Dramatis Personae (1x18): Another 'concept' episode not entirely dissimilar to other episodes we've seen this season - specifically in shows like The Passenger.The crux of the story is that the telepathic history of a dead civilisation takes hold of the crew of DS9 as they attempt to replay the power struggle that brought their culture to an end. Everyone starts to behave strangely and a rift begins to form between the Bajoran and Federation personnel as people take sides - Sisko or Kira being the two options.
Very little happens in this episode, which I think is supposed to spotlight Odo, yet again, but the usual character moments that are present in some of the worst episodes of season one are totally absent here. I have to say that I was utterly bored watching this one and cannot remember any redeeming features to it at all. I guess that makes it, perhaps, the worst episode of the season. At least previous stinkers had a moment or two that caught my attention, or at least had me actively disliking it. Dramatis Personae engendered nothing but complete apathy from me.
Duet (1x19): Duet came at a funny time where I, quite literally, was watching Clear and Present Danger special features (which included interviews with Harris Yulin and other members of the cast) when I switched to watching DS9 and this episode, also featuring Harris Yulin in a great performance as a Cardassian who is being held on suspicion of being a war criminal.Yulin brings a weight to the episode that really helps push this one beyond your standard 'who are you...really?' episodes that you usually see. The scenes he plays with nana Visitor in the detantion area are wonderful to watch. The transformation from bewildered file clerk to mass murderer was all accomplished through the dialogue between the two characters and Yulin gives the words all the emotional resonance they need. He never goes too far, or gives too little. The guys a real pro and I think he brought out the best in Visitor who often just stands around furrowing her brow and bouncing on her heels.
I shouldn't give all the credit to Yulin for this episode since it was very nicely written by Peter Allan Fields from a story by Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci. I was missing the Cardassians (my favourite nemeses in any Star Trek series) and these guys gave me exactly what I was looking for with the wordplay, doublespeak and manipulations that are part of the Cardassian character and what, in my mind, makes them so interesting.
The ending of the episode, which I don't want to give away, was also very well handled providing for some nice character moments between Visitor and Yulin and giving viewers what has become a signature DS9 ending (at least in the good episodes) with not all of the characters coming out unscathed physically or emotionally. It's good stuff.
In the Hands of the Prophets (1x20): The season ends with 'one of the great ones' which features, not only a compelling story, but the return of the amazing Louise (Nurse Ratchet) Fletcher as Vedek Winn - one of the few actors around, I think, who could have really pulled off this character the way it needed to be played.When Bajoran religious beliefs come into conflict with the Federation's areligious approach to education, Vedek Winn begins a crusade to either include Bajoran spiritual teachings in Mrs. O'brien's school or to seperate the children altogether. This creates a debate amongst our main cast as to what approach is the correct approach with Kira and Sisko butting heads once again, and Keiko showing how truly closed-minded and annoying she can be. I guess she's supposed to represent the Federation right while Kira takes the Bajoran spiritual left and Sisko tried to stay a moderate and believes there's room for all philosophies on the station.
They could have easily botched this episode by becoming too heavy handed and preachy but writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe doesn't forget where the truly interesting moments lie. Sisko has a conversation with Winn in the Bajoran temple on DS9 and is somewhat uncomfortable with being referred to as Emissary, sparking a wonderful exchange between the two which lays the groundwork for the rest of the episode and many more to come. Sisko also has a great scene with his son, Jake, in their quarters where he convinces him that if they treat the Bajoran's as radicals then they are just as bad as people like Winn. It was a nice subtle little scene that paid off for me far more than the 'explosive' finale.
A great episode and, from what I've seen of Season Two so far, the beginning of a direction for the series that I'm looking forward to exploring.
So, there you have it. The end of Season One, at last. Overall, it was a pretty balanced set of episodes with a handful of stinkers in the middle but enough exceptional material to really assert themselves as one of the better Trek shows, if not the best. I would argue that DS9's first season was probably the strongest of any of the five series and still stands up to scrutiny after 10 years of sitting on the shelf (try looking back at TNG season one and you'll know what I'm talking about). Considering the producers as much as admitted that they were flying by the seat of their pants for much of the season, I have to give them credit where credit is due. It could have been a rough ride but it wasn't.
Onward and Upward!
mike
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