Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S1EP4, “Babel”
Summary: After
an extended period of time running around trying to fix the various problems
with the station, O’Brien suddenly begins speaking random words instead of
normal sentences. Bashir diagnoses a form of Aphasia, but can’t figure out
where it came from…until Dax suddenly develops it too. The group quickly
deduces that the Aphasia is actually a virus, which started off in the
replicated food but manages to become airborne alarmingly quickly. Everybody is
now at risk, and the crew has to rush to find a cure before it’s too late.
Standalone
Thoughts: Speaking objectively, the episode isn’t terrible. Maybe not the
strongest material, but perfectly fine. It’s an interesting idea that could
have been fun to play with, especially if you had the patients band together to
try to figure out how to communicate (or just do the whole thing in mime).
However, on a personal level, this episode freaks me out. Being a bit of a
germaphobe in real life, I’ve always hated epidemic movies/plots. Combine that
with the fact that this virus screws with your brain and incapacitates you
mentally, and you’ve pretty much created Nightmare Fuel for me. I guess that
means the episode has an effective atmosphere, but it’s not a very fun
atmosphere, at least for me.
How it Relates to
the Whole: There’s not a lot that carries over from this episode, as far as
I can remember. There’s a throwaway line that Jake’s still hanging out with Nog,
which seems to contradict what we saw and heard in “A Man Alone”, but at least
it’s an example of continuity. We also learn from Quark and Odo that Rom is, in
their own words, an idiot, which fits more with what we see of him in later
episodes. Coming right on the heels of “A Man Alone”, though, it can be a bit
baffling. One more reason why that episode wasn’t very good, I guess.
Other: *Initially,
the episode looks like it’s going to be about the consequences of O’Brien
overworking himself trying to repair the station. This is noteworthy for two
reasons. One, I appreciate that the station is still not operating at full capacity
and needs to be worked on; after all, they haven’t been on the station for all
that long. Secondly, both Odo and Kira make jokes about O’Brien’s workload, which
I find a little mean-spirited. The guy is clearly exhausted, so even a gentle
ribbing seems inappropriate.
*Quark is far and away the best character this episode.
He’s devious (with an ability to hack into the computer systems that could be
interesting if they include it in later episodes), gets all the best lines, and
winds up being both the villain (he’s responsible for the virus spreading) and
the hero (stepping up to the plate when pretty much everyone else is
incapacitated). Nice going, writers.
*Speaking of the writers, I wonder if they had fun
writing the Aphasic lines. It seems like it would be relatively easy work,
because you could just write the first words that came into your head. Or maybe
try your hand at poetry; some of the sentence constructions are quite lyrical.
*Also, this joke has to have been made before, but even
so…given the fact that some of the scenes require extensive medical and/or
scientific technobabble, there are moments when you can’t help but wonder if
the characters are developing Aphasia or if it’s just another day at the
office. It’s an amusing thought, though it did heighten the tension for me a
little.
* “I suppose the Bajoran underground could have smuggled
it aboard during construction…before I
took over as head of Security.” Odo, your defensiveness is showing…and I like
it. It’s a nice character beat.
Best Line/Exchange:
Admittedly, this one’s less about the line and more about the delivery;
Sisko: Well,
Quark, I see even you couldn’t weasel your way clear of this one.
Quark: You
underestimate the Ferengi immune system, Commander. I’m merely here visiting my
less-fortunate customers to make sure they’re not faking the illness to avoid
paying their bills.
Sisko (moving
off): No one could be that devious.
Quark (waving a
hand dismissively): I am.
It’s just such a matter-of-fact, quietly said aside, that
it gave me my only real smile in the episode. And given the content of the
episode, that makes me appreciate it all the more.
Sounds like the first month has had two decent episodes and two meh ones. Do you think the show had developed a clear identity yet, or was it just the next Star Trek series after TNG was in the wind down stage?
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, which characters stand out and have real personalities (Quark, Sisko, Odo?) and which are still just character summaries (Dax, Kira, Jake?) at this point? Any big changes in character yet (other than Rom changing from one episode to the next)?
I'd say it's still shaking off the TNG cobwebs, but it's definitely developing its own identity. The moral ambiguity of "Past Prologue" is like nothing I remember seeing in TNG, and as you'll see in today's entry, that was clearly the path the writers wanted to go down.
DeleteCharacter wise, I'd say Kira was a well-developed character from the word go. She absolutely shines in the first two episodes, and she's got some good scenes in "Babel" as well. Quark's also rapidly taking shape as the scoundrel with a good heart underneath, as evidenced by his actions in the last two episodes. O'Brien comes into his own in today's episode, but you can see a few hints of it in "A Man Alone". And then there's Bashir, who...frankly, whiplashes between being a competent doctor and being an awkward, idiotic dork. The writers haven't quite found a way to mesh his professional side and his social life, though it does make him stand out, just not in a good way. Everyone else still needs more molding, though Odo and Sisko have been given tidbits here and there. But as you can see, everyone's well on their way. Not bad for the first month.