And now, a new DVD odyssey...

Brikar · 02-23-2006, 07:37 PM

After thoroughly enjoying 8 seasons of "Stargate SG-1" and 1 season of "Atlantis", I've now begun a new DVD odyssey. I've only got two seasons of it, and future sets may be a long time coming, what with the damage to my car. But here goes...

Ladies and gentlemen, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".

1x01 "Emissary" - After more than a decade, "Emissary" is still probably the best of the Trek pilots. Some of the cast still haven't gelled into their roles, hair-styles and makeup are kinda odd but the writing is top-notch, especially towards the end, with Sisko in the wormhole and the Prophets forcing him to confront the pain that controls his life.

1x02 "Past Prologue" - I. Love. Garak.

I'll say this right now - I'm disappointed with these DVDs. The 5.1 surround is better in the MENU than it is in the actual episodes, which are entirely front-loaded. There's not nearly as much bass as in the TNG sets (even the earlier episodes, my subwoofer practically roars when the Enterprise moves past) and the video is soft. The colors aren't particularly bold and blacks look mostly gray.

All I have to say is two things: I'm glad I got them for under $40, and I'm glad the writing is good enough that I can overlook the fact that Paramount didn't do half the job they did on TNG with DS9.

Brikar · 02-23-2006, 09:05 PM

1x03 "A Man Alone" - I've never seen this episode before. There's a number of interesting threads that run through it, in addition to the main murder mystery plotline. It's interesting that even at this early date, DS9 was setting up its long-running ideas like the friendship between Jake and Nog, the marital issues of the O'Briens and strife between the crew.

NX-47 · 02-24-2006, 01:54 AM

Man, I miss DS9. I watched it devoutly until I moved to Florida in Nov. '94, where it wasn't carried on a channel that my roommate's TV's rabbit ears could tune. I caught an ep here and there, but in the different cities I was in (I moved a lot from '94 until '98) kept changing the schedule. Then came kids, and the fact that it was on @ 1 AM when it finally ended... DS9, I hardly knew ye.

Maybe I'll be able to get some DVDs myself, and we can compare our 'DS9 revisited' notes.

Brikar · 02-24-2006, 01:08 PM

Go for it. They seem to be getting fairly cheap nowadays.

Brikar · 02-24-2006, 04:09 PM

1x04 "Babel" - Here's a good episode featuring O'Brien. The idea for the virus is fairly unique, props for that.

1x05 "Captive Pursuit" - Another O'Brien heavy episode, this one featuring an alien hunt from the Gamma Quadrant. Cool concept, good performances, a little action and suspense. Good episode.

1x06 "Q-Less" - Definitely the most fun of the later Q outings. It beats us over the head a little bit with the "We're not TNG" stuff, but is otherwise pretty good with lots of humorous exchanges. And watching Sisko deck Q is always great to see.

1x07 "Dax" - A good episode dealing with the nature of Trill personality. Are they one person, or another, or many? The twist regarding the revelation of the real traitor is sort of breezed over at the end, but the meat of the episode is still quite good.

1x08 "The Passenger" - A good premise, of a dead criminal continuing his plans from beyond the grave (in a perfectly sci-fi way, though)... marred a bit by weakness on the part of Siddig's performance. Still, and interesting one nonetheless.

1x09 "Move Along Home" - Another good premise, of an alien species obsessed with games. But seriously... what a lame episode. Everything is played with dire straightness, no matter how ridiculous it gets. Blech.

Brikar · 02-28-2006, 03:18 AM

1x10 "The Nagus" - Wallace Shawn is hilarious as Zek. This isn't one of the best of the Ferengi comedy episodes, but it's alright. I loved watching Rom plot Quark's murder.

1x11 "Vortex" - This one's okay, I guess. Something about it didn't quite grab me, though.

1x12 "Battle Lines" - Not a bad episode, but I was seriously saddened that Kai Opaka was shipped off so quickly.

1x13 "The Storyteller" - Uh... what? Kind of a lame, boring episode. What exactly were they trying to accomplish with this one? The only thing I really get out of it at all is the beginning of the Bashir-O'Brien friendship.

1x14 "Progress" - This is a fairly standard plot, but the performances of the cast are what really makes it stand out.

1x15 "If Wishes Were Horses" - Another fairly "meh" plot, but there's a couple of cute moments in it.

1x16 "The Forsaken" - The scenes between Odo and Lwaxana Troi are absolutely gold in this episode.

1x17 "Dramatis Personae" - This one's pretty cool. I liked watching Odo slowly realize that he has to play the others off each other in order to save them. Fun episode, really.

1x18 "Duet" - Fantastic episode. An utterly excellent hour of television. Bravo, bravo. And not just the writing; Harris Yulin is fantastic, and Nana Visitor really throws Kira out there. Awesome.

1x19 "In the Hands of the Prophets" - This episode is pretty good, but what's really kind of interesting is watching it now, with all the intelligent design vs evolution in schools debates going on. My only real fault with it is that no matter what's going on, someone shouting "Nooooo!" in slow-motion is just plain cheesy.

Brikar · 03-16-2006, 03:17 AM

2x01 "The Homecoming"
2x02 "The Circle"
2x03 "The Siege" - Why oh why weren't these three the finale for S1? As amazing as they are, they're completely out of place at the beginning of S2. The themes tackled are directly related to what was going on at the end of S1 in "In the Hands of the Prophets", and the three episodes feel very much like a culmination of the first season. Honestly, if DS9 had been cancelled right then and there after these three episodes, it'd still make one hell of a "complete series set".
2x04 "Invasive Procedures" - Meh. Not a bad episode by any stretch, but having another episode in a row where the station is evacuated isn't too smart.

2x05 "Cardassians" - A pretty good episode dealing with Cardassian war orphans. There wasn't quite as much resolution as I'd hoped, but oh well.
2x06 "Melora" - Bashir falls for a chick in a wheelchair desperate to prove herself. A bit cliched, but again, not bad. Bashir's a fun character.
2x07 "Rules of Acquisition" - The scene where the Ferengi woman reveals her true gender to Quark is gold. Love it. Plus, we start name-dropping "The Dominion".
2x08 "Necessary Evil" - This episode was good, but the final scene between Kira and Odo is what really makes it. What a fantastic moment for them.

2x09 "Second Sight" - It's nice to deal a bit with Sisko trying to move on from his wife's death, and this episode is a fairly interesting way to do that.
2x10 "Sanctuary" - Another solid entry about Gamma Quadrant aliens wanting to settle on Bajor.
2x11 "Rivals" - A machine that distorts the laws of probability? Good thing the performances and the Bashir vs O'Brien storyline make up for the silliness of that little plot device.
2x12 "The Alternate" - Boring.

2x13 "Armageddon Game" - The aliens' reasoning behind killing O'Brien and Bashir is totally ludicrious, but the plot itself is perfectly serviceable, and I love watching the beginnings of the Bashir-O'Brien friendship.
2x14 "Whispers" - Another excellent O'Brien episode. Great twist at the end, too.
2x15 "Paradise" - The dirty hippy leader is a total bitch. And yet, they choose to stay at the end. I understand their reasoning, I suppose. But honestly, I think I'd have been a little more pissed at having my entire life hijacked like that than they were.
2x16 "Shadowplay" - Meh. Another Dominion name-drop, and the holographic village twist is kinda nifty.

Arik · 03-30-2006, 12:21 PM

I just finished up to season 3 last night.

I had originally missed most of the first few seasons because my local station was playing with the time (bastards!).

On TW, I keep hearing people say that it took all the shows (except Star Trek) three seasons to find their legs. I say DS9 got its legs with "In the hands of the Prophets".

God, I can't wait for the rest of the show to drop in price.

Garak rocks!

Cymro · 03-30-2006, 01:58 PM

TNG took two seasons to find it's legs, there was a marked improvement in quality right from the start of the season. It's all in the writing staff.

Arik · 03-30-2006, 10:15 PM

You see, I've always thought that "We'll always have Paris" was the time when TNG started to find its legs. Except for Picard shouting all the time.

I've also been going through Voyager, and I'm astonished to discover that the first couple seasons of that show seemed to be better than its ending. Of course, I'm still pre-Borg children.

02-23-2006, 07:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	And now, a new DVD odyssey... After thoroughly enjoying 8 seasons of "Stargate SG-1" and 1 season of "Atlantis", I've now begun a new DVD odyssey. I've only got two seasons of it, and future sets may be a long time coming, what with the damage to my car. But here goes... Ladies and gentlemen, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". 1x01 "Emissary" - After more than a decade, "Emissary" is still probably the best of the Trek pilots. Some of the cast still haven't gelled into their roles, hair-styles and makeup are kinda odd but the writing is top-notch, especially towards the end, with Sisko in the wormhole and the Prophets forcing him to confront the pain that controls his life. 1x02 "Past Prologue" - I. Love. Garak. I'll say this right now - I'm disappointed with these DVDs. The 5.1 surround is better in the MENU than it is in the actual episodes, which are entirely front-loaded. There's not nearly as much bass as in the TNG sets (even the earlier episodes, my subwoofer practically roars when the Enterprise moves past) and the video is soft. The colors aren't particularly bold and blacks look mostly gray. All I have to say is two things: I'm glad I got them for under $40, and I'm glad the writing is good enough that I can overlook the fact that Paramount didn't do half the job they did on TNG with DS9. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

02-23-2006, 09:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... 1x03 "A Man Alone" - I've never seen this episode before. There's a number of interesting threads that run through it, in addition to the main murder mystery plotline. It's interesting that even at this early date, DS9 was setting up its long-running ideas like the friendship between Jake and Nog, the marital issues of the O'Briens and strife between the crew. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

02-24-2006, 01:54 AM	#3 (permalink)
NX-47 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Here, looking at you Posts: 370 View Edit History:	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... Man, I miss DS9. I watched it devoutly until I moved to Florida in Nov. '94, where it wasn't carried on a channel that my roommate's TV's rabbit ears could tune. I caught an ep here and there, but in the different cities I was in (I moved a lot from '94 until '98) kept changing the schedule. Then came kids, and the fact that it was on @ 1 AM when it finally ended... DS9, I hardly knew ye. Maybe I'll be able to get some DVDs myself, and we can compare our 'DS9 revisited' notes. __________________ Kira: Well, now that you have another pip on your collar, does that mean I can't disagree with you anymore? Sisko: No. It just means I'm never wrong.

02-24-2006, 01:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... Go for it. They seem to be getting fairly cheap nowadays. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

02-24-2006, 04:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... 1x04 "Babel" - Here's a good episode featuring O'Brien. The idea for the virus is fairly unique, props for that. 1x05 "Captive Pursuit" - Another O'Brien heavy episode, this one featuring an alien hunt from the Gamma Quadrant. Cool concept, good performances, a little action and suspense. Good episode. 1x06 "Q-Less" - Definitely the most fun of the later Q outings. It beats us over the head a little bit with the "We're not TNG" stuff, but is otherwise pretty good with lots of humorous exchanges. And watching Sisko deck Q is always great to see. 1x07 "Dax" - A good episode dealing with the nature of Trill personality. Are they one person, or another, or many? The twist regarding the revelation of the real traitor is sort of breezed over at the end, but the meat of the episode is still quite good. 1x08 "The Passenger" - A good premise, of a dead criminal continuing his plans from beyond the grave (in a perfectly sci-fi way, though)... marred a bit by weakness on the part of Siddig's performance. Still, and interesting one nonetheless. 1x09 "Move Along Home" - Another good premise, of an alien species obsessed with games. But seriously... what a lame episode. Everything is played with dire straightness, no matter how ridiculous it gets. Blech. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

02-28-2006, 03:18 AM	#6 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... 1x10 "The Nagus" - Wallace Shawn is hilarious as Zek. This isn't one of the best of the Ferengi comedy episodes, but it's alright. I loved watching Rom plot Quark's murder. 1x11 "Vortex" - This one's okay, I guess. Something about it didn't quite grab me, though. 1x12 "Battle Lines" - Not a bad episode, but I was seriously saddened that Kai Opaka was shipped off so quickly. 1x13 "The Storyteller" - Uh... what? Kind of a lame, boring episode. What exactly were they trying to accomplish with this one? The only thing I really get out of it at all is the beginning of the Bashir-O'Brien friendship. 1x14 "Progress" - This is a fairly standard plot, but the performances of the cast are what really makes it stand out. 1x15 "If Wishes Were Horses" - Another fairly "meh" plot, but there's a couple of cute moments in it. 1x16 "The Forsaken" - The scenes between Odo and Lwaxana Troi are absolutely gold in this episode. 1x17 "Dramatis Personae" - This one's pretty cool. I liked watching Odo slowly realize that he has to play the others off each other in order to save them. Fun episode, really. 1x18 "Duet" - Fantastic episode. An utterly excellent hour of television. Bravo, bravo. And not just the writing; Harris Yulin is fantastic, and Nana Visitor really throws Kira out there. Awesome. 1x19 "In the Hands of the Prophets" - This episode is pretty good, but what's really kind of interesting is watching it now, with all the intelligent design vs evolution in schools debates going on. My only real fault with it is that no matter what's going on, someone shouting "Nooooo!" in slow-motion is just plain cheesy. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

03-16-2006, 03:17 AM	#7 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... 2x01 "The Homecoming" 2x02 "The Circle" 2x03 "The Siege" - Why oh why weren't these three the finale for S1? As amazing as they are, they're completely out of place at the beginning of S2. The themes tackled are directly related to what was going on at the end of S1 in "In the Hands of the Prophets", and the three episodes feel very much like a culmination of the first season. Honestly, if DS9 had been cancelled right then and there after these three episodes, it'd still make one hell of a "complete series set". 2x04 "Invasive Procedures" - Meh. Not a bad episode by any stretch, but having another episode in a row where the station is evacuated isn't too smart. 2x05 "Cardassians" - A pretty good episode dealing with Cardassian war orphans. There wasn't quite as much resolution as I'd hoped, but oh well. 2x06 "Melora" - Bashir falls for a chick in a wheelchair desperate to prove herself. A bit cliched, but again, not bad. Bashir's a fun character. 2x07 "Rules of Acquisition" - The scene where the Ferengi woman reveals her true gender to Quark is gold. Love it. Plus, we start name-dropping "The Dominion". 2x08 "Necessary Evil" - This episode was good, but the final scene between Kira and Odo is what really makes it. What a fantastic moment for them. 2x09 "Second Sight" - It's nice to deal a bit with Sisko trying to move on from his wife's death, and this episode is a fairly interesting way to do that. 2x10 "Sanctuary" - Another solid entry about Gamma Quadrant aliens wanting to settle on Bajor. 2x11 "Rivals" - A machine that distorts the laws of probability? Good thing the performances and the Bashir vs O'Brien storyline make up for the silliness of that little plot device. 2x12 "The Alternate" - Boring. 2x13 "Armageddon Game" - The aliens' reasoning behind killing O'Brien and Bashir is totally ludicrious, but the plot itself is perfectly serviceable, and I love watching the beginnings of the Bashir-O'Brien friendship. 2x14 "Whispers" - Another excellent O'Brien episode. Great twist at the end, too. 2x15 "Paradise" - The dirty hippy leader is a total bitch. And yet, they choose to stay at the end. I understand their reasoning, I suppose. But honestly, I think I'd have been a little more pissed at having my entire life hijacked like that than they were. 2x16 "Shadowplay" - Meh. Another Dominion name-drop, and the holographic village twist is kinda nifty. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

03-30-2006, 12:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
Arik Astro-Monkey Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Here, dumbfuck! Posts: 2,304	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... I just finished up to season 3 last night. I had originally missed most of the first few seasons because my local station was playing with the time (bastards!). On TW, I keep hearing people say that it took all the shows (except Star Trek) three seasons to find their legs. I say DS9 got its legs with "In the hands of the Prophets". God, I can't wait for the rest of the show to drop in price. Garak rocks! __________________ The writers of this post apologize for you being too stupid to understand it.

03-30-2006, 01:58 PM	#9 (permalink)
Cymro Religious Fanatic Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Shitsville, CF63 Posts: 4,921	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... TNG took two seasons to find it's legs, there was a marked improvement in quality right from the start of the season. It's all in the writing staff. __________________ "Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. "But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

03-30-2006, 10:15 PM	#10 (permalink)
Arik Astro-Monkey Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Here, dumbfuck! Posts: 2,304	Re: And now, a new DVD odyssey... You see, I've always thought that "We'll always have Paris" was the time when TNG started to find its legs. Except for Picard shouting all the time. I've also been going through Voyager, and I'm astonished to discover that the first couple seasons of that show seemed to be better than its ending. Of course, I'm still pre-Borg children. __________________ The writers of this post apologize for you being too stupid to understand it.

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