Captive Pursuit

DVD, DS9 S1 (Captive Pursuit)

I always enjoy this episode, because even if you know what's coming, the joy is in the watching of it. They could have made an exciting, more action-packed episode about an alien that arrives chased by others, and it might have been good, but what is more interesting is seeing O'Brien's and other characters reactions to this.

Tosk is a brainwave - completely alien, childlike in his understanding of others, completely honest, with no guile or falseness in him, bred for a single purpose. To be hunted. Tosk's inability to fit in, and the Chief's easygoing attitude towards him, make for humourous scenes. While we laugh at Tosk's strangeness, and O'Brien's efforts to help him understand, we never laugh at Tosk himself, for he projects, no he has, a quiet dignity, a nobility, that later we find is rooted in his absolute conviction and pride in who and what he is. Most people would like to be like Tosk. And on the purely visual side, Tosk is equally fascinating, the makeup of which Michael Westmore deservedly won an Emmy.

The body language, lack of personal space, and abilities such as leaping large distances and disappearing chameleon-like into any background, also add to the alien attractiveness of something new. It could be speculated that Tosk were a race used in the genetic creation of the Jem'Hadar, since they both have a reptilian body, and some of the same traits. Scott MacDonald isn't as prolific as some recurring guest actors, but he's appeared occasionally, and here he gives perhaps his best performance in bringing to life this alien through the heavy costume and full body makeup.

This is most certainly an O'Brien episode, with most of the others only supporting in minor roles (although Sisko and Odo's steadfast command of the Promenade at the hunter aliens breach is heroic, and Quark gets a few good lines such as commenting on how O'Brien's face gets a lot pinker than most humans when he's agitated - something that's funnier for being true!), and while we don't find out much concrete new details for him, we do get mention of him and his wife's troubles again. This is about the only continuing narrative from previous episodes (unless you count the wormhole spewing forth its first visitors from the Gamma Quadrant), and is another standalone.

Interesting to note would be how fast Odo's security office door gets replaced (and that's the second time it's been damaged, the other being from the angry mob in 'A Man Alone'). It's blown apart in one scene, yet it's back to normal shortly after! Also, it's not clear if the hunters that Tosk shot at the end were dead or stunned. Usually in Trek if you see someone slumped over with wisps of smoke curling up from their immobile form, they're dead, but that would be significantly harder to explain to Starfleet, than the problems Sisko already had - "Oh, we also got three killed" wouldn't go down well. It was left uncertain, but whether intentionally or not I can't decide.

And the effects were very good, with the beam that can reveal Tosk's disguised body, and harsh, white transporter effects. The ability to absorb phaser fire in their arms was impressive too. An advanced (in technological terms anyway), race that resembled their prey leading me to wonder if they had bred the Tosk from their own people. Perhaps an even darker and more disturbing follow up story could have been created? Finally, we hear that DS9 has about 300 people aboard, we see the holding cells for the first time - and it's a great idea to have a much larger area behind Odo's office, and gives the place a life beyond what you see, because you're constantly accepting that there are other rooms off of the sets we do see. And Odo does his shifting. So far he's been a bag, rat, trolley, chair and now painting, for those keeping track.

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