The Maquis, part I

DVD, DS9 S2 (The Maquis, part I)

Existing merely to set up a new series isn't enough to ensure a solid story and strong character scenes (which, by the way, are present and correct), but the chance to help create a new faction in the Trek universe, and one that would have more repercussions for DS9 than for the series they were created for, is certainly a worthy goal. Seeing the teaser for the first time with no knowledge of the Maquis must have been a shock moment as we see a Starfleet man perform some task on a docked ship which proceeds into a shattering explosion when leaving the station (starting an episode by destroying a ship in a fiery blast is always a fine opening, and was done a few times on the series).

Knowing all about the Maquis is one of the few times that pre-knowledge of a storyline detracts from the experience as it's all old hat, but the episode stands up, not only for the cliffhanger ending (though calling it 'The Maquis, Part I' was a giveaway!), but for many enjoyable conversations and interplay between characters. Saying that, the episode is full of anger! You've got the minor characters of the human and Cardassian colonists at each other's throats (literally, at one point when Amaros leaps over a table to attack Gul Evek); Dukat isn't too happy with his own people; Sisko is furious about the whole situation (and again, isn't too happy with Cal Hudson there at the end!), especially when Kira vents (it's the only suitable word) her opinion about the Federation not standing up for their colonists; Odo and O'Brien have it out over security (oddly mimicking the state of play in 'Dramatis Personae'), and Cal is bitter towards the Federation.

You'd think this would make for a grumpy, negative episode, but there are also some lighter moments mainly from the sub-plot of Quark becoming involved in business dealings with the Vulcan, Sakonna. That's a little odd, as we learn in Season Five that Quark doesn't agree with dealing in weapons, but he's quite happy to act as go-between for a supplier this time. Maybe it was the Vulcan's 'charms' that made him do this, or perhaps this was the incident that put him off weapon sales? She's not the first Vulcan in the series, not even the first female, but she does get to do the first nerve pinch, and she adds texture to the less sympathetic aspects of the story, which strangely is the Maquis itself. Only Kira, in an impassioned speech against the Cardassians, understands what these people can be going through, and identitifes with their terrorism, if she can't sanction it.

The other voice that speaks well of them is Cal Hudson, an old friend of Sisko's. Unsurprising as we learn he's one of the leaders! There was something about him right from the start - he's a huge, imposing granite slab of a man, whose head appears to have been chiselled out of his body, and he has a deeper look behind his eyes than Sisko notices. It's all hidden behind friendly charm, and it's fun seeing him meet his old friend Dax for the first time as Jadzia, and good to hear him and Sisko discussing old times with their wives, Jennifer and Gretchen, together. The image he paints of Sisko in lederhosen drinking beer and eating sausages is hilarious and quite out of the blue!

All the negativity seems to point to the Maquis, and although we hear about the Cardassian side of things, we don't see it. All we see are colonists getting angry, committing terrorist acts, and Dukat, previously a bit of a villain, is all helpful advice and smiles. I guess this means they were painting the Maquis as villains, but it's also possible to identify with their plight from Hudson's talk. But they definitely come off in a bad light, which must have been so that Chakotay and co. would find it harder to integrate into the USS Voyager. It would have been a bold move to include a character that would later be in the cast of that series, but it probably wouldn't have made business sense as they wanted to have the impact of all the new characters in the first episode.

At least Gul Evek is in all three Maquis strands from TNG, DS9 and Voyager, to provide a continuity. The only problems that I can see are with the lack of ship visuals, as a space battle was just what was needed to add the extra spice to the cerebral side of the episode needed to balance it out into a full piece. Usually the graphical computer representation of a conflict are all we need for the flavour, and the actor's reactions fill in the blanks, but on this occasion it lessened the impact considerably, perhaps because we'd already seen a ship explode early on. In the same way, they mention the Badlands, but we don't see it in all its swirly glory, which lessens the 'texture' of the episode. It was a blast having Sisko and Dukat go off on a mission together, especially considering the way things panned out in the series. At this stage we don't know quite what to make of the wily Cardassian, and he's as interesting as Garak in that regard.

That security guard that gets nerve pinched: how did he know a Vulcan was with the false security officer because he certainly doesn't have time to see her? Maybe he recognised the neck pain when he woke up. Dukat was a little helpful to his captors, walking up the steps they drag him up after he's knocked out! I almost lost count of the throwaway connections - we have mention of Vulcans, Romulans, Bolians (again I noticed that female Bolian in the background who's supposedly fond of Odo!), Yridians, even Lissepians (seen in 'Progress' and mentioned in 'The Homecoming' - the 'Star Trek Encyclopedia' is a wonderful thing!), but the best is the introduction of the running gag of Captain Boday, the Gallamite with the transparent skull!

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