Shatnertage's Mostly-1st-Time Watch Thread

[Deranged Nasat]

Weyoun and Damar are both delightful in season seven. They may be supporting characters, but they pretty much steal each episode they're in. Their working relationship is also one of the underappreciated highlights of the season, or so I think.

 

[Thor Damar]

"Romulans, they're just so deceitful."

"Yes."

{Damar and Weyoun stare at each other with false comradeship only thinly veiling their mutual contempt both unaware of the sunning irony and hypocrisy of the above statement)

No 5 in "Fun time in the bunker" moments

 

[MrJ]

"Treachery Faith and the Great River"is definitely a good one. One of the best combinations of humour, action and drama in a Star Trek episode. The scene with Bashir and O'brien with Sisko's new desk was the moment were I realized that O'brien/Bashir was my favourite Bromance in Star Trek. When O'brien is worried and Bashir is just cracking jokes, even when he tries to "help" when Kira walks in and he says: "He's gonna paint it" it's just great.


And Nog really shines in this one, using the best parts of being a Ferengi and Starfleet officer. It also shows how much Nog is growing as a person. If "Treachery Faith and the Great River" Nog was in the "Valiant" episode he never would have gone along with the cadets plan or bought into the acting Captains bullshit. It definitely seems that Nog is well on his way to being a great officer, and I can't possibly see anything bad happening to him in a couple episodes.

 

[Shatnertage]

Since the season isn't over, it's...

"Once More Unto the Breach"

This episode was great! John Colicos played the old warrior who needs one more stab at glory--even though he's slipping--to perfection. And Martok...well, he proves that he doesn't exactly have a heart of gold here. I like that. It's unrealistic to think that someone's going to go places in Klingon society by just being a nice, likable guy.

It's hard for me to say why I liked this episode so much. I think it's because each of the three main characters is in a no-win situation of sorts. Kor wants to command but he's burned too many bridges, and he's suffering from dementia, anyway. Worf promised his friend that he'd help him, but he can't. And Martok finally has the chance to humble the guy who did him wrong so long ago, but his crew loves the guy (at first). Nothing is black and white here.

The B story's not that great, but the look on Jake's face as Quark is declaring his love for Ezri is priceless.

Plus Kor gets one of the greatest one-liners I've ever heard, about the fruit of life turning bitter. Parallels something an old man told me once that really cut to the core. There are some lines that have no comeback at all, and Kor got one of them off.

Martok's old assistant was good, too. I like how he sent Kor off to die, and he did him a favor.

If I had more time I could expound more fully on why I loved this episode, but work calls.

 

[Sindatur]

I really loved this one too, and yea, the same things were going through my mind about the no-Win situations they were all in, and that Bitter Fruit line was awesome. This episode drew tears from me for Kor, Colicos did an excellent job with this episode. It was really a nice bit of backstory to find General Martok was low born, and denied entry, by Kor of all people, and despite that, he eventually became a General, and the top one at that.

 

[Shatnertage]

Yeah, there's also some Klingon world-building there, where we learn more about the class system. It was alluded to in the one where Jadzia had to impress Martok's wife, but it really comes out into the open here. It makes Martok's choice of her as a wife even more interesting. Is it a case of the aristocracy "adopting" a rising young star? So Klingons have social mobility issues, not just occupational ones (people looking down on non-warriors).

 

[Shatnertage]

Got a little bit of time now, so I can get caught up...

"The Siege of AR-558"

First, the joke. I thought Roddenberry said no space pirates. Then why do they have a base called Arrrrr 558?

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZU9eV-DlD0[/yt]

Anyway, this was a serious episode that parallels "Nor Battle to the Strong." It's a good episode.

The key to the whole thing is Quark's speech about humanity. I'll cut and paste it here for reference:

"Let me tell you something about Hew-mons, nephew. They're a wonderful, friendly people – as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts... deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers... put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time... and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people will become as nasty and violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don't believe me? Look at those faces, look at their eyes..."

It got me to thinking. How true is that? What would it take to make me, ordinarily a pretty laidback, happy-go-lucky guy, become nasty and violent? Maybe not as much as I think. Along with Kor's line about enjoying the sweetness of life while you're young, that line really got to me.

Any thoughts?

 

[Sindatur]

LOL to the Pirate joke.

Yea, very gritty, painful episode to self exam with. I've had some heavy situations in my life, that caused some terrible thoughts to go through my mind, things I was convinced I was going to do (Though reason fotunately stopped me), so, yea, I can definitely see myself doing some very ugly shameful things under the right circumstances, even though, I too am generally very laid back, and it takes alot to spur me into action, rather than simply letting things pass. Quark is absolutely right.

Those mines were a horrible atrocity, but, not so easy to resist in your own hands, when they can be your sole salvation and way of surviving

 

[You_Will_Fail]

I didn't like Siege, I didn't think it was a realistic portrayl of the kind of battlefield that would exist in the future, not did I appreciate the whole humans going crazy angle. I like my Star Trek to be a bit more optimistic about the future than that, I don't need to see some crazy guy wearing trophies from soldiers he's killed around his neck.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

One thing I think that AR-558 showed was that Starfleet was poorly equipped, poorly trained, and horribly undermanned for ground combat, not to mention lacking all comprehension of logistics and personnel management for that style of warfare. Either it's because the writers didn't know what they were doing--or Starfleet really did just suck at it. (The latter would not surprise me, though, because of their inability to even decide if they're a military, unlike the Klingons or Cardassians.)

 

[Sykonee]

One thing I think that AR-558 showed was that Starfleet was poorly equipped, poorly trained, and horribly undermanned for ground combat, not to mention lacking all comprehension of logistics and personnel management for that style of warfare. Either it's because the writers didn't know what they were doing--or Starfleet really did just suck at it. (The latter would not surprise me, though, because of their inability to even decide if they're a military, unlike the Klingons or Cardassians.)

Remember most of the fight scenes in TNG? No way Starfleet would stand a chance against trained ground troops.

 

[Shatnertage]

I guess someone didn't make a...

"Covenant"

with Netflix.

I really can't say too much about this one, because I liked it, but I wasn't able to watch the whole thing.

So Kira gets transported to Empok Nor, where Dukat's running the cult of the Pah Wraiths. And he really wants everyone to like him. It's kind of a natural continuation of "Waltz," and his being possessed by the Pah Wraith. Although the same pah wraith possessed Jake, who doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects.

One funny scene: Dukat tells Kira that his pierced ear is a reminder of his new covenant with the pah wraiths. It's a very good thing he didn't convert to Judaism, that's all I'll say.

I'm watching and enjoying the episode just fine, until the scene where it turns out that Dukat had apparently been dropping the hammer on the one woman who he OKed to have sex, since her child is Cardassian. Then Dukat says it's the will of the pah wraiths, and everyone starts chanting.

Then, even though we're watching on Netflix, the DVD starts skipping, It plays up to where they chant "ka!" as the camera zooms in on Kira. Then the screen goes black, and it says "loading," and when it stops loading, it plays "ka!" again.

So after messing around with it for a while, we turned it off and watched "Live Fast and Prosper" for a while,

I've tried watching it several times, but I still get stuck in the "ka!" loop. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Sindatur]

Wow, how strange. And even stranger, I went to IMDB episodes (says it's streamed through Amazon) to direct you to there to watch it, and sonofagun, that's the only episode of the season without a "watch now" button

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106145/episodes?season=7

 

[BennyRussel]

Wow, how strange. And even stranger, I went to IMDB episodes (says it's streamed through Amazon) to direct you to there to watch it, and sonofagun, that's the only episode of the season without a "watch now" button

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106145/episodes?season=7

I've had that happen to me a couple of times. Both services may sometimes pull from the same source.

For me the issues were resolved after a day or two.

Also, I have had a couple of episodes of other shows that simply would not play at all on Netflix

 

[Shatnertage]

Ka!

 

[Shatnertage]

It's a Barnum and Bailey world, for sure...

"It's Only a Paper Moon"

Another very serious episode, dealing with the consequences of the last serious episode. Nog and Vic Fontaine carry the episode, and they do a good job of it. I love the period detail, particularly Vic's suite, which I wish my living room looked like. I really liked their casual daytime look, too.

This is another one that makes you think, and Nog's journey was pretty compelling. Good stuff.

 

[Shatnertage]

Now I've returned, like a...

"Prodigal Daughter"

It's a double dip of fun as we catch up with O'Brien's Bilby story and learn more about Ezri's past.

Again, I think it would have been fantastic if, when Bilby asked O'Brien his girlfriend's name, O'Brien has said, "Juli..ana. Yeah. Juliana."

Funny that MA says that this was considered the worst episode of season 7, because I didn't find it to be awful...just kind of dull. Very much a seventh season Trek episode, if you know what I mean.

And that's a problem I'm noticing a lot of. There's a lot of ennui on the station in this stretch. Everyone seems to be phoning it in. Alexander Siddig's body language is practically screaming, "Yeah, Colm, my agent has me reading for a few good parts tomorrow." I don't know whether it's in this episode or another one around it, but I really get the sense that everyone's looking forward to wrapping this show up.

Or maybe that's just what I'm reading into it, I don't know.

 

[lurok]

I've always found the four episodes, from Covenant to New Cloak, a bit meh. Maybe was just a mid-season slump.

 

[Athena28]

It's a Barnum and Bailey world, for sure...

"It's Only a Paper Moon"

Another very serious episode, dealing with the consequences of the last serious episode. Nog and Vic Fontaine carry the episode, and they do a good job of it. I love the period detail, particularly Vic's suite, which I wish my living room looked like. I really liked their casual daytime look, too.

This is another one that makes you think, and Nog's journey was pretty compelling. Good stuff.

I enjoyed seeing Nog work through his issues -- but I felt this ep. seemed to run long.

 

[Qutluch]

I couldn't tear myself from my TV as I was watching...

"Captive Pursuit"

This is the first episode that I can give an enthusiastic thumbs up to. It's got an interesting sci-fi concept, a moral dilemma, and some great interpersonal stuff between O'Brien and Quark and, of course, O'Brien and Tosk. It's pretty much everything I want to see in this kind of Trek episode.

I might be biased because I saw him speak at last year's Vegas convention (and interviewed him for an article I wrote), but I thought Scott MacDonald was great as Tosk. There's a real sense of alien-ness (thank God he doesn't have anything that looks like buttocks on his face) and he does a great job of acting underneath all of that make-up. And Colm Meany does a good job of selling him as a real character.

One thing I noticed about the first half of this episode is that Sisko seems to do a lot of listening. It'd be interested to compare how many lines of dialog he gets compared to other captains. Sure, he gets to make the Captain Kirk Speech when the hunters show up, but he doesn't do very much exposition before that--instead he listens, gives orders, and listens some more. I like that.

Funny opening--never before has systematic sexual harassment bordering on slavery been so mirthful.

And, while I'm in a humorous state of mind, I'll admit that when I found out the Tosk were bred to be hunted, my first thought was that they're the Dish of the Day for people who like a good workout before dinner.

It also occurs to me that if you got the Tosk and the Hirogen together, it'd be like crossing a masochists' support group with a sadists' convention. Yikes!

Interesting that it took Quark's presence for O'Brien to realize that he could bend the rules a little to let Tosk go, but it's appropriate. The final scene with him and Sisko was great, as was Odo's "pursuit" of them once Sisko told him to take his time.

Very thoughtful and thought-provoking episode. I want to see more like this. Seeing as I have a Q episode that isn't "Tapestry" next, though, I'm not so sure I will be in the near future.

"And, while I'm in a humorous state of mind, I'll admit that when I found out the Tosk were bred to be hunted, my first thought was that they're the Dish of the Day for people who like a good workout before dinner." ~~Are the Tosk hunted for sport, or to be eaten? I was never sure about this.

One of my favorite lines with the Tosk is when he tells Quark, "I am sorry. I have no vices for you to exploit."