Earth's Greatest Enemy Lives There In “Paradise Lost!”

The Good: Character, Acting, Elements of intrigue and mood
The Bad: Plot, Discontinuity with the first part
The Basics: When it becomes clear that Earth's problems are the result of Red Squad and Admiral Leyton, Sisko acts to protect the Federation.


When last we saw Our Heroes on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Earth was suffering from a power outage, the Federation President had put control of Earth's security in the hands of Sisko and Admiral Leyton and Nog was still whining about not being a member of Red Squad. "Paradise Lost," the second part to the storyline, goes off in an entirely different direction than "Homefront" (reviewed here!) did and in some ways, it does not even seem like the second part of a two-part episode.

"Paradise Lost" begins days after the power grid is brought back online with Sisko discovering a group of Red Squad cadets having strange deployment during the accident and tying Red Squad to Admiral Leyton. With minimal prodding, Sisko manages to get a full confession of what occurred that night from a Red Squad cadet, who confesses to sabotaging the power grid. With Earth under martial law as a result of the Changeling-assumed outage, Sisko attempts to prove Leyton is behind everything only to be accused of being a Changeling himself. As Sisko is incapacitated, it becomes clear his former commanding officer has become a paranoid leader with visions of military dictatorship, which threatens to destroy the foundation of the Federation.

Instead of continuing the Changeling angle established in "Homefront" with a dominating mood of paranoia and suspicion, "Paradise Lost" returns the focus to the human element and establishes Admiral Leyton as the sole, true villain and that's rather unrewarding given the build-up in the first part. In fact, the Changeling infiltrators evident in "Homefront" are almost thoroughly neglected save a brilliant scene between Sisko and a Changeling impersonator and the last lines by Odo in the episode. So all of the paranoia brilliantly built up in the first episode is instantly dissipated and it becomes instead a detective story where Sisko pieces together what Admiral Leyton is up to and how he executed his past plans. It's almost difficult to watch this immediately after the first part due to the abrupt shift in moods.

Still, the characters work, especially Sisko and Admiral Leyton, who are the true focus of this episode. And when it is focused on them, the episode works well. One of the things about the episode that amuses me is Dr. Bashir's presence on the bridge of the Defiant as it approaches Earth. There's no reason for him to be there and he is standing there as if that were the case and it sets up for someone on the bridge to be wounded in an obvious - and disappointing - way. But when the episode is on the two main characters, it works.

Admiral Leyton, while megalomanical in one respect, is an excellent portrait on how one man can go so wrong with the right interests at heart. Indeed, the way Leyton seizes power under the guise of protecting the freedoms of the Federation is not disanalagous to another leader who currently uses the same excuses the threaten the underlying principles on which the United States was built. Leyton's charisma and concern are sensibly balanced with an underlying need to have power and his manipulation of Captain Benteen and the President of the Federation are perfect for a character of his repute.

But largely "Paradise Lost" is Sisko's journey to action against his former Captain. While there are shades of Star Trek The Next Generation's "The Pegasus" here, Sisko's journey is a bit different from Riker's in that episode. Sisko uses this crisis to reach out to those around him: Nog, Jake, his father, Major Kira and even the Changeling. His need to protect the Federation from this enemy is compelling and, actually, heroic. That Sisko takes some time to move from inaction to action is well portrayed and it becomes pretty much the last time he takes time being cerebral about a decision. From this point in the series, Captain Sisko is in charge and he acts that way. It's a refreshing change in the character and it works well.

The acting in "Paradise Lost" is wonderful for the characters presented. Colm Meany steals the show playing the Changeling on Earth. It's a clever performance by Meany that extends far beyond the writing on the page; he manages to create a very different character almost immediately with his body language. Similarly, Hershel Sparber, who plays President Jarish-Inyo returns as a very realistic politician. He had great bearing that makes us believe in the reluctant leader.

Robert Foxworth does a magnificent job as Admiral Leyton, infusing him with charisma and domineering. As a wonderful foil to him, Brock Peters plays Joseph Sisko as the somewhat baffled sage and that enhances the conflict that surrounds Captain Sisko. Peters' support performance makes Avery Brooks' portrayal of the Captain in this critical turn in his life very realistic and worthwhile. That's not to say that Avery's performance once he does set his course of action is not insightful and forceful, it's just enhanced by the more subtle performance Peters gives.

In the end, "Paradise Lost" is a very different episode from the first part and may be enjoyed by anyone, as opposed to only those who have seen "Homefront." Anyone who likes a good political conspiracy story will find something to like here. Part of the essential Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for its enhancing of the Sisko character as well as the resolution to "Homefront."

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the turnaround season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

8/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please visit my Star Trek Index Page organized by rating!

© 2012, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Leaping Into The Near Future With Miles O'Brien Is "Visionary"

The Good: Very cool idea, Good acting, Interesting character development
The Bad: Obvious when one knows the Star Trek universe
The Basics: Suspenseful and intriguing, "Visionary" takes the opportunity to finally kill Miles O'Brien.


While it seems every Star Trek series has a whipping boy, none of the characters who get beaten up consistently take it worse and more often than Miles O'Brien does on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. At least once a season, O'Brien gets the crap kicked out of him and usually it's an episode that challenges us or makes us think. Earlier in the third season, O'Brien was beaten up by the Jem'Hadar, severely burned, abandoned - albeit with consent - from his wife and hit on by his mortal enemy. Culminating in "Visionary," O'Brien will actually witness the destruction of everything he has ever known and loved.

When a Romulan delegation arrives at the station to get intelligence information the Federation has promised them under the terms of their treaty by which the Federation is allowed to use the cloaking device, Miles O'Brien leaps a few hours into the future. While the incident is first believed to be a fluke, the events O'Brien witnessed soon come to pass. His time jumps soon reveal his own death and then the destruction of the station. Determined to find out the cause of his leaps as well as what destroys the station, O'Brien must consider making the ultimate sacrifice.

"Visionary" is pretty much the tertiary plot for O'Brien's physical torture. Here he is killed, not just once, but twice. You don't get more physically devastating than that. The idea is a good one: O'Brien must solve a mystery with clues available only through a unique ability he has suddenly gained.

"Visionary" doesn't simply feel like a "torture O'Brien" plot. Instead, it feels like a mystery and a character story. In that way, it delivers. We feel bad for O'Brien as he becomes hurt more and more while seeking the truth.

Unfortunately, anyone who is a fan of the Star Trek universe is going to be able to call this one. That is, if you've seen enough Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes (particularly the wonderful "Timescape"), the cause of O'Brien's time jumps is unsurprising. That the staff of the station does not figure out the cause the moment the specific term is brought into play is disappointing.

Otherwise, this is an enjoyable episode. Much of it does hinge on Colm Meany's acting. Here Meany presents O'Brien as seriously wounded from the beginning and he convinces us each moment he goes down, feeling lightheaded after the leaps he makes. More than that, Colm - who has always portrayed a realistic human element as O'Brien - roots us in the realism of the problem. He reacts as many of us would when making these jumps, with confusion, disbelief and horror. It's more than just the writing, it's the way Meany carries himself, the way he eliminates all humor from his expressions and body language.

The rest of the cast gives worthwhile supporting performances. It's amusing that the Romulans deduce Odo's little secret and Kira, oblivious, rejects the idea when they present it to her. Rene Auberjonis and Nana Visitor do great jobs as playing their scene with utmost sincerity as opposed to allowing it to become tongue in cheek. Similarly, Siddig El Fadil keeps Bashir earnest and focused when he might be able to play the Doctor as more humorous.

In the end, this is an essential episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine because it reveals the Romulan mindset to the Dominion Threat. Their cultural viewpoint becomes integral near the end of the season and in the sixth season. This episode establishes the essential conflict they feel. Add to that, "Visionary" does it with style, keeping the viewer entranced while providing them this information.

Poor O'Brien takes it a couple of time in this episode but in the process, one of the most memorable episode of the series is created. The nice thing about it is that while it is essential to the ongoing plot, it is remarkably accessible to those who are not fans of this series. It has more of the feel of a bottle episode, when fans would recognize it as an integral piece of the larger puzzle. People who are not fans will enjoy the mystery aspect of the story and will probably be guessing up until the end what it truly going on.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the breakout season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

8.5/10

For other Star Trek episode reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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A Rare Temporal Tampering On Star Trek Deep Space Nine: "Past Tense, Part I."

The Good: Good message, Good acting, Interesting character development, Costuming
The Bad: Very predictable in structure, Occasionally heavy-handed
The Basics: When a transporter accident puts Sisko and Bashir in Earth's past, social messages come to the forefront and hook the viewer.


In the Star Trek universe, a recurring theme is time travel, where key events in human or Federation history are influenced by people from the future, usually members of whichever intrepid crew is highlighted. Star Trek Deep Space Nine uses the time travel crutch the least of the four series'. When it does, however, it produces some truly worthwhile episodes. One such outing is "Past Tense."

"Past Tense" finds the Defiant in orbit around Earth where Sisko, Bashir and Dax beam down for a meeting at StarFleet Headquarters only to go missing. As the Defiant crew searches for them, Sisko and Bashir wake up in San Francisco in the past, in what were called Sanctuary Districts. In the twenty-first century, the poor, mentally ill and simply unemployed were herded up into Sanctuary Districts where society forgot about them. Sisko calculates the date to be mere days before a violent uprising known as the Bell Riots, a historical event which brought the public to the understanding about the true nature and horror of the Districts. Dax fares somewhat better, arriving in the hospitality of a wealthy intellectual who takes a fancy to her. As Dax works to find Sisko and Bashir, the Bell Riots begin, trapping the pair inside the Sanctuary District . . .

"Past Tense," it becomes quickly obvious, is the first of two parts and as the end of the first part comes closer, it becomes equally obvious to anyone familiar with television where the episode is going. Still, it is not a bad episode.

"Past Tense" has many worthy messages. This is an episode that openly speaks out against the prejudices against poverty, mental illness and unemployment. Here is a bold episode that illustrates how one person may change the course of history. Here is an episode that even as it touts such lofty ideals presents another side, by creating a compassionate wealthy businessman. This balance eliminates the ridiculous and easy argument that all businesses and businesspeople are to blame for the conditions that give rise to the Sanctuary Districts (or in more practical terms for modern day, not all businesses are faceless and evil trying to keep the masses down).

Part of what makes the episode work as well as it does is the character development. Here Ben Sisko is forced to take a very active role in the place he finds himself. This is different from how he has been, for the most part, until now in the series. It does, however, make his more physical roles in the future quite a bit more realistic. Similarly, Dr. Bashir is able to illustrate his compassion as opposed to his simple, cool professional brilliance. Bashir here is essentially human and humane and that's an appropriate aspect to be showing off here. Similarly, Dax is able to highlight her scientific abilities.

Bringing the characters to life is a powerful cast joined by an impressive guest cast. While Avery Brooks is giving one of his best, grittiest and most human performances of the series, he is joined by actor Bill Smitrovich, who portrays a simple father, Michael Webb, who is down on his luck. Smitrovich makes us believe in circumstances beyond our control, in good, intelligent people who sometimes fail to get good work. We know they exist; Smitrovich has a "common man" feel to him that illustrates the universal sentiment of such people.

As well, Siddig El Fadil and Terry Farrell provide supporting performances that are vital to both progressing the plot and maintaining a balanced and humanistic story. Instead of simply focusing on the time travel element, they help immerse us in the issues that they find there. Frank Military convincingly plays a psychotic counterpart to Webb which progresses us to the Bell Riots and the end of the episode. Military wonderfully portrays an unstable element, using his eyes especially to create a true sense of menace to the episode.

"Past Tense" is not all preachy, though. There's humor in it as Dax muddles through 21st century Earth and O'Brien and Kira aboard the Defiant search for the Captain. More than that, there is a lot here to be enjoyed by people who are not traditionally fans of Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Everything one needs to know is adequately explained in the episode and in an entertaining way. Moreover, it sets up the second part in a way that makes one want to see it.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the breakout season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Bill Smitrovich, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Flash Of Genius
Iron Man

Millennium - Season 1

7.5/10

For other Star Trek episode, DVD set or movie reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Defending The Security System On Deep Space Nine: "Civil Defense"

The Good: Good acting, Nice character development, Wild special effects
The Bad: Unoriginal plot
The Basics: While very similar in plot to a prior episode in the Star Trek library, "Civil Defense" succeeds at using the actors and characters well enough to support itself.


The penultimate unoriginal Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode in a string of episodes that were easily viewed as reworkings of previous episodes is "Civil Defense." Before this, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had "Second Skin" which was an impressively different reworking of Star Trek The Next Generation's "Face Of The Enemy" and "The Abandoned" which was essentially "Charlie X" from Star Trek remade. After "Meridian" - the episode that follows - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine returns to highly original programming which does what it does very well. "Civil Defense," however, clearly harkens the viewer back to the Star Trek The Next Generation episode "Disaster."

While working in a near-abandoned section of Deep Space Nine, Chief O'Brien and Jake Sisko trip an old Cardassian security program. Suddenly locked out from the rest of the station, the computer becomes convinced there is a Bajoran worker rebellion in progress and when Major Kira and Dax in Ops are unable to provide the correct codes to override the system the situation escalates. Within a short time, the crew is cut off from one another, the automated security system is firing at all non-Cardassians and the entire station's compliment is on the verge of being killed. To make matters worse, Gul Dukat arrives in response to his own computerized emergency distress signal to demand that the station be returned to the Cardassians.

What makes "Civil Defense" a worthwhile remake episode in the end is that it does not simply feel like a cheap reworking of "Disaster." Instead of focusing on the various calamities around the station, the solutions employed on each level are what the episode is truly about. So Jake Sisko becomes responsible for getting his father and O'Brien out of the now-dangerous ore processing center, Kira's administrative personality is pushed back in order to deal with a threat more like the former terrorist she is, Garak reveals minor details about his computer clearance as he moves throughout the station, and Odo and Quark, fearing death, provide comic relief by reminiscing about Quark's criminal activities.

The point is that like "Disaster," "Civil Defense" works best in the moments when the characters are interacting, especially the ones who are not used to interacting with one another. Jake Sisko is put in a very different role as O'Brien's assistant. The real pleasure - and the reason to come back to this episode over and over again - is the tense relationship between Garak and Gul Dukat. Here we finally learn the source of their conflict and it's a wonderful crumb into Garak's past.

What stands out even more than the wonderful special effect of the automated security system that kills people in Ops is the acting. Cirroc Lofton rises to the occasion as Jake, caught in a crisis that makes very realistic the important character choice that is forthcoming. He plays Jake wonderfully as less certain than his StarFleet father. Instead, he is a realistic anchor in a story with a lot of menace. In a way, Lofton plays Jake as the ordinary man forced to do the extraordinary in a tight spot.

In the command center plot, Nana Visitor and Marc Alaimo infuse their characters with confusion and pomp, respectively. Visitor plays Kira wonderfully with desperation and frustration that is very genuine for her character. Alaimo makes Dukat both pompous and disappointed which works very well when circumstances fall out of his favor. The real scene stealer here is Andrew Robinson, who makes Garak desperate, angry and observant all at once. It goes beyond the words in the script in his case; he delivers some of the most simple lines with a passion that belays all of those underlying feelings.

In the end, "Civil Defense" has little to offer the non-fan, outside of a fairly taut emergency/disaster-type thriller where for forty minutes we're on edge wondering if all our people are going to survive the episode. Those who don't know Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will find the pace too slow to be an effective thriller, whatwith all of the character development. While just about every episode with Dukat is part of the essential Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, this one manages to not be. But that's all right; there's enough to entertain and "Civil Defense" does that just well enough to make us feel like we've gotten our money's worth, as opposed to fed a recycled dish.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the breakout season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

7/10

For other Star Trek episode reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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