DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Season 7 (Highly Recommended) (1 Viewer)

[PhilipG]

It was like a "good episode of Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century"

C'mon, every episode of Gil Gerard's Buck Rogers is a good episode! It's not remotely "SF", but it's very enjoyable when viewed in the correct way (usually after a few drinks).

 

[Tony Whalen]

C'mon, every episode of Gil Gerard's Buck Rogers is a good episode!

Only if Col. Deering is present.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Rex, I think you may be watching the wrong show. Whenever I read your lengthy posts criticizing Star Trek, I seldom see anything I disagree with, but you always bring up many items that never occurred to me while watching the show.

I will go out on a limb and say that Star Trek is not science fiction. It is a combination of drama and fantasy. Only the setting is science fiction. The stories are either about an ethical issue (do the ends justify the means, is duty more important than personal desires) or some sort of "science-fictioney" fantasy concept. MIRROR MIRROR and YESTERDAY'S ENTERPRISE are great episodes, but I don't think the premise of either episode is "scientifically based". Every time Odo shape-shifts into a rat or a serving tray, he apparently breaks the law of conservation of matter. Come to think of it, virtually every episode of every Star Trek series features at least one bipedal, humaniod alien with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. I have a hard time believing that beings such as Spock and Worf and Dax really exist.

What elements of Star Trek qualify as science fiction?

1. The library computer is not unlike our internet.
2. Doors that open automatically. Supermarkets have had these for years.
3. Phasers are probably not too far off the mark.
4. Perhaps one day androids that can pass for human (at least superficially) will exist.

What elements of Star Trek qualify as fantasy?

1. Humaniod aliens as noted above. (who can interbreed with one another!)
2. Faster than light travel. (And radio transmissions that are faster still)
3. Teleportation.
4. Time travel.
5. Parallel universes.
6. The universal translator.
7. I never bought the idea of "holo-matter".
8. The fact that any piece of equipment can apparently be modified, modulated, or otherwise altered in order to perform ANY desired function. (These ships have so many ways of "modulating their warp signatures" to look like another ship, it is a wonder anyone trusts the sensors!)
9. Space is treated as 2-D. When 2 ships approach each other, they are always on the same plane and always oriented in the same direction (even though there is no "up" or "down" in space).
10. Resurrection from the dead.
11. Visions from the Prophets.
12. Possession.
13. Telepathy & empathy & telekenesis.
14. Injuries can be healed and diseases cured simply by waving a magic wand.
15. Sound in the vacuum of space. (Apparently, in space, no one can hear you scream unless you really speak up)
16. I think it was Clarke who said that sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic, yet I'm tempted to classify omnipotent beings like "Q" and "Trelane" as fantasy elements, with little to no scientific basis. Also, the fate of Wesley Crusher.
17. A crewman takes 43 minutes to metamorphose (metamorphosize?) into some horrible beast, or the ship takes 43 minutes to build up to an explosive overload, but once the remedy is applied, the crewman or ship reverts back to normal instantaneously.
18. All members of an alien species enjoy the SAME food & beverage. (I like how DS9 poked fun at this concept by assuming that all humans drink root beer. )

I don't think Gene Roddenberry had any great desire to explore scientific principles. I think he expected a sci-fi show to receive less scrutiny from the censors than a cop show.

***

I have to say, I don't quite understand the disdain for the holodeck. DS9 used it in many episodes for many purposes (weapons demos, space for Wild Child Molly to run around in) but out of 176 episodes, only 2 are true "holodeck" episodes, in that the central conflict springs from a fictional scenario inside the holodeck. Same with TNG. It was used to reconstruct the scene of a crime, to perform Shakespeare, an officer who had problems socializing used it to escape reality, etc. Out of 178 episodes, I count 3 gratuitous uses of the holodeck. Ironically, the holodeck is probably one of the most scientifically plausible gadgets on the show! You should be thankful for the holodeck episodes!

Is there a single episode that holds up as true science-fiction? The presence of humaniod aliens alone, in my opinion, makes each and every episode of Star Trek a fantasy that can never really happen in this universe.

***

One last thing. It is amazing how DS9 has grown over its seven years. In the first season, every episode started the same way.

We're picking up elevated neutrino readings. A ship is coming through the wormhole. Who could it be? Why, it's our very special guest star, Peter Sellers!

 

[Rex Bachmann]

PhilipG wrote (post #42):

Well, it's "not a stretch" if you believe in the inevitability of cultural and technological continuity from today's "Western civilization", as previously stated. Being a part of that "civilization", for good or for ill, I'm naturally partial to it, but I don't share in what I see as the hubris of believing it has some teleological destiny that assures or even organically favors its survival in anything like its present form for unforeseeable future time. When the writers depict classical music as the epitome of human artistic achievement, as they so often do in these programs, their elitist "Western" biasses are showing out from under their cloaks of pretended evenhandedness. This is not solely a Star Trek disease, by any means. In a Crusade episode entitled "The Needs of Earth", an alien fugitive who supposedly has stolen all the most valuable knowledge of his civilization and is waiting to find the race to which to impart it, against the will of his planet's rulers (of course), decides it must be the Earth people only after he accidently hears some of the work of Beethoven (I believe). With ST, it's usually Shakespeare, instead of music, but the principle (and the objection)'s the same. "Our truth" is confirmed! Off-worlders (theoretically "objective" and impartial) must share the tastes and opinions of the "Western" elite! (Oh, brother!) My problem with the Hollywood-produced "sci-fi" in this particular regard is that most of it falls under this bias (quite naturally, I think), and I would prefer to see some greater and more frequent detachment therefrom.

Lastly, as to the music itself, the problem I have is not specifically with the characters' listening to or reproducing some (of what is for us) contemporary music, it is the fact that's all they are ever shown listening to or reproducing (e.g., Data's choice of "Blue Skies" in Nemesis), as if that is all they have any real interest in or knowledge of. Have they no music of their own to listen to (sometimes)? The post-TOS budgets for ST programming have made composing some independent, realistic, "futuristic" music for occasional use on the program(s) not unreasonable and not unrealistic. (Ron Jones and Jay Chattaway could have done superbly at it and the shows could've sold the music in albums as part of the "franchise's" merchandising empire. I'd've bought it.) Instead, on TNG the characters' choice is never "contemporary" (for them), only something old and, naturally, "comfy-familiar" for the intended (late 20th-century) Anglo-American audiences. Some realism! Some "imagining" of the future! SOSO.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Rob Gardiner wrote (post #44):

You may have missed the discussion that took place in Dick's "Anyone else draw the line with the Holodeck...?"

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?&postid=1509461#post15094- thread. Please see the issues raised there.

 

[Chris]

I think the argument of SF "soft" SF vs. "hard" SF is about as important to Star Trek ratings as it was to the success of "Alf" that is to say, not at all. Good television, despite it's classification as whatever sort, tends to find an audience.

 

[Frank@N]

Would anyone be willing to take a stab at ranking the DS9 sets?

I have all the STTNG sets, but may have to cut a few corners on the DS9 sets (and even more corners on the Voyager sets).

I'm currently missing DS9 seasons 1,2,&7.

This is what I've gathered from 'reviews':

- S1 is shorter (but not any cheaper) and seems to contain too many tie-ins with STTNG.

- S2 still finds the show a hit or miss work-in-progress.

- S7 finds the show running on fumes with questionable new character intros too late in the game.

I can probably afford one more season and it probably comes down to 2 or 7.

Any thoughts?

 

[Frank@N]

Any thoughts?

Re-read Scott's review, I should probably add S7 despite some program mis-steps.

Going to be interesting to see the Voyager reviews, I think I'll only get about three of those sets at most.

Probably the last three seasons, as I recall it was almost a different show after some of the cast changes.

 

[Tony Whalen]

I would get 7, if you can only get one.

Yes, the intro of the new Dax took a little away, but for the most part, the season is a lot of fun. (Besides, what can you do when an actor leaves?)

1 & 2 tend to be a little slower, more political and more introspective, as they explore the new characters. I wouldn't say there were THAT many tie-ins with TNG in 1 though.

Personally, I gotta have 'em all. But yah.. 7 if budget won't allow.

Besides, don't you want to have the conclusion to the entire Dominion War arc?

 

[Scott Kimball]

I recommend 7. I thought it was stronger than 1-4, but not as strong as 5-6.

While the Dax character was weak, they did well enough with it... though I thought it would have worked if they had introduced her, then let her go away, or become a minor character who lived at the station and stayed out of the way. They spent too much time rebuilding the character.

They did some excellent stuff with other characters who normally didn't get that much screen time: Garak, Damar, Weyoun... that helped fill the void.

If you hate Dax and Vic, I can see how this would be a tough season to enjoy... but I thought it was excellent.

-Scott

 

[MarkBourne]

Another vote for 7. Hands down. No question. Especially if you have and enjoy 5 and 6. The final ten eps are worth the price by themselves. (Another review of 7.)

 

[Kai Zas]

Golly, turns out all female lead characters that survived in the alternate universe are lesbians. That doesn't bode well for Smiley and Bashir. (It's a shame they had to use the alternate universe for that sort of thing. The trill ep with the big kiss doesn't count. There's already too much gender-confusion in trill society to count that as a truly gay oriented episode.)

Only 12 eps to go... Paramount should've started with Voyager. I might've bought it. Now there's NO WAY I'll touch the sets. Bad marketing on their part

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Kai Zas wrote (post #53):

tuksoor

. This is a "family show", now!

 

[CaptDS9E]

Whoever said season 7 the show was running on fumes wasnt watching the same thing i was.

capt

 

[Nelson Au]

Somewhat back to topic, I recently found the Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J. Erdman. It's a great book I keep near me when I watch DS9 now that I've been collecting the DVD's. I meant to buy this book when DS9 wrapped production. It's a wonderful book I highly recommend. It's the best of the Companion books about Star Trek.

The author was on the set for much of the show, can tell us what was in the minds of the writers for each episode and alternative versions prior to the filmed versions, and the actors feelings about their characters, etc.

It's a great book that I can look up an episode after I see it. It's added to my enjoyment of viewing the DVD's. It also helps to explain the roles of Ira Behr and lack of participation of Berman. It's also increased my respect for the production staff of this show, they really cared to put out an excellent product. They really cared about the stories and the huge cast of characters and seeing their arcs completed to the end.

It might be hard to find if you're interested, but I manged to special order it from my local Barnes and Noble. It could help those decide what season sets to buy too.

Also a great book, the Outer Limits Companion and Twilight Zone Companions for those DVD's.

 

[Sven Lorenz]

Too bad they didn't reedit the clip collage at the end of the final episode to put a few shots of Terry Farrell in.

She had a big fallout with the producers because they used her voice in the episode "Penumbra" without asking for her permission and that's why she wasn't included in that sequence.

But considering her participation in the DVD extras she seems to have reconciled with the producers by now.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I saw that book in a store today. If it's hard to find, maybe I should go back for it.

 

[Kai Zas]

It's not THAT hard to find. I've just orderd a copy on amazon.uk.

 

[Nelson Au]

I'm glad you guys are finding the DS9 Companion. I had a strong sense it's OOP and the ones out there are what's left.

 

[David Williams]

I definitely had a hard time getting a copy of the DS9 Companion when my birthday rolled around in April. I ended up ordering it through one of Amazon's used partners who had a new copy. I don't usually go that route, but neither Barnes & Noble nor Borders could order me a copy within 6 weeks (My local B&N called me back 5 months later telling me they finally received a copy).