Star Trek: ...Nor the Battle to the Strong

Episode: "...Nor the Battle to the Strong"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 4

Original Air Date: October 21, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Jake Sisco tags along with Dr. Bashir to a medical conference, hoping to find an interesting story to write about.  Instead, the story finds him.  During the return journey, they receive a distress call from Ajilon Prime where a Federation colony is under attack by the Klingons.  Reluctantly, in light of the danger he would be putting Jake in, Bashir heads down to help the medical staff.  In what feels more like a M*A*S*H battalion aid station episode than Star Trek, Jake gets far more material than he bargained for.

Was it not just a couple episodes ago that I wrote about DS9's frankness regarding the horrors of war?  "...Nor the Battle to the Strong" is the roughest, most intimate example.  The writers drew heavily from literary classics: Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, Erich Maria Remarch's All Quiet on the Western Front and, most extensively, Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.  The episode title comes from Ecclesiastes 9:11.

It's worth nothing that at this late stage of the series, Jake Sisko, who because of child labor limitations has had by far the least material among the principals, is the central character for two of of the best episodes so far: this one and "The Visitor."  While Tony Todd did most of the heavy lifting in the earlier story, it's all on 18-year old Cedric Lofton this time.  It represents a major step forward for the character, too.  Most Jake stories - even "The Visitor" - had been framed within the context of his relationship with his father.  This time, he's a young man out on his own - a very young man.  

18.  In 2026, we still send 18-year-olds to the battlefield as professional soldiers.  All of the fear, confusion and guilt we watch Jake endure would be perfectly understandable for someone twice his age, particularly for one with zero previous military or medical training.  I and most of the people who are likely to read this have only ever experienced or even considered war from a great distance and thank goodness for that.  I expect the same is true for most Star Trek fans.  

Though other stories have had hints, no Trek episode has ever come anywhere near war with comparable personal intensity either before or, honestly, since.  Yes, there has been death, pain, injury and recovery.  But nothing like this.  It was a one-shot deal and for my money, they did it right.

Food Notes

There isn't much levity in "...Nor the Battle to the Strong" but we do get a little in the beginning of Act One as Quark makes an attempt at creating a decaffeinated raktajino:

Acting Notes

via Criminal Minds Wiki

Andrew Kavovit played the role of Kirby, an orderly at the battlefield hospital.  Kavovit was born in the Bronx, July 19, 1971.  He was only 25 himself and a young-looking 25 at that.  The script called for an actor not much older than Jake, a more worldly-wise mirror for our naïve hero.  

Kavovit was a genuine soap opera star, playing Paul Ryan on As the World Turns from 1986-91, winning a Daytime Emmy in 1990.  He also had a principal role on The Magnificent Seven TV series.  Guest appearances include Full House, My So-Called Life and Married... with Children.

On the Road: DC, Christmas 2025

We were in Washington, DC over Christmas to visit my parents.  

As a family, we've grown fond of the Hirshhorn, The Smithsonian's modern art museum.  Modern art has always been an easy sell with our child, especially when they were little.  The Hirshhorn is also significantly less crowded than other sights on the Mall and exhibits are always changing.  A few current highlights:

Head by Nicolas Party

The Cyclist (Le cycliste) by Auguste Herbin

Woman in a Hat (Marie-Thérèse Walter) by Pablo Picasso

We did see a few National Guard folks around - what a joke.  As a community, DC detests the current president so expressions of resistance are everywhere.  This was one of my favorites, spotted on a bookstore bulletin board:

Finally, my wife and I shared this spectacular dessert, Pão de Açúcar, at The Grill from Ipanema:

Despite our best efforts, we couldn't finish it.

Star Trek: Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places

Episode: "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 3

Original Air Date: October 14, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Grilka, Quark's Klingon ex-wife, arrives on the station.  Quark wants to sleep with her.  Worf is deeply impressed by her, too, but alas his family dishonor puts him out of the running.  Instead, he agrees to help Quark woo her.  Meanwhile, Miles and Kira, the live-in surrogate mother of his child, are growing too close for comfort.

Star Trek can get pretty heavy.  Every once in a while, we need a story that's just flat out funny.  L4piAtWP delivers.  The story is a Cyrano de Bergerac send up.  The exploration of Klingon mating rituals alone is worth the price of admission.  And the Cyrano character (Worf) gets the girl.  But it's a different girl from the one he initially had in mind.  Dax seduces him, the beginning of an important DS9 romance.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

On top of everything else, we get the return of an original series guest star: Joseph Ruskin.  This time, he is Tumek, Grilka's advisor, his second appearance in the role.  In TOS's "The Gamesters of Treskelion," he was Galt.  Overall, Ruskin had six different Trek roles over four different series and a movie.

Ruskin was born Joseph Richard Schlafman in Haverhill, Massachusetts, April 14, 1924.  He served in the Navy before studying at Carnegie Mellon.  Other television appearances include Mission: Impossible, The Twilight Zone and Hogan's Heroes.  Films include The Magnificent Seven, Prizzi's Honor and Indecent Proposal.  

Raskin was on the board of the Screen Actors Guild for 23 years.  He passed away in 2013.  

Squid Flicks: Dirty Dancing

Title: Dirty Dancing

Director: Emile Ardolino

Original Release: May 12, 1987

My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

The child is home from college for winter break.  On Saturday night, they suggested a Patrick Swayze movie...

It's 1963.  Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is heading to Mount Holyoke in the fall.  But there's still time for one more summer adventure before college.  She and her family go to the same resort every year.  This year, she falls in love with her dance instructor, Johnny (Swayze).

Dirty Dancing was a massive hit, the breakthrough film for Swayze.  If 1986 was Tom Cruise's year as ranking heartthrob, the summer of '87 belonged to Swayze.  The 1980s were teen movies' heyday and I have to say, Dirty Dancing holds up pretty well compared to most of them.  Neither Grey nor Swayze was an exceptional actor but their characters are compelling.  Baby always does the right thing even when she knows she's likely to suffer for it.  Johnny is the guy who takes care of the people close to him - tough but loving.

Honestly, though, what really makes the movie work, even 38 years later, is the dancing.  Dance movies were big at the time - Footloose, Flashdance, etc.  It was a good time for professional dancers in the film industry.  Dirty Dancing was different.  The casting call for Johnny was for a dancer who could act rather than an actor who could dance.  What's the difference, you ask?  It's the difference between Gene Kelly and John Travolta.  There are people who learn to dance and there are people who move like dancers. Patrick Swayze was clearly the latter.  To play Johnny, he wasn't merely supposed to dance.  He had to be convincing as a dance instructor.

Swayze's dance cred was real.  His mother was a dancer and film choreographer.  He grew up studying ballet, ultimately training in New York at Harkness and Joffrey.  He hurt his knee playing football.  On the bright side, the injury kept him out of the Vietnam War.  On the down side, it hampered his dance career.  

Fortunately, he was still plenty good enough to play Johnny.  He moves beautifully through the entire film: strong, graceful, balanced, purposeful, precise.  Of course his considerable good looks and muscular physique don't hurt.  I think he only wears a shirt for about half of his total screen time.

Sure, Grey is good, too - quite charming in her first lead role.  But there's no doubt, it's Swayze's film.

I don't think I'd watched the movie since my own teenage years.  As with many such films, one watches differently with life experience, particularly from the parent perspective.  Parents are the villains in 1980s teen movies.  They're abusive, neglectful or just plain foolish.  Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach) is an exception.  Baby believes he's being a class snob when he forbids her from dating Johnny.  But that's not it.  Dad misunderstands the situation.  He believed Johnny knocked up his previous girlfriend, then abandoned her for Baby.  Frankly, I wouldn't take well to that either.  Once Dad learns the truth, he apologizes.  He just wants his daughters to be safe and happy - to be with men who respect them.  Because he's a good father.

I do wish they stuck with period music throughout rather than sprinkling in 1980s contemporary hits.  I realize it's hard to argue with success.  The soundtrack is one of the best-selling albums of all-time at 32 million copies.  The lead track, "I Had the Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, topped the charts and won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Grammy.  But in the film itself, while all of the '60s songs hit just right, the '80s songs pull me out of the moment.

But it's hard to argue with success.

A parting treat... the Muppets make everything better.

Star Trek: Remember

Episode: "Remember"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 6

Original Air Date: October 9, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Torres is having dreams.  Powerful dreams.  Deeply erotic dreams.  They don't feel like dreams.  They feel real.  Could it have something to do with the race of emphaths who are visiting Voyager?

"Remember" was originally intended as a NextGen episode - a Deanna Troi story.  In many ways, I'd say it works better as a Torres vehicle for the simple reason that, as she is not emphathic herself, it takes her longer to figure out what's going on - and what to do about it.  Oddly, the implanted dream idea feels similar to "The Inner Light" in the beginning, before the plot's dark turn...

"Remember" is a Holocaust narrative.  Jora Mirell, one of the visiting Enarans, shares her memories with Torres in order to expose the dark history of her world, specifically the genocide exacted upon the Regressives, members of a low-tech society.  In her youth, Mirell had a clandestine love affair with one of the Regressives.  Her lover was executed right in front of her.  Her long-term, suppressed pain drives her to share the truth.

The ultimate resolution - "We can't really do anything, B'Elanna, because of the Prime Directive" - is frustrating, though probably the right call, at least in the Star Trek context.  In 1996, war in the Balkans (discussed here) was still ongoing.  The 1994 genocide in Rwanda was also very much on people's minds.  The intervention questions hadn't gotten any easier.

"Remember" is an emotional roller coaster and a meaningful one.

Acting Notes

via Lostpedia

Bruce Davison played the role of Jareth, Jora Mirrell's father and an Enaran leader during the "resettlement" of the Regressives.  Davison was born in Philadelphia, June 28, 1946.  He got a Bachelor's in art from Penn State, then an MFA in acting from NYU.

Films include Willard, X-Men and X2.  On television, he had principal cast roles on Hunter, Harry and the Hendersons and Close to Home.  He was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for Longtime Companion.  He has two Emmy nominations: one for acting in Touched by an Angel and one for directing for Off Season.

On the Road: Northampton, December 2025

Regular visitors have probably caught on that I've fallen in love with Northampton, Massachusetts over the past few years.  With big changes coming for our child in the near future, I'm starting to feel wistful about the place in anticipation.  Each visit feels precious.  I'm excited for new adventures ahead, too.  But Northampton is a special place.  Assuming the next step will move our family geography in new directions, I'm already starting to miss Noho.

It was just me going down this time - for a variety of reasons, not such an easy time for my wife to get away.  No worries.  I enjoy time alone with the kid.

You may have heard that it's been unseasonably cold in New England this month.  As such, sitting and chatting at a bar or café held a lot more appeal than wandering around town.  You also may have heard that the young generation doesn't drink as much alcohol as mine did.  It's certainly true in our family.  As I sampled IPAs, the kid - despite being of age AND despite the fact Dad was buying - was happy with root beer.

Chatting was wonderful.  The kid is at an exciting life stage.  College has aroused passions and helped form a vision.  Growing up, making decisions - about anything - was like pulling teeth.  No more.  They know what they want.  Finding it might be a trick.  But a vision is a great start.

With the combination of the cold weather and the engaging conversation, taking photos wasn't a high priority.  But I did get a shot of the charming Whatley Diner on the way home.  

Star Trek: The Ship

Episode: "The Ship"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 2

Original Air Date: October 6, 1996

via Memory Alpha

During a planetary survey, the away team (including Sisko, Dax, O'Brien and Worf) observe a Jem'Hadar ship crash-landing on the surface.  They move quickly to investigate, eager to learn about its technology.  Not surprisingly, a Vorta arrives soon after with her own Jem'Hadar detail.  Tensions mount quickly.  The Jem'Hadar clearly have the upper hand yet they are unwilling to simply destroy the ship and its current Starfleet occupants, the obvious tactical move.  Clearly, there is something aboard of great value.  But what?

Hot damn, is this one good!  

As ever, both writing and acting are outstanding.  The tension that builds between the principals is 100% believable.  The plot twist, while not Keyser Soze-level, is dazzlingly executed.  There are wonderful Trekkie treats.  Kilana (the Vorta) is one of many narrative descendants of Joanne Linville's Romulan Commander character in TOS's "The Enterprise Incident."  My favorite part is the character Crewman Muniz, introduced as a buddy to O'Brien only to be killed off.  He's a "red shirt" with a name.  In the denouement, Sisko mourns all of the crew members lost on the mission - by name.  Some of the writers felt they could have - should have - made more of the Muniz tale.  Maybe they're right.  But even as it is, it's a big deal and it signals an important shift, leading Star Trek boldly into new territory.

"The Ship" is one of many stories in DS9's run that sit with the realities of war in a way Trek never had before.  The pattern had always been to fix an "alien" world's problems, then run away to next week's episode.  Because DS9 "stays in one place," our heroes have to sit in the stew.  The writers make them.  Pain, death, hopelessness: they're all real.  The episodes embracing this theme are some of the most important and memorable of the series.

Watching DS9 and Voyager simultaneously is revealing.  I usually write of the comparisons from Voyager's perspective but this is an important place to view from DS9's.  The Voyager episode I had watched most recently before this one was "Flashback," considered by many to be one of that series's strongest.  It's a mess.  Sure, there are fun moments, especially the original series cameos.  But important plot details are clumsily discarded by the end.

Meanwhile, everything in "The Ship" matters - every relationship, every line of dialogue, every camera shot, every detail.  What's funny is that neither my child nor I even properly remembered it from our first family binge during COVID lockdown.  There are no important long-term reveals.  It's just rock solid storytelling.  By Season 5, we've come to expect nothing less.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Kaitlin Hopkins (Kilana) was born February 1, 1964 in New York City.  "The Ship" is her first of two Trek appearances.  Both of her parents were very successful in show business.  Mother Shirley Knight was a Tony- and Emmy-winning actress.  Father Gene Persson co-produced and co-created You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and its 1999 revival, winning two Tonys himself.  

Hopkins attended Carnegie Mellon University.  Beyond Trek, she had a regular role on Another World and guest appearances on Beverly Hills, 90210, Murder, She Wrote and The Practice among others.  Presently, she is the Head of Musical Theatre at Texas State University.