The Major Players Get Stuck In Game Of Thrones Season Five!

The Good: Special effects, A handful of plot and characters moments
The Bad: Largely dull plot, No amazing performances, Very few significant character moments
The Basics: Pretty much a "necessary evil" season of Game Of Thrones Season Five introduces yet more complications while cutting out some of the enduring factions in Westeros.


When it comes to serialized television, there is a tough balance writers and executive producers face between creating a project that is complicated enough to justify its scale and having a work that comes across as bloated. Arguably the most complicated book-turned-television series is Game Of Thrones and after having a very lukewarm reaction to the first four seasons, my wife and I have gone back to rewatch the entire series. This has led me to two inescapable conclusions: 1. Game Of Thrones is vastly better when binge watched (as opposed to watching it weekly, months and years apart) and 2. Game Of Thrones, by its fifth season, had become unfortunately overfilled with characters, plot conceits and its own sense of importance that it had to stop and regroup.

In the fifth season of Game Of Thrones, remarkably few character arcs get resolved and some of the biggest characters get locked into their place, creating a surprisingly limited sense of movement in the season. The irony is that while characters like Margaery Tyrell, Stanis, Sansa and Daenerys get absolutely stuck, Tyrion moves move in the fifth season than he has since the first! Game Of Thrones Season Five is a season where many of the biggest players attempt to consolidate and retain their power wherever they were at the climax of the fourth season (reviewed here!).

Following the murder of Tywin Lannister, Cersei Lannister becomes furious with Jaime and she becomes intensely protective of her family (save Tyrion, who she wants dead). As Margaery begins to exert more influence over her husband, King Tommen, Cersei turns to religious fanatics to keep control over King's Landing. In Meereen, Daenery Targaryen, finds herself beset by enemies on almost all sides. The Sons Of The Harpy, gold-masked former Masters, start slaying her army of Unsullied, while her forces work to retain control over the three cities she previously liberated. Roose Bolton, now the Warden Of The North, gets into an uneasy alliance with Petyr Baelish, while further north - at The Wall - Stanis regroups with the surviving members of the Knight's Watch. Having fled the capital, Varys tries to bring Tyrion to Daenerys. Baelish maneuvers Sansa Stark and Arya arrives in Bravos.

When John Snow becomes the Lord Commander of the Knight's Watch in an unlikely turn of events, he decides to try to make peace with the Wildlings, much to the ire of the members of the Knight's Watch. While Cersei's use of the religious police initially works to her benefit, it does not take long before the Faith Elite seize the opportunity to imprison her for her sins. Lacking guidance of people she trusts, Daenerys re-opens the horrid fighting pits in Meereen, allowing free men to fight and preserve the cultural heritage of the ancient city. Sadly, the Sons Of The Harpy leap on the games as an opportunity to attempt to depose the Mother Of Dragons. While Arya learns how to be a faceless assassin in Bravos, Sansa is married off to Ramsay Bolton and discovers how horrible he is. When Tyrion is captured by Jorah Mormont, his life is endangered by both the disgraced knight and the grayscale sickness. And when Jaime and Bronn make it to Dorn, they find Myrcella surprisingly happy, but Oberon's lover engaged in a power struggle based on her desire for revenge for his death!

Most of the fifth season of Game Of Thrones is stuck on reacting to the consequences of actions of events of prior seasons. People who attempt to casually watch Game Of Thrones are unlikely to appreciate just how significantly some of the most minor characters become in the fifth season. Lancel Lannister was essentially a throwaway character in the first season and while other characters were focused on in the foreground, Roose Bolton was relegated to the background . . . but now, Bolton is one of the biggest powers in Westeros! Similarly, Daenerys was incredibly important in the first four seasons . . . and in the fifth season of Game Of Thrones she is basically a bureaucrat stuck on a throne, reacting to people trying to execute her will.

Despite a few key moments - most of them centering around Tyrion and the cheap thrill of seeing Alexander Siddig in something new! - most of Game Of Thrones Season 5 is just boring. For sure, the battle at Hardhome is very cool and integral to the larger plot, but most of the battles in the fifth season of Game Of Thrones are surprisingly dull. And yeah, there are an obscene amount of throat-slittings. The fifth season of Game Of Thrones also features the uptick in peasants who are flayed alive and there's a character who is burned alive pretty horrifically.

In the fifth season of Game Of Thrones, the characters who are still standing are:

Tyrion Lannister - Having been smuggled out of King's Landing by Varys, he gets (and stays) incredibly drunk. He accompanies Varys to Meereen to meet Daenerys, but is captured by Jorah Mormont en route. He is thrilled to finally see a dragon, but is horrified when he encounters Stone Men - who are infected with the highly-contagious grayscale. Attempting to get to Meereen, he is captured by slavers and has to talk his way into their good graces and then the Queen's,

Varys - He saves Tyrion after Tyrion kills Tywin and he tries to connect Tyrion with Daenerys for the good of the realm. Sadly, when he reluctantly allows Tyrion out of his caravan, Tyrion is captured by Jorah and he has to figure out where his friend has gone,

Jaime Lannister - Desperate to save his daughter from the Sand Snakes in Dorn, he takes Bronn and leaves King's Landing. After sneaking into Dorn, he discovers Myrcella is thrilled with the prince she is supposed to marry, but he finds that Ellaria Sand is attempting to convince Doran Martell to go to war with his family over Oberon's death,

Cersei Lannister - Furious with Jaime for his releasing Tyrion, and the resulting death of their father, she becomes determined to save Myrcella's life. Following Tywin's murder, King's Landing is beset by religious fundamentalists, some of whom are Lannisters. She allies with the religious fundamentalists and empowers them to police the citizens of King's Landing using the Faith Elite. When Margaery and her brother are arrested, she thinks she is effectively in control, until the High Sparrow turns on her,

Margaery Tyrell - More determined than ever to become Queen, she continues to woo Tommen and marries him, much to the chagrin of Cersei. But when she begins to square off with the Queen, she finds the Faith Elite are an impossible adversary to beat and she is imprisoned by them,

Daenerys Targaryen - She discovers that ruling is more difficult than conquoring, when she stays in Meereen and tries to consolidate her control over the three cities she has taken over. Having imprisoned two of her three dragons and lost Jorah as an advisor, she does not have access to her full powerbase. She begins to take advice from a former slaver and loses much of her popular support when she has a former slave executed (as punishment for him killing a prisoner before she can publicly try him!). After losing her last Westerosian advisor, she opens the fighting pits in Meereen and engages herself to her lousy former Master advisor, while still having sex with her sellsword,

Jon Snow - He avoids temptation from Stannis (who wants to make him a Lord and give him effective control over the north after giving him a proper name) and tries hard to get the King Beyond The Wall to join Stannis's forces. Failing that, he shows mercy to Mance Raider and is voted to be Lord Commander of the Knight's Watch. To retain control of the Knight's Watch, he publicly beheads one of his enemies and then to try to save Westeros, he allies himself with Tormund and the Wildlings to save them from the White Walkers,

Sansa Stark - Having lied for Baelish, she rejects Brienne's offer of protection. She comes to regret it almost instantly when Baelish marries her off to Ramsay Bolton. Ramsay treats her terribly and that compels her to soften to Reek (Theon Greyjoy), despite his crimes against her family. She slowly grows a backbone, but finds Winterfell even colder than she remembered it,

Lord Petyr Baelish - While Rob Aaron trains, he arranges a marriage between Sansa and Ramsay, effectively consolidating his power over the Erie. He enters into an alliance with Reese Bolton. When he is called back to the capital, he discovers Cersei and the Faith Elite have destroyed his brothels and his businesses there. He uses the matriarch of the Tyrell family to maneuver the religious fanatics into imprisoning Cersei,

Brienne Of Tarth - She fails to save Sansa after losing Arya in the prior season. Still bruised from her battle with The Hound, she continues to reluctantly take Pod as her squire as she hunts Sansa. She finally starts to treat him well and guards Sansa at Winterfell from a distance until she gets an unexpected opportunity,

Stannis Baratheon - Having thwarted Mance Raider, he attempts to enlist the Wildlings to fight for him so he can retake the north. When that attempt fails, he pushes south toward Winterfell to overthrow the Boltons. He continues to rely upon the Red Woman, who gets him mired in the snow and demands the most horrific sacrifice from him yet,

Melisandre - The Red Woman continues to exert her influence over Stannis. She attempts to seduce Jon Snow, but fails. She convinces Stannis not to stay at Castle Black and risk everything to try to take Winterfell,

and Arya Stark - Arriving in Bravos, she reconnects with Jaqen H'ghar at the House Of Black And White. There, she begins to learn how to become a facechanging assassin. She discovers her new education is dangerous and when an opportunity to remove another person from her personal hit list presents itself, she risks everything to kill Meryn Trant.

While many of the other seasons of Game Of Thrones feature amazing performances, the fifth season is light on great moments on the acting front. Stephen Dillane is unfortunately stiff as Stannis in ways even more extreme than he was before. Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke are not given great moments to play; Lena Headey excels only in the season's climax when Cersei is finally given a performance that allows her to emote. In a similar way, Kit Harrington is given a little bit to do, but John Bradley as Samwell Tarly shows him up in virtually every shared scene.

Only Maisie Williams is consistently given moments to play that stretch her ability. Williams makes Arya Stark alternately fierce and cold and she plays Arya's period of transition as riveting to watch.

Ultimately, though, the fifth season of Game Of Thrones is a great example of one of the weaknesses in massively serialized television. Those who attempt to watch just the fifth season of Game Of Thrones will neither appreciate its events, nor will they fall in love with the show based on this season's content. While Game Of Thrones Season Five is absolutely necessary to the larger story and character arcs of the show, it is a building season that continues to expand the already massive world of Westeros, with only minimal winnowing of its less empathetic elements.

For other works from the 2014 – 2015 television season, please check out my reviews of:
The Big Bang Theory - Season 8
Modern Family - Season 6
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 2
The Flash - Season 1
Orange Is The New Black - Season 3
Sense8 - Season 1
Grace And Frankie - Season 1
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season 1
Agent Carter - Season 1
Daredevil - Season 1
The Newsroom - Season 3
House Of Cards - Season 3
Doctor Who - Season 8
True Blood - Season 7
The Walking Dead - Season 5

4/10

For other television season reviews, please check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Figure For The Ten Seconds He Was In The Outfit: The Julian Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform Figure Fizzles!

The Good: Good sculpt, Good coloring, Decent variety of accessories
The Bad: Accessory coloring, Entirely overproduced, Very bland facial expression, Balance issues, Usefulness
The Basics: The Doctor Julian Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure from Playmates Toys illustrates how Playmates tried to get the fan cash . . . no matter how preposterous the figure!


Playmates Toys made the most out of having the license to Star Trek action figures. In fact, they are a great example of a company that struck while the iron was hot. With Star Trek: The Next Generation fans still disappointed by Galoob’s earliest endeavors at making figures, Playmates picked up the license as part of the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek and they ran with it. While the figures were a higher quality than anything that preceded them, the company quickly took advantage of the collectors by making cheap recasts of the figures or reusing the same heads on different bodies and marketing them as “new” figures. One of the most obvious examples of that trend was with the Dr. Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform action figure. This is a head from a Dr. Bashir action figure (reviewed here!), on what appears to be a recolored Geordi action figure body!

This is Dr. Bashir in a standard StarFleet uniform, which – to be fair to Playmates – Bashir did appear in . . . for about a minute when his character was first introduced in “Emissary” (reviewed here!), before he changed his uniform! He never again put this uniform back on. This is such a lazy action figure release that this version of Bashir comes with the same accessories as the original Bashir figure.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1995 Collection of action figures contained figures that were cheap retreads of the main crew of space station Deep Space Nine, as well as unique alien and character figures missed in the first line. Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform was one of the least exciting additions to the collection and was a pegwarmer, even at the time. Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform is a human officer, a young man who is looking at Deep Space Nine to fill his life with adventure. Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform appears in his second action figure as a very bland StarFleet officer. He is attired in his blue StarFleet uniform with the solid black pants. 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 card exclusive to the action figure, which made it hunted by trading card collectors as well.

The Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure is the human StarFleet officer as he appeared in “Emissary,” with the blue uniform and slicked back hair. Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform is attired in his teal blue StarFleet uniform with the black pants and shoulders. The outfit is colored appropriately, with the right rank pips on the collar.

Standing four and one-half inches tall, this is a very bland recreation of Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform 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 very neutral 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. Despite having a very neutral stance, Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform has poor balance off his stand and must be kept in a flatfooted position (so the stand helps with balance). 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 sculpting details lessen, though at the hands, where Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform has less detailing, including a lack of defined knuckles, though he has faintly molded fingernails.

Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform's face is molded in a bland, neutral expression that does not have anything distinct to make him recognizable. In fact, his skin is colored much lighter than Siddig El Fadil's actual skin is. The hair is tough to capture for a Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure as Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform had hair that was puffed up and back, but Playmates made a fair go at it. At least it doesn't look like Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform 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 painted an unnaturally bright pink which looks somewhat ridiculous. As well, Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform's eyes are brown with white pupils, which is disturbing.

Accessories

Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform comes with five accessories, including the base, all of which were recycled from the first figure release. Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform comes with a medical kit, medical tricorder, PADD, DNA scanner and the base. The Action base is a StarFleet delta shield symbol with the name "BASHIR " stuck on it with a cheap, black sticker. The center of the base has a peg which fits into the hole in either of Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform's feet! When Doctor Bashir 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 Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform in more outlandish poses, which is nice.

The Medical kit is essentially a big flat purse with a plastic strap which may be slung over Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform's shoulder. While it has the basic shape of a medical kit, it is utterly lacking in the surface details and markings of a StarFleet medical kit. It is a monotonal silver which is close to what the prop looks like, but it is a pretty bland accessory.

The Medical Tricorder is a similarly light-on-details accessory. The 3/4" box looks like the scanning device used by Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform and it fits in either of his hands. This has the surface details of a tricorder, up to and including that the scanning wand is molded into the top of the device, but it does not do anything.

The PADD is essentially the Star Trek version of an iPad (actually, it's the other way around as Star Trek had them first!) and it is basically a flat chip of plastic. To simulate the screen, there is a sticker and that is more effort than most of the other accessories got.

Finally, there is the DNA Scanner. This is an accessory unique to Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform. It was created for the second episode of the series and the prop is molded properly to look like the specific medical device. Like the tricorder, it fits into either of Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform's hands. However, there are no surface details and it is cast in the silver plastic without coloring details, like the black grip.

Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform is over-accessorized, but the accessories are not the most hideous colors for accessories from Playmates.

As well, Playmates included a pog 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 Doctor Bashir’s head in an indistinct shot that does not show off his StarFleet Duty Uniform with a wormhole symbol behind the headshot. The back has a checklist of the other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pogs.

Playability

Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform continued a generally high playability quality from Playmates and he was quite good at the time, pleasing collectors and fans alike. Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform is appropriately stiff, but has decent poseability. Doctor Bashir 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, Doctor Bashir 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, Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform is exceptionally stable, even in the most ridiculous poses. He actually looks very dignified and ready to save lives in his neutral display pose.

Collectibility

Playmates seemed to have no idea how tired fans were of being milked by the time they released the second wave of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures. Fleshing out the line with completely irrelevant figures severely diminished the collectability of the figures that were not the premium ones. As a result, the Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform was one of the worst-selling figures in the assortment. As a result, he has not appreciated much 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 12000 figures out there (my Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform is #011706!).

Overview

The Doctor Bashir In StarFleet Duty Uniform figure is a lousy figure, which even fans of Bashir or Siddig El Fadil can safely avoid.

For other figures from this same series of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, please check out my reviews of:
Jake Sisko
Rom and Nog
The Tosk
Q
Vedek Bareil

3.5/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my index page!

© 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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The "Trials And Tribble-ations" Bashir Would Be Great ... If He Could Stand!

The Good: All right sculpt, Good accessories, Articulation
The Bad: Errors in detailing, Cannot hold all of his accessories, Dust sticks to shirt, Can't stand!
The Basics: Dr. Julian Bashir from "Trials And Tribble-ations" falls down (literally) in this rendition from Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys.


You know how there are nutty people who suggest that different colors of M&M's have different flavors, long after the fine folks at M&M/Mars have tried to tell people everywhere that the candy shells are just colored and not flavored differently? For a while, I felt I might be the Star Trek action figure equivalent of such a person, given that I was all prepared to write a review of how the "Trials And Tribble-ations" Dr. Julian Bashir figure did not suffer from the same problems with accumulating dust as the Sisko and O'Brien figures. Unfortunately, one rub of my thumb along the rubber of his shirt and I discovered Bashir, like two of the other figures in this series, suffers from dust and dirt sticking to the figure's shirt; it just hides it better than some of the other figures.

As it (pun intended) stands, Dr. Julian Bashir would be a tough figure to create and Art Asylum and Diamond Select toys did a fair job of sculpting Bashir. Unfortunately, my Bashir is poorly assembled and cannot possibly stand up, making for a seriously below-average toy!

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 common Doctor Julian Bashir 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 Doctor Julian Bashir figure, as he is disguised as a lieutenant. His is wearing the blue and black Star Trek uniform. Blue was for Medical and Sciences, just as it was in Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond. Standing unevenly at seven and one-eighth inches tall, this is a fair likeness of Doctor Bashir immortalized in plastic. The uniform is well-detailed for the character and the face is a good likeness of Alexander Siddig's enduring character. While this Bashir 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 and less dark than Doctor Bashir usually does. Moreover, Dr. Bashir never had such a strong nose with such huge nostrils as this figure does!

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 Sciences Delta symbol. This leads to the biggest problem with the Bashir 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

Doctor Julian Bashir comes with three accessories: A Classic Type II phaser, a classic tricorder, and a pair of tribbles. That Doctor Bashir 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 right hand as well.

The phaser is similarly impressive. 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 Bashir's right hand.

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. The tribble may be rested in Bashir's left hand, which is molded as a cupped palm. A tribble fits there fine, but it needs to be balanced, which is does not do easily.

Playability

Doctor Bashir is one of the least playable or posable Star Trek action figures yet from Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys. Doctor Julian Bashir 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!), Doctor Bashir 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, Doctor Bashir is jointed just above the abdomen region with a joint that allows for left to right and front to back motion.

The problem with the figure I opened up, though, was the left foot. The left foot is locked in an inflexible downward pointing motion - like Bashir is tip toeing through the tulips - that prevents him from being able to stand with the foot flat. Trying to rotate this foot does not work and no matter how I have attempted to manipulate this ankle and foot, it cannot be moved to a flatfooted position.

Collectibility

Art Asylum and Diamond Select did not exactly mass produce the "Trials And Tribble-ations" figures. Indeed, most were exclusives, though the Doctor Bashir figure was the common release figure. 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 Bashir 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, the misdetailed shirt, and the inability to do such a basic thing as stand, the Bashir figure is a real lemon. 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, only adds insult to the injury of this lousy toy.

For other figures of Julian Bashir and figures in the “Trials And Tribble-ations” line, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Playmates Dr. Julian Bashir
Diamond Select Dr. Julian Bashir
Art Asylum Jadzia Dax from “Trials And Tribble-ations”

4/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the toy reviews I have written!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Diamond Select Continues Its Tradition By Making The Perfect Dr. Julian Bashir Action Figure!

The Good: Excellent sculpt, Cool accessories, Good coloring, Great balance
The Bad: A bit over-accessorized (none, truly!)
The Basics: Poseable, easily recognizable and well-balanced, the Diamond Select Dr. Julian Bashir figure is another perfect figure from the reigning producer of Star Trek toys!


Few characters on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine have been as poorly represented in the merchandising as Dr. Julian Bashir. Between having hair that does not translate well to a figure and having a coloring that seems to confound those manufacturing toys (as well as, honestly, some of the directors lighting shots on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) Dr. Julian Bashir has been neglected when it comes to selling toys and making trading cards and the like. Sadly, when some of the best companies have tried to make Bashir figures, they have failed horribly, like when Art Asylum made the "Trials And Tribble-ations" Bashir figure.

But, on my recent trip to my annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, I found the ultimate Bashir figure. In fact, I only ended up buying two new action figures, the new Diamond Select O'Brien and the same company's Dr. Julian Bashir figure. The thing is, when you find a great action figure, sometimes it is worth buying because you know you'll never have to buy another version of the same character. That is what I was hoping for from the Dr. Julian Bashir figure and now that I have opened it up and had it outfitted with its many accessories, I am happy to say that that hope was realized. Diamond Select made a perfect action figure with the Doctor Julian Bashir figure.

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 Doctor Julian Bashir, Chief O'Brien, Kira Nerys and Martok, the Klingon General. Perfectly sculpted with amazing attention to surface details and coloring, Doctor Julian Bashir 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 Bashir figure remains harder to find and one suspects the entire line will be gobbled up by collectors as soon as they realize it exists, in no small part owing to the overall quality of the line!

The Doctor Bashir figure is the Medical branch officer as he appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!) from the fifth season on. This is a fairly standard costume for Bashir and he was actually the first character on the show to acknowledge the color change of the uniforms. This Bashir is coiffed 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. Technically, fans may wonder if this is a Bashir Founder figure (that's an obscure costuming note for die-hard fans) or if it is actually Doctor Bashir! Bashir has a dark uniform with the requisite teal shirt beneath to indicate he is in the medical and sciences branch.

Standing seven and a quarter inches tall, this is an amazing likeness of Doctor Bashir 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 reaching out with compassion to a patient. 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 Medical - are painted on. My Bashir was immaculately painted and there were no chips or overlaps on any areas, like the occasionally problematic communicator badge.

Bashir's face is molded in a benevolent, neutral expression with a faint hint of a smile that is distinctly the visage of Siddig El Fadil's Bashir. Diamond Select managed to get such details as the strong nose and sharp jaw of Bashir as well as his piercing eyes. Bashir looks kind and professional, which is a good - and popular - look for him. As well, Diamond Select did an excellent job with the coloring details, getting Bashir's skin tones with some depth - save on the hands - and shading. Bashir is of Middle Eastern ancestry and the slightly darker, more olive colored skin is well-presented on this figure.

The paint job is incredible on the head as well. In addition to having great detailing to the eyes, Bashir's hair is realistically shaded. As a result, Bashir looks like he has a head actual, straightened short hair, as opposed to wearing some form of textured 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 Bashir lacking much in the way of detail are Bashir'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 Bashir's pants, which was a nice touch of realism.

Accessories

Doctor Bashir comes with six accessories, making him heavily over-accessorized, but offering fans a lot of options for play or display. Bashir comes with: A StarFleet Type II phaser, two different StarFleet PADDs, a coonskin cap, a mug for coffee and an StarFleet medical scanner. That Doctor Bashir comes with more tools than weapons is a nice attention to detail, as Bashir was one of the more peaceful characters on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. If there is ever a Sickbay playset, we would hope a medical tricorder would be included in Bashir's gear, but until then, what we have with this works perfectly for him.

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 Bashir'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. Bashir and O'Brien used to play an Alamo holodeck program and while it was alluded to many times, we never actually saw Bashir or O'Brien wear the coonskin caps they mentioned wearing. That said, the cap is a bit loose on Bashir'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!

Because of the way the hands are molded, the mug may be held in either of Bashir's hands. The small (1/2" tall) mug is a gray vessel designed to hold a beverage (if one actually puts beverages in their toys' hands) and this looks good in Bashir's hands.

But the unique to Bashir figure is the medical scanner. The tiny device is essentially a handle with a silver knob on the top and it fits loosely into either of Bashir's hands. This, too, has an extraordinary amount of surface detailing to it. Unlike the other accessories, though, this is light on coloring details as it is cast in a monotonal silver-gray. Still, it is obviously a StarFleet medical scanner recognizable to those who are fans of the series instantly.

Playability

Doctor Bashir helps to continue an exceptional level of quality from Diamond Select Toys and he is without a doubt the ultimate Bashir figure as he has a great sculpt, wonderful accessories and a great sense of poseability. Doctor Julian Bashir 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 Bashir or Star Trek toys in general.

The Diamond Select toys do not include a base (or foot holes) for their figures, but the Bashir figure helps them make the assertion that they are not necessary. Bashir 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 Bashir 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, Bashir 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) Bashir figures this will become highly sought after and its value will appreciate.

Just how rare the Bashir 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

This Diamond Select Doctor Julian Bashir action figure has everything a fan can truly want; he is perfectly articulated, ideally sculpted and comes with a wide array of accessories. Diamond Select clearly knows what they are doing and for the first time in a while, leaving Las Vegas has netted me two perfect toys to display!

For other Diamond Select or Art Asylum Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, please check out my reviews of:
Constable Odo
Jadzia Dax
Captain Benjamin Sisko

10/10

For other toy reviews, be sure to check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the action figures and toys I have reviewed!

© 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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The Klingons Take The Lead And A Risky Path “When It Rains . . .”!

The Good: Excellent character work, Great acting, Generally decent plot
The Bad: Gowron’s character arc seems suddenly altered to service the plot.
The Basics: “When It Rains . . .” finds the Alpha Quadrant defended solely by the Klingons and an underground movement of Cardassians, which is likely not enough to save the galaxy!


There are very few times that the characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were reworked to service the plot of an episode or arc. Dukat was retroactively weakened by episodes like “Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night” (reviewed here!). After all, Gul Dukat is initially characterized as exceptionally intelligent, with a photographic memory. Yet, if he had seen Kira in the time period of “Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night,” it seems reasonable that at some point after he met her following “Necessary Evil,” he would have put together that she was familiar to him. The only other real example of a character being altered to service a plot is Gowron in “When It Rains . . .”

In “When It Rains . . .,” Gowron is suddenly transformed from an ambitious, smart leader into a crazed gloryhound. It is easy to understand why writer Rene Echevarria made the change; it leads to a far more heroic character arc for Martok. I like Martok and “When It Rains . . .” sets him on his final path, but it is in the reworking of Gowron’s character to service the plot of “When It Rains . . .” that the episode falls a bit flat. Fortunately, the Klingon plotline is not all that “When It Rains . . .” focuses on!

Following the disastrous losses in the Chintoka System, the hopes of the Alpha Quadrant now rest firmly on Damar’s dissident movement and the Klingons. Analyzing the assault on the Chintoka System, the Klingons have identified a modification that makes their ships immune to the Breen energy dampening weapon. The Klingons, then, make the modification to all their ships to hold the line. Meanwhile, in Cardassian space, Damar and his allies have gone into hiding and Sisko wants to send him help. That help takes the form of Kira, Garak and Odo. Before they leave, Odo leaves a sample of himself with Bashir.

When Kira and her team arrive at the hidden Cardassian base, they are met with hostility by Damar’s lieutenant, Gul Rusot. Despite that, Damar wants very much for Kira to teach his team how to create a useful resistance against the Dominion. On Bajor, Dukat becomes impatient with Winn’s attempts to discern the Book Of The Kosst Amogen and looks inside, getting blinded by the book. Bashir makes a startling discovery when he is studying Odo and he tries to get Odo’s medical records from StarFleet Medical. When Gowron arrives on the station, he pitches a plan to go on the offensive, a plan that puts everyone on edge.

“When It Rains . . .” is dark, but exceptionally watchable. The episode has an excellent sense of pace and it is clearly building to something. In many ways, “When It Rains . . .” is the The Empire Strikes Back of the final arc of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This is where the characters seem like they are at their lowest and, overall, they are. This is the episode where the Federation and Romulans are powerless and the bulk of the crew is actually trapped on the space station, thanks to a climactic event in the prior episode. Odo is diagnosed with the illness that is plaguing his people and when Bashir is able to analyze that, he learns an even more horrible truth.

It might seem like things are all right for Kira, but she and Odo experience some sensation of torsion in “When It Rains . . .” Goaded by Rusot, “When It Rains . . .” forces Kira to consider Odo in a different, uncomfortable, light. Odo, while only suffering from the illness in a way that he is still able to hide it from Kira, still begins to show some wear. Bashir is horribly disillusioned, Dukat is blinded and Winn is pretty much lost. “When It Rains . . .” has the characters at a low point that, for most of them, begins to turn around as the arc continues.

“When It Rains . . .” is well-directed by Michael Dorn and he gets decent performances out of the entire cast. Nicole de Boer, who is the newest member of the ensemble, does well in her brief scene as Dax, opposite Bashir. While viewers may be frustrated by how the episode does not yet conclusive move the budding Dax/Bashir relationship forward, this is not de Boer’s fault and the episode realistically progresses the relationship as best it can.

Dorn also does a decent job of establishing the new relationship between Garak, Odo and Kira and the way Damar interacts with them. “When It Rains . . .” opens up the potential for Damar to truly feel vital. Earlier in the final arc, Casey Biggs made Damar interesting, but Dorn gets him to play Damar in a way that balances what viewers know about the character with what they might only suspect at this point. Damar is, in many ways, a pragmatist in “When It Rains . . .,” and he has to balance that with his sense of patriotism. Such complexity has been lacking from Damar, but in “When It Rains . . .” it comes full bloom. Damar, the character who killed Ziyal in the attempt to motivate Dukat to evacuate, has truly evolved and “When It Rains . . .” is evidence of that.

“When It Rains . . .” is an essential chapter of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and it is vital to the final arc for the character aspects, performances and plot progression.

[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!
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9/10

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