Re-Watching DS9

[Lord Garth]

"Starship Down" (2nd Half)

Not as much to say about the second half as the first, since everything's already in motion. Everyone's in their respective corners on the Defiant.

Kira does her best to try to keep Sisko from falling unconcious. They talk about work, then Kira begins telling a story, then she starts praying. Great acting from Nana Visitor in these types of scenes as usual. After the dust settles, Sisko invites Kira to a baseball game. This is the first time ever where they're just hanging out. I appreciate that it took over three seasons to get to this point. Hope it was a good game!

Worf comes off as pushing the people under his command too hard, O'Brien gives him some advice, Worf takes it, and then he has an easier time handling them. If this were TNG, this wouldn't have gone so smoothly and Worf would've butted heads even more with them, including O'Brien. So, this is an example of DS9 writing Worf better than TNG.

Bashir finds out Dax liked being chased by him. Ummm... okay, whatever works for Dax. At least she didn't come right out with it at the outset.

Quark and Hanock figure out how to deactivate a torpedo, stuck where they are. They get lucky. But of course, because there's still over half the series left, but if I were Hanock, I still wouldn't do business with Quark. When they start laughing, I think it was a bit over-the-top but that's all.

And that's it. Good character moments, real growth for Sisko, Kira, and Worf. Bashir and Dax as well. Some of the characters make decisions I don't agree with, but people in real life make decisions I don't agree with all the time. So, I don't hold it against the episode. I give it an 8.

 

[Farscape One]

"STARSHIP DOWN" has always been a favorite of mine because it utilizes everyone really well. A lot of character stuff happens here. I think this episode is another example of how production order/airdate order can work to an episode's advantage. (Sisko and Kira taking a long time before finally going to just relax around each other, and not because of any real conflict... simply a religious thing getting in the way. Dax/Bashir, Worf learning an aspect of command, etc.)

"DRAMATIS PERSONAE" was another example of placement in season making it more believable. If that was in season 2 or later, you'd immediately know something was up and it would have made it boring. Any earlier, and the conflict between Federation and Bajoran administration attitudes would have just seemed too much, too soon and not enough time passed to be understandable. Being toward the end of season 1 made it believable long enough to fool the audience before the telepathic vurus reveal.

 

[kkt]

About money - My interpretation is the Federation doesn't use money internally. But the Karemma do, and the Ferengi do, and they will certainly be using money for trade with each other, and the Federation will have to use money sometimes when they trade with other civilizations. Even individual Starfleet officers are using money in some way when they go buy drinks at Quark's. So the Karemma paying taxes isn't upsetting, and they learned something important about doing business with the Ferengi. Quark should have remembered the 203rd rule and been a little more cautious: "New customers are like razortoothed grubworms. They can be succulent, but sometimes they can bite back."

 

[korblborp]

in TOS the federation definitely uses money. in later shows... idk. but there's still constant and continuing reference to buying stuff and charging and paying, and various merchants and businesses. they have something, even if it's some wierd crypto-social credit thing. and i think even if the federation does not have a universal unit of money, many member worlds probably do, and then there needs to be a way to convert them...
if there was no tangible use for money within the federation, there wouldn't really be any reason for outsiders to take it from them, or use it between themselves as a medium of exchange, because it would be worthless.

and of course, large scale trade payment and taxes could be in the form of physical resources or political capital, you just put it on a spreadsheet and in the contract instead of being tacit but unsaid

 

[Lord Garth]

I have to give my thoughts about the Roswell Incident before getting into "Little Green Men". Personally, I think something happened. I think a UFO crashed and there was an encounter with alien life.

I don't think this encounter with alien life is responsible for rapid technological advancement. Our technology has been rapidly progressing from the Industrial Revolution to Present Day, but I think the most dramatic changes happened roughly from 1900 to 1960. By 1960, with the exception of home computers and the Internet, most of what I think of as "modern life" was in place. Since then, it's just been improving it. And 1947 was toward the end of that 1900-1960 period. It's even two years after the United States had atomic weapons. So, I don't think we had rapid advancement because of Roswell.

We'll never know the truth about what really happened in our lifetimes. Even if everyone involved is dead, the government, shadow government, whatever, is probably afraid of how society at large would react about the idea that we actually interacted with aliens.

What I do get a big kick out of was "Little Green Men" making it the Ferengi. I take it as the campy fun it was intended to be. But I really do think something happened at Roswell. And it wasn't "a crashed weather balloon."

 

[korblborp]

it was two bickering greys, a purple guy, a lizard, a cow, a gay robot, and a character that was supposed to be voiced by terry farrell.

 

[Lord Garth]

"Little Green Men"

Nog finally leaves for Starfleet Academy, and Quark wants to take him in his personal shuttle, but it turns out his cousin gave him a lemon and technobabble sends Quark, Rom, Nog, and (unbeknownst to them) Odo into the 20th Century! July 1947. The same month my mother was born! She got a big kick out of that when we first watched this episode in 1995. And my entire family got a big kick out of the episode once they were in the past. "If they'll buy poison, they'll buy anything!" "The more we talk, the more you remind me of my brother-and-law."

My favorite lines? "We know all about you Humans! Baseball, root beer, darts, atom bombs!" Gee... which one doesn't fit? My other favorite line, "I'd much rather do business with you Australians." "Americans!" "Whatever." The differences are so important to 20th Century Humans, but Quark can't tell the difference at all.

Then there are all military personnel trying to figure out the Ferengi. From trying to figure out their behavior, to mimicking their actions ("they're just mimicking us!"), to suddenly turning on the Ferengi once Quark was able to communicate with them and they thought it was something they could understand.

I think neither the 1947 Humans nor Quark could truly understand each other. Quark thinks he can manipulate them. The military personnel think they're Martians and want to invade. Whenever the scientist and his wife try to come up with another explanation, one of those military guys dismissing not only what they say but them as people. "You scientists, you're like children! Always with your heads in the clouds!" He only wants the "Martians" to tell them what he wants to hear.

Once Nog figures it out, he plays right into their paranoia until they can figure out a way to escape with the help of the scientists. That leads to another one of my favorite lines where the wife says they'll explain it away by saying the Ferengi used their "insidious mind control powers."

Keeping Odo away for most of the episode works to its advantage. Once he shows up, we know that Quark, Rom, and Nog have help to get back to their ship. Before that, you're thinking, "How are they going to get out of this?!" Not that Quark wants to go back, until he learns better. Which brings me to another exchange, since this episode is so full of quotables. "These Humans, they're nothing like the ones from the Federation. They're crude, gullible, and greedy." "You mean like you." "Yeah! These are Humans I can understand! And manipulate." Yeah, yeah, that's what you think, Quark!

The smoking is something else. That's all I have to say about that.

Another amusing thing about this episode is Charles Napier. He goes from playing a hippie in the "The Way to Eden" to a General in "Little Green Men"! Can't get any more of a different role than that! From militant and liberal to military and conservative. I'd say the years were rough on him too, but I think TOS and DS9 just happened to catch him at points where you can really notice the age difference in general. Quite a change from being in your early-30s to being in your late-50s.

One more thing to say: I can't believe Quark left Morn in charge of the bar! Just because he's your best customer doesn't mean he should be running the bar! Odo's right. He'll drink all the product!

Overall, I enjoyed this episode a lot. I won't lie; I enjoyed it even more when I was 16. Back then I would've given it a 10. I think all the funny lines stood out to me more than anything else. Still a lot of fun, though. I give it a 9.