Deep Space 9 Superior

[jelgate]

Yeah, total shame about S4, but I thought it was pretty solid nonetheless. (: We really don't get into the meat of the Dominion until the last couple seasons though.. Made for a stellar ending...

"You may win this war, Commander, but I promise you, when it is over, you will have lost so many ships, and so many lives, that your 'victory' will taste as bitter as defeat."

Quote gives me shivers every time.

No one was colder and emotionless then the Female Changeling except maybe Kai Winn

[USS Defiant]

"You may win this war, Commander, but I promise you, when it is over, you will have lost so many ships, and so many lives, that your 'victory' will taste as bitter as defeat."

Good stuff CM

The 'Female Changeling' had quite a few eerie and memorable quotes. One that stands out in mind was when she told Weyoun, right after promising the Breen Earth, and Weyoun protesting that Earth was already promised to him - :"I would have promised him the entire Alpha Quadrant to get what I want" - to which Weyoun smirks and then realizes she was lying. What's interesting, was this scene was the first time the Female Changeling showed desperation, almost panic.

[CMWriter]

Good stuff CM

The 'Female Changeling' had quite a few eerie and memorable quotes. One that stands out in mind was when she told Weyoun, right after promising the Breen Earth, and Weyoun protesting that Earth was already promised to him - :"I would have promised him the entire Alpha Quadrant to get what I want" - to which Weyoun smirks and then realizes she was lying. What's interesting, was this scene was the first time the Female Changeling showed desperation, almost panic.

That's a great one too. Salome Jens is a fine actress. (:
I still remember my Junior year of high school when I heard her narrate one of our AP World History videos. I just about freaked out in excitement.
"The Changelings have infiltrated our 21st-century schools! Call Section 31, ASAP!"
(Yeah, I'm kind of a Niner for sure.)

Also, love Weyoun. The sixth one was adorable and heartbreaking. Too bad he died after just one episode. :C
Gotta love Jeffrey Combs. He had the best role on Enterprise, too, as SHRAN! : D

No one was colder and emotionless then the Female Changeling except maybe Kai Winn

Yeah, but I actually thought the Female Changeling was interesting. Kai Winn just kind of annoyed me. I felt like she was a largely useless antagonist in the end. I kind of was hoping she would die earlier. I hated that woman so much. I might have even hated her more than the Female Changeling, since Winn (to me) was far more selfish. The Changeling at least believed she was doing what was best for her people and for the Dominion, instead of all for herself.

[Cold Fuzz]

That's a great one too. Salome Jens is a fine actress. (:
I still remember my Junior year of high school when I heard her narrate one of our AP World History videos. I just about freaked out in excitement.
"The Changelings have infiltrated our 21st-century schools! Call Section 31, ASAP!"
(Yeah, I'm kind of a Niner for sure.)

Also, love Weyoun. The sixth one was adorable and heartbreaking. Too bad he died after just one episode. :C
Gotta love Jeffrey Combs. He had the best role on Enterprise, too, as SHRAN! : D



Yeah, but I actually thought the Female Changeling was interesting. Kai Winn just kind of annoyed me. I felt like she was a largely useless antagonist in the end. I kind of was hoping she would die earlier. I hated that woman so much. I might have even hated her more than the Female Changeling, since Winn (to me) was far more selfish. The Changeling at least believed she was doing what was best for her people and for the Dominion, instead of all for herself.

Salome Jens has done quite a bit of narration and voiceover work. She has a certain quality in her voice that's perfect for that kind of work.

[Sp!der]

No one was colder and emotionless then the Female Changeling except maybe Kai Winn

I hate Kai Winn.... She is so ...$:&:&@@

[CMWriter]

I hate Kai Winn.... She is so ...$:&:&@@

Lol, I don't think I know anyone who actually liked Kai Winn.
I miss Kai Opaka. However it did make me happy when she reappeared in the Relaunch novel, Rising Son (which I thought was actually pretty good).

[jelgate]

Lol, I don't think I know anyone who actually liked Kai Winn.
I miss Kai Opaka. However it did make me happy when she reappeared in the Relaunch novel, Rising Son (which I thought was actually pretty good).

Well when you do those things to Dukat you don't get many friends

[Weyoun]

That's a great one too. Salome Jens is a fine actress. (:
I still remember my Junior year of high school when I heard her narrate one of our AP World History videos. I just about freaked out in excitement.
"The Changelings have infiltrated our 21st-century schools! Call Section 31, ASAP!"
(Yeah, I'm kind of a Niner for sure.)

LOL. My wife and I went to to Quarks Bar in Vegas about a year after it opened. There was a Trek convention in town (that's why we were there). On the way out we bought some Trek souvenir's from Quarks Gift Shop, including one DS-Niner hat (exatly like the one from the Take Me Out to the Holosuite). I still have it around somewhere.

Avery Brooks has also done some narration work on various documentaries and such since his DS9 days. I watched something about a year ago that Salome Jens was narrating.

Also, love Weyoun. The sixth one was adorable and heartbreaking. Too bad he died after just one episode. :C
Gotta love Jeffrey Combs. He had the best role on Enterprise, too, as SHRAN! : D

Don't ya just love Weyoun, isn't Weyoun the coolest! Yah that Weyoun was the best part-time character from DS9 As you can tell I am also a huge Weyoun fan. My wife and I have named 2 of our dogs Weyoun (Weyoun #1 & Weyoun #2) Like is the show itself - Weyoun #1 is no longer with us lol

Jeffrey Combs and all his wonderful characters from the Trek universe (including his work as the Ferengi liquidator Brunt) were exceptional!

[Weyoun]

No one was colder and emotionless then the Female Changeling

I completely agree! For someone that looked and seemed diminutive on the surface - when she spoke it sent chills down my spine. Salome Jens put a creep factor in the female changeling character that made the Dominion even more scarier than they already were.

BTW -- I LOVE your USS Voyager & USS Defiant avatar banner thingy brother jelgate, Very cool.

[the Fifth Race]

LOL. My wife and I went to to Quarks Bar in Vegas about a year after it opened. There was a Trek convention in town (that's why we were there). On the way out we bought some Trek souvenir's from Quarks Gift Shop, including one DS-Niner hat (exatly like the one from the Take Me Out to the Holosuite). I still have it around somewhere.

I also found my way to Quark's Bar. A Ferengi served us drinks while a table of 3 fully decked-out Klingons made a big loud ruckus, I was half expecting Odo to come throw them in DS9's cell/brig. There was even a very authentic looking Bajoran Dabo Girl working a very real looking Dabo Table. I wish I would have picked up one of those DS-Niner hats brother Weyoun.

Jeffrey Combs and all his wonderful characters from the Trek universe (including his work as the Ferengi liquidator Brunt) were exceptional!

Especially Brunt. I mean Weyoun is by far my favorite character from Combs repertoire, and Shran was very good as well, but there was something "exceptional" about his portrayal of Brunt.

NOTE: So I reluctantly watched Terra Nova last night, and much to my surprise, I liked it, I liked it a lot. I mean sure - it's chalk full of rather lame characters/actors, and some loose-end story-lines. But for a 2-hour Pilot, it was highly entertaining. I wonder if I will be saying that after 5 or 6 episodes -- So anybody else give it a gander last night?

[rien]

I also found my way to Quark's Bar. A Ferengi served us drinks while a table of 3 fully decked-out Klingons made a big loud ruckus, I was half expecting Odo to come throw them in DS9's cell/brig. There was even a very authentic looking Bajoran Dabo Girl working a very real looking Dabo Table. I wish I would have picked up one of those DS-Niner hats brother Weyoun.
Especially Brunt. I mean Weyoun is by far my favorite character from Combs repertoire, and Shran was very good as well, but there was something "exceptional" about his portrayal of Brunt.

Theres a an actual Quarks bar in Vegas? I wanna go there :'(
Is it still open? Do they do star trek conventions there?

With regards to Combs he is such a great actor who has allegedly been vocally typecast. Not sure how that works i think it has something to do with the creepy voice he uses when acting. Anyhow i like Shran best outta his roles though that might partly be because the Shran character was a major positive in a series that consistently underachieved during its first couple seasons. In DS9 the storylines and characters were all great so less room for Combs to stand out in if that makes any sense

We watched Equilibrium the other night. I love this episode as we finally get to see the Trill homeworld. Pity we never get to see it again The story is a good one. Its unnerving to see Dax, whom we have come to know as calm and rational, channeling such irrational anger and the hallucination scenes which could so easily have been cheesy are actually quite effectively eerie and menacing. I particularlry liked the Guardians, unjoined Trill who tend the symbionts, as well as the whole interconnected underground pools being the symbionts natural environment. And the symbolic scene at the end where Dax accepts Joran as a part of herself and the two become one. Because up til now they werent. Like with the other previous hosts the memories and personality of Joran Belar existed within Dax but was not a concious part of Dax due to the symbiosis commision and their meddling memory blocks. Which is partly why the earlier scenes were so unnerving as it wasnt Dax who was irrationally angry it was Joran taking control of Dax.

I would go on talking about Dax but i think i already did that a page or two back What else can i say? I love Odo in the opening scene when he is so busy concentrating on stirring whatever is in that bowl. Like Kira says he is just so cute! And also i like the scene en route to Trill where Dax and Bashir, in some horrendus pygamas, have a conversation in which he explains why he became a doctor, how as a child he had been afraid of doctors because they seemed to know everything, as if they held the power of life and death in their hands. He used to think that if he didnt behave, they would make him sick. How when he got older he decided he wanted to know what they new and in the end found out that all he really wanted to do was help people.
Its a nice little insight into his character one that takes on a different tone when you already know his secret of being genetically altered during childhood. Of course this early on the writers hadnt come up with that little plot twist so werent trying to foreshadow it just yet but its amazing how many little bits about his character that we learn in the earlier seasons fit so perfectly with that twist

About the only thing i dont like about this episode is that we dont get to learn more about the guardians, the Trill homeworld, the guardians, the symbiosis commision, the guardians and the symbionts themselves. Especially the guardians! If only they could have had an episode or two more that had guardians watching over interconnected underground symbiont pools that would have been so awesome.

[USS Defiant]

Theres a an actual Quarks bar in Vegas? I wanna go there :'(
Is it still open? Do they do star trek conventions there?

It's been closed for a few years now (and not due to the lack of customers). It was in the Vegas Hilton - which planned on only keeping it for a few years, but it did so well they kept it open for 10 years. I remember reading that when they hired people to work in Bar//Restaurant they asked for Trek fans specifically. I also read the 2 head chefs were huge DS9 fans and regularly tried to create meals that we saw on DS9 and TNG.

With regards to Combs he is such a great actor who has allegedly been vocally typecast. Not sure how that works i think it has something to do with the creepy voice he uses when acting. Anyhow i like Shran best outta his roles though that might partly be because the Shran character was a major positive in a series that consistently underachieved during its first couple seasons. In DS9 the storylines and characters were all great so less room for Combs to stand out in if that makes any sense

I saw Manny Coto at a Trek convention where he told us (a large group) that Combs and the Shran character were going to join the crew of the Enterprise for what would have been a 5th season of ENT (how cool would that have been!)

[USS Defiant]

Spoiler:

We watched Equilibrium the other night. I love this episode as we finally get to see the Trill homeworld. Pity we never get to see it again The story is a good one. Its unnerving to see Dax, whom we have come to know as calm and rational, channeling such irrational anger and the hallucination scenes which could so easily have been cheesy are actually quite effectively eerie and menacing. I particularlry liked the Guardians, unjoined Trill who tend the symbionts, as well as the whole interconnected underground pools being the symbionts natural environment. And the symbolic scene at the end where Dax accepts Joran as a part of herself and the two become one. Because up til now they werent. Like with the other previous hosts the memories and personality of Joran Belar existed within Dax but was not a concious part of Dax due to the symbiosis commision and their meddling memory blocks. Which is partly why the earlier scenes were so unnerving as it wasnt Dax who was irrationally angry it was Joran taking control of Dax.

I would go on talking about Dax but i think i already did that a page or two back What else can i say? I love Odo in the opening scene when he is so busy concentrating on stirring whatever is in that bowl. Like Kira says he is just so cute! And also i like the scene en route to Trill where Dax and Bashir, in some horrendus pygamas, have a conversation in which he explains why he became a doctor, how as a child he had been afraid of doctors because they seemed to know everything, as if they held the power of life and death in their hands. He used to think that if he didnt behave, they would make him sick. How when he got older he decided he wanted to know what they new and in the end found out that all he really wanted to do was help people.
Its a nice little insight into his character one that takes on a different tone when you already know his secret of being genetically altered during childhood. Of course this early on the writers hadnt come up with that little plot twist so werent trying to foreshadow it just yet but its amazing how many little bits about his character that we learn in the earlier seasons fit so perfectly with that twist

About the only thing i dont like about this episode is that we dont get to learn more about the guardians, the Trill homeworld, the guardians, the symbiosis commision, the guardians and the symbionts themselves. Especially the guardians! If only they could have had an episode or two more that had guardians watching over interconnected underground symbiont pools that would have been so awesome.

Great review and thoughts as always rien.

Equilibrium is probably the best Dax vehicle episodes from DS9. That being said - the medical jeopardy plot is definitely not a new concept. It is, in fact, a Trek cliche. Through the seven years of TNG, how many times did Picard lie on the operating table with his life on the line? But "Equilibrium" is much more inquisitive, and placing Jadzia's life in jeopardy is wisely used only as a device to launch other plot threads and explore more interesting character issues.

[jelgate]

It's been closed for a few years now (and not due to the lack of customers). It was in the Vegas Hilton - which planned on only keeping it for a few years, but it did so well they kept it open for 10 years. I remember reading that when they hired people to work in Bar//Restaurant they asked for Trek fans specifically. I also read the 2 head chefs were huge DS9 fans and regularly tried to create meals that we saw on DS9 and TNG.
I saw Manny Coto at a Trek convention where he told us (a large group) that Combs and the Shran character were going to join the crew of the Enterprise for what would have been a 5th season of ENT (how cool would that have been!)

I would gladly eat some gaugh with a nice bottle of kanar. No bubbly and vile root beer

[the Fifth Race]

Equilibrium is probably the best Dax vehicle episodes from DS9. That being said - the medical jeopardy plot is definitely not a new concept. It is, in fact, a Trek cliche. Through the seven years of TNG, how many times did Picard lie on the operating table with his life on the line? But "Equilibrium" is much more inquisitive, and placing Jadzia's life in jeopardy is wisely used only as a device to launch other plot threads and explore more interesting character issues.

The mystery we got about the Trill initiation grows somewhat plot/dialogue-heavy but remains enduringly interesting in spite of some excesses, such as the slightly exorbitant notion that half the population of Trill is capable of symbiosis yet officials keep the fact under the rug to avoid anarchy over the limited number of symbionts. We also find out at the end of the episode that one of Dax's previous hosts was a violent-tempered musician who killed a doctor (which was blocked from her memory).

What makes Equilibrium a very good episode are the great character moments. The cast works together like a well-oiled machine.