Deep Space Nine: For the Fans (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

A couple days ago I watched:

• 2x07 - "Rules of Acquisition": It's a Ferengi-centric episode, and I don't love those. The farce, in particular, was too broad for me in this one. On the other hand, the build-up of the Dominion as this whispered name that everybody in the Gamma Quadrant seems to fear but nobody seems to want to talk about is interesting.
  
  
• 2x08 - "Necessary Evil": This episode answers one of the big lingering questions from the first season: How did Odo, the only known example of his species, go from a lab rat trotted out to entertain guests to the head of security for an entire space station? It also gives us a glimpse into Kira's days as a rebel freedom fighter, before peace and the Federation's civilizing influence began to influence her behavior. Odo and Kira have probably the oldest friendship of all of the characters (except maybe Sisko and Dax, depending on how you look at it), and it's interesting that that friendship began with Kira manipulating Odo into being her unwitting co-conspirator.

Today I watched:

• 2x10 - "Sanctuary": There were a few things I liked about this episode: First and foremost, that it took the universal translator a long time to decipher the Skrreean language. Whether they really were from the Alpha Quadrant or not, they'd spent the entirety of their recorded history in the Gamma Quadrant, on the other side of the galaxy. It makes sense that their language would be very different than the Alpha Quadrant languages. It was also interesting that they were a matriarchal society, where the women were generally larger and taller than the men. Anything that breaks away from aliens that are essentially human beings with only one bit of prosthetics as a differentiating factor is a good thing. I would love to visit Draylon II in the "Picard" era and see what the Skrreeans have made of it.

 

[Sam Favate]

Necessary Evil is one of the greats of the series IMO. The background we’re given on Odo, Kira, Dukat and the station really adds to everything we’re seeing in the present.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This evening I watched:

• 2x11 - "Rivals": Chris Sarandon was born to play this sort of overly smooth sleazebag. Otherwise, it felt a lot like a first season episode: In particular, the way the rivalry between Sarandon's character and Quark in the A-story paralleled the raquetball rivalry between Bashir and O'Brien in the B-story. I've never been a fan of science fiction where some force manipulates probability (the mutant power of Zazie Beetz's character in the second Deadpool movie is another example). It always just felt too much like magic to me.
  
  
• 2x12 - "Necessary Evil": This was an interesting episode, forcing Odo to confront his past, and forcing his past to confront Odo. It was particularly fascinating to see how similar Mora Pol looked to Odo, indicating that Odo crafted his humanoid form in Mora Pol's image. My one issue is that I don't see a Starfleet officer beaming what is clearly a sacred artifact off of the planet, or leaving without a second thought when the artifact's absence sets off a cataclysmic environmental response.

 

[Josh Dial]

My one issue is that I don't see a Starfleet officer beaming what is clearly a sacred artifact off of the planet, or leaving without a second thought when the artifact's absence sets off a cataclysmic environmental response.

Can't wait for you to watch the season 6 episode "The Reckoning".

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight I watched:

• 2x13 - "Armageddon Game": This episode takes nonproliferation to new extremes, with the two previously warring peoples not only destroying their weapons of mass destruction but also wiping out anybody who knows anything about how the WMDs worked. The extreme dangrousness of the biogenic weapons was undercut, however, by the fact that Dr. Bashir quickly and easily reversed the effects once they made it back to the station. Basically the whole episode was built around Bashir and O'Brien being trapped together in a high stress situation, so the writers could have some fun with their frenemy dynamic. The highlight of the episode for me was the final beat, with Keiko realizing she was mistaken about O'Brien having coffee in the late afternoon; had she not been, her husband wouldn't be alive.
  
  
• 2x14 - "Whispers": This episode was interesting conceptually, but frustrating as executed. I'm just not a big fan of episodes where most of the characters are acting out of character and the reason why isn't revealed until the end of the episode. Most of the weird beats make sense in retrospect, once you know what's really going on, but there are a few moments that feel like cheats: Bashir not remembering that O'Brien's mother had died; Keiko being so eager for O'Brien to eat the stew; Quark not knowing the number of the Rule of Acquisition he was citing.
  
  
• 2x15 - "Paradise": On the other hand, I enjoy episodes about human colonies that have been developing independently of the Federation for an extended period. However, of the five (also counting "The Paradise Syndrome" from TOS and "North Star" from Enterprise in the Alpha Quadrant, "The 37's" from Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, and "New Eden" in the Beta Quadrant from Discovery) this was the least successful. Part of that is because, having only been isolated for a decade, there wasn't the room for genuine divergence that existed in the other episodes, where the remote human colonies were originally populated with people from pre-warp eras. But the other part of that is the episode didn't really have a strong point of view about whether the colony was a noble endeavor or a Luddite cult. I was also turned off by the characterization of Alixus; I think the writers' goal was to delve into the psychology of a fanatical leader, but the end result feels very hostile to strong female leadership, with Nurse Ratched undertones. By the end of the episode, she is so villainous that the episode never really has to grapple with the merits of her philosophy. As for the location of the colony, it's only identified as being in a star system near the wormhole. If it's on the Gamma Quadrant side, it raises the question of how their ship got to the other side of the galaxy before the wormhole was discovered. If it's on the Alpha Quadrant side, it raises the question of why Alixus would choose a planet within the Cardassian sphere of influence for her social experiment.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight I watched:

• 2x16 - "Shadowplay": The A plot in this episode didn't really feel like a DS9 plot, telling the kind of episodic story that would fit more comfortably on one of the starship-based shows. That being said, I liked it a lot. The big twist I saw coming only because of the episode's title. It explored similar ideas to the Doctor's journey on "Voyager", and came to similar conclusions: mainly, that computer programs that are designed to adapt, learn, and grow eventually evolve beyond what their authors could have anticipated -- into beings with autonomy of thought and entitled to the unalienable rights endowed to all individuals. The Doctor evolved due to running far longer than ever intended, under circumstances that Lewis Zimmerman could never have accounted for. The people of this colony evolved due to decades of accumulated experiences. The dynamic between Odo and Taya was really wonderful as well. Part of that is a credit to Noley Thornton, one of only a small handful of really talented child performers in this era of Trek. But the main reason was the thematic resonance; both Odo and Taya are unconventional lifeforms. Because of Odo's experience as a non-humanoid, he could see Taya and the rest of the village in a different light than most other people would have. It gives Rene Auberjonois some different facets to play as Odo. It was also a nice surprise to see Kenneth Mars as the colony's lawman. A wonderful character actor, who gives this small role real warmth and humanity. When the truth about the colony is revealed, we get yet another ominous mention of the Dominion. I don't have a lot to say about the B and C plots, but I did like that Jake isn't interested in joining Starfleet, and that his father is okay with that.
  
  
• 2x18 - "Profit and Loss": This episode was basically Casablanca with Quark as Rick Blaine and Garak as Renault. I still haven't made up my mind about whether Quark having such a heroic side makes him more three-dimensional or disappointing that the writers felt the need to give him a redeeming side that is so contrary to his nature up until this point. Garak is also the least opaque he has been up until this point; we learn that he is on the station as a sort of exile imposed by the Cardassian military. We also learn that, for all of his clever machinations, he has an idealistic side. It's probably the weakest material yet for the character, but Andrew Robinson is so great in the role that he completely sells it. One question I had: The three Cardassians is the political opposition were being handed over to Cardassia as part of a prisoner exchange, but the three-episode arc at the beginning of the season made a big deal about how the Cardassians were supposed to have returned all of the Bajoran prisoners as part of the withdrawal agreement, and the discovery of all of the Bajorans in the Cardassian labor camp created a major diplomatic incident. How can there be a prisoner exchange if Cardassia doesn't have any more Bajoran prisoners?

 

[Sam Favate]

I enjoyed Profit and Loss - it's one of my favorite Ferengi episodes, and there are so many good ones. Yes, it is like Casablanca ("Everybody comes to Quark's...") but if you're going to steal, steal from the best. I thought Armin Shimerman, Andrew Robinson and Mary Crosby all did terrific work in this.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Today I watched:

• 2x19 - "Blood Oath": Whenever TOS characters appear in nineties "Trek", it gives the episode a little shot of energy. It was great that they were able to get Michael Ansara, John Colicos, and William Campbell back three decades later to play versions of the characters that were about a century older -- although it was strange that they had the TNG Klingon look when they had the flat foreheads in their original appearances. The story was an interesting one, too, one I had seen told with Klingons before: it's basically the Trek equivalent of a group of octogenarian World War II vets going on one last mission in the twilight of their lives.
  
  
• 2x20/2x21 - "The Maquis": If this had been a TNG two-parter, the appeal to Cal Hudson's better angels would have been successful; he would have put his Starfleet uniform back on, and cooler heads would have prevailed. But this is not TNG, and Hudson is more like a Colonel Kurtz figure - an able and charismatic leader who who is given a posting in a hostile and transformed by that posting into something that is no longer compatible with the civilization that put him there. Bernie Casey was good casting for the character; he conveys both the warmth of Hudson's friendship with Sisko, and the zeal that turned Hudson into a fanatic. The introduction of the Marquis does a couple important things: It gives the Federation more of a stake in this region of space, whereas most of the conflict on DS9 up to this point involved Sisko arbitrating disputes between Cardassia and Bajor. It also provides the show an opportunity to explore how Sisko has been changed by his time commanding Deep Space Nine. While he hasn't gone nearly as far as Hudson has, he no longer sees things the way that Starfleet Command on Earth does.
  
  
• 2x22 - "The Wire": This is a big Garek episode, and we seem to learn a lot over the course of the episode about him, and are finally left at the end thinking we might not know anything about him. Another tremendous performance from Andrew Robinson, especially at the moments where the pain from the failing implant is particularly debilitating -- because while the words coming out of his mouth may or may not be lies, the emotion with which they are said is true. We see his tremendous guilt, his tremendous regret and disappointment, the misery of his life on a space station that must feel to him like a monument to his failure, his friendship and even longing for Bashir, and his self-recrimination for his affection toward Bashir. Paul Dooley is great in his scene as Enabran Tain, the feared head of the dreaded Obsidian Order. You see some of the same elements in his performance that Robinson brings to Garek, but whereas Garek has an underlying warmth, Tain has an underlying coldness. Dooley plays him like a father who is furious that his favorite son has disgraced the family.
  
  
• 2x23 - "Crossover": A mirror universe episode, which aren't really my favorite. Conceptually, it never made much sense to me; a universe that diverged from the Prime timeline many centuries earlier wouldn't have any of the same people in it, much less exact doppelgangers in many of the same places. I understand why the writers and actors like it, because it gives them the chance to play scenes and moments that would be out of bounds in the Prime universe. The idea that Kirk's influence to set the Terran Empire on a better path ultimately led to its subjugation is an interesting one. But it's hard to invest too much in a universe that I know I'll be leaving by the end of the hour.

 

[Sam Favate]

Blood Oath and The Wire are two of the show's best. Blood Oath adds some great characterization to Dax, and she's a better character from here on. The Wire is among the best Garak episodes, which are always good.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Today I watched:

• 2x24 - "The Collaborator": This is one of those episodes you can point to when people ask what differentiates DS9 from other nineties Trek. A decent and honorable man loses out on a position of great authority that he has earned and would be well-suited to because his political adversary, who previously aided and abetted a failed insurrection attempt, spread lies about him. He chose to prioritize the needs of Bajor over his own ego and reputation, while his political adversary chose to to risk the denigration of the former Kai, unifying symbol of her people, in order to facilitate her own desperate power grab. And her ploy works. We also get further insight into how things worked on Bajor during the occupation; I had assumed that the Cardassians had ruled the planet directly, but it sounds like it worked more like Vichy France, with a Bajoran puppet government as the public face and the Cardassians pulling the strings behind the scenes. Also: Was it just my imagination, or is Odo secretly in love with Kira?
  
  
• 2x25 - "Tribunal": This was the first time the show has spent a lot of time on Cardassia Prime, and it's just as bleak and Orwellian as I would have expected. The trial is almost an exact inversion of criminal trials in most modern liberal democracies: The verdict is determined before the trial; and instead of an adversarial system, it is an inquisitorial system where the defense openly collaborates with the judge-prosecutor to establish the defendant's guilt. It made sense to choose O'Brien to be the wrongly accused; he comes from the world of the Enterprise-D, and is pretty squeaky clean like all of the TNG characters. The rest of the senior staff on DS9 are all shades of gray. That lack of any doubt about his innocence really allowed the episode to stay focused on the Cardassian legal system itself, and what it says about its people.
  
  
• 2x26 - "The Jem'Hadar": This was a great season finale. What starts as a benign story about Sisko not getting the one-on-one time he desired with his son quickly escalates to the destruction of an entire Galaxy-class starship. What quickly becomes clear is that the Federation, and the other civilizations in the Alpha Quadrant, are outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered, and outplanned. The Federation, with its ethos of discovery and friendship, blundered blindly into the Gamma Quadrant without any strategic sense of what it was getting itself into. Meanwhile, the Dominion was biding its time, observing and evaluating and strategizing. The season ends with Deep Space None in a very ominous situation.
  
  
• 3x01/3x02 - "The Search": This two-parter picks up weeks after the events of the second season finale. Sisko and his son are back on Earth, briefing Starfleet Command on the events that transpired in the Gamma Quadrant. Starfleet has apparently issued new comm badges across the fleet, and the senior staff of Deep Space Nine has determined that the station would be conquered in less than two hours, should the Dominion come through the wormhole. Sisko returns with an unexpected form of reinforcement; the USS Defiant, a failed prototype warship developed by Starfleet after the Enterprise-D's first contact with the Borg. It's almost jarring existing in such a Federation-designed space after two seasons of Cardassian architecture. The other big development is Odo finally learning about his origins, and then discovering that his time in the Alpha Quadrant has made him incompatible with his own kind. A big part of that incompatibility is his loyalty to the team aboard Deep Space Nine, and the revelation that his fellow Changlings are the Founders in charge of the Dominion. He was an unwitting initial scout for an invasion not planned to begin for hundreds of years. Less successful for me was the simulation of a brokered peace between the Federation and the Dominion; it was obvious early on in the second episode that everything from Sisko and Bashir being "rescued" had to be fake somehow. Too many characters acting just a little bit out of character, too many big plot swings to all be stuffed into one season opener. Once I realized it wasn't real, I got impatient for the reveal of what was really going on.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Today I watched:

• 2x24 - "The Collaborator": Also: Was it just my imagination, or is Odo secretly in love with Kira?

You'll find out.

 

[Josh Dial]

You'll find out.

*Chef's kiss*

 

[Sam Favate]

On Friday, the New York Times published a list of the 50 Best Shows on Netflix. Deep Space Nine was among them.

Here's the blurb:

‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ (1993-99)
Of all the older “Star Trek” series, “Deep Space Nine” today feels the most ahead of its time. Set near a wormhole connecting distant quadrants of the galaxy, the show deals frankly with the tricky politics of a remote outpost where different species warily interact. It’s a complex kind of space western: like “Gunsmoke” with phasers. And while mostly episodic, “Deep Space” does feature longer story arcs and subplots, more akin to 21st century television. Our critic called the whole “Star Trek” franchise “part of our national mythology, a continuing megastory whose characters come to represent our abstract ideals.” (Some of the concepts and characters on “Deep Space Nine” were introduced on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which is also on Netflix.)

The 50 Best TV Shows on Netflix Right Now

New shows come to the streaming giant all the time — too many to ever watch them all. We’re here to help.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Kevin Hewell]

The season ends with Deep Space None in a very ominous situation.

I don't know if that was a typo but it's funny.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Been home sick with a stomach bug. Very unpleasant, but it does mean that yesterday I watched:

• 3x03 - "The House of Quark": I liked this episode a lot. It was about two characters trying to do the right thing in very difficult circumstances. I particularly liked the B-story with Miles and Keiko, which really got into the heart of their marital conflict that they've tiptoed around since the pilot. The school onboard the station gave Keiko purpose, but it wasn't what she wanted to do with her life. She made a big sacrifice so O'Brien could have this opportunity, and I appreciated that O'Brien was willing to make a big sacrifice of his own so that she could be happy and fulfilled. Mature, adult relationships are all about selfless compromise, but we don't get to see too many of them on television. What made the A-story, with Quark in the middle of a dispute between two important Klingon houses, so enjoyable was that it allowed him to be heroic, but in a very Ferengi way. He didn't win in honorable combat, but he earned the Klingons' respect through the things he is good at. As the show goes on, he continues to evolve into a more interesting character.
  
  
• 3x04 - "Equilibrium": I feel like this episode would have worked better had it come before "Invasive Procedures"; the entire plot revolves around the Trill trying to keep secret the fact that nearly half the population is suitable to host a symbiote, but didn't Verad already firmly establish that the criteria wasn't as narrow as we'd been led to believe. On the other hand, it was an eerie plot, and it was neat to see where the symbiotes come from. The episode did leave me wondering how the joining process first came about, considering it involves fairly invasive surgery.
  
  
• 3x05 - "Second Skin": I didn't believe the big twist that Kira was a Cardassian who had been surgically altered to look like a Bajoran with false memories; it's one of those big swings that would have foreclosed more storytelling opportunities than it would have opened. But it was a good episode to complicate Kira's feelings about the Cardassians, and challenge some of her prejudices, since she grew to respect one of them very much by the end of the episode.
  
  
• 3x06 - "The Abandoned": A flawed episode, but with some worthwhile intentions. The biggest reveal of the episode is that the Jem'Hadar were genetically engineered by the Founders to serve as their footsoldiers; they are sentient beings, but they lack the autonomy and free will we generally associate with sentient beings. That being the case, the abandoned infant isn't really a character so much as a mirror by which Odo can confront some of his unresolved feelings about who he is and where he's from. For the first two seasons, Odo was defined by not knowing where he comes from. Now that he does, he has to decide what that means for him -- what aspects of being a Changeling he wants to embrace, and what aspects of being a Changeling he wants to push back against. What the episode ultimately reenforced was that he may be from the Changelings, but as a result of his experiences he is no longer really one of them. It's an early step on the road to defining his own identity on his own terms.
  
  
• 3x07 - "Civil Defense": This was one I really enjoyed. It served as a nice reminder that while Deep Space Nine might be starting to feel like home for these characters, it is the creation of a hostile alien power with different values and lots of secrets yet to be discovered. It deepened the mystery of Garek, who in recent episodes had been trending dangrously close to being an out-and-out ally of the station's leadership team. And any episode where Dukat being a colossal dick backfires on him is a good episode in my book. And the love-hate relationship between Odo and Quark gets a lot of fun material in this episode.
  
  
• 3x08 - "Meridian": A really interesting science fiction premise, but the execution didn't quite work with me. I just didn't buy that Dax would throw away her entire life for a guy she just met -- even though Brett Cullen sold the hell of it as the object of her desire. When Brigadoon did a similar story, it played better because musicals are less literal than Star Trek episodes are; whirlwind romances are baked into the genre. And it's the kind of throw-caution-to-the-wind move that I would believe from James Tiberius Kirk, but not the careful and deliberate Jadzia Dax.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Adam, is this your first time watching DS9?

I’m really enjoying your thoughts as you work through these episodes. I’m facing a little dilemma because I think I’d like to rewatch some older Trek besides the new stuff that’s currently airing, but DS9 is a long haul and I’ve seen it more recently than others. Enterprise, on the other hand, is shorter and it’s been longer since I’ve revisited it. Having a hard time deciding which way to go for this particular round. My brain says Enterprise would be more practical but DS9 keeps swimming around in the back of my head as an option.

 

[Josh Dial]

3x08 - "Meridian": A really interesting science fiction premise, but the execution didn't quite work with me. I just didn't buy that Dax would throw away her entire life for a guy she just met -- even though Brett Cullen sold the hell of it as the object of her desire. When Brigadoon did a similar story, it played better because musicals are less literal than Star Trek episodes are; whirlwind romances are baked into the genre. And it's the kind of throw-caution-to-the-wind move that I would believe from James Tiberius Kirk, but not the careful and deliberate Jadzia Dax.

For what it's worth, this episode marks a bit of an overt change to the Jadzia Dax character to be someone who can burn bright and make somewhat impulsive decisions. You get the feeling that Dax is driven by emotions (love, anger, revenge, kindness). Couple that with a similar bent from Jadzia and it makes for some interesting--if slightly rash--choices.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Today I watched:

• 3x09 - "Defiant": Jonathan Frakes had already directed two episodes this season, and Generations was probably done shooting, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see him pop up in front of the camera. I had a feeling he was playing Tom Riker rather than Will Riker when the Special Guest Star credit didn't identify the role he was playing. The episode furthered the conflict that seems to be brewed between the Obsidian Order and the regular Cardassian military, while providing an interesting analysis of Tom Riker as a character; joining the Maquis definitely wasn't something Will Riker would have done, but submitting to a life sentence in a prison labor camp in order to protect the rest of his crew definitely is something Will Riker would have done. Given that they were the same man for the first twenty-six years of their lives, it's a real Sliding Doors situation whenever the "duplicate" Riker makes an appearance.
  
  
• 3x10 - "Fascination": I'm not a huge fan of "Love Potion"-type stories and this was no exception. For the most part, you can skip the episode without missing anything. A lot of the performances were really over the top. On the plus side: Lwaxana Troi is always fun, and the Miles/Keiko storyline got a little more development -- although, given that Bajor is apparently only a three-hour shuttle ride away, it didn't make much sense that this is the first time he's seen his wife and daughter in two months. Three hours is day trip range.
  
  
• 3x11/3x12 - "Past Tense": It's always a risky proposition telling a near-future story in a long-running franchise, because eventually reality will catch up with it. The past that Sisko, Bashir, and Dax are trapped in is the year 2024 -- only four years away now. While some of its predictions were on point -- the ever-widening chasm between rich and poor, and the rampant homelessness in California, for example. But other choices -- turning some of the most expensive blocks of real estate in the country into walled-in slums, for example -- don't feel realistic in such a short time. As Star Trek continues on, at some point it's either going to have to commit to being an alternate timeline that diverged from our own sometime in the twentieth century, or earlier, or retcon events to rewrite the late twentieth and early twenty-first century to better align with actual history.

Adam, is this your first time watching DS9?

I caught the occasional episode while flipping channels back when it originally aired. But this is the first time I'm watching it chronologically, and really engaging with the story.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey Adam, I see I’m going to have to go back and read your episode reactions. I’m also doing a viewing of DS9 after having recently completing a complete TNG viewing. I’ve seen DS9 quite a few times, but I don’t know it as well as the earlier TOS and TNG series. I’m especially less knowledgable about the first three seasons as I viewed those less.

I‘m ahead of you by several episodes. I just viewed Prophet Motive. I’m also finding the viewing experience this time quite engaging as I’ve not seen the series in about 5 years. Without spoiling things, there’s somethings going on with Odo that I’d forgotten happened this early in the series.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I watched DS9 early this year, right after BBC America added it to the schedule. I figured instead of watching their hacked up versions, I'd just pull out the DVDs.

I think there were about 10 episodes that I thought were just bad. Oddly enough, they were in seasons 3 and above. I liked Move Along Home.

You guys are coming to that first one soon... Distant Voices.