Season 1 of DS9 seemed stuck trying to imitate or tie into TNG but it ended with a uniquely DS9 episode and season 2 picks up right where the first left off. I really appreciate that rather than casting the Bajorans as somehow perfect moral creatures for having survived occupation they are instead shown to be just as petty and feuding as humans or any other race. This is also an episode about what it means to be a hero and how to deal with the perception that you are when you don't see yourself that way. The only serious criticism is that the political problem of a Federation ship sneaking into Cardassian space and breaking into a prison is resolved a little too easily, but it doesn't seriously detract from the episode.
The episode opens with a confused Odo in Quarks. He is trying to figure out why Quark helped him catch smugglers by Quark just claims he did it to confuse him. Quark then receives a Bajoran earring from a freighter captain and when he shows it to Kira she grabs it from him and storms off. Kira asks Sisko to borrow a runabout so she can try and rescue an important Bajoran prisoner from a Cardassian labor camp. Sisko could really use a strong Bajoran leader so he agrees to let her do it but insists that O'Brien go along with her which seems kinda rough given that he has a family, but things work out fortunately. O'Brien has also found some graffiti from a Bajoran extremist group which has Sisko on edge.
Kira and O'Brien manage to sneak into Cardassian space and talk their way past a scan. They make it to the camp but there are too many prisoner to beam out so they land and trick the guards into letting them in. They have to leave a few prisoners behind to cover their escape but make it out with the injured leader Kira was so excited about. When they get back to the station Sisko is talking to Dukat who appologizes for having kept Bajoran prisoners after the occupation ended. The leader, Li Nalas, seems a bit overwhelmed by the outpourings of support he is getting from Bajorans around the station.
Late that night Quark and Rom are dividing up the money for the day and after Rom leaves some masked people show up and brand the same symbol that was painted on a bulkhead earlier onto Quark's head. Seeing what is happening and after a long talk with Sisko and an escape attempt Li agrees to work with the Bajoran government. He returns to the station with a minister who announces Li will be the new liaison officer to DS9, Kira asks what about her since that is currently her job, but she is told it isn't her job any more.
Review: One of the main things I remember about DS9 was how political it got, but always Bajoran politics. This episode goes a long way to getting them going in that direction. Also the little Bashir is in this one he isn't super annoying! Not the most memorable episode other than the cliffhanger, but a solid start to what is to come.
6 out of 10
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
DS9: In The Hands of the Prophets
Finally DS9 is getting back to its "main" story. I remembered that first season was mostly stand alone episodes, but I had forgotten that it is really only stand alone episodes. When future Kai Winn showed up in the first scene I was shocked we hadn't met her before the final episode in the first season. She is eventually one of the most important characters in the series and this episode that introduces her as a two faced murderer isn't far from where she ends up.
The episode opens in Keiko's school where she is teaching the children about the wormhole she she is interrupted by Vedek Winn, a Bajoran religious leader who objects to her characterization of the wormhole creatures as aliens rather than prophets. Keiko goes to Sisko but other than supporting her he can't really do much about it. Meanwhile Miles is getting along well with his new assistant Aquino who is Bajoran. He notices one of his tools is missing and since it is used to interface with secure systems on the station he starts working to find it. Sisko visits the Vedek at the local shrine and she refuses to back down and expresses her disdain that the prophets should choose an outsider to be the one they contacted.
Sisko decides to try a different tactic on the school and contacts Vedek Bareil, a moderate and the leading candidate to be the next Kai. Bareil is very supportive of the school, but can't intervene on the matter until he is actually Kai. Miles keeps working on the investigation and finds a slag pile that used to be his missing tool, but it also contains the remains of another engineer who had gone missing. Miles and Dax manage to figure out that it looks like whoever killed the engineer was trying to steal a runabout, but it isn't clear why.
Things get worse on the station when a bomb goes off at the school. It was empty at the time but everybody is shaken up. We also see Ensign Aquino meeting with Winn about how the plan isn't working and she is going to be caught it she goes through with it, but Winn doesn't care about people and just tells her if it happens that way it is the will of the prophets. Bareil calls Sisko to tell him he is going to visit the station after the bombing to try and work things out with Winn. As he arrives Dax and Miles figure out that the promenade weapon detectors have been disabled. Sisko manages to stop Aquino from killing Bareil at the very last second and since they can't confirm Winn was behind it she gets off.
Review: Winn is probably the most evil character in all of DS9 and that includes the founders and the Cardassians. I guess she is supposed to believe she is doing what she has to because of the prophets, but eventually she decides even they don't know as well as she does. A worthy introduction to the future of the series.
6 out of 10
The episode opens in Keiko's school where she is teaching the children about the wormhole she she is interrupted by Vedek Winn, a Bajoran religious leader who objects to her characterization of the wormhole creatures as aliens rather than prophets. Keiko goes to Sisko but other than supporting her he can't really do much about it. Meanwhile Miles is getting along well with his new assistant Aquino who is Bajoran. He notices one of his tools is missing and since it is used to interface with secure systems on the station he starts working to find it. Sisko visits the Vedek at the local shrine and she refuses to back down and expresses her disdain that the prophets should choose an outsider to be the one they contacted.
Sisko decides to try a different tactic on the school and contacts Vedek Bareil, a moderate and the leading candidate to be the next Kai. Bareil is very supportive of the school, but can't intervene on the matter until he is actually Kai. Miles keeps working on the investigation and finds a slag pile that used to be his missing tool, but it also contains the remains of another engineer who had gone missing. Miles and Dax manage to figure out that it looks like whoever killed the engineer was trying to steal a runabout, but it isn't clear why.
Things get worse on the station when a bomb goes off at the school. It was empty at the time but everybody is shaken up. We also see Ensign Aquino meeting with Winn about how the plan isn't working and she is going to be caught it she goes through with it, but Winn doesn't care about people and just tells her if it happens that way it is the will of the prophets. Bareil calls Sisko to tell him he is going to visit the station after the bombing to try and work things out with Winn. As he arrives Dax and Miles figure out that the promenade weapon detectors have been disabled. Sisko manages to stop Aquino from killing Bareil at the very last second and since they can't confirm Winn was behind it she gets off.
Review: Winn is probably the most evil character in all of DS9 and that includes the founders and the Cardassians. I guess she is supposed to believe she is doing what she has to because of the prophets, but eventually she decides even they don't know as well as she does. A worthy introduction to the future of the series.
6 out of 10
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
DS9: Duet
For a bottle episode Duet manages to be more intense than most of the rest of this season. Also to be honest it is really nice to see Kira be wrong about something. There is nothing more dull than a character who is always right and up to this point she has been pretty much that. And she isn't wrong about wanting to avenge what happened to her people, but she does need to keep a check on her desire to just get revenge on any Cardassian who comes along. I also don't think I have ever thought that I should look into the Nuremberg trials but I can't help but wonder if something like this ever happened.
The episode opens with a freighter arriving and docking at the station. They have a passenger who is having a medical emergency though so the passenger is beamed directly to the infirmary. The specific disease, Kalla-Nohra syndrome, gets Kira's attention as it is only found in Bajoran's and Cardassian workers at a forced labor camp. She arrives in sickbay and finds a Cardassian who she immediately demands be arrested. Sisko is somewhat hesitant to detain someone with no actual charges but he is quickly called by the Bajoran minister of state who tells Sisko to detain the man to determine if he is a war criminal. The Cardassian claims to not have had anything to do with the camp but to have rather been a file clerk. The Bajoran's on the station are increasingly getting worked up about the man being held. Investigation proves that the man does have Kalla-Nohra which proves he was at the camp and he admits he was at the camp, as a file clerk. He also seems to be doing everything he can to piss off Kira.
At first Sisko refuses to let Kira be in charge of the investigation, but she insists as his friend that she will do a professional job of it and he agrees. The Cardassian government sends their only known picture of the man being held but it doesn't match him. The picture also has the camp administrator in it, and he is a dead ringer for the man they have in custody. He admits to being in charge of the camp and even brags to Kira about how proud he is of the atrocities. She buys it so completely that she misses that he mentions the name of the specific resistance group she served with. She talks about it with Odo and he notices it immdiately and points it out to her. She confronts the Cardassian about it but he claims her name range a bell based on the excellent records of the filing clerk he had been pretending to be.
Odo starts a parallel investigation first having Bashir look into the mans medical records while he contacts Gul Dukat who is stunned to hear they are holding the administrator since he died years ago. Dukat even attended his state funeral and knows where his monument stands to this day. He agrees to let Odo have access to files which will prove it. Kira is in Sisko's office demanding the prisoner be turned over to the Bajorans now when Odo comes in. He tells them what he learned about the administrator being dead. Kira refuses to believe it but then Bashir arrives with evidence the man had surgery to look like the administrator and it all clicks. Kira realizes he was the file clerk and confronts him. He denies it at first but breaks down and admits he was and feels incredibly guilty for what he did and was hoping to be held accountable to get Cardassians to see what their empire stands for. Kira releases him but he is stabbed to death right outside the jail by a Bajoran.
Review: I heavy episode that deals with serious issues in a serious way. In TNG Q is always demanding humanity answer for its sins, and sure we have a lot of sins. But has he ever bothered to maybe to hassle some Cardassians about their sins?
7 out of 10
The episode opens with a freighter arriving and docking at the station. They have a passenger who is having a medical emergency though so the passenger is beamed directly to the infirmary. The specific disease, Kalla-Nohra syndrome, gets Kira's attention as it is only found in Bajoran's and Cardassian workers at a forced labor camp. She arrives in sickbay and finds a Cardassian who she immediately demands be arrested. Sisko is somewhat hesitant to detain someone with no actual charges but he is quickly called by the Bajoran minister of state who tells Sisko to detain the man to determine if he is a war criminal. The Cardassian claims to not have had anything to do with the camp but to have rather been a file clerk. The Bajoran's on the station are increasingly getting worked up about the man being held. Investigation proves that the man does have Kalla-Nohra which proves he was at the camp and he admits he was at the camp, as a file clerk. He also seems to be doing everything he can to piss off Kira.
At first Sisko refuses to let Kira be in charge of the investigation, but she insists as his friend that she will do a professional job of it and he agrees. The Cardassian government sends their only known picture of the man being held but it doesn't match him. The picture also has the camp administrator in it, and he is a dead ringer for the man they have in custody. He admits to being in charge of the camp and even brags to Kira about how proud he is of the atrocities. She buys it so completely that she misses that he mentions the name of the specific resistance group she served with. She talks about it with Odo and he notices it immdiately and points it out to her. She confronts the Cardassian about it but he claims her name range a bell based on the excellent records of the filing clerk he had been pretending to be.
Odo starts a parallel investigation first having Bashir look into the mans medical records while he contacts Gul Dukat who is stunned to hear they are holding the administrator since he died years ago. Dukat even attended his state funeral and knows where his monument stands to this day. He agrees to let Odo have access to files which will prove it. Kira is in Sisko's office demanding the prisoner be turned over to the Bajorans now when Odo comes in. He tells them what he learned about the administrator being dead. Kira refuses to believe it but then Bashir arrives with evidence the man had surgery to look like the administrator and it all clicks. Kira realizes he was the file clerk and confronts him. He denies it at first but breaks down and admits he was and feels incredibly guilty for what he did and was hoping to be held accountable to get Cardassians to see what their empire stands for. Kira releases him but he is stabbed to death right outside the jail by a Bajoran.
Review: I heavy episode that deals with serious issues in a serious way. In TNG Q is always demanding humanity answer for its sins, and sure we have a lot of sins. But has he ever bothered to maybe to hassle some Cardassians about their sins?
7 out of 10
Monday, December 28, 2015
DS9: Dramatis Personae
Apparently when your society is falling apart due to internal struggles the best thing to do is to contain all those struggles, including the quirks of the individuals involved, in psychic spheres to use to destroy those that would try to discover what happened to you in the future. Oh, and said psychic spheres (note: we only see them as a gas cloud or something but everyone keeps calling them spheres for some reason) don't do anything to changelings but knock them out and make them turn their faces inside out despite not being able to affect a non-humanoid brain. This episode has lazy end of season "bottle show" written all over it.
The episode opens with Kira confronting Sisko about a potential smuggler docking at DS9. Kira doesn't have any proof they are illegally smuggling but is just sure of it. Sisko refuses to let her interfere but suddenly a A Klingon ship comes through the wormhole unannounced. It explodes before they can get any answers but the one survivor is beamed to Bashir's office where he declares victory before dying. No one can figure out what killed him despite weapon burns all over (too bad Worf isn't here, he could tell you the brand of weapon based on those marks alone) but that isn't the real problem. The real problem is Kira is suddenly no longer putting up with Sisko. Odo tries to get some answers from Quark and eventually discovers the Klingons were after some ultimate weapon, but this never comes up again and is in fact contradicted by a statement in the Klingon logs later. As he leaves the bar Odo falls down in pain and wakes up in Bashir's office, but this too is a red herring.
Sisko is becoming increasingly aloof and O'Brien is taking over station command duties for him. Kira is working hard to recruit allies and seems to have recruited Dax but she seems to really only be interested in telling stories from her past, over and over. Things keep spiralling out of control and Odo finally figures out something is going on after Kira tries to recruit him a few times. He goes to see Sisko but finds O'Brien in his office. Sisko is in his quarters surrounded by security personnel building a clock for some reason. Odo manages to get Bashir working on a plan to drive out the psychic energy with a resonance something or other. Things come to a head in ops when a Bajoran tries to kill Sisko. O'Brien and Sisko escape using a transporter but are trapped in a cargo bay. Kira shows up with a gun along with Dax and Odo arrives with Bashir just in time to turn on the resonance thing and drive the evil right out of them. They then hold on to loose objects around the cargo bay as Odo opens the door and sucks the evil out into space or something.
Review: It is fun to see everybody acting out of character, but there is some seriously lazy script writing going on. Many of the characters actions make no sense even assuming they have been psychically taken over and the so call sphere are never seen other than as a diffuse cloud. Not unwatchable, but not great either.
4 out of 10
The episode opens with Kira confronting Sisko about a potential smuggler docking at DS9. Kira doesn't have any proof they are illegally smuggling but is just sure of it. Sisko refuses to let her interfere but suddenly a A Klingon ship comes through the wormhole unannounced. It explodes before they can get any answers but the one survivor is beamed to Bashir's office where he declares victory before dying. No one can figure out what killed him despite weapon burns all over (too bad Worf isn't here, he could tell you the brand of weapon based on those marks alone) but that isn't the real problem. The real problem is Kira is suddenly no longer putting up with Sisko. Odo tries to get some answers from Quark and eventually discovers the Klingons were after some ultimate weapon, but this never comes up again and is in fact contradicted by a statement in the Klingon logs later. As he leaves the bar Odo falls down in pain and wakes up in Bashir's office, but this too is a red herring.
Sisko is becoming increasingly aloof and O'Brien is taking over station command duties for him. Kira is working hard to recruit allies and seems to have recruited Dax but she seems to really only be interested in telling stories from her past, over and over. Things keep spiralling out of control and Odo finally figures out something is going on after Kira tries to recruit him a few times. He goes to see Sisko but finds O'Brien in his office. Sisko is in his quarters surrounded by security personnel building a clock for some reason. Odo manages to get Bashir working on a plan to drive out the psychic energy with a resonance something or other. Things come to a head in ops when a Bajoran tries to kill Sisko. O'Brien and Sisko escape using a transporter but are trapped in a cargo bay. Kira shows up with a gun along with Dax and Odo arrives with Bashir just in time to turn on the resonance thing and drive the evil right out of them. They then hold on to loose objects around the cargo bay as Odo opens the door and sucks the evil out into space or something.
Review: It is fun to see everybody acting out of character, but there is some seriously lazy script writing going on. Many of the characters actions make no sense even assuming they have been psychically taken over and the so call sphere are never seen other than as a diffuse cloud. Not unwatchable, but not great either.
4 out of 10
Sunday, December 27, 2015
DS9: The Forsaken
This is one of those episodes that would be entirely average if it weren't for one particularly touching scene. And the fact that the scene is between Odo and Lwaxana Troi is extra remarkable. Also, of all the TNG characters to bring into DS9 for a single episode appearance she isn't the one I would pick. We are also getting to the point in DS9 where A and B stories aren't as obviously differentiated as they were in TNG. I guess the A story this time is the one where O'Brien is struggling to keep the station running since it ends up effecting both the Odo/Lwaxana story and the Ambassador Bashir story, but that one kinda disappears for the last third so it is clearly the C story. My back is still hurting a lot and leaning forward to type is pretty excruciating so this is going to be another short write up.
The episode opens in Quarks with Bashir trying to entertain three ambassadors. Lwaxana isn't having any problems staying entertained but is very upset when she notices her broach has been stolen. Odo shows up and apprehends the thief which really impresses Lwaxana. In ops O'Brien is struggling to make the computer do what he wants. The ambassadors show up in ops just as the wormhole opens and an unknown computer ship flies through. They don't let it dock, but do interface their computer systems with it. Lwaxana meanwhile makes her way to Odo's security station where she flirts with him until he runs to ops to get Sisko's advice on how to handle it. He doesn't really help and Lwaxana follows Odo into a turbolift to try and convince him to go on a picnic with her.
Right about then is when things start to go bad. The turbolift stops and the transporters are down. Fires start breaking out across the station and the fire suppression systems aren't working. Bashir gets to try and keep the ambassadors safe while Odo tries to keep himself solid since he is very embarrassed about letting solids see him revert to liquid form. O'Brien is racing to try and get the computer working but nothing seems to help. He eventually realizes the probes computer is like a puppy so he works on giving it something to do. In the turbolift Lwaxana takes off her wig and tells Odo she never lets anyone see her like that which really sets him at ease and he reverts to a liquid and she holds him lovingly in her dress. Just in time O'Brien gets things working and we learn Bashir has saved and impressed with ambassadors with his quick thinking. Odo and Lwaxana have an emotional good bye and that's it.
Review: An average episode that is helped by some really good character moments. Unlike the Q episode earlier this season this link to TNG actually works. I never thought I would be praising a Lwaxana episode over a Q episode, but there it is.
6 out of 10
The episode opens in Quarks with Bashir trying to entertain three ambassadors. Lwaxana isn't having any problems staying entertained but is very upset when she notices her broach has been stolen. Odo shows up and apprehends the thief which really impresses Lwaxana. In ops O'Brien is struggling to make the computer do what he wants. The ambassadors show up in ops just as the wormhole opens and an unknown computer ship flies through. They don't let it dock, but do interface their computer systems with it. Lwaxana meanwhile makes her way to Odo's security station where she flirts with him until he runs to ops to get Sisko's advice on how to handle it. He doesn't really help and Lwaxana follows Odo into a turbolift to try and convince him to go on a picnic with her.
Right about then is when things start to go bad. The turbolift stops and the transporters are down. Fires start breaking out across the station and the fire suppression systems aren't working. Bashir gets to try and keep the ambassadors safe while Odo tries to keep himself solid since he is very embarrassed about letting solids see him revert to liquid form. O'Brien is racing to try and get the computer working but nothing seems to help. He eventually realizes the probes computer is like a puppy so he works on giving it something to do. In the turbolift Lwaxana takes off her wig and tells Odo she never lets anyone see her like that which really sets him at ease and he reverts to a liquid and she holds him lovingly in her dress. Just in time O'Brien gets things working and we learn Bashir has saved and impressed with ambassadors with his quick thinking. Odo and Lwaxana have an emotional good bye and that's it.
Review: An average episode that is helped by some really good character moments. Unlike the Q episode earlier this season this link to TNG actually works. I never thought I would be praising a Lwaxana episode over a Q episode, but there it is.
6 out of 10
Saturday, December 26, 2015
DS9: If Wishes Were Horses
How about if wishes were good episodes? Nope! I am extra cranky today since I hurt my back on Christmas and have spent most of my day in bed other than sitting up for 40ish minutes to watch this stinker. I suspect one of the writers read sphere and decided to make an episode based on that, but it makes way less sense than that. Were there really only three aliens? Who has such an emu obsession that they kept appearing on the promenade?
The episode begins with Miles telling Molly a bed time story about rumplestilkskin and then he becomes real. Also Jakes fantasy baseball player and a romantic version of Dax for Julian. And there is a space rift that shows up. But they eventually settle on the "just don't believe in them" strategy and they all go away but the baseball player comes to Sisko and explains they were just studying us but they apparently totally would have destroyed the station. Also Sisko is willing to try a risky strategy that could easily destroy Bajor and it fails but somehow Bajor is safe and Kira is only annoyed instead of going full freak out mode like she probably should have.
Review: I can't sit at my computer long so the summary above is super brief, but you probably got that I really didn't like this one. It isn't insulting although it was orignally going to be a leprechaun but Colm Meany told them to shove the script up their ass sideways.
3 out of 10
The episode begins with Miles telling Molly a bed time story about rumplestilkskin and then he becomes real. Also Jakes fantasy baseball player and a romantic version of Dax for Julian. And there is a space rift that shows up. But they eventually settle on the "just don't believe in them" strategy and they all go away but the baseball player comes to Sisko and explains they were just studying us but they apparently totally would have destroyed the station. Also Sisko is willing to try a risky strategy that could easily destroy Bajor and it fails but somehow Bajor is safe and Kira is only annoyed instead of going full freak out mode like she probably should have.
Review: I can't sit at my computer long so the summary above is super brief, but you probably got that I really didn't like this one. It isn't insulting although it was orignally going to be a leprechaun but Colm Meany told them to shove the script up their ass sideways.
3 out of 10
Friday, December 25, 2015
DS9: Progress
Tonight's episode is the story of one obstinate dude who refused to let millions of people benefit from the energy in his moon. I think maybe they were trying to go for a parallel to Native American's being relocated, but they had lived on that land for generations, this is one guy who moved in a few years ago who thinks he is more important than anybody on Bajor. We do see Kira struggle with herself, but it isn't really clear to me why. They dude is hella rude and tries to strangle one of her subordinates for daring to try and do his job. The B story this time is much better than the A story. It is a tale of adventure and profit with Jake and Nog working together to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
The episode opens with Jake and Nog learning that one of Quark's employees accidentally ordered 5000 wrappages of yamok sauce, a Cardassian delicacy no longer in demand after they left the station. Then Kira is sent to remove three stubborn colonists so the moons core can be tapped for energy. I can summarize this entire plot in a few sentances: the leader Mullibok refuses to leave and treats Kira like a child. She apparently is so convinced by his, "you are just like the Cardassians" line that she refuses to do her job. Even after one of his friends stabs a Bajoran soldier she decides that it is time to give up her career for the guy even though they would just get removed anyway and she wouldn't have a job to go back to then. Sisko comes down and makes her listen to reason so she burns the place down and beams him out. On a more exciting note Nog gets Quark to let him have the yamok sauce since he is tired of storing it.
They find a freighter headed to Cardassian space. It turns out the captain has 100 gross of self sealing stem bolts that a Bajoran man failed to pay for. They agree to trade the sauce for bolts. They had assumed the bolts were valuable, but O'Brien has never heard of them. They eventually contact the Bajoran who wanted to bolts but he has no latnum. However he does have some land and they agree to trade the bolts for the land despite Nog insisting it is just dirt, but Jake has a good feeling about it. Later that day they hear Odo discussing how the Nogjake consortium controls a vital piece of land that the government needs for a reclamation plant and Nog suddenly perks up. He trades the land to Quark for 5 bars of latnum, PROFIT!!!
Review: I don't know how I felt about this episode as a kid, but as a guy who has to tell people they are wrong and need to follow the rules on a regular basis I can't stand the dude in this episode who refuses to move. He at least I can issue a ticket and get people like him to tell to the judge. The Nog/Jake plot is the only thing that kept this from getting a lower score.
4 out of 10
The episode opens with Jake and Nog learning that one of Quark's employees accidentally ordered 5000 wrappages of yamok sauce, a Cardassian delicacy no longer in demand after they left the station. Then Kira is sent to remove three stubborn colonists so the moons core can be tapped for energy. I can summarize this entire plot in a few sentances: the leader Mullibok refuses to leave and treats Kira like a child. She apparently is so convinced by his, "you are just like the Cardassians" line that she refuses to do her job. Even after one of his friends stabs a Bajoran soldier she decides that it is time to give up her career for the guy even though they would just get removed anyway and she wouldn't have a job to go back to then. Sisko comes down and makes her listen to reason so she burns the place down and beams him out. On a more exciting note Nog gets Quark to let him have the yamok sauce since he is tired of storing it.
They find a freighter headed to Cardassian space. It turns out the captain has 100 gross of self sealing stem bolts that a Bajoran man failed to pay for. They agree to trade the sauce for bolts. They had assumed the bolts were valuable, but O'Brien has never heard of them. They eventually contact the Bajoran who wanted to bolts but he has no latnum. However he does have some land and they agree to trade the bolts for the land despite Nog insisting it is just dirt, but Jake has a good feeling about it. Later that day they hear Odo discussing how the Nogjake consortium controls a vital piece of land that the government needs for a reclamation plant and Nog suddenly perks up. He trades the land to Quark for 5 bars of latnum, PROFIT!!!
Review: I don't know how I felt about this episode as a kid, but as a guy who has to tell people they are wrong and need to follow the rules on a regular basis I can't stand the dude in this episode who refuses to move. He at least I can issue a ticket and get people like him to tell to the judge. The Nog/Jake plot is the only thing that kept this from getting a lower score.
4 out of 10
Thursday, December 24, 2015
DS9: The Storyteller
Finally we are getting to some more above average stories! It took a bit of watching before I remembered which episode this was, but when I did figure it out I was pretty pumped about it. Both the A story and the B story are really good this time. I had completely forgotten that O'Brien can't stand Bashir at first. All I remembered was how much fun they had together on the holosuite which made it surprising when Miles is clearly uncomfortable spending a few hours in a runabout with Julian. And speaking of, is Bajor really two hours flight time in a warp capable craft from DS9? I mean, I guess they could have just gone slow for some reason, but isn't there a village at risk of destruction?
DS9 is hosting a diplomatic conference between the leaders of two factions of Bajorans so O'Brien gets to fly/help Bashir with a crisis on Bajor. O'Brien tries to get out of it but Sisko insists and we learn that the reason he doesn't want the job is that he can't stand Bashir. The two of them have an uncomfortable flight over where Bashir keeps trying to break the ice but O'Brien isn't having any of it. They arrive at the village and find everything to be pretty much ok. It seems the village elder is dying and for some reason they are all convinced they are doomed if he dies, but not just in general. They are worried they will be destroyed that night by something called the Dal'Rok. On the station Sisko tries to break the ice between the two factions by starting with an informal meeting, but one of the leaders, the 15 year old Varis Sul throws a drink in Quarks face and storms out when he calls her a little lady. However Nog and Jake spot her on the promenade and Nog falls instantly in love.
In the village Julian tries to treat the elder but it is hopeless, he is succombing to massive organ failure due to extreme age. He can however give him medicine to make him more comfortable and the elder awakes. He first grasps Bashir's hand but says he isn't the one sent by the prophets. He then calls for a clearly uncomfortable O'Brien and declares he is the next elder. On DS9 Nog can't resist visiting Varis' quarters but is too nervous to ring the bell and starts fighting with Jake outside. She hears them and invites them inside. The three of them leave together to go watch the wormhole open. Down in the village it is nightfall the the elder insists on leading the village against the Dal'Rok. The creature appears as a strange energy cloud which approaches and shoots out bolts of lightning. The elder starts telling the story but collapses before he can finish. He demands O'Brien help him and Miles leads the village to form a cloud of glowing light which somehow defeats the monster. The elder then passes away and O'Brien is greeted with joy by the villagers.
O'Brien can't figure out what to do, the people all believe in him but he doesn't feel like he can lead them. He tries to science his way out but there isn't time. A man follows him home and when his back is turned tries to stab him. O'Brien and Bashir fight him off and he explains he was the apprentice elder but two nights earlier failed to fight off the monster and the elder picking O'Brien is his way of punishing him. O'Brien clearly wants him to take the job but when a villager sees the robe being put on the apprentice he freaks out. On the station Jake and Nog stop by Varis' quarters but she is upset by the negotiations not going well. They want her to give up a bunch of land but she doesn't want to do it and seem weak. Nog tells her she needs to find something she wants so that even in giving something up she will profit and that really cheers her up. To celebrate Nog does a much dumber thing and breaks into Odo's office and takes his bucket. He pretends to spill Odo on Jake but instead just dumps oatmeal on him. All three of them are laughing about it until Odo comes in.
On Bajor things are looking grim. O'Brien heads up the hill to lead them against the monster but it isn't working. The lighting starts striking but the glow cloud that defeated it last time isn't happening. At Julian's insistence the apprentice rushes forward and leads the people and the glow cloud shows up and the day is saved. On DS9 Varis meets with Sisko. She tries to take the blame for the Odo incident but also admits one of the reasons she has been hanging out with Jake was to get a read on his father. She takes his advice and agrees to a trade deal that will benefit her people in exchange for giving up the land which prevents a war. Before going into the final conference she kisses Nog on the cheek.
Review: The A story in this episode feels like it would have been a fun story in just about any Trek series, but the B story is pure DS9. No other show has had bored teens looking for adventure and this series shows why that was a failing.
8 out of 10
DS9 is hosting a diplomatic conference between the leaders of two factions of Bajorans so O'Brien gets to fly/help Bashir with a crisis on Bajor. O'Brien tries to get out of it but Sisko insists and we learn that the reason he doesn't want the job is that he can't stand Bashir. The two of them have an uncomfortable flight over where Bashir keeps trying to break the ice but O'Brien isn't having any of it. They arrive at the village and find everything to be pretty much ok. It seems the village elder is dying and for some reason they are all convinced they are doomed if he dies, but not just in general. They are worried they will be destroyed that night by something called the Dal'Rok. On the station Sisko tries to break the ice between the two factions by starting with an informal meeting, but one of the leaders, the 15 year old Varis Sul throws a drink in Quarks face and storms out when he calls her a little lady. However Nog and Jake spot her on the promenade and Nog falls instantly in love.
In the village Julian tries to treat the elder but it is hopeless, he is succombing to massive organ failure due to extreme age. He can however give him medicine to make him more comfortable and the elder awakes. He first grasps Bashir's hand but says he isn't the one sent by the prophets. He then calls for a clearly uncomfortable O'Brien and declares he is the next elder. On DS9 Nog can't resist visiting Varis' quarters but is too nervous to ring the bell and starts fighting with Jake outside. She hears them and invites them inside. The three of them leave together to go watch the wormhole open. Down in the village it is nightfall the the elder insists on leading the village against the Dal'Rok. The creature appears as a strange energy cloud which approaches and shoots out bolts of lightning. The elder starts telling the story but collapses before he can finish. He demands O'Brien help him and Miles leads the village to form a cloud of glowing light which somehow defeats the monster. The elder then passes away and O'Brien is greeted with joy by the villagers.
O'Brien can't figure out what to do, the people all believe in him but he doesn't feel like he can lead them. He tries to science his way out but there isn't time. A man follows him home and when his back is turned tries to stab him. O'Brien and Bashir fight him off and he explains he was the apprentice elder but two nights earlier failed to fight off the monster and the elder picking O'Brien is his way of punishing him. O'Brien clearly wants him to take the job but when a villager sees the robe being put on the apprentice he freaks out. On the station Jake and Nog stop by Varis' quarters but she is upset by the negotiations not going well. They want her to give up a bunch of land but she doesn't want to do it and seem weak. Nog tells her she needs to find something she wants so that even in giving something up she will profit and that really cheers her up. To celebrate Nog does a much dumber thing and breaks into Odo's office and takes his bucket. He pretends to spill Odo on Jake but instead just dumps oatmeal on him. All three of them are laughing about it until Odo comes in.
On Bajor things are looking grim. O'Brien heads up the hill to lead them against the monster but it isn't working. The lighting starts striking but the glow cloud that defeated it last time isn't happening. At Julian's insistence the apprentice rushes forward and leads the people and the glow cloud shows up and the day is saved. On DS9 Varis meets with Sisko. She tries to take the blame for the Odo incident but also admits one of the reasons she has been hanging out with Jake was to get a read on his father. She takes his advice and agrees to a trade deal that will benefit her people in exchange for giving up the land which prevents a war. Before going into the final conference she kisses Nog on the cheek.
Review: The A story in this episode feels like it would have been a fun story in just about any Trek series, but the B story is pure DS9. No other show has had bored teens looking for adventure and this series shows why that was a failing.
8 out of 10
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
DS9: Battle Lines
This is going to be a shorter write up than usual, especially for a decent episode since I am barely able to keep my eyes open. I had to open the park this morning (yes, I am a park ranger in real life) which means getting up about 2 hours earlier than I am used to. I honestly don't remember this episode at all and it is interesting. The idea of two opponents who can't give up their hatred of each other despite fighting a literally eternal war is pretty classic. It also dives into Kira's history in the resistance and how despite being proud of fighting for freedom she is also ashamed of what she had to do in that fight.
The episode begins with Kai Opaka making a surprise appearance on the station. Kira and Sisko rush to greet her and it seems her only reason for visiting is that Sisko had invited her. She gazes out a window to where the wormhole is, but since there is no traffic it is invisible. Sisko can tell she wants to see it so offers to take her through in a runabout which she agrees to. When they exit in the gamma quadrant Sisko picks up a signal of unknown origin and the Kai wants to check it out. Sisko agrees and they fly to a moon with a grid of satellites and lifeforms in a small area. One of the satellites shoots down the runabout and they crash into the moon. The Kai is killed and they find themselves among a group of people who claim to be some sort of prisoners. They are all surprised when the Kai returns apparently uninjured. Apparently there are some sort of nanites that keep everyone from dying and the prisoners have a rival group on the moon as well. The rivals show up and kill a bunch of their friends but afterwards everybody gets back up unhurt.
Bashir starts trying to figure out what is going on by repairing the runabout computer. Kira and the Kai spend a lot of time together while Sisko tries to work out a peace between the two peoples. The Kai gets Kira to finally admit she feels terrible about her actions during the resistance and it is clearly cathartic. Negotiations go nowhere and the both sides kill each other again. While this is going on Bashir saves Sisko and explains that once they die here once they can never leave which is bad news for the Kai. Meanwhile O'Brien and Dax have tracked them down and O'Brien comes up with a plan to draw one of the satellites off with a probe to get enough of a hole to beam them out. The Kai explains she knew she wasn't going to leave and that it is her new mission in life to make these people stop hating each other. Kira, Sisko and Bashir all beam out and Kira is clearly still very torn up to be leaving the Kai behind.
Review: A good character episode even if it does have a fairly generic plot in many ways. I didn't remember Kai Opaka being a major character in later events and I guess this is why.
6 out of 10
The episode begins with Kai Opaka making a surprise appearance on the station. Kira and Sisko rush to greet her and it seems her only reason for visiting is that Sisko had invited her. She gazes out a window to where the wormhole is, but since there is no traffic it is invisible. Sisko can tell she wants to see it so offers to take her through in a runabout which she agrees to. When they exit in the gamma quadrant Sisko picks up a signal of unknown origin and the Kai wants to check it out. Sisko agrees and they fly to a moon with a grid of satellites and lifeforms in a small area. One of the satellites shoots down the runabout and they crash into the moon. The Kai is killed and they find themselves among a group of people who claim to be some sort of prisoners. They are all surprised when the Kai returns apparently uninjured. Apparently there are some sort of nanites that keep everyone from dying and the prisoners have a rival group on the moon as well. The rivals show up and kill a bunch of their friends but afterwards everybody gets back up unhurt.
Bashir starts trying to figure out what is going on by repairing the runabout computer. Kira and the Kai spend a lot of time together while Sisko tries to work out a peace between the two peoples. The Kai gets Kira to finally admit she feels terrible about her actions during the resistance and it is clearly cathartic. Negotiations go nowhere and the both sides kill each other again. While this is going on Bashir saves Sisko and explains that once they die here once they can never leave which is bad news for the Kai. Meanwhile O'Brien and Dax have tracked them down and O'Brien comes up with a plan to draw one of the satellites off with a probe to get enough of a hole to beam them out. The Kai explains she knew she wasn't going to leave and that it is her new mission in life to make these people stop hating each other. Kira, Sisko and Bashir all beam out and Kira is clearly still very torn up to be leaving the Kai behind.
Review: A good character episode even if it does have a fairly generic plot in many ways. I didn't remember Kai Opaka being a major character in later events and I guess this is why.
6 out of 10
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
DS9: Vortex
Ever since they introduced Odo's back story it was apparent he was going to someday learn the truth about what he is. This episode doesn't go all the way, but it does start down that path. I really wish they had decided that the Dominion was going to be a thing earlier in the show because they could have hinted at it in episodes like this, but because they didn't I have to assume they hadn't come up with the idea yet. It is nice to learn that even Mr. Law and Order Odo is willing to bend the rules when it is clearly the right thing to do.
The episode opens with Odo confronting Quark about some possibly hostile aliens on the station. Quark pretends to know nothing but has to rush off when two alien twins arrive and have a business meeting in the holodeck. They are trying to sell a stolen artifact when Croden, the guy Quark and Odo were discussing at the beginning bursts in with a phaser. He kills one of the twins and is about to keep fighting when one of the glasses on the table turns into Odo who shuts down the whole thing. The other twin, Ah-Kel is infuriated that he isn't allowed to just kill Croden, but Odo insists they must have a trial. In the holding cell Croden is unrepentant but also surprised to find a Changeling in the alpha quadrant. He knows more about Odo's people than anybody Odo has ever met but Odo refuses to believe him until Croden shows him a shapeshifting pendant he has around his neck. Bashir confirms it is of the same nature as Odo but Odo still doesn't listen to much Croden has to say.
Sisko goes through the wormhole to find Crodens people and they are happy to take him back. He has apparently been convicted in absentia and will face execution upon his return, but since Bajor would rather return him Sisko doesn't have much choice. However Ah-Kel is still trying to kill Croden so they decide that Odo will return Croden in secret using a runabout. But Ah-Kel gets word something is happening and gets Quark to hack into the computer to find out what has happened. Ah-Kel leaves with station without permission and pursues them through the wormhole. Odo's ship is attacked outside the vortex, an unstable region of space filled with explosive gas and asteroids. It is also where Croden claims a colony of changelings lives.
Odo is forced to trust Croden enough to let him take the controls and he lands at the supposed colony. But it turns out Odo was right and he has been lying all the time. He has instead landed to save his daughter and explains he is a political criminal on his world and doesn't even know what he has allegedly done. The cave starts collapsing and Odo is knocked unconscious but Croden saves him. They get back to the ship and use a pocket of the explosive gas to destroy Ah-Kel's ship. A passing Vulcan vessel hails them to offer assistance and Odo gets them to take Croden and his daughter back to Vulcan.
Review: A pretty average episode that might have been helped by a little more than the tiny trinket of information about Odo's history, but maybe they hadn't worked out where he came from at this point.
5 out of 10
The episode opens with Odo confronting Quark about some possibly hostile aliens on the station. Quark pretends to know nothing but has to rush off when two alien twins arrive and have a business meeting in the holodeck. They are trying to sell a stolen artifact when Croden, the guy Quark and Odo were discussing at the beginning bursts in with a phaser. He kills one of the twins and is about to keep fighting when one of the glasses on the table turns into Odo who shuts down the whole thing. The other twin, Ah-Kel is infuriated that he isn't allowed to just kill Croden, but Odo insists they must have a trial. In the holding cell Croden is unrepentant but also surprised to find a Changeling in the alpha quadrant. He knows more about Odo's people than anybody Odo has ever met but Odo refuses to believe him until Croden shows him a shapeshifting pendant he has around his neck. Bashir confirms it is of the same nature as Odo but Odo still doesn't listen to much Croden has to say.
Sisko goes through the wormhole to find Crodens people and they are happy to take him back. He has apparently been convicted in absentia and will face execution upon his return, but since Bajor would rather return him Sisko doesn't have much choice. However Ah-Kel is still trying to kill Croden so they decide that Odo will return Croden in secret using a runabout. But Ah-Kel gets word something is happening and gets Quark to hack into the computer to find out what has happened. Ah-Kel leaves with station without permission and pursues them through the wormhole. Odo's ship is attacked outside the vortex, an unstable region of space filled with explosive gas and asteroids. It is also where Croden claims a colony of changelings lives.
Odo is forced to trust Croden enough to let him take the controls and he lands at the supposed colony. But it turns out Odo was right and he has been lying all the time. He has instead landed to save his daughter and explains he is a political criminal on his world and doesn't even know what he has allegedly done. The cave starts collapsing and Odo is knocked unconscious but Croden saves him. They get back to the ship and use a pocket of the explosive gas to destroy Ah-Kel's ship. A passing Vulcan vessel hails them to offer assistance and Odo gets them to take Croden and his daughter back to Vulcan.
Review: A pretty average episode that might have been helped by a little more than the tiny trinket of information about Odo's history, but maybe they hadn't worked out where he came from at this point.
5 out of 10
Monday, December 21, 2015
DS9: The Nagus
This episode is the beginning of the effort on DS9 to expand the Ferengi into more than a race of goofy villains into a fully developed species in the same way TNG did so with the Klingons. TOS really only dealt with the Vulcans in a serious way and even then a lot of what we today "know" about the Vulcans comes from TAS instead of TOS. As far as I can tell this is the first time we have heard of the rules of acquisition which develop into the core of what it is to be Ferengi. Probably my favorite part of all this is how they didn't invent this from whole cloth, rather they expanded on the few things we did learn about the Ferengi in TNG, namely their obsession with making a profit.
We begin with a suspicious looking Ferengi poking his head out of an airlock to make sure the way is clear for another Ferengi wearing a formal looking cloak and carrying a gold Ferengi headed staff. Next we see Jake and his father getting ready to start their day. Jake doesn't want to spend three days with his dad on Bajor, he would rather hang out with Nog. Then we see Quark mad at Rom for returning a lost purse full of money and messing around in the bar before being interupted by the arrival of the Grand Nagus. The Nagus demands the use of a holosuite and Quark can't really say no. We also see Jake and Nog at school discussing ethics and Jake lies for Nog to cover him not doing his homework. The Nagus is taking full advantage of Quarks hospitality and that is partly because Quark is terrified he is here to buy him out of his bar. His one disappointment is when he learns Nog is going to a human school and he insists he quit immediately.
The Nagus is planning a meeting of all the prominant Ferengi to make plans to thoroughly exploit the gamma quadrant and he is going to use Quarks bar to host. For the days leading up to the meeting ships keep arriving with more Ferengi. At the end of the meeting the Nagus announces his retirement, and that he is promoting Quark to take his place. Quark is stunned, but pretty happy to get to make lots more money. Nog tells Jake they can't be friends any more which really upsets Jake. Quark gets threatened by one of the other Ferengi and goes to the former Nagus for advice, but rather than helping he dies and is immediately turned into souvenirs that are sold to the other Ferengi. Quark is still reveling in his new found power but is less pleased when someone tries to kill him with a bomb in his bar. Bending over to pick up a dropped coin is the only thing that saves him.
Sisko is sitting in his quarters when Dax arrives. She apologizes for interrupting dinner but Ben tells her Jake is 30 minutes late so it hasn't started yet. She, having been a parent several times, advises him to go find Jake and bring him back for dinner. He goes looking for him and is pleasantly surprised to find Jake tutoring Nog on astronomy in a cargo bay. Meanwhile the attempts on Quarks life have gotten more serious and Rom tries to throw him out an airlock along with the deceased Nagus' son. But Odo along with the actually not dead Nagus save the day. It turns out it was all a test for his son to see if he was ready, a test which he failed by overtly trying to kill Quark instead of getting his hooks in an manipulating him for profit.
Review: A solid character/universe building episode that really does a good job of introducing Ferengi 2.0. I mean sure, they still want to rob you blind, but they are much less murderous and ratlike than their TNG brethren.
6 out of 10
We begin with a suspicious looking Ferengi poking his head out of an airlock to make sure the way is clear for another Ferengi wearing a formal looking cloak and carrying a gold Ferengi headed staff. Next we see Jake and his father getting ready to start their day. Jake doesn't want to spend three days with his dad on Bajor, he would rather hang out with Nog. Then we see Quark mad at Rom for returning a lost purse full of money and messing around in the bar before being interupted by the arrival of the Grand Nagus. The Nagus demands the use of a holosuite and Quark can't really say no. We also see Jake and Nog at school discussing ethics and Jake lies for Nog to cover him not doing his homework. The Nagus is taking full advantage of Quarks hospitality and that is partly because Quark is terrified he is here to buy him out of his bar. His one disappointment is when he learns Nog is going to a human school and he insists he quit immediately.
The Nagus is planning a meeting of all the prominant Ferengi to make plans to thoroughly exploit the gamma quadrant and he is going to use Quarks bar to host. For the days leading up to the meeting ships keep arriving with more Ferengi. At the end of the meeting the Nagus announces his retirement, and that he is promoting Quark to take his place. Quark is stunned, but pretty happy to get to make lots more money. Nog tells Jake they can't be friends any more which really upsets Jake. Quark gets threatened by one of the other Ferengi and goes to the former Nagus for advice, but rather than helping he dies and is immediately turned into souvenirs that are sold to the other Ferengi. Quark is still reveling in his new found power but is less pleased when someone tries to kill him with a bomb in his bar. Bending over to pick up a dropped coin is the only thing that saves him.
Sisko is sitting in his quarters when Dax arrives. She apologizes for interrupting dinner but Ben tells her Jake is 30 minutes late so it hasn't started yet. She, having been a parent several times, advises him to go find Jake and bring him back for dinner. He goes looking for him and is pleasantly surprised to find Jake tutoring Nog on astronomy in a cargo bay. Meanwhile the attempts on Quarks life have gotten more serious and Rom tries to throw him out an airlock along with the deceased Nagus' son. But Odo along with the actually not dead Nagus save the day. It turns out it was all a test for his son to see if he was ready, a test which he failed by overtly trying to kill Quark instead of getting his hooks in an manipulating him for profit.
Review: A solid character/universe building episode that really does a good job of introducing Ferengi 2.0. I mean sure, they still want to rob you blind, but they are much less murderous and ratlike than their TNG brethren.
6 out of 10
Sunday, December 20, 2015
DS9: Move Along Home
This is another episode that would have worked just fine as a TOS episode, but it would have been a decent episode on either series. A twist on the usual premise of characters being thrown inside a game, with the twist being someone else is playing and doesn't know that it is real. Side note: is it supposed to have been real? Presumably they don't have the tech to make Dax think her leg was broken when it wasn't really. It is also less than clear to me what is supposed to have happened when Odo entered the game room on their ship. Did it transport him to Quarks? Was that really Quarks at all?
The episode opens with Sisko putting on his dress uniform to get ready to greet a new species from the gamma quadrant. Jake is there and all worked up about girls so Ben promises to talk with him about it the next morning. Sisko meets Dax, Kira and a dress uniform lacking Bashir at the airlock. The delegation arrive and head straight to Quarks for some gambling. They love dabo and stay up all night playing. And since they also keep winning Quark eventually decides it is time to start cheating which they figure out in about 3 seconds. They confront him but rather than demanding their money back or attacking him they bring out their own game which literally appears in a flash. It has a super complicated board. We see Sisko sleeping in his quarters and suddenly he finds himself in a strange hallway. He finds Bashir screaming trying to wake himself up and they are joined by Kira and Dax. It appears they are inside the game.
Quark doesn't understand the super complicated game but goes ahead and starts playing and they find themselves in a puzzle room with a little girl. They correctly figure out that they need to mimic her jumping pattern and rhymes to get through. Meanwhile Jake has noticed they are missing and gone to Odo. At first Odo doesn't believe him but discovers he is right and goes to security dude who freaks out when he realizes he has lost his commanding officer. In the game the players next confront a party room that suddenly fills with some sort of poison gas and they have to drink from the beverages at the party to survive.
Odo beams onto the alien ship and finds a door that glows when he opens it and when he goes in he finds himself at Quarks with the game still going on. He somehow communicates to Quark that he is playing with actual lives which ups the tension (this part of the script could have used a few more rewrites, it makes even less sense than the rest of the episode). He loses Julian who wanders off on his own and then has to pick one of his remaining players to eliminate. He can't decide so the game master does a random pick and Dax breaks her ankle or something. But they don't leave her behind and the whole room collapses and they find themselves all back at Quarks. So I guess it wasn't actually real, but what the hell was it then? But in the style of the shore leave planet we are never told what it was, but Quark wants to license it!
Review: I enjoyed this one a lot despite it having some fairly serious problems with not making sense. I have seen so many characters trapped in a game movies/shows that the formula is pretty thoroughly in my head which helps gloss over some of the weaker/less clear scenes.
5 out of 10
The episode opens with Sisko putting on his dress uniform to get ready to greet a new species from the gamma quadrant. Jake is there and all worked up about girls so Ben promises to talk with him about it the next morning. Sisko meets Dax, Kira and a dress uniform lacking Bashir at the airlock. The delegation arrive and head straight to Quarks for some gambling. They love dabo and stay up all night playing. And since they also keep winning Quark eventually decides it is time to start cheating which they figure out in about 3 seconds. They confront him but rather than demanding their money back or attacking him they bring out their own game which literally appears in a flash. It has a super complicated board. We see Sisko sleeping in his quarters and suddenly he finds himself in a strange hallway. He finds Bashir screaming trying to wake himself up and they are joined by Kira and Dax. It appears they are inside the game.
Quark doesn't understand the super complicated game but goes ahead and starts playing and they find themselves in a puzzle room with a little girl. They correctly figure out that they need to mimic her jumping pattern and rhymes to get through. Meanwhile Jake has noticed they are missing and gone to Odo. At first Odo doesn't believe him but discovers he is right and goes to security dude who freaks out when he realizes he has lost his commanding officer. In the game the players next confront a party room that suddenly fills with some sort of poison gas and they have to drink from the beverages at the party to survive.
Odo beams onto the alien ship and finds a door that glows when he opens it and when he goes in he finds himself at Quarks with the game still going on. He somehow communicates to Quark that he is playing with actual lives which ups the tension (this part of the script could have used a few more rewrites, it makes even less sense than the rest of the episode). He loses Julian who wanders off on his own and then has to pick one of his remaining players to eliminate. He can't decide so the game master does a random pick and Dax breaks her ankle or something. But they don't leave her behind and the whole room collapses and they find themselves all back at Quarks. So I guess it wasn't actually real, but what the hell was it then? But in the style of the shore leave planet we are never told what it was, but Quark wants to license it!
Review: I enjoyed this one a lot despite it having some fairly serious problems with not making sense. I have seen so many characters trapped in a game movies/shows that the formula is pretty thoroughly in my head which helps gloss over some of the weaker/less clear scenes.
5 out of 10
Saturday, December 19, 2015
DS9: The Passenger
This is an episode which at its core is essentially a TOS episode about a body swapping villain, but by adding the B story about Odo dealing with Federation security it feels like a real DS9 story. As always the scientific explination of the body stealing is about as thin as one can imagine, but if this were TOS they would have just showed an animated ghost outline leaving one body and going into another which isn't exactly hard science either. As a side note for the first time in my Trek watching I find I have the DS9 theme music stuck in my head. Nothing against the TNG theme, but it was taken directly from The Motion Picture and it kinda feels like it. DS9's theme reminds me a lot of the Superman theme and that isn't a bad thing.
We begin with Bashir being a total jackass bragging about what an amazing doctor he is. And not just an amazing doctor, an amazing person, and so humble! But his self love is interrupted by a distress call from a nearby ship. There has been a fire. Kira and Bashir beam over and find a woman with a man sealed in a cell. The cell is on fire but she insists they not open it, but since Bashir is smarter than everybody he opens it and finds a man dying on the floor. Since he is as uncautious as he is smart he bends over the dude who grabs him around the neck before dying. The woman insists that the man is still not dead and makes them all promise to double and triple check he is dead. Especially since his next destination before she captured him was DS9 and that is where he is now. In the station we learn that security has been raised since they are expecting a shipment of deuridium ore from the gamma quadrant. Odo confronts Quark about the shipment but gets confronted himself by a dude from starfleet security who is here to protect the shipment and doesn't like Odo blabbing to the head of the local black market about it.
Sisko tells security guy to work with Odo and he goes to Odo's office to semi apologize. Odo accepts but is stunned to find his security plans gone, in fact the entire computer memory on the station has been dumped to get it. Suddenly the idea that the criminal isn't dead seems a little less unreasonable. We see Quark meeting with the criminal as well, but neither we nor Quark see his face. He is having Quark get a group of mercenaries together. Dax has learned that he may have transmitted his consciousness into someone else through his fingernails so they immediately suspect the lady who arrested him instead of Bashir who he grabbed just before dying in front of Kira, but I guess she wasn't paying attention.
Just before the shipment arrives Odo learns starfleet security dude isn't where he was supposed to be and storms off to find him. Odo is about to start the chewing out but dude shows him the sabotage device he pulled off the waste reclamation system that would have taken down the station otherwise and Odo finally accepts him. As the shipment comes through the wormhole Quark takes the mercs to a runabout. They find Bashir aboard and Quark is surprised but of course the audience isn't. He tries to get away but gets stopped by a tractor beam and Dax manages to feed something through the beam to wake actual Bashir up long enough to lower the shields. They use the transporter to get the gunk out of Bashir and restore him to normal.
Review: A fun episode, but some of the plot holes drag it down a little. I wish that parts with Odo had been a little more of the story, but overall it is a fun one if not a particularly deep one.
6 out of 10
We begin with Bashir being a total jackass bragging about what an amazing doctor he is. And not just an amazing doctor, an amazing person, and so humble! But his self love is interrupted by a distress call from a nearby ship. There has been a fire. Kira and Bashir beam over and find a woman with a man sealed in a cell. The cell is on fire but she insists they not open it, but since Bashir is smarter than everybody he opens it and finds a man dying on the floor. Since he is as uncautious as he is smart he bends over the dude who grabs him around the neck before dying. The woman insists that the man is still not dead and makes them all promise to double and triple check he is dead. Especially since his next destination before she captured him was DS9 and that is where he is now. In the station we learn that security has been raised since they are expecting a shipment of deuridium ore from the gamma quadrant. Odo confronts Quark about the shipment but gets confronted himself by a dude from starfleet security who is here to protect the shipment and doesn't like Odo blabbing to the head of the local black market about it.
Sisko tells security guy to work with Odo and he goes to Odo's office to semi apologize. Odo accepts but is stunned to find his security plans gone, in fact the entire computer memory on the station has been dumped to get it. Suddenly the idea that the criminal isn't dead seems a little less unreasonable. We see Quark meeting with the criminal as well, but neither we nor Quark see his face. He is having Quark get a group of mercenaries together. Dax has learned that he may have transmitted his consciousness into someone else through his fingernails so they immediately suspect the lady who arrested him instead of Bashir who he grabbed just before dying in front of Kira, but I guess she wasn't paying attention.
Just before the shipment arrives Odo learns starfleet security dude isn't where he was supposed to be and storms off to find him. Odo is about to start the chewing out but dude shows him the sabotage device he pulled off the waste reclamation system that would have taken down the station otherwise and Odo finally accepts him. As the shipment comes through the wormhole Quark takes the mercs to a runabout. They find Bashir aboard and Quark is surprised but of course the audience isn't. He tries to get away but gets stopped by a tractor beam and Dax manages to feed something through the beam to wake actual Bashir up long enough to lower the shields. They use the transporter to get the gunk out of Bashir and restore him to normal.
Review: A fun episode, but some of the plot holes drag it down a little. I wish that parts with Odo had been a little more of the story, but overall it is a fun one if not a particularly deep one.
6 out of 10
DS9: Dax
Meh, this isn't really their best effort. It tries to be an episode about a secret but when the secret is revealed it is what you thought the whole time and it isn't really clear why Dax would be willing to let herself be taken to probable execution killing both her and the symbiote that is so important to her. Bashir is in full loverboy mode again which isn't my favorite. Also the so called extradition is clearly a kidnapping under any legal code. They should obviously have contacted station security. The damage they did to the tractor beam alone is probably enough for a diplomatic incident.
The episode opens with Bashir and Dax hanging out while she tries to fix some part of the station and he tries to get into her pants. She isn't having it and leaves but he follows despite being told not to. This time though she is attacked by three unknown aliens who drag her to a small ship despite Odo and Sisko's best efforts to stop them. They have even disabled the tractor beam but Ben manages to get it working just in time to stop the ship and drag it back to the station. The chief alien presents Sisko with a warrent for Dax's arrest. Sisko manages to stall by calling for a Bajoran extradition hearing and sends Odo to try and find the truth. Through the entire episode Dax refuses to say anything to help herself and it is up to the other characters to save her life.
Long story short it turns out she was sleeping with the wife of the man she is accused of killing at the time she allegedly committed the crime. The hearing drags out way to long and it is clearly just a stall tactic which works perfectly because just before the end the dead mans wife shows up and admits to having been in bed with Dax when it happened. Her son who was the one trying to arrest Dax is horrified.
Review: I get that they were trying to make this episode about the ethical complexities of a species where part of the being dies and is replaced every couple decades, but by making it a super obvious mystery instead those issues are honestly never really dealt with.
4 out of 10
The episode opens with Bashir and Dax hanging out while she tries to fix some part of the station and he tries to get into her pants. She isn't having it and leaves but he follows despite being told not to. This time though she is attacked by three unknown aliens who drag her to a small ship despite Odo and Sisko's best efforts to stop them. They have even disabled the tractor beam but Ben manages to get it working just in time to stop the ship and drag it back to the station. The chief alien presents Sisko with a warrent for Dax's arrest. Sisko manages to stall by calling for a Bajoran extradition hearing and sends Odo to try and find the truth. Through the entire episode Dax refuses to say anything to help herself and it is up to the other characters to save her life.
Long story short it turns out she was sleeping with the wife of the man she is accused of killing at the time she allegedly committed the crime. The hearing drags out way to long and it is clearly just a stall tactic which works perfectly because just before the end the dead mans wife shows up and admits to having been in bed with Dax when it happened. Her son who was the one trying to arrest Dax is horrified.
Review: I get that they were trying to make this episode about the ethical complexities of a species where part of the being dies and is replaced every couple decades, but by making it a super obvious mystery instead those issues are honestly never really dealt with.
4 out of 10
Thursday, December 17, 2015
DS9: Q-Less
Probably the weakest episode so far, but still above average for most other Trek shows. This one feels a bit like an attempt to make sure TNG fans were watching or they would miss out on their favorite characters adventures. Vash isn't my favorite character, it never really seemed that Jean Luc was that into her despite what literally every other character has to say about it. Honestly though she is better in this episode that Q who just seems like he is sad that another human has lost interest in him. The plot with the artifact she is so proud of being the source of problems on the station felt a little weak for a B story, but the scenes with Vash and Quark together add a solid point to this ones score.
The episode opens with Bashir trying to impress a Bajoran woman with tales of conquest over medical exams while O'Brien laughs in the background. They are both called away, a runabout has come back from the wormhole with Dax on board and it doesn't even have enough power to open the door let alone run life support. Sensors show three life forms but they never really deal with this but I guess it is supposed to be the rock, not Q. In addition to Dax and some unnamed crew member is Vash, Picards semi-love interest/archaeology buddy from TNG. Since I payed attention I remembered that she left with Q but maybe that wasn't common knowledge on the Enterprise since O'Brien doesn't seem to recall this. Thus they are baffled that she has been in the gamma quadrant for the last two years. She first goes to the doctor where Julian can barely contain his excitement at meeting a beautiful woman. Next she drops off a bag of artifacts at the assay office to be held securely including a glowing stone that is obviously the episodes MacGuffin for the episode.
O'Brien can't figure out why the runabout lost power but Vash isn't worried. She starts to unpack when Q arrives determined to not let her reject him. Quark interrupts and offers to arrange an auction of her artifacts in exchange for a percentage. She rubs his ears just that way to get him to agree to a lower percentage. Quark leaves but Bashir arrives. He just can't stop thinking about her and gets her to agree to meet him for dinner. Q beats him to Quarks where he pretends to be a waiter before putting Julian to sleep for the rest of the episode, but O'Brien spots Q and recognizes him even in his Bajoran disguise. He tells Sisko who confronts Vash but Q is already there to taunt him. After making everyone disappear Q leaves but the station has started losing power in the same way the runabout did.
Before the auction Q reminds Vash how much he helped her, but she is still determined to leave him. As the auction begins the situation on the station is becoming dire. Not only have they lost power but they are being pulled into the wormhole. Since DS9 is a station, not a ship, it isn't designed to withstand the kind of stresses the wormhole puts on stuff going through it. Dax has come up with a plan to release tritium to figure out where the energy drain is coming from. The auction has Quark freaking out with joy over the profits. Q shows up to taunt him a bit but he doesn't care. The glowing stone goes last and is up to several thousand bars of latinum before Q jumps in with a million bar bid. Just as the auction close Dax rushes in with Sisko and Kira. They beam the stone into space just before it explodes. It turns into a space butterfly and disappears through the wormhole. Q finally agrees to leave Vash alone but she can't resist the urge to go on another treasure hunt.
Review: A fairly average Trek episode despite the double TNG references. Having the crisis turn out to be centered around a space butterfly is honestly hella Trek. This would have been a 5, but the Quark/Vash scenes make it:
6 out of 10
The episode opens with Bashir trying to impress a Bajoran woman with tales of conquest over medical exams while O'Brien laughs in the background. They are both called away, a runabout has come back from the wormhole with Dax on board and it doesn't even have enough power to open the door let alone run life support. Sensors show three life forms but they never really deal with this but I guess it is supposed to be the rock, not Q. In addition to Dax and some unnamed crew member is Vash, Picards semi-love interest/archaeology buddy from TNG. Since I payed attention I remembered that she left with Q but maybe that wasn't common knowledge on the Enterprise since O'Brien doesn't seem to recall this. Thus they are baffled that she has been in the gamma quadrant for the last two years. She first goes to the doctor where Julian can barely contain his excitement at meeting a beautiful woman. Next she drops off a bag of artifacts at the assay office to be held securely including a glowing stone that is obviously the episodes MacGuffin for the episode.
O'Brien can't figure out why the runabout lost power but Vash isn't worried. She starts to unpack when Q arrives determined to not let her reject him. Quark interrupts and offers to arrange an auction of her artifacts in exchange for a percentage. She rubs his ears just that way to get him to agree to a lower percentage. Quark leaves but Bashir arrives. He just can't stop thinking about her and gets her to agree to meet him for dinner. Q beats him to Quarks where he pretends to be a waiter before putting Julian to sleep for the rest of the episode, but O'Brien spots Q and recognizes him even in his Bajoran disguise. He tells Sisko who confronts Vash but Q is already there to taunt him. After making everyone disappear Q leaves but the station has started losing power in the same way the runabout did.
Before the auction Q reminds Vash how much he helped her, but she is still determined to leave him. As the auction begins the situation on the station is becoming dire. Not only have they lost power but they are being pulled into the wormhole. Since DS9 is a station, not a ship, it isn't designed to withstand the kind of stresses the wormhole puts on stuff going through it. Dax has come up with a plan to release tritium to figure out where the energy drain is coming from. The auction has Quark freaking out with joy over the profits. Q shows up to taunt him a bit but he doesn't care. The glowing stone goes last and is up to several thousand bars of latinum before Q jumps in with a million bar bid. Just as the auction close Dax rushes in with Sisko and Kira. They beam the stone into space just before it explodes. It turns into a space butterfly and disappears through the wormhole. Q finally agrees to leave Vash alone but she can't resist the urge to go on another treasure hunt.
Review: A fairly average Trek episode despite the double TNG references. Having the crisis turn out to be centered around a space butterfly is honestly hella Trek. This would have been a 5, but the Quark/Vash scenes make it:
6 out of 10
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
DS9: Captive Pursuit
This is the only season one DS9 episode that really stuck out in my head when I watched it originally. Not to say that the rest of the season wasn't great, but this was the first story that had what the fanboys call "classic trek elements." What I mean by that is up to this point other than Odo pretty much all the characters are from previously established races and generally know how to get along around one another. But in this episode two races of aliens show up through the wormhole everybody has to figure out how to deal with them. I love how much more of a central role O'Brien has in this series, he was always good but underutilized in TNG.
The episode opens with one of Quark's dabo girls complaining to Sisko about being sexually harassed by Quark and that it is part of her contract. They are interrupted by a damaged ship of unknown type coming through the wormhole unannounced. The ship is damaged but the occupant refuses to be beamed off so O'Brien brings him in gently with the tractor beam. After docking the vessel Sisko sends O'Brien down to greet their guest. At first there doesn't seem to be anybody there but after starting work in the engine Tosk suddenly appears behind Miles startling him. Tosk is only concerned with getting his ship underway but O'Brien tells him they need to let the reactor cool first. They go on a tour of the promenade with a stop at Quarks but Tosk is uninterested in entertainment. When O'Brien leaves him in his quarters Tosk immediately starts using the computer to figure out where the weapons are stored. In Ops O'Brien briefs Sisko and Kira about Tosk and tells them while it is clear he is running from something he doesn't seem like a criminal.
Tosk and O'Brien keep working to repair his ship and become friends along the way. Sisko still doesn't trust Tosk and tells Odo to keep an eye on him which proves to be a good idea because Tosk tries to break into the weapon storage locker. When Odo confronts him he become invisible but Odo traps him in a forcefield and takes him to the brig. Sisko demands to know what is going on but Tosk will only say that he is Tosk. Another alien ship appears through the wormhole and blasts their shields. Three armed hunters beam onto the promenade and refuse to disarm, but also don't shoot back when fired upon. They blast their way into the brig where their leader takes off his helmet and expresses disappointment that Tosk has been captured. Sisko shows up and learns that this whole thing is a form of bloodsport and that now Tosk will be taken home in shame to be displayed for his failure.
Now Sisko has to decide what to do, should he release Tosk to be turned over to his hunters or give him asylum. He tells O'Brien he will grant asylum if asked, but Tosk refuses. O'Brien then takes matters into his own hands and sets a trap for the hunter. After knocking him down with a fist to the chin Miles and Tosk flee to Tosk's ship. Along the way they have to fight off several more hunters but Tosk always insists on attacking them himself. They get into the crawlspace and Sisko figures out what has happened. Odo goes to turn on the forcefields and stop them but Sisko tells him not to rush. Tosk escapes and the hunters couldn't be happier despite losing several men to Tosk.
Review: Finally a story with some action this episode is still my favorite of what we have seen so far. Until they get the Defiant and start poking around the gamma quadrant themselves it will be mostly character stories on the station until then. Fortunately for me there are some good ones to come, but not much action like this for a few more seasons.
8 out of 10
The episode opens with one of Quark's dabo girls complaining to Sisko about being sexually harassed by Quark and that it is part of her contract. They are interrupted by a damaged ship of unknown type coming through the wormhole unannounced. The ship is damaged but the occupant refuses to be beamed off so O'Brien brings him in gently with the tractor beam. After docking the vessel Sisko sends O'Brien down to greet their guest. At first there doesn't seem to be anybody there but after starting work in the engine Tosk suddenly appears behind Miles startling him. Tosk is only concerned with getting his ship underway but O'Brien tells him they need to let the reactor cool first. They go on a tour of the promenade with a stop at Quarks but Tosk is uninterested in entertainment. When O'Brien leaves him in his quarters Tosk immediately starts using the computer to figure out where the weapons are stored. In Ops O'Brien briefs Sisko and Kira about Tosk and tells them while it is clear he is running from something he doesn't seem like a criminal.
Tosk and O'Brien keep working to repair his ship and become friends along the way. Sisko still doesn't trust Tosk and tells Odo to keep an eye on him which proves to be a good idea because Tosk tries to break into the weapon storage locker. When Odo confronts him he become invisible but Odo traps him in a forcefield and takes him to the brig. Sisko demands to know what is going on but Tosk will only say that he is Tosk. Another alien ship appears through the wormhole and blasts their shields. Three armed hunters beam onto the promenade and refuse to disarm, but also don't shoot back when fired upon. They blast their way into the brig where their leader takes off his helmet and expresses disappointment that Tosk has been captured. Sisko shows up and learns that this whole thing is a form of bloodsport and that now Tosk will be taken home in shame to be displayed for his failure.
Now Sisko has to decide what to do, should he release Tosk to be turned over to his hunters or give him asylum. He tells O'Brien he will grant asylum if asked, but Tosk refuses. O'Brien then takes matters into his own hands and sets a trap for the hunter. After knocking him down with a fist to the chin Miles and Tosk flee to Tosk's ship. Along the way they have to fight off several more hunters but Tosk always insists on attacking them himself. They get into the crawlspace and Sisko figures out what has happened. Odo goes to turn on the forcefields and stop them but Sisko tells him not to rush. Tosk escapes and the hunters couldn't be happier despite losing several men to Tosk.
Review: Finally a story with some action this episode is still my favorite of what we have seen so far. Until they get the Defiant and start poking around the gamma quadrant themselves it will be mostly character stories on the station until then. Fortunately for me there are some good ones to come, but not much action like this for a few more seasons.
8 out of 10
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
DS9: Babel
I will be the first to point out that viruses don't usually have antidotes, but maybe medical science is different in the future? I really enjoyed this episode, the way it keeps taking out major characters with the virus makes you pay attention to each line to see when the next one will slip into nonsense. The subplot about the freighter captain desperate to leave the station starts on the first scene and turns into a major crisis right at the end. I wish other shows could pull of a B story half this well.
The story opens with O'Brien rushing around trying to fix all the things. People are stuck in an airlock, a freighter captain can't leave because his warp drive needs a service, the station nav computer is constantly giving out incorrect data, and the replicators aren't working correctly across the station. While repairing a replicator on the command level we see a device buried inside turn on after O'Brien get the machine working again. Quark's is almost empty without working replicators so Quark hacks the computer to find one that O'Brien has fixed already. A little while later Kira and Dax notice his place is open for business and packed full since he seems to have the only working replicator on the promenade. Sisko thanks a clearly tired O'Brien, but he replies with total nonsense and doesn't seem to be able to understand what they are saying to him either.
Bashir figures out it is some sort of aphasia. Kira finds the device that caused the infection and they find that all the crew are infected. It turns out the replicator Quark was using was infected too so all the visitors are now quarantined as more and more people come down with the aphasia. The device Kira found appears to be Cardassian but Bashir figures out that the engineered virus is Bajoran in origin and given that the device dates to the construction of the station by Bajoran slaves that would make sense. More and more people come down with the virus so Kira starts trying to track down the creator of the virus. She eventually finds that the guy who made it is dead, but his assistant is now in charge of a medical center.
The assistant refuses to help so Kira leaves the station on a runabout to go get him. It is just Odo and Sisko at ops when the freighter captain from the opening decides to leave without permission and starts firing his engines while still clamped to the station. The clamps overload and will require manual disconnection. Just then Sisko comes down with the virus leaving only Odo and Quark to save the day. Quark beams Odo into the freighter where he drags the captain to safety before blowing the clamps just in time. Kira kidnaps the former assistant and he is able to use Bashir's notes to make an antidote to the virus and save them all.
Review: An exciting and tense story with more good character bits. Quark is on his way to being one of my favorite characters both for his determination to meet his own goals and his willingness to work with the opposition to save the day when necessary.
7 out of 10
The story opens with O'Brien rushing around trying to fix all the things. People are stuck in an airlock, a freighter captain can't leave because his warp drive needs a service, the station nav computer is constantly giving out incorrect data, and the replicators aren't working correctly across the station. While repairing a replicator on the command level we see a device buried inside turn on after O'Brien get the machine working again. Quark's is almost empty without working replicators so Quark hacks the computer to find one that O'Brien has fixed already. A little while later Kira and Dax notice his place is open for business and packed full since he seems to have the only working replicator on the promenade. Sisko thanks a clearly tired O'Brien, but he replies with total nonsense and doesn't seem to be able to understand what they are saying to him either.
Bashir figures out it is some sort of aphasia. Kira finds the device that caused the infection and they find that all the crew are infected. It turns out the replicator Quark was using was infected too so all the visitors are now quarantined as more and more people come down with the aphasia. The device Kira found appears to be Cardassian but Bashir figures out that the engineered virus is Bajoran in origin and given that the device dates to the construction of the station by Bajoran slaves that would make sense. More and more people come down with the virus so Kira starts trying to track down the creator of the virus. She eventually finds that the guy who made it is dead, but his assistant is now in charge of a medical center.
The assistant refuses to help so Kira leaves the station on a runabout to go get him. It is just Odo and Sisko at ops when the freighter captain from the opening decides to leave without permission and starts firing his engines while still clamped to the station. The clamps overload and will require manual disconnection. Just then Sisko comes down with the virus leaving only Odo and Quark to save the day. Quark beams Odo into the freighter where he drags the captain to safety before blowing the clamps just in time. Kira kidnaps the former assistant and he is able to use Bashir's notes to make an antidote to the virus and save them all.
Review: An exciting and tense story with more good character bits. Quark is on his way to being one of my favorite characters both for his determination to meet his own goals and his willingness to work with the opposition to save the day when necessary.
7 out of 10
Monday, December 14, 2015
DS9: Past Prologue
I guess I didn't know where the show was headed when I first watched this episode, plus it was hard back then to not directly compare Sisko to Picard, but honestly this comes across as another solid episode. I had honestly forgotten about how distrustful of each other Kira and Sisko were to start with but this episode has already started them on the path of understanding one another. It also introduces probably my favorite character of the series, the simple tailor Garak. Garak is one of those guys you never really know where he actually stands on things, but you get the feeling his heart is in the right place never the less.
The episode opens with Garak introducing himself to Bashir at the replimat. Bashir is openly uncomfortable being so close to someone he assumes is a dangerous spy. After he leaves Bashir rushes to ops to tell everybody about it but they are unimpressed. Also they have a more pressing matter, a Bajoran ship is fleeing from and being fired upon by a Cardassian warship. The Cardassians refuse to cease firing and O'Brien is only just able to get the single passenger off with the transporter before the ship explodes. The man is considered a terrorist by the Cardassians but Kira insists the Bajorans will grant him amnesty. After a meeting in Bashir's office Kira is unconvinced Sisko won't turn Tahna over to the Cardassians so she calls the admiral who is Sisko's boss. The admiral calls Sisko back immediately, but we already know he is planning on not turning the guy over the the Cardassians. Kira meets with Tahna who she knows from her days in the resistance and he is still full of revolutionary fury. He can't stand that the Federation is running DS9 even though Sisko just granted him asylum.
Bashir and Garak are hanging out at Quarks watching Lursa and B'Etor who have just arrived. Tahna shows up and the three leave. They meet in some dark alley (DS9 seems to have a lot of those) and discuss a transaction. When they leave we see Odo transform from pretending to be a rat listening in on them. Lursa and B'Etor then go to Garak's shop and offer to sell Tahna out as soon as their deal is done. Kira goes to Sisko to thank him and tell him two more former terrorists will be arriving soon to surrender as well. Sisko tells her she is done if she ever goes directly to his boss over something like this again. Garak finds Bashir and tells him to go to his shop late that evening for a new suit. Not taking the hint Bashir goes to Sisko who tells him he would look good in a new suit.
Bashir makes it just in time and is rushed into a changing room. He hears Lursa and B'Etor talking with Garak and discussing how they are going to sell material for a bomb to Tahna. Kira also learns something is up and goes to Odo for advice. After listening to her he calls for Sisko to come down since he knows that she already knows what the right choice is. They come up with a plan: Kira will go with Tahna while Sisko and O'Brien wait in another runabout on the other side of the moon. The deal goes down but Kira realizes Tahna may be trying to blow up DS9. He draws a weapon and makes her set a course for the station, but at the last minute has her turn towards the wormhole. She manages to struggle with him long enough that the bomb goes off harmlessly on the other side. Sisko shows up and offers to either accept his surrender now or wait for the Cardassians to show up in about a minute and take his chances with them. Tahna surrenders after calling Kira a traitor.
Review: A tense character driven story where you don't know if the characters will make the right decisions. I am seeing Sisko are more of a political animal that a traditional captain, but it is the role his job demands. A solid episode that sets up many of the stories to come.
7 out of 10
The episode opens with Garak introducing himself to Bashir at the replimat. Bashir is openly uncomfortable being so close to someone he assumes is a dangerous spy. After he leaves Bashir rushes to ops to tell everybody about it but they are unimpressed. Also they have a more pressing matter, a Bajoran ship is fleeing from and being fired upon by a Cardassian warship. The Cardassians refuse to cease firing and O'Brien is only just able to get the single passenger off with the transporter before the ship explodes. The man is considered a terrorist by the Cardassians but Kira insists the Bajorans will grant him amnesty. After a meeting in Bashir's office Kira is unconvinced Sisko won't turn Tahna over to the Cardassians so she calls the admiral who is Sisko's boss. The admiral calls Sisko back immediately, but we already know he is planning on not turning the guy over the the Cardassians. Kira meets with Tahna who she knows from her days in the resistance and he is still full of revolutionary fury. He can't stand that the Federation is running DS9 even though Sisko just granted him asylum.
Bashir and Garak are hanging out at Quarks watching Lursa and B'Etor who have just arrived. Tahna shows up and the three leave. They meet in some dark alley (DS9 seems to have a lot of those) and discuss a transaction. When they leave we see Odo transform from pretending to be a rat listening in on them. Lursa and B'Etor then go to Garak's shop and offer to sell Tahna out as soon as their deal is done. Kira goes to Sisko to thank him and tell him two more former terrorists will be arriving soon to surrender as well. Sisko tells her she is done if she ever goes directly to his boss over something like this again. Garak finds Bashir and tells him to go to his shop late that evening for a new suit. Not taking the hint Bashir goes to Sisko who tells him he would look good in a new suit.
Bashir makes it just in time and is rushed into a changing room. He hears Lursa and B'Etor talking with Garak and discussing how they are going to sell material for a bomb to Tahna. Kira also learns something is up and goes to Odo for advice. After listening to her he calls for Sisko to come down since he knows that she already knows what the right choice is. They come up with a plan: Kira will go with Tahna while Sisko and O'Brien wait in another runabout on the other side of the moon. The deal goes down but Kira realizes Tahna may be trying to blow up DS9. He draws a weapon and makes her set a course for the station, but at the last minute has her turn towards the wormhole. She manages to struggle with him long enough that the bomb goes off harmlessly on the other side. Sisko shows up and offers to either accept his surrender now or wait for the Cardassians to show up in about a minute and take his chances with them. Tahna surrenders after calling Kira a traitor.
Review: A tense character driven story where you don't know if the characters will make the right decisions. I am seeing Sisko are more of a political animal that a traditional captain, but it is the role his job demands. A solid episode that sets up many of the stories to come.
7 out of 10
Sunday, December 13, 2015
DS9: A Man Alone
Rather than being a monster/weird alien of the week episode this second episode of DS9 is a solid character story exploring Odo who would rapidly turn into one of the series more memorable characters. And not just because he was a cool shapeshifter. It also starts building his relationship with Quark which while opening antagonistic is actually one of Trek's more genuine friendships. Bashir still feels off as Mr. I am in love with Dax isn't really a role that suits him. Sisko still seems to be holding his own and I can't help but wonder if I just remembered him wrong, or is he not as good in the middle third of the show.
We begin with Bashir trying to get Dax to go on a date with him while she works on a brainteaser she has been working on for over a century. She leaves for a dinner with Sisko which annoys the hell of the Bashir. Next we see Quark and Odo watching Miles and Keiko get in a fight over something. The two are clearly enjoying talking about other peoples problems but suddenly Odo notices a Bajoran at the Dabo table and tenses up. He rushes over and tells the guy to get the hell off his station and grabs him. Sisko intervenes and stops a full on brawl. We also see Jake hanging out with Nog and getting into trouble. Next we cut to Sisko demanding to know why Odo accosted some dude. Odo explains that the guy is Ibudan, a former smuggler who Odo had arrested for murdering a Cardassian when they still ran the place. Since the current Bajoran goverment doesn't really consider what he did a crime he is now free but Odo still won't let go and insists he will get him off the station. Then we see Ibudan relaxing and getting a massage until a masked figure appears and buries a dagger into his spine.
Sisko, Bashir, Odo and Kira are investigating the crime and things don't look good for Odo. The holosuite was only opened twice and there is no sign of any transporter activity. The only DNA at the crime scene belongs to the victim and the investigators including Odo. (Note: they never explain why after sneaking in through the crack in the door to kill the dude Odo wouldn't have also gone out that way or how he sneaked in the non-holo dagger that he commited the murder with.) The Bajorans on the station immediately start protesting Odo both as head of security and also head of his own investigation. Odo keeps on investigating for now though and finds that the victim had booked a cabin for two and had a note in his log about a meeting with Odo at the time he was killed. O'Brien and Keiko keep fighting and we learn the Keiko's main issue is that she doesn't have a job or anything to do and that she is worried their daughter will run wild like Jake and Nog. What they really need is a school which gives Miles an idea.
The Bajorans keep protesting and Odo gets taken off the case. He finds his office vandalized and Quark comes to hassle him that now he can finally get away with stuff. But Bashir has found something on the freighter. Some sort of technobabble bio goop that starts turning into some sort of lifeform when Bashir cultures it. Keiko opens her school for its first day but it looks like no one but Jake is going to show up. But then Nog gets brought in by his father and two more human children arrive and she is relieved. A mob shows up outside Odo's office and it is all Sisko can do to stop them from tearing the place apart. Bashir meanwhile has figured out to blob is a clone of Ibudan. He rushes in and tells the crown Ibudan isn't dead! Odo rushes to a freighter to confront an elderly Bajoran man who we have seen lurking in the back of many scenes. He pulls of the guys mission impossible mask and it is Ibudan who is arrested for killing his own clone because I guess they never saw Up the long Ladder.
Review: I kept finding more plot holes with this episode as I wrote up the above summary, but the character stuff is all well done. The mystery is far from the worst in Star Trek, but it is so obviously a frame job that it is hard to see why any of them take it very seriously.
7 out of 10
We begin with Bashir trying to get Dax to go on a date with him while she works on a brainteaser she has been working on for over a century. She leaves for a dinner with Sisko which annoys the hell of the Bashir. Next we see Quark and Odo watching Miles and Keiko get in a fight over something. The two are clearly enjoying talking about other peoples problems but suddenly Odo notices a Bajoran at the Dabo table and tenses up. He rushes over and tells the guy to get the hell off his station and grabs him. Sisko intervenes and stops a full on brawl. We also see Jake hanging out with Nog and getting into trouble. Next we cut to Sisko demanding to know why Odo accosted some dude. Odo explains that the guy is Ibudan, a former smuggler who Odo had arrested for murdering a Cardassian when they still ran the place. Since the current Bajoran goverment doesn't really consider what he did a crime he is now free but Odo still won't let go and insists he will get him off the station. Then we see Ibudan relaxing and getting a massage until a masked figure appears and buries a dagger into his spine.
Sisko, Bashir, Odo and Kira are investigating the crime and things don't look good for Odo. The holosuite was only opened twice and there is no sign of any transporter activity. The only DNA at the crime scene belongs to the victim and the investigators including Odo. (Note: they never explain why after sneaking in through the crack in the door to kill the dude Odo wouldn't have also gone out that way or how he sneaked in the non-holo dagger that he commited the murder with.) The Bajorans on the station immediately start protesting Odo both as head of security and also head of his own investigation. Odo keeps on investigating for now though and finds that the victim had booked a cabin for two and had a note in his log about a meeting with Odo at the time he was killed. O'Brien and Keiko keep fighting and we learn the Keiko's main issue is that she doesn't have a job or anything to do and that she is worried their daughter will run wild like Jake and Nog. What they really need is a school which gives Miles an idea.
The Bajorans keep protesting and Odo gets taken off the case. He finds his office vandalized and Quark comes to hassle him that now he can finally get away with stuff. But Bashir has found something on the freighter. Some sort of technobabble bio goop that starts turning into some sort of lifeform when Bashir cultures it. Keiko opens her school for its first day but it looks like no one but Jake is going to show up. But then Nog gets brought in by his father and two more human children arrive and she is relieved. A mob shows up outside Odo's office and it is all Sisko can do to stop them from tearing the place apart. Bashir meanwhile has figured out to blob is a clone of Ibudan. He rushes in and tells the crown Ibudan isn't dead! Odo rushes to a freighter to confront an elderly Bajoran man who we have seen lurking in the back of many scenes. He pulls of the guys mission impossible mask and it is Ibudan who is arrested for killing his own clone because I guess they never saw Up the long Ladder.
Review: I kept finding more plot holes with this episode as I wrote up the above summary, but the character stuff is all well done. The mystery is far from the worst in Star Trek, but it is so obviously a frame job that it is hard to see why any of them take it very seriously.
7 out of 10
Saturday, December 12, 2015
DS9: Emissary
After watching the four TNG movies in a row I wasn't super stoked to see Netflix had combined Emissary into one 90 minute episode. But I shouldn't have worried, I was entertained and looking forward to what was going to happen next the entire time. I am pretty sure I hadn't seen this since it originally aired. I totally didn't remember any of the stuff with the battle of Wolf 359. All I remembered was that Sisko didn't like Picard for some reason, but given the events of this episode it makes sense and is pretty much resolved. The characters are well introduced and seem to mostly be mature versions of themselves other than Bashir who clearly has some growing up to do.
The episode opens in the middle of the battle of Wolf 359 and things aren't going well on Sisko's ship. They are crippled by the Borg and forced to evacuate. Ben is able to save his son Jake but his wife Jennifer is trapped under debris and already dead. Sisko don't want to leave her never the less but gets dragged to the escape pod. Cut to three years later and Ben has been assigned to the remote outpost of Deep Space 9 and his son Jake isn't too excited about it. When he arrives the station is in disarray. The Cardassians pretty much wrecked the place when they left. He finds Major Kira Nerys in what is now his office and she makes it clear she doesn't think Starfleet is going to stick around long since she doesn't think her government will make it long. They don't get to finish there argument though, there is a fight on the promenade. Sisko decides Odo isn't getting things under control fast enough and opens fire with his phaser. Instead of thanking him Odo tells him to put is his weapon away, they aren't allowed on the promenade.
At the center of the fight is Nog and it looks like he is going to be spending some time in jail. His uncle Quark shows up to try to negotiate his release, but Odo isn't having it. Sisko heads of the Enterprise to meet with Picard. He is openly hostile with him over the events with the Borg and tells him he would like to be transferred away from the station. Picard says he will pass it along and dismisses him. Back on the station Quark is preparing to leave forever but Sisko convinces him to stay and be a leader of the community in exchange for lenient treatment for Nog. Next Sisko heads down to Bajor to meet with Kai Opaka, head of the Bajoran religion. She talks about his spirit a bit before taking him into a secret chamber and showing him one of the orbs of the prophets which gives him a vision of meeting his wife for the first time. She explains there are other orbs but they were captured by the Cardassians and gives him the orb to try and find the "celestial temple."
Sisko head back up to the station as Dr. Bashir and Jadzia Dax arrive. Bashir is full of confidence and clearly excited to be out on the frontier which Kira finds offensive. On the Enterprise O'Brien is preparing to leave but doesn't want to say good bye. Picard follows him to the transporter room and personally beams him over. Dax has been working on the orb and figured out where she things the celestial temple may be, but the Cardassians have also arrived and Sisko doesn't want them to find it first or at all really. Kira shows up at Quarks where the Cardassians are gathered to gamble and tells them the place is closing. They gather their winnings and head back to the ship sure they were only kicked out for winning too much. But the bag of money is actually Odo who disables their ship before getting beamed back by O'Brien.
Dax and Sisko head for the site of the temple in a runabout. They arrive and are surprised to find a wormhole! It takes them to the Gamma Quadrent, a relatively unexplored region of space far from the Federation. When they try to go back the runabout stops for no apparent reason. Then they detect a breathable atmosphere, then they land, still in the wormhole. They get out and see very different things. Dax is in a grassy field and Sisko is in a rocky hellscape. Dax gets taken out of the wormhole by an orb but Sisko is trapped inside experiencing strange non-time experiencing aliens talking to him through his memories. Gul Dukat follows them through but something goes wrong and the aliens seal the wormhole with Dukat's ship trapped in the Gamma Quadrent and Sisko inside. O'Brien is given the job of moving the station to the mouth of the wormhole to claim it. As they arrive at the former location of the wormhole three Cardassian warships show up and demand they surrender for destroying Dukat's ship somehow.
Things are looking grim, the station isn't equipped to defend itself but Kira isn't going to surrender to the Cardassians she has spent her life fighting against. O'Brien creates a field to mask them from sensors and makes it look like they have a bunch of weapons. They call for the Enterprise but it is two days away at that point. Kira fires all their torpedoes off the Cardassian bow but they don't fall for the bluff and start attacking. Things aren't going well and it is all O'Brien can do to keep the station in once piece. In the wormhole Sisko is trying to convince the aliens that his species isn't destructive and in the process realizes he has been stuck in the moment his wife died ever since it happened. Just as Kira is about to surrender the wormhole opens with Sisko flying the runabout towing the Cardassian ship. The others break off their attack. Sisko meets with Picard the next day and tells him he has reconsidered and wants to stay at DS9. Picard clearly doesn't know what happened, but agrees to not request a transfer from Starfleet.
Review; The best Trek pilot so far Emissary does all the things you want from a first episode. All the characters (except Worf of course) are introduced and we see where they are starting from. I remembered not liking Sisko first season, but he does rather well in the pilot.
8 out of 10
The episode opens in the middle of the battle of Wolf 359 and things aren't going well on Sisko's ship. They are crippled by the Borg and forced to evacuate. Ben is able to save his son Jake but his wife Jennifer is trapped under debris and already dead. Sisko don't want to leave her never the less but gets dragged to the escape pod. Cut to three years later and Ben has been assigned to the remote outpost of Deep Space 9 and his son Jake isn't too excited about it. When he arrives the station is in disarray. The Cardassians pretty much wrecked the place when they left. He finds Major Kira Nerys in what is now his office and she makes it clear she doesn't think Starfleet is going to stick around long since she doesn't think her government will make it long. They don't get to finish there argument though, there is a fight on the promenade. Sisko decides Odo isn't getting things under control fast enough and opens fire with his phaser. Instead of thanking him Odo tells him to put is his weapon away, they aren't allowed on the promenade.
At the center of the fight is Nog and it looks like he is going to be spending some time in jail. His uncle Quark shows up to try to negotiate his release, but Odo isn't having it. Sisko heads of the Enterprise to meet with Picard. He is openly hostile with him over the events with the Borg and tells him he would like to be transferred away from the station. Picard says he will pass it along and dismisses him. Back on the station Quark is preparing to leave forever but Sisko convinces him to stay and be a leader of the community in exchange for lenient treatment for Nog. Next Sisko heads down to Bajor to meet with Kai Opaka, head of the Bajoran religion. She talks about his spirit a bit before taking him into a secret chamber and showing him one of the orbs of the prophets which gives him a vision of meeting his wife for the first time. She explains there are other orbs but they were captured by the Cardassians and gives him the orb to try and find the "celestial temple."
Sisko head back up to the station as Dr. Bashir and Jadzia Dax arrive. Bashir is full of confidence and clearly excited to be out on the frontier which Kira finds offensive. On the Enterprise O'Brien is preparing to leave but doesn't want to say good bye. Picard follows him to the transporter room and personally beams him over. Dax has been working on the orb and figured out where she things the celestial temple may be, but the Cardassians have also arrived and Sisko doesn't want them to find it first or at all really. Kira shows up at Quarks where the Cardassians are gathered to gamble and tells them the place is closing. They gather their winnings and head back to the ship sure they were only kicked out for winning too much. But the bag of money is actually Odo who disables their ship before getting beamed back by O'Brien.
Dax and Sisko head for the site of the temple in a runabout. They arrive and are surprised to find a wormhole! It takes them to the Gamma Quadrent, a relatively unexplored region of space far from the Federation. When they try to go back the runabout stops for no apparent reason. Then they detect a breathable atmosphere, then they land, still in the wormhole. They get out and see very different things. Dax is in a grassy field and Sisko is in a rocky hellscape. Dax gets taken out of the wormhole by an orb but Sisko is trapped inside experiencing strange non-time experiencing aliens talking to him through his memories. Gul Dukat follows them through but something goes wrong and the aliens seal the wormhole with Dukat's ship trapped in the Gamma Quadrent and Sisko inside. O'Brien is given the job of moving the station to the mouth of the wormhole to claim it. As they arrive at the former location of the wormhole three Cardassian warships show up and demand they surrender for destroying Dukat's ship somehow.
Things are looking grim, the station isn't equipped to defend itself but Kira isn't going to surrender to the Cardassians she has spent her life fighting against. O'Brien creates a field to mask them from sensors and makes it look like they have a bunch of weapons. They call for the Enterprise but it is two days away at that point. Kira fires all their torpedoes off the Cardassian bow but they don't fall for the bluff and start attacking. Things aren't going well and it is all O'Brien can do to keep the station in once piece. In the wormhole Sisko is trying to convince the aliens that his species isn't destructive and in the process realizes he has been stuck in the moment his wife died ever since it happened. Just as Kira is about to surrender the wormhole opens with Sisko flying the runabout towing the Cardassian ship. The others break off their attack. Sisko meets with Picard the next day and tells him he has reconsidered and wants to stay at DS9. Picard clearly doesn't know what happened, but agrees to not request a transfer from Starfleet.
Review; The best Trek pilot so far Emissary does all the things you want from a first episode. All the characters (except Worf of course) are introduced and we see where they are starting from. I remembered not liking Sisko first season, but he does rather well in the pilot.
8 out of 10
Friday, December 11, 2015
Star Trek: Nemesis
I was totally dreading this one. And I wasn't wrong about literally everything to do with the dumb villian Shinzon. Literally everything about him from him being a young but still bald clone of Picard, his "plan" to destroy Earth so people will remember him, and whatever the hell the plan was supposed to be to have him replace the real Picard. Nothing about his character makes any damn sense and to make matters worse it is totally unclear why the apparently really powerful Remans follow him. It isn't like he has any special incite into Picard. I also don't get the part about B4 at all either. I guess it was smart to try and infiltrate the Enterprise with him, but how did they get the Enterprise to find him? They detect his positronic signature from light years away. Does this mean Data announces the location of the Enterprise for light years when they go anywhere? On the other hand this is the only TNG movie that seems to actually get the characters even a little. Picard isn't the psychopath he was in First Contact and Data isn't the jackass he has been in all the other TNG films. For once Worf is there to just be Worf instead of being the butt of all the jokes. And the end with Data sacrificing himself and Riker leaving to finally accept his first command seemed like a good ending to my favorite (for now) Trek series.
The movie begins with Shinzon backers attempting to form an alliance with the Romulan senate but when they are ignored they kill all the senators which means they run the Romulan Empire now (because the writers don't understand politics and that there would clearly be some generals or something not interested in following this human clone). Then we see Picard giving a toast at Riker and Troi's wedding and learn Riker is going to be leaving the ship for his first command. They head to Betazed to continue the celebration but detect a positronic signature and go to investigate, with their totally dumb new dune buggy. After one of the silliest action sequences in all of Trek they return with the parts of another Noonian android which Data activates and gives all his memories. Picard gets a call from Admiral Janeway that he is to head to Romulus to meet with the new leader Shinzon who has requested an envoy somehow knowing it would be Picard. In fact literally his entire "plan" depends on it.
They arrive and after being made to wait for hours for no apparent or ever explained reason they are beamed to the Scimitar, the Reman warship. Shinzon insists in a fancy reveal of the fact that he is a clone of Picard which is supposed to be significant or something. He gives them some of his blood to prove he is Picard and also reveal his huge weakness that is obvious to Crusher. He is an unstable clone and needs all of Picards blood. But that isn't discovered until just after it is important. B4 has been sneaking around the Enterprise computer but Data and Geordi figure it out. B4 gets beamed to the Scimitar as does Picard. Shinzon takes some of his blood but rather than going through with saving his own life he decides to mind rape Troi first and let Data who was pretending to be B4 rescue the captain. The two of them blast their way out in a small fighter but don't destroy or seriously damage the Scimitar for no good reason despite now knowing it is a super weapon capable of destroying all life on a planet.
Now they fight for a long time, some Romulans join on the side of the Enterprise but prove ineffective. The Enterprise takes massive damage and is forced to ram the Scimitar for some reason. Shinzon backs off and turns on the super weapon. Despite presumably still having shields and it being super dangerous Picard beams over alone for his action movie bit while Riker has a long fight below decks somewhere with the Reman second in command. Picard manages to kill Shinzon but instead of trying to turn off the super weapon about to kill everyone on his ship just kinda stands there until Data arrives and uses his microtransporter thing to beam him to safety before sacrificing himself to save the ship. Riker says good bye and leaves for his first command and the film ends with the crippled Enterprise undergoing repairs.
Review: Everything about the plot of this movie is just the dumbest thing ever. But it doesn't completely ruin the characters like the last few films and even moves the long running plot of the Romulans not being super villains forward. At the same time it is also probably the dumbest of all the Trek films and that is saying something.
3 out of 10
The movie begins with Shinzon backers attempting to form an alliance with the Romulan senate but when they are ignored they kill all the senators which means they run the Romulan Empire now (because the writers don't understand politics and that there would clearly be some generals or something not interested in following this human clone). Then we see Picard giving a toast at Riker and Troi's wedding and learn Riker is going to be leaving the ship for his first command. They head to Betazed to continue the celebration but detect a positronic signature and go to investigate, with their totally dumb new dune buggy. After one of the silliest action sequences in all of Trek they return with the parts of another Noonian android which Data activates and gives all his memories. Picard gets a call from Admiral Janeway that he is to head to Romulus to meet with the new leader Shinzon who has requested an envoy somehow knowing it would be Picard. In fact literally his entire "plan" depends on it.
They arrive and after being made to wait for hours for no apparent or ever explained reason they are beamed to the Scimitar, the Reman warship. Shinzon insists in a fancy reveal of the fact that he is a clone of Picard which is supposed to be significant or something. He gives them some of his blood to prove he is Picard and also reveal his huge weakness that is obvious to Crusher. He is an unstable clone and needs all of Picards blood. But that isn't discovered until just after it is important. B4 has been sneaking around the Enterprise computer but Data and Geordi figure it out. B4 gets beamed to the Scimitar as does Picard. Shinzon takes some of his blood but rather than going through with saving his own life he decides to mind rape Troi first and let Data who was pretending to be B4 rescue the captain. The two of them blast their way out in a small fighter but don't destroy or seriously damage the Scimitar for no good reason despite now knowing it is a super weapon capable of destroying all life on a planet.
Now they fight for a long time, some Romulans join on the side of the Enterprise but prove ineffective. The Enterprise takes massive damage and is forced to ram the Scimitar for some reason. Shinzon backs off and turns on the super weapon. Despite presumably still having shields and it being super dangerous Picard beams over alone for his action movie bit while Riker has a long fight below decks somewhere with the Reman second in command. Picard manages to kill Shinzon but instead of trying to turn off the super weapon about to kill everyone on his ship just kinda stands there until Data arrives and uses his microtransporter thing to beam him to safety before sacrificing himself to save the ship. Riker says good bye and leaves for his first command and the film ends with the crippled Enterprise undergoing repairs.
Review: Everything about the plot of this movie is just the dumbest thing ever. But it doesn't completely ruin the characters like the last few films and even moves the long running plot of the Romulans not being super villains forward. At the same time it is also probably the dumbest of all the Trek films and that is saying something.
3 out of 10
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