Amph "You are of Bajor" A 'Trek' to 'Deep Space Nine'

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DS9 109: The Passenger
-Premise: An alien criminal, attempting to prolong his life, hides his consciousness inside the mind of a station crew member.

-T2Q Comments: (I suspect I know what twist this episode will have, despite having no memory of this episode...)

Na'toth #1!

"There's nothing wrong witha good dillusion- I sell them to people upstairs every day."

The scene with Sisko and this starfleet security guy is kinda interesting in that it, and presumably this guys subplot, underline the Starfleet/Bajoran arrangement on the station.

If you were the Ferengi, would you be cleaning to the level of polishing the details of the place in the dark? it's not quite mopping the floor, ya know? Ha, and apparently Quark is now seeing the level of cleaniness and searching capable in the dark

...and now the twist guess is becoming much more likely given certain editing and dialogue choices

...hmm, ok, it's not quite what I guessed, but now, thanks to Odo's list, I suspect the real twist!

...damnit, wrong again!

Stuntmen cannon fodder aboard the freighter have really bad TOS-esque reaction acting skills. Evil Bashir is kinda corny too, maybe not voicewise, but facial expression-wise.

Yes, Doc, we just beamed out part of your brain. At least Na'toth #1 did the sensible thing and dusted it.

I liked this episode outside of Bashir- again it has some good character moments with Sisko, Odo and Quark, but it's standalone. Not bad, just Average, though I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Trivia: The "non-Vulcan" comment is a reference to Spock's trick with McCoy in Wrath of Khan.


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DS9 110: Move Along Home
-Premise: A visiting delegation from the Gamma Quadrant turns four crew members into "pieces" for a bizarre game.

-T2Q Comments: The first official delegation from the Gamma Quadrant...and they are completely human looking with sponge stamps on their foreheads...what. the. frell. are they even trying? We've had at least a few interesting alien designs come through the wormhole already, why not reuse parts of those I mean? I mean, yes, I know, "The Observers did it", but still, come on!

Bashir annoys again- hopefully he improves as he gets a handle on the character, as we've seen the actor can do very good work ala 24.

God, this rhyming hopscotch scene is silly- not necessarily in concept maybe, but, geez.

Quark seems to reach the conclusion to what has happened rather easily- for something so strange, you'd think there'd be something else besides the four (leaving the fact of "four" being either the first clue or the final clue that seals the deal) to make him think of the possibility.

"Well, I'm not in Starfleet."

"Is it against Starfleet to PRESS A FEW BUTTONS?"

Not sure I feel about how Quark's "trust a gambler!" instincts didn't pay off- feels like it should have been the right call, to warrant Quark's attitude in the game, even if what they did do leads to an interesting choice.

The "it's only a game"/"not in any real danger" is just a crappy twist- it's like "it was all a dream", it all didn't matter and is a cheat to the viewer...though I grant it is a more realistic outcome than something where aliens put others in danger at random for games. Outside moments with Quark, I'd classify this one as "Ok". Not much reason to not skip it.



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DS9 111: The Nagus
-Premise: With the sudden death of Grand Nagus Zek, Quark becomes the new leader of the Ferengi Alliance, but he also becomes a target for murder.

-T2Q Comments: What's uglier than a Ferengi? An old Ferengi. Interesting minor connection between this and the previous episode by carrying over the "Mrs. O'Brien is away at Earth" thing.

"That's because your daughter's 3. Wait until she's fourteen."

The Ferengi dinner scene is kind of interesting, it a

 

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DS9 112: Vortex
-Premise: A fugitive attempts to trade evidence about Odo's people for freedom.

-T2Q Comments: I must admit I totally missed the "5 glasses" trick in the teaser, but I like the idea, it's clever. It's just lost as a teaser, I think. Also, is that Flight of the Navigator's father?

So a guy walks out of the command office vowing to kill the man responsible, and they just let him go?

Starts to explore Odo's interests in finding other Changelings (other than his initial mention in the pilot), as well as them being in the Gamma Quadrant- and I actually remember this trinket from the "colony of changelings" from my initial viewing.

It's weird having Sisko pronounce it "homo-cide" instead of "homm-uh-cide".

So, if they want to slow this ship down from reaching Odo, and they've violated transit orders- why are they not using a tractor beam on it?

This whole vortex sequence is surprisingly complex- i wonder if the lighting and smoke made it easier for them to shoot more FX material than usual? Odo smiles for the first time- nice little touch.

I think this one is great for Odo's initial character arc and hints at things important to the future of the series, and anything that focuses mostly on Odo and Quark can't be all that bad either. Definitely Essential.

Trivia: Morn is called by name for the first time here, and the running joke of him talking too much begins. Turns out the FX backgrounds were a cost-saver...because they're recolored and flipped plates from Wrath of Khan (and I was about to comment that it reminded me of Khan). Odo's line "I'ma security chief, not a combat pilot" is an homage to McCoy's trademark.



Up next: DS9 113: Battle Lines & DS9 114: The Storyteller.




The Babylon Project Log:

-Space stations are of commerce ports in nature (prominently featuring a casino area), near a giant swirling blue vortex passageway (wormhole/jumpgate) used for travel and a location of advanced creation (prophet temple/Great Machine).
-Hard-edged female second in command, pessimistic, sarcastic security chief. somewhat ethnic doctor.
-Characters named Dukat/Dukhat
-A spiritual race recently coming free of occupation by a more militaristic civilization, the conflict of which led the spiritual race to become more militant themselves.
-Gambler conman (Quark/Londo) has somewhat fluctuating antagonistic friendship with hard-edged chief of security (Odo/Garabaldi).
-Characters played by Julie Caitlin Brown have a long-standing grudge against a notorious murderer who has prolonged their life at the expense of others through scientific experimentation (Rao Vantika/Jha'dur "Deathwalker").
-The term "Changeling" has significance in relation to early parts of both series (the B5 pilot "the Gathering" and DS9's "Vortex" & beyond), though applied to different elements (technology versus a species).

 

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DS9 113: Battle Lines
-Premise: A runabout carrying Kai Opaka crashes on a planet of eternal war, where it is impossible for the combatants to die.

-T2Q Comments: Is it me, or does Kira tend to be almost skipping when she walks? Perhaps that hopscotch game has had lasting impact afterall!

Return of the holy lady from the pilot. The "never can die" war aspect is kinda interesting in concept as a variation of the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Not the most intriguing episode, but not terrible either. Depending on how important Opaka is, I'll go with "Potentiall Essential, But Not Necessarily Good", otherwise if sh'e sunimportant, it's "Average".


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DS9 114: The Storyteller
-Premise: Chief O'Brien is appointed spiritual leader of a Bajoran village. Meanwhile, Nog and Jake try to help their new friend settle a struggle between two Bajoran villages.

-T2Q Comments: I'm glad Miles finds Bashir as annoying as I do. "Do I annoy you?"

Ew, half-Twi'leks.

Is this village matte the same one used for Worf's lost prison camp? yep, it is.

I think this old dude is the Dodanna-esque leader of the Star League in The Last Starfighter.

I don't recall this fancy cloud creature battle, yet I recall Jake and Nog and this chick. How is it I'm completely blanking on all these main A-Plots, yet remembering the C-Plots?

Minor connection to the celestial orbs from the pilot. Despite the semi-Watchmen-esque notion of creating a common enemy to unite a people, I can't help but shake the thought that the message is this village is full of gullible morons who really need to get themselves a TV or something.

I think the episode might have been more interesting without the Miles/Julian/SToryteller plotline. "Ok Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential".

Trivia: Not surprisingly, this script was originally pitched for TNG Season 1 and was rewritten to a DS9 episode only a few weeks before the show premiered. Odo's bucket debuts here. This episode is apparently important to the "season 8" relaunch novel series.




Up next: DS9 115: Progress.

 

If memory serves, this is the last time we ever see her.

 

Is her disappearance/events of this episode specifically mentioned/referenced? Or can one just assume she stepped down/left/died in the interim if one didn't see this episode?

 

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DS9 115: Progress
-Premise: An old farmer refuses to leave the moon where he lives, even though it is about to be made uninhabitable by toxic gases. Meanwhile, Jake and Nog set out to turn an inordinate amount of seemingly worthless condiments into profit.

-T2Q Comments: Sisko sounds really bored in this Station's Log entry. Ah, Morn humor.

Let me guess- the Green Acres couple here ain't gonna let themselves be kicked off their land! We can't have Data show up with a phaser and resolve this plotline quickly, can we?

Why are they wasting time trying to figure out what a stem-bolt (sorry, self-sealing stem bolt) when they could just use a computer terminal to look it up?

The Doctor's official request scene is actually pretty amusing. Nice reflection of SIsko's command style.

Well, it's not Data with a phaser, but Kira with a torch works too...

This episode seems to feel oddly incomplete- like there should have been another scene with Nog and Jake or with this old guy and Kira after they beam up.

This episode, outside the Jake and Nog plotline, is really kinda dull, and her "friend" here is never seen again in the series, so nothing gained- "Forgettable".





Up next: DS9 116: If Wishes Were Horses.

 

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DS9 116: If Wishes Were Horses
-Premise: Station residents suddenly find their imaginations are manifested in physical form as a spatial rift threatens to destroy the Bajoran system.

-T2Q Comments: Odo has no sense of smell- I suspect this will be something easily contradicted by accident. I think I vaguely remember the Rumplestiltskin thing.

"Why...am I fighting this?"

Bashir's situation here kinda echoes the first episode with Barclay and the real characters meeting their holo versions.

This probe launch shot is new, I think- though you know this episode hasn't really done a good job of presenting the presence and geography of this rift- I never knew how close it was to the station until this probe launched, and didn't really have an idea if it was even a visible phenomena until then either- they should have shown something earlier other than a data read-out.

I think the episode takes a turn for the worse in concept by giving these "holos" alternative motives and not really being holos or imaginary representations. Rift has gotten big enough to pick up on visual scanners? we just saw the thing next to the station earlier.

"Perimeter sensors are picking up a sub-space occilation...the hell does that mean?" absolutely nothing!

while I appreciate the "imagination is a wonderful thing" message of the episode- it's taught awkwardly with this race unfamiliar with the concept, when it's a very common ability of so many races. I liked this episode though- it's a good slightly comedic episode. The baseball left to Sisko by Bokai recurs throughout the series too. I'll put this one as "Potentially Essential", though merely "Good Episode" could apply as well; though I acknowlegde there's a slight sense of "been there done that" with TNG having explored imaginations and thoughts manifesting as real in "Where No One Has Gone Before", though it's done more sensibly.

Trivia: Bokai was first mentioned in TNG: The Big Goodbye. Rumplestiltskin was originally supposed to be a leprechaun but Colm Meany felt it was an offensive stereotype to Irish people (ironically, Colm would go on to play a Leprechaun in a TV movie in 1999, which also featured Whoopi Goldberg in it). Colm apparently said "Using caricatures or cliches of any nation is not something Star Trek is should be into"- obviously, he never watched TOS. Having the leprechaun would have fit nicely into TOS's love of Irish stereotypes.




Up next: DS9 117: The Forsaken & DS9 118: Dramatis Personae.

 

You know, usually when really silly things like this pop up in Trek, I don;t like it either, but Rumplestiltskin didn't bother me, strangely enough. He wasn't played for cutesy laughs, and the conversation between him and Miles seemignly reflecting a fear of Miles was quite good.

 

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DS9 117: The Forsaken
-Premise: An alien computer program wreaks havoc with the station's systems.

-T2Q Comments: Mama Troi arrives and targets Odo this time around- an amusing pairing for a story.

"I've always wanted to see an upper pylon."

References Menage a Troi.

"Kerzon Dax used to take perverse pleasure in assigning me to take care of VIP guests"
"oh- so now you take the same perverse pleasure in doing it to me..."
"Exactly."

I now recall Odo's regenerative cycle issue of this episode. They used that explosion down a corridor at the camera effect two episodes in a row? Also almost two episodes in a row that they've solved the problem by ignoring it, though they do divert a little here.

The probe/Bashir plotline I could take or leave but Odo/Mama Troi is a memorable one, even if it is a little cliche to have two people stuck in an elevator reconcile their relationship.

While not so much "definitely essential" I think the Mama Troi connection and the somewhat important development of Odo's character here warrants the Definitely Essential classification



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DS9 118: Dramatis Personae
-Premise: The crew becomes infected by a telepathic imprint of a culture that destroyed itself.

-T2Q Comments: Dax giving Miles advise on using a transporter just seems odd.

Odo's "seizure" is disturbing with that expression he ends up with. Crazy Kira seems like she's flirting with or seducing everyone she's trying o manipulate- Odo, Dax, etc.

Ha, I remember this "a clock!" line...strange.

"so- (smack!) this is how it all ends!" I think Sisko is channeling Shatner here for this scene (Brooks acts things very well though overall).

Kind of a hollow episode- there's some good ideas here but the "virus" (energy matrix, whatever you want to call it) is so obvious so early you know everything is not for real way too soon- and you can't help but wonder what a real mutiny story could have been like. "Average".




Up next: DS9 119: Duet & DS9 120: In the Hands of the Prophets.




The Babylon Project Log:

-Space stations ending with a numerical designation that are of commerce ports in nature (prominently featuring a casino area), near a giant swirling blue vortex passageway (wormhole/jumpgate) used for travel and a location of advanced creation (prophet temple/Great Machine).
-Hard-edged female second in command, pessimistic, sarcastic security chief. somewhat ethnic doctor.
-Characters named Dukat/Dukhat
-A spiritual race recently coming free of occupation by a more militaristic civilization, the conflict of which led the spiritual race to become more militant themselves.
-Gambler conman (Quark/Londo) has somewhat fluctuating antagonistic friendship with hard-edged chief of security (Odo/Garabaldi).
-Characters played by Julie Caitlin Brown have a long-standing grudge against a notorious murderer who has prolonged their life at the expense of others through scientific experimentation (Rao Vantika/Jha'dur "Deathwalker").
-The term "Changeling" has significance in relation to early parts of both series (the B5 pilot "the Gathering" and DS9's "Vortex" & beyond), though applied to different elements (technology versus a species).
-A main character slowly constructs a device (chrysalis/clock) piece of piece in their quarters while conversing with a subordinate.

 

Glad to know it's had some practical application