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TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine

How well does this episode work as an introduction for the Dominion? I honestly can't say because I missed it when it first aired and by the time I saw it I already knew a whole bunch about the Dominion.

I did watch it first run and it kind of had an "alien of the week" feel to it, but I'd just come off of watching TNG for years where every alien was "of the week." Trek hadn't done any kind of long term arc, nothing more than a two-parter and since this was the season finale, that's what I was expecting out of it.

This was the first episode of DS9 that I'd ever seen. TNG was ending and I needed a Trek fix. My mom had been watching DS9 from the begining, but I thought the whole "no ship, no Captain" thing was stupid. After watching this episode I was hooked (and in the upcoming seasons DS9 would get both a ship and a Captain).
 
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.

Great analysis. I never thought about it like that, but I definitely agree with you.
 
I suspect 'ben has been Skyrim'd. We're not likely to see him for at least another month.:evil:
 
Sorry everyone, I'm kinda going through some stuff right now and reviewing a sci-fi show from the 90s seems kinda trivial. :p Don't worry, I'll get back to it soon enough, and I'll try not to take a whole year this time. ;)
 
Take your time. Real life always trumps this place. :)

If we get bored we could turn the thread into a Golden Girls revisit for the time being. :p
 
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If we get bored we could turn the thread into a Golden Girls revisit for the time being.

Can and will do so, good sir. :techman:

TheGodBen once taunted me for not hijacking his B5 thread when the opportunity presented itself, so I'm not going to miss this second chance. :p I couldn't hope to match his wit or insight, but here goes nothing....

The Engagement (The Pilot) (***)

Off to a fairly lackluster start with this episode. I am surprised, however, because I remember one episode that specifically deals with how the four women came together. In this one, we only see how Sophia came to live with the other three who are already living together. Most likely, the episode I'm thinking of is one of the show's many notorious clip-shows (seriously, if I remember correctly, this show had more clips-shows than any other in TV history).

So, what about this episode itself? Well, first off, what was with the stereotypical gay cook/housekeeper/friend? I've never seen him before and hopefully he won't be in many episodes because.... WOW. Not only is he a ridiculous stereotype, he also contributed absolutely nothing to the story. The only thing that makes the episode anything more than average is Sophia. You got to love her off-the-wall, in-your-face style of humor ("The man is a scuzzball!" :guffaw:). Other than that, the other three characters seem to have already hit their niches - Dorothy is sarcastic, but level-headed, Rose is a bumbling, well-meaning fool and Blanche is man-crazy. All three offer great comedy over the course of the series, but none of them really hit anything out of the park here.

The main story of Blanche getting engaged to a man she's only known for a week who turns out to be a bigamist isn't exactly captivating, but it isn't horrible either.

Clip-Shows: 0
Cheesecakes: 0
Dorothy's Men: 0
Rose's Men: 0
Blanche's Men: 1
Sophia's Men: 0
 
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I love The Golden Girls. I've noticed that as I get older, the women on that show look increasingly hot.
 
Sorry everyone, I'm kinda going through some stuff right now and reviewing a sci-fi show from the 90s seems kinda trivial. :p Don't worry, I'll get back to it soon enough, and I'll try not to take a whole year this time. ;)

Hope everything works out!
 
Heh heh, Golden Girls...

I wonder whether the fact that I enjoyed this show when I was a kid was an indicator of my latent homosexuality... or just a latent desire for cheesecake...
 
Can and will do so, good sir. :techman:


The main story of Blanche getting engaged to a man she's only known for a week who turns out to be a bigamist isn't exactly captivating, but it isn't horrible either.

Clip-Shows: 0
Cheesecakes: 0
Dorothy's Men: 0
Rose's Men: 0
Blanche's Men: 1
Sophia's Men: 0
I like your commentary about the pilot episode. I feel it does set up very well for Blance's character, but I don't want to give any spoilers away. I hope to learn more of your thoughts and commentaries as time moves on.
 
I have to say that as much as I love Golden Girls, it was always very likely to include a romance of the week. I'm sure all of the girls fell in love out of nowhere at some point in the show's run. I mean, come on! What were they thinking? Why weren't they focusing more on their long term arc of flashbacks and cheesecakes? :mad:
 
^ They had plenty of those, don't worry. ;)

Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding (***½)

So, Dorothy's daughter is getting married here in only the second episode.... okay. But that means we get our first visit from STAN, that wily, toupeed bastard! :) He's with a woman half his age and living in Maui - he's my hero. Of course, I wouldn't have just up and left my wife of 38 years at the drop of a hat like he did - so I guess he's my anti-hero.

This episode continues to deliver some good humor, this time all around. Dorothy gets some good one-liners and slams a door in Stan's face. Sophia continues to impress ("Let's get to the point. Dennis, what do you take home a week?" :lol:). Even Blanche and Rose offer more zingers.

But, the one thing this episode has going for it is, of course, Dorothy's confrontation with Stan at the end. Wow, Bea Arthur is a pretty damn fine actor. Especially at the end where she goes from full intense drama to comedy in the blink of an eye.

All in all, I liked how this one blended a very serious piece of drama with the show's signature comedy. Though, hopefully the show won't someday descend into M*A*S*H maudlin territory.
 
Oh of course, the wedding. Is Dorothy's daughter one of those whom would come back as a different actress? I remember that happening at least once. :D

And Stan was a very funny character. I never sympathised with him, and felt amazement for Dorothy for how she put up with him for all those years. Still though, his presence in the series is an important one.

I always loved how GG would stick drama into shows without compromising on the comedy. It even seemed a bit forward thinking in some aspects! I loved how they would openly talk about sex, menopause, homosexuality - whatever was going on that episode. It's a good eye opener for younger people that may have had sterner grandparent. :)
 
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