Nightwalkers

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S6 (Nightwalkers)

It's weird, and I'm not talking about zombie-like townspeople, but the way Colonel O'Neill isn't in this episode one bit. Not as flashback, voice on radio, cheap jibe at the end: nothing. Was he too ill, taking a break or just written out so the others could have more exposure? Because the last episode left him in critical condition with a symbiont inside him, and they say the Tok'ra are still looking for a new host for that symbiont to go to. I don't know, and I don't remember it ever happening before, but it certainly didn't harm the episode. This was one of the occasional Earth-based stories where they deal with NID or other government bodies, the stories that are a breath of fresh air, but can be a bit drab - I doubt anyone watches the series to see these 'real life' politics or grounded adventures, but they can add a little spice to the regular mix of alien planets or base-bound trouble, so I can't say I'm against them. Often they're just an excuse for the actors to wear civilian clothing, have a laugh at an alien trying to fit in with human culture and do more typical action fare, but this is one of the better examples of the sub-genre.

This time there are more aliens than humans, with Carter taking Jonas and Teal'c with her on the mission to find out what happened to a famous scientist who contacts her in the small hours, then dies mid-call. There isn't a lot of laughing at the aliens and their misunderstanding of ordinary human life, in fact there's a nice little conversation between Jonas and Teal'c in which the latter claims to be better acquainted with human behaviour than his SG-1 comrade, and they even discuss what they might do when their time as part of the SGC eventually comes to an end - Teal'c happy to return to Chulak, though poor Jonas admits he can't go back to his home planet. I wonder if this was inserted as the beginning of thinking about the series coming to its natural conclusion? Since most sci-fi TV series' don't last more than 5-7 seasons, they probably felt there wasn't much more to go, but in truth they were only just over the halfway line, which is a good thought.

One thing that works well here is how Jonas is used and comes across. Okay, maybe he's not used particularly for a specific plot device (as he was when first introduced), but he's fun and funny with that easygoing attitude and his habit of constantly eating various kinds of food. So he's much more likeable than in some previous episodes, mainly because he's not bursting to try too hard to impress and being written in a more traditional, understated 'Stargate' way. The opening where we're given a recap of who Adrian Conrad was, and the stuff about his symbiont is given to us in a clever way - Jonas claims not to know the details so has it explained to him, then admits he knew it all, just didn't want to seem strange, previously having knowledge of almost every detail to do with the Stargate that he could get his hands on (kind of like an obsessive and intelligent fan that's suddenly found himself working in the object of his fandom). That oddness, while not wanting to appear odd is very much what you might expect a visitor from another planet to exhibit. He's quirky, without being irritating, and now I begin to remember why I liked him. He's also shown to have Jason Bourne awareness levels when it comes to people and what they're doing, which is impressive and helps the team no end.

What are the people doing, though? It's not a bad little mystery, and I like the way it begins with the three of them kind of going into the Matrix in the way they're heading into unfamiliar territory where the people don't know about the 'real world' of their true reality that aliens are all around in the galaxy and Earth is very much part of intergalactic affairs, in a small way. The Matrix analogy first came to mind, unsurprisingly, from the clothing SG-1 opt to go out in: smart, black clothes aren't going to look out of place in small town America at all… Teal'c looks just like Morpheus in that long, black leather coat, making Carter Trinity (no shiny leather for her, though), and Jonas… Neo? The analogy breaks down there, but it was fun to see them like that. As we discover, the people aren't as unaware of aliens as we initially thought, the fact being that they are all aliens, or at least, all have immature Goa'uld symbionts in them! A good twist, and much better than the initial suggestion that this was going to be some kind of hick cult with that Messiah-like bearded figure addressing the crowd in the barn.

It's all to do with cloning, the company set up by Conrad able to clone his symbiont, whom were building a ship to escape the planet. It gets more complex when members of NID reveal themselves, and want SG-1 out of town because their plan is to let the townspeople complete the ship, then move in and take it for use in the planet's defence. Is this the origins of the 'Star Trek'-style starship that eventually gets built? Talking of cloning, Peter DeLuise, the Director (and Co-Producer) , gets his face onscreen as another character, after already showing up in 'Descent' a couple of episodes ago, this time as an extra walking out of a cafe. The camera follows him a little bit which is why he stuck out to me! The reason I quite enjoyed this story is simply that it's well-lit, simply done, has the occasional surprise, and good little moments for each of the cast. Yes, the scene where Carter's hotel room is advanced upon by a herd of Goa'uld townspeople could have been scarier if filmed differently (and did she need to be so obvious at the lighted window when watching them?), and the lockdown of the town looks cool, but a bit ludicrous, the way all these black-suited riot soldiers run down the street in a long line, flashing their torches, meaning there was no point in the earlier creeping around. But none of that matters in a pleasing and creepy jaunt for some good characters. And I agree with Carter: sending yourself something in the post is an excellent way to hide something for a couple of days!

***

Countdown

DVD, Enterprise S3 (Countdown)

I expect it was always the plan: introduce a strong recurring character who could inject some conflict among the main cast, make him a likeable person, ernest in doing his duty and part of a code that he keeps to diligently. And then kill him off. I'm talking about Major Hayes, who bites the phaser blast in this episode, right before the end of the season, just like Lieutenant Carey in 'Voyager'! I was surprised the first time round, quite a shock that they'd let him be killed off, and though I knew about it this time around, I was surprised in a different way. He does go out semi-heroically, making himself last to be beamed back to Enterprise, but it also makes him look a little bit stupid in the way he gets caught: he walks round a corner, right into a Xindi-Reptilian, and before he's even got time to tackle the creature or shoot off his own weapon, he's been shot through the heart. The production of that particular bit lessened the moment because of the cramped little corridors aboard this massive weapon, a tiny little firefight with the usual pew-pewing sound of energy bolts all making it seem a bit weak. What was interesting about the way Hayes is killed is that he's seen to be shot while in transport, something which pretty much never happens - usually as soon as the beam starts to dematerialise, weapons fire goes right through (as happened to Worf in 'By Inferno's Light' on 'DS9'). Not saying it's a mistake, as this is 22nd Century technology, but it was an interesting effect, and sad that Hayes couldn't have gone out in a 'bigger' way, rather than as a glorified redshirt.

At least he was allowed the dignity of patching things up with Reed, initially disappointed that his man Hawkins didn't make it back from the mission to the Sphere. The important legacy he leaves is his conversation with Malcolm where he says that the MACOs now feel that they're all part of the same crew. I can't help but feel that we could have seen that transition from rivalry to cooperative respect better illustrated over the course of the season. It was bound up in the brinkmanship between Reed and Hayes, the underlying distrust and tension between them (Reed, admittedly being the main problem, feeling his toes were being stepped on), and that had been resolved in recent episodes after they'd let off steam in the fight and come to an understanding, finally crystallised in this episode. That's what Archer's decisions were all about at the start of the season: he brought the MACOs aboard knowing they might cause friction; he walked the very line of his moral compass; he even stepped over; here, he moves Hoshi against Phlox' wishes, but all, all in defence of his singular goal, his one purpose, to prevent the annihilation of Earth.

He managed to pull back some of that resolve that would later become standard operating procedure for the Starfleet and the Federation to come, in making allies where he could and using diplomatic means if possible, but at pretty much any cost he was going to stop the Xindi… and he almost has. I say almost because there's still one episode left to go, yet he, Trip and T'Pol were acting like it's a done deal. Admittedly, I like hearing them discuss the potential future and what it may hold, Archer looking forward to returning to their exploratory mission (the danger being that it could seem a little meaningless compared with the urgent mission they've been on for eight months), T'Pol considering officially joining Starfleet. She really should have, and worn the standard Starfleet uniform instead of her 'no reason, but for ratings' catsuits! It was too early for them to be dreaming of a future when the weapon is still out there, Hoshi might even have still been captive then, too. It wasn't a fault in the episode, I liked the scene, but it was a strangely calm moment in another action-oriented episode.

What did seem a mistake was the way in which Trip and T'Pol somehow come up with a plan to interfere with a Sphere, just by sitting in a room and arguing. T'Pol's emotional attitude continues to deeply irritate and I didn't think Jolene Blalock did a good job in this story, many of her lines coming out so woodenly (such as when she sees off Archer with Trip standing next to her). I don't know whether she was playing someone who was struggling to be in control, or someone who was, or was just tired, but I didn't relish most of her scenes. Hoshi, on the other hand, gets an integral role for once, as a prisoner of Dolim and the other Reptilians. Again, I felt her performance was slightly over the top when she's shouting at the Xindi, but apart from that, she was fine, even getting a heroic moment where she attempts to throw herself over a barrier into a chute in the middle of the weapon. If only this had been done in a way that showed her intent clearly, maybe if we could have seen in her eyes what she's going to do and thrill to the self-sacrificial action she was about to take. Then when one of the Xindi stops her it would have had the double impact of the last-ditch act itself, and the foiling of it to the Reptilians' advantage. They note how surprisingly strong-willed she is, and it's true - it is a surprise. Like the MACOs suddenly getting along fine, Hoshi's transition from scaredy-cat to confident translator could have been better narrated through the series, but that wasn't a fault of this episode, it had happened back in Season One or Two.

Why is it that all evil super-bases, especially the ones in space, have to have a deep shaft in their control room, ripe for falling into (and why did they have to use the gravity orientation gym equipment previously seen on the series as the holder for the mini-ball inside the control room?!)? The Xindi weapon is just like the Death Star in that regard, and not that only! The whole CGI sequence where the NX-01 shows up in the belly of an Aquatic ship and valiantly goes in all phasers phasering, was very much a tribute to the attack on the Death Star in the 'Star Wars' films - the look of the thing was different, it was like a cross between that huge, planet-destroying flying weapon, and a Borg Sphere. It was all very well done with some excellent battle sequences, and the CG Aquatics looked as good as ever. It was too convenient that they'd managed to come up with a translation system for humans in the very next episode after Archer needed Hoshi to do that job for him, since Hoshi wasn't available any more. In the grand scheme it's only a minor point, and the robotic voices were well realised. Another thing that was well realised was Degra's friend, Jannar, taking the dead man's place as Archer's Xindi confidant, talking of the future after the weapon has been destroyed. He was always one to be questioning the humans in a loud, aggressive way, but Degra's death has helped him come to terms with reason, so it shows that there is hope for a friendship between the Xindi and Earth, despite Degra's death.

The Reptilians, on the other claw, show their dastardly nature, including executing an Insectoid ship that shows doubts about their course of action - like Archer, Dolim is dedicated to his cause at any cost. At first, Dolim actually expresses suspicion of the Guardian that comes to him, for not getting the access code to the weapon (the reason they've got Hoshi on mental parasites - anything like Ceti Alpha Eels, by any chance? No ear related horror this time, though!). She claims the Guardians can't get such individual details, and this almost gives pause for thought - will Dolim turn to the good side and fight the Guardians? No, it turns out it was just his usual bad-tempered way, and despite that early sign of resistance to his paymasters, his faith is restored when anomalies sent from a nearby Sphere mean the weapon can escape the battle. What Enterprise had found out, though, is that there are four Spheres that likely control all the others, and, whaddayaknow, one of those just happens to be nearby…

So the scripting of the story could get some stick, but maybe they had to cram in a bit more or condense things a little as they found out around half or two-thirds of the way through the season that the usual twenty-six episodes had been reduced to twenty-four. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and Robert Duncan McNeill does a pretty good job with the directing, though it wasn't really a Director's kind of story - it was more a case of go here, do this, do that. The sets were generally good-looking, the Guardians interference was a new twist, and the CGI worked. The battle may not live up to the better starship rumbles of 'DS9' (even though it was made a few years after that groundbreaking series), but in 'Enterprise' terms it's about the biggest they'd ever done. Overacting doesn't spoil the twists and turns, and though it does point up things that make me ponder how much stronger the season could have been if better written, it's a solid penultimate episode (even if the title is another dud which makes me think of the famous Channel 4 afternoon quiz programme!).

***

Children of Time

DVD, DS9 S5 (Children of Time)

High concept is the name of the game with this one, and it's undeniably a good'un: the crew crash on a Gamma Quadrant world to find their own 200 year old descendants. It also scores highly in the moral issues department: should they leave, restoring the timeline and wiping out 8,000 people, or stay, and allow one person to die. The only possible way it could be considered to have failed is the lack of action, but that in no way impairs the essentials: story, character, and concepts, proving action is only a motivator for these aspects, not the conclusion. They're all there and they're all sparkling with Trek magic. 'DS9' was known as the alternative series to the 'traditional' format which the other series' tended to keep to, to boldly go and explore strange other planets. Well, 'DS9' could do that style as well as any of them, and this is one to prove it could even beat the others at their own game. Essentially this is a one-off episode with no bearing on what came before or after, one you could sit down and watch with no knowledge of the extensive backstory the series had built up, or need to understand who the Dominion are, what the galactic political situation currently is: it's almost pure sci-fi-short-story-ness (look, it's even inspired me to make up a word today!).

I like that 'DS9' had its serious, deep, ongoing arcs, but I also like that they were able to strip all that away when they wanted to and lay bare the characters in a way that allows us to know them better, or differently, or for them to learn something. I can't think of a better way to put the majority of the main cast under the microscope in such a short space of time than for them to meet their own descendants. There's something special about the past and future, beyond the little patch of time we inhabit (not that that's the same for everyone - Dax has experiences from all through her symbiont's past), that's why some people are so interested in digging into the detail of their ancestors, and others are so interested in a creative vision of the future. Why not combine the two in a science fiction context? What would it be like to meet people descended from you, especially if you shared understanding with them, since the people of Gaia, as they named the planet of their doom, had no more futuristic technology than the Defiant crew, and had had to make do, subsisting on what they could salvage from the ship.

They must have been able to salvage a fair amount of technology, as we see computer screens being used (by the school children as they learn from Quark, doing a much better job of teacher than the humuhumnuknukuapua'a fish used on the Enterprise-D!), or the soil-burrowing equipment. How the Replicators were able to keep functioning for two hundred years would be a mystery in any other situation, but with a family of O'Briens stretching down through the ages it is absolutely no wonder that everything ran clockwork. It's a shame the Chief couldn't have lived all that time, like Odo, as he'd have been kept busy up to his elbows, just like he always used to be on the station! I admire his loyalty for holding out and not marrying until ten years had passed, but was Ensign Tannenbaum the only one left because she was an awful person and he was forced to make do with her, or was it by choice on her side? Two married O'Briens should have been able to get the Defiant working again, but as soon as they landed on the planet they had to cannibalise the ship for shelter, I think - still a little hazy on exactly what happened when they first arrived, even after watching this episode so many times.

I like it a little more every time I see it, because it's such a rich seam to explore and so much is played with. I said that this episode stands alone, but that's not quite true, as the characters and where they're at in their lives is a continuation, and would also have ramifications for future stories. Dax hearing how she ended up married to Worf is one, though the most obvious would be Kira and the surprises in store for her: you're going to die! But Odo loves you! And he always has! And you survived because he couldn't bear your death! Actually Odo bore up rather well considering how much he cared for the Major. He didn't become a moping, even more antisocial outsider, when he could easily have never spoken to a soul again and lived elsewhere on the planet till the end of his days. Maybe he did, I don't remember there being much dialogue about exactly what he did in his 200 year off-time, (did he carve Kira's stylish Bajoran headstone himself? Maybe in the first hundred years he became a master craftsman, but then realised there wasn't any demand for it as there were no other Bajorans there!), but he became a lot more weathered, his burnished corn-coloured hair and tanned approximation of skin speak to that. Maybe living on a space station away from the natural world isn't good for Changelings, and they're more healthy in a planetary atmosphere. Mind you, that probably goes for just about anyone - just because it's the future, doesn't mean fresh air isn't essential!

How will Kira react to future Odo's… how to say? Betrayal? She can hardly call it that since it saved her life. Lack of justice? Then again, what is just in this case? Odo was amazingly different compared to the smooth-skinned, sharp-faced respecter of justice we know, so open and comfortable, yet willing to sacrifice 8,000 people for Kira. It's the question at the centre of the story, whether anyone has the right to sacrifice themselves to save a number of people, or whether those people could be sacrificed for one. It's not a question of numbers, and in this case it's an executive decision for Sisko, though O'Brien is the staunchest supporter of getting back to DS9, even if it means people that shouldn't exist, do indeed stop existing. It could have been a lot less of an interesting series if it had become about life on this one planet, but I'd have signed up! Kira had a good point that the potential people that would be born if they were to escape don't exist now, anyway, and the people on the planet do. There's a time where the senior staff gather to discuss the situation, but Sisko makes it plain that he's only hearing what everyone has to say and has already made up his mind. It's later, when even O'Brien sees that they can't abandon the people to save themselves even if it does mean they won't see their families again, and for Miles this is a big thing indeed. But if he can willingly give up his family then the others can too.

It's not as hard for some as it is for others: Worf, for instance, has his Par'mach'kai, Jadzia, with him, he lives on the Defiant, so any personal effects could well be there with him, and he's a Klingon, and they adapt to tough living conditions better than anybody. Just look at the line he spawned, with its Klingon adherents that have created their own community which is neither at war with the other group, nor needing their friendship. Young children admire these warriors of nature and aspire to join their group. They seem honourable, most ably portrayed by Brota, the first flat-foreheaded Klingon we've seen since 'TOS,' or he would have been, if not for 'Trials and Tribble-ations' - you wait thirty years for the old-style Klingons, then they show up twice in one season! Brota is quiet-spoken, yet talks of great deeds, slaying a bear three metres tall. They're like watered-down Klingons, not in a derogatory sense, but their genes have clearly mixed with other races, and although Worf taught them the ways of the warrior you get an impression they don't know all the customs precisely: when they draw their d'k tahgs and ask Worf to kill them, they don't mention the Mauk-to'Vor ceremony by name, for example.

In all respects they are Klingon and they live up to the proud name Worf left behind. Ironic that the very next episode after Martok accepted Worf into his House, the House of Mogh is talked up and lives for two centuries! But what about those d'k taghs? Where did they come from? They carry makeshift spears, yet these knives look professionally made - again, Replicators could have played their part, but I can't see them settling for a replicated weapon when they were happy to make their own, so my only conclusion has to be that they're Worf's, kept by the leaders of the tribe, handed down reverently from generation to generation. And if they're Worf's I can only imagine he has a stack of weapons in his quarters on the Defiant! He always used to have them up on the wall on the Enterprise - like Sulu he appreciated a good blade. Remarkably durable, those Klingon weapons are. Maybe they make them with redundant inner blades, on the model of their own biology having redundant backup organs - Worf's Mek'leth, at least, survives to this day. They could have kept it for special occasions, like slaying three metre tall bears that wandered into camp - I'm sure the Gaians were very happy to have a warrior force not too far away if there were such massive predators walking around! Did the Klingons keep them safe like Rangers to Hobbits in 'The Lord of The Rings'?

The beliefs of the characters are not brushed aside in their greatest moment of need: both Kira and Worf discuss such issues at different times, and Worf stands up for her again when she talks of destiny of the Prophets, and O'Brien forcefully says he doesn't believe in them. He couldn't have been thinking too straight there, because science has confirmed the Prophets exist. Maybe he doesn't believe in their divine intervention in Bajor? Again, they sent the Orbs, and they've interfered with the people even during his tenure on the station. I think it was just a hotheaded retort, a jab in anger when he's worried about potentially never seeing Keiko or his children again. He also jabs at Worf that he hardly ever sees his son, in response to Worf's equanimity over the issue (something that would change next season). Kira talks to Odo about her death, and how this grave on the hillside, the sad tree bent over her, the long green grass waving in the wind of an alien world, may be the path the Prophets laid out for her. That's real faith, to be prepared to die, not screaming at the Prophets for abandoning her, but accepting it as their will.

She also mentions the idea of Yedrin Dax' plan to send the Defiant out safely, creating a shadow or alternate version that crashed - she's not happy with the idea of technology circumventing 'destiny,' whatever that is. It's an issue right now with the increase in bionic replacements for the body, or genetic alterations to improve or change ourselves. Likewise, the Klingons see a different side to the predicament, noting how their deaths, ceasing to exist, would be unworthy of Sto-vo-kor. That means they must believe the soul to be indestructible, regardless of time, existing outside of galactic dimensions, or they'd think the soul would also cease with the body. It's a very interesting hypothetical concept and it's well thought upon. These issues aren't the main point of the episode, but they're part of the detail that went into structuring such a well told story, and the kinds of things you would expect these people to be talking about. The story lives up to the idea.

Allan Kroeker, still a new Trek Director at that time and someone who'd go on to be integral to the success of Trek in future (including directing the finale of the series), brought a scale that was necessary for this planet to work. We see the old village set that had been used several times on various Trek series', and if it wasn't the same set, it was the same parts of set, I'm sure, but it wasn't shown on a grand scale in one shot, it was much more intimate: Kira and Worf standing behind an opening in a wall, watching the children at play; Miranda handing out plants for the planting day; Sisko throwing some baseballs with the kiddies. The set didn't feel like a set, something that requires care and planning and a larger vision, rather than doing what sometimes happens on these kinds of episodes, which is to show the set in all its glory. This usually serves to point out the boundaries, so instead of a large space, it feels constrained. Kroeker didn't fall into that trap, but he also had help from some ravishing location work that completely sells the alien planet with its rolling green hills, farmland, and solitary grave site. I like to think Kira was something of a celebrity to the people, and they would take their children to the place and tell the story of how they ended up on this planet.

It's clearly not a time loop, since the events have only happened once to all parties - the descendants know what's going to happen because it's been passed down, plus Odo was an original member of the crew. A clever idea to have our contemporary Odo unable to counteract the energy field around the planet, meaning he couldn't hold his shape, but at the same time stands to reason that he'd eventually learn to fight against the force. One thing I noticed when Bashir was putting him away in that oversized beaker (I miss the bucket!), was that Odo was translucent. I thought he would be opaque and viscous when in liquid form as we can't usually see through him when he shape-shifts. Maybe it was another side effect of the planet? I had thought perhaps Odo wouldn't know that Kira knew what she knew and she wouldn't tell him so it would become a private thing for her as well as Odo, but that's straying into 'Smallville' territory there, so it was probably best that they're both open by the end. It calls to mind the endings of 'Necessary Evil' and 'Things Past' when they both reacted badly to secrets held from each other, except this time Kira can't blame Odo for his future self's actions. I can't remember how it will play out, so it probably remained unaddressed and they got on with the business at hand, saved by the end of season bell which threw things on its head.

Another episode this parallels, in some respects, is Season 3's 'Meridian,' in which the crew find a planet that phases out of existence for decades at a time, and also features a friendly group of people living in a constructed community, but also having access to beautiful green spaces. It was also a romantic story, and since that tended to be a pitfall for the 'DS9' writers, is far from a classic, while this, which keeps its lovey-dovey side more in check, is an absolute corker. It matters much more that it's about Odo and Kira, rather than Dax and some alien guy of the week. This episode also gives Terry Farrell some really strong stuff to play - how often do we see Dax get angry, yet here she's unspeakably furious, incredibly disappointed in Yedrin, the current/descendant host for the Dax symbiont, for trying to pretend the escape plan would work, instead planning for the crash event to happen again. For the first time. Again. I can't remember exactly when she was last angry, but I do recall Season 2's 'Blood Oath' and how driven she was there. Farrell's growth as an actor had improved even more by the time of this episode: there's one little moment after Sisko leaves the room, where she walks over to Yedrin with a mixture of being drawn to him in sadness and shame over the guilt of what they'd got the ship into by wanting to explore the planet, almost wanting to comfort him and herself, yet also not having the words to express how disappointed she is in him trying to deceive them. It's all done in body language and eyes and was really very powerful.

Out of the extrapolations for who our characters might have begotten, who was the best? It's hard to pick a winner, because the standard of guest casting is so high. That much attention to detail in faces or portrayals isn't always carried through on a weekly TV series, but they came up trumps with every single person. Yedrin was the most likeable, he looked a bit like Tom Paris, all thin-faced and bright, happy eyes, and his character was full of questions for me: how many hosts have there been since Jadzia, and how was the most suitable person chosen? The history of the line interested me greatly and I wish a novel had been written about the lives on Gaia, from the crash up until the Defiant arrives - I'm surprised no one's done that, in the style of the Terok Nor books or 'The Never-Ending Sacrifice.' Then there was Miranda O'Brien: it's scary how much she looks like a female Miles, with the high forehead, rosy features and wrinkly smile. She would win the prize for closest resemblance and most believable relation. But it was Brota, the softly spoken Klingon that I thought was the best character, evoking the honour, dignity and reserve of Worf, and looking like a proper old-style example of the race. Even the children were well formed people, their innocence coming out in moments such as their not knowing of the impending nonexistence, or when one of them pipes up and asks if the visitors want to see Kira's grave, not understanding that Kira's very much alive for them, and that it's a sudden and sad discovery to hear of the death of their friend.

This means that when we come to the planting sequence, where the Defiant crew, after sealing the fate of the people in Sisko's decision to leave (I never sensed he had a desire to recreate history - he's responsible for his crew, but also has DS9, Starfleet, his role as Emissary to the Bajorans…), joyfully forget about the gravity of the moment and assist the people in their special day of planting. They missed a trick with that, I think - they should have made it the day of remembrance for the Defiant's crash, but that isn't mentioned, it just happens on the same day. Maybe in the past it was just that, but as the day grew nearer when the Defiant would return, the people probably didn't want to think about the possibility of things not turning out the way they originally did. Did they even know how far back in time they'd travelled? They could probably have worked it out from the position of the stars when they arrived, and the stars of the time they went back to, but if they didn't know, that would have meant they lived on, always expecting their ancestors to arrive, but unsure of the exact time.

The planting sequence was a lovely moment, all joining together to do this one last communal task, even the Klingons, who looked down on farming as a form of livelihood, are simply, but effectively made to see why they should help, by the wise words of Worf: ever looking for an enemy to fight, he tells them the enemy today is time. Let them help the people defeat it. This was another scene where the scope and scale are shown to be bigger than we see onscreen, allowing the imagination to put more in our head than any budget ever could - the warrior woman initially tells Worf about some of their group being from his line and others joining by choice, so when just those three accompany Worf to the planting grounds it makes it seem like she was speaking rather grandly of only three people! Until Brota instructs his friend to bring the others, and you realise there must be many more of them. The montage of people working together in the fields is one of those happy, but poignant moments because we know this is all futile. The children don't know the end is coming and it's the little girl, Molly's, openness about the future, how tall this plant will grow that makes O'Brien see that she isn't any less precious than his own Molly and he no longer believes he has the right to his old life at the expense of hers and the others.

It's not all doom and gloom, though. It's a remarkably uplifting story considering the ramifications, and there are even a few laughs to be had, mainly from Bashir - his enjoyment at how things turned out is an exact opposite of how O'Brien feels. Also, early in the episode, when Sisko pages him to the bridge to see to Kira, then she says she's fine, I imagined in my head the man stomping onto the bridge saying "First he wants me on the bridge, then he doesn't want me on the bridge…" - it would have made a good comedy illustration, although in reality he'd have been only too pleased to make sure Kira was okay. Later, when he does examine her and they're still expecting to leave soon, he cackles that he'll soon have her on his operating table, and it's like a real in-episode acknowledgement that Bashir's Infirmary can be a bit of a House of Horrors sometimes, with the kind of Frankenstein medicine he carries on in there sometimes.

For example, both Shakaar and Bareil are mentioned by Kira (in that context she's talking about how it must have hurt Odo when she confided in him about them), and while Shakaar escaped the table, Bareil was turned into a walking vegetable in there, so for Bashir to be pretending to evilly look forward to doing his worst to Kira could be in bad taste for her if they'd really thought about it! That's a joke really, as he did all he could for the Vedek, but it did become one of the running jokes behind the scenes if you read the Companion book. It was quite an unexpected, but simple way they used to separate Kira and Shakaar. Though it seems arbitrary, it's another example of her strong faith, that she would take this message that they weren't right for each other in the eyes of the Prophets, and obey that decision. Maybe the busy life of the First Minister meant their long-distance courtship had floundered, or the experience of having a child (albeit for the O'Briens), had changed Kira?

I was thinking during the episode, why didn't they just stay on the planet and all live happily ever after - it would have changed the series beyond all recognition, but I can see most of those characters (especially Worf and Sisko, building things), taking on the challenge to live a life less reliant on technology (links to 'Paradise' there), but I realised Kira was the balance, as she'd die weeks after their arrival due to her 'Matrix' bullet-dodge temporal effect (predating both that film and the 'Enterprise' pilot, 'Broken Bow' and its time-jiggling visual effects). So it made sense. Much more sense than Kira wearing those high-heeled boots in bed! I was also unsure about the idea of sending a probe through the barrier carrying messages to their families so they'd know what happened, once they decided to recreate the accident - if they couldn't get through without crashing two hundred years into the past, how would the probe? But of course, the issue wasn't whether they could get through the barrier, it was should they, as shown by the fact that a course change engineered by future Odo forced them to safely leave. At the end, Dax and Sisko talk about the loss of the colony and all their descendants having ceased to exist, almost exactly repeating Dr. McCoy's line from 'Star Trek II' when he speaks of the death of Spock, to Kirk. The sentiment is the same: as long as these people are remembered they will continue to exist, and that was the perfect way to close out this inspirational story.

****

Frozen

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S6 (Frozen)

"Just how long do you think she'll survive?" asks General Hammond of the mysterious female found in the ice. "As long as the story needed her to, and not a moment longer," I could have replied. You just knew she was going to be satisfactorily disposed of, because that's how it often works, though this story didn't always do exactly what I would have guessed in that she doesn't die making a big sacrifice and upsetting Jonas, who'd formed a kind of friendship with her. I was also surprised to see the two scientists who go off alone into the snow actually survive, even if it was thanks to Ayiana. Just where did that name come from? One moment they're saying they can't get her name out of her, then another scene they're calling her Ayiana - did I miss something, or did they just arbitrarily opt for that particular name? I'm afraid this was one of the dud episodes the series does here and there, with very little to interest for the length of an episode. The most intriguing development doesn't happen until right at the very end, leaving the episode feeling very unresolved.

This is more of a serialised series than some sci-fi, but the episode on its own didn't live up to the good idea of O'Neill needing to have a Goa'uld take up residence inside him! Technically it's a Tok'ra, but it's all the same to Jack. It does seem to be a contradiction in what we know of the Tok'ra from previous seasons. I'm sure we had this argument with Carter's Dad when he needed to be cured of cancer. I don't remember him getting the option of having a nice, handy cure then being shot of the thing! They can always justify it by saying that different times mean less or more symbiotes are available, or the added incentive of debriefing the creature of it's 'vital' intelligence from the previous host, but the Tok'ra happy for the symbiote to commit suicide just to satisfy O'Neill's wish to have it out of him? That doesn't sound like them at all! You can see that the moral and ethical side of the story and the true interest was injected far too late. The whole episode should have been about this (and no doubt the next one will be), instead of long scenes of this woman we don't know, who's supposed to be so mysterious and a rare find.

The question of whether she should sacrifice her health to heal each of the mission crew wasn't much spoken of, when it seemed to be the core of the story, they almost take it for granted, as if the writers are taking it for granted since the cast are going to survive. Instead, the talk is all about mythology, and how she may be an Ancient, one of the race that built the Stargates, and the fact she also seems to be human, making it seem that the Ancients were an… ancient form of humanity. Interesting idea to suggest humans might not have originated on Earth (in the context of a sci-fi story, not in real life!), but again, these are subjects barely touched upon. The writers prefer to give us Jonas making friends, which is a fair angle to take, as they needed to keep making him sympathetic to the viewers, but there was no reason to care about this girl. Aside from all the dullness I can see some good in the episode: the sets, for one thing, sold the idea of being on an Antarctic base, and it was a different opening to arrive at the 'Fortress of Solitude' when we're so used to seeing desert or forest environments.

The scientists weren't distinctive enough, and actually, the scene where one of them watches over Ayiana as she sleeps, came across as creepy rather than a heartwarming display of gratitude for saving his life, so much so that I was expecting a twist that curing people somehow turned them into psychos or something! The thawing of Ayiana was achieved well (like in the 'Cadfael' episode, 'The Virgin in The Ice'), although they didn't need to rush since she'd been encased in ice for millennia! The half-exposed face was very effective in convincing us of a humanoid completely frozen - I reckon she got the role for being so good at staring unblinkingly into the distance, but she did make a mistake when they rolled her onto the gurney: moving her head when no one had touched it while still supposed to be completely unconscious. Speaking of which, what happened to O'Neill being in a coma, so they'd have to make the decision to give him a symbiote themselves. It would have been much more dramatic for Carter to choose to keep him alive, and then for him to start ranting and raving about it (when we eventually get to see him well again), eventually realising it was Carter, she not being able to let him die.

Where the episode fell down was in its static location and that O'Neill and Teal'c pretty much stand around redundantly for the duration, with only the rescue of one of the scientists by snowmobile to give them anything to do. This is much more of Dr. Fraiser's show, with good support from Carter, but most of their talk is technical (though they did mention Cassandra), and the thing about coming down with a virus that's slowly killing everyone on the base is an overused device and didn't project the urgency of such a situation or a new take on the idea. I would have preferred something else that was expected, but would have provided a bit more physical danger, and that was for Ayiana to turn out to be someone that wants to attack, or was a weapon, or something other than a mime who mainly looks troubled and self-sacrificially cures as many people as possible.

There was very little laughter to be had, too, O'Neill forgetting to tape 'The Simpsons' the only funny line, and I wanted to assure him that it would be fine - in a few years he could get all the episodes on DVD. That did make me ponder though: 'The Simpsons' to O'Neill is like this series to those that are watching it, so there's some kind of psychology or subtext going on there, if nothing else, in the episode. Finding out that Dial Home Devices have only a finite level of power was a little nugget of new information to take from the episode, and I recognised the actor who played Thoran as a guy that went on to be a psychiatrist in 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.' Other than that, this was easily missable, so I hope the 'sequel' lives up to its promise of a 'joined' (or whatever they call it), Colonel O'Neill. Even that isn't enough to what my appetite for more 'gate adventures after this drab instalment.

**

The Council

DVD, Enterprise S3 (The Council)

An ensemble piece; making friends with your enemy; infiltration landing party action; and a space battle, all wrapped up neatly together? I should have guessed this was written by Manny Coto. I didn't need to guess, his name came up in the credits, the point is, this was him doing what he was good at: keeping plates spinning in action and story terms, but finding time for those important character-building moments, too. Even Travis gets a heroic scene, using the Shuttlepod's phasers to save Reed and T'Pol! The tragedy is that Degra's finished with this one, murdered in Reptilian cold blood, the last words he hears are the intentions for his family to suffer and die in the same way. By the look of horror on his face, does that mean he regrets what he did, in siding with the humans? I don't think so, he's proved himself an honourable man that would be a worthy citizen of the Federation Archer saw in the future aboard the Enterprise-J. The words he speaks with Archer about this great and unseen future, one we know so well from all the other series' of Trek, make this his finest hour, as do his words with Trip, the understanding that comes between them, Trip's hatred mended by the penitent and urgent exhortations of Degra.

Degra has proved to be the best new character this season thanks to Randy Oglesby's serious and affecting guilt and assertive proclamations against the error his race is making. It does sometimes seem as if it was too easy to trust the evidence of Archer, especially after we hear in this episode that the Guardians, as the Sphere Builders are known to the Xindi, showed visual proof of a future humanity destroying their race. But Degra is a good judge of character (except when he's taken off guard by the evil Dolim), and can see the Guardians for what they are. Just as the Xindi group was an emulation of the Dominion of 'DS9,' we discover the Guardians are an approximation of the Founders - worshipped by their underlings, they only want what's best for themselves, not those they saved for their purposes. Degra knows Archer now and has tested his resolve and motivations, and that trust carries Enterprise to the Council.

Not the most imaginative title to come out of the series. It evokes images of a town council rather than what it should, but this is the only aspect of the episode I found to fault. When Archer walks round the council chamber, eventually descending into the pit of his enemies that seemed so remote and inaccessible when we first saw it in the season opener, the magnitude of the situation and the weight of responsibility is heavy on the air. Hoshi is there to provide moral support, and more importantly, a translation of the non-humanoid Xindi races for her Captain's benefit, and while Archer's speech isn't as rousing as Degra's conversations mentioned before, he does what he came to do. Just seeing a fleet of protective Xindi ships around Enterprise gives you a warm glow, and the trip down to the planet, hearing of the sixth Xindi species, the Xindi-Avians (as well as their home planet being called Xindus), was well worth the time they gave it. I was thinking of 'Star Wars' when we see the Xindi shuttle bank down through clouds to this alien world, landing in a cave, the computer generated environments were that good!

Another CG environment they pulled off well was the interior of the Sphere that T'Pol, Reed, Mayweather and Corporal Hawkins visit, as the background to that must have been faked, yet it was difficult to distinguish between what was real and what wasn't. It helped immeasurably that the actors were really there instead of the usual lumbering CG figures that move like robots, and the one thing I recalled from the episode was Hawkins being grabbed by the defensive security arm, though I thought he got pierced rather than vaporised. It would have meant more if one of the MACOs we'd got to know and like had taken the redshirt role, but Reed makes up for that with his frustration over losing another crewmember. The place they visit inside the Sphere made me think of the V'Ger hub of 'The Motion Picture,' though not as grand, and I enjoyed having that little group go off on a mission while Archer does his thing at the Council.

The episode even started strongly, with a quick, clean recap of salient events to bring us up to speed, then the otherworldly (Prophet-like!), whited out council meeting of the Guardians, appearing and disappearing in fog-like brightness as they state their intent to destroy humanity, then straight into the opening credits! Like the Talosians they seemed to all be played by female performers, I don't know if that was relevant, but it did seem to be the case. One thing that was another case was the ability of Coto to make sure everyone had something important to do. Phlox has scenes with both T'Pol and Trip, updating us on the Vulcan's condition and reminding us of Trip's position as one who lost his sister to the Xindi attack. My favourite Phlox moment, however, was in the friendly chat he has with the Engineer after Trip notes he's losing weight (presumably something John Billingsley was doing that they decided to make part of the story, since Phlox had always been rather portly; it was part of his character), and he explains he's been having help from a tapeworm inside him - Trip's shocked by the idea ('a worm in yer belly?'), likely a little joke for those of us that know about the Trill!

Hoshi is useful to Archer, providing translation, but it seems she has a value to the rogue Xindi races that steal the weapon at the end, beaming her away with them, probably to somehow get the third activation code they need to arm the weapon. Like Reed and Hawkins I could have done with some build up to something like that, but these things are only wishful thinking in a nicely rounded episode. The Enterprise is returning to its former glory, getting tidier in the corridors, but I wish they had those beautiful displays of orange and yellow sparks spraying in the background more often! One reference that was sure to raise a smile was T'Pol's attempt at comforting Reed after the mission had gone awry: "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." It didn't make Malcolm feel any better, but it shows that perhaps T'Pol is able to be a little more sympathetic to the humans she serves with, now that her emotions are running more freely. And I should mention the very rare use of holographic technology on this series: not once, but twice, as an exhaust port the Shuttlepod uses as entry into the Sphere is camouflaged by a false projection, and the 'canary' Guardian the NX-01 found was recreated, thanks to Xindi surgical technology to give the Aquatics something to look at.

Coto in the writing and Livingston in the directing both did a good job of pulling these various plots together, keeping the story moving as it was when the season started, and inserting plenty of detail to keep the brain chugging along in what could have been a relatively boring episode, considering it's all about Archer addressing a council. I actually thought that's what it was going to be like with the action saved for the last two episodes, but this proved to be a pleasant surprise which dealt with just about everyone and everything in the ongoing story. I've really learned to like Degra so I wonder how the story will progress without that sympathetic figure to get into the ethical side of things, but Oglesby's contribution to the season can't be underestimated: like Kes in 'Voyager' I didn't much care for him the first time through, but with a greater appreciation of the season as a whole, I will miss the character, not something I expected to happen from his early appearances.

***

Soldiers of The Empire

DVD, DS9 S5 (Soldiers of The Empire)

A Klingon 'Star Trek' series is an enticing prospect and always has been. I'm not sure a straight up Klingon crew on a Klingon ship boldly going to strange new worlds, conquering and pillaging, would necessarily have worked in the same vein as the other Treks, but with this episode we see the kind of angle, the slant that makes the concept stand out from the norm: this is the closest they ever got to being Klingon Trek, an episode fully featuring a ship of the race, but one which is crippled; damaged; repressed. For Klingons this is a shameful way state of affairs, but this crew has faced so many defeats their run of misfortune could only be cured by the Son of Mogh and his Par'Mach'kai: Dax and Worf were the obvious Starfleet flavouring that would allow the warrior race the situation to star in an episode. Worf's interactions with his people have always been fraught with difficulty and disappointment for him, and what Martok gave him was a chance to start again with a clean slate, and I'm not even talking about the greatest sign of confidence in a fellow Klingon of the episode's ending: Martok inviting Worf to become part of his House.

No, just the chance for Worf to serve in a Klingon way, to bring that Starfleet dedication to a position a warrior would be proud of is more than enough to give him that lust for battle in his eyes. He takes his duties seriously, it's up to Dax to bring fun on the journey, though she also serves as a barometer for the crew, giving Worf updates on morale and the dangerous levels of tension that are simmering aboard. This isn't exactly a chance for Worf to prove himself as much as it is a holiday to get away from regulations and paperwork, the bane of a Starfleet officer's life (as the other crewmembers discover when they have to do Worf's job for him - makes you wonder who did these things before Worf joined the station! Bashir's position at intelligence would come back to haunt him, or is a small arrow pointing to when he'd be approached by the shady organisation Section 31 next season). On a Klingon ship Worf can enjoy battling the Jem'Hadar, and with both he and Martok having something to hold against the Jem'Hadar after their time in the prison camp, this should have been a release valve.

Except it doesn't work out that way, with Martok having lost his fighting spirit in the dungeons of the Jem'Hadar. At first you think he's being a more conservative Klingon, making sure the High Command's orders are carried out, his mission taking top priority over the usual Klingon love of battle. Not until they have the B'Moth (or B'Mock as I thought I heard Martok call it once - maybe he was after a different ship?), in their sights and he refuses to even contemplate crossing the border into Cardassian space, do we realise what the crew have sensed from early on: Martok is not the leader he should be. I don't call him a coward because in any other race it would be considered prudence and care. Why they didn't just cloak and head closer to the drifting ship so they could get more accurate readings on survivors, I don't know. That the border is considered so carefully shows what the Dominion's presence has already done for their new allies, the Cardassians. We hear that a starship has been attacked, and now this Klingon vessel, so the Cardassian territory is being vehemently defended, battle lines being drawn.

Martok was never really a coward in my eyes, he was merely doubting himself and his capabilities. He admits to Worf early in the episode (showing how close he regards him that he would share something so personal), how some days in the prison camp he wept for the want of a Klingon ship! I have to assume he was speaking figuratively, since Klingons don't possess tear ducts. Still, I can imagine him snivelling into his beard, bent over in a dark corner, and the image is a disturbing one. Fighting and killing an opponent in combat is one thing, but that the Dominion can, and are willing, to sap the spirit of their enemies, to take away their courage and determination, to destroy them from the inside on a personal, as well as galactic scale, is horrifying, and another reason to see them as inhumane, without the morals, ethics or belief systems that these Klingons hold to, or any sentient species should follow. When Worf does his duty as a Klingon First Officer, and challenges the Captain, it seems that he's made a mistake when Martok gets the upper hand, but we learn at the end of the episode that he dropped his guard purposefully, knowing what was best for, not just crew or mission, but for Martok: it reinvigorates him, the sense of betrayal galvanising him to regain his sense of honour. No longer does he care to second guess the Jem'Hadar and their tactics, he realises it's not good for him to be trying to play them at their own devious game, but to be true to himself and do what a Klingon warrior does!

The actual mission, the battle against other ships, even the rescuing of the survivors was irrelevant, because this was a story of redemption, the return of courage to an old warrior, Martok's episode as much as it is Worf's. While it's good for Worf to be accepted by members of his own kind and to command them in the environment they inhabit, that wasn't necessary for his sanity, it was a bonus for him. He realised a long time ago ('The Way of The Warrior'), that he had been stripped of his blood race's kinship and had found solace and fulfilment in Starfleet, assisted greatly by Jadzia's acceptance of him. For Martok, the situation is different, he's been a commander of men for a long time, we presume, and it's the ghost of his prisoner self that preys on his mind, the superiority of an enemy, where usually a great and glorious death to be welcomed, is not so, his instincts nulled by the prison experience. Together, he and Worf turn the crew around, and if there was one thing I took from this episode it was that I'd have loved to see the Rotarran's crew again. Martok got to keep the ship and had other adventures, but we never got to know his crew as we do in this episode. People get reassigned, but I'd like to think that the main crew would have stuck together and we needed to see that in future. It's just one of those things (like not getting to see the Enterprise-E in the Dominion War), that slipped through the net.

That's the way of things, even when the 'net' is so tiny that dredging it along the Trek galaxy brought up so many wonderful characters and adventures, and sometimes even the tiniest person got caught in the haul of 'DS9' and secured aboard the vessel. Still, enough with the fishing analogy, I'm talking about Nog! His scene is only a small one, but he makes it hilarious and sets up the subplot of wanting to gain respect in future episodes. At first his familiarity with Worf as they work on the Defiant's systems is the source of amusement, but that's nothing compared with him getting stuck between two burly Klingons as they talk over his head until finally plucking up his voice to ask politely if he could just 'slip by' General Martok, who grudgingly obliges this little pipsqueak! Jadzia, on the other hand, knew exactly how to treat her Klingon shipmates, having so many lifetimes of experience with different races she's developed a fine sense of any given situation. She's loud, brash and forceful, chucking people out of chairs, making friends by bringing along kegs of Blood wine, and generally being sharp and responsive to every attention. When first around them the Klingons are slightly apprehensive of this delicate-looking woman, so pale and thin compared with the muscular, dark, hairy state of the crew. But you don't judge Dax by her cover, and she knows how a Klingon mind works - she wouldn't have been there otherwise! The Blood wine opens the tongues of the crew and she has a direct line between them and the leadership, so she's the saviour of the ship, in a way. Worf might have reacted too late if it weren't for her timely updates.

The crew were a well drawn bunch, proving that all Klingon needn't look alike or behave exactly the same. I wanted to draw them, they were so individualistic, and right from the their first appearance, walking moodily into Quark's (where the sound level is so quiet it's almost like the Dabo table itself timidly bleeps a loss), they exude Klingon menace, though this time it's with a depressive air. Whether Rick Worthy (in his first Trek role of several), and his thin, dangling beard and huge arms, or Leskit with that sarcastic way of speaking and those deep, bony head ridges, even Sandra Nelson's Tavana, a Klingon Engineer, showing that the traditional roles of a starship are necessary even on a warrior's vessel, they all have character. It suggests Engineering is a career less well regarded if it's filled with a female, as the males tend to prefer the physical side of things and don't enjoy thinking, something that a technical position would require. Nelson went on to be on 'Voyager' in the episode 'Alter Ego,' in quite a different role. Actually she'd have done that one first as that was halfway through Season 3, and Season 5 of this series ran concurrently with that. There's mention of a medical bay, but I like to imagine, given general Klingon disposition towards doctors (getting in the way of a glorious journey to Sto-Vo-Kor, I expect, though Bashir's an exception, having lived side by side with Martok in the prison), their version of sickbay would be a trunk filled with bandages and a few hyposprays in the corner of a Cargo Bay.

For a Klingon-centric piece this is surprisingly talky, but as I said before, this isn't about the usual tropes of the race; battles, shouting and live gagh. This was about the inner workings of an alien ship, and even more, the inner workings of Martok and shipboard politics. Such ideas had been tackled to a lesser degree way back in Season 2 of 'TNG' when Riker took part in an exchange programme, and served on a Klingon vessel ('A Matter of Honour'), just as the idea of a crewmember wanting to go off on a personal mission (Kira, Dax, etc). We probably hadn't seen a Klingon mess hall since that 'TNG' episode, but sadly there's no live food here. When we did, at last, have a fight, the turning point where Martok and Worf battle, I could make out Martok's double in some of the scenes - he looked slightly thinner and more agile, and I never noticed that in the times I watched this on video, so that brings up my point about transferring old episodes to bright, fancy-dan high definition, because if stuff like this can be picked up on DVD, imagine the flaws and cracks that would show through in the uncompromising higher res shots! Not that it took away from my enjoyment of the knife fight on a Bird of Prey's bridge, since that's something we don't get every day, or season, or even series!

Levar Burton returned as Director again, and I don't know whether this was intentional on his part, or whether it was the logical place to put the camera, but he appeared to replicate the shot of the Klingon Captain leaning forward in his chair from 'The Motion Picture,' the camera low and looking up at what was probably the very same set used back then, over fifteen years before! That's the amazing thing about Trek: you can have an episode that comes fifteen years after a film, or eight years after an episode, that references them, and then you look forward to the future and see something like this set again on 'Enterprise.' I don't care about people pointing out that it was a budget-saving measure, whatever the reason, it connects the years together and provides consistency over so many productions and so many people's work, all in the same universe. I look forward to seeing the Abramsverse version of the Bird of Prey, but at the same time I don't worry too much about that film series because it's in a separate universe, its own thing. For everything else there's that warm glow of connection and cross-referencing and learning new things about familiar races or ships. That's 'Star Trek'!

I haven't even mentioned the Klingon singing, such a glorious sound! I wish there had been subtitles for the times when the language was spoken, as I love seeing a direct translation (I needed one of those handsets Kirk and McCoy used in the Klingon court of 'Star Trek VI'!), but the atmosphere of the ship, the smoke and glaring, red lights, the foreboding darkness and oppressive alienness of the place spoke volumes. I think out of all the new Klingons we meet, Leskit was the one I enjoyed most, though Kornan's dire talk of curses and defeat were played to gloomy perfection. It was also useful to have Martok address the missing eye when Bashir suggests he could have an ocular implant. It's a signature of the man, a sign of pride and the mark of a 'War-yer,' as they call it. JG Hertzler was such a strong addition to the cast, it's a wonder it took so many episodes before he got to star again, but his growling voice and pointy fangs, the impression of refinement juxtaposed with the scars of a fighter, make him an imposing figure eventually. He still isn't quite the man he would become, but he takes another step closer with his honour repaired and a ship of his own. He came into the series at the right moment, another ingredient in the boiling pot to add seasoning and a different flavour to what was fast becoming the ideal broth of TV entertainment. Best served live!

****

Ferengi Love Songs

DVD, DS9 S5 (Ferengi Love Songs)

Dax inadvertently criticises Rom, though with the best intentions of a compliment, not realising at first that she'd put her big, speckled foot in it. But at the same time, she was right; Rom is the most un-Ferengi-like Ferengi she's ever met. Losing the trappings of his failing Ferenginess began much earlier in the series, and he probably first officially turned his back on his people's way of life when he created a union and went on strike, something no true Ferengi would ever even contemplate. You can point to earlier in the series, too, when he relented and allowed Nog to petition to be in Starfleet - maybe even going back to the first season where he let Nog attend the human school run by Keiko O'Brien. Back then he had a relapse and was still in the midst of many failed schemes to get the bar off his brother, but over the years more of his hidden depths have been allowed to surface the further he moved from Ferengi values, and in this episode he makes the most definitive un-Ferengi act a Ferengi could make: giving away his entire fortune (such as it was), for the sake of… love? It doesn't seem possible, but on DS9 anything is possible!

The irony is that if it weren't for O'Brien, Rom might not be quite the man he is, because it was Miles who inspired him to strike in 'Bar Association' and once again, it's Miles that first puts the thought in his head that Leeta should be following Ferengi practices as much as he's following Bajoran ones. While O'Brien was only making a lighthearted comment (being a man who knows all about married life - let her have her way is probably his ultimate view, I suspect), it did spark up the last vestiges of Rom's proud Ferengi male heart: if Leeta doesn't do what he wants he can't marry her. But in coming up against the brick wall of Federation or Bajoran culture and values that make the Ferengi look cruel and backward in comparison, he eventually casts aside all that he believed in, thus setting a path into the future that links up with the A-plot of the episode, though in the tiniest of ways: Ferengi female emancipation.

Moogie (or Ishka, to give her her proper name), has always challenged Ferengi laws and ways, and though she couldn't earn profit and wear clothes openly, she successfully carried out these illegal acts surreptitiously, and her statement at the end when she says she's not going to give up on her feminist views, and hopes 'Zekky' will come around to them too, is the other end of the string that would change their society at the end of the series. Because Rom would eventually become Grand Nagus and his liberal and shocking alterations to how both sexes would live was being birthed here. Quark admits that even he has been affected and infected by Starfleet values, his conscience has been awakened, and while he struggles against his DNA and the nature of his abnormal family, he is probably as much like Rom, Nog and Ishka as they are, he's just got a more stubborn streak that refuses to give up and accept new ways when he can grope around in the dark pit of petty crime, winning token victories, bringing tiny schemes to fruition - only a couple of episodes back, in 'Business As Usual' he realises there are limits even for Latinum, and for a Ferengi that's a hard lesson to learn.

I don't think they ever did the structure of this story before or since, where the two brothers are each made the focus of the A- and B-plots, though both are in separate parts of the galaxy. Even without Nog, this is all about the Quark family. Though it is a Ferengi episode, the next in a line of what could be called farces, it's not actually a laugh-out-loud kind of episode. There are smiles to be had (often resulting from the absurdity of the figures appearing in Quark's wardrobe!), but it's not about jokes so much as it is about serious Ferengi politics: Moogie's become the power behind the throne, as Quark so dramatically puts it; Grand Nagus Zek (returning for the first time since Season 3), is getting old and forgetful; Brunt's machinations are all designed to make him the next Nagus; and Quark and his business licence are tied up with it all. You do forget the bulbous heads and flappy ears, the odd food and funny voices, and it becomes about devious politics, both world and family.

It was a bit of a messy way for Quark to get his licence back - first he's promised it will be reinstated if he breaks up the newly coupled Zek and Moogie, then that falls through and it looks like it will be taken away again, and then Brunt doesn't take it away in the end because he won't challenge Zek? I think I got that right. It doesn't really matter, it wasn't something like Odo getting his powers back or Kira bringing the baby to term; life just carried on pretty much as normal for Quark, except there weren't any Ferengi visitors during his blacklisting. It means the world to Quark, of course, it's his life, part of the shallow threads he's still clinging to, even while his nephew finds new purpose as part of Starfleet, and Rom in becoming engaged to Leeta. Quark remains disgusted by such things, he can't see beyond his greed (though he says he does think of others, he just thinks about himself first!).

Since I love the Ferengi characters I'm always thrilled to go back to their lives, and this time we even get a repeat visit to Ferenginar, which hadn't been seen since Season 3's 'Family Business,' coincidentally the same episode which introduced Moogie and which was also directed by Rene Auberjonois. I don't think this one was as surprising or fascinating as the former, but then we'd done most of this before and this one was more about the fun of going back to that world one last time. Even so, the details are enjoyable as a completely different style and culture to the usual, is milked, whether it's the timing of Moogie slurping down a gree worm, the double takes of Quark, or the smooth acting of the great Jeffrey Combs. Moogie wasn't hurt by being played by a different actress this time, as the impression was so close to Andrea Martin's original role, as well as the makeup being such a fantastic re-creation, that it all made the performance. I do feel that Zek has lost the crankiness and repulsiveness that he used to have, but then again he is older and in a different situation so he would be changed. His long-suffering Hupyrian servant Maihar'du, is also with him, getting lots of background humour from his facial expressions or the way he has to bend literally double to get around inside the squat Ferengi buildings!

I would have liked to see more of the Tower of Commerce (and more of Leck, the grovelling Ferengi who makes an incredibly short appearance, but whom would later play an important role in 'The Magnificent Ferengi'), it's one of those budgetary issues that a TV series has to deal with. One thing I did notice was the wall of Ferengi graphics, their writing descending and ascending in a piece of elaborate animated production design. The whole production is flawless in its costuming, background details and lighting, as much as the acting is so much fun. As I'm always on the lookout for them, I saw a 'fish-man' sitting at the table behind Dax and O'Brien, and enjoyed the way the episode starts with a crack team of Starfleet officers eradicating Cardassian voles that have once again infested Quark's. Quark and Dax even throw in a reference to Tribbles - seeing as she's had recent firsthand experience she can say that!

There were also various mentions of races such as the Bolians, or Vulcans (Zek's advised that they have techniques for dealing with memory loss - I'd have loved to have seen that scene - I can just see a disapproving Vulcan priest summoning up all his powers of logic and emotional repression when confronted by this aged, wrinkled Ferengi with such a piercing voice for daily sessions with him!), and that the Ferengi are entering into trade negotiations with the Breen (wonder how long that lasted - until Season 7?). And who could forget the scene written for all those action figure collectors out there, with Moogie scolding Quark for taking them out of their packaging, thus decreasing their value (although in terms of real 'Star Trek' figures I must say that value hasn't much increased for most in the range, and many can be bought even cheaper than their original cost!). Even the backhanded handshake gesture was included between Quark and Brunt (last seen when he did the same with Gaila - both times with untrustworthy Ferengi Quark ended up trumping).

Ferengi episode or not, the funniest scene for me, perhaps because I'd forgotten it, and it was just a simple, well-written moment, was two Bajoran women walking above the Promenade, Leeta making all these statements and Kira listening, but contradicting every one. It's those kinds of moments you don't tend to get in any of the other Trek series' and isn't strictly necessary, but adds so much. Leeta is seen selling Jumja sticks on the Promenade, another golden oldie from the early seasons - what with voles as well, this is another episode in a string of them that have dipped into the past of the series in pleasing ways, (including Morn buying one of the glops and opening his mouth as wide as we've ever seen before). Leeta's new job is likely a result of needing work while Quark's bar was closed during the extermination of the voles (should have got Worf involved and then they could sing songs about The Great Vole Hunt!).

Sisko's stoic order to "carry on" to Rom as if he's doing some great service to the station, was also a nice bit between them. It was quite something, Rom's Bajoran earring, but then his ears are quite something, too. I imagine it had to be specially commissioned as I've never seen a Bajoran with ears the size of a Ferengi before! Martok isn't forgotten, and in preparation for his starring role in the following episode we hear how he 'disciplined' one of his men by throwing him off the Promenade railings (just in case we'd forgotten he was on the station). Considering how disapproving Gowron appeared to think of Martok when he was first assigned to DS9, the warning made by Sisko of having Gowron assign someone else probably would have been very real to Martok and a good incentive to follow the rules! On the whole, this episode's insight into Ferengi behaviour and their ways, while not really showing us much new, did continue to impress. They got a really good group of actors together to play the extended family so it was always a pleasure to see them in action (except maybe 'Profit and Lace,' but that 'joy' was still to come), and considering there weren't that many in the course of the series, every one is one to treasure.

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