After the death of a very successful member of Quark's family he is disturbed to find that the changing face of Ferenginar as guided by Rom and Leeta means Quark is not inline for a windfall. Not to be outdone he returns to his homeworld in the hopes of manipulating the beneficiaries of the will and generate some cash flow. When Quark goes missing Odo is asked to investigate and he once again dons the mantle of constable and equipped with a well read library of classic "noir" and pulp detective novels goes in search of one wayward ferengi.
I've got to admit that I really enjoyed Odo with a noir slant, he kinda fits into hard boiled detective mould and yes has his own issues with dames and flat foots as well as hysterical clients, that latter being Rom :)
A very enjoyable novella and an excellent read for a DS9 fan.
Kira and Odo are returning to DS9 after a mission to a remote Bajoran colony on the border of the Cardassian neutral zone, they detect a ship being attacked by the Maquis and give chase. The fleeing ship crashes into a moon of a gas giant and they land and investigate a cave complex, time is short so Odo and Kira split up. Odo then hears Kira calling and he finds her trapped in a crystalline structure which resists damage and phaser fire infact the crystal grows as it absorbs the energy, transporters and comms fail while Odo attempts to figure out a solution to freeing his friend.
Meanwhile back on DS9 Nog has approached Sisko with a request to be his apprentice (Ferengi tradition when a boy becomes a man), he offers a bag of latinum and makes it clear he wishes to join Starfleet. Sisko is a little confused but agrees to think about and then asks Dax to assign him to an inventory of a cargo bay full of valuable cargo as a test. Nog completes the inventory with no problems at all but Sisko while accepting his talents needs to understand why Nog wants to join Starfleet and when he refuses to write the recommendation letter Nog finally opens up. It turns out he knows that business is not for him (same for his father) but he has inherited the engineering skills of his father and the never say die attitude of his uncle and Sisko agrees that Starfleet could indeed use such a person in it's ranks.
Kira is close to death as the crystal has nearly covered her body and Odo is no closer to freeing her but they continue to talk and bit by bit Odo is opening up until he finally confesses that he won't leave her to die as he loves her and she admits that she loves him. Still the obsessive side of Odo seeks a solution until he realises nothing really makes sense and what he knows simply doesn't add up and at that point he realises that this being is not Kira and behold the Founder appears before him and admits this was a rouse to break the link between Odo and the solids.
Starfleet will never be the same
Heart of Stone kicks off with Odo and Kira on a runabout, not quite sure why the Bajorans are so keen to colonise worlds close to the Cardassian neutral zone but ok we'll go with it but when they came across the Maquis why didn't they immediately call for assistance or at the very least notify DS9 of the intentions after all they were going towards the badlands. It was also fortunate that the moon had a suitable atmosphere and a cave structure which protected them from what was supposed to be a pretty harsh environment which blocked comms and transporters. I wasn't quite sure why the beacon Odo launched would take two days to get a signal to DS9, maybe it had to be well clear of the gas giant but as a mayday device that sort of delay could be critical. I had no problem with Kira getting stuck as I think the cave system was a lot darker than it looked on out screens and the interaction between the two of them was interesting. I do not know if it was deliberate but the close ups on Odo's face showed some flaws in his mouth/lips which made me wonder how close to his regeneration cycle he was, it was never mentioned but it would seem to be relevant. The confession of his love for Kira was of course no surprise to Odo but on second or third viewing has lost a lot of it's impact but again the fact that this is a setup and Odo finally figures it all out makes it worthwhile.
Nog of course has his own reasons for wanting to join Starfleet and I liked the test that Sisko gave him although I expected Dax to be more supportive of Nog but he passed the test and finally Sisko got to the truth and that was very satisfying, nicely done by Aron Eisenberg.
Heart of Stone has two very definite plots but both are pretty much covering the same situation, the main characters are being forced to admit to themselves and others the core emotions that are driving them and you know they both work especially the Nog story. Highpoints were the whole performance by Aron Eisenberg, the explanation of why Odo was called Odo and daft as it sounds the best line was from Quark in his very brief appearance, "You're both insane".
Doctor Lewis Zimmerman arrives on DS9 with the intent to use Julian Bashir as a template for a new long term holographic doctor (LMH) to replace the current EMH which as we know is modelled upon Zimmerman himself. Bashir seems a little uncomfortable but his friends are delighted for him so he goes with Zimmerman who tells him he'll need lots of background information from friends, family and colleagues as well as psych profiles to build the holograms AI. Julian asks him not to contact his parents who he claims he is estranged from and Zimmerman understands but immediately makes a note to contact them. Julian is then quite surprised when his parents turn up on the station, in fact they get delivered to Sisko's office during a meeting so there is nowhere to run for the good Doctor and we see that while his parents seem open and friendly their son is very uncomfortable.
Zimmerman continues to work on the LMH while being smitten the Dabo girl Leeta who he gets to interview since she is a former "friend" of Julian and it may not be totally professional but he asks her out during the interview and she says yes. Rom who has designs on Leeta is shocked but still unable to truly express his desires for her and so the "b" plot of the story continues.
The truth behind the estrangement of the Bashir's is revealed when we learn that as a boy Julian was having issues in terms of mental and physical development, his parents took him to Adigeon Prime where genetic manipulation was performed resulting in a highly advanced human which is illegal since the times of the Eugenics wars.
The proverbial hits the fan when his parents confront Julian but it turns out they are talking to the hologram and being overheard by Miles and Zimmerman, Miles and Julian have a frank chat and Julian is convinced his time in Starfleet is over. Meanwhile Zimmerman is continuing his pursuit of Leeta by offering her the position of running the cafe on Jupiter Station while she is fresh out of the shower, flowers were involved which could not have been cheap so credit where it's due.
Julian goes to see Sisko with the intent to resign his commission only to find that his parents are already there along with Admiral Bennett (JAG) via hologram and it's revealed that Julian's father has confessed to his crime and accepted the consequences on the condition that Julian retains his commission. Rom finally speaks his heart as Leeta is getting ready to leave the station on the arm of Zimmerman and she agrees to stay so he has to find a new plaything and a new template for his LMH. The episode wraps with another heart to heart between Miles and Julian and the realisation that Miles shouldn't really be winning any physical event between the two even if it's darts:)
The life of an actor...
Doctor Bashir, I Presume? is a great little episode, not a lot is going on to be honest but we get the beginning of the unexpected romance between Rom and Leeta and the background to Julian along with some good character building between him and Miles. It is a very low key episode with focus on some of the secondary characters which is one aspect where DS9 really stomps all over the other Trek franchises.
The episode opened up with a longish shot of Leeta and her spectacular costuming which emphasises her cleavage, being a Dabo girl distracting and enticing players is part of her job but Leeta is a very open spirit and she never comes across as being exploited or too easily manipulated. I have to admit I was impressed how Chase Masterson with some simple body flexing and expression made it clear how "welcoming" should would have been to anything positive Rom had to say but he blew it. Quark was wicked in his comments on his brother and Leeta but that's Quark for ya. We also learned later how Rom has taken a five year marriage contract, got his son out of the deal and then failed to read the contract extension and lost all his money so perhaps his reticence can be excused.
It was great to see Robert Picardo on DS9 playing Dr Zimmerman I can understand why he used himself as the template for the first generation EMH but what I never quite grasped was why a human template was being used in preference to any other species. Yes for television the bulk of onscreen characters are going to be human or at least humanoid but I don't believe Starfleet as a whole is predominantly human. It would make more sense to have a base medical template that could be built upon for species specific traits thus tailoring a LMH to ships/stations where a human may not be the optimal Doctor. I liked Sisko pointing out that DS9 wasn't equipped to handle an EMH but hey they retrofitted a lab for the use of LMH so that little hurdle was overcome pretty smoothly and talking of smooth Zimmerman was laying it on thick to woe Leeta and credit he didn't fall to pieces when she appeared naked before him:)
I did have issues with how easy Julian's parents got access to what should have been a restricted lab, the secret had to be revealed somehow so we can let that go I guess and in return we got the excellent chat between Miles and Julian, bros for life. Ultimately this episode is about taking control of your own life, Julian wants to resign before his future is taken out of his hands but is beaten to the punch by his father finally taking responsibility for his own actions. Rom finally gets a backbone at the last second before Leeta leaves DS9 and takes control over his immediate future and while you can say Leeta and maybe Zimmerman were allowing others to set their course they both had made decisions, maybe not great ones as it turned out but they had been made.
This is one of my favourite episodes, some great acting from everyone involved especially the guest stars and a good mix of drama and humour. My only real issue is that for the crime committed two years in a penal colony was a little on the light side but I wonder if it was all being hushed up, the Federation wouldn't want anyone to know genetic engineering had achieved a very positive result.
Keiko and the family have returned to Miles onboard DS9 after the station was taken back from the Dominion and they decided to take a trip to Golana IV for a family picnic and for a little bonding between Miles and his children. It's a beautiful day on the uninhabited world and Molly cart wheels aways and then we hear a scream, Miles frantically searches for here finally finding her hanging on a small ledge above a strange fluctuating energy field inside a small cavern, he reaches for her but she falls out his grasp and vanishes into the energy field. Science teams from DS9 are investigating this unknown technology and Dax believes it's a time portal and Molly has been thrown back around 300 years into an empty world but if they can get the tech working again they believe a transporter beam can lock onto her DNA signature and beam her back.
They are successful but the girl they bring back is much older but there is no question that it is Molly and the DNA scan confirms this but after sedating her they now have to deal with a feral creature who doesn't recognise her surroundings or anyone. Worf babysits Yoshi O'Brien which allows Miles and Keiko to concentrate on Molly who is now living in a cargo hold converted to a habitat but with mixed results. Slowly but surely they gain Molly's trust but she pines for her home and while a major breakthrough occurs when they take her back to their quarters it's not until they use a holodeck to simulate Golana IV that Molly is truly happy. It ends badly when Quark asks them to leave and as the hologram is turned off Molly panics and in her terror and confusion she attacks a guy in the bar wounding him severely. Molly is placed in detention and is expected to be shipped to a suitable facility but Miles and Keiko decide that the only place Molly will be safe is back in the past where her real home is so they attempt a jailbreak, it fails. Odo however lets them go and now back on the planet Miles activates the time portal and Molly is told to go "home", they give her the doll she had as a child and with a final goodbye and joy on her face she steps through. Three hundred years in the past Molly hears a young child sobbing, she finds young Molly sitting in the shadows and gives her the doll and points to the portal and young Molly returns to the arms of her parents.
"gung, gung, gung"
It has to be said that Miles is a fan favourite but his family not so much but you can't have a family man and totally ignore the wife and kids not that it hasn't been done:)
So Keiko is not overly impressed with Miles having put on a few pounds although we can assume they boinked like rabbits the night before so he can't be that bad although Quarks adult novelty outlet may have helped in this regard. I was a little disappointed that they still used sunscreen, this is scifi guys take a pill or shot that boosts the skin's protection, job done but I let that go since Miles was his henpecked best even down to his sausages. Of course when one or two characters go overboard saying how they will never leave and everything will be great you just know things are going to go turn out badly. I was a little confused when they got to the planet, I didn't pick up any indication that this wasn't Bajor so the appearance of this hidden alien technology didn't make a lot of sense but later in the episode they make it clear Golana IV is an uninhabited world the Bajorans had lay claim too. Once you know that then yeah it is possible that this time portal remained undiscovered but surely the shuttle/runabout sensors on a normal landing procedure would have picked up the energy field. I was rather surprised the tech guys from DS9 were so happy to dismantle the portal's control systems so quickly and it was maybe a reach to accept a transporter beam (or similar device) could penetrate the portal, identify a target via DNA and bring them back. Of course it went wrong since they simply did not have the fine control they needed to pinpoint to the second when Molly arrived so having brought back a feisty 18 year old who immediately went postal they took their sweet time sedating her or even stunning her. Fortunately over the ten years Molly had been stranded she felt the need to remain fully clothed which spared the blushes of many but then the question of what to do, interesting the choice to keep her was not one sided, the point was made this Molly had ten years which they shouldn't take away from her. Ok, yes she did but that would probably be ten years of hell for at eight years old and only casually clothed having to find food and water and shelter not to mention while there were not sentients on the planet I'm sure their were native animals.
We take a break now and enjoy the fun and games as Worf convinces Dax that he is fully capable of babysitting Yoshi and by extension being a father to any children they have together, it is a matter of honour although I thought it was a little silly for Worf to use Alexander as an example of his parenting skills:)
I really liked the nice touch of older Molly getting as low as she could to look up towards Miles and Keiko emulating the viewpoint of a child and Lupe the doll with a Bajoran nose ridge was something they didn't need to do but made sense with Molly getting the doll acquired locally. It was also typical of Miles to worry over his repair schedule even though I am sure Sisko would have taken him off rotation and the scene with the hairbrush was enough to break any heart. Molly reacting poorly to the holosuite being turned off, well should have seen that coming but how exactly did they get her there and introduce her to the simulation. If they walked her in with it running they could surely have walked her out, the panic was triggered by suddenly taking away her "home" so a plot contrivance. Odo finally came into his own after the jailbreak, loved his statement to Miles that if anyone could sneak a person out of detention and off the station it would be Miles so Odo felt let down he had to get involved, mind you Odo was never a fan of Starfleet paperwork:)
Now maybe this is just me but security and research team should have been stationed at the time portal, it's value and danger is pretty evident but not to worry Miles got it up and running again and they ushered 18 year old Molly through and back home. It would have been interesting if they had left it there, the loss of a child could have been used to really pressure Miles and maybe breaking up the marriage as a side plot to the final season but no they went for the happy ending and maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
Time's Orphan worked pretty well considering it was a Mile's and family centric standalone episode although I really did enjoy Worf and his adventures in babysitting but there were some touching moments in a plot that pretty much overlooked a lot of issues. There was some nice acting from Michelle Krusiec (Molly at 18) and if anything she was the one that get's the most credit at making this episode above average.
Tekeny Ghemor (as seen in S3 Second Skin and played by Lawrence Pressman) visits DS9 and Kira to reestablish their relationship after the Cardassian regime allied itself with the Dominion. Kira is hoping that as a known dissident he would be willing to be the voice of an off world Cardassian government in exile but he reveals he is close to death. He tells Kira that a Cardassian custom allows him to offer up all his secrets and knowledge to a family member who could then use that information and he considers Kira to be his daughter and so she agrees. Gul Dukat demands that Tekeny is returned to Cardassia but after Sisko brushes him off he turns up in a Dominion Battlecruiser along with the latest version of Weyoun and attempts to bribe Tekeny to return and what that fails well he tries to assassinate him. Kira learns that during the occupation the Tekeny was assigned to the unit that destroyed a religious order and she refuses to see him although her feelings towards him are mixed with her own memories of her father's death. Tekeny finally passes and Kira buries him alongside her father while Dukat states that he will return and proclaim that Tekeny embraced the Dominion.
DS9 at it's best excelled in character studies and building whole episodes around individuals, not a common theme in Trek as a whole which is perhaps why TNG and Voyager did better in the ratings. In this story we get a history of Kira and her relationship to her real father and one she considers worthy of the same respect. In the flashbacks we see that the occupation has taken it's toll on a young Kira and she has never truly addressed the issue of putting revenge ahead of compassion. It was fitting that she got a chance to make amends and serve her people and the Federation as a bonus. It was a telling opening scene between Kira, Dax, Worf and Tekeny in regards to how DS9 delivers Trek, there were no humans present and none where needed, these characters have been built with care and precision to reflect everything the viewer needs to understand them. I was and always have been curious why the station never had a docking port/pylon more suitable for higher ranking or vip visitors but that's not really important I guess. I did find it vastly amusing that Kira also had her own section within the Cardassian central archives, probably different from Dukat's personal files which given his history may include some candid photos, he does like the Bajoran women.
Putting aside the central theme of Kira and her relationship with two particular men in her life we did some good stuff from Dukat and Weyoun 5 was as ever brilliant, once again Jeffrey Combs excels with a few brief comments and expressions. Weyoun's utter fascination as Sisko and Dukat traded barbs and the attempted assassination plot was the perfect counterbalance to what was an emotion heavy episode.
How Delightful
Ties of Blood and Water was directed by Avery Brooks and since this story is all about Kira it was ideal for the lead actor to take himself out of the limelight although he did have fun scenes with Ducat as you would expect. Nana really did herself proud with her portrayal of both the Kira we know and all younger self who was being pulled in many directions during the occupation. Her admission that sje left her father to die alone was mostly due to her own emotional weakness showed how far she had come and may explain her more volatile nature but in returning to Tekeny she took a giant step to addressing a flaw in her character. The final scene of his grace next to her father's was glorious and also showed how Bajor was being brought back to life, what was a piece of dirt and rock was now an area of beauty and tranquility.
The Dominion and the Cardassian fleets are wiping out all resistance within the regions surrounding the wormhole, the combined Klingon and Federations fleets are being decimated and the 7th fleet is all but lost after a disastrous engagement. Sisko and the Defiant are recalled for reassignment and he and his crew are given the recently captured Jem'Hadar fighter for a high risk mission deep inside Dominion controlled space to destroy one of the few Ketracel White production facilities.
Reunions Should be Fun
All initially goes well until they are attacked by a Federation starship and lose communications, they are forced to drop from warp and engage the starship in the hopes of deterring a fight to the death but it flees as three Jem'Hadar ships arrive and pursuit. They arrive at the small asteroid which contains the facility, it's protected by a force shield but observing other Jem'Hadar ships and protocols allows them to gain access and they beam down their empty containers (some containing explosives) and await their new supply of the drug and for the force field to be lowered for departure. However as time ticks by with no clearance tensions arise but then a huge explosion rips the asteroid apart and their ship is caught in the blast radius and is badly damaged.
During this two week plus period we are see that life onboard the former DS9 is slowly returning to normal but still Gul Dukat is refusing to turn over security to the Bajorans but Kira has an ace in the hole in Odo who when he requests his own security for the civilian promenade Weyoun instantly agrees albeit with a small request.
A Time To Stand is the season six premiere episode and is set three months after the Dominion and Cardassian assault on Deep Space Nine and the mining of the wormhole. It's certainly not going well for the Klingons and the Federation as the Dominion defeats them in every battle and is winning the hearts and minds by treating Bajor with respect and honouring their deal despite Dukat chaffing at the bit to impose his own desires upon them.
As always it's a delight to have Garak (Andrew Robinson) in an episode and the new more "rougher" Bashir is actually a breath of fresh air, granted the arrogance is still there but since the revelation of his upbringing at least it has some merit. Mind you I couldn't really understand why it was Bashir bringing news of the seventh fleet, surely during a major war protocols would mean sensitive information being passed through the com officer maybe even encoded direct to the commander rather than through the ship's doctor. Oh lets not forget Martok and Worf coming aboard the Defiant (some warning to the Captain would surely be the norm) but we did get the happy reunion with Dax and well tears to the eye, what a great couple Jadzia and Worf made. The episode flips to life aboard DS9 and we see a heavy military presence but Quark is doing good business and alas he kinda sums up how the majority of sentient races would look at the situation, it could be worse. Kira is having issues with Dukat as you would expect but it made an awful lot of sense to make use of Odo and his links to the Founders, Weyoun was only to happy to grant every request but wheels within wheels by getting Odo onto the stations ruling council it legitimises the Dominion presence that little bit more and of course moves Odo slightly further towards the Founders.
Yes I know the questionable piloting of the repurposed Jem'Hadar ship was there for a laugh but come on inertial dampeners would be default, this ship would never be a rockin'. It was an interesting look into the technology of the ship though with no chairs, replicators, infirmary and restricted visuals when from a pure combat vessel with it's intended crew made a lot of sense, amazing any ship could stand up to this type of vessel given it's advantages, power utilisation etc.
I also liked the choice of using a practical model and explosion for the asteroid base, granted it looked out of place but I am old school even though some of the CGI visuals in the episode were spot on especially as the ship rode the shock wave and was battered and bruised with no functioning warp drive and 17 years, 2 months and 3 days away from help.
A Time To Stand was an excellent season opener and kicked things off nicely as things look even more bleak for the Alpha Quadrant with the ongoing attempts to bring down the mine field and flood the quadrant with Dominion reinforcements.
Quark is having issues with retaining customers in his bar thanks to ongoing maintenance by the Chief and Nog, unable to totally fix the problem and with no replicator sourced replacement parts they decide to visit the sister station to DS9 "Empok Nor" which was recently abandoned by the Cardassians. Garak is invited along since it's common practice to booby trap a resource and that is proven to be a good idea as Garak is able to gain entry and power up the station without incident or so they think. It turns out that there were three soldiers in statis left to deal with any intruders, two survive and are revived and begin to hunt down the Starfleet personnel.
It's not all plain sailing though as Garak becomes infected by a compound they find smeared on a railing, it's the same drug that is driving the even more determined Cardassians to hunt down intruders and as time passes Garak himself becomes more of a threat to the remaining Starfleet crew.
Empok Nor is an entertaining episode, its slow pace works to perfection to enhance the suspense and danger involved with being on this moth balled space station. Garak and Miles are great fun as the initial friendly banter which supports the first half of the episode and as the situation evolves into a life and death struggle their dialogue remains the most important aspect. There were some issues most of which exist to make the plot work beginning with the rather suspect inability to repair DS9 in the first place, a conduit shouldn't rely on a like for like original replacement rather than a replicated part. It was rather amusing to see that Health and Safety in terms of noisy working conditions and the environment weren't an issue for Starfleet or Quark missing the opportunity for compensation for loss of business. I also wondered why Empok Nor seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, the design after all seemed to be intended for ore processing but it wasn't in orbit or close to an asteroid belt and while yes Cardassians would bobby trap a resource you would think it would make more sense to destroy it or move it. There was also evidence the station was abandoned quickly which goes against the more organised security measures so when we see a girder has smashed into one of the pods you wonder why, these stations are built strong.
Got to have an audience
Empok Nor is a very good example of what DS9 was created to provide, a much darker and gritty episode of Star Trek with many shades of grey and who else but Garak (Andrew Robinson) could maximise that potential. It was great to see Garak even more dry and cutting as the drug began to take effect and when he gutted the security officer and pointed out he had fetched the wrong tool you had to smile despite the loss of another "red shirt". Speaking of which I was not impressed with the Starfleet personnel both in terms of attitude, tactics and awareness when they knew they were in danger but they were there to set the scene for Garak and Miles with Nog (Aron Eisenberg) thrown in as a pawn in the spirit of the game which was a constant in the story.
Commander Riker visits DS9 and makes a play for Kira, as the flirting continues she takes him on a tour of the Defiant and even unlocks the bridge with her own command codes, he then shoots her.
Surprise, it's not Will but his own self Tom who is now part of the Marquis and with a little help he steals the Defiant and takes it into the badlands and onward to the DMZ to raid Cardassian space with one particular objective in mind.
Smug Git!
So DS9 are making use of Thomas Riker who we first met in the TNG episode Second Chances and back then he had a chip on his shoulder and it seems the last few years have made him more intent to make his own mark on the Federation. I guess following a successful older brother into the same profession is tricky so when you are pretty much competing with yourself you would have to go to extremes. Of course this Riker lacks the hands on experience both in command and it seems the political big picture yet it's amusing when Kira points out he ain't no terrorist either, Starfleet and the civilisation imprinted on him by his family and culture remain.
I wasn't overly happy to see how poorly Kira was handling the pressure of running DS9 but not a bad idea to piss off the Doctor if it's gets you a couple of days off work, result. Thomas was clever to be very aggressive with Miles, put all the pressure on the guy you want to avoid, less likely to approach you knowing you were only going to be around for a while. It was a little too easy to get access and control of the Defiant, you would have thought Starfleet would have done something to differentiate the two Rikers given their relative security clearances and yes the Defiant is a "little ship" but even automated it seemed a stretch how few untrained Marquis it took to fly her. Of course when in combat the ship was at a disadvantage, immediate repairs and compensation normally provided by a full crew would have made the mission far easier. I did laugh myself silly how easy Riker seemed to defeat the anti-proton scanning but maybe in reality his countermeasures didn't work which is more reasonable to me anyway.
Dukat played by Marc Alaimo was excellent as usual, his story of his son may have been pure manipulation or a very simple lesson in how a Cardassian would view things, either way we again see Cardassia as being far more complex than you would think as the Obsidian Order are operating far outside their mandate.
Overall Defiant wasn't a bad episode and it was a good use of Thomas Riker but I wasn't totally sold on how they wrote Kira for this episode from her initial attitude with her work and Riker and then her speech about terrorism and the state. When she stated "I was a terrorist" it was accurate from the perspective of the Cardassians but not of her own people and certainly not in her own mind, maybe it was to offer a simply black and white argument to Thomas but it still felt out of place.
Mild mannered Miles O'Brien finds himself being tended to by the doctor after collapsing on the command deck of the station when a plasma conduit ruptured, he seems ok despite some minor concerns and life onboard the station continues as a Romulan transport arrives bringing in a delegation for discussions about the Dominion threat. While Quark is having a frank chat with Miles about the danger darts can bring to paying customers Miles notices well himself across the promenade, the other Miles than shimmers out of existence. Investigating this anomaly indicates some cause for concern but it's not until Miles realises he is actually seeing himself in the future that things start to get more interesting in a bad way. When he sees himself killed by a energy beam he is justified in having a heightened state of alarm but they learn that a monitoring device with bobby trap may have yet to be planted where the Romulans will be quartered and the finger points to the Klingon transport crew docked at the station for repairs. Miles then experiences the destruction of DS9 and in one of those interesting twists "our" Miles is not going to be the one hugging Molly next time she visits :)
Hint, it's the pointy end.
Visionary is a good solid addition to the Miles O'Brien centric episodes which appear throughout Deep Space Nine but you can't help but think they were relying a little too much on the stereotyped actions of both the Klingons and the Romulans to make the episode work. That said you can not disagree that the conclusion reached by the Romulan High Command did not have merit but it would have been a stop gap measure at best, eventually the Dominion like the Borg would come a calling.
I can't say I was happy about the basic Klingon freighter crews being decked out in military armour nor the emotionless and abrupt attitudes of the Romulans, it may be inline with how the series was portraying these races but I think they could have done a much better job but I guess these were secondary concerns when compared to how Miles would be reacting to the situations presented.
I did laugh at the stuntman/body doubles wig, it did kinda stand out a bit and you really don't expect to see that level of sloppiness in a show of this calibre but some nice and simple camera setups to make it look like there were two Miles in many of the scenes.
Did I hear right that the stations sensors were scanning up to 2 kilometers, that would mean the orbital slot for the station which would be filled very very quickly, I don't know if it's canon but I've certainly read 5km upwards is the preferred spacing for tight fleet formations and given the range of transporters that seems regulations for their own sake. Odo saying he always investigates Quark, yes the best line of the episode delivered with just enough emotion to make it seem like Odo really really means it and while Miles and is dislike of Temporal Mechanics raised a chuckle it seemed a little forced.
Overall a decent episode of Deep Space Nine more so if you are a fan of Miles Edward O'Brien played to a tee by Colm Meaney.
The Missing is an entertaining Star Trek story set on the new Deep Space Nine space station as post war Romulan and Cardassian interests clash and Captain Ro Laren has to deal with all of this as well as a first contact situation which is being mirrored light years away between the research and exploration vessel Athene Donald and a mysterious highly advanced starship. The story weaves in Odo and Garak and plays the Bajorans in something of a middle ground with no love for either side but with fences to mend the opportunity for good will and diplomatic gold stars can not be ignored. Dr Pulaski pays DS9 a visit before leaving onboard the Athene Donald and with Dr Crusher as the CMO of the station sparks could fly and the story presents the viewpoints of these two characters in great detail and when it comes right down to it both these characters were portrayed in more positive light than in the tv show, at least that's what I took from it. One aspect of the story is it's place in the post television storylines, I'm not familiar with the specifics of events that are covered in the recent novels so I may not have got everything out of the story as I could, for example the two Tzenkethi characters and their cultures place in the new look Alpha Quadrant but thankfully I don't think that was essential.
The story itself takes place mainly in two locations, the first DS9 as first contact is made with the People Of The Open Sky and then soon after the Athene Donald comes face to face with the highly advanced "Chain" in their uber starship who seem to look down on the Federation vessel. As events begin to spiral out of control with break-ins, murder, suspicion and distrust between races and individuals it's up to everyone to pull together and look beyond their limited expectations and ingrained beliefs and embrace a future of new possibilities.
I really enjoyed how Pulaski was written and her interactions with Crusher in this story and I found myself smiling quite a lot, the mystery created by the first contact situations and the investigations while not overly complex kept me turning the page (so to speak) and while there were plot elements I hate with a passion in this case a certain technology that has been covered in the movies this novel for a fan of Trek and DS9 is well worth reading. Garak, Odo, Ro, Crusher and Pulaski were all written well and the new characters (at least to me) merged well within the established framework and I suspect we'll be reading a lot more about some of them and for that I am thankful, I believe there is a lot to be told in this new Federation of Planets and beyond.
I also should mention the personal logs that head up each chapter, they were very interesting and compelling offering insight into first contact and posing some very valid questions, they added immensely to my enjoyment of the main story.
If someone would have told me even a fortnight ago I would have enjoyed a Star Trek novel which focused on the Cardassian race and culture I would have been sceptical but I've learnt from various interviews and reviews that Una McCormack is well respected in creating stories within the Trek universe and really bringing the Cardassian people to the fore. This may just be my thing but it didn't hurt that The Never Ending Sacrifice weaved it's story around a character introduced in the Deep Space Nine tv series (which I rate highly) and the story evolves with the events in the tv show over the next few years playing out as background. This approach added a huge amount of depth to the novel and I suspect anybody reading this novel will be familiar with the tv series and the extra detail the story provides in turn makes you appreciate DS9 even more.
While the novel centers on Rugal Pa'Dar (Featured in the DS9 second season episode "Cardassians" in which as a war orphan adopted by a Bajoran couple it's revealed his "real" father who thought he was dead has returned to claim his son. Behind all this is the devious hand of Gul Dukat and it's this hugely complex culture of political maneuvering and posturing combined with a fierce pride in the culture and society Rugal has to deal with when he returns as a dutiful son of Cardassia. As you would imagine a young man raised on Bajor having seen the atrocities committed by his people will have issues dealing with the Cardassian society and that's the tale we are being told and you will see a culture that isn't as black & white as we first thought and given the chance there are those who are striving for a better and fairer Cardassia unshackled from the repeating cycle of domination, control, and destruction used to maintain the political and military society all have to live under.
The Never Ending Sacrifice is a very enjoyable read which I didn't want to put down and despite not being totally familiar with the Trek universe post DS9 it was very easy to slip into the universe as created by Una's story telling, I can highly recommend the novel for a Star Trek fan or someone looking to dabble into the franchise without getting into one of the long running series or maybe use this as a stepping stone into an ongoing series.
Opportunities for expansion into the Gamma Quadrant are obviously of interest to the Ferengi so the Grand Nagus pays Quark a visit and gives him the chance to lead a trade deal with the intent to get a foothold in the quadrant and ultimately reap profit. On the surface the deal seems fine but it soon gets complicated when as yet unknown player is revealed by the Dosi, The Dominion. A subplot of the story once again deals with the Ferengi culture and treatment of females, in this case Quarks new protege has a secret so we get plenty of cheap humour spun off from his or her situation and how those around them handle the devotion aimed towards Quark.
Alien makeup examples across 2 decades
There is an awful lot of positives to take out of Rules Of Acquisition, the Ferengi in Deep Space Nine and more importantly due to Armin Shimermanare once again shown to be far more than TNG was ever able to present. Quarks interaction with Dax was always a high point of the show, Zek's interest in Kira was hilarious and you've got to admit reaching for any female of interest may get you slapped down but you know I don't think the odds are too bad especially when you have no shame:)
Love Hurts!
My only real complaint for the episode was the appalling make up for the Dosi, I've seen exactly the same idea on an old episode of Buck Rogers, a decade or so before not a problem but early 90's it wasn't good and on rewatch it's just embarrassing more so when compared in the same scene with Ferengi makeup.
Now this was a fun episode with both A and B plots played with a lot of humour desperate the obvious seriousness of both situations. Quark given a terminal diagnosis sells his "remains" on the futures exchange to an unknown buyer who then turns up to collect a desiccated Quark but the hiccup is that he isn't dying and the only way out is to break the contract thus causing Quark to be an outcast, maybe a fate worse than death. Meanwhile an accident has forced Dr Bashir to transplant Miles unborn from Keiko to Kira who now has to carry it to term, poor old Miles the guy recovers well but doesn't know what he is in for after the Major moves into their quarters:)
Three women and Miles
Garak had a small but significant part to play in the episode, the look on his face when Quark reveals the target for assassination is himself was priceless and to wrap it all up the station coming to Quarks aid underlined how important he is to the day to day life of DS9, just as intended by Sisko when he asked or convinced Quark to stick around.
The episode kicks off with Rom auditioning for Vic which is a lot of fun and introduces the idea of the music used later and I wonder if the album was being released around then as well, I could probably find out:)
Anyhow a communications relay is being fought over on the planet AR-558 currently under the control of Starfleet, they are well passed the point of being rotated out and have suffered heavy casualties. Sisko, Nog, Bashir, Dax and Quark get trapped on the planet along side the last few defenders and have to fight against fresh Jem'Hadar troops and all hell breaks loose in a rather well choreographed and scored set piece.
An excellent episode of Star Trek and something at the time only DS9 could pull off, maybe Enterprise a little later would make this work but here we had all the investment in the characters and of course Quark pointing out some home truths about humanity. I had an issue with why the Dominion didn't just build another relay station and nuke this one but I can live with it being the drive for plot which allows the best of the episode to flourish. We also got three good guest stars with Bill Mumy (Lost In Space and Babylon 5), Raymond Cruz (The Closer and Major Crimes) and Patrick Kilpatrick.
So I was thinking of a way to waste more of my copious amount of free time I had the inkling of an idea, watch a random episode from the Star Trek franchise so I looked around and found plenty of ready made lists and decided to
pick the one that had the episodes and movies in stardate which means Enterprise comes first BUT it does not take into account time travel episodes which have characters before the time some series was set in. Anyhow I have the list
which includes Enterprise, TOS, TAS, TNG, Voyager, DS9 and the movies along with a web based random number generator, if the number hits on a multi-part episodes I will watch all the parts. I can then do a quick review and post
my thoughts and in time who knows with over 700 episodes at least I'll always have something to watch for when I can not make up my mind:)
I've just finished the final episode of Deep Space Nine my first full premiere to finale viewing since it was initially broadcast in the UK. The main reason I picked up the boxset was a slow build of appreciation of the series from the various podcasts I listen to which dealt with Star Trek and a few which were dedicated to DS9 such as The Orb and In The Wilderness.
I don't think there is anything I could say that would really convey the scope of the series when viewed as a whole, it was an impressive achievement for the time only equalled by Babylon 5 and like that series the writers of DS9 managed to weave in strong series/season arcs something that doesn't always guarantee strong viewing numbers as even scifi fans can be fickle.
Deep Space Nine sets itself well apart from the other series within the franchise, first for it's overall reliance on significant arc based stories but the level of conflict within it's part of the Trek universe as well as conflict between the characters both main, recurring and guests from within the "family" and beyond. It's long been pointed out the Gene Roddenberry favoured the happy shiny people approach exemplified by the TNG crew so sitting down to DS9 could and probably did come as a bit of shock. The series however was excellently cast, top notch levels of production and once the early seasons had allowed them to find their feet and solidify the characters the show went from strength to strength.
DS9 still isn't my favourite Trek despite totally enjoying these seven seasons of the show but I can not deny that some of these stories and characters stand out not only within the Star Trek family of shows but in the whole of the scifi genre, you might even say forget scifi they are at heart dramatic and theatrical creations.
On looking back at the seasons I picked out a handful of episodes that I could consider worthy of simply rewatching just because they are that good or personify aspects of the show, don't read anything into the list it's purely my own picks:)
The same applies to the handful of characters I really enjoyed watching thanks to the actors performances, I really didn't dislike any of the main roles nor the recurring characters but a few for me stood out such as Garak (Andrew Robinson), Vic (James Darren) and Weyoun/Brunt etc etc (Jeffrey Combs). You know what I could on because putting aside the excellent regular cast members the guest stars really added so much to their roles which helped create this world especially those under so much prosthetics who relied on their eyes and voices to convey so much.
While there are always going to be Trek cast and crew who are celebrating their birthdays every single day of the year today August 19th is a little special. The late great Gene Roddenberry was born this day back in 1921 (he passed Oct 24th 1991) and left a legacy that will live with the human race for as long as we create and tell our stories. To add spice to the 19th we also celebrate the birthdays of Diana Muldaur who guest starred in TOS (twice) and in the third season of TNG. Johnathan Frakes also shares this special day, he stood tall all through the seven seasons of TNG as well as appearing in DS9, Voyager and Enterprise (less said about that one the better) as well as the Next Gen movie series. He now works behind the camera directing within the tv market such shows as Leverage and Burn Notice. Gene Roddenberry IMDB Roddenberry.com Diana Muldaur IMDB Johnathan Frakes IMDB
Now this is unusual, the whole of this blu-ray disk is devoted to the Tribbles with the TOS episode, the DS9 follow up and the animated episode. The disk is packed with extras such as PIP features, commentaries and documentaries with interviews a plenty.
The episode itself is one of my favourites and an out and out comedic story with some hints of menace from the Klingons who may be exploiting the terms of the Organian peace treaty. Kirk is the butt of many a joke and we see perhaps the beginning of Shatner using his own self as the lynch pin for a humorous scene, this evolves eventually to his excellent work in Boston Legal and well his everyday public persona.
Trials And Tribble-ations
This was television magic, taking the original TOS episode and working in some of the characters from DS9 in such a manner that it was almost seamless. The story which focused on the investigation of the time slip also gave the episode a practical framework which added weight to what was like the original a fun episode. Dax looked absolutely stunning in the traditional red yeoman's uniform, it was made for a tall woman:)
Extras
Previews
Commentaries
Starfleet Access Episode
More Tribbles, More Troubles
Trials and Tribble-ations
Uniting Two Legends
An Historic Endeavour
Trek on Blu-ray
I, The Constable by Paula M. Block
