Category: Rewatch

Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 229: In the Hands of the Prophets

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: DS9
Episode: 1.20 In the Hands of the Prophets (Season 1 Finale; June 21, 1993)
Rating: 5/5
Redshirt Status: 1/3.5

Content/Trigger Warning: Religious violence.

Notable Guest Stars:
Louise Fletcher ( Vedek Winn Adami) – Louise Fletcher plays the rule of Winn for several seasons on this show, and is one of the most rememberable side characters on the show. She is also known for playing the role of Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (A movie I dislike, but she did an awesome job) for which she won an award for Best Actress in 1975. Her last role was on the Netflix series Girlboss (which means I need to watch it now). She died late last year at 88 years old.

Philip Anglim (Vedek Bareil Antos) – Anglim is known more for his theater work then his work in television, but he will be a reoccuring actor on this series, playing Bareil. He is also known (television wise) for playing the son of Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds

Robin Christopher (Neela) – This is Christopher’s second (and last episode) as Neela.

Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien) – While I usually don’t mention reoccurring characters much, I feel I should bring up Rosalind again. She does such an excellent job in this episode. Some other roles she is known for include Soon-Lee Klinger in M*A*S*H. She is Rose Hsu Jordan in the Joy Luck Club which I have yet to see but seems to be quite popular. More recently she appeared in the 2020 Mulan as Hua Li


Review:

In the Hands of the Prophet is a bit too relatable. It could have been a ripped from the headlines episode. A small (but Vocal) group of radical religious people have decided to commit violence to either get rid of the opposition or to remove what they see as “Unholy”.

Read more: The Rewatch 229: In the Hands of the Prophets

As we know, the Bajoran religion is very much a part of their social and political structure. They have a provisional government but a great amount of power lies in the hand of the Kai, the head of their church. Kai Opaka “died” a few episodes ago, so Bajor is left without a leader, and so the next tier of their religion -the Vedeks – are vying for the position.

One of these Vedeks is Vedek Winn, a woman who belongs to a more conservative and strict order then others. Her main competition is Vedek Boreil, who has been found to be much more charismatic and frankly kinder then she is. So she concocts a plan to get Boreil out of the way.

Onboard DS9 is a school. Keiko O’Brien has become a school teacher and for the most part is loved by her students and their parents. However Winn is not quite a fan. You see, Winn wants schooling that fits the religion of the Bajorans, rather then the science-based and “Leave the religion to the parents” type schooling. She starts convincing Bajoran parents to take their children out of the school if Keiko doesn’t start teaching Bajoran beliefs.

Remind you of current events?

It causes problems in the station as Bajorans are starting to believe, as is Winn’s intent, that the Federation doesn’t respect anyone’s beliefs. This is made worse by the fact that a member of O’Brien’s team has been killed and it seems it might be related to the issues. Then the school is bombed. Thankfully no one is at school as Keiko had dismissed them early that day.

Needless to say everyone is quite concerned. Winn pretends to offer sympathy then claims perhaps it was a result of their blasphemy against the prophets.

Vedek Bareil then comes to visit the station, deciding that staying neutral is no longer an option. He manages to gather the Bajorans and with kind words and good leadership, he tries to heal the wounds from what has happened.

But then Neela shoots at him. And this causes havoc. Everyone is convinced that she was working for Winn, which we know from earlier scenes, but those in the universe didn’t see that conversation. Winn gets to go free despite planning the assassination of her coworker, the bombing of a school and basically causing havoc wherever she goes.

Given our current events this episode was harder to watch because I could see the similarities to reading on the news people restricting books, and changing laws to better fit their religious views vs. the neutral space school was. In Florida, the governor has made it basically so if the school doesn’t fit his agenda he can revoke their ability to be a school.

But back to Star Trek based analysis. This is a good Kira episode. Kira has a lot to think about after this episode. She’s not as conservative as Winn by any means but she has a high respect for her as a member of her clergy. After the events of this episode she is forced to reexamine her beliefs and how much power she puts in those who lead her religion in how she believes.

Its also a good Keiko episode. The nice thing about DS9 is that both Keiko and Miles are fleshed out, having been only minor reoccurring characters on TNG.

Interesting notes:

  • Written by Robert Hewitt Wolf
  • Directed David Livingston
  • Some of the outdoor scenes were filmed at Fern Dell, which had also been a location for TNG’s Encounter at Farpoint
  • Originally the plan was for Anara, a character in the episode The Foresaken to be the assasin, but that fell threw, causing them to create Neela. Some elements of the original plan remain in the script.

Pros:

  • Winn is an iconic character for the series, so its good to see her arrive, though in general I would dislike her in real life.
  • This is an excellent episode for Kira Nerys.
  • This episode explores more of the Bajoran culture, in particular their religion.

Cons:

  • Too similar to current events where people are attempting to control schools to promote their religious or intolerant agenda.
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 228: Timescape

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 6.25 (June 14, 1993)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/20/54

Notable Guest Stars:

Patricia Tallman (Romulan) – Patricia is a background actor and stuntswoman, and worked on 3 of the 90s trek shows. She also was Laura Dern’s stunt double for Jurassic Park.

Review:

So we have another time travel episode from Brannon Braga. This time Troi, Data, Geordi and Picard are returning to the Enterprise from a conference when they stumble upon fractured time. The Enterprise and a Romulan ship turn out to be in the middle of it all, and the four left out have to investigate.

Read more: The Rewatch 228: Timescape

I enjoyed this epiosde, overall. However, its not their strongest. Its not an episode I would put in a “Top Ten Must See Episodes” list. At the same time it is not bad by any means. Its just…good.

I do appreciate a few things that the episode presents. In particular Troi is shown to be less a pretty face and trouble monitor for Picard. She is relied upon for knowledge of the Romulan people and their ships. None of the characters are shown as more or less useful then the others.

Its also nice to have a Romulan episode where they are not the bad guys.

Interesting notes:

  • Written by Brannon Braga based on a pitch by Mark Gehred-O’Connell
  • Directed Adam Nimoy (son of Leonard Nimoy)
  • Braga put a few injokes into the script, using the names of an old girlfriend and a teacher as speakers at the conference.

Pros:

  • Good use of characters. You don’t often see Troi involved with action sequences. She’s usually in the more dramatic scenes due to her character’s occupation.

Cons

  • There was some elements of “How did that even work?” in the episode.
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 226: Dramatis Personae

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: DS9
Episode: 1.18 Dramatis Personae (May 31, 1993)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 0/2

Notable Guest Stars:

Tom Towles (Hon’Tihl) – Tom Towles was a popular character actor, and he worked on both DS9, Voyager and Firefly.

Randy Pflug( Guard) – Pflug, who goes by Randy James, is a continuing background actor on Star Trek. He also worked as a stand-in for several actors including Colm Meaney.

Jeff Pruitt (Ensign) – like Pflug, he is a continuing background actor on Star Trek.

Review:

I’m not a big fan of civil War/Mutiny story lines because I like watching the crew act like a team. In this episode, Some outside force (Telepathic vortex?) causes everyone to act out of character – or are they? I feel in reality it makes a little character quark of each of the characters to go into overdrive and become their driving characteristic.

Read more: The Rewatch 226: Dramatis Personae

Let’s start with Sisko. In this episode he is almost preoccupied with his clock to the point he doesn’t really concern himself with what is going on with the station. Sisko loves his history and he also likes to tinker with things, building things. In this episode its like he is stuck in a hyper-focus on that clock. Of course that clock is a piece of the society the telepathic energy is trying to remind people of, so it has significance on its own. He also is unusually violent with his reactions.

Kira, likewise, has a tendency to be more militant, having just served a war for her basic survival. She usually also has compassion though, but in this episode she also has a hyperfocus – Control of station and vengeance against the Valerians. She lets this taint her view of Sisko and O’Brien.

Jadzia is the opposite, more lethargic and prone to drifting off into her memories. Julian too is not agreesive, but he does show his innate curiosity and strategic mind. Miles is super in security mode – but then again, he has the history to be extra cautious. He, like Kira, has fought in wars and also has a history of being protective of his commanding officers.

There wasn’t much follow through at the end of the episode. Julian creates a force field interrupter to help disperse the telepathic energy (Again – for someone who only dabbled in engineering he does alot of it. This is pretty much why I give the Augment storyline a ok) and everyone is back to normal. Other then an apology by Kira we really don’t see anyone’s reactions. Did Miles O’Brien have a reaction? What about the Bajoran who tried to kill Sisko? I don’t see how that wasn’t traumatizing for him.

But alas, this is a Television show and not a book, and is therefore limited by its media type. They only have 42 minutes.

Interesting notes:

  • Written by Joe Menosky
  • Directed Cliff Bole
  • The name of this episode is in latin, and translates as “The Persons of the drama” It has become a phrase used to notate the characters in a work.

Pros:

  • This episode gave some change of pace for the actors.

Cons:

  • There really isn’t any follow through. We do get Kira’s apology, but never see how the others react to their actions.
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 225: Second Chances

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 6.24 Second Chances (May 24,1993)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 0/20/54 

Notable Guest Stars:

Mae Carol Jemison (Lt. Palmer) – Mae Carol Jemison is a real life astronaut, and was in fact the first black woman in space. She was also the first astronaut to guest star in Star Trek. She is awesome for so many reasons.

Jonathan Franks (Thomas Riker) – I mean…


Review:

Honestly this isn’t my favorite episode to watch. But it is an important episode because of future episode of DS9 Also Imzadi reasons.

This episode focuses on Will Riker, who finds himself a twin all of a sudden. Prior to being on the Enterprise, Riker had partispated in a mission where he was involved with a transporter accident. To his mind everything ended up okay -he made it back on the ship and continued on with his life. I’m going to refer to Riker Prime as Will. Will has grown considerably as a person and has become more comfortable with his life, his decisions and where he wants things to go. He no longer wants to advance as fast as possible, hoping to linger where he can learn. And he’s also built himself a family on Enterprise. I have my own theories about why it took Enterprise to finally make him comfortable with himself but lets stick to the episode.

Riker 2, or Thomas as he will be known, did not make it up to the ship. The transporter accident caused a duplication of Riker, with one making it back and the other spending 7-8 years living on the planet waiting for a rescue. Tom has spent this time alone and focused on his previous decisions. One of the things that kept him going was correcting his mistake with Deanna.

If you are an Imzadi fan this episode can be a pretty good one. It goes more in depth about their history, and gives us more moments where you see what is still there. And just because I didn’t really care for the episode doesn’t mean you will. In fact, many people like this episode, and its exploration of having gone in both directions from a single incident.

I think what bothers me about this episode is that Tom Riker isn’t really spoken of much afterwards. He does appear in an episode of DS9. He ends up being a way to play wiht Riker if he wasn’t molded by Picard’s sense of ethics and duty. Tom spent 8 years alone and pining for a woman who he loved but who didn’t (seemingly) love him enough to stay with him.

Which is another part of this episode that brings some interesting conversation. Tom is made to be what Will would be like if he hadn’t been on Enterprise. Except not, because Tom was stranded Alone for 8 years. That’s got to do something to your psyche. And he’s had 8 years to obsess over his break up with Deanna. So I think that for her, while it was nice reliving the glory days of their relationship, Tom wasn’t ready anymore then Will had been. He had some things to work through. I think the Will that spent 7 years on Enterprise was more ready for what she needed, to be honest. Even though it takes them another 7 years to figure that out.

Interesting notes:

  • Written by Michael A. Medlock (Story), and Rene Echevarria (Teleplay)
  • Directed LaVar Burton in his first directing role.
  • They almost killed off the original Will Riker that we had grown to love. They also almost killed off Tom Riker. I’m glad no one died.
  • Nichelle Nichols was also on set.

Pros:

  • Mae Jemison.
  • Imzadi content

Cons:

  • Transporter Clone stories always seem weird to me and uncomfortable.
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

Rewatch 224: Forsaken

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: DS9
Episode: 1.17 Forsaken (May 24, 1993)
Rating:4/5
Red Shirt Status: 0/2

Notable Guests:

Jack Shearer (Vadosia)- This is Shearer’s first appearance in Trek, but he would appear in several more episodes and a film. His most notable character being Admiral Hayes as seen in Voyager and First Contact.

Constance Towers (Taxco)- Towers is a Julliard Graduate, as well as the Academy of Dramatic Arts. She appeared in several of John Ford & John Wayne’s westerns in the late 1950s. She appeared on various television shows, including Soap Operas and of course Star Trek. She continues to be active with a recent role on 911: Lone Star.

Michael Ensign (Lojal) – Ensign is a character actor who has appeared in many many things, including Titanic.

Benita Andre (Anara) – Like Ensign, she is a character actor who has appeared in several well known television shows. This was her only appearance on Star Trek.

Review:

Continue reading “Rewatch 224: Forsaken” →
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 222: If Wishes Were Horses

Posted on by sokorra

Pausing a Moment to Remember Louise Fletcher, who was a remarkable actress and DS9 would not be the same without her.

Series: Star Trek: DS9
Episode: 1.16 If Wishes Were Horses (May 17, 1993)
Rating: 3/5
Red Shirt Status: 0/2

Notable Guest Stars:
Keone Young (Buck Bokai)- Young is known for both his live-action and voice work. I can’t say I’ve seen any of his scenes in the live action credits to his name, but he did voices for Mulan II and Sofia the First.

Michael J. Anderson (Rumpelstiltskin) – Anderson has appeared on shows such as Twin Peaks and Carnivale. But as an more important factor, he was a NASA tech operator before he went into acting. Which makes the scene where Rumpelstiltskin asks to help O’Brien amusing as the actor probably could have helped.

Review:

I can’t say this is one of my favorite episodes, and to be honest it has all to do with the Alternative Dax. To be honest DS9 in general has a history (or will as we are in season 1) of turning sexual elements into the creepy realm (see: All Mirror Universe Episodes).

Continue reading “The Rewatch 222: If Wishes Were Horses” →
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 221: Suspicions

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 6.22 Suspicions (05/08/1993)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 1/20/54 

Notable Guest Stars:

James Horan (Dr. Jo’Bril)- Horan has done alot of voice work over the years in several highly known video games, including tie-in games for Star Trek, Star Wars, and Avatar. He will appear again in DS9 and Enterprise (as the humanoid figure seeking to change time). More recently he has played in Orville.
Peter Marx (Dr. Reyga) – Marx has played a series of Ferangi characters over the years, appearing first as Nibor in Menage a Troi. He will also appear in Voyager in the 2 parter year of hell
Joan Stuart Morris (Dr. T’Pan) – Morris has a fairly short credit list, with Star Trek in the middle. Her last credit is listed in 1995.
John S. Ragin (Dr. Christopher)- Surprisingly, this is Ragin’s last listed credit on IMBD. He is known for his roles on Santa Barbara, Quincy M.E., and The F.B.I. He died in 2013.
Tricia O’Neil (Kurak) – Tricia O’Niel is a Star Trek Alum, having previously shown up on TNG as Captain Rachel Garrett in Yesterday’s Enterprise. Of course, with the make-up and her acting skills you can’t recognize her.
Tracee Cocco (Ensign Jae) – while her roles are mostly listed as “Uncredited” Cocco has appeared in 62 episodes of TNG, 6 episodes of Voyager, 6 episodes of DS9, several movies, and a few video games. So for this episode, I’m going to acknowledge her contributions to Star Trek

Review:

This is an interesting episode. We start at the midway point as Guinan shows up at Beverly’s apartment seeking treatment for a tennis elbow, and listens to Beverly explain the events of the past few days. You see, Beverly was impressed by the presentation of a Ferengi scientist, Dr Reyga, and his metaphysic shield. However, Reyga was faced with some discrimination due to his being a Ferengi and in general no one trusting someone from that species to be a scientist with ethics.

So Beverly gathers a few scientists: Dr. T’Pan, Dr. Christopher, Dr. Kurak, and Dr. Jo’Bril. The four of them, along with Beverly procede to cautiously examine the data, and few the test run. Dr. Jo’Bril even offers to be the pilot of the test craft, to make it a bit more unbias. But then Jo’Bril suddenly dies, after what seems like a positive test run. Then Dr. Reyga dies. And Beverly has a hinky feeling about all this. Side Note: This review has some serious Spoilers as I have to talk about the end of the episode

Continue reading “The Rewatch 221: Suspicions” →
Posted in Politics, Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 220: Progress

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 1:15 Progress (0215/1993)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/2

Notable Guest Stars:

Brian Keith (Mullibok) – Brian Keith is a classic film actor most known for being the father in The Parent Trap (1961) and Family Affair. He has a long list of credits and there is probably a film for all tastes. He died in 1997.

Terrence Evans (Baltrim) – This is Evans first time on Star Trek, but far from his last. He also worked on Gunsmoke, one of the longest running TV series from the 60s. He died in 2015.

Annie O’Donnell (Keena) – More recently she’s been seen in Fresh off The Boat and The Big Bang Theory, but I know her best for a small role she had on Nightcourt along side Brent Spiner as the Wheelers.

Daniel Riordan (Guard) – Riordan is a Star Trek Alum, having played the character Rondon in an early episode of TNG,and will eventually play Duras (Another member of the Trouble House). He also has provided voices for many animated features.

Michael Bofshever (Toran) – Recently he has been seen on The Young and the Restless. He has also been on The Shield, Breaking Bed, The West Wing, CSI (the original), 24, and a future episode of TNG. His first role on Star Trek was in The Undiscovered Country.

Review:

This has Brian Freaking Keith, guys. Not only is this a Kira heavy episode, but we have an actual classic film star on set.

This episode has the traditional 2 story plot, with plot A being Kira’s adventures with the most stubborn Bajoran on the planet. Plot B is another adventure of Jake & Nog take on DS9: Profit edition.

Continue reading “The Rewatch 220: Progress” →
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

Rewatch 219: Storyteller

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 1:14 Storyteller (05/03/1993)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/2

Notable Guest Stars:

Gina Phillips (Varis Sul) – Phillips is a child actress who grow up on screen. She later became known for her roles in Jeepers Creepers and Ally McBeal. She also appeared on ER (I feel a theme today).

Jordan Lund (Woban) – Lund has appeared on Star Trek: TNG before as Kluge in 1991 and he shall appear on Enterprise in 2003. He appeared on both Chicago 90s Medical dramas Chicago Hope and ER.

Kay E. Kuter (Sirah)- When I was a kid, I watched alot of old programs because that was what my dad liked to watch. Its how I got into Star Trek for one thing. I also watched shows like Petticoat Junction and Green Acres both which had Kuter in them. He was also in the 1954 version of Sabrina (I much prefer the 90s version, but its still a good movie) He also appeared in ER (I told you, there is a theme today) Kuter died in 2003.

Jim Janson (Faren) – He appeared familiar to me but I couldn’t tell just where I saw him till I looked up his filmography. One of my favorite shows was Gilmore Girls and he appeared occasionally as Reverend Skinner. He also guest starred on Veronica Mars, The Mentalist, West Wing, and yes, ER.

Lawrence Monoson (Hovath) – He appeared in a 1994 Television series And the Band Played On, which was a docudrama based on the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It starred Alan Alada, Matthew Modine, Ian McKellen, Lily Tomlin and Richard Gere. You know he was among good company. I do recall watching this during school but I’m sure if it was a history class or a health class.

Review:

In this episode we have the first episode of “The Continuing Adventures of Julian & Miles” as well as Nog & Jake being children. Its not really the best of episodes, but its also not a bad episode.

Continue reading “Rewatch 219: Storyteller” →
Posted in Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 218: Battle Lines.

Posted on by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 1:13 Battle Lines (04/26/1993)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 1/2

Notable Guest Stars:

Jonathan Banks (Shel-la) – He is better known for his roles on Breaking Bad and Better call Saul, both of which earned him Emmy nominations. He was also in the 1995 film Flipper, which was one of my first films to see at an actual theater (other than the little mermaid).

Paul Collins (Zlangco) – He is best known as the original voice of John Darling from the 1953 film Peter Pan.  He would later appear on JAG, West Wing, and Guiding Light.

Camille Saviola (Kai Opaka) – Saviola worked in a variety of mediums, including having a record contract to sing Disco. She appeared in the 1993 Adams Family film, Addams Family Values. She appeared in 2004 on ER, another show I like to binge watch, as one of the temporary Desk Clerks.  Sadly, she died in 2021 of heart failure.

Review:

This is one of my favorite episodes of season one.  I love Kai Opaka and I really wish they had her come back for scenes later on.  Its also a very good episode for characterization for the three main characters: Kira, Sisko and Bashir.

Continue reading “The Rewatch 218: Battle Lines.” →