Day 9: DS9, Move Along Home

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S1EP9, “Move Along Home”

 Summary: The DS9 crew is about to make the first formal first contact with a species from the Gamma Quadrant. Said species is the Wadi, a group that’s fascinated by games, and would prefer to spend time at Quark’s rather than the usual Starfleet formal gatherings. When Quark gets dismayed at how much the Wadi are winning at Dabo, he starts cheating, but once he’s caught out, the Wadi suggest they play a game from their home planet, Chula. What Quark doesn’t realize until it’s too late is that the four pieces on the board aren’t just random pieces…they’re Sisko, Kira, Dax, and Bashir, who have been transported to a different location and now have to try to figure out what’s going on, while surviving the challenges being thrown their way. As gambling games go, that’s a fairly creative way to raise the stakes.

Standalone Thoughts: One of the problems with TV shows is that, generally speaking, it’s kind of hard to put your characters in genuine life-threatening peril. We’re starting to move away from that with shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, but I think having a risk that anyone could die was generally unheard of back in the 90’s (though you can feel free to correct me in the comments). The point being, it’s hard to believe that Sisko and the others are in real danger throughout this episode, because it’s highly unlikely that they’d kill off any characters nine episodes in (no, not even the annoying ones like Bashir). This is even more obvious on a rewatch, when you know for a fact that everything’s going to turn out ok. So while the characters appropriately treat the situation as serious, that tension isn’t really felt by the audience, which I think robs the episode of a bit of its power.

That being said, the episode itself isn’t bad. Done a little differently, it could be a neat concept (a concept that’s been done before, of course, but as with all concepts, there are numerous variations to play with). In fact, I think I’d have enjoyed an episode later down the line where the characters play the game again, now knowing what they’re in for. Would the player at the wheel be more callous, knowing no one will get seriously hurt? Would that lead to some hard feelings among the people chosen to be the pieces? Could the situations faced in the game be used to train for situations they might encounter in the real world? It’s something I feel could have been more explored, especially since we still don’t know how the game works (or how it chooses which people to turn into pieces).

As for the character work, it’s not at the same level as some of the other episodes, but it’s still decent. Quark and Odo have some good moments, and we can see the various differences in how Sisko, Dax, Bashir, and especially Kira react to unfamiliar situations. Not bad for an episode that’s ultimately supposed to be a fluff piece.

How it Relates to the Whole: Primmin shows up again in this episode, to my surprise. My memory of early DS9 is hazy, so this was an unexpected development. Whether or not he appears in future episodes, or if he’ll ever have a major impact on the plot, I’m not sure, but it’s another thing to add to my “keep an eye on” pile.

Otherwise, this episode is mostly a one-off. We’re reminded of Keiko’s school (and on a sidenote, O’Brien has been missing for three episodes now) and Jake’s friendship with Nog, but that’s maintaining continuity rather than advancing the plot. About the only new thing the episode brings to the table is the suggestion that Jake is growing into a young man that’s interested in girls and doesn’t always listen to his father. But given that you can find that plot in almost any movie or show with a teenage character, this doesn’t really come as a surprise.

Other: *Bashir returns to the “endearingly awkward” spectrum of his Season One personality, somehow managing to forget where he put his dress uniform and fretting about it. It’s a nice bit of business, but it continues to highlight the issues the crew is having with the character.

*Everyone makes a big deal about the fact that Quark was cheating at Dabo, but while I understand why on one level, it just struck me as appropriate. After all, Vegas and other gambling establishments do their best to make sure the house has the advantage, so this seemed like a natural course of action to me. Besides, this is Quark we’re talking about.

*I know we accept a lot when it comes to technology in sci-fi shows, but the storage of the Chula board makes no sense to me. It appears to be semi-holographic, but it also gets contained in a box that’s maybe about the size of a wine bottle. I guess there’s some transporter technology involved, but it still stretches my suspension of disbelief.

*I really hate to keep dumping on Bashir/Alexander Siddig, but his screams to try to wake himself up from what he thinks is a nightmare don’t sound remotely convincing. I can’t fake scream to save my life, and even I think I could have put a little more fear into it.

*There’s a small hint of warmth in Odo’s voice as he knowingly suggests that Jake is going to the docking ports to look at girls. It’s sweet, if mysterious, since Odo doesn’t seem like the type who’d do that. Still, it’s a sign that Odo has more sides to his personality than “prickly”.

*While it’s more coincidental than anything, I appreciate that it takes the four players working together to solve the first puzzle they encounter. It’s a good parallel to the teamwork they display in the real world.

* I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the game has some similarities to Dungeons and Dragons, with the dice rolling and roleplaying, though in this case “roleplaying” means the characters doing what comes naturally to them without being aware of the larger situation. It doesn’t really add much to your appreciation of the episode, but I was intrigued by the comparison.

Best Line/Exchange: We continue the trend of “Primmin gets schooled in the new way of doing things” with this exchange;

(Odo and Primmin have discovered a possible cause for the disappearances)

Odo: I’d think we’d better go take a look.

Primmin: No, wait a minute, Odo! You can’t just go storming onto their ship without their permission!

Odo (sarcastically): Oh, is that Starfleet policy?

Primmin: That’s right.

Odo: Well I’m not in Starfleet. (Moving to the transporter pad) Set the coordinates to midway down the second deck corridor.

Primmin: Uh…

Odo (impatiently): Is it against Starfleet policy to press a few buttons?!

Primmin (cowed/resigned): Energizing.

While I’ll generally be trying to not consecutively choose lines that have a similar theme, Odo’s delivery is so perfect here that it beat out any of the other contenders. I’m not sure how long Primmin’s going to stick around, but if he keeps providing an excuse to let DS9 differentiate itself from its older sibling, I’m happy to have him.

After the Fact Update: This is an occasional segment that will only pop up when relevant. I’ve just acquired a copy of The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block, and plan to read the entry on the relevant episode after I’ve written up my own thoughts. That way, I can see if it answers any of my questions or provides some behind-the-scenes information that’s relevant to either the episode, the show, or the circumstances surrounding the show (i.e. if there was a writer’s strike that made things difficult). I’ll be going back and adding this to some relevant entries as well, though there are only three (Past Prologue, Q-Less, and The Passenger for the curious). Anyway, I’m mostly putting one in this entry to explain how it’s going to work, and to mention that so far, the Companion hasn’t suggested that the reason O’Brien is off the station is because of something in Colm Meaney’s personal life. Which is reassuring and implies that Star Trek was slowly moving away from the era where every actor mentioned in the opening credits had to appear and say at least one line.

It’s also worth noting that this episode apparently was supposed to be far more complex than the budget could afford, and thus is considered a bit of a disappointment among the staff, to the point where a word from the episode became a sort of in-joke among them whenever things weren’t working out. I think they’re being a little too harsh on it, but now I understand why I felt like there was more that could be explored.