Paradise

[ninetofive]

In my opinion this episode is a forgotten gem, although I can’t say I enjoy watching it. To be honest whenever that woman spoke I wanted to strangle her (Kai Winn provoked that same reaction, but I digress).

When I first watched it, (which was only a couple of years ago when we bought all the seasons on DVD) I experienced some of the same kind of shock that Pale Moonlight provoked. In ITPM I couldn’t believe Star Trek was saying ‘the end justifies the means’, and in Paradise I was surprised to see the small, tightly knit ‘traditional’ community being so negatively portrayed. Incidentally, I believe the end does justify the means and that there is definitely something I find ominous about the small community. If fact I find any kind of manipulation ominous.

There are many different kinds of episodes: dramatic, comical, action centric, scifi centric, character centric, but when I actually did an inventory there aren’t that many that made me think. Paradise made me think more than pretty much any other episode of DS9. It just presents such an interesting and complex sociological issue. I was ambivalent then and I’m still ambivalent now. I’m still digesting it.

I also like to see characters like Alixus in the Star Trek universe.
The Federation is portrayed as some kind of Marxist utopia (they’re atheists, they have no money, and they ‘work to better themselves and the rest of humanity’). Gene’s vision of the future of humanity is a very optimistic one, but I’d say it’s a very inaccurate prediction. (But then, it probably wasn’t intended to be. To paraphrase Cassidy Yates, it shows how things could be and should be). Anyway, when we see characters like Alixus, Fullerton, Eddington and Tom Paris (although they cleaned Tom up later on), these malcontents who aren’t satisfied within this utopia, it just adds a touch of realism to the whole thing.

Any thoughts? (Yes, Josh_Lyman, that was meant for you )

 

[Jefferies]

Interesting you bring this episode up, as I happened to watch it a few days ago. In my memory I had a very positive opinion about it. I remembered it as a powerful episode from when I first watched it.

However, my second viewing of it was disappointing. For me, Alixus was too one-dimensional. That woman simply had no redeeming or even conflicting characteristics. She was simply a fascist fanatic who believed her ideology was an absolute truth, regardless of how its implementation effected the lives of others. She wasn’t much more than an evil Nazi bitch. I prefer adversaries that are more ambiguous like Gul Dukat. He might have been evil, but it wasn't always easy to be absolutely sure about it.

I suppose what I liked about the episode, initially, was how Ben Sisko stood up to a totalitarian authority in a situation in which he was powerless. To me that part of the story is still strong but not enough to overshadow the blandness of Alixus.

 

[Meredith]

I wanted to personally strangle Alixus through the TV screen. If her colony had been willing volunteers I would have been able to see her point, but "kidnapping" a whole transport to prove your own ideology was pure wrong. I could see if it was volunteers and she was so accustomed to living that way she may want to convert Sisko and O'Brien to that way of life. But since she was so facist about it she deserved to die a painful death through the tube.

 

[Timo]

This episode is in interesting contrast with its wordier TOS equivalent, "This Side of Paradise". Despite both featuring the premise of an isolated counterculture colony going back to the soil and then getting a Starfleet visit, they manage to be exact opposites in several ways.

In TOS, the colonists went luddite not because of a strong leader but because of outside forces; the leader was actually portrayed as sympathetic, and our first impression of him as an obfuscator and obstructor in fact mellowed out as we found out that he was not responsible for his own annoying behavior.

In TOS, the resident Starfleet hero intervened with vehemence; it was clearly Starfleet's mandate to dictate the way of life for Earth/Federation colonists, and all this hippie nonsense had to go once Kirk got to enforce policy.

In TOS, the "chosen path" had the effect of healing people and giving them longevity, not killing them; the rural setting was viewed neutrally or even in possibly unrealistically positive light.

In TOS, mighty Starfleet technology remained fully available - it was the willpower of the Starfleet heroes that was being taken away, in a perfect mirror image of what happened to Sisko.

TOS solved the conflict with violence and technobabble. DS9 solved it with a combination of a mystery plot which O'Brien painstakingly deciphers and a fight of wills which Sisko suffers through. Not what one would usually expect of the two shows.

In the end, the heroes sail out with the colony leader coming meekly along. In TOS, this means triumph for the Establishment, as Kirk gets to nip Sandoval's ludicrous rural dreams in the bud. In DS9, this is a sign of the Establishment holding back its hand, as the clear-cut criminal and killer Alixus gets the velvet glove treatment and the fruit of her crimes is left to grow on the planet.

I wonder if the writers of "Paradise" ever weighed their work against the TOS episode...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tralah]

I enjoyed the episode right up until the ending. It simply was not fathomable to me that NONE of the colonists would be outraged over being tricked into these circumstances, and NONE of them would want to return to civilization. If I had a child or some other loved one who died unnecessarily due to this woman's actions, my attitude would not be, "Oh well, I'm going to stay anyway, and not be mad at her for using deceit to force us into this situation."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'm still struck by the fact that Our Heroes beamed down to the surface after knowing that technology wouldn't work and then were astonished to find that their technology didn't work.

 

[Jefferies]

^^Two definite plotholes.

 

[sbk1234]

For me, Alixus was too one-dimensional. That woman simply had no redeeming or even conflicting characteristics. She was simply a fascist fanatic who believed her ideology was an absolute truth, regardless of how its implementation effected the lives of others. She wasn’t much more than an evil Nazi bitch. I prefer adversaries that are more ambiguous like Gul Dukat. He might have been evil, but it wasn't always easy to be absolutely sure about it.

In my experience, fanatics generally don't show redeming qualities, and certainly no conflicting feelings over their actions. For me, that's what made the episode so powerful and realistic. I could totally buy into Alexis's character, narrow-minded, fanatical bitch that she was.

 

[Jefferies]

In my experience, fanatics generally don't show redeming qualities, and certainly no conflicting feelings over their actions. For me, that's what made the episode so powerful and realistic. I could totally buy into Alexis's character, narrow-minded, fanatical bitch that she was.

You have a point about fanatics being hell-bent on their issues of course, but I don't know if that makes for good drama. Its just too predictable, at least in this episode. You knew straight away Sisko would go up against her and eventually save the day. Of course one could argue that a lot of Star Trek is like that but in this episode I found it to be very much in your face. Maybe, if they had chosen a weaker, less sure character, who would have to fight really hard to not give in to Alixus, it might have been more interesting. Maybe, later when he was older Jake would have been a good candidate. Especially, as he never seemed so sure about the blessings of the technocratic Federation life style.

 

[Ethros]

I just watched this episode again today. Very, very good I thought. Also strange that of the main cast members only Sisko, O'Brien, Kira and Dax appear, no pointless teaser scenes for the others like they often had

One thought I had though, by the end of the episode Sisko and O'Brien must have stank!!!
How long were they on the planet, about 2-3 days? They never changed their uniforms once, even after sleeping at night and working in the fields all day. Sweaty bastards!
I know Starfleet uniforms are meant to be sturdy, but yeesh!

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Sisko was too passive. I would've liked to see later seasons Sisko handle Alixus. He would've just knocked her out with the butt of a phaser rifle and called it good. After dealing with the Dominion, Cardassians, Klingons...one whack job wench ain't gonna be a fuss.