Deep Space Nine 1x15 -- Progress; 1x16 -- If Wishes Were Horses

[butterfly]

Oh! I remember this episode. Or, rather, I remember not liking it much. I wonder if I'll like it more this time around.

Aw... I like the Jake and Nog subplot. Those two are so cute together.

I think I'm supposed to be irritated but charmed by the old man.

I'm mostly just bored.

Hee. The Jake/Nog plotline continues to amuse me far beyond I remember it doing. Self-sealing stembolts. Hee.

Julian was, as always, really enjoyable to watch.

The Bajoran uniform is not flattering. And it's worse without the tunic.

Well, the Kira plotline gets a bit better whenever Sisko's around.

Still mostly boring, though.



One reason that the alien species of Star Trek seldom ring true is because they always feel the need to use 'human' words to describe, for example, animals. Like 'a Banarian hawk'. Why a hawk? Why in the multiverse would Quark say 'hawk'? It's clearly said so that we can easily pick up the right image and it feels like being spoonfed. We heard the word 'hovering', we get the bird of prey imagery. You don't need to say 'hawk'. Make up something. Sheesh.

And they do this all the time. Apparently, every single alien species will correspond to an earth-based one. And they don't always do it, I know, I'm over-reacting. I just think that the word 'hawk' should bloody well mean a hawk. Earth word. Earth animal. Imagination is a good thing.

I mean, I get it. Universal translator. I just don't like it. It takes any richness out of alien worlds (like the way that we're supposed to believe that every world is pretty much united and homogenous -- this is a problem that gets painted over a lot (I've adored the few Stargate episodes that showed that this isn't true -- and they never seem to expect it to be true)). Again, I know. Gene Roddenberry's 'enlightened' future.

Hee. Julian. "You are constantly in my thoughts."

So cute. They do make adorable friends. I love his melodramatic heartbreak.

"How is our young doctor?"
"Young."

Hee. So cute.

As are O'Brien and his daughter. Such cuteness!

It's interesting to see the three different characters that appear.

Because they all come from what the person was concentrating on in that moment -- Jake creates Buck because he's playing baseball with him. The O'Briens' were creating Rumpelstiltskin by telling his story. And Julian was clearly having... an erotic dream. But they're all aware of reality. Julian may have been dreaming about a Jadzia who was utterly focused on pleasing him, but it was just a wet dream, not something that he believes could happen or really wants in reality (he immediately recoils when he thinks that the 'real' Jadzia is hitting on him and she has to kiss and talk him into indulging -- and even then, he totally doesn't really believe it, judging by his behavior when they get called).

I like this episode quite a bit, though it doesn't really elicit deep thoughts for me.

It's like a compressed and higher quality version of that Sphere movie. It's fun.