DS9 Stories/News: Birthday Alert – Colm Meaney’s 3 Day Birthday Special

Cont.

Miles Edward O’Brien, played by Colm Meaney, is Chief of Operations in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Before DS9, he appeared as a recurring transporter chief in Star Trek: The Next Generation. O’Brien is the only major Star Trek character described as both ethnicallyIrish and born in Ireland.

The character of Miles O’Brien was transplanted from TNG to DS9 at the beginning of the latter show. In the story, Miles O’Brien transfers from the Enterprise-D to Deep Space Nine, in the DS9 premiere episode “Emissary“, to serve as the station’s chief of operations. With the help of Jadzia Dax, he devised a way of moving the station from orbit around Bajor to the site of the newly discovered wormhole, allowing Bajor to take possession. He would later assume an additional role as chief engineer of the USSDefiant, which is assigned to Deep Space Nine in the episode “The Search“.

Here he meets Dr. Julian Bashir, who initially irritates O’Brien (Episode: “The Storyteller“), but the two characters eventually become best friends. In particular, they frequently play darts and fight historical battles in the holosuites.

Miles was reprimanded for violating the Prime Directive when he helped an alien from the Gamma Quadrant referred to as “Tosk”, escape from other aliens who had been hunting him in “Captive Pursuit“.

In 2370, he is arrested by the Cardassians and charged with supplying weapons to the Maquis. The charges were dismissed when it was revealed to be part of a conspiracy to discredit the Federation (Episode: “Tribunal“).

After an accident aboard the station in 2371, O’Brien was temporarily shifted forward in time by a few hours. He died when he deliberately contaminated himself in order to determine the cause of events he had witnessed. He sent his future counterpart back in his place “Visionary“.

Miles was temporarily relieved of duty after a visit to the planet Argratha. O’Brien had been falsely accused of espionage and was given the simulated memory of a 20-year prison sentence. O’Brien became paranoid and emotionally distressed upon his return to the station and attempted suicide “Hard Time“.

In 2373, he has a son, Kirayoshi, delivered by surrogate Kira Nerys in episode “The Begotten“.

At the end of Deep Space Nine, O’Brien and his family depart the station to move back to Earth, where Miles is to serve as an engineering professor at Starfleet Academy. The soundtrack accompanying these moments on screen is to the tune of “The Minstrel Boy“.

DS9, in particular, makes mention and the use of Miles many years of experience within Starfleet as a device to allow the character to play a major part within various storylines and as further justification for his holding what is, essentially a command level position while still being a non commissioned officer. Indeed, it is shown that Miles has as much, if not more command experience then those officers he works with. For instance, during a formal extradition hearing regarding Lt. Commander Worf, he is declared an expert in starship combat due to his experiences and asked to critique Worf’s actions. Additionally, Miles provided Worf with some guidance about commanding and managing others during a crisis. Miles style of command can be classified as generally hands on with an emphasis on “thinking on your feet” when solving problem. Although, Miles is not above asserting his authority when required. All of the above having been said, Miles uses a straight forward and common sense approach towards the issues he faces.

DS9 Stories/News: O Captain, My Captain: A Look Back At Deep Space Nine’s Ben Sisko

Source: http://www.racialicious.com/2012/03/15/o-captain-my-captain-a-look-back-at-deep-space-nines-ben-sisko/

By Guest Contributor On March 15, 2012, Kendra James:

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  is like The West Wing. But in space. With a Black president. Kind of.

That’s normally how I find myself trying to describe the show to the uninitiated, as I firmly believe that it’s the Trek series you have to use when trying to get people into Trek canon, especially people of color. Deep Space Nine (DS9) causes a strange division in the world of Trekkies. I’ve always found (non-scientifically; I just spend a lot of time at cons) that people either love it or loathe it. Meanwhile, I can’t wait to show it to my kids.

DS9 has your aliens and spaceships, and characters do occasionally say things like “set phasers to stun,” but the Trek cheese-factor is more often than not outweighed by the political storyarcs covered over six out of the show’s seven seasons, its criticisms of 20th century history, race relations in America, and lead actor, Avery Brooks, who stars as Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko–the first and only African-American captain to lead a televised Star Trek franchise.

In both the original Star Trek series (TOS) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), the existence of the United Federation Of Planets provided a perfect excuse to ignore (human) race and racism completely. The Trek franchise has always featured black actors and actresses, well developed Black characters, and TOS even featured the first televised interracial kiss in the episode “Plato’s Kiss.” Both shows dismissed racism on Earth as being as outdated as using money, instead highlighting racial politics between alien species rather than humans.

This model may have continued through DS9 had they hired any other actor to portray Captain Sisko. However, Brooks–a Shakespearean-trained actor, graduate of Oberlin College, and the first African-American to earn an MFA in acting and directing from Rutgers University, where he has also worked as a professor–brought much of himself to the role, and that included an emphasis in the importance of the African-American experience. Even nearly three hundred years in the future. Whether Trek fans were ready for it or not, DS9 brought the topic of race closer to home.

While I suspect that direct tone is one of the reasons DS9 isn’t as popular as its’ predecessors–along with the heavy emphasis on backroom politics instead of “seeking out bold new worlds”–if you didn’t like TNG chances are you’re going to love a show that goes out of its way in the first episode to distinguish Sisko from the already-established Captain Jean-Luc Picard. In the premiere we learn Picard (while under control of the alien species The Borg) had killed Sisko’s wife.

In a meeting between the two, Sisko speaks to Picard in a tone he’s likely never heard from a non-superior officer before, and Sisko’s dislike of the man–and the stationis made apparent. With that, Sisko distinguishes himself immediately in the DS9 pilot as one of the few people with the mettle to speak openly to Picard and to not simply fall under the spell of influence the captain was often written to command. While the scene was likely included to make the segue from TGN to DS9 as smooth as possible, Picard does not exist to emerge as the hero of the scene or to bring Sisko back in line, so to speak. Because Sisko is given his outrage, his choice to accept permanent assignment there later is that much more genuine.

The meeting also introduces what would be one of the series’ most important subplots:  Sisko is a family man in a way that neither Picard or Kirk ever were. He’s a widower with an 11-year old son Jake  (Cirroc Lofton), a situation that was one of the reasons for resisting his assignment to the station.

In William Shatner’s documentary The Captains, Brooks said it was important to him to portray a black father on television that plays an positive role in his son’s life.

“I read the pilot, and said well, this is very interesting to me,” Brooks said. “A man dealing with loss, having to raise a child–indeed a male child–by himself, and be brown as we spin this tale in the 20th century about the 24th century.”

The depiction of the black father continued to be an important dynamic to Brooks through the show’s finale, like when he initially thought they were going to have Sisko abandon his son and unborn child. Upset by this decision he’s quoted as saying, “ The Producers told me, ‘Look we thought you’d be thrilled…The difference, of course, is you have Sisko with another child on the way. You still have Sisko with a young man [Jake Sisko] trying to find his way…That wasn’t fair.” [Shortened for Spoilers].

This view on “Parenting While Black” is unique in sci-fi fantasy television. More often than not in these shows, black parents die off or abandon their children early on in their lives, leaving them unhappy, lonely and hungry for revenge. Brooks’ efforts helped Lofton’s character largely avoid the fate of others like  Robin Wood and Kendra Young (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Charles Gunn (Angel), Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries), and Walt Lloyd (Lost).

Even with an intergalactic war raging around them later in the series, Sisko is always there for Jake. They’re often shown having dinner together and Sisko is always eager to read over and help edit Jake’s stories and articles. He supports Jake’s decision to become a writer instead of going to the Starfleet Academy, even though that’s perhaps what he would have preferred. Episodes like “The Visitor” (guest starring Tony Todd as an older Jake Sisko) and “In the Cards” (where Jake tries to acquire a 1950s baseball card to cheer Sisko up during a stressful week) highlight the strength of the bond and loving relationship between father and son.

With a highly educated and vocal African American actor in the lead it’s no wonder you get get seven seasons of a series that takes his cultural experience to heart; Sisko is specifically written to acknowledge the implications that the color of his skin bring.

Not only are there references to Sisko’s New Orleans heritage, soul food, his love of baseball (particularly players Willie Mayes and Jackie Robinson) and bits of African art we see decorating his quarters, but we see him enter a relationship with an African-American woman, Kasidy Yates, enabling them–and the viewers–to discuss the cultural history of racism, of which Sisko is still acutely aware. In one episode his crew becomes infatuated with visiting “Vic’s,” a holosuite program set in a 1960s Las Vegas casino and lounge,  and Kasidy asks him why he doesn’t want to join his team’s Rat Pack cosplay.

Sisko: You want to know … you really want to know what my problem is? I’ll tell you: Las Vegas 1962, that’s my problem. In 1962, black people weren’t very welcome there. Oh sure, they could be performers or janitors, but customers? Never.
Kasidy: Maybe that’s the way it was in the real Vegas, but that is not the way it is at Vic’s. I have never felt uncomfortable there, and neither has Jake.
Sisko: But don’t you see? That’s the lie. In 1962, the civil rights movement was still in its infancy. It wasn’t an easy time for our people, and I’m not going to pretend that it was.
Kasidy: Baby–I know that Vic’s isn’t a totally accurate representation of the way things were, but… it isn’t meant to be. It shows us the way things could’ve been – the way they should’ve been.
Sisko: We cannot ignore the truth about the past.
Kasidy: Going to Vic’s isn’t going to make us forget who we are or where we came from. What it does is reminds us that we are no longer bound by any limitations–except the ones we impose on ourselves.

It’s a small scene in a 45-minute episode, but the fact that it’s acknowledged is important and more than you get from most genre shows. Sisko is initially displeased with his crew’s little Mad Men fantasy, and he’s allowed to express it, no matter how uncomfortable it might be for the viewer.

During season five, Brooks also tackled nostalgic racism from behind the camera, as director of the episode “Far Beyond The Stars,” which spends an entire 45 minutes dealing with race relations in mid 20th-century America. “Stars” reimagines Sisko as a science fiction writer named Benny Russell working for a racist and sexist New York magazine in the 1950s where racism is present, but more deceptive and innocent, casually rolling off the tongues of people Benny considers friends and colleagues. The magazine refuses to publish his stories about the character Benjamin Sisko, a black starship captain.

When Benny’s editor finally does agree to publish his stories he insists that the stories must be revealed to be the dreams (not the reality) of a poor Black man in their present time–because everyone knows the idea of a black sci-fi hero is that unrealistic. With that, the episode also reminds the viewer that despite the inclusive attitude the Trek franchise has embraced, science-fiction is still very much a white man’s world. For every Octavia Butler there are five Joss Whedons. More pointedly, for every one Captain Sisko, there’s a Captain Picard, Captain Kirk, Han Solo, John Carter, and … well, you get the picture. With Sisko in the lead, DS9 is self-aware and capable of criticising the flaws of its own genre, and that’s something to appreciate.

I’m struck by how much more I understand this show at the age of 24, compared to when I rewatched it at 17, and before that when I originally watched from 1993 to 1999. I was only 11 when the finale aired (and grounded for a good deal of the season, but that’s another issue entirely) and while I vaguely understood the significance of Sisko, I admit to taking his presence–the presence of a starring Black man–on my screen as normal. I like to think that Brooks would have appreciated that, knowing that part of his reasoning for accepting the role of Sisko was his belief that “brown children must be able to participate in contemporary mythology.”

In some ways the 1990s were better landscape for a kid of color to get into science fiction and fantasy. Not only did I have Sisko, there was Carl Lumbly as  M.A.N.T.I.S; Wesley Snipes was Blade; Spawn aired on HBO and was made into a film; Cleopatra 2525 starring Gina Torres debuted in 2000; my favorite book series, Animorphs, starred Black and Latino teens; and Will Smith was king of the summer sci-fi box office.

When one looks at the scope of white genre heroes this isn’t a large number in comparison but, because Sisko was always there, I didn’t feel as if I was lacking for anything. It never occurred to me that the physical and cultural representation I was seeing was unique not only within the Trek franchise, but on television in general. Because, let’s be real: It’s already been 12 years since DS9 ended, and sometimes it’s nice to watch Avery Brooks as Sisko and remember that, yes, we can do that, too.

DS9 Stories/News: Deep Space Comics & Fan Art (6)

While the Federation Alliance launches its final assault against the Dominion, Kira, Garak and Damar launch their own attack against Dominion Headquarters. Meanwhile, Winn and Dukat travel to the Fire Caves to release the Pah-wraith and the crew of Deep Space 9 prepare for great changes to their lives once the war ends.

Seven years ago, Benjamin Sisko took command of an alien space station newly christened Deep Space Nine. There he met Kira Nerys, Odo, Miles O’Brien, Quark, Worf, Julian Bashir, and many others who would touch his life deeply. He also found a new and troubling destiny as the long-awaited Emissary to the mysterious wormhole entities known as the Prophets.

Now, after years of triumph and tragedy, and a cataclysmic war that rocked the entire Alpha Quadrant, Captain Sisko and his valiant crew face their final challenge. No one is safe, nothing is certain, and not even the Prophets can predict the ultimate fate of Deep Space Nine!

Benjamin Sisko and his new crew take control of a former Cardassian space station and make a discovery that will change the galaxy.

Sisko and the crew take a new starship into the Gamma Quadrant to contact the Founders of the Dominion.

When a large Klingon fleet arrives at Deep Space 9 and refuse to clarify their intentions, Sisko enlists the help of Worf.

A novelization of the end of “Call to Arms“, all of “A Time to Stand” and “Rocks and Shoals” and most of Sons and Daughters.

A novelization of the end of “Sons and Daughters” and subsequent episodes “Behind the Lines“, “Favor the Bold” and Sacrifice of Angels.

Benjamin Sisko experiences another life where he is Benny Russell, a talented science fiction writer struggling against the racism of the 1950s.

Without warning, Benjamin Sisko is living another life. No longer a Starfleet captain, commander of space station Deep Space 9, he is Benny Russell, a struggling science fiction writer living in 1950s Harlem. Benny has a dream, of a place called Deep Space Nine and a man named Ben Sisko, and a story he has to tell. But is the Earth of that era ready for a black science fiction hero?

Tales of the Dominion War

For two seasons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine chronicled the intense struggle of the Federation, fighting alongside the Klingons and the Romulans against the overwhelming forces of the Dominion in some of the most exciting hours of television ever produced.

Now, for the first time, see how the Dominion War affected the entirety of the Star Trek universe. From the heart of the Federation to the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. From the front lines of Klingon space to the darkest recesses of the Romulan Empire. From the heroic members of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to the former crew of the USS Stargazer. From the edge of the New Frontier to the corridors of station Deep Space 9.

DS9 Stories/News: Odo & Kira Relationship Review (5)

“The Search Parts 1 & 2″

Review Originally printed in ORACLE

Newsletter July 2010

  ______________________________________

Review written by Mary Shaver

The Odo/Kira Link:

It’s not by accident that many viewers of DS9 envisioned a relationship between these two long before the idea was conceived by the DS9 writing staff. From the series premiere “The Emissary”, Odo and Kira demonstrate a bond of trust and respect that only deepens as the series unfolds. Kira, fiercely loyal to her friends, goes to bat for Odo time and again. There a certain irony that in “A Man Alone,” when Odo is the prime suspect in the murder of the Bajoran Ibudon, the only two people who actively come to his defense are Kira and Quark. Likewise, Odo often acts as Kira’s mentor and adviser, perhaps even her alter-ego. He is her touchstone for burning away Kira’s internal conflicts, helping her to honestly evaluate her motives and actions. Their friendship has already survived a major breech of trust when Kira confesses that she lied to Odo about her guilt in the murder of the Bajoran chemist, Vaatrick (“Necessary Evil”).

Never is this bond more evident than in “The Search”. In an eerie parallel to the events a year earlier (“The Circle”) when Kira is removed as First Officer and Odo angrily lashes out at its gross injustice, so now Kira expresses her outrage at Starfleet’s idiocy. She contrives an implausible reason for Odo to accompany the Defiant crew as they prepare for their foray into the Gamma Quadrant. Odo sees through the fabrication but ultimately uses it as a convenient excuse to accompany the crew on its mission. Kira rants and raves to Sisko about Starfleet’s stupidity in its treatment of Odo and when Odo coolly defies Sisko’s order to take his station on the bridge and Sisko has finally had enough of the Constable’s surly insubordination, it’s Kira who offers to talk to Odo and smooth things over.

Odo’s distress is obvious and although initially reluctant to discuss the matter with Kira, he eventually admits to being drawn to a portion of the Gamma Quadrant called the Omarian Nebula, by forces he doesn’t understand and seemingly can’t control. It’s a big admission for Odo, for whom order and control are paramount. Kira tries to mollify her friend with the offer that she will help him, after they’ve completed their mission but that’s not good enough for Odo. He needs to leave now.

Their conversation is aborted by the Jem’Hadar attack on the Defiant and subsequent boarding of the ship. Odo and Kira fight their way out of Odo’s cabin but Kira is injured in the melee. She wakes up on board a shuttle with Odo and is dismayed when Odo tells her that the last he saw of the Defiant, she was dead in space and that they are not headed back towards the wormhole as she would have thought but instead towards the Omarian Nebula. They land on the only class M planet, a rogue planet and are greeted almost immediately by beings who form out of a pool of amber colored liquid. The “leader” of this small contingent addresses Odo with words he has longed to hear his whole life: “Welcome home”.

The Odo/Female Shapeshifter Link:

If I remember correctly, a few years ago, TVGuide equested an interview with Rene where in they asked him to provide THE defining moment for Odo. Rene in turn solicited the opinions of ORACLE and RAFL members. The overwhelming response was when Odo found his people. With the benefit of hindsight, we can look back to this moment and feel at least some ambivalence, knowing how this discovery will affect Odo, how he will be racked by his conflicting desires and the devastating decision he makes in the end. But those are for other reviews.

Odo’s life up to this point has been dominated by two things – his job and his obsession with finding out who he was, where he came from, if there were others like himself. By all accounts, this fixation began soon after he “awoke” in Mora’s lab and has been an ongoing quest ever since. So, imagine how Odo must feel when he hears those sweet, sweet words: “Welcome home”.

And his rejoinder is equally poignant: “You really are… just like me.”

Understandably, Odo is full of questions. Viewed critically and again with the benefit of hindsight, the answers seem just a little too vague. More on that later. The Female Shapeshifter offers Odo his first taste of the Link, over the objections of one of the other Changelings, all of whom subsequently disappear and do not appear again in the episode. The Link (a merging of their liquid forms together, in this case, only their arms) puts Odo into a trance. When he “comes to”, he tells a concerned Kira that he’s fine and then, breaking into a genuine smile of happiness, acknowledges that he really is home.

Odo’s next encounter with the Female Shapeshifter comes several hours later in an arboretum designed for a Shapeshifter’s pleasure. Kira is with him and here we get our first glimpse of the colossal arrogance common among Changelings (Odo notwithstanding). Kira questions the Female Shapeshifter’s use of the word “Solids”. Her reply is both condescending and disdainful: “Our word for monoforms like yourself who will never experience the joys for the Great Link”. She dismisses Kira both literally and figuratively and speaks directly to Odo – has he made use of the Shapeshifting opportunities offered by the arboretum?” Odo doesn’t know what she is talking about. She tries patiently to explain as though she is speaking to a child and finally concludes in another sideways slap at the “Solids”, that living among humanoids has done him serious damage. He must do more than simply “become a thing”, he must “know that thing, understand it’s existence”.

Evidently this skill is part of what Odo needs to learn in order to qualify for entry into the Great Link. She presses a rock into his hand and leaves him to contemplate her words. Odo eventually returns to the shuttlecraft to regenerate. He’s frustrated and depressed. He can mimic the various forms but he stills has no idea what being those forms “feels” like. Kira tries to be understanding but she is as confused as Odo.

After regenerating, Odo returns to the Changeling garden to hopefully learn more from the Female Shapeshifter. The beginning of this scene never made it to the final cut but is revealing of the evolving relationship between these two.

The Female Shape-shifter is seated before an ornate water fountain we haven’t seen before. She studies it carefully, pleased with what she’s seeing. She runs her hand through the water.

Female Shape-Shifter (addressing the fountain):

That’s very good, Odo. Now don’t worry about holding your shape… you will. Just let go. Allow yourself to feel the texture of the stone, the warmth of the water. Allow it to become real to you.

A beat then the fountain begins to MORPH back into Odo.

Female Shape-Shifter (watching Odo morph):

How do you feel?”

Odo (who has MORPHED back into his humanoid form):

Like a baby learning to walk

(off her look)

It’s a Solid’s expression.

Female Shape-Shifter:

You have lived among them too long.

(Is it my imagination or is there something decidedly sensual about the way the Female Shapeshifter interacts with Odo in the form of that water fountain? A scene I would love to have viewed!)

Odo commences with more questions, notably, why his people dislike Solids. Odo’s own experiences have been that many are kind, decent people. The Female Shapeshifter picks up on this immediately and asks if he is referring to Major Kira. Odo acknowledges that he is. This seems to confirm her suspicions that Kira is a potential rival for Odo’s affections.

More questions from Odo and more obscure, vague answers. Of interest in this conversation is that part way through, the Female Shapeshifter displays a significant change in her demeanor. Up to this point, she has been patient, serene and some would say almost maternal, in her interactions with Odo. But suddenly there is a shift. She goes all a twitter, tremulous, like a teenage girl about to go out on her first date. Her voice becomes elevated and slightly quavering and her mannerisms display a nervous flutter. When Odo says “It’s (referring to his homeworld)… different than I imagined it would be”, she responds with what can only be described as a bald faced come-one, riddled with sexual overtones: “Whatever you imagined… I promise, it will be better…”. She then initiates what will become a full-fledged Link, as their two bodies liquefy into one.

The running script described their “torsos undulating in liquid rhythm” as they melt together, becoming a “column of swaying shapeshifters…”. It doesn’t take too much imagination to see what’s going on here (canonical evidence for the sexual nature of this encounter can be found in “A Simple Investigation” where Odo tells Arissa, “Once on my homeworld, I had an experience you would consider sexual”.

DS9 Stories/News: Learning to Love Star Trek, Part 37: “Past Prologue”

Source: http://scifiblock.com/features/blog/learning-to-love-star-trek-part-37-past-prologue.htm

By Robert Ring, Tue, 09/21/2010 – 08:51

“Learning to Love Star Trek” is a weekly blog series by Sci-Fi Block Editor in Chief Robert Ring, begun January 1, 2010. In this series of blog posts, Robert is endeavoring to determine whether he can make a Star Trek fan out of himself through an exposure to a combination of episodes from Star Trek the Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Click here to read his introduction to the experiment.

My second exposure to Deep Space Nine has been as enjoyable as the first. These are real people dealing with real situations and, as opposed to what I have so far seen of the Original Series and The Next Generation, they are forced to make tough decisions. No escaping things here via a fluke that just happens to make everything okay. This is what I love in fiction. I have a feeling DS9 and I are going to get along just fine.

Following the two-part season premiere, which worked mostly to establish the show’s premise, this next episode, though it opens a few plot points and conflicts that will definitely come into play later, is mostly self-contained. A Cardassian ship enter’s DS9 space firing upon a Bajoran ship, the pilot of which is seeking political asylum from his pursuers who claim him to be a terrorist. Naturally, Major Kira, as a Bajoran, is caught in the middle of this. The episode essentially tests her loyalty — whether she has committed it strictly to her own people or to the more pluralistic Federation as a whole.

Kira goes under some slight development during the course of the episode. She starts off telling Sisko right-out that her loyalty lies with the Bajoran people. She, therefore, wants to protect this terrorist at all cost, despite the fact that he has lead attacks against the Cardassians even after the war has ended. Sisko, on the other hand, plays the situation objectively even though he dislikes the Cardassians for many reasons. This, of course, upsets Kira and brings rise to more tension between the two. Conflicts such as these often result in rewarding stories, and that is what happens here.

Despite Kira’s eventual decision to side with Sisko on the matter, she belies a bias toward Bajoran interests as she at continually seems embarrassed to be serving Starfleet. This is what I find to be the best element of this particular story. Upon seeing Tahna near the episode’s beginning, Kira at several points feels the need to explain to him, in apologetic terms, why she’s serving on Deep Space Nine. Later, after she prevents him from destroying the entrance to the wormhole and effectually forces him to surrender to Sisko, she tells him, “I had to do this,” almost as though she’s seeking his forgiveness or understanding. When he responds with, “Traitor,” she looks genuinely upset by the word. Kira ultimately makes the right decisions in this episode, but she is conflicted in doing so.

Odo is developed a bit, here, too. He at one point ponders aloud to Sisko, “Cardassian rule may have been oppressive, but at least it was simple.” This is a fairly generic “Maybe there’s something good about dictatorships”-type statement, but the fact that it’s made by the station’s constable is slightly eerie. Then there’s the scene where he spies upon Tahna and the Klingon sisters while in the form of a rat, and this action, Big Brother-ish as it is, becomes concerning as well, even though he’s currently spying only on the bad guys. I kinda like this guy so far, but he also makes me uneasy. From a writing standpoint, his character is being established perfectly. We like him now because he’s on our side, but what happens if he begins spying on and holding borderline tyrannous sentiments against good guys? That’s how you create an intriguing character. Give us reasons to like or dislike him/her and then test those proclivities.

Again, my exposure has been limited, but in TOS and TNG, what I’ve seen so far are mostly simple adventure stories set in space, backed by superb acting. Sure, the writers often come up with some intriguing ideas, and sometimes they see those ideas through to the end, but what they overwhelmingly have done is inject those ideas into the beginning of an adventure-oriented plot so that by the time we’ve gotten to the end, the ideas have fizzled out amidst the adventure. “Past Prologue,” on the other hand, sticks to its guns. The ideas it brings up remain present and prevalent until the end. That’s all I ask: that the moral conflicts actually come to some sort of conclusion.