From: scott.hollifield@the-matrix.com (Scott Hollifield) 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: DS9: EMISSARY REVIEW (2)
Date: 7 Jan 93 23:34:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: The MATRIX BBS - Birmingham, AL - 205-323-2016
Reply-To: scott.hollifield@the-matrix.com (Scott Hollifield) 

Here follows Part 2 of my review for "Emissary".


























    Quark (Armin Shimerman).  Aside from the stupid name (which always
reminds me of the NBC sci-fi sitcom), this is a very promising
character.  Armin Shimerman, the Ferengi's Ferengi ever since "The Last
Outpost", was the perfect choice, and, as those who've seen him outside
Trek can testify, he can ACT too.  Plus the fact that Quark is the first
regular Ferengi character on Star Trek should give him considerable
breadth.  Best (serious) line from the premiere: "When governments fall,
people like me are lined up and shot."
    Jake Cisco (Cirroc Lofton).  Finally, a kid who acts like a kid.
Call him the anti-Wesley.  He didn't have much to do in the pilot, but I
have a feeling that we'll have the pleasure of watching him mature on
this show the way Wil Wheaton did on TNG.
    THE PLOT:
    As with TNG's first episode, I enjoyed the "get acquainted" bits
more than I did the actual story, but fortunately, Piller and Berman
learned from the mistakes Gene Roddenberry made with "Farpoint".  They
kept the encounter with a higher intelligence, but made it refreshingly
original.  The series of scenes where Sisko communicates with the
wormhole intelligence were splendid and inspired; for me, they brought
back the feeling of wonder that was touched but not grasped by the
ending of "The Nth Degree".  I also appreciated the involvement of
Bajoran mysticism, which was just strange enough to be interesting and
at the same time, not too out-of-place.  I'll be greatly interested in
seeing Major Kira's beliefs played out more thoroughly in the future.
Also, Camille Saviola played Kai Opaka with dignity and a hint of charm.
    SPECIAL EFFECTS:
    They dumped a lot of money on this one, and wanted you to know it.
I O.D.ed on morphing after seeing Terminator 2, so I suppose it's just
as well that budgetary restraints will keep Odo from shape-shifting
constantly, but -- the wormhole effects were spectacularly intricate.
(Very handy stock footage to have around; we'll probably all get tired
of seeing the same shot of a Runabout entering and departing the
wormhole, in the same way that ILM's "warping Enterprise" effect grew
old fairly quickly.)  The station itself was neat, and not a letdown.
The sets were also great, and a refreshing change-of-pace from the
super-sterile TNG environment.
    CONTINUITY:
    I'm hoping that the writers pay fastidious attention to "The Host"
in dealing with Lt. Dax; they've already started confusing people by
having Sisko and Dax be old buddies, when in "The Host", Trill anatomy
was supposed to be a secret from the Federation until Odan came along.
Not only that, but I hope they remember that Trills can't transport
without killing their "worm"-self.
    The Wolf 359 teaser was fabulous, and everything I hoped it would
be.  Seeing Sisko on the Saratoga immediately inspired me to write a
short story (plot? umm, later) with a pre-DS9 Sisko and his crewmates.
(I've got to grab the "Emissary" novelization when it comes out so I can
see what non-canon names the other officers get. :>)  I was also
impressed that someone knew to give Sisko, Dax and Bashir standard
uniforms at the outset.
    Avery Brooks' scenes with Patrick Stewart were not quite what I had
expected -- for some reason, I was watching for some loud confrontation
over Picard's responsibility for Wolf 359 -- but in retrospect, I'm
happy with the way it turned out.  It was one of those things that
didn't need to be said; memories of the battle hung on every word that
was spoken.
    Did anyone else wonder if Lt. Dax was the same Crewman Dax from Star
Trek VI?  Maybe?  Naaah...
    My personal favorite Nice Touch (tm): Major Kira's sleeveless top.
Ensign Ro wore something a little similar in her eponymous episode,
underneath the uniform.
    I liked that O'Brien mentioned the Setlik Three massacre to Bashir;
this was the attack that killed the family of Captain Maxwell, as we
learned in "The Wounded".  Also a nice oblique reference to "Chain of
Command": "You know how [the Cardassians] treat their prisoners."
    MY VERDICT:
    Well, it's a long long way from "Encounter At Farpoint".  This time,
the producers are a little wiser with what makes good Star Trek.  And by
that, I don't mean some nebulous starry '60s TV unconcept -- I mean
simply, good stories with interesting characters played by talented
actors set against a unique science fiction setting.  That's all it
takes, and I believe that it's an understatement to say that Deep Space
Nine has started off on the right foot.


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              \  "Let us think the unthinkable, let us   /   scott.hollifield
              /   do the undoable.  Let us prepare to    \   @the-matrix.com
              \  grapple with the ineffable itself, and  /
              /    see if we may not eff it after all."  \
              \_              --- Dirk Gently           _/
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