Eddington & Garak...2 of the best recurring characters on DS9.
Shatnertage's Mostly-1st-Time Watch Thread
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I now watch as the regulars and some very impressive guest stars battle...
"To the Death"
Well, nearly. OK, some characters fight to the death, but not all of them. Actually, none of the regulars do. Does that make this episode the most blatant case of Trek false advertising since "Year of Hell?" (It was only 257 days of hell, after all.) I don't care, because it's a great episode.
The basic plot--we've got to find someone who did something bad--feels like it's been done before. Has it? It just seems that they go off chasing a lot of people on this show. But some new dimensions to the Jem'Hadar and two outstanding guest actors make this feel new.
I get my first proper view of Jeffery Combs as Weyoun, and I love it. He's like a used car salesman.
The episode starts with O'Brien complaining about Molly having trouble sleeping for two months. Heh. Call me when you hit two years of being woken up every night, Miles, then I'll feel sorry for you. I don't think I've had an uninterrupted night of sleep about 3.5 years.
Bashir is sitting in Worf's chair. So Worf is like the Archie Bunker of the Defiant? I can live with that. And he walks in and orders a prune juice from the replicator, because on Star Trek, you're only allowed to drink one thing, ever, so choose wisely. Tea, Earl Grey, hot; coffee, black; prune juice. Are there any other examples?
But now they've got to go to the bridge, because Sisko has something he wants them to see. What is it? Avery Brooks is completely inscrutable here--is he feeling shock? Rage? Boredom? Who can tell? I'm thinking that maybe the Klingons tagged the docking ring with graffiti when...
HOLY SHIT! They blew up one of the pylons! Now I know why it's taking them so long to fix it in the opening credits.
They also injured Kira's arm, a foreshadowing of the arm injury Sisko will suffer at the episode's climax. And Nog's all right, which gives Quark a reason to wander on the set and deliver a few lines. Good for him.
It turns out the Jem'Hadar stole some of DS9's stuff, so Sisko's going to take the Defiant to get it back. And he asks Kira, 45 minutes after the attack ends, to call Starfleet and ask for help. Shouldn't she have done that 45 minutes ago?
The quibbling makes it fun. I'm not this way IRL, honest.
While they're tracking the Jem'Hadar, they find another Jem'Hadar ship that's about to go boom. So they beam the Jem'Hadar over, trade insults, then get to meet...Weyoun. I like the reveal.
Why they didn't think of giving a high-profile role to Jeffery Combs four years earlier is beyond me. Like Andrew Robinson, he just does so much with what he's given.
In fact, I'm hoping that somewhere over the next three seasons we get a good Weyoun/Garak scene. Is that too much to ask for?
And he plays Weyoun as simultaneously bored, scheming, and superficially charming. a nice combination.
Clarence Williams III as Omet'iklan is great as well. He's completely convincing, and is a great foil for Sisko. And it lets me do my Neil Diamond impersonation by singing, "They're coming to Omet'iklan! Today!"
So the renegade Jem'Hadar (are these the same guys Bashir and O'Brien were with?) have captured an Iconian gateway--a nice shout-out to "Contagion." Worf even reminds us that he was on the mission that ended up destroying the gateway the Enterprise found. If the Jem'Hadar activate the gateway, bad things will happen.
Did the renegade Jem'Hadar find their own source for the white, or did they get the monkey off their backs? I don't think we're told. I guess either is plausible. But man, those Jem'Hadar are ornery. No food, no sleep, no sex--I can see why.
I liked the scene Dax had with Virak'kara, who is eight. For some reason that makes me think he should be wearing Underoos and watching Saturday morning cartoons. I love that look on his face when he finds out she's over 300--not an easy thing to pull off under all that makeup. And it actually gave Dax something to talk about.
Toman'torax and Worf have a fight. Toman'torax gets whacked by Omet'iklan in a sequence I'm surprised actually made it on TV--it's quite brutal the way he snaps his neck. Nice direction by Levar Burton, with the body lying on the floor as Sisko and Omet'iklan have their discussion after everyone else leaves. Worf, meanwhile, gets grounded and sent to his room without prune juice. Being that he chooses to live on the ship so he can get away from everyone, it's a particularly inane punishment.
I liked, however, Worf's promise to Sisko, that, if Sisko gets iced by Omet'iklan, Omet'iklan won't live to boast about it.
Then it's time to fight! We get to see how the Jem'Hadar psyche themselves up for battle, by saying they're already dead and must fight to reclaim their lives. "Victory is life!" Then O'Brien takes the piss out of them (after they've safely gone) by saying he's very much alive and wants to stay that way. Good stuff. I also liked him talking about writing the letter to Keiko. This is good television.
The battle for the gateway (which keeps one circling back to a scene of Paris--I guess the Iconians like croissants) is just OK--it's hard to tell who is on which side, since both groups of Jem'Hadar seem to be wearing the same uniform. But at the climax of the fight, Sisko wounds himself saving Omet'iklan, amazing the Jem'Hadar first. After the fighting's over and the gateway is blown to smithereens, he repays the favor by letting Sisko and company leave. Weyoun, who beams down with the white, isn't so lucky. He gets totally vaporized.
I make a joke about the Defiant calling down to Sisko; "Hey, we let Weyoun borrow the keys...can you ask him for them back now?" But luckily they left the keys in the ignition, and everyone goes their separate ways. I'm not too sure how long the Jem'Hadar will hold out with that one case of white, but that's a problem for another day, I guess.
One of my favorite things about the writing here was the way they got a lot of bang for their buck. They didn't show the fierce attack and firefight on the station at the beginning (which would have been incredibly expensive to stage), and didn't show the gateway getting blown up, either. Neat.
All those quibbles I mentioned didn't get in the way of my enjoying the episode at all. Great one, no question.
"To the Death"
Well, nearly. OK, some characters fight to the death, but not all of them. Actually, none of the regulars do. Does that make this episode the most blatant case of Trek false advertising since "Year of Hell?" (It was only 257 days of hell, after all.) I don't care, because it's a great episode.
The basic plot--we've got to find someone who did something bad--feels like it's been done before. Has it? It just seems that they go off chasing a lot of people on this show. But some new dimensions to the Jem'Hadar and two outstanding guest actors make this feel new.
I get my first proper view of Jeffery Combs as Weyoun, and I love it. He's like a used car salesman.
The episode starts with O'Brien complaining about Molly having trouble sleeping for two months. Heh. Call me when you hit two years of being woken up every night, Miles, then I'll feel sorry for you. I don't think I've had an uninterrupted night of sleep about 3.5 years.
Bashir is sitting in Worf's chair. So Worf is like the Archie Bunker of the Defiant? I can live with that. And he walks in and orders a prune juice from the replicator, because on Star Trek, you're only allowed to drink one thing, ever, so choose wisely. Tea, Earl Grey, hot; coffee, black; prune juice. Are there any other examples?
But now they've got to go to the bridge, because Sisko has something he wants them to see. What is it? Avery Brooks is completely inscrutable here--is he feeling shock? Rage? Boredom? Who can tell? I'm thinking that maybe the Klingons tagged the docking ring with graffiti when...
HOLY SHIT! They blew up one of the pylons! Now I know why it's taking them so long to fix it in the opening credits.
They also injured Kira's arm, a foreshadowing of the arm injury Sisko will suffer at the episode's climax. And Nog's all right, which gives Quark a reason to wander on the set and deliver a few lines. Good for him.
It turns out the Jem'Hadar stole some of DS9's stuff, so Sisko's going to take the Defiant to get it back. And he asks Kira, 45 minutes after the attack ends, to call Starfleet and ask for help. Shouldn't she have done that 45 minutes ago?
The quibbling makes it fun. I'm not this way IRL, honest.
While they're tracking the Jem'Hadar, they find another Jem'Hadar ship that's about to go boom. So they beam the Jem'Hadar over, trade insults, then get to meet...Weyoun. I like the reveal.
Why they didn't think of giving a high-profile role to Jeffery Combs four years earlier is beyond me. Like Andrew Robinson, he just does so much with what he's given.
In fact, I'm hoping that somewhere over the next three seasons we get a good Weyoun/Garak scene. Is that too much to ask for?
And he plays Weyoun as simultaneously bored, scheming, and superficially charming. a nice combination.
Clarence Williams III as Omet'iklan is great as well. He's completely convincing, and is a great foil for Sisko. And it lets me do my Neil Diamond impersonation by singing, "They're coming to Omet'iklan! Today!"
So the renegade Jem'Hadar (are these the same guys Bashir and O'Brien were with?) have captured an Iconian gateway--a nice shout-out to "Contagion." Worf even reminds us that he was on the mission that ended up destroying the gateway the Enterprise found. If the Jem'Hadar activate the gateway, bad things will happen.
Did the renegade Jem'Hadar find their own source for the white, or did they get the monkey off their backs? I don't think we're told. I guess either is plausible. But man, those Jem'Hadar are ornery. No food, no sleep, no sex--I can see why.
I liked the scene Dax had with Virak'kara, who is eight. For some reason that makes me think he should be wearing Underoos and watching Saturday morning cartoons. I love that look on his face when he finds out she's over 300--not an easy thing to pull off under all that makeup. And it actually gave Dax something to talk about.
Toman'torax and Worf have a fight. Toman'torax gets whacked by Omet'iklan in a sequence I'm surprised actually made it on TV--it's quite brutal the way he snaps his neck. Nice direction by Levar Burton, with the body lying on the floor as Sisko and Omet'iklan have their discussion after everyone else leaves. Worf, meanwhile, gets grounded and sent to his room without prune juice. Being that he chooses to live on the ship so he can get away from everyone, it's a particularly inane punishment.
I liked, however, Worf's promise to Sisko, that, if Sisko gets iced by Omet'iklan, Omet'iklan won't live to boast about it.
Then it's time to fight! We get to see how the Jem'Hadar psyche themselves up for battle, by saying they're already dead and must fight to reclaim their lives. "Victory is life!" Then O'Brien takes the piss out of them (after they've safely gone) by saying he's very much alive and wants to stay that way. Good stuff. I also liked him talking about writing the letter to Keiko. This is good television.
The battle for the gateway (which keeps one circling back to a scene of Paris--I guess the Iconians like croissants) is just OK--it's hard to tell who is on which side, since both groups of Jem'Hadar seem to be wearing the same uniform. But at the climax of the fight, Sisko wounds himself saving Omet'iklan, amazing the Jem'Hadar first. After the fighting's over and the gateway is blown to smithereens, he repays the favor by letting Sisko and company leave. Weyoun, who beams down with the white, isn't so lucky. He gets totally vaporized.
I make a joke about the Defiant calling down to Sisko; "Hey, we let Weyoun borrow the keys...can you ask him for them back now?" But luckily they left the keys in the ignition, and everyone goes their separate ways. I'm not too sure how long the Jem'Hadar will hold out with that one case of white, but that's a problem for another day, I guess.
One of my favorite things about the writing here was the way they got a lot of bang for their buck. They didn't show the fierce attack and firefight on the station at the beginning (which would have been incredibly expensive to stage), and didn't show the gateway getting blown up, either. Neat.
All those quibbles I mentioned didn't get in the way of my enjoying the episode at all. Great one, no question.
Well, there's Tarkalean tea. But, that's Bashir's one permitted beverage.
I don't think so.
To the Death is a good one. The introduction of Weyoun, the way he acts around Odo (giving Odo more character development), the Jem'Hadar, etc. - it's all great.
Though, I still think Shran is Combs' Trek masterpiece, but Weyoun is a close second.
You'll be waiting a long time, but the two of them eventually meet and it's... quite memorable.
I think they cut that from the DVD over here because the British Board of Film Classification complained, so they edited around the neck snapping to get a 15 certificate. It's annoying because we get the same DVDs in Ireland even though the Irish Film Classification Office gave it a PG certificate. I want neck-snapping, dammit!
I am starting to get loquacious, aren't I?
Another weird thing about Sisko: the station he's in charge of has just been partially blown up, and his only reaction is that monotone "You'd better get a look at this."
Not only, undoubtedly, are people under his command dead, but HIS SON IS ON THAT STATION!
Sorry, but I had to shout. Look how concerned Quark was for Rom...and look how blase Sisko was about Jake. I guess its a Spartan stoicism and devotion to duty or something.
Another weird thing about Sisko: the station he's in charge of has just been partially blown up, and his only reaction is that monotone "You'd better get a look at this."
Not only, undoubtedly, are people under his command dead, but HIS SON IS ON THAT STATION!
Sorry, but I had to shout. Look how concerned Quark was for Rom...and look how blase Sisko was about Jake. I guess its a Spartan stoicism and devotion to duty or something.
@Captains ....
Off the top of my head, I can't remember any time when (during a station-wide or ship-wide emergency) Sisko showed first concern for Jake over the station or crew.
I think it is because he is so much of a soldier - his first thoughts are always about the success of the mission and the safety of the crew.
Of course that doesn't mean he does not love his son. We all know he does.
Off the top of my head, I can't remember any time when (during a station-wide or ship-wide emergency) Sisko showed first concern for Jake over the station or crew.
Even when Jake was taken captive by the Pah Wraiths, Sisko took the time to make sure the station was properly evacuated.
When Jake did not evacuate DS9 when the Dominion took control of the station, Sisko could have turned around and tried to go back for him, or even tried to get him moved to the safety of Bajor via diplomatic channels, but he did not.
When Jake did not evacuate DS9 when the Dominion took control of the station, Sisko could have turned around and tried to go back for him, or even tried to get him moved to the safety of Bajor via diplomatic channels, but he did not.
I think it is because he is so much of a soldier - his first thoughts are always about the success of the mission and the safety of the crew.
Of course that doesn't mean he does not love his son. We all know he does.
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^ @BlueStuff......you are correct. I covered the spoiler and I hope I did not ruin someone's day.......
Wait a second...there's a Dominion War? 
Thanks for covering it, anyway. I know what happens in the series in broad brushstrokes, but not a lot of the details. To wit: I knew that Combs played a character called Weyoun, but hadn't actually seen any of the episodes with him in it.
Thanks for covering it, anyway. I know what happens in the series in broad brushstrokes, but not a lot of the details. To wit: I knew that Combs played a character called Weyoun, but hadn't actually seen any of the episodes with him in it.
And I forgot the coolest thing about this episode: they named a freaking planet after Luther Vandross!
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHGyipqYFr8&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLAD01FF6ECA0E588B[/yt]
Well, it's spelled Vandros IV, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. Whoever decided to name that planet after Luther is on my list of Trek folks who I'd happily buy a drink for if I ran into them at a bar at a Trek convention.
And if you want an excuse to watch the video, if you listen to the lyrics, it kind of describes how O'Brien was feeling last season when Keiko was on Bajor. Remember that episode where she came back and they were arguing? He could have sung this to her to make things better. Or not.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHGyipqYFr8&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLAD01FF6ECA0E588B[/yt]
Well, it's spelled Vandros IV, but that doesn't make it any less awesome. Whoever decided to name that planet after Luther is on my list of Trek folks who I'd happily buy a drink for if I ran into them at a bar at a Trek convention.
And if you want an excuse to watch the video, if you listen to the lyrics, it kind of describes how O'Brien was feeling last season when Keiko was on Bajor. Remember that episode where she came back and they were arguing? He could have sung this to her to make things better. Or not.
Nah its just bad acting from Brooks....as usual.
Since I have more to type, I have to type more rapidly, which is good since I've come to...
"The Quickening"
This is an interesting episode. At first blush, it looks like a TNG-type episode, but there are several touches that make it uniquely DS9.
The first and most obvious is framing the Telpan blight as being caused by the Dominion. But the Dominion isn't really necessary to the story here--it could just have easily have been the Romulans or Tholians, or some unknown race that wasn't even around anymore (as in, they eventually destroyed themselves with bioweapons).
The real difference, though, is what happens when Bashir tries to find a cure. On TNG, Crusher and Data would have found the cure sometime in Act 3. Dogmatic opposition from the local elites would have prevented them from testing it and resisted their disseminating it. The point of the story would have been that Resisting Change Is Bad. I'm not saying that's not true (though it depends on the nature of the change--I'm not switching to FB Timeline), but it's pretty simplistic.
In "The Quickening," though, Bashir heroically works to find a cure, tests it on people, and they all die horribly. We would not have seen that on TNG, and it's enough to get my attention.
That's not to say there aren't some strange things about the story. First of all, what's a lone runabout doing in the Gamma Quadrant right after the Jem'Hadar blew up one of the pylons and the one Jem'Hadar guy who seemed nice at all told Sisko next they met, they'd be enemies? I know the RL explanation is that this was filmed before "To the Death." Why didn't they show TtD after this one? It would make a lot more sense.
Second, as my wife pointed out, how is it possible that the station's CMO can just arbitrarily re-assign himself to working on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant indefinitely. He was there at least 3 weeks.
The story itself is a good one. Even though it seems to be a very issue-driven one (the issue having apparently shifted from AIDS to euthanasia), it's actually more a personal story for Bashir, and it works.
I also have to say how much better Dax looks when she lets her hair down. Please tell me they let her keep this look. Though I like Avery Brooks' way of dealing with the hairstylists making the regulars look as bad as possible--just shave it all off.
Nice opening comedy scene that lets all the regulars besides Jake, Sisko, Bashir, and Dax get a line or two.
I read on MA that Rene Auberjonois was framing Ecoria like a Vermeer depiction of Mary. The guy is a genius.
And it's an interesting resolution. Bashir delivers a vaccine, but not a cure, and Trevean comes around to the cause. I like that they did that, and that Trevean really was a guy trying to help people in his own way, not just an inflexible ideologue. But in the final scene with Sisko we see that Bashir's still working on a cure.
Of course it's the usual TrekMD where doctors work on things in complete isolation without input from other doctors, but that's what we've seen for decades now, so within the context of the series it makes sense.
Another good episode.
"The Quickening"
This is an interesting episode. At first blush, it looks like a TNG-type episode, but there are several touches that make it uniquely DS9.
The first and most obvious is framing the Telpan blight as being caused by the Dominion. But the Dominion isn't really necessary to the story here--it could just have easily have been the Romulans or Tholians, or some unknown race that wasn't even around anymore (as in, they eventually destroyed themselves with bioweapons).
The real difference, though, is what happens when Bashir tries to find a cure. On TNG, Crusher and Data would have found the cure sometime in Act 3. Dogmatic opposition from the local elites would have prevented them from testing it and resisted their disseminating it. The point of the story would have been that Resisting Change Is Bad. I'm not saying that's not true (though it depends on the nature of the change--I'm not switching to FB Timeline), but it's pretty simplistic.
In "The Quickening," though, Bashir heroically works to find a cure, tests it on people, and they all die horribly. We would not have seen that on TNG, and it's enough to get my attention.
That's not to say there aren't some strange things about the story. First of all, what's a lone runabout doing in the Gamma Quadrant right after the Jem'Hadar blew up one of the pylons and the one Jem'Hadar guy who seemed nice at all told Sisko next they met, they'd be enemies? I know the RL explanation is that this was filmed before "To the Death." Why didn't they show TtD after this one? It would make a lot more sense.
Second, as my wife pointed out, how is it possible that the station's CMO can just arbitrarily re-assign himself to working on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant indefinitely. He was there at least 3 weeks.
The story itself is a good one. Even though it seems to be a very issue-driven one (the issue having apparently shifted from AIDS to euthanasia), it's actually more a personal story for Bashir, and it works.
I also have to say how much better Dax looks when she lets her hair down. Please tell me they let her keep this look. Though I like Avery Brooks' way of dealing with the hairstylists making the regulars look as bad as possible--just shave it all off.
Nice opening comedy scene that lets all the regulars besides Jake, Sisko, Bashir, and Dax get a line or two.
I read on MA that Rene Auberjonois was framing Ecoria like a Vermeer depiction of Mary. The guy is a genius.
And it's an interesting resolution. Bashir delivers a vaccine, but not a cure, and Trevean comes around to the cause. I like that they did that, and that Trevean really was a guy trying to help people in his own way, not just an inflexible ideologue. But in the final scene with Sisko we see that Bashir's still working on a cure.
Of course it's the usual TrekMD where doctors work on things in complete isolation without input from other doctors, but that's what we've seen for decades now, so within the context of the series it makes sense.
Another good episode.
A pretty good episode, but I have to say that the opening scene with Quark hacking into the station's and Defiant's computers irks me.
Okay, Quark has broken the rules and needs to make amends, but they all act like he has committed the most grievous sin imaginable. Jesus people, lighten up! Given the fact that the station had a HUGE chunk of it blown off last week, you'd think they would have more important things to worry about besides "Oh God! We have to look at advertisements! The HORROR!"
Okay, Quark has broken the rules and needs to make amends, but they all act like he has committed the most grievous sin imaginable. Jesus people, lighten up! Given the fact that the station had a HUGE chunk of it blown off last week, you'd think they would have more important things to worry about besides "Oh God! We have to look at advertisements! The HORROR!"
I just found that bit hilarious. Sure, it had nothing to do with the rest of the episode, which was pretty serious (and very good I might add), but it was pure gold.
After a major attack, I think somebody being able to compromise the station's computer system -- even if he did it for an innocuous purpose -- would set people on edge in a major way.
On the whole, a very good episode, both as a piece of character development for Bashir -- the cocky, self-assured doctor coming up against defeat -- and as an interesting story.
On the whole, a very good episode, both as a piece of character development for Bashir -- the cocky, self-assured doctor coming up against defeat -- and as an interesting story.
^ I love your avatar.
The mug is what made that bit comedy gold.
The mug is what made that bit comedy gold.
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