Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S3EP18, “Distant Voices”
Standalone
Thoughts: On a first viewing, this episode is fine. It’s an interesting
idea, has a good atmosphere, and while it sometimes feels like the writing is
getting a bit pretentious and overly symbolic, everything does wind up making
sense. My issue on rewatching the episode, though, is that I spent more time
trying to figure out how this episode fits in to later developments in the
overarching story, and the answer is far more complicated than you might think.
So if you’re big on continuity, this might be an episode you only want to watch
once.
In an attempt to be fair, though, I’d say the episode is
overall well-executed. I have to give the writers tremendous credit for not
waiting till the very end to reveal it’s an “all in his head” plot, instead
revealing it twenty minutes in and then building off of that to continue the
story. The combination of age makeup and Siddig’s acting does a fine job of
convincing us that Bashir is gradually getting older and more frail. If you’re
less distracted by future events than I am, there’s probably a good chance this
episode will hold up well. It’s just an episode that it’s hard for me to look
at objectively, in more ways than one.
How it Relates to
the Whole: This episode doesn’t have a lot of ramifications for the main
plot, given that it all takes place inside Bashir’s head. However, I am going to bring it up again when we
hit that plot development I mentioned above, so this isn’t the last we’ll be
hearing about it. It’s just coming up for entirely different reasons.
Other: *Bashir’s
monologue on how turning thirty makes him feel old is understandable in one
sense and kind of baffling to me in another. To me, your thirties are a sort of
limbo decade; the twenties are young adulthood and the forties are middle-age.
I guess that would make the thirties true adulthood by my standards. Then
again, maybe Bashir’s opinion was more the prevailing opinion back in the 90’s,
and I’m just looking back with a 21st century perspective. Either
way, I’m not entirely sure what I think about this.
*I do have to chuckle at the fact that some of the ideas
put forward for what’s happened to the station (before the reveal, obviously)
are some of the standard Trek plots,
like anomalies or viruses. One wonders if the writers were subtly poking fun at
the clichés. Given some of what they do later, that wouldn’t be a surprise.
Best
Line/Exchange: This is another one of those episodes where I knew the best
line before I even started watching. However, it’s also a huge SPOILER, so click away now if you’d
rather be surprised.
Garak: You know
Doctor, what I find most fascinating about this entire incident is how your unconscious
mind chose people you know to represent the various parts of your personality.
Bashir: Well,
it did make things interesting.
Garak: And what I find interesting is how your mind
ended up casting me in the role of the villain.
Bashir: Oh, I
wouldn’t read too much into that, Garak.
Garak: Well, how
can I not? To think, after all this time, all our lunches together, you still
don’t trust me. (lays a hand on Bashir’s
arm) There’s hope for you yet, Doctor.
That last moment is just so very appropriate for Garak,
and I’ve borrowed that kind of “unexpected happy reaction to a perceived insult”
for my own work. For that alone, I need/want to pay tribute to it.
As the third season approaches it close, how would you assess the show in terms of overall cohesiveness and in terms of the characters? Who is interesting and 3-D and who is flat? If the latter, is it writing or acting?
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a stronger season than One or Two, but it's not as cohesive as it will later become. The Dominion is WAY in the background in most of the episodes (after "The Search", they've only really had a part to play in two episode), so we're still mostly dealing with "situation of the week". They can be fun scenarios, but still.
DeleteCharacter wise, Kira's still good, though she hasn't been in the spotlight as much. Bashir's improved immensely (though that may be my bias speaking), and while Odo hasn't really had to confront the implications of "The Search", the fact that he has feelings for Kira is an interesting development. And of course, Garak's finally starting to get some development of his own, which I can get behind.
In the middle are Quark and O'Brien, who have found their roles (scoundrel and everyman) and play them well. Sometimes they do something that really makes them stand out, but most of the time they're just doing their jobs. They're dependable, and that's in no way a bad thing.
The weaker links, in my mind, are Dax and Sisko. There's nothing really wrong with Sisko, but he doesn't really do all that much either. He's at his best in crisis situations, and the station hasn't been in a lot of those lately. Plus, he only occasionally has interactions with Jake, so the "family man" aspect of him isn't getting a chance to be explored too much either. So that's more of a writing/situational thing than Avery Brooks' fault. Dax, on the other hand, remains poorly developed at best and Mary-Sue like at worst. Whether that's a writing thing, an acting thing, or a combination of the two, I can't really say.
In conclusion, the show is decent (a lot more hits than misses this season, for one thing), as are most of the characters. I think things really start kicking off in Season Four, though I've still got another week or so to go before I'll know for sure. Still, I've got high hopes.