S3E18, “Distant Voices” (story: Joe Menosky)

This is the one where Bashir gets old. Well, just in his mind. He gets zapped by some jerk alien and has to navigate a weird dream state where he is aging rapidly and encountering all the characters as representations of different parts of his mind, which is an excuse for them to break out of character and do weird stuff. The aging aspect, however, is brought on by his expressed anxiety about turning 30.

I really like how they’ve developed Bashir so far in the series, to the point where he can carry a full show easily now, without having to make it actually  about how someone else can’t stand him. He started out as know-it-all borderline-creepy kinda sexual harasser but has evolved into Good Guy Julian. One wonders if this was always the plan for him, or they were smart enough to realize it wasn’t working early on, and consciously steered him to a better place. At least he stayed on the show. I feel bad for characters (well, their portrayers, really) who are there to start but it just doesn’t work. My wife and I are watching Parks and Recreation right now, and the days of Mark Brandanowitz are long, long gone. I have done zero research on why the character went away (like if the actor left on his own or not), but it just seems like it found its groove when Ben & Chris showed up and they’d run out of steam with Mark anyway. At least they gave him the dignity of a written departure. I’m also slowly re-watching Newsradio and two regulars weren’t in the pilot. Instead they had an off-brand Joe and Katherine. The series regulars showed up in episode two, and in an act of standard sitcom suspension of disbelief, we accept that no one noticed they were completely different humans. So back to DS9, long-term character growth is a difficult thing—it’s hard enough for a staff of writers to consistently present a character who isn’t changing—but they’ve pulled it off. Plus it’s more than just evolving Julian, you have to have all the other characters come around to like him too, which has been painstakingly done over almost three seasons now.

I’ve also gotten to really like Siddig El Fadil as an actor, he’s got some natural comic timing–maybe not quite on par with Rene Auberjonois but at least up there with Armin Shimerman. He also has some impressive range, as is required for any Trek cast member getting routinely possessed by alien lifeforms, magic love spells, or, in this case, subject to rapid aging. This episode’s premise had some potential to get silly. It does, a little, on purpose, but that’s different. I mean like, the whole thing being silly, when Julian’s life was actually in some legit danger. But he carries the episode and sells it. I approved.

Some stuff:

• We learn that in Cardassian mystery stories, everyone is always guilty. The pleasure is figuring out who’s guilty of what, per Garak. This implies that on Cardassia, the movie Clue has been edited to only have ending C. Having extra murderers while still administering proper justice has established it as a cult classic there, too.
• Bashir is only 30? Most doctors are barely done with medical school at 30, and that’s only if they go straight through. Not only has he already become an experienced doctor, but he’s getting major award nominations. This is either sort of a timing oversight for the character or I take back all the nice things I said about him.
• I knew Siddig El Fadil was professionally known these days as Alexander Siddig. I did not know that he was going to start being credited that way next season. Also, he colloquially goes by “Sid.”

Overall: I’m not sure this is a good episode, but I liked it. It helps that I like Sid. But the story kept moving and was well-constructed. This is exactly the same kind of story that might be in TOS and be boring as hell. 4 out of 5.

S3E19, “Through the Looking Glass” (story: Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe)

The door to returning to the mirror universe was left open back in “Crossover” both in a literal sense, i.e., they know how to modify the teleporters to travel between them, and from a storytelling standpoint, i.e., when we decide it might be interesting to pop back over. Well, it’s time. Parallel O’Brien shows up, cleverly disguised as regular O’Brien, and forces Sisko to return to the mirror universe with him to help with a mission. (We never see what happened with regular O’Brien. Perhaps he got stunned by his parallel counterpart, or maybe he showed up on the bridge a minute later all, “Hey what’d I miss?”) Parallel O’Brien appeals to Sisko for help because the rebellion is doomed unless they can stop the Klingon/Cardassian alliance from completing work on a special sensor that will ferret them all out, like, immediately. Plus parallel Sisko was just killed, so it’d be easy to swap in our Sisko. And the kicker: the scientist developing the sensor is parallel Jennifer Sisko. In our universe, as is well-established, Jennifer has been dead for five years. In mirror universe she’s still alive, and actually also married to parallel Sisko, but only technically, because they hate each other and haven’t seen each other for years. So it’s some dirty pool from parallel O’Brien, but he also promises to return Sisko home if he can help them with this.

I love a good “only in sci fi” kinda setup, and this one’s like three layers deep. The trick is having it be as crazy as possible, while still being internally consistent. This one works great. Sisko can help some good guys while also having a chance to see his wife (in some form) again. And it makes for a fun episode, mostly for the hammy performances by the regulars. Sisko falls right into the swashbuckling space pirate role. Like, right into it. He’s instantly bellowing with swagger. I had to pause it and make a comment to Kristen about how easily he turned it on. She theorized that perhaps Sisko has this inside him all the time, he just represses it. More and more this season, that seems true. Similarly, Kira is in full-on vixen mode, toying with friends and enemies alike, and Bashir fills the weasel role, trying to usurp power in (he thinks) Sisko’s absence, only to get put in his place by a solid punch to the face.

The Ben/Jennifer scenes work pretty well, too. Really, really weird for Sisko. I’m not sure how Avery Brooks prepares for that really. “OK so it’s my wife, who perished years ago in a fire, and I get to see her again. I’m so happy! But she’s not actually my wife, kind of just a replica. So I’m sad! Though she married replica me, so there must be something there. I’m happy again! But she hates me. I’m sad!” Is it realistic that he’s able to convince her to join the rebellion? I’d say, probably—it’s established that her heart isn’t in the job and parallel Kira is some kind of terrible boss. But Sisko’s charm sells it, even if she knows something’s off with him.

Morn watch: Quark and Morn are busted for running an illegal vole-fighting ring. Although Odo and Sisko apparently lack concrete proof that was happening—Quark claims they are Morn’s pets. So all they can do is order them to dispose of the voles. Quark appeals to their sympathetic sides, claiming Morn loves the voles. “Poor Morn. This is gonna break his hearts.” Unpacking this gem:

• Hearts! Morn has >1 heart. That’s why he’s so full of love?
• Unclear why Morn actually doesn’t even appear. Maybe they were over budget for this episode and didn’t want to get Morn all suited up. Or maybe the line works better without Morn in the room. Either it’s funnier that way or Morn isn’t such a convincing liar. Wait, Quark’s lies are terrible, as usual. I dunno.

Overall: I think they’re handling the mirror universe well so far. Curious if it’ll come up again, particularly if our Sisko or parallel Jennifer would ever want to cross over for the other. But anyway, a really good one. 5 out of 5.

S3E20/21, “Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast” (story: Robert Lederman & David R. Long/Ronald D. Moore)

I always wonder about actors who play secondary characters that develop into such interesting roles that they may as well be regulars. Do they start getting perturbed they don’t get promoted to the main credits? I’m not sure that Garak doesn’t have more appearances that Jake at this point. I think he’s definitely more interesting than Jake—and maybe Dax for that matter—not that they are uninteresting, either. Just that Garak has been more developed, I guess because whatever the heck is going on with him almost always means something w/r/t the overall DS9 situation. Whereas Jake stories revolve around petty schemes with Nog or awkward teenage relationships, and Dax is usually just dealing with some weird Trill thing.

This pair of episodes serves as a crucial pivot point for Garak, with some actual resolution about his life satisfaction aboard DS9. We also learn much more about his relationship with the Cardassians and with Enebran Tain. And importantly, he finally gets called out for his habitual lying, insinuation, and obfuscation: Odo accuses him of being the boy who cries wolf, and unlike the overly polite Bashir, has had enough of it. Speaking of Odo, it’s a crucial pair of shows for him, too. He unravels the mystery of “Improbable Cause” and links Garak back to his DS9 life throughout “The Die is Cast.” We further learn that his feelings towards the Founders are not clear at all, at a fundamental level he wishes things were such that could join them. But both guys have the same problems. For one thing, they are genuinely attached to their lives on DS9, and they are not dudes with a long history of attachments. So they not only care about the people there, but both think the Federation is dipping into the Gamma Quadrant the right way, slowly and peacefully. Not the “let’s get a posse together” aggressive frontier power-grab tactics favored by the Cardassians and Romulans.

Speaking of which, the plan to send a band of ships into the Gamma Quadrant for a Pearl Harbor-style first strike is very, extremely, uncharacteristically stupid on the part of both races. Consider the lesson of “The Defiant.” Is it a good idea to take a blind run at one of the most critical worlds in the Cardassian Empire? No, it is not a good idea. Because they have taken some measure to protect it, in the form of a substantively large, exceedingly armed fleet. Further, it is well-established these are not only very militaristic societies, but they are super good planners. So should they take a similarly blind run at a world of changelings? Haha, goodness no, they should not. But they do, which engenders a lot of dying on their part, including Enebran Tain. Was it hubris? Desperation to establish themselves in the Gamma Quadrant before the better-positioned Federation had a chance?

Well, I actually kinda think it just simply didn’t make sense and was a script overreach, at least for “The Die is Cast.” It’s a great pair of episodes for pure watchability and the vital character takeaways for Garak and Odo, but we’ll have to leave it at that. The mystery of “Improbable Cause” makes more sense, but doesn’t really have a satisfying ending on its own, either. Though additional props to “Improbable Cause” for working in a number of really funny lines amidst a serious investigation. I loved the bit about trying to rig up quarters for the Yalosians, who require high concentrations of benzene and hydrogen sulfide in their environments, only it melted the carpet. And I loved this one:

Sisko: “But the question still remains: why would the Romulans want to have Garak killed?”
Odo: “I don’t know. Considering those uniforms of theirs, you’d think they’d appreciate a decent tailor.”

Odo’s biology corner: Odo doesn’t have a sense of smell. Did we already know that? Is his lack of senses becoming a running gag like Bender in Futurama, where he claims to be 40% of whatever element like ten different times over the course of the show? Safe to say DS9 tries to be consistent rather than deliberately defying viewers’ ability to canonize facts about their universe.

Overall: Important episodes, and quite good, but maybe a little incomplete for the full 5. I’ll go 4 out of 5.

S3E22, “Explorers” (story: Hilary J. Bader)

“Explorers” is a well-deserved light snack break after the intense “Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast” duo. Nothing super important happens. It’s mostly everyone just hanging around. I enjoyed it.

The primary thread has Sisko buying something like a model starship kit, only it is actual size and he means to fly the dang thing through interstellar space with Jake. He wants to re-create a Kon-Tiki-like Bajoran space voyage that will probably not kill them. Mostly this serves as a father-and-son time in which Jake is revealed to have received a writing fellowship offer, and Sisko gets to geek out over his spacecraft. The ship is fun. It has giant solar sails. We are told Sisko builds it, by hand, in like maybe a week. It also has hammocks, and he is pretty excited about the hammocks. They endure some mild peril, but the episode opts not to venture into full Apollo 13 territory, focusing more on Sisko and Jake bonding.

I liked how this story provided a way to show that Sisko and Dukat are just regular pals now. Dukat hears about the voyage attempt and calls to warn Sisko about the potential danger, but mostly, I think, just to chat. (And score an invite….???) And he’s waiting at the end of the voyage for some satisfied chuckling and to coordinate a fireworks display! (Fireworks that work in space, I guess.) The real question is: are we even scared of Dukat anymore? His last two appearances are (1) when his security systems hilariously backfired in “Civil Defense” and (2) when he got thoroughly humiliated in “Defiant,” while also being sad about missing his kid’s birthday. I continue to think we’re going to see some radical change from him, if we haven’t sort of seen it already.

Meanwhile, back on the station, the maturation of Julian continues. He enjoys some random flirtation with a dabo girl named Leeta. But it’s not classic awkwardly pushy Julian. She absolutely starts it, and like, no one could blame him here. Further, he forgets about Leeta as soon as he learns that DS9 is due for a visit by an old classmate, Elizabeth Lense. She’d finished first in their class, while he settled for second, on account of botching a relatively simple exam question. He’s intimidated by her, and always wondered how his life would have turned out if he’d had the opportunities available to a Starfleet valedictorian. It all turns out fine, though. It was just some weird misunderstanding and actually they should be friends. The grass isn’t always greener and people should step up and talk about stuff that’s bothering them, rather than letting negative feelings fester. Good lessons for everyday living.

Anyway the real reason this story exists is to create an opportunity for Bashir and O’Brien to get hammered together. To quell Julian’s nerves, he and O’Brien erase a bottle of Irish whisky in a truly delightful drinking scene that might be the highlight of the episode. Memory Alpha relates that the producers loved this scene, as it helped disassociate DS9 further from the more serious TNG. They had their share on TOS, but they would never have had a drunk scene on TNG. I don’t even know who’d be involved, honestly.

Riker: [Hair disheveled, a piece of gum snarled in his beard] Hey guys, let’s…let’s call Deanna.

Geordi: [Laying on the floor, VISOR askew on top of his head] I don’t know, Will. Let’s just play some more Super Smash Brothers.

Worf: [Surrounded by sinister Klingon liquor bottles, all empty. He appears completely sober anyway.] (Sternly) Do not compel me to confiscate your communicator, Commander.

Data: I have observed that Counselor Troi enjoys social gatherings and might appreciate such an invitation.

Riker: This guy! [Sloppily hugging Data] This guy gets it! [Stops hugging, jabs finger into Data’s chest] Don’t let anyone–ANYONE–say you don’t understand humans. [He pauses, takes a drink. Swallows.] I’m calling her.

[Geordi and Worf groan. Riker tries to tap his communicator, but has a bottle in his right hand, so is clumsily slapping his left hand against the wrong side of his chest]

Nah.

Morn watch: Morn and Quark are betting on how awkward Julian and Elizabeth’s encounter would be. (Why? Do they not have sports in the future?) Morn is seen hovering awkwardly in the background.

Overall: This is a super enjoyable episode that does a lot for the show, even if it is a bit ridiculous. 4 out of 5.