Undermining Itself With Age: The Chief O’Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform Figure Is Not Playmates’s Finest!

The Good: Good sculpt, Good coloring, Decent variety of accessories.
The Bad: Accessory coloring, Very overproduced, Very bland facial expression, Lacks skin depth and shading, Poor balance, Inability to hold some accessories.
The Basics: The Chief O’Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform was an initially fair figure that has since degraded some.


When it comes to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures, I was initially incredibly biased toward them: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was my favorite series in the Star Trek franchise and when Playmates Toys started the figure line, I was very excited. Unfortunately, when the second line of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures was announced by Playmates, I was preemptively disappointed (with just cause). Most of the figures in the line were not original; they were reworks of previously-released Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures and few of those recycled figures were of interest to me. One of the few I did get enthusiastic for was the Chief O’Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform. The reason I got excited for that figure was that Playmates had released the StarFleet Officers Collectors Set and I was augmenting the display piece with figures in their Dress Uniforms that were not included in the Collectors Set.

Chief O'Brien, for those who were not tuned in to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!), was the Chief Of Operations and the only enlisted regular of space station Deep Space Nine. And while every other Star Trek series has had a miracle worker chief engineer, O'Brien was the Chief Of Operations on Deep Space Nine and the Chief Engineer on the U.S.S. Defiant. This was a big step up for him as he was a transporter chief on the U.S.S. Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform figure features O'Brien as he appeared in special episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, most notably “Data’s Day” (released here!) and “Rejoined” (reviewed here!).

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1995 Collection of action figures contained twelve figures and it was largely made up of guest characters and obscure variants of the command crew of Deep Space Nine. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform is the human officer, looking just as he did when he was forced to dress up for important events. O'Brien appears in his second release figure (there were two O’Briens in the second line) as an pretty generic gold-uniformed StarFleet officer in Dress Uniform. He is attired in his gold and black StarFleet Dress uniform. This was one of the most common action figures in the assortment and it remains fairly easy to find even now. Still, card collectors helped keep this from being a complete pegwarmer as it features a SkyBox pog exclusive to the action figure, which made it hunted by trading card collectors as well.

The Chief O'Brien figure is the human StarFleet officer as he appeared in the infrequent episodes where O’Brien wore the Dress Uniform, with the yellow uniform and with a head of curly hair. Chief O'Brien is attired in his mustard yellow (for Engineering division) Dress Uniform. The outfit is colored appropriately, including the single open gold/black rank pip on the collar, though there is no physical distinction between the body of this O’Brien and the Data and Geordi in Dress Uniform figures (save the pips).

Standing four and thirteen-sixteenths inches tall, this is a decent likeness of Chief O'Brien immortalized in plastic. The character is molded with his hands ready to hold most of his accessories in a half-closed position. His legs have a fairly straight-legged stance, so this figure stands up and looks like he is ready to be displayed, as opposed to an action pose which made some of the earlier Star Trek figures more problematic for posing in displays. Chief O'Brien has poor balance off his stand, though on the stand, it strangely remains just stable enough to stand. There is a decent level of uniform detailing, including the communicator pin on the chest being both molded into the figure and then painted on. The sculpted details include such finer details as fingernails, but not knuckles.

Chief O'Brien's face is molded in a bland, neutral expression that includes an characteristically furrowed brow. The hair is tough to capture for an O'Brien figure as O'Brien had curly hair, but Playmates made a fair go at it with a wavy, textured look to the molded hair. At least it doesn't look like O'Brien is wearing a helmet.

The paint job is fair at best, especially for the face. The skin tones are monotonal white with no shading or subtlety. The figure's lips are unpainted. As well, O'Brien's eyes are black with white pupils, which is disturbing. On the body of the figure, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures seem to have been rushed to market as there is nothing truly unique with this figure. As well, the bottoms of the pants lack the piping detail the actual uniform had.

As the figure has aged an issue has surfaced; the O’Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform was made of two different types of plastic. As a result, the torso and chest piece of the figure has remained mustard yellow, while the softer arms of the figure have a yellow that has discolored to olive green. That is a problem for fans and collectors.

Accessories

Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform comes with six accessories, including the base, some of which are unique to this figure. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform comes with a StarFleet Type 1 phaser, a StarFleet carrying case, Pattern Enhancer, Cello and boy and the base. The Action base is a StarFleet delta shield symbol with the name "O'BRIEN" stuck on it with a cheap, black sticker. The center of the base has a peg which fits into the hole in either of Chief O'Brien's feet! When Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform stands flatfooted on the stand, he is stable for balance and has a decent, neutral display appearance. The base is not enough to support O'Brien in more outlandish poses, though the figure’s lack of flexibility and articulation to the legs does not allow him to be placed in more than one pose for all intents and purposes.

The StarFleet phaser was a reworked Type I phaser accessory. This version was a 2 3/16" long prop which features the handheld beam weapon with a bright pink phaser beam emitting from it. The phaser has good molded details, down to the different buttons and a display screen, but is light on the coloring details. In addition to not having a black grip, the phaser does not have detailing on the buttons or power indicator, so it is homogeneously silver to the beam, then monotonally pink. O'Brien's hands are molded so he may carry the weapon in either hand, though it is such a clumsy grip that it ends up being wielded more like a sword than a phaser weapon.

The StarFleet carrying case is a tube that may be slung nicely over the shoulder of the O’Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform figure. The tube was 1” long and 1/2” in diameter. It had a thin strap that makes the overall carrying case 2” tall. This is a monotonal red/maroon accessory with a white StarFleet logo silk screened onto it. Outside its coloring, it fits the figure perfectly.

The pattern enhancer is based on the prop used in episodes like “Power Play” (reviewed here!). It is a 2 1/2" tall pole that ends in four feet. It looks much like a model of the Seattle Space Needle with feet. This is a bulkier and less tall version of the actual prop, though it is recognizable for what it is.

The cello and bow are a wonderful accessory for this particular figure; O’Brien played his cello while wearing the Dress Uniform in “Data’s Day.” The bow is a 1 7/8” long stick with a gap in it. The rounded grip fits in O’Brien’s left hand, but the figure lacks the articulation necessary to make it look like O’Brien is actually playing the cello. The cello is a 2 3/4” oversized violin (it lacks the stick at the bottom that cellos have to keep them off the ground). The body of the cello is textured to look like wood, but the accessory is cast entirely in an unrealistic red/maroon plastic.

This is the unfortunate aspect of all four of Chief O'Brien's accessories; they are molded in an unrealistic maroon/red plastic which looks unlike what any of the props looked like on the show. Clearly Playmates went through some effort to sculpt the accessories realistically, but the coloring minimizes the sense of realism and clashes with the coloring of the figure. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform is over-accessorized and with the lame coloring of the accessories, it is a bit of a drawback for the overall figure.

Even so, Playmates included a pog trading card unique to the figure from SkyBox which attracted trading card collectors to this figure in addition to toy collectors. The trading card has a shot of O’Brien’s head over the wormhole. The back has a simple checklist of the figures that came with pogs.

Playability

Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform continued a generally high level quality from Playmates and he was quite good at the time, pleasing collectors and fans alike. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform is appropriately stiff, but has decent poseability. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform is endowed with eleven points of articulation (though the articulation at the groin socket is minimal – only about ten degrees each way of range of motion): knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, shoulders, and neck. All of the joints, save the elbows and knees, are simple swivel joints. As a result, the neck turns left to right, but the head cannot nod. Similarly, the shoulders are not ball and socket joints and only rotate. Still, Playmates dealt with this limitation by having a swivel joint in the bicep, that allows everything below to turn and offers real decent poseability!

Moreover, for use with actual play, Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform may bend or extend at the elbows, which offers a greater amount of movement potential making him one of the more realistic Star Trek action figures to play with (for those who actually play with these toys!). On his base, Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform is exceptionally stable, though the legs do not move enough to offer real posing variety. Off the stand, the figure falls over exceptionally easily.

Collectibility

Playmates overproduced the second wave of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures and Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform was a slow seller of the assortment. Despite appearing on two Star Trek series, Chief O'Brien was still a pegwarmer. As a result, he has not appreciated at all in value since his initial release almost twenty years ago.

That said, at least Playmates tried to make the figures collectible. Each figure has an individual number on the bottom of his right foot. In the attempt to make them appear limited, they had numbers stamped on them, though one has to seriously wonder how limited something should be considered when there are at least 56000 figures out there (my Chief O'Brien is #055495!).

Overview

The Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Dress Uniform figure was an unfortunately problematic figure in terms of grip and accessory coloring, but it has aged poorly with the arms discoloring, lowering its overall value in the long run.

For other figures from this same series of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, please check out my reviews of:
Commander Benjamin Sisko In StarFleet Dress Uniform
Chief Miles Edward O’Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform
Lieutenant Thomas Riker
Doctor Julian Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform
Jake Sisko
Rom and Nog
The Tosk
Q
Vedek Bareil

4/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing.

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Recognizable O’Brien From Playmates, Chief O’Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform Is Mostly Recycled!

The Good: Good sculpt, Good coloring, Decent variety of accessories, Balance, Good uniform choice!
The Bad: Accessory coloring, Very overproduced, Very bland facial expression, Lacks skin depth and shading
The Basics: Playmates largely recycled parts to make a Star Trek: The Next Generation version of Chief O’Brien for their second Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Chief O'Brien figure (the O’Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform)..


Playmates Toys, while it was the primary producer of Star Trek action figures, was never a company to miss an opportunity to make money or recycle an idea. One of the figures that was announced but not released was a version of Chief O’Brien from Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the second series of Playmates’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures, the Star Trek: The Next Generation version of O’Brien made its appearance as the Chief O’Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform action figure. The Chief O’Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure was largely recycled. In fact, the accessories are all identical to the ones from the first O’Brien figure Playmates released (reviewed here!).

Chief O'Brien, for those who were not tuned in to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!), was the Chief Of Operations and the only enlisted regular of space station Deep Space Nine. And while every other Star Trek series has had a miracle worker chief engineer, O'Brien was the Chief Of Operations on Deep Space Nine and the Chief Engineer on the U.S.S. Defiant. This was a big step up for him as he was a transporter chief on the U.S.S. Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure features O'Brien as he appeared in hit entire run of Star Trek: The Next Generation when he was the transporter Chief. Outside the scene in which he leaves the Enterprise (finally), O’Brien never actually appeared in this uniform on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1995 Collection of action figures contained twelve figures and it was largely made up of guest characters and obscure variants of the command crew of Deep Space Nine. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform is the human officer, looking just as he did when he was the transporter chief. O'Brien appears in his second action figure as an pretty generic gold-uniformed StarFleet officer. He is attired in his gold and black StarFleet uniform. This was one of the most common action figures in the assortment and it remains fairly easy to find even now. Still, card collectors helped keep this from being a complete pegwarmer as it features a SkyBox pog exclusive to the action figure, which made it hunted by trading card collectors as well.

The Chief O'Brien figure is the human StarFleet officer as he appeared in seasons two through six of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with the yellow uniform and with a head of curly hair. Chief O'Brien is attired in his mustard yellow (for Engineering division) jumpsuit. The outfit is colored appropriately, including the single gold rank pip on the collar, though because the figure is a recycled body of a Next Generation figure, the figure has three pips molded onto it!

Standing four and eleven-sixteenths inches tall, this is a decent likeness of Chief O'Brien immortalized in plastic. The character is molded with his hands ready to hold most of his accessories in a half-closed position. His legs have a spread-legged stance, so this figure stands up and looks like he is ready to be displayed or run, as opposed to an action pose which made some of the earlier Star Trek figures more problematic for posing in displays. Chief O'Brien has good balance on or off his stand (though the stand certainly helps). There is a decent level of uniform detailing, including the communicator pin on the chest being both molded into the figure and then painted on. The sculpted details include such finer details as fingernails and knuckles.

Chief O'Brien's face is molded in a bland, neutral expression that includes an uncharacteristically unfurrowed brow. The hair is tough to capture for an O'Brien figure as O'Brien had curly hair, but Playmates made a fair go at it with a wavy, textured look to the molded hair. At least it doesn't look like O'Brien is wearing a helmet.

The paint job is fair at best, especially for the face. The skin tones are monotonal white with no shading or subtlety. The figure's lips are unpainted. As well, O'Brien's eyes are black with white pupils, which is disturbing. On the body of the figure, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures seem to have been rushed to market as there is nothing truly unique with this figure. As well, the bottoms of the pants lack the piping detail the actual uniform had.

Accessories

Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform comes with five accessories, including the base, all of which had noticeably been recycled from the first Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figure. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform comes with a StarFleet phaser, an engineering kit, laser drill and portable fire extinguisher and the base. The Action base is a StarFleet delta shield symbol with the name "O'BRIEN" stuck on it with a cheap, black sticker. The center of the base has a peg which fits into the hole in either of Chief O'Brien's feet! When Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform stands flatfooted on the stand, he is stable for balance and has a decent, neutral display appearance. The base is also enough to support O'Brien in more outlandish poses, which is nice.

The StarFleet phaser is the same Type II phaser accessory that came with many of the Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures. It is a 2 1/2" long prop which features the dustbuster-shaped beam weapon with a bright pink phaser beam emitting from it. The phaser has good molded details, down to the different buttons and a display screen, but is light on the coloring details. In addition to not having a black grip, the phaser does not have detailing on the buttons or power indicator, so it is homogeneously silver to the beam, then monotonally pink. O'Brien's hands are molded so he may carry the weapon in either hand.

The portable fire extinguisher is a 7/8" long cylinder attached to a handle which fits into either of O'Brien's hands. The purple plastic device looks like a pretty traditional fire extinguisher and given all of the problems on Deep Space Nine, it is unsurprising that O'Brien comes with just such a device. As one might expect from a toy of a fire extinguisher, this has minimal molded details and no painted details.

The Engineering kit is an inch long by 3/4" tall case which looks like a ribbed briefcase. There is nothing that sets this apart as a StarFleet engineering kit. This case does not open and it only fits in O'Brien's right hand.

The laser drill looks like a hypospray with a slightly more defined nozzle. It, too, fits only in O'Brien's right hand and it compels the consumer to use their imagination as it does not do anything or have any laserbeam attachments emanating from it. It is pretty well detailed in the molded details, but it is a poor accessory for the coloring as it is a monotonal purple plastic.

This is the unfortunate aspect of all three of Chief O'Brien's accessories; they are molded in an unrealistic bright green plastic which looks unlike what any of the props looked like on the show. Clearly Playmates went through some effort to sculpt the accessories realistically, but the coloring minimizes the sense of realism and clashes with the coloring of the figure. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform is over-accessorized and with the lame coloring of the accessories, it is a bit of a drawback for the overall figure.

Even so, Playmates included a pog trading card unique to the figure from SkyBox which attracted trading card collectors to this figure in addition to toy collectors. The trading card has a shot of O’Brien’s head over the wormhole. The back has a simple checklist of the figures that came with pogs.

Playability

Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform continued a generally high level quality from Playmates and he was quite good at the time, pleasing collectors and fans alike. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform is appropriately stiff, but has decent poseability. Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform is endowed with twelve points of articulation: knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, shoulders, neck, and waist. All of the joints, save the elbows and knees, are simple swivel joints. As a result, the neck turns left to right, but the head cannot nod. Similarly, the shoulders are not ball and socket joints and only rotate. Still, Playmates dealt with this limitation by having a swivel joint in the bicep, that allows everything below to turn and offers real decent poseability!

Moreover, for use with actual play, Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform may bend or extend at the elbows, which offers a greater amount of movement potential making him one of the more realistic Star Trek action figures to play with (for those who actually play with these toys!). On his base, Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform is exceptionally stable, even in the most ridiculous poses. He actually looks very dignified and ready-to-work in his neutral display pose.

Collectibility

Playmates overproduced the second wave of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures and Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform was a slow seller of the assortment. Despite appearing on two Star Trek series, Chief O'Brien was still a pegwarmer. As a result, he has not appreciated at all in value since his initial release over fifteen years ago.

That said, at least Playmates tried to make the figures collectible. Each figure has an individual number on the bottom of his left foot. In the attempt to make them appear limited, they had numbers stamped on them, though one has to seriously wonder how limited something should be considered when there are at least 19000 figures out there (my Chief O'Brien is #018689!).

Overview

The Chief O'Brien In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure is an average figure and serious collectors will want to pick up the Diamond Select 6” version instead.

For other figures from this same series of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, please check out my reviews of:
Lieutenant Thomas Riker
Doctor Julian Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform
Jake Sisko
Rom and Nog
The Tosk
Q
Vedek Bareil

5/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page for an organized listing.

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Top Ten Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episodes

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The Basics: Neglected by mass culture, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a classic in its own right and possibly the best of the Trek pantheon. These are the indispensable episodes...


So, now that I've begun writing up some of my lists for my readers, I find myself in the pleasant and horrible position of sometimes having to truly be concise and nail down some of my opinions. After all, when I'm simply reviewing a film, book, or c.d., where it falls in my larger pantheon can often be overlooked. I can go back and see trends in my reviewing and justify higher or lower ratings based on what I was experiencing at the time.

This became a real issue when coming up with my list of the ten best Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes of all time. There are a number of perfect hours of this much-neglected show and in cutting down the list, I was forced to leave off several worthy episodes, like "Sacrifice Of Angels," "Looking For Par'Mach In All The Wrong Places . ..," and "To The Death" (when I originally posted this, I took a lot of crap for not including “In The Pale Moonlight!”). Paring down the best episodes into a list of ten is a kind of "put up or shut up" for the best series in the Star Trek franchise. If you've never seen Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, weren't able to get into it, or loved it and want to see the cream of the crop, these are the episodes that represent the best the series produced and perfect hours of television that may be returned to again and again and again.

10. "Hard Time" (reviewed here!) - Every season, poor Chief O'Brien got tortured by someone, usually for doing nothing but being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the fourth season, the show did an episode that smartly dealt with the repercussions of O'Brien being imprisoned by a race that time compresses jail sentences. So while he was unconscious for only a few hours, he had memories implanted in his mind of being imprisoned for decades. The powerful toll that takes on O'Brien makes for one of the most enduring character studies of the series,

9. "Tacking Into The Wind" (reviewed here!) - At one of the last Star Trek conventions I attended while the series was still running, Alexander Siddig (Siddig El Fadil, "Dr. Bashir") was asked the pretty standard question about what season was his favorite and he answered the current (7th) season because the show just keeps getting better and better (in his words). Perhaps there's no better proof of that than in the last few episodes, the series would create one of the top ten episodes of the series. While Damar, Kira and Odo work to free Cardassia from the clutches of the Dominion, Odo begins to succumb to the disease ravaging his people. At the same time, the Klingon Empire stands on the brink of ruin as Gowron's jealousy of Martok overcomes his judgment. A clever episode with a tension that ratchets up until the last moments of the episode, this is one of the last gems the series would produce without feeling like it was going to end (i.e. the events in this episode inspire events that could have inspired a whole additional season!),

8. "Rocks And Shoals" (reviewed here!) - Wow. War sucks, but watching the ethical dilemmas laid out so succinctly when Sisko and his crew crash land on a planet occupied by a lone garrison of Jem'Hadar who are running out of the drug they need to sustain them is intense. Combined with a powerful b-plot aboard the station of a Bajoran's willingness to protest the war at any cost, this is easily the most neglected episode of the top ten. Performances by Nana Visitor on down to the Lieutenant who has to bury the bodies at the end make this an astonishingly great episode,

7. "Return To Grace" (reviewed here!) - One of the nice things about writing a list like this is that it's okay to be biased. Objectively, this spot should probably be saved for “Sacrifice Of Angels;” too bad. I love the character of Gul Dukat. He's Star Trek's" greatest villain and the most consistently, best written adversary for any of the crews. So when Major Kira is transported by Dukat to a conference where the Klingons intervene and she must teach Dukat how to be a terrorist, it's a pretty great hour of television. Smart and managing to make Dukat out of his element without being a buffoon, this episode smartly does what most of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine does best; it forces characters to deal with the consequences of their prior actions and this one knocks it out of the park with that,

6. "Necessary Evil" (reviewed here!) - No episode more poignantly and profoundly changed the direction of the characters without saying anything than this episode. The last shot of the episode knocked my socks off when I first saw it and tugged my heartstrings every time thereafter. A murder investigation makes for a great excuse to look back to how Odo met Kira, Quark and Dukat and it's a smart episode that is a great character study,

5. "What You Leave Behind" (reviewed here!) - The series finale of Star Trek Deep Space Nine did what no other Trek series has been ballsy enough to do, it ended the series with a sense of finality and futility that perfectly fit the show's overriding motif of "Dreams die." The Cardassian War ends, with significant casualties both in literal terms (characters are killed off) and metaphorical (one character leaves with a sense of permanence that destroys all of his individuality). Sisko's role as the Emissary comes to a head when he must take on the Pah Wraiths and ultimately, everything ends. The last shot of the series still brings a tear to my eye. Every time,

4. "In Purgatory's Shadow" / "By Inferno's Light" (reviewed here! and here!) - The first of my two cheats on this list is this two-part episode that marks the turning point that leads directly to the Dominion War. Dukat returns from his private war with the Klingons to stand beside Sisko and his team as they prepare for a Dominion assault. Only, there's intrigue afoot and one of Sisko's people is not himself and Dukat's made an alliance with the Dominion that changes everything. This is quite possibly the best, most plot-driven episode that keeps the suspense building until the last moment of the episode and truly juggles every character involved effectively,

3. "Improbable Cause" / "The Die Is Cast" (reviewed here! and here!) - And then there's this two-parter that for the first time gives Garak a real juicy story. When the tailor is almost killed, Odo begins an investigation and what starts as a simple investigation leads to a convoluted scheme. But the brilliance of the two-parter is that the convoluted scheme serves mostly for Garak and Odo to share some deliciously character-building scenes, including the revelation of Odo's true feelings and a quiet, poignant denouement that wraps up an episode with amazing special effects with a genuine character moment,

2. "The Visitor" (reviewed here!) - Anyone who has seen this episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine knows why it's considered almost universally one of the top five episodes of the series and one of the top ten episodes in the franchise. And who would have guessed; it's a story of Jake Sisko! Set in the distant future, author Jake Sisko spends a night with a young author reminiscing about the death of his father and the effect that had on him. Spanning fifty years, the episode is a tear-jerker and the ultimate tale of loneliness and loss. Well written, amazingly acted and all around great, this episode manages to have an effect on viewers every time they watch, even if it's the only episode of the series they ever see,

1. "Duet" (reviewed here!) - What "The Visitor" does on a personal and character level, "Duet" does on a social and historical level. Subtle in its perfection, for an hour, Kira is able to interrogate a Cardassian whose identity oscillates between filing clerk and war criminal. The mystery of one man's identity sparks a character struggle that asks what the true price of vengeance is, and what it ought to be. This is easily the smartest hour of television yet written and it becomes worthwhile for anyone to see. There is no finer reason to own a television than to see this hour of programming.


For other best and worst of Star Trek, check out:
The Worst 10 Episodes Of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
The Best 10 Episodes Of Star Trek
The Worst 10 Episodes Of Star Trek
The Best 10 Episodes Of Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Worst 10 Episodes Of Star Trek: The Next Generation

For other television and movie reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Worst Ten Episodes Of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

| | | The Basics: Even a great show has its duds: these are the bottom ten episodes Star Trek: Deep Space Nine produced!


In the tradition of the Top Ten Lists I have for the other series’ in the Star Trek franchise, I figured that it was about time for me to revisit Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!) is a bit tougher to make a Top Ten List for (though I did, back when I was writing for another site, here!), largely because after a certain point, the show becomes heavily serialized and pieces of other episodes are required to get the most out of later episodes.

But, even for a perfect series, there are less-than-stellar episodes. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had some duds, though none fell nearly as far as the bottom episodes from the other works in the franchise. For the Bottom Ten Duds Of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one need only look to:

10. “Battle Lines” (reviewed here!) – Killing off characters can be a tough sell, but when the whole point of the episode is to bury a guest character it can be dicey. The series eventually got it right with episodes like “Life Support,” which has one of the most heartwrenching finishes of the franchise. But in the first season, in order to set off a perfectly reasonable religious schism that would play a part throughout the rest of the series, Kai Opaka needed to be lost. “Battle Lines” is the result and while it is an initially interesting idea, it replays exceptionally poorly. This is, arguably, the worst essential episode the series produced,

9. “Melora” (reviewed here!) – I admire the message of a handicapable officer, but the execution with “Melora” just sucks. It’s a sad thing when the b-plot (in this case, a disgruntled former partner of Quark’s returning to kill him) entirely overwhelms the character for whom the episode is named. I suppose the writers just really wanted their original characterization for the doctor on Deep Space Nine to see the light of day. This episode is the reason revisions get made (outside the budgetary constraints!),

8. “Fascination” (reviewed here!) – It’s a Lwaxana Troi episode and the real knife in the gut to fans is that it is Vedek Bareil’s penultimate appearance. After being part of this ridiculous “love spell” episode, I think I’d want my character dead, too,

7. “If Wishes Were Horses” (reviewed here!) – On The Simpsons, in one of the “Treehouse Of Horror” episodes, Springfield is overrun by the icons of businesses in town that become animated. The donut-eating Lard Lad, for example, goes on a rampage, stomping on everyone. The denizens of Springfield soon realize that they are fueled by the attention of the townspeople and a catchy jingle (with the simple lyrics “Just don’t look, just don’t look!”) solves the problem. “If Wishes Were Horses” is an equally simple and insulting episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Moreover, it raises nagging theoretical issues (much like “Where Silence Has Lease” did on Star Trek: The Next Generation) where fans can just ask, “If the solution to the problem was just imagining different readings on the consoles, doesn’t that mean everyone is still in The Matrix?!” I find myself wondering if, had the writers known where they were going with Bashir, they would have hinted at his secret in his fantasy here,

6. “Rules Of Engagement” (reviewed here!) – I admire taking narrative risks, especially in a show that usually tries to keep things gritty, realistic, and trending toward the tragic. But, not all risks pay off. “Rules Of Engagement” proves that. While most people I know would swap “The Sword Of Kahless” with this on this list, I like that “The Sword Of Kahless” doesn’t cheapen itself with a “magical” explanation – the characters all just become assholes in their pursuit of the sword. “Rules Of Engagement” relies on a conceit that makes no sense when one considers how efficient Odo usually is (seriously, writers, it takes him days to discover the ship’s crew had been dead for three months?!) and the comedic relief in it is just lame,

5. “Babel” (reviewed here!) – Talk about great ideas that replay poorly. “Babel” has no character development and a painfully simplistic plot. It does, however, have some pretty impressive acting. The fact that so many actors can speak mumbo jumbo the way they do in this episode is cool, but it’s not enough to save it,

4. “Meridian” (reviewed here!) – Sure, it was the “Brigadoon” episode and entirely lame for that reason, but . . . No, there is no “but” here. “Meridian” is a pretty silly one-shot romance episode focusing on Dax. In fact, the only reason to go back and rewatch the episode is to really have the knife twisted in when one considers how much the writers built up Jadzia’s youth and potential,

3. “Q-Less” (reviewed here!) – The most shameless attempt to exploit the Star Trek: The Next Generation audience. Damn,

2. “Destiny” (reviewed here!) – Usually, I consider this the worst episode. “Destiny” is a simple, obvious, prophecy episode and if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. A prophecy is made, no one really believes it, but it affects the way they act and lo and behold, by the end of the episode, there is a way to look at it where the prophecy actually came true! It’s a formula that is so beneath Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that it is shameful that they allowed an episode that relied upon such a “done” conceit to be produced. If Bajoran prophets were so good, how is it none of them made a clear, reasonable prophecy, like, “When you see the Cardassians coming on stardate XXXXX.X, destroy their ship or for 70 years, our people will be raped, killed, enslaved, etc.?” Despite the establishment of the communication’s relay on the other side of the wormhole, I wince each time I feel compelled to watch this episode,

And finally . . .

1. “Take Me Out To The Holosuite” (reviewed here!) – Objectively even worse than “Destiny” is the baseball episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Let us forget, for a moment, that the episode has the least-Vulcan Vulcans (including Vorik on Star Trek: Voyager) the franchise produced up until the liars in Star Trek: Enterprise. Let us completely disregard how the episode makes characters who have absolutely no emotional investment care about a ridiculous grudge match. We can try to believe that Worf, who nails flying drones when swinging his phaser rifle in Star Trek: Insurrection, would actually have issues with hitting a baseball and that he would not be a power hitter for Sisko’s team (we can try . . .), but the Sisko issues are just too much. In context, “Take Me Out To The Holosuite” makes Sisko and StarFleet look like a bunch of absolute idiots and simpletons. Within a year, Captain Benjamin Sisko has: pretty much lost his mind (“Far Beyond The Stars”), been tortured (“Waltz”), sent a married couple on a dangerous mission they completely botched (“Change Of Heart”), conspired, abetted multiple murders, and entirely violated the Prime Directive as well as a number of interstellar laws (“In The Pale Moonlight”), been forced to watch as his son was possessed by a malevolent entity after he destroyed a priceless religious artifact (“The Reckoning”), and lost his best friend in the universe and abandoned his post for months as a result (“Tears Of The Prophets”). Then, he becomes obsessed with a baseball game that causes him to injure his crew and act like an ass to a fellow captain and civilians living aboard his station (most of whom just want to help him out). Seriously?! How does StarFleet not fire this guy?! I love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and I am a huge fan of Benjamin Sisko, but the fact that Bashir did not relieve him for being emotionally strung out absolutely unfathomable. “Take Me Out To The Holosuite,” with Sisko’s behavior in it, is the line too far in the progression of terrible shit that happens to Captain Benjamin Sisko and it is utterly unbelievable that after this point the military branch of the Federation would allow him to keep his post.

And it’s a baseball episode in the middle of a serious and engaging storyline. “Destiny” might insult genre fans, but “Take Me Out To The Holosuite” is just offensive to people who like decent television!

For similar lists, be sure to check out my:
Top Ten Episodes Of Star Trek
Top Ten Episodes Of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Bottom Ten Episodes Of Star Trek
The Worst Ten Episodes Of Star Trek: The Next Generation

For a comprehensive list of the Star Trek franchise, Best To Worst, check out my ever-growing Star Trek Review Index Page where the reviews are so organized!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Getting By The Annoying Packaging Reveals The Best Chief Miles O'Brien Figure Yet!

The Good: Awesome sculpt and balance, Cool accessories
The Bad: One kitschy accessory.
The Basics: Diamond Select once again makes the gold standard in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures with their interpretation of Chief O'Brien!


For a time, ironically, it looked like the person who would log the most hours in the Star Trek franchise would be Miles O'Brien, played by Colm Meany. This is ironic because Meany began Star Trek: The Next Generation as an unnamed ensign in the pilot episode before slowly growing as the transporter chief into a recognizable character and ultimately getting cast for a seven year run on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. While O'Brien was the first crossover cast member, he was not the last and when Michael Dorn joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as Worf, Meany lost the potential for the distinction of logging the most hours in the franchise. Still, it is hard to underestimate the interest in O'Brien merchandise as he is the runner up in that weird race.

As a result, it makes perfect sense that Diamond Select, who has taken over the Star Trek toy line would make O'Brien a priority in their action figure development. While there had only been the O'Brien from "Trials And Tribble-ations" (reviewed here!) before now, now there is a traditional Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Chief Miles O'Brien action figure and it is one of the best Star Trek figures ever made.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Series 2 (2008) Collection of action figures contained only four figures (one of which was an exclusive to Preview Magazine) and it focused on the essential characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which had not been done in the first assortment. The second-teir characters Diamond Select cast included Chief O'Brien, Dr. Bashir, Kira Nerys and Martok, the Klingon General. Understated, but perfectly sculpted, Chief Miles O'Brien arrives in the Deep Space Nine assortment as a wonderfully realized action figure embodying one of the essential characters from the space station. Not widely available, the O'Brien figure remains harder to find and one suspects the entire line will be gobbled up by collectors as soon as they realize it exists!

The Chief O'Brien figure is the Engineering branch officer as he appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!) from the fifth season on. This is a distinct costume for O'Brien because it was the first one where he was granted his own rank insignia, a noncom (enlisted man, not an officer) insignia for his collar. As well, this O'Brien is coifed in the new gray and black costume that became the standard on Deep Space Nine because it was the uniform being used in Star Trek: First Contact. O'Brien thus has a dark uniform with the requisite mustard yellow shirt beneath to indicate he is in Engineering.

Standing seven and a quarter inches tall, this is an amazing likeness of Chief O'Brien immortalized in plastic. The character is molded in a neutral stance, which allows one to make the figure more expressive through posing, as opposed to forcing collectors to pose him in one of a few limited ways. The fingers on his right hand are half closed, to allow him to hold his accessories and the fingers on his left hand are extended more, so it looks like he might be typing on an engineering console. There is a decent level of uniform detailing, including the rank insignia which is painted on as opposed to any form of molding into the figure. As well, the communicator is molded and painted on his chest and his wrist stripes - another way to quickly denote he is in Engineering - are painted on. Still, some of the painting is sloppy; the communicator pin is chipped on mine, for example. As well, there is a slight overlap of the gray paint from the shoulder area onto the gold of the undershirt. Still, this is so minor I had to look closely to see it!

O'Brien's face is molded in a scowl and it is distinctly Colm Meany's O'Brien. Diamond Select managed to get such details as the strong jowls and puffy cheeks of O'Brien as well as his piercing eyes. O'Brien looks ticked off, but wonderful! Similarly, Diamond Select did an excellent job with the coloring details, getting O'Brien's skin tones with some depth - save on the hands - and shading. Fortunately, the figure even has O'Brien's furrowed brow, though it is a subtle molded detail as opposed to shaded in any way.

The paint job is incredible on the head as well. In addition to having great detailing to the eyes, O'Brien's hair is realistically shaded. As a result, O'Brien looks like he has a head of curly hair, as opposed to wearing a helmet! This is a nice sense of detailing and clearly Diamond Select took its time to make the best figure possible. This includes detailing on the nose which is extraordinary. In fact, the only part of O'Brien lacking much in the way of detail are O'Brien's hands, which have very subtle fingernails. The uniform is appropriately colored and the figure looks great in that respect. This includes the split cuffs at the bottom of O'Brien's pants, which was a nice touch of realism.

Accessories

Chief O'Brien comes with five accessories, making him heavily over-accessorized, but offering fans a lot of options for play or display. O'Brien comes with: A StarFleet Type II phaser, two different StarFleet PADDs, a coonskin cap and an StarFleet phaser rifle. That Chief O'Brien comes with an even split of weapons and engineering tools makes a great deal of sense, as his role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was that of Chief Of Operations aboard space station Deep Space Nine and the show was about a wartime situation. Barring a full engineering console, these might be the best accessories one could hope for from a late-series O'Brien figure!

The Type II phaser is impressively detailed, basically being a little silver plastic piece in the shape of a phaser with black highlights on the handle. The buttons are molded into the phaser, as is the display. This one-inch long choking hazard fits well into either of O'Brien's hands and while it has the requisite molded details and most of the coloring details, the emitter display is not colored as if it is lit up and able to shoot. Still, this is an extraordinarily well-detailed accessory.

The PADDs are two flat computer interface displays with different sizes. Both are appropriately silver and for their screens, there is a sticker which mimics the display panels on the Personal Access Display Devices. The bigger one has more buttons molded into it and having seen the real props, this is an impressive piece of work! The smaller one looks good, but lacks the instant recognizability of the standard PADD, which was used in many episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Then comes the coonskin cap, the accessory I was most lukewarm to when I picked the figure up. O'Brien and Bashir used to play an Alamo holodeck program and while it was alluded to many times, we never actually saw O'Brien or Bashir wear the coonskin caps they mentioned wearing. That said, the cap fits perfectly on O'Brien's head and looks like exactly what it is supposed to. The cap is plastic and is molded to look like it is made of fur and it is hard to argue with the inclusion of "concept accessories," especially when they look good and recognizable, like this does!

Playability

Chief O'Brien helps to continue an exceptional level of quality from Diamond Select Toys and he is quite possibly the ultimate O'Brien figure as he has a great sculpt, wonderful accessories and a great sense of posability. Chief Miles O'Brien is endowed with sixteen points of articulation at the ankles, knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, shoulders, wrists, neck, and waist. Only a few of the joints, like the wrists and biceps, are simple swivel joints. The knees, elbows and ankles are all hinge joints, which offer realistic movement for the joints. Other joints, like the shoulders and neck are ball and socket joints. As a result, the neck turns left to right and can nod! Similarly, the shoulders have a full range of motion because of the style of joint! Diamond Select made an immaculately articulated figure and this is great for fans of O'Brien or Star Trek toys in general.

The Diamond Select toys do not include a base (or foot holes) for their figures, but the O'Brien figure helps them make the assertion that they are not necessary. O'Brien stands in virtually any pose unaided, so long as both feet are on a surface, preferably flatfooted. This is not difficult because of the flexible ankles and O'Brien can be posed even in a crouching running pose before the figure tips over! Loaded with accessories and standing straighter, this figure is virtually untippable!

Collectibility

Diamond Select Toys seems to be very conservative in releasing its Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures and as a result, O'Brien is available usually only through specialized stores like comic book shops and toy stores as opposed to the big box discount stores. The level of quality is clearly intended for a more discriminating collector, which is probably why Diamond Select is able to get $15.00 per figure. One suspects as time goes by and no one else makes more (or a better) O'Brien figures this will become highly sought after and its value will appreciate.

Just how rare the O'Brien figure is is subject to debate and it remains one of the two more common figures from this particular line of Diamond Select Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, so it will probably not be a great investment piece anytime soon.


Overview

Even so, this Diamond Select Chief Miles O'Brien action figure has everything a fan can truly want; he is perfectly articulated, ideally sculpted and comes with a wide array of accessories. Who could ask for more?

For other Diamond Select or Art Asylum Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, please check out my reviews of:
Chancellor Gowron & Lieutenant Commander Worf
Colonel Kira Nerys
Constable Odo

10/10

For other toy reviews, be sure to check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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“Extreme Measures” Finds Bashir Taking On The Federation’s Most Insidious Adversary!

The Good: Decent character work, Great acting, Engaging plot
The Bad: Somewhat predictable plot elements.
The Basics: To cure Odo, Bashir takes “Extreme Measures” by taking on Section 31 with O’Brien!


Sometimes, the writers and producers of a work get the wrong impression of their own work based on their originally-conceived notions. With Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s final arc, the best example of this happening is the episode “Extreme Measures.” “Extreme Measures” is, apparently, viewed as something of a disappointment by the show’s writers, who abruptly changed the episode from an Odo and Kira episode to a Bashir and O’Brien episode. The thing is, that change makes “Extreme Measures” work surprisingly well. As so many other characters and arcs were being put to rest, “Extreme Measures” becomes the swan song for the friendship between O’Brien and Bashir and it caps off Star Trek’s best-portrayed friendship magnificently well.

In fact, the only real problem with “Extreme Measures” is that it insults the intelligence of the viewers. The plot, which has reality-bending aspects, is extended one scene too far and as a result, viewers are led to believe an obvious falsehood. The problem is, savvy viewers are not going to fall for it because it is one of the oldest tricks in the science fiction writer’s books. If the writers have anything to feel ashamed about “Extreme Measures” for, it is that.

With a Breen energy dampening weapon in his possession, O’Brien begins to work on engineering a defense against the weapon that has brought the Federation and Romulans to their knees. After Kira and Garak leave to rejoin Damar’s resistance within Dominion territory, O’Brien admits to Sisko that the search for a cure to Odo’s degenerative illness has led him and Bashir to Section 31. Knowing that Section 31 will not give up its secrets easily, Sisko tacitly condones Bashir’s plan to capture a member of Section 31 and use illegal Romulan mind probes to get the information they need. Bashir is unsurprised, then, when Deputy Director Sloan appears to try to stop Bashir.

Bashir’s attempt to get the information from Sloan leads the Section 31 operative to activate a suicide implant. With Sloan on the verge of death, Bashir and O’Brien feel compelled to enter the wounded intelligence officer’s mind to extract the information they want . . . at any cost!

“Extreme Measures” is an appropriately surreal adventure episode that plays around with some of the conventions of a reality-bending adventure. More often, though, “Extreme Measures” conforms to the established sense of reversals and parameters one expects from a story involving conscious people running around inside someone’s subconscious. And “Extreme Measures” does it on a television show budget. For what this sort of thing could look like, be sure to visit my review of The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus (here!).

As it is, though, “Extreme Measures” does what it sets out to do in a very entertaining way. With Odo rapidly dying and having even more difficulty retaining his form, there is a sense of urgency to the episode. And the “ticking clock” aspect of “Extreme Measures” only gets deeper when Sloan prepares himself for death. As Sloan’s brain functions shut down, the environment for Bashir and O’Brien becomes more and more dangerous. That is a nice touch.

“Extreme Measures” quickly becomes about Sloane, Bashir and O’Brien and they take on qualities that are very much like the traditional models of the Ego (O’Brien), Super Ego (Sloan) and Id (Bashir). As Sloan – in his own mind – fights to resist Bashir’s assaults based on his demand for information, O’Brien works to interpret the environment and keep Julian focused. Sloan’s resistance is, of course, a delaying tactic. He has a highly disciplined mind and he is dead-set on preventing his secrets from falling into the hands of Bashir. Bashir, for his part, is appropriately focused on his own wants – in this case his unceasing desire to get the information he feels Sloan must have in order to save the life of Odo.

The triangle issues in “Extreme Measures” work very well because the actors playing the roles are each superb performers, acting at the top of their game. William Sadler is given far more range in “Extreme Measures” than he was in the prior episodes he was in. Here, he plays the familiar cold and calculating Sloan, as well as a loving, humanistic Sloan with a dizzying sense of reinvention moment by moment. Never once, though, does his performance seem erratic or in any way sloppy. He pulls off the complex aspects of Sloan’s personality with precision and efficiency.

Sadler’s performance is played off of by both Colm Meany and Alexander Siddig. Meany and Siddig bring back the whole feeling of a buddy adventure throughout “Extreme Measures” and in this episode, fans are finally rewarded with the reticent O’Brien finally admitting the depth of his feelings for Bashir. That scene, which could have been campy, at the very least, comes across in “Extreme Measures” as a refreshing revelation. Fans have figured it, but just as Bashir seems grateful to hear the words, the fans are likely to enjoy O’Brien speaking them to Bashir as well.

Ultimately, “Extreme Measures” puts Bashir and O’Brien in a bad situation that their friendship helps them get out of, making it a decent ending for the on-screen friendship between the characters. It fits the final arc well and it moves Odo toward his character’s end. And none of that would have been possible had the writers gone with their original plan!

[Knowing that the season is a much better investment, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Seventh Season on DVD, which provides the full story for the conclusion to the series. Read my review of the final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

For other works with William Sadler, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Wonderfalls
“Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”
“Inquisition”

8.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, DVD or season reviews, be sure to visit my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Dust Dements The Decency Of The Chief O'Brien Figure From "Trials And Tribble-ations!"

The Good: All right sculpt, Great accessories, Articulation
The Bad: Errors in detailing, Cannot hold all of his accessories, Dust sticks to shirt.
The Basics: This is a sadly average (at best) interpretation of Deep Space Nine's Chief of Operations from a very cool episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.


Over time, Some action figures change. I'm not talking out our desire to have them around, to play with or use as display pieces. I mean that sometimes a toy, an action figure, can actually be altered by removing the figure from the safe environment of its packaging. This, I have discovered rather unpleasantly, has happened with some of my "Trials And Tribble-ations" action figures from Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys. This was especially pronounced with the Captain Sisko figure from that line and as I inspect my Chief Petty Officer Miles O'Brien figure from the same line, I'm discovering a similar, severe, discoloration.

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures from the episode "Trials And Tribble-ations" (reviewed here!) initially seemed very cool. That episode put key members of space station Deep Space Nine back in time into an episode of the original Star Trek and forced Sisko, Dax, O'Brien, and Bashir to go undercover in classic Star Trek uniforms. Sadly, even the limited edition Chief Miles O'Brien is hampered by a pretty severe problem that comes up as time goes by: dust.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Trials And Tribble-ations" Series of action figures contains a Chief Miles O'Brien figure, as he is disguised as a noncom. His is wearing the red and black Star Trek uniform. In that series, red was for Engineering. Standing seven and one-quarter inches tall, this is a fair likeness of Chief O'Brien immortalized in plastic. The uniform is well-detailed for the character and the face is a good likeness of Colm Meany's enduring character. While this O'Brien figure lacks some of the coloring detail that defines most Art Asylum figures, the coloring is good. In fact, the only real problem with the sculpt is that the face looks a little more angular than Chief O'Brien usually does. O'Brien has one of the more round faces in the Star Trek pantheon and this sculpt does not reflect that.

The paint job is generally well done. The uniform is appropriately colored and the figure looks good in that respect. Strangely, the Command Delta symbol is printed on the figure's shirt, instead of the appropriate Engineering Delta symbol. This leads to the biggest problem with the O'Brien figure: dust sticks to the rubbery shirt of the action figure. I recently took the figure out of storage and discovered there was ordinary dust on the action figure. Since then, I have attempted to remove the dust by carefully wiping it and then later with hot water and friction. Having ruined one figure this way, I am not messing that much with this one, but it suffers the same dust problem as the Sisko.


Accessories

Chief Miles O'Brien comes with four accessories: A Classic StarFleet communicator, a classic Type II phaser, a classic tricorder, and a pair of tribbles. That Chief O'Brien comes with a tricorder makes a lot of sense as he used one throughout "Trials And Tribble-ations" to attempt to find the tribble bomb. The tricorder may be slung over his shoulder as it includes a flexible rubber strap and it fits well into the figure's left hand as well.

The Communicator fits awkwardly in either of his hands and the detailing is absolutely amazing. The buttons are red and green and for such a tiny piece that attention to detail is incredible. Unfortunately, the top, gold grill does not fold over for any increased playability.

The phaser is similarly well-detailed. Unlike the old Playmates figures, which came with solid-colored accessories, this phaser is gray and black with colored details and it fits perfectly in either of O'Brien's hands. It is pretty decent that both of O'Brien's hands may hold accessories and the combination of tricorder and phaser for this figure makes for a good look!

Then there are the tribbles. The tribbles are simple fluff balls. It's pretty much what the standard is for a toy of a tribble, but it still seems pretty lame.

Playability

Chief O'Brien is one of the most playable and poseable Star Trek action figures yet and Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys deserve a lot of credit for that. Chief Miles O'Brien is blessed as well by having nineteen points of articulation: ankles, knees, thighs, groin socket, biceps, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, abdomen and waist. The neck articulation is incredible given that the base of the neck is a ball joint, allowing for up and down posing as well as left to right movement. But the shoulders are equally impressive. As ball and socket joints (like real shoulders!), Chief O'Brien is able to strike a number of poses that might otherwise be impossible and allow him to be posed in pretty advanced poses. But what sets this figure apart is the articulation in the abdomen. In addition to turning at the waist, Chief O'Brien is jointed just above the abdomen region with a joint that allows for left to right and front to back motion.

Moreover, for use with actual play, Chief O'Brien has all sorts of movement potential making him one of the more realistic Star Trek action figures to play with (for those who actually play with these toys!). Unfortunately, while there is a lot of articulation, the ankles are somewhat problematic; they basically pivot the foot up or down and there seems to be a predisposition in the sculpt - at least the one I have - for the foot to be angled down some and there is some resistance to flattening it. I've found the left foot on my O'Brien to be particularly tight and pointed down in its default position.

Collectibility

Art Asylum and Diamond Select did not exactly mass produce the "Trials And Tribble-ations" figures. Indeed, most were exclusives, including the Chief O'Brien figure, which was exclusive to New Force Comics And Collectibles. Unlike previous Star Trek toy lines, there are no individual numbers on these figures, but mostly they were only available at hobby and comic book shops, so it is not like they were drastically overproduced by any means. The O'Brien is was still fairly well distributed and it does appear that the market was never flooded with these. As a result, it has - at the very least - retained its original value.

Overview

Art Asylum is usually one of the standard-bearers in terms of attention to detail, but between the facial sculpt and the misdetailed shirt, the O'Brien figure is a bit problematic. In regards to the sculpt, it is hard to argue with the articulation of this figure, but it is too easy to knock over and discovering (the hard way) that it gets so dirty from ordinary household dust and becomes virtually impossible to clean off without ruining the detailing on the figure makes it far less durable as a toy.

For other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Playmates Chief Miles O’Brien
Diamond Select Captain Benjamin Sisko
Diamond Select Ezri Dax

5/10

For other toy reviews, please check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the toys I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Very Different Kind Of Holodeck Hiccup Is Presented In “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang!”

The Good: Interesting concept, Decent acting, Good character work
The Bad: Somewhat esoteric divergence from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine plotline.
The Basics: “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” starts as a playful episode and becomes another excuse for Avery Brooks to bitch about ethnic issues as Captain Sisko.


Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has many virtuous qualities. One of them is that it tackled complex issues, another is that it had a very solid serialized plotline for much of its run. It is hard to argue with how the show developed well many characters, even some of the recurring guest characters. “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” is the final episodic episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and it is a decent exploration of Vic Fontaine.

Or rather, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” should have been a great Vic Fontaine episode. Unfortunately, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” becomes another soapbox for Avery Brooks. Brooks had some creative control over the series and made an interesting, if not exceptional, exploration of ethnic relations issues when he directed and performed in “Far Beyond The Stars” (reviewed here!). While I was inclined to enjoy “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang,” upon rewatching it, it is hard not to be disturbed by the way Brooks appears to be influencing Sisko in this episode. What could be a fluff reworking of an Oceans 11 type plot becomes diluted by Brooks as Sisko bitching about more interethnic relations issues. I’m all for a good social message story, but “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” isn’t that. Brooks’ role in “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” is like a kid sitting at a table of adults quoting by rote a single line of politics, philosophy or economics that he once heard to try to fit in. Objectively, it is ridiculous and the child looks childish instead of like a prodigy. So, too, does Sisko appear to be kvetching about something utterly ridiculous in “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang.”

O’Brien and Bashir are in the process of inviting Vic Fontaine to join them for a crack at the Alamo program when the Vic Fontaine program takes an abrupt turn. The club he sings at suddenly has a burlesque show and Frankie Eyes and his goon Cheech are kicking Fontaine out. Vic Fontaine is faced with a dilemma, a nemesis, and Bashir quickly learns that this is a deeper part of the Vic Fontaine program, a “jack in the box.” In order to keep the program interesting, Frankie Eyes must be thwarted in order to restore Vic Fontaine’s program and club to normal.

As Nog, Bashir, O’Brien, Kira, Kassidy and Odo investigate the new program to see what the options are, Sisko complains to Kassidy about the role of blacks in Las Vegas during the time period of the Vic Fontaine program. O’Brien and Bashir realize that Frankie Eyes will be killed by his mob boss if it appears to him that Frankie is stealing from the mob. After some pretty shallow bitching to Kassidy about how incongruent black people are in the setting of Vic’s club, Sisko joins the team to save Vic Fontaine and with the help of Ezri on the inside of the casino, the crew works to defeat Frankie Eyes.

“Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” is a casino heist episode and it is an interesting turn on the holodeck (or holosuite) adventure story that was pioneered by Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has not dipped into the Holodeck misadventure well much at all, with the combination of the holodeck accident and transporter mishap standards actually being combined for “Our Man Bashir” (reviewed here!). “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” does not usurp that tradition; from the beginning of the episode, it is established that there is an easy way around the “jack in the box.” O’Brien and Bashir can simply reset the Vic Fontaine program. However, in doing so, Vic Fontaine will lose all of the knowledge and experience he has acquired. Given that Nog, O’Brien and Bashir – at the very least – consider Vic Fontaine a good friend, they are unwilling to simply reboot the program and lose the friendship they have forged.

So, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” quickly establishes that it will be a holosuite adventure without the mishap, one where the only person at risk is Vic Fontaine. By not falling into the traditional holodeck adventure conceit, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” has the potential to be a fun episode that illustrates how people in the 24th Century kick back or it can become a pretty abrupt end for the Vic Fontaine character. So, when there is even a momentary divergence for Captain Sisko’s moralizing about why he is not a fan of Vic Fontaine’s program, it stands out. Moreover, how quickly Kassidy turns him around on the issue makes the argument feel like it is just an inserted rant (presumably from Avery Brooks).

That said, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” is not a bad episode. After the traditional “here’s the plan” for the casino robbery, the execution of the heist goes off with only complications that make the heist play like a decent caper, as opposed to a tense action/drama. But, it works!

Part of the reason it works is because of the acting. The characters all express early on why they would do anything at all for Vic Fontaine and some of the characters, very reasonably, sit it out. Worf’s failure to appreciate Vic beyond the confines of the holosuite makes sense as does Quark’s unwillingness to help Vic out given that he represents competition to Quark’s bar. But, for the rest of the crew, the reasons for helping Vic Fontaine are made clear. “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” works, then, because the actors make the emotional investment to make their characters’ reactions and actions seem plausible. James Darren, especially, seems exhausted and damaged as Vic which works for his predicament.

The regular cast is used as a very full ensemble for “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang,” making it a treat as well. Nicole de Boer is perfectly confident (finally!) as Ezri and Rene Auberjonois continues to make Odo looser, which is an interesting change for him. Colm Meany and Alexander Siddig play off one another to continue to affirm that O’Brien and Bashir are truly good friends, something that is otherwise lacking in the Star Trek universe.

In the end, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” is the final episodic episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and it is a (mostly) fun episode before the long, dark arc that seals off the greatest series in the franchise.

[Knowing that the season is a much better investment, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Seventh Season on DVD, which provides the full story for the conclusion to the series. Read my review of the final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Mike Starr, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Jersey Girl
Snake Eyes
Miller’s Crossing

7.5/10

For other Star Trek episode and movie reviews, please check out my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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