From: griffith@scam.Berkeley.EDU (Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Dweeb Reactions to DSN Premiere
Date: 11 Jan 1993 21:26:06 GMT
Organization: Vulcan Science Academy, Tau Ceti Sector
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: xcf.berkeley.edu
Originator: griffith@xcf.Berkeley.EDU


So I held a small DSN party at my place on Thursday to watch the series
premiere.  The group consisted of two or three die-hards, five or so occasional
enthusiasts, and two or three people who really didn't care that much, they
were just there for the beer (Anchor Steam).  Here are my impressions of the
show, as well as some observations of the group reactions.

I think the only way to really gauge the potential of the series by the pilot
is to compare the DSN pilot to the TNG pilot.  When you look at the DSN
pilot in that regard, you have to view the series as having a huge amount of
potential, because it is hands down better than the TNG pilot.  Certainly, it
has the advantage of having six years of TNG to build on, and it makes the
most of that.  But the true sign of success lies in the characters that the
series introduces.

Above all else, you get the sense when watching the DSN pilot that the actors
know who their characters are and what they are doing.  It's more than
just the fact that they know their jobs (which the TNG pilot certainly
lacked).  The actors know who their characters are, and they have a sense for
how those characters will react to a given situation.  The characterizations
ring true.  When Sisko mimicked his son's grudging "ok", for instance, it
sounded natural.  Despite some pretty stunning special effects, what impressed
me the most was the dialogue.  The show consistently had characters saying and
doing natural things (with allowances made for certain dramatic speeches which
were necessary so that the series could introduce the characters to the
viewers).

This extends to the way characters interact with each other as well.  Every
single instance of character interaction rang true - Odo's reaction to Sisko,
Sisko and Dax, Dax and Bashir, Bashir and Kira, Kira and Sisko, Sisko and
Quark, Quark and Odo, etc.  Not only did I find myself caring about the
characters and what happened to them, I found myself caring about the
relationships and what happened to them (which I certainly didn't feel with
the TNG pilot).  I really want to see what happens to these people on a
day-to-day basis.  And *that* is the mark of a successful show.  TNG took
a couple of seasons before the character interactions began to ring true,
and DSN is basically doing it from Day One.  And I was impressed.

My reactions weren't all positive.  I thought Bashir and Kira were just a bit
too overdone, but I think it's to be expected.  I hope they will tone the
characters down somewhat (although I think the show needs some youthful
exuberance, so I hope they don't tone the Doc down *too* much).  I thought
the the runabouts were just a bit *too* good - warp drive, able to tow a
Cardassian battlecruiser, but usable like a shuttle.  I also didn't really
appreciate O'Brien being used solely as an engineer.  I want to learn more
about him as a person, not just watch him come up with miracle solutions
week after week.  By and large, these are nits.

The general audience reaction was good.  The die-hards were in heaven.  The
occasional enthusiasts thought it was really good, especially the Borg
sequence (one was impressed by the basically accurate technospeak).  The
indifferents thought it was pretty good.  This bodes well, I think.

				Jim

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Griffith  /--OO--\     | Two great powers are on our side: the power of
 ...!ucbvax!scam!griffith  | Love and the power of Arithmetic.  These two are
BEWARE BATS WITHOUT NOSES! | stronger than anything else in the world.