One of the benefits of getting older is no longer giving a
shit about being cool. Respected? Yes. Rich?
Hell yes. But cool gets less and less important by the day.
As a fifth grader, I had a rude introduction to just how
uncool obsessive interest in the Star Trek franchise is. Growing up with a dad and two brothers who were dedicated to the nerdist pursuit of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I found nothing strange in obsessing over the series to the extent of memorizing the titles, in order, of the TNG episodes. So imagine my shock as a freshly minted fifth-grader when my classmates did not find this knowledge especially cool. In fact, my coolness seemed to change inversely the more I demonstrated this recall!
As a result, I eventually strayed from later Star Trek franchises, to the point that there are significant holes in my Deep Space Nine and Voyager viewing. Thankfully, my good friends at Netflix have added the full series of the franchise, and this provides me the opportunity to revisit the successors of TNG, the show I still call the greatest serial drama of my lifetime.
However, rewatching these series alone could be a lonely mother's-basement-worthy endeavor. So I was inspired by the great Alan Sepinwall's retro-reviews of The Wire to record my handful of thoughts on each episode as I watch them. If you are familiar with his work reviewing that great series, consider this my light homage. I look forward to remembering episodes I have already seen and filling in some of the strange gaps I was too cool to watch.
How cool am I now, fifth-graders?
S1E1: Emissary
Or Kira Nerys: A Study in Optomism
“That is why I am here. Not to conquer you with weapons or
ideas, but to co-exist and learn.”
-Commander Sisko
Rewatching the DS9 premiere, I was struck by how much better
it has held up than “Encounter at Farpoint,” its TNG counterpart. Other than a
handful of half-dated special effects, such as Odo’s shapeshifting debut,
“Emissary” could be dropped into a 2011 network lineup (and we can agree, they have
the room). “Encounter at Farpoint,” while only six years older, looks like
a 1980s time capsule submission.
My other rediscovery in the episode was how well the
beautiful Felecia Bell plays Jennifer Sisko. The role is especially tricky, as she
alternates between recreating the scene of her first meeting with Commander
Sisko and then serving as a mouthpiece for the Prophets. It’s probably for the
best that she did not share extended screen time with Avery Brooks in this series,
because just as I remembered, Brooks’ interpretation of Sisko was humorously over
the top and strikingly inferior to Bell's brief appearances.
As a pilot episode, “Emissary” is wildly successful. The
two hours managed to juggle the worldly themes of DS9, including self-identity,
religious politics, and forgiveness, with its supernatural and spiritual ones such as creation and free will. Even before the Wormhole was introduced in the
second hour, I felt like the issues associated with Bajor and the aftermath of
the Cardassian occupation held enough potential material to carry a series.
“Emissary” introduces the show's characters, and while we will
treat them with some depth in later episodes that focus on each, I have a few
quick thoughts on some of their debuts:
- O’Brien is the lone carryover in the pilot from TNG (other than a couple of brief Picard cameos). I’m not sure whether the decision to use O’Brien, a frequently recurring supporting character, was based on the talents of Colm Meaney, but I wonder if any other characters were considered. The TNG writers seemed to fall in love with Lieutenant Barclay for some reason beyond my understanding, and I really wonder whether someone made the case for him to be head of operations.
- If DS9 were written today, Kira would be a lesbian, right? Certainly, it would have been a little too provocative in 1993, but it seems like her spirit would have leant itself to addressing some themes though that identity.
- The monochromatic mustard uniform Odo wears is one of the franchise’s ugliest. The red version Kira wears at least has more contrast between the shoulders and torso sections, and Nana Visitor's figure does it much more justice. On Rene Auberjonois, it looks like a kindergarten art smock.
- Armin Shimerman's role as Quark has to be one of the entire franchise's top five. It's a far more nuanced character than the typically stuffy Starfleeters or inherently treacherous non-Federation types.
4 bars of gold-pressed latinum out of 5
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