DS9 Stories/News: Of Trek and War (1)

Source: http://www.goth.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14138&f=20

This is based on an idea from DarklyInclined, who was wondering how I might rate the rather protracted Dominion War featured in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine versus the one-season Xindi conflict (a subset of the much larger Temporal Cold War) as shown in Star Trek: Enterprise. I thought I’d also open the topic up to other wars in Trek, since those two weren’t quite the only wars shown in all of the series.

This will be a lengthy post. I’ve been working on it for a while now. I tend to write essays instead of simple replies; apologies in advance. Non-Trekkies who don’t really give a shit might want to head for another thread. For those Trekkies not well-versed in the subject matter, I will include links to pertinent data where applicable. Those who do choose read this, please bear with me.

You could make it more fun by taking a shot of your favorite alcoholic beverage anytime I bash Rick Berman & Brannon Braga (two of Trek’s longtime writers/producers, both of whom were blamed for Star Trek’s demise and the early cancellation of Enterprise, if not the near-total downfall of UPN itself) or anytime I mention Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr (two longtime Trek scribes who later moved on to Battlestar Galactica on SyFy) in a positive light. You’ll be happily plastered by post’s end.

Which did you think was done best: the Dominion War from DS9 or the Xindi conflict from Enterprise (or a different conflict featured in one of the other series, like the Klingon/Federation Cold War from TOS or the brief war against the Klingons in DS9 that served as a prelude to the Dominion War)?

Or, for a much more broad, open-ended question (if it suits you): do you think Star Trek handles a mature subject such as war well or poorly?

Dominion War

If you really don’t care about my lengthy diatribe on the Dominion War vs. the Xindi conflict (maybe because you didn’t live your entire life in your parents’ basement and you actually did have a social life), just skip past this and post your response already. Otherwise, feel free to keep reading.

Eh..?

I’ll open the discussion with my response…

…

I think Deep Space Nine handled the Dominion War fairly well. They didn’t just rush into it head-on. The writers gave it a great build-up, slowly tip-toeing into it, mentioning the Dominion here and there throughout Season Two (the Dominion were first mentioned in “Rules of Acquisition“, a Ferengi episode, no less!) before introducing us to their foot soldiers, the genetically-grown Jem’Hadar, in the Season 2 finale. Even after that, the Dominion didn’t quite take center stage yet, opting instead for a Cold War against the Alpha Quadrant powers, during which they covertly started two wars involving the Klingons – a war between the Klingons and the Cardassians (which the Maquis would get involved in) and renewed hostilities between the Klingons and the Federation. After destabilizing the Alpha Quadrant’s major powers, the Dominion finally invaded. Brilliant tactic! By then, the Federation was so shell-shocked from having to deal with wars on all borders (save the Romulan Neutral Zone) that they barely had the resources to fight the Dominion, a nigh-unstoppable force compared to the Federation.

Jem’Hadar

The Dominion seemed militarily superior in all respects: non-stop construction of warships while the Federation was still trying to convert aging exploration vessels into battleships; they could grow Jem’Hadar at an exponential rate (and even tailor-make them for warfare in that part of the galaxy) while Starfleet couldn’t recruit new officers fast enough; the Dominion were united while Starfleet was divided between the pacifists and the war-mongers (usually represented by a shadowy “rogue” group of Starfleet Intelligence called Section 31, a sort of Starfleet “Men in Black” that utilized very dirty tactics like assassinations, cover-ups and even genocide to preserve the Federation; this was the series’ attempt at exploring a darker side of Starfleet that I, for one, appreciated). Good mix of drama, tension and action all around, plus it was an interesting examination of the Federation through darker lenses than we’re used to.

Section 31

While Deep Space Nine’s executive producer, Rick Berman (Roddenberry’s hand-picked successor), wanted the Dominion War to last only three or four episodes tops, DS9′s lead writers – Ira Steven Behr and Ronald D. Moore (themselves chosen by Berman for their outstanding work on The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, both of whom would later helm the Battlestar Galactica reboot and create its prequel series Caprica) – conned him into allowing the Dominion War to play out until its “natural” end, which came during the final episode of the series. Say what you will about the Dominion War as a storyline and how it diverges from Roddenberry’s utopian vision of the future or about Deep Space Nine as a series, I think the Dominion War worked successfully (mostly), given its purpose as a method of deconstructing Roddenberry’s notions of the Federation as a utopian society. Ira Steven Behr re-imagined Deep Space Nine as a darker, grittier version of Roddenberry’s vision, and given how the series was written before that (set aboard a Cardassian space station by Michael Pillar – the brain behind some of the best TNG episodes ever, including “The Best of Both Worlds” – who imagined the series as a “frontier town in space” filled with broken individuals, former terrorist “freedom fighters”, orphaned aliens and unscrupulous bartender/merchants), the series worked well as such. The Dominion War, while I admit it was rather protracted (and ultimately weakened the hell out of Season 7, when the writers had to figure out a quick way to end the war in only one season after building the story arc to be a lengthy epic), worked overall as the ultimate test of Roddenberry’s dream.

When such a dream – the notion of humankind striving to better itself through peace and cooperation – is threatened by outside forces, what will humanity endure to protect it? The approach to this was very realistic, from the major portions of the story (“Operation Return“, the re-taking of DS9 after it was taken over by the Dominion) to the humdrum day-to-day stuff (Sisko’s grim ritual of posting casualty reports from the war every Friday). Ultimately, the war took a bitter toll on everyone involved, especially Captain Sisko; he would later commit acts that many Trek fans consider cardinal sins against Roddenberry’s lofty ideals – specifically helping a former Cardassian spy murder a Romulan senator in cold blood and blame the Dominion for it in the masterpiece episode “In the Pale Moonlight” – just to bring a quicker resolution to the war by bringing the Romulans into it. By the series’ end, the Federation is saved, and all the major goals of the series – bringing an end to the Cardassian threat and putting Bajor on the fast-track to membership in the Federation – have been met, along with the added bonus of creating a tentative peace between the Federation, the Klingons and the Romulans. Additionally, Ira Steven Behr was able to inject a bit of Judaism into the story through the Bajorans and their Emissary (messiah figure), Benjamin Sisko, whose story arc Behr based loosely on Moses.

DS9 Stories/News: Boss Chicks: Female Changeling (aka “Gertrude”)

Source: http://www.amaya-radjani.com/2011/11/boss-chicks-female-changeling-aka.html

One of the many races that Deep Space Nine introduced the world to was the Changelings.  Changelings are shapeshifters.  One of the major characters on DS9 is the changeling Odo, the space station’s security chief.  Odo’s pretty badass; if you could change into anything at will, you’d better be a badass.  But having been around humans, Odo has developed some empathy and respect for them, as well as the ability to love.

Odo questioned his origins for many years; as far as he knew he was the only one of his kind.  But in Season 3, he found himself drawn to a rogue planet hidden inside a nebula.  The inhabitants of the planet turned out to be a race of Changelings, in their default liquid form.  The leader of the Changelings was a female.  She had no name, so I took to calling her Gertrude.  Gertrude is played to the T by Salome Jens.  Gertrude tells Odo that their race was once hunted by the “solids” (her term for humanoids) and they sought solace and peace on the rogue planet.  Determined to make sure that never happened again, Gertrude instigated a plan to take over the galaxy.

Mind you, girls & boys, this sorta thing ain’t for the short-sighted or half-assed.  Old Gert was a master manipulator and literally did not give a shit about any other race other than her own.  Gertrude felt that her race was superior above all others and there was an underlying hatred and mistrust of all humanoid cultures.  She founded the Dominion and instigated a bloody, genocidal war across the Alpha & Gamma quadrants, taking over many planetary systems in a serious effort to protect her people at all costs.  The Dominion, ran by the Founders (the Changelings), was a major political power and the sworn enemy of the Federation.  Gertrude coordinated the war efforts which resulted in the deaths of over 800 million people.  She was so completely bad-ass that she negotiated deals with several cultures (Cardassia and Breen, to name a couple), and promptly reneged on them once her objective was met…and they couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

One might ask how it was possible for Getrude to run half of the galaxy on her own?  She didn’t.  The Founders cloned thousands of loyal assistants called Vorta, who in turn cloned millions of warriors called Jem’Hadar, who were literally built to fight.  They ensured the loyalty of the Jem’Hadar by instilling an addiction to ketracel-white (cocaine) in their genetic makeup.  If any race decided to get up to some chicanery and cause problems, Gertrude sent the Jem’Hadar in to literally destroy their entire population.  This kept societies firmly under Dominion rule.

Gertrude was focused on bringing order to the galaxy (meaning other cultures would serve the will of the Founders or face genocide) and it was her justification for the millions of people who died in the war.  She had no regard for life itself, and ordered the execution of many innocent individuals, even children, regardless of whether they were actual participants in the war or bystanders.  Even Vorta & Jem’Hadar, her personal army, selflessly sacrificed themselves and she…did…not…give…a…fuck.  Even when it was clear the Dominion was going to lose the war (thanks to Kira’s terrorist efforts), Gertrude did not order her troops to stand down, but to fight to the last man.  She was comforted knowing that the Dominion War cost the lives of nearly a billion people and the destruction of hundreds of worlds.

Cardassia: Destroyed. By a Boss Chick.

Best lines:

“…because what you can control can’t hurt you.”

“Isn’t it obvious? You may win this war, Commander. But I promise you, by the time it’s over you will have lost so many ships, so many lives, that your victory will taste as bitter as defeat.”

“I would promise the Breen the entire Alpha Quadrant if I thought it would help win this war.”

Earth: Destroyed. By a Boss Chick.

She never once showed remorse and never apologized to anyone for her actions.  I respect the game.  Therefore, she’s a Boss Chick.

DS9 Stories/News: The Blasian Narrative, Doctor Julian Bashir

Source: http://blasiannarrative.blogspot.com/2011/09/star-trek-doctor-julian-bashir.html

by Ankhesen Mié

Let’s go back to DS9 for a moment, shall we?

Sudanese-born, England-raised Siddig el Fadil portrayed the boyishly handsome, genetically enhanced, yet socially naive, British-accented Doctor Julian Bashir.  By about the fourth season, the actor felt forced to change to a stage name, “Alexander Siddig”, because people were having trouble pronouncing the five syllables in “Siddig el Fadil.”

Keep in mind, the man’s full name is Siddig el Tahir el Fadil el Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim el Mahdi…and people were bitching about “Siddig el Fadil”?

*exasperated sigh*

So anyways…there’s that right there to begin with.

Pros:

1) Julian Bashir is an example of what I call “using an actor as the message, not the writing.”  In other words, the writers didn’t cast Fadil and then put words in his mouth to send a message.  His casual, series-regular presence is the message.  You can cast an Asian man to simply play a character.  His being Asian doesn’t have to be the point of the character (unlike with Sulu in the 1960s).

2) Siddig el Fadil was gorgeous; as a young girl, I primarily watched DS9 just to see him (the show so deep it went over my head at the time).  So not only was the Asian actor just playing a regular guy (hear tell, ’tis an Asian actor’s fondest wish in the West), but he was hot, and obviously meant to be a delectable piece of eye candy.  And the British accent totally helped.

3) Dr. Julian Bashir was just that, a doctor, and a damn brilliant one at that.  But we also got to know his hobbies – springball, tennis, darts, battle reenactments in the holodeck, spy stories and debating the merits of literature.

4) DS9 introduced the organization Section 31, the baddest, shrewdest, rogue organization in the Alpha Quadrant, reportedly designed to protect the interests of the Federation by any means necessary.  They put the Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar both to shame…and they recruited Julian Bashir for covert missions.  This is important because while his coworkers viewed him as a youthful, naive, sometimes annoying young man, Section 31 recognized what the audience eventually recognized: Bashir had a keenly analytical, shrewdly suspicious mind with an impeccable attention to detail.  In short, he was the perfect operative.

5) Bashir was most definitely sexual; we saw him numerous times with very beautiful women, ranging from fellow Starfleet officers to sexy Dabo girls.  The show even ended with his being in a long-term, committed relationship (Sulu and Ensign Kim never got that).  Made sense; a man that fine and in his prime wasn’t going to stay single for long.

6) One of the celebrated themes of DS9 was bromance, and we saw Bashir involved in at least two bromantic relationships, which Fadil and his castmates played to hilarious perfection.

Cons:

1) Despite all its brilliance, DS9 often screwed up and primary example of that was revealing that Bashir was a genetically enhanced human being, and that he owed his phenomenal intelligence and exceptional hand-eye coordination to genetic tampering.  It was also revealed that he was basically mentally impaired as a child, and when his parents simply refused to accept him as he was, they broke the law and basically had him rebuilt.  They then re-enrolled him in a new school with falsified records.

Actor Fadil was surprised with this information years into the show; it literally just popped up in the script one day, not having been an original part of his characterization.  It was a pointless subplot which, in a way, took something from Bashir.  It made him extra annoying in a non-cute way, and portrayed his family in an unnecessary bad light (they claimed they did it for his own good, not theirs).  At the subconscious level, it also seemed to tap into the notion that Asian students are basically drones whose academic dedication is unnatural.

At the same time, it was sort of amusing at to think Bashir had politely “dumbed” himself down for years, and passed amongst people as “normal.”

2) Bashir was often described as “annoying” by the other characters, and the older I get, the more I see why.  But I feel there is writing in conflict on the matter; while he’s supposed to be young and naive and eager to please, there’s also this very grave, mature, classiness which Fadil exudes that I feel defines the real Julian Bashir.  One who witnesses much pain and suffering, whose entire career is based on alleviated suffering, and whose compassion is utterly and consistently outstanding, cannot also be naive.  That’s contradictory and self-defeating.  If you’re witnessing births, deaths, and maintaining confidentiality for so many different people, you can’t be too clueless about the universe.

3) Bashir was irritatingly arrogant about his abilities sometimes, which I also feel is contradictory writing, because at times it seemed he was willing to put lives at risk or prolong suffering…simply to prove he could be the one to save them.  No…no, no.  The writers really needed to pick one.  And if they need flaws to balance out his virtues, arrogance was a really poor choice.

Final Verdict:

DS9 was, IMHO, the best of the all Trek series, so I don’t have too many complaints about this character.  One of the things Fadil said he really liked about his role was that people were so fascinated with his character – personality, how he was written, etc. – that they didn’t focus obsessively on his ethnicity.  When people told him or when he read rave reviews about the show, no one ever said how much “they liked that Indian doctor” – they just said they liked the doctor and were in awe of how he was written and portrayed.  This is, I think, a testament to the often excellent writing on that show, and the convincing work on Fadil’s part.

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”.