Tag Archives: Star Trek

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Star Trek: The Next Generation- S1E8 “Justice” – I think it’s good, actually

Riker is living his best life.

I have recently introduced my kids to Star Trek the same way I was introduced to it- by watchin The Next Generation. I remember many nights at my grandparents’ house trying to stay awake while watching an episode as it played around my bedtime, or having family dinner on the couch so we could watch the latest episodes. I also know that Season 1 is… a bit hit-or-miss, so I’ve been selectively picking which episodes to watch. One of those, which remains burned in my memory, is Season 1 Episode 8, “Justice.” I admit I was surprised to see that it is largely critically panned and many fans consider it a terrible episode. I’m here to say I think it’s actually pretty good. It is a thought experiment, and I think it’s a fairly successful one.

A thought experiment in philosophy is just an imagined scenario that is set up to test a theory or argument. It’s a very popular thing in philosophy (and economics, among other fields). One of the most famous thought experiments is the trolley problem, in which someone is asked to imagine a scenario in which there is a trolley track with 5 people tied on it and a trolley barreling towards them. The person is placed in the position of being able to pull a lever that would divert the trolley away from the 5 people on it and instead run over the one person tied upon the side track. Should they do it? This kind of scenario helps test all kinds of theories of ethics, among others.

In “Justice,” the thought experiment is pretty straightforward: what if we could eliminated essentially all law-breaking in society by having the one penalty be death? The premise is that the crew of the Enterprise shows up on the planet of Edo, sees it’s basically a utopic life, and decides to hang out… only to find out there’s one big caveat: any breaking of the law is met with the death penalty. And of course, they find this out only after Wesley has transgressed the rules by chasing a ball only to fall onto some growing planets, disturbing them. The society moves to execute Wesley, as their laws demand, but are stopped from doing so by the crew of the Enterprise.

Talk about this episode with children also made me realize why it had such an impact on me as a child. While adults seeing it for the first time might complain about how simplistic the setup is as an obvious thought experiment that would never work in reality… it is remarkably effective at getting its point across. Is this justice? one might ask unironically. People might roll their eyes at it, but the question really begs to be asked and answered. Would we be willing to live in a society like that of Edo if we could have that kind of life? I mean, it sure looks pretty good from here. And the episode seems quite effective to me in its question of what we might be willing to sacrifice for an easy life. Would we stand on justice or not? Is justice even a plausibly objective quality such that it could be used to rule on this case?

Picard has one of his early great one-liners in this episode, too: “There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions.” It’s interesting because this is set alongside the juxtaposition with whether to breach the Prime Directive or not–something viewers can see clearly happens.

Of course this hints at one of the other main themes of the episode. It’s not just abstractly about whether it might be just to have a society operate the way it does on Edo. It’s also about whether laws themselves might be unjust and what that might mean. Is it responsible to violate or break or change unjust laws? It seems so: but if one just accepts laws for what they are, there cannot be justice. If laws are absolute, there can be no justice.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the wrinkle the episode introduces to the rather simplistic setup of the law above. Namely, there are “enforcement zones” that cycle by some unknown means such that, if you break a rule (like transgressing a boundary around growing flowers) in a non-enforcement zone, you’re left alone. At least, that’s what I think the episode is implying by these rolling zones. Only some areas are actively monitored and punished. The philosophical side of me asks: how might this impact the scenarios explored already? Would people desperately be attempting to find out whether they’re in an enforcement area (or not)? Would there be some kind of black market of information about which zones are in enforcement? Underground “rule breaking” areas where people get their thrills by transgressing simple boundaries? None of this is explored in the episode, of course, but it leaves fertile ground for the imagination. Maybe the people of Edo only present their beatific, perfect society to outsiders. Maybe the crew of the Enterprise wasn’t around long enough to see this dark side of the rules.

Obviously, I don’t think the episode implies or suggests this is a thing. Instead, we are presented with what appears a sincere notion that this society basically just is perfection (apart from the occasional execution for tripping into a fence). It reminds me of Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” in which a society is perfect except for them having to hold a single child in “perpetual filth, darkness, and misery.” Here, on Edo, those who transgress–even by accident–are the Omelas child. They pay the price so society can thrive. Is that such a bad thing?

Again, I’m left wondering about why the episode ranks so low in Star Trek fandom. A look at Wiki shows that it is among the lowest rated episodes of The Next Generation. Yes, it has some cheesy dialogue, cheesy acting, and terrible outfits for the locals. We could argue some of these points. Maybe someone thinks the cheesy lines “Nice planet”- Worf adds, rather than detracts, from the episode (I would find myself in this camp, actually). Maybe others think the campiness is alluring rather than off-putting. But to me, none of those undermine the central strength of the episode, which is to use science fiction as a tool to introduce philosophical concepts to the masses. And it does that rather successfully. Finally, my last words of appeal to say this episode is good (or at least passable), actually: it absolutely made its concepts clear to my kids. They didn’t get the tongue-in-cheek jokes about sex; but they absolutely understood the core concepts. So let’s try to give “Justice” some justice: it might actually have some good points.

Links

Read more of my looks at Star Trek episodes and beyond here (scroll down for more).

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 5 “Body Parts” and “Broken Link”

Quark faces his greatest dilemma yet.

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“Body Parts”

Synopsis

Quark is back getting a checkup on Ferenginar and discovers he has a rare disease that will kill him. Obviously, the thing to do is sell off his desiccated remains in advance in order to pay his debt. He accepts an offer on them only to discover that the diagnosis was mistaken and he’s not dying, but the buyer, Brust from the Ferengi Commerce Authority, still wants to collect his dead body. Quark is stuck between violating a contract–and thus the Rules of Acquisition–and living or killing himself. In desperation, he hires Garak to kill him, but dreams that the First Grand Nagus tells him the Rules don’t have to be followed in every case. He breaks his contract, thus leading Brust to liquidate his assets. But then Quark discovers the friendship of others on the station, who all pitch in to get his business back up and running.

Oh yeah, and Keiko’s baby is transferred to Major Kira due to an incident on a runabout. No biggy.

Commentary

The main plot of this with Quark is everything good Ferengi plots have been on DS9. It has scenes of Ferenginar, it has the Rules of Acquisition featuring large, and it has humor and reality mixed together in compelling ways. There is no question from Quark’s character right now that he would act the way he does, choosing to hire someone to kill him rather than violate a contract, and the resolution, while being somewhat deus ex machina, is also hilarious and somehow suitable at the same time. The writers then throw in the whole station coming together and showing Quark how valued he is, adding a heaping helping of sentimentality on top of what was already an emotional porridge pot. I loved it.

That subplot, though. Totally random, though I suspect it is due to a real life pregnancy and having the show go on! It will certainly make for some interesting family dynamics with the O’Briens!

Grade: A “Once again, the Ferengi plots manage to be consistently entertaining, funny, and relevant throughout. This one was touching, tongue-in-cheek, and a kind of commentary on the dangers of wealth all at once.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A- “I thought it was a fun view into Ferengi commerce and culture. It also had some good character development for Quark in particular.”

“Broken Link”

Synopsis

Odo gets sick and must fight to maintain a solid form. The crew of DS9 agrees to try to seek a cure for his illness. In doing so, they bring him to the homeworld of the Founders after a brief meeting with a female Founder who manages to stabilize him for the moment through linking together. As the only Changeling to ever kill another of his kind, he is to be judged by the Founders on the homeworld. He agrees and they proceed to the planet. There, Garak attempts to kill all the Founders from the Defiant but is stopped by Worf. Meanwhile, Odo is judged to be cut off from the Great Link and also made permanently human–his ability to shapeshift stripped from him as punishment.

Commentary

There is so much going on here, whether it is the implications for the Cardassian-Dominion conflict (or indeed, the wider conflict between Quadrants), Odo’s character development, or Garak’s character. The frankness that the Founders say they will defeat the Cardassians is alarming and pushed Garak to the edge, but it is also somewhat disturbing to see the quickness with which he turns to genocide as the only option in the battle.

For Odo, the implications run even more deeply, as perhaps the central part of his self-identity is stripped from him. Ironically, he almost gets what he wants–to blend in with humans–only to have his nose left as it was so he will always stand out as a reminder of how he has been cast out. It’s a poignant moment and a punishment that is made understandable through the words of the Founders, though they mostly interact as a big blob-sea. It’s impressive writing and directing to make it happen.

Grade: A- “A tough episode with many implications for the seasons to come. Odo is quickly becoming one of the most sympathetic characters in the series.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A “Pretty epic big-picture plot development.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “To the Death” and “The Quickening”

All the feels.

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“To the Death”

Synopsis

Renegade Jem’Hadar are trying to open up a gateway that will allow them to get to anywhere they like. Sisko must team up with Weyoun and a group of loyal Jem’Hadar to stop them. As they try to integrate the crews for the mission, it doesn’t go well. Worf, in particular, is targeted by the Jem’Hadar in tests of strength. When the disobedience comes to a front, the Jem’Hadar first kills the instigator, and demands Sisko do the same to Worf. When Sisko refuses, the Jem’Hadar threatens to kill Sisko. On the actual mission, Sisko ends up saving the First, showing him something of Starfleet’s own way of living. They manage to destroy the Gateway and the Jem’Hadar part with the Starfleet people after executing Weyoun for questioning their loyalty.

Commentary

“To the Death” is a complex, action-packed episode that shows just how intense DS9 episodes can get. The stakes are super high, and believable because we don’t know enough about the Jem’Hadar to doubt it. The integration of crews is a stretch but could be seen as Starfleet being Starfleet and not being aggressive about their enemies. I like the escalation of threat throughout the episode. We know there’s no way these two groups can be together without conflict, but the way it escalates is great. I especially like Worf being center of attention for the Jem’Hadar, because it plays to so many narratives happening around both Klingons and Jem’Hadar.

Having Weyoun get killed was really surprising, too. It’s a fascinating look at how the Jem’Hadar operate that they were so upset by his questioning of their loyalty that they would go to such an extreme rejoinder. Overall, this is a great episode with lots of adventure. It scores lower on the “believable” aspects, but that’s fine, it’s Star Trek.

Grade: A- “Intense and heavy-hitting, it’s a thrilling episode all the way through.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B+ “It wasn’t particularly memorable, but I liked it.”

“The Quickening”

Synopsis

Kira, Dax, and Bashir get to a plant where they discover the local populace has been punished by the Dominion by being inflicted with a disease that manifests as black lesions working across their bodies until one day it kills them. Bashir is desperate to help, especially when he discovers the local doctor basically just euthanizes people as they request it due to the pain of the disease. However, when it turns out his medical equipment is actually hastening the onset of the disease, Bashir loses the trust of the people. When all seems lost, he manages to demonstrate that his treatment, though ineffective on the disease itself, actually acts as a vaccine and can deliver the next generation from the illness. The episode closes with Bashir still finding cures ineffective, longing to cure the people and Sisko telling him that the next generation will be the hope for the people.

Commentary

Bashir… is… awesome. I already loved him, but this episode was one long Bashir love-fest of showing the range of his emotions, skills, and the depth of his concern for others. The plot is basic, yes, but it serves as a fantastic setup so that we can see what Bashir will do when confronted with what seems like an unbeatable scenario. And he does win! But only kind of. And he’s distraught, and it is bittersweet, and it is beautiful and I love it.

There’s a kind of horrifying hope built into the episode. You as a viewer just know that Bashir will succeed, such that when he doesn’t, it is especially crushing. And seeing him also crushed is poignant and raw. It’s true that Bashir did save the people, but what of everyone alive now? They just have to last… and give the next generation hope. Powerful.

Grade: A+ “Heart-rending but hopeful, ‘The Quickening’ is a fantastic episode not just of DS9 but of television generally.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A “It was sad, but great.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “The Muse” and “For the Cause”

Are they lying to each other, too?

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“The Muse”

Synopsis

Jake gets seduced by a brain eating alien who uses his creative energy for nefarious purposes while inspiring him to great heights of writing. Lwaxana Troi wants to have her own child, but the customs of the father means she may not, so Odo intervenes and marries her, convincing all present of his genuine feelings for Troi in the process. Jake is saved at the last moment by his father, and his writing career feels like it may take more work.

Commentary

This is one of those episodes that definitely feels like the writers had two ideas, neither of which would make an episode on their own, so they awkwardly packed two half-episodes of TV together into one. It’s no secret that Lwaxana is not my favorite, but she has gotten a pretty heartfelt character overhaul on DS9 and seems like a real person rather than a ludicrous caricature. Her interactions with Odo feel genuine, and they’re often hilarious due to Odo’s proper way of acting and Lwaxana’s, well, being Lwaxana.

The Jake storyline I enjoyed much less. It felt like a monster-of-the-week episode with a twist that makes it feel like Jake is less creative than I may otherwise have thought him. He says he feels like he cheated to get what he began on his novel, but Benjamin Sisko points out that he couldn’t have written it without having it within him. Nevertheless, it does feel as someone watching it that some of his capacity as a writer was stripped away by having the alien be the only way to inspire him to the loftiest heights. Kind of a letdown, to be honest.

Grade: B- “Weird but heartfelt. Not a bad episode, but not great either. Troi did well, though, and Odo was delightfully awkward.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A- “A clearly memorable episode with interesting sci-fi elements and character development.”

“For the Cause”

Synopsis

Garak tries to figure out the intentinos of Gul Dukat’s half-Bajoran daughter, Tora Ziyal. He thinks she may be set up to kill him but she denies it and they ultimately begin a relationship centered around learning about Cardassia. Meanwhile, Captain Sisko is confronted with the possibility that his girlfriend, Kasidy Yates, is working for the Maquis. Evidence continues to mount and he launches an investigation, which ultimately leads to her capture and imprisonment in the brig for collusion with the Maquis.

Commentary

My synopsis is much, much less complex than the workings of the episode (just check out the plot summary here). Basically, we’ve got a character piece, but one that is for four different characters: Yates, Sisko, Garak, and Ziyal. They each, remarkably, get enough time on screen for us to feel the emotional impact of the events for every character involved. That said, the episode’s pacing and scene changes are quite jarring, and as a viewer I felt jerked from one scene to the next, sometimes violently. It also felt as though they wanted to introduce more complexity to Yates as a character by having her involved in the Maquis while not doing the groundwork to make this plausible. Yeah, it does make her a more complex character, but it also makes her somewhat less believable.

Grade: A- “A convoluted but emotionally impactful episode both for Garak and Sisko/Yates.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B+ “It was interesting, but it didn’t seem consistent with the character they’ve developed for Yates so far.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “Hard Time” and “Shattered Mirror”

Poignant scene.

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“Hard Time”

Synopsis

The episode opens with O’Brien being taken out of what seems like some kind of unconscious state. It turns out he was convicted of espionage on a rather unfriendly planet and the sentence was a kind of mental imprisonment which only lasted a short while in “real” time, but gave O’Brien the experiences of two decades of imprisonment. Back on DS9, O’Brien must deal with the torments of the mental imprisonment–experiences he felt were real. He finds himself sleeping on the floor for comfort, startling both Keiko and Molly. After one especially scary moment, in which his PTSD has become acute, he rushes to a weapons locker to end it all. Bashir, who has been treating O’Brien throughout, manages to stop him just in time and talk him down. O’Brien admits he killed his cellmate over a few pieces of bread in his mental imprisonment. He thinks he is a monster. Bashir disagrees, saying he would not regret it if he were a monster, and finds a treatment that begins to work.

Commentary

I can’t say enough about how excellent this episode is. Seriously. First of all, it’s about as bleak as you can possibly get, and I love me some bleak episodes of Star Trek. But seriously–a society that sentences you to this kind of mental imprisonment and breaks you intentionally over the course of a few days? Wow. That is… wow.

O’Brien and Bashir truly shine throughout this episode. As a viewer, you can’t help but feel a deep sense of foreboding–something is deeply wrong with O’Brien, and we know what it is, but how will it manifest. Will he get better? And in the end, though Bashir is able to find a way to treat O’Brien, he’ll never be better. He has been permanently changed and scarred by what was inflicted upon him. It has been done. This episode gives us something that doesn’t always happen in Star Trek–long lasting, life-impacted effects on a character we have known for a long time.

Grade: A+ “A truly human piece of television which forces viewers to think on things like mass incarceration while also bonding deeply with Bashir and O’Brien in ways they hadn’t before. Truly, a magnificent episode.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A *sad face* “You know it’s good, because if it weren’t a Star Trek episode, it would be Oscar bait.”

“Shattered Mirror”

Synopsis

The Mirror Universe Jennifer Sisko kidnaps Jake Sisko in order to lure Benjamin Sisko, and it works. Once there, Mirror O’Brien convinces Benjamin Sisko to help repair the Defiant. They go to fight against the Cardassian-Bajor Alliance and chaos ensues, leading to several mirror-deaths, including the death of Jennifer Sisko (again!) and mirror Nog. Jake is left to mourn his mother… kind of.

Commentary

Okay, so here we have an episode where almost nothing matters in the “real world.” The problem with the Mirror Universe, across the board, is that as a viewer you have close to certainty that the “real” characters will all survive, and that it doesn’t particularly matter to you what happens in the Mirror Universe because it’s just a kind of parallel universe. There are a lot of books from Star Trek about the Mirror Universe, so maybe reading those would get you invested, but on the show, it seems like an excuse for the writers to do whatever they want to the characters. That in itself is a cool concept, but it makes it so I as a viewer have even lest investment: they aren’t the real thing, so of course Kira could be allied with Cardassia and be happy about it. But that doesn’t jive with what we know about Kira whatsoever.

So I guess what I’m saying is the Mirror Universe’s strength is also its downfall–it allows for characters to act very differently from expectations, but it also means you aren’t invested in it. Where the writers made you get somewhat invested in this episode is by having the loss to Jake and Benjamin Sisko occur, again. It’s maybe a cheap shot, but it does at least get some interest because that’s a real world impact.  A tough sell, in my opinion, but not necessarily done poorly.

Grade: B- “Convoluted and a bit silly, but it is interesting to see how the writers play with characters when they can effectively do whatever they want. Also, poor Jake.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B- “It’s not very memorable, but I feel done with the Mirror Universe. It is played out.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

by

Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “Accession” and “Rules of Engagement”

Skeptical? Thoughtful? Devious? I don’t know, it’s just the first picture that popped up for the episode.

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“Accession”

Synopsis

Akorem Laan, a Bajoran poet from 200 years ago, shows up out of the wormhole and claims to be the Emissary, arguing he ought to supplant Sisko. Additionally, he advocates for a return to the caste system, which would mean Bajor could not join the Federation as the Federation does not allow for any discrimination of that kind. Tensions escalate and cross-caste murder is occurred, prompting Sisko–along with a vision–to challenge Laan’s claim to be the Emissary. They go into the wormhole to ask the Prophets, who say that Sisko is the chosen Emissary and Laan’s presence was to return Sisko to his mission. Laan is returned to his own time with no memory of the events, and Bajor’s movement for the caste system is abolished once again.

Commentary

Anything involving the Prophets is weird. They just don’t seem to interact with reality the same way we do. What would be a reasonable way to remind Sisko that he is the chosen Emissary? Maybe, I don’t know, give visions to more people of him as Emissary? Send him another Kai who will affirm it? Nah, let’s shoot a poet into the future and have him try to integrate the caste system again, thus making Sisko angry enough to challenge him to a Wormhole showdown. Seems reasonable.

The prophets are just odd. I always wonder when they show up about how they chose to portray them as weird facsimiles of people that are known to the person they’re interacting with. This is supposed to be comforting but seems really creepy instead. Hey–here are all your friends and family talking to you but uttering complete nonsense or things that you don’t understand!

Anyway, the central drama of this does help build up the Bajoran culture more, too, especially with the reference to the caste system and the willingness of some to jump on board and not others. I wonder how our society might react to something similar.

Grade:  B “It is always weird to see the Prophets and try to figure out what, exactly, they are. But it’s also confusing. I like that Sisko got re-affirmed as Emissary.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B “Rejecting old religious ways of dividing people in favor of new religious ways–not bad!”

“Rules of Engagement”

Synopsis

Worf is accused of destroying a transport full of Klingons, allegedly murdering more than 400 Klingons just because he thought they were another attacker. With Odo’s help, Worf is cleared of the alleged wrongdoing, as the names of those killed were the same names as those killed in an accident elsewhere. Worf is off the hook, but Sisko tells him he ought to have identified his target before attacking.

Commentary

I thought this was a strange episode. Perhaps it is intended to show how far the Klingons have fallen, but it seemed very odd for Klingons to be involved in this kind of setup. It seems dishonorable, and that’s something the Klingons care deeply about. On the flip side, they seem to have a serious dislike of Worf, who they want to get rid of desperately. I am just not sure how to reconcile it all.

I did enjoy Odo’s investigation and how he once again helps Worf. Their initial relation to each other was negative, but they’ve helped each other out–mostly Odo helping Worf. And, of course, there’s a trial type scenario in Star Trek again, which seems to be a strength of the whole franchise. Every time there’s a trial of any sort, the episode tends to be at least good if not sensational (eg. The Measure of a Man). 

Grade: B- “It feels out of character for Klingons to do this kind of subterfuge, but I enjoyed seeing the investigation.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A- “Basically any Worf-centered episode is good with me.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

by

Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “Sons of Mogh” and “Bar Association”

Hey! We have demands and stuff! Yeah!

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“Sons of Mogh”

Synopsis

Worf’s brother Kurn visits DS9 to demand Worf help him regain his honor by killing him ritually. The dishonor is apparently brought on by Worf’s decisions to side with Starfleet and thus led to disfavor against Worf’s family. Worf agrees, but Dax and Odo get Kurn out in time to have him saved by Bashir. Kurn thus feels doubly dishonored, unable even to have an honorable death. Meanwhile, a discovery of a Klingon ship attempting to drop a cloaked minefield on DS9 means that Worf and Kurn must go undercover to discover the location of these mines. Kurn saves Worf on the mission, but now feels like a traitor as well. Finally, Bashir agrees to wipe Kurn’s memory and allow him to go with a family friend to assume a new identity, saving his life… kind of.

Commentary

Okay, do we really think that Bashir would agree to wipe Kurn’s memory? Seriously. That seems like a massive breaking of his oaths and vows, not to mention that similar cases have always had a “but it couldn’t possibly succeed” clause or some other major moral opposition to it, as should have happened here. I generally enjoy Klingon episodes, but this one seemed nonsensical. No one was acting in ways that seemed believable. I mean, did Worf really “save” Kurn by basically turning him into a completely different person? It definitely doesn’t seem like it to me. Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way, either, because according to the excellent Deep Space Nine Companion, many fans had outcry against this effective killing of Kurn by Worf.

If there is a plus side to this episode, it’s that Michael Dorn is a great actor and somehow manages to sell this as serious. Also, there is apparently a thing developing between Dax and Worf? Awesome. Also, the aforementioned Deep Space Nine Companion has a cool piece in it on this episode about the development of the mek’leth and how they made it by looking at a number of weapons one of the people working on the show collected. Neat.

Grade: C- “The characters are completely out of character here, and the solution seems so out of place that it doesn’t really feel the episode was resolved in any way. 

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B “It was a really cool episode, but so implausible a solution.”

“Bar Association”

Synopsis

Rom has an ear infection but doesn’t get it treated because he can’t get time off work. Ferengi don’t do vacations, obviously. It would hurt profit! But then Rom gets the idea, partially from Bashir, that a union ought to be formed, and he joins together with others at Quark’s to strike and get better pay and benefits. This of course goes against all that is Ferengi, and the Ferengi Commerce Authority sends Liquidator Brunt to end the dispute, threatening financial ruin. But Rom manages to rally the employees again and Brunt schemes to harm Quark in order to force Rom’s backing down. Finally, Quark and Rom come to an agreement that lets Quark honor the union’s demands in secret if they pretend he has won the dispute. They agree, but Rom decides to quit the job to become someone who can survive on his own, wrorking for the station as a diagnostic tech.

Commentary

Can we sit back and think for a moment about the massive gulf between DS9’s treatment of Ferengi and that of The Next Generation? I mean seriously, could you imagine an episode even close to this level of seriousness with the Ferengi as presented especially in early TNG? I definitely can’t. The writers of DS9 did us a service by salvaging the Ferengi and turning them into a genuinely compelling people. And the Ferengi Commerce Authority is part of that, here showing that the Ferengi aren’t afraid of gangster tactics when it comes to getting what they want. Sure, the episode is silly–it has Rom in it, after all–but it builds on the characters in believable ways, even if it does so in a condensed timeline that seems to stretch credulity a little far.

This is a great character developing episode for both Quark and Rom and introduces a number of other characters who become more important as the series goes on. I enjoyed it.

Grade: B “A great character piece for Rom, though it has elements that are maybe a bit too rushed or unbelievable. I do like how much DS9 has done with the Ferengi!”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: A- “I think Rom is great. He’s super fun.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “Crossfire” and “Return to Grace”

“You know how I can tell you’re upset? That out of place hair.”

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“Crossfire”

Synopsis

Shakaar, the onetime Bajoran freedom fighter whose backstory was largely revealed in the episode of his name, is back on DS9 and Odo is not pleased by his apparently budding relationship with Major Kira. Quark and Odo have a story that goes laong with the main plot all the way through this one, going back and forth with complaints even as Quark is making it clear with his actions that despite his adversarial relationship with Odo, he enjoys his company. Quark counsels Odo to tell Kira his feelings, but even as he works up his courage to do so, she reveals she is falling for Shakaar. Meanwhile, a plot to kill Shakaar is unfolding and Odo, distracted, has to act himself to save Kira and Shakaar’s life. Worf, much to Odo’s annoyance, is the one who ends up capturing the Cardassian agent involved. Sisko is surprised by Odo’s distracted nature. Odo puts soundproofing in his floor at the end of the episode, ending something that was annoying Quark. The latter thanks him, but Odo plays it off as business, once again seeing Shakaar and Kira together.

Commentary

This is a good character-building episode for Quark and Odo. It shows the sometimes comical nature of the adversarial relationship. It also shows how they seem to be molding that relationship into a strange friendship. Odo’s feelings for Kira are a major theme, of course, but that seems to be played out in my opinion. He needs to just tell her already, or, like Quark said, get over it. The enigmatic ending of the episode made it hard to figure out where it might go next.

Seriously though, Quark. He basically is the glue that makes the whole show work at times. This episode is one of those. I could see this episode being quite boring, to be honest, but Quark’s character added the dimension of humor and friendship that pushed it over the edge into a good episode.

Grade:  B “I love the interplay between Odo and Quark, but wow Odo needs to just tell Kira his feelings already.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B

“Return to Grace”

Synopsis

Kira must ride with Dukat on a transport ship to a conference about the Klingon Empire. When they arrive, the site is a wreck and a Klingon Bird of Prey is leaving. Dukat and Kira rig the ship to fight the Klingon and defeat it, capturing the warship. Dukat destroys his transport gleefully, but is annoyed, to say the least, when the Cardassians don’t welcome him back into leadership for the capture of the Bird of Prey. He decides to strike out on his own in the Bird of Prey in order to fight the Klingons, but Kira refuses to join his crew and she and his daughter, Ziyal, go back to DS9.

Commentary

This episode is an action-packed whirlwind of crazy. Dukat, stripped of rank, is commanding a lowly transport! Ha! But then he manages to turn the transport into a kind of Q-Ship and takes over a Bird of Prey? Then, he goes seemingly mad for a personal vendetta against the Klingons? Yeah, these are the things that happened in this episode.

I think if there is any specific meaning in this episode, it is that the writers are saying Dukat isn’t going anywhere. That’s good, because he is a spectacular villain that I love to hate. They’ve given him some reasons to like him a little bit now, but this personal war seems a good setup for more drama.

Grade:  B “There’s a lot that happens in this one, and it makes me wonder what they’re setting Dukat up to do next.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost”

I just came to gloat over your demise.

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“Homefront”

Synopsis

A terrorist attack on earth is revealed to have been the work of a Shapeshifter and Jake Sisko, Captain Sisko, and Odo go to Earth for both a family visit (Siskos) and to help increase security against Odo’s people. They also interact with Nog, who is at Starfleet Academy. Nog wants Sisko’s help to become part of Red Squad at the academy. Captain Sisko begins to give into the paranoia of the age, even starting to suspect his father of being a Changeling. He realizes that he has become quite paranoid, but ultimately helps usher in serious security increases, and the episode ends with Starfleet beaming security forces across Earth; the war has come home.

Commentary

It’s kind of hard to decide how I feel about this episode. It’s intense, but it seems as though it steps up the intensity too easily or with too few “real” consequences. I thought Captain Sisko was portrayed as far too paranoid for how he normally acts, though the episode conveyed the feeling of paranoia pretty well across the board. I enjoyed seeing Sisko at home on Earth, but it was overshadowed by strange paranoia of the Captain.

I do appreciate the sense of broadening conflict and how the Changelings would attempt to infiltrate major points of influence. However, I’m torn about both the ease and lack of broadening of this policy. If it is this easy to get a Changeling to Earth, why not send more than one and truly take things over? But if there are difficulties, why not wait until the maximum impact can be had rather than using it to attack a diplomatic process? It’s like there are conflicting notions of the capabilities, numbers, and limits of the Changelings.

Nevertheless, this was an interesting episode even if it did take place too swiftly.

Grade: B- “It’s intense, but it feels as though some of the changes happen to quickly or dramatically.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B+ “I enjoyed it, but found some of the plot implausible.”

“Paradise Lost”

Synopsis

Sisko and Nog uncover a plot to take over the Federation from within. Admiral Leyton has been planning a coup, but the higher authorities do not believe Sisko. Sisko now enlists Nog’s help in finding out more information behind the conspiracy and Red Squad’s involvement in it. The conspirators manage to set Sisko up to fail a blood test and get revealed as a Changeling. Admiral Leyton admits to Sisko he set him up. Sisko manages to escape, however, and the Defiant brings conclusive evidence against Leyton after a standoff with another Starfleet ship.

Commentary

Another episode where too much happens with not enough buildup. It feels a little bit like the season finale for TNG’s first season, where we find that the whole of Starfleet is taken over by weird bug things. Here, it’s a vast conspiracy that somehow snuck under the radar for far longer than seems believable. There are too many moving parts to bring them all to satisfying conclusions, as well.

Fake O’Brien showing up to mock Sisko was an interesting touch, though.

Reading the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, it is apparent the budget wasn’t what they wanted it to be for this episode, which may have helped flesh out some key scenes, or at least have made it more believable. Also, this episode along with the previous one was apparently intended to be the break between seasons 3 and 4, which would have both upped its budget and possibly the way they wrote it (could it have broader reaching implications?).

Overall, this two part episode didn’t satisfy as much as I think the frustrated writers/everyone involved wanted it to. It’s a case of being forced into a box when the episode could have broken out. But we have to judge what’s here, and that’s still a pretty competent and interesting episode. It’s just one that is frustratingly short of what I’d like it to be.

Grade: B- “Too much happening in too little time.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B+ “It seemed out of character for Starfleet, but I enjoyed it.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.

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Star Trek: DS9 Season 4 “The Sword of Kahless” and “Our Man Bashir”

Secret agent men.

I’ve completed my re-watch of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Now it’s time to start Deep Space Nine! I am much less familiar with this show, though I’m pretty sure I’ve seen about 80-90% of the episodes. It’s been so long that I’m sure it will all feel brand new. My wife has never seen the show. She and I will go through, review every episode, and give commentary and a grade from A-F. There are SPOILERS for each episode below. Without further adieu, here’s:

“The Sword of Kahless”

Synopsis

A Klingon warrior, Kor is on station and convinces Dax and Worf to go with him on what seems a fool’s errand: finding the Sword of Kahless, the original Bat’leth that Kahless himself used. He believes it will help to bring the Klingon Empire back to the right path. However, other players are involved who steal information on the Sword’s whereabouts, and when the three heroes eventually find it, they must fight to keep it in their possession. After their victory, though, it becomes clear the Sword’s real existence may actually be a significant problem, as it seems to be influencing both Kor and Worf to fight for its prestige. Dax takes control of the Sword after some bickering, and eventually Worf and Kor realize the divisive power of the Sword. They beam it into space, hoping that one day it will be able to be possessed by a Klingon Empire that is ready for it.

Commentary

Okay, let’s admit that this episode has some problems. First, it has a pretty slow moving middle, with the episode getting bogged down in the cave system after the Sword is recovered. Second, the rapid descent into chaos with both Worf and Kor is a stretch.

But what does the episode have in droves? Klingon awesomeness. And Klingon lore and chest slapping kickassery makes up for a lot of boring downtime. I liked the episode quite a bit and bought into the lore of the Sword of Kahless. It’s exactly the kind of thing that could make for a Klingon version of Indiana Jones, and I appreciated that aspect of it a lot. It also gave some more development to the relationship between Dax and Worf.

Grade: B+ “It was a bit overdone, but I love Klingon lore and this episode has it in droves.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B “It was a cool Klingon story. That’s about it.”

“Our Man Bashir”

Synopsis

Bashir has, of course, created a secret agent program in the holosuites on DS9. As he’s involved in one such program with Garak, a runabout with a lot of the senior crew malfunctions and the patterns of the crew members must be stored in station memory in order to save their lives. Of course, this means they show up on the holosuite as imitations of themselves, and Bashir and Garak must work to save themselves and the lives of the crew, because if they die their patterns will be destroyed. Bashir manipulates the evil genius, played by the “pattern” of Sisko, into a position where he is able to save the lives of the crew by effectively destroying earth with lasers. Just as Sisko is about to kill Bashir, their patterns are restored and they return to normal. Garak is impressed by Bashir’s willingness to sacrifice the population of Earth–real or not–for his personal ends.

Commentary

Bashir is ridiculous, but he embraces it. It’s something I have thought DS9 does really well–allowing central characters to be almost caricatures without going too far on it. Here, Bashir does something that is right in line with his character- he makes a holosuite program in which he is the star of a spy drama. Yep, that’s right in line with how I’d expect Bashir to be spending his holosuite time.

Like the previous episode, there is some serious suspension of disbelief involved here. The “patterns” for major crew members just happen to be salvaged from a wreck and stored in memory, while taking over the holosuite? Yeah, that seems reasonable. Not. But once you do suspend the disbelief and just let yourself enjoy the episode, it becomes one of those fun breaks in the building drama that is DS9. Once in a while we just need something silly to happen, because DS9 is so relentlessly serious at times. I enjoyed this one, and apparently fans did too because there are all kinds of fan arts for it.

Grade: A- “It’s a bit silly, but it is also so fun and awesome that I didn’t care.”

Wife’s Grade and Comment: B “It was an enjoyable story, but at some point I have to believe that they either fix the holosuites or stop letting people into them.”

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: DS9– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

SDG.