Star Trek: Broken Link

Episode: "Broken Link"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 26

Original Air Date: June 17, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Garak episode!

Odo collapses in Garak's shop, his solid form destabilizing.  When rest in the infirmary doesn't help, Odo asserts that only the Founders will be able to cure him.  Everyone realizes he's right so a plan is made to deliver him to their home world.  Among several complications: they don't know where it is.  Meanwhile, the Federation is tumbling towards inevitable war with the Klingons.  The episode ends with one helluva cliffhanger.

We have much to discuss...

Let's start with the A-plot Odo story.  What an interesting twist on the Pinocchio tale it is.  For harming a fellow changeling, Odo is sentenced to losing his shape-changing abilities.  He is turned human, not as reward but as punishment.  Make no mistake, this is an important philosophical turning point for the Star Trek franchise.  Consider all of the material devoted to wishing Spock, Data, Worf, B'Elanna Torres and many others were more human.  When it happens to Odo, it's portrayed as a disaster.  No joke, this is a monumental shift.

It also marks the beginning of the end for Deep Space Nine, the series.  In the final act, Odo confesses to Captain Sisko how lost and abandoned he feels having lost his connection to The Great Link.  A seed is planted.  We know that, even with his enforced transformation, he will return one day, permanently.  And when he does, our connection with Odo's story will be over.  A point of finality is established for one of our principals.  Fortunately, there's still some time.

The Gowron eyes...

Gowron gets a lot of screen time in "Broken Link," all of it in close up.  My goodness, do the eyes ever get a chance to shine.  First, let's give all due credit to the makeup department for enhancing Robert O'Reilly's physical gift.  Michael Westmore was the lead man for Star Trek in this era and it's well worth noting he was nominated for an Emmy every year between 1984 and 2005, winning 9 times.  Truly, he's a giant of the industry and a member of the Westmore family which has been working in film makeup for four generations and counting.  The Gowron eyes alone are a towering achievement.

And boy, does O'Reilly sell them!  Seriously, when does the man ever blink?  Aha, he may be a changeling!  Maybe that's how he does it...

Garak...

Wow, "Broken Link" is a great Garak episode, and that's saying something!  He gets to play matchmaker between Odo and Chalan Aroya, owner of the Celestial Cafe, a new Bajoran restaurant on the promenade.  He gets into fisticuffs with Worf - "you fight well, for a tailor."  Best of all, he gets to keep Odo company during the journey to the Gamma Quadrant:  

Question: why didn't they let Odo rest in his liquid state?

Thoughts on Season Four

General Impressions

Season 4 marks a new high for the series and for all of Star Trek.  Neither the original series nor NextGen ever had a season as strong from beginning to end and it's not even close.  How good is DS9 Season 4?  This outstanding finale doesn't even crack my top 5 episodes for the season.  The season's worst is still pretty damn good.  The best is a masterpiece.

Favorite Episode: "The Visitor"

This is not an easy call.  Both "The Visitor" and "Rejoined" rank very high on my all-time Star Trek list.  "The Visitor" was the Hugo nominee.  It is close to perfect - all the more amazing for the fact that alternate history is just the sort of narrative choice that typically drives me crazy.  The dialogue sings.  But once again, the acting seals the deal.  Tony Todd's adult Jake Sisko is one of the greatest guest performances you'll ever find on television.  He and Avery Books join forces for a revolutionary scene, portraying a tenderness between Black men you simply don't see in American media.  Genuinely unforgettable.

"The Visitor" lost the Hugo to "The Coming of Shadows," a Babylon 5 episode.  I guess I need to watch it sometime.

Least Favorite Episode: "Shattered Mirror"

This choice says it all.  I will readily concede that "Shattered Mirror" is a good episode.  The Garak-Worf scenes in particular are delicious.  I'm reasonably certain I've never used that particular adjective to describe a NextGen scene - certainly not one in an episode I otherwise didn't like.  This is simply a personal preference.  I don't like the way DS9 uses the Mirror Universe.  But that's just me.

Favorite Recurring Character: Garak

It's unlikely anyone will ever beat Garak for this spot.  Even if it had been close beforehand, he distanced himself from the rest of the field in the season finale.  But folks, the rest of the field keeps getting stronger.  Dynamite recurring characters introduced in Season 4 include Kasidy Yates, Damar, Joseph Sisko and Ziyal.

Favorite Blast from the Past: Worf

While the quality of the product was only getting better, the ratings for all Star Trek series were in consistent decline from the end of NextGen onward.  The producers made a bold move for Deep Space Nine's fourth season, adding Worf - one of the previous series's strongest and most popular characters - to the principal cast.  As noted here, TNG ended with plenty of room left to explore Worf's story.

It was an outstanding choice for all involved.

Favorite Guest Actor, One-Shot: Tony Todd as adult Jake Sisko

via Memory Alpha

I'll readily admit Todd makes for a bit of an awkward choice in the category as I have named it.  "The Visitor" is certainly not his only Trek appearance, nor even his only appearance in the season.  In fact, he will probably always be better remembered as Worf's brother Kurn.  But it is his only appearance as adult Jake Sisko.  See above - it's a grand slam.

As an honorable mention, Susanna Thompson deserves some confetti for her performance in "Rejoined" but honestly, the lion's share of the credit should go to Terry Farrell (Dax) for making that story work.

Onward

Thank goodness there are still three seasons left to go.  

Squid Eats: Laundry Day Takeaway

It is time once again for the Vermont International Film Festival, just one more reason October in Vermont is awesome.  With a packed schedule of movies, it can be a challenge squeezing in meals.  Fortunately, they invite food trucks to help out at dinner time.

Laundry Day Takeaway is a Cajun/Creole truck based in Burlington.  This was our first experience with them.  I got a spicy crayfish pasta dish.  My wife got dirty rice which I couldn't try - contained nuts, a no-go for me.  The cornbread came free.  All was satisfying.  

The festival takes the "international" part of its name seriously.  A few of our films so far (producing nations in parentheses):

Promised Sky (Tunisia, France, Senegal) - 4 stars out of 5

Cutting Through Rocks (Qatar, Chile, Iran, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, US) - 4 stars

Miroirs No. 3 (Germany) - 3 stars

Interestingly, all three are led by female protagonists.

Star Trek: Body Parts

Episode: "Body Parts"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 25

Original Air Date: June 10, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Garak episode!

Quark has learned he is dying of a rare and untreatable disease.  True to form, he turns disaster into financial opportunity by selling off his eventual remains to the highest bidder.  Fortunately, he soon gets news that the doctor was in error and he's not actually dying.  Unfortunately, our old friend Brunt (Jeffrey Combs) was the winning bidder and he intends to hold Quark to the agreement: either have himself killed or break the deal, thus incurring the full wrath of the all-powerful Ferengi Commerce Authority (FCA). 

Nearly thirty years later, "Body Parts" is better-remembered for its B-plot.  Keiko is injured in a runabout collision with an asteroid.  With her pregnancy at-risk, Dr. Bashir transports the fetus from Keiko to Kira who will now serve as the surrogate.

It's been a "problem" throughout the history of episodic television: what do you do when an actress becomes pregnant?  The most famous television pregnancy was Lucy Ricardo's in I Love Lucy.  Initially even the word pregnant was avoided.  Fortunately, it was easy enough to write the pregnancy into the story because, conveniently, the on-screen parents were also genuinely married off-screen.  But what do you do when the female character is unmarried?  Obviously, in our puritanical, patriarchal society, we can't have that.  Vice-President Dan Quayle's criticism of the fictional character Murphy Brown and the show's response are still considered key moments in the history of American cultural politics.

So what to do for Nana Visitor (Kira)?  What had Trek done before?  Gates McFadden was pregnant through part of the NextGen run and the bump was always cleverly hidden behind a desk or another set piece.  For Kira, they made a very different choice, one that opened up narrative possibilities regarding surrogacy.  Was it the right choice?  The actress was happy with it.  Without a doubt, that's the most important consideration. 

Let's give the A-plot its due.  Both Quark's and Rom's divergence from Firengi cultural expectations is an important, foundational arc of Deep Space Nine.  It's every bit as important as Odo's relationship with the Founders, Dax's rebellions against Trill norms and Worf's exile from the Klingon Empire  In fact, is not this broader question the very heart of the DS9 story: In a pluralist society, what is your relationship with your "home culture?"  What do you embrace?  What do you reject?  What are the consequences of either choice?  Each principal character - and many of the secondary ones - arrive at different answers over the course of the series and the choices shape their journeys. 

As ever, the Garak part of the story is a treat.  Quark hires our favorite tailor/spy to kill him.  The scene in which they plot Quark's own perfect murder is delightful. 

One more thought before we leave this episode, this one from the Purple Penguin: Deep Space Nine - even more than other Star Trek series - consistently promotes the idea of strength in community living.  In this, the show is a rare challenge to the monomyth of individualism which dominates American culture.  In "Body Parts," we see this most obviously in the way the entire station steps up to help Quark reopen the bar after Brunt shuts it down.  And it's in the pregnancy transfer story, too.  Of course, Kira will help the O'Briens in their time of need.  Because that's what you do in a caring, nurturing community.

The Creators

via Memory Alpha

When showrunner Michael Piller left DS9 after Season 2 for Voyager, there was an opening with the slightly older series.  The job went to Ira Steven Behr, to that point a co-executive producer for the show.

Behr was born in New York City, October 23, 1953.  After graduating from Lehman College, he moved to LA to pursue a screenwriting career.  Prior to Trek, he worked on several TV series including Bret Maverick, Fame and The Bronx Zoo.  Behr was originally hired as a producer for NextGen but left after one season, feeling stifled.  Piller persuaded him to come back for DS9. 

Pertinent to this week's episode, one of Behr's most important contributions from the beginning was the development of the Ferengi.  As previously discussed, the Ferengi were originally intended as the primary adversaries for Picard's Enterprise but that didn't work out.  In fact, most TNG Ferengi episodes are hopelessly weak.  Quark was really the first likable Ferengi in the franchise.  Among other things, Behr introduced the idea of the Rules of Acquisition, the guiding principles of Ferengi commerce. 

Behr's post-Trek work includes stints with Crash, Alphas and Outlanders.  He was also an important driving force behind What We Left Behind, a documentary about the making of DS9 built around interviews of cast and crew.  He is married to Laura Behr who has four choreography credits on Star Trek series. 

Squid Eats: Vermont Curry and Cocktails

via Vermont Curry and Cocktails

The name of this new restaurant in Winooski is certainly seductive: Vermont Curry and Cocktails.  We went to check it out with friends on Saturday night.  They advertise Bhutanese, Nepali and Indian curries and in reality, they offer plenty beyond that, too: Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Mexican...  We tried a bunch of stuff: steamed vegetable momo, chicken lo mein, vegetable biryani, garlic naan, chicken curry, chicken masala and saag paneer.  Everything was lovely and they take heat seriously.  Medium spicy was plenty.

Only one of us ordered a cocktail.  My wife got a Mai Tai which she enjoyed - very coconutty.  Especially considering the broad selections on the food menu, the cocktails were pretty standard.  No Manhattan, to my disappointment.  In fact, the only whiskey drink was a Jack and Coke.  One of our companions considered ordering off the menu - a cosmo - but didn't in the end so we don't know if they'd be willing.

Fortunately, beer and wine offerings were also adequate.  

Overall, a nice restaurant.  Service was lovely.  We only ever saw one waitress.  Space is simple.  Price is reasonable, especially for quality food: $140ish for five of us, with drinks.  We'd certainly go back - so much food to try!

Star Trek: The Quickening

Episode: "The Quickening"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 24

Original Air Date: May 20, 1996

via Memory Alpha

During a bio-survey mission in the Gamma Quadrant, Dax, Bashir and Kira respond to a distress signal.  They discover a world in the Teplan system that has been ravaged by a plague, a blight the Jem'Hadar had infected the population with when they resisted Dominion rule.  There is no cure for the painful disease.  The only medical care is merciful euthanasia.  Obviously, our good doctor is appalled and sets about finding a cure.

Season 4 has supplied several meaningful Julian stories.  Prior to "The Quickening," we've had both "Hippocratic Oath" and "Our Man Bashir."  This week's installment challenges his arrogance.  It's a good Dax development story, too - appropriate given the importance of the relationship to both characters.  A defining exchange:

Julian: Trevean was right. There is no cure. The Dominion made sure of that. But I was so arrogant, I thought I could find one in a week!

Jadzia: Maybe it was arrogant to think that. But it's even more arrogant to think there isn't a cure just because you couldn't find it.

My child, with whom I watch all of these episodes, offered a meaningful reflection: "it illustrates really well how much more of life Jadzia has lived and how much more of death she's died and experienced than Julian."

In the mid-'90s, the AIDS epidemic was very much on people's minds, especially in the entertainment industry, long a relatively safe space for gay men, a demographic disproportionately affected.  "The Quickening" started out as an AIDS allegory but veered off in other directions.  29 years later, while it is medically treatable, there is still no cure for AIDS, or even a vaccine like the one Dr. Bashir found in the end.  

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Michael Sarrazin played the role of Trevean, who administered the herbs which induced death for his fellow Teplans suffering from the blight.  He was born Jacques Michel André Sarrazin in Quebec City, May 22, 1940.  He grew up in Montreal.  His professional acting career began at age 17.  

Sarrazin's biggest role was Robert in Sydney Pollack's They Shoot Horses, Don't They?  Films include For Pete's Sake, The Reincarnation of Peter Proud and The Gumball Rally.  He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1978.

Sarrazin passed away in 2011 from mesothelioma.

Squid Flicks: La Ciénaga

Title: La Ciénaga

Director: Lucrecia Martel

Original Release Date: February 8, 2001

My Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

Mecha and her family are on holiday in northwestern Argentina.  She and her husband are useless, angry alcoholics.  Her children are lazy (truly, a surprising amount of the story involves people lying around in bed).  Her cousin and her family want to drive to Bolivia to buy school supplies.  Mecha thinks the indigenous maid, Isabel, is stealing linens.

Honestly, it's hard to know how to sum up the story, essentially a slice of life narrative about obnoxious upper-middle class people.  The paragraph above is as close as I can get to a synopsis.  I found it difficult to watch the film without getting anxious.  Few of the characters are especially likable and they're constantly hurting themselves and getting impatient with one another.  Evidently, audience anxiety was a genuine goal of Director Martel, so, mission accomplished.

The most interesting character is Isabel for the simple reason that her story is shrouded in mystery.  While you know way too much about most of the principals (so many scenes shot in the bedroom and the bathroom - none of it lewd, mind you), much of Isabel's tale is told in conversations with her boyfriend to which the audience is not privy.  Why does she leave the job in the end?  Because her boss is racist and cruel and the boss's daughter won't leave her alone?  Those would be the obvious and understandable reasons but is there more?  Is she pregnant?  Is her own family's need for her real and what's that all about?  So many questions in a movie where little is hidden from the audience.

Some critics have named La Ciénaga the greatest Argentine film of all time.  Not for me.  I prefer Nine Queens.  I don't think I'd ever watch this movie again but I do imagine I'd pick up on more with a second viewing.  It certainly leaves one with a lot to think about.  So call it a high 3.

Star Trek: Basics, Part I

Episode: "Basics, Part I"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 26

Original Air Date: May 20, 1996

via Wikipedia

Voyager receives a hail from Seska - a former crewmate, who turned out to be a spy, and also Chakotay's former lover.  She is with the Kazon now, having shacked up with Maje Culluh.  Seska has given birth to Chakotay's child (long story) and claims both she and the child are now in danger.  Our friends set off to help, knowing full well they may be walking into a trap.  Sure enough, Culluh's band ultimately take control of the ship, marooning the entire crew (with a few important exceptions) on Hanov IV, a primitive planet.

A couple of meaningful ongoing narratives intersect in "Basics," a season-bridging two-parter.  In addition to the Seska fiasco (an in-story mess - I have no problem with it from a production perspective), Lon Suder is back.  Last time we saw Suder, he had permanently been confined to quarters after murdering Crewman Frank Darwin.  The beneficiary of Tuvok's guidance, Suder is a new man.  Now well along the path to reform, Suder wants to find a way to contribute to the ship and its mission, within the terms of his confinement.  He has an idea for developing the airponics vegetable garden.  

Unfortunately, Suder's presentation of his plan to Captain Janeway doesn't go well.  However, he may yet have a chance to help out.  During the Kazon attack, a hole is blown in Suder's quarters and he is technically freed.  He evades discovery during the Kazon search of the vessel.

At episode's end, three characters are unaccounted for by the Kazon: Paris, who had left the ship on a shuttle mission, Suder and The Doctor, who had deactivated himself for exactly twelve hours to avoid capture.  

Overall, it's a solid cliffhanger heading into the summer break.

Recurring characters don't hold the same prominence in Voyager that they do in DS9 so it's interesting that such an important episode depends so heavily on two of them.  It is also, as we shall soon see, nearly the end of the line for both.

Thoughts on Season Two

General Impressions

It is a tale of two seasons.  The first half-plus is truly terrible.  When fans speak of the clunky awkwardness of Voyager, they offer episodes like "Twisted" and "Threshold" as evidence.  Plus, there is the nearly unwatchable Neelix-as-jealous-boyfriend thread.  After a strong first season, the early stumbles of the second are deeply discouraging, especially with Deep Space Nine knocking it out of the park practically every week. 

But an interesting thing happened after "Threshold," the 15th episode.  Season 2's final eleven are strong, beginning with "Meld," Suder's debut.  "Dreadnaught," "Lifesigns," "Innocence" and "Tuvix" are all gems.  Just as importantly, there are no true clunkers in the home stretch.  Principal characters find depth.  Compelling ethical dilemmas abound.  Maybe Voyager has finally found sure footing.

Maybe.

Favorite Episode: "Lifesigns"

At this point, I would say Tuvok and the Doctor are battling for the lead as best-developed character of the series.  "Lifesigns" gives the EMH a slight edge.  The Doctor's entire arc is a quest for broader agency, yet falling in love catches him off-guard.  He didn't even realize it was possible.

I'm gonna let you all behind the curtain for a minute.  That's what falling in love is really like.  If you're lucky, you grow up with a fairy-tale inkling of what "true love" is.  You may have meaningful real-world models and you certainly have plenty of pop culture material to feed into your ideal.  You may have early experiences that are gratifying and likely others that are disappointing.  You may indeed have cared a great deal for one or two of your early partners and they for you.  

It's all prequel.

When the real thing hits you for the first time, it's a freight train.  Whatever concepts you had before suddenly seem quaint and silly.  The whole world is new.  Your life before and your life after are two completely different tales.  It is not a universal experience.  Not everyone knows that kind of love in their lifetime.  How do I know?  Because the world would be a very different place if they did.

That is the love I see portrayed in "Lifesigns" and that is why I believe it.

Least Favorite Episode: "Twisted"

With two series running simultaneously, the Star Trek machine was under a lot of pressure.  Producing 26 episodes a year would have been demanding enough.  Generating 50+ definitely over-extended the operation.  As such, it shouldn't be shocking that a few undeniable heaps of garbage were peppered among the genuinely brilliant installments.

"Twisted" was one of four episodes left over from the first season's production run.  The writing is awful. The story was too short so they padded already weak material with further crap.  The space-time anomaly well was already running dry.  And my god, can we please find a merciful exit for Neelix, already?

They should have left this one in the can.

Favorite Recurring Character: Danara

via Memory Alpha

While "Lifesigns" is a showcase for the Doctor, it works because of Danara, his phage-suffering Vidiian love interest.  Neither character understands what is happening to them and, to my point above, that's exactly what makes it believable.  The Doctor's holographic emotional range is limited so Danara is the more interesting of the partners to watch.  We can still see the love in her eyes when she returns in "Resolutions."

All credit to actress Susan Diol.

Favorite Blast from the Past: Will Riker

In "Death Wish," Q summons our old pal Will Riker to Voyager for Quinn's asylum hearing.  Unfortunately for the long term, he's sent back to the Alpha Quadrant quickly afterwards with no memory of the incident.  The glimpse of Voyager's circumstances `could have been meaningful in our friends' prospects for getting home.

But the brief cameo is good fun.

Favorite Guest Actor, One-Shot: Tom Wright as Tuvix

via Memory Alpha

Boy, is it a tough call on this one.  This is no small honor for Wright as he's beaten out Broadway megastar Joel Grey.  Grey was wonderful but Wright had the tougher job.  Two characters merged into one: that's not a typical ask of an actor.  Then Tuvix had to plead for his right to exist - sadly not unusual at all in reality or fiction.  Wright's performance is a triumph.

Onward

Season 3 is an important one for Voyager as it is the last with the original principal cast.  We'll be saying goodbye to someone soon.  There was much hand-wringing among the producers over the fact the series wasn't thriving as many had hoped.  The season ends with a big Hail Mary throw, one that ultimately rescues not only Voyager but arguably the entire franchise.  

But we're not quite there yet.  Stay tuned.