Star Trek: Indiscretion

Episode: "Indiscretion"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 5

Original Air Date: October 23, 1995

via Explaining errors in Star Trek Wiki

The unlikely pairing of Kira and Dukat search the crash site of a Cardassian freighter.  Six years before, the ship carried Bajoran prisoners.  We soon learn that each has personal reasons for wanting to find this particular ship and, hopefully, its survivors.  Dukat's story turns out to be the more compelling one.  Two of the prisoners were his Bajoran lover and their daughter, Ziyal.

In the B-plot, Benjamin stumbles in his relationship with Kasidy Yates when she gets a new job that will allow her to spend more time near the station.  Jake proves to be the more sensible of the Sisko men in helping his father make things right.

The Kira-Dukat narrative is based on a western cinema classic, the John Ford masterpiece The Searchers with Dukat in the John Wayne role.  It's one of several stories intended to soften Dukat.  There was even talk among the writers of eventually making him Kira's lover, an idea that makes both her and me want to hurl.  It's an interesting creative choice, gradually turning the antagonist into a more sympathetic character.  I'm glad they ultimately took a different direction.  Taking the idea much further would have weakened the basic Cardassian-Bajoran tension that is an essential pillar of the show's foundation.

Long term, the biggest gain from this episode is Ziyal herself.  We don't meet her again until the end of "Indiscretion" but she'll be back and her story is gratifying.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Cyia Batten is the first of three actors to play the part of Ziyal.  "Indiscretion" is Batten's first of four Trek appearances as three different characters on three different series.  She was born in Locust Valley, New York, January 26, 1972.  

Batten's dance resume trumps her acting credits.  She performed with The Pussycat Dolls, Carmen Electra and Teatro Comunale di Firenze.  Her films include Charlie Wilson's War, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and The Sweetest Thing.  She had recurring roles in Red Shoe Diaries and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and guest appearances on Nash Bridges, CSI:NY and NYPD Blue.  She was awarded Best Actress at Screamfest LA 2005 for her performance in Cookers.

Squid Eats: Boards & Brews

Boards & Brews hails itself as "New Hampshire's premier board game cafe."  As explained in this post, my friends and I are on the lookout for gathering spots equidistant from northwest Vermont, where most of us live, and the new home of one of our comrades in Massachusetts.  Most of the prime candidates are in New Hampshire.  Manchester is 3ish hours from my house, about an hour further than Hanover which we explored last time. 

Boards & Brews (BB) provides a few advantages over The Fourth Place (FP) in Hanover.  The most important difference for me is that BB serves its own food.  FP is more of a comic book store that also sells games and provides some space to play them.  BB, has quite a decent menu - in fact, far more extensive than what is on offer at our local place in Vermont.  One can eat a proper meal - decent beer and coffee offerings, too.  I had the Caesar Salad with Chicken twice, then Chicken Tenders as a final snack before heading home.  BB has a lot more games than FP, too, as well as more space for playing them.  The table fee only covers a three-hour stretch though one can renew as long as space allows and you can make an advance reservation which is handy.  Prices are reasonable.

So, I would definitely go back.  It is a long drive for a day trip.  Ideally, for either Manchester or Hanover, I'd love to make it more of a weekend getaway along with my wife, the game gathering only being part of the festivities.  Manchester's bigger than I would have thought with a population around 115,000.  For a weekend trip, Hanover offers a bit more charm but I would bet Manchester has more to do.  Both are worth exploring further.

Right, the games...

Dominion - A medieval deck-building game.  One of our current favorites and well-established in gaming circles.  I rate it 8/10.

Cards Against Star Wars - I'm not a huge fan of Cards Against Humanity but I am a sucker for anything Star Wars.  Predictably, it is irreverent, offensive and disgusting.  Yes, it's also occasionally funny but the Star Wars material itself is rather half-assed.  One wonders how well the game creators actually know the franchise.  4/10

6 nimmt! - We fell in love with this one online during COVID lockdown.  This was our first time playing in person.  You play cards numbered 1-104 in 4 columns in numerical order.  If you play the 6th card in the row, you pick up the pile.  Picking up cards is bad.  There's more to it but those are the basics.  Surprisingly addictive.  The simplest games often are.  8/10

It was a good day for me.  I won every game!  Well, technically I tied for first in the two games of 6 nimmt!  

Star Trek: Hippocratic Oath

Episode: "Hippocratic Oath"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 4

Original Air Date: October 16, 1995

via Headhunter's Holosuite Wiki

During an away mission on the Rubicon, Bashir and O'Brien crash land on an unknown planet - unknown but not uninhabited.  A group of runaway Jem'Hadar have taken refuge there and they take our heroes prisoner.  Once they find out Bashir is a doctor, their leader, Goran'Agar, enlists (forces) Julian to find a way to break his soldiers' addiction to ketracel-white.  The Jem'Hadar are genetically engineered to have this addiction as a means of controlling them.  

In the B plot, Worf struggles to find an appropriate role for himself on the space station.

"Hippocratic Oath" is one of several DS9 episodes that sits with the realities of war in a way that other Star Trek series have mostly avoided.  While there is plenty of solid character building among the principals, the more interesting story is the drama playing out among the Jem'Hadar soldiers themselves.  Goran'Agar has already beaten his own addiction and he's walking a very thin line with his underlings, lying to them about how much ketracel-white is left.  He knows they'll kill him when they find out.

In the climactic scene, Goran'Agar helps Bashir and O'Brien escape and as the three part, he knows he must go kill his remaining companions.  Bashir, the doctor, doesn't understand.

Goran'Agar, turning to O'Brien: "You are a soldier?"

O'Brien: "I have been"

Goran'Agar: "Then you explain."

O'Brien does.  In "Hippocratic Oath," we see a lot of the differences between Bashir and O'Brien.  We also see how much they care for one another.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Stephen Davies played the role of Arak'Taral, Goran'Agar's second-in-command.  This is his second of three Star Trek appearances.  Films include Inserts, The Long Good Friday and Dillinger and Capone.  His television guest credits include Starsky & Hutch, Dallas and CHiPs.

On the Road: New Year's in DC

We recently visited my parents in Washington, DC.  Frequent visitors to my blog may recall that while I grew up in suburban Maryland, my folks moved into the city a few years after I finished college.  They've lived in the Adams Morgan area for 25 years now - nearly half of my life and, of course, a significant portion of theirs.

My own relationship with the city has evolved quite a lot over the years.  I suppose I know it better than any other city in the world and I'm still devoted to the area's sports teams.  But Washington itself has never exactly felt like home.  Still, it's fun to visit.

We didn't venture too far afield this trip, sticking to favorite restaurants, book stores and coffee houses in their immediate neighborhood.  The one major tourist attraction that is within walking distance of the apartment is the National Zoo.  I went twice as part of my daily constitutionals.  Monday late afternoon and Tuesday morning were completely different experiences.  The place was overrun with tourists for the former and most of the animals were asleep.  Morning was far more satisfying.  I practically had the place to myself and the furry residents were frolicking.

Overall, the Zoo has lost some charm in recent years.  It used to feel more a part of its neighborhood of Woodley Park, nestled between Rock Creek Park and Connecticut Avenue.  Local joggers would come through.  Office workers would find a bench to eat their lunch.  Now you have to register online at the entrance.  It doesn't take long, as long as you have a phone.  But it takes you out of whatever zen trance you used to be able to bring right through the gate.  It's a shame.

But the place still appeals to my inner 8-year-old.  Oddly enough, my favorite animal at the Zoo is one of the least exotic.  I adore the river otters.  We have otters in Vermont, for crying out loud, though I've never seen one in the wild.  I guess I don't spend enough time by rivers.  At the Zoo, as long as they're awake, they're always ready to put on a show, obliging the crowd with underwater backflips and the like.  To be sure, there's more of a wow factor with, say, the sea lions or the world famous pandas (whose enclosure is currently off-limits to visitors).  But the otters are so joyful - impossible not to feel charmed.

My parents are starting to get wistful about their current neighborhood.  There's talk of moving soon.  To put it bluntly, they're getting older and independent living is more challenging all the time.  So options are on the table.  It may still be a few years but the transition is coming.  

As we were sitting at Grill from Ipanema for New Year's Eve dinner, my father looked around and said, "it'll be hard giving up things live this."  They've built a pleasant life for themselves.  Obviously, I want them to be more comfortable and they want that, too.  But it is a little sad.

Meanwhile, happy New Year, everyone!

On the Coffee Table: Reni Eddo-Lodge

Title: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race

Author: Reni Eddo-Lodge

via Amazon

In February 2014, British author Reni Eddo-Lodge posted a blog entry that changed her life, entitled "Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race."  Essentially, she was tired of many (not all, she's quick to clarify) white people's defensiveness or outright hostility whenever she talked to them about her racial experience.  They were too often unwilling to accept the idea of systemic racism.  Racists wore white hoods and Nazi uniforms.  Kind, well-intended, color-blind white people weren't racists.  They didn't listen to her or believe her even when they did.

The post set off a political firestorm.  Basically proving Eddo-Lodge's point, numerous critics took exception - though of course, most of them simply bristled at the title without actually reading the post.  The brouhaha brought the author national attention and eventually inspired her to write a book by the same title.

2014 was a pivotal year for racial activism in the United States, particularly.  In August of that year, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer.  Protests erupted and the Black Lives Matter movement found a global platform.  Most of the news focused (and still focuses) on the United States.  But, of course, other countries wrestle with racial issues every day.  In the UK in particular, such cultural anxieties eventually led to Brexit, the nation's departure from the European Union.

There are so many important reasons to read this book.  The examination of the issues in a nation other than the US is high on the list.  Because of my time in Japan, I have many British friends with whom I still enjoy meaningful social media contact.  Many (but again, not all) white Britons are blind to the issues faced by black- and brown-skinned people in their own country.  Just as in the States, they see the issues as economic rather than racial.  Just as in the States, many see reforms as bringing advantages to POCs at the expense of white people.

Just as in the States, it's all bullshit.  And that's the point for Reni Eddo-Lodge.

One by one, the author tears down the arguments against anti-racism.  For me, the most powerful chapters are "The System," in which she details how a POC in the UK is disadvantaged at every life stage from birth to death, and "The Feminism Question," in which she reveals the intersectional relationship of race and sex/gender.  In the latter, she tells her own struggle to reconcile her positions in two separate though obviously (to her) intertwined struggles.  Those are my favorites but trust me, there are meaningful revelations on every page.

Probably (hopefully) many of you reading this has been through DEI (diversity equity inclusion) training in recent years.  One of the most common questions asked of white people in these exercises is "When did you first become aware of your own race?"  It's not easy to answer.  Because it's about your own race, not your awareness of the race of others.  What made you aware of whiteness, period?  Eddo-Lodge's thoughts have made me wonder if "When did you become aware of your own racial privilege?" might provoke a more meaningful discussion.  I find it easier to answer.  But would it just make people angry, proving the author's thesis.

Of course, the whole point of asking the question is to clue white people into the fact that they don't think about their race at all the vast majority of the time whereas a POC living in white-dominated culture is aware of theirs constantly.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race is a must-read, plain and simple.  If you're white, it will probably make you uncomfortable and that is deeply important.

Star Trek: The Visitor

Episode: "The Visitor"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 3

Original Air Date: October 9, 1995

via Memory Alpha

Jake Sisko watches his father die in the engine room of the Defiant, or so it would appear.  Understandably, the experience sends him into a tailspin.  Over the next 50+ years, he is driven to find a way to bring Benjamin back, a drive that destroys the rest of his life.  The story is told from the perspective of Jake as an old man.  A young aspiring writer shows up at his Louisiana Bayou door looking for answers.  Jake generously grants them.

"The Visitor" is a grand slam, on a very short list of the greatest Star Trek episodes of all.  For screenwriter Michael Taylor, it was his first of many Trek scripts and one could imagine it working as a standalone science fiction tale.  But it brings so much to the franchise and truthfully, could not have had the same power in any other Trek series.  It works because of the relationship already established between Ben and Jake.  The producers wanted to create a sense of family among the DS9 principals.  If that atmosphere hadn't been firmly established already, "The Visitor" is the story that cements it.  Permanently.

There are loads of accolades to pass around.  I wish to focus on Tony Todd who plays the adult Jake.  At first, the plan was to let Cirroc Lofton play his older self but they couldn't make it believable with the makeup.  Todd was already established within the franchise, having played Worf's brother Kurn on NextGen (see my profile here).  Todd, like Lofton, is also quite tall, making for a believable stand-in.  In hindsight, it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role.

via Memory Alpha

Todd is a natural storyteller, his rich, melodic voice well-suited to the flashback scenes.  He's stunningly handsome, yet heartbreakingly sensitive as Young Man Jake.  As Old Man Jake, he knocks it out of the park.  The makeup is still weird but you can see how it works better on him than it would have on Lofton.  His final, tender, emotional scene with Benjamin is far beyond anything seen on Star Trek before or since.  Avery Brooks has spoken of two Black adult men sharing that level of emotional intimacy as an unprecedented revelation in television.  Sure, the writing's amazing.  But it couldn't have worked without the generosity and vulnerability of both actors.

It's Kirk and the Romulan Commander.  It's Lal and Data.  It's so much more than either.  

While this is certainly a high point, DS9 is dependably awesome from here on out.  At the end (assuming I make it that far), I'll come up with a top ten episode list and regret the numerous gems that don't quite make the cut.  Someone like Tony Laplume will ask how I can possibly leave off this one or that one.  I'll only be able to agree.  Yes, that one's awesome, too.  DS9 is just that good.

I have no problem guaranteeing, though, that "The Visitor" will be at or damn near the top.

A few parting notes...

Tony Todd had lost his aunt, the woman who had raised him, just a few months before taking on the role: "This script got me out of my shell. It's like she was whispering to me 'Go back to work.' … Doing this was as close to heaven as I can imagine." 

It all seems right in line with the story.

Todd himself passed away in November.

The idea of young writer Melanie (played by Rachel Robinson, Andrew's daughter) turning up on Jake's doorstep is based on the true story of a 1980 interview granted by the notoriously reclusive J.D. Salinger when a high school student knocked on his door.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Galyn Görg played the role of Korena, Adult Jake's wife.  Görg was born in Los Angeles, July 15, 1964, then was raised in Hawaii.  She graduated from Santa Monica City College.

Görg was a dancer first, actor second.  She trained at the Roland Dupree Dance Academy and the Alvin Ailey Summer Program and was accomplished in numerous disciplines, including jazz, ballet, hula, funk and several Caribbean and African forms.  She was the starring dancer on two Italian variety shows: Fantastico and SandraRaimondo Show.  She also played the dancing romantic lead in ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" video:

On American television, she had a principal role in M.A.N.T.I.S. and a recurring role in Twin Peaks.  Films include RoboCop 2, Point Break and Storyville.  

Görg died of cancer in 2020, one day short of her 56th birthday.

Squid Eats: Leo & Company

Leo & Company Café and Market is a new addition to The Essex Experience, having recently taken over the space previously owned by Sweet Clover Market, a small but excellent independent grocery store.  Leo & Co. is owned by Kayla Silver who also owns Salt & Bubbles, a wine bar just a few doors down.   The new place has quickly become our go-to lunch spot while running errands in Essex.

The space is more café than market, though there are several fridges along one wall with stuff to buy and take home.  I already have a go-to order: the Grilled Chicken "Banh Mi" Sandwich.  It's not nearly as good as the Banh Mi at Sarom's in Winooski but still lovely.  Leo & Co's is plenty flavorful but the sandwich is perhaps a touch drier.  Wife and child also got sandwiches, plus Matzo Ball Soup.  All were happy.

Leo & Co is a wonderfully open space with high ceilings and big, south-facing windows.  Not too many tables which seems to be fine as quite a lot of the clientele gets takeout.  Counter service is friendly and reasonably quick.