Star Trek: Empok Nor

Episode: "Empok Nor"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 24

Original Air Date: May 19, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Garak episode!

In the midst of conduit repairs, Chief O'Brien finds he needs a replacement part.  Spare parts for the Cardassian-constructed station aren't exactly easy to come by and, for technobabble reasons, can't be replicated.  He travels to Empok Nor, an abandoned station, with a small crew, including both Garak and Nog.  Unfortunately, in addition to the usual booby traps, the Cardassians left behind a couple of guards, preserved in stasis.

The heat rises when Garak is exposed to a psychotropic drug that turns him into a killing machine.  At first, he targets the "bad guys" but once they're taken care of, he turns on his friends, ultimately killing Crewman Amaro.  I'm not sure "Empok Nor" is a good episode, exactly, but it's a good one for Garak development, pressing hard on the question of whether or not he can be trusted.  Pairing him with O'Brien, the combat veteran of the Cardassian War, also opens interesting avenues.  

Like "The Ship," "Empok Nor" also makes a point of giving names and lines to red shirts...

Acting Notes

via Critters Wiki

Tom Hodges played the role of Crewman Pechetti, an engineer on the mission who meets an unfortunate end.  Hodges was born in Chicago, July 1, 1965.  He is best known for playing Bruno in Lucas and Rich in The Hogan Family.  Other films include Revenge of the Nerds II, Steel Magnolias and Heavyweights.  Other television appearances include L.A. Law, The Facts of Life and JAG.

Star Trek: Worst Case Scenario

Episode: "Worst Case Scenario"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 25

Original Air Date: May 14, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Torres discovers a holonovel in the ship's computer based on a Maquis mutiny.  The adventure soon becomes the talk of Voyager, with Janeway's encouragement.  Tuvok, of all people, had created it as a training module in the early days of the mission.  Now he worries it sends the wrong message to the crew.  The Captain, on the other hand, sees it as healthy and much needed entertainment.  She even encourages the author to finish the story.  Unfortunately, our old pal Seska, who appears in holographic form, set a few booby traps in the program before she left the ship.

"Worst Case Scenario" is a lot of fun.  Having Seska back, in particular, is great.  As I've written before, though, I think it's a shame the series mostly backed off of the Maquis-Starfleet tension.  Why plant that seed if you're not going to draw from it more?  I feel the same way about the Tom Paris redemption saga.  Chakotay punched him the first time he saw him on the bridge!  That moment promised more than has been delivered.

But that's no reason not to enjoy "Worst Case Scenario."  Once again, Voyager builds on ideas from NextGen's Moriarty arc and I definitely approve of that.

Production Notes

via Memory Alpha

Richard Dale James was the production designer for 151 episodes of The Next Generation and 168 episodes of Voyager, including this one.  He was born in Fort Worth, Texas, April 7, 1936.  He graduated from Texas Tech.

James and set decorator Jim Mees won an Emmy for TNG's "Sins of the Father" and were nominated for three other episodes.  Voyager highlights include the bridge and the captain's ready room.  Film credits include Getting Even as production designer and Local Hero and The Beast of War as art director.  

James passed away in 2024 at age 88.

Star Trek: Blaze of Glory

Episode: "Blaze of Glory"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 23

Original Air Date: May 12, 1997

via Memory Alpha

General Martok brings an intercepted message to Captain Sisko.  The Maquis have launched cloaked, guided missiles at Cardassian targets.  Both leaders know the fall out from such an attack could be disastrous.  Sisko knows of one man who can help him: the traitor Michael Eddington, currently serving out his sentence in a Federation prison.  Meanwhile, Nog, back on DS9 as a security officer, is struggling to win the respect of the Klingons on the station.

The episode feels like exactly what it is: an effort to tie up the Maquis storyline as neatly as possible so the writers could move on from it.  Eddington gets a noble death, at least in his own eyes (spoiler).  The movement is reduced to single-digit membership, just enough for Voyager if they want to return to the thread, which they never really do.  I'm not much of an Eddington fan - "look at me, I'm so smug."  Thus, I'm okay with moving on, too.  The Nog development is more meaningful, long term.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Gretchen German played the role of Rebecca Sullivan, Eddington's wife.  German was born in Austin, Texas, March 18, 1961.  Most of her work has been on television.  She's had recurring roles on Wings, Almost Perfect and Home Improvement as well as guest appearances on Will & Grace, Family Tree and Pacific Blue among others.  Her films include A Man Called Sarge and What Matters Most.  

Star Trek: Displaced

Episode: "Displaced"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 24

Original Air Date: May 7, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Crew members are vanishing while strangers, beings calling themselves Nyrians, are just as mysteriously appearing all over the ship.  In time, our friends discover this is a complex and effective hijacking scheme on the part of the Nyrians.  Voyager is quickly overtaken and the entire crew - including even the EMH - find themselves on a prison colony where they're told they'll spend the rest of their lives.  Obviously, that won't do.

"Displaced" is fun with an old school sci-fi feel.  The portals our heroes find to other prison habitats are somewhat reminiscent of the original series episode "All Our Yesterdays."  I half-expected Mr. Atoz and his librarian clones to pop up.  I also enjoy the fact that the leverage Janeway finally finds to hold over the Nyrians is... cold weather (also echoing the TOS story).

Acting Notes

via West Wing Wiki

Kenneth Tigar played the role of Dammar, the leader of the hijackers.  Tigar was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, September 24, 1942.  He received both a BA and a PhD in German literature from Harvard where he was also active in theatre.  "Displaced" is his second of two Trek appearances.

Tigar's films include two Lethal Weapon movies, Primal Fear and Conspiracy Theory.  He has a brief but memorable role in Avengers as German Old Man.  When Loki commands a crowd to kneel before him...

On television, Tigar had a recurring role on L.A. Heat and guest appearances on Cheers, Dallas and ER among others.

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.  

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.

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.  

Star Trek: Real Life

Episode: "Real Life"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 22

Original Air Date: April 23, 1997

via Memory Alpha

In his ongoing effort to broaden his own experiences, the Doctor creates a holodeck family for himself: a wife and two children.  Predictably, they are all nauseatingly perfect.  Torres makes a few tweaks to the program in order to provide the EMH - Kenneth to his family - with a more realistic experience.  Shocker, his wife and kids are now quite a lot more resistant to his efforts to control them.  What starts as chaos quickly turns to heartbreak when his daughter Bella suffers a terrible accident.

This is all part of the Doctor's wish to better understand his patients and it's an admirable goal.  The real barrier isn't so much lack of experience as lack of emotional range.  Last episode, I mentioned Kes's exceptional empathy.  Her strength is the Doctor's deficit.  Brilliant as he's constantly reminding everyone he is, he doesn't get people.  Unfortunately, that's a real world problem for too many in the medical profession. 

How does a computer program improve in this area?  As this story demonstrates, confronting pain and loss is important.  Perhaps most important of all for this particular character, admitting his own limits and vulnerability is essential.

The episode is good, but not nearly as good as the Starfleet Academy episode "The Life of the Stars" which referenced it 29 years later.

Acting Notes

via American Dad Wikia

Wendy Schaal played the role of Charlene, the Doctor's holodeck wife.  She was born in Chicago, July 2, 1954.  Her father Richard Schall was also a television actor who later married Valerie Harper, a fact which certainly helped Wendy's own acting career.  Wendy studied at Los Angeles City College.

Films have included Innerspace, The 'Burbs and Small Soldiers.  On television, she's had regular roles on Fantasy Island, Good Grief and It's a Living.  Early in her career, she made guest appearances on such classic shows as Little House on the Prairie, Rhoda and Welcome Back, Kotter among others.  She's had a successful voice acting career, including playing Francine Smith on American Dad! for the past 22 seasons and counting.  

Star Trek: Ferengi Love Songs

Episode: "Ferengi Love Songs"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 20

Original Air Date: April 21, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Quark is depressed.  His bar is closed due to a space vole infestation.  His enterprises are limited due to the revocation of his Ferengi business license.  Plus, his annoying brother Rom is getting married!  What's a guy to do?  At Rom's suggestion, he goes home to Mom on Ferenginar.  He really should have called ahead to let her know.  He stumbles upon his mother's own love affair... with the Grand Negus!

While it's ostensibly an episode about the two brothers, "Ferengi Love Songs" ultimately centers around the role of women in Ferengi society.  As established in "Family Business," the boys' mother Ishka is a financial genius.  Unfortunately, this fact has become a liability as Ferengi females are forbidden to be involved in business, one of many restrictions on their lives.  There's another problem now, though.  The Negus's memory is failing with age and Ishka's behind-the-scenes advice has become essential.

Meanwhile, in Rom's case, he wants Leeta to sign a pre-nup.  Understandably, she objects and it would seem the wedding is off.  Rom is relatively progressive as Ferengi males go but he has trust issues lingering from his first marriage.  He has to decide if he's willing to compromise in order to be with the woman he loves.

The story certainly has icky moments but to their credit, the writers lean into the discomfort rather than dancing around it.  These are important areas of growth for several essential characters.  

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Cecily Adams played the role of Ishka.  She is the second actor to play the part and this is her first of five appearances.  Adams was born in New York City, February 6, 1958.  She graduated from UC-Irvine.

Other television credits include Just Shoot Me!, Murphy Brown and Party of Five.  Adams was also a successful casting director, primarily for television.  Her highest profile job in that capacity was for That '70s Show.  

Adams passed away in 2004.  A non-smoker, she died of lung cancer.

Star Trek: Ties of Blood and Water

Episode: "Ties of Blood and Water"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 19

Original Air Date: April 14, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Major Kira invites Tekeny Ghamor to the station in order to provide intel on the Cardassians.  Back in Season 3's "Second Skin," Kira learned that a Cardassian operative, Iliana, who looked an awful lot like her had been sent undercover to infiltrate the Bajoran resistance.  Ghamor was Iliana's father.  In the midst of confusion and heartbreak, Kira and Ghamor formed a genuine, loving bond.  Ghamor is no fan of the current Cardassian regime and is happy to help bring them down.  To complicate matters for all involved, he's dying.  Meanwhile, Dukat is demanding that Ghamor be extradited.  

Without question, "Second Skin" is one of the very best DS9 episodes and well-deserving of a sequel.  In all honesty, I would have preferred a continuation of the Iliana story but what we got instead is plenty interesting in its own right.  Ghamor's death dredges up Kira's regrets about her own father's passing.  The two tales are linked by the fear of dying alone and, of course, the accompanying remorse of the survivors.  Confronting death and aging has been an important recurring theme with Trek from the beginning - clearly important topics for creator Gene Roddenberry.  

"Ties of Blood and Water" adds rich complexity to the character of Kira Nerys who already had plenty.  She must find forgiveness in her heart for Ghamor regarding his role in the occupation while also coming to terms with the grief she feels in losing him.  Powerful stuff.

Acting Notes

via West Wing Wiki

William Lucking played the role of Furel, one of Kira's comrades during the Resistance.  Furel passed away in his first appearance, "The Darkness and the Light."  In "Ties of Blood and Water," he appears in the flashback to Kira's father's death.  This is the actor's second of three Trek appearances.  

Lucking was born in Vicksburg, Michigan, June 17, 1941.  He graduated from UCLA and the Pasadena Playhouse.  He co-founded the Santa Paula Theater Center in 1986 and served as its artistic director for five years.

Films include The Magnificent Seven Ride!, The Rundown and Erin Brockovich.  On television, Lucking had starring roles on Outlaws and Sons of Anarchy and a recurring role on The A-Team.  Guest credits include M*A*S*H, The Greatest American Hero and The West Wing.

Lucking passed away in 2021.

Star Trek: Before and After

Episode: "Before and After"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 21

Original Air Date: April 9, 1997

via Memory Alpha

The story begins six years in Voyager's future.  Kes is on her death bed.  From there, she experiences a series of flashbacks, living her life in reverse.  We get to know the family she had with Tom Paris and the tragic ends met by some of her shipmates.  Eventually, all is made right.  We - and Kes - return to the "correct" timeline.  And the eternally wise Tuvok reminds everyone that the future Kes experienced is only one possible outcome.

"Before and After" is a popular choice for best of lists for the series.  Because of my bias against time travel narratives - not to mention Voyager's tendency to go to that well far too often - I'm not putting it there.  However, there's no denying it's a lovely character story for Kes and we're running out of those fast.  

In my favorite scene, Kes assures her daughter Linnis that Linnis herself will be a good mother because Kes knows the child will turn out fine.  Because of the way the timeline is messing with her, Kes has actually only known Linnis for a few minutes but she still knows the right thing to say.  Star Trek treats such effortless empathy like a superpower and maybe it is.  Wherever the gift comes from, the moment shows Kes at her best - indeed, the Deanna Troi legacy at its best.  Seven of Nine is about to bring tremendous breadth and depth to the narrative but when Kes leaves, Voyager will lose a lot of heart.

Acting Notes

via Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Wikia

Jessica Collins (Linnis) was born Jessica Lynn Capogna in Schenectady, New York, April 1, 1971.  She was the runner-up in the Miss Teen USA pageant in 1988.  She studied acting at the Royal National Theatre Studio in London and the Howard Fine Acting Studio in Los Angeles.

Collins is best known for her television work.  She has had starring roles on Loving, The Young and the Restless and Tru Calling.  She won a Daytime Emmy for Y&R.  Guest appearances include Beverly Hills 90210, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Grey's Anatomy.  Films include Beautiful, Catch Me If You Can and Live!

Star Trek: Business As Usual

Episode: "Business As Usual"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 18

Original Air Date: April 5, 1997

via Memory Alpha

The eternally enterprising Quark is buried in debt.  A cousin offers to bring him into the lucrative arms trade, a big no-no on the station.  Quark and his new associates devise an angle to make it work - with Bajoran blessings, even.  But when talk turns to weapons of mass destruction, our greedy friend discovers his own limits.

The most interesting Quark episodes are the ones where we see his capitalistic bounds tested.  It's part of why I think the much-maligned "Move Along Home" isn't really so terrible and why I appreciate Mirror Quark more than most of the other characters in that story line.  Like all of the other principals, Quark is on a journey through the course of the series.  Over the long run, his is not even the most remarkable growth within his own family.  He may not even rank second.  But his development is absolutely essential to the whole.

"Business As Usual" includes homages to several classic films: The Third Man, Scarface and Dr. Strangelove.

Acting Notes

via Beverly Hills Cop Wiki

Steven Berkoff played the role of Hagath, king pin of Quark's new trade syndicate.  Berkoff was born Leslie Steven Berks in London, August 3, 1937.

I've featured many stage greats in this space.  Berkoff plays in a different league from all of them.  He has written at least 33 plays and his directorial style is widely known as "Berkovian Theatre."  I found this description by critic Aleks Sierz:

The language is usually filthy, characters talk about unmentionable subjects, take their clothes off, have sex, humiliate each other, experience unpleasant emotions, become suddenly violent. At its best, this kind of theatre is so powerful, so visceral, that it forces audiences to react: either they feel like fleeing the building or they are suddenly convinced that it is the best thing they have ever seen and want all their friends to see it too. It is the kind of theatre that inspires us to use superlatives, whether in praise or condemnation.

On screen, he has built his reputation in villain roles: General Orlov in Octopussy, Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop and Lt. Col. Podovsky in Rambo: First Blood Part II.  Television appearances include BBC classics such as The Avengers, The Saint and Doctor Who.

Star Trek: A Simple Investigation

Episode: "A Simple Investigation"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 17

Original Air Date: March 31, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Odo falls in love - with someone other than Kira!  In the course of a murder investigation, he meets Arissa.  It quickly becomes apparent that she's in danger of becoming the next victim.  He takes her under his protection, even inviting her to stay in his quarters.  His intentions are not romantic, yet it happens anyway.

It's a DS9 film noir story.  I love these and honestly, there aren't enough of them.  I would be 100% down with a series consisting entirely of Odo-led mystery stories.  Is "A Simple Investigation" the best one?  No.  But the romance is a great vehicle for Odo character exploration.  He's a Changeling once more but still straddling the in-between space, not quite belonging to one world or the other.  Given his lack of experience with intimacy, either physical or emotional, he's still an insecure adolescent in many ways.  And yet, his vulnerability makes him an appealing partner.  By the end, even after she reverts to her true identity (spoiler), Arissa's affection is genuine.

With 29 years of hindsight, we know there's development with Kira still to come.  A story like "A Simple Investigation" gives Odo space to explore what a romantic relationship is before he finds "the one."  I can say from personal experience, that's important.

*****

Acting Notes

via The Delerious Movie Wikia

John Durbin played the role of Traidy, one of the Finnean assassins.  "A Simple Investigation" is his fourth of five Trek appearances, the most significant being that of Gul Lemec in the "Chain of Command" episodes.  Durbin was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Films include Return of the Living Dead, The Blue Iguana and Number One with a Bullet.  Beyond Trek, he has made guest appearances on The A-Team, Melrose Place and Moonlighting.

Star Trek: Favorite Son

Episode: "Favorite Son"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 20

Original Air Date: March 19, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Harry Kim is inexplicably drawn to the planet Taresia where the natives tell him he is one of their own.  An agent of their world traveled to Earth long ago and injected Taresian DNA into Harry's mother.  Now that he's finally "come home," the Taresians are eager for him to stay, marry three wives and have loads of children.  The Doctor's scans confirm that Harry does, indeed, carry Taresian DNA but something's fishy...

"Favorite Son" is the last of a three-episode run often referred to by fans as the "trilogy of terror."  In other words, they're notoriously bad.  I don't really think any of them are so terrible.  A little Harry development is always nice and it's only fitting that an Odyssey-like series should have a Sirens episode.  "Favorite Son" is definitely sexist so if that's the complaint, I will concede the point.  But otherwise, the story's okay - certainly far from terrible.  We've seen worse from Voyager!

 

In the end, it is revealed that the Taresian DNA was implanted in Harry long after his birth.  However, in the original script, there is no such plot twist.  Harry is a Taresian and would have been for the rest of the series.  That could have been interesting.  Instead, the writers let themselves off the hook for trying to figure out how to incorporate the revelation in future stories.

Acting Notes

via Criminal Minds Wiki

Cari Shayne played the role of Eliann, one of the Taresian women eager to marry Harry.  She was born in Sellersville, Tennessee, September 8, 1972.  Career highlights including recurring roles on General Hospital, Party of Five and The Bay.  She's also made guest appearances on Murder, She Wrote, Criminal Minds and This Is Us.  Films include Exposé, Jack the Dog and Good Fortune.

Star Trek: Rise

Episode: "Rise"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 19

Original Air Date: February 26, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Always happy to make nice with the locals while they're passing through, the Voyager crew are helping protect a Nezu colony from an asteroid bombardment.  But there's something fishy going on.  The ship's torpedoes should be obliterating the asteroids and yet fragments are still making it to the planet surface.  A Nezu scientist reports that the asteroids appear to be artificial.  Our friends send down three shuttles on a rescue mission including one led by Tuvok and Neelix.  They are forced to make an emergency landing and that's where the real fun begins.

"Rise" explores the difficult relationship between Tuvok and Neelix.  It's well established by this point in the series that Neelix drives Tuvok crazy.  Neelix is impulsive, moody, gregarious and seemingly unserious: everything that a logical Vulcan abhors.  Now here they are, in a situation in which they absolutely have to work together in order to survive.  For perhaps the first time, Neelix proves his value - as well as the value of his own particular strengths - to the Lieutenant.  It's a big deal.

The story is based on the 1965 film, The Flight of the Phoenix.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Alan Oppenheimer played the role of a Nezu ambassador.  It was his third of three Trek appearances on three different series.  Oppenheimer was born in New York City, April 23, 1930.

Television work includes appearances on Hogan's Heroes, Get Smart and Happy Days.  Film credits include Westworld and the narrator in The NeverEnding Story.  He had an extensive voice acting career, beginning in the 1970s.  He worked on several Filmation shows, including Flash Gordon, Ghostbusters and The Smurfs and yet, interestingly, never Trek's animated series.

Star Trek: Doctor Bashir, I Presume

Episode: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 5, Episode 16

Original Air Date: February 24, 1997

via Memory Alpha

Robert Picardo guest stars as both Dr. Lewis Zimmerman and the Emergency Medical Hologram he created in his own likeness.  The scientist is designing a new and improved medical hologram and wishes to use the handsome and talented Dr. Bashir as the model.  To do the job, Zimmerman requires intimate knowledge of Julian's psyche, including a deep probe of his past.  To this end, Zimmerman invites our doctor's parents to the station for interviews, against Julian's explicit wishes.  In an accidental slip up, Mom and Dad reveal a dark secret: Julian was illegally genetically enhanced as a young child.

Meanwhile, Zimmerman takes a shine to Leeta, forcing Rom out of his shyness to confess his love for her.  Fortunately, she loves him, too, and DS9's happiest and healthiest romance is finally realized.

I have mixed feelings about the Genetically Enhanced Julian storyline.  In the writers' ongoing need to make the character more interesting, I think they went a bit too far with this one.  He's superhuman?  That doesn't make him more likable.  Contrast his with Rom's arc.  We root like hell for Quark's little brother.  At this point, Rom is one of the strongest recurring characters and for DS9, that's saying quite a lot.  The writers didn't change Rom.  They simply put him in circumstances where he'd best be able to shine.  With Bashir, they try too hard.  And so does Julian.  In my defense, the development came as a late surprise for actor Alexander Siddig and he wasn't too happy about it initially either.

But postgaming the episode with our child brought new perspective for me...

They feel the augmentation plotline has parallels with nonconsensual genital surgeries performed on intersex children.  Julian didn't have a choice in undergoing the procedure.  In fact, he didn't even fully understand what had been done to him until later.  The same is true for infants born with non-conforming genitals.  In both cases, the parents have made what is essentially a cosmetic choice motivated by the long-term well-being of the child.

I think it's hard to fault the parents in either case.  We all want what's best for our kids and will go to great lengths to ensure their well-being.  But where is the limit?  For the Trek universe, there's a legal limit regarding genetic enhancement.  Regarding intersex children, parents have all the power, though the medical establishment certainly has influence in the matter.

It's an interesting question - the sort of question Trek should be encouraging all of us to ponder.

One fun note: Fadwa El Guindi (Amsha Bashir) was not a professional actor at all.  At the time, she was an anthropology professor at UCLA.  A casting agent discovered her at a community theater performance and El Guindi auditioned for Trek on a whim.  The episode is her only on-screen acting credit.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Chase Masterson (Leeta) was born Christianne Carafano in Colorado Springs, February 26, 1963.  She graduated from the University of Texas with a BFA.  She made 17 appearances as Leeta on DS9 plus a voice appearance on Lower Decks.  The television resume also includes guest appearances on General Hospital, Sliders and ER.  Her film Yesterday Was a Lie earned her a Best Feature Film Producer award at the LA Femme Film Festival in 2008.

Star Trek: Darkling

Episode: "Darkling"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 3, Episode 18

Original Air Date: February 19, 1997

via Memory Alpha

In an effort to improve his bedside manner, the Doctor selects famously compassionate historical figures - Byron, Ghandi, Socrates, T'Pau - to incorporate into his programming.  Meanwhile, Kes is falling in love with a trader, Zahir, who offers to take her on grand adventures - away from Voyager.  Unfortunately, the good doctor fails to account for the fact that he would take on his heroes' flaws along with their strengths.  Two separate, competing personalities emerge in a Jekyll and Hyde tale.  The evil one eventually puts both Torres and Kes in grave peril.

Robert Picardo really acts the snot out of this one.  As with Brent Spiner (Data), there is danger in letting Picardo out of the box.  We see a lot of "look at me, I'm meeeeeean" from ol' Bob here.  And I have to admit, I really wanted to watch B'Elanna kick his ass for pawing her.  Perhaps another time...

Kes will be leaving the show soon.  I'll leave discussion of the particulars until the moment arrives but "Darkling" makes me wonder how far ahead of time the creative staff was at least aware of the possibility.  The writers painted themselves into a corner from the beginning with Kes's expected life span and in this episode, she suggests to Janeway for the first time that she may not want to spend the rest of her short life on Voyager.  And just as importantly, Janeway responds quite reasonably.  After all, Kes isn't Starfleet or Maquis.  She's along for the journey by choice and she's certainly earning her keep as the doctor's assistant.  There's no reason she shouldn't be free to go whenever she pleases.

Fortunately, not just yet.  At this point, I would say Tuvok has overtaken both the Doctor and Kes as the most interesting character but Kes is still comfortably Top 3.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

David Lee Smith (Zahir) was born in Birmingham, Alabama, September 8, 1963.  Films include The Man from Earth, Mysterious Skin and A Walk to Remember.  Television work includes Savannah, The Naked Truth and CSI: Miami.