kaplan
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Chanur's 4th season Deep Space Nine Review
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Oct 16 03:02 UTC 1996 |
The Schizoid Reviewer: The Worf Factor, the Kira Conundrum, and What
Went Wrong with DS9's "Best Season Ever"
by Christine M. Bichler
This review should have been written months ago. Much of it, in fact,
was actually composed within the week following Deep Space Nine's fourth
season finale. But something kept me from finishing the piece, which has
been languishing in my computer's hard-drive lo these many moons. It is
only now, with the series' fifth season looming on the horizon, that I
feel compelled to put an end to my own hedging, to post the review and
have done with it simply so that I can get it out of my system and get
on with my life.
Of course, most writers recognize that ongoing resistance to finishing a
piece is often a sign of trouble -- of conflict or uncertainty within
the writer. I tend to be a procrastinator by nature. A frightening
amount of what I write is hacked out and revised dangerously near to the
last minute. Dragging my heels is a part of my writing pattern that I
usually don't question, but simply take in stride. However, in trying to
pin down the positives and negatives of DS9's fourth season, I found
myself beset with sharply conflicting reactions that were so difficult
to explain that for a while, I simply gave up trying.
Nevertheless, my own "schizoid" critic's reaction is what finally
convinced me that I *had* to finish this review. If something was
bothering me that deeply about a show I used to have unreserved
admiration for, then I figured that I'd better speak up -- and that I'd
better do it before the fifth season got underway.
Simply put, I'm baffled by the amount of praise that DS9's fourth season
has generated. Some critics and fans have gone so far as to rank it as
the series' "best season ever." That's a sentiment I can't share. In
fact, I was rather disheartened by the overall thrust of DS9's fourth
season. This isn't to say that individual episodes haven't been good. In
many respects the quality of DS9's writing, especially in terms of plot
and pacing, was at the most consistently high level that's yet been
seen. But in the midst of all the spaceship-battles, "high-action"
content, Klingon mythos -- and even some excellent moments of
character-development, there was something missing in the fourth season,
as well as something utterly by-the-numbers in the many of the
respectable, workman-like scripts that were being dramatized. Even the
season's most-heralded showpiece, "The Visitor," felt to me not like a
DS9 episode, but like warmed over TNG -- and that, I think, is where the
problem lies.
What made DS9 my favorite hour of television for all of its first three
seasons was the way it tended to take Star Trek cliches and subvert
them. DS9 won my affection through its similarity to shows like "Blake's
7" -- with its idiosyncratic characters, its politically complex
stories, its moral ambiguities. Even in its fledgling season, this show
did things that no Trek series had ever done. It made a point of
animosity and even mistrust between its characters. It featured a female
lead who was brash, assertive, complex -- and who had her own agenda.
DS9 was filled with scarred souls and cosmic wayfarers: the former
terrorist first officer, the bereft Starfleet commander, the
angst-ridden alien in the security office, the double-dealing Ferengi
trader. Even the more conventional Starfleet characters had little
quirks of personality that set them apart from the terminally
well-adjusted cast of TNG. Deep Space Nine was about recovering from
losses -- a somber reality that the reckless adventurers of classic Trek
and the politically correct crew of the Next Generation never really had
to confront. DS9's intense focus on one world -- its culture, its past,
and its politics, drew me to the show's Bajoran dilemma, which seemed at
the time not only an inspired borrowing from TNG, but a metaphor for
political strife happening around the world. For me the move from TNG to
DS9 was a definite step forward for Trek, a step up in complexity and in
quality storytelling.
Imagine my surprise, three years after its premiere, to hear folks
grumbling, on the Internet and in other places, that DS9 was "not good
Star Trek," that it was boring, and the most ridiculous charge of all,
that it "didn't go anywhere" -- as if dramatic movement and movement
through space in a starship were equivalent concepts. Over the first
four seasons of its existence, DS9's creators have tried to abate such
criticism in various ways, shifting the focus of the show in the third
season and again in the fourth in an attempt to deliver more "action"
plots and space exploration to appease disgruntled Trekkers. The fourth
season featured a blatant, unprecedented, and much-publicized concession
to fallen away TNG fans as Worf, a central character from the Next
Generation, was brought on board as a DS9 regular. In tandem with the
arrival of Worf, the Klingons were re-introduced as Trek "bad guys"
opposing the Federation, and still more "action" oriented plots were
promised. There was no attempt to be subtle about the revamping of DS9
-- the producers made it clear that they were out to correct whatever
"problems" had caused the show's slipping ratings in hopes that fans who
had given up on DS9 would now "resample" it.
The result? Well, the "new" DS9 *hasn't* become unrecognizable from the
show it used to be. Not quite. Not yet. In fact, in some perverse ways
the show has proved itself inherently resistant to its producers'
efforts to turn it into a TNG clone. Much of its darker tone remains --
as does its habit of coming back to its characters, rather than "crisis
of the week" plotting, as the source for its most resonant dramatic
conflicts. But so many elements of DS9's original focus and outlook
have been either jettisoned or reshaped in the effort to achieve some
nebulous, platonic ideal of "Trek-ness" that it's becoming a little
difficult for anyone who enjoyed this show during its first three
seasons not to feel disgruntled by Paramount's insistence on continually
fiddling with and "fixing" something that was never broken to begin
with. Why, we wonder, is DS9 being treated like a Star Trek's "problem
child" when in fact it has always been the best and the brightest of the
lot? Like Odo in season-three's "The Search," many DS9 fans came "home"
during the drama's fourth season to find themselves in strangely foreign
territory. There is -- justifiably, I think -- some resentment among DS9
fans that Paramount took "our" show, the show that we loved, and
completely re-landscaped it to suit the perceived tastes of some fickle
TNG fans who never really cared about DS9, its world, or its characters
to begin with. My own feeling is that despite the alterations, DS9 is
still a good show, in terms of being well-crafted science fiction, but
that it has lost or willfully abandoned much of the originality and
contrariness that made it stand apart from other Trek series and
endeared it to those of us who like our TV sf a little rough around the
edges.
Some few vestiges DS9's original pioneering spirit were, as mentioned,
still intact during the last season -- if you knew where to look for
them. For me, the most effective shows this year were those like
"Hippocratic Oath" and "For the Cause," that contained what I have come
to think of as qualities of the "old" DS9 -- good solid character
development, a sense of moral ambiguity, and the judicious use of
conflicting loyalties, intricate political machinations, and the themes
of deceit and betrayal. I also tend to favor shows that display a good
sense of continuity with larger, ongoing story threads. Historically DS9
has done a better job with long-term continuity than any other Trek
series. This season was relatively disappointing in that respect,
especially after the "continuity-fest" that was season three. We did see
an intriguing ongoing story built around Gul Dukat this year (would that
it had been more subtly developed) in "Indiscretion" and "Return to
Grace," but this season's best examples of continuity occurred in "To
the Death" and "Broken Link," which seemed driven by complications that
had been set up long before. There was nothing here to measure up to the
narrative scope of last year's "Improbable Cause" and "The Die is Cast,"
but in the circumstances I was grateful for any continuing story threads
at all. This season also featured a respectable number of
character-focused dramas: "Rejoined," "Crossfire," "Hard Time," and the
wildly overrated "The Visitor" -- as well as some truly delightful comic
pieces: "Our Man Bashir," "Little Green Men," and the wildly
*underrated* "The Bar Association," all of which provided a refreshing
change of pace from the pervasive drive toward "action" and Klingon
head-butting.
Given the pervasive "Klingon" thrust of this season, it is perhaps
surprising that so many of the original DS9 cast fared as well as they
did this year. Despite reduced screen-time in many cases, most of the
original DS9 characters managed to hold their own quite well, though I
would venture to say that mostly they managed to develop in spite of the
"Worf factor" rather than because of it.
Worf was put to excellent use in helping to bolster the character of
Dax, and it was largely due to Worf's presence that the once nebulously
characterized Jadzia finally came into her own as a tough, funny,
take-charge woman -- a sort of spiritual Klingon with a sense of humor.
I don't think it's an overstatement to say that this year the writers
finally figured out just who Jadzia Dax really is. Interestingly enough,
however, Dax's best episode had little to do with anything remotely
Klingon. In "Rejoined" Terry Farrell was able to project a clear sense
of Dax as a character perfectly at home inhabiting either a male or a
female body, and as a person haunted by the past regrets of several
lifetimes. These paradoxic qualities have always been at the heart of
the Dax character, but very rarely do they get the kind of in-depth
exploration afforded here. "Rejoined" was one of the season's high
points, and proved that Dax *can* be an interesting character on her
own. As much as I'm amused by the Dax/Worf dynamic, I certainly hope
that next year we'll see more of Jadzia in stories that focus on *her.*
Sisko in many ways seemed a more richly-textured personality than he has
been in the past. His relationships with fellow crew members tended to
emphasize the captain's authority and command abilities, and while I
have mixed feelings about the Star Trek habit of constantly presenting
captains as parental figures for the rest of the crew, I must admit that
I enjoyed watching Sisko "chew out" so many errant underlings this year
in surprisingly realistic military fashion. Avery Brooks was also given
plenty of opportunity to display the character's emotional extremes,
from patient father and tender lover to anxious son. Sisko's family
history and relationships provided nice dramatic context for the events
of "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost," and his relationship with Cassidy
Yates, initially a tossed-in bit of fluff, became painfully real in the
wake of her betrayal of his trust in "For the Cause." I sincerely hope
that we have not seen the last of Yates. Her revealed alliance with the
Maquis changed her character rather suddenly from a pleasant distraction
to a believable "person" with guts and an agenda -- and in a season
where we saw precious few examples of strong women exhibiting strong
behavior, Cassidy Yates' allegiance to a power other than the Federation
was a welcome breath of fresh air.
O'Brien and Bashir also got some nice development this year, most fully
in "Hippocratic Oath" and "Hard Time," two of the finest episodes of the
season, both of which tested the always somewhat tenuous friendship
between the two men. Bashir's constant struggle is that of an idealist
having his idealism tested through fire, and the writers haven't
forgotten that. The character also retains a healthy sense of youthful
play, exhibited to hilarious effect in "Our Man Bashir," another of the
year's best episodes. O'Brien, DS9's everyman, once again found his way
into another bizarre identity crisis in "Hard Time," and is now facing
an increased sense of parental responsibility under rather unusual
circumstances :) It's easy to undervalue an "ordinary" character such as
O'Brien, but his presence as good Starfleet soldier and average family
man has proved very useful over the years as a reminder of all those
equally average folks back home on Earth, whom we hardly ever get to see
in this "ideal" universe of the future. O'Brien's commentary was
especially thought-provoking in episodes such as "For the Cause," and
"To the Death," which explored issues of loyalty and personal values.
O'Brien often functions as a reminder of how we ourselves might react in
moments of severe crisis -- and it's good to be reminded that even in
the Star Trek universe, just behaving as a decent human being is not
always an easy job.
Odo, too, was in fine form this year, despite being largely neglected by
the writers early on. In the wake of season three's major plot
developments involving the Founders, this neglect seems curious. One is
tempted to suspect that the need to "integrate" Worf into the cast got
in the way of developing the Dominion storyline with the subtlety it
deserved. Nevertheless, Odo was almost always fascinating on those few
occasions when he was allowed center-stage. We got a powerful glimpse of
his inner life in "Crossfire," mainly thanks to the masterful
performance of Rene Auberjonois (quite possibly the single best
performance in Trek this year). Several episodes later, however, the
writers demeaned the character by putting him through a sham marriage to
Lwaxana Troi, in what was probably the most unbelievable plot of the
season. "Broken Link," however, was a lovely and poignant story, graced
with a fascinating climactic moment of mythic power. The startling
notion of turning Odo into a human being weaves a bit of magic into the
Star Trek universe, and unlike some hard-core sf fans, I've never been
opposed to that. Particularly in a show like DS9, where people have
destinies and the millennia-old "Prophets" are inclined to send visions
to unlikely saviors, a touch of old-fashioned enchantment doesn't seem
that out of place. The only unfortunate thing about "Broken Link" was
it's timing. As a follow-up to last year's season finale, "The
Adversary," this episode should have happened much earlier in the fourth
season, and in the meantime, the audience should have been given a good,
clearly developed sense of Odo's personal anguish over killing one of
his own kind.
Quark, unfortunately, slipped even further to the edges of the DS9
universe in the fourth season. Some of this marginalization seems
unavoidable given the nature of the character, but I'm starting to
dislike the feeling of segregation that creeps into Ferengi-based
episodes. (Why do we have "Ferengi" episodes but not "Human," "Bajoran,"
or "Trill" episodes?) DS9's Ferengi shows have gotten appreciably better
over the years, and lost much of the overwhelming silliness that
characterized early efforts such as "The Nagus," but it still seems a
shame to me that Quark stories have to be "partitioned off" in a sense,
from the rest of the show. Having said that, I must add that this year's
"The Bar Association" struck me as a marvelous and believable treatment
of the relationship between Quark and his brother Rom, whose sibling
rivalry has evolved into a theme of surprisingly complexity and
seriousness over the last four years. "Little Green Men," was mostly
pure comic relief, but engagingly utilized the Ferengi as commentators
on human affairs in the best Star Trek tradition. Quark's new status as
a Ferengi "outsider" as a result of his actions in "Body Parts" will
hopefully integrate his character a bit more closely with the other
series regulars, although complete assimilation into Bajoran/Federation
society would hardly be desirable from his viewpoint -- or from my own
:) The character's devious and occasionally treacherous behavior has
always been part of his charm -- and the biggest reason why the other
characters would be foolhardy to trust him completely. A good way to
keep Quark viable as the colorful character he's always been would be to
focus more episodes on the life of the station, as opposed to the recent
penchant for showing us lots of away missions.
As for the cause of all the Klingon-based hoopla, Worf himself was a bit
of a disappointment in his first season with DS9. Outside of his
relationship with Dax and some cute bickering with Odo, he came across
as rather juvenile -- constantly placing himself in the glare of Sisko's
reprimanding gaze. Moreover, with rare exceptions like "Sons of Mogh,"
most of the Worf-centered episodes didn't tell us anything about the
character that we hadn't already heard time and again on TNG. Worse yet,
however, was the disastrous effect that Worf's presence seemed to have
on some of DS9's long-standing character-dynamics. Dax's subtle
confidante/mentor relationship with Benjamin Sisko seemed to all but
vanish this season, obscured in the barrage of Dax/Worf flirting and
innuendo. Worf's presence also intruded into roles that were previously
held by other characters. He seemed to take over Kira's function as the
"aggressive" member of the crew, and simultaneously to usurp Odo's
position as the resident outsider. In retrospect, I don't think that
either the DS9 writers or most of the fandom gave much consideration to
the way that Worf would alter the once-subtle character dynamics of this
show. DS9 seems to have become a more blunt and macho "action" show
through the constantly emphasized Sisko/Worf dynamic, while Dax and Kira
have receded into the background as advisors to the captain.
The addition of Worf to the cast also dovetailed with DS9's general
adoption of the Klingon ethos as its overriding theme, thus obscuring
the show's original Bajoran/Cardassian dynamic almost to the point of
invisibility. (Perhaps I should have smelled the coffee back in
mid-season three when Vedek Bariel was killed off. He seems to have
taken most of the Bajoran storyline with him to the grave.) Klingons in
measured doses don't have to be a problem, and indeed can be a lot of
fun. They certainly provided some of the most compelling conflicts on
TNG in its heyday -- as well one of DS9's most engaging moments for Dax
in season two's "Blood Oath." But DS9 seemed to be a more
subtly-textured universe before the Klingons moved in next door. After
three years of wonderfully tangled scheming and backstabbing among the
Bajorans and Cardassians, the writers' sudden decision to bring in
shiploads of Klingons to bulldoze everyone else in the quadrant feels a
little bit like watching the Roman Empire get trampled into dust by the
Vandals and the Visigoths -- or like watching a bunch of ill-mannered
little boys tear down a sandcastle in their desire to rid the universe
of "icky girl stuff" which apparently is what good character development
and complex settings have been designated by some in the Paramount
hierarchy.
Appropriately enough, DS9's embodiment of the now out-of-favor Bajoran
ethos, Major Kira Nerys, once the most believable and heroic female
character in Star Trek history, was this season shamelessly converted
into a bland sex object, stripped of all her angst and complexity, and
forced to fill out peripheral roles in other people's storylines. This
transformation of one of Trek's few strong and believable heroines into
a mere slinky space babe had to be this season's most reprehensible
marketing ploy. It is difficult to express just how much this turn of
events depresses me. Kira in DS9's first two seasons was a watershed
character that, strangely enough, almost no one seemed to notice. With
the advent of "Voyager" there was a spate of media hype about Trek's
bold new attempt to banish sexism from its universe, but almost no one
bothered to point out that Kira Nerys had been boldly challenging gender
stereotypes for a full two seasons before Kathryn Janeway was ever
invented. Moreover, the early Kira was a character who had flaws to
overcome and struggles to win. It is depressing indeed to see this
wonderful character vanquished at last by the very stereotypes that she
originally defied. This year, instead of confronting her past or giving
orders to Klingons on the bridge of the Defiant, Kira got to be pregnant
-- and even that didn't seem to occasion any meaningful reflection for
her. The character's strongest moment during the entire season was in
"Return to Grace," where she played second banana to Gul Dukat. Her
position as Sisko's CEO has been effectively usurped by Worf.
DS9's creators have publicly defended the changes to Kira's character,
reasoning that aggression should no longer be her defining
characteristic (clearly not, since all aggression on the show is
seemingly now reserved for Worf). But what I miss most about Kira is not
her aggression, which the writers still seem able to dredge up when the
mood strikes them, but her *complexity.* In seasons past, Kira was a
thinking, feeling person with her own well-defined concerns. This year,
Kira's heart and mind were seemingly out to lunch as she smiled her
incessantly cheerful way through most of the season. The Major remained
blissfully unaware of Odo's love for her in "Crossfire," blindly
followed the dictates of a religious lunatic in "Accession," turned into
a quivering bundle of nerves and sentiment in "Starship Down," stood by
and cheerfully watched her best friend go through a sham marriage in
"The Muse," and finally, blandly agreed to move in with the O'Briens so
that they might co-opt her life while she's carrying their child. None
of this behavior squares with the smart and fiercely independent woman
that we saw in DS9's first three seasons. If you doubt it, take another
look at season one's "Duet," "Progress," or "Battle Lines." The
difference will astound and appall you.
The other major disappointment for me this year was the superficial
treatment afforded to the Kira/Odo relationship over the course of the
season. These two scarred souls have been my favorite DS9 characters
almost since the beginning of the series. I've loved their edgy,
painfully honest rapport with each other ever since "Past Prologue," and
have enjoyed watching their friendship develop and subtly change
throughout the course of the show's first three seasons. Their unique
bond as friends and kindred spirits was, quite simply, the most truthful
and fascinating male/female relationship I'd ever seen on any sf
television show, and, as icing on the cake, it was always delightfully
free of stereotyped gender role-playing. (Indeed, it very frequently
inverted standard gender roles. Watch Odo taking the "wife's"
argumentative stance during the pair's "marital" dispute in the teaser
for "Heart of Stone.") In season three, DS9 writers displayed unheard-of
gutsiness by allowing Odo to openly declare that he was, in fact, in
love with Kira. I was convinced at that point that Star Trek had at long
last divested itself of a long-standing fear of adult emotions and
over-reliance on adolescent parodies of love. At last, it looked like we
were going to get a real, adult, alien love story with depth and
complexity. I looked forward to a dramatically tense season of my
favorite Trek characters trying to figure each other out.
But in season four, all the subtle development that had gone into this
relationship was suddenly dropped like a twelve-ton brick. Odo and Kira
as individuals became obscured by all the Klingon bat'leth-rattling and
starship dogfights. Even their platonic friendship retreated into
obscurity. Not surprising, I suppose, in a season where all of DS9's
subtler relationships (Sisko/Dax, Garak/Bashir) seemed to suffer from
the same ham-fisted oversimplification. Even "Crossfire," the single
episode this year to focus explicitly on the Kira/Odo relationship,
seemed strangely perfunctory, as though the writers were fulfilling an
obligation to this storyline -- and rather grudgingly, at that. For the
rest of the year Kira and Odo had perhaps three conversations that could
be construed as personal, and even in "Crossfire" there were precious
few glimpses of the vitality of their old friendship. Part of the
problem here, of course, was the afore-mentioned shallow treatment of
Kira throughout the fourth season. If I wanted to be glib, I would posit
that the writers decided it was preferable to leave Odo pining away
after a bland, blind love object rather than getting him romantically
involved with his smart and passionate best friend.
As to whether "Crossfire" represents a "resolution" to the Kira/Odo
story, I'm sure it doesn't. The characters are going to have to
interact with each other on some level for at least two more seasons.
The only question is whether that level of interaction will be
interesting and believable, or as thin and artificial as it was this
past year. There is much still to be resolved between the two
characters, regardless of whether they ever become romantically
involved. I certainly hope that the Kira/Odo issue hasn't been sidelined
in favor of pursuing a more conventionally cutesy mating dance between
Dax and Worf. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the dynamic
between Kira and Odo is the one great Star Trek love story that has been
lurking at the heart of DS9 since the very earliest of its episodes. If
it were pursued properly, it could make every other Trek romance look
like superficial fluff. And at the risk of making jaws drop at
Paramount, I think that Odo is more than sexy enough for the likes of
Kira. He has warmth, wit, passion to burn, marvelous eyes, and a *great*
voice. The only thing that Worf seems to get passionate about is
defending his honor and practicing with his mek'leth. Enough said.
I await the coming fifth season with equal portions of anticipation and
dread. There are more stories yet to be told about DS9's denizens, but
for now, I'll refrain from making too many wishes or predictions. If
they can get Kira out of those damn six-inch heels and I can see a bit
more of Odo, I'll probably be much happier than I was this past year.
For now -- here's my complete ratings run-down of individual season-four
episodes. Enjoy.
Way of the Warrior -- A decent story with snappy dialogue was needlessly
blown into a two-hour Trekstravaganza replete with Klingons,
Cardassians, and photon torpedoes galore. Worf, the apparent centerpiece
of season four, was given plenty of room to strut his macho stuff,
mostly with entertaining results. Unfortunately, the other (read:
original) DS9 regulars mostly got lost amid the special effects and
one-liners. Redeeming graces: Quark and Garak's "root beer chat," and
the always welcome presence of Gul Dukat. Grade: B
The Visitor -- Yet another Trek "what-if" story, this one gradually
transmutes into a blatant rehash of TNG's "Inner Light," which
presumably is the reason that such a large segment of fandom went ga-ga
over it. There were some nice performances here, and some amusing
insights into the possible futures of characters like Bashir, Dax, and
Nog. But the episode squandered its most intriguing premise -- what
*would* happen if Sisko were to die with his work as Emissary left
unfinished? This angle was given short shift in favor of some weepy
melodrama, which might still have worked but for the fact that we all
knew that everything was going to be cleaned up with a handy Star Trek
temporal erasure at the end. Call me a heretic, but I was *bored*, and
as we all know, boring is worse than bad. Grade: C
Hippocratic Oath -- One of the year's finest and most underrated
episodes, "Hippocratic Oath" boasts a genuinely character-driven plot in
the best DS9 manner, loaded with angst and honest conflict firmly rooted
in the personalities of O'Brien and Bashir. Action speaks louder than
words in this script, and the principals are revealed as much by their
behavior as by their words. Gorun'Agar, the first honorable Jem'Hadar
soldier we've seen, is a compelling and memorable character, and I'd
really like it if he managed to survive this episode to turn up at some
later, critical juncture (hint, hint). A cute Odo vs. Worf subplot is
icing on the cake (just as long as Odo gets to win :). Grade: A
Indiscretion -- Despite generating some nice, eerily sexual tension
between Kira and Gul Dukat, this episode offers surprisingly little
in-depth exploration of either character. Nevertheless, it does provide
a nice set-up to future complications. Grade: B-
Rejoined -- Another season high-mark, and possibly the best ever episode
featuring Jadzia Dax. While the Trill taboo stuff seemed somewhat
contrived, Terry Farrell did a wonderful job of portraying Dax as a
being with both masculine and feminine qualities. This is that rarest of
Trek rarities -- a one-shot love story that actually *works.* Grade: A
Little Green Men -- A highly entertaining romp through sf B-movies with
Rom and Quark as the principals. A clever, dead-on parody. Grade: A
Sword of Kahless -- Gobs of fun the first time around, this episode
doesn't hold up well to repeated viewing. Both Worf and his Klingon pal
Kor are just behaving too stupidly to give them much credence.
(Although, to be fair, handling enchanted thousand-year-old swords is
rarely a wise idea in any fictional universe). There is some nice
hat-tipping to the oral tradition at the beginning of the episode, but
the only real reason to watch it more than once is Jadzia Dax, who is
cool-headed throughout and marvelously quick with her phaser. Grade: C
Starship Down -- A hatchet-job of an episode. Here we go again
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