Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7
May. 24th, 2020 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cjlasky7Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (available on BBC America)
After two years (including a long interruption), my wife and I finally completed our DS9 rewatch. It's been a fascinating experience, and I've completely changed my mind about certain characters and plotlines. But in order to make it to the finish line and the big, ten-episode cap on the Dominion War, I had to get through the first half of Season 7. And a lot of Season 7 was a freaking chore.
What is it with Season 7 and NuTrek, anyway? None of the long-running Trek series--TNG, DS9 or Voy-- could close out without burning out a little in s7. TNG spent most of its last season introducing previously unmentioned family for every single cast member; Voyager spent s7 teasing and then walking back a Chakotay/7 romance that no one in this universe wanted....
And DS9? Episodes 4 through 15 were a narrative black hole.
I understand some of the mitigating factors involved here. Terry Farrell's abrupt exit at the end of S6 demanded a major rewrite to keep the Dax character in the mix; and the writing staff probably didn't want to move the war plotline too quickly (to keep that second half run on track).
But oh my lord, the sheer number of time-wasting episodes was infuriating. Three Ezri Dax episodes (two too many), three holosuite episodes (don't you people know there's a war going on?) and a Ferengi/Mirror Universe ep every bit as bad as that description. (It made me sick and tired of seeing Wallace Shawn as Zek... and I love Wallace Shawn!) There was good stuff in that stretch too: Aron Eisenberg as Nog pretty much carried three episodes on his shoulders; and it was always enjoyable watching Casey Biggs (Damar) and Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun) hiss at each other through polite conversation. For the most part, though, too much Vic Fontaine, Holographic Lounge Singer and not enough forward momentum.
*******************
The eleven hour run to the end nimbly balanced all the major storylines of the series, some much more engaging than others, but none outright disappointing. It was a letdown to reduce the theological conflict between the Pah-wraiths and the Prophets of Bajor to a simple good versus eeeeeevil dichotomy; but the odd couple weirdness of Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) and Gul Dukat (Mark Alaimo) was genuinely inspired. The coupling actively grossed out a large segment of the fan base, and I totally empathized with (yet enjoyed) that reaction. The Worf/Ezri subplot featured a LOT of cliched banter--but Ezri finally differentiated between her own feelings and those left over from Dax's previous hosts. Once she was sufficiently self-confident, she gave Worf what I call a "come to Kahless" speech: the Klingon Empire is corrupt and dying, and you're just enabling the rot. (Nicole deBoer earned her opening credit there.)
Everything else was gold. The sequences on Cardassia, with Damar evolving from a second rate thug under Dukat to a legendary leader of a rebellion against the Dominion, was one of the greatest character transformations in TV science fiction history. Kira's role in that rebellion--a Bajoran officer helping her sworn enemies regain their freedom--was milked for every last drop of irony. Worf's final battle with Gowron--ascending to the chancellorship for 15 whole seconds before passing it down to Martok--resolved a plotline stretching all the way back to s1 of TNG.
****************
Looking back on the series as a whole, I found I enjoyed Avery Brooks as Sisko a lot more than the first time. His relationships with Jake and Kasidy, the way he intimidated Worf, how he went bugfuck nuts receiving those visions from the Prophets--Sisko had a lot more flavors in his spice rack (cooking reference!) than I gave Brooks credit for.
On a sadder note: with Aron Eisenberg and Rene Auberjonois passing on recently, I paid special attention to Nog and Odo on the rewatch. As I said earlier, Eisenberg practically carried the first half of s7, and his development from Ferengi street punk to Starfleet lieutenant was seamless.
I followed Rene Auberjonois since his stint on Broadway in Big River, through Benson and into space. The way he defined Odo's character through voice and body language was a master class. The final image of Odo, sinking into the Great Link dressed in his tuxedo, was both absurd and charming. Hard to say goodbye.
On the down side, I couldn't help but notice on this go around how much of a boys' club DS9 could be. The Rat Pack nostalgia of the Vic Fontaine holoprogram reflected the show as a whole. There wasn't a lot of room at the top of the food chain for women on this show: Martok, Admiral Ross and Sisko did the wartime heavy lifting for the good guys. (Adrienne Barbeau's Cretak should've been the Romulan leader, but she got screwed over by all sides.) The two most powerful women on the series (Winn and the Head Founder) were both villains.
There was too much "male gaze" fodder with Leeta and Quark's Dabo girls and a tendency to use lesbianism as an excuse for cheap titillation.
And, on a fundamental level, I guess I could never get into Jadzia. She seemed to be a male writer's version of a "strong female character." One critic compared Jadzia to the Popular Girl in High School, and I sort of get that; she's the golden girl who was idealized by the male nerds on the writing staff, and never quite felt real.
The one exception to all this, of course, was Nana Visitor and Kira Nerys. She was the backbone of this series from end to end, and even the various attempts to "sex up" Kira couldn't damage Kira's fundamental strength. I'd be tempted to give all the credit to Ira Steven Behr and his writers, but--judging from the stories I've heard about Nana and her sections of "What We Left Behind"--she deserves a lot of credit for fighting to maintain the integrity of her character. I still think Kira is second only to Spock as the greatest character in Star Trek.
Season 7: C+
Overall: B+
After two years (including a long interruption), my wife and I finally completed our DS9 rewatch. It's been a fascinating experience, and I've completely changed my mind about certain characters and plotlines. But in order to make it to the finish line and the big, ten-episode cap on the Dominion War, I had to get through the first half of Season 7. And a lot of Season 7 was a freaking chore.
What is it with Season 7 and NuTrek, anyway? None of the long-running Trek series--TNG, DS9 or Voy-- could close out without burning out a little in s7. TNG spent most of its last season introducing previously unmentioned family for every single cast member; Voyager spent s7 teasing and then walking back a Chakotay/7 romance that no one in this universe wanted....
And DS9? Episodes 4 through 15 were a narrative black hole.
I understand some of the mitigating factors involved here. Terry Farrell's abrupt exit at the end of S6 demanded a major rewrite to keep the Dax character in the mix; and the writing staff probably didn't want to move the war plotline too quickly (to keep that second half run on track).
But oh my lord, the sheer number of time-wasting episodes was infuriating. Three Ezri Dax episodes (two too many), three holosuite episodes (don't you people know there's a war going on?) and a Ferengi/Mirror Universe ep every bit as bad as that description. (It made me sick and tired of seeing Wallace Shawn as Zek... and I love Wallace Shawn!) There was good stuff in that stretch too: Aron Eisenberg as Nog pretty much carried three episodes on his shoulders; and it was always enjoyable watching Casey Biggs (Damar) and Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun) hiss at each other through polite conversation. For the most part, though, too much Vic Fontaine, Holographic Lounge Singer and not enough forward momentum.
*******************
The eleven hour run to the end nimbly balanced all the major storylines of the series, some much more engaging than others, but none outright disappointing. It was a letdown to reduce the theological conflict between the Pah-wraiths and the Prophets of Bajor to a simple good versus eeeeeevil dichotomy; but the odd couple weirdness of Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) and Gul Dukat (Mark Alaimo) was genuinely inspired. The coupling actively grossed out a large segment of the fan base, and I totally empathized with (yet enjoyed) that reaction. The Worf/Ezri subplot featured a LOT of cliched banter--but Ezri finally differentiated between her own feelings and those left over from Dax's previous hosts. Once she was sufficiently self-confident, she gave Worf what I call a "come to Kahless" speech: the Klingon Empire is corrupt and dying, and you're just enabling the rot. (Nicole deBoer earned her opening credit there.)
Everything else was gold. The sequences on Cardassia, with Damar evolving from a second rate thug under Dukat to a legendary leader of a rebellion against the Dominion, was one of the greatest character transformations in TV science fiction history. Kira's role in that rebellion--a Bajoran officer helping her sworn enemies regain their freedom--was milked for every last drop of irony. Worf's final battle with Gowron--ascending to the chancellorship for 15 whole seconds before passing it down to Martok--resolved a plotline stretching all the way back to s1 of TNG.
****************
Looking back on the series as a whole, I found I enjoyed Avery Brooks as Sisko a lot more than the first time. His relationships with Jake and Kasidy, the way he intimidated Worf, how he went bugfuck nuts receiving those visions from the Prophets--Sisko had a lot more flavors in his spice rack (cooking reference!) than I gave Brooks credit for.
On a sadder note: with Aron Eisenberg and Rene Auberjonois passing on recently, I paid special attention to Nog and Odo on the rewatch. As I said earlier, Eisenberg practically carried the first half of s7, and his development from Ferengi street punk to Starfleet lieutenant was seamless.
I followed Rene Auberjonois since his stint on Broadway in Big River, through Benson and into space. The way he defined Odo's character through voice and body language was a master class. The final image of Odo, sinking into the Great Link dressed in his tuxedo, was both absurd and charming. Hard to say goodbye.
On the down side, I couldn't help but notice on this go around how much of a boys' club DS9 could be. The Rat Pack nostalgia of the Vic Fontaine holoprogram reflected the show as a whole. There wasn't a lot of room at the top of the food chain for women on this show: Martok, Admiral Ross and Sisko did the wartime heavy lifting for the good guys. (Adrienne Barbeau's Cretak should've been the Romulan leader, but she got screwed over by all sides.) The two most powerful women on the series (Winn and the Head Founder) were both villains.
There was too much "male gaze" fodder with Leeta and Quark's Dabo girls and a tendency to use lesbianism as an excuse for cheap titillation.
And, on a fundamental level, I guess I could never get into Jadzia. She seemed to be a male writer's version of a "strong female character." One critic compared Jadzia to the Popular Girl in High School, and I sort of get that; she's the golden girl who was idealized by the male nerds on the writing staff, and never quite felt real.
The one exception to all this, of course, was Nana Visitor and Kira Nerys. She was the backbone of this series from end to end, and even the various attempts to "sex up" Kira couldn't damage Kira's fundamental strength. I'd be tempted to give all the credit to Ira Steven Behr and his writers, but--judging from the stories I've heard about Nana and her sections of "What We Left Behind"--she deserves a lot of credit for fighting to maintain the integrity of her character. I still think Kira is second only to Spock as the greatest character in Star Trek.
Season 7: C+
Overall: B+
