Star Trek: The Begotten

Episode: "The Begotten"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 12

Original Air Date: January 27, 1997

via Wikipedia

Quark sells a young changeling - little more than a jar of goo at this stage - to Odo, effectively making our dear constable a parent.  Odo sets about trying to teach his young charge to shapeshift, a bit tricky given that he can't do it himself anymore.  At Captain Sisko's urging, Odo enlists the help of his own Bajoran mentor/father, Dr. Mora.  Meanwhile, Kira gives birth to the O'Briens' baby.

"Begotten" can be challenging to watch at times as it treads on tricky territory. As previously explored in "The Alternate," Odo is highly resentful of Mora.  Before realizing Odo was a sentient life form, the scientist poked and prodded, generally making Odo miserable.  From Odo's perspective, it was an abusive relationship and his anger is understandable.  Mora, on the other hand, is fully convinced that he was doing what he thought was best.  There was no handbook for raising a Changeling so he had to make it up as he went along.  From the Odo-Mora viewpoint, "Begotten" is a story of forgiveness.

But the more interesting and gratifying tale is the relationship between Odo and his child.  Odo takes a gentler approach than Mora had and with gratifying results.  The young Changeling rising up to form Odo's face in a clear sign of affection is one of DS9's most moving moments.  

The episode ends bittersweetly on multiple fronts.  Saddest, the young Changeling dies.  However, in so doing, it dissolves into Odo, restoring the latter's shapeshifting abilities.  Odo's parting with Mora is surprisingly emotional.  They even hug.  Finally, Kira expresses regret over no longer being with the new baby - probably a very real emotional rollercoaster for many surrogate mothers.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Peggy Roeder played the role of Y'Pora, Kira's Bajoran midwife.  "Begotten" is Roeder's only Trek appearance.  Other television guest roles include Wings, ER and Law & Order.  Her most memorable movie role may be the piano teacher in Groundhog Day.  Other films include Eagle Eye, Road to Perdition and The Lake House.

Star Trek: Fair Trade

Episode: "Fair Trade"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 13

Original Air Date: January 8, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Voyager arrives at the edge of the mysterious Nekrit Expanse.  Our friends head to a nearby space station to trade for supplies and hopefully gather helpful information for navigating this difficult region of space.  Meanwhile, Neelix is facing an existential crisis.  Do Janeway and company even need him any more now that they've reached a part of the Delta Quadrant he doesn't know?  His anxiety leads to trouble when he runs into Wixiban, an old friend and a connection to Neelix's shady past.

At this stage of the series, the search for Neelix's raison d'être extended to both sides of the camera.  By mid-Season 3, both NextGen and DS9 were well-oiled machines.  Voyager is still an awkward fledgling and unsettled characters are a major issue.  Adding Worf to the DS9's cast was a matter of building on strengths.  Similar bold changes await Voyager in its fourth season.  With historical hindsight, we know what's coming.  But I think even a viewer in January 1997 might have sensed that addition by subtraction was looming.  Neelix has been mostly annoying to this point and I can't imagine that cutting him loose wasn't considered.  If they were going to keep him, they'd better help him find a foothold fast.

Fortunately, "Fair Trade" is a pretty good episode - certainly the strongest Neelix story so far.  Connecting back to his previous life is meaningful.  Voyager is a well-established reform project for several characters: Tom, B'Elanna, Lon Suder, etc.  Why not Neelix, too?  And the way he manages to wiggle out of trouble is genuinely clever.  The crisis point with the Captain in the final scene cuts to the chase: no, Neelsix, casting you off would be too easy.  You need to live with the guilt and rebuild trust.  And I, the viewer, will acknowledge, that's not just an episodic television convenience.  It is genuinely the more interesting narrative choice.

Neelix is a nervous but loyal dog.  He's eager to please, to impress, to love and be loved.  He sees love as something he must earn, then guard jealously.  He whines when threatened or neglected.  He understands the shame he deserves.  He is grateful for forgiveness.

21st Century Notes

We need to talk about the cancellation of Starfleet Academy.  I'll put my cards on the table.  It is the best Star Trek series of the streaming era - indeed, the finest Trek since Deep Space Nine ended.  The stories are rich.  The characters are amazing and refreshingly unpredictable.  The concept is long overdue and the narrative possibilities enticing.  Two separate Season 1 episodes brought me to tears.  A four-season run was already mapped out.

And now, the trolls have killed it.  Paramount will say it was the ratings and to be fair, plenty of amazing shows have met similar fates for crass commercial reasons.  Firefly and Freaks and Geeks come to mind.  Television producers want an adequate return on their considerable investments.  Artistic quality doesn't always sell.  

But good luck convincing me it doesn't run deeper with Starfleet Academy.  The Internet trolls set their sights on the series from Day 1.  And yes, it's well-documented that right-wing interest groups actually pay people to go on social media and be assholes.  The objections are mainly two: a gay Klingon and unconventional women in positions of authority.  

I'm not going to linger too long on the basics of representation because anyone who's actually paid attention knows it's been the whole point of Star Trek since 1966  If you have a problem with extending tolerance to LGBTQIA+ characters, you are not a Trekkie.  You're also on the wrong blog.  If anyone is going to spew any of that shit here, understand that I will not treat your "opinion" as valid.  Your squeamishness harms people.  Period.  Grow up.

via Memory Alpha

And heaven forbid the franchise should finally bring some dimension to Klingon society.  Jay-Den is a pacifist in what has long been projected as a monolithic warrior civilization.  He would rather heal others and watch birds than kill anyone.  That alone would probably have been tough to swallow for the idiots but likely not enough to kill the show.  The much greater sins: he's gay and he occasionally wears gender-nonconforming clothing.  Even worse, no one in-story, his own Klingon family included, gives a shit.  Where is the public shaming?  We all know queer characters must be made to suffer, right?  Hell, if the writers aren't going to do it, the MAGA fuckers sure better do it for them.

The women?  Two of the faculty members, Jett Reno and Lura Thok, are open gay lovers.  Lura Thok is also bi-racial (Spock, anyone?): Klingon and Jem'Hadar.  "Is that even biologically possible for the Jem'Hadar?" the trolls whine.  It's all fiction, dipshit, of course it's possible.  But this sort of deviance is only to be expected in the horrible halls of academia, right?  The trolls' most vehement objections are directed at the Academy Captain and Chancellor, Nahla Ake.  Her crimes?

She walks around barefoot and won't sit properly in the Captain's chair.

No, seriously, that's it.

via Wikipedia

You see, the idiots don't mind a female leader as long as she still adheres to masculine expectations.  Act like a man as much as possible while still looking pretty.  Even a lesbian is borderline acceptable because, well, she wants to sleep with women and that's dude stuff, right?  Now, to be fair, these standards extend deeply into the real world and across all fictional platforms.  Ake is a challenge to the norms and that is exactly what Star Trek is supposed to be, folks.  The entire mission from the beginning has been to push us all just that little bit further out of our comfort zones until it starts to feel normal.  Then push us a little bit further again.  Repeat.  For 60 years.  

Have there been missteps along the way?  Of course.  Have there been obvious opportunities for them to push harder that they didn't take?  You're damn right there have.  But the mission has always been there and it's exactly why so many of us care so deeply.

The fact that a woman who won't sit up straight is enough to kill an otherwise wonderful show says quite a lot about where we are as a society.  It's not exactly an encouraging revelation.

I won't put all of this on the political/religious right just as I can't in the real world.  Morally ambitious though it has been, Star Trek has always reflected the current anxieties of white liberalism.  The color blindness we were taught in the '80s and '90s is mirrored by the attitudes toward "alien races" in the NextGen-era series.  Indeed, the fact that they're still referred to as aliens is revealing.

21st century wokeness has its limits and gender - even more than sexuality at the moment - is a major test of those limits.  Plenty of white "liberals" feel we have gone too far in advocating for transgender people, not because they don't think it's right to do so but because they worry it has made the Democratic Party vulnerable in elections.  This is not my imagination.  I've heard people say it.  This anxiety is cowardly and it is 100% real.  

The trolls know they can push on certain buttons and sow the seeds of doubt in white liberals.  They know they can scare them away from a show like Starfleet Academy with suggestions that it might be going too far on gender.  The ratings are what they are.  But the trolls put a heavy thumb on the scale and it worked.  And the current leadership at Paramount have made clear they're not inclined to stick their necks out in the present political climate.

Season 2 is already in the can so we will get a little more.  There have been fan petitions to save Starfleet Academy but the set pieces have already been sold off.  In the eyes of those with control of the funding, it's all over.  Unfortunately, that's all that matters in the end.

I hope Star Trek survives this setback.  Yes, I know there will eventually be more material.  I mean that I hope the mission itself survives.  

Acting Notes

via Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki

James Nardini (Wixiban) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.  His films include Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man and voice dubbing in the English-language version of The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.  Television work includes Night Court, Cheers and Criminal Minds.   

Star Trek: Let He Who Is Without Sin

Episode: "Let He Who Is Without Sin"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 7

Original Air Date: November 11, 1996

via Explaining Errors in Star Trek Wiki

Dax, Worf, Leeta, Bashir and Quark are off to Risa for a vacation.  Actually, it was supposed to be a romantic getaway for the newly involved Dax and Worf but the others tagged along for their own reasons.  Worf gets distracted by a radical fundamentalist group who take exception to Risa's decadence.  It seems he'd rather spend his time with them than with Dax.  

Dax.  Terry Ferrell.  One of the most statuesque women on 1990s television.  Oh, and she's smart and witty, too.  And she's in love with you.  Seriously?  You'd rather hang with the political wackos?

So I've finally come to a DS9 episode I don't like very much.  It's too bad because the idea had potential.  The writers wanted a show about sex but then the network made them tone it down.  Even so, there was plenty of space for something meaningful here.  Worf and Dax have different expectations of each other and of their new relationship.  That's a real world problem.  Frankly, a lot of couples don't survive it or they're miserable for years or both.  Without question, it's an issue worthy of narrative attention.  

But the writers couldn't make the pivot once they couldn't have the full-on sleaze fest they wanted.  My guess is they all had plenty of experience with lusting after scantily clad women but not so much successfully working through difficult relationship issues.  Yup, I'm being judgmental and catty.  So be it.  And Worf's childhood trauma tale about a soccer game to explain it all away?  What a load of garbage!

And the Leeta-Bashir story is downright vomit-inducing.  They're that cute college couple who can't keep their hands off each other and desperately need the rest of the world to know it.  There is one good long-term benefit from that thread: Leeta proclaims her love for Rom.  The Rom story just keeps getting better.

Mind you, I'm not exactly complaining about the beautiful women.  Beyond Farrell and Chase Masterson (Leeta), the screen is graced by Zora DeHorter and Blair Volk (Quark's Risian companions) and former Miss America, Vanessa Williams.

The episode title comes from the Book of John, chapter 8, verse 7: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Williams played the role of Arandis, a former lover of Curzon Dax and the current chief facilitator of the Temtibi Lagoon on Risa.  Williams was born in The Bronx, March 18, 1963.  She went to Syracuse for college.

Vanessa Williams rose to fame when she was crowned Miss America 1984, the first African-American to win the competition.  Sadly, she had to resign when Penthouse published unauthorized nudes.  Let's be clear: other people took advantage of her fame and she suffered the consequences.  In 2016, Williams received a public apology for the scandal at that year's Miss America pageant.

Back in the '80s, Williams certainly made the best of the situation, turning to the music and acting industries, finding great success in both.  Overall, she has released nine studio albums, one live album and four compilations.  She's had four top ten singles including a #1: "Save the Best for Last."  Her Broadway acting credits include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Into the Woods and The Trip to Bountiful.  Television work includes principal roles on both Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives.  Films include Soul Food, My Brother and Eraser.  Awards include seven NAACP Image Awards, four Satellite Awards, 11 Grammy nominations, 3 Emmy nominations and a Tony nomination.

As if that weren't enough, she has also published two books: You Have No Idea, a memoir co-authored with her mother, Helen Williams, and a children's book entitled Bubble Kisses.

Squid Eats: The Wise Fool

More and more Middle Eastern food options are popping up in northwest Vermont and that is a delightful development.  This weekend we visited The Wise Fool in Burlington, open to dine-in service since October.  Business seems to be good.  We walked in just before they officially opened at 5 and the space filled quickly.  We sat at the bar where one can get full service.  

I ordered a steak skewer special.  Wife and child shared a Fattoush Salad, a Fatayer with beef and the spicy Mixed Pickles, which they also generously shared with me.  I thought everything was lovely.  The kid also got a Mejadrah which they pronounced beautifully (just finished their third semester of college Arabic) but otherwise didn't care for - too bland, they said.

Only one beer on tap: Peroni, an Italian lager I feel like I'm suddenly seeing everywhere.  Otherwise, there are plenty of options: beers in cans and bottles, multiple wine offerings, plenty of cocktails and some off-beat non-alcoholic choices.  Service was friendly.  Two big screens over the bar.  One was playing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

We'll definitely be back.  It's great to have pre-concert or movie options on the way into Burlington and The Wise Fool seems likely to feature in our outings.  

via The Wise Fool

The name comes from Goha, a beloved character from Middle Eastern folk tales.

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 Coffee Table: Rawand Issa

Title: Inside the Giant Fish

Writer and Artist: Rawand Issa

In this graphic memoir, creator Rawand Issa describes her childhood in El Jiyeh, a seaside town in Lebanon.  She and her family were effectively shut off from her fondest, earliest memories when private resorts cut off access to what was once a public beach.

There's no shortage of stories about how much Lebanon has changed in recent decades.  Civil wars and military occupations by both Syria and Israel have devastated a once beautiful country.  Issa's tale is unusual for the fact that it mostly ignores the violence, focusing instead on how privatization and politics combined to separate the town's local population from an ocean that defined its culture for generations.

The book is neither long nor densely worded.  I read it in a single sitting - maybe half an hour.  The artwork is rather boxy, though boldly colored.  Inside the Giant Fish (Jonah's whale is the metaphor here) makes a simple point quite elegantly.  Solid work.

On the Road: A Long Overdue Statement on the Garbage State of the World

Hello America by Vincent Valdez

Our long weekend travels took us through our usual Western/Central Massachusetts stops: North Adams, Northampton and Worcester.  Our adventures helped me focus some of my thoughts about the state of the world, a subject I've been reluctant to address here - not because I'm not upset.  Indeed, I'm furious.  But I've been struggling to find the right words.  For months.  So, here goes...

"Why were we taught to fear the witches and not the people who burned them alive?"

That quote popped up on my Facebook feed a while back and it has stayed with me.  The Salem Witch Trials weren't really about religion.  That was just the excuse.  They were about power and social control.  That social control lives on in our mythology.  Mythology is social control on a trans-generational scale.  

Enter Professor James B. Haile III, Ph.D...  

In North Adams, we went to a reading by Dr. Haile at Research & Development, one of the retail stores at MASS MoCA (The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art).  He presented his new book, The Dark Delight of Being Strange, a genre-bending work combining both fiction and nonfiction elements.  Haile's philosophical charge for himself and for the reader is to challenge and reform our mythology, especially regarding people of color.  

If you control the mythology, you control everything. 

The political rhetoric coming out of Washington right now reinforces a mythology we've all been fed our whole lives.  For the MAGA crowd, the history of the United States - of "America" - is a story of white triumph.  People of color were to be conquered, subjugated and exploited.  The fact that any of them would with to be treated as human - never mind as equals - is intolerable.

The current immigration policies aren't about the law or economics as the policies are disastrous regarding both.  They're about race.  

You don't think so?  Fuck you.  

I'm not joking.  I'm tired of being nice about any of this.  If you're offended by what I'm saying, fuck off.  If you can't draw a line on this unacceptable shit, fuck off.  

If it were about the law, there would be due process.  People would not be snatched off the streets and out of their homes on suspicion alone.  Those arrested would not be hidden away in remote prisons in Florida or abroad in countries with appalling human rights records, even worse than Florida's.  

If it were about economics, there would be acknowledgement of how much even illegal immigrants contribute to our economy, never mind our society.  There would be acknowledgement of the fact that mass incarceration costs more than just leaving people the fuck alone.  But there isn't.  

It's about getting rid of brown people.

What is it MAGA fuckheads say to people they don't like?  "Go back where you came from!" or "Learn English!"  They just want people of color and their cultures to disappear.  Because if they have to see them, hear them, interact with them, share the community with them, then they have to accommodate them.  And I don't mean in the bullshit "Nanny State" sense.  The United States is only a nanny state for billionaires.  I mean they have to incorporate them into their reality, their normal.  They have to acknowledge their right to exist and that is intolerable.  

They have to incorporate them into the mythology.  As equal contributors.

There is a culture war, folks, and the good guys are taking a beating these days.  Why are people fighting so hard over what is visible in schools, libraries, sports, public spaces?  Because if you control the mythology, you control everything.  If LGBTQIA+ is presented as normal, they lose.  If the Ten Commandments are displayed in reverence, they win.  Because the mythology matters.

There's more but I need time to think it all through.  For now, I'll grant the last words to SNACKTIME, a funk/hip-hop/punk/thrash metal band we thoroughly enjoyed on Saturday night.  

They closed their show with the following message:

Fuck ICE!

Fuck Trump!

Free Palestine!

Star Trek: Investigations

Episode: "Investigations"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 20

Original Air Date: March 13, 1996

via Memory Alpha

A couple of subplots have been running through the last few Voyager episodes.  Crewman Michael Jonas has been sharing intelligence with the Kazon and Tom Paris has been acting like a jerk, even getting himself thrown in the brig and removed from duty.  Both stories come to conclusion in "Investigations" and - surprise! - they're connected.  Neelix gets to play investigative journalist with his new morning show, A Briefing with Neelix.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was firmly against continuing stories.  To a point, it's an understandable objection.  In the 1960s - an era long before streaming or even home video collections - you would want a new viewer to be able to tune into your show any given week and be able to get caught up in the story right away.  Going back and binging from the beginning simply wasn't an option.  In the 2020s, the television industry has moved so far in the other direction that Roddenberry's objection seems archaic.  

But the mid-'90s, there was still some resistance to the idea within the franchise.  Showrunner Jeri Taylor didn't like "Lifesigns" quite as much as I do, for instance, because she didn't like how the otherwise strong story was broken up by unexplained teasers from the two threads that culminate in "Investigations."  I think the format is clever, but I suppose I understand the purist point of view.

As for "Investigations" itself, I see positives and negatives.  On the plus side...

• The reveal of what's really going on with Tom is satisfying.  Very Trek.
• Pushing on the no one trusts Tom button is effective.
• Neelix's show within a show is an accurate parody of 1990s television.  

On the negative...

• I'm starting to feel the same way about Neelix episodes as I do about droid episodes in The Clone Wars - groan-inducing.
• The plan for getting Tom on the Kazon ship works too well.  I understand the press for time within a TV series but they still could have stretched that out a bit.
• Jonas's story is short-changed.  In an earlier installment, he is encouraged by his Kazon contacts to damage Voyager's warp coils (which happens by accident anyway) and he flatly refuses.  He makes clear he won't do anything to harm the ship or the crew.  Clearly, he's motivated by something other than anger or resentment and he's killed off too quickly for us to learn more.
• Making Chakotay the chump doesn't feel good for the long-term development of the character.  Tom's apology is meaningful but the implications for a trusting Janeway-Chakotay relationship are not encouraging.

Acting Notes

via Film and Television Wikia

Jerry Sroka played the role of Laxeth, a Talaxian who takes Tom on as a member of his crew as part of the scheme.  "Investigations" is his only Trek appearance but he has another fun connection with the franchise.  He has been married to Mariette Hartley, Zarabeth in the original series episode "All Our Yesterdays," since 2005.

His films include Godspell and Our Almost Completely True Love Story.  The latter is the tale of his romance with Hartley.  The two wrote, produced and starred in the movie.  Beyond Trek, Sroka's television appearances include Seinfeld, Murphy Brown and The West Wing.

Squid Flicks: 12th Fail

Title: 12th Fail

Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Original Release: October 27, 2023

My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Original book cover via Amazon

Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey) wants to be a police officer.  In order to get the job he wants - Indian Police Service (IPS) officer - he has to pass the civil service exam.  In fact, that's just the first hurdle.  The deck is stacked against him.  He grew up in poverty, then failed his Class 12 exams when his entire batch (class) was caught cheating with their teachers' assistance.  Based on a true story - and Anurag Pathak's book of the same title - the film follows all of his adventures and misadventures in pursuing his dream.  

12th Fail was a surprise commercial and critical success, earning more than triple its budget at the box office and winning five categories at the Filmfare Awards, the Hindi-language Oscars, including Best Film.  It's easy to root for Manoj.  Beyond the obvious underdog appeal, he strives to follow the example of his own father and also DSP Singh, two men determined to call out the prevalent corruption in Indian society.  Plus, he falls in love with Shraddha, a fellow civil service candidate.  So we get a romance to root for, too.  Massey's disarming smile doesn't hurt either.

The story is undeniably predictable - an inspiring civil service exam movie - but also undeniably charming.  From my under-informed outsider perspective, the social commentary is poignant if a bit heavy-handed.  Indian critics praised the film as a glimpse of reality for the hardships civil service candidates must endure.  I found it to be solid all-around.  Acting, writing and visuals were all strong.  Good pacing, too - a 2 1/2-hour film didn't seem it.

Star Trek: Rejoined

Episode: "Rejoined"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 6

Original Air Date: October 30, 1995

via Wikipedia

A Trill science team arrives at the station, led by Lenara Kahn (Susanna Thompson), complicating matters for Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell).  Lenara is a joined Trill and her symbiont Kahn's previous host Nilani was married to Dax's previous host, Torias.  Reassociation by later hosts is forbidden by Trill law so Lenara and Jadzia must keep their interactions professional.  There's a problem.  The two are clearly still in love.

In my post about the TNG episode "The Perfect Mate," I wrote about the television romances I truly believe.  Kahn/Dax is top of the list for me.  Their irresistible attraction is obvious from the beginning.  The build up of sexual tension is deliciously excruciating.  Then the kiss.  Wow!  It's not just the best Trek kiss or the best same-sex kiss or whatever.  It's one of the greatest on-screen kisses you'll ever see.  Evidently, Farrell asked Thompson's husband beforehand about what turned his wife on.  His advice was clearly helpful.

Within the context of the narrative, the fact that Jadzia and Lenara are both women is irrelevant.  Nobody cares.  This was intentional, of course.  Star Trek seemingly always has a cover ready in situations like this.  For instance, Kirk and Uhura shared their groundbreaking kiss in "Plato's Stepchildren" because they were under mind-control.  Avery Brooks, who directed the episode, and most of the creative staff have long downplayed the historical relevance of "Rejoined," claiming it's not really about homosexuality.  Terry Farrell, on the other hand, has always embraced it, celebrating the many LGBTQIA+ fans who have approached her over the years and told her how meaningful the story was to them.

In the real world, there was push back.  Paramount received plenty of angry correspondence from conservative fans, just as they had for "Plato's Stepchildren."  It would be another 22 years before Star Trek had a same-sex kiss between two men.  

Acting Notes

via Live Action Wiki

Susanna Thompson was born in San Diego, January 27, 1958.  She graduated from San Diego State University.  "Rejoined" was her third of six Star Trek appearances.  Her films include Little Giants, Random Hearts and Dragonfly.  On television, she has had principal cast roles on Once and Again, Kings and Arrow.  

Star Trek: The Way of the Warrior

Episode: "The Way of the Warrior"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episodes 1 & 2

Original Air Date: October 2, 1995

via Memory Alpha

Garak episode!

A Klingon fleet arrives at the station, preparing for an attack on the Cardassian home world.  They believe - correctly, as it turns out - that Founder infiltrators have staged a coup, overthrowing the military regime on Cardassia in favor of civilian rule.  The Klingons want to attack in order to prevent further incursions in the Alpha Quadrant.  They do not take kindly to the Federation's efforts to interfere with their plans.

"The Way of the Warrior" marks a major turning point for Deep Space Nine for a couple of reasons.  Recasting the Klingon Empire in their original antagonist role is one.  More important, at least for the fans, is the return of Worf.  Captain Sisko recruits the NextGen alum to help with the situation and fortunately for all of us, Worf agrees to stick around once the initial crisis subsides.  He'll remain in the principal cast for the rest of the series.

This presents an interesting wrinkle to my little game of drawing character legacies back to the original series (read here).  Clearly, Worf should get his own chair back.  So...

Chekov = Worf = Odo = Worf

But this leaves the question of what to do with Odo.  After all, he's not going anywhere and we still have four seasons to go.  For me, the best solution is to give Odo a chair of his own...

Odo (née Chekov line)

Two principals in particular will benefit from the addition of Worf to our story.  Already, we can see that his relationship with Dax is going to be an interesting one.  It also frees up Odo to be more than just the grumpy guy around the office.  Now that Worf can share in that responsibility, Odo's story can take off in exciting directions.  And what a tale it is, unique in Star Trek (so far).  

Food Notes

"The Way of the Warrior" includes one of the most popular individual scenes of the entire DS9 run, only tangentially related to the main plot.  Quark and Garak commiserate over their dependence on the Federation, a glass of root beer serving as the perfect metaphor.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

An important side narrative is the captain's effort to invest in a romantic relationship with freighter captain Kasidy Yates, played by Penny Johnson.  Johnson boasts 16 Trek appearances, including 15 as Yates.

Penny Johnson Jerald was born in Baltimore, March 14, 1961.  She graduated from The Julliard School in New York.  Her on-screen resume is absolutely stellar, particularly on television.  She has had principal roles on four high-profile shows: The Larry Sanders Show, 24, Castle and The Orville.  Films include Do the Right Thing, What's Love Got to Do with It, The Lion King (2019) and the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King.

On the Coffee Table: City of Light

Title: Berlin, Book Three: City of Light

Writer and Artist: Jason Lutes

via Amazon

It's been 11 years since my last post about Lutes's extraordinary comic book series, Berlin.  In the time since, he has finished the series.  City of Light compiles issues #14-24.  We saw him give a talk at a local bookstore and he signed the copy I just finished reading.

Overall, the stories follow a group of characters - many of them only tangentially connected - from 1928-33, an extraordinary time in Berlin's history.  The tensions playing out on the streets will spill over to the battlefields of an entire continent before long.  The central character is Marthe, managing two romances: one with a woman, Anna, one with a man, Severing.  Neither works out, nor does her art career so by book's end, she gets on a train back home to Cologne - her story started on a train arriving, now ends on one departing.

In a secondary narrative, we follow 12-year-old Sylvia, orphaned by the May Day Massacre, taken in by a Jewish family.  She runs the streets with a group of Communist toughs who scuffle with both the police and the Nazis, an increasingly meaningless distinction.  As readers, we know those tensions won't completely resolve until decades later.

As Hitler rises to power, life is getting tougher, especially for the Jews.  Sylvia's foster family boards the same train as Marthe in the end.  Again, as the reader, we know more about what's coming than the characters do.  We're more worried for the Jews than they are for themselves.  We worry, too, for Anna and other homosexuals, knowing the persecution coming for them.

Over 24 issues, the tension gradually builds for the reader and the tension is never fully released, because we know what comes next.  Safer is not the same as safe.  That's life.

Berlin is excellent.  I wouldn't say it's on the same level as Persepolis, Maus or Showa but it's a solid addition to any historically-based graphic novel collection.

Squid Flicks: Joint Security Area

Title: Joint Security Area

Director: Park Chan-wook

Original Release: September 9, 2000

My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Amazon

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and a South Korean soldier has confessed to the crime.  Swiss Army Major Sophie E. Jean, of Korean heritage herself, is brought in to investigate on behalf of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.  The film is based on the novel DMZ by Park Sang-yeon.

To tell much more would be to spoil the story and I would hate to do anything to discourage anyone from seeking out this outstanding movie.  It reminds me of A Few Good Men in many ways except the narrative is told mostly from the perspective of the soldiers rather than the investigator.  The basic theme: people are basically decent.  War is the madness.  The madness runs deep when two nations are officially in a state of war for multiple generations.

Joint Security Area was a blockbuster hit in both South Korea and Japan.  It was, at the time of its release, the highest-grossing film ever in South Korea.  It also won four Grand Bell Awards, South Korea's Oscar-equivalent, including best picture.  Quentin Tarantino has claimed it as one of his favorites.

It's not just BTS, folks.  A lot of exciting creative work has been coming out of South Korea for a long time.  It was hard to see it coming when I lived in East Asia a quarter-century ago but this country historically overshadowed by Japan and China is leading the charge in the Asian Century.

Star Trek: Family Business

Episode: "Family Business"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 3, Episode 23

Original Air Date: May 15, 1995

via Memory Beta

Quark is in trouble.  More accurately, his mother Ishka is in trouble and Quark, as her eldest son, will be expected to shoulder the blame.  She has earned profit, one of many things Ferengi females are not supposed to do.  Quark shuts down the bar and rushes off to the home world of Ferenginar, hoping to sort things out.  Rom insists on tagging along.  

Meanwhile, Jake Sisko succeeds in setting his father up on a date with freighter captain Kasidy Yates.  The evening goes well then really takes off when Yates reveals her brother is a baseball player, the game being one of Benjamin's great passions, esoteric by 24th century standards.  Spoiler alert: while it takes a while for the relationship to achieve permanent status, Yates will be a recurring character for the rest of the series.

"Family Business" has a lot going for it.  Ferengi sexual politics are downright icky.  Females are expected to stay naked, to remain at home, to refrain from speaking to a male outside the immediate family, to not only prepare but also pre-chew the family's food and to refrain from business.  Ishka rebels against all of it, a source of endless frustration and embarrassment for Quark.  

Rom is ultimately the story's hero.  Rom adores his mother - only ever referring to her by the endearment Moogie - and she him.  We soon learn that the boys' deceased father had been a constant failure in business.  Ishka herself was the financial genius, teaching Quark everything she knew while accumulating her own well-concealed fortune.  Rom inherited his gentler demeanor and his devotion to family from dear old Dad.  Rom is the one who finally stands up to both Quark and Ishka, forcing them to reconcile and saving the day for all.

As I've said before, much of Deep Space Nine's strength derives from its deep bench.  Garack will always be my favorite recurring character but not for lack of other worthy candidates.  "Family Business" is a fantastic Rom episode and he only gets better over the rest of the series.  Yates herself will be essential to Benjamin's character development.  The episode also introduces Brunt, one of so many Star Trek characters played by Jeffrey Combs.  Brunt exits this story saying he hopes he never sees the others again.  He'll be back for six more episodes.

Acting Notes

via Hanna-Barbera Wiki

Andrea Martin (Ishka) was born January 15, 1947 in Portland, Maine.  She graduated from Emerson College in Boston.  She was the first of two actors to play the role of Ishka.

Though American, Martin built her early career in the company of Canadian comedy royalty.  After relocating to Toronto, she was cast in a production of Godspell with then-unknowns Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy and Victor Garber.  Later, she joined the legendary sketch show SCTV, appearing alongside Levy, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis and Joe Flaherty.  Martin was nominated for ten Emmys for her work on the show, one for acting, the rest for writing.  She won twice, both for writing. 

Martin made her Broadway debut in 1992 and has since been nominated for a Best Featured Actress Tony six times.  She's won twice, for My Favorite Year in 1993 and a Pippin revival in 2013.  As if all of that weren't enough, there have been films, too, including Wag the Dog, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Star Trek: Jetrel

Episode: "Jetrel"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 1, Episode 15

Original Air Date: May 15, 1995

via Memory Alpha

A Haakonian shuttle approaches Voyager, its occupant wishing to speak with Neelix.  The man introduces himself Dr. Ma'Bor Jetrel, a name which immediate horror into the Neelix's heart.  We soon learn the Haakonians had conquered Neelix's homeworld some fifteen years before and Jetrel had been the inventor of a horrifying weapon of mass destruction, an obvious Oppenheimer/atomic bomb parallel.  Jetrel claims Neelix is terminally ill, the long-term consequence of the weapon's wrath.

29 years after this episode aired, we are a year removed from the film release of Oppenheimer so our world society has spent some time recently confronting the same issues raised in "Jetrel."  It's a strong Neelix episode as he must navigate personal demons in regards to his own role in the war.  

As I write this, I have not yet watched Oppenheimer.  However, I've devoted significant personal time to learning about the bomb, mostly from the Japanese perspective.  In my early 20s, I visited Nagasaki, a city forever haunted by that horrible day but also determined to lead world peace efforts to help ensure it never happens again.  Here on the blog, I've reviewed books that deal with the subject, most meaningfully the excellent Barefoot Gen manga series by Keiji Nakazawa about the Hiroshima bombing and its aftermath (see Volume 1 and Volume 2).  I also reviewed Trinity, a graphic novel by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm about the creation of the first atomic bomb.

Acting Notes

via WikiSein

Character actor Larry Hankin played the role of Gaunt Gary, a pool hustler in Tom Paris's Chez Sardine holodeck program in the light-hearted beginning of this unusually heavy episode.  Hankin was born December 7, 1937 in New York City.  He graduated from Syracuse University, then trained at Second City in Chicago.  "Jetrel" is his second Star Trek appearance, his first of three as Gaunt Gary.

via Friends Central

No one would call Larry Hankin famous, yet anyone who watched American television and/or movies in the 1980s and '90s would recognize him instantly.  Films include Escape from Alcatraz, Running Scared and Billy Madison.  He has appeared on numerous high-profile television shows in memorable roles, including Tom Pepper, the actor cast as Kramer in Seinfeld's "The Pilot," Mr. Heckles, the cranky downstairs neighbor on Friends and junkyard owner Old Joe on Breaking Bad.  He has an Oscar nomination to his name: Best Live Action Short Film in 1980 for Solly's Diner.

Squiddies 2024

The Armchair Squid turns fifteen years old today.  It's time to hand out some hardware.  The Squiddy goes to...

Biggest Surprise: The Cat and the Roomba

via Wikipedia

The premise of the Japanese manga The Way of the House Husband by Kosuke Oono is wild.  Tatsu, a Yakuza boss, leaves his life of organized crime when he marries a career woman.  Obviously, he doesn't have too many job skills beyond thuggery so he learns to cook and clean while his wife makes the money.  Manga, particularly the ones that make it into translation, are dependably high-quality compared to most English-language comic books.  So I wasn't surprised that it's good.  I was definitely surprised that it's so funny.  Humor does not always translate well from one culture to another.

In one issue/chapter, Tatsu attempts to vacuum via Roomba.  The family cat is not pleased.  Madness ensues.  Yes, it is the stuff of TikTok videos.  Somehow, it's way funnier in sequential art form.  I genuinely laughed out loud.

Biggest Disappointment: Queerphobia and Misogyny at Citizen Cider

Last year, our favorite local cidery released its first beer, an offering called Hey Bub.  In itself, it seemed a reasonable choice for expanding the brand.  The trouble came in the marketing campaign, clearly targeting straight, white, blue-collar men.  There were t-shirts of men doing manly things like riding a tractor or fishing with taglines like "Get Plowed" and "Approved for Hooking Up."  The company's own pub staff, specifically the female and LBTQIA+ employees who have to endure unwelcome advances from drunk customers all the time, took offense and refused to wear the shirts as directed by management.  During Pride Month, the staff decorated a chalkboard promoting the new beer and other products with rainbows.  The board was mysteriously erased.  Twice.  A company director was overheard saying "We can't have that shit" associated with Hey Bub.  

Not good.

Loads of people quit and the public backlash has been severe with a local boycott of the brand doing real damage.  The Boardroom, our local game cafe, sold their last keg of Citizen Cider at a reduced price and gave all the proceeds to LGBTQIA+ charities.  Obviously, Citizen Cider has tried to walk it all back but for those injured, it's too little too late.

I'm upset that it happened but I cheer for the whistleblowers who stood up for themselves.  And I'm proud of the Vermont public that backed them up.  It's the sort of thing that makes me glad we live here.

You can read the original Seven Days article here.

Best Read, First Time Category: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

via Amazon

I guess I'm a sucker for books about aging and death.  I still recommend Atul Gawande's Being Mortal to any and all.  In her graphic memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast shares her experiences in dealing with her parents.  The story is neither pretty nor sweet.  There is pain, frustration and struggle at every stage.  As my own parents grow older, these are the sort of things I think about all the time.  Chast's book was a meaningful find.

  

Best Re-Read: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

via Amazon

I have a love-hate relationship with R&J.  On the one hand, I feel the double suicide is one of the great narrative copouts in all of literature.  On the other, it is the play that made me fall in love with Shakespeare and it didn't happen until I was in my late 30s.  This past fall, I read it for pure pleasure, neither scholastic nor professional responsibilities involved.  Without a doubt, it is a masterpiece.

Best Comics Find: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

See above.

Athlete of the Year: Bernie Casey (1939-2017)

via Amazon

Bernie Casey played the role of Calvin Hudson in the DS9 two-parter The Maquis (see parts 1 and 2).  Long before that, he was a professional football player and a successful one at that.  He had a seven-year career in the NFL, playing as a halfback, flanker and tight end, first for the San Francisco 49ers, later for the Los Angeles Rams.  He made the Pro Bowl in 1967.  In addition, he was a champion hurdler in college.  

Best Family Adventure: Hot Water

Last year's adventure at Scandinave (see same category last year) turned us on to the pleasures of hot water bathing.  This year, we had three trips where spas and jacuzzis figured in the planning: two visits to Porches Inn in North Adams, Massachusetts and one to the extraordinary Balnea Spa in Bromont, Quebec.  I expect our new hobby will be a prominent theme in our future travels.