DS9: “Explorers” and “Family Business”

Date: July 9, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 22 and 23

Musical Accompaniment: Violin covers

Interstellar News: If you ever hear me utter the phrase “I love driving” know that something is absolutely wrong and I’ve been kidnapped or some such.

Favorite Quote from “Explorers”:

Dukat: Commander, I contacted you out of concern for your safety, but you seem to be intimating that I’ve made some sort of threat.

Sisko: Ah. Then I’m glad I was wrong. For a moment there I thought that you had been put in charge of the Cardassian Ministry for the Refutation of Bajoran Fairy Tales.

Dukat: Since I don’t seem to be able to dissuade you from undertaking this little voyage of yours, I’ll wish you luck instead. Let’s hope you don’t need it.

Sisko is super sassy and I am here for it, all the way.

So what had happened in “Explorers” was…: Bashir is nervous about meeting up with the valedictorian of his medical school class but it turns out she’s a bit jealous of his assignment and they eventually run off and talk about medical things like colleagues.

Sisko comes back with a goatee and plans for an ancient Bajoran spaceship. He builds it and takes it out for a spin with Jake. Jake shares a story he’s written and then shares he’s been offered a fellowship in New Zealand but he wants to defer for at least a year. They encounter some trouble and are thrown off course but make it all the way into Cardassian space – proving it could be done and how it likely happened 800 years ago.

“Why? Because it’ll be fun.”: The opening scene with Bashir and the Bajoran woman with the “cough” starts like the opening to a bad space porno when Dax comes in and totally throws Bashir off his game and it’s spectacular to watch. When the Lexington finally docks and Dr. Lense doesn’t even give him the time of day it’s fantastic because you can see his confusion and the visible shrinking of his ego. It’s a wonderful explanation how she confused him with someone else and how both parties thought the grass was greener on the other side. Bashir keeps bringing up his failure and he seems to really regret his mistake, but I don’t know why he keeps on harping on one damn question… give it a break kid. The real winning part of the Bashir story line was when O’Brien and Bashir get hosed and sing some drinking songs, it’s super adorable that they’re drinking buddies now.

Sisko and Jake get to have some great bonding time and I absolutely love their relationship. Sisko is such a supportive father and it’s so refreshing to see that he and Rom have so much more in common than they thought, even if neither of them admit it. I hate that O’Brien didn’t want any part of the plans and that he didn’t want to see if it could be done, just as I’m disappointed that Jake didn’t want to help his dad out either because that would have made the episode so much more meaningful. I always love the witty repartee between Sisko and Dukat because they are just so good when they’re exchanging words. I absolutely loved how Dukat clearly didn’t want to congratulate Sisko but he was being a good Gul and following orders, and the fireworks were a nice touch. It was a good vehicle to not only display how the treaty is going so far but also how the best way to have a chat with someone about something important is to trap them in a vehicle where they cannot escape. I rate this episode at 7 minutes worth of Cardassian fireworks.

Favorite Quote from “Family Business”:

Brunt: Your mother’s confession will serve as a warning to females all over the Alliance.

Quark: Oh, I don’t think anyone has to know about this. After all, what would people say if they knew a female had earned that much latinum?

Brunt: I shudder to think. Goodbye. I sincerely hope I never see any of you again.

Quark: The feeling is mutual.

Quark telling the truth for once.

So what had happened in “Family Business” was…: Quark and Rom’s mother Ishka is accused of earning a profit. Turns out she totally earned a profit and is wearing clothes, bad Ferengi female no cookie! Rom is totally a momma’s boy and doesn’t mind that his mother has always been different but Quark can only think of profit and traditional Ferengi values. Eventually Rom lies to them both to get them to talk and Ishka just wants Quark to be happy and Quark really does love his mommy.

On the station Jake has told everyone about Yates, a freighter captain, who he wants to hook Sisko up with. Sisko finally meets her in the cargo bay and they decide to have coffee. During their coffee date they stumble upon the fact that her brother is playing baseball and Sisko lights up and they happily go listen to the transmission of a game as Jake watches on from above with the biggest shit-eating grin.

“And no shouting! I’m going to take a nap.”: Jake fancies himself a matchmaker but it’s clear that both Sisko and Yates are a bit apprehensive and super busy. They seem to hit it off okay but it’s also hard to flirt when you’re working so Yates suggests a place where they can focus on each other. It’s wonderful that Yates cares about her brother enough to know what he’s doing and enough to share with Sisko, but it’s absolutely adorable to see how animated Sisko gets about a sport that’s been dead for two hundred years.

I was glad to finally get to see the Ferengi home world and absolutely loved this episode and it’s ridiculousness. You have to pay for everything, classic Ferengi, and there are some things that even Quark will spend money on. Rom really breaks out in this episode at being able to fight for what is important to him – family. With Keldar dead it’s up to Quark to hold the family together but he’s more interested in profit than anything, just like his mother apparently. It also shows a flaw in the Ferengi way of life because those who are not cut out for profit aren’t really able to pursue other avenues without being ostracized. I think that’s a big failing because it could be a real asset to have a Ferengi on the inside of other organizations in order to be more profitable as a collective, but then again they’re not really a “for the greater good” kind of people. I’m glad Ishka is a progressive Ferengi and that she also decided to play along, mostly, because she loves her boys so very much. I think it’s hilarious that Quark almost fell for a female basically like his mother, because that’s apparently a thing that’s cross-species. This episode gets an 8th inning stretch, because it’s my blog and I can do what I want.

TA Out!