Day 56: DS9, Past Tense (Part 1)

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S3EP11, “Past Tense, Part 1”

 Summary: The senior staff of DS9 has returned to Earth to give a talk on Gamma Quadrant activities, but when Sisko, Dax, and Bashir beam down, something goes awry. Thanks to chroniton particles given off by the Defiant’s cloaking device, the transporter sent them to 2024, when the unwanted citizens were sent into Sanctuary areas, which actually means one giant slum. But Sisko knows that in a few days, there’s going to be a massive uprising that allows for reforms, even at the cost of hundreds of lives. In order to preserve the timeline, he and Bashir (Dax having been found and looked after by a person of means) are going to have to stay out of things, even though they know what’s coming. This being both Star Trek and a two parter, we know it’s not going to be that easy.

Standalone Thoughts: When I watched DS9 the first time around, there was a particular block of episodes that wasn’t particularly well-received by my family, to the point that we were worried that the show had lost its way. That block started with “Defiant” and went through “Past Tense”. On a rewatch, “Defiant” and “Fascination” weren’t great, but I didn’t react really negatively to them. This one, on the other hand…

This episode is nothing but preaching, and even worse, it’s clearly trying to send a very specific message. Other preachy episodes are about general topics (racism’s a big one), and while those are also annoying, at least they’re generally broad. But given that this episode is set in 2024, a time that most of the audience would live to see (it was broadcast in January 1995), I get the very distinct impression that the writers were saying “Beware, audience! Based on the world we see around us, the future we’ve written here could actually happen! Go out and do something about it!” Their hearts might be in the right place, but their way of raising awareness is just as likely to turn people off as it is to drum up support.

So what exactly are they preaching about? Let’s see…just off the top of my head, I’d say classism, treatment of the homeless, the poor, and the mentally ill, and the inefficient, uncaring bureaucracy. So you get Sisko and Bashir making long speeches about how awful everything is, mixed in with scenes of squalor to drive the point home even further. I seriously think half the episode is taken up with somebody Making A Point, while the rest of the episode is filled with exposition and technobabble. It’s not a lot of fun to watch, and therefore, I’d rather spend as little time on it as I have to.

How it Relates to the Whole: While we’re only in Part 1, I remember enough of this episode to state with near certainty that this particular two-parter has no relevance to the rest of the show, aside from one very brief throwaway gag in a Ferengi episode. Irrelevant and preachy; the worst of both worlds, really.

Other: *Why, exactly, did Dax get transported to the bottom of a staircase, instead of being close to Sisko and Bashir? The space looked big enough for all three of them, and there’s a fair distance between the two areas. It makes no sense other than for plot reasons, and that’s never a good thing.

*That being said, I will give Dax credit for managing to think on her feet and respond appropriately despite being dazed and only having the vaguest idea what’s going on. She even explains her comm badge away as a brooch. Looks like those eight lifetimes of experience taught Dax how to roll with the punches.

*Bashir says he’s never really studied 21^st century history because it’s “too depressing”. Given that I’m writing this in 2017, seven years before the events of this episode, I could make a lot of jokes about this line. However, it’s also an obvious source of humor, so I’m going to leave off and let you guys come up with your own jokes. I bet they’d be cleverer than mine, anyway.

Best Line/Exchange: So much of this episode is taken up with preaching that it’s hard to find a quote that doesn’t irritate me in some way. Which leaves me with;

Bashir: It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Are humans really any different than Cardassians or Romulans? If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation, if we are frightened enough or desperate enough, how would we react? Would we stay true to our ideals or…do we just stay here? Right back where we started.

Sisko: I don’t know. But as a Starfleet officer, it’s my job to make sure we never have to find out.

It’s still preachy, but it could also be interpreted as foreshadowing. I certainly know of moments later in the show when this question gets answered. And in a larger sense, I wonder if this exchange was meant to relate to the upcoming Voyager, since “something disastrous” does happen to a starship, and they’re (in theory) confronted with having to make difficult choices. Yeah, it’s a reach, but it’s all I’ve got.