The Storyteller

DVD, DS9 S1 (The Storyteller)

Anyone who says DS9 was a sombre series hasn't watched enough episodes. It has some of the funniest episodes of all Trek, and this is another example. Whenever Jake and Nog get together there's bound to be trouble, but throw in a young woman to catch their attention and even more chaos is bound to ensue. One of the best jokes of the season is the prank Nog plays on his friends when they sneak into the security office. He goes off to nab Odo's bucket (the first time it's seen onscreen), and flings it at Jake, pouring grey gunk all over him - of course it seems like Odo, but is actually oatmeal. The joke gets funnier for us when the real Odo appears while they're collapsed in laughter.

The main story, featuring O'Brien and Bashir on Bajor has several parallels with the Jake and Nog story. Both involve Bajorans with two groups (Varis Sul, the girl, is involved in dispute with a rival faction, while on the planet Hovath is in the villager's bad books), both have a good bit of humour, with Bashir getting great enjoyment out of O'Brien's predicament. This is the first episode that has them together for more than a scene or two, and the first chance Bashir has to get to know the engineer. They may be chalk and cheese, but I think the Doc realises he doesn't have to put on an act with O'Brien. That they end up as the most solid friendship since Kirk and Spock (even though they seem closer to Spock and McCoy at this stage!), is what DS9 did best: Moving things on, but logically and satisfyingly.

Like this episode. It is Nog's Ferengi logic, and Varis' taking of a risk that solves the dispute. Even that shot at the end links the two storylines, as we see the young Bajoran girl leave for her meeting, and the camera pans round to see the two Starfleet officers returning from Bajor. It's taken a while for the series to get to an episode set on the planet, but it was a good one, with some dramatic shots, such as the old Sirah, standing aloft on the crag, his beard bristling and robe flapping out behind him like Moses, as the Dalrok appears. I liked the effects for that creature, it was different, and the attacks were very effective, sending Bajorans flying. Maybe you can say that the village looked a bit compact, and there weren't enough villagers, but we didn't see the whole place, and I felt there was a good number of extras, enough to make the scene real.

Three of the actors appear in other Trek productions: I think the Sirah was an alien in 'TNG', Faren played a temporal investigator in the 'DS9' Tribbles episode, and Hovath, the young Sirah went on to cause trouble for Captain Archer in 'Enterprise', almost a decade later. I like the way the series isn't afraid to get down and dirty. You see some TV and the characters never end up in water or throw anything around on the expensive sets, but here Quark has a drink thrown in his face and Jake and Nog get oatmeal all over themselves and Odo's office! It makes things more real. It might be just me, but Sisko seemed more reserved than usual, managing not to lose his temper, and seeming almost... tired. Perhaps the events of losing Kai Opaka have weighed more heavily than is obvious?

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