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Wacky Reviews: Star Trek

I agree about the Bareil episode's shortcomings, but since I've always had a soft spot for the character I was glad for the revisit. I preferred Bareil over stuffy Shakaar as a mate for Kira, plus Bareil looked good shirtless and Shakaar was even less sexy than when he was a candle named Ronan that Beverly blew out. While it made good drama to have Bareil die in S3, I thought it was unnecessary. (I was never in a hurry for Kira and Odo to hook up.) Episodes like Resurrected are like breathers for the show as well as the fans after the war arc plus the wedding. They've done worse.
 
Statistical Probabilities - Four genetically enhanced aspies are brought to the station so Bashir can help them assimilate into society, as Julian can pass a normie. There's a jittery guy called Jack who says "mmm" a lot, an older man named Patrcick, Lauren the man-eater and pale mute Sarina. Jack can do a backflip! He also doesn't want to become a productive member of society because he doesn't like that he was locked up. Bashir has dinner with all the senior staff and tells them he feels sorry for the mutants because he could have ended up like them. There's a discussion on letting mutants join Starfleet (Worf thinks Bashir should be an exception...just because.) Jack hacks into the comm system to call Bashir away. Jack briefly threatens to snap Sarina's neck to get Bashir to do something about a high pitched noise only mutants can hear (O'Brien fixes it.) Damar, the new head of Cardassia, makes a speech on space tv and the mutants are able to piece together his entire backstory just by watching him talk. It's ridiculous of course, just like when Sherlock does it, but fun. Damar and Weyoung are coming to the station for peace talks so Bashir arranges for them to be recorded so Jack's gang can watch them in the holosuite. The mutants deduce that the Dominion want a certain star system for some reason and it's Sarina who works out the system contains the ingredients for Katracel-white. Sisko is going to tell Starfleet not to give them the system but Bashir says they should give them the system because if they don't the Dominion will attack right away. He advises stalling until the Romulans join the war on the Federation side. He tries to explain to Sisko that the mutant can see what will happen in the future through their analyses, like in Asimov's 'Foundation' series.

The mutants have a party and Patrick dances a waltz in a silly hat. O'Brien comes in and Patrick wants to put a hat on him, but O'Brien refuses and makes Patrick cry. Bad O'Brien! Jack and Lauren do their mind-reading thing to deduce that O'Brien misses Bashir and wants to "play" with him while his wife is away. They play darts and Bashir reveals that he's going to recommend that Starfleet take the mutantson as advisors. The mutants come up with a new projection: the Federation is going to lose the war. Bashir goes to Sisko and tells him they'll have to surrender and naturally this doesn't go down well. Bashir explains that there will eventually be a Federation resistance on Earth that will overthrow the Dominion in a few hundred years. Sisko makes a speech about how it's better to fight and lose than give up. Bashir shows the statistics to O'Brien who doesn't get as angry as Sisko but doesn't want to surrender either and storms out when he thinks Bashir is calling everyone else dumb. Bashir gets drunk and plays Dabo, trying to prove that he'll end up losing eventually. Quark points out that people like to think they have a chance of winning. Jack suggests giving Starfleet battleplans to the Dominion so that the war will end a lot sooner. Millions will die but it would have been billions otherwise. Bashir isn't a fan of this idea at all because actually commiting treason is a lot different to recommending giving up. Jack knocks him out. Bashir is tried to a chair and left alone with Sarina while the others go to meet Weyoun and Damar. Bashir knows Sarina loves Jack and talks her into untying him to stop Jack being arrested. Bashir stops Jack in time. Weyoun finds hiding out in a cargo bay exciting, which is adorable. Jack's group are to be sent back to the Institute together. They think Bashir has doomed the Federation, but Jack points out that Jack didn't know Sarina would untie him and therefore can't possibly know how the war will go. One person can change the course of history. Bashir tells O'Brien he blames himself for trying to prove to the world that the mutants have something to contribute. He plays Dabo again and wins. Bashir sees the mutants before they leave and tells Sarina she did the right thing.

It's a very good episode most of the way. I liked all the discussion about letting the genetically engineered help and it made sense that Bashir would fight for their rights. There's good comedy too when the mutants interact with O'Brien. It does get a bit silly at the end though! Jack actually running off to commit treason is a bit much. If he's such a genius, wouldn't he realisse there's things his equations didn't factor in? And since the Dominion do end up losing the war (spoilers!) it's pretty lucky Bashir stopped him. It kind of makes it seem like the Federation were wise to lock the mutants up all their lives. I guess the idea is that he's so into the statistics that he forgot the human factor but eh.

SCORE: 8.5/10


The Magnificent Ferengi - Quark is telling a story about some impressive deal he made but everyone runs away to talk to the Starfleet officers who have just returned from a dangerous mission. Couldn't Quark tell them about the time he killed two Jem'Hadar to save Kira and the others from being executed? The Nagus calls Quark (offscreen) and Quark reveals to Rom that Moogie has been taken prisoner by the Dominion (for some reason!) and the Nagus wants him to rescue her. Quark and Rom discuss rescuing her (the Nagus has offered a 50 bars of Latinum reward) as they walk aimlessly through ducts and end up in Sisko's office (this is funny.) Quark wants to put together a team of Ferengi to rescue her to prove that Ferengi can be heroes too. They recruit Nog first by offering to make him Strategic Operations Officer (like Worf.) They also sign up a Ferengi assassin named Leck who joins because he wants the chance to kill Jem'Hadar. They next recruit Gaila who's in a Federation prison for the crime of vagrancy (Quark buys him out.) Nog gives a briefing where he insists Leck call him sir. Brunt shows up. He's been kicked out of the FCA and wants to join the mission to impress the Nagus and get his job back. They let him join because he has a spaceship. Nog runs a training mission in the Holosuite. Everything goes wrong and Leck shoots Moogie (to put her out of her misery!) Rom point out that they'll never beat the Dominion in a firefight so they should make a deal instead. The Federation gives Quark a prisoner: Keevan the Vortar from 'Rocks and Shoals' thanks to Kira wanting to pay back Quark for saving her life (rember when Kira hated Quark? Character development!) Keevan tells the Ferengi that they're all going to die.

The trade is to take placeon Empok Nor, which means they can just re-use the DS9 sets. Keevan isn't too happy to be going home as he was supposed to commit suicide when captured. Gaila falls aslee when he's meant to be guarding Keevan and the Vorta gets away. But the Ferengi ship was disabled by Rom anyway and Keevan doesn't escape. An alarm goes off and the Ferengi comically run back to the Infirmary where they set up base camp. They hide out from the Dominion for a while, then remembered that they invited the Dominion to come. Keevan tells them it's a trap and they should run away. Quark, Rom and Nog go out to negoitiate with a Vorta named Yelgrun (bizarrely enough played by Iggy Pop.) Moogie's fine and looks better than ever after ear-lift surgery. Nog cuts Moogie with a knife to prove she isn't a Changeling and she hits him. Quark: Family, you understand. Yelgrun: Not really, I was cloned. The nogoitiation goes well (most of the Jem'Hadar leave) and the Ferengi celebrate, until Rom accidentally lets slip that he and Quark are conning the others out of money. Gaila tries to shoot Quark but hits Keevan who says "I hate Ferengi" before dying. The others want to surrender but Quark makes an inspiring speech about the most famous battle in Ferengi history (they were all slaughtered.) Nog finds he can make Keevan move using a neural stimulator. Quark stalls and gets the location of the prisoner exchange changed to the airlock where his ship is. Nog remote controls Keevan's corpse (Yelgrun: What have they done to him?) as Moogie is returned. Keevan walks into a wall but the other Ferengi jump out and kill the Jem'Hadar in time. And now they have a new Vorta prisoner to give back to Starfleet. Moogie is saved and they all feel like heroes. Except Keevan who's still walking into that wall.

You could pretty easily pick holes in the plot here. Why do the Dominion actualy capture Moogie in the first place? It's never explained and nobody even asks! My fanwank explanation is that they found out she was Zek's lover and thought she was important. The real reason is that it was originally supposed to be Zek who was captured but Wallace Shawn wasn't available for the episode. Anyway, it doesn't matter because this is a comedy episode and unlike most Ferengi comedy episode it's actually very funny! I don't know how it happened! It's like they decided to actually put some effort into the humour here, because there's several laugh out loud moments. There's even good character stuff for Quark wanting to prove that Ferengi can be heroes. I think it helps that they show a different side of the Ferengi here, not just with Quark but also with Leck who just loves killing. Keevan is a good returning character and Iggy Pop, while not exactly much of an actor, makes for an amusing Vortar. One of the best comedy episodes in all of Trek.

SCORE: 9/10
 
Waltz - Gul Dukat is on his way to be tried for war crimes and Sisko's going too. He's been avoiding visiting Dukat but finally goes to see him. Dukat is strangely calm and seems to be recovering from his breakdown after Ziyal's death with the help of a Federation doctor. He even thanks Sisko for looking after Ziyal when she lived on the station. Their starship is attacked by Cardassians but back on the station Kira reports that escape pods did get away. Worf is going to take the Defiant to look for Sisko but only has 52 hours before he has to leave to escort a convoy (there's always a convoy!) Sisko finds himself on a planet with Dukat, who got him to the escape shuttle and has been looking after him. Dukat's even activated a distress beacon. But when Dukat leaves Sisko for a moment he sees Weyoun talking to him, telling him to kill Sisko. Dukat tries to keep it together and makes breakfast for him and Sisko. Dukat notes the irony of him now being free and Sisko being a prisonr of his injured body. Sisko doesn't find it too funny. Dukat asks after Kira, Odo and Quark and is sad that they never appreciated how nice he was as commander of DS9. Damar is the next to appear in Dukat's head, telling him that he must kill Sisko and return to Cardassia to win the war for them. Dukat wants to hear Sisko say he respects him first. Sisko finds that the distress beacon is actually offline. Sisko tests Dukat by telling him the distress unit is making a weird noise but Dukat reports it's working fine despite the big "SYSTEM OFFLINE" message. Sisko knows he's in the shit now! Sisko gets the beacon working again while Dukat's away and the Defiant picks up the signal.

Dukat continues to tend to Sisko. He wonders what the Bajorans would think of the evil Gul Dukat andt he Emissary getting on together like old friends. Sisko is more cautious now, knowing Dukat is nus. Dukat sees a vision of Kira who tells him he deserves to be executed. Sisko won't give Dukat what he wants by passing judgement on him and Dukat starts talking tot he imaginery Kira in front of him. Sisko tells Dukat he's been judged unfairly and probably had good reasons for killing all those Bajorans. Dukat is relieved to hear someone speaking his language. Head Kira mocks him for falling for Sisko's obvious lies (this sadly means Nana Visitor has to laugh again, but it kind of works since this is a crazy imagined version of Kira in Dukat's head?) Dukat cracks up and starts firing his phaser randomly. The Defiant respons to the signal it picked up and beams up two survivors...it's just two random Starfleet officers (it's funny how disappointed O'Brien looks. Or maybe he's just sad about being in the transporter room again.) Dukat notices that Sisko activated the beacon and destroys it, just as Dax had picked up the signal. Dukat knocks out Sisko. Kira sends a message to the Defiant telling them to come back to escort the convoy. O'Brien and Bashir try to do the old "we didn't understand the message!" trick but Worf thinks that would be dishonourable. Sisko's had enough of Dukat's crap and tells him he'll never give Dukat his approval to go on being evil. Dukat wants Sisko to put him on trial here and now. Dukat again makes his case that he tried to be gentle with the Bajorans, giving examples of his kindness (he abolished child labour!), but the Bajoran resistance kept blowing up Cardassians so he had to keep killing Bajorans. The imaginery Damar, Kira and Weyoun appear to him agreeing with everything he says. Sisko asks why it was that the Bajorans didn't appreciate everything he did for them. Dukat says it's becaue the Bajorans couldn't see the Cardassians were the superior race and wanted to be treated equally. Dukat goes on a rant about how much he hates the stupid wrinkled noses of Bajorans (and their earrings!) and he should have killed them all. Sisko manages to knock him out while he's going full Hitler. Sisko tries to get off the planet on their shuttle but Dukat stops him. He tells Sisko that he'll show Bajor what a true enemy is and even their Emissary won't stop him. He escapes the planet leaving Sisko behind, but actually sends a message to the Defiant so they can save Sisko (right before they have to call off the search.) Sisko tells Dax that he saw the face of true evil in Dukat and he will stop him.

Most of this is great. Avery Brooks and Marc Alaimo have magnetic chemistry together and any scene where they just talk to each other is alway sa pleasure to watch. Sure some of it's stuff we've heard many times before from Dukat, about wanting Bajor to appreciate everything he did for them, but it's taken further than ever before. But it's the end that gives me pause. Dukat just going full on evil and declaring that he's going to wipe out Bajorans just feels like too much. Sisko's speech to Dax about Dukat being true evil is too heavy-handed as well and leads to some stuff I'm not a fan of next season. But for the most part it's a very strong episode!

SCORE: 9/10


Who Mourns for Morn? - Odo finds that Quark has a hologram of Morn in his bar because the real Morn's away on business. Everyone loves Morn and likes to see him in the bar. Sisko and Dax come in and are surprised to see the holo Morn, thinking it's the real thing: they've just got word that Morn died in an ion storm. O'Brien, Bashir, Odo, Kira, Worf and Dax are all sad about Morn dying and head to his memorial (Dax used to have a crush on him.) Quark still tries to get money out of everyone at the funeral as Morn died without paying his bar tab. Odo points out that Quark will lose business without Morn. Quark makes a semi-emotional speech about how Morn would have wanted everyone to keep coming to the bar without him and someone should always be sitting in Morn's chair. Sisko reveals that Morn left Quark everything in his will. After Odo reveals to Quark that Morn had no money, Quark searches Morn's inventory but all he finds are stinky beets. And in Morn's quarters there's nothing but a mud bat and a painting of a matador. A woman who claims to be Morn's wife comes out of the mud. She says Morn wanted Quark to have everything that was his...including his wife. The wife claims Morn won a thousand bricks of latinum in a lottery and they just have to find it (the wife thought Quark would know where it is.) Quark tells Dax that his money is his big break. Two alien tough guys who claim to have been business associates of Morn's show up in Quark's quarters: they want the money too, claiming Morn owed it to them. Quark tries to bullshit them and offer them the matador painting but they smash it over his head. Quark finds the key to a storage locker in the painting. THis in turn leads Quark to an account in the Bolian bank.

The wife wants an update from Quark on the money, wanks his ears, and steals the banking information. The brothers threaten Quark again. A security agent stops Quark from calling the Bolian bank and arrests him, claiming that Morn was actualy the crown prince of his homeworld and that's how he got the money. It's to be retruned to the state. He wants Quark's help arresting the wife and stopping the brothers too. O'Brien and Bashir take turns filling Morn's chair. The wife and the borthers end up hiding in Quark's quarters as the security guard shows up. Of coures it turns out he isn't a security guy and she isn't really his ex-wife and all four of them were in a criminal gang together. They stole the money but Morn ran off with it. The statute of limitations on the crime has run out so they're free to split the money between them now. They need Quark's thumbprint to get the latinum so he gets to be in the split too. They all drink in Quark's and wonder who killed Morn. The latinum arrives and all four criminals pull guns on each other. Quark hides out in the latinum container while they shoot each other (and Odo arrives to arrest them, having been tipped off by Quark.) The bricks are empty of latinum and just worthless gold (so how come Quark was happy to accept gold from the humans back in 'Little Green Men'?) Morn shows up in Quark's still alive. The whole thing was a scam to get the rest of his gang off his back. Morn reveals that he kept the latinum inside his second stomach all along and gives a hundred bricks' worth to Quark as a thank you.

Well all love Morn, but the thing with Morn is that he doesn't actually do anything on screen. That's the joke. So to do an episode about Morn you can't actually have Morn in it very much. This could work with a good enough story, and this is watchable and amusing enough, but the story just isn't enough to fill a full episode. I also wonder why they decided to place it just two episodes after the funnier and better 'Magnificent Ferengi' episode. It really suffers by comparison. It's fine though!

SCORE: 6/10
 
Did you know that the first person Quark gets to sit in Morn’s seat is the actor who plays him out of makeup?

And the matador painting is the one Morn bought in In the Cards.
 
Far Beyond the Stars - Sisko's having a hard time as Starfleet is losing more and more ships in the war, including one Captained by an old friend. His dad Joseph is visiting the station and he's worried about Ben. Sisko wonders if he should step down as he's struggling to handle making the tough calls. Kasidy Yates is also back (where's she been? What did she get up to during the ooccupation?) but Sisko keeps seeing weird 20th century people and is somehow run over by a taxi. Bashir reports his brain is acting the same way it did when he had weird visions last year. Suddenly has on Earth in 1953 and his name is Benny Russell and hey is that Aron Eisenberg out of make-up selling him a paper? Colm Meaney smoking a pipe and walking him to work? Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor as co-workers at a science fiction magazine and Rene Auberjonois as their boss? Even J.G. Hertzler as an artist? Yes to all those things! He shows a drawing that looks like DS9 and Benny is taken by it. The editor wants to publish a photo of his writers, but Benny and Visitor's character won't get to appear in it (a woman and a negro.) Two cops played by Marc Alaimo and Jeffrey Combs hassle Benny for no other reason than his skin colour. Brock Peters plays a street preacher who mentions "the Prophets" to Benny. Benny writes a story about Captain Benjamin Sisko on the space station in the drawing. Penny Johnson plays a waitress who wants to buy a diner with Benny, but he wants to stick to his writing. Michael Dorn plays a famous baseball player who flirts with her. Despite his success he still isn't accepted by the whites and not able to live in their part of town. Cirroc Lofton plays Jimmy the street hustler who Benny tries to help get a proper job (Jimmy thinks there's no prospects for someone like him.) Terry Farrell is the editor Douglas' new assistant and loves Benny's story, as everyone does. Benny briefly sees Visitor's character as Kira. Douglas tells Benny he can't print the story because the Captain is a negro. Shimerman's character Herb tries to argue that the story should be published to help change the world. Douglas is happy with Albert's (Meaney's) story becaue it's about robots.

Benny refuses to change the story to make the Captain white. Cirroc Lofton says the N word for the first time in Star Trek. Benny sees Dorn with Klingon ridges and starts to freak out. The preacher tells Benny to "write the words." Benny spends hours writing more stories of Captain Sisko. Benny has another flash of the future when dancing with Cassie. This means Avery Brooks has to act like he's losing his mind and he's not excatly subtle doing so. Douglas is angry at Benny for continuing to write the stories. Albert suggests making the whole story a dream by someone dreaming of a better future. It's not a perfect solution but Benny agrees to it. Benny is happy his story is being published and goes out to party with Cassie. The preacher gives some cryptic warning to Benny just before he hears gunfire. Jimmy has been shot dead for trying to break into a car by the two racist cops and they beat Benny badly when he tries to step in. Benny returns to the office weeks later. Douglas reports that the entire run of this month's magazine has been pulped by the publisher due to Benny's story. And Benny's being fired. He has a full on breakdown and goes full Brooks. He's taken away in an ambulance and the preacher talks to him again. He has walked in the path of the prophets. He is the dreamer and the dream. Sisko wakes up in the Infirmary. Sisko tells his father that his dream has help sort things out in his mind, but wonders if maybe, just maybe, they are the dream and all being imagined by Benny. He sees Benny's reflection.

I think most people agree that this is a great episode. It's like nothing we've seen before in Star Trek, actually having all the actors play completely different characters, without it being a malfunctioning holodeck or Q fucking with everyone. It's more serious than that! Okay sure I've seen comments over the years from people who just think we should ignore racistm and it shouldn't be discussed in such an explicit way in Star Trek. Like you can replace black people with robots (like Albert's story!) or something but actually pointing out that Sisko is black is a step too far. But that's dumb so let's forget that and talk about the acting. Avery Brooks certainly goes over the top in the breakdown scene. It's not how someone having a breakdown really behaves (I don't think.) But...you can't really look away from it. We all loved when Shatner would go full Shatner, didn't we? And Brooks certainly isn't worse than that here. So is it really a problem? It didn't spoil the episode for me. In fact it kind of enhances the episode, makes it more memorable. I guess? I think I found it a bit embarrassing twenty years ago so I couldn understand why someobody still does. Anyway, yeah, this good. Racism. It's a real thing. We should talk about it. I like how the episode manages to tackle so many different forms of racism. There's the completely unsubtle racist cops, but there's also the cowardly editor who is fine with employing blacks as long as nobody knows they're black. There's Siddig as the brown-skinned guy who can pass for white so is fine to appear in the staff photo (not actually brought up in the episode but it's there.) Even Herb, the most supportive of the white characters, is just a little bit patronising to Benny. So yeah it's great stuff really.

SCORE: 10/10


One Little Ship - The Defiant is investigating a rare space anomaly for once, one that shrinks a runabout containing Dax, O'Brien and Bashir down in size when they fly into it. Dax has asked Worf to write a poem about her shrinking. The Defiant is attacked by Jem'Hadar and loses its tractor beam to the runabout, leaving it shrunk inside the anomaly. The Jem'Hadar take the Defiant. They work to restore the damaged Defiant to power, forcing the Defiant's crew to help. Right away a conflict between the younger "Alpha" Jem'Hadar in charge (bred in the Alpha Quadrant) and the "Gamma" elder (bred in the GQ of course) is established. The runabout gets out of the anomaly but is still shrunken because they didn't come out the same way they want in (like always!) O'Brien isn't happy about being this bloody tall for the rest of his life. The two Jem'Hadar clash over using Sisko to repair the ship for them, as the Gamma rightly guesses that Sisko is working on an escape plan already. O'Brien uses his knowledge of the Defiant to fly the runabout inside through a conduit. The Defiant's impulse engines are activated and the runabout has to quickly get out of the conduits before they're burned up. They come out in Engineering and finally spot the giant Jem'Hadar walking around.

The runabout crew can see that the Defiant crew are plotting against the Jem'Hadar and decide to head to the Bridge to turn the command codes over to the good guys. Watchng the little runabout flying about without the Jem'Hadar noticing them is fun. For me! The Defiant crew continue to attempt to stall the Jem'Hadar's repair efforts. The cute little runabout has to press a button with its little nose to open the door to get on the Bridge. O'Brien has to leave the runabout to turn the command codes over to Nog. This means Dax has to beam a pocket of shrunken air out from the Defiant with him (and Julian) as the air outside would be too big for him to breathe. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids never thought of this. O'Brien and Bashir walk around the giant computer chips. O'Brien has a hard time finding things because he's not used to them being so big. The Jem'Hadar receive their Katracel-white and the Alpha doesn't do the full ritual because he's a dick. Julian helps Miles get reoriantated. They complete their work as the oxygen runs out. Nog thinks he's released the command codes himself but the Jem'Hadar need distracted before Sisko can take control. The little runabout starts shooting Jem'Hadar and Worf snaps a neck. Sisko tells the Gamma that the Alpha should have listened to him and killed them when they had the chance. Okay Sisko chill out. Little Dax waves at Worf from the runabout. Worf reads his poem to Dax ("This is the story of a little ship that took a little trip") but he's only joking! Odo and Quark make O'Brien and Bashir think they've shorter than before.

It's interesting how after the six episode arc they've established a pattern of one serious episode followed by one light-hearted episode. It's fine becaue the light-hearted episode are good too! This one is fun for me because I'm a sucker for things being shrunk. IT'S JUST FUN, OKAY. Yeah there's not a lot of story here. The Alpha/Gamma feud is kind of interesting but I don't think it's ever mentioned again and is porbably just hear to pad out the episode. But the humour was good, a little runabout shot a big Jem'Hadar with little torpedos, I liked it.

SCORE: 8/10
 
When I first watched this story I thought they would make the black character a woman and she would end up being Uhura in the story.
 
I love One Little Ship. It’s so fun seeing the runabout flying around the Defiant, and it’s very well done too. I’d forgotten about the conflict between the Jem’Hadar, but it was a good idea. It’s a shame they didn’t have further opportunities to highlight it.

Far Beyond the Stars is good too, of course. The one thing I’m not sure about is what we’re the Prophets trying to tell Sisko? That black people had been stopped from achieving their potential, so he should accept the position Starfleet has given him? I find that side of things gets lost amongst the novelty of the visions.
 
I guess they were showing him how far people like him have come and he should keep fighting in honour of people like Benny who didn't have the same opportunities, yeah.
 
Honor Among Theives - O'Brien's at a grimey diner on some sleazey planet listening in on some criminals. He saves one of them from being "spiked" (shocked by a vending machine he's stealing from) to impress the criminals (O'Brien actually caused the spiking!) Has he turned to a life of crime after being kicked out by Keiko? No, he's undercover for Starfleet Intelligence (they've been compromised and had to recruit someone from outsite their organisation, so don't ask the "WHY WOULD O'BRIEN BE ON THIS MISSION?" question, nerds!) trying infilitrate the Orion Syndicate. Back on the station there's a rather contrived scene involving literally all the other main characters complaining to Kira about the station not working while O'Brien's away, obviously just there to get them all in the episode. Bilby, the leader of the local Orion gang, takes O'Brien back to his house and explains how things work. Bilby has a cat named Chester so he's not all bad! He also has a wife he keeps away from danger and she sends him cake (O'Brien impresses Bilby by telling him it's not good cake.) He fixes some Klingon disruptors for the Syndicate. Bilby gets a real man crush on him and buys him fancy new criminal clothes. But we get a reminder that Bilby's dangerous when he shoots dead the guy who sold him the faulty disruptoers. O'Brien successfully finds the identity of the man in Starfleet who is working for Bilby by taking advantage of their new closeness.

Bilby's boss Ramus calls them to a meeting with a Vorta (the disruptors were for him.) Bilby "witnesses" for O'Brien meaing that if O'Brien turns out to be a traitor Bilby will pay. O'Brien tells his Starfleet Intelligence contact what he knows but it's still not enough for him to be able to return home. O'Brien's help Bilby's gang rob a digital bank. Bilby hires a prostitute for O'Brien and he has to pretend to have a girlfriend so he doesn't have to shag her (there's a bit where Bilby says "don't tell me you don't like girls!" whcih could suggest there's still some prejudice against gays in the 24th century but maybe I'm reading too much into it.) O'Brien feels bad when Bibly tells him how much he likes and trusts him. His contact tells him they'll just arrest Bilby if O'Brien does his part right. Ramus and the Vorta show up, revealing that there's a traitor in Bilby's gang. Could O'Brien be in trouble!? No it's the guy with the creepy moustache. Bilby is given the task of assassinating the Klingon ambassador using the disruptors, as part of a plot to split the Federation and the Klingons up. O'Brien's contact wants to contact the Klingons so they'll be ready for Bilby's gang, but O'Brien is upset because the Klingon's will no doubt kill Bilby. The contact thinks Miles is in too deep and tells him he'll be going home now. O'Brien knocks him out and runs off to warn Bilby. O'Brien has no choice but to tell him the truth and Bilby's shocked that his new friend is a rat. Bilby tells O'Brien he's dead no matter now as he witnessed for him and there's no hiding from the Syndicate (they'd just go after his family.) Bilby is sad to know that he wasn't even O'Brien's target. He gives O'Brien Chester to look after. He goes off to die, hoping his family will be safe. Back on the station O'Brien tells Bashir he feels responsible for Bilby's death. I hope Chester gets on with his spider from that one TNG episode!

We haven't had a good O'Brien episode since 'Hard Time' back in season 4 (we only had 'Empok Nor' last season and it sucked.) This one is...okay. The story is really standard. There's no unexpected twists to it, right from the start it's pretty obvious that O'Brien is going to get close with Bilby and feel bad about betraying him. It's elevated by the performances: Meaney is always excellent and Nick Tate is a strong guest story as Bilby. Their friendship feels real. But I still didn't feel too bad for Bilby when he died? He was still a murdering criminal. I guess we're supposed to feel bad for O'Brien and not him, and I did a bit, but not really enough to make this a great episode. But like I said it's pretty good.

SCORE: 7.5/10


Change of Heart - Worf and O'Brien watch Jadzia play tongo with Quark. Worf is confident his wife will win (she doesn't!) But it's good to see him having fun. We see some of Worf and Dax's homelife and really this is the first time we've seen any of this and it's welcome. Kira gives the couple a mission to meet with a Cardassian asset in the Badlands. We get more of married life as Worf and Dax discuss where to go on their honeymoon (this is where the Worf facepalm gif comes from!) Worf says "on the Enterprise I was considered quite amusing!" which is possibly a meta comment on how DS9 Worf has been fairly humourless. It's nice seeing them bicker in a way where it doesn't seem like they hate each other and it's just something they do together. O'Brien plans to end Quark's tongo winning streak and practices against Bashir. Worf and Dax contact the Cardassian (who isn't happy to see a Klingon) who has important information on the Founders and wants to defect. Worf and Dax weren't expecting this but he thinks he's about to be discovered and gives them instructions on how to pick him up. O'Brien finds he isn't very good at tongo but thinks Julian can beat him with his super brain. Dax and Worf have to fly through an asteroid field to get to the Cardassian's planet (it's not exactly Empire Strikes Back of even Attack of the Clones but it's fun.) They make their way through the jungle to pick up the Cardassian but have to deactivate all their electronics to avoid being detected. Bashir gets a one on one tongo game with Quark after O'Brien coaches him. Quark smartly throws Bashir off by bringing up Jadzia's marriage to Worf and making Julian feel bad that he'll never be with her. It's weird that they'd bring Bashir's feelings for her back up (it doesn't go anywhere outside this episode) but I guess feelings like that never completely go away. Quark wins the game.

Worf and Dax camp out in the cold jungle and Dax puts a blanket on him (Klingons don't like cold.) Worf mentions that he and his brother Nikolai (a rare mention!) used to go camping and Word would dream of running off with the wolves. They hide from some Jem'Hadar but are spotted. Worf kills them but Jadzia is shot. She wants to keep moving before more Jem'Hadar come along despite her injury. Jadzia keeps trying to make jokes despite the seriousness of her injury. Worf thinks that joking with her is why the Jem'Hadar got so close and his new sense of humour was a mistake. Jadzia's condition worsens but they still have 3 km to go. Worf promises he'll smile all he wants when the mission is over. Jadzia tells Worf to go on without her as the information the Cardassian has could be incredibly valuable for the war effort. He tells her he'll be back for her and she'll get the surgery she needs but really they both know she's going to die. They kiss one last time. Worf goes through the jungle on his own but can hear a heart beating loud. He goes back for Jadzia and carries her to safety. Back on the station Sisko tells Worf that the Cardassian is dead. Sisko wants to know why Worf did it. He tells Sisko about the story of the two Klingon hearts beating as one (told at his wedding) and he couldn't stand against his own heart beating and had to go back. Sisko tells him this will go on his service record and he'll probably never be a Captain now. He tells Worf if it had been Jennifer he would have done the same thing ("WE JUST CAN'T LEAVE HER THERE!") Jadzia recovers in the Infirmary and Worf tells her she comes before career anad duty and he'd do the same thing again.

This one was much better than I remembered! I think I thought it was too slow the first time, and it's true that the first half is very lighthearted, but I think the early slowness is necessary. This is the first time we've really got to see what Worf and Dax's relationship is like and it actually works well! They've believable together! I understand why they got married! At least! Worf even has a sense of humour. It's what I wanted. And all of that helps make the ending more impactful. They could have copped out and had Worf rescue the Cardassian and somehow save Dax too, but they actually let the Cardassian die. Worf never getting to be a Captain feels like a decent punishment too. The B-plot is probably not needed, but it's good fun anyway and it ends halfway through the episode before all the heavy stuff happens. Strong stuff.

SCORE: 9/10
 
This was the only episode I had no recollection of when I rewatched the series, which was a nice little bonus. A brand new episode! And it was really good. Worf and Jadzia’s relationship felt very natural. Maybe they still have too many differences to make sense as a couple and you could kind of see them getting divorced if she’d lived, but still very believable and entertaining to watch.
 
Wrong Darker than Death or Night - That's quite the title. Kira orders Bajoran lilacs, her mother's favourite flowers, in honour of her mother's birthday (she died when Kira was three.) She gets a space Skype from Dukat who says he's decided to be more honest with everyone after the events of 'Waltz' and reveals that he and Kira's mother were lovers (he knows her favourite flower so it must be true!) O'Brien tries to convince Bashir to do the battle of the Alamo as a holosuite game and Kira gives them into trouble because they're supposed to be working. She also tells Odo off for a slight rise in crime on the station. Finaly she tells Sisko about Dukat's message and asks to use the Orb of Time to travel back in time and find out the truth. As a Starfleet Captain Sisko thinks this is a terrible idea, but she's asking him as the Emissary so he reluctantly gives her permission to consult the Orb and leave it up to the Prophets. The Orb sends her back to a Bajoran camp where she encounters her mother Meru and herself as a child. Some Bajoran bullies try to steal their soup so Kira steps in and beats them up. A slimey Bajoran collaborator drags Kira and Meru off to be "comfront women" for the Cardassians on Terk Nor. Meru is naturally devastated to be away from her family but happy to have fresh food for the first time in years. Kira promises she'll get her out of this and back to her family (so much for the timeline!) The asshole Bajoran treats the women like meat before Dukat comes in playing the hero, promising that their families will be cared for. Dukat is quickly taken by Meru and removes the scar on her face she suffered at the hands of a Cardassian.

The Bajorn women attend a party where Cardassian men paw at them. Meru notes the irony of finally having everything she wants (nice clothes and food) but having to live like this. Dukat arrives and pulls a Cardassian who is forcing himself on Meru off her. A Cardassian reveals to Kira that this is all an act Dukat does with every Bajoran woman he wants to impress. Kira narrowly avoids having to go to bed with the drunken Cardassian then finds that Meru has been moved in to Dukat's quarters. She demands to see her but gets beaten up and locked in the Bajoran ghetto (of course it's long before Odo and Quark are on the station so don't expect to see them! Week later Meru is being taken on dates off station by Dukat and the resistance are attempting to recruit Kira. She's taken to see Meru who's a different woman now. in love with Dukat. He's allowed Meru to have Kira as her companion. Meru tries to explain to Kira that Dukat isn't so bad and he's trying to be nicer to the Bajorans, but Kira knows better and argue that he's the enemy. She argues that she's doing it all for her family but Kira calls her a collaborator and goes back to the ghetto. She plots with the resistance member there to plant a bomb and kill Dukat. And she claims to be fine with Meru dying too. Kira goes to Meru to "apologise" but in reality she's looking for a chance to plant the bomb. But Meru receives a secret message from Kira's mother who reports how happy little Nerys is back home now that she's got more food. Meru cries as she watches it and Kira has a change of heart, realising that it's not so simple as her mother being a collaborator. She gets Dukat and Meru out of the room just before the bomb goes off then goes back to the future (I guess Dukat and Meru thought she died in the explosion, even though she clearly got out?) Back in the future Kira reports that her mother lived another seven years with Dukat (I guess he got bored with her when she got older) while other Bajorans died in labour camps, but she was still her mother.

Continuity issues don't always bother me if the episode is good enough. And while I don't really like how this episode makes the station much older than it's supposed to be, and reveals that Cardassians are yet another alien race who age faster than humans. And the idea that Kira's mother lived with Dukat for seven years and he never brought it up before now is pretty hard to swallow. But for the most part it's a decent episode. Nana Visitor gives a strong performance (no laughing or camping it up!) and the actress playing Meru does a good job making her believable. She's a collaborator but you can kind of understand it. Dukat is good to watch as always but we don't really learn anything new about him here. We already know he's got a thing for Bajoran women and playing the saviour to them. Another thing I didn't like was what a poor job they did on making Terok Nor look different from DS9: it basically looked exactly the same as it does 35 years later. Compare that to 'Necessary Evil' which was set much closer to the present day yet managed to make the station look very different. It just makes this one feel cheap. Anyway this is fine thanks to the strong acting and reasonable story (once you get past all the time travel silliness) but I still feel it's all a bit unnecessary.

SCORE: 7/10


Inquisition - O'Brien comes to Bashir with his shoulder once again injured in a kayaking accident. Bashir wants to get some sleep because he's got a medical conference the next day but feels like he's hardly slept at all when he wakes (his teddy bear with the hard to spell name makes a cameo.) But his trip is cancelled when Internal Affairs arrive on the station searching for a traitor who is leaking information to the Dominion. Deputy Director Sloane (William Sadler) will be interviewing everyone individually and they're all locked in their quarters until then. Bashir is taken to be questioned by Sloane (and notices someone running through the corridor mysteriously.) Sloane quickly brings up that the last time Bashir was supposed to go to a medical conference he was kidnapped by the Dominion and wonders how he managed to survive five weeks in one of their prisons. He also asks Bashir about his work with Jack's group then sends him back to his quarters. Breakfast is delivered to Julian but it's gagh (Worf must have got his scones!) Julian finds that someone's moved his teddy bear and receives a secret message from O'Brien who warns him that he's just been questioned about Bashir for the last two hours. Sloane questions Bashir agian, in a less friendly manner this time. He claims that General Martook has told him Bashir was in solitary for seven days when Bashir says it was only five. Sloane brings up the fact that the runabout was left in orbit, which is brilliant, and wonders if it was there to help Bashir escape. He suggests that Bashir is a sleeper agent for the Dominion (his genetically engineered mind makes it possible) and doesn't know he was turned. Bashir denies it all but Sloane promises he'll get the truth out of him (William Sadler is very convincing as a Starfleet hardass here.) Bashir is dragged across the Promenade in handcuffs and Sisko and Kira promise to get him out of this. Starfleet security have already decided Julian is a traitor and treat him as such. Sisko tells Bashir that Sloane's son was killed by the Jem'Hadar and suspects Sloane blames Bashir for leaking the information that got him killed. Sloane confirms this is true. Sisko really stands up for Bashir here (it's a good Sisko moment...so kind of disappointing that it isn't actually real.)

Julian is questioned further, with the events of 'Hippocratic Oath' brought up, as well as Bashir giving details of the war to Jack's group and suggesting that Starfleet should surrender. Sisko has to agree with Sloane that it was a bad idea. Sloane rants about Bashir lying about his genetic engineering for years and how he only came forward when he was found out. Afterwards Sisko wonders if it's possible that Julian really was recruited by the Dominion and just can't remember it. Sloane's presented enough evidence now that it's just about believable that Sisko would have doubts. Bashir is woken without any sleep again to be taken to another starbase to be question but is beamed out by Weyoun(!) just in time instead and welcomed home(!) Bashir still claims that it's impossible that he could be working for the Dominion but Weyoun claims they go through this same conversation every time. He says they won Bashir over by proving to him that Starfleet couldn't win the war so Bashir agreed to provide them information to end the war faster (it's clever how they tie this into 'Statistical Probabilities'.) He has scones for Bashir. That proves! He tries to tigger Bashir's buried memories but Bashir keeps fighting it. He wonders why Sloane and Weyoun are trying to convince him of the same lie and suspects that it is Sloane himself who is the traitor. Sisko comes after Bashir and Kira and Worf beam over to rescue him. Bashir reports his theory about Sloane to Sisko but everyone turns their back on him saying they've had enough of his lies, even Jadzia and Miles. But Julian notices that Bashir shoulder is no longer injured. It's not really Miles and none of this is real! He was on a holodeck all along, run by Sloane. Sloane reveals that he's been recording Bashir's thoughts all along and they'll prove that he's an innocent man. Sloane wanted to keep him under observation longer but Julian rumbled them by spotting O'Brien's uninjured shoulder. Sloane works for Section 31, a secret organisation that search out problems within the Federation and take care of them. They were part of the original Starfleet chapter two hundred years ago and have answered to no one all that time. And he wants to recruit Bashir to thier group. He thinks Bashir is willing to bend the rules like him and will fit in with Section 31. Bashir tells Sisko, Kira and Odo all about it back on the station. Sisko says Starfleet won't confirm or deny the existence of Section 31. Bashir is shocked the Federation would condone them but Odo points out all other great powers do. Sisko tells him that the next time Section 31 tries to recruit him he should take them up on it so he can find out whatever he can about them. Odo congratulates Julian on getting to play spy FOR REAL.

Sometimes I don't like the "they were on the Holodeck all along!" endings. Well, I say that, but so far the only previous episode that's really done that has been 'Future Imperfect' on TNG so maybe I do like them, becaue I like this one too! The thing is there are clues that things aren't quite right. The way it's directed (by Michael Dorn!) and how Bashir is on screen at all times, with no external shots of the station, gives us a hint that something is off, as well as how Sisko turns against him. Really most everyone must have figured it out when Weyoun showed up. The twist is great because it serves a larger purpose: to introduce Section 31. It makes sense that they'd use such means on potential recruits. I would if I was them! William Sadler is a great guest star, thoroughly convincing as both a possibly corrupt Starfleet officer and as the head of a secret intelligence agency. Alexander Siddig gives one of his strongest performances too. I liked it!

SCORE: 9/10
 
Kira's time travel episode is not one of my favorites. Dukat is a creep, and I like that they showed how he uses lines on women, but it makes him hitting on Kira even creepier.
 
In the Pale Moonlight - Sisko records a personal log, struggling to remember the date, saying that he has to justify to himself everything he's done. We flashback to two weeks ago when Sisko posted the weekly casualty list in the wardroom (he speaks in voiceover through the episode as he continues recording his log.) More and more ships are being destroyed, and the Jem'Hadar have been crossing the Romulan Neutral Zone as an advantage without the Romulans doing anything about it (they have a non-aggression pact with the Dominion.) Sisko decides he has to bring the Romulans into the war. He argues to Dax that it's in the best interest of the Romulans to join the war as the Dominion will eventually threaten them, but Dax takes the role of a Romulan and argues there's no reason yet for the Romulans to join. Sisko knows the Romulans will need evidence that the Dominion are plotting against the Romulans and goes to Garak for help with finding any such evidence. Garak tells Sisko it would mean calling in all his old favours on Cardassia and could be a very bloody, messy business but Sisko wants him to go ahead anyway. Kira wakes Sisko with the news that Betazed has been invaded by the Dominion, obviously making him more determined than ever to bring Romulus into the war, but Garak reports that all his old contacts on Cardassia have ben killed after they tried to find the evidence. Garak has another plan, one he thinks Sisko won't like: forge the evidence. Garak wants to convince the pro-Dominion Senator Vreenak that the Dominion are plotting against Romulus by luring him to the station and playing him a holo-recording on an authentic Cardassia data rod. Garak know a forger (Tolar) who can recreate the recording and Sisko gets him out of a Klingon prison where he's awaiting execution. It's not long before Odo's arrested Tolar for trying to kill Quark after Quark steps in to stop him assaulting a Dabo girl (Quark is a hero!) Sisko has to bribe Quark to get him to drop charges against Tolar, much to Quark's delight. Sisko begins to have doubt about the whole thing, but there's always a new casualty list waiting for him and more and more Federation citizens dying. Garak locks Tolar up in his quartes behind a possibly explossive door. He needs bio-mimetic gel to pay the person who can manufacture the data rod. It can be used for some shady stuff, but Sisko has no choice but to order Bashir to give him some. Bashir guilts him a bit by asking for the order in writing and entering a formal complaint.

Tolar's holo-recording of Damar and Weyoun planning to attack Romulus is very convincing (they even bicker about Dukat during it, thanks to Garak.) Sisko keeps Tolar on the station until his work passes inspection. Vreenak arrives on the staton in secret on his cloaked shuttle. Garak searches his ship (this is important later!) while Sisko talks to him. Worf makes a cameo growling at Garak. Vreenak is a bit of a jerk and instantly calls Sisko the man who started the war the with the Dominion. Sisko tries to argue that it would be in Vreenak's best interests to support Romulus joining the war, but Vreenak needs convincing that the Dominion will turn on them. Vreenak watches the recording and askso to examine the data rod. Sisko sturggles to wait before Vreenak finally returns his verdict. It's all blown up in Sisko's face, all the lies were for nothing. Vreenak rushes back to Romulus to report the lie but two days later Sisko gets the news that Vreenak's shuttle has been destroyed. It's suspected that the Dominion were responsible. Sisko marches straight into Garak's shop and punches him. Garak planted the bomb while he was supposedly searching the shuttle, knowing that the Tal Shiar will find the remains of the data rod in the shuttle and view the recording. Any imperfections will appear to be a result of the explosion. It's the perfect plan! Oh, and he killed Tolar too. Garak tells Sisko that he came to him because Garak could do the things Sisko's conscience wouldn't allow him to do. Sisko knows Garak is right. The Romulans declare war against the Dominion. Sisko reports in his log that it could turn the whole war in the Federation's favour. He lied, cheated, bribed and is an accessory to murder. The most damning thing of all is that he thinks he can live with it. He CAN live with it...

Computer, delete this entire review.

What's most impressive about this episode is the writing. It all starts with the writing! It's really a perfect script with how well it presents Sisko's dilemma. It might seem to be totally against the spirit of Star Trek (GENE'S VISION) but the script (and Avery Brooks) really sells why Sisko would go to such extreme measures. It's credited to Michael Taylor but Ron Moore did an uncredited rewrite that Taylor admitted saved the episode, so once againt Ron Moore has written one of the all time best episodes of Star Trek and deserves credit for that! So yeah it's just a compelling watch all the way, with the brilliant framing device of Sisko's log and expert use of Garak (it's the most terrifying Garak has ever been, but you still can't help but love the guy.) I guess if you really think it strays too far from what Star Trek is "supposed" to be you might not like it, but to me when it's this good, when it's all this believable, I don't really care. It's not just being dark for the sake of dark as some episodes in later series will be (not naming any names!), it's all for a purpose. It's the story-telling that makes it great, not the fact that a Starfleet Captain is partly responsible for several murders.

(Speaking of Garak, when he appeared in four out of six episodes in the season opening act I was like "we're getting a lot of Garak this season!" Then he didn't appear again until this one and doesn't appear again for the rest of the season. But it's five great Garak appearances and that's better than a dozen mediocre Garak appearances!)

SCORE: 10/10


His Way - Most of the cast are in the holosuite enjoying guest star James Darren playing a hologram of himself...I mean, playing Vic Fontaine. Bashir explains that his friend Felix designed Vic to be self aware: he know he's a hologram, makes jokes about it and says "pally" a lot. He can tell Worf and Dax are married, that O'Brien misses his wife, and that there's something between Odo and Kira. Bashir wants them all to hang out with Vic again the next night but Kira is going to Bajor to see Shakaar (lucky her.) Quark advises Odo to forget about Kira as he's missed his chance with her. But Odo isn't ready to give up yet and wants to get advice on wooing a lady from Vic, so Quark lets him spend hours in the holosuite. Vic tells Odo that Kira thinks of him as a friend but Odo can change her mind if he gives her a reason. Vic tells Odo he's a big sadsack in an ugly uniform so he shapeshifts a tuxedo on. Vic sings again while Odo pretends to play the piano. It goes on way too long. Vic has some holo ladies come over for Odo to hang out with. Odo starts singing in a meeting with Sisko.

Vic has a hologram who looks like Kira show up and sing to Odo (it's an excuse to let Nana Visitor sing.) This again goes on way too long. Also remember that one time Kira got really angry at Quark for trying to make a hologram of her? I guess it's okay now? Odo nearly kisses the holo Kira but stops himself because it's inappropriate and she's nothing like the real Kira. The real Kira returns to the station and prays in the Holosuite for some reason (They have a temple on the station! We've seen it many times!) It's an excuse to allow Vic to come and see her and tell her Odo's trying to change for her. He invits Kira to come to the holosuite for a date with Kira, while telling Odo that it's just a hologram he's programmed to be like Kira (Vic has no ethical subroutine apparently.) They have dinner together and Odo can't tell it's the real Kira which doesn't say much for his detective skills. She's nervous to be on a date with him but he tells her not to let it get in the way of enjoying herself. Vic sings again and they dance, getting closer. Odo finally realises it's really her and runs out. He's had enough of Vic's crap. Kira tells Dax she's had a "moment of clarity" and they kiss on the Promenade in front of everyone. Odo returns to the holosuite to report they're an "item" now and leaves it running so Vic can sing a-fucking-gain.

Remember when a future version of Odo ereased thousands of people from existence to save Kira's life? Or when Odo was having sex with the Female Changeling while he was supposed to be helping the resistance and nearly got them all killed? I guess Kira's over those things! We never get to see her and Odo discuss any of it before they get together. I guess you could say they talked about it all in 'You Are Cordially Invited'. Fine, but where did Kira being romantically attracted to Odo come from? It's never been a thing. Ever! And now just because he's loosened up a bit on the holosuite she realise she's in love with him. I don't buy it and it's a shame because Nana Visitor and Rene Auberjonois actually have great chemistry together. Maybe more as friends, but I could see them possibly getting together if the writers did the work. This episode just skips all that and has Odo learn to be cool to win the girl. It almost reduces Kira to a prize for Odo to win. NOW you could say I'm taking it too seriously. This is a screwball comedy of an episode and it follows the logic of those kind of movies. But the problem is their relationship continues beyond this episode! Odo and Kira are now a thing because of stuff that happened in an episdoe that doesn't feel like a part of DS9. James Darren is likable enough but his constant use of old swinger phrases gets old and I don't watch DS9 to watch people singing. Like ten minutes of the episode is just James Darren or Nana Visitor singing. I don't care how good they are, it's not what I'm watching Star Trek for. I don't like this episode much, sorry.

SCORE: 5.5/10
 
Vic has his moments, but overall I got quite tired of how much exposure he had. The writers (or Ira Behr at least) had a bit of a crooner fetish and seemed to think everyone else did too. The 1930s (or whatever) aren’t scifi, even if they’re on a holodeck, and the station already has one bartender for the crew to confide in. They didn’t need a bar within a bar. It provide a good location for the end of the series, though.

And I found the set dressing or lack thereof made the timeframe very confusing in Wrongs Darker than Death or Night. The lighting was so bright and cheery and normal, compared to previous times we’ve seen Terok Nor’s past. Maybe it started out like this and got dark later?
 
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