Watching DS9: 1x01 "The Emissary"

[InklingStar]

Re: Watching DS9: 1x01 "Emissary"

Xeris said:

UnknownSample said:
"The first four or five hours are nothing but relentless anvils to the head filled with obvious plot turns, hideously cheesy dialogue, dreadful acting and character issues so blatant I predicted the entire plot just from the liner notes."

In other words, Space: A&B was ahead of its time. All vaguely science-fiction-ish shows are like that now, in the US anyway.

So come up with something better.

Reruns of DS9!

 

[BrotherBenny]

Re: Watching DS9: 1x01 "Emissary"

InklingStar said:

Xeris said:

UnknownSample said:
"The first four or five hours are nothing but relentless anvils to the head filled with obvious plot turns, hideously cheesy dialogue, dreadful acting and character issues so blatant I predicted the entire plot just from the liner notes."

In other words, Space: A&B was ahead of its time. All vaguely science-fiction-ish shows are like that now, in the US anyway.

So come up with something better.

Reruns of DS9!

Now you're talking!

But seriously, we need some good scifi shows and soon.

 

[Mysterion]

Jonz writes:

"Except for the beginning another high-point to me in this episode is the meeting between Sisko and Picard on the Enterprise. This scene is very strong and especially Stewart delivers a top-notch performance (as usual) when Sisko tells him that they met in battle at Wolf 359. Picard is clearly shaken by this and it takes him some time to find his footing again. I also think that this scene risks a lot by having the ‘leading man’ of Deep Space Nine having being somewhat hostile towards Picard which at this point in time was Treks leading captain and extremely popular with the fans."

I agree with Jonz that this is a great scene in the pilot. I seem to see it different than most people, though.

Most folks seem to remark on how Sisko is being hostile to Picard. I've always seen it the other way around. In fact to my eye, Picard comes off as a real prick in this scene, while Sisko is the one that comes off as the sympathetic character. Especially since we've just seen the loss of his wife a bit earlier on. Okay, it wasn't really Picard's fault, but he treats Sisko rather unprofessionally, IMO.

 

[AOQ]

Mysterion said:
I agree with Jonz that this is a great scene in the pilot. I seem to see it different than most people, though.

Most folks seem to remark on how Sisko is being hostile to Picard. I've always seen it the other way around. In fact to my eye, Picard comes off as a real prick in this scene, while Sisko is the one that comes off as the sympathetic character. Especially since we've just seen the loss of his wife a bit earlier on. Okay, it wasn't really Picard's fault, but he treats Sisko rather unprofessionally, IMO.

I'm not really seeing what Picard should have done differently. He's initially professional and polite, and then Sisko makes it abundantly clear that he resents Picard, will not be friendly to him, and holds him personally responsible for actions that he couldn't control. How do you respond to an implicit accusation like "you killed my wife!" without seeming trite or making him angrier? Picard could try to be empathic anyway, despite those risks, but that's not in line with his character, really; it's more his style to retreat into keeping things all-business.

I've heard the comment that it seems like Stewart is intentionally playing Picard as more cold and distant than We The Viewer are used to, to emphasize the impression that Sisko sees him differently than a member of the TNG family would.

 

[Yassim]

Mysterion said:
Most folks seem to remark on how Sisko is being hostile to Picard. I've always seen it the other way around. In fact to my eye, Picard comes off as a real prick in this scene, while Sisko is the one that comes off as the sympathetic character. Especially since we've just seen the loss of his wife a bit earlier on. Okay, it wasn't really Picard's fault, but he treats Sisko rather unprofessionally, IMO.

I wouldn't say that Picard comes off as a prick, but he is definitely rocked back on his heels, which scores Sisko some points with the viewers. We know Picard is a force to contend with, and Sisko has him on the defensive right away. Picard has no response at all.

I'd agree that Sisko comes across as sympathetic. We don't exactly blame him for attacking Picard... but we don't necessarily take his side. We learn that Sisko's in pain, it's close to the surface, and the last three years haven't really healed him or even dulled his pain much. We feel for him, even if he's out of line.

Interestingly, Picard's pain makes him vulnerable. Sisko's pain makes him strong (in this scene).

I think both characters come off as wounded, as both strong and vulnerable.