Lynch's Year-End Review, Pt. II: DS9 Season 5
Timothy W. Lynch
WARNING: This article has spoilers for the entire fifth season (and
possibly seasons before) of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". Proceed at
your own risk.
[continued from part I]
II. DS9 Season 5 -- General Commentary |
-----------------------------------------+
If you asked me about a third of the way through re-watching season
5 how I thought DS9 was doing compared to season 4, I probably
wouldn't have been very hopeful. Although they'd had three excellent
shows ("The Ship", "Nor the Battle to the Strong", and "Trials and
Tribble-ations"), one of them was clearly a one-time type of episode --
and the remainder of the season so far had been punctuated by some
truly dreadful work ("Looking for Par'mach in All the Wrong Places"
and especially "Let He Who is Without Sin") and much that just
wasn't quite measuring up to what it really should have been, with
both "Apocalypse Rising" and "Things Past" falling short of their
goals. Early on, season 5 wasn't exactly leaving a sour taste in my
mouth, but I was anticipating another season where I'd be frustrated at
least as often as I was really satisfied.
That began to change with "Rapture", and as I continued watching the
season over again, I noticed how much of it felt like pieces coming
together in ways that DS9 usually hasn't managed. In season 4,
heralded by many as DS9's best season, there were a lot of pieces in
the air -- but they were scattered and fractured. There was a Bajor
story, then a Klingon story, then a Maquis story, then a Dominion
story ... and there wasn't much of a hint about how, or even if, these
things related to each other on a grand scale.
For about the latter two-thirds, and particularly the last half, of season
5, that changed. From "Rapture", a Bajor story and an excellent one,
we got prophecies which set up some of the events later in the season.
More importantly, the Purgatory/Inferno 2-parter tied a lot of threads
together. Suddenly, a Cardassian story *is* a Dominion story, and
the renewed Federation/Klingon alliance means that we're less likely
to get Klingon stories happening in a vacuum. From there, we got the
new order on Cardassia as established by "Ties of Blood and Water",
an example of Klingons adjusting to the Jem'Hadar threat in "Soldiers
of the Empire", and especially the final two episodes of the season,
which set up both situations and characters in very complex ways
which you could nonetheless envision happening.
The best example of that on a character level would be Kai Winn. At
the start of the season, she was still a "bad guy" -- a very effective one
when used properly, but still a symbol of religious fanaticism and the
threat it could pose to rational people. "Rapture" fleshed out her
character better than any show ever had; it made her fanaticism
understandable, and even sympathetic -- sympathetic to such a degree
that you felt for her by the time her dilemma in "In the Cards" raised
its head. That's a real achievement, and one which I respect quite a
lot.
What's more, the concern I had about using the Founders and
Jem'Hadar as one giant all-powerful uninteresting villain for the
Federation has *also* been assuaged, this time as a result of the
Cardassian/Dominion alliance. In one stroke, that alliance makes the
enemies seem more real, since Gul Dukat's about as three-dimensional
a villain as Trek ever gets, and also shows enough of the Dominion's
power structure to suggest where future strains will lie. That's rather
nice.
So, in terms of creating an overall sense of *progress* in the show
and in the Trek universe, I think season 5 has been a gigantic step up
-- the events are starting to pile up on each other in such a way that a
bigger picture can be seen. Events, while not always being set up to
make them seem truly expected, are at least seeming to build up on
one another plausibly, and fallout from the more earth-shattering
events is starting to happen a little more often.
So does that mean I'm satisfied? Hell, no. :-)
While fallout from major plot-related events is getting handled more
easily, there are a wide assortment of character changes that have not
fared so well, and they're making the characters seem more like plot
devices at times than actual people.
First and foremost, there's the revelation that Bashir had been replaced
by a Changeling for a month. This means that he helped deliver
Kira's baby (to say nothing of the weeks leading up to the birth), that
he helped Sisko through his visions in "Rapture", and most
importantly, that he was the one monitoring the health of the infant
Changeling that wound up giving Odo back his powers. That means
Kira should wonder about the last month of her pregnancy, Sisko
should wonder if "Bashir" overstated the dangers so as to prevent
Sisko from seeing too much of future events, and Odo should *very
strongly* wonder how much of the events of "The Begotten" were
really coincidental. Instead, we got a joke from O'Brien about how he
should have seen through it, because the faux-Bashir was so much
easier to get along with. Feh.
Along similar lines, there's the revelation that Bashir (the real one) had
been genetically enhanced and altered as a child. Given the Federation
prohibition on such alteration, it's pretty reasonable to suppose that
there are some people on the station, Starfleet or otherwise, who will
have a real problem with Bashir's continued presence. You could
argue that only the senior staff knows, except that O'Brien talking
about it loudly at Quark's sort of puts a damper on that. Again, you'd
expect a reaction that we haven't seen.
Also, there have been a few occasions within the series when
characters take actions which are ... questionable from a moral point
of view. Sisko's poisoning of a planet in "For the Uniform" and
Kira's endangering the life of the O'Briens' baby to satisfy a personal
vendetta in "The Darkness and the Light" come to mind as obvious
examples. In both cases, the actions may well have been justified at
the time -- but that doesn't alter in the least the fact that *someone*
should be upset by them. O'Brien should have given Kira major grief
about "The Darkness and the Light", and I'd be surprised if
*someone* on board the Defiant hadn't gotten upset about Sisko's
seeming villainy and contacted higher-ups in Starfleet. For us to miss
seeing things like that means that at times, the writers are still taking
the easy way out, counting on the viewers not to mind -- but if
characters *don't* react like that on a personal level, they seem less
realistic. It's nowhere near the level of the "Stepford crew" problem
that drove me off "Voyager" last year, but it's the same type -- if the
stories ever falter, you need to have realistically drawn characters to
fall back on, and each non-reaction like this leaves the characters a
little emptier, even ones so expertly written within a show and
beautifully acted as, say, O'Brien.
[I could also mention Worf's actions in "Let He Who is Without Sin"
here, but that show was just so unquestionably awful that I'm trying
to avoid it altogether.]
Given this, it's interesting that some of the most realistic characters are
ones we don't see as often as the regular cast. Jake would be one of
them -- yes, he's in the opening credits, but we only see him every
third show or so. Regardless, his actions have been very consistent
with his character and very understandable from as far back as
"Explorers" in season 3 -- and he's just young enough and out of the
global-politics loop enough that he doesn't need to react to a lot of the
characters' more extreme actions. Another would be Gul Dukat,
whose evolution from villain to freedom fighter to would-be
conqueror has also been pretty well laid out, and who has rarely had
lapses where one has to wonder how he got from point A to point B.
(Most of those lapses were back in season 3, actually; this year, things
have worked very well.) It might be one of the advantages of such a
gigantic recurring cast.
As far as problems in characterization above and beyond the long-
running one that always bugs me, there's been some progress and
some backsliding. The progress belongs to Kira: she was the one I
thought was most hurt by Worf's addition in season 4, relegated to
confidante, love interest, or laughingstock status too much of the time.
This year, that was mostly taken away -- yes, her pregnancy was used
for its share of bad plotting ("The Begotten" very high on the list), but
her strong will and her devotion to Bajoran religion also came through
far better than they did in most of season 4.
Worf, on the other hand, has fallen into a trap, albeit one that even a
few characters have pointed out. It's been established time and time
again that he's generally more straitlaced than most Klingons, which
is sensible. Fine; all well and good. But that doesn't mean he has to
be the biggest pain in the ass in all of Klingon history, and for much
of season 5 that's been his role. Whether it was playing a reluctant
Cyrano in "Looking for Par'mach in all the Wrong Places", breaking
every law of Risa and common decency in "Let He Who is Without
Sin", or tut-tutting at Dax gossiping in "A Simple Investigation",
Worf spent much of the season acting like the stereotypical old maiden
aunt, going on so much about everyone else's behavior that you can't
see anything else. Episodes like "Soldiers of the Empire" later in the
season helped, and there were moments here and there which gave
Worf some other character traits ("Rapture" in particular helped), but
Worf needs to get out of the holier-than-thou trap he's in.
Other new trends:
-- Waste extraction. At least half a dozen episodes had a reference to
waste extraction this season; may I ask why? I'd love to blame a
particular writer or set thereof, but at least four different writing teams
tossed references in, so I can only assume it's the current DS9 phrase
du jour. What, did the bathroom in the writers' offices just get
refurbished or something?
-- Romance. For good or ill, there have been a *lot* of romantic
relationships on DS9 this season, for one episode or several:
Sisko/Kasidy Yates, Kira/Odo, Kira/Shakaar, Kira/O'Brien (Miles,
that is), Miles/Keiko, Odo/Arissa, Dax/Worf, Quark/Grilka,
Rom/Leeta, Bashir/Leeta, Zimmerman/Leeta, Garak/Ziyal, Ishka/Zek,
and undoubtedly Morn/Ensign Pran offscreen. Some of those have
worked -- Kira/Odo is one of them for a change (at least by the end of
this season), and Dax/Worf has had its moments ("A Call to Arms"
being chief among them). However, all too many of the others have
been excuses for bad sitcom-style plotting (e.g. Rom/Leeta), to
indulge in innuendo-laden dialogue (Quark/Grilka), to indulge in bad
Harlequin Romance dialogue (Odo/Arissa), or simply to keep
unpleasant characters on the screen longer than I personally would like
to see them (Ishka/Zek or Rom/Leeta). Not having tried to write
romance dialogue for Trek, I don't know exactly why it's so difficult,
but it seems to be the single most common type of situation that falls
flat. I said the same thing about humorous episodes a few years ago,
though, and the last two years have seen a dramatic increase in their
quality (Ferenginar-based shows aside), so perhaps some surprises
will come to pass later on.
(And as a "passing of the torch", a hearty "bon voyage" to long-time
DS9 staffer Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and a "welcome" to David Weddle
and Bradley Thompson.)
I think that about covers it. DS9's fifth season has had its ups and
downs, but more improvements than collapses -- I think not having a
sudden retooling at the start of the season, as happened in seasons 3
and 4, has helped everyone plan the show out much more clearly and
effectively than has been done for years, possibly ever. It's not
perfect, by any means -- what show ever is? -- but it's very often in
there *trying* to do something interesting and trying to improve itself,
which comes through clearly and helps a lot. I hope that season 6 can
continue to build on the successes of season 5, and a run of quality
like the last third of season 5 would make for a truly marvelous year.
Until next year, then -- like Sisko, I'll be back. Onwards!
Tim Lynch (Harvard-Westlake School, Science Dept.)
tly...@alumni.caltech.edu <*>
"... but now ... now nothing is certain."
"Makes life interesting, doesn't it?"
-- "Rapture"
--
Copyright 1997, Timothy W. Lynch. All rights reserved, but feel free to ask...
This article is explicitly prohibited from being used in any off-net
compilation without due attribution and *express written consent of the
author*. Walnut Creek and other CD-ROM distributors, take note.
ANGELA HEADLEY
Junsok Yang wrote:
>
> I haven't actually gone back and counted them, but it felt like more
> episodes improved from its original grade to the final grade for this season
> of DS9 than any of Tim's Trek review in the past (TNG, DS9 and VOY).
>
> Happen to have the stats, Tim? :)
>
> --
> ***********************************************************************
>
Yeah, I also widened my eyes when a few of the grades went up over the
initial grade during the season.
To criticize the critic, lighten up just a teeny tiny bit. Sit back and
let yourself be entertained just a little more. The writers are really
trying. Be just as loud with your positive, as you are with the
negative.
And another thing, Ron Moore has stated that the Leeta/Rom romance is
going to stay. Tim, look at it this way, is there not someone in every
type of community that's just annoying, you really can't stomach for too
long, just goes against the grain? The writers certainly think that Rom
and Leeta belong in the DS9 community, for Pete's sake everyone in the
24th century can't be intelligent, beautiful, interesting, mysterious,
or ominous. Maybe instead of just slamming the entire concept of Leeta
and Rom, your reviews should broaden to critique the characters within
their own scope, or just try to ignore them.
A faithful reader,
Angie
Lasher
ANGELA HEADLEY <headley...@bah.com> wrote in article
<33F0A9...@bah.com>...
> And another thing, Ron Moore has stated that the Leeta/Rom romance
is
> going to stay. Tim, look at it this way, is there not someone in
every
> type of community that's just annoying, you really can't stomach
for too
> long, just goes against the grain? The writers certainly think
that Rom
> and Leeta belong in the DS9 community, for Pete's sake everyone in
the
> 24th century can't be intelligent, beautiful, interesting,
mysterious,
> or ominous. Maybe instead of just slamming the entire concept of
Leeta
> and Rom, your reviews should broaden to critique the characters
within
> their own scope, or just try to ignore them.
I have to defend Tim's position on Leeta/Rom. Critiquing the
characters within their own scope is okay, but when you hate the
scope they're being confined in (namely "trite sitcom/soapish hijinx
for jumbo fun") it's downright impossible to be charitable.
Ignoring them is equally impossible, at least this season, because
they got so much air time devoted to them. "Doctor Bashir, I
Presume", an otherwise fine piece of work, was torpedoed by Rom and
his topless bride-to-be. Their childish antics in "Ferengi Love
Songs" made a bad episode even worse. Leeta was a minor
co-conspirator in that Risa malignancy we saw during November sweeps.
And those are just their major appearances; we've seen them peppered
throughout the season and put to no good use whatsoever.
Leeta is basically an overwritten attachment for a recurring
character, and a poorly-written one at that. Meanwhile, Rom seems to
fluctuate between extremes--either he's on top of the situation, or
he's an addle-minded moron, but never anywhere in between. Rom had
some promise in "The Bar Association", but right now his character is
more of the comic book variety. I can't find much to like about Rom
anymore, I never liked Leeta at all, and they're even worse when
they're playing off each other.
I can overlook annoying characters. I ignored Wesley, I ignored
Nog's first few years, and I can ignore Worf and Ziyal now. I wish I
could ignore Leeta and Rom, I really wish I could.
Paul S. Manson
Thank you for all your efforts.
They make for interesting reading and are, as always, much appreciated.
More, please <g>
Again, thanks
Paul
Junsok Yang
I haven't actually gone back and counted them, but it felt like more
episodes improved from its original grade to the final grade for this season
of DS9 than any of Tim's Trek review in the past (TNG, DS9 and VOY).
Happen to have the stats, Tim? :)
--
***********************************************************************
i = 1;
while (i <= HellFreezesOver) {
printf("All Work and No Play Makes Junsok a Dull Boy.");
i = i + 1; }
Junsok Yang (junso...@yale.edu)
Eric C West
In article <33F0A9...@bah.com>, ANGELA HEADLEY wrote:
>Yeah, I also widened my eyes when a few of the grades went up over the
>initial grade during the season.
>To criticize the critic, lighten up just a teeny tiny bit. Sit back and
>let yourself be entertained just a little more. The writers are really
>trying. Be just as loud with your positive, as you are with the
>negative.
I'm puzzled: people notice that Tim has "changed" his opinion of many
episodes for the better, then they criticize him for not being *more*
positive? What would they have him do, *lower* his grades? :)
[Of course, he *did* lower his grades for some of the episodes, and his
practice of modifying grades in the season wrap-up is hardly new, so I'm
equally puzzled why anyone was surprised in the first place, but that's
another topic.]
For what it's worth, I think Tim is usually one of the more positive
reviewers around (Voyager excepted, of course). He certainly doesn't fall
into the "this rocked/this sucked" dichotomy that pervades many of the
other posts. He also shouldn't have to ignore Rom/Leeta if he truly
believes their scenes dull the episodes in which they appear -- but I'll
let him address that if he cares to.
(BTW, Tim, I'm referring to you as "he" because I'm addressing Angela, not
you -- except for now, of course, when I'm addressing you, not her. Wait a
minute...I'm confused now.) My own oft-promised season reviews are still
"coming up"; I'll even see if I can figure out how to get them on
r.a.s.reviews as well. Then Tim can bash me back all he wants.
Timothy W. Lynch
ANGELA HEADLEY <headley...@bah.com> writes:
[some snippage]
>And another thing, Ron Moore has stated that the Leeta/Rom romance is
>going to stay. Tim, look at it this way, is there not someone in every
>type of community that's just annoying, you really can't stomach for too
>long, just goes against the grain?
Sure. Do I deliberately choose to spend time with them? No.
And that's what we're all being asked to do with the renewed emphasis
on this pair, I'm afraid.
Eric West and Lasher have both said all I really need to on the issue.
I certainly understand if you don't agree with me on Rom/Leeta, or
indeed on many things I say in my reviews -- I've never claimed to be
all-knowing or a source of universal truth. (Well ... *almost* never.
:-) ) But by the same token, I don't think you really are in a
position to tell me what I should or should not say. Disagree with me
and argue with me all you like!
Tim Lynch
Timothy W. Lynch
junso...@yale.edu (Junsok Yang) writes:
> I haven't actually gone back and counted them, but it felt like more
>episodes improved from its original grade to the final grade for this season
>of DS9 than any of Tim's Trek review in the past (TNG, DS9 and VOY).
> Happen to have the stats, Tim? :)
I do now; thanks for giving me more work. Hmph. :-)
I'm starting with TNG's fourth season since that's the first one where
a season-end review still exists.
Season: #Up/#Down/#Same
TNG4 4/17/5
TNG5 6/11/9
TNG6 5/11/9 (plus one "not available")
TNG7 2/14/10 (counting the finale as 2)
DS9-1 8/9/3 (counting "Emissary" as 2)
DS9-2 7/10/9
DS9-3 5/13/8
DS9-4 5/17/4 (counting "The Way of the Warrior" as 2)
DS9-5 12/10/4
VOY-1 3/12/1 (counting "Caretaker" as 2)
VOY-2 11/11/4
So yes, this one did have a greater number of season-end jumps up than
ever before, both in flat numbers and in percentages. I suspect
that's because I've gotten used to being disappointed and have started
compensating in the initial reviews, but it's also to the season's
credit that it hangs together so well in a recap.
Tim Lynch
Maureen Goldman
> ANGELA HEADLEY <headley...@bah.com> writes:
>
> [some snippage]
>
> >And another thing, Ron Moore has stated that the Leeta/Rom romance is
> >going to stay. Tim, look at it this way, is there not someone in every
> >type of community that's just annoying, you really can't stomach for too
> >long, just goes against the grain?
>tly...@alumnae.caltech.edu (Timothy W. Lynch) wrote:
> Sure. Do I deliberately choose to spend time with them? No.
> And that's what we're all being asked to do with the renewed emphasis
> on this pair, I'm afraid.
To me, the war situation is the sort of thing that calls at some point
for the death of an innocent party. My bet is on Leeta - say, she
comes to the station to surprise her new husband. She is known, yet
not particularly important.
This might be wishful thinking, mind.
--
Maureen Goldman
To reply, please remove fog.