#ds9 s2 ep 22

[this-is-a-love-story-isnt-it]

Ok, so as I said in my post about that article where Kurtzman basically said that filler episodes should be avoided in Star Trek, I started talking about Farscape in the tags, but it started getting too long, so I want to make a separate post.

I was thinking about "filler" episodes in Farscape, and as I was looking through Farscape episodes, I realized that a lot of Farscape episodes can be considered "filler". I've recently started calling them "stand alone" eps, though. It sounds more accurate. I noticed that most of the time in Farscape, the major plot advances are in the multiple-episode arcs a couple times per season. Like, most of season 1 was what you would call standalone eps. Did it further the plot of "the peacekeepers are after us and John has wormhole knowledge that Scorpius will do anything to get?" mostly no. We see it in Nerve/Hidden Memory, and then at the end of the season in Family Ties. Then in Mind the baby (2x01) they're still inside of the main story arc of dealing with the peacekeepers who are after them and putting Talyn in danger also. Episode 5 is important for a lot of backstory (but also character driven). And then we don't get into any more major movement of the plot until the Look At the Princess trilogy (s2 eps 11-13).

And then the next time the plot gets moved forward is in the Liars, Guns, and Money trilogy (s2 eps 19-21), and then in Die Me, Dichotomy and Season of Death (s2 ep 22 and s3 ep 1).

And then Self-Inflicted Wounds parts 1 and 2 (s3 eps 3-4). Then ep 6 (Eat Me) is critical to the storyline of the rest of the season.

Actually, I'm looking at the season 3 eps, and season 3 is a pretty equal balance between plot advancement and character/relationship development. But especially with the multi-part episodes like the Infinite Possibilities 2-parter, and the Into the Lion's Den 2-parter there's plot advancement.

The season 4 eps 2-3 are major plot episodes. And then no more plot-heavy eps until Unrealized Reality, Kansas, and Terra Firma (eps 11-13). and I guess the rest of the season is actually pretty plot heavy except for ep 14. It doesn't sacrifice the character interaction and development, but the plot is moved forward or is key to the overall arc for the rest of the series after that.

So really, only less than a 3rd of Farscape episodes further the overall story along. Most other episodes are important for character development and world building. Some of them are true stand alones in that there isn't really a lot of character development, either, just kind of like a fun ep (Like Through the Looking Glass or John Quixote).

So idk, it's kind of like there are 3 types of episodes in a lot of shows. I'm thinking of Farscape, Firefly, Fringe, and Star Trek here (like TOS, TNG, VOY, DS9). There are plot heavy episodes that contribute to the overall plot or main story arc, episodes that develop characters either in relation to the plot or just backstories, and then eps that nothing really happens except a fun adventure. With Firefly I actually don't really know if they developed a min storyline yet, except for the whole thing with River. I guess that was supposed to be the main arc? But most episodes were kind of standalone eps. Like adventure of the week kinds of things which allowed for character development and character interactions/relationship development. Fringe had a bunch of "monster of the week" episodes. Some of them gave character backstories or expanded what we know about the characters, but didn't really push the arc forward (or at least you didn't realize it at the time, but like 10 episodes later it turned out to be something significant lol).

But shows like Gilmore Girls... I guess shows like that are character driven most of the time. Most of the story arcs had to do with relationships. And there were arcs like Lorelai and Sookie opening their own inn, and there were a couple episodes that almost fully revolved around that. But it doesn't really have one main storyline or arc. Even sitcoms are like this. the story arcs are usually relationship related and each ep is kind of stand alone.

I'm thinking this main storyline and filler episode thing is unique to scifi shows, actually??? Specifically the "old" ones before they started making shows that only have 6-13 episode seasons.

New Star Trek series like Picard and Discovery are 98% plot and 2% character or relationship stuff. Same with a show I watched recently called Emergence. Character relationships were developed, but every episode contributed to the one storyline. Also currently watching Containment and it's the same way. Both of those shows had 13 episodes.

[abigail-nicole]

DS9 Watch Notes

“Star Trek Deep Space 9: What if the Nazis ran a shopping mall but now they're gone and you have to be in charge of the mall” - my spouse

Season Three

bc i can’t keep reblogging those already super long posts for S1 and S2 its so rude

QUARK GETTING A KLINGON WIFE AND SOLVING HER PROBLEMS THROUGH FINANCE MAY BE MY FAVORITE EPISODE

How fucked up is it that Garak helps rescue Legate whassit from his imminent torture by the Obsidian Order and he still tells Kira “no matter what, do not trust Elim Garak” like you think it’s hard making adult friends? Try being an exiled drug addict tailor spymaster

I am not a fan of Kira/Odo when Lwaxana/Odo was canon first!!!!

This Tom Riker episode was GREAT i love the Cardassians being appropriately impressed by Sisko

Someone on Tumblr said “why are Dukat and Sisko totally into each other” and you know……yeah

“I usually make it a point to drop by Quark’s three or four times a day at random intervals just to let him know I’m thinking about him” JUST FUCK HIM ODO

Jake saying “I love you, Nerys” may be the worst thing that happened on DS9 and I am keeping a list

This sex pollen episode is the worst sex pollen episode ever. All the people you don’t want to fuck each other and none of the ones you do

At the end of the Bell Riots of 2024 episode, where Jadzia romances Elon Musk into giving rioters a platform and Sisko leads a revolt against a state that puts homeless people in ghettos, Julian asks Sisko: “how did the 21st century let things get so bad?” and I expected Avery Brooks to solemnly stare into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, to say something like “if only we had social change focused on giving rights to people, instead of giving rights to corporations and billionaires, we could prevent this future”

DS9 really has TWO episodes where Miles O’Brien dies and is replaced with an another version of himself

Julian’s Subconscious The Episode really made me like him better as a character

These character-driven eps (Julian’s Subconcious! Miles Time Traveling! Sisko’s Wife’s Alive Alternate Universe! Even Garak Gets One!) are all gold. This is where DS9 gets great

Garak interrogating Odo and they come out friends is fantastic character work for both of them

Odo’s confession that he yearns to return home and meld with the other liquids in his species needs to be followed with “but I can’t because then I won’t see Quark every day”

EP 22 SISKO GETS A GOATEE

Sisko builds a boat and Dukat calls him up like “you going to fly that ship???” DUKAT YOU ARE OBSESSED WITH HIM

Whoa Captain Sisko! But even though it’s the space navy he’s still mostly….in charge of DS9….even though captains are in charge of ships that’s what a captain means… and we already had the Defiant but I guess ummmm promotion whatever

Season 3 ending: THE SHAPESHIFTERS HAVE INFILTRATED EVERYTHING (didn’t we know this from Garak & Odo & Tain episode)

[splendiferous-soup]

Neural networks

[ID: a drawing of Elim Garak from Deep Space Nine, specifically from S2 ep22, The Wire. Garak is drawn in dark blues and reds against a black background, shirtless and twisting in intense pain. An illuminated plume of red-hot tessellated patterns fans out behind his head like an overheating computer. His hair is long and unbound, and also unlike canon depictions of cardassians, Garak has webbing under his arms, plating on his forearms and calves, claws, and a thick tail. The first image has a glitch effect on it, while the second is the same drawing but without. The third is a close up. Garak is not having a good time. End ID]

[spockvarietyhour]

Seven months ago I made a list of what I was watching. Since then I’ve finished my DS9 Rewatch as well as completed Deutschland 86, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Star Wars: Resistance and Another Life. I’m up to date on Letterkenny and doing eps that @kiranerys didn’t see, and we’ve done the first 4 seasons of B5 (rewatch for me, new for her) and S5 is probably coming soon, Charlie Jade is is short sputters and on hold till we finish The Terror (new to her). We haven’t watched the latest Red Dwarf special yet either.

I’m also watching A Series of Unfortunate events, one I haven’t seen but she has.

Up to date on Walking Dead and did Clone Wars as it aired, Mando, Picard, etc.

SG1 Rewatch remains on pause at S8.

I’ve abandoned Jessica Jones S3 about 3-4 episodes in, same with Lost in Space (didn’t care which is a shame). But I did finish Ash vs Evil Dead, S3 of the Man in the High Castle (s4 probably after Into the Badlands)

Young Indy remains a background show, an ep here or there every month. Still during The War Years.

Also occasionally doing a Electric Dreams ep, I had gotten stuck on the first two eps for so long but now it’s worthwhile.

Currently wrapping up S1 of Defiance and about halfway thru S3 of Into the Badlands. I’ve sprung on myself a New Who Rewatch, including Torchwood and Sarah Jane (I’ve never watched them except I think for the pilot and the Doctor eps). So probs no return to SG1 until after that bulk is done.

There is a sort of shadow Enterprise rewatch, nothing as detailed as TNG/DS9, but I’ve been rewatching them occasionally doing a cap or gif.

Haven’t touched anything in the maybe a rewatch category so that remains the same.

The near future and far off in the distance categories are condensed into one for now bc I don’t know what the mood will strike me, except that likely the final season of The Man in the High Castle will be after Into the Badlands. I’ll probably do the entire Defiance series before tackling anything else.

So Here’s stuff I’m planning on eventually in no particular order:

Russian Doll Dark SS-GB Planet of the Apes (which is a sorta rewatch but I never saw every episode) Titanic: Blood and Steel Fargo The Pacific BSG 78 (never saw the whole thing) Fringe (mostly rewatch there’s a few eps I never saw) Falling Skies The OA S2 The Crown S3 One Punch Man S2 Love Death and Robots Castlevania S3 Tales from the Loop Twilight Zone 2019 (tho I hear it takes a dive after the first 3 eps) Amazing Stories 2020 Black Summer For All Mankind See The Dead Lands The Purge S2 the 2 War of the Worlds series that came out last year The Rain

Potentially: Catch 22 The Night Manager Cromartie High School Black Sails Boardwalk Empire Horatio Hornblower Sharpe’s Stuff The Plot Against America (I’d read it when it came out) Dystopia

[zenosanalytic]

Discovery: Initial Reaction

So I’m liking Discovery so far. I REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE that it’s a show where women characters can just be characters, rather than being The Babe(TM) and The Mom(TM), which unfortunately seemed to be the extent of female roles for 90s Trek(under which I include any theoretical Shrub-era Treks, which thankfully were never made but would have probably been really, really awful).

My big issues are:

Yes, Saru’s food-chain thing is annoying and I hope they return to address it with something as good or better than the explanations I’ve come up with for what they could have meant.

They‘re obviously going for Alice in Wonderland parallels with the series, especially around Burnham, in most of the eps so far(can’t recall any nods in s1e5 though), and this makes me sad that Fuller left because these refs have been ham-handed and Fuller’s excellent at literary tv making.

Also, Fuller’s idea of an anthology series focusing on a new story each season was Excellent and Good and I’m pissed NBC was too myopic to go with it. Anthology just recently returned to US TV with stuff like True Detective and, yes, it’s struggled(I actually liked S2 of TD, but most didn’t) but mostly because Networks haven’t given enough time for writers to nail down their second seasons. Just do a season every two years, or commission a writer to work on the second season while the first season’s in production. Network Execs are bad at problem solving.

My worries about the show aiming for an “ends justify the means” message, which Choose Your Pain went a long way to assuaging, while also making Lorca an even more fucked-up and compelling villain than he already was. This remains my main concern, though.

Having said that, I reiterate: EM Mind-Machine Interface. Build It NOW. Perhaps now that they’re using humans as navigators, this will become a priority. I’d also have liked if they’d used whatever the predecessor of the cortical stimulator is on the Tardigrade to repair the damage they mentioned Impaling it with four huge needles and forcing it to run quantum displacement calculations against it’s will caused to its brain.

How did Mudd know Lorca? He’s been on the run for months(well, according to him, which isn’t reliable), but maybe he’s just REALLY DEDICATED to reading Space-Papers. The Federation Gazette, perhaps? Rigel News Daily?? The New Andor Times??? Maybe Fark is still up and running in the 22 century. Aggregators like that seem more Mudd’s speed; he doesn’t seem the type to RTFA :p

But yeah, mostly enjoyable on my end so far. I’ve seen some folks complain about it being too dark, and there is something to that, though personally I think it’s more aesthetic than tone. 90s Trek was filled with horrible violence and death, but it was all sterilized and clean; people died off-screen, or were vaporized; at most you’d see a little theatrical blood running from their lips and smudging their head when someone fell or got caught in a cave in, and cultural stuff like the Klingon tradition of eating their enemies was played as a joke or color-text. In Discovery, though, you see people ripped apart and twisted, spaced, Vaporization is presented as legit horrifying and also kind of absurd in e5(the addition of simple steam clouds does alot of work there), the Tardigrade impaled and bleeding, mangled body-parts laying around and the Klingon ease with eating other civilized life mentioned explicitly and off-hand in reference to a main character. The violence and death has always been there, but Discovery doesn’t clean it up or hide it the way previous Treks, and especially 90s Trek(late-season DS9 was a bit more bold on this, iirc), routinely did. IMHO, anyway.