KTR's reflections from another DS9 newbie

[enterprikayak]

Already we can see the set up for longer story arcs

that's always what bugged me about ds9 when it and tng were both still new...i'd think "I just don't have time for these long story arcs on ds9...why not do it like tng?"

course that was before we got the longest story arc of all time with voyager getting lost on episode one and getting found on episode 272.

And that was before, of course, the Xindi story arc, but we won't go there right now.

[Rigil Kent]

that's always what bugged me about ds9 when it and tng were both still new...i'd think "I just don't have time for these long story arcs on ds9...why not do it like tng?"

Heh. Different strokes ... if they did it like TNG, there's a better than 90% chance that I wouldn't have bothered ever watching it. I personally love story arcs and wish more shows would do them. The canned "this episode will never again affect anything in the series" type of shows just bore me...

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

that's always what bugged me about ds9 when it and tng were both still new...i'd think "I just don't have time for these long story arcs on ds9...why not do it like tng?"

Heh. Different strokes ... if they did it like TNG, there's a better than 90% chance that I wouldn't have bothered ever watching it. I personally love story arcs and wish more shows would do them. The canned "this episode will never again affect anything in the series" type of shows just bore me...

Exactly! Babylon 5 spoiled me rotten with the introduction of story arcs. Now I cannot enjoy a single show if it doesn't at least show some arc development throughout.

[justTripn]

A blatant disregard for physics. (Oh well)

Um ... all Treks are like that. Odo, for example, completely defies the law of conservation of mass.

Maybe Odo hides his excess mass in subspace? That's what I heard and it works for me!

[enterprikayak]

it's not really story arcs in and of themselves that drive me nuts; it's more, when you're stuck in a bad one, it's like The Episode That Would Not Die. Obviously, a good story arc would be the best thing, but I find my memories of the dominion war to be vague and rather clockwatchy.

[Rigil Kent]

A blatant disregard for physics. (Oh well)

Um ... all Treks are like that. Odo, for example, completely defies the law of conservation of mass.

Maybe Odo hides his excess mass in subspace? That's what I heard and it works for me!

Uh ... riiiiight. See? Blatant disregard for physics. Do I need to point to the "de-evolution" episode in TNG? Or Threshold in VOY? They're all guilty of, as CoffeeCat has put it, making shit up.

[CX]

JT, you should start your own TOS review thread, you don't have to be "done".

[justTripn]

Done.

I was also bored by the Dominion War, to the point of skipping some of those episodes. But, I've heard Elessar say how great that arc was so . . . I suspect the men will appreciate it more than the women--ON AVERAGE.* It was probably a good move for the series.

*I'm also sure that some men will hate the Dominion war, and some women will love it. So please don't flame me.

[Linda]

Uh, I found something to like in all the ST series...and something to cringe at. The dominion war was interesting as it produced my favorite ST episode "In the Pale Moonlight". And I liked Rom's engineering defense of the station (won't say what that is cause I don't want to spoil it for Rigil). That engineering feat redeemed the Ferengi in my mind. Sigh, I am waiting for the series that is entirely on Vulcan with all the main characters being Vulcan, where Humans and other aliens are only recurring guest roles at best. Guess chances of this series are .000000000000001, or less.

[Rigil Kent]

won't say what that is cause I don't want to spoil it for Rigil)

This thread is KTR's.

Hey, KTR, maybe you should edit the first post and add your name to this one like I did mine...

[Linda]

Okay, don't want to be a spoiler for EITHER KTR or Rigil or anyone who has not yet seen these episodes, says I with ruffled feathers, side stepping on my perch and muttering.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Hey, KTR, maybe you should edit the first post and add your name to this one like I did mine...

Done!

And I have two more episodes under my belt:


1-06 Captive Pursuit

I know that the plot isn't all that sophisticated or novel, but I liked Captive Pursuit nonetheless. What makes this an enjoyable episode is the nice interactions and camaraderie between O'Brien and Tosk. They had great chemistry and it was a treat to watch.

I especially appreciated the fact that O'Brien decided to ignore Starfleet protocol and actually help Tosk escape, thus allowing the hunt to continue. It was also nice to see Sisko giving his implicit approval after the fact, and that Odo caught up on it even if it was never spelled out. And of course Sisko had to chew out the Chief in the end, as he had to as C.O. but his heart wasn't really onto it, which is as it should be.

This also points to the absurd interpretation of the Prime Directive they have on 24th century Trek. It should be there to protect pre-warp societies, not a general "turn a blind eye" to alien societies with questionable practices.

I might be going out on a limb when I rate this episode as above average, but I really liked it for what it was.

*****

1-07 Q-Less

Gah! The obnoxious Q shows up and it becomes pretty clear that he has no place on this particular incarnation of the franchise. I got a chuckle when Sisko punched him in the face though. "Jean-Luc would never do that!"

The threat to the station was far too predictable and I hated the copious amounts of technobabble spouted here. Even Q made a joke about that.

The only redeeming thing about Q-Less was Vash. Aside from the fact that she's quite hot I've always found her a nice break from the all too perfect, evolved stiffs that apparently make up the bulk of humanity in this century. She even managed to bring out certain hidden qualities in the über-stiff Picard when she was on TNG.

Alas, I have to rate this episode at the very bottom. DS9's worst so far.

[Linda]

Vash, T'Pring, and others: I like ST's bad girls. You know the old saying "Good girls stay home, bad girls go everywhere." I'm all for women traveling and seeing as much of the universe as they can.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Two more episodes:


1-08 Dax

In a lot of ways I liked this episode. First of all it was a great excuse for us to learn more about how the Trill symbiots work (even if it contradicts what was once established on TNG). The "courtroom" scenes were also nice and compelling to watch. I liked the no-nonsense Bajoran arbiter lady, and how everyone one on Sisko's team pulled together and worked to free Dax.

I wasn't really surprised at the revelations about the old general, or that Curzon Dax had been his wife's lover. I noticed the she was played by Fionnula Flanagan, who played ambassador V'Lar on ENT. And of course Gregory Itzin (Sopek, admiral Black) as her son.

It is unfortunate then, that I couldn't get emotionally involved in the fate of Jadzia Dax. I don't know why but I find that she's not that interesting as a character. She's just so bland. I realize that Terry Farrell is a beautiful woman, but she comes of as really dull. From what I remember from the rest of season one that isn't going to change, but I hope it will in later seasons. As it stands now, she's my least favourite among the regular characters.

I'd rate it as slightly above average. Had it not been for Jadzia I wouldn't have said "slightly".

*****

1-09 The Passenger

Another bad mystery story on DS9! This was rather boring and predictable. As soon as the villain put his hands around Bashir's throat I knew that something bad would happen to the doctor, and when it was revealed that the villain was still at large I knew that it was "Bashir". Yawn! It would've been better had it actually been the security officer who had been possessed.

I hated the technobabble solution to eventually bring back Bashir's personality. And Siddig's performance while possessed was quite bad.

The conflict between Odo and the Starfleet security guy was all that was really interesting and Sisko had a good hand in defusing the situation.

But overall I didn't like this one. It gets a very below average rating.

[Linda]

Well, I hope I am not being too much of a spoiler here, but by the end of the sixth season I think they ran out of things to do with Jadzia. I liked Ezri Dax in the seventh season.

I don't overall dislike any particular ST series like some fans do. But I find there are excellent episodes in each series balanced out by some real stinkers. It is interesting to see other people's reactions as they go through DS9 because this is the series that intrigues me most. It contains my two most favorite ST episodes. KTR, I am getting great insights from BOTH you and Rigil, so please keep up your commentary. And when you get time, please continue your reviews of the third season of Enterprise, okay?