DVD, DS9 S5 (Trials and Tribble-ations)
The enormity of the achievement is immense and remains unrivalled. It wasn't the first episode to recreate something of its parent series, 'TNG' had done that with 'Relics' and the Holodeck recreation of Kirk's bridge. And it wouldn't be the last to do it, either - 'Enterprise' built an entire Constitution-class bridge set for its two-parter, 'In A Mirror, Darkly.' But neither of them went into the sets as a place to exist in and explore as much as 'Tribble-ations' did, another case of 'DS9' triumphantly trumping any other series. The question of the original Enterprise came up when new people came and designed a modern version for 'Star Trek XI,' and while I can understand the business reasons for why they didn't produce an identical replica of the creaky old 60s sets (even 'The Motion Picture' realised you needed a bigger, more high-resolution setup for the widescreen medium of film), it could never feel the same, and for most people that knew Trek before it became Lens Flare Trek, that original bridge will always be the definitive home of Kirk, Spock and the crew, so to have some of our favourite characters hook up with it, not just see it on a viewscreen, but actually go there and interact with it…
It's not solely about 'TOS,' this is still a 'DS9' episode after all, so it all happens in a framing story of a visit from Temporal Investigations. There'd been time travel since 'TOS,' and in 'TNG' we began to get an idea of people from further in the future beyond the 24th Century, coming backwards. In 'Voyager' Season 3 we learn of the Temporal Prime Directive. It all led to the understanding that the next, next generation was a place where travelling through time was becoming as easy as hopping in the Transporter. It stands to reason a department would be set up to investigate any occurrences of time travel or time-related anomalies, but it was this episode, primarily a comedy, that gave us that insight (much as Section 31 was to be introduced next season). So there are some big, important subjects being addressed despite the fun everyone's having. Well, everyone but Mr. Worf. His part in the story brings us to the first onscreen, official answer as to why Klingons in the 23rd Century look different to others. The answer is: they don't discuss it. Yes, it's a convenient get-out clause, leaving it to 'Enterprise' to explain years later, which, as it turned out, wasn't that interesting (except that it had links to Khan!). The point here is that they were enjoying the continuity, they weren't burdened by it, (the excuse used by unimaginative writers who want to justify making up whole other timelines, for example). They kept the mystery intact while having an inside joke with viewers.
The Klingon debate wasn't the only question about the warrior race left unanswered. After the recent break and reinstatement of the ceasefire, it now appears they're back to fighting again as the Defiant has to be careful on its journey to Cardassia Prime (which would be a much unhappier place on their next visit, I believe, at the end of the series). The Cardassians and Bajorans are still allies after last season, and in that spirit they have agreed to return one of the 'lost' Orbs of the Prophets. They'd probably had scientists studying it for years with no success, and as a show of good faith it's about as good as the Bajorans could hope for. Just happens to be the Orb of Time, one of those that hadn't been heard of before, but that's why it's important to keep the doors open in as many directions as possible, so that writers can snatch a piece here or an idea there, and put them together in a test tube, and 'BANG!' There needed to be a way to accomplish the time travel, this being as good as any, useful then that Kira was along so she could look into the Orb and, I imagine, contact the Prophets (who live outside of time), and get them to bring the Defiant home, since they wouldn't want The Sisko hanging around before 'the game' had even started.
The Defiant had gifted a lot of the limelight to the old Runabouts in the season so far, and that, combined with more focus on the O'Briens, a return to the Bajorans and their religion, and an enemy on the borders who could attack or cause trouble at any moment (the Klingons now, the Cardassians then), makes this season, more than any other, feel like an amalgamation of the first two, but with the later-season style, than any other. That mix returned it to what 'DS9' had been, while suffusing it with what it had changed into, one of the reasons this was the most consistently well done season of Trek. But back to the Defiant. It had been used to tow the Jem'Hadar ship back, and had served as Worf's home during Quark's winning of Grilka, but this is the first time it actually went on a mission, cloaking in that beautiful way, and coming almost nose to nose with the classic starship everyone knows: The Enterprise! Be specific, which one? There have been five. 'Six,' corrects Lucsly. That innocuous little line heralded the coming of the big 'E' of 'First Contact,' but if you weren't paying attention the detail could slip past. They could have been talking about the NX-01, though it wasn't a Federation ship (and wasn't even a twinkle of Doug Drexler's mouse then). Or they might have been referring to the 1701's refit for 'TMP.' But it's most likely that, as the eighth film was in production, this was a sly nod to the approaching unveiling, so not only does this episode tribute 'The Original Series,' it does so for the latest production too!
Over the years much has no doubt been written about how great this episode is, how it is the best tribute to 'TOS' they ever made, and I agree, but that's only part of this episode's charm - it's still a 'DS9' story, it still features 'DS9' music and 'DS9' characters, and the delight of it all is seeing those people blending in so well with an era almost a century before them. But it's not that long ago for some: Dax' symbiont lived through that time so she gets excited about the technology, the look, the people she knew back then. I don't know why Koloth wasn't shown in this episode, except that scenes he was in were more private - the station's office; his own ship - it would have been above and beyond what could be expected to invent a whole sequence on the Klingon Battlecruiser, and difficult to pull off, since we never saw the inside of one of those on 'TOS.' That would be going so far beyond a tribute as to be obsessive, and far too much for a TV episode to carry on its budget. But even then, everything they did was above and beyond - recreating corridors, sets, models, effects, sounds; integrating people into old footage…
What happened to those two people in Kirk's lineup? The ones Bashir and O'Brien replaced? In the original episode, and you might say, the original timeline, two other crew members were standing in that spot. Where did they go, were they erased from existence, or did something the Niners did mean they never came to the bar or got arrested by security? Actually, that's a huge point on its own: is this an alternate timeline? We see changes (only moderate ones), such as the panel behind Kirk and Spock that Sisko pretends to fix; the bar fight now has extra people. And what happened to the 'civilians,' Worf and Odo? I can't imagine Worf slinking off when the redshirts arrive, even to protect the timeline - his honour would mean more to him. Did Odo grab him and get him out of there, are there even any security forces on K7? It's all a mystery, but not in a way that pulls down the veil of belief in the story. The whole point of Temporal Investigations is to see if anything was done that altered history, but maybe history is a little more robust than 'drinking a coffee stopped someone being born,' or 'getting into a turbolift made someone transfer to another ship.' All the same, if you go back and watch the original encounter on K7 you don't see these people there so it can't be a predestination paradox! I think they went in, did what they needed to do and then got out without any pollution, and that's what the writers did with their loving salute to their forebears. They went in, fulfilled the potential of what the technology was capable of at the time, enjoyed themselves, and yet still made it a 'DS9' episode.
DVD is not a kind medium to some TV series. Effects that were created before the digital visual medium don't always appear as 'right' as they did on the grainier, blurrier video. I never noticed any problems with the shots in this episode until I watched it on DVD. I emphasise that problem as an exaggeration, but I could see the shadow on O'Brien as Kirk passes was not quite as perfect, or that moment Dax passes Kirk on the bridge wasn't as seamless as I'd thought. It's nothing major, not at all, I wouldn't complain about something so small, but I couldn't help but see very slight variation compared to the video or TV episode I'd seen before. That's why I'm gradually coming round to the idea that High Definition versions of Trek series are maybe not such a good idea. The work that must go in to smooth out any inconsistencies could be incredibly intense. But at the same time, with screen technology moving on, will we be able to watch the episodes as we always did? It may be necessary to view in HD when all content and screens are in that mode. But could there be an alternative to this, some kind of reduced complexity mode that doesn't alter the episode, but renders it watchable on a modern screen? Something to consider, especially when you think it's not just effects that can be shown up, but joins in makeup or sets, and a whole world of trouble is created.
The real trouble that was created in this story was an in-universe thing: the revival of the Tribble race. It's hard to believe the Klingons could have hunted down every single one in the galaxy (maybe a Tribble sleeper ship was sent off like the Botany Bay, out of the known galaxy to one day return and wreak revenge on the humanoids that destroyed them - sounds like a plot for a new Trek film there!), but it does appear they were wiped out, and now, quite apart from fulfilling a dream of Sisko speaking to Kirk (Picard's currently still in the lead, having had scenes with Kirk, Picard and Janeway, but outside the Captain's, Riker's been on the ships of all bar Kirk, and was in the same film as him!), his worst Temporal transgression is that some of the Tribbles came back to the future. Odo's new status as a warmblooded humanoid makes a difference when he discovers the joys of petting the small, furry animals - is he warmblooded? We've not seen him bleed yet, but he must be to have human organs. He must also have the chemicals that run around our brains and influence how we react to certain things, as in the case with his Tribble. His sneering attack on Worf, asking if Klingons still sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt is almost as good as his sarcasm to Kira in 'Par'Mach' ("Cousin…?"), and I only wish Quark could have been roped in on the K7 hunt with him!
All we see of Quark is him recreating the classic pose of the barkeeper at K7, Tribbles all around him, even on his head - this is also a scene you can spot the elusive Ensign/Lieutenant Jones, standing near the bar talking to someone. I haven't spotted Jones so far this season, but a lot of screen time has been away from the station. So this is the only episode in any-verse where Jones and Mr. Leslie both appear! Can't say I noticed Les, but he was credited on Memory Alpha, though that could mean just the original episode - oh well, another reason to watch this one through again! One observation I made, if noticing an aural oddity can be described so: Korax the Klingon pronounces Klingonese, as Klingonee. And that's from the 'TOS' portion of the bar scene. That series could be quite inconsistent with things like that, but it stands out because Korax is so close to camera as he says it, almost spitting it out. It's a shame Michael Pataki is dead (this year I think), and several others of those involved with the original are too. It shows the passage of time better than old effects or bygone uniforms. But that's what this episode is about, celebrating that past that you can't go back to, that moment in a person's life that is irretrievable. 'Star Trek: Generations' said it best, about making the most of every moment because it will never come again.
Let's be honest, we wouldn't want to go back to a time when you couldn't watch Trek episodes unless they were on TV, there were no spinoffs, films, books (that were good), or any idea that this thing you liked to watch would last a lifetime. It puts it in perspective: 'TOS' started it all, 'TNG' built on it, but 'DS9' played with everything and sculpted the finest construction over that solid base. It couldn't have happened without 'TOS,' so the salute stands, but 'DS9' is the one that made Trek real. So I must say that this episode isn't the greatest story, nor the greatest episode, but it remains one of the greats because of what it did, and that position makes it one of the most important and essential episodes of the series.
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment