Starship Down

DVD, DS9 S4 (Starship Down)

This was considered one of the least successful stories of this season by its makers, but I think it was probably more to do with the vision they had from the original pitch - that of a tense, underwater submarine drama set on the Defiant. I can understand their disappointment with the final creation when budgets and business decisions forced a change to the atmosphere of a gas giant, but that is to overlook the most important side to the episode: the character interaction. 'Voyager' went on to do a real underwater episode and while the effects wouldn't compare favourably with that, when watching this compared to the last two episodes I find this the closest to being a classic. Not quite there, but close. And the effects work, the first on the series to use extensive computer graphics, was pretty good, giving us something we rarely see on the TV series', though a little more in the films with their bigger budgets: CGI ships and a dense atmosphere to play cat and mouse in.

The most obvious comparison in Trek is to the famous nebula battle in 'Star Trek II' with two ships hunting each other in 3D space without proper sensors. It's a situation that bears much repeating, and this has the added complication of another ship to protect from two enemy vessels. If the tension level in the episode isn't up to what it should be I guess Director Alexander Singer would have to take much of the blame as he was probably unfamiliar with the 'DS9' sets, this being his first time on the series after 'TNG.' For once, that modern day trope of shaky, handheld cameras would have found its perfect medium and would likely have improved some of the scenes on the bridge or when Bashir has to close the hatch. I would also suggest that when the line about cutting all non-essential power was said, all those bright white lights on the bridge should have dimmed as it seems slightly ridiculous that all this power can be used when they're 'running silent' as it were. Usually in red alert sequences lights are dimmed, so I don't know why that didn't happen in that scene, unless it was to make the lower lighting after the ship's been damaged, more dramatic.

The only improvements I could think of was for a better sense of the ship being cut off from itself internally. Worf says he'll go and take control in Engineering, and next we see him, he ambles in down there as if he'd just strolled down a corridor. Having Worf struggle through conduits and damaged corridors would have shown his Klingon coolness and added some visual confirmation of the difficulty of getting around in the ship as well as providing a bit of action. The same goes for the moment Bashir must evacuate his patients and seal the corridor. A fixed camera shows him and some other crewmembers leaving a room and walking down a corridor with little of the urgency of a last second dash to safety in the midst of confusion, hurting the scene. Only when Dax and Muniz get blown to the ground as they hurry to get out in time does the gas present a threat. It was done better in a 'Voyager' episode (something you won't find me saying often in 'DS9' reviews), when the Doctor is forced to shut a hatch on straggling crewmembers before the ship will be affected, but shockingly I can't remember which episode it was.

Going to the Gamma Quadrant is rightly shown to be a risky business, even in the heavy warship Defiant. It's good that they reintroduced the Karemma and their trade agreement through the Ferengi and reinforced the presence of the Jem'Hadar when two of their ships arrive to break up the trade meeting. It says something about Sisko that he'd much rather risk a confrontation with them than play his role as the Emissary in a Bajoran festival, something that would be addressed more directly in 'Accession.' This was an episode full of the addressing of things that had either been forgotten or underplayed. Kira's personal awe of serving with her Emissary had never really been known before this as she'd kept her personal feelings hidden using her military training and her day to day work to submerge those thoughts. Nana Visitor's performance is the best of the episode as she gets worked up trying to keep Sisko from dying after a meeting between his head and a console. Actually, she seemed to get a harder knock in the attack than Sisko did, but then she's always been hard-headed and he must have hit the corner in just the right place.

Other things that get some airing are the situation between Bashir and Dax after he rescues her. Cleverly he obeys orders (shutting the hatch), yet doesn't undermine his values as a physician in one of the most heroic moments of the episode (rivalled only by Quark!), going into the gas-filled corridor, while everyone on the bridge assumes the worst. The playful teasing of Season 1 is recalled and the fact that Bashir was always chasing after Dax is talked about, another example of his growth and maturity as a character from the puppy-like greenhorn of the early episodes, while Dax has lost her aloof assuredness for a twinkling in the eye and a playful attitude. They're on the same level now and good friends because of it.

Another part of the ship and another part of the story has Worf being taught people skills by O'Brien, reviving their connection from the Enterprise days. This was the storyline I enjoyed most, partly thanks to the very good supporting cast which included the first appearance of Muniz, an occasional foil for O'Brien. He's got none of the smart-aleck comments he would display in 'The Ship' and seems quite nervous, but it's good to see him. I also noticed Tom Morga, a regular stuntman, for the first time, but only because I'd read he played Ensign Janklow and the unusual name stuck in my mind and leapt out at me when O'Brien says it. Stevens, the guy who shows a bit of insubordination to a surprised Worf was another good character, creating something for the Klingon to overcome in his rocky road to learning command.

Worf's led security on the Enterprise, but that was different to dealing with non-commissioned crewmembers that, as O'Brien points out, haven't been to the Academy. Worf has to learn to have some feeling for his men instead of barking out orders and expecting absolute loyalty. Being on a starship, in his element was an easier position in which to hone his skills as it's familiar territory - he'd even experienced ship-wide failure in 'Disaster' on 'TNG' which was a slightly better story of a starship down in some ways. One question I had as I watched, and answered for myself, was why Kira doesn't take command. She's the First Officer on the station, but this is a Federation starship so it seems right that Worf should take over, leaving Kira free to support the injured Sisko.

The fourth storyline is one of the better ones, featuring Quark as it does. The Ferengi's deal-brokering is shown to be as crooked as expected, the Federation only ever accepted them as middleman because they were the first to discover about the Dominion. James Cromwell, extremely lanky and continuing the bird-like look of the Karemma was on the verge of his career takeoff having just done 'Babe,' so it's great that he got a 'DS9' episode in before going off to become famous, though it does seem a shame his face wasn't seen as it could have been good publicity for the series in subsequent years. No matter, he'd already been in some 'TNG' and would go on to his most high profile Trek role in 'First Contact' shortly after, though he never forgot his Trek roots, agreeing to an uncredited appearance in the 'Enterprise' pilot. He was a good choice to be the next Karemman after the equally gangly John Fleck had originated the species in Season 3's 'The Search,' his best moments being when he and Quark find imminent destruction hilarious, and at the end when he proves he's not such a mug as he seemed, by winning at Dabo.

Quark gets to save the Defiant just as he once saved DS9 (in 'Babel'), his gambling instincts preventing the Jem'Hadar torpedo, wedged in the Mess Hall bulkhead, from going off. It's important to note that if it wasn't for that instinct everyone else's efforts would have been for naught. Quark is on wily top form, clearly relishing getting away from his small-time bar business and black market plots to something bigger, making me think he really should have packed up the bar (or handed it over to Rom) and pursued a career setting up deals for the Nagus. First he has to explain away his cheating practices that took advantage of the Karemman's good faith (just as his people planned to do to all the Gamma Quadrant races in 'The Nagus'), blaming Rom for the 'misunderstanding.' Then he takes a different tack, flattering Hanok for seeing through his schemes.

Usually he faces more violent opponents and in that case he knows when to cringe and wail, but the Karemma are the opposite of the Ferengi, a reputable, fair-minded race of traders that work out values and stand by them, so Quark knows the best way is to get across the excitement of risk in business to win Hanok back. The Karemma's spotless reputation is called into question a little when Hanok admits they make the torpedoes for the Jem'Hadar, the same as the one that failed to go off, but generally they seem honest, so it's a shame Quark's twisted Ferengi values and lyrical description of gambling rub off on Hanok, possibly contaminating his people's ethical trading, though it's probably through fear of the Dominion that the Karemma are the way they are, and it was interesting to note that Ferengi ships hadn't been stopped by them. Since the Dominion don't do 'oversight' could this be one of the ways they smuggled changelings into the Alpha Quadrant, aboard unsuspecting Ferengi ships?

I always thought of this as a bit of a weak episode, but it successfully weaves the four stories and gives them all tag scenes at the end, brilliantly put together in the bar scene where it goes from Quark seeing Hanok win at Dabo, much to Odo's satisfaction, to Bashir listening to Morn babble on about his 17 siblings, and being rescued by Dax ("now we're even"), then finishes up at Worf and O'Brien who shows his Klingon friend that while it's good to slacken the reins sometimes, you don't let go of them and make it too easy on the men, as shown by his cutting off four hours from Stevens' repair estimate. That theme of engineers pushing time limits a bit has been a running joke since Scotty. Earlier in the episode O'Brien's estimate is halved by Sisko and he just has to get on with it because he's part of that 'miracle-worker' society. That engineers need a problem to solve is worked into Worf's story perfectly when he gives them a project to make a weapon and they go off chattering excitedly about what they can do. It's one of the best scenes portraying the department as being occupied by boys who love toys. O'Brien rightly keeps his own profile down, allowing Worf space to command, but their history allows him to offer advice which all shows his experience. It should show after all those times he melted into the background as Transporter Chief on the Enterprise!

Although it isn't quite a classic it was a lot better than I expected and the submarine style of battle came across well with torpedoes slicing through the gas and the Defiant having to list to one side to avoid impact. It was the first episode of the season in which the crew all go off on the Defiant together (apart from Odo), and the first mission aboard for Worf which all added up to quite a thrill. Would it truly have been better underwater? I'm not sure, it may have just been a novelty to see the Defiant submerged, and after the headache they experienced in creating the rainstorm for 'The Visitor' which flooded the stage, I'm not surprised they opted out of water-based fun. Though I mention the director may have been a flaw, there were shots that stood out: looking up at the terrified faces of Quark and Hanok during the attack; seeing a crewman blasted right towards camera in a massive explosion; and best of all the tag scenes in Ops where the camera roams around the bar. One shot that confused me was when Bashir pulls Dax into the room to escape the gas. It looks like a small room, but later, a shot from above reveals it to be a tiny cupboard! When telling Dax about their problems Bashir never mentioned the walls were closing in…

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