From: HADCRJAM@admin.uh.edu (MILLER, JIMMY A.)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Yet Another Commentary on DS9 (some spoilers)
Date: 6 Jan 1993 19:10:12 GMT
Organization: University of Houston Administrative Computing
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  This is some commentary on DS9 with a few spoilers, mostly minor, one large.  
Nevertheless:





















  Okay.  First off, overall impressions of the premier.  I liked it a LOT, much
more than the TNG pilot, _Encounter at Farpoint_.  It was a very pleasant sur-
prise.  I think the difference lies in the fact that the actors seem very in
tune with their characters, and the characters were given a lot more flesh to
work with in their first go.  It took until the second season for me to even
know some of the TNG characters, much less like them.  Picard, Worf, Data, all
developed over time, changing slightly and becoming much more interesting.  The
producers must have learned something. 

  The special effects were very good overall, though there were occasions when
you could tell they to skimp a bit due to the $$ spent on other scenes.  Most
notable to me was the "sound stage" look of the storm backdrop Sisko saw upon
leaving the runabout in the wormhole.  It was cheesy.  On the other hand, the
wormhole opening and the travel within it was wild, and the battle scenes at
Wolf 359 were spectacular.

  The directing was in general good.  The quick cuts during the wormhole seq-
uences worked wonderfully, as did the shaking camera during the "abandon ship"
sequence at the end of the Wolf 359 scene.  The music was okay.  The opening
theme was rather dull, though.  A more energetic peice should have been used.
Danny Elfman has shown you CAN make "dark, energetic" music, a la _Batman_.

  As for the story...Well, this was the weak point of the episode.  This was
partially due to the nature of things, all the character set-up, etc., but
still, it could have been handled better.  Not a bad concept, really, but mis-
handled.  We had a big mysticism set up, and then the answer seems as mundane
as "aliens live in the wormhole".  A bit of a let-down.  Also, the solution
to the primary external conflict was resolved in the last five minutes.  This
was not as badly done as in some Trek episodes -- at least here the characters
were working towards doing something.  It can be reasonbly argued that Sisko's
talks with the aliens in the wormhole represented the writer's attempt to
avoid that deux ex machina trap.  It did not wholly succeed.  Also, while the
first hour moved quickly, the second had to slow down to handle the alien
contact.  This was good stuff, well written, but I felt it hurt the pacing
quite a bit.  Efforts were made to minimize the damage, and they almost worked.

  On the plus side, the actions taken by all the players made sense, I didn't
see any glaring holes in things.  It wasn't awful by any means, just flawed.

  Now for my favorite part, the characters.  IMO, the characters made this
show work for me.  I thought they were ALL great.  I contrast this to EaF,
where I found Picard overly bombastic, Yar shrill, Troi stupid and Wesley just
a pain in the butt.  A quick impression of each (pardon, but I have forgotten
some of the names):

  Sisko (Avery Brooks):  Yet another command style, from what I see.  He did
a great job, just eating up scenes.  His meeting with Picard was brilliantly
done.  I did keep waiting for him to put on sunglasses and pull Robert Urich
out of a jam, but his performance was certainly not one-note.  A worthy comp-
etitor to Stewart, Dorn, and Spiner in the list of excellent Trek actors.

  Major Kira (Nan Visitor):  Possibly my favorite, though it may be just be-
cause Visitor is a very attractive woman in addition to her good work here.
Tough, passionate about her people, opinionated, and with a hint of a gentler
side which I hope we get to see soon as a contrast to her very capable officer
side. 

  Lt. Dax:  Played as smart but somewhat quiet and also amused by life.  The 
slug is 300 years old and still a LT?  Some folks have found her performance 
stiff, but it didn't seem stilted to me, just not as dynamic as Sisko or Kira.

  Odo (Rene Aberjous (BIG sp?)): Came off as a sophisticated and world-wise
county sheriff-type to me, with just a hint of prissiness tossed in for good
measure.  His little asides were enjoyable.

  Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meany):  Pretty much as we recall him from TNG,
but with more to do.  Minor continuity glitches to me in making a him such
an all-around hot-shot engineer all of a sudden (we've only seen him do really
good stuff with transporters on TNG).  But he seemed to be having fun with
his part, and that shows.

  The Young doctor:  I have seen people complain quite a bit about this char-
acter, and I wonder why.  I grant he was just a tad on the "Mr. Adventure"
side (recall STIII?), but I found it a bit amusing and perfectly realistic in
a young man just out of the Academy.  As long as they don't play the "naive
young man bit" too far...
 
  The Ferengi:  The first Ferengi who didn't make me cringe.  Makes a good
ne'er do well, and looks to have more than one facet to his personality.  A
good, solid job.

  Jake:  Sisko's son.  Not a Wesley clone.  Acts like a real kid to me.  Did
good work during the wormhole sequences.  Didn't have a LOT to do as Jake, but
I saw no glaring faults.


  I found the actors all did good jobs with what they had.  It's important to
remember that actors have to work with what the writers give them.  Recall how
stupid Riker looked in _Rascals_ , letting the Enterprise get taken?  Writer's
fault, not Frake's.  I feel as long as the writers don't screw up, these people
and the characters as they have been shown and interpreted so far, will do us
proud.  A very good first outing.


semper fi,

Jammer Jim Miller 
Texas A&M University '89 and '91
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