Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S1EP14, “Progress”
Standalone
Thoughts: I had a vague memory of this episode, especially the ending, and
I thought it would be stronger than it actually was. In practice, it’s just a
far weaker “Past Prologue”, only this time Kira’s torn between what’s best for
Bajor and her sympathies towards Mullibok. And unlike “Past Prologue” there’s
not as much of a dilemma here. The situation with Tahna happened when Bajor was
still newly liberated and Kira was chafing at the Federation’s involvement, so
it’s not hard to see why she might be swayed to Tahna’s side. Here, the mining
operation is being orchestrated by the Bajoran government, and it will be a
great help to the planet, while on the other side…three people will lose their
farm. The episode even points this out. While it’s not an ideal situation, this
is an unquestionable case of “the good of the many outweighs the needs of the
few”. Kira’s actions, therefore, come across as baffling to me, and so I find
it hard to get invested in the situation.
(Semi-digression; I’m trying to watch these episodes without being influenced by outside sources. However, long before I started this project, I stumbled across video reviewer SFDebris, who got his start reviewing Star Trek and has now branched out into other forms of sci-fi. He’s both funny and informative, and I heartily recommend checking his work out. I mention him in this case because, while I haven’t seen many of his DS9 reviews [and will be studiously avoiding them until I’m done with this project], he discussed relocation of a few to benefit the many in his review of the movie Star Trek; Insurrection, and his arguments kept flitting across my mind as I watched the episode. If you don’t mind spoilers for that movie, you might want to give it a look [it’s right at the beginning of Part 2, though he raises some unrelated points that also apply to this episode in Part 1] to see where I’m coming from.)
It’s also hard for me to get invested because Mullibok
ends up being more annoying than endearing to me. He hits pretty much all of
the “old man” tropes—stubborn, old-fashioned, prone to telling long stories
that are probably exaggerated—and while Keith does give him a little charm, it
starts to wear thin pretty quickly. While I understand objectively why Kira
would be swayed by him, her actual decision to do so doesn’t feel believable
based on what we see in the episode. Maybe I’m missing some nuances, but
nothing about this rings true. To make matters worse, the episode has hints of
depth, both when it acknowledges that this is three people versus thousands of
people and in an exchange between Sisko and Kira, but it just doesn’t translate
to the screen. A little more rewriting might have fixed it, but as it stands,
it’s pretty weak.
The subplot, sad to say, isn’t much better. It’s amusing,
to be sure, but relies on Nog and Jake being dumb. Neither of them seem to know
how to get through Quark to get the Yamok sauce, when the obvious answer is to
just offer to throw it out for him to get it off his hands. Heck, charge him
for the labor while you’re at it; isn’t that a Ferengi thing to do? And then
they do wind up doing something like
that, making you wonder what all their worrying was about in the first place.
Later, while trying to figure out what to do with a different collection of
stuff, they have no idea how to figure out what that stuff (self-sealing bolts)
even does. Three words; ask the computer. Surely it has something in its
databases. But that thought never even occurs to them. Finally, while the
resolution of the plot is fun, it relies too much on coincidence, which is
necessary for the sake of the plot but could really have been disguised better.
Even the claim that it’s a parallel to the opening scene doesn’t justify it. I’ll
certainly take it over the rest of the episode, but it also could use a little
polishing.
How it Relates to
the Whole: I’m pretty sure this episode is fairly inconsequential. Mullibok
doesn’t appear again, and while we may (though I can’t remember for sure) get
an episode or two that follows up on Nog and Jake’s antics, that’s not going to
lead to anything either. About the only two things that have any connection to
what comes later is a hint of Dax’s later, more flirtatious personality, and
Kira’s continuing hatred of the Cardassians and difficulties in figuring out
how to proceed now that the occupation is over.
On a related note, both this episode and “The Storyteller”
would have been good places to use Kai Opaka, to build her up a bit more before
the events of “Battle Lines”. I’m not sure what the production times were for
the episodes, or how many of them were written in advance, but with the benefit
of hindsight, I think it should have gone like this. Put “The Storyteller”
earlier in the season, and have Opaka on hand to try to settle the tensions. Then,
a month or so later, air this episode and have Opaka visit Mullibok to offer a
friendlier face, only for him to reject her because he’s more focused on his
farm than the wisdom of the prophets. The changes wouldn’t affect these
episodes all at once, and it would allow us to get to know Opaka a little
better, allowing her death in “Battle Lines” to have more impact; after all, we’d
been seeing her semi-regularly, so we wouldn’t suspect a thing. And as a bonus,
this episode in particular would have let us see Kira’s anger and frustration,
making her emotional breakdown in “Battle Lines” feel more earned. But as they
say, hindsight is 20/20.
Other: *I know
they were trying to go for a rustic feel at Mullibok’s farm, but the fact that the
first appearance of his two farmhands gives off a very redneck/hillbilly vibe
feels like overkill.
*Despite everything else that happens in Kira’s plot, I
do like Sisko’s way of coming up with a little more time to resolve the situation.
It seems very like him.
Best
Line/Exchange: I really didn’t have a lot to work with this time. So the
best I could come up with was;
Kira: You’re trying
to make me mad.
Mullibok:(grins) How
am I doing?
Kira: Not well
enough to get rid of me.
Mullibok: Damn!
Brian Keith’s delivery and expressions make the scene
amusing, and since the “stubborn old man” shtick hasn’t gotten old yet, it
makes you somewhat disposed towards the character. Which I suppose is better
than nothing.
After the Fact
Update: The DS9 Companion suggests
that the original intent for Mullibok was for him to be a lot less friendly,
which may explain the difficulties I was having with the character. Though that
might have made Kira’s investment in him even harder to justify.
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