TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine

[Ln X]

All I can say is that the fun beings! The Jem'Hadar and The Search rather nicely sets things up, but folks you'll find that season 3 flounders a bit half way through, and it is only saved by one episode The Die is Cast. Not giving away spoilers but it develops upon everything that The Jem'Hadar and The Search explored and revealed.

The three most crucial episodes of DS9, that make it so awesome in terms of the general plot have to be The Jem'Hadar, The Die is Cast and The Way of the Warrior. Without those episodes DS9 would have been dead by season 3, and definitely by season 4.

This may sound odd, but though The Jem'Hadar finally showed us the Dominion, it was The Die is Cast that was the real big step. The Jem'Hadar brought us the Dominion and the threat it poses. But The Die is Cast showed us some of the consequences to the Alpha Quadrant, plus started the chain of events that lead to what was inevitable... WAR!

 

[Skywalker]

This pretty much sums up my feelings on "The Jem'Hadar."

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUH3JQjcweM[/yt]

 

[Shatnertage]

I do try and avoid specific spoilers about future events and refer to them in general terms because I know that Shatnertage reads this thread and don't want to give away too much for his mostly first-viewing.

Thanks!

And I liked this episode, too.

It seems like telepathy is a power that the writers like to give and take away. The Vorta, Troi in "Encounter at Farpoint," and probably a few others I've forgotten.

 

[DonIago]

To nitpick a bit, I don't think Troi was ever meant to be a telepath, but they did tone down how she seemed to react to others' feelings. Given how silly it seemed in EAF, I don't blame them.

As for the Vorta, Eris was telekinetic, not telepathic, I believe. We could rationalize that some Vorta do have these powers, but the majority don't (fears of a Vorta uprising?). We simply never saw the telekinetic ones again.

 

[You_Will_Fail]

The three most crucial episodes of DS9, that make it so awesome in terms of the general plot have to be The Jem'Hadar, The Die is Cast and The Way of the Warrior. Without those episodes DS9 would have been dead by season 3, and definitely by season 4.

Dead how exactly? It was hardly floundering in the ratings.

 

[Admiral Shran]

To nitpick a bit, I don't think Troi was ever meant to be a telepath, but they did tone down how she seemed to react to others' feelings. Given how silly it seemed in EAF, I don't blame them.

Actually, Troi was meant to be telepathic with at least Riker - remember, they could read each others' thoughts. But thank God they toned that all down.

 

[Shatnertage]

^ Yeah, that's what I was thinking of. That "conversation" in the turbolift.

 

[Admiral Shran]

In fact, wasn't it just that one "conversation" in Encounter at Farpoint?

 

[Ln X]

Woot! Just watched the three-part discovery of the Dominion story arc! Great stuff, and I'm just waiting for TheGodBen to start reviewing The Search parts 1 and 2.

 

[defiantfan]

, but that score is inflated by how the episode made me feel. I've been rewatching DS9 for over two months now and I've been enjoying it for the most part, but this episode made me realise that a number of elements have been missing all along. I'm not just talking about the Dominion but other things such as the Defiant, and even small things such as DS9's wardroom. I know that those two things weren't in this episode, but they'll be showing up soon and that makes me feel good.

I love that you "inflate" your score on feelings. Keep up the awesome reviews.

 

[Seven of Five]

Hope everyone had a brill Christmas/other denomonational holiday!

The Jem'Hadar is excellent at building up the tension. We're slowly introduced to what they are and how bad they are, and then the rug is pulled from under us with Eris at the end. I sort of miss her VORTA SUPERPOWERS!, but it's fine that they didn't go down that route. Was it too comic book-y, perhaps? Which would be odd considering some of places the show would later go to.

I loved how Sisko and Quark had to spend time together too. Sure it a lot of it was enforced, but the pair came to have more respect for each other by the episode's end. Jake and Nog together is always fun, and it's these great character moments that help to give the episode life beyond the incessant portents of Dominion doom.

At the time I watched I knew that big things were in store. I was sort of getting used to the idea of TNG and the Ent-D. For those who can't remember, or don't care enough to remember, I was only just into new (for the time!) Trek. By now I'd watched most of season two of DS9, most of season seven of TNG, which had then returned to season one. I dutifully watched it, as back then I was watching anything Trek related.

I was into Trek just enough to know that when the Jemmies downed a Galaxy class ship, I was very shocked. They really meant business. It was a great end to the season, and the end of an impressive run of very good episodes. I was pretty excited for the next season!

 

[Admiral Shran]

I was into Trek just enough to know that when the Jemmies downed a Galaxy class ship, I was very shocked.

Indeed. I remember watching the preview when the episode first aired and honestly thinking that the Odyssey might have been the Enterprise. Remember, All Good Things... had just aired a few weeks before this and the commercial didn't say which ship it was. It definitely hooked me and I made sure to see the episode the moment it hit the airwaves.

 

[Lindley]

And what was the American alphabet originally? British!

And what was the British alphabet originally? A slight variation on Latin!

 

[Admiral Shran]

^ Which itself emerged from Old Italic!

 

[TheGodBen]

Woot! Just watched the three-part discovery of the Dominion story arc! Great stuff, and I'm just waiting for TheGodBen to start reviewing The Search parts 1 and 2.

It'll be a while, I'm currently distracted by shiny things.

I love that you "inflate" your score on feelings. Keep up the awesome reviews.

I also deflate them based on feelings, especially if that feeling is that I'm wasting my life. Such as what happened with Second Sight.

^ Which itself emerged from Old Italic!

Which was a fine European alphabet.

 

[Gotham Central]

the beauty of the "The Jem"Hadar" was that at the time it served as a significant turning point for DS9 overall. The destruction of the Odyssey was important in that it rather loudly proclaimed that TNG is over, and that this show would no longer be following in its mold. So much of the chaff in the first two seasons of DS9 happened because they were trying to have the series follow the format started by TOS and then perfected by TNG. This marked the end of the line for that way of doing things on this show. this episode really marked the end of an era. All good things had just aired thus TNG would no longer be on the air. Soon afterward the Enterprise would be lying in ruins on Veridian III.

 

[Paper Moon]

I sort of miss her VORTA SUPERPOWERS!, but it's fine that they didn't go down that route. Was it too comic book-y, perhaps? Which would be odd considering some of places the show would later go to.

I've always wondered if maybe Eris was a member of a "sub-species," as it were, of Vorta, specifically engineered to have fantastic powers? In Weyoun's case, I think Vorta superpowers would have undermined his mission, since it would have undermined his ability to convince Dukat/Sisko/Kira that he was "just like them" and that they were "all on the same side."

So many things left to explore...

By the way, I too agree with what appears to be the consensus: "The Jem'Hadar" = awesome.

 

[Admiral Shran]

I sort of miss her VORTA SUPERPOWERS!, but it's fine that they didn't go down that route. Was it too comic book-y, perhaps? Which would be odd considering some of places the show would later go to.

I've always wondered if maybe Eris was a member of a "sub-species," as it were, of Vorta, specifically engineered to have fantastic powers? In Weyoun's case, I think Vorta superpowers would have undermined his mission, since it would have undermined his ability to convince Dukat/Sisko/Kira that he was "just like them" and that they were "all on the same side."

That seems to be the general consensus - that Eris was specifically engineered to have those power for the mission, but maybe not as a full-fledged sub-species.

 

[DS9 Gal AZ]

^ Yeah, I always got the feeling that the Founders would genetically tinker with the Vorta as needed. Eris could have been one of several Vorta given such abilities for a specific purpose, or she could have been the only Vorta - or heck, the only Vorta clone - to have such powers. For all we know, "Kurrill Prime" was actually a world the Founders conquered, and the people there really did have telekinetic powers, and they just had Eris pose as a Kurrillian rather than go to the trouble of inventing a fictional race.

Eris was a good character. Shame we never saw her again.

Edited to add:
Ronald D. Moore stated: "Our internal rationale has been that Eris was given this ability for a specific purpose by the Founders (and maybe several other Vorta along with her) and that it is not a normal part of the Vorta "recipe" in the Dominion." (AOL chat, 1998)
From Memory Alpha.

 

[Skywalker]

Or maybe all the Vorta were originally supposed to be like that, but then the writers either forgot about it or changed their minds. Shocking, I know.