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I hate suffering from insomnia, but I knew there was something else, even though it wasn't coming to mind right then and there in my previous post. Odo.
Odo seems extremely irate in "The Search, Part I", even before they go into the Gamma Quadrant. He's very short with Sisko at even the very sight of Eddington. That feels like an overreaction. Then he flies off the handle at Quark right before he regenerates. That feels like overacting.
I can't tell if it's an issue with the directing or the writing, meaning how the lines were delivered or the lines themselves, but Kim Friedman had directed DS9 episodes before ("The Wire" and "The Jem'Hadar") and no acting felt off there. It could've been the writing. It was Ron Moore's first episode of DS9. He might've leaned too heavily into the idea that Odo is gruff and anti-social.
Or those could've been acting choices by René Auberjonois, but I don't know why he'd decide to play Odo more over-the-top in "The Search, Part I" than he had been for the last two years.
Congrats on making it through TKO! I'm glad no one warned you about how bad it was as it seems you ended up enjoying it more than most. Definitely more than I did, I'd give it a 3 or something. I'll continue to not warn you when the "bad" episodes are coming!
I'm also a bit surprised that you seem to enjoy part one and part two of The Search pretty equally. I loved the first part so much and then the second half really slams on the brakes. The concept's kind of interesting, but it's apparently not the payoff that this story needs. I'd give part one a 9 and part two, I dunno, a 6.
And I can't believe that the writers came up with a plausible reason to introduce a Romulan to the show as a recurring character and then decided that they couldn't think of anything to do with her. A Ferengi in the main cast, a gold mine of stories, a recurring Cardassian spy, tons of intrigue and drama there, but they didn't think a Romulan would give them anything to explore? They didn't have to hire the guest star every time they took the Defiant out, just use her like Garak.
I'm also a bit surprised that you seem to enjoy part one and part two of The Search pretty equally. I loved the first part so much and then the second half really slams on the brakes. The concept's kind of interesting, but it's apparently not the payoff that this story needs. I'd give part one a 9 and part two, I dunno, a 6.
I loved seeing Sisko and the others react to how strange everyone was acting on the station. Loved it when I was a kid too. 15-year-old Lord Garth screams "I'm not a kid!" Yeah, so, like I said, that was my favorite part when I was a kid. I can see if anyone says the Female Changeling let the crew go too easily, but at this stage I can see her wanting to use kid-gloves to make Odo happy. At the end of the day, they care more about Odo than anything else.
EDITED TO ADD: I thought "Garak" was a highlight in the simulation. Too bad it wasn't really him. Interesting insight where Sisko says he didn't realize he and Garak thought so much alike. In a way, it plants the seeds for "In the Pale Moonlight". My absolute favorite part is right before "Garak" dies, when they're caught by the Jem'Hadar and he says, "I pretend to be their friend... and then shoot you!"
And special thanks to the Dominion for unintentionally tipping us off that something is up with Eddington! Even though why is completely wrong.
...now I'm trying to imagine an alternate version of Part 2 where the Dominion had somehow infiltrated DS9 and everyone Our Heroes were dealing with was a Changeling versus a simulation, but that would have involved huge changes.
can't tell if it's an issue with the directing or the writing, meaning how the lines were delivered or the lines themselves, but Kim Friedman had directed DS9 episodes before ("The Wire" and "The Jem'Hadar") and no acting felt off there. It could've been the writing. It was Ron Moore's first episode of DS9. He might've leaned too heavily into the idea that Odo is gruff and anti-social.
Or those could've been acting choices by René Auberjonois, but I don't know why he'd decide to play Odo more over-the-top in "The Search, Part I" than he had been for the last two years.
This is a fair assessment. I suspect that the script didn't give enough motivation to Do, and either Friedman or Auberjonois felt the performance needed to be more acute. The biological urge to do something because of astronomical phenomena on a screen seems obscure.
Odo seems extremely irate in "The Search, Part I", even before they go into the Gamma Quadrant. He's very short with Sisko at even the very sight of Eddington. That feels like an overreaction. Then he flies off the handle at Quark right before he regenerates. That feels like overacting.
I can't tell if it's an issue with the directing or the writing, meaning how the lines were delivered or the lines themselves, but Kim Friedman had directed DS9 episodes before ("The Wire" and "The Jem'Hadar") and no acting felt off there. It could've been the writing. It was Ron Moore's first episode of DS9. He might've leaned too heavily into the idea that Odo is gruff and anti-social.
Or those could've been acting choices by René Auberjonois, but I don't know why he'd decide to play Odo more over-the-top in "The Search, Part I" than he had been for the last two years.
Disclaimer: I haven't seen the episodes in forever...
I can forgive Odo's irritation regarding Eddington. Odo's already implicitly had his competence questioned once in the form of Primmin, and at this point he's had even longer to prove that he can do the job. While it will in a sense be proven that he can't entirely be trusted in later episodes, at this point I can't recall that he's done anything to merit there being a Starfleet security presence, and Eddington isn't explicitly just in charge of security around Defiant, which would likely have been a less bitter pill for him to swallow.
I don't really recall his interactions with Quark, so won't comment on that.
Disclaimer: I haven't seen the episodes in forever...
I can forgive Odo's irritation regarding Eddington. Odo's already implicitly had his competence questioned once in the form of Primmin, and at this point he's had even longer to prove that he can do the job. While it will in a sense be proven that he can't entirely be trusted in later episodes, at this point I can't recall that he's done anything to merit there being a Starfleet security presence, and Eddington isn't explicitly just in charge of security around Defiant, which would likely have been a less bitter pill for him to swallow.
I don't really recall his interactions with Quark, so won't comment on that.
I can understand Odo being mad at the conference, too. For the reasons you said.
As for his gruff scene with Quark, he was thrust into sharing quarters with Quark, which would already annoy him. Add to that the fact he had already been holding his shape for as long as he could without needing to revert to his liquid state, and Quark trying to infringe on his very private moment... I can see why Odo was so short with Quark.
One other thing, then that's everything I have say about these episodes.
I know it was a coincidence, not intentional, but: The second time the TNG crew encountered the Borg, it's a two-parter and Picard became one of them. The second time the DS9 crew encounter the Dominion, it's also a two-parter and Odo finds out he's technically one of them.
I remember being very proud of myself the night part one originally aired... as soon as I saw the Changelings form, I figured they were the Founders of the Dominion. I was very happy I was proven right the next week.
This was going to happen sooner or later. An episode I don't have much to say about. Deuce, played by William Sandersen a.k.a. Sebastian from Blade Runner, makes for a better antagonist than I'd ever have thought. It speaks to William Sandersen's ability as an actor since Sebastian seemed like such a pushover. Always great to see David Warner, who plays Gajic. Gajic takes Jinxo under his wing.
Jinxo is aptly named since he thinks his leaving Babylon 5 would jinx the station. According to Jinxo, if he leaves, Babylon 5 will be destroyed. But then he leaves and the station isn't destroyed. Ivanova has some fun with this saying the station hasn't been destroyed yet. But I know it won't be because there's no series called Babylon 6.
Interesting to know that the Spiritual Minbari and the Warrior Minbari don't agree on anything. Not something that surprises me at all.
And that's all that's coming to mind. I didn't find anything in the episode lacking, but nothing stands out to push it above just plain, ordinary "good", so I give it a 7.
"Eyes" (B5 S1E16)
Now this is an episode that's up my alley! It hits on a lot of the things I like about Babylon 5 already and adds some new things to like too.
For the A-Plot, "Eyes" is what happens when mix together TNG's "Conspiracy" and "The Drumhead" with a little bit of TOS's "Court Martial". Colonel Zayn thinks he should've had command of Babylon 5 instead of Sinclair and he's willing to tear the station apart in an investigation, using Psi Corps, to find out whatever he can about Sinclair and his crew in order to bring him down and anyone who might be disloyal to Earth Defense Force.
"Eyes" follows up on "Mind War". Even though Bester isn't seen in this episode, he's mentioned, and it could be that he wants to get even with Sinclair for the death of his partner and found an ally in Zayn, who'd also love to see Sinclair brought down.
The main highlight of the A-Plot for me was Ivanova who's against anyone probing her mind. She has nightmares and is so bothered that she wants to resign before being probed. Sinclair refuses the resignation and says he'll fight Zayn's actions and stop him.
Zayn takes over Babylon 5 is just looking for revenge. Eventually it's clear to everyone that Zayn has overstepped. It's even clear to Harriman Gray, the Psi Corps agent working for Zayn. Gray is played by Jeffrey Combs! I'm so glad that no one spoiled for me that Jeffrey Combs was in this series!
Then there's the B-Plot. I never knew that Garabaldi was into restoring vehicles, in this case a motorcycle. He's been working on it for five years. You know what? I don't restore cars, or motorcycles, but someone in my family does. And as for myself, I've spent the past two-plus years restoring three public domain early talkie films from the late-1920s. It's a labor of love. I've got them all where I need to be before I move onto the next phase. I don't know what I'd think if someone like Lennier came along to offer his help to restore those films. Garabaldi was more gracious then I would be. Then, of course, Lennier completely finishes restoring the motorcyle! Garabaldi isn't thrilled about it at first, he wanted to be the one to restore the motorcyle, but he enjoys the motorcycle anyway and gets to ride around in it. Just like one day, I hope to watch the 100-year-old films I restored, as in just watch them, and enjoy them with family or friends.
So, the A-Plot captivated me and I could 100% relate to the B-Plot. Just guess what I rate this episode. That's right. I give it a 10.
Congratulations, you've just made it through the last of the really bad episodes! Well, for a while. Soul Hunter, Infection, TKO, and Grail are generally considered the worst that the show ever asks viewers to endure, though there are a few runners-up you're yet to get to. Personally I'm agreeing with the fans on this one, Grail was terrible, but it's elevated slightly by David Warner's fantastic performance. The guy who plays Ombuds Wellington is good too, but he wasn't really given much to do.
Fans also put Eyes down in the bottom 20% of episodes, but I'm with you this time; it's a good episode! The A-plot brings in a really punchable villain and then lets someone punch him, it gives us more insight into Ivanova's character and the Psi Corps, it features Jeffrey Combs, and the heroes actually face consequences for their choices during the season. Plus on top of that, the B-plot is about Lennier fixing a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11. It ticks all the boxes.
Wow! The other episodes I disagreed with people about I can see why they wouldn't like them. But "Eyes"? Other than banter between Londo and G'Kar and some Delenn scenes, this episode had everything I'd ever want! They even delve into the tensions between Earth, Mars, and everyone else.
I seriously should've watched Babylon 5 when it first aired!
In 1997, after my mother's funeral, everyone got together at a house. Eventually we all broke off into our separate corners and started talking about things besides what just happened. So, at one point my brother and I were talking to our godbrother. He's into all things Renaissance, but he's also a hardcore fan of Star Trek... as long as Gene Roddenberry created it. So, TOS and TNG only. I brought up DS9. Huge mistake. His exact words, "DS9 is a second-rate show!" Then he talked about how great Babylon 5 was. For the next few years it was B5 vs. Post-Gene Trek with us. It was a friendly rivalry, but still. I avoided B5 like the plague. Then I outgrew that nonsense, but never got around to watching B5 until I finally committed myself this year. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance.
Not really a spoiler, more like behind the scenes info; but I once listened to a podcast interview with Tom Booker (the actor who played Jinxo in Grail) and he recollected the actor William Sanderson was a real mean bastard to him on his first acting job but David Warner was actually kind and generous. Speculation: maybe Sanderson was having a bad day or maybe Sanderson and Warner were both method acting?
When Sisko tells the Prophets in "Emissary" that it's the unknown that drives us, this song fits perfect. Destination Unknown by Missing Persons from 1981.
When Sisko tells the Prophets in "Emissary" that it's the unknown that drives us, this song fits perfect. Destination Unknown by Missing Persons from 1981.
I think it was a stroke of genius to pair up the Klingons with the Ferengi. Two races that couldn't be any less alike if they tried.
But first things first. To show how unlike the Klingons the Ferengi are, the episode begins with Quark complaining about how Sisko had to confront the Dominion and now everyone's afraid of them. People have left the station. Families are leaving. There are no more children on the station. Children children, I mean. Jake's 16 and Nog's 17, so that doesn't really count, IMO. Anyway, Quark's solution, his "How I would've done it!" solution is that he would've made concessions to the Dominion to make them happy. This comes back in the seventh season in "The Siege of AR-558", when Quark tells Sisko how the Ferengi would've hammered out a peace agreement. I completely forgot the seeds for that were planted all the way back at the beginning of Season 3.
Okay, with that out of the way, onto the Comic Gold! I love when Druken Kozak tries to attack Quark, trips, falls on his own knife, and then Quark tries to spin it into a life-and-death struggle to his patrons, to bring business back. If this were a sitcom, you could just hear the laugh-track. But I mean that in a good way! Armin Shimmerman's comic timing and delivery and perfect as Quark tells the story, and Odo rolls his eyes.
Kozak's brother, D'Gor, then arrives and makes sure Quark sticks to that story. Then Grilka arrives, explains that Quark should've said Kozak died by accident so she could receive special dispensation to run to her house even though she's a woman, and then Quark gets dragged into a family fued and becomes married to Grilka at knife-point! Then the episode becomes a fish-out-of-water comedy as Quark tries to navigate his way through Qo'noS.
One great thing about Quark is how quick he catches on, and then he finds out that Kozak has been using money to devalue Kozak's house. The look on Gowron's face as Quark guides the Council through what happened is priceless. How Quark gets out of fighting D'Gor is ingenious. Especially since it's the truth: Quark fighting D'Gor would've been an execution. And nice to see here that even though Gowron is a politician, he does have a sense of honor. He's not holier-than-thou Worf, but his sense of honor is still there. At least up to a point.
The real highlight is Mary Kay Adams as Grilka. Quark and Grilka are perfect as reluctant husband-and-wife. I'm glad they brought Grilka back in the fifth season. I didn't know this until I looked up the actress' name on Memory Alpha, but Mary Kay Adams is a descendent of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Some interesting trivia there!
There's also the B-Story which ties back to families leaving the station, children leaving the station, and Keiko being forced to close down the school. O'Brien wants to find a way to make Keiko happy. He comes to realize that she needs to be a Botanist and he tells her about an expedition on Bajor where they'll need someone with her knowledge. She finally gets to do so something she's passionate about again. Most important: they recognized that what she wants to do with her life is a career and not a hobby.
Shout out to Joseph Ruskin who plays Tumek, Grilka's advisor. Joseph Ruskin played Galt in TOS's "The Gamesters of Triskelion". I don't care what other people say, I liked that episode. It's a guilty pleasure of mine.
What's not a guilty pleasure is "The House of Quark". It might not be the best episode, I know it's not "In the Pale Moonlight" or anything like that, but it is one of my favorite episodes. So, for that reason, I give it a 10.
I've always loved "THE HOUSE OF QUARK" for many if the reasons you stated, but also for a key little scene.
When O'Brien asks Sisko for permission to convert a cargo bay into an arboretum, Sisko not only is quick to agreeing to it but also is talking with O'Brien on a personal level and understanding exactly where O'Brien's coming from. This illustrated another reason why Sisko is and will always be the best and my favorite captain... he takes care of his crew in more ways than just physical safety. He helps them take care of their lives... gives them the tools they need to make better lives for themselves and their families.
Scenes like this (and the end of "CAPTIVE PURSUIT") illustrate exactly why Sisko truly earned the loyalty of O'Brien and the rest of the crew.
Watched both episodes last night, watched some other things, got tired, and now I'm here posting about them. Two reviews in the same post. Going with DS9 first.
"Equilibrium"
This is one of those quiet character stories that's also a mystery. Jadzia Dax never knew about Joran Dax. Neither did anyone else. And their not knowing about him becomes a problem as the memories of Joran begin to assert themselves with the Dax symbiont. Jadzia's attitude becomes worse and worse, more aggressive. She hears a tune that sounds familiar but she can't remember from where. There are things that she can't put together. Then she ends up in a coma. Sisko and Bashir have to take Jadzia Dax to Trill to figure out what's going on. Then it's discovered that for Joran, a criminal, had the Dax symbiont for six months before Curzon and all knowledge of this repressed, including from Dax's own memories. The Symbiosis Commission didn't want didn't the Trill to know that anyone could become a host to a symbiont. This is something that could open the floodgates for people who want to join and could destabilize Trill society.
Like in "Dax", Sisko is willing to do anything to fight for Dax. Like in "Dax", there's a deep, dark secret. The only difference is the scale. The Trill are willing to do anything to keep their secret safe. Sisko really made a difference here by threatening to expose them, if they don't let Bashir save her.
Everything in the episode comes down to the acting, the directing, the music, the mystery, and how surreal Jadzia's memories of Joran are. The mask that Joran wears in Jadzia's visions are represent Joran himself being concealed.
The Caves of Mak'ala make for an impressive, alien-looking set. One of my favorites in the series so far. Even better, decades later, the Caves of Mak'ala look pretty much the same in Discovery. Shows how well the design of the Caves held up. While the pool looks like milk, I like that the color is white instead of clear. Something about a pool where there can be communication with symbionts feels very sci-fi.
At the end of the episode, when Jadzia Dax has to learn to live with the memories of Joran, it made me think this is something I should look out for in future episodes to see if there's any subtle change in the character. But Joran is one of eight people Dax has been, and it was only for six months out of 350 years. So, weighing both of those factors, I don't think it should have that much of an effect. It's probably negligible, but something I wanted to point out, nonetheless.
This is something that will be taken for granted later on, but I want to comment on how nice it is to see the Defiant again so soon, to be able to take in more of the sets, and get a better feel for the ship when it's not in a battle situation like in "The Search", where everything is happening so fast. The Defiant is so unlike the Enterprise-D. Cramped, no-nonsense, and no way would I want to sleep in it. Those bunk beds. The first thing it made me think of is: if there's an attack, then I'd be rolling right off that bunk and onto the ground. A safety-hazard just waiting to happen. Especially falling from the top bunk.
At first I was going to give this episode an 8 but, after some back-and-forth, I've decided I'm giving it a 7.
EDITED TO ADD: BTW, looks like Sisko's a much better cook than Riker! Sisko has much more going on in this episode than Riker had in "Time Squared". Sisko has a variety of food and all Riker had was eggs that no one liked but Worf.
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Now a "commercial break", because I randomly have this song stuck in my head.
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Okay, time for Babylon 5. Reviewing that second, even though I watched it first. To the side, you all know I'm a huge fan of Picard, all three seasons of it (you read that right), and it's no secret I want Legacy to happen, but I'm not here to talk about Legacy... I'm here to talk about "Legacies"!
"Legacies" (B5 S1E17)
The A-Plot: I have to get one thing out of the way right upfront. Neroon, the Minbari Warrior, the first person I thought of when I heard that name was the TrekBBS Moderator! I couldn't help it. That aside, Neroon (the character, not the moderator!) came across to me as very stubborn and hard-headed, willing to go to war over anything. Unlike Delenn, who's spiritual and wants to ensure peace and cooperation between Humans and the Minbari.
Forget about peace between Humans and the Minbari, I'm wondering how there can be peace between the Minbari Warrior Caste and Religious Caste. Delenn doesn't want the remains of a fallen Minbari Warrior, Bramner, to be exploited for glory by other Warriors, doesn't reveal she stole the remains, and Neroon immediately threatens Sinclair, up to and including going to war over it. Neroon can't wait for any opportunity to take over the investigation or to start up the war again. He strikes me as nothing but trouble.
At the end, when it's discovered Delenn stole the remains, they work something out. Neroon has begrudging respect when Sinclair has kind words to say about Bramner, since Sinclair and Bramner had fought in battle. But I have no doubt Neroon would be quick to become enemies with Sinclair at the drop of a hat under the "right" circumstances.
The B-Plot: Alisa Belton is a young, homeless telepath, who Ivanova and Talia are about what do with. Talia tries to make the Psi Corps sound like a great thing, even though going there is mandatory. Ivanova remembers what happened to her mother -- also a telepath -- when she refused to join the Psi Corps, and how the drugs they made her take drove her to suicide. Ivanova and Talia's view of Psi Corps couldn't be any more different. And what's Alisa to do with such polarizing information? Nice of Ivanova to find an alternative for Alisa: namely helping the Minbari. Ivanova was determined not to let the Psi Corps destroy another life if she could help it. In this season, we've seen how Ivanova has coped with the loss of her father and how she still has to cope with the loss of her mother.
Of Other Note: G'Kar not being in this episode gives his aide Na'Toth more to do. Here's hoping for more!
Overall, I think I give this episode an 8.
Almost Forgot: In the mix of all this, Alisa read Delenn's mind briefly and knows that Delenn is trying to hide something, and lets Sinclair know, but she doesn't know exactly what it is. All I know is I'm watching this on Tubi, it went to the next episode and I stopped it, but the title said it's a "Part I", so something big is coming up next, and I've got a sneaking suspicion I'll get some of my answers there. And even more questions.
On to finish off my rounds. The next thing I'm reviewing is "The Enemy Within" in the TOS Forum. For those who don't know, I've been re-watching TOS episodes too. But I'll save that for another day.
