Sun, 25 October 2009 The Gamma Quadrant starts DS9 season 2! In this episode we learn that Kira’s casual wear doubles as prostitute attire and O’Brien’s pimp impression is surprisingly good! Comments[2] |
I totally agree with you all that now with this trilogy of episodes, DS9 starts to feel like the show we all love. Frank Langella as Jaro has such gravitas in his scenes with Sisko that the two feel very well matched for one another, and I love that the Vedeks will get involved in the conflict as well.
I wanted to point out that I have several costumes from these episodes on my blog Niner's Paradise. http://ninersparadise.blogspot.com/
I have for your viewing: Major Kira, Vedek Winn, Minister Jaro, Vedek Bareil, and Quark, unpictured is Li Nalis' jacket from "Homecoming."
Thanks for doing such a fine job on these podcasts! They are consistently enjoyable and I am always looking forward to Sunday afternoons now. :)
I wanted to point out that I have several costumes from these episodes on my blog Niner's Paradise. http://ninersparadise.blogspot.com/
I have for your viewing: Major Kira, Vedek Winn, Minister Jaro, Vedek Bareil, and Quark, unpictured is Li Nalis' jacket from "Homecoming."
Thanks for doing such a fine job on these podcasts! They are consistently enjoyable and I am always looking forward to Sunday afternoons now. :)
posted by: Thot Pran on Mon, 10/26 08:58 PM EDT
Here are my thoughts on the 2nd season opener "The Homecoming". Not sure where the real act breaks are below, just taking a guess!
This episode reminded me that the writers of DS9 are not afraid to have long teasers. This might be necessitated for this episode, since it's a season opener. But I've often caught myself and thought, "they've only just run the titles now after a full 10 minutes of teaser?!" when watching other episodes. Perhaps it's because this character driven show requires time for the characters to stew, to build complex and rich relationships. Like a well written book, the first few pages will start on what seems to be an unimportant scene - but it's key to provide something richer at a later stage.
The first few scenes remind us that the characters are at odds with each other - there is conflict all over the place. Plenty of grist for the writer's mill. Each of the early scenes re-establishes the relationships with the characters, but still within a natural pace with the story.
Teaser
Scene 1 - Quark's bar (Quark and Odo)
This is the case for the season opening relationship between Quark and Odo. Great scene! Very much still at odds with each other. And Quark being nice just confuses the hell out of Odo. The first exchange has nothing to do with what happens with the main story thread of the show, but it reminds us what DS9 does best - which is character driven scenes.
This is perhaps nit picking but the woman just giving Lee Nalis's earing to Quark seemed a little too easy. Didn't she want a trade? Latinum? Ooomax?
Scene 2 - Kira in her quarters praying.
Glad to see this. The writers aren't afraid to include some worship and faith elements as part of a television show drama. It adds authenticity into the mix - a real society includes this, so why not a T.V. show. It shows Kira is serious about her faith.
Then we see Quark and Kira sparring within Kira's quarters no less. Kira hates that little troll, though later on she "compliments" Quark with "You look as handsome as ever!".
Again - why isn't Quark trying harder to get some kind of profit out of Kira? I guess there isn't time for this diversion in the story.
Act 1
Scene 3- Sisko and Jake on the promenade.
Good rapport between Sisko and Jake in this scene. And nice how it ends with Jake saying "I can see you are not ready for this conversation right now..." - he is growing up just too fast for Sisko's character. You can't help but think that Avery and Cirroc have spent some time together in the hiatus between the seasons and bonded that bit more. We know that the actors gained a real kind of father and son type relationship off the set - so perhaps this started in earnest during the hiatus.
Sisko is in a good mood in this scene. Like the cheesy way he orders his meal from the replicator.
Kira is strong in this scene in the replimat and is just going off ready to create her own mission, partly behind Sisko's back! I guess Sisko is used to this now, but will reign her in when necessary. I like how Sisko is being considerate of Starfleet property. Why should he lend out a 50000 gold pressed latinum bars worth of spaceship on a whim from Kira?
Scene 4 - Sisko with Dax
Dax is okay here. We see her a light mentor to Sisko, due to her past host Curzon. I think the writers could have given her more to give a stronger sense of mentor here. The scene was a bit short, but she was used lightly in season 1.
Scene 5 - O'Brian and Odo show the circle symbol.
Good scene, shows the seriousness of the Circle faction problem.
Act 2
Scene 6 - Runabout with O'Brien and Kira
Quite a formal relationship between these two here. Can't believe that O'Brien eventually has this woman living in his quarters having his baby. Just shows the growth of their character arcs in the coming seasons!
Kira bluffs the Cardassians.
Scene 7 - the labour camp quarry
All good sci fi shows have a quarry set at some stage!
O'Brian tries to sell Kira to a Cardassian. He's not a very good salesman.
We see Lee Nalis already being a reluctant hero. He doesn't want people to die in saving him. His legend is just so overblown - even at the labour camp after 10 years!
Act 3
Scene 8 - Ds9 airlock - Bashir helping the wounded.
Bashir is only lightly used in this episode. No real progression of his character here. But we see Lee Nalis already overwhelmed by his release - his guilt in lives being potentially lost just for him.
Scene 9 - Sisko's office and Gul Dukat's apology.
Gul Dukat makes a welcome short appearance here. But what is he up to? The audience and Sisko are left hanging with this question in their minds.
Scene 10 - Lee Nalis, Sisko and then Jaro on the promenade.
Jaro is the politician you love to hate. I would so not vote this man. Jaro is totally using Lee Nalis as a pawn for his own grandeur.
I wonder if the writers were considering using him as a more menacing figure than Vedek Win and replacing her character with him? He's a strong contender for this and could have been a good recurring guest star.
Scene 11 - Lee Nalis and Sisko in Lee's quarters.
The actor who plays Lee Nalis seems like a stage actor. He certainly delivers the pangs of guilt and a heavy past with being inside a labour camp for 10 years. His relief of release, but at the same time demonstrating that he has new burdens to carry. Good guest star I thought.
Scene 12 - Quark and Rom counting latinum
"One for you and six for me". "Pay day is a time of joy".
This comical moment stood out for me and I enjoyed it. It sounds like my boss.
Rom is such an underdog here and their relationship seems so crystallised and that Rom will ever remain the underdog...little does Quark know!
Scene 13 - The Infirmary - Quark attended to by Bashir
Could Bashir have been used a bit more here? He's just plain doctor in this epsode.
Scene 14 - Sisko and Jake in Sisko's quarters
Jake's date is cancelled. The angst of Sisko's character is clear. The outside world and problems on Bajor are affecting his family life directly - his son. And Sisko is doing his best to provide a salve. All parents can relate to this scene I guess.
Scene 15 - Jaro, Sisko, Lee Nalis and Kira in Ops.
Kira to be replaced by Lee Nalis! What!
Was this a strong enough ending for the 1st episode? This could be a debating point. Hopefully the audience love Kira's character enough to be concerned about it.
Conclusion
All in all, I liked the epsiode. Good strong guest stars and the key relationships of the main characters from the 1st season are re-established. But Bashir and Dax aren't given much here - probably because we have these good guest stars and there just isn't the darn time to fit in any extra scenes for them.
I would give this episode four stars ****.
Tosk
This episode reminded me that the writers of DS9 are not afraid to have long teasers. This might be necessitated for this episode, since it's a season opener. But I've often caught myself and thought, "they've only just run the titles now after a full 10 minutes of teaser?!" when watching other episodes. Perhaps it's because this character driven show requires time for the characters to stew, to build complex and rich relationships. Like a well written book, the first few pages will start on what seems to be an unimportant scene - but it's key to provide something richer at a later stage.
The first few scenes remind us that the characters are at odds with each other - there is conflict all over the place. Plenty of grist for the writer's mill. Each of the early scenes re-establishes the relationships with the characters, but still within a natural pace with the story.
Teaser
Scene 1 - Quark's bar (Quark and Odo)
This is the case for the season opening relationship between Quark and Odo. Great scene! Very much still at odds with each other. And Quark being nice just confuses the hell out of Odo. The first exchange has nothing to do with what happens with the main story thread of the show, but it reminds us what DS9 does best - which is character driven scenes.
This is perhaps nit picking but the woman just giving Lee Nalis's earing to Quark seemed a little too easy. Didn't she want a trade? Latinum? Ooomax?
Scene 2 - Kira in her quarters praying.
Glad to see this. The writers aren't afraid to include some worship and faith elements as part of a television show drama. It adds authenticity into the mix - a real society includes this, so why not a T.V. show. It shows Kira is serious about her faith.
Then we see Quark and Kira sparring within Kira's quarters no less. Kira hates that little troll, though later on she "compliments" Quark with "You look as handsome as ever!".
Again - why isn't Quark trying harder to get some kind of profit out of Kira? I guess there isn't time for this diversion in the story.
Act 1
Scene 3- Sisko and Jake on the promenade.
Good rapport between Sisko and Jake in this scene. And nice how it ends with Jake saying "I can see you are not ready for this conversation right now..." - he is growing up just too fast for Sisko's character. You can't help but think that Avery and Cirroc have spent some time together in the hiatus between the seasons and bonded that bit more. We know that the actors gained a real kind of father and son type relationship off the set - so perhaps this started in earnest during the hiatus.
Sisko is in a good mood in this scene. Like the cheesy way he orders his meal from the replicator.
Kira is strong in this scene in the replimat and is just going off ready to create her own mission, partly behind Sisko's back! I guess Sisko is used to this now, but will reign her in when necessary. I like how Sisko is being considerate of Starfleet property. Why should he lend out a 50000 gold pressed latinum bars worth of spaceship on a whim from Kira?
Scene 4 - Sisko with Dax
Dax is okay here. We see her a light mentor to Sisko, due to her past host Curzon. I think the writers could have given her more to give a stronger sense of mentor here. The scene was a bit short, but she was used lightly in season 1.
Scene 5 - O'Brian and Odo show the circle symbol.
Good scene, shows the seriousness of the Circle faction problem.
Act 2
Scene 6 - Runabout with O'Brien and Kira
Quite a formal relationship between these two here. Can't believe that O'Brien eventually has this woman living in his quarters having his baby. Just shows the growth of their character arcs in the coming seasons!
Kira bluffs the Cardassians.
Scene 7 - the labour camp quarry
All good sci fi shows have a quarry set at some stage!
O'Brian tries to sell Kira to a Cardassian. He's not a very good salesman.
We see Lee Nalis already being a reluctant hero. He doesn't want people to die in saving him. His legend is just so overblown - even at the labour camp after 10 years!
Act 3
Scene 8 - Ds9 airlock - Bashir helping the wounded.
Bashir is only lightly used in this episode. No real progression of his character here. But we see Lee Nalis already overwhelmed by his release - his guilt in lives being potentially lost just for him.
Scene 9 - Sisko's office and Gul Dukat's apology.
Gul Dukat makes a welcome short appearance here. But what is he up to? The audience and Sisko are left hanging with this question in their minds.
Scene 10 - Lee Nalis, Sisko and then Jaro on the promenade.
Jaro is the politician you love to hate. I would so not vote this man. Jaro is totally using Lee Nalis as a pawn for his own grandeur.
I wonder if the writers were considering using him as a more menacing figure than Vedek Win and replacing her character with him? He's a strong contender for this and could have been a good recurring guest star.
Scene 11 - Lee Nalis and Sisko in Lee's quarters.
The actor who plays Lee Nalis seems like a stage actor. He certainly delivers the pangs of guilt and a heavy past with being inside a labour camp for 10 years. His relief of release, but at the same time demonstrating that he has new burdens to carry. Good guest star I thought.
Scene 12 - Quark and Rom counting latinum
"One for you and six for me". "Pay day is a time of joy".
This comical moment stood out for me and I enjoyed it. It sounds like my boss.
Rom is such an underdog here and their relationship seems so crystallised and that Rom will ever remain the underdog...little does Quark know!
Scene 13 - The Infirmary - Quark attended to by Bashir
Could Bashir have been used a bit more here? He's just plain doctor in this epsode.
Scene 14 - Sisko and Jake in Sisko's quarters
Jake's date is cancelled. The angst of Sisko's character is clear. The outside world and problems on Bajor are affecting his family life directly - his son. And Sisko is doing his best to provide a salve. All parents can relate to this scene I guess.
Scene 15 - Jaro, Sisko, Lee Nalis and Kira in Ops.
Kira to be replaced by Lee Nalis! What!
Was this a strong enough ending for the 1st episode? This could be a debating point. Hopefully the audience love Kira's character enough to be concerned about it.
Conclusion
All in all, I liked the epsiode. Good strong guest stars and the key relationships of the main characters from the 1st season are re-established. But Bashir and Dax aren't given much here - probably because we have these good guest stars and there just isn't the darn time to fit in any extra scenes for them.
I would give this episode four stars ****.
Tosk
posted by: Tosk on Thu, 11/5 04:14 PM EST
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