That happened a few more times, in the season 1 episode "Grail" Aldous Gajic was looking for the Holy Grail. He was named for Mira Furlan's husband, Goran Gajic.
Re-Watching DS9
- Thread starter Lord Garth
- Start date
I think the big difference between these incidents is that it's definitely supposed to show Garak going soft in terms of torture. Sabotage of the ship is one thing, being under a pyschotropic drug is another thing as well, but in The Die is Cast, Garak has nothing to gain from torturing Odo, and he likes him to an extent. If there was a legitimate reason other than Tain's approval, he might have gone for it, but there isn't. Garak is not the same man as he was, despite how he likes to project to other people. He takes no joy in torture. He has gone soft. And he doesn't want anyone to know, hence the mystique. This is also exemplified in Empok Nor, with his quiet shame at the end of the episode. Or perhaps embarrassment in his own realisation that he's not who he used to be.
Either way, those episodes you named are some of my favourties because we really see why Garak was Tain's right hand.
He also later ended up directing a season 5 episode.
"Explorers"
I'm making progress! Sisko has a goatee, Jake got a fellowship, Leeta's first appearance, O'Brien "doesn't hate" Bashir ("now I don't... not hate you!"), and Jake tries to hook his father up with Kassidy Yates. "A freighter Captain?!" We've also begun the phase in the series where they tried to make Dukat seem not-so-bad. And yes, I first came online about a year after this episode aired, and people were actually thinking maybe he wasn't so bad. Little did they know... but that's getting ahead of myself!
The A-Story: The Ancient Bajoran Ship. I liked seeing Sisko build it. I liked Jake deciding to go along even though he didn't really want to. I wouldn't have minded knowing more about Jake's story. And good on them proving it was possible for the Bajorans to achieve interstellar travel the way they did. I don't know how believable it is, but I don't care.
The B-Story: Watching Bashir and O'Brien get drunk was great fun. Bashir finally meeting up with the Valedictorian of his class at Starfleet Medical went how I would've expected. And nice to see that Bashir ended up getting the better assignment on Deep Space Nine.
To quote Jake, "What better place to gain experience than Deep Space Nine?" I give it a 9.
Highlight of the Episode: When Jake had his father going for a split-second about joining the Maquis.
I'm making progress! Sisko has a goatee, Jake got a fellowship, Leeta's first appearance, O'Brien "doesn't hate" Bashir ("now I don't... not hate you!"), and Jake tries to hook his father up with Kassidy Yates. "A freighter Captain?!" We've also begun the phase in the series where they tried to make Dukat seem not-so-bad. And yes, I first came online about a year after this episode aired, and people were actually thinking maybe he wasn't so bad. Little did they know... but that's getting ahead of myself!
The A-Story: The Ancient Bajoran Ship. I liked seeing Sisko build it. I liked Jake deciding to go along even though he didn't really want to. I wouldn't have minded knowing more about Jake's story. And good on them proving it was possible for the Bajorans to achieve interstellar travel the way they did. I don't know how believable it is, but I don't care.
The B-Story: Watching Bashir and O'Brien get drunk was great fun. Bashir finally meeting up with the Valedictorian of his class at Starfleet Medical went how I would've expected. And nice to see that Bashir ended up getting the better assignment on Deep Space Nine.
To quote Jake, "What better place to gain experience than Deep Space Nine?" I give it a 9.
Highlight of the Episode: When Jake had his father going for a split-second about joining the Maquis.
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I don't see how anyone could have thought Dukat isn't so bad. He was prefect of Terok Nor during the Bajoran Occupation. Thousands of Bajorans died under his watch. It's scary to me that people can confuse political expediency and diplomacy with 'not such a bad guy.'
Otherwise, yes, "Explorers" is a fun episode. I'm surprised you didn't mention, "Hammock time!"
Otherwise, yes, "Explorers" is a fun episode. I'm surprised you didn't mention, "Hammock time!"
It was late when I typed that review! And now it's early. Didn't sleep at all.I'm surprised you didn't mention, "Hammock time!"
But yes. As soon as I heard "Hammock Time!", the first thing I thought of was Hammer Time! "Can't touch this!" Took me back to when I was in sixth grade.
I absolutely love this one! Great story and you hit on so many of the points."Explorers"
I'm making progress! Sisko has a goatee, Jake got a fellowship, Leeta's first appearance, O'Brien "doesn't hate" Bashir ("now I don't... not hate you!"), and Jake tries to hook his father up with Kassidy Yates. "A freighter Captain?!" We've also begun the phase in the series where they tried to make Dukat seem not-so-bad. And yes, I first came online about a year after this episode aired, and people were actually thinking maybe he wasn't so bad. Little did they know... but that's getting ahead of myself!
The A-Story: The Ancient Bajoran Ship. I liked seeing Sisko build it. I liked Jake deciding to go along even though he didn't really want to. I wouldn't have minded knowing more about Jake's story. And good on them proving it was possible for the Bajorans to achieve interstellar travel the way they did. I don't know how believable it is, but I don't care.
The B-Story: Watching Bashir and O'Brien get drunk was great fun. Bashir finally meeting up with the Valedictorian of his class at Starfleet Medical went how I would've expected. And nice to see that Bashir ended up getting the better assignment on Deep Space Nine.
To quote Jake, "What better place to gain experience than Deep Space Nine?" I give it a 9.
Highlight of the Episode: When Jake had his father going for a split-second about joining the Maquis.
I would also give it a 9... but it's a 10 for me because of the fireworks at the end. (It always brings back memories of my grandfather taking me to see the 4th of July fireworks as a kid. He knew a great spot where there were no other cars and had the best view of it all. That area was more or less just a field... now it's full of homes. I'll never be able to see them that way again, but this ending always triggers those memories. And I truly value those memories because that's how I keep him alive.)
Or were the writers saying the doctor on our space station gets to do more interesting things than those on shows with Starships as their setting?
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I forgot to mention this earlier:
The Ancient Bajoran Ship, it had a steampunk quality to it. Almost feels kind of like Jules Verne, but not.
When Sisko is in his civilian clothes, you combine that with the ship, and Sisko's new goatee that was strapped on while Avery Brooks' real one grew in, he looks like a pirate at sea. In space. I like it!
The Ancient Bajoran Ship, it had a steampunk quality to it. Almost feels kind of like Jules Verne, but not.
When Sisko is in his civilian clothes, you combine that with the ship, and Sisko's new goatee that was strapped on while Avery Brooks' real one grew in, he looks like a pirate at sea. In space. I like it!
(Sisko as a pirate.)
"I am the EmissAAAAAAARRRRRRRRy!"
I'm going to binge-watch every early DS9 episode I gave a 10, except "Duet" and "In the Hands of the Prophets". In retrospect, I think some of them could be bumped down to 9s or maybe even 8s in some cases. I have a better feel for the show now again than I did at the beginning of this re-watch.
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I think I've mentioned this before, but I do think you're far kinder in your ratings than I'd be, overall. I tend to agree with a lot of your text, it's just the numeric scores that give me pause.
-- Consolidating Posts --
I'm on "GROPOS" (B5), and a couple thoughts in the spoiler section before I finish the episode:
One of the great things about Jake Sisko is that he doesn't have Daddy Issues. Neither does Ben Sisko. He just wants to make sure his aging father is taking care of himself. Either way, from son-to-father and father-to-grandfather, it's refreshing to see them not have issues with each other.
"GROPOS" (B5 S2E10)
In other news: I tweaked some DS9 S1 and Proto-DS9 TNG Reviews from earlier in the thread. Nothing major. Just made some adjustments for readability and added a couple of quick and minor new insights in there along the way.
EDITED TO ADD: I've gone over the entire DS9 portion of the thread. I made minimal adjustments to what I wrote about DS9 S2 and only corrected typos and mistakes with anything I've written about DS9 S3 up to this point. Consider it a little bit of house-cleaning.
I'm on "GROPOS" (B5), and a couple thoughts in the spoiler section before I finish the episode:
The Army Troops (that's what I'm calling them) are WAY over-the-top!
Dr. Franklin has Daddy Issues. Between all these shows, who doesn't have Daddy Issues? I know the answer to that one...
Dr. Franklin has Daddy Issues. Between all these shows, who doesn't have Daddy Issues? I know the answer to that one...
One of the great things about Jake Sisko is that he doesn't have Daddy Issues. Neither does Ben Sisko. He just wants to make sure his aging father is taking care of himself. Either way, from son-to-father and father-to-grandfather, it's refreshing to see them not have issues with each other.
"GROPOS" (B5 S2E10)
I have very mixed thoughts about this episode. The GROPOS are "jarheads" as Ivanova calls them. Like I said, they come across WAY over the top. I was never in the Army, I almost joined when I was 18 -- I was this close -- but I didn't, but even still, something about felt off about the GROPOS. They'd get into a fight over everything. I could see them in a mosh pit at a metal concert. Except it would be a lot worse. (I got somehow got sucked into a mosh pit once during a concert back in 2000. Powerman 5000, Korn, Metallica, and some other bands I can't remember. But anyway, that mosh pit, that was crazy). Back to the GROPOS. These guys (and gals!) were just itching for battle. Sheridan was right when he told General Franklin he'd rather have them on the battlefield than in the brig. Correction: I just looked it up. The GROPOS are Earthforce Marines, but the point still stands. Though someone who knows can correct me if I'm wrong about something being off.
All through the episode, I was thinking, "Great! Now there are a whole bunch of new names I'll have to learn!" I totally wasn't expecting all of them to be killed off in that battle. I have to give credit where credit is due. It's like Dodger said: they can die at any time.
Dodger's looking for a good time before she goes out, maybe for the last time. But Garibaldi has all this emotional baggage. I don't hold it against him, considering everything he's been through. Dodger shouldn't have either and I'm glad she came to her senses and understood, before heading into battle.
Then there's Dr. Franklin and his issues with his father General Franklin. They're father-son conflict was also something that felt way over-the-top. I think if Dr. Franklin had an issue with killing being part of military life, he shouldn't have joined Earth Defense Force. It's going to happen. It's not great, but there's a huge difference between murder and casualties in the line of duty. Like General Franklin says, "Death is part of war." I understand that Dr. Franklin wants to protect all life but maybe he should've considered becoming a civilian doctor. Father and son are just polar, opposite extremes. It would be interesting to see what made Dr. Franklin choose such a vastly different career path and have such a completely different outlook on life. But that's not explored here. Just the two of them mending fences as much as they can before the General and his troops ship out.
I thought it was a good thing not to see the Narn and Centauri in this episode, and especially not G'Kar and Londo, to give us some distance, but it was interesting to see ISN covering the developments on the battle front. I'm guessing we'll be seeing ISN a lot more, updating us on things that happen outside of B5's immediate area.
The only other thing I have to say is that not only did Dodger come on very strong, and not only did things between Dodger and Garibaldi look like there going very fast, but I was wondering how far they'd actually go. I was thinking, "No way are they going to go full-on porno movie! How much are they actually going to show? How far are they actually going to go?" Then Garibaldi put an immediate stop to it.
Okay, one other thing: Keffer got along with his GROPOS buddies really well. I felt bad for him when they died. They seemed all right.
Overall, I want to sit with this before I think on a rating, so for now I give it an X.
EDITED TO ADD: Paul Weinfeld was good in this. Whenever I see him, the first thing I think of is Captain Terrell from TWOK but by the end of the episode, I totally forgot about Terrell and, while watching him, I thought of him as General Franklin.
All through the episode, I was thinking, "Great! Now there are a whole bunch of new names I'll have to learn!" I totally wasn't expecting all of them to be killed off in that battle. I have to give credit where credit is due. It's like Dodger said: they can die at any time.
Dodger's looking for a good time before she goes out, maybe for the last time. But Garibaldi has all this emotional baggage. I don't hold it against him, considering everything he's been through. Dodger shouldn't have either and I'm glad she came to her senses and understood, before heading into battle.
Then there's Dr. Franklin and his issues with his father General Franklin. They're father-son conflict was also something that felt way over-the-top. I think if Dr. Franklin had an issue with killing being part of military life, he shouldn't have joined Earth Defense Force. It's going to happen. It's not great, but there's a huge difference between murder and casualties in the line of duty. Like General Franklin says, "Death is part of war." I understand that Dr. Franklin wants to protect all life but maybe he should've considered becoming a civilian doctor. Father and son are just polar, opposite extremes. It would be interesting to see what made Dr. Franklin choose such a vastly different career path and have such a completely different outlook on life. But that's not explored here. Just the two of them mending fences as much as they can before the General and his troops ship out.
I thought it was a good thing not to see the Narn and Centauri in this episode, and especially not G'Kar and Londo, to give us some distance, but it was interesting to see ISN covering the developments on the battle front. I'm guessing we'll be seeing ISN a lot more, updating us on things that happen outside of B5's immediate area.
The only other thing I have to say is that not only did Dodger come on very strong, and not only did things between Dodger and Garibaldi look like there going very fast, but I was wondering how far they'd actually go. I was thinking, "No way are they going to go full-on porno movie! How much are they actually going to show? How far are they actually going to go?" Then Garibaldi put an immediate stop to it.
Okay, one other thing: Keffer got along with his GROPOS buddies really well. I felt bad for him when they died. They seemed all right.
Overall, I want to sit with this before I think on a rating, so for now I give it an X.
EDITED TO ADD: Paul Weinfeld was good in this. Whenever I see him, the first thing I think of is Captain Terrell from TWOK but by the end of the episode, I totally forgot about Terrell and, while watching him, I thought of him as General Franklin.
In other news: I tweaked some DS9 S1 and Proto-DS9 TNG Reviews from earlier in the thread. Nothing major. Just made some adjustments for readability and added a couple of quick and minor new insights in there along the way.
EDITED TO ADD: I've gone over the entire DS9 portion of the thread. I made minimal adjustments to what I wrote about DS9 S2 and only corrected typos and mistakes with anything I've written about DS9 S3 up to this point. Consider it a little bit of house-cleaning.
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"Family Business"
I'm not going to lie. A large part of this episode feels like a '70s sitcom from Norman Lear. Ishka says, "Women can earn money just like men!" Insert applause. Quark is outraged. Insert laughter. Rom asks if Ishka can get undressed. Ishka says, "Only for you." Cut to commercial break. They fool the FCA at the end. And even Quark. Audience applauses. Roll credits. Ishka's outspoken. I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar. Not only like Helen Reddy who sang that song, but also like Bea Arthur on the TV series Maude.
Except this was made in the '90s. And I'm re-watching it in the 2020s. Ferengi society is so backwards, sexist, and obsessed with money. I think it's Donald Trump's dream world.
I like Ishka. She's great. I like Quark when he's not in this episode. I like Rom as someone trying his hardest to be the voice of reason in a difficult situation. Too bad Ishka wasn't able to mold Quark into someone more open-minded. He's a victim of his society's thinking.
Then there's "Brunt! FCA!" in his first appearance. He's every bit of the love-to-hate character I remembered. Great character to watch, with a lot of slimy energy, but he can go fuck himself.
This is the first time we ever see Ferenginar and I have to say two things:
Then there's the B-Story: Sisko finally meets Kassidy Yates. Jake told everyone else about it beforehand, and he looks like a great matchmaker. Sisko and Kassidy hit it off right off the bat with a lot in common, including baseball.
Overall: I'm not supposed to like the parts I don't like, so I'm not going to hold them against the episode. I'm on Ishka's side. I'm glad Sisko and Kassidy clicked from the get-go. I give it a 7.
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.
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By the way, since I already mentioned Trump anyway, here's an oldie-but-a-goodie post of mine from 2018. Works just as well today! Unfortunately.
I'm not going to lie. A large part of this episode feels like a '70s sitcom from Norman Lear. Ishka says, "Women can earn money just like men!" Insert applause. Quark is outraged. Insert laughter. Rom asks if Ishka can get undressed. Ishka says, "Only for you." Cut to commercial break. They fool the FCA at the end. And even Quark. Audience applauses. Roll credits. Ishka's outspoken. I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar. Not only like Helen Reddy who sang that song, but also like Bea Arthur on the TV series Maude.
Except this was made in the '90s. And I'm re-watching it in the 2020s. Ferengi society is so backwards, sexist, and obsessed with money. I think it's Donald Trump's dream world.
I like Ishka. She's great. I like Quark when he's not in this episode. I like Rom as someone trying his hardest to be the voice of reason in a difficult situation. Too bad Ishka wasn't able to mold Quark into someone more open-minded. He's a victim of his society's thinking.
Then there's "Brunt! FCA!" in his first appearance. He's every bit of the love-to-hate character I remembered. Great character to watch, with a lot of slimy energy, but he can go fuck himself.
This is the first time we ever see Ferenginar and I have to say two things:
1) I like the interior architecture of the sets. It looks both like what we've seen in their ships, and it somehow has a very corporate look to it.
2) With how much it rains, I'm surprised they're not living underwater. It's crazy.
Then there's the B-Story: Sisko finally meets Kassidy Yates. Jake told everyone else about it beforehand, and he looks like a great matchmaker. Sisko and Kassidy hit it off right off the bat with a lot in common, including baseball.
Overall: I'm not supposed to like the parts I don't like, so I'm not going to hold them against the episode. I'm on Ishka's side. I'm glad Sisko and Kassidy clicked from the get-go. I give it a 7.
.
.
.
By the way, since I already mentioned Trump anyway, here's an oldie-but-a-goodie post of mine from 2018. Works just as well today! Unfortunately.
"Folks, believe me, I don't know what Real Star Trek is but Real Star Trek is the best Star Trek you've ever seen. No one makes better Star Trek than the people who make Real Star Trek. That I can tell you. But no money in the future? Give me a break! And bumps on foreheads? What is that? Can you imagine looking at that on your TV every week? But that's okay. I like Star Trek. Real Star Trek, folks. See all those beautiful women Captain Kirk kissed? 10s, all of them. And I love the Ferengi! Any Ferengi fans out there?! I love the Ferengi. Let me tell you any Star Trek that treats the Ferengi poorly is Fake Star Trek! It's Fake Star Trek, people."
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"All Alone in the Night" (B5 S2E11)
What an episode! Definitely the right way to mark the midpoint of the season.
I figured that the Minbari Council would cast out Delenn. No surprise that Neroon would be chosen to replace her. And their rationale fits how hawkish the Minbari are turning, saying they should have more of the Warrior Caste in the Council if they're potentially going to war. Then Neroon, asshole that he is, gives a backhanded rationale for Delenn staying at Babylon 5: she belongs to neither world, Human nor Minbari, so she's the perfect bridge. But only he can make it sound like a bad thing. Nice to see that Lennier will stand by Delenn's side no matter what.
Valen, who they keep referring to, sounds like he was the George Washington of the Minbari.
When Sheridan is captured and fighting a mind-controlled Narn, it felt a little cartoonish at first but, luckily, it doesn't last. After Sheridan gets the mind-controlling device off of the Narn, Sheridan says they're going to escape. The Narn doubts it and, when he goes to sleep, at first I thought he was dead! Glad he wasn't and that they do escape. All I'll say about that subplot, other than nice alien interiors on that ship.
General Hague is back and updates Sheridan on what's been going on the past six months, since the season started, but takes precautions to make sure whatever they say isn't heard or recorded. Hague thinks there was a coupe to assassinate President Santiago and put Clark into power. I knew it! I knew Clark was a corrupt piece of shit. Very timely since I also happen think our own current "President" in the US is a corrupt piece of shit, but that's a whole other topic.
This is the type of episode that couldn't have happened before the middle of the season. It took time for the Minbari decide what to do with Delenn. That sounds realistic. It took time for Sheridan to get to know the senior staff at Babylon 5. Also realistic.
At the end, Sheridan tells Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Franklin about what's going on and how they're going to fight corruption but stay within the rules and do their part. Both sage wisdom and effective strategy at the same time. This definitely hits differently today than it would've if I was watching this in the '90s.
Sorry to hear about what happened to Ramirez! Driving home the point from last episode that anyone can die at any time.
Can't wait to see what happens next! Overall, except for some minor, minor nitpicks, a pretty solid episode. I give it a 9.
I figured that the Minbari Council would cast out Delenn. No surprise that Neroon would be chosen to replace her. And their rationale fits how hawkish the Minbari are turning, saying they should have more of the Warrior Caste in the Council if they're potentially going to war. Then Neroon, asshole that he is, gives a backhanded rationale for Delenn staying at Babylon 5: she belongs to neither world, Human nor Minbari, so she's the perfect bridge. But only he can make it sound like a bad thing. Nice to see that Lennier will stand by Delenn's side no matter what.
Valen, who they keep referring to, sounds like he was the George Washington of the Minbari.
When Sheridan is captured and fighting a mind-controlled Narn, it felt a little cartoonish at first but, luckily, it doesn't last. After Sheridan gets the mind-controlling device off of the Narn, Sheridan says they're going to escape. The Narn doubts it and, when he goes to sleep, at first I thought he was dead! Glad he wasn't and that they do escape. All I'll say about that subplot, other than nice alien interiors on that ship.
General Hague is back and updates Sheridan on what's been going on the past six months, since the season started, but takes precautions to make sure whatever they say isn't heard or recorded. Hague thinks there was a coupe to assassinate President Santiago and put Clark into power. I knew it! I knew Clark was a corrupt piece of shit. Very timely since I also happen think our own current "President" in the US is a corrupt piece of shit, but that's a whole other topic.
This is the type of episode that couldn't have happened before the middle of the season. It took time for the Minbari decide what to do with Delenn. That sounds realistic. It took time for Sheridan to get to know the senior staff at Babylon 5. Also realistic.
At the end, Sheridan tells Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Franklin about what's going on and how they're going to fight corruption but stay within the rules and do their part. Both sage wisdom and effective strategy at the same time. This definitely hits differently today than it would've if I was watching this in the '90s.
Sorry to hear about what happened to Ramirez! Driving home the point from last episode that anyone can die at any time.
Can't wait to see what happens next! Overall, except for some minor, minor nitpicks, a pretty solid episode. I give it a 9.
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