Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

[Martin Penny]

Those two are actually Ferengi, I suppose it's not neccessarily when he's paired with Rom, but when more than three ferengi appear in the room at the same time! 'The Magnificent Ferengi' is a hilarious episode.

"Family. You understand."
"Not really. I was cloned."

[FlyingBeastie]

"i haaaaaate Ferengi"

[Wayne]

I like Quark, Rom & Nog, but i automatically hate any episodes with 'Moogie' & the Grand Magus & that cousin that keeps cropping up etc.. etc.. DS9 overdid the Ferengi as much as TNG overdid the Klingons & Voyager overdid the Borg.

[Martin Penny]

I hated the Moogie based episodes. I thought Wallace Shawn was great in his first episode, but they turned Zek into a bumbling idiot afterwards.

'Business as Usual' is my favourite Quark episode. 'Body Parts' is also hilarious.

[FlyingBeastie]

Oh, Body Parts is just awesome! Especially when he employs Garak to kill him and they're going through al the different ways Quark can die...thing is, they never showed the scene where Quark tells Garak the plan is off...I mean I know we're supposed to assume he did but that just always bugged me haha

[Martin Penny]

Oh, Body Parts is just awesome! Especially when he employs Garak to kill him and they're going through al the different ways Quark can die...thing is, they never showed the scene where Quark tells Garak the plan is off...I mean I know we're supposed to assume he did but that just always bugged me haha

Yeah I always wonder if Garak was still planning to kill him.

The scene where Garak emerges from the shadows and breaks Quark's neck is hilarious, and even better when Quark storms in and complains he would hear his neck crack if he died that way.

[FlyingBeastie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr5fv...eature=related

^priceless

[Phillip Culley]

I much prefer this one

[FlyingBeastie]

GAH...I've been Rick Rolled yet again :/

[FlyingBeastie]

Just watched Past Tense parts I&II...I think its an episode everyone should revisit~it's actually incredibly eerie to watch, i mean, it's supposed to take place in 2024 but truth is, with the economic crisis we are in, it doesn't look like DS9's version of 2024 is too far off...
not only that, but it was creepy they predicted 4 years earlier that the Yanks would sweep the world series in 99'...reeeally creepy...

[Rob McCow]

Isn't that the one with the 'Bell Riots'? And Bashir and O Brien turning up in different time zones with different outfits?

It was a bit of a cracker, if I remember rightly. And nothing to do with the main plot, as it were.

[FlyingBeastie]

Yes, Bell Riots~ but it was O'Brien and Kira traveling through different time zones to find Sisko, Dax and Bashir~no different outfits though...

[Si Hunt]

"The Emmissary (Part 1)"

My Deep Space Nine Time Team starts right at the beginning, and I have to say this was an excellent opening episode. There wasn't a lot of plot, but then this was a 'set up' episode so it's purpose was to introduce us to everyone. Major Kira came over as too unlikeable, and I'm sure they soften her up later for precisely this reason. Odo is an excellent idea for a regular (though I bet we don't see him slide under many doors spectacularly in the future on budgetry grounds) as is Dax - what struck me is that there is a really diverse selection of life forms as the main characters, which is contrary to a lot of the new characters in Next Gen, which too often that not are just Funny Foreheads.

The storyline with the Orbs and the Prophets looks promising. Sisko himself doesn't seem to be tremendously acted, but is sufficiently weighty and probably interesting a character to see us through - he's no Patrick Stewart but then who is? Starting this opening episode mid-way through the Next Gen/Locutus Borg storyline is interesting (and probably baffled a few casuals) but at least gives us some motivation for the unneccesary Stewart cameo.

All in all, a very promising beginning.

Si.

[Martin Penny]

I think 'Emmissary' is the strongest premiere episode of any series of Trek (though I do really liked Voyagers - shame the rest of the series was so dull).

Kira is very annoying in the first series, because she's just angry at everyone over everything. But she turns out to be a great character as the series goes on. Bashir can annoy at times in the earlier episodes as well, but the rest of the cast are a very diverse bunch, and their relationships with each other far more interesting than those on TNG.

Sisko starts out being very low key, and almost eerily calm - I don't think Avery Brooks really settled on how to play him until around the third season. I still think he's good though, and a very different type of Commander to Picard. Speaking of Picard, I approve of his cameo because he gets the little scene with O'Brien.

[Si Hunt]

"The Emmissary (Part 2)"

...continues the good work, and now they discover a stable wormhole leading to the Alpha Quadrant (or something). Really, the scope of this incarnation of "Trek" is breathtaking. I had DS9 down as a bit... well... "grey"... but it's fantastic. It must have cost quite a bit to make. The various life forms arn't the spectacle here, they just all are, and the various different races concentrated on (Cardassians, Bajorans etc.) are all really interesting. I like the idea of DS9 being this big community in space, although marks off for the silly explanation from O'Brien on how they could move DS9 closer to the wormhole (making it weigh less! IN SPACE!). Why did we need an explanation at all? Just say it's thrusters were good enough to start with.

All fantastic, so far. Gul Dukat is a great Cardassian meanie.

Si.

[Martin Penny]

All fantastic, so far. Gul Dukat is a great Cardassian meanie.
Si.

He's one of the best characters in the series, you don't see him much this season, but he becomes a major player soon.

[Si Hunt]

"A Man Alone"

For the third episode, a pretty standard 'murder mystery' and the old "the victim isn't really dead and faked his death to frame someone" trick has been done fairly recently in TNG, I'm sure.

But it's enjoyable because we're still getting to know these new characters - the unflappable Sisko, the efficient Kira (not quite as unlikeable here), a bit more of Quark and the irracisble Odo. They've given Kakko something to do as well (run a school) which should keep her busy. Nothing too taxing plotwise, then, but because of the new setup and characters, every one of these episodes is feeling like a treat.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

"Past Prologue"

Doctor Bashir (an iffy character this one - he's supposed to be an English cliche isn't he? Will he make tea and muffins in a future episode?) is cornered in a bar by what seems to be a gay Cardassian who wants to be friends with him. He even runs a dress shop - what more do you want? However, Garak is immediately watchable, and his divided loyalties are interesting (here choosing to help the Federation rather than the Cardassians, but in a covert manner). I know that we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

The rest of the episode is brilliant because it can't simply be summed up in a synopsis - it's more complicated than that, brimming with false agendas and torn loyalties. Kira misjudges Sisko (but not before she's dobbed him in to an irritated Starfleet admiral) but also a former (and, it turns out, current) terrorist from her own race. Delightfully, the Duras Sisters are also involved. It's also a big melting pot of secret plots and political unrest, and makes for a far more challenging viewing than your average Next Gen episode, where motivations would be far more singular.

It's not superb, mind - it still ends up with a runaway bomb-laden terrorist in a runabout, but it's sufficiently taxing and spectacular to hold the attention. The model and effects shots in this series - specially inside the wormhole - are marvellous.

Si.

[Martin Penny]

Garak is a brilliant character, you sadly don't see him again in the first season, but he shows up lots more next year and throughout the rest of the series. You have to wonder why he wasn't made a regular.

I like the use of the Duras Sisters, one of a fair few TNG characters used in the first season.

[Si Hunt]

"Babel"

Like "Past Prologue", this is a familiar storyline (space station infected with virus and put in quarantine whilst crew race against time to find an antidote) given the DS9 twist. As such, it isn't dull but is perhaps a little predictable - and the chosen 'effect' of the virus - that victims spout gibberish - is a little ridiculous. Though I guess it does highlight a major flaw in Deep Space Nine in that the computer is voice operated.

"Captive Pursuit"

This is a bit better, as O'Brien befriends an alien 'Tosk' who has been bred to be hunted. It gives him quite a bit to do, and raises some interesting issues. For a start, Sisko is enraged at the end that O'Brien has broken the Prime Directive by helping Tosk escape, but surely it was DS9 that breached it by stopping the 'Hunt' in the first place - O'Brien was righting the wrong.

The 'Tosk' is very familiar, and I was a little surprised that he dissapeared at the end and didn't stay on the station. The make-up is very good - do we see the 'Tosk' again one day?

Si.

[Wayne]

Apart from 'Emissary', which i liked. I can't remember a single thing about S1 of DS9!
The next thing i remember is 'The Maquis' double ep from S2, when DS9 started showing signs of getting interesting.
I'll try to join around then.

[SiHart]

I remember quite liking Season 1- Captive Pursuit was pretty good from what i remember, but it has been a long time since I've seen it.

Si xx

[Anthony Williams]

My thoughts on Si's journey so far:

Emissary - a wonderful opening two-parter. One of the story's main aims, in my opinion, is to create a juxtaposition between the clean, squeaky world of TNG where everyone gets on in a wonderful state-of-the-art Starship, to the somewhat grimmer world of an emotionally wounded Captain, with a crew who don't necessarily trust each other, and a Starbase that isn't really as swish as the Enterprise. Certainly, there are areas where the two cross-over - such as Picard being in Emissary, and O'Brien being in it full-time. Certainly, Avery Brooks is no Patrick Stewart, but Sisko ends up becoming one of my favourite Star Trek Captains

A Man Alone - An interesting murder-mystery that really just leads some character development, more than anything else. The way in which Odo is misunderstood by the mob has interesting parallels with later revelations about his past... (I shall say no more, for fear of spoiling Si's DS9 journey!)

Past Prologue - the introduction of Garak. I find Garak one of the most interesting characters in DS9 - he's certainly a very grey character (and that isn't a reference to the colour of his skin!), who you can never quite trust. The twists and turns of this epsiode, as well as all the subplots, sums up, to me, what DS9 is all about - as I said with regards to Emissary, it's a lot more complex and gritty than TNG, and that's part of why I love it.

Babel - yes, it was a very familiar storyline, but as Si says, given a DS9 twist. Rather than the crew being a Starship who encounter an infected Starbase, DS9 IS that Starbase put under quarrantine! Good fun, in my opinion

Captive Pursuit - a fun episode, in my opinion, although it deals with several ethical problems. Should the crew be helping this Tosk character at all? Was O'Brien right to help him escape? Was Sisko right to want to hand him over to those hunting him?

In my opinion, DS9 is one of the only Star Trek (with perhaps the exception of the original) series that starts off at the top of its game, and maintains that standard throughout its entire run - certainly, TNG, Voyager and Enterprise didn't have this standard of episodes until the second or third Seasons.

[Wayne]

In my opinion, DS9 is one of the only Star Trek (with perhaps the exception of the original) series that starts off at the top of its game, and maintains that standard throughout its entire run - certainly, TNG, Voyager and Enterprise didn't have this standard of episodes until the second or third Seasons.

Funny how everyone sees it differently.
Apart from a few key episodes, (Emissary, The Maquis, Crossover, & The Jem 'Hadar) For me DS9 really doesn't get going until S3!

[Si Hunt]

Thanks for your comments fellas, hope you stick with me along the 'Trek'.

"Q-Less"

Well, it had to happen - Q is back. Some of you know my thoughts about him from the TNG journey, but I always find the episodes a bit contrary to logic, or (despite this) a little dull. Q popping up in appearance (but not being named) before the credits here reminds me of how much DS9 must have been playing to its target audience - if this were Doctor Who, someone would have gone "Look, Q!" to tell the audience he was someone significant.

The other key point about this is the return of another Next Gen character - Varsh, the archeologist who was porked by Picard. She's an interesting character, but it does draw attention to the fact that DS9 is focussing on familiar situations or old characters a lot, rather than developing new story arc's. The rest of this is a little drawn-out, and not all that clear. It's only mentioned in passing that Varsh's artefact was "an embryonic life form", not how she got it, why she got it or why she doesn't seem to mind that it's dragging the station into the wormhole.

By the way, if they have replicators why don't they use replicate bars of gold pressed latinum? How is there a currency on the station?

I still find Q a bit of a dull or silly (the boxing match scene) character to be honest. All he ever does is turn up, proclaim to be bored, and annoy everyone. I prefer to see more 'down to Earth' situations, if you'll forgive me using that term in a space-set show.

Si.