The Die is Cast was my favorite ep. by far!).

"Chrysalis" - Bashir.... come on man. I like the genetically engineered "crew" because they are quite funny... haha. But take an episode of the boring one and give her a (boring) life... meh. I mean it was a "cute" episode I guess...

"Treachery, Faith, and the Great River" - Now this was a top notch episode! Isn't it odd that the Dominion are ALWAYS attacking poor helpless runabouts? But why does the Federation continue to send them into Dominion space, knowing that they can't even match up against a Jem'Hadar fighter? You would think Starfleet would make them go places in a Peragrine Tactical Fighter but I guess they can't spare much. Perhaps the DS9 crew could be like Voyager and make a "hot rod" runabout and give it some of the Defiant's torpedoes! Meh...

Jeffrey Combs was great as always, and you couldn't help but love Weyoun 6. Damar had a good chuckle out of this episode, considering he was behind the death of Weyoun 5.

Another thing about this episode was more of Nog's character development. Again combining his Starfleet duties with Ferengi heritage to make due of the situation. Somehow I had a feeling he would come through in the end and he gains more of the Chief's respect.

 

[Navaros]

Season 5 has many great episodes in it, as all Seasons of DS9 have great episodes in them (Season 1 less so than the others, which is by far the worst). I think you'd be happy with Season 5 too.

Chrysalis was unwatchable other than for the one good scene in it, which was the very first one of Patrick messing with Nog's head.

Combs is indeed awesome in every performance he ever gives. It speaks to the wisdom of the DS9 showrunners that they had the cojones to give secondary characters full A plots showcasing their development (although it would have been great if they gave them even more than one episode). Treachery, Faith and the Great River is a bonafide masterpiece. Episodes like that are what make Ira's comments on the DVD extras true, that DS9's secondary characters have more development than the main characters of any other Trek show.

Combs has some likewise masterfully-performed scenes in Season 5, but sadly, not as many as in S6 & S7.