star's Journey into the World of DS9...

[Quinton O'Connor]

"A Man Alone" was one of the lowest-rated three episodes from my first season reviews, so if you weren't thrilled, rest assured that neither was I.

You're still going through that period of time in every Trek whereby everyone, writers included, is still getting their sea legs. I'm still at 2x06 right now in my rewatch (unexpectedly busy week...) but it's already improved sixfold since the first several episodes.

 

[flemm]

I like Past Prologue a lot. The first of many excellent character episodes for Kira, some good material for Sisko and Odo, and the first appearance of everybody's favorite tailor. Overall an excellent follow-up to the pilot, and in some ways better conceived as an introduction to the show than the pilot itself as far as its tone and its emphasis on life on the station are concerned.

A Man Alone is not a total loss because it establishes Odo's alien nature and isolation, and it builds on the frontier town premise, but I don't think it really works overall. Too predictable.

Season 1 gets dumped on a lot by fans, but there's plenty of respectable and even quite good material there alongside some obvious misfires. If A Man Alone inspires three hearts, you may end up needing some extra hearts in later seasons

Some Bajorans can be really quite racist.

The DS9 writers were obviously pleased from the beginning that they had a group of characters that they could portray in an unfavorable light without breaking any rules about how enlightened TNG-era humans supposedly are. Overall that is good, and of course later on they will be able to cast humanity in a less favorable light as well at times, but one could argue that the writers overdo it a bit with any Bajoran not named Kira in season 1.

Spoiler: some mild spoilers

Within the first few episodes we get to see Bajorans as a lynch-mob, racists, religious fanatics, irrational violent extremists, etc., not to mention the diabolical virus creator of Babel.

 

[star]

I don't think that the mob wanted Odo's head entirely because they loved Ibudan, I think it was partly a reaction to the fact that Odo was the security chief under the Cardassians and that some Bajorans wanted him gone and replaced with one of their own. Some Bajorans can be really quite racist.

Then, perhaps, they ought to have focused solely on that point and skipped the framed murder plot altogether. They could have raised the tension from the get go, had people not wanting to sit with Odo from the beginning. Perhaps Mr. Ring Leader hadn't been on the station since the Cardassians left and was shocked and angry to find Odo still there, doing his job. Maybe Odo had once put someone dear to him in prison and Mr. Ring Leader (can't remember his name) feels it was unlawful and dear-person-to-Mr-Ring-Leader suffered at the hands of his/her prison guards.

And instead of smiles and making fun of Odo, angry rhetoric that rouses the crowd. Honestly the character from Past Prologue was in a better position to incite that kind of mob. If they had only focused on that it could have made it far more believable that people were willing to face down Starfleet to get to Odo.

Again, it's a matter of the writers doing way too much in an episode and not executing it well.

(by Sam_I_Am): I have always liked the fight at the end of Past Prologue between Kira and the terrorist. Bearing in mind she is a deadly, highly-trained former terrorist herself, her tactic of choice when he strikes her to the floor is to stay sitting and pull on his leg.

LOL In ENT, T'Pol was always getting kidnapped, her but kicked, etc. While she was a science officer, she was still Vulcan and far stronger than most of her attackers (plus her background in the Ministry of Security). It was silly too.

(by Jeff O'Connor): You're still going through that period of time in every Trek whereby everyone, writers included, is still getting their sea legs. I'm still at 2x06 right now in my rewatch (unexpectedly busy week...) but it's already improved sixfold since the first several episodes.

This I know. I'm glad to hear that it gets better.

(by flemm): Season 1 gets dumped on a lot by fans, but there's plenty of respectable and even quite good material there alongside some obvious misfires. If A Man Alone inspires three hearts, you may end up needing some extra hearts in later seasons

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I think starting with the next episode, I'm going to make the scale 0 to 10 hearts.

I found A Man Alone, entertaining enough -- hence the 3 hearts. But on a larger scale, the score wouldn't have seemed as high.

Hopefully I'll have time to watch some more DS9 today. I'm honestly anxious to get through the first season.

 

[flemm]

(by Sam_I_Am): I have always liked the fight at the end of Past Prologue between Kira and the terrorist. Bearing in mind she is a deadly, highly-trained former terrorist herself, her tactic of choice when he strikes her to the floor is to stay sitting and pull on his leg.

LOL In ENT, T'Pol was always getting kidnapped, her but kicked, etc. While she was a science officer, she was still Vulcan and far stronger than most of her attackers (plus her background in the Ministry of Security). It was silly too.

As I recall in this particular case, isn't Kira trying to prevent Tahna Los from getting across the runabout to set off the bomb that will destroy the entrance to the wormhole? Taking the time to get up would allow him to blow them all to hell as was his original intent or am I misremembering?

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

My reviews technically run on a 1-20 scale, since I have a 1-10 and employ halves if necessary. I tend to follow that other system, wherein if you're giving something a 3/10, it's kind of a '30% of this episode did something for me, but the vast majority was garbage, pure and simple'.

"A Man Alone" managed a 5/10 because although it was all so damned garbled (like you pointed out, they should have separated some of these thread and given them bigger stories in other episodes) it still did a lot of things I liked to see. The Sisko/Dax stuff was pretty good, for example. But there was a whopping 50% of the episode I wasn't feeling, so in essence it still kind of flunked.

Anyway, enough of me babbling on about numbers and how I treat them. A straight-shooting system where a 5/10 means patently average is also completely workable and probably more understandable to boot. Have fun, and you'd better let us know what you think of 1x19 "Duet" in as many words as possible. I'd love to see what you think -- that's considered a classic!

 

[star]

I like how you put that, Jeff. If it were a scale of 1-10, I would have put A Man Alone at a 5 as well. Not horrible, but definitely not great.

I've got a bit before I get to 1x19. But I'll be sure to remember to be quite verbose in my review.

 

[Praxius]

Alright, I've got the first season dvds and finally had some time last night to get started. I promised I'd watch all seven seasons of the show -- the good, the bad and the zany.

Before we get to my reviews, I believe I ought to explain that I am not an uber-Trekkie. Write occasional fanfic? Make pretty avatars, banners & wallpapers? Participate in boards that discuss Trek? Yes, yes and yes. Nitpick every tiny detail of an episode? Understand any of the technical and scientific aspects of Trek? Believe that "canon" is the only way to gauge whether an episode or show is worth viewing? No, no and definitely no.

I will basing my reviews on whether or not I was either moved or entertained. Nothing more, nothing less. And I'm not super hard to entertain. I like good writing and good acting and as long as there is enough of both in an episode, I will most likely be content.

The "scoring" will be ? out of 5 hearts as to how much I love a particular episode. Alright, let's get this show on the road!

Last night's viewing: Emissary.

♥♥♥--

The good: Love seeing Picard. Just 'cause, he's my favorite captain. Also great to see O'Brien and I'm looking forward to seeing his story develop further. Kiera is pretty cool. Bashir is interesting. I like Quark. The Bajoran religion fascinates me. The entire storyline in the wormhole, particularly Sisko explaining linear existence to non-corporeal beings was good. My favorite was when they helped him to see that he continues to exist in the moment when his wife died. Good writing there.

The bad: Sisko. I'm hoping that as the actor settles into the role, he'll be less stiff and forced. There was a lot of over-acting, in my opinion, and it drew me out of the experience. Potentially powerful moments in the episode were rendered meaningless by the acting. Jadzia Dax also feels... not genuine. I'm not necessarily holding it against either character as I realize it takes a while for both the writers and the actors to really get a feel for them sometimes. (Heck, TNG was pretty ugh-ish to start too.) I'm withholding judgment on these two... but they did make the episode less enjoyable.

The zany: Gul Dukat. Seriously. If I had not made a commitment to watch the entire series, I might have been tempted to give up after this first episode before this Cardassian showed up. (Not a lot of time these days and I don't want to waste it watching something that isn't the bee's-knees for me.) But Gul Dukat is worth every minute. Fantastic character. The actor is great, but then it's a great role to play as well. I seem to remember from my interactions with Niners that Gul Gukat is not a one or two episode wonder. If that is the case, then I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of this deliciously evil alien.

Summary: For the most part I was ambivalent about this episode. It had good moments but plenty of moments where I felt like both the writers and the actors were trying to force me to be moved by their work instead of letting it speak for itself. All in all, mildly entertaining--along the same lines as most Trek series beginnings.

Hopefully I'll have time today to watch the next episode.

By the time Season 3 gets going, you'll be certainly hooked.... and I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say this, but Dukat is in the show a lot.

Once they get through the basic storyline aspect in seasons 1 and 2 (like any other star trek show) you'll see all the characters develop..... better then in TNG I might say.... and I originally was a TNG fanatic and TNG was what got me into star trek.

Don't get me wrong.... TNG is still awesome.... but by the time DS9 ended, I felt DS9 was Awesomer.

Oh and you'll see a few characters from TNG pop in from time to time, especially near the last half of the series..... and one Voyager charater

As for Cardassians, Garak is my favorite for a number of reasons that you'll understand as the show goes on..... while Dukat is my second Fav Cardassian.

 

[TheGodBen]

Then, perhaps, they ought to have focused solely on that point and skipped the framed murder plot altogether.

I agree, they should have done that, and this is indicative of a lot of season 1's problems. The situation at the start of DS9 has a lot of potential, there's a lot that could be done with this newly independent world suddenly finding itself as an important trade route and strategic location due to the wormhole. But most episodes in season 1 are TNG-style stories (some of which were originally pitched to TNG) while the Bajorans are only used superficially. Rather than coming up with stories about Bajor, they were coming up with stories and bending them to work as Bajor stories. There's a prime example later in the season when they take an important Bajoran character, and rather than using them to tell an interesting story about Bajor, they use that character as part of a planet-of-the-week story.

By the end of the season, they're much better at coming up with stories about Bajor and these characters, although it's still not perfect.

If they had only focused on that it could have made it far more believable that people were willing to face down Starfleet to get to Odo.

Facing down Starfleet isn't such a big deal for some of these people. Many Bajorans don't like that Starfleet has a presence on DS9, let alone running the place, even Major Kira considers the Starfleet presence to be a temporary affair. And some Bajorans have convinced themselves that they managed to get rid of the Cardassians single-handed, so they might not consider Starfleet to be such a threat. Some of the bigger idiots might want to start a fight with Starfleet officers to make the situation unstable, and maybe force the Federation to leave.

Once again, I'm making excuses for things not included in the episode.

My reviews technically run on a 1-20 scale, since I have a 1-10 and employ halves if necessary. I tend to follow that other system, wherein if you're giving something a 3/10, it's kind of a '30% of this episode did something for me, but the vast majority was garbage, pure and simple'.

My scores are on the 0-10 scale, and my judgement works on the concept that all episodes start out with a score of 5, and they can go up and down from there. If an episode it a bit dull, it might drop down to 3, but if there's a good scene at the end, it could go back up to 4.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Yeah, that's the other system I was talking about when I referenced one. Like I said, I'd even go so far as to say it probably makes more sense. But I do things the way I do them, and I'm not totally sure why, but yeah. Probably my ties to school or something. A 6/10 isn't exactly above-average there. I could get more in-depth but... well, but I have migraine at the moment. Haha.

 

[DevilEyes]

(by Sam_I_Am): I have always liked the fight at the end of Past Prologue between Kira and the terrorist. Bearing in mind she is a deadly, highly-trained former terrorist herself, her tactic of choice when he strikes her to the floor is to stay sitting and pull on his leg.

LOL In ENT, T'Pol was always getting kidnapped, her but kicked, etc. While she was a science officer, she was still Vulcan and far stronger than most of her attackers (plus her background in the Ministry of Security). It was silly too.

This is quite ironic, since many people complain that Kira was supposedly too much of a "superwoman" beating everyone easily. There used to be an entire long thread about it recently on IMDB, where someone mocked the idea of such a "tiny" woman (Nana Visitor is 5'8", BTW) beating up larger males (though in fact, when you look at those examples - mostly from later seasons - the guys in question weren't in fact that much taller or bigger). There's also a Youtube video called "Major Kira fighting" or something like that. But, as we discussed just a couple of days ago on another rewatch thread, she did lose to Tahna Los in "Past Prologue"; and there is an episode early on in season 2 that provides a counterexample that some find unrealistic, as she loses easily to a rather unlikely opponent (who was female, BTW, so it's not a case of 'weak woman' syndrome). Personally, I remember Kira as an excellent fighter but not on a a "superwoman" level, but I suppose people tend to blow such things out of proportion when it's a woman - you don't hear that many complaints about Kirk winning every fight, except when the opposite was convenient for the plot.

In any case, you can rest assured that you won't see many weak helpless females on DS9. Quite the opposite! IMO it has overall the best treatment of female characters out of all Trek shows.

 

[star]

Facing down Starfleet isn't such a big deal for some of these people. Many Bajorans don't like that Starfleet has a presence on DS9, let alone running the place, even Major Kira considers the Starfleet presence to be a temporary affair. And some Bajorans have convinced themselves that they managed to get rid of the Cardassians single-handed, so they might not consider Starfleet to be such a threat. Some of the bigger idiots might want to start a fight with Starfleet officers to make the situation unstable, and maybe force the Federation to leave.

Once again, I'm making excuses for things not included in the episode.

Being a pretty much first time viewer, I can only base my opinion on what I've seen so far. And there isn't much established (yet, I'm assuming) based on what you've written here. A couple of off-hand comments here and there have yet to make me feel or understand how the Bajorans view Starfleet, the Federation, etc. Perhaps it was because the writers hadn't gotten it all figured out just yet, but it still was quite superficial in this episode.

But I keep an open mind and trust that there will be deeper development in the characters as well as the Bajorans and their cultures/beliefs/etc as a whole as the series goes one.

 

[flemm]

But I keep an open mind and trust that there will be deeper development in the characters as well as the Bajorans and their cultures/beliefs/etc as a whole as the series goes one.

This will happen, but largely through the various story arcs for Major Kira, who is certainly a strong individual character, but who also becomes a sort of microcosm for Bajor's relationship with Cardassia and Starfleet. (This is already true to an extent in the episodes you have seen in your rewatch.)

There are some other significant Bajoran characters, but I personally would have liked to have seen an additional Bajoran playing an important role in the unfolding saga. It's a minor issue because Kira is so central to everything that is going on, but it remains a personal quibble of mine. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject as the series unfolds.

 

[TheGodBen]

Being a pretty much first time viewer, I can only base my opinion on what I've seen so far. And there isn't much established (yet, I'm assuming) based on what you've written here. A couple of off-hand comments here and there have yet to make me feel or understand how the Bajorans view Starfleet, the Federation, etc. Perhaps it was because the writers hadn't gotten it all figured out just yet, but it still was quite superficial in this episode.

But I keep an open mind and trust that there will be deeper development in the characters as well as the Bajorans and their cultures/beliefs/etc as a whole as the series goes one.

Kira explained to Sisko in her first scene that she didn't like the Federation and felt that they were another expansionist empire that wanted control over Bajor, just like the Cardassians. After spending most of her life fighting for Bajoran freedom, she resents (and fears) that the provisional government called in a foreign empire to help out after only a week of independence, especially an empire that sat back while millions of Bajorans were brutally murdered. If Kira feels this way, you can just imagine how some of the more extreme nationalists feel.

It is a concept followed up on, but only towards the end of the season, with the real meat in season 2. Until then, you'll have to make do with episodes about anomalies, body snatching, diseases, and Q. Those episodes aren't necessarily bad, but they don't fulfil DS9's potential. They're definitely worth watching for character growth, though.


(Also, it's important to note that DS9 deconstructs the notion that the Federation are "the good guys" more than any of the other series. It starts in the first episode with Kira thinking that Starfleet intends to take over the planet, but it is increasingly examined from within as the series progresses.)

 

[DS9Continuing]

Let's not pre-prejudice star's opinions of stuff she's yet to see, shall we? Whether good or bad, she deserves to come to her own opinions without being affected by what we might expect her to think of them.

 

[star]

My house is under quarantine today... the kids have a stomach bug. So I'm keeping myself entertained by catching up on DS9.

I'm now grading on a 1-10 scale

All right, next episode:

Babel
♥♥♥♥♥♥---- (6/10)

The Good: Acting was supberb. The crew is already growing on me, Kira in particular. Bashir was more like I want him to be.

The Bad: B.O.R.I.N.G. I felt none of the urgency that the writers wanted me to. It was a pretty dull episode, other than doing a bit more establishing of characters and the fact that they are trying to take over a cardassian station that was previously gutted.

The Zany: Aphasia. (Nope, Quark didn't make the zany list this time... I don't have a feel for the character just yet.)

Summary: Mildly entertaining, but mostly snooze-worthy. As much as I enjoy TNG, I'm not really liking seeing the same type of writing being recycled for DS9. From what I've heard, though, I guess I should expect this kind of stuff for a while yet in the series.

Captive Pursuit
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-- (8/10)

The Good: I really liked the interactions between O'Brien and Tosk. They did a good job of making Tosk very alien, but also sympathetic -- even with his suspicious behavior.

The Bad: The dabo girl sexual harrassment scene in the teaser. I have no problems dealing with social issues via Trek. I just felt like it was too serious an issue to only garner a throw away scene that wouldn't be followed up on.

The Zany: The hunter's red, flashing suits. Those looked like they stepped out of a 1950's sci-fi, horror B-movie. (Quark almost made the list this time, but the suits won out.)

Summary: Well written episode... just enough mystery to keep me guessing and by the end, I wanted O'Brien to help Tosk resume the hunt. I was moved. Well acted too.

Q-Less
♥♥♥♥♥----- (5/10)

The Good: It was kinda nice to see Q again.... I'm too much of a TNG fan to not appreciate that eccentric being.

The Bad: Ugh. Bashir. I know that it's just follow up on the character they hinted at in the beginning: The dashing rogue medical officer... but too much rogue and not enough dashing. Also, I felt like the series was high-jacked to be the Q and Vash show. In TNG, Q's appearance was always to interact more with the crew, especially Picard. Honestly there was a special dynamic that made it entertaining to watch. Here it felt like it didn't matter if it was DS9 or some starship, the show was about Q following Vash around.

The Zany: Pretty much anything that comes out of Q's mouth. He's my favorite recurring character in all of Star Trek.

Summary: Meh. No matter how good Q was, it didn't make up for the rest of the episode. Not great in the least. And we never did really understand why Vash gave up partnering with Q. It felt unfinished -- but it also didn't feel like a DS9 episode really either. I'm not sure I'm interested in seeing the story finished. It did nothing for the further development of the primary characters (except Quark and Bashir -- but I could have done without the development from Bashir).

Dax
♥♥♥♥♥♥---- (6/10)

The Good: First, must get ENT fangasm moment over with: "Admiral Black!!!" and "V'Lar!!!" Okay, now back to DS9... A little more background on Trill culture. The establishment of the fact that Jadzia and Curzon are not the same people. Generally good acting. Best of all: KIRA! I love the line when she says, "And secondly, it really annoys us" BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

The Bad: Bashir. *sigh* I really want to like him, but dang -- how does that boy ever get laid? He's so freaking obvious, he lacks any skill in the seduction.

The Zany: Odo's blackmail of Quark. The dynamic between the two of them still feels a bit over the top and forced, but it's growing on me. I like that Odo knows how to speak Quark's language.

Summary: Though it has some good points, the episode is still lackluster. I don't mind deeper, introspective pieces as well as character background pieces... but this lacked the necessary depth for me. It was okay. Just not great.

Dunno when I'm going to get a chance to watch more. It's a busy weekend. But all in all, I'm not hating anything yet.

 

[scnj]

As I said earlier in the thread, Garak disappears for the rest of the season and returns early in season 2, so don't be expecting him until then. He's my favourite character in all of Star Trek, and I think season 1 could have used him a lot more, but they just seemed to forget him.

Isn't that because Trek fans didn't like that the actor played him as gay? I noticed that when he did return, that particular dynamic between him and Julian was gone.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I quite liked "Dax", myself. I gave it a pretty high rating. I found some things nestled within its forty-odd minutes you might find interesting, but I wouldn't recommend you go look since I may have referenced something about later on you don't know about. There's a motif concerning reactions to women among Bashir and Sisko that I find fascinating, given the premise of the episode.

Also, I think Bashir is supposed to look forced right now. He wasn't pitched as an instant 'you're-gonna-love-him' kind of guy, I don't think. I don't know, I liked him from the start, personally.

Glad to see you keeping up!

 

[star]

I quite liked "Dax", myself. I gave it a pretty high rating. I found some things nestled within its forty-odd minutes you might find interesting, but I wouldn't recommend you go look since I may have referenced something about later on you don't know about. There's a motif concerning reactions to women among Bashir and Sisko that I find fascinating, given the premise of the episode.

That's like me going back and rewatching the first two seasons of ENT and saying "Hey... these are not as bad as I remember." LOL Honestly I think it's easier for me to go back and see little gems -- but that's because I know how it ends.

I am a first time DS9 viewer, so you are getting an opinion that is uncompromised by understanding of things that will happen later in the series.

Also, I think Bashir is supposed to look forced right now. He wasn't pitched as an instant 'you're-gonna-love-him' kind of guy, I don't think. I don't know, I liked him from the start, personally.

I liked him in the premiere. But whenever he goes over the top he's too eye-roll-worthy for me and not in the endearing kind of way. But I am interested to see how his character develops over the course of the series.

 

[flemm]

Let's not pre-prejudice star's opinions of stuff she's yet to see, shall we? Whether good or bad, she deserves to come to her own opinions without being affected by what we might expect her to think of them.

You're right, we should be more careful to avoid references to what is to come and stick to what star has already seen.

 

[TheGodBen]

Captive Pursuit
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-- (8/10)

This is one of my favourites from the first season. It's still very much a TNG-style episode, but it's a good vehicle for O'Brien, it has an interesting new alien culture, and the chase at the end is fun. After Emissary, it's my favourite episode of the first half of the season.

Q-Less
♥♥♥♥♥----- (5/10)

The Bad: Also, I felt like the series was high-jacked to be the Q and Vash show. In TNG, Q's appearance was always to interact more with the crew, especially Picard. Honestly there was a special dynamic that made it entertaining to watch. Here it felt like it didn't matter if it was DS9 or some starship, the show was about Q following Vash around.

Exactly. This episode is barely about DS9 at all, it's just a follow-up to Qpid without Picard, and that makes very little sense. I'm very much of the opinion that Q worked best on TNG because of the chemistry between him and Picard, and that his episodes on the other shows weren't as good. I love Q, I even made a video about him, but Q without Picard is like Penn without Teller; more obnoxious and less grounded. Luckily, DS9's writers realised that Q didn't fit in on this show so this is his only appearance.

The episode is good for one scene though, the one where Sisko beats up Q and proclaims "I'm not Picard." The scene is worth watching the rest of the episode for me.

Dax
♥♥♥♥♥♥---- (6/10)

The Good: First, must get ENT fangasm moment over with: "Admiral Black!!!" and "V'Lar!!!"

You're really going to like a certain recurring character introduced later in the show.

The Bad: Bashir. *sigh* I really want to like him, but dang -- how does that boy ever get laid? He's so freaking obvious, he lacks any skill in the seduction.

I have the distinct impression that Bashir was unwillingly celibate throughout the year 2369.

The Zany: Odo's blackmail of Quark. The dynamic between the two of them still feels a bit over the top and forced, but it's growing on me. I like that Odo knows how to speak Quark's language.

Odo/Quark scenes are some of my favourite, they rarely disappoint me. Ira Behr loved them so much that he wanted to do an episode based entirely around them being locked in a room together, but he felt that it wouldn't work and he wrote something else instead. Personally, I'd love to see that episode.

Isn't that because Trek fans didn't like that the actor played him as gay? I noticed that when he did return, that particular dynamic between him and Julian was gone.

The writers definitely told Andrew Robinson to remove Garak's omni-sexuality from the character, but I don't think that's the reason why he wasn't in the rest of season 1. After all, Dukat also disappears until the penultimate episode of the season, so I imagine that the writers were flying by the seats of their pants and didn't have a reason to include these characters until later.

Spoiler: mild spoilers

I imagine that Garak was brought back because season 2 started to focus more on the Cardassians and their politics, which didn't play a big part in season 1. In season 2, when the show started to tell stories about Cardassia, Garak and Dukat had proper roles to play, which is something they didn't during most of season 1.