DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (Pilot)
I came to 'Starsky & Hutch' (or 'Starsky and Hutch' as this episode has it), back in my college days in the early 2000s when it was shown on Channel 5 in the daytime. Before that, I vaguely knew the name and that they were police or detectives of some kind, but apart from the general popular culture drip most people experience that gives us a basic peripheral grasp of most things, I didn't know or care about it. I saw the series erratically and I certainly never saw the first episode, so once I had developed an appreciation for the characters and I happened to see the first season boxed set DVD on sale for a very reasonable price back then, I decided to get a better picture of the series, or at least the beginning of it.
In most drama today a pilot episode is an excuse to show the origin story of the characters, how they meet, setting up plot threads to be picked up in the series proper and generally presenting a picture of how, who and why we should care. Back in the late '70s things weren't quite so carefully planned out, or to say the least, they weren't in cop shows like this. The episode which began it all, aside from being longer than the standard episode length, running to around 70 minutes, doesn't do any of the introducing you might expect, and they had to wait about 29 years for that in the stupid parody film of 2004 in which we were 'treated' to a story of how Starsky and Hutch met - it wasn't worth the wait. It's not particularly jarring, we just meet the characters and they quickly get on with their jobs, but for minor things this could have been an episode shown at any point in the series.
The biggest reason preventing this is that it's made clear the two detectives haven't known Captain Dobey very long as they rely on Huggy Bear their informant (who seems reluctant to help them even though their very lives are at risk which is quite far from the good friend he's portrayed as in most episodes), to tell them if he's a likely suspect to want them dead. Can you imagine them ever thinking Dobey would want them dead in other episodes? No (except maybe in fun), but it's made more acceptable because the character is different since he's played by Richard Ward who went on to be in the fourth season episode 'Huggy Can't Go Home' as an old mentor of Huggy's. He made a good Captain Dobey, but there's a good reason why he wouldn't have worked on an ongoing basis: his voice is fantastic, but once you get over the novelty it can become difficult to follow what he's saying sometimes, whereas you never had that difficulty with Bernie Hamilton - you always knew exactly what his Dobey thought!
The episode opens well, in that full darkness with only the distant lights of the city to provide some perspective, but if, as I did, you come to this episode having seen others before it, you can be forgiven for being confused by Starsky's red-striped tomato, the Gran Torino being driven by some unknown college boy and his girlfriend. The reason it confuses is because as far as I know there's no other episode of the series which features more than one of those cars at the same time (in the story - of course they used more than one from a production standpoint), and the car is so recognisable and iconic that the idea there could be another one is almost impossible to grasp at first! You can almost believe the boy is Starsky, it is dark after all, but you soon realise it isn't. I wonder if the two hitmen who chat about mundane things (not getting to see the end of a John Wayne film), before carrying out cold-blooded murder, inspired the ones in the film 'Pulp Fiction'? Why didn't the hitmen realise it wasn't their targets in the car since they could see and hear what was going on? The answer comes later in the twist that they knew exactly what they were doing and to whom.
So the car gets introduced first, although it isn't the real car. The other characters soon follow, and I like the way that certain things that would become running gags or details in the series are introduced here: Hutch is a fitness freak that eats all kinds of health foods, while Starsky can't comprehend such a diet and snacks on unhealthy stuff. Hutch has his battered old car which is such a contrast to Starsky's slick, shiny motor - that was something I'd actually forgotten and is one of my favourite things of the series, especially when you see in this episode just how Hutch treats it, landing thump on the roof. It was actually quite a good idea in maintaining the shock of the city criminals when they see the two driving around as it gives more credence to the attack that everyone's heard about: they aren't in the Torino so it must have got busted up, but somehow they survived. We also learn Hutch has been married, and one of the main gags which gets two or three outings here is the confusion over which one is Starsky and which is Hutch. And of course there's the rule that if you see a swimming pool one or both of them are sure to end up in it!
I like things that are positive and make you feel better about life, and after not having watched the series for a couple of years I'd forgotten that Bay City is not a nice place to be. It seems derelict in places, rundown, an open sewer, it's openly described as a toilet bowl that the two detectives are stuck in, two bugs that can't get out. This isn't the greatest invitation to a series, I must say, but that's the way it was back then. They later didn't concentrate on the low-life and ugly street views quite so much, revelling in the sunny bay and having a mix of locations, and to be fair, the harsh environment makes us care more about the main characters, especially when they believe it's only each other they can trust. So there was never any need to build up to a bond or show how they got to this point, they just were best mates doing the best job they could and we jump in for the ride.
They describe themselves as hard-nosed cops, not bothering with the convention of good cop, bad cop, and with so many people out there that don't like them, they have good reason to be that way, but even so we do get the occasional glimpse of their soft-heartedness, such as the moment Hutch gives the tramp some money - you can tell these aren't people that get enjoyment from simply going around and beating up the bad guys and getting a thrill from a fight, they are professionals that care about the city and its people. You can't imagine at this point when they're brazenly walking into Fat Rolly's bar and taking over the place, bullying the people and generally putting their foot down, that the series could go from this to the one in the fourth season when they go undercover as eccentric hairdressers, but Season 1 was much more realistic, tough and serious than it became later. The humour was evident even in this episode, but there was a lot more irony than comedy.
Something else that became a staple of the series and begins here are the quirky characters they meet in their day. Whether it's the mortician at the morgue, the pickpocket, Fat Rolly or the girl walking the dog, they all have an off-kilter something about them. I believe Rolly was in at least one other episode, one of the hitmen looked like the guy from 'Quadromania' and the other hitman was a regular background guy I think, but I was confused by Tallman as I had it in my head that he was Stryker, a similar character who also shows up in the first season. Maybe they both had steam rooms or something. Talking of which, that scene was amusing because you could tell from how gingerly Soul and Glaser were moving that they probably didn't have anything on under the towels - they were both positioning themselves so carefully and slowly, very aware of the camera's location. Maybe that was just an impression I got, but it was a strong one.
Another familiar face was the stunt guy that would often double for Glaser and showed up as several minor characters throughout the series as one of Tallman's associates who tells them his boss wants to see them - that scene, as good as it was (the moment they do a full, grinding circle and leave tyre marks on the road is funny), didn't make much sense. Why would the goons chase them through town instead of leaving a message at the station, or were they sent to forcibly bring them in? That wouldn't make sense either because Tallman wanted to show he was on his best behaviour, even offering the protection of his house so he couldn't be accused of coercing witnesses. I love the idea of them all going down to the trial the next day together! It also doesn't make sense that Starsky and Hutch would leap out of their car and run over to the one driven by what they thought were the hitmen because they wouldn't have had time to drag them out of it if they had been the hitmen - they would have been shot as they ran towards the car.
One thing that stood out to me was how different the policing equipment of the day was compared with our own time. Obviously progress happens constantly, but it was slightly jarring to see Starsky pull out a notebook with handwritten details on it, or the book which contained notes on criminals. The chunky radios also stood out. For some reason, for all the times I'd seen this episode as clips in the opening title sequence, I always assumed when he was charging down the stairs he was holding a bomb, but it was actually his radio. At one point, after the swimming pool incident they have to ask the public to phone the police for them. And if you think about it, if Fat Rolly had had a mobile they'd never have been able to piece together the vital clue that their apparent attempted murder was an inside job! I say I watched this episode many times in the opening titles and it does feel that way because so many clips were taken from this episode, but it's interesting that this one doesn't have an opening title sequence itself, although what would become the theme music does come in towards the end.
This wasn't a family series as evidenced by the characters heading to a seedy 'adult' film showing in order to meet Huggy in his one brief scene. Huggy isn't quite the character we know at this point - he seems a bit cool about helping them and then stays as if he enjoys the film, but although it's not one of the better scenes it was at least played for humour, with the old lady in the audience who calmly pours tea from a flask as she watches the 'film'. Unfortunately the scene where he moseys into the theatre is the one used for much of the series in the credits so it's a constant reminder of this scene! There's also a fair bit of violence with shotguns blasting doors, blowing up cars and people being chucked downstairs, but there's nothing gory or completely excessive, certainly by today's standards.
The scene at the end when Hutch bravely stays crouching and firing as a car gets blown up behind him was a scene that showed how professional and effective the duo were, but also how rubbish these supposedly unstoppable hitmen really are in a pinch. The twist in the story that they were never really after the detectives was good, as was the way Tallman speaks about them as if they can't miss, but when it comes down to it, instead of coolly making an escape, they jump on top of a car roof and stay there firing shotguns at a distance. For one thing, a shotgun is a short range weapon, for another a hitman would know that you need to make yourself the smallest target and hide behind the car, and for another they wouldn't panic and go to pieces. Credit to Starsky and Hutch as they somehow manage to shoot them down, but appear to only have winged them as it looks like they're preparing to put cuffs on them!
For the series this was quite a complicated story and is another reason why it surprises if you come to it after having seen a few episodes. I'm not sure why the bad guy needed to go to all this trouble to conceal his association with the college girl, but if he was this obsessed about his public image that he'd break all the rules to cover it up, then it's a good job his career ended. It's not clear whether he was killed by the shotgun blast, but it seems likely. Another thing that doesn't make sense is that the two young people's murder wasn't being investigated because it was assumed it was mistaken identity - now I can imagine police procedures, especially in America, were a lot more lax in those days, but no murder is going to pass without investigation, surely? At least the episode ends in familiar style for the series, a funny scene between the two leads. A good, solid episode, not remarkable, but highly watchable and while I can't really say it set the groundwork it did start things off quite well.
***
Monday, 19 December 2011
Nemesis
DVD, Smallville S6 (Nemesis)
"A lot has happened" - an understatement, to say the least from Martha Kent, in an episode in which she doesn't have a lot of wisdom to impart. It was just that and the bit admitting she doesn't trust Lionel that made sense. That Clark would never give up on anyone was clearly not true as he's been at loggerheads with Lex for a good few episodes, and her belief that no one can change completely was rather a despairing point of view, unworthy of her. Interesting that the events of this episode force Clark to wonder if he's partly to blame for Lex' slide into the dark side, but you'd have to go through the entirety of the series and weigh up how often it was through his own choices and how many times Clark did something that affected him negatively. It isn't Clark's fault, it's Lionel's parenting and ultimately Lex makes his own decisions and is responsible for them. At a time when the characters seem to have become polarised it's really strange to have a story like this which throws doubt into Clark's mind.
Yes, it was a good moment when Lex returns to save his former friend's life, and yes, it was a good moment when Clark talks to Martha about seeing a glimpse of his old friend for a moment, but it's the same thing they did with the Clark and Lana storyline: over the years they kept having to bring it full circle to the 'beginning' again to sustain the story. It became repetitious, boring and fundamentally annoying. They couldn't do the same thing with the Clark and Lex friendship because it's been a steady decline over the seasons - Lex continues to perform more dastardly deeds and Clark got to the point of open hostility with him. Maybe if we were fooled into thinking Lex really wanted to change, the storyline might have mileage, but it's right back to his experiments at the end of the episode, and he refuses to tell Lana she was never pregnant. He once was a sympathetic character ripe for redemption, as portrayed in the first couple of seasons, but soon lost that compelling angle and became pretty two-dimensional as a character, and nothing would make us believe he truly regrets the choices he's made in recent seasons, he's gone too far. It didn't help that Lionel also lost a lot of mystery, and while he's regained some of that with the motive of apparently protecting Clark from Lex, neither of them ever recovered from being stripped down to basics.
It's not that this is a bad episode, the only reason it gets a low mark is because it's not enjoyable to watch. It's so full of machinations, good people making threats or taking bad positions and a general aura of negativity that the potentially fascinating developments can't render the episode a good watch. It did start out poorly with a completely unknown enemy of Lex kidnapping him and holding him hostage. I know Lex has many enemies but the number of times this has happened to him it's become a running joke rather than something to take seriously! She didn't have any depth or the believability factor - if she was such a psycho as to be kicked out of the army or bomb squad or whatever I doubt anyone would have married her. She seemed to be willing to die for no reason and yet had somehow got all the equipment together to rig up explosives throughout these tunnels that no one knew about. Maybe Lionel tipped her off about Project Ares, or the location of the tunnel, not realising the lengths she'd go to. He certainly didn't mind hanging around in them until Lex bumped into him. So Mrs. Keenan (I think that was her name) got no credibility from me, she was purely a device to get Lex and Clark trapped together.
It was a good time to clear the air, a bit like the Season 2 opener when Jonathan Kent was trapped with the reporter Roger Nixon and they came to a bit of an understanding - it ended the same way too, with Lex not holding back on his experiments despite seeming to mend some bridges a bit with Clark. They both saved each other's lives, and some things were cleared up. It was a shame something like the chisel or screwdriver that Lex attacked him with a few episodes ago was brought up and explained away so perfunctorily. Lex just mentions that he noticed the blade was concertinaed and Clark sort of brushes it off. They discuss his 'secret' in basic terms but there's no confiding his true nature (nor could I imagine there being), so it's difficult to tell how much Lex really knows, or thinks he knows, or would admit to thinking he knows! He knows about powers and Clark talks about his exploitation of those who have them, but he never asks Clark outright if he's gifted and they move on. I get that the implement was really for Lana's benefit, but the question of whether Lex knew or not could have been fulfilled much more strongly.
The other major reveal is Lionel's claim to Lana that he forced her to wed Lex, on pain of Clark's death, to protect Clark! It's a beautifully crafted get-out clause - before his position seemed to be that he was on Lex' side, after such a threat against Clark, yet they still didn't openly discuss Clark. Here we learn that he's still trying to protect Clark (and maybe the world), from his son in the most twisted way that only he would conjure up: threaten Lana so she'd marry Lex and thus stay close to him. So she's been a pawn yet again. If there's any manipulating to be done she's looking increasingly like the girl to do it, assuming the mantle of Luthorship wholeheartedly. She takes the briefcase from the police and they allow her to walk all over them on a little technicality; she considers killing Lionel until he gets his story out about being Clark's guardian angel; and she flashes her eyelashes on maximum angelic factor when ramming home the guilt at Lex, knowing full well she never had a baby (not to mention delaying passing on her info on the tunnels until she heard Clark was down there). She's quite scary in a way and it's sad to see such a nice person reduced to a cunning, almost evil persona, even for the right reasons.
That wasn't the only depressing thing, as Chloe also suggests she wouldn't mind if Lex died in the tunnels. This isn't a surprise considering he threatened her last episode and all that he did to her Mum, but it's a sign of how far things have come, so for Clark to even think he could ever be friends with Lex again is monumentally stupid. He and Chloe declared war on the guy last episode and now they're saving each other's lives. It was at least a positive sentiment that Clark can't choose who he saves, which has come up before. Okay, so there's not the happiest of endings, Lex seeing Lana go to Clark rather than come looking for him, plus he must work out that she uncovered the location of the tunnels and he only needs to talk to the officers to find out how long she was in possession of the details before she acted. There seemed to be real guilt on his face when she was going on about the baby and it's complications, but it's hard to believe he ever feels any guilt with all that he's done and it will turn out for the worse when he finds even Lana has betrayed him and has been playing him.
There were other niggles I noticed, such as why the bomb squad and all those authorities didn't just send Chloe away rather than standing around answering her questions so good-naturedly, or why Lana doesn't think about being seen by CCTV when shooting the briefcase's lock off at the mansion. Lex returning to crowbar the fallen rubble off of the trapped Clark (who once again inadvertently 'proves' he has no special powers because he couldn't escape - unless Lex realises his weakness is Kryptonite), was a surprise and I really thought he'd left him and that it would be down to Chloe and Lana to effect the rescue. Now you can never be sure if the intentions of Lex were honourable in a moment of regression to his former self, or whether he needs Clark alive and cynically did the best thing for himself? And that's what helps to make the episode uncomfortable to watch. I don't know why they went for the over-exposed visuals again like in 'Combat,' but perhaps it was to make the polystyrene rocks look real, which it did and certainly gave a different visual style to the underground scenes. I miss the warmth this series once had.
**
"A lot has happened" - an understatement, to say the least from Martha Kent, in an episode in which she doesn't have a lot of wisdom to impart. It was just that and the bit admitting she doesn't trust Lionel that made sense. That Clark would never give up on anyone was clearly not true as he's been at loggerheads with Lex for a good few episodes, and her belief that no one can change completely was rather a despairing point of view, unworthy of her. Interesting that the events of this episode force Clark to wonder if he's partly to blame for Lex' slide into the dark side, but you'd have to go through the entirety of the series and weigh up how often it was through his own choices and how many times Clark did something that affected him negatively. It isn't Clark's fault, it's Lionel's parenting and ultimately Lex makes his own decisions and is responsible for them. At a time when the characters seem to have become polarised it's really strange to have a story like this which throws doubt into Clark's mind.
Yes, it was a good moment when Lex returns to save his former friend's life, and yes, it was a good moment when Clark talks to Martha about seeing a glimpse of his old friend for a moment, but it's the same thing they did with the Clark and Lana storyline: over the years they kept having to bring it full circle to the 'beginning' again to sustain the story. It became repetitious, boring and fundamentally annoying. They couldn't do the same thing with the Clark and Lex friendship because it's been a steady decline over the seasons - Lex continues to perform more dastardly deeds and Clark got to the point of open hostility with him. Maybe if we were fooled into thinking Lex really wanted to change, the storyline might have mileage, but it's right back to his experiments at the end of the episode, and he refuses to tell Lana she was never pregnant. He once was a sympathetic character ripe for redemption, as portrayed in the first couple of seasons, but soon lost that compelling angle and became pretty two-dimensional as a character, and nothing would make us believe he truly regrets the choices he's made in recent seasons, he's gone too far. It didn't help that Lionel also lost a lot of mystery, and while he's regained some of that with the motive of apparently protecting Clark from Lex, neither of them ever recovered from being stripped down to basics.
It's not that this is a bad episode, the only reason it gets a low mark is because it's not enjoyable to watch. It's so full of machinations, good people making threats or taking bad positions and a general aura of negativity that the potentially fascinating developments can't render the episode a good watch. It did start out poorly with a completely unknown enemy of Lex kidnapping him and holding him hostage. I know Lex has many enemies but the number of times this has happened to him it's become a running joke rather than something to take seriously! She didn't have any depth or the believability factor - if she was such a psycho as to be kicked out of the army or bomb squad or whatever I doubt anyone would have married her. She seemed to be willing to die for no reason and yet had somehow got all the equipment together to rig up explosives throughout these tunnels that no one knew about. Maybe Lionel tipped her off about Project Ares, or the location of the tunnel, not realising the lengths she'd go to. He certainly didn't mind hanging around in them until Lex bumped into him. So Mrs. Keenan (I think that was her name) got no credibility from me, she was purely a device to get Lex and Clark trapped together.
It was a good time to clear the air, a bit like the Season 2 opener when Jonathan Kent was trapped with the reporter Roger Nixon and they came to a bit of an understanding - it ended the same way too, with Lex not holding back on his experiments despite seeming to mend some bridges a bit with Clark. They both saved each other's lives, and some things were cleared up. It was a shame something like the chisel or screwdriver that Lex attacked him with a few episodes ago was brought up and explained away so perfunctorily. Lex just mentions that he noticed the blade was concertinaed and Clark sort of brushes it off. They discuss his 'secret' in basic terms but there's no confiding his true nature (nor could I imagine there being), so it's difficult to tell how much Lex really knows, or thinks he knows, or would admit to thinking he knows! He knows about powers and Clark talks about his exploitation of those who have them, but he never asks Clark outright if he's gifted and they move on. I get that the implement was really for Lana's benefit, but the question of whether Lex knew or not could have been fulfilled much more strongly.
The other major reveal is Lionel's claim to Lana that he forced her to wed Lex, on pain of Clark's death, to protect Clark! It's a beautifully crafted get-out clause - before his position seemed to be that he was on Lex' side, after such a threat against Clark, yet they still didn't openly discuss Clark. Here we learn that he's still trying to protect Clark (and maybe the world), from his son in the most twisted way that only he would conjure up: threaten Lana so she'd marry Lex and thus stay close to him. So she's been a pawn yet again. If there's any manipulating to be done she's looking increasingly like the girl to do it, assuming the mantle of Luthorship wholeheartedly. She takes the briefcase from the police and they allow her to walk all over them on a little technicality; she considers killing Lionel until he gets his story out about being Clark's guardian angel; and she flashes her eyelashes on maximum angelic factor when ramming home the guilt at Lex, knowing full well she never had a baby (not to mention delaying passing on her info on the tunnels until she heard Clark was down there). She's quite scary in a way and it's sad to see such a nice person reduced to a cunning, almost evil persona, even for the right reasons.
That wasn't the only depressing thing, as Chloe also suggests she wouldn't mind if Lex died in the tunnels. This isn't a surprise considering he threatened her last episode and all that he did to her Mum, but it's a sign of how far things have come, so for Clark to even think he could ever be friends with Lex again is monumentally stupid. He and Chloe declared war on the guy last episode and now they're saving each other's lives. It was at least a positive sentiment that Clark can't choose who he saves, which has come up before. Okay, so there's not the happiest of endings, Lex seeing Lana go to Clark rather than come looking for him, plus he must work out that she uncovered the location of the tunnels and he only needs to talk to the officers to find out how long she was in possession of the details before she acted. There seemed to be real guilt on his face when she was going on about the baby and it's complications, but it's hard to believe he ever feels any guilt with all that he's done and it will turn out for the worse when he finds even Lana has betrayed him and has been playing him.
There were other niggles I noticed, such as why the bomb squad and all those authorities didn't just send Chloe away rather than standing around answering her questions so good-naturedly, or why Lana doesn't think about being seen by CCTV when shooting the briefcase's lock off at the mansion. Lex returning to crowbar the fallen rubble off of the trapped Clark (who once again inadvertently 'proves' he has no special powers because he couldn't escape - unless Lex realises his weakness is Kryptonite), was a surprise and I really thought he'd left him and that it would be down to Chloe and Lana to effect the rescue. Now you can never be sure if the intentions of Lex were honourable in a moment of regression to his former self, or whether he needs Clark alive and cynically did the best thing for himself? And that's what helps to make the episode uncomfortable to watch. I don't know why they went for the over-exposed visuals again like in 'Combat,' but perhaps it was to make the polystyrene rocks look real, which it did and certainly gave a different visual style to the underground scenes. I miss the warmth this series once had.
**
Progeny
DVD, Smallville S6 (Progeny)
Some serious retcon action in this one! As soon as I saw Lynda Carter I recognised her, and I never expected to see someone from 'Starsky & Hutch' in a 'Smallville' episode, but it was good to have her as Chloe's Mum. I became a little confused with how much she did or didn't know. The set up was long before meteor freaks were common, in 1995, so it seems Mora Sullivan knew she had a power to control her daughter by the fact that she rubbed her hands raw when told to scrub them until all the ink was off, but she didn't know Chloe was one of the infected back then, she couldn't have because Chloe wasn't, or at least it's been said she became infected because of all the exposure to meteor rocks and other infectees. But she booked herself into a mental institution because she didn't want to hurt her family, not because she had mental problems, is that right? So why did she have mental problems, and needed Lex' drug to become cognisant and then slipped back into a comatose state. Was she tested as far back as '95? Was LutherCorp holding her? I just couldn't work it all out, and then she seems to know Chloe has a power and she can control other people who have powers yet there's never an explanation how she knows all about this stuff. Did Lex fill her in?
He certainly didn't fill anyone else in: we learn Lana's pregnancy was all a falsehood, she was never pregnant and had been injected with something to make it seem that way. If Lex was going to fill anything in, it was going to be a grave for Chloe, but it doesn't quite come to that, although when she was holding the gun on him I thought it was a shotgun so it wasn't quite as impactful to discover it was a smoke grenade - Clark may as well have let him take the blow. Clark's powers got a good airing, with a split second dash to Lex' car to grab Chloe's incriminating button (wow, those police are really useless, I mean how difficult could it have been to find the button? For that matter why did they not even look up when Clark's huge truck roars right off the road, stops and two youngsters get out. Wouldn't they tell them to get lost?), then there was the moment he stops Lex from getting a face full of grenade, as I just mentioned, Clark presumably whisking Chloe away in the moment Lex was knocked to the ground. I wonder if he realised he'd been pushed sideways when he should have fallen backwards if the projectile had hit him? Clark also chucks that guy across the room at the mansion to protect Lana. Actually it was more like a spot of revenge as he didn't need to do it, but said "You shouldn't have done that."
I felt the concept of someone controlling other meteor freak powers was a really good one that didn't get the exploration it needed. I know she needed to hold something that belonged to the person she wanted to control, but I wanted her to be using it with multiple people, using them to get all the inmates out of there. It was one aspect that suffered with all the detail flying around. At least Lex' messing about came back to haunt him this time, or it would have if he knew what had happened: because he threatened Mora into bringing back the escapee from that 'franchise' of 33.1 (as Clark or Chloe called it - it's beginning to sound like a fast food chain!), she gets the guy to find and kill Lex, he then smashes up the mansion, chucking Lana about in the process, which leads Clark to whisk her to the Smallville Medical Centre where an impartial Doctor gives her the news of her non-pregnancy, so now she must suspect Lex has lied to her, and certainly his Doctor Albright did! Valuable lessons he should have learned this episode were: don't do evil stuff because it'll find you out, and the other one would be don't use a phone and drive. You'd think after the number of times he's been in accidents he'd have learned a bit of road sense.
I felt it was all a bit too much, piling altogether one after the other like an unruly traffic crash all these explanations and events. It would have been enough to know Chloe's Mother had a power, or that she was able to be revived and that Chloe was able to talk with her (which did, incidentally, provoke a sweetly sad ending as she sees her Mum slip back into herself), that Lana wasn't pregnant and that Chloe now knows Lex knows she's infected. To have it all there meant Chloe's story was concertinaed into the one episode and it should have played out over several. Saying that, Lynda Carter was good, if not the Mum I imagined Chloe to have - the only time we saw her previously was from behind in a Season 4 or 5 episode when Chloe visits her so they were wise to leave the slot open for a 'name' guest star.
There were some good sequences, but they often didn't go very far: Lex having his car skid off the road was fine, but after we've seen so many over the top car crashes on the series it looked a bit tame. The same could be said for the scene in which Chloe and her Mum try to escape using the super-strong guy to fight for them - it's over almost before it's begun, so it felt a little bit like they were conserving the budget (and I didn't buy that a guard would care about the inmates enough to run into the cell all concerned, so Chloe could get out). I suppose the biggest thing we learn (other than that Chloe keeps a lump of Kryptonite handy for emergencies, unless that was Martha's and she kept it in the kitchen drawer - actually I wondered why she wasn't at home when she was needed, but she did come in eventually), is that the war is about to begin between Lex and his enemies, as Clark says.
They do like their multiple endings so that may have contributed to a feeling of rushing to fit all this stuff in, but the threat against Chloe with both of them fully conscious, not being manipulated by anything or anyone, laid down a line in the sand and infuriating Clark. Only Lana is stuck in the middle, and while he's not prepared to do anything that would hurt her, she's in the same position with him so Lex seems to have all the cards, and his professed love for her a blind. We still don't know what Chloe's power is, but I'm glad it was addressed in some way. It would be nice to see her Mum again (not to mention old Gabe who hasn't been in it for seasons at a time!), and Oliver Queen's apartment, though Star City is beginning to sound like a dumping ground: don't worry, if anything goes wrong we can send people to Star City. Is it some kind of paradise? If so maybe Clark should up sticks and move there, and maybe change the title to 'Starville.'
***
Some serious retcon action in this one! As soon as I saw Lynda Carter I recognised her, and I never expected to see someone from 'Starsky & Hutch' in a 'Smallville' episode, but it was good to have her as Chloe's Mum. I became a little confused with how much she did or didn't know. The set up was long before meteor freaks were common, in 1995, so it seems Mora Sullivan knew she had a power to control her daughter by the fact that she rubbed her hands raw when told to scrub them until all the ink was off, but she didn't know Chloe was one of the infected back then, she couldn't have because Chloe wasn't, or at least it's been said she became infected because of all the exposure to meteor rocks and other infectees. But she booked herself into a mental institution because she didn't want to hurt her family, not because she had mental problems, is that right? So why did she have mental problems, and needed Lex' drug to become cognisant and then slipped back into a comatose state. Was she tested as far back as '95? Was LutherCorp holding her? I just couldn't work it all out, and then she seems to know Chloe has a power and she can control other people who have powers yet there's never an explanation how she knows all about this stuff. Did Lex fill her in?
He certainly didn't fill anyone else in: we learn Lana's pregnancy was all a falsehood, she was never pregnant and had been injected with something to make it seem that way. If Lex was going to fill anything in, it was going to be a grave for Chloe, but it doesn't quite come to that, although when she was holding the gun on him I thought it was a shotgun so it wasn't quite as impactful to discover it was a smoke grenade - Clark may as well have let him take the blow. Clark's powers got a good airing, with a split second dash to Lex' car to grab Chloe's incriminating button (wow, those police are really useless, I mean how difficult could it have been to find the button? For that matter why did they not even look up when Clark's huge truck roars right off the road, stops and two youngsters get out. Wouldn't they tell them to get lost?), then there was the moment he stops Lex from getting a face full of grenade, as I just mentioned, Clark presumably whisking Chloe away in the moment Lex was knocked to the ground. I wonder if he realised he'd been pushed sideways when he should have fallen backwards if the projectile had hit him? Clark also chucks that guy across the room at the mansion to protect Lana. Actually it was more like a spot of revenge as he didn't need to do it, but said "You shouldn't have done that."
I felt the concept of someone controlling other meteor freak powers was a really good one that didn't get the exploration it needed. I know she needed to hold something that belonged to the person she wanted to control, but I wanted her to be using it with multiple people, using them to get all the inmates out of there. It was one aspect that suffered with all the detail flying around. At least Lex' messing about came back to haunt him this time, or it would have if he knew what had happened: because he threatened Mora into bringing back the escapee from that 'franchise' of 33.1 (as Clark or Chloe called it - it's beginning to sound like a fast food chain!), she gets the guy to find and kill Lex, he then smashes up the mansion, chucking Lana about in the process, which leads Clark to whisk her to the Smallville Medical Centre where an impartial Doctor gives her the news of her non-pregnancy, so now she must suspect Lex has lied to her, and certainly his Doctor Albright did! Valuable lessons he should have learned this episode were: don't do evil stuff because it'll find you out, and the other one would be don't use a phone and drive. You'd think after the number of times he's been in accidents he'd have learned a bit of road sense.
I felt it was all a bit too much, piling altogether one after the other like an unruly traffic crash all these explanations and events. It would have been enough to know Chloe's Mother had a power, or that she was able to be revived and that Chloe was able to talk with her (which did, incidentally, provoke a sweetly sad ending as she sees her Mum slip back into herself), that Lana wasn't pregnant and that Chloe now knows Lex knows she's infected. To have it all there meant Chloe's story was concertinaed into the one episode and it should have played out over several. Saying that, Lynda Carter was good, if not the Mum I imagined Chloe to have - the only time we saw her previously was from behind in a Season 4 or 5 episode when Chloe visits her so they were wise to leave the slot open for a 'name' guest star.
There were some good sequences, but they often didn't go very far: Lex having his car skid off the road was fine, but after we've seen so many over the top car crashes on the series it looked a bit tame. The same could be said for the scene in which Chloe and her Mum try to escape using the super-strong guy to fight for them - it's over almost before it's begun, so it felt a little bit like they were conserving the budget (and I didn't buy that a guard would care about the inmates enough to run into the cell all concerned, so Chloe could get out). I suppose the biggest thing we learn (other than that Chloe keeps a lump of Kryptonite handy for emergencies, unless that was Martha's and she kept it in the kitchen drawer - actually I wondered why she wasn't at home when she was needed, but she did come in eventually), is that the war is about to begin between Lex and his enemies, as Clark says.
They do like their multiple endings so that may have contributed to a feeling of rushing to fit all this stuff in, but the threat against Chloe with both of them fully conscious, not being manipulated by anything or anyone, laid down a line in the sand and infuriating Clark. Only Lana is stuck in the middle, and while he's not prepared to do anything that would hurt her, she's in the same position with him so Lex seems to have all the cards, and his professed love for her a blind. We still don't know what Chloe's power is, but I'm glad it was addressed in some way. It would be nice to see her Mum again (not to mention old Gabe who hasn't been in it for seasons at a time!), and Oliver Queen's apartment, though Star City is beginning to sound like a dumping ground: don't worry, if anything goes wrong we can send people to Star City. Is it some kind of paradise? If so maybe Clark should up sticks and move there, and maybe change the title to 'Starville.'
***
Broken Link
DVD, DS9 S4 (Broken Link)
First off, let us deal with the one bad point of this episode and gratefully acknowledge those in charge that stopped if from going any further: I refer to the awful character of Chalan Aroya, owner of the Celestial Cafe, untrustworthy Bajoran show-off who was introduced in this episode. I can only praise the powers that were, that her introduction did not lead to a recurring role and indeed this was her only appearance on the series. There was a degree of humour from the scene in which Garak calls Odo to his shop on the pretence of an emergency, but in reality it's to set him up with Aroya. It may have been a conspiracy as she seems unsurprised to meet Odo, her purring kitten-like 'charm' oozing right at him a soon as he's in the room. Did she ask Garak to summon Odo or was this the Cardassian's idea, furthering the seeds of friendship that had built up between them, weirdly after Odo had been tortured by him? It's a charming moment when we see Garak's intent, but crucially all the good in the scene comes between those two, with Aroya just getting in the way. If she was that 'friendly' to Odo I can't help but suspect she's that friendly to every male that crosses her path and he had a fortunate escape. Jill Jacobson had been a 'TNG' episode called 'The Royale.' No offence to her, but that was not a good episode. I almost wonder what happened to her in the hiatus period between seasons, but then I remember I'm simply glad she never showed up ever again!
Odo has been pretty well served this season, he wasn't one of the most featured characters, but neither was he one of the least; a steady presence throughout, unlike some characters who had an uneven contribution - look at Kira, or to an even greater degree, Dax. Even Jake had more to do than her in terms of vocal support in episodes. Quark doesn't feature much in this episode, but his season had ended, in a way, with the previous episode. He still gets a great scene with Odo when he wishes him well in all but the words he says. This time Odo's going to his people and intending to return, but that would not always be the case, so this is like a dress rehearsal for the last episode of the series. Talking of dress, I couldn't help noticing Quark was wearing the drab brown wardrobe he tended to sport back in Season 1, and at first I questioned why, but then I realised all his finery was taken by Brunt, even the shirt off his back, so he must have passed on these old clothes to Rom who has now returned them to him - generosity can be beneficial after all, he's learnt!
This finale isn't the most action-packed of closures for a season, especially when you think back to the space battle at the end of Season 2 in 'The Jem'Hadar' and the changeling to changeling fight of 'The Adversary' at the end of Season 3 (and especially not compared with the huge endings of Season 5, 6 and 7). It's more like the end of Season 1 which went out quietly, though this has a sting in the tale, and Gowron's last words which close out the season are perhaps the most understated of the series considering where they led the seasons to come: "There will be war." No ifs, no buts, no maybes, it's a definite challenge, and though the turn of events couldn't exactly have been predicted it set the bar of expectation high. Season 5 would not disappoint, being the best and most consistently excellent season of any Trek series, or any TV series, ever. But what of Season 4? I don't think it's quite the massive step up from Season 3 that it's commonly thought to be. It benefited from a jazzing up, a brightening, an overhaul so that it was certainly better looking than before, but it didn't quite live up to the immediate promise set up in the fantastic opening episode. 'The Way of The Warrior' and 'The Visitor' were never equalled in the rest of the season and the Klingons didn't become the serial menace that might have been anticipated.
That's not to say the season didn't go well as there were plenty of great episodes and Worf was very well integrated into the cast, so much so that by this final episode he's telling Sisko, Dax and Kira how Odo thinks and what he would and wouldn't like! That's a long way from the Klingon who was uncertain about his place in the Federation and traded harsh words with Odo or messed up his investigations early in the season. They came to understand each other thanks to their similarity, and Worf's knowledge of Odo is like a marker at the end of the season, showing he's as much a part of the series as anyone else in the cast. But where does 'Broken Link' sit in the quality of the series? I would say towards the higher end, along with the last few episodes and much of the first half of the season. It deals with Odo's crime against the Founders and brings us back at the last minute to the Klingon problem, while providing many great character scenes. It may not be an adrenaline rush to watch, but there are still plenty of moments to savour.
Seeing a fleet of Jem'Hadar ships surround the Defiant has to be one of those moments, as does pretty much anything involving Garak. I always forget his fight with Worf, perhaps because I associate it with his time as part of the crew in Season 6, but it was a surprise I was pleased to discover. Worf is almost as taken aback as we are and for a moment there it looks like he, the hardest Trek character ever, could be bested by the enigma that is Garak. You can argue that Worf didn't expect the tailor to be such an expert of hand to hand combat, and that he wasn't expecting an attack (he's probably used to people just doing what he says), but the fact remains that Garak gave as good as he got. His intensity of purpose means he will keep trying even when faced with Mr. Worf when anyone else would say 'fair cop' and leave it at that, but he uses all his powers of persuasion to try to appeal to the warrior in Worf and only when that fails does he resort to desperate physical tactics.
Garak gets some cracking stuff that shows him as both a friend to Odo and valuable in his assistance of keeping the Constable's mind active. We get another confirmation that he was a gardener, though I'm not sure we'd ever heard he was stationed on Romulus before. He goes along on the mission ostensibly to learn of survivors from the Cardassian task force that decimated the Founder's previous homeworld, but in reality it's to learn about the fate of Tain, his mentor. Did he conceive of a plan to take out the Founders before he went aboard? It would be hard to believe the idea hadn't crossed his mind, but no doubt many plots circle that deep and devious mind of his, it's just a question of whether those thoughts solidify. Once the Female Changeling had sentenced his entire race to death he wasn't going to hesitate.
It takes a lot to shock Garak, but when she tells him he and his race are all dead, in an uncharacteristically venomous (though still matter of fact), way, it's like he's been dealt a physical blow and almost staggers back. It takes superhuman effort for him to retake control and smile a poisonously polite smile. The Founders rarely give out their plans, even in a general way so it shows how contemptuous she is of the Cardassians that she takes time out to let him know his people's doom. She always planned to carry it out, even when the events of Season 5 gave the Cardassians a stay of execution, she and the Founders would never forget they'd left their home because of them - notice the Founders never rush things. They kept that hate for the Cardassians all through the series, and their sentence on Odo was a process of long thought and discussion. Equally they didn't send Jem'Hadar pouring through the Wormhole at the first opportunity, but stepped back and let the Alpha Quadrant destabilise itself.
Odo's illness (supposedly passed to him by the Vorta Weyoun, a few episodes ago, but never confirmed), suffers in quite the opposite way to his torture by Garak (or the later virus he'd carry) - in those cases he was dried out and desiccating, whereas this is a more natural disease forcing him to melt, unable to retain his shape. I know Kira was only being a good friend when she gave him the criminal activity report to read, but hadn't she and the others just agreed not to disturb Odo? So she goes right along and visits him! Of course she didn't know he'd be stupid enough to try and take on some criminals. He really should have contacted his deputies, but it's a matter of pride with Odo. At least we had one last chance to see the Boslic Captain, she of the purple hair. No doubt the reason she never came back to DS9 was because she thought she might be held accountable for Odo's 'death' as he melted right in front of her and her crew's eyes, a gooey arm pitifully reaching out.
Once again the Starfleet crew head into the Gamma Quadrant and it's a far cry from the nervousness in Season 3 - they've been happy to go off into that quadrant throughout the season. Maybe it's a case of when you feel pain in another part of your body you forget the pain of your first injury? With Klingons on the rampage (albeit in a polite, political way, as seen in 'Rules of Engagement'), the Dominion seemed a less immediate problem, but even so, other expeditions included planetary surveys and tasks which didn't seem all that essential. This time they've got a good reason to venture into Dominion space: their loyalty to Odo and the knowledge that only his own people can help him. The Female Changeling even admits that Odo's crime may be his people's fault for sending him out as an infant. The psychology of the Founders (all that 'bullied becomes bully,' crossed with a desire to seek out new information by casting out their babies), could fill a volume, but through it all you can tell she cares for Odo. He's one of them, and for the first time, perhaps, he realises that, and that's why he submits to their judgement.
The two most powerful results of that judgement are that he is made human (while retaining his recognisable face - a wise move by the writers because the explanation that it was to remind him of his loss worked 'in world' and the real reason would be that it would change his character too much if he had a new face), the other is that Gowron is revealed to be a changeling, explaining his actions over this season. On the first subject there's no point wondering how shapeshifters could make one of their people human. Magic, who knows? It makes me wonder if Odo's insides are all formed by a changeling spy - even his blood could be a changeling coursing though him, learning everything that happens. That's not the case, but it could have been an option. You never know with these shapeshifters - just look at their planet. The new world is practically all an ocean of goo, with only the odd bit of rock for humanoid visitors to perch on. The Vorta probably visit occasionally for instructions, but you can tell the changelings have become purer, intent on their Great Link. I only hope Sisko and Bashir brought some rations down with them as the 'hearing' may have taken several days. At least they wouldn't need water - a cup of shapeshifter goop is very nutritious, I hear…
They weren't afraid to make major and far-reaching changes to characters and this season was full of just such changes: Worf's brother's mind wiped, Kira pregnant and looking out for Gul Dukat's daughter, O'Brien's family returning, Rom leaving the bar, Quark losing his place in Ferengi society and a host of others. I especially love the way Gowron is 'revealed' as a changeling. On paper it's a bit of a limp way to finish a season, with three people talking abut what the Klingon leader's saying, but the way the camera creeps in to Odo's face, and his voice rises with each sentence, to a crescendo of revelation, then cuts out. Excellent directing, acting and writing, and that about sums up the season as a whole.
****
First off, let us deal with the one bad point of this episode and gratefully acknowledge those in charge that stopped if from going any further: I refer to the awful character of Chalan Aroya, owner of the Celestial Cafe, untrustworthy Bajoran show-off who was introduced in this episode. I can only praise the powers that were, that her introduction did not lead to a recurring role and indeed this was her only appearance on the series. There was a degree of humour from the scene in which Garak calls Odo to his shop on the pretence of an emergency, but in reality it's to set him up with Aroya. It may have been a conspiracy as she seems unsurprised to meet Odo, her purring kitten-like 'charm' oozing right at him a soon as he's in the room. Did she ask Garak to summon Odo or was this the Cardassian's idea, furthering the seeds of friendship that had built up between them, weirdly after Odo had been tortured by him? It's a charming moment when we see Garak's intent, but crucially all the good in the scene comes between those two, with Aroya just getting in the way. If she was that 'friendly' to Odo I can't help but suspect she's that friendly to every male that crosses her path and he had a fortunate escape. Jill Jacobson had been a 'TNG' episode called 'The Royale.' No offence to her, but that was not a good episode. I almost wonder what happened to her in the hiatus period between seasons, but then I remember I'm simply glad she never showed up ever again!
Odo has been pretty well served this season, he wasn't one of the most featured characters, but neither was he one of the least; a steady presence throughout, unlike some characters who had an uneven contribution - look at Kira, or to an even greater degree, Dax. Even Jake had more to do than her in terms of vocal support in episodes. Quark doesn't feature much in this episode, but his season had ended, in a way, with the previous episode. He still gets a great scene with Odo when he wishes him well in all but the words he says. This time Odo's going to his people and intending to return, but that would not always be the case, so this is like a dress rehearsal for the last episode of the series. Talking of dress, I couldn't help noticing Quark was wearing the drab brown wardrobe he tended to sport back in Season 1, and at first I questioned why, but then I realised all his finery was taken by Brunt, even the shirt off his back, so he must have passed on these old clothes to Rom who has now returned them to him - generosity can be beneficial after all, he's learnt!
This finale isn't the most action-packed of closures for a season, especially when you think back to the space battle at the end of Season 2 in 'The Jem'Hadar' and the changeling to changeling fight of 'The Adversary' at the end of Season 3 (and especially not compared with the huge endings of Season 5, 6 and 7). It's more like the end of Season 1 which went out quietly, though this has a sting in the tale, and Gowron's last words which close out the season are perhaps the most understated of the series considering where they led the seasons to come: "There will be war." No ifs, no buts, no maybes, it's a definite challenge, and though the turn of events couldn't exactly have been predicted it set the bar of expectation high. Season 5 would not disappoint, being the best and most consistently excellent season of any Trek series, or any TV series, ever. But what of Season 4? I don't think it's quite the massive step up from Season 3 that it's commonly thought to be. It benefited from a jazzing up, a brightening, an overhaul so that it was certainly better looking than before, but it didn't quite live up to the immediate promise set up in the fantastic opening episode. 'The Way of The Warrior' and 'The Visitor' were never equalled in the rest of the season and the Klingons didn't become the serial menace that might have been anticipated.
That's not to say the season didn't go well as there were plenty of great episodes and Worf was very well integrated into the cast, so much so that by this final episode he's telling Sisko, Dax and Kira how Odo thinks and what he would and wouldn't like! That's a long way from the Klingon who was uncertain about his place in the Federation and traded harsh words with Odo or messed up his investigations early in the season. They came to understand each other thanks to their similarity, and Worf's knowledge of Odo is like a marker at the end of the season, showing he's as much a part of the series as anyone else in the cast. But where does 'Broken Link' sit in the quality of the series? I would say towards the higher end, along with the last few episodes and much of the first half of the season. It deals with Odo's crime against the Founders and brings us back at the last minute to the Klingon problem, while providing many great character scenes. It may not be an adrenaline rush to watch, but there are still plenty of moments to savour.
Seeing a fleet of Jem'Hadar ships surround the Defiant has to be one of those moments, as does pretty much anything involving Garak. I always forget his fight with Worf, perhaps because I associate it with his time as part of the crew in Season 6, but it was a surprise I was pleased to discover. Worf is almost as taken aback as we are and for a moment there it looks like he, the hardest Trek character ever, could be bested by the enigma that is Garak. You can argue that Worf didn't expect the tailor to be such an expert of hand to hand combat, and that he wasn't expecting an attack (he's probably used to people just doing what he says), but the fact remains that Garak gave as good as he got. His intensity of purpose means he will keep trying even when faced with Mr. Worf when anyone else would say 'fair cop' and leave it at that, but he uses all his powers of persuasion to try to appeal to the warrior in Worf and only when that fails does he resort to desperate physical tactics.
Garak gets some cracking stuff that shows him as both a friend to Odo and valuable in his assistance of keeping the Constable's mind active. We get another confirmation that he was a gardener, though I'm not sure we'd ever heard he was stationed on Romulus before. He goes along on the mission ostensibly to learn of survivors from the Cardassian task force that decimated the Founder's previous homeworld, but in reality it's to learn about the fate of Tain, his mentor. Did he conceive of a plan to take out the Founders before he went aboard? It would be hard to believe the idea hadn't crossed his mind, but no doubt many plots circle that deep and devious mind of his, it's just a question of whether those thoughts solidify. Once the Female Changeling had sentenced his entire race to death he wasn't going to hesitate.
It takes a lot to shock Garak, but when she tells him he and his race are all dead, in an uncharacteristically venomous (though still matter of fact), way, it's like he's been dealt a physical blow and almost staggers back. It takes superhuman effort for him to retake control and smile a poisonously polite smile. The Founders rarely give out their plans, even in a general way so it shows how contemptuous she is of the Cardassians that she takes time out to let him know his people's doom. She always planned to carry it out, even when the events of Season 5 gave the Cardassians a stay of execution, she and the Founders would never forget they'd left their home because of them - notice the Founders never rush things. They kept that hate for the Cardassians all through the series, and their sentence on Odo was a process of long thought and discussion. Equally they didn't send Jem'Hadar pouring through the Wormhole at the first opportunity, but stepped back and let the Alpha Quadrant destabilise itself.
Odo's illness (supposedly passed to him by the Vorta Weyoun, a few episodes ago, but never confirmed), suffers in quite the opposite way to his torture by Garak (or the later virus he'd carry) - in those cases he was dried out and desiccating, whereas this is a more natural disease forcing him to melt, unable to retain his shape. I know Kira was only being a good friend when she gave him the criminal activity report to read, but hadn't she and the others just agreed not to disturb Odo? So she goes right along and visits him! Of course she didn't know he'd be stupid enough to try and take on some criminals. He really should have contacted his deputies, but it's a matter of pride with Odo. At least we had one last chance to see the Boslic Captain, she of the purple hair. No doubt the reason she never came back to DS9 was because she thought she might be held accountable for Odo's 'death' as he melted right in front of her and her crew's eyes, a gooey arm pitifully reaching out.
Once again the Starfleet crew head into the Gamma Quadrant and it's a far cry from the nervousness in Season 3 - they've been happy to go off into that quadrant throughout the season. Maybe it's a case of when you feel pain in another part of your body you forget the pain of your first injury? With Klingons on the rampage (albeit in a polite, political way, as seen in 'Rules of Engagement'), the Dominion seemed a less immediate problem, but even so, other expeditions included planetary surveys and tasks which didn't seem all that essential. This time they've got a good reason to venture into Dominion space: their loyalty to Odo and the knowledge that only his own people can help him. The Female Changeling even admits that Odo's crime may be his people's fault for sending him out as an infant. The psychology of the Founders (all that 'bullied becomes bully,' crossed with a desire to seek out new information by casting out their babies), could fill a volume, but through it all you can tell she cares for Odo. He's one of them, and for the first time, perhaps, he realises that, and that's why he submits to their judgement.
The two most powerful results of that judgement are that he is made human (while retaining his recognisable face - a wise move by the writers because the explanation that it was to remind him of his loss worked 'in world' and the real reason would be that it would change his character too much if he had a new face), the other is that Gowron is revealed to be a changeling, explaining his actions over this season. On the first subject there's no point wondering how shapeshifters could make one of their people human. Magic, who knows? It makes me wonder if Odo's insides are all formed by a changeling spy - even his blood could be a changeling coursing though him, learning everything that happens. That's not the case, but it could have been an option. You never know with these shapeshifters - just look at their planet. The new world is practically all an ocean of goo, with only the odd bit of rock for humanoid visitors to perch on. The Vorta probably visit occasionally for instructions, but you can tell the changelings have become purer, intent on their Great Link. I only hope Sisko and Bashir brought some rations down with them as the 'hearing' may have taken several days. At least they wouldn't need water - a cup of shapeshifter goop is very nutritious, I hear…
They weren't afraid to make major and far-reaching changes to characters and this season was full of just such changes: Worf's brother's mind wiped, Kira pregnant and looking out for Gul Dukat's daughter, O'Brien's family returning, Rom leaving the bar, Quark losing his place in Ferengi society and a host of others. I especially love the way Gowron is 'revealed' as a changeling. On paper it's a bit of a limp way to finish a season, with three people talking abut what the Klingon leader's saying, but the way the camera creeps in to Odo's face, and his voice rises with each sentence, to a crescendo of revelation, then cuts out. Excellent directing, acting and writing, and that about sums up the season as a whole.
****
Second Chances
DVD, TNG S6 (Second Chances)
We've seen duplicates before so many times: parallel versions, alternate versions, mirror, android or clone versions, even some from different time periods, but this time it's personal. The reason Riker never got on with his Father is probably the same reason he can't get on with what is essentially a twin brother - they're the John Wayne of the Trek universe and one ship ain't big enough for the both of them. It could also be the fact that they see their own flaws in the other as Worf suggests to Data in a continuation of their personal conversations from the preceding episode. One word to describe this episode is certainly personal - Troi chats openly about things in the past to someone who's almost a stranger.
Why does Tom Riker look practically the same as Will? I suppose they really did make the same decisions over facial hair and even hairstyle - Tom could have chosen to grow his really long or shave to a skinhead. He might have parted it differently or done all kinds of things with his appearance, only Mr. Mot could ever hope to understand his reasoning. It is credible that they would both look so similar, but I can't help feeling this episode should have gone further than reminding us about the Riker/Troi thing and delved into the psychology of being alone for eight years. Tom seems to be practically the same as Will, but I suppose if he'd been a gibbering idiot it would have taken far too much of the story to get to the point where he could be a genuine contender against Will.
So what does the episode consist of? There's not much of a mystery as Tom's origins are swiftly explained. He doesn't have a nefarious ulterior motive as he's still a true blue Starfleet officer. So all that's left to play are the reactions from the crew on seeing a new version of their Commander walking around (which they don't address), and Troi going slightly gooey over him (addressed by her girly chat with Beverly). There's something missing here and the word drama springs to mind. Yes, the two Rikers are almost at each other's throats, but they're too professional to do what you'd expect and have a big fight. I wonder if this was a limitation with the technology of the time or a creative decision? It shouldn't have been a technical problem as Kirk was beating himself up all the time on 'TOS' so I can only assume they wanted to delve into the idea of what two Rikers on the Enterprise would amount to.
Sadly, it's not a lot, with only the scene on the rickety bridge to bring some kind of closure to the pair. But it's a strange moment, not exactly a friendly one, just a realisation that they are both alike, maybe? It's difficult to pin down exactly what's going on, although the poker scene suggested Tom bowing to Will's superiority or station or something. I like that Picard proves such a good mediator again, his conciliatory tone when dealing with Will very wise. I think what's missing is that you never really believe anything bad will come of their actions because they're both proved such straight-up Starfleet officers. Not even the first African American female astronaut guest starring as a Transporter operator, or Levar Burton directing for the first time can save the episode from mediocrity.
As with many aspects of Trek, 'DS9' came along and shook things up a bit and there's certainly a lot more drama in the sequel, 'Defiant,' on that series, but two Rikers should have provided all the necessary drama in this episode. Tom's career took a bit of a dive and he went the way he came, joining the Maquis, sacrificing himself for the cause and ending up in prison from which we never hear from him again. Add to that that Will and Troi do eventually get married and you have to wonder why Tom never returned as this resentful enemy, like Kes on 'Voyager,' to take revenge on the double and his wife who never came to his aid. Stuart Baird might have had more success if he'd gone down that route, an extra double to add to Shinzon and B4 wouldn't have stretched credibility any more than it already was. Maybe Tom was freed and lived out a quiet life away from Starfleet. Either way he started out trapped and apparently ended that way too, so that's a bit negative and makes the character seem a bit of a dead end and this episode an exercise in digging up the past, but not in the best way.
**
We've seen duplicates before so many times: parallel versions, alternate versions, mirror, android or clone versions, even some from different time periods, but this time it's personal. The reason Riker never got on with his Father is probably the same reason he can't get on with what is essentially a twin brother - they're the John Wayne of the Trek universe and one ship ain't big enough for the both of them. It could also be the fact that they see their own flaws in the other as Worf suggests to Data in a continuation of their personal conversations from the preceding episode. One word to describe this episode is certainly personal - Troi chats openly about things in the past to someone who's almost a stranger.
Why does Tom Riker look practically the same as Will? I suppose they really did make the same decisions over facial hair and even hairstyle - Tom could have chosen to grow his really long or shave to a skinhead. He might have parted it differently or done all kinds of things with his appearance, only Mr. Mot could ever hope to understand his reasoning. It is credible that they would both look so similar, but I can't help feeling this episode should have gone further than reminding us about the Riker/Troi thing and delved into the psychology of being alone for eight years. Tom seems to be practically the same as Will, but I suppose if he'd been a gibbering idiot it would have taken far too much of the story to get to the point where he could be a genuine contender against Will.
So what does the episode consist of? There's not much of a mystery as Tom's origins are swiftly explained. He doesn't have a nefarious ulterior motive as he's still a true blue Starfleet officer. So all that's left to play are the reactions from the crew on seeing a new version of their Commander walking around (which they don't address), and Troi going slightly gooey over him (addressed by her girly chat with Beverly). There's something missing here and the word drama springs to mind. Yes, the two Rikers are almost at each other's throats, but they're too professional to do what you'd expect and have a big fight. I wonder if this was a limitation with the technology of the time or a creative decision? It shouldn't have been a technical problem as Kirk was beating himself up all the time on 'TOS' so I can only assume they wanted to delve into the idea of what two Rikers on the Enterprise would amount to.
Sadly, it's not a lot, with only the scene on the rickety bridge to bring some kind of closure to the pair. But it's a strange moment, not exactly a friendly one, just a realisation that they are both alike, maybe? It's difficult to pin down exactly what's going on, although the poker scene suggested Tom bowing to Will's superiority or station or something. I like that Picard proves such a good mediator again, his conciliatory tone when dealing with Will very wise. I think what's missing is that you never really believe anything bad will come of their actions because they're both proved such straight-up Starfleet officers. Not even the first African American female astronaut guest starring as a Transporter operator, or Levar Burton directing for the first time can save the episode from mediocrity.
As with many aspects of Trek, 'DS9' came along and shook things up a bit and there's certainly a lot more drama in the sequel, 'Defiant,' on that series, but two Rikers should have provided all the necessary drama in this episode. Tom's career took a bit of a dive and he went the way he came, joining the Maquis, sacrificing himself for the cause and ending up in prison from which we never hear from him again. Add to that that Will and Troi do eventually get married and you have to wonder why Tom never returned as this resentful enemy, like Kes on 'Voyager,' to take revenge on the double and his wife who never came to his aid. Stuart Baird might have had more success if he'd gone down that route, an extra double to add to Shinzon and B4 wouldn't have stretched credibility any more than it already was. Maybe Tom was freed and lived out a quiet life away from Starfleet. Either way he started out trapped and apparently ended that way too, so that's a bit negative and makes the character seem a bit of a dead end and this episode an exercise in digging up the past, but not in the best way.
**
Rightful Heir
DVD, TNG S6 (Rightful Heir)
Religion, politics, bat'leth battles, a personal quest for a crewmember and a shipload of Klingons - it feels like a 'DS9' episode, before they'd begun to do that kind of thing. It also sets the stage for Worf to join that series as episodes like this showed how he could fit in. It's quite far removed from the usual 'TNG' stories, delving much deeper into Klingon life and society with clerics and scientists performing experiments and honest talk about the state of the race - they've become decadent and dishonourable, forgetting the noble heritage that we're told has been passed down through hundreds of years. The thing is, the Klingons have rarely shown themselves to be the great people of honour they're always boasting about, and in fact they've been quite the opposite. Only good examples like Worf have weighed the balance in a positive light and much that we think we know about the race is skewed in the wrong direction. This episode was necessary to point out the inconsistencies in Klingon traditions and their actions, but rather than solve the problem, this (like Boreth), is a place of questions. I could imagine these blights on society being addressed in future, but they don't come up nearly as much as you'd think, the race consistently shown to be fighting when in reality their fighting nature seems to be a big part of what has caused their infrastructure to crumble.
Not that the Klingons have ever given in to their people's weaknesses and died out, but they haven't lived the lives they could have lived if they were as honourable as Worf, and it would have been fantastic if Emperor Kahless had ushered in a new era of nobility and self-sacrifice. I'm sure he did change many Klingons, but there's still something missing from even the best men's lives as Worf is proof. I love the notion that Kahless could still come back one day, though the romantic stories and legends (such as the forging of the first bat'leth!), do little to assuage the gap in Worf's faith. I have to say I believed. Not at first - I thought this Kahless was just a large, bumbling fighter, as wide in girth as he was tall and lacking any real substance. Not the way I might have imagined the greatest Klingon warrior of all time, that's for sure. But as he spoke and acted, as he rallied his men's affections and showed such strong belief in himself as Kahless I grew to appreciate the character and he won me over so much that I wished he'd been in other episodes and had crossed over to other series' like Gowron, Kurn, Kang, Kor and Koloth did.
His bat'leth battle against Worf was exciting, though I sensed Worf's hesitance at accepting the validity of the fight as it was basically called off by Kahless by diverting the attention of the assembled watchers, ending the fight early. To begin with it suggests he did this on purpose but as we go on we learn he really believes he is Kahless and this self-belief fostered by his creators is half of what makes him a possible true Kahless. It was still a fast and furious battle and the knife fight was also good, though it would have been better to have seen Gowron put in his place. The leader calls down contempt on this attempt to usurp power, but it's a new era for his people. Sadly it doesn't turn out to be the panacea that was needed - later, in 'DS9,' the Emperor opposes Gowron's actions against the Federation, but it doesn't do much good. It would take a superior warrior to beat the sly Gowron, but it was to happen eventually.
I sometimes find it difficult to keep up on the state of relations between the Klingon leader and Worf since I watch both 'DS9' and 'TNG' and at different times they're friends and enemies, but at least Worf was able to influence him into accepting this version of Kahless. Worf seemed to get a bit mixed up as he suggested the people didn't need a false god, but the Klingons were supposed to have killed all their gods. Does that mean they put up one of their own people on that pedestal to worship in the place of gods? That seems to go against the Klingon way, but then they are full of little self-contradictions like that and in any case the writers didn't want Worf to be too religious since he is a Starfleet officer and that would go against the ideals of the series a bit. They weren't as brave as 'DS9' in putting characters with real, unshakeable faith in the cast so that Worf's beliefs were really a bit of a leap for him.
Riker was another to make a bit of a leap (though not of faith) when he assumes something's wrong because Worf's late for duty. It would have been a bit embarrassing if he'd broken in and found Worf had simply overslept! Picard's excellence as a Captain comes to the fore again when he visits Worf in his quarters to chastise him, but also to give him leave to pursue his personal quest. He's a very understanding leader, though I have to admit I was waiting for a 'Qa'pla' at the end which never came. One big question I had as the episode progressed was why a Federation ship (the flagship, no less), was required to transport Kahless to the homeworld. Surely a Klingon ship would be closer? The answer is given in the episode by none other than Gowron, who claims he didn't want Kahless turning a ship full of Klingons to his side, which is fair enough, and a good enough reason to get the Enterprise in there.
Kahless had been seen once before, way back in the third season of 'TOS,' though again it was a reproduction of the man, not the man himself. It made sense that Klingons of that era would re-imagine Kahless as a superior Klingon that looked like them so the Excalbians probably got their information from the Klingons of the day, which explains the difference in appearance with the pasty-headed version on display here. I like that it was Worf's experiences with the young Klingons whom he rescued from the camp in 'Birthright' that instigates the story, though I'm not sure why his visit to Boreth (a place he returned to after the destruction of the Enterprise), coincided with the fulfilment of the cleric's plan to bring Kahless back. Perhaps they took advantage of his presence and the fact that he had links to Gowron and the High Council as the quickest route to acceptance for their clone, and it worked: without Worf he may never have become Emperor. That also explains why Koroth didn't want Worf to leave. I was surprised when I realised Koroth was played by the same actor that would later play the strong-willed Captain Keogh in 'DS9' as they're such different people. That's acting!
It's sad Worf doesn't find his faith strengthened, as even Data seems to have been more successful in that area - his leap of faith was to believe he was a person and not just a machine. I don't think the real Kahless would be very happy with the cleric's assertion that it doesn't matter about him, it's just his words that mattered, especially if he really does come back one day. Gowron cares only for his own power, however and demonstrates that again. I suppose the positive side is that he keeps order in the Empire and at least he sees the wisdom of accepting this Kahless as a figurehead Emperor. If only we could have seen how Kahless settled into the role and the troubles he faced. It would make a good book.
***
Religion, politics, bat'leth battles, a personal quest for a crewmember and a shipload of Klingons - it feels like a 'DS9' episode, before they'd begun to do that kind of thing. It also sets the stage for Worf to join that series as episodes like this showed how he could fit in. It's quite far removed from the usual 'TNG' stories, delving much deeper into Klingon life and society with clerics and scientists performing experiments and honest talk about the state of the race - they've become decadent and dishonourable, forgetting the noble heritage that we're told has been passed down through hundreds of years. The thing is, the Klingons have rarely shown themselves to be the great people of honour they're always boasting about, and in fact they've been quite the opposite. Only good examples like Worf have weighed the balance in a positive light and much that we think we know about the race is skewed in the wrong direction. This episode was necessary to point out the inconsistencies in Klingon traditions and their actions, but rather than solve the problem, this (like Boreth), is a place of questions. I could imagine these blights on society being addressed in future, but they don't come up nearly as much as you'd think, the race consistently shown to be fighting when in reality their fighting nature seems to be a big part of what has caused their infrastructure to crumble.
Not that the Klingons have ever given in to their people's weaknesses and died out, but they haven't lived the lives they could have lived if they were as honourable as Worf, and it would have been fantastic if Emperor Kahless had ushered in a new era of nobility and self-sacrifice. I'm sure he did change many Klingons, but there's still something missing from even the best men's lives as Worf is proof. I love the notion that Kahless could still come back one day, though the romantic stories and legends (such as the forging of the first bat'leth!), do little to assuage the gap in Worf's faith. I have to say I believed. Not at first - I thought this Kahless was just a large, bumbling fighter, as wide in girth as he was tall and lacking any real substance. Not the way I might have imagined the greatest Klingon warrior of all time, that's for sure. But as he spoke and acted, as he rallied his men's affections and showed such strong belief in himself as Kahless I grew to appreciate the character and he won me over so much that I wished he'd been in other episodes and had crossed over to other series' like Gowron, Kurn, Kang, Kor and Koloth did.
His bat'leth battle against Worf was exciting, though I sensed Worf's hesitance at accepting the validity of the fight as it was basically called off by Kahless by diverting the attention of the assembled watchers, ending the fight early. To begin with it suggests he did this on purpose but as we go on we learn he really believes he is Kahless and this self-belief fostered by his creators is half of what makes him a possible true Kahless. It was still a fast and furious battle and the knife fight was also good, though it would have been better to have seen Gowron put in his place. The leader calls down contempt on this attempt to usurp power, but it's a new era for his people. Sadly it doesn't turn out to be the panacea that was needed - later, in 'DS9,' the Emperor opposes Gowron's actions against the Federation, but it doesn't do much good. It would take a superior warrior to beat the sly Gowron, but it was to happen eventually.
I sometimes find it difficult to keep up on the state of relations between the Klingon leader and Worf since I watch both 'DS9' and 'TNG' and at different times they're friends and enemies, but at least Worf was able to influence him into accepting this version of Kahless. Worf seemed to get a bit mixed up as he suggested the people didn't need a false god, but the Klingons were supposed to have killed all their gods. Does that mean they put up one of their own people on that pedestal to worship in the place of gods? That seems to go against the Klingon way, but then they are full of little self-contradictions like that and in any case the writers didn't want Worf to be too religious since he is a Starfleet officer and that would go against the ideals of the series a bit. They weren't as brave as 'DS9' in putting characters with real, unshakeable faith in the cast so that Worf's beliefs were really a bit of a leap for him.
Riker was another to make a bit of a leap (though not of faith) when he assumes something's wrong because Worf's late for duty. It would have been a bit embarrassing if he'd broken in and found Worf had simply overslept! Picard's excellence as a Captain comes to the fore again when he visits Worf in his quarters to chastise him, but also to give him leave to pursue his personal quest. He's a very understanding leader, though I have to admit I was waiting for a 'Qa'pla' at the end which never came. One big question I had as the episode progressed was why a Federation ship (the flagship, no less), was required to transport Kahless to the homeworld. Surely a Klingon ship would be closer? The answer is given in the episode by none other than Gowron, who claims he didn't want Kahless turning a ship full of Klingons to his side, which is fair enough, and a good enough reason to get the Enterprise in there.
Kahless had been seen once before, way back in the third season of 'TOS,' though again it was a reproduction of the man, not the man himself. It made sense that Klingons of that era would re-imagine Kahless as a superior Klingon that looked like them so the Excalbians probably got their information from the Klingons of the day, which explains the difference in appearance with the pasty-headed version on display here. I like that it was Worf's experiences with the young Klingons whom he rescued from the camp in 'Birthright' that instigates the story, though I'm not sure why his visit to Boreth (a place he returned to after the destruction of the Enterprise), coincided with the fulfilment of the cleric's plan to bring Kahless back. Perhaps they took advantage of his presence and the fact that he had links to Gowron and the High Council as the quickest route to acceptance for their clone, and it worked: without Worf he may never have become Emperor. That also explains why Koroth didn't want Worf to leave. I was surprised when I realised Koroth was played by the same actor that would later play the strong-willed Captain Keogh in 'DS9' as they're such different people. That's acting!
It's sad Worf doesn't find his faith strengthened, as even Data seems to have been more successful in that area - his leap of faith was to believe he was a person and not just a machine. I don't think the real Kahless would be very happy with the cleric's assertion that it doesn't matter about him, it's just his words that mattered, especially if he really does come back one day. Gowron cares only for his own power, however and demonstrates that again. I suppose the positive side is that he keeps order in the Empire and at least he sees the wisdom of accepting this Kahless as a figurehead Emperor. If only we could have seen how Kahless settled into the role and the troubles he faced. It would make a good book.
***
Body Parts
DVD, DS9 S4 (Body Parts)
It was all Rom's fault, if he hadn't got Quark to put his body on the Ferengi Futures Exchange he wouldn't have had to cancel the contract and lose everything, while realising what he really had: good friends. It may have been beneficial for Quark to go through this ordeal because it takes him to rock bottom so that he knows what his base is. He thought it was his devotion to Ferengi tradition and the Rules of Acquisition, but once he's become an outcast Ferengi with Brunt taking everything he had, his patrons and friends on the station rally round to get the bar going again in one of the warmest happy endings to an episode ever, and one I'd completely forgotten! Now Quark knows that it is the people around him (he's a people person he says in one episode), and doing business that are the two things that matter more to him than his peers. Even though he'd like to think of himself as a great Ferengi businessman he does have a heart and though he's always fought his unconventional upbringing and the fact that his family are about as un-Ferengi as can be, he is one of them, as much as he'd like it to be otherwise.
Jeffrey Combs excels himself on his third appearance as Brunt, and fifth Trek episode in total - filming of this episode ran back to back with 'To The Death' and his expert portrayal of Vorta Weyoun, but without the screen credit no one could guess they were played by the same man. Everything about them is different: their walk, talk, body shape, face, attitude, voice, everything. It's a tribute to Combs that he could accomplish such a variety of nuances to separate the two aliens, helped ably by the makeup. For the first time Brunt becomes a personal enemy of Quark - previously it was just business, but Brunt's become so disgusted by Quark's entire family that his bullying nature compels him to hurt Quark.
It makes me question whether Brunt set up the whole thing in the first place, maybe bribing Dr. Orpax to lie about Quark's condition, and the Doctor later regretting his actions. A Ferengi doctor must be a thing to behold: how could they be trusted since they would put their own welfare above their patients? Since Brunt has the money to spare it's all worth it to him, though the business does give the lie to 'TNG' episode 'Suspicions' and the Federation's gullible acceptance of 'Ferengi Death Rituals' which don't permit the body to be messed with in autopsy since it's going to be 'buried.' There's certainly no burial as they claimed back then, unless they were referring to being buried within another Ferengi's collection of vacuum desiccated remains! We actually heard about this custom back in Season 2, but why didn't the Nagus sell his supposedly deceased form in Season 1? Surely it would have sold for a huge amount - he wasn't dead, that's why.
A season without the Grand Nagus and his snorting, choking laugh is a season incomplete, and in the same way that we got Shakaar as head of the Bajorans instead of Kai Winn, we did at least get Gint, the first Grand Nagus, instead of Zek. Except it wasn't really him, it was Rom as Gint in Quark's dream (getting in some early practice for the future, whether he knew it or not). I wonder why Avery Brooks chose not to give the dream sequence a different visual style from the rest of the episode. It could have been a Holosuite program as there's no surreal mistiness or weird camera angles, and it's almost as if he deliberately chose not to have any dream-like devices to stop it being a cliche, but I feel it was necessary to demonstrate that this wasn't another scene in the episode, even if Quark really had gone to the Divine Treasury. Not that I'm criticising Avery's direction, although it did seem a bit held back, not drawing attention to itself, much like the way he plays Sisko, though in that case the Captain's inner power sometimes erupts to the detriment of his enemies.
I can't help but love the Ferengi episodes, even if they are over the top. I'm so used to their style of comedy that I don't even see it that way, and it's so refreshing - Garrett Wang's complaint that they weren't allowed to emote in 'Voyager' seems to have been completely disregarded in 'DS9' and Quark's one of the absolute best characters for that, his eyes as wide as Gowron's in several scenes. I like the way Bashir comes along and just tosses his message from Dr. Orpax in there, that Quark doesn't have Dorek syndrome whatever that means, and yet it's the lifting of Quark's death sentence! Another fun Bashir scene is when he's sitting opposite Miles, telling him that his baby's going to have to come to term inside Kira's womb: an Englishman and an Irishman in a room watched over by an American (sounds like the set up for a joke), as Sisko stands there doing his duty as a Captain and standing by his man in a crisis. O'Brien's face is more expressive than Quark's, which is hard to beat in this episode, but he does a massive Spock eyebrow and his whole face seems able to rise and fall like waves on a sandy beach.
Season 4 has been one for huge changes in 'DS9' and the wider Trek universe. The biggie was the Klingons returning to enmity with the Federation, then the Cardassians became friends and the Dominion didn't prove quite as much the immediate threat they seemed at the end of Season 3. On a more personal level, Worf joined DS9, tried to kill his brother and then wiped his mind, Kira became almost friends with Dukat ending up being the guardian of the child he never knew he had and bringing her to the station. So many things happened this season and in these final two episodes the trend didn't change - now Quark isn't considered a Ferengi and the O'Brien baby is inside Kira. They weren't afraid to make radical changes, far more than any other Trek series which is another reason why 'DS9' is the greatest and most satisfying I've ever seen.
It's been good to have Keiko and Molly back on the station, her scenes with Kira were especially realistic, the sense of loss so evident in her demeanour. Kira's brought into a whirlwind of new experiences, though she doesn't realise yet what she's let herself in for - she might not be so upbeat about the situation if she did! The moment Miles and Keiko try and force each other into being the one to ask Kira to stay with them is quite funny as they're so worried about imposing on her, yet feel responsible for her now and possessive. I think Kira will regret allowing little Molly permission to play in her room at any time, as immediately she's said that the girl's onto her bed in a flash. Auntie Nerys needs her peace and quiet.
All this and Garak too? It must be a dream. Even Morn gets a better role this time, Garak getting quite uptight with the lumbering barfly, literally throwing his new trousers into Morn's arms in irritation. Morn's also along later carrying a chair for Captain Sisko and immediately swipes his usual spot, though how he's going to be able to swivel on a chair, I don't know. At least with the bar empty you can see the yellow and red glowing mural at its best. When Quark goes to ask Garak to kill him the Cardassian takes on all the snakelike tendencies of his people, moving slowly towards Quark, his eyes hypnotically fixed on him, only blinking once like a lizard. He should set up a little kiosk in his shop just for assassin hire (or gardening), though as soon as Quark asked him to make it a surprise (in a hilarious sequence where he counts off his problems with each form of death that's been suggested - the best one was probably that nerve gas smelt bad!), I thought 'he's going to regret that' because until death comes he's going to be terrified at every moment.
The episode is a real coming together of the recurring cast and I think Season 4 was the beginning of this trend where multiple characters who weren't the headliners would be a major part of stories. Just look at the cast list of this one - it features the O'Brien family, Rom, Garak and Brunt, something that would become a lot more common in Season 5 and onwards. I wonder if the Gint makeup Max Grodenchik wore was actually Zek's modified for him or a new mould? Although the foreground is the foremost thing on our minds, the background is populated by some interesting aliens: the tall green man carrying furniture into Quark's that Sisko stops (when Quark has a knee-jerk reaction and asks for a storage fee proving his instincts are still and always will be Ferengi), is the same alien that the adolescent Jem'Hadar fought as a hologram in Season 3 (also directed by Brooks). The long-faced alien can also be seen coming in the doorway at one point and a mouse-faced Yridian is seen leaving the bar on another occasion. We hear of Cousin Gaila again (the one with the moon), and another relative to add to the list is Uncle Gorad, who Quark presumably still owes money to since he gave back Brunt's latinum.
I felt the dream could be interpreted as a bit of a jab at the Ten Commandments as Gint says rules don't matter, even if they're written on stone, they're just suggestions, but the Ferengi themselves are an entire race that is against those rules, proving they are there for the good, since Ferengi are purely selfish, lustful and greedy to the detriment of all others - we're not supposed to take their culture as a genuine alternative to the Federation, but a warning to our time because the Ferengi are 20th/21st Century humans, that's what's always been said. Plus this was coming from Quark's psyche and as Gint said he was just looking for a reason to break the rules.
On the Runabout front we get the USS Volga joining the cast, so there are apparently four Runabouts on the station now. Where do they keep the extra one, attached to a docking pylon or is there room in one of the launch bays for an extra ship? Once again Kira's taking a Runabout into the Gamma Quadrant for nothing more important than a botanical survey! Does she have a death wish or something? And Bashir hasn't learned from his previous experience as he goes along for the ride too, though this time he didn't discover an alien race that needed him to cure them. I'd forgotten how great the ending for this episode was, it really goes out on a happy note, perhaps in preparation for the more devastating finale to come, but I'd still like to know how Garak had planned to dispatch Quark, 'The Synthehol King' from this universe. I guess we'll never know.
****
It was all Rom's fault, if he hadn't got Quark to put his body on the Ferengi Futures Exchange he wouldn't have had to cancel the contract and lose everything, while realising what he really had: good friends. It may have been beneficial for Quark to go through this ordeal because it takes him to rock bottom so that he knows what his base is. He thought it was his devotion to Ferengi tradition and the Rules of Acquisition, but once he's become an outcast Ferengi with Brunt taking everything he had, his patrons and friends on the station rally round to get the bar going again in one of the warmest happy endings to an episode ever, and one I'd completely forgotten! Now Quark knows that it is the people around him (he's a people person he says in one episode), and doing business that are the two things that matter more to him than his peers. Even though he'd like to think of himself as a great Ferengi businessman he does have a heart and though he's always fought his unconventional upbringing and the fact that his family are about as un-Ferengi as can be, he is one of them, as much as he'd like it to be otherwise.
Jeffrey Combs excels himself on his third appearance as Brunt, and fifth Trek episode in total - filming of this episode ran back to back with 'To The Death' and his expert portrayal of Vorta Weyoun, but without the screen credit no one could guess they were played by the same man. Everything about them is different: their walk, talk, body shape, face, attitude, voice, everything. It's a tribute to Combs that he could accomplish such a variety of nuances to separate the two aliens, helped ably by the makeup. For the first time Brunt becomes a personal enemy of Quark - previously it was just business, but Brunt's become so disgusted by Quark's entire family that his bullying nature compels him to hurt Quark.
It makes me question whether Brunt set up the whole thing in the first place, maybe bribing Dr. Orpax to lie about Quark's condition, and the Doctor later regretting his actions. A Ferengi doctor must be a thing to behold: how could they be trusted since they would put their own welfare above their patients? Since Brunt has the money to spare it's all worth it to him, though the business does give the lie to 'TNG' episode 'Suspicions' and the Federation's gullible acceptance of 'Ferengi Death Rituals' which don't permit the body to be messed with in autopsy since it's going to be 'buried.' There's certainly no burial as they claimed back then, unless they were referring to being buried within another Ferengi's collection of vacuum desiccated remains! We actually heard about this custom back in Season 2, but why didn't the Nagus sell his supposedly deceased form in Season 1? Surely it would have sold for a huge amount - he wasn't dead, that's why.
A season without the Grand Nagus and his snorting, choking laugh is a season incomplete, and in the same way that we got Shakaar as head of the Bajorans instead of Kai Winn, we did at least get Gint, the first Grand Nagus, instead of Zek. Except it wasn't really him, it was Rom as Gint in Quark's dream (getting in some early practice for the future, whether he knew it or not). I wonder why Avery Brooks chose not to give the dream sequence a different visual style from the rest of the episode. It could have been a Holosuite program as there's no surreal mistiness or weird camera angles, and it's almost as if he deliberately chose not to have any dream-like devices to stop it being a cliche, but I feel it was necessary to demonstrate that this wasn't another scene in the episode, even if Quark really had gone to the Divine Treasury. Not that I'm criticising Avery's direction, although it did seem a bit held back, not drawing attention to itself, much like the way he plays Sisko, though in that case the Captain's inner power sometimes erupts to the detriment of his enemies.
I can't help but love the Ferengi episodes, even if they are over the top. I'm so used to their style of comedy that I don't even see it that way, and it's so refreshing - Garrett Wang's complaint that they weren't allowed to emote in 'Voyager' seems to have been completely disregarded in 'DS9' and Quark's one of the absolute best characters for that, his eyes as wide as Gowron's in several scenes. I like the way Bashir comes along and just tosses his message from Dr. Orpax in there, that Quark doesn't have Dorek syndrome whatever that means, and yet it's the lifting of Quark's death sentence! Another fun Bashir scene is when he's sitting opposite Miles, telling him that his baby's going to have to come to term inside Kira's womb: an Englishman and an Irishman in a room watched over by an American (sounds like the set up for a joke), as Sisko stands there doing his duty as a Captain and standing by his man in a crisis. O'Brien's face is more expressive than Quark's, which is hard to beat in this episode, but he does a massive Spock eyebrow and his whole face seems able to rise and fall like waves on a sandy beach.
Season 4 has been one for huge changes in 'DS9' and the wider Trek universe. The biggie was the Klingons returning to enmity with the Federation, then the Cardassians became friends and the Dominion didn't prove quite as much the immediate threat they seemed at the end of Season 3. On a more personal level, Worf joined DS9, tried to kill his brother and then wiped his mind, Kira became almost friends with Dukat ending up being the guardian of the child he never knew he had and bringing her to the station. So many things happened this season and in these final two episodes the trend didn't change - now Quark isn't considered a Ferengi and the O'Brien baby is inside Kira. They weren't afraid to make radical changes, far more than any other Trek series which is another reason why 'DS9' is the greatest and most satisfying I've ever seen.
It's been good to have Keiko and Molly back on the station, her scenes with Kira were especially realistic, the sense of loss so evident in her demeanour. Kira's brought into a whirlwind of new experiences, though she doesn't realise yet what she's let herself in for - she might not be so upbeat about the situation if she did! The moment Miles and Keiko try and force each other into being the one to ask Kira to stay with them is quite funny as they're so worried about imposing on her, yet feel responsible for her now and possessive. I think Kira will regret allowing little Molly permission to play in her room at any time, as immediately she's said that the girl's onto her bed in a flash. Auntie Nerys needs her peace and quiet.
All this and Garak too? It must be a dream. Even Morn gets a better role this time, Garak getting quite uptight with the lumbering barfly, literally throwing his new trousers into Morn's arms in irritation. Morn's also along later carrying a chair for Captain Sisko and immediately swipes his usual spot, though how he's going to be able to swivel on a chair, I don't know. At least with the bar empty you can see the yellow and red glowing mural at its best. When Quark goes to ask Garak to kill him the Cardassian takes on all the snakelike tendencies of his people, moving slowly towards Quark, his eyes hypnotically fixed on him, only blinking once like a lizard. He should set up a little kiosk in his shop just for assassin hire (or gardening), though as soon as Quark asked him to make it a surprise (in a hilarious sequence where he counts off his problems with each form of death that's been suggested - the best one was probably that nerve gas smelt bad!), I thought 'he's going to regret that' because until death comes he's going to be terrified at every moment.
The episode is a real coming together of the recurring cast and I think Season 4 was the beginning of this trend where multiple characters who weren't the headliners would be a major part of stories. Just look at the cast list of this one - it features the O'Brien family, Rom, Garak and Brunt, something that would become a lot more common in Season 5 and onwards. I wonder if the Gint makeup Max Grodenchik wore was actually Zek's modified for him or a new mould? Although the foreground is the foremost thing on our minds, the background is populated by some interesting aliens: the tall green man carrying furniture into Quark's that Sisko stops (when Quark has a knee-jerk reaction and asks for a storage fee proving his instincts are still and always will be Ferengi), is the same alien that the adolescent Jem'Hadar fought as a hologram in Season 3 (also directed by Brooks). The long-faced alien can also be seen coming in the doorway at one point and a mouse-faced Yridian is seen leaving the bar on another occasion. We hear of Cousin Gaila again (the one with the moon), and another relative to add to the list is Uncle Gorad, who Quark presumably still owes money to since he gave back Brunt's latinum.
I felt the dream could be interpreted as a bit of a jab at the Ten Commandments as Gint says rules don't matter, even if they're written on stone, they're just suggestions, but the Ferengi themselves are an entire race that is against those rules, proving they are there for the good, since Ferengi are purely selfish, lustful and greedy to the detriment of all others - we're not supposed to take their culture as a genuine alternative to the Federation, but a warning to our time because the Ferengi are 20th/21st Century humans, that's what's always been said. Plus this was coming from Quark's psyche and as Gint said he was just looking for a reason to break the rules.
On the Runabout front we get the USS Volga joining the cast, so there are apparently four Runabouts on the station now. Where do they keep the extra one, attached to a docking pylon or is there room in one of the launch bays for an extra ship? Once again Kira's taking a Runabout into the Gamma Quadrant for nothing more important than a botanical survey! Does she have a death wish or something? And Bashir hasn't learned from his previous experience as he goes along for the ride too, though this time he didn't discover an alien race that needed him to cure them. I'd forgotten how great the ending for this episode was, it really goes out on a happy note, perhaps in preparation for the more devastating finale to come, but I'd still like to know how Garak had planned to dispatch Quark, 'The Synthehol King' from this universe. I guess we'll never know.
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