Star Trek: Babel

Episode: "Babel"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 1, Episode 5

Original Air Date: January 24, 1993

via Memory Alpha

A virus spreads through the station, reducing its victims to incoherent communication, able to use words but not in any linguistically meaningful way.  As a viewer, one is always on the look out for the next character to be infected.  Sometimes Trek's standard techno-babble confuses matters.  

"Babel" provides relationship development for both Odo-Quark and Ben-Jake.  Otherwise, it's just another high-concept episode.  A Trek language wrinkle the creators should play with a lot more than they have: what happens when the universal translator fails?

Acting Notes

via Quantum Leap Wiki

Terry Farrell (Dax) was born November 19, 1963 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  She submitted a photo to a modeling agency at age 16 and soon after scored an exclusive contract with Mademoiselle.  She began studying acting 18 months later.

Pre DS9, her acting resume was modest, including an appearance in the film Back to School and guest roles on The Cosby Show and Quantum Leap.  Sadly, Farrell was the only DS9 principal who did not make it through the entire seven-season run.  There's a story there.  We'll get to it in time.

Farrell and Nana Visitor (Kira) both have asteroids named after them.  Farrell is married to Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard.  It's her second marriage, his third.  She has a son, Max, from her first marriage.