Was I the only one who disliked Far Beyond the Stars?
- Thread starter Crazyewok
- Start date
I didn't particularly like it (but didn't hate it either).
Not a bad episode. I liked seeing the actors in a more 'contemporary setting' for once. I also liked how character relations translated to that setting, that some specific character interactions still held true in that other setting, as well as some of the show's central themes. I also like the idea that within the episode itself, the possibility is kept open that Benny really is imagining Benjamin Sisko, instead of the other way around.
Don't get me started on the breakdown scene acting, though
Not a bad episode. I liked seeing the actors in a more 'contemporary setting' for once. I also liked how character relations translated to that setting, that some specific character interactions still held true in that other setting, as well as some of the show's central themes. I also like the idea that within the episode itself, the possibility is kept open that Benny really is imagining Benjamin Sisko, instead of the other way around.
Don't get me started on the breakdown scene acting, though
Well, I've experienced several real-life breakdowns in people close to me, and his acting still doesn't convince me. It's not exactly that he is acting too extreme or so - IRL, I've seen people breaking down go "over the top" way more than he does-, it's more that he seems to erm, force out his depiction of emotions that aren't really there, which makes them seem shallow and unreal to me.
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I'm slowly working my way through season six on DVD and have just now watched this for the first time. A nice experiment. Great to see some of the regulars out of makeup and prosthetics and in new roles. It doesn't have the most original premise or the most profound insights, but overall I think it was up to DS9's high standards.
Sisko/Russel's breakdown was a little bit funny, but I think just short of going over the top considering the circumstances. Brooks has done a lot worse (not that he doesn't usually turn in a good performance).
Sisko/Russel's breakdown was a little bit funny, but I think just short of going over the top considering the circumstances. Brooks has done a lot worse (not that he doesn't usually turn in a good performance).
This. While there is certainly a lot of themes involving racism and xenophobia elsewhere involving alien races, I think this was also making a point specifically about humans, and to do that, it was helpful to set it in the past. Contrasting this with regular DS9 showed that humans had moved beyond that. Sisko's skin color is completely irrelevant on DS9, and that's the whole point: in the past, it would have been a big deal. (It's kind of like, I think it's the first eps of TNG where Q is talking about the savagery of the human species, and Picard tries to tell them how far humans have come.)
This issue is addressed in one of the holosuite/Vic Fontaine eps where Sisko tells Kassidy he refuses to go to Vic's because of the racism in that time period. Kassidy says it's an idealized version of the time, but that it doesn't mean they're forgetting about racism in the past. Still, Sisko's initial refusal shows that he feels, that by having fun in a cleaned-up version of the past, he's doing a disservice to the memory of all the people in the past who suffered because of racism.
I can't stand it when he shouts, in this or any other episode. I have no problem with Avery Brooks otherwise, but his shouting annoys me so bad. "Iiiittt's Reeeaaaalll!"
Other than that, I thought it was a fun episode (though a bit preachy), I liked seeing a lot of the actors without makeup, and little funny things they said, like Dax talking about a story about a woman with a worm in her belly.
QFT.
I don't see it as hopping on the PC bandwagon, and there are lots of reasons a person might dislike it for, but really, the themes are not unique to this episode. It's just that something like Dukat saying Cardassians are naturally superior to the Bajorans just doesn't quite hit home in the same way as real world examples of human racism in this ep, and I think that's the whole point. Racism still exists in DS9, but it's making the point that humans aren't as bad as they used to be.
But I can definitely understand not liking it because of how heavy-handed it is (and Sisko's enunciation!),
But I can definitely understand not liking it because of how heavy-handed it is (and Sisko's enunciation!),
I love this episode, but I've always had a question regarding the breakdown scene. How does one overact a mental breakdown? People here are calling it hammy, yet doesn't that go with the territory in terms of breakdowns? I probably could have done with one less "It's Real", but other than that, I thought it brought out the desperation and sorrow really well.
I'd recommend reading a few of the other posts in this thread to get your answer. It's probably better we don't rehash this debate.
--Sran
I skimmed through the posts and I'm not sure my question is rehashing what was said. Granted, it did almost get there with the whole life experience thing, but my question really is how can having an uncontrollable breakdown be hammy and what Brooks could have done to improve that performance. I've never had a breakdown, nor do I know anyone who had one, but I have to think acting a breakdown is incredibly tough to do.
did the Ben in his story have any hair?
I didn't like this episode when it first aired, but I watched it again this week and loved it. In his intensity, I think that Brooks was spot on in approaching the breakdown. It just seemed odd that Benny was equally coherent, which I attribute to how it was written. My biggest concern about the episode remained: it didn't clearly connect to the series as a whole. It could be an allegory about how Sisko interpreted his trials and challenges, which makes it intriguing to a series fan. On the other hand, I don't think it would tell a newcomer much about the series, the character and their conflicts.
Kudos to Alaimo and Coombs for the intense beating they hand out.
Kudos to Alaimo and Coombs for the intense beating they hand out.
Yeah, I don't care for it either. Like other episodes such as "Family" from TNG, I just don't care for the "down-to-earth" drama episodes. I like sci-fi in my Trek. But, that's just my preference--if it's an episode many love and respect--great!
You guys are crazy. It is CLASSIC sci-fi. It is meta. it is DS9 amazing. It shows us all our faves in different roles. It hints that all DS9 (and trek by extension) is a dream in the mind of a sci-fi writer, which IT WAS until Roddenberry made it a reality! It is a great great great bit of sci fi television, right up there with the greatest eps of Twilight Zone.
I LOVE IT!
I LOVE IT!
Not to mention that Martok's actor also played Sisko's Vulcan captain in the pilot...I love how 'Martok' was this jovial Santa Claus-like artist.
And seemed unusally emotional for a Vulcan. I remember him screaming just before he died.
--Sran
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