A Figure For About Two Seconds Of Screentime: Lieutenant Jadzia Dax In StarFleet Duty Uniform!

The Good: Good sculpt, Good coloring, Decent variety of accessories
The Bad: Accessory coloring, Purpose of figure
The Basics: An obvious reuse, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Lieutenant Jadzia Dax in StarFleet Duty Uniform Playmates figure is not worth hunting down.


When I considered the Julian Bashir in StarFleet Duty Uniform action figure (reviewed here!), I pounced upon it for how worthless the figure is, based on the fact that the figure came from about thirty seconds of on-screen presentation of the character. Sharing those same thirty seconds was Jadzia Dax in StarFleet Duty Uniform, which got a similar action figure made for it.

Lieutenant Dax, for those who were not tuned in to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was the Chief Science Officer of space station Deep Space Nine. She arrived on the space station as the only real friend Commander Sisko had in the universe. When Lieutenant Dax appeared on the screen for the first time in “Emissary” (reviewed here!), she wore the predominately blue uniform that was identical to what Deanna Troi wore in the last two seasons.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1995 Collection of action figures was largely recast primary command crew of space station Deep Space Nine and only one or two new figures. The Lieutenant Dax in StarFleet Duty Uniform was one of the least exciting additions to the collection and might well be a Dax head stuck on a Deanna Troi Season 7 action figure body! Lieutenant Dax is a Trill officer, a young woman who is looking at Deep Space Nine as a place to experience enough to keep her symbiont stimulated. Dax appears in her second action figure as a very typical StarFleet officer, though she is a Trill and has the spots. She is attired in her blue standard StarFleet uniform. This was one of the more common action figures in the assortment and it remains exceptionally 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 Lieutenant Dax figure is the Trill StarFleet officer as she appeared in her first minute or two in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with the primarily blue uniform and pulled back ponytail. Lieutenant Dax is attired in her teal StarFleet uniform with the black pants and shoulders. The outfit is colored appropriately and the figure is well-detailed with the spots.

Standing four and three-quarters inches tall, this is a surprisingly vibrant recreation of Lieutenant Dax immortalized in plastic. The character is molded with her hands ready to hold most of her accessories in a half-closed position. She appeared to have a body that was recycled from a different figure. That said, her legs have a very neutral stance, so this figure stands up and looks like she 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. Lieutenant Dax has great balance off her stand, though she should 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 Dax has less detailing, including a lack of defined knuckles or painted on fingernails.

Lieutenant Dax's face is molded in an enthusiastic expression that looks very much like Terry Farrell. She has the Trill spots around her neck and head and her eyes are bright and appropriately blue with black and white pupils. This is the same head that was on the initial action figure release for Dax.

The paint job is great, especially for the spots around her face. The skin tones are monotonal white with no shading or subtlety. The figure's lips are painted an unnaturally bright pink that looks fine, especially given how her lips looked on the show.

Accessories

Lieutenant Dax comes with six accessories, including the base, most of which had noticeably been recycled from Star Trek: The Next Generation figures. Lieutenant Dax comes with a tricorder, Trill symbiont, Biosample collector, hypospray, and the base. The Action base is a StarFleet delta shield symbol with the name "DAX" stuck on it with a cheap, black sticker. The center of the base has a peg which fits into the hole in either of Lieutenant Dax's feet! When Lieutenant Dax stands flatfooted on the stand, she is stable for balance and has a decent, neutral display appearance. The base is also enough to support Dax in more outlandish poses, which is nice.

The Tricorder is a similarly light-on-details accessory. The 3/4" box looks like the scanning device used by Lieutenant Dax and it fits in either of her hands. This has the surface details of a tricorder, but it does not do anything.

The symbiont is troubling in that it is a purple worm-shaped is a 1” long purple piece of plastic that has the swirls and markings of the Trill symbiont seen briefly on the show. It does not, however, fit into the figure in any way, so it is somewhat disturbing to see it outside the figure.

Finally, there is the biosample container and hypospray. These are two cylinders an inch long with varying diameters and shapes that are actually pretty good replicas of the obscure props used by Dax on the show.

There is, however, an unfortunate aspect of all four of Lieutenant Dax's accessories; they are molded in a bright red plastic which looks nothing like what the props looked like on the show. Clearly Playmates went through some effort to sculpt the accessories realistically, but the coloring minimizes the sense of realism and clashes with the coloring of the figure. Lieutenant Dax is over-accessorized and her accessories are pretty hideous colors for props they are supposed to represent.

As well, Playmates included a SpaceCap pog unique to the figure from SkyBox which attracted trading card collectors to this figure in addition to toy collectors. The pog has a headshot of Lieutenant Dax with a wormhole background. The back has a checklist for all the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures that contained the pogs!

Playability

Lieutenant Dax continued a generally high playability quality from Playmates and she was quite good at the time, pleasing collectors and fans alike. Lieutenant Dax is appropriately stiff, but has decent poseability. Lieutenant Dax is endowed with thirteen points of articulation: knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, shoulders, neck, ponytail 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, Lieutenant Dax 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 her base, Lieutenant Dax is exceptionally stable, even in the most ridiculous poses. She actually looks very dignified and ready to study the universe in her neutral display pose.

Collectibility

Playmates vastly overproduced the second wave of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures and Lieutenant Dax In StarFleet Duty Uniform was quite the pegwarmer. It has not appreciated at all in value over the years.

That said, at least Playmates tried to make the figures collectible. Each figure has an individual number on the bottom of her 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 36000 figures out there (my Lieutenant Dax is #035592!).

Overview

The Lieutenant Dax figure is mediocre and an obvious reuse of prior elements in Playmates Toys’s attempt to make a buck, which fans largely rejected at the time and still should.

For other Jadzia Dax action figures, please check out my reviews of:
Jadzia Dax In StarFleet Utility Uniform
Jadzia Dax In Klingon Attire
Dax In Dress Uniform
Warp Factor 2 6” Jadzia Dax
Art Asylum Jadzia Dax from “Trials And Tribble-ations
Diamond Select Jadzia Dax

4/10

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

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Initial Dax: The Playmates Lieutenant Jadzia Dax Figure Is A Good (Not Great) Start For The Character

The Good: Good sculpt, Good coloring, Decent variety of accessories
The Bad: Accessory coloring.
The Basics: One of the better first-run Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures, the Lieutenant Jadzia Dax Playmates figure is good, but not great.


It always surprised me when something I really like remains unreviewed around my house. When it comes to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures, I am always surprised when I discover I have not reviewed one or two. From the first line of the Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures, I finished off my collection (and my reviews of them) with the Lieutenant Jadzia Dax action figure

Lieutenant Dax, for those who were not tuned in to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was the Chief Science Officer of space station Deep Space Nine. She arrived on the space station as the only real friend Commander Sisko had in the universe. The Lieutenant Dax figure features Dax as she appeared in the first five seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!), before the uniforms were changed.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 1993 Collection of action figures contained nine figures and it focused on the primary command crew of space station Deep Space Nine, with Lieutenant Dax being one of the least exciting additions to the collection and only the second of two female figures. Lieutenant Dax is a Trill officer, a young woman who is looking at Deep Space Nine as a place to experience enough to keep her symbiont stimulated. Dax appears in her action figure debut as a very typical StarFleet officer, though she is a Trill and has the spots. She is attired in her black StarFleet space station jumpsuit. This was one of the least common action figures in the assortment and it remains fairly hard to find even now. Still, card collectors helped keep this from being a complete pegwarmer as it features a SkyBox trading card exclusive to the action figure, which made it hunted by trading card collectors as well. As a result, she is one of the few that has appreciated in value.

The Lieutenant Dax figure is the Trill StarFleet officer as she appeared in seasons one through five of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with the black uniform and pulled back ponytail. Lieutenant Dax is attired in her black StarFleet uniform with the teal blue (for Medical/Sciences division) shoulders. The outfit is open at the collar, enough that her lilac undershirt may be seen. The outfit is colored appropriately and the figure is well-detailed with the spots.

Standing four and three-quarters inches tall, this is a surprisingly vibrant recreation of Lieutenant Dax immortalized in plastic. The character is molded with her hands ready to hold most of her accessories in a half-closed position. She was a completely new sculpt, though her arms seem to be recycled from a different figure, as they do not quite match the top/shoulder area in diameter. That said, her legs have a very neutral stance, so this figure stands up and looks like she 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. Lieutenant Dax has great balance off her stand, though she should 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 Dax has less detailing, including a lack of defined knuckles or painted on fingernails.

Lieutenant Dax's face is molded in an enthusiastic expression that looks very much like Terry Farrell. She has the Trill spots around her neck and head and her eyes are bright and appropriately blue with black and white pupils.

The paint job is great, especially for the spots around her face. The skin tones are monotonal white with no shading or subtlety. The figure's lips are painted an unnaturally bright pink that looks fine, especially given how her lips looked on the show.

Accessories

Lieutenant Dax comes with six accessories, including the base, most of which had noticeably been recycled from Star Trek: The Next Generation figures. Lieutenant Dax comes with a tricorder, Trill symbiont, Biosample collector, field hypospray, portable computer gear and the base. The Action base is a StarFleet delta shield symbol with the name "DAX" stuck on it with a cheap, black sticker. The center of the base has a peg which fits into the hole in either of Lieutenant Dax's feet! When Lieutenant Dax stands flatfooted on the stand, she is stable for balance and has a decent, neutral display appearance. The base is also enough to support Dax in more outlandish poses, which is nice.

The portable computer gear is essentially a big flat purse with a plastic strap which may be slung over Dax's shoulder. While it has the basic shape of a medical kit, it is utterly lacking in the surface details and markings to make it a computer of any kind. It is a monotonal purple which looks nothing like the equipment used in the show.

The Tricorder is a similarly light-on-details accessory. The 3/4" box looks like the scanning device used by Lieutenant Dax and it fits in either of her hands. This has the surface details of a tricorder, but it does not do anything.

The symbiont is troubling in that it is a purple worm-shaped is a 1” long purple piece of plastic that has the swirls and markings of the Trill symbiont seen briefly on the show. It does not, however, fit into the figure in any way, so it is somewhat disturbing to see it outside the figure.

Finally, there is the biosample container and field hypospray. These are two cylinders an inch long with varying diameters and shapes that are actually pretty good replicas of the obscure props used by Dax on the show.

There is, however, an unfortunate aspect of all five of Lieutenant Dax's accessories; they are molded in a purple plastic which looks nothing like what the props looked like on the show. Clearly Playmates went through some effort to sculpt the accessories realistically, but the coloring minimizes the sense of realism and clashes with the coloring of the figure. Lieutenant Dax is over-accessorized and her accessories are pretty hideous colors for props they are supposed to represent.

As well, Playmates included a trading card unique to the figure from SkyBox which attracted trading card collectors to this figure in addition to toy collectors. The trading card has a shot of Lieutenant Dax with a black starfield behind her (this makes for a great card to get signed by actor Terry Farrell, who played Julian Dax all six years!). The back has information on Lieutenant Dax and it's easy to see why card collectors happily hunted these down!

Playability

Lieutenant Dax continued a generally high playability quality from Playmates and she was quite good at the time, pleasing collectors and fans alike. Lieutenant Dax is appropriately stiff, but has decent poseability. Lieutenant Dax is endowed with thirteen points of articulation: knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, shoulders, neck, ponytail 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, Lieutenant Dax 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 her base, Lieutenant Dax is exceptionally stable, even in the most ridiculous poses. She actually looks very dignified and ready to study the universe in her neutral display pose.

Collectibility

Playmates seemed to gauge about the right amount of interest for the first wave of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures and Lieutenant Dax was a fast seller of the assortment. As a result, she has appreciated significantly since her 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 her 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 30000 figures out there (my Lieutenant Dax is #029402!).

Overview

The Lieutenant Dax figure is a good figure and even in the face of later sculpts, this is worth buying.

For other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures from the original 1993 collection, please check out my reviews of:
Morn
Security Chief Odo
Commander Benjamin Sisko
Gul Dukat
Quark
Dr. Julian Bashir
Major Kira Nerys
Chief Miles O'Brien

8.5/10

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Poor Dax With No Collectible Value! The Spencer Gifts Exclusive Dax In Dress Uniform Figure Is Still Pretty Cool!

The Good: Decent sculpt, Good accessories, Decent balance
The Bad: Poseability, Accessory coloring
The Basics: The Jadzia Dax In Dress Uniform figure is an exclusive from Spencer Gifts that was overproduced, making it virtually worthless, but is still pretty cool.


When it comes to Star Trek action figures, there are so many that were unfortunately overproduced that even some of the better ones are essentially worthless. The Jadzia Dax In Dress Uniform action figure that was an exclusive from Spencer Gifts is one of those type figures.

In fact, the Jadzia Dax In Dress Uniform is a surprisingly good figure. Unfortunately, the accessories for this figure bring it down a little – at least for their coloring – and Playmates vastly overproduced the figure, which caused its value to tank. However, looking at it now, years after its release and the demise of the figure as an investment, it is, objectively, a pretty cool figure.

Basics

The Commander Jadzia Dax In Dress Uniform was essentially an original Jadzia Dax figure’s head on a female StarFleet Dress Uniform body. Actually, if this body was recycled from any prior figure, it is an excellent job as I could not find a figure the body matched! As a result, this is Jadzia Dax in a teal dress uniform, as she was seen in “Rejoined” (reviewed here!).

The Spencers Exclusive was one of two figures released exclusively by Playmates through Spencer Gifts for the thirtieth anniversary of Star Trek. The figure, which stands 4 5/8” tall and has the Trill officer in her dress uniform, which is very tight across the chest! The uniform is well-colored and well-detailed for the character and the face is an amazing likeness of Terry Farrell. The figure includes such accurate and important details as the three rank pips on her collar indicating she is a Commander, the correct communicator badge for the uniform (with the square buckle-style backing) and the spots that indicate she is a Trill. The spots on this Dax are decently dark.

This is a decent likeness of Lieutenant Dax and there is no mistaking Dax for anyone else in the Star Trek universe. Given how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is largely neglected in the merchandising department, it is refreshing to see Dax featured as an exclusive figure. The figure even has rouge in the cheeks and features brightly colored lips.

Accessories

Lieutenant Dax comes with five accessories: a communicator-shaped stand, a phaser, bottle of Risian perfume, and the zhantara ritual’s statue and jug. The stand is a typical Playmates Toys plastic communicator with a single peg that the figure’s foot attaches to and allows it to stand perfectly balanced.

The Risian perfume bottle is a 1” tall monolithic red container that does not fit in either of Dax’s hands.

The phaser is a 2 1/2" long Phaser Type II that includes the phaser beam. It is also cast in monotonal red plastic.

The equipment for the zhantara ritual, from “Facets” (reviewed here!), is a 1 3/16” long bottle by 3/4" that fits in her right hand. The altar piece for the zhantara ritual is a 2 1/4” (on each side) triangular stand with a “fire” inside and it looks very much like the one that was in the episode. However, all of the accessories are cast in a single color without any coloring detailing, so things like the jug look pretty ridiculous in Dax’s hands because of how it contrasts with the coloring quality of the action figure.

Playability

Dax In Dress Uniform is fairly well articulated. Unfortunately, the poseability suffers some because there is no articulation at the groin socket. This makes the knee articulation fairly pointless because the figure cannot sit down, nor stand any way but flatfooted.

Lieutenant Dax is blessed with nine points of articulation, though: knees, elbows, biceps, shoulders, and neck. Dax is designed to be an action figure, all of her articulation allows her to be quite poseable, but only in a flatfooted pose. Fortunately, she can stand perfectly balanced even off her stand.

Collectibility

Playmates mass produced the two Spencer Exclusive figures, including Lieutenant Dax. Neither of them appear to be more or less common than the other. To encourage collectors, every figure in this line has an individual number stamped on bottom of the toy's foot. It is hard to consider something with at least 3,000 pieces a limited edition (my Dax's # is 002953), but Playmates made fans believe by putting the number stamps on each figure.

The problem from a collector's point of view is simple: they were initially overproduced and overpriced to such an extent that most sold at clearance prices long after most fans stopped caring and stopped collecting. As a result, this is actually one of the least valuable Dax figures on the market.

Overview

Despite the lack of collectible value and the accessory coloring, the Commander Jadzia Dax In Dress Uniform is still worthwhile for fans of Dax, Terry Farrell and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!

This figure utilizes an image and style of Commander Jadzia Dax In Dress Uniform as seen throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reviewed here!

For other figures or toys focusing on Jadzia Dax, please check out my reviews of:
Art Asylum Jadzia Dax from “Trials And Tribble-ations”
6” Jadzia Dax
Lieutenant Dax as seen in “Blood Oath”
Art Asylum's (best!) Jadzia Dax action figure

6.5/10

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

© 2013 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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Art Asylum's Jadzia Dax "Trials And Tribble-ations" Figure Is The Best Of A Lame Line!

The Good: Decent sculpt, Good detailing, Good accessories, Good collectibility and articulation
The Bad: Proportions seems a bit off (head, waist), Coloring issue with legs.
The Basics: If one must buy a "Trials And Tribble-ations figure from Art Asylum, this Jadzia Dax one is THE one to buy!


Before I get railed on for OT, the picture for this listing is for the Art Asylum and Diamond Select Jadzia Dax figure, not the Playmates version of the same figure. There IS another listing for the Playmates Dax "Trials And Tribble-ations" figure with the proper picture, so in order to finish my reviews of Star Trek figures (for now) I'm posting the Dax review here and I have filled out a bug report to get the title on this listing changed. Thank you for your understanding.

That said, the Art Asylum Star Trek: Deep Space Nine line that has focused on the characters from "Trials And Tribble-ations" has suffered pretty mightily as the time has passed and the figures have accumulated dust on their outfits, revealing a pretty strong design/material flaw in the figures. Fortunately, the Jadzia Dax figure in this line does not have the same material or the same problem, easily becoming the one figure from this set worth owning. This is not to say the figure is without flaws, but they can be lived with fairly easily, whereas some of the problems from the other figures in the line cannot. In this case, poor Jadzia is a big-headed thin-waisted, leggy figure that does not show off those gams the way Dax did in the episode.

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.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Trials And Tribble-ations" Series of action figures contains a Lieutenant Jadzia Dax figure, as she is disguised as a lieutenant. She is wearing the red and black Star Trek uniform made popular by the yeomen and Uhura. Red was for Command and Engineering, but who is going to complain? She's under cover! Standing at six and one-half inches tall, with her beehive hairdo, this is a good likeness of Lieutenant Dax immortalized in plastic. The uniform is well-detailed for the character and the face is a good likeness of Terry Farrell's sexy character. While this Dax 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 legs are black; in the episode she had dark hose on but, the producers were capitalizing on her legs. Here her legs from the bottom of the skirt to the top of her boots is the same color as the boos, making for a very different look and feel to the figure. While the eyes seem unnaturally vibrant, it's hard to complain about that!

The paint job is generally well done. The uniform is appropriately colored and the figure looks good in that respect. The detailing that is most impressive is the lack of Dax's Trill spots. Because she was undercover, Dax used cover-up on the spots in one sequence and the figure is thus appropriately detailed without the spots!

Accessories

Lieutenant Jadzia Dax comes with four accessories: A Classic communicator, a classic tricorder, a classic PADD, and a pair of tribbles. That Lieutenant Dax comes with a tricorder makes a lot of sense as she used one throughout "Trials And Tribble-ations" in her attempt to find the tribble bomb. The tricorder may be slung over her shoulder as it includes a flexible rubber strap and it fits well into the figure's left hand as well.

The phaser PADD is similarly impressive. The 3/4" choking hazard is detailed so well it has the green and red LED buttons painted on. One of Dax's key scenes in the episode had her holding a PADD as part of her disguise. It's a great prop for this figure and fits well into her left hand.

Her right hand easily holds the communicator. Like the other accessories, this is in perfect proportion with the figure and makes for a wonderful prop when displaying or playing with the figure. The coloring on this is realistic for the gold grillework and one only wished it could have been hinged for the added detail.

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 tribbles may be rested in Jadzia's left hand, as it is more open than the other. A tribble fits there fine, but it needs to be balanced, which is does not do easily.


Playability

Lieutenant Dax has pretty amazing articulation, like most Star Trek action figures from Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys. Lieutenant Jadzia Dax is blessed as well by having eighteen points of articulation: ankles, knees, thighs, groin socket, biceps, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, 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!), Lieutenant Dax is able to strike a number of poses that might otherwise be impossible and allow her to be posed in pretty advanced poses. The only real limitation here comes from Dax's skirt (no blue jokes, please!). The plastic there is a bit thick and inflexible, limiting how far the groin joint's articulation actually goes. Dax may look like a 1960's go-go girl, but she's not easy!

While she cannot possibly hold all of her accessories, she does have the ability to hold any two of her accessories and that is cool.

Collectibility

Art Asylum and Diamond Select did not exactly mass produce the "Trials And Tribble-ations" figures. Indeed, most were exclusives, including the Lieutenant Dax figure, which was released exclusively through the Action Figures Xpress website. They are long since sold out, though and the figures are now available only in the secondary market. 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 Jadzia Dax 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, and despite the somewhat big head on this Dax, she is a good, but not great figure. Anyone who likes Dax will like this toy and anyone who is thinking about picking up any of the figures in the "Trials and Tribble-ations" line, this is THE one to get!

For other toys focusing on Jadzia Dax, please check out my reviews of:
6” Jadzia Dax Warp Factor Series figure
Lieutenant Dax as seen in “Blood Oath”
Art Asylum's (best!) Jadzia Dax action figure

7/10

For other figure reviews, be sure to visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Good, But There Is A Better Jadzia Dax Figure By Comparison!

The Good: Decent sculpt, Good accessory
The Bad: Poseability/balance, Accessory
The Basics: This Lieutenant Jadzia Dax figure is hampered by balance problems and a half-lame, half-great accessory, making it an average action figure.


Sometimes, a little bit of time makes for a better review. Take, for example, the Star Trek action figures by Playmates. At one point, these were the gold standards of Star Trek action figures and people were impressed by the detailing and poseability of the 4.5" figures. Then, Playmates did a line of 6" figures which were largely rejected by fans because their figure collection was dominated by the other scale. Now, along has come Art Asylum and Diamond Select with their 6" action figure line which is now blowing collectors out of the water with the detail and quality of their sculpts and paint jobs.

This is where reviewing products years after they come out comes in handy. Had I reviewed the Playmates Warp Factor Series 2 Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax action figure when it was first released, I am certain it would have fared better than it does now. But now, there is a much better sculpt from Art Asylum and Diamond Select (link at bottom) and it makes one rethink the lack of balance and split decision on the accessory with this figure.

Basics

Beginning in the fifth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the StarFleet uniforms were changed to a darker color scheme that made for a more generic appearance of the officers and it reflected the thematic darkness of the imminent Dominion War. As a result, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax was able to be resculpted and re-released by Playmates toys.

The Warp Factor Series 2 set of action figures includes Lieutenant Jadzia Dax in her new, darker uniform. Standing 5 1/2 inches tall, this is a decent likeness of Lieutenant Dax immortalized in plastic. The uniform is well-colored and well-detailed for the character and the face is a real good likeness of Terry Farrell. The figure includes such accurate and important details as the two and a half rank pips on her collar indicating she is a Lieutenant, the correct communicator badge for the uniform (with the square buckle-style backing) and the spots that indicate she is a Trill. The spots on this Dax are not as dark as on other Dax figures. The result is a figure that looks quite a bit like Dax.

This is a decent likeness of Lieutenant Dax and there is no mistaking Dax for anyone else in the Star Trek universe. Given how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is largely neglected in the merchandising department, it is refreshing to see Dax featured in this wave of figures. Honestly, the head shape on this Dax might well be the best sculpt. The paint job is split between this one and the Diamond Select one (which has an odd shaped head).

The only paint job note I have is that I am fairly certain that by the time this season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine came about, Dax was a full Commander, so it seems like Playmates might have gotten that detail wrong.


Accessories

Lieutenant Dax comes with only one accessory: her navigation console from the bridge of the U.S.S. Defiant. Made of plastic and cardboard, the console is a real split deal. The actual console is great. Over six inches long and an inch thick, this heavy plastic piece has a sticker that appears to use the precise graphics from the television series. It is incredible!

But then there is the base. The base is cardboard and it unfolds and slides into slots in the plastic console piece. The cardboard piece seldom fits precisely into the console base (I've gone through three of the figures in this fashion) and the result is that frequently, the cardboard tabs, which are not precisely bent to fit the console, will get bent in inappropriate ways. It is hard to argue this is a great accessory to the good figure when it is so easily damaged and often falls over (the cardboard is rather thin and the console is reasonably heavy.

Lieutenant Dax comes with no sidearm, Tricorder or other accessory. It's refreshing to see a toy that is geared entirely for the bridge environment!

Playability

Despite the idea that Dax is destined to stand at her navigation console (on the ship she has a chair), Dax is remarkably well articulate. Unfortunately, the poseability suffers some because the only way this figure seems to balance well is by having Dax standing up straight. In other words, attempting to pose her with anything other than the figure standing flat-footed makes her fall over.

Lieutenant Dax is blessed with fourteen points of articulation, though: knees, thighs, groin socket, elbows, biceps, shoulders, neck and waist. Dax is deigned to be an action figure, all of her articulation allows her to be quite poseable, but not to stand up. She can make dramatic and surprisingly sophisticated poses, but then the figure tips over. Given that this is one of the most realistically-proportioned Dax's on the market, this seems odd.

Also, rather odd is that the hands on this Dax figure are designed to hold accessories, like a tricorder or phaser, but there is none with the figure. In short, while Dax seems quite poseable, she is touch to display, save in the most boring pose behind her console, which is more or less par for the Warp Factor Series 2 6" figures.

Collectibility

Playmates mass produced the Warp Factor Series 2 figures, including Lieutenant Dax. None of them appear to be more or less common than the others. To encourage collectors, every figure in this line has an individual number stamped on bottom of the toy's foot. It is hard to consider something with at least 15,000 pieces a limited edition (my Dax's # is 014572), but Playmates made fans believe by putting the number stamps on each figure.

The problem from a collector's point of view is simple: there were no other 6" figures at the time these figures were released and there have been very few since, none from Playmates, if memory serves. As a result, the five figures in this line (along with the five from the prior line) more or less stand alone. This makes them generally less collectible because people tend to want to be able to put all of their figures together and these stand out like sore thumbs.

Overview

Still, it is hard to complain about anything Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and while these are overproduced and might never appreciate significantly in value, the figure looks good. Moreover, it does capture the likeness well, especially given the character. But the manufacturers (and fans and come to think of it, the writers on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) tend to forget that Dax was not just the helmsman of the Defiant, she was the station's Chief Science Officer. In other words, a Tricorder and PADD might have been more appropriate than the console. And even with the console, a chair would have been nice.

Ultimately, this is a perfectly average action figure.

This figure utilizes an image and style of Lieutenant Jadzia Dax as seen beginning in the fifth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reviewed here!

For other 6” Playmates figures or toys focusing on Jadzia Dax, please check out my reviews of:
6” Jem’Hadar Soldier
Lieutenant Dax as seen in “Blood Oath”
Art Asylum's (best!) Jadzia Dax action figure

6/10

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

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Big Head, Big Hair, But Undeniably Jadzia Dax! Art Asylum Gets Another DS9 Figure Right!

The Good: Great sculpt, Good accessories, Coloring, Poseability, Articulation
The Bad: Cannot hold all of his accessories, Slight issue with head/hair size
The Basics: Great flexibility and a generally amazing sculpt make up for the lack of ability of Jadzia Dax to hold all of her accessories. A wonderful figure!


When I was younger, like many young adults, I baby-sat for spending money and to save for college. My young charge - for eventually I found a place that needed me with such consistency I only needed the one - was a boy who had a pretty massive collection of toys, especially of Marvel heroes. I remember distinctly the female figures because they were usually so unrealistically proportioned that it was impossible for them to stand on their own. So, for example, She-Hulk was so busty it was physically impossible for her figure to stand up in any pose except with her leaning back so extremely it always looked like she would fall backwards. So when I observe that the new Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax action figure sets a pretty good example for young women by being realistically proportioned, I'm not just being salacious.

With the release of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Series One figures, I set aside my standing rule - I had been getting rid of toys - and picked up the set of four figures. This morning, I cracked open the Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax figure to accompany the others who seem to rapidly be taking over my desk. Fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and of action figures will not be disappointed. This is, by far, the best Lieutenant Dax figure to hit the market yet! Indeed, with realistically proportioned breasts and a plethora of accessories, it's hard not to say that this is the best Dax figure yet. In fact, if there is one complaint to be had, it is only in the hair and the inability to hold most of her accessories.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Series 1 set of action figures contains a Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax figure, technically as she appeared in the last two seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (that she appeared on). She is wearing the black and gray uniform with the teal (Sciences) top peeking out from beneath. Standing seven and one-eighth inches tall, this is an amazing likeness of Lieutenant Dax immortalized in plastic. The uniform is well-detailed for the character and the face is a strong likeness of Terry Farrell's legendary character. The figure includes such important details as the continuity of spots on the neck and face! This is truly an incredible sculpt! In fact, the only problem with the sculpt is in the hair - her head is a bit boxy and the proportion of the hair makes her look a bit like the Frankenstein monster - and her fingers being opened too much so she can barely hold any of her accessories.

The paint job is generally well done. The skin tones are colored well and they even include the detailed shapes of the spots up the neck and around the eyes for a more realistic look to Lieutenant Dax! The uniform is appropriately colored and the figure looks good in that respect. In fact, my only beef with the paint job is a slight mark on the figure's communicator badge where it seems it was either not perfectly painted or it was slightly chipped away at! This is a minor complaint, even for me.

Accessories

Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax comes with six accessories: A StarFleet phaser rifle, a Type II phaser, a PADD, a bottle of Klingon blood wine, a d'ktang Klingon dagger and a bat'leth Klingon sword. That Lieutenant Dax comes with weapons makes a great deal of sense, as much of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a war story and Jadzia was often at the forefront of that war. The Type II phaser is incredibly detailed, including accurate coloring for the buttons and charge indicator. Unfortunately, I found the figure had limited success with holding the phaser in her hand at any sort of reasonable position (though I did notice that rather incredibly the fingers flex and can be molded around different object to hold them more securely). I was disappointed there was no way to connect the phaser to Dax's hip to keep her packing but not armed.

Similarly, the Klingon knife is extraordinary in its detailing, but cannot reasonably be held by Jadzia.

The PADD is a 7/8" choking hazard that is equally incredible in its detail. This works as a decent accessory for Jadzia as she was a strategist in the Dominion War. It does fit in her hands (either of them) and instantly the bounty of accessories makes me wish that Diamond Select and Art Asylum would be ambitious enough to release a Defiant bridge playset with the helm console for Dax to sit at. It would have to be huge, but . . .

Part of that desire for a more complete Deep Space Nine environment is the Klingon blood wine accessory. If ever there were a Quark's Bar playset, the bottle would be perfectly appropriate. As it is, it fits the more jokester nature of Dax and it fits well in her left hand.

What doesn't fit at all is the Bat'leth. Unlike some of Diamond Select's toys which come with interchangeable hands, this one does not. As a result, it is near impossible to get both hands on the bat'leth to have Dax hold it for action. To be fair, though, it is remarkably detailed like the other accessories.

Then there is the phaser rifle. Three and a half inches long, this firearm is in perfect proportion to the rest of the figure and the attention to detail on it is as astonishing. Unlike the old Playmates figures, which came with solid-colored accessories, this phaser rifle is gray and black with colored details for the sight and the display. The figure is able to hold it with two hands in an appropriate pose and it's possible even to extend the right trigger finger to place it on the trigger. This is truly incredible for a toy in terms of detailing and styling.

Playability

Lieutenant Dax sets a decent standard for Art Asylum and Diamond Select Star Trek figures in terms of playability. Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax is blessed as well by having sixteen points of articulation: ankles, knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, 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!), Lieutenant Dax is able to strike a number of poses that might otherwise be impossible and allow her to be posed in pretty advanced poses.

Moreover, for use with actual play, Lieutenant Dax has all sorts of movement potential making her one of the more realistic Star Trek action figures to play with (for those who actually play with these toys!). But for those posing the figure for display, this is THE Jadzia figure to have. Well balanced, even in a running pose, Jadzia is kept stable by the ankle articulation that keeps her sturdy. Indeed, this sculpt balances perfectly the look of Jadzia in motion with the articulation to keep her standing. Having figures on display that do not tip over is a wonderful thing and Jadzia's balance makes her decent.

Collectibility

Art Asylum and Diamond Select mass produced the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Series 1 figures, including the Lieutenant Dax. However, their version of "mass produce" is pretty limited. Unlike previous 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 Jadzia is one of two more common figures in the line (Odo and Ezri were exclusive and short packed, respectively) but even then, it does appear that the market was never flooded with these and as a result, it has - at the very least - retained its original value.

Overview

It is hard to complain about this sculpt as it is incredibly detailed, despite the hair and hand issues. This is the Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax action figure to buy, hands down. A must for any Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan!

This toy is based upon Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax as she appeared from the mid-fifth season and beyond of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, reviewed here!

For other Diamond Select figures or figures of Jadzia Dax, be sure check out my reviews of:
Captain Benjamin Sisko
Ezri Dax
Jadzia Dax from “Blood Oath”

8/10

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

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Ending A Dark Season With Triumph And Tragedy, "Tears Of The Prophets" Leads To Casualties!

The Good: Plot, Character, Acting, Special effects
The Bad: Ultimate resolution to the episode is unsatisfying.
The Basics: As Sisko goes to war against the Dominion, Gul Dukat goes to war against the Prophets, leading to a death that will shake Sisko to his core!


One of the impressive aspects of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is how it tears down so many of the institutions of the Star Trek franchise. Exchanging idealism for a cold sense of reality, the show does not look for happy endings and it seldom ends a season on a note where the viewer is left feeling good. There are no resurrections, no cheery moments that are not offset by tragedy and at the peak of the sixth season, one of the main characters met an ultimately senseless death that – as all great episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were prone to do – led to a powerful character moment. The episode was “Tears Of The Prophets” and it established the ground rules for the final arc of the series once and for all.

After a lot of build-up, by the time “Tears Of The Prophets” comes around, the two major arcs of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are the Dominion War arc and the struggles of Bajor, now characterized between a conflict between the wormhole aliens (Prophets) and the Pah-wraiths. With the fight between the two godlike aliens revealed in “The Reckoning” (reviewed here!), the return of the Pah-wraiths was inevitable. This time, though, they come as a tool of Gul Dukat, who is no longer affiliated with the Dominion.

Now that the Romulans have entered the Dominion War on the same side as the Federation and Klingons, Captain Sisko wants to press the advantage. He sees the opportunity at the Chin’toka System, a Dominion-held world whose liberation could put the Dominion on the defensive for a change. The weak spot in Dominion lines, however, is not going to last long; Weyoun and Damar are in the process of arming the Chin’toka System with automated weapons platforms. As Sisko defies a warning from the Prophets telling him not to go to Chin’toka, the Dominion reinforces their position.

Damar is also visited by an unlikely visitor; Gul Dukat. Dukat arrives on Cardassia searching for artifacts the Cardassians took from Bajor and he finds one, one which possesses him with a Pah-wraith. As the fleet advances on the Chin’toka System, Dukat makes his way to Deep Space Nine where the Pah-wraith within him strikes out at both the Prophets and a member of the crew!

“Tears Of The Prophets” is the culmination of the jerk-around the Dax character arc has undergone since the producers had knowledge that actress Terry Farrell would not be returning for the final season. So, with Dax eager to have a child with Worf, the sense of loss with her demise is intended to be brutal and it is. “Tears Of The Prophets” actually makes it hard to go back and watch the early episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that featured Dax because of how her longevity is treated as an immutable thing. With Farrell not returning, it gave Gul Dukat the opportunity to appear as a true villain for the episode and that works well for his character arc, which has been uncertain since early in the sixth season.

“Tears Of The Prophets” makes a great deal of sense in the overall story of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as well. The Federation and its allies have been retreating and the writers have done an excellent job of making the swell of the Dominion seem unbeatable, despite the retaking of Deep Space Nine. With the Romulans in the war on the side of the Federation and Klingons, it made sense that the show would begin a long arc toward the final episodes of the series. “Tears Of The Prophets” frames that well by creating a first, reasonable, potential for victory for the allies against the Dominion.

While the space battle in the Chin’toka System is appropriately phenomenal, the story in “Tears Of The Prophets” remains, as most Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is , character-based. For a change, the wormhole aliens are not opaque in their communications with Sisko; they tell him he must not leave Deep Space Nine. Still, the demands upon Sisko the StarFleet officer demand he take command of the Defiant and that creates a situation that allows Dukat to board the station unimpeded.

The impressive aspect of “Tears Of The Prophets” is that Sisko choosing to act as a StarFleet officer instead of Emissary has real consequences. The episode barely has a chance to acknowledge the profound nature of Sisko’s loss before the season abruptly ends. More than that, “Tears Of The Prophets” does not offer the viewer any sense of catharsis; victory comes at a great personal price and the emotions it stirs up are not easily resolved. So, while the episode hardly has the sense of being a dramatic cliffhanger, it does put Sisko on a different path that changes his relation to the war effort.

As is the case with most Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the character journey is not exclusively that of Sisko, Dukat or Dax. Instead, a portion of the episode is devoted to Odo fretting about his first fight with Kira. Completely out of his league in personal relationships, Odo blunders through the first fight in a very childlike manner that actually works for his character very well. It allows Rene Auberjonois and Nana Visitor to share a very different type scene than they ever have before. Similarly, Quark and Bashir begin to bond over the idea that the Dax/Worf marriage is likely to actually endure, despite their best estimates to the contrary.

In the end, “Tears Of The Prophets” is part of the essential Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as it turns both the plot and characters of the show in important new directions.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the penultimate season by clicking here!
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9.5/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please visit my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the episodes, movies and seasons I have reviewed!

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