Aye men to that brother! Which is why DS9 is so awesome; its a series of events like that which give its depth and...
TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine
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Aye men to that brother! Which is why DS9 is so awesome; its a series of events like that which give its depth and...
Pah-wraith: Hero of the Federation.
Sisko mentioned the Fire Caves way back in season 1 ("The Nagus"). I like long-term story continuity like that.
It does make you wonder why the Prophets would have put their enemies in some caves on Bajor. I mean, apparently these pah-wraiths can get out pretty easy, if one took over Keiko. Makes you wonder how many others have escaped over the years and reeked havoc on Bajor. I thought the Prophets cared about the Bajorans. Why would they put their enemies on Bajor? Maybe they had nowhere else to put them? The Prophets' influence does seem to be limited to the Bajoran system. (We only see their influence anywhere else when Sisko discovers the Orb of the Emissary on Tyree.) But you'd think there's a random moon or something they could have used.
Apparently Odo's humanoid body has a glass jaw. I mean, he got knocked out by a single punch from an engineer.
I like it when we seen birthdays mentioned on Star Trek. It makes the characters seem more real.
It does make you wonder why the Prophets would have put their enemies in some caves on Bajor. I mean, apparently these pah-wraiths can get out pretty easy, if one took over Keiko. Makes you wonder how many others have escaped over the years and reeked havoc on Bajor. I thought the Prophets cared about the Bajorans. Why would they put their enemies on Bajor? Maybe they had nowhere else to put them? The Prophets' influence does seem to be limited to the Bajoran system. (We only see their influence anywhere else when Sisko discovers the Orb of the Emissary on Tyree.) But you'd think there's a random moon or something they could have used.
Apparently Odo's humanoid body has a glass jaw. I mean, he got knocked out by a single punch from an engineer.
I like it when we seen birthdays mentioned on Star Trek. It makes the characters seem more real.
I always liked Lofton - all the way through the show.
The Assignment is good, and is a brilliant example of why Keiko needed to be on the show for that Keiko thread that's floating around. Unfortunately for later-DS9, the Pah-Wraiths seem at their most formidable here. It's a shame that the writers never got a proper handle with them later on in the show - The Reckoning was dumb, and Dukat was sort of shoe-horned into their plot to keep him valid to the show; as character damaging as that was.
O'Brien is properly tortured here - as is tradition. Colm Meany and Rosalind Chao are very good in this episode.
The Assignment is good, and is a brilliant example of why Keiko needed to be on the show for that Keiko thread that's floating around. Unfortunately for later-DS9, the Pah-Wraiths seem at their most formidable here. It's a shame that the writers never got a proper handle with them later on in the show - The Reckoning was dumb, and Dukat was sort of shoe-horned into their plot to keep him valid to the show; as character damaging as that was.
O'Brien is properly tortured here - as is tradition. Colm Meany and Rosalind Chao are very good in this episode.
Trials and Tribble-ations (****½)
Imagine trying to write a story that straddles the line between being a loving tribute and also a parody, a story that's fuelled by nostalgia yet doesn't rely on it, and a story which is confined to be told within the confines of another story. Yes, Brannon Braga had quite a difficult task in front of him when he wrote Flashback and he fucked it right up. DS9's team confronted the same problem with Trials and Tribble-ations and they managed to create a classic episode beloved by those that don't even like DS9 all that much. Echevarria and Moore did one hell of a job on this script. There's a plot that's just strong enough to drive the action without taking itself so seriously that it gets in the way of the nostalgia. The jokes manage to draw humour from TOS without ever feeling like they're insulting it. The plot works pretty much perfectly within the framework of The Trouble With Tribbles, so much so that it enriches what is already considered a classic episode of TOS. For all the praise that DS9's writers get for their story and character arcs, we shouldn't forget the great work they put into standalone episodes like this.
The first time I saw Trials and Tribble-ations, The Trouble with Tribbles was shown directly before it, and so I recreated that experience the other night by watching them one after another. As I said, the episodes are pretty much seamless. There are some extremely minor errors, such as Sisko and Jadzia working at a panel that wasn't there on the original show, or Kirk's conversation over the intercom being several seconds longer than it should be, but I honestly can't say that I give a damn about such things. I had watched the remastered version of TTWT so the TOS footage used in T&T was grainier than I had just seen, but the exterior shots of the Enterprise and DSK-7 looked better than the CGI used in TTWT.
If there's one thing I'm going to criticise the episode for, it's the music. In every other way the episode finds the right tone, but the music is just standard DS9 music that barely tried to get into the spirit of TOS. The place where this is most noticeable is in the bar-fight scene where the music is fairly generic action music, which is completely at odds with the music in the original scene. That whole sequence was a comic tribute to a classic comedic scene, I don't understand why the music was played straight.
Sykonee's Counter: 33
Okay everyone, if you don't hear from me again, you'll know why...
Imagine trying to write a story that straddles the line between being a loving tribute and also a parody, a story that's fuelled by nostalgia yet doesn't rely on it, and a story which is confined to be told within the confines of another story. Yes, Brannon Braga had quite a difficult task in front of him when he wrote Flashback and he fucked it right up. DS9's team confronted the same problem with Trials and Tribble-ations and they managed to create a classic episode beloved by those that don't even like DS9 all that much. Echevarria and Moore did one hell of a job on this script. There's a plot that's just strong enough to drive the action without taking itself so seriously that it gets in the way of the nostalgia. The jokes manage to draw humour from TOS without ever feeling like they're insulting it. The plot works pretty much perfectly within the framework of The Trouble With Tribbles, so much so that it enriches what is already considered a classic episode of TOS. For all the praise that DS9's writers get for their story and character arcs, we shouldn't forget the great work they put into standalone episodes like this.
The first time I saw Trials and Tribble-ations, The Trouble with Tribbles was shown directly before it, and so I recreated that experience the other night by watching them one after another. As I said, the episodes are pretty much seamless. There are some extremely minor errors, such as Sisko and Jadzia working at a panel that wasn't there on the original show, or Kirk's conversation over the intercom being several seconds longer than it should be, but I honestly can't say that I give a damn about such things. I had watched the remastered version of TTWT so the TOS footage used in T&T was grainier than I had just seen, but the exterior shots of the Enterprise and DSK-7 looked better than the CGI used in TTWT.
If there's one thing I'm going to criticise the episode for, it's the music. In every other way the episode finds the right tone, but the music is just standard DS9 music that barely tried to get into the spirit of TOS. The place where this is most noticeable is in the bar-fight scene where the music is fairly generic action music, which is completely at odds with the music in the original scene. That whole sequence was a comic tribute to a classic comedic scene, I don't understand why the music was played straight.
Sykonee's Counter: 33
Okay everyone, if you don't hear from me again, you'll know why...
This episode is at least three stars, but I thought the nostalgia wore off towards the end and Dax's lines were a little forced with her saying 'she knows these people' but the 'he had the hands of a surgeon' was good though. Once you get over the 'WOW! The DS9 crew are on the original Enterprise interacting with the original characters!' thing this episode starts to feel a little flat.
But it is better than VOY's tribute (where they chucked in Sulu for one crazy mental episode) to TOS. Brannon Braga did indeed mess it up...
But it is better than VOY's tribute (where they chucked in Sulu for one crazy mental episode) to TOS. Brannon Braga did indeed mess it up...
This was loads better than Voyager's offering. It was a loving tribute from start to finish, and the story itself was really good. Very funny and touching overall.
In the same vein the only slight-but-not-at-all-important issue I have with this episode is that they changed the sound effect of Kirk's chair intercom. In the original Tribbles episode it just goes 'click' when he calls sickbay. In the DS9 episode it goes "BLALALALALALALA!", and couldn't be more noticeable if it tried...
I'd say it would probably have been 4.5 stars either way. The episode is a lot of fun and a lot of work went into it, but at the end of the day it's still a lovingly-made fluff-piece.
Yeah, that sure escalated quickly.
Let He Who Is Without Sin... (0)
I watched this episode on Sunday night and I've had a headache for the last few days. I believe there may be a connection between those two facts.
Do you suppose an officer in the US navy that's serving on an aircraft carrier would be allowed to take one of the planes to go on holiday? I don't imagine they're allowed to do that. Why are Worf and Jadzia allowed to take a runabout to Risa when it's going to spend most of its time unmanned in orbit of the planet? Do you suppose Ensign Ricky would be allowed to take a runabout when he goes on holiday, or is this is privilege reserved for senior officers? I know that this is actually a problem with a number of episodes throughout Star Trek, but I'm calling it out here because it allows me to avoid thinking about this episode.
I hate everyone in this episode, which is weird as I normally like most of the characters in this show. But in this particular episode everyone is insufferable, especially Worf. He is just an absolute wanker. I can understand the pain he suffers from being on Risa, the whole audience shares that pain, but the stick up his arse must have grown thorns for this episode, it's the only way to explain the way his character acted throughout. They try to explain it all by revealing a deep, dark secret from his past, but it's a hollow retcon thrown in to try and salvage a character they spent the last 40 minutes assassinating.
Then there's the Essentialists. There's a core of an interesting idea with these guys, but they're so stupid that watching them is like watching someone slowly drool into a cup. They decide to protest against people relaxing and having fun on a planet specifically designed for people to relax and have fun. That's like going to a beach and complaining that there's sand there. If there's sand in an office-building and it gets into people's shoes, that's something to be legitimately annoyed at, but leaving the office and going to the beach to complain about the sand in the office? That makes you a loon.
May I suggest that Starfleet implement General Order 8?
I agree with you that this episode is one of DS9's most pitiful and poorly executed attempts. But I do actually think that this revelation about Worf is important. It ties back to Guinan's conversation with him on TNG about why he doesn't laugh. As ill-conceived as the episode is, I do think that the anecdote from his childhood is an important detail in Worf's story.
And this episode does shatter (in a somewhat literal sense) the (imho) bizarre relationship between Leeta and Bashir. (I mean, really, it felt like it was TPTB saying, "Hmm, let's get our most physically attractive male character and put him with a good-looking dabo girl! Ratings!".) And I, personally, like the storyline that comes out of that development.
But I definitely agree that this episode is really not so good as an overall package.
Related, if one has never read MA's Behind-the-Scenes, or better yet, the DS9 Companion's, entry on this episode, you really should. It's kind of morbidly fascinating how many Murphy's Laws happened during the making of this episode. Sad too, 'cause they had some good ideas.
Also, thing I don't like about this episode: Curzon's "death by jama'haron". Hate it. Stupid. Uncalled for and bizarre. Really, Dax goes back to Risa for a good time after Curzon dies there? Without ever mentioning it? Meh. Also, we see Curzon dying, but still alive, in "Emissary" when the symbiont is transferred. Death by jama'haron sounds a lot like a heart attack to me, which doesn't really fit. (Unless it was an infection, of course, but that doesn't sound like a pleasant way to go, unlike what was implied in the episode.)
Rant over.
That's a very good point, and when you put it that way it reveals how little thought went into the New Essentialists. The writers seem to think that Risa would make the perfect target for a group concerned with Federation decadence, but you've just neatly explained why in fact it's a very poor choice of target for any group whose concerns are credible. We might say that the New Essentialists are supposed to be viewed as having the wrong idea - that's clearly the intention - but I don't think they're supposed to be morons. Sadly, there's nothing interesting for the audience in a setup where the philosophical opponent for the heroes comes across as stupid. Again, we might question whether there was actually supposed to be any philosophical depth to the episode, but if there wasn't, why bring in the Fullerton character and give him a political motivation?
I agree that there's an interesting concept buried in there somewhere; characters from the main protagonist nation who view their society as decadent and weak, playing on the beach as warfleets mass beyond its borders. An antagonistic group who aren't presented as an external enemy but who instead offer a different sort of "insider's view". If the writers insisted on creating him, Fullerton should have been a provocative character.
Combined with your runabout comment, it makes me wonder what could have been if the writers had tried making a provocative Risa episode. As regards the runabout issue, what if the New Essentialists had made that very point? What if we spent half an episode mucking about on Risa only for Fullerton, in his interactions with Dax and co, to explain his own view on what we've just been seeing - and point out, for example, that a military outpost heavily involved in an ongoing political crisis involving two well-armed and aggressive nations, and which is the gateway to the realm of a third aggressive nation that they know is a mounting threat, just lent one of its military-issue vessels to two off-duty officers so they could go to the beach. Now that would have been well-played, because we, as the audience, are, as you say, used to this sort of thing as one of Trek's little quirks, and to have the writers sit up and take notice, to challenge and question how they present the protagonists to us, might make us sit up and take notice. We might well be thinking "this guy's got a good point there; how will Dax and co respond?"
And then we have a potentially interesting episode.
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Yeah, Let he Who is Without Sin is without a doubt the second-worst DS9 episode. At least Meridian and The Muse, while their A-plots were definitely as bad, had okay B-plots. Let he who is without sin has no such saving graces... Worf was an awful caricature of himself, Risa was vile and tacky (It's the very last planet in Star Trek I would like to take a vacation on, Ceti Alpha Five and its ooie-gooie ear crawl worms included), the New Essentialists idiotic (protesting by tearing down curtains, really threatening, guys), Curzon didn't die that way as seen in Emissary, and somehow even the many women in bathing suits weren't that attractive.
It's bizarre how such an awful episode is right next to such greatness... The laws of electromagnetics must apply to Star Trek episodes too, making powerful positive and powerful negative charges attracted to each other.
It's bizarre how such an awful episode is right next to such greatness... The laws of electromagnetics must apply to Star Trek episodes too, making powerful positive and powerful negative charges attracted to each other.
Because the Enterprise and K7 were models newly built for DS9's use, rather than reused TOS footage.
I'd give the episode a **1/2. It's flawed but not too terrible. Worf is a real asshole (a lot more than usual) but there's so much booty and eyecandy (Jadzia's swimsuit, Leeta's boobs and those Risian chicks) that it kind of makes up for it. Plus it had some really funny moments like Worf going all mushy seeing Jadzia in her swimsuit, Quark with those (forget what they're called) two wooden sexual idols...
The Essentialists; myah. Really the episode was dragged down by Worf behaving too much like an asshole. But I thought that scene with him telling that childhood story to Jadzia was quite touching. Another thing people don't quite get is that Worf is a man of extremes. He is a Klingon, a bit out of place everywhere he goes (though in later seasons of TNG he seemed to fit in), so his emotional reactions reflect his core Klingon attitude. Maybe Worf was simply really pissed off and he couldn't do any Klingon rituals or traditions to resolve the situation so he resorted to petty jealousy and irritation.
In any case Let He Who Is Without Sin... deserves something above 0 and the only episode in DS9 worth a 0 is Rivals or perhaps Meridian.
I'm sure I remember reading/hearing that with DSN's 30th Anniversary tribute, everyone wanted to be invovled with it. With VOY's not so much so.
Comparing the two it really seems that the entire production team of "Trials and Tribble-ations" really wanted to pay respect to TOS.
Comparing the two it really seems that the entire production team of "Trials and Tribble-ations" really wanted to pay respect to TOS.
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