Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 37 - Profit & Loss

Star Trek has done homages to many different stories before, but I don't think they've ever done Casablanca. That is, until now. "Profit and Loss" is that episode, and Quark (Armin Shimmerman) is Rick, even down to owning a bar. Thankfully, there was no "Play it again, Rom" or "Arrest the usual Ferengi," but the similarities are still there, and glaring. Somebody more familiar with the movie would probably notice even more homages (I haven't seen the movie in ages), but that doesn't stop the comparisons. Does it hold up? Despite a few good performances and a couple of nice scenes, I'd have to say "not really."

Quark is tending bar as usual when Odo (Rene Auberjonois) comes in asking questions about an illegal cloaking device, warning Quark that if he tries to sell it, Odo will be waiting for him. Gee, do you think that might become important? Meanwhile, a Cardassian ship, heavily damaged, is detected running to the station, and is brought in. On it are a teacher, Natima (Mary Crosby) and her two students, Rekelen (Heidi Swedberg) and Hogue (Michael Reilly Burke). They claim to have been hit by a meteor storm, but the damage on the ship doesn't add up.

Natima is a former lover of Quark's, and Quark is stopping at nothing to try and get her to stay with him, which becomes even harder when it's revealed that the two young Cardassians are dissidents, wanted by the Cardassian government for treason. Garak (Andrew Robinson), the only Cardassian left on the station, reports it to them, and it becomes all the more imperative that Natima and her students get off the station. Will Natima stay on the station with Quark? Or will Garak's machinations prevent even that happy ending? And just which side is he on anyway?

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 36 - Playing God

One thing that Deep Space Nine has avoided, that many of the other Star Treks haven't been able to, is technobabble. Oh, how the wormhole works is pretty much technobabble, but most of the time the viewer doesn't get an in-depth dissertation on how it works. There have certainly been instances here or there where an episode has had some. But "Playing God" is the first one that has struck me as a lot of gobbledygook. That's not to say the episode is that bad, as it really isn't. But when the scientific problem of the episode is front and center, the episode stalls a bit. Thankfully, there is some fairly good stuff going on outside the science, and thus the episode is definitely watchable.

Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), who received her Trill symbiont a relatively short time ago, has been sent an initiate in the Joining program on Trill, someone who she has to examine and make a recommendation on whether or not he might be suitable for the program. Jadzia had to go through the same thing when she was an initiate, and the person she was sent to was Curzon Dax, a harsh taskmaster who eventually recommended that she be expelled from the program. The new initiate, Arjin (Geoffrey Blake), has heard of Dax's reputation and is understandably fearful, but Jadzia is fighting hard to separate her identity from Curzon's.

Jadzia takes Arjin on a trip to the other side of the wormhole, where they encounter something that damages their ship. Upon getting back to the station, they discover that what was attached to their ship is a lot more than it appeared to be. It's growing, and could cover the entire Bajoran sector and beyond if they don't stop it first. Meanwhile, Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) is hunting a bunch of Cardassian Voles (basically, pests like mice only about three times as large) who are wreaking havoc all over the station.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 35 - Shadowplay

What is the definition of life? Of sentience? Star Trek has asked that question many times in its time, and "Shadowplay" kind of asks it again. This question isn't the main point of the episode (or maybe it is, but it's not highlighted very much), but it does sit within the episode and is at the heart of the climax. I'm of two minds about the episode, and those two minds are a bit at war with each other.

The side of my mind that loved it found the Odo (Rene Auberjonois) story incredibly touching and well-performed, the Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Ben (Avery Brooks) story very good too, and the Kira (Nana Visitor) one not so much. The side of my mind that didn't like it points to the fact that there are three stories in this one, and none of them are given a lot of time to work. The fact that two of them *do* work despite that problem speaks well of Robert Hewitt Wolfe's writing, and the acting involved.

Thus, I have to say that ultimately, I loved the thing to pieces.

Dax (Terry Farrell) and Odo are on a mission to chart an unknown particle field on the Gamma Quadrant side of the wormhole. They discover that the field is made of omicron particles, some of the rarest particles around, and the field seems centered on a planet, so they go down to investigate. There, the natives initially think that our heroes are involved with the multiple disappearances taking place within the village. Soon, though, Odo is helping them with their investigation, while becoming very attached to a young child, Taya (Noley Thornton, who became much more prominent on the Voyager series). Her mother has disappeared, and she hopes that Odo can help find her.

Meanwhile, back on the station, Ben insists that Jake get a job, and has already arranged for Jake to be an apprentice to Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney). This storyline actually began in "Paradise". Unfortunately, Jake doesn't want to join Starfleet, but is reluctant to tell his father. Finally, with Odo gone from the station, Quark (Armin Shimmerman) seems to think he can get his cousin on board to smuggle some stolen artifacts, but Kira's on the case. That is, until Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim) arrives on the station to distract her. Convenient, eh?

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 34 - Paradise

Technology can be a double-edged sword, and from the beginning of time, there have been those who see the rise of technology as work of the devil (or whatever evil being who happens to be around at the time). I'm sure Oog the Caveman thought that civilization had gone to hell when Katu made this new-fangled "club" thing. What's wrong with good old fashioned hands to wrestle down your supper with?

"Going back to nature" is a common plot in any SF series, and sometimes even straight dramas. Would life be better without all of its contraptions? And how would people in the modern age deal with life if it suddenly became completely technology-free? Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) stumble upon this dilemma in "Paradise," a decent episode that's let down by numerous issues.

Charting some star systems around the wormhole for potential colonies, Sisko and O'Brien stumble across a world that appears to have a human settlement already on it, despite no colony being on the charts. They decide to beam down to investigate, only to discover that once they do so, none of their gear works. They are found by residents of the village, who tell them of their crash landing ten years ago. Alixus (Gail Strickland), the leader of the group, has forged them into a community that embraces nature, working the fields, making their own clothing, using herbs to heal the sick, etc.

They tell Sisko that he might as well get used to being on this planet because they will never be able to leave. While willing to contribute to the community while they stay there, Sisko and O'Brien are unwilling to stop trying to leave. They discover that Alixus rules the colony with an iron fist, even going so far as to put people who do as little as stealing a candle into a metal box out in the harsh sun. But the colony has a darker side as well. Will O'Brien be able to get them off of the planet before Alixus breaks Sisko's will?

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 33 - Whispers

What would you do if everybody else around you seemed like different people all of a sudden? Would you think you were paranoid, or would you think that everybody was out to get you? Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) has that problem in "Whispers," one of the best episodes of Deep Space Nine I've seen in a while. The plotting is wonderful, the atmosphere is tense (and brilliantly directed by Les Landau), and Meaney's acting is great, making this a powerful episode after the slight missteps of the last few episodes (barring Armageddon Game). This is easily one of the best of the year, in a different way than the excellent episodes at the beginning of the season.

Chief O'Brien is returning from the Paradas system in the Gamma Quadrant, after consulting with the government on security protocols for the upcoming peace conference to end the planet's 12-year civil war (one of the only problems with this episode is that there's really no explanation for why Odo (Rene Auberjonois) wasn't involved in this, when he clearly should have been). Actually, the episode opens with O'Brien in a runabout, on the run, opening a personal log and explaining when things first seemed wrong. His wife, Keiko (Rosalind Chao), is acting strangely around him, waking up at 5:30 and taking their young child into school with her. Then, he's removed from setting up the security procedures on the station, because the upper pylons of the station aren't working, despite him having fixed them last week.

As time goes on, stranger and stranger things start happening, and everybody seems like they're hiding something from him. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) calls him in for a very thorough physical (producing the wonderful line at the bottom of this review) and he finds himself locked out of security files that he should have access to. When things start to really go wrong, he manages to steal a runabout and the episode reaches the point where it began. Will O'Brien be able to figure out what is going on before it's too late for the peace talks?

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 32 - Armageddon Game

The "genie in a bottle" analogy for dangerous knowledge is often used, because it's so true. Once that genie is released, there is no going back. When the ultimate weapon is created, it doesn't matter how much each side promises to not use it; the chance is always there that somebody won't keep that promise. Knowledge once discovered can never truly be forgotten again. Or can it? "Armageddon Game" doesn't really solve this issue (and it's not really solvable, except with methods that are equally horrific). However, it does address it, and in quite an effective way. Add to that the wonderful interplay between Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) and Dr. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil), and you have a great episode that is just this side of wonderful.

The war between the T'Lani and the Kellerun, which involved the use of a mutagenic weapon capable of wiping out the populations of whole planets (Harvesters), is over. Both sides have agreed to have the Harvesters wiped out, and have called in the Federation for help. Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien are the two Federation representatives helping in the process, and they are finally successful. Once all of the Harvesters are wiped out, their job should be done, right?

That would be the case, but the Kellerun and the T'Lani can't allow any of the Harvester knowledge to survive either. Kellerun troops attack the lab, killing all the scientists, and they would have killed O'Brien and Bashir too, if not for some quick thinking and some hand to hand combat. They manage to escape down to the desolate surface of T'Lani III, a planet wiped out by Harvesters. Unfortunately, O'Brien has been exposed to the Harvesters during the battle, and starts slowly succumbing to the disease.

Ambassadors from both planets come to Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) with a recording of a radiation pulse unexpectedly tripped by O'Brien, supposedly killing them all. The station goes into mourning, until Keiko O'Brien (Rosalind Chao) comes to Sisko insisting that the recording was altered, because Miles doesn't drink coffee in the afternoon and the recording clearly shows that he is. Will O'Brien survive long enough to be rescued? Will the rescuers themselves be destroyed? It's a race against time.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 31 - The Alternate

For children who have fled a bad childhood, it is always awkward when a parent shows up out of the blue, wanting to be a part of their lives again. We find ourselves acting differently around them, differently then the way we react around everybody else. Sometimes, if the problems between parent and child are not resolved, the child lashes out, even unconsciously. We get a bit of this in the Deep Space Nine episode "The Alternate," which is ostensibly about another step in the quest to find out Odo's (Rene Auberjonois) past. While it's an interesting look, little bits of the episode keep it from being outstanding.

Dr. Mora (James Sloyan), the scientist who was assigned to Odo when he was found all those years ago, has returned to Odo's life, year's after Odo left him. It seems that a Bajoran scan of a planet in the Gamma Quadrant has found traces of DNA that are similar in structure to Odo, and Dr. Mora would like to explore them. Sisko (Avery Brooks) send Dax (Terry Farrell) along with them, as well as another Bajoran scientist (Matt McKenzie). They find a pillar with strange writing on it, as well as what looks like a small silicon-based life-form, both of which they decide to take back to the station for analysis (both of which sound dangerous to me, but I'm not a Starfleet officer, so what do I know?).

As the pillar is beamed aboard the runabout, the planet (described as volcanic in nature) picks this opportune moment to start erupting, making all of the actors try their hardest to look like they're on shaking ground (can you tell I thought this was a silly scene)? When they get back to the station, all hell breaks loose, as the creature somehow gets away (or is freed?) and the crew have to figure out how to stop it. What is its purpose? And why does it seem to want to kill Dr. Mora?

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 30 - Rivals

This third in a string of lackluster second-season Deep Space Nine episodes, "Rivals" is quite uninspiring, though at times amusing. Yet again, we get a Quark-centered episode that just falls a little bit flat. When you add a surprisingly wooden performance from Chris Sarandon (most notably from The Princess Bride), and you get a rather blah episode. Average, but that's about it.

Over a drink at Quark's, Martus (Chris Sarandon) is listening to Alsia (K Callan) tell her life story, especially about the mining expedition that she wants to fund with the money she put back over the years. Just as Martus is about to offer to co-fund it, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) swoops in and arrests him for an earlier con. Martus ends up sharing a prison cell with an old alien named Cos (Albert Henderson, giving a very bland performance) who lost everything gambling on an electronic gambling machine that has always brought him bad luck. He activates it again, wins, and promptly dies (which is something that he had said he really wanted to do).

This gives Martus an idea, especially after tangling with Quark (Armin Shimmerman) trying to sell the machine, and he sets up his own gambling establishment, taking most of Quark's customers. Meanwhile, O'Brien (Colm Meaney) has installed a racquetball court and discovers that Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) used to play all the time. He gets his dander up when Bashir keeps beating him, and keeps demanding a rematch. Is Bashir really that good? Why are so many people having minor accidents all over the station? Something's affecting the entire station, and Sisko (Avery Brooks) is determined to find out what it is.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 29 - Sanctuary

“Sanctuary” is one of those frustrating Deep Space Nine episodes because it brings up some good issues, has a little bit of good drama, but just completely falls on its face in the plotting, script, and acting fronts. There are elements in this episode that would make a 5-star episode, but there are other elements that would make it a 1-star episode. Both sides being equal, I guess that makes it a completely down the middle piece. It’s a shame, because “Sanctuary” actually has some relevance to the overall Deep Space Nine story, in more ways than one.

Major Kira (Nana Visitor) is a very frustrated woman. She’s been getting nothing but the runaround from the Provisional Government about rebuilding the arts on Bajor, Quark (Armin Shimmerman) is giving her problems about the Bajoran instrumentalist who he agreed to host for a month (namely that he’s entrancing the customers so much that they’re not gambling or drinking much).

Then, a ship appears through the wormhole, carrying four refugees. The universal translator is having trouble picking up their language, but once it succeeds, they find out that the refugees are Skreean, and they are on a search for the mystical planet of Kentana. More importantly, they are the harbingers of three million more Skreeans, all refugees from a race that was overpowered by the Dominion (a name that perks up everybody’s ears, though they still haven’t been seen by anybody in the Alpha Quadrant). Will Sisko (Avery Brooks) be able to help the Skreeans find a new home? And what happens if the home they think they’re looking for is Bajor?

Let’s start with the wonderful parts, first (which, unfortunately, will not consist of most of the guest acting). The episode comes at a perfect time, when Bajor is going through some very hard times. Famine is sweeping across the planet, the Provisional Government argues more than it agrees, and Bajoran culture is under threat because a lot of it was destroyed by the Cardassians and that culture is being rebuilt much too slowly.

Then, the Skreeans come along, looking for a home, and the home they think they’re looking for is Bajor. Can Bajor support three million more people? The Skreeans claim that they will be able to fend for themselves, but could they? If they aren’t successful in creating farmland out of the waste the Cardassians left, would they really be able to avoid asking the Bajorans for help? These issues are powerful issues, and it’s gut-wrenching to see the problem. You know that there are no “right” answers. The Skreeans are not conquerors, and they will not be able to take anything by force. They just want a home.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 28 - Second Sight

"Second Sight" is a major letdown after the wonderful "Necessary Evil". Yes, almost anything would be, but "Second Sight" doesn't even try to aspire to that level. It's the second love story in three episodes, which is a bit aggravating when Deep Space Nine has avoided that for the rest of the series so far. Not only that, it's a surprisingly flat one too. If anybody needs a good lay, it's Sisko (Avery Brooks), but this was not the story for it.

It's the four-year anniversary of Sisko's wife's death at the hands of the Borg. Sisko can't sleep and goes for a walk on the Promenade. He finds his favourite spot and looks at the stars, and suddenly there's a woman, Fenna (Salli Elise Richardson) there with him. They seem to hit it off, but she unexpectedly disappears. Even so, Ben is a lot happier than he's been in a long time. Meanwhile, Dax (Terry Farrell) is helping a Federation scientist, Professor Seyetik (Richard Kiley), with a procedure to reignite a dead star. The two stories merge when Sisko discovers some of the truth about Fenna. But it gets even stranger than he could possibly imagine.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 27 - Necessary Evil

"Necessary Evil" is a wonderful episode of Deep Space Nine. Peter Allan Fields shows that he is the premiere writer for the show, especially for Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and Kira (Nana Visitor). He knows their characters so well. He has an ear for dialogue, the plot is wonderful, and the mystery is intriguing. Everything comes together to make one stellar episode. If "Duet" is the heart of the show, "Necessary Evil" showcases the soul. The friendship between Kira and Odo is one of the cornerstones.

Quark (Armin Shimmerman) is hired by Vaatrik Pallra (Katherine Moffat) to go into her dead husband's old store back on Deep Space Nine and find a box that is hidden there. Quark, being the greedy soul that he is, opens it, and is shot for his trouble. Vaatrik knew he would do it and sent somebody to watch him. Thanks to Dr. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil), Quark is saved, and Odo begins an investigation into what happened. Rom (Max Grodenchik) leads Odo to the chemist's shop, which takes Odo back to the Cardassian occupation. Vaatrik's husband had been murdered and Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) asks Odo to find out who did it. Kira is one of the main suspects, but she has an alibi. A murder from five years ago may reach forward to the present and destroy a friendship.

I normally don't talk about the direction of an episode, though Deep Space Nine usually has a talented director at the helm. This time, though, I have to. James L. Conway does a masterful job with the transitions between the present day and the past, especially the first. When Odo opens the door to the abandoned chemist's shop, the scene suddenly changes time periods as the door opens. It's a masterful shot, and most of the other transitions are almost as good. The set design is also wonderful, this being the first time we've seen the station as it was under the occupation. Everything is dark, the mood is depressing, armed guards are everywhere and the Bajorans walk around like a beaten people. The camera work is great, capturing all this in the background even as the foreground has a standard questioning scene. It's all wonderfully done.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 26 - Rules of Acquisition

I'm not a big fan of Ferengi episodes. Some of them are funny, but a lot of them are lame attempts at humour that just don't work. The first Deep Space Nine Ferengi episode, "The Nagus," actually was quite good. However, the more the Nagus (Wallace Shawn) comes back, the more grating he is. This, coupled with Quark (Armin Shimmerman) acting like he's in love with no real indication of how he got there, knocks a couple of points off. Thankfully, "Rules of Acquisition" was a lot better than I had remembered it.

During a game of Tongo with Dax (Terry Farrell) and a bunch of Quark's Ferengi waiters, a young Ferengi named Pel (Helene Udy) brings himself to Quark's attention. He's fluent in the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, which govern all Ferengi business practices. Their game is interrupted by news that Grand Nagus Zek is coming to the station. Zek is holding trade negotiations on the station with the Dosi, and he wants Quark to run these negotiations. This will give the Ferengi a great presence in the Gamma Quadrant. Pel insinuates himself into the negotiations by giving Quark some great advice, and Quark asks Pel to be his assistant. Unbeknownst to Quark (or anybody else for that matter), Pel is actually a female! Ferengi women are not allowed to leave the home or wear clothing, and they're certainly not allowed to acquire profit. Pel is determined to change that, even if she has to masquerade as a man to do it. Unfortunately, she finds herself falling in love with Quark, a complication she hadn't intended on.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 25 - Melora

After the wonderful Cardassians, you would think that Deep Space Nine was on an upswing. Unfortunately, that would not be true. "Melora" has to be the worst episode of the series so far, worse than Q-Less, and that's saying something! This episode is so bland and boring that I couldn't even find a quote for the end of this review. A couple of Quark's (Armin Shimmerman) lines come close to being quote-worthy, but they're too long. "Melora" contains the three killer B's: Bad Acting, Bad Dialogue and Bad Plotting. Put this mish-mash together and you get the fourth killer B: plain, simple, Badness.

A new cartographer is coming to the station on a mapping mission to the Gamma Quadrant. Her name is Melora (Daphne Ashbrook), and she's from the low-gravity planet of Elaysia. Because of this, when she's in normal gravity, she must use a wheelchair and leg supports if she's walking. She also comes bearing an enormous chip on her shoulder because she's tired of everybody trying to make special allowances for her. She's the stereotypical "handicapped person with an attitude" that we've seen in all of those "the disabled are people too" after school specials. She bristles when Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) won't let her pilot a runabout by herself, despite the fact that no newly assigned ensign would be allowed to do it. She does form a special relationship with Dr. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil), though, which quickly blossoms to romance. When Bashir discovers that there may be a way to make Melora able to walk without help, she has a dilemma.

Meanwhile, Quark is confronted by an old "friend" (Peter Crombie) who he sold out to the Romulans eight years ago. Now Fallit Kot is back to exact his revenge. Much Ferengi whining ensues, though thankfully there is no screaming. I think I would have put my foot through my 47" widescreen TV if I had to put up with more of that.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 24 - Cardassians

One of the horrors of war is the effect it has on the children involved. Innocent children who have done nothing wrong but are scarred for life anyway. When the war is over, what happens to the children left behind? In "Cardassians," we have a story that starts out being about that concept. It eventually becomes a Cardassian political episode, but it still brings to light the issue of the many Cardassian children left behind on Bajor when the Cardassians withdrew. It's an outstanding episode with no "good" or "bad" side (except Dukat, of course, who usually has something up his sleeve). I do wish more had been done about the issue itself, but that's a small quibble. The episode also marks the return of Garak (Andrew Robinson) in a wonderful showcase.

Dr. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) and Garak are having lunch at the Replimat when a Bajoran man and a Cardassian boy walk in. Garak tries to say a friendly hello and the boy, Rugal (Vidal Peterson), responds by biting him on the hand. Very soon after this is reported to Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks), Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) is calling from the Cardassian High Command asking about the incident. Sisko and Bashir investigate if there has ever been any mistreatment of the boy by his adoptive Bajoran parents, and in the meantime Rugal stays with Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) and his family. Bashir and Garak continue their investigations, discovering that Rugal is not a war orphan after all, but the long lost son of a Cardassian politician (Robert Mandan). Why is Dukat so interested in the plight of war orphans? What could it get him? Bashir and Garak have to figure it all out while Rugal gets stuck in the middle of a political power play.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 23 - Invasive Procedures

For some strange reason, whenever Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has an episode about Dax (Terry Farrell), the character herself is marginalized. "Invasive Procedures" marks the second episode where this has happened. Of course, this doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the episode (in some cases, it may heighten it because Farrell's acting can be spotty), but it is curious. The "Circle" trilogy ended on a flat note, so could "Invasive Procedures" bring it back up to the respectable level that we expect from this show? Unfortunately, no. I remember hating this episode when I first saw it, but watching it again has caused me to re-think it. Instead of being a waste of celluloid, it's just a very problematic episode with some good scenes that are pretty much wasted.

A plasma storm is sweeping through the area of space where the station floats, requiring that most of the crew be evacuated and the station be operated by a skeleton crew. Of course, that skeleton crew consists of all the regulars and nobody else, but at least they had Jake leave (that would have really stretched it). Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and O'Brien (Colm Meaney) are sweeping the docking area when they happen upon Quark (Armin Shimmerman) in an airlock. He claims he's pining for his brother and while Odo scoffs, they don't really do anything about it. Bad mistake.

A ship hails the station with a distress call, and when O'Brien and Odo go to meet it, they are swiftly overpowered by a raiding party of two Klingons, a Trill, and another humanoid. The crew is swiftly overpowered and subsequently finds that the Trill, Verad (John Glover) intends to steal the Dax symbiont from Jadzia, which would end up killing her. While Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) initially refuses to do the procedure, Jadzia insists that he do so to prevent anybody else from getting hurt. Once Verad gets the symbiont, Sisko (Avery Brooks) has to race against time to stop him and retrieve Dax before it's too late.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 22 - The Siege

It's Star Trek tradition that the last part of a two-part story is going to stink. The trilogy that opened the second season of Deep Space Nine started out so wonderfully, with two great episodes. The conclusion had a lot to live up to. Would it be able to? Sadly, "The Siege" falls short, even more so because the setup was so outstanding. "The Siege" suffers from some overacting, some faulty plot logic, and a pedestrian feel. It certainly has its good moments, but what a letdown.

Having been ordered to abandon Deep Space Nine by the Federation, Sisko (Avery Brooks) is determined to get the information that the Cardassians are behind the Circle's coup attempt to the Bajoran Chamber of Ministers. With communications cut off, Sisko orders Kira (Nana Visitor) and Dax (Terry Farrell) to find another way down to Bajor. There are old Bajoran fighters abandoned on a Bajoran moon, and Kira asks to be dropped off there.

Meanwhile, the evacuation of non-essential personnel begins, but Quark (Armin Shimmerman) is his usual greedy self and starts selling seats on the departing runabouts, causing massive crowds at the docking bays. He's burned by his own brother, however, who has sold his seat to a Dabo girl and left Quark stranded on the station. With the Bajoran army coming to the station, can Sisko and his crew hold them off and keep them guessing long enough for Kira to accomplish her mission and end the coup?

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 21 - The Circle

(this review contains some spoilers for the first episode in the trilogy, "The Homecoming")

The middle part of any trilogy is usually the weakest of the bunch. It doesn't have the explosive beginning and it doesn't have the riveting ending. Instead, it's a transition, where things start to go even worse for the good guys. Star Trek has a reputation for having lackluster endings to its two-part episodes, but it's never had a trilogy before, so this was unexplored territory. Like a trooper, though, Deep Space Nine follows through with a solid outing that continues the trend of good episodes.

In "The Homecoming", Major Kira (Nana Visitor) rescued Li Nalas (Richard Beymer), a Bajoran Resistance hero, from a Cardassian prison camp, hoping that he could lead Bajor through the dark times that a radical group called the Circle was bringing about. Li claimed not to be the man that everybody thought he was, but Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) convinced him that he could be that man. The episode ended with Li Nalas replacing Kira as Sisko's first officer.

As "The Circle" begins, Kira is trying to discover her place in the new regime. As she tries to pack and her friends try to convince her to fight for her job, Vedek Bereil (Philip Anglim) comes to her quarters and asks her to stay at the monastery. Meanwhile, the door to Sisko's quarters has been vandalized with the sign of the Circle, indicating that they can go anywhere on the station. Quark (Armin Shimmerman) has some important information for Odo (Rene Auberjonois) about who is supplying the Circle with weapons as the violence spills into the streets. With Kira trying to relax and "be useless for awhile" and Sisko trying everything he can to get her back, the Circle tightens its noose. Revolution is coming to Bajor, and there may not be room for the Federation after it's finished.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 20 - The Homecoming

What's more important: the truth, or a legend to believe in? In times of great strife, sometimes the legend is the most important thing, especially when that legend is something that inspires us to be more than we think we can be. Does it matter if it's based on a lie? Perhaps after the fact it does, but during the time of trouble, the legend is often more important. We tend to ignore the emotional cost to that legend, however, especially in the aftermath.

The first season's finale (In the Hands of the Prophets) showed us a Bajor that was slowly coming to terms with the Federation presence on Deep Space Nine. However, Bajor is a planet in transition, in need of leadership as the Provisional Government consists of a bunch of back-biting factions that can't get along. What began in the last episode continues here, as we see a Bajor in crisis.

Now this is what I watch Deep Space Nine for. It's episodes like "The Homecoming" that could not be done on any other Trek show (at least not without feeling extremely forced). The fact that it's written with great power and just the right dash of humour makes it even more of a standout. Add wonderful acting by everybody involved, and you have three 5-star episodes in a row.

Quark (Armin Shimmerman) is given a Bajoran earring by a freighter captain (Leslie Bevis), who says that it was smuggled off of Cardassia IV. Quark gives it to Kira (Nana Visitor), who realizes that it belongs to the great Bajoran Resistance leader, Li Nalas (Richard Beymer). She wants to borrow a runabout to go on a rescue mission. Sisko (Avery Brooks) has his own problems, with a radical Bajoran group calling itself "The Circle," who wants all non-Bajorans off of Bajor, making an ugly appearance on the station. The Provisional Government is proving powerless to stop the factional fighting, and he realizes that he needs a strong Bajoran leader's help as much as Kira thinks the planet needs one.

He authorizes the mission and sends O'Brien (Colm Meaney) along for the ride. After an action-filled rescue, Li is brought back to the station, where his problems are only beginning. All Bajorans look up to him, but everything is based on a lie. He feels overwhelmed by the fact that Bajor needs him so much. Will he crack under the pressure? Or will he be everything that both Sisko and Kira need? Since this is the first part of a 3-part episode, you can probably guess.

Star Trek: DS9 - Season 1 Boxed Set

Here's an episode by episode review of Season 1, along with a review of the boxed set of DVDs (the regular DVDs, not any Blu-Ray possibilities, though seeing them come out on Blu-Ray would be really cool).

The first season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a very interesting beginning. We discovered in the first episode that we would be staying in one place, exploring a little but dealing much more with the Bajoran people and how they are recovering from years of occupation, along with their grooming to be new members of the United Federation of Planets. Past Trek shows have been on a ship, but this show would take place on a space station.

One thing this means is that they can't run away from their problems. If something comes up, they have to deal with it, and the consequences of the problem could very well come back and haunt the crew later on. Recurring characters (Garak and Dukat are introduced in the first season, along with Keiko O'Brien coming over from Next Generation) abound, and relationships are allowed to grow and change.

These characters are not static like the Next Generation characters generally were. I can't see much of a difference between William Riker in season 1 and William Riker in season 7 of Next Generation. Kira Nerys, on the other hand, has changed greatly just within season 1 of Deep Space Nine

I was really glad when all seven seasons came out in DVD boxed sets. The presentation is wonderful, with four episodes per disc (except the first one, which includes the 2-hour premiere). The menus are great, with the Deep Space Nine theme projecting majestically from the speakers. It's always been my favourite of all the themes anyway.

After you choose an episode, you then can either play it, press "set up" (where you set up your audio and subtitle options), "chapter log" (where you can go to any scene), or return to the main menu.

There are six discs in the set, with the first five containing the episodes and then the sixth being a bunch of specials. There is a documentary on the first season, called "A Bold Beginning." There's a crew dossier on Kira Nerys, the secrets of Quark's bar, a sketchbook of production sketches and a little bit about alien props.

There are also a bunch of easter eggs on this disc, with other crew dossiers and little interesting tidbits about the actors and their roles. We hear about how they got their part and what their feelings are about their characters. Some of the interviews are from the first season, when the actors didn't know where their characters were going.

Others are from after the show, or during the last season. They're par for the course for actors' interviews, so if you're naturally bored by them, you won't find much of interest here. If you like the show, though, they're intriguing.

All in all, this is a wonderful collection of episodes. The picture quality is wonderful, with the exception of one episode, but I’m sure that's just on my edition. "The Storyteller" made my DVD player have conniptions, and I had already had so much hassle with Columbia House that I wasn't going to try and deal with them to get a better copy. It's just one episode, though.

The packaging is interesting and sturdy, with two fold-out covers revealing the plastic disc trays. The overall quality of these discs is quite high. Only the quality of some of the episodes themselves brings the rating of the boxed set down to 4 stars. They had a rough patch in the middle of the season.

Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 19 - In the Hands of the Prophets

The conflict between religion and science is centuries old, and will perhaps last for centuries into the future. There is no easy solution. One man's "god" is another man's theory of how nature works. There may never be a solid answer, because something taken on faith is, essentially, unprovable. Star Trek has always been a secular show, Gene Roddenberry being an avid secular humanist. Thus religions on Trek have usually been shown as misguided, with the Federation coming along and showing that the God these people believed in was false and science could lead them to salvation.

Deep Space Nine changed all that. No, it didn't become the New Religious Hour. Instead, it deigned to show a religion and its worshipers as real people. It showed that there are different points of view, but that nobody is inherently right. The show was deeply respectful of the Bajoran religion and its "Prophets." However, you knew that, eventually, there would have to be an episode about the uneasy tension between the two. "In the Hands of the Prophets" is that episode, made all the more powerful because it ended the first season of the show after building up the Bajorans throughout the season. It's a wonderful episode, tying up very neatly the ongoing storyline of the first season, leaving us with some of the uneven ends that this conflict always does.

Keiko O'Brien (Rosalind Chao) is teaching her class about the wormhole when she has an unexpected visitor. Vedek Winn (Louise Fletcher) has come with an important mission: to either get Mrs. O'Brien to stop teaching blasphemy about the Wormhole Aliens (the Prophets) or to remove the Bajoran children from the school. This has the effect of heightening tensions between the Bajorans on the station and the Federation personnel, as it seems that the "godless Federation" is trying to remove the Bajoran religion from its society.

Winn starts to win over a lot of people on the station with her ideas, including Kira (Nana Visitor), despite the fact that she's the leader of an ultra-orthodox sect that doesn't have a lot of support in the Vedek Assembly. Along with this is the suspicious death of a Starfleet engineer. Are they related? When Sisko (Avery Brooks) tries to elicit help from the Vedek who is the frontrunner in the race to be the new Kai, Bareil (Philip Anglim), he is rebuffed. When the school is bombed, however, Bareil reconsiders. This leads to an explosive conclusion that could bring the crew of the station back together again. Or it could force them further apart.