Rigil's Reflections from a DS9 Newb...

[CoffeeCat]

Dax was the last episode of DS9 I got to see. It left me with such a good impression that I'm anxious to start watching again where I left off. Who knows, maybe I'll start watching again soon.

As far as Q-less is concerned - After watching all the Voyager Q character assassinations, I actually found Q-less tolerable, in a pointless sort of way. DS9 didn't do any Q episodes after that, did they?

[Elessar]

I never agreed that Voyager was Q-character assassination. The guy was just as obnoxious and immature in TNG... I really don't see the difference. I guess some people think he was degraded by being romantically interested in Janeway? I loved it

I don't remember any of those episodes you posted about Rigil, sorry. I think that's because, yeah, the first season is hit and miss, and without any really really memorable episodes. Either that... or the later seasons just have so many memorable episodes

[Rigil Kent]

"Q-Less" had Vash showing up after having been discovered in the Gamma Quadrant. She tried to sell some artifacts (through Quark, whom I still don't like) and one of them was causing the station to have power fluctuations and be drawn toward the wormhole. They eventually beamed it into space where it turned into some flying energy creature.

"Dax" had these aliens trying to extradite Jadzia to their homeworld to stand trial for treason and murder, all caused by her previous host. You eventually find out that the guy s/he was accused of killing was actually the traitor and had been whacked by the "rebels", and that the Dax at the time was carrying on with that general's wife. It was an interesting character study of the whole Trill thing.

"The Passenger" was about Kira & Bashir rescuing an alien transporting a prisoner, and the prisoner sort of pulled a mind whammy on Bashir and "took over" the doctor, although the "tried" to conceal that fact. Eventually, the influence was undone ... although I wonder if the bad guys hired by Quark actually killed the crew of the transport that they hijacked for Evil!Bashir...

[Reanok]

Evil Bashir is fun in the MU episodes of Ds9 when you get to see them I liked That Ben punched Q, and qsaid Picard never hit me and he says I'm not Picard. And I was so glad he never was seen again on Ds9 he didn't belong on that series Good Riddence. I don't like Q never have liked his character.

[Elessar]

I like Q, but I agree, he doesn't have any place on DS9. It's just not his thing... sitting still... so uninteresting

[CX]

I still liked the mock boxing scene between Q and Sisko though.

[Linda]

I really like how DS9 goes into the cultures of several species - Ferengi, Trill, Cardasian, Bajoran. It is a series with a lot of depth.

[evcake]

I really like how DS9 goes into the cultures of several species - Ferengi, Trill, Cardasian, Bajoran. It is a series with a lot of depth.

I could have done with less Bajorans and Cardassians, though.

[Linda]

Well, I liked the contrast of all those cultures but was fascinated with what they did with the Trill. Still, I think the Vulcans were neglected in TNG and DS9. ENT has done more with Vulcans than any other series, even TOS, and probably would have done more if the series continued. And now I'm gonna get some flack about saying ENT did more than TOS with Vulcans, right? But I do really like TOS for actually inventing Vulcans.

[evcake]

In a way, ENT is the most worthy successor to TOS for just that reason.

Still, Re: DS9: I wanted to shove the Kai and Gul Dukat out the nearest airlock whenever they appeared.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

And I practice one of their rules of acquisition: "Exploitation begins at home". My grandkids are being trained in boat maintenance!

Scrubbing decks, eh?

[Rigil Kent]

Finished disc 2 tonight (three more) episodes. I liked one of the three. Random thoughts...

Move Along Home. OMG, this was a lame episode. Sisko, Kira, Dax & Bashir in some sort of inane "game" that Quark was involved in. I liked the Sisko interaction (Ben & Jake) in the beginning, but some of the comments from the older Sisko re: Ferengi came across as kind of racist. The "aliens" were pathetically lame: nothing more than humans with silly-looking symbols painted on their foreheads. There was never really any sense of actual danger for the four people in the "game". And this was the third episode in a row without even a hint of O'Brien.

The Nagus. Ugh. This was even worse than the one above. I'm not a Ferengi fan to begin with and some of the anti-capitalist tripe that permeated this episode was really annoying. Once more, there seemed to be something of a racist undertone to some of the comments made by some of the humans (Sisko, O'Brien) directed toward the Ferengi as a whole, although I did like the moment where CDR Sisko discovers what Jake has been doing with Nog. I also kind of liked O'Brien's line re: Nog's lie about the assignment (specifically the incredulity of it): "Vulcans stole your homework?" There was never any doubt that the Nagus was still alive. From what I saw of the Vulcan that Jake and Nog were checking out, she's clearly descended from Hot stock; I like to think she's Trip & T'Pol's great-granddaughter or something (since I refuse to acknowledge *the_abomination* as accurate). After all, she clearly likes T'Pol's stupid skin tight catsuits.

Vortex. Better if still flawed. Weird seeing the guy who played Degra, although I liked the idea of the Miradorns (twins who were one single entity). Why is it that "villains" on these shows are always misunderstood and have some sort of tragic background? Just once, I'd like to see a bad guy in a role like this spinning some BS story, and then the Hero discovers that the guy was total scum. First reference to Odo's species as Changelings. Rolled my eyes at the silliness of having just Odo (out of the central characters) aboard the ship. Uh huh. Riiight. Morn is turning out to be the Norm of Quark's, isn't he? How can Odo be knocked unconscious? For that matter, why doesn't he turn to goo if he is?

1 for 3. Not a good average.

[blacknblue]

In a way, ENT is the most worthy successor to TOS for just that reason.

Still, Re: DS9: I wanted to shove the Kai and Gul Dukat out the nearest airlock whenever they appeared.

That's the mark of good writing. A villain isn't properly written if you don't hate them.

Maintain Rigil. It gets better. Although I personally come to dislike Sisko in later episodes because he starts to eventually believe his own propaganda. I especially dislike the way he is at least partially responsible for what happens to the Maquis. But I won't spoil it for you. At least the character has enough depth to be a three dimensional person with flaws as well as good points.

[JadziaKathryn]

Morn is turning out to be the Norm of Quark's, isn't he?

M-O-R-N. N-O-R-M. It's not a coincidence.

[Linda]

Rigil, I agree with Bnb, hang in there. Like all the series, there are some uninteresting episodes, even bad ones. But there are some really great ones. And don't give up on the Ferengi. In general, I don't like their extreme capitalist portrayal either. The Negus is kind of a weird character (I cringe at his giggle). But there are other sides to the Ferengi. Nog and Rom get better. Odo gets better, at least in my opinion. The Dominion war is interesting - last two or three seasons of the series. In a way, I guess it kinda parallels how the Xindi war is inserted into ENT.