Babel

DVD, DS9 S1 (Babel)

This is a good one to see if you don't know anything about the series, because it's a completely self-contained episode. On the other hand it doesn't really add anything to the ongoing story, and there isn't all that much to say about it! It's certainly good, with a traditional virus story that escalates into action for Odo, but mostly it's simply figuring out what to do and looking out to see who's going to utter a wrong word and be taken by aphasia! There is a certain level of tension developed by that, but I felt the reveal of the cause came too early and could have been manipulated to increase the stakes, a bit like 'Civil Defense' later did. To be fair they were still finding their feet at this point, so the addition of a TNG-type episode was probably needed for them to get it out of the way and prepare for more DS9-only stories that couldn't be done elsewhere.

On the good side all the main characters are included well. Initially it appears to be an O'Brien episode, showing the bad day he's having where everything breaks down, but if it had to be pinned down I would say it was more of an Odo/Quark-centric one. They always work so well together, and they had a lot of good lines, baiting and gloating between them. At the beginning Odo's enjoying Quark's bad business, but by the end he comes to rely on the Ferengi, a rare moment for the series, when the station is run by Quark!

My favourite line is about Rom, after Odo catches Quark illegally using a crew replicator (after disguising himself as a trolley which Quark foolishly pushes along!) - he knew Quark had lied that his brother had fixed the bar's replicators because 'Rom is an idiot' who 'couldn't fix a straw if it was bent!' Prophetic words indeed, and shows how little Rom reveals of himself to anyone... We find out the station's been there for eighteen years, which is good to know. But it's strange how little of substance there is to note about the episode, despite it being a good one. Dax and Kira show signs of a friendship, walking together along the Promenade, and Quark and Odo continue their odd couple antics, but it's a definite reset button episode, which for DS9 is a little unique.

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