Date: August 3, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 18 and 19

Musical Accompaniment: Anything on iTunes, I’m not sure what playlist I’m even on

Interstellar News: There’s a new Kickstarter that has some fantastic stuff and some of the stretch goals have already been met and there’s still time! Considering checking it out.

Favorite Quote from “Business as Usual”:

Quark: The Regent’s dead?

Sisko: A purification squad caught up with him this morning.

Quark: I can live with that, too. And I can think of twenty eight million other people who won’t mind either.

Sisko: Twenty eight million and one.

Quark and Sisko coming to an understanding.

So what had happened in “Business as Usual” was…: Quark’s cousin Gaila comes to Quark with a business proposition. Quark will show weapon projections in the holosuites so that he, Gaila, and Hagath can not actually break any laws. This pays off Quark’s debts quickly but Odo and Starfleet are unhappy. Unfortunately the Bajorans owe Hagath so they let it slide, but the bar suffers and Dax refuses to talk to Quark. An important client comes in who wants to destroy a lot of lives and Quark can’t take it, so he invites the opposing sides and sets them up to run into each other where Odo can arrest them all. All the while Kirayoshi cries whenever O’Brien isn’t holding him, which leads to all sorts of predicaments for O’Brien, until Worf holds the baby and he stops crying.

“…but you so much as litter on the Promenade and I will nail you to the wall”: I’ll start with the obvious adorableness of Kirayoshi and the ingenuity of O’Brien, which was a nice look at what life is like when mom is away and dad has to figure out how to be everywhere and do everything while caring for a tiny human. I love that it was Worf who calmed the baby and how regretful he was for not being there when Alexander was that small, though in his defense he didn’t know.

This episode shows just how important customer service is, because the skills you learn there can take you literally anywhere. Quark really is a people person and makes an excellent bartender but he’s Ferengi enough that he’s always looking for a way to earn more profit and sadly, the restaurant industry is a hard place to earn a profit. He justifies what he does by saying he really hasn’t broken any laws (a technicality) and that it’s all for defense. So when the Regent comes in with his request and Quark sees that the price is too damn high, Quark knows that he has to come up with a plan. I disliked that they set up Hagath to be this big, bad scary guy and then the bad stuff happens off screen. It would have been more impactful to Quark if he had seen the fired associate die rather than hear about it from Gaila. Overall it was a good Quark episode, not great but it shows he’s developing a conscience and we finally got to meet cousin Gaila, and it was a cute O’Brien episode (O’Brien must dad and play darts with a baby in his arm, not suffer!). I give it 6 warm bottles of Enyak’s milk.

Favorite Quote from “Ties of Blood and Water”:

Kira: Come in.

Dukat: Major. Sorry to disturb you.

Kira: Sorry enough to leave?

Kira delivering a line with a lot of punch.

So what had happened in “Ties of Blood and Water” was…: Tekeny Ghemor is back and Kira is giddy to have him lead the Cardassian resistance, but instead he reveals he’s dying. Dukat contacts Sisko because Cardassia wants Ghemor to answer for his crimes while Kira and Ghemor discuss completing the shri-tal tradition where Ghemor will pass along all of his secrets to Kira. She agrees but also takes care of his pain management, getting him water, and being the primary caregiver. Kira has flashbacks to her father’s death, as she left to fight Cardassians and he died alone. Meanwhile Dukat and Weyoun (the fifth) arrive at DS9 waiving Ghemor’s daughter as the carrot to get him to come home, but Ghemor believes the Dominion price is too high. Kira and Ghemor fight over his military record but eventually Ghemor dies and Kira buries him on Bajor in between her parents.

“You shouldn’t get your hopes up.”: This was a hard episode to watch. My mother lived with us the last seven months of her life and she needed more care than I could give, it was hard to watch her decline so rapidly and there were tons of times we fought because it was easier than anything else at the time. My mom died on the first day of the Spring semester. I had gone into work that day but came home to find out she had slipped away just minutes earlier. I said my goodbyes that morning, not knowing, and I don’t regret going to work because I had no idea she would be gone so soon. Kira, on the other hand, didn’t want to deal with the grief of her father’s impending death and she was so deep in denial her only response was to kill Cardassians and then, when she realized he was dead, go out and kill some more because now she’s moved onto anger. Kira does a wonderful job transitioning from happy to concerned to dutiful to angry and eventually to full on grief and despair. Ghemor does what he can with the whole dying thing, but you can tell he’s upset with himself and that family is very important to him. Dukat does what Dukat does best – pander and spin absolutely everything to his advantage, but it’s Weyoun who steals the show by drinking the poisoned kanar (please watch the clip above, it’s fantastic). 7 shots of kanar, stat!

TA Out!

Date: August 2, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 16 and 17

Musical Accompaniment: More Vivaldi, because why not? Also, pretentiousness and awesomeness are not mutually exclusive and Vivaldi is both.

Interstellar News: We are back from the mountains and Professor Zoom smashed his activity goal for the weekend.

Favorite Quote from “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”:

O’Brien: You mean this programm is going to have all of his personal likes and dislikes?

Zimmerman: That is why we bother to choose a human template in the first place.

O’Brien: Wow, think of it, Julian. If this thing works, you’ll be able to irritate hundreds of people you’ve never even met.

O’Brien ribbing his best friend.

So what had happened in “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?” was…: Rom wants to ask Leeta on a date but he’s too chicken. Zimmerman, who is here to interview Bashir for the LMH (more on that in a bit), asks Leeta out and then asks her to come back with him to the Jupiter station as he’s totally smitten with her. Leeta asks Rom if there’s a reason for her to stay and he doesn’t say anything so she plans to take Zimmerman up on his offer. As she and Zimmerman are leaving Rom ruuuuuuuuuuns down the hall yelling for her to stop, declaring his love for her, and they kiss.

Bashir is going to be turned into a Long-term Medical Hologram (LMH), an improvement to the existing Emergency Medical Holorgram (EMH). Zimmerman needs to take scans, conduct interviews, and complete the profile for the LMH and there’s an amusing scene between the LMH, EMH, and the two men each is based on. Despite asking for his parents to NOT be interviewed, Bashir’s parents arrive and it’s super awkward, though I can see where Bashir gets his talkativeness from. Bashir’s parents unknowingly interact with the LMH and swear they won’t tell anyone they illegally genetically enhanced Bashir when he was six, but Zimmerman and O’Brien hear the whole thing. His parents wind up contacting Sisko and the JAG office where Bashir will be able to stay in Starfleet but his dad has to serve two years in prison.

“Why is everyone so worried about holograms taking over the universe?”: The Rom and Leeta love story is adorable and clearly used as filler, though I hope we’ll get to see more of their awkwardness as time goes on. The big story is Bashir, which is great that he and Leeta used to date and she chooses a Ferengi over a genetically enhanced man because… looks aren’t everything. There’s one point where Zimmerman is doing his interviews and O’Brien double and triple checks that nothing he says will get back to Bashir and then says a bunch of, glances left and right, nice things about Bashir… how could he (waving hands in abject sarcasm)?!?! O’Brien and Bashir playing darts at the start and the close is fantastic, especially when O’Brien moves Bashir’s starting point. O’Brien’s best part, though, is when he’s supportive of Bashir and helps him talk through what his next action is.

This is absolutely something that helps make certain things about Bashir make more sense, just like with Worf and Lwaxana before him. I keep thinking about all of the parents today in light of Covid-19 saying that their kid will be “behind”, or all of my students who think they are “behind” if they don’t take a certain class in a certain semester. In case no one has noticed, we’re in a global pandemic and all of the things taught in school can be caught up on anytime… learning is never completed. Even if there wasn’t a pandemic, everyone learns at their own pace and you’ve got to figure out what works best for you. How hard that must have been for Bashir to live all of his life thinking he was deficient and his parents augmented him to make them live up to their vision of his potential. He thinks none of his achievements are his own, but he’s the one who did all the work. The JAG officer makes it clear that Bashir is no Khan Singh, but he easily could have if he was a Slytherin instead of a Ravenclaw. The best part, though, is when Bashir’s mother intervenes and explain what she was thinking and why she agreed… what if it was her fault? They were never ashamed, they just wanted the world for him and may have gone about it in a not-so-great way. 7 Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel for this episode, mostly because no one said “KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN”.

Favorite Quote from “A Simple Investigation”:

Dax: She spent the night in his quarters.

Kira: He had her under protective custody.

Dax: Come on, Nerys. He could have put her somewhere else.

Kira: You know how Odo is. He likes to be thorough.

Dax: It was more than that.

Dax and Kira gossiping, though the next part where Worf intervenes is the best.

So what had happened in “A Simple Investigation” was…: Two Finneans kill an Idanian named Tauvid looking for “it” and maybe “she” has it, curiouser and curiouser. Bashir has a new Bond-like holosuite program but Odo backs out, he’s just not that into it. On his way out of Quark’s he runs into a woman named Arissa who is waiting for someone. Arissa has a dataport and tries to find Tauvid but is caught by security. Odo is captivated by her and they go to Tauvid’s room only to find his remains. Arissa finally tells Odo the truth, she’s in bed with the mob and is trying to get free and Tauvid has an encrypted chip that can help her. Odo transports her to his quarters and he continues to fall for her, the bad guys continue to try to get the chip and kill the girl. Odo and Arissa spend the night and Odo is totally head-over-heels in love. He leaves to attend to some business and Arissa steals the chip to make a deal. It turns out, Arissa is actually an undercover Idanian agent who was made to look different and given new memories so they could get who she worked for. She comes to say goodbye to Odo because she has a husband and wants to get back to her life, but everything was real.

“Look what you did to the carpet.”: Dax is a total gossip and the exchange between her and Worf in Ops is fantastic. I have no idea why Odo goes to Bashir to ask advice on women as Bashir is the last person I would go to for advice on that particular subject. While this episode wasn’t bad, it didn’t pack a punch. It was a very standard romance-in-an-episode and the only difference is that it was Odo who hasn’t had such a love (we’re totally going to ignore his love for Kira because that’s a horse of a different color). Odo is obsessed not only by the mystery but also by someone is is suddenly so taken with. Think about someone you met at a party by chance and had an instant connection with. Did you follow through with them or let it be? Did the universe keep bringing you together or did you never see them again? Odo is smitten and is trying to figure out how to meld his changeling persona with the one he had as a humanoid and he gets his non-existent heart broken. The tag team of mob assassins was totally underused and I would have loved to have seen then more (“I thought it was on stun”). Odo is the Tin Man, he just hasn’t figured out that he wants a heart just yet. 6 emeralds for this episode.

TA Out!

Date: August 1, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 14 and 15

Musical Accompaniment: Vivaldi, pretentious is as pretentious does.

Interstellar News: I have felt exhausted all day, but I did manage to watch four Trek episodes. Since this is a two part set, I’ll only focus on these tonight.

Favorite Quote from “In Purgatory’s Shadow”:

Sisko: Remember, this is a reconnaissance mission. You are to avoid Dominion ships at all cost. I want you back in one piece.

Worf: What about Garak?

Sisko: I want him back too. I don’t suppose I have to tell you to keep a close eye on him.

Worf: At the first sign of betrayal, I will kill him. But I promise to return the body intact.

Sisko: I assume that’s a joke.

Worf: We’ll see.

Doesn’t Sisko know? Worf doesn’t joke…

So what had happened in “In Purgatory’s Shadow” was…: Odo and Kira are putting his room back together now that he can shapeshift when they receive a coded message from the GQ. Garak decodes it and it’s from Tain saying he’s alive so Garak and Worf go to investigate, but not before Dukat arrives and makes a scene because of Garak and Ziyal’s friendship. Garak plays to Worf’s sense of honor and they take a detour through the nebula where they encounter an army of Jem’Hadar warships and are taken captive. At Internment Camp 371 they meet an assortment of Romulans, Cardassians, Breen, and the real General Martok… who has been there for two years. They also see that Tain is alive and, surprise, is Garak’s father… oh and Bashir has been there for a month, double surprise!

Back on the station Ziyal refuses to go to Cardassia, much to the chagrin of Dukat who was clearly not prepared for having a teenage daughter. Kira comes back from the GQ with a report: The Dominion is coming! Sisko plans to seal the wormhole which would cut the Dominion off from invading but also strand everyone in the GQ. He is confident the prophets will find a way to communicate with Bajor, but “Bashir” sabotages them and the fleet comes through.

“Have a glorious death. Or don’t. It’s up to you.”: So when everyone is in the Jem’Hadar prison for some reason it reminded me of Goodfellas and I felt like the older men were going to start making hasperat or something. As soon as Garak returned to tell Bashir and Ziyal that the code was “just a planetary survey”, I knew he was lying but I also thought Bashir handled it strangely and he had been acting a little weird for the past episode or two… and now I know why. I love that Dax “borrowed” Worf’s operas to encourage him to come home and they are just too adorable, even when they have disagreements. Dukat does act like a father whose daughter is dating someone old enough to be her father, but I think he snipes at Kira in a way to justify his actions of the next episode. I also love that Kira is clearly more interested in her coffee and padd than she is in anything Dukat has to say and she firmly tells him again, for the 1,364th time that she only cares about Ziyal and not what he thinks about her.

Finding out Enabran Tain was really Garek’s biological father, though not finding out why Garak was exiled just yet, and seeing the Bashir on DS9 is actually a shapeshifter were the two big moments for me. This makes Garak’s exile that much more heartbreaking and still shrouded in mystery, just like most of Garak’s past as well as his intentions. Is Ziyal just a reminder of home, is it another chance to get back at Dukat, is he playing some long con? So many questions and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get some answers. The Dominion finally making a big move is another interesting bit because this has been building for several seasons, they’re always light years ahead of anyone in the AQ. This first part was fantastic and it made me want to plow through to the next episode.

Favorite Quotes from “By Inferno’s Light”:

Garak: I only wish I were still a member of the Obsidian Order. This would make a wonderful interrogation chamber. Tight quarters, no air, bad lighting, random electric shocks. It’s perfect.

Bashir: Sounds like you’re enjoying yourself.

Garak: If you’d like, I’d happily trade places with you.

Garak rambling to himself.

Today is a Good Day to Die: “There is no greater enemy than one’s own fears.” “It takes a brave man to face them.”

Gowron: Think of it. Five years ago no one had ever heard of Bajor or Deep Space Nine, and now all our hopes rest here. Where the tides of fortune take us, no man can know.

Sisko: They’re tricky, those tides.

Gowron forgetting that DS9 was originally named Terok Nor, but still

So what had happened in “By Inferno’s Light” was…: Everyone has come to DS9 in order face the Dominion: Starfleet, the Klingons (Gowron reinstates the Khitomer Accords), and even the Romulans (who just show up). Dukat, of course, breaks off to join the Dominion as he wants Cardassia to regain all it has lost and he’s a rat bastard. “Bashir” suggests blood screenings while Ziyal begins to be disillusioned by her father. Dukat reaches out to Sisko and suggests the Federation join the Dominion, otherwise they’re coming to reclaim DS9 (formerly known as Terok Nor). “Bashir” messes with a replicator and commandeers the Yukon to fly straight into the sun in order to cause a supernova and devastate the system. Their senors read ships all around but no one can see anything when they realize “Bashir” is a changeling and it was a plot all along to distract them… but they are not distracted and instead destroy the Yukon and the changeling.

At the internment camp all of the Cardassian prisoners are let go, except for Garak. Worf is made to join the Jem’Hadar fight club and wins seven matches, each time coming back to Bashir badly bruised but impressing the hell out of Martok. Garak is trying to rewire the Dominion system so he can connect with the runabout and beam them out, but he’s claustrophobic and is having difficulty. Worf’s final battle with the head Jem’Hadar, Ikat’ika, sees Worf almost defeated but he refuses to yeild and impresses the hell out of Ikat’ika. Just as Deyos, the Vorta, orders Ikat’ika and Worf to be shot, Garak comes through and they escape. Everyone arrives back at DS9 where Gowron and Sisko want Martok to stay as the Klingon liaison and all is well, for now.

“I think you can’t judge people by what they think or say, only by what they do.”: Dukat has gone full villain and I can’t say I’m surprised. All he has ever wanted is whatever is best for Cardassia and everyone else can be damned. I am interested to see what happens with one power in the AQ in bed with the Dominion. The fake invasion is absolutely a thing the Dominion would do, but it was still surprising as hell until you see “Bashir” in the runabout by himself and you realize he’s up to something. Everyone has been so worried about an invasion and they tried to get ready, which they couldn’t in a very familiar way to how they were ill-prepared for the Borg invasion, so the Federation is going to seal the wormhole, but the Dominion makes that impossible so now they have to fight. The Klingons want to fight and hell the Romulans show up uninvited and unannounced because they all realize no matter their internal AQ problems, they are all no match for the Dominion.

It’s the same way in prison as everyone is all lumped together and you have a Cardassian working with a Romulan, a Terran, a Klingon, and even someone from Breen. They realize they all have to work together in order to escape but come on, how is there no surveillance IN THE ROOM WHERE THE PRISONERS ARE?!?! The Dominion is always light years ahead of the Federation and yet our assortment of heroes are able to squeeze into a wall, patch a few wires together, beam themselves to the runabout, and just waltz out of Dominion territory unmolested? Worf is the true hero, though, as he won’t yield for anyone because he knows in his heart of hearts (how many do Klingons have?) that his honor will never be satisfied if he does so. Even with the small blemish in belief regarding the escape, I was wholly satisfied with this two part episode and there are 9 bulbs of garlic for this batch of two.

TA Out!

Date: July 30, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 12 and 13

Musical Accompaniment: Continuing the trend of the last few days, I’m now on songs that begin with the letter ‘H’.

Interstellar News: Today was a shit day. I think I’m going to go one more day with no ratings, I hope to be back to my ridiculous rating system tomorrow.

Favorite Quote from “The Begotten”:

Sisko: Why would the Founders send such helpless creatures out into space?

Odo: To find out if the species they encountered posed any threat. What better way to gauge another race than to see how it treats the weak and vulnerable?

Sisko: I see your point.

I really hope aliens aren’t watching the human race right now, we are getting it sooooo wrong.

So what had happened in “The Begotten” was…: Odo is still adjusting to being a humanoid when Quark brings him a sick changeling baby and Odo is instantly smitten and utterly captivated. Odo spends a few days talking to the baby, telling it about life on the station and swearing that Odo would never treat it like Odo was treated, when Dr. Mora arrives. They argue about the approach but Sisko’s announcement from Starfleet makes Odo compromise and they begin to see results. Odo and Mora have a small Hallmark moment, celebrate, and drunk Odo buys a bewildered Quark a drink when something bad happens… the baby is dying. Bashir and Mora do everything they can but it’s dying so Odo cradles it and then it’s absorbed into him and he’s a changeling again.

Kira is an labor while a Bajoran midwife, Keiko, and O’Brien try to help calm her and keep the rhythm. Shakaar’s late arrival causes Kira’s labor to stop. Kira tries again but O’Brien and Shakaar keep acting like little boys so she throws them out, only to invite them in if they can behave. She gives birth to a healthy O’Brien boy but is sad that she can’t be his mother. Strangely Worf is actually around the station but they do not capitalize on this. Dr. Mora and Odo share a big Hallmark moment then Odo runs into Kira post-birth and they decide to take a walk.

“I just wish I could hold him in my arms and never let him go.”: Odo acts like absolutely every new parent I’ve ever known. They swear they’re going to be a better parent than their parents were and then they realize how wrong they were. My parents may have not been fond of each other but, when it came to me, they were always on the same page. I may not have agreed with some of their methods but I think I turned out okay and would make minimal adjustments if I ever move from the terminally furry to the tiny human. He and Dr. Mora act like a parent and grandparent arguing over the “correct” way to raise a baby, but they’re equally adorable when they geeble over the baby trying to emulate a face. I’m reminded a lot of the bittersweet moment that went on with Troi in “The Child“, but here there’s a happy ending for Odo who gets his shape-shifting mojo back. He also gets to comfort Kira, which hopefully means their friendship is on the mend.

Kira, acting as a surrogate, was the epitome of selflessness. The O’Briens want to give her whatever she wants and a traditional Bajoran birth that’s all about relaxing sounds like something I would fail at because I can’t meditate or relax if my life depending on it. Let’s hear it for high functioning anxiety (waves hands in exuberant sarcasm)! Deep Space Nine has really been at the forefront of strong dads (Sisko, Rom, O’Brien, and now Odo) but we now add a strong mother in Kira, who thought she didn’t have a maternal bone in her body. Having children changes you, people say, and I’m sure it’s because of the lack of sleep and privacy but also because you’re now responsible for someone else who is as helpless as they can be. Kira may have brought life into the world but she doesn’t get to raise that life and it’s harder than she thought.

Favorite Quote from “For the Uniform”:

Odo: Sir, have you ever reminded Starfleet command that they stationed Eddington here because they didn’t trust me?

Sisko: No.

Odo: Please do.

Odo cranking the snark up to 11 and boy do I hope to hear Sisko tell them!

So what had happened in “For the Uniform” was…: Sisko is after Eddington, who always seems to be one or two steps ahead of Starfleet. Eddington installs a cascade virus on the Defiant, shoots at it, and strands them in space. This causes Starfleet to take Sisko off the case and Sisko is pissed because he never saw it coming, being taken off the case of Eddington’s betrayal. The Maquis shoot biogentic weapons at Cardassian planets so Sisko takes the mostly useless Defiant out to help, using Nog as the communication system and everyone else having to do manually all the things the computer would normally. They were tricked, however, and the Maquis are able to disable the Malinche. Odo is able to decipher a code and Sisko realizes he needs to embody a villain because Eddington sees himself as a hero. He causes Eddington to turn himself in and Dax admits that sometimes it is good when the “bad” guy wins.

“What are you really up to, Javert?”: The holocommunicator is very Star Wars, I’m just saying. Also, O’Brien made a comment about not doing any barrel rolls, I just felt like I needed to explain the picture. This is the second time we’ve seen Sisko play the villain, though last time he was in the holosuite and it wasn’t reaaaaaally him, and he’s fantastic at it. Sisko really digs deep into the Les Mis bone that Eddington throws at him and it works, but at what cost? Sisko does make a point that the Maquis are false advertising at its worst. How do they expect to ever just give planets back and how will anyone ever really feel safe? I get that it’s a bitch to move, I’ve done it more times that I can remember at this point, but sometimes you have to. Eddington is really a smug bastard throughout the episode, but he also makes a fair point when he identifies this as a personal vendetta. Yes, Starfleet wants Sisko to do it but Sisko is upset with himself and is blind to the fact that Eddington has a year and a half worth of recon on him and his crew. Overall a very interesting episode with more shades of grey than I knew existed.

TA Out!