TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine

[Nerys Ghemor]

As far as the TNG-lite rule goes, I would say that'll be more relevant early in the show. But even then, I personally feel like the constant tidbits we get about the characters in those episodes, which add up to far more substance later on down the line, do something to set DS9 apart from the other series, sometimes even elevating a bad episode to at least...worthwhile for something, and a meh episode to something OK.

Regarding Cardassian nuance...you see more of that later. The Guard does have its share of undisciplined idiots like Jasad though--who clearly had some severe anger management problems.

 

[Admiral Shran]

For those of you not familiar with TheGodBen's reviews, prepare yourselves for things like pictures of Avery Brooks in his underware (most likely involving bras and panties )

Why did I make that picture again? I remember that the body is actually Daniel Craig, because I couldn't find any pictures of a black man wearing a bra and it was easier to adjust the colours of a picture I found of Daniel Craig wearing a bra to make him look black than to actually 'shop a bra onto Avery's body... but I can't remember why I made it.

It was in star's ill-fated DS9 review thread. You said that one day you would do this thread and I implored you not to show us pictures of Brooks in his underware like you did with Scott Bakula. In response, you not only put him in his underware, you put him in a bra.

You're either truly twisted or an absolute genius. The jury is still out.

Emissary (****)

The moment I saw that blue comet, I knew I was home.

There's no place like home.

It surprised me how early into the episode Sisko's relationship with the Prophets is introduced, it's right there in the first scene after the teaser. It's a short scene but it's absolutely dripping with subtext that probably wasn't even intended to be there. The Prophets, removing all their religious elements, are one of the most interesting aliens in all of Star Trek because they are truly alien. They're not humans with weird foreheads and anger issues, or giant space amoebas, they're beings that barely even fit within our comprehension. They're a fascinating sci-fi concept and the way that they use their unique perception of reality to help Sisko finally come to terms with the loss of Jennifer was a masterstroke.

Indeed. The Prophets are among my favorite Trek races as well. And their religious elements (especially the more fantasy based ones of the later seasons) are really appealing to me as well.

 

[Cyke101]

One of my favorite WTF moments in all of Trek is a Prophet not just taking the form of Jean-Luc Picard (though that's neat to see and something of an honor that a non-DS9 character gets that treatment), but seeing a Prophet take the form of LOCUTUS HIMSELF. Along with the mystical white-light ambiance and the philosophical discussions that soon follow, how could that image not be freaky at all?

 

[Gary7]

Out of curiosity, something I've wanted to know for some time--what exactly is a "GodBen"? Your avatar looks like something out of a video game... is it related to your chosen nickname? Thanks.

It's Irish for "sexy beast". Sadly, in Irish the word "beast" is the same as "cow" (gód), and there's no word for "sexy" as we're a repressed Catholic nation, so that directly translates into "attractive" (ben). So my name pretty much reads "The attractive cow".

Thanks for letting me know. Interesting, how you crafted the name. And, sorry about the repression bit... at least you have a choice of languages in which to express yourself.

Lastly, thanks for all of the work you put into your reviews. Clearly, you put a significant amount of time and effort... and from what I can see, often supplying a lot of interesting things to consider that might go missed otherwise.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Funny...I had always thought that name was a reference to Sisko's ascension to be one of the Prophets.

 

[TheGodBen]

I wish it was something that smart, but it's just pure ego as I used to joke with my friends as a teenager that in the future I would be revered as a god. One day I was at a friend's house, he had just gotten the internet and he was setting up an account for me on some website and he asked me what name I wanted, so I said "God Ben". It was taken. Apparently, there's a lot of egotistical Bens out there because that name is already taken on a number of sites. Eventually I got fed up and decided to stick it to all those GodBens by putting a The in front of it and declaring myself the The GodBen.

But I prefer the fake story that my name is actually Godfrey Benn. There's also a slight possibility that it's the truth.

It was in star's ill-fated DS9 review thread. You said that one day you would do this thread and I implored you not to show us pictures of Brooks in his underware like you did with Scott Bakula. In response, you not only put him in his underware, you put him in a bra.

Wow, I have absolutely no memory of that. It must have been during one of my meth phases. I remember the process of making the picture, but not when, where or why. And I have a bad feeling that the picture may be the reason why that thread was "ill-fated".

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Tagging this like an endangered animal.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Oh yeah, and I hope you grabbed enough Gul Dukatcorn to last you quite a few episodes. There are no refills for a while yet.

 

[Admiral Shran]

^ Indeed very sad. But it only makes you appreciate the character more when he does return.

 

[TheGodBen]

There wasn't much to grab, he was only in two scenes. Still, it was nice to see him in the first episode, even if his role was minor, considering he becomes the primary antagonist for the show. I wonder did the writers intend for him to be recurring or if they just put him in this episode to flesh out the history of the occupation and they liked Alaimo's performance so much that they brought him back for more?

 

[Sykonee]

Seeing as how Shatnertage brought it up but refused to implement a counter for it, I demand a "'What The Hell!?' Hair" counter!

I'm not good at judging hair, and if you knew me as a teenager you'd agree. Besides, any time I see Avery Brooks with hair I think it's weird.

Oh no, I've managed to worm a counter into nearly every one of your threads. I WILL NOT BE DENIED!

Seriously though, since this is a revisit, how about a counter that plays into that, like an Internal Continuity Counter (plot threads that will be followed up on)? Or maybe something similar to the Scott Bakula Counter, but restricting it to Trek Lore?

 

[Admiral Shran]

I wonder did the writers intend for him to be recurring or if they just put him in this episode to flesh out the history of the occupation and they liked Alaimo's performance so much that they brought him back for more?

I'm pretty sure that he was meant to be a recurring character. I know that Alaimo has spoken of how they always intended to flesh out the character more besides a one-shot appearance. Now, did they intend for him to become such an integral part of the story? That I don't know.

 

[Seven of Five]

I heart Emissary.

Though I remember watching it for the first time when I was ten years younger, after there was a break of showing new DS9. I wasn't impressed at how strange Julian was - I don't think it was that long since I'd seen The Quickening. It's amazing how far he (well, everyone really) developed throughout the show.

 

[TheGodBen]

Seriously though, since this is a revisit, how about a counter that plays into that, like an Internal Continuity Counter (plot threads that will be followed up on)? Or maybe something similar to the Scott Bakula Counter, but restricting it to Trek Lore?

I hated that Scott Bakula counter. For every single episode I had to check the IMDb page of every schmuck with a single line of dialogue to see if they ever had a single line of dialogue in an episode of Trek, while also checking to make sure that they hadn't made an appearance in a previous episode of B5. I'm not putting myself through that again.

I could do a counter for every character from a previous Trek series that shows up on DS9, if you want to claim that that was your idea.

I'm pretty sure that he was meant to be a recurring character. I know that Alaimo has spoken of how they always intended to flesh out the character more besides a one-shot appearance. Now, did they intend for him to become such an integral part of the story? That I don't know.

Sounds a bit like what happened with Andrew Robinson, they hired him for what was supposed to be a recurring role, then they didn't bother bringing him back until season 2. Dukat was luckier as he got a scene in Duet, but it is weird that they created these brilliant characters played by great actors and they ignored them for a whole year. But I guess that seeing Bashir possessed by an evil criminal, or having Rumpelstiltskin show up, seemed more important at the time.

 

[The Dominion]

But how awesome was Rumpelstiltskin in space?

 

[Canadave]

^ Does awesome mean something different where you are?

 

[The Dominion]

It means creepy old gnomes in space.

 

[The Dominion]

Which, really is getting to close to this:

 

[Gary7]

^ ! In space, nobody can hear your pot of gold.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Sounds a bit like what happened with Andrew Robinson, they hired him for what was supposed to be a recurring role, then they didn't bother bringing him back until season 2. Dukat was luckier as he got a scene in Duet, but it is weird that they created these brilliant characters played by great actors and they ignored them for a whole year. But I guess that seeing Bashir possessed by an evil criminal, or having Rumpelstiltskin show up, seemed more important at the time.

In the beginning, they probably meant to treat the majority of the recurring characters like those kinds of characters had been treated on TNG, which meant that they would appear roughly once per season. Thankfully, that didn't happen.