Star Trek: Children of Time

Episode: "Children of Time"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 22

Original Air Date: May 5, 1997

via Memory Beta

The crew of the Defiant discover a planet inhabited by their own descendants!  Apparently, our friends will attempt to leave the planet in two days AND encounter a temporal anomaly that sends them back two hundred years AND crash land again on the planet where they'll be forced to remain.  The dilemma that unfolds: do Sisko and company circumvent this scenario?  In doing so, they could go back to their own "current" lives but it would mean the 8,000 current inhabitants would cease to exist.

The story is awfully contrived but there's a broader narrative reason for all this.  Odo's on the planet, too.  Our Odo.  Evidently, Changelings have a much longer life span than most humanoids.  He looks not the same but better.  200 years of shapeshifting practice have paid off nicely.  But that's not even the big deal.

This Older Odo admits to Kira that he loves her and always has.  Current Odo is incapacitated at this time so he is saved the embarrassment of the admission until the end of the episode.  "Children of Time" is a means of hitting fast forward on the Kira/Odo will-they/won't-they romance tale.  Of course, they found the most roundabout Star Trek way to do it.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Gary Frank played the role of Yedrin Dax, Jadzia's descendant and host of the Dax symbiont.  Frank was born in Spokane, Washington, October 9, 1950.  He had a principal role on Family for which he won an Emmy.  He had recurring roles on Fantasy Island, Hill Street Blues and Remington Steele and guest roles on Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote.  Films include Enemy Territory, Deadly Weapon and The Distinguished Gentleman.  

Step by Step: My Sister Will Read Every Word of This Star Trek-Related Post

Ticonderoga, New York - most famous for the 18th century fort of the same name - is home to an extraordinary museum: the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour.  James Cawley, who amassed his "fortune" as an Elvis impersonator (no, seriously), devoted 14 years to rebuilding the set of the classic television show according to original blue prints.  There are a few original pieces scattered around but most was built anew from the ground up.

Why does my sister care?  She is not remotely interested in Star Trek but she has her own classic television obsessions.  I intrigued her when I shared this little nugget: Trek and The Brady Bunch used the same chairs.  I don't just mean the same kind of chairs.  I mean the same, actual, physical chairs.  Trek had them first - the two shows didn't quite overlap.  For Trek, they slipped a black covering over the back to make them look future-y.  Without the covers, they passed for suburban stylish.

We learned a lot of cool stuff.  The original set builders were a resourceful crew.  Much of the random technojunk you see on the walls is made from reclaimed packaging materials.

The two boxy things above our tour guide are from electric typewriter packaging.  The studio had bought 120 IBM typewriters for office use.  The set guys swooped in to grab the styrofoam.  

Funny story about the spray bottles here in Dr. McCoy's lab:

Spray bottles were introduced to the public at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City as a futuristic wonder.  As they were creating a space age show, the set guys bought a bunch of them.  Of course, by the time the first episode aired two years later, spray bottles were ubiquitous in American homes.  But they still had the bottles.  They had to find a use for them.

Another link to my sister's passions...

The displays includes a Jefferies tube, invented for the series and named after the art director who designed them, Matt Jefferies.  Jefferies was also the art director for another of my sister's favorite shows: Little House on the Prairie.

The tour addressed a matter that came up on my blog several years ago.  My post about the original series episode "Journey to Babel" inspired a discussion in the comments about the rise of color television.  Apparently, NBC, Trek's original network, carried more color programming than its competitors and there was a very good reason why.  NBC was owned by RCA, the world's largest producer of color television sets.

I highly recommend the museum.  We had a marvelous time.  If you're a Trekkie and you're ever in the area, it's a must-see.  Even if you're not one of the devoted, I expect if you have any interest in the television medium's early days, you might still find it fascinating.  

Right, my fitness goals... I was 7 for 7 this week.  I was actually a little worried about meeting the step goal the day we went to Ticonderoga.  Generally speaking, sightseeing is great for steps, especially the way we do it.  But the museum is small - not exactly Smithsonian scale.  Plus it meant a lot of time in the car, there and back.  Fortunately, I still managed.

Star Trek: Distant Origin

Episode: "Distant Origin"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 23

Original Air Date: April 30, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Forra Gegen, a Voth paleontologist, discovers his species traces its origins all the way back to Earth.  He and his research assistant set out to observe Voyager's crew incognito.  Unfortunately, they're rather clumsy about it and our friends discover their presence on the ship quickly.  In a panic, Gegen kidnaps Chakotay in order to take him back as proof of the genetic link to the leaders of his world.  

"Distant Origin" is a send up of Galileo's trial over his revelation of a non-geocentric universe.  People cling hard to their mythology and let's be honest, we don't have to go back centuries to find examples in human experience.  Nor do we have to travel to distant worlds.  It's all playing out in the United States of America, 2026.  Those who adhere to a nationalist Christian view of human origin, human law and the white protagonist role in American history hold greater political power in our nation than they have in generations.  Truth is negotiable.  Might makes right.

It's an excellent episode - indeed, one of Voyager's best.  Using the holodeck to extrapolate how dinosaurs could have evolved into an intelligent, humanoid life form is the coolest application of the technology to date (and deeply AI in hindsight).  "Distant Origin" is also a wonderful Chakotay story.  Our First Officer is going to have to fight for narrative relevance in the series moving forward (true for most of the cast) but he's the right choice as Gegen's sideman at the trial.  Chakotay is willing to sublimate his ego a lot more quickly than would have been possible for any of the other principals.  

Acting Notes

via King of Queens Wiki

Concetta Tomei played the role of Odala, leading minister of the Voth's Ministry of Elders.  Tomei was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, December 30, 1945.  She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an education degree then, after teaching for four years, studied theatre at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Tomei's stage resume is stellar.  She appeared in Richard III with Kevin Kline, The Elephant Man with David Bowie and Cyrano de Bergerac with Kline and Jennifer Garner.  On television, she's had principal roles on China Beach, Providence and Madman of the People.  She's had recurring roles on L.A. Law, Falcon Crest and Wings and guest roles on 7th Heaven, Touched by an Angel and The King of Queens.  Her best-known film role is Mrs. Crandell in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead.  

Step by Step: A New School Year

The school year has begun and so far so good for keeping up with fitness goals: 9,000 steps/day plus a more vigorous workout.  I was 7 for 7 on the week.  I have recess duty rather than lunch duty to start the year which definitely helps.  Given the strong start, I'm thinking about increasing goals soon but as discussed last week, I'm reluctant to push too hard too early.  Ultimately, I want to be able maintain the good habits through the winter.  

Beyond photography, I find it meaningful to pay attention to the gradual seasonal changes in my surroundings from week to week.  In late summer, it can be harder to notice because it requires awareness of what's shutting down for the fall.  Our brains are programmed to see what is there that wasn't before rather than what has disappeared.  It's definitely starting to get cooler.  5 out of the 7 days had a lower high temperature than the same day the week before.  Once school starts, I'm eager for things to cool off.  I'm not a big fan of summer heat anyway.  Vermont is wonderfully mild compared to most of the country which is a major selling point for me.  

Star Trek: Soldiers of the Empire

Episode: "Soldiers of the Empire"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 21

Original Air Date: April 29, 1997

via Memory Alpha

General Martok is asked to command a Klingon Bird-of-Prey and he enlists Worf to join him as first officer.  Dax invites herself along, too.  Sisko obligingly advances the narrative by approving the leave time.  Morale is low aboard the Rotarran and in their efforts to help, tensions rise between Martok and Worf as well.

In my NextGen wrap up post, I advocated for a Klingon-centered Star Trek series.  "Soldiers of the Empire" is precisely the sort of episode that demonstrates the possibilities.  Each of the Klingon characters on board has a distinct personality and interactions are meaningful.  In other words, the Klingons are nuanced for a change, even if they are all still "warriors."  The Martok story in general offered considerable spin-off potential, but then that's true of a lot of DS9 threads.

Acting Notes

via The West Wing Wiki

David Graf played the role of Leskit, helmsman on the Rotarran.  Graf was born in Lancaster, Ohio, April 16, 1950.  He graduated from Otterbein College.  "Soldiers of the Empire" was his second of two Trek appearances.

Graf was best known for the role of Sgt. Tackleberry in the Police Academy movies, appearing in all six films.  Television guest appearances included M*A*S*H, Voyagers and The West Wing.  Graf passed away in 2001 from a sudden, massive heart attack.

Step by Step: Setting Goals

For me, the beginning of the blogging year coincides with the beginning of the school year, a good time to set fitness goals.  I have learned over time, reasonable expectations are important.  During the summer, I have near-complete control over my schedule plus there's plenty of daylight.  So knocking out goals is easy.  Once school starts, it's harder.  A step count isn't much of an issue.  Teaching literally keeps me on my feet.  But finding time, energy and, most crucially, motivation for anything beyond that is challenging.

My step goal at the moment is 9,000, 1,000 above the factory setting for my fitness tracker, AmazFit Band 7.  Last year, I ended up reducing the goal back to 8,000 over the winter months and I hope to avoid the same this time.  Additionally, I would like to include a more intensive workout each day.  During the school year, it will likely need to happen during the evening and that's not always easy.  The workout is definitely the bigger ask.  Over the summer, I did alright with it.  Let's see if I can keep it up.

This past week, I met both of those goals every day.

A walk in our hilly neighborhood is my default exercise choice.  Vermont is dependably beautiful so photography is one of my best motivators.  I have five spots which I approach with a Monet-esque philosophy.  It's meaningful to capture them at different times of year.  

8/16/26

8/18/26

8/22/26

8/22/26

8/22/26

With wildlife, it's get what you can when you can.  Don't waste time trying to get closer or waiting for better light or whatever.  Reptiles and amphibians are unusually cooperative because their default defense is lying still in hopes of evading detection.  With birds and mammals, you'd better be quick.  And lucky.

Red-Spotted Newt

Common Garter Snake

State of the Blog 2026

Blogging Year 18, here we go!  

From the beginning, The Armchair Squid has been about storytelling.  Even in the initial sports blog stage, the vision was "every game is a story."  So's every season, every player, every team, every tournament and so on.  My fascination with Star Trek is anchored in my amazement with how Gene Roddenberry's genuinely simple concept has generated fertile narrative grounds for nearly six decades.  No matter how much I shift from one topic to another, that same yearning for good stories remains.  

I'll have the same basic posting schedule this year:

Tuesdays: Family Adventures

Fridays: Star Trek

For Star Trek, it's onward with both Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  At this point, I expect I will stick with both series through to the end.  After that, we'll see.  At my current rate of one post per week, I have over 2.5 years to think about it so no rush.  This year should get me deeply into DS9 Season 6 and Voyager Season 4.  

It's time for a new direction with my Family Adventures posts.  The blog has played a meaningful role in my life over the years.  Perhaps most significantly, it's great for keeping me going with other hobbies.  As I grow older, one of my most important "hobbies" is regular exercise.  It is my aim this year to do a weekly post on my fitness adventures.  My preferred "workout" is a walk in my neighborhood.  That might not seem much but as I live in a hilly area of a mountainous state, such walks are a lot more strenuous than they would be for most people.  You can expect a lot of photographs of the Vermont woodlands, too.

I am eternally grateful to those of you who stop by to read and engage.  As always, if any of you enjoys reading The Squid half as much as I enjoy writing it, we're all doing fine.