Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

The Rewatch 237: Cardassians

Posted on May 30, 2023May 29, 2023 by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 2.5 Cardassians (October 25, 199)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/1/3.5

Notable Guest Stars:
Robert Mandan (Kotan Pa’Dar)- Mandan was best known for his roles on shows such as The Search for Tomorrow and Soap. He also appeared in several well-known sitcoms as a guest star such as All in the Family, Maude, and Sanford and Son.

Terrence Evans (Proka) – Evans appeared last season as a mute farmhand in the episode Progress. He will later play a role on Voyager.

Vidal Peterson (Rugal) – Peterson was a child actor, and this was his last credit according to IMDB. He appeared in 1991 in TNG, and also appeared in The Thorn Birds, which has quite a few Star Trek Alum in it.

Returning is Andrew Robinson (Elim Garak), Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien) and Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat).

Review:

This episode brings up an interesting issue. After decades of being on Bajor, Cardassia evacuated the planet, leaving behind several orphan children. One of those children was Rugal, who was adopted and raised by a pair of Bajoran parents since he was 4 or 5 years old.

Rugal gets everyone’s attention when he bites Garak. Which I find really odd given the age of the child. They keep referring to him as a child, so I am assuming he is meant to be younger then the actual actor (who was 26). I had assumed he was at least 14, possibly as old as 16. It seems a bit old for that kind of behavior. In context clues suggest he may just be twelve but it still doesn’t seem age appropriate. Not that I have much sympathy for Garak – he did invade Rugal’s space and touched him without permission.

Someone accuses Rugal’s adoptive father of abuse, and so Sisko has to take things into his own hands and complete an investigation. Rugal is taken out of the care of his father and put in the care of Keiko O’Brien instead.

As it turns out, while there is a real problem with Cardassian children left behind on Bajor, Dukot and Pa’Dar aren’t really concerned. Pa’Dar mentions how important family is and to be found out as a neglectful parent is humiliation at its largest. Dukat wants him to be humiliated as he is Rugal’s father and therefore “abandoned” him despite the fact that Pa’Dar thought him dead for years. So this wasn’t about the “cause” for Dukot. But Pa’Dar seems almost dismissive of returning any of the orphans other then his own son.

Rugal wants to remain with his Bajoran parents, and his wants are ignored. Sisko returns him to his biological parent since he could find no reason Pa’Dar shouldn’t have his son back. I’m not sure I agree but what do you think?

Interesting Notes:

Story by Gene Wolande & John Wolande
Teleplay by James Crocker
Directed by Cliff Bole
This is the first time we hear the Cardassian name for DS9: Terok Nor. Trust me, we will hear this plenty of times in the future.

Pros

Exploration of Cardassian Culture
The nice thing about DS9 is it doesn’t shy away from showing the aftereffects of war. How Bajor is still unstable, and just finding its feet after decades of occupation. How there were orphans on both sides. Although the Cardassians still come off as a horrible people in general.
I like the showing of Miles O’Brien working on his prejudice. A lot of times on TV shows you have a character who has a epiphany/awaking to an issue and suddenly they loose all their bad ways. Miles shows here that it is something you have to keep working on. One thing I like about Post-Roddenberry Trek is that Humanity is still in need of work. Some of the TOS and early TNG episodes are so “We are beyond this”

Cons:

Why is Cirroc Lofton given Regular credit status if they don’t plan on actually using him? ( I actually had this from the last episode but the situation still remains. Particularly for this episode as there was a perfect reason to have him around with Rugal).
I’m not sure this episode had a satisfactory ending.

Screencap credited to TrekCore

Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 235: Invasive Procedures

Posted on May 25, 2023May 29, 2023 by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 2.4 Invasive Procedures (October 18, 1993)
Rating: 5/5
Redshirt Status: 0/1/3.5

Notable Guest Stars:
John Glover (Verad) – I love John Glover. I know him best as Lionel Luther, Lex Luther’s father from the CW series Smallville. He does an excellent job every time I see him, and this episode is not a variation. He is also known for being the voice of the Riddler and Max Brodsky in Twist of Fate.

Megan Gallagher (Mareel) – Gallagher has an award winning theater career, but has several television and film credits to her name. She appears on ER, Voyager, The Mentalist, and Suits (as Meghan Markle’s mother oddly enough).

Tim Russ (T’Kar) – Tim Russ has appeared on Star Trek before, and yet we are still not at his main character for the Franchise. He stars in Voyager as Tuvok. Tuvok and T’Kar would probably not get along. For a recent role, he played a curator bringing old Earth artifacts onboard the Orville in, well, The Orville.

Steven Rankin (Yeto) – Steven Rankin appears on DS9 twice, once as Yeto and a second time as a Cardassian Officer. He will appear again in Voyager and Enterprise (where he plays the detestable Colonel Green). He has a credit in my favorite film Apollo 13 as Pad Rat which I’m guessing he plays one of the people on the launch pad. Other appearances include X-files, Millennium, Sliders, West Wing, JAG, Providence and more recently, Veronica Mars and Leverage.

Review:

This episode is perhaps one of my favorite of the early seasons of DS9. Not only is it because I loved seeing John Glover on my screen outside of being Lionel, but it also has really good pacing to the story and there are so many facets to explore.

Unlike many episodes of Trek in the 90s, there is only an A plot for this episode. Verad, a disgruntled unjoined Trill takes over the station during a plasma storm (therefore easy as they had only a skeleton crew) and demands to have Dax. The Symbiote, not Jadzia. He is accompanied by two Klingons named Yeto and T’Kar (AKA the muscle) and Mareel, a young woman who has fallen for him. The show uses vague wording, but funnily enough Wikipedia does not mince words and outright calls her a former prostitute. It sounds like they had a space version of Pretty Woman.

In any case, she is devoted to him and what he wants is to be joined. He figures he will gain the confidence and knowledge that was denied him by the joining committee.

This episode explores the re-imagined Trill culture, which as we have mentioned before, was reset for DS9 and takes very little from the original episode TNG’s The Host. It does a few key things. The main thing is it explores a little about the Trill process of symbiosis. We find out there is a committee that reviews each applicant and decides who is suitable for symbiosis. I keep thinking of this in relation to organ donation. Usually there is a committee who reviews everyone on the list to see how likely it is that the person will be able to handle receiving the new organ, and then doing the necessary tasks associated with having an organ replaced.

Verad was deemed unsuitable, for reasons unknown, and is bitter about it. Jadzia doesn’t see this as a insult, as she has family who never had symbiotes. However, she is willing to give up Dax if it means saving the rest of the crew on the station. Also we do see a moment of just Jadzia when she wakes up after the symbiote is removed.

Another keynote to the episode is Julan Bashir character development. He has a strong sense of ethics and refuses until both Jadzia and Sisko tell him to go through with it. He has also seemingly lost some of his obliviousness in this episode, being more astute and coming up with a plan on the go to get Yeto distracted till he can subdue him. While I don’t think this shows Julian to be “advanced” it does show he’s not the oblivious man he was in season one who made you wonder how he made it this far in Starfleet.

This also brings up the discussion of ethical medical treatments and can someone be forced to give up an organ (say a kidney or a lobe of their liver) to someone else if there is a need? I personally don’t think so, as I believe body autonomy is a basic right, but what do you think?

As I mention below, the only mar on this episode is that Quark is never given any sort of consequence for the actions he takes.

Interesting Notes:

Story by John Whelpley, who wrote the Teleplay with Robert Hewiit Wolfe.
Directed by Les Landau
This episode is a favorite of many of the production crew and the actors. However Armin Shimerman is one of those who didn’t like it, and I don’t blame him. He believes his character should have seen consequences for his actions which crossed a line. I agree with him. Quark often gets away with crimes he shouldn’t, but this one was caught early on and Kira even promises that he is “Done”. I half wonder if maybe Dax decided to speak in his behalf, saying he wasn’t aware they were coming for Dax.

Pros

Exploration of Trill Culture and the act of Symbosis
Development of characterization for Jadzia, Dax itself, Bashir and Sisko.

Cons:

Why is Cirroc Lofton given Regular credit status if they don’t plan on actually using him?
No punishment for Quark

Screencap via CygnusX1.net (reuse of a season 1 screencap as they don’t have any further then season 1)

tv reviews, Star Trek, Television shows

The Rewatch 231: The Homecoming Trilogy

Posted on May 21, 2023 by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 2.1 Homecoming (September 27, 1993) 2.2 The Circle (October 10, 1993), and 2.3 The Seige (October 10, 1993) Season Premiere (plus 2).
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 1/1/3.5

Notable Guest Stars:

Frank Langella (Minister Jaro)– Langella is known for multiple mediums, winning 4 Tony Awards, and getting an Academy Award nomination. One of my favorite roles of his is in Dave, where he plays unscrupulous Bob Alexander, a character not unlike Jaro.

Richard Beymer (Li Nalas) – Beymer was a popular actor in the studio era, he also works as a photographer and documentary maker.

Stephen Macht (General Krim)- Stephen Macht was actually Gene Roddonberry’s first choice to play Picard. I can’t imagine it being anyone besides Patrick Stewart. He has appeared on several soap operas. More recently he appeared in Suits, a show produced (and starring) by his son Gabriel Macht. He is also an ordained chaplain.

Bruce Gray (Admiral Chekote) – Gray played several times on Star Trek, most notably Surak on Enterprise. He also appeared on Babylon 5 (often compared to DS9)

Mike Genovese (Zef’no)- Genovese is known to me mostly as Al Grabarsky, a police officer wooing nurse Lydia on ER.

Steven Weber (Colonel Day)- Weber is known for his role as Brian Hackeet on Wings, though I know him better for his role as Mayor Hamilton on NCIS: New Orleans. He currently plays Dr. Archer on Chicago Med.

Leslie Bevis (Rionoj) – She’ll appear 3 times as Rionoj over the years. She has also appeared on such shows as Night Court, MacGyver, and Murder, She Wrote.

Honorable mentions to our reoccuring characters: Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien), Aron Eisenberg (Nog), Max Grodenchik (Rom), Phillip Anglim (Vedek Bareil), Louise Fletcher (Vedek Winn), and Marc Alamo (Gul Dukot)

Review:

I am reviewing these three episodes together because they are all connected, and I don’t like reviewing multi-arc episodes apart from one another. This might change if I ever catch up with currently airing Star Trek because I literally won’t be able to, but since we are still in binge-capable era we shall do these three together.

So we start Homecoming with Rionoj, a trader, handing Quark a Bajoran ear piece. We already know that ear jewelry is important within the Bajoran culture. If you had missed that memo, you would have gotten it by how Kira reacts when Quark hands it to her.

The earring belongs to resistance leader Li Nalas. Kira is eager to find out if he’s still alive and if so bring him back to Bajor to lead the people. She’s afraid the planet will implode without him. Which given the signs of fractional group that wants to “Keep Bajor for the Bajorans” known as the Circle, she’s not really far off.

I used to ask myself why there was always these groups that were so hateful but then I turn on my TV now and…well, yeah. Its happening right now.

Episode 1 of the trilogy, Homecoming, deals with the rescue of Li Nalas. He has a celebrated return despite his reluctance to be celebrated. Episode 2, The Circle, deals with Kira having to deal with Li Naas replacing her at the station. To be honest most of the “action” takes place in parts one and three. Part two is mostly filler it seems.

Part three has the crew doing what amounts to pacifist gorilla warfare. They know the station, the Bajoran military does not. And for the most part this actually works as Kira & Dax manage their side of the mission to bring the evidence of outside foul play by the Cardassians.

The most stupid part of the episode however was Li Nalas’s death scene. Even if I hadn’t read the backstory on why they made that decision it seems very “We don’t know what to do, lets kill him off.” He wasn’t a particularly intriguing character. He does seem to fit the theme of legend outliving the reality.

I wish I had more commentary on these episodes.

Interesting Notes:

Part One (Homecoming)

Story by Jeri Taylor and Ira Steven Behr
Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr
Directed by Winrich Kolbe
Scenes were filmed at Soledad Canyon, which caused some…interesting filming conditions. Not a favorite to shoot but the appearance on film pleased the production so it was used several times across DS9.
No Morn Today.

Part Two (The Circle)

Written by Peter Allen Fields
Directed by Corey Allen
The scene where Kira says goodbye is filmed in one continuous take, with close ups edited into the scene later.

Part Three (The Siege)

Written by Michael Piller
Directed by Winrich Kolbe
This episode was the most challenging of the three in visual effects. This included a spider that was a prop bought at a yard sale and enhanced by the Visual Effects department. Personally, I could do without spiders.

All

This was the first multi-part arc on the show that was more then 2 episodes. Enterprise would make good use of this style in its fourth season (11 years later).
Frank Langella is uncredited for his role on the show. This was by his request as he was doing it for his children, and not to advance professionally.

Pros

Bajorian backstory
A very good Kira set of episodes (minus a bit of the prophecy…see below)

Cons:

Why is Kira always sexualized? This episode didn’t do it as badly as the Mirror episodes but I find it out of place or the orb to basically tell her she needs to go jump Bariel. I’m sure they see it as misdirection because its really about appearing in front of the ministers.

Screencap via CygnusX1.net

Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 229: In the Hands of the Prophets

Posted on May 17, 2023May 16, 2023 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”.

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.

Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 227: Duet

Posted on May 7, 2023May 20, 2023 by sokorra

Series: Star Trek: DS9
Episode: 1.19 Duet (May 31, 1993)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0.5/2.5 (Honorable Mention Death)

Content/Trigger Warning: Discussions about Genocide (in particular the Holocaust). Also I pretty much spoil the episode if you were hoping to watch and get surprised by where it goes.

Notable Guest Stars:
Harris Yulin (Marritza) – Yulin is a popular character actor and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1996 for his role as Jerome Belasco on Frasier.

Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat)- Marc Alaimo hasn’t been around for a few episodes, so I’ll remind you: He’s a regular actor on Star Trek, although he only in DS9 has a regular character (Gul Dukot). He’ll appear many more times as the character.

Ted Sorel (Kaval)– Sorel was an actor who tried a bit of everything, leaving behind a body of work that included film, television and stagework. He died in 2010.

Robin Chistopher (Neela)- Probably best known for her work on ABC soap operas (as Skye Chandler), she appears a few times as “Neela”, a Bajoran officer on the station.

Review:

This an excellent episode, both as a encapsulated story, and for Kira’s development. The actors all do supremely well. Given the nature of the topic of the episode I’ve chosen to write this above the “read more” and leave the actual discussion below it.

At the start of the episode, a transport arrives with an ill patient. This patient has Kalla-Nohra Syndrome, an disease that occurs to those who were present at a mining accident at the Cardassian labor camp Gallitep. Gallitep, as you learn in the episode, was a place where many Bajorans were tortured, killed and put into horrible work conditions. Kira can’t even talk about it without getting angry.

She was part of the resistance team that was able to liberate the camp, so she feels a connection to those who were kept there. She goes to greet this newcomer, believing it was a Bajoran POW, only to find a Cardassan sitting on the medbed.

The Cardassian’s name is Aamin Marritza, and Kira believes that he must have been guilty of war crimes if he contracted the disease. We find out he was stationed at the war camp as a file clerk.

Sisko and Odo decide to investigate, not as sure as Kira that this man was a war criminal. Through interviews and research they find out various tidbits about the man they hold in the security cell.

Marritza has changed his appearance to appear like Gul Darhe’el, the Gul in charge of the camp. He pretends to be him, even giving invigorated speeches on his hate crimes. Kira is convinced that he is in fact Gul Darhe’el.

Odo is not convinced. He does more research, even talking to our favorite quasi-villian Gul Dukot, who tells Odo that there are several reasons why this can’t possibly be Gul Darhe’el. The biggest of which is the man himself died six years ago.

Kira manages to convince Marritza to come clean about the deception, finding herself to having compassion towards the man who is trying to find a way to both pay for not putting an end to the atrocities, as well as make Cardassa realize their sins. However, Kira letting him go makes little difference as a Bajoran on the station kills Marritza in the last moments of the episode with the key set of lines:

Kira: Why? He wasn’t Darhe’el! Why?
Kainon: He’s a Cardassian. That’s reason enough.
Kira: No…it’s not

This episode appears (purposefully so) to be a metaphor for the Holocaust and the soldiers involved. According to references on Memory Alpha, this was based off both real events and older works done on the subject. Genocide is a hard topic to discuss. I know in high school we often would take a yearly lesson on an element on the Holocaust, but never really talked about the bulk of it. I’m still learning aspects to WW2 and the Holocaust today. In fact, not too long before I watched this episode I was watching a documentary about the Ahnenerbe, a section of the SS I had never heard of before. It started off sounding like an episode of Captain America from The Red Skull’s side, but ultimately ended with cruelty, and inhumanity by the leadership.

Science Fiction has often been used as a way to discussing hard subjects indirectly. This episode does a good job at not coming off as a lecture, as some episodes (and yes, Star Trek is guilty of this) can. The actors do such an excellant job. You can believe Marritza (as Gul Darhe’el)’s conviction that he was doing something great, and you could believe that absolute horror that Kira felt hearing it. In fact you might even feel a bit of horror hearing it.

But sadly while there were people who dragged into things they didn’t believe in but had little power to stop, there were also people who believed wholeheartedly that committing these atrocities were absolutely the way to go. People like Heinrich Himmler (in real life) and Gul Darhe’el (in Star Trek’s universe).

The Holocaust is probably the genocide that the general public is most aware of. It is horrifying that there are more out there less recognized.

Interesting notes:

Written by Peter Allan Fields with story inspiration by Lisa Rich and Jeane Carrigan-Fauci
Directed James L. Conway
This episode was partially inspired by real life events, in particular the Nuremberg trails after WW2. Memory Alpha pointed out the story of Adolf Eichmann, who escaped at first but was later caught and tried in Israel on war crimes. He was convicted and executed in 1962. His story is more like that of Dar’heel then Maritzza.
They wanted to establish the metaphor of the Cardassian occupation for Imperialism shown by the British, Japanese and Germans. (and I’m just going to add the US to that list because…yeah, we did some messed up stuff too, my friends).

Pros:

This episode manages to bring up a difficult subject, without sounding like a lecture which, even I have to admit, sometimes Star Trek does.
This is an excellent episode for Kira Nerys.

Cons:

That genocides exist. I wish this was just something that happened in fictional worlds and not in real life.

Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 226: Dramatis Personae

Posted on May 7, 2023May 20, 2023 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.

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.

Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

Rewatch 224: Forsaken

Posted on November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 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, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 222: If Wishes Were Horses

Posted on October 2, 2022October 2, 2022 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).

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Politics, Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

The Rewatch 220: Progress

Posted on August 11, 2022August 14, 2022 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.

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Rewatch, Star Trek, Television shows, tv reviews

Rewatch 219: Storyteller

Posted on August 10, 2022August 14, 2022 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.

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