Deep Space 9 Superior

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x05
"Babel"

"You! Gold! Owe me!"
-Quark

I've been to a few places on the internet that have blasted this episode for its silly virus and several other issues, and I can see where those places are coming from and expected to be giving this one a score lower than the previous episode. In the end, though, I (re)discovered a fun little romp, at least by early show standards. I had a good time with this one; it was nothing I'll dream about for days, but it was an enjoyable enough litlte excursion.

The episode begins with our first serious glimpse at Chief O'Brien's difficulty with the alien environment and terrible condition that is Deep Space Nine, and I found Colm Meaney's portrayal of an overworked and clearly under-slept man to be convincing. Following him around for a moment gave me a smile, as did his little outburst in Ops. The teaser ends with the display of an Ambiguous Object of Doom (TM).

The drama unfolding as various characters fell victim to the virus was hit-or-miss, but the overarching theme of communication (as suggested by the episode title, and then supported by breakdowns in discussion not just through the virus but other issues, such as the freighter captain) was a good one. Oh, and since I brought him up parenthetically, I'd like to make a full mention of that freighter captain: what a stupid-head he was. I had a hard time grasping his character and resigned to the belief that his species wasn't particularly bright or something; his insistence that he depart the station and willingness to do anything and everything to that end was kind of tough to swallow for me otherwise.

Odo and Quark not only continue the enjoyable spatting seen briefly in "A Man Alone", they're also given much more time for us to see it now. If there were any doubt in a new viewer's mind that there is an intended dynamic between them before now, it's shoved aside full-force, and it's nice to watch even here in the beginning of the series, where several aspects are still a little rough. In the climax, when Quark is running Ops, their chatter is a welcome flavor, and of course there's also the laugh-out-loud response to Kira's disbelief that Quark answers her hail.

Now, Kira. She does a fine job here, but the man she ultimately finds herself seeking -- one Surmak Ren, I believe his name was -- is about as confounding as that freighter captain, albeit far more intriguing to analyze. He's so quick to dismiss her on the comm channel as soon as she mentions the virus, and then when she tries again, it's just as blunt an answer. Upon beaming him aboard, Kira thinks she's accomplished her goal but until she references his infection, he still isn't concerned enough about the innocent people suffering his former leader's outrage to do anything about it.

So, here we have a rather perplexing situation that perhaps one of this board's resident DS9 gurus can help me with... that is, if ever this topic is replied-to. What exactly is Surmak's deal? Is he a fanatical bomber type? If that were the case, then why does he care so much once he's infected? He's sort of a failure on that job description if that's the case. Whatever his scenario is, he ends up portrayed a selfish jerk... maybe that's all I was supposed to glean from it.

Lastly, I'd like to make special mention of Avery Brooks' performance in playing Sisko handling Jake's contraction of the virus. I'm not often touched enough by these sorts of scenes in fiction to type something up about them, but knowing that Sisko is still torn-up about the loss of his wife and son's mother, and then watching said son fall victim to something, that's pretty bad. Brooks carried the scene well; he's gone on record for stating that this was a crucial scene in his development and understanding of his role, and I can see why. The whole thing also ties in nicely to the 'communications breakdown and how to overcome that breakdown' thread; the gestures made and kiss to the forehead tell Jake what needs to be said without the use of a spoken word.

All in all, this was a decent episode in that it accomplished what it set out to do admirably, but left some odd questions for me in the process.

Rating: 7.5/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x06
"Captive Pursuit"

"I am sorry. I have no vices for you to exploit."
"A challenge!"
-Tosk and Quark

I thought this was pretty good, and I was particularly impressed with the actor portraying Tosk and the character himself. Scott MacDonald did a great job, as he did in all his Trek appearances.

This was undeniably an O'Brien episode, and Colm Meaney is an extraordinarily talented actor. The man could have been one of the Big Four in Stargate SG-1 and I never would have tired of him; he can carry a scene all on his own. (And his Irish accent is delicious, but that's beside the point.) I really enjoyed watching O'Brien and Tosk interact, showcasing their differences and developing a lovely little friendship in such a short span.

The concept of 'The Hunted' is age-old and done to death, but it's a good little trope that, when done well, proves exciting. Giving us time to see Tosk for the majority of the episode, and grow to like him despite being shown that he's searching for weapons and that he refuses to discuss his past, must have been kind of hard to pen and it all relied on MacDonald's performance giving the character a real heart to him. It worked well, and Tosk's interaction with Quark specifically makes for some great, timeless television.

A few things I didn't like. Is it just me, or did the hunters look more like Power Rangers than anything? I mean, once their leader unmasked himself that was resolved, but man, I laughed out loud at their appearance. To each their own, I'm sure their culture has its alien rationale, but wow. Just kind of funny in a slightly bad way.

The other little issue I had was some of the music was more over-the-top than in previous episodes, and (and of course this is all up to interpretation) a personal peeve of mine is corny, over-the-top sound in television and film. It often happens when a show is young, as the producers must wish to give us a full sweeping taste of the soundtrack. I don't know why I keep mentioning Stargate tonight but SG-1 for example had an absolutely obnoxious obsession with doing this for its first season. DS9 hadn't been bad about it until now, and it was only at a couple of beats. Surely it's not something most reviewers would even think to mention, if it even occurred to them in the first place, but the beat-BEAT after the hunters were introduced as shots were fired on the Promenade was really jarring and 'bad 80's-sounding' and there were a couple of other little quibbles.

Neither negative mark detracts much from the overall score, which ultimately arrives at a respectable number thanks to another small-scale, character-moving episode.

But is that all this was? Indeed, upon typing that just now, I decided maybe it isn't. After all, this was first contact with an alien race from the Gamma Quadrant, and that's big. I wonder how much time has passed between "Emissary" and "Captive Pursuit", exactly? How long did it take for this to happen? I get the impression it's probably been around three months or so, because the characters seem to have built up a bit of a repertoire with one-another, like how O'Brien is comfortable enough with Quark to tell him to shut up, or how he regards Sisko as 'if I know my commander' to Tosk. Did it really take like three months or so to bump into someone? Hard to believe, if so.

Finally, I'd like to make special mention of the last scene in the episode. I went into it expecting Sisko to be a little harsh and then tell O'Brien he did the right thing. That's what Picard would have done. (WWPD?) But no, Sisko beat into O'Brien big-time. And indeed, every word he said was the truth. This was first contact with a race from a whole 'nother quarter of the galaxy, some 90,000 light years away. Hell, man, even Voyager didn't blast off that far, did it? And O'Brien went and did what he did. But then at the end, only after the good engineer's run off to fix another replicator or what-have-you, does Sisko smile just a tad. Twisted!

Rating: 7.5/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x07
"Q-Less"

"An abysmal place, Earth. Oh, don't get me wrong. A thousand years ago it had character: the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, Watergate. Now it's just mind-numbingly dull."
-Q

Now here's a great example of some of these early DS9 stand-alones: so many golden little character moments without a plot worthy of their keeping.

In many ways, "Q-Less" is the most obvious tie-in and ratings-grab in Deep Space Nine's freshman season. The Duras sisters in "Past Prologue" are well-done but could have been anyone and while Lwaxana Troi's appearance in "The Forsaken" is close, having such an absolute fan-favorite in the form of Q -- complete with Vash, too -- is so very, very blatantly a way of keeping Enterprise-D fans in the Bajor sector. This isn't necessarily a downright bad thing. Indeed, we Trekkies like to see some continuity, and a sense of this all really being the same universe no matter the series title. But it's a worthy starting point for the review because of its implications for the rest of it.

As soon as I saw Vash, I knew that personally, this might be a slightly bumpy ride. Don't get me wrong: I don't hate her. But she wears out her welcome for me about halfway into all her episodes, and sure enough, she was three-for-three after this. (I've been watching TNG also, as I've said before.) Her actress does a good job at conveying the character's mischievous, flirtatious nature but Vash's antics just aren't my cup of Earl Gray, and if it weren't for backstory-probing in the form of "Tapestry", I'd never understood what our good captain saw in her.

This is becoming a tangent. Let's backtrack slightly: I don't hate Vash. Her plots are never all that compelling, though, and the 'box is screwing with the station' thing didn't do it for me. It was handled about as well as it could, but seeing O'Brien keep cursing Q's name told me enough to remember my long-past viewing and recall that Gamma Quadrant trinket being the cause of all the hoopla. And then that embryonic life form at the end, or rather, the space stingray, felt very Next Generation to someone who's seen all of DS9 before. That didn't help matters.

We've gone over the negative marks of the episode first because more often than not, I like to go over plot first, almost to get it out of the way. It's not that I don't care about plot; obviously very few people would find the plots of their beloved shows irrelevant. It's just that my heart has always been with the characters of a favorite series, and that's one of the reasons Deep Space Nine is my Trek. (Another reason being, incidentally, it's overall plot.) And here is when this episode begins redeeming itself, for it's rife with quotable quotes and more than a couple of moments played for laughs deliver as they should.

Particularly delightful pieces can be found with Bashir's thwarted attempts at wooing Vash, Quark's almost head-over-heels attitude concerning the woman, damn near every other thing Q says (par for the course with the legendary John de Lancie) and some of the more noteworthy lines during the auction. Although speaking of the auction, I suppose this is as good a place as any to note that I found the patrons' uniform decision to ignore Q's warnings of the station hurling to its impending doom a hard pill to swallow. Surely one of them would have gone to make sure he wasn't bluffing and then realized they did, in fact, have minutes to live.

And now we arrive at what many consider the hallmark of this episode: the brief boxing scene between Q and Sisko, instigated of course by Q and leading to the pseudo-omniscient being's surprise upon being hit in the face.

"You hit me! Picard never hit me."
"I'm not Picard."

This was, more than anything else in the show's first season, the most obvious and unequivocal way in which the writer's endeavored to stress that point. The scene is played for laughs, but it stresses a very urgent matter. Sisko isn't Picard. And he never will be. By the end of the third season, we'll have already seen multiple pieces of evidence to support that statement, and we'll only have just begun. The station sure as hell ain't the Enterprise, either, and things are going to get pretty dark sometimes. Oh, and matters addressed one week won't simply disappear.

I've spent more time ranting about things unrelated to this episode than I'd intended, but that's sort of what this episode brings out in me. Its inclusion of Q and Vash for the sake of TNG fans debating on whether or not to keep up with the new kid on the block and then its routine handling of matters in a somewhat TNG-light kind of way serve to remind me that the show is still finding its footing, and always, always remind me that later on in its run, it will be a very different take on life in the 24th Century.

So, what's the verdict? Surely I've been uneven here and more than a little wandering. Again, that's what this episode does to me. It makes my mind wander. The great dialogue is blended in with a lot of more rudimentary dialogue during the technobabble scenes, and the best moments in the episode can't save its overall plot from being less compelling than might have been intended. It's a nice enough little package but it's nothing I'd immediately recommend, nor is it even one of Q's best outings. In other words, it's simply alright.

Rating: 6.5/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x08
"Dax"

"What if I find out the answer is yes?"
"Then that answer is wrong."
-Kira Nerys and Benjamin Sisko

Now this is more like it. After last week's tad-below-par offering, this one nailed it like Tiger Woods. There was even an affair.

We've seen little of Jadzia Dax compared to several other crew members at this point, though we've also been treated to a few depth-adding conversations with her, typically as she shares old times and discusses the hardships of adapting with Sisko, or smiles nonchalantly whilst turning down Bashir routinely. Nonetheless, I would imagine early viewers of this first stretch of Deep Space Nine had considered this episode absolutely inevitable; the Trill are a wealth of potential storytelling and Jadzia is clearly in need of fuller disclosure.

The first thing I'd like to address is a thinly-veiled 'sexism' motif seen twice in this episode, which I put in quotations because that's not the goal of these occasions but rather an insistence that the lines between Curzon and Jadzia, between male and female, be murky and grey for the uninitiated. This statement I'm addressing manifests itself twice:

1.) In the teaser, Bashir is prepared to throw a punch when he realizes the kidnapper he's engaged with is a woman. On its own, this tells us that the good doctor holds either to the virtue that men should not strike women regardless of any and all situations which might suggest valid reason to, or perhaps more likely, he is young and naive and so he falters upon the shock of the unexpected gender. Regardless, I contend that this is no singular moment unrelated. I contend that this is directly tied with the themes of the episode.

2.) When Commander Sisko grows so frustrated with his old friend and that friend's female host, he decrees while balling his hand into a fist that if he were 'still a man', cuts himself off, and the conversation continues from there. Sisko is a decorated Starfleet officer and probably believes that in desperate enough situations, combat with a female humanoid is to be unavoidable and personal beliefs need to shoved aside for survival. But unlike Bashir, who was in what could have been a life-or-death struggle for all the doctor knew, Sisko is simply conversing heatedly with Dax. He prepares to throw a punch and initiate a man-to-man, Testoste-a-Roni (TM) 'settlement' but flinches and abandons the thought when he faces a young woman who doesn't quite figure into this. (Especially, as long-time viewers will note, because Jadzia is quite that 'young woman' right now; not too long from now, though, she'll be a battle-savvy party girl and if Sisko isn't careful, he could land himself a broken jaw.)

So I've spent an awful long time discussing something that might at first seem irrelevant. But it isn't, of course, because this is an episode not only about whether or not a crime should be passed from one host to another, forcing someone unrelated to endure the burdens, but it's also an episode about appearances. Jadzia is not Curzon. She and Sisko have had this discussion at reasonable length before, in the mediocre "A Man Alone" and its perhaps most delighting scene. But this hasn't been addressed to a terrific extent; not until now. Now, Sisko must really come to grips with the intricacies of Trill proceedings. Now, Jadzia must hold her tongue because she -- and what is of Curzon within her -- does not wish to betray the silence no doubt promised between Curzon and Enina Tandro.

Which brings us to... ah, yes, the plot! So much talk already and so little plot discussion. "New evidence reopens a thirty-year-old murder case, and Dax's previous host Curzon is now the prime suspect." Thanks, Memory Alpha; that sums it up efficiently enough. Of prime relevance, though, is the fact that the man who Dax is accused of murdering -- one General Ardelon Tandro -- is the father of the Ilon Tandro, the man spearheading the extradition request. Ardelon, as we learn, was not in life was the people of Klaestron IV so dearly cling to. His widow, Enina, fell in love with Curzon and the two carried on an affair which is not revealed (though a bit expected based on direction) until near the end, in the Big Shocking Revelation (TM). Actually, that's not fair; there are two of those revelations -- one in the last few lines of dialogue, subtle. That being the fact that Ardelon was the traitor. Indeed, he was by no means the man in life that he became in death.

This is all fascinating enough for a Star Trek courtroom drama story; it won't win any awards with the makers of Law & Order but it's an ample setting for the thematic questions of the premise. And it is those thematic questions that are part of what make Trek so interesting to me. I will say that I am left somewhat disappointed that Curzon was not at least one of the following: the murderer, with a decent enough explanation provided, or the traitor, with expressed reason to do so. Granted, either might strain the credibility of Jadzia being left off the hook, but I can't really say this episode answered thematic questions with tremendous power since neither one of those things were within its resolution. Instead, it was an affair; surely this serves to accentuate all the claims that Curzon was a womanizer and a bit of a troublemaker, so it's character-fitting, but it never begs viewer interpretation like things could have if he'd also been the one to kill the general.

It also needs to be brought up, especially considering I dedicated the quote to it, that Sisko was willing to bend the rules more than a little to ensure that his staff arrive at favorable conclusions to his side of the case. This is the kind of talk that you wouldn't necessarily hear Picard use with as simple a performance. Picard might find himself doing something similar for someone close, but he would do so with great reservation. Sisko might have told Q he isn't Picard in the previous adventure, but he really tells the audience in this one.

A few odds and ends before this longest-review-yet gets submitted. First of all, it is interesting to note that Keiko's mother has recently turned one hundred, which is as precisely as old as Els Renora claims to be. This can't be coincidental either; nor is O'Brien's absence from the episode paramount to it in any way, since Dax and Bashir could have just as easily opened the episode with an alternative dialog. This, like the (perhaps too) lengthy analysis I provided concerning Sisko and Bashir holding back on fights with women, must be tied in with the themes provided. Age, of course, is relevant in that Jadzia is a young woman of only 28 while the Dax symbiont is much, much older. How we address this in reference to such a complicated matter as the episode provides is of utmost severity.

And now for some smaller statements. The actress who played Els Renora, the late Anne Haney, did a superb job. She had wit, she conveyed seriousness with every breath and she was a joy to watch. Also, Terry Farrell is starting to get the hang of things to say the least, or at least she did admirably in her first spotlight episode. She didn't do much but stare for much of her time, but she stared very convincingly. I do appreciate the untidy display of mother and son as the surviving Tandros do not seem to make up on-screen. A revelation like the one Enina provides at the end is brutal and will require a lot of healing. Last and likely least, 'Trillian'? What? Get me a line with the afterlife; I need to speak with Douglas Adams about this.

One final, big note. Enina Tandros' request that Jadzia live a long life is, at gut value, a painful stab for those of us who know her fate. But upon closer interpretation, perhaps Dax living on through Ezri and beyond can be seen as fulfilling that request in a powerful way that remains true to this episode's themes. Taken on its own, from a first-run perspective, this is a good final scene. For those of us who have seen the entire series, though, it's a bit of a tearjerker.

In case you couldn't already tell, I liked this episode. I can't give it a perfect score or anything especially close to it because it could have been more than what it was, but I will easily proclaim it the best regular-length episode thus far.

Rating: 8/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x09
"The Passenger"

"You. Have. One... minute... to... decide."
-Bashir, as Vantika

Well, this ought to be a shorter review than the last one, at least.

To begin with, let me express one very basic fact: I didn't hate this episode. I've seen some rather pointedly negative reviews of this one, and between the heavy dosage of technobabble in the last two acts and far more controversially, Siddig El Fadil's... distinctive performance as the body-swapping convict Rao Vantika, I can certainly see why. But like "A Man Alone", the only episode I've given a particularly mediocre score thus far, "The Passenger" has enough charm to get by with scrapes and bruises.

Once again, the differences between TNG and DS9 are apparent; even with a rather Next Generation premise, "The Passenger" is chock full of conflict we wouldn't see on the clean and quiet Enterprise-D. Odo and Quark, Odo and Primmin, Odo and Sisko briefly (easy there, Odo) and the intentional camera pans to Kira on a few occasions as she reacts silently to the station's effective, unofficial 'head of security' having to deal with the invasive procedures of others.

This is a subplot, plain and simple; it's not the big storyline, but it does blend directly into it, and it's the part I found the most redeeming about the episode. Primmin's discovery of a device essential to the get-away of the antagonist and Odo's subsequent appreciation of that is a nice moment, and beyond that, Odo and Quark once again manage to steal the show with their wonderful banter as the latter expresses his Jadzia-related desires for the first time. And one last note regarding Primmin: I almost wonder if the writers saw him as a 'passenger' as well; he's not normally on the station, after all. My tendency to read too much between the lines may be getting the better of me, though.

Of course, that's all just peanuts compared to the A-plot... or so I'd imagine that's what the production staff wanted us to feel. Unfortunately, it's not so much the case. I liked seeing Quark scheming with the unsavory guests after-hours and I felt like Caitlin Brown's portrayal of Ty Kajada was serviceable. I also felt like the resolution lacked substance, what with all the science talk and not a whole lot of character. It's not that the technobabble wasn't necessary, but it could have been worked into things a bit better. Bashir is being possessed by a first-class criminal who falls for Sisko's ploy long enough to get owned by a something-or-other pulse trailing a tractor beam, and then that's the end of that. There wasn't much tension involved; we as the viewers are already fairly confident the bad guy isn't going to get away with one of the lead characters' bodies, but it would have been nice to see something more... fulfilling come out of all this.

Not that the finale is the only thing to be judged in an episode, but when much of the rest of said episode is either dedicated to the B-plot or fumbling along relatively powerlessly, the finale becomes the make-or-break factor.

And now we've come to what everyone talks about in regard to "The Passenger"... Siddig El Fadil's probable weakest moment as an actor in the long-running series. Hey, at least it comes early. I wouldn't say his performance as Vantika was so jarring I wanted to turn the episode off, but after the first few sentences I'd really had it with the slow... faux-methodical... villainous... tendencies... he was... demonstrating... because he was... evil. Why, I even dedicated the quote to him, and that means something, dammit. I couldn't take it seriously and it was fairly laughable; the girlfriend and I paused it a few times to comment. It definitely knocks off a couple of points for pure silliness.

Pausing, however, led me to an astonishing explanation for the gimmicky, hammy acting that Fadil showed tonight. It's really quite simple: Vantika must have enjoyed Bashir's British accent so much, he decided to accentuate every single word to bask in its delicious flavor. You see, we Americans over here in America Land have a thing for swooning over what you Brits and Irish folk and Scottish folk all consider perfectly normal speaking patterns. Perhaps our good serial killer Vantika suffered a similar fate? If so, then the only thing unbelievable about Vantika's Bashir is the fact that Sisko didn't laugh not once during the proceedings.

That's about all there is to say about "The Passenger"; I don't tend to speak much about scientific matters, and I've said all I can about the characterization and execution of this one. It's a passable show that I wouldn't recommend anyone rush to record if they see it coming up in the reruns.

Next up, it's one of the series' most reviled episodes! I can't wait to get my hands on this one.

Rating: 5.5/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x11
"The Nagus"

"Now go to your room! And no studying!"
-Rom

Might I just reiterate the fact that the early characterization of Rom is leaving your humble reviewer, a man quite familiar with his later depictions, damn nearly speechless. What a complete 180. I'm willing to accept a lot of things about shows, and let a lot of things slide, but this is whack, man. He was going to airlock his brother. How do you even begin to justify this transformation?

This is like... 'Sisko inferring his father is dead in that one episode' levels of craziness. Anyway, the episode.

All told, "The Nagus" is nothing to write home about, but after the travesty that was last week, I would imagine viewers would have practically welcomed TNG's standard-quality second season outings. It was a solid introduction to Ferengi culture As DS9's Developers Interpret It (TM) and it's certainly a stronger opening than they had in 1987.

Wallace Shawn's Grand Nagus Zek is as ridiculous as I remember, but I think his whiny, grating voice was a little worse here than it is later on. Just... not as refined. Am I wrong? At any rate, it was a joy to see him, so that worked. Every scene he was present in was a treat, and Shawn stole the show here.

Quark seemingly thrust into the role of the Nagus was certainly something every initial viewer must have known couldn't have stuck, but I'd think early bets throughout the hour would have led most to assume he decides he can't handle the pressure, or something. Thankfully, that's not how it went down; the idea that Zek was using him to test his son was entertaining. And who can forget this:

"You failed. Miserably!"

Back to Rom, though. His moment of flinching near the episode's climax was kind of unconvincing, and knowing what I do of his later characterization, I was downright shocked to see this all this. Being jealous of his brother is one thing, but he loves his brother so blatantly, so naively, for the majority of the series. Swallowing a pill like this, that he would assist in the attempted assassination of him, I... this is just... whack.

The meeting of the Nagus and all those other, undoubtedly important Ferengi is the highlight of the episode; watching the discussion and all its no-holds-barred business-is-everything dynamics was a hoot.

The subplot involving Jake and Nog was fitting, but I didn't care much about it until that great scene where Sisko discovers what Jake is really doing. That was touching and sweet. Oh, and is it just me, or was Jadzia telling her commander to go find his son just so she could eat all his stew?

Nothing about "The Nagus" is going to cause a life-changing epiphany for me, but nothing about it (apart from Rom... did I mention the Rom thing stunned me?) really rubbed me the wrong way.

Other than Rom.

Rating: 7/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x12
"Vortex"

"Home? Where is it? Some day we'll know... cousin."
-Odo

Won't you ever, buddy.

So after a dud and a decent, we have the third episode of the night, the classic. I think this first season has proven fairly uneven, but that doesn't mean it can't deliver when it wants to. "The Vortex" is an above-average character piece with some action and adventure sprinkled into the mix. It isn't perfect, but it's well worth watching.

And of course, this is the first of many episodes concerning Odo's loneliness and search for others of his kind. That alone secures it as worthy of discussion, but the fact is, it tackles the subject admirably enough that I think it would deserve the attention regardless.

I'd like to call attention to director Cliff DeYoung; his techniques are an integral part of the reason the near-neutrality of the episode between Odo and alien convict Croden actually succeeds. He keeps the camera firmly fixated on the latter for longer than many other directors might have done, allowing Croden's actor to breathe surprising life into a one-off character. As we seem to confirm later on, his tale is an understandable one, but the enigmatic quality of the character is really aided by the camera work. If we were staring at the talented Rene Auburjonois the entire hour, we never would have thought as much for Croden.

The plot involving the Miradorn Ah-Kel was ultimately handled better than I thought it would be; don't ask me why, but at first I had a feeling it was going to be a letdown. His actor was also solid, and there was something very visceral about his explanation that without his twin, he was nothing. The action involving his downfall still holds up surprisingly well seventeen years after initial airing, as does the Vortex itself. Beautiful work and proof that if done well enough, these sorts of things really can withstand the test of time.

Something that struck me as retrospective genius was how right some of Croden's people's myths concerning Changelings really are. For one thing, he calls Odo a 'Changeling', and obviously that's a zinger. He also claims the Changelings were persecuted and hunted, and again, bingo. It really adds a layer of believability to the Gamma Quadrant even this early on that these things line up perfectly, and it was no doubt intentional on the writers' part to tie it all together. Really, the only things Croden got wrong were the things he made up to suit his own ends. That stuff about the 'Changelings on the asteroid colony' was totally wrong, but then, there were no Changelings on the asteroid.

I'm almost a little taken aback that I don't have much more to say, considering just how long I droned on about "Dax", which I would put it on even grounds with this one. The ending, with Croden's daughter and Odo's decision to let them go, was downright amazing in my book; I'm not usually one for soppy little things with guest stars, but this was something I could get behind. I'd hoped Odo would make that choice, and as soon as Croden requested his daughter be watched over by the constable, I realized that since I never saw her later on, that was where things were headed. I'd like to go on record for saying that the Vulcan on the viewscreen was secretly Romulan; she said a couple of things that indicated she was not logical. "I was afraid..." was the beginning of a sentence, and it was spoken genuinely.

Oh, and Odo's smile was just classic.

Rating: 8/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x13
"Battle Lines"

"I have been brought here because it is time for these people to begin their healing process... just as you were brought here to begin yours."
-Opaka to Kira

In what is now the second episode I can imagine having been part of TOS with slight modifications (the other being the drug-induced vision that was "Move Along Home") this episode gives us Sisko, Kira, Bashir and Kai Opaka crashing onto a strange moon where a centuries-old conflict sees its combatants live, die and be reborn endlessly. The good news is, "Battle Lines" is filled with enough character moments (and a couple of fairly important ones!) and ultimately, it comes off as much better than it might have been without them. The bad news is, the overall execution of the episode is somehow very lacking and the obvious message is undermined by a predictable little mess.

I guess the point of the first scene, with the discovery of some Cardassian interpretations of various resistance members, was to stress that Major Kira is still very much tied to those recently-ended days. It isn't written with much enthusiasm, but I recognize its aim. Bashir soon contacts Sisko to inform him that Opaka is aboard, and after this, that and the other thing, the key characters of the episode are shot down by a defense satellite and Opaka is dead.

Whoa, wait, what? Opaka is dead! Now this is rather unexpected. So more things happen, we meet a group of people who have been at war with another group for a very long time, their leader is called Shel-la, and he's played by the talented Jonathan Banks. He explains the situation, but of course the next big moment comes with the return of Opaka, back from the dead.

So... death and rebirth, and the futility of war. From a broad standing, the themes are readily apparent and there's certainly nothing wrong with them. War usually is futile, although I recognize a certain unintentional irony in the fact that war is going to be a major theme in the show later on. Death and rebirth; am I grasping at straws, here, or could this be symbolic of Kira's new life? Bringing Opaka into the mix and giving them the obvious talk they were going to have (although I do wish it were longer) certainly suggested that.

Back to the execution. I'll give props to two things: the battle choreography was impressive, especially for so early on in the show's run. It ran a little longer without dialogue than I would have liked; color me silly, but despite my gender I'm not much for just watching fights drone on. Nonetheless, it was nicely performed by all involved, and while kind of corny, Bashir's heroic little leap to knock Sisko out of harm's way was strangely fascinating.

The other thing I liked was the revelation that the people of the prison were unable to leave. This was dark and dim enough on its own, but it also meant stranding Opaka, which as we all know, has long-lasting implications. Unfortunately, the writers were undoubtedly playing it on the safe side by not saying much to that end; you'd think Kira would point out that the Kai being as important as she is to Bajor, this could cause a degree of panic and instability. Especially if next week, a little girl squabbling means regional civil war. But I digress, it was nice overall.

O'Brien inventing something to locate the stranded command crew serves as further proof that he's a certifiable full-blooded Irish badass, but I suppose this is neither here nor there; I just saw an opportunity to throw it in there.

Everything else was comfortably bland. Sisko doesn't make half the defendant of Federation policies as Picard, although I'll admit maybe a chunk of that reasoning is because I know how much more easily he shoves it aside later on. The 'war is bad' theme grows tiresome, watching Dax and O'Brien locate people of whom we already know the location is uneventful, witnessing the deterioration of the attempted peace talks is predictable and shallow... this is simply not a piece I would recommend for people seeking a powerful, compelling hour. It isn't without redemption, and Opaka's line to Kira about her healing have begun is wonderful. But it's nothing groundbreaking.

Rating: 6.5/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x14
"The Storyteller"

"Once upon a time... there was a Dal'Rok!"
-O'Brien

And that sums things up well enough. On to the next episode.

Fine, fine. Actually, I didn't even dislike this episode, although it's another one of those early shows I see gets a lot of flak for being so... well, not at all like later DS9. But hey, let's not live in later years. Dream not of today, yes?

The first thing that everyone always talks about is the first ever coupling of Bashir and O'Brien. The humor isn't all there yet, though there are a few good one-liners in the mix. But the chemistry between the two actors is definitely evident, in that most pleasantly wrong sort of ways. They're two very different people, in physique, facial expressions, lineage, everything. And yet it is because of this simple principle that watching O'Brien think little of note about the young upstart doctor is so immediately entertaining; opposites attract and all that. It will be a long time before Miles admits he likes Julian 'a little more' than he does his wife, or even calls him Julian with sincerity for that matter. Even still, I had a smile on my face the whole time with these two, and that's a good start.

The A-plot is nothing spectacular, and it sort of sets the Bajorans back a little in my eyes. This village is falling for a ridiculous (though certainly frightening) ages-old trick, and its people are superstitious in a somewhat more annoying way than I'd have preferred. I don't know, maybe it's just the bit with the young women being offered to O'Brien, but these guys just don't seem like the same hard-working, relentless Bajorans I'm used to dealing with. And the Dal'Rok... well, O'Brien summed it up quite nicely in my chosen quote for the episode. I'm grateful it got a legitimate explanation, though -- somehow I was afraid it wouldn't. Being linked to the Celestial Temple is good from a series-continuity perspective, although I'm still not totally sold on the whole 'feeds on fear' thing. Must have been Pah-Wraith, that's for sure.

The A-plot's resolution is satisfying enough. It's certainly predictable stuff, but I recognize that "The Storyteller" wasn't written to be deeply motivating or anything, so as a lightweight piece, it's a decent ending. O'Brien fumbles the ball, and Hovath, the true Sirah, steps up to the plate. As Bashir hypothesizes, the now-dead original Sirah likely orchestrated events to get Hovath, outcast for past actions, to earn the people's trust by coming to them in their time of need. Fair enough, and it goes along way in repairing my look of disbelief at the notion that O'Brien was a 'chosen one' to do anything akin to this.

The B-plot, with more Misadventures of Jake and Nog (TM) and their relations with the young (as in, their age young) leader of one of two rival factions, is in some ways more compelling despite itself. The main cause for this is the fact that the girl Varis Sul, Tetrarch of her people, is rather effectively using Jake to formulate an understanding of his father. This shows a particular cunning, and while I wasn't impressed with her at the episode's beginning, I really grew to appreciate her character. At the age of fifteen, she's been made to stand for her people in their dispute with another faction. That's rough.

The misadventures themselves as the trio gets their dosage of screen time range in effectiveness. Nog's silly demeanor every time he attempts discussion with his obvious crush is worth a few chuckles, and it's all credit to Aron Eisenberg's acting; I haven't had a chance to say it yet, but I'm a real fan of his work on DS9. From dropout Ferengi youth to promising Starfleet initiate, his character's path is fun to watch and rarely a letdown. But the stint with Odo's bucket, while amusing as a concept, drags on a little long with the juvenile laughing and descends into the realm of cheese; the oatmeal-throwing is something I'm willing to accept as Nog's character doing early-Nog things, but I was sort of expecting a laugh track for a moment, and it all felt oddly staged.

The conclusion of this plot thread is pretty good. Varis gets a strong line with 'you don't lose by saying no'; it isn't stated outright but it's obvious this was a line of her father's, or something to that effect. Props to the young actress for selling it; it was almost my choice for the quote.

Someone should tell Jake that the outfit he's wearing for much of this episode is god-awful. I'd recommend Garak to him, but sadly we won't be seeing much of the plain, simple tailor for a while, will we?

Rating: 7/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

1x15
"Progress"

"Look, I understand you're used to sympathizing with the underdog. You've spent your life fighting to overcome impossible odds... just like he's doing. But you have to realize something, Major... you're on the other side now."
-Sisko

Let's spend the first sentence asserting one very basic thing: this was a great episode. It would have been all the greater if the Misadventures of Jake and Nog (TM) weren't as pervasive and stood as a more relevant time sink than it wound up being, but the powerful interactions between Kira and Mullibok, accented by some genuine character development concerning the former, more than make up for any issues I had with the station-side goings-on.

Toran, a Bajoran Provisional Government official, arrives at the station as plans are well under way to tap Bajor's fifth moon, Jeraddo, for a great deal of energy. This is certainly a good cause, but three residents of the moon have refused to vacate. Toran isn't going to stall the operation for three lives when hundreds of thousands are waiting to reap its important benefits, as we learn when Kira returns to inform him of the stubborn people down below.

Kira is forced to do whatever is necessary to get them to safety, but by this point she's already met and grown to respect the effective leader of the bunch, a boastful, hard liner by the name of Mullibok. His company, Baltrim and Keena, have been rendered mute by the Cardassians, a painful reminder of the devastating occupation and welcome return to form for the show's original premise. But it is Mullibok who is the focal point in all this; when an early attempt to get the three residents to abandon their homes goes awry, his friends are forcibly removed but Kira, torn about her position and awaiting Bashir's assistance after Mullibok takes a phaser blast, chooses to let him stay where he is, temporarily.

The back-and-forth banter between Kira and the episode's guest star is done very nicely, especially for this point in the show's run. There is something very compelling at play, here; Kira has spent her whole life on the run, fighting the opposition for her land, her home. And now here she is being made to remove someone, a fellow Bajoran at that, from that land, from that home.

Mullibok milks this for all it is worth, and as I've learned on Memory Alpha, the intent was to make him a manipulative antagonistic sort with a good cause nonetheless, and this was not realized in the end. Indeed, the man comes off as sympathetic from the outset despite his bitter refusal to leave, but I contend that the episode works all the better for it. It assists in realizing Kira's plight, and might I add that Nana Visitor shines here like she hasn't shone yet. If "Dax" was Jadzia's first big opener, this is definitely Kira's, and not a moment too soon. "Past Prologue" gave us a nice introduction to her, but "Progress" tells us who she is.

We even get to hear Kira's birth-given name, and it's a lovely name that we'll be hearing much more of in the future. I recall Odo regarding her solely as 'Nerys' for a long time once their relationship takes off much later on. All of this is wonderfully performed; "Progress" is a quiet character piece that pulls off some splendid things. I was drawn into every word of every line from the time Kira begins telling the story of her tree to the end of Sisko's discussion with her, and the conclusion, with Kira firing on the just-finished kiln and then setting the cottage aflame, is chilling work. The episode cuts off too abruptly for my liking, but I can see why it did so from a thematic perspective.

That brings us to the B-plot. Hot on the heels of their recent romp, Jake/Nog comes back full-force with some fluffy latinum-chasing. This is all well and good, although two Jake/Nog subplots in two weeks seems a little overkill to me. Nothing of terrific interest unfolds this time, and they aren't even linked to something important. It was fun enough, mainly because Eisenberg is such a hoot, but the only thing I can think of that was particularly poignant was Nog's adamant refusal to believe that land is anything more than dirt. I really dig the dichotomy when the A-plot is all about a man's refusal to leave his land, so that got me thinking. Other than that, though, I see no reason to take up more than this one paragraph on their stuff and I feel a little cheated that it had to take up time that could have been better-spent on Jeraddo.

Rating: 8/10

[Jeff O'Connor]

So it dawned on me a little late that I skipped one by accident. Here it is, out of order, like a classic DVD mix-up:

1x10
"Move Along Home"

"Crack cocaine. It explains everything."
-Jeff O'Connor

Alright, look. All throughout my twenty-three years, I've had a thing for the underdogs in life. In kindergarten, I got into a fight because the token reserved, antisocial child was being threatened by the token bully and me being the token gets-into-trouble-often-for-standing-up-for-everything I was, well... you get the idea.

So naturally, I went into this episode with the best of intentions, despite its reputation. When I said I couldn't wait the other night, I meant I wanted to be this hour's hero. I wanted to defend it from decades of persecution (okay, almost decades) and bring forth irrefutable proof that it deserves to be remembered not as a mistake, but as a unique, beautiful tale.

Well, it was unique.

So Sisko's little talk with Jake about girls was... I don't know, not worth commenting on? But here I am doing so anyway, so I guess I'll mention that I found it amusing to imagine that everything Jake knows at this point, he knows from Nog. That... can't be good. And then Sisko goes and he greets the extraterrestrials, who have arrived from the set of That 70's Show and yet claim to be visitors from the Gamma Quadrant, and Bashir forgot his dress uniform, d'oh, that Bashir, and then... they go run off and play games.

Okay, fair enough. Interesting teaser, I... guess. So the games are being played, and Quark has some typical Quark banter, and it's about as funny as usual, which is to say, it's funny. And things happen, largely irrelevant, and then we get to the meat of the episode: Sisko, Kira, Dax and Bashir are now prisoners within the rather unexplained game (literally and figuratively) that the mullet aliens have made appear out of nowhere in Quark's.

I'll be brief; this episode offered several instances in which I decided the writers were under the influence of street drugs while writing it. The acting on the part of the four 'players' was below-par compared to what I'm accustomed to; Siddig El Fadil's bulging eyes and bad line delivery came close to Nana Visitor's hackneyed little breakdowns for top billing in the worst ways. These are not bad actors by any stretch of the imagination, and nine times out of ten they impress me quite well by the end of the hour. The only possible explanation is that the actors all sighed profusely upon reading the script and in a rare moment of professional resignation, unanimously decided they weren't even going to bother.

Then there was the hopscotch bit, with a rhyme I won't dare recite here, for it might fuel the fires of hell itself, or worse yet, signal the return of that little girl. I watched a YouTube video the other day which had a clip from this scene in it, and the general consensus from people who watched it was predictable enough. In short, their conclusion regarding the birth of this script was close to mine.

And who can forget the absolutely classic stint with the drinking of the beverage to stop the characters from coughing, or the entirely-too-long cave scenes with the complete lack of genuine dramatic impact. Oh, oh, this was truly a unique episode.

That's not to say it wasn't completely without redemption. Indeed, it seems the worst of DS9 isn't a complete failure; Odo and Primmin had a nice exchange and I'm sad to know he's never seen again after this. In fact, here's a real quote:

"Well, I'm not Starfleet."

That's what I was going to put at the top, but I decided my own thoughts were the best choice.

And then there was Odo and Quark... which is as good as is expected, but I have serious, serious issues with the idea that Odo drops everything and goes along with this little game. What the hell? That just struck me to the core.

And then it's all a game. Move along home. Yadda, yadda... I'm glad that was over.

Rating: 2/10

[the Fifth Race]

I apologize in advance for the long string of posts I'm about to make, but once I'm done writing my most recent review I'll be making... uhh, like fifteen posts in a row...

No worries Jeff. I'm actually very impressed. I read through a few of them in the last 10 minutes or so, a great read my friend. I will finish the rest manana.

[Jeff O'Connor]

I'm glad you're enjoying them. I have a tendency to get a bit longwinded sometimes, but the good news is, for others who are as into something as I am, there's that much more to read. For everyone else, it must be a bother.

[Weyoun]

Sacrifice of Angels

Dukat's descent into madness resulting from victory unfathomably slipping through his fingers is well-conceived. Maybe a tad over the top, but nice nonetheless. Yet, as always, there's more to this guy than meets the eye. The fact that he's determined to find Ziyal before evacuating says something about him. Yes, he loves her, but it also comes back to wanting to see his actions justified and his past forgiven. Doesn't happen here. Damar kills Ziyal when he finds out she was the one who busted Kira & Co. out of jail. Dukat is left broken and destroyed, and the Dominion evacuates the station without him.[/quote]A broken and destroyed Dukat is poetic justice. A guy who has gone from an administrator to a nobody to a rebel to a warlord now becomes ... nothing. Not dead, but lost, imprisoned, and with a dead daughter who can never forgive him. Dukat's life is something of a tragedy. He's a villain, but still a tragic figure, his demise brought on by his own actions. And then he gives Sisko back his baseball.

With the meaty undertones of Sisko and Dukat's themes, Sacrifice of Angels is definitely satisfying in several ways. And as adventure television, the show is often exhilarating. But because of the pervasive contrivances and the way Odo's theme falls short, I wouldn't say it's truly great DS9 (especially considering the strength of all the prior buildup). As far as a rating goes, we'll put it on the high end. A must-see for the pure entertainment of it, but not everything it could have and probably should have been.

[Weyoun]

Great reviews Jeff. Well stated, like brother Fifth Race said - "it makes for a great read"

1x07..."Q-Less" -- In many ways, "Q-Less" is the most obvious tie-in and ratings-grab in Deep Space Nine's freshman season. The Duras sisters in "Past Prologue" are well-done but could have been anyone and while Lwaxana Troi's appearance in "The Forsaken" is close, having such an absolute fan-favorite in the form of Q -- complete with Vash, too -- is so very, very blatantly a way of keeping Enterprise-D fans in the Bajor sector. This isn't necessarily a downright bad thing. Indeed, we Trekkies like to see some continuity, and a sense of this all really being the same universe no matter the series title. But it's a worthy starting point for the review because of its implications for the rest of it.

I couldn't agree more. I'm glad TPTB decided not to go down this ratings grab avenue again - DS9 never needed to play up to the TNG crowd - The throngs of new and old fans that TNG brought back to television was a water-shed moment in Star Trek history, and deserves most of the credit in bringing back an sleeping Giant of a franchise that is Star Trek. The fans were there when DS9 began (it had very good ratings throughout it's entire run, including season 1). I'm glad Q/Vash or the Borg never made another appearance after that first season of growing pains. The epic juggernaut that DS9 was and became, especially with the introduction of the Dominion conflict, created IMHO the greatest of the Trek shows. As much as I truly love TNG and VOY, there is just something uniquely different and more special about DS9.

As soon as I saw Vash, I knew that personally, this might be a slightly bumpy ride. Don't get me wrong: I don't hate her. But she wears out her welcome for me about halfway into all her episodes, and sure enough, she was three-for-three after this. (I've been watching TNG also, as I've said before.) Her actress does a good job at conveying the character's mischievous, flirtatious nature but Vash's antics just aren't my cup of Earl Gray, and if it weren't for backstory-probing in the form of "Tapestry", I'd never understood what our good captain saw in her.

lol Again I agree Jeff. Even on TNG I could also only take a few minutes of Vash at a time (maybe her annoying way reminded me of to many ex-girlfriends). That being said, I found the way she made both Riker and especially Picard uncomfortable priceless! (seeing Picard stutter for lack of words while blushing around Vash - always makes me smile)