Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season Two and Star Trek: First Contact Reviews (Spoilers)

[matt_zimmer]

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season Two

Deep Space Nine is the oddity among the Star Trek universe. While never acheiving the popularity of the original series or The Next Generation among the general public it never-the-less was generally at least equal in quality to the best episodes of those series and at times quite a bit better. Even though while it was on the air many fans sniffed that it wasn't as good as the previous Trek series it seemed more likely to me that since it was nothing like the Trek series that came before that people didn't like it because it was set on a space station and didn't exclusively revolve around an all Starfleet crew. Certainly despite having ratings only slightly better than Voyager and Enterprise it was easily superior to both of those later series.

That Deep Space Nine wasn't a "safe" Star Trek series is probably due to the fact that Rick Berman was more heavily involved with both The Next Generation and Voyager and left the reigns to the series to executive producer Ira Steven Behr who managed to sneak in an almost fantasy and religious element to the series that I'm not sure we would have seen further developed if Berman had been in charge of day to day operations.

It's almost impossible to pick a favorite season of Deep Space Nine. From season three onward the series had classic episodes that were so good it was hard to say which season was the best. Fans will generally say that season one was the weakest but from season two on the series was really good. I've heard people dismiss season two but they really shouldn't because it was more of a set-up season for the rest of the series and started story arcs that would pay off later handsomely. Most story arcs start slowly and build into something really cool and DS9 was no different.

If there is any real problem with season two it's that it's standalone episodes (Second Sight, Melora, and Sanctuary) are generally worse than the standalone episodes from later seasons. The season has it's share of boss episodes though. The Homecoming/ The Circle/ The Siege three part season premiere is great as is Blood Oath (with the Klingons from the original series), The Wire (a Garak tour de force), Crossover (a geeky return to the Mirror Universe), and the Jem'Hadar which set up the Dominion arc which would continue through the rest of the series. Season Two probably isn't DS9's best season. But it is incredibly underrated even among the fanbase. ****.

The Homecoming: Excellent season premiere which introduces the tragically comic character of Li Nalas played by Twin Peaks Richard Beymer. He's a hero for shooting an unarmed Cardassian in his underwear. The line "He looked so... embarrassed" is classic. The first time I saw the episode I had thought the Circle members who branded Quark were wearing Picard masks. I'm still not convinced they weren't. ****1/2.

The Circle: Not as good as part one since Li Nalas takes a back-seat to Temple intrigue on Bajor. And I can't believe that I am the ONLY person who notices there is absolutely no chemistry between Kira and Vedek Bariel. I think it might have been a mistake to plan a romance for them before they had even shared many scenes. ****.

The Siege: Better than part two, not as good as part one. Dax has some hilarious scenes on the planet with Kira ("Whoa, is that a spider or a dog?") and Sisko leading the insurrection on the station was fun, as was Quark being left behind. I'm still miffed they killed off Li Nalas though. He could have been a GREAT recurring character. ****1/2. Three Part Average: ****1/2.

Invasive Procedures: John Glover may be a scenery chewer on Smallville but he proved with this episode that he can do meek and mousy just as well. I loved Sisko surprising Verad by shooting him ("Don't call me Benjamin"). I have to say that this episode kind of leads me to believe that the Dax symbiont is actually somewhat of a buttwad. The idea that it was just going to let Jadzia die is galling. I guess so long as it has a home in someone's tummy it's happy. It's clear that most if not all of Jadzia's admirable qualities come from Jadzia herself and not Dax. ****.

Cardassians: Decent episode. The best part is the intrigue with Bashir and Garak on Bajor (Andrew J. Robinson is SUCH a scenery chewer). ***1/2.

Melora: Truly awful episode from start to finish. Quite possibly the worst episode of the entire series. It's funny but it's STILL way above MANY episodes of Voyager and Enterprise. *.

Rules of Acquisition: Wallace Shawn is absolutely brilliant as Grand Nagus Zek (him repeatedly hitting on Kira is giggle inducing) and the episode is cool because it gives us the first hints of the Dominion. ***1/2.

Necessary Evil: Outstanding flashback episode. The scenes with Odo on Terok Nor were dark and fabulous and Rom was REALLY funny with Odo and Sisko's Good Cop/ Bad Cop routine. I loved the revelation at the end that Kira was guilty after all. Truly great episode. ****1/2.

Second Sight: I never really cared for this episode. Probably because Sisko isn't the kind of captain/ commander you can really do a successful one episode romance with. He's a long term catch if anything. Richard Kiley was funny though and it was cool seeing Elisa Maza with pointy ears. **.

Sanctuary: Truly annoying aliens. I also didn't really understand the message of the episode. Was Kira wrong or not? It isn't a good enough episode to really be giving us such an ambiguous ending. *1/2.

Rivals: Yes, the episode is silly and probably contains the WORST science of ANY Star Trek episode EVER (luck waves?) but Chris Sarandan as Martus is hilarious. I really love how smarmy he is. And he's an El Aurian! He's the same species as Guinan! How cool is that? **1/2.

The Alternate: Cool morphing effects can't hide what a so-so episode this is. Dr. Mora got a better spotlight in season five's The Begotten. He's annoying here and I can see why Odo wanted nothing to do with him. **.

Armageddon Game: The episode is cool, if average. I loved the revelation at the end that Chief O'Brien drinks coffee in the afternoon after all! ***.

Whispers: Killer ending but after seeing it again after all these years I still can't see why "O'Brien" got so suspicious and paranoid throughout the episode. The only really "off" moment was him and Keiko eating dinner. Otherwise I can't see why he thought the Federation had been taken over. ****.

Paradise: I hate this episode, not because it is bad but because the lady who was the bad guy throughout the episode didn't get what was coming to her. She stranded all of those people on that planet for years and tortured some of them and let them die but the people there pretty much forgave her at the end and said she was right and decided to stay there. If it was me, even if I HAD gotten into a nice little rut on that planet I would have been furious and left just to make sure that she had gotten punished severely for her crimes. It's Dolores Umbridge in Deathly Hallows all over again. **.

Shadowplay: Cool concept of a village filled with holograms. I really like Kenneth Mars as the investigator on that planet (he was hilarious) and I like that the episode showed that some holograms can become self-aware and evolve. And the scenes with Odo and the little girl were very sweet. ***1/2.

Playing God: Good Dax episode with killer special effects in the wormhole. I liked how Dax was trying to prove throughout that she wasn't as vindictive as Curzon but didn't count on the fact that her trainee would actually be substandard. ***1/2.

Profit and Loss: Face it, if Garak wasn't chewing scenery in the episode it would be considered awful. As it is he raises the episode to decent but not great. I have a hard time really being able to accept a romance (and a kiss) as ridiculous as between two people wearing rubbery alien masks. The end confrontation with Garak was sweet though and it was a genuine clue as to his true allegiances. ***.

Blood Oath: Awesome geeky episode that returns Klingons from the original series (Kor, Koloth and Kang) and pairs them up with Dax on a quest for blood vengeance. It was cool seeing the Klingons eventually accept Jadzia as Dax and it was QUITE cool how Kor accepted her from the beginning. ****1/2.

The Maquis Part One: Neat two parter. Part one isn't as good as part two but it was really funny seeing Quark interact with Sekonna who turned out to be a Vulcan Gunrunner. Never really that crazy about Cal Hudson though. ****.

The Maquis Part Two: Excellent conclusion with a lot of neat touches like Gul Dukat happily enjoying his kanar before Sisko brings him back to a rude reality and Quark lecturing Sekonna on logic and how her position was illogical. ****.

The Wire: Garak has always been one of the most fascinating characters on the show but this episode made him one of the most sympathetic characters too. The stuff it set up with Enabran Tain would be paid off handsomely in Improbably Cause/ The Die is Cast and In Purgatory's Shadow/ By Inferno's Light. Really great to see Garak unabashed about his lies at the end too. ****1/2.

Crossover: Awesome, awesome AWESOME episode which gives Sisko, Kira and Odo rare opportunities to bare their fangs as rogues, dominatrices and sadists respectively. Garak also has a REALLY good time playing Garak as nasty as he wanna be. I love how Captain Kirk visited the Mirror Universe and screwed everything up. Easily the best episode of the season. *****.

The Collaborator: Does the universe conspire to screw Vedek Bariel over again and again? I was bummed Winn became Kai when I first saw the episode and knowing what comes later with her makes me regret it even more now. ***1/2.

Tribunal: One of the darkest DS9 episodes EVER the episode is a look at how messed up justice on Cardassia actually is. Completely unsettling. ***.

The Jem'Hadar: Great set-up episode that starts off on a silly trip to the Gamma Quadrant with Sisko, Jake, Quark and Nog and quickly devolves into a nightmare. I was sad Third Talak Talon never returned and that the telekinetic abilities of the Vorta were never explored again but this episode sets up the Founders quite well and leaves us on an uncomfortable note. *****.

Star Trek: First Contact

Wrath of Khan may be higher regarded among Star Trek geeks and The Voyage Home preferred by general audiences but in my mind the best Star Trek movie ever is First Contact. HUGELY satisfying smack-down between Picard and the Borg with awesome cameos (Barclay! The EMH!) and great character moments (Troi getting drunk, Data's disturbing romance with the Borg Queen). It also has a HUGE number of great lines. My absolute favorite is "Resistance is futile!" said mockingly by Data after he betrays the Borg Queen. I also loved the scene at the end of Cochrane meeting a familiar alien race for the first time. Patrick Stewart delivers one of his best performances ever as Picard who becomes increasingly unhinged throughout the movie and Brent Spiner as always steals the show as Data. The best Star Trek movie EVER and one of the best Star Trek stories of all time. *****.

Comments

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

I think they were going for a Wrath of Khan ending. With B4 in the mix they can bring him back anytime they like.

In what ways did the story not respect canon? The only thing I can think of was Worf being back on the Enterprise instead of being an ambassador to the Federation. Other than that I thought it was pretty respectful of canon.

[stewie-14.livejournal.com]

It didn't contradict canon, it just ignored it. After the Borg, the Dominion, and Species 8472 we're still supposed to be intimidated by the Romulans? After we've seen what Section 31 is capable of, no one knows anything about the Remans and their awful plans?

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

Good point about Section 31. BUT...

I didn't think the movie was trying to portray the Romulans as intimidating at all. They were simply the villains of the piece. It was a Romulan movie instead of an episode. Maybe after Insurrection they should have had another ultimate evil enemy like in First Contact but I think they decided to just go with a personal one for Picard instead.

Oh, and Species 8472 SUCKS. They were cool for Scorpion Parts 1 and 2 but In the Flesh retconned them into a group of wimps.

[stewie-14.livejournal.com]

I could have accepted the Romulans as the villain (and a wussed up version of them, oh what would Commander Sela think now) if this wasn't the final Next Generation movie.

I don't know Species 8472 very well. I didn't watch Voyager.
I know they exist from the pieces of the show I caught. But I'm not really familiar with their arc. Can you sum it up for me?

"Scorpion, Parts 1 & 2" - Voyager enters Borg space, only to find the Borg are losing to Species 8472. Voyager makes a deal with the Borg to be escorted through their space.
In the Flesh" - Voyager finds out that Species 8472 have built a Starfleet Academy simulation in preparation for an invasion of Earth.

What else happened with them? And I never saw the end of "In the Flesh". How did it end? What retconned them into wimps.

[mattzimmer.livejournal.com]

It turned out that Starfleet was WRONG to team up with the Borg and that the Borg actually persecuted Species 8472 instead of the other way around. 8472 debuted as this HUGE threat that was so powerful it could take on THE BORG (their catchphrase was "The Weak Will Perish" ) and they basically make peace with Janeway and Company in a one off episode that sucked. I like it when villains have different facets (they've shown this with the Dominion and even the Borg itself) but they COMPLETELY gutted the entire concept of the aliens in one lame episode.