Dark Reality

Still, it's a lousy reason to block a film's release. Almost as bad as when they tried to block a film that started with an F and ended with a number.

I'm looking forward to it, but as the Potter books get longer, they cut more and more from the films. I thought the first Potter film was great, but after that they kind of went downhill. I still enjoy seeing them, and I'll buy them all on DVD, because one day I'll have kids, and they're good movies anyway... but the real magic is in the books. Except for the fifth one... I don't know what was going on in that one, but it was a huge disappointment for me.

I will admit to having downloaded movies, but this is one worth purchasing. It's not even among my favorite - actually, it's my least favorite after Phantom Menace. I loved all six, but we all have to have favorites, and ROTS is second from the bottom in my book. Still, my girlfriend bought it for me the day it came out, and we watched it the next day. Previously I had taken her to see it when it was in theaters.

I don't mess with extras for most stuff but they sound interesting.

They're not shows, they're movies. Direct to video, sadly; they're very unique and pretty good.

I've only seen the first one, Cube, and about half of the second one, Cube 2: Hypercube. I actually have Cube 2 and Cube Zero (3) on my computer, but I'm looking for the first one so my girlfriend and I can watch them together. Cube 2 doesn't have much to do with Cube, but at the same time, one shouldn't watch it before watching Cube, because Cube 2 uses a new Cube.

Here's a better synopsis: Imagine a Rubik's cube, but instead of 4x4x4 or 5x5x5, 128x128x128 - if memory serves, those are the dimensions of the Cube - that or 256x256x256. Now imagine each cube within that being the size of a room, and a door on all six sides. You wake up in one room, having no idea how you got there, or even that you're in something bigger than the room you're in. You walk to one wall, climb the ladder to the door on that side (the rooms are about 12x12x12 with ladders all around so you have to climb up to the ones on the sides, or up to the ceiling and then across monkey-bars to the one on the ceiling), open the door, and see a guy coming in from the ceiling. He drops down, and lasers cut him in hundreds of pieces. You know THAT room is trapped - you have five other choices. Which do you take? This is the puzzle before a handful of people who wake up in the Cube with no idea how they got there. They figure if they can get to the outer shell, they can get outside (since presumably all the rooms have 6 doors, one on the outside would be an exit).

The first film is awesome, and the second one, what I saw of it, was pretty good.

Batman Begins is the only Batman movie I didn't see in the theater. Actually I was too young to remember the first one (I was 6 or 7, not really paying attention) but my dad took me to the first two, and I saw the second two on my own.

Unlike many Batman fans (I call myself a fan, though I've never read the comics... I don't read comics, but I do watch movies), I don't prefer the first two (directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton). I actually prefer Batman Returns (directed by Joel Schoemacher (sp?) and starring Val Kilmer). Though it may not fit with Batman's traditional dark demeanor, I liked Kilmer's wittier portrayal of the Dark Knight, and the comedy elements. Batman and Robin sucked, and was probably Schwarzenegger's worst role. And George Clooney didn't impress me as Batman at all. It felt like they had too many villains for Batman Forever, and stuck the better ones there and the leftovers in Batman and Robin.

I had high and low hopes for Batman Begins. High, because it didn't have the silly Batman Forever/Batman and Robin look. It looked like a more serious Batman film, and that's the direction I wanted to see the series take. Low, because I generally don't like prequels. The best example of why I dislike prequels is Star Wars Episode I. Why do they have double ended lightsabers and sleek, awesome ships, when they only have the singular lightsabers and clunkers of ships some 30 years later? It doesn't make sense. But Batman Begins didn't fall into this trap - much. Gotham City was a lot more detailed, a lot more intricate, in this prequel, as was the Batsuit. Other than that, it felt like a good prequel.

I would highly recommend Batman Begins for Batman fans, comic book fans, and fans of action films, psychological-type films, and for those of you who like good special/visual effects.

Whether a film is a classic, is, of course, subjective.

I'm mixed about a Predator remake. Remember, a remake is a tribute. It's not like they're going to stop selling the original. And I don't think there's very many people who think the Planet of the Apes remake is better than the original, and anyone who says out loud that they think it is is just shooting themselves in the foot. Remakes aren't exactly a bad thing. It's kind of fun seeing a movie you love done differently. Like a cover song.

I just don't have very high hopes for it. I may see it, if someone else rents it, but it probably won't ever be anywhere near the top of my rental list, never on my purchase list. Heck, I don't have the original on DVD.

The Predator is an important film in the Trek universe, being a film the Trek producers based an alien on, the Nausicaans. They don't look exactly like the Predator, but damn close enough. Matter of fact when I first saw them on Voyager, I thought the Predator was making a cameo, I didn't think they were an actual established race.

Well, being that my girlfriend is a huge Kevin Smith fan and I like his movies about a tenth as much (which is still a lot), I'll always know him as his Kevin Smith characters. I won't risk having to sleep on the couch for a week by guessing wrong.

OK, to be fair, the main event is pretty cool. You pay like $20 and you go on a shakebox ride (those van-sized units you get in and they have the screens and they shake like they're moving but they're not), but the whole presentation of it is awesome. You get to go on the Ent-D's bridge... I won't spoil it, but you end up flying around in a shuttle in the Star Trek universe and then take part in a battle over Vegas. And then you can go on it again for free. So that part of it is cool.

Trek stuff is overpriced, period. $500-$700 for the series? Damn... I thought my cousins were crazy collecting Anime series. They only put out $100-$200 for their series. Of course, Trek>Anime, but that's a lot of cash to spend on DVDs. I've looked up models of DS9, Voyager, the Ent-E, and the Ent-D, and those I found were none cheaper than $80. That's just wrong.

All that said, I do recommend that each and every one of you, if you get the chance, see the place and ride the ride just once. If you like Trek, it's an experience you will not forget. Especially if you like TNG.

Weyoun's also a liar, and a very slick one at that, so I doubt we can take anything he says seriously. I mean, the Dominion would be one to spread lies and propoganda before the Federation. Look at what the Dominion did to the Cardassians. (And don't bring up what Sisko did to the Romulans in "In the Pale Moonlight"; that's beside the point. )

@Kor37 - Maybe the others, but Wheaton wasn't in any of the Trek films, not as far as I can recall, at least. Matter of fact I thought I heard that he didn't like attention he had gotten as a result of his character on TNG and was trying to make a name for himself outside of Trek. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

I didn't mean to imply that "being a prequel" killed ENT... it just didn't help it much either. Outside the fanbase it wasn't exactly appreciated.

True that the TNG movies haven't had numbers, but since the first six were numbered, I always continued the numbering. It's the exact same with the Grand Theft Auto game franchise. The first three games are numbered, then they stop with the numbering and just go to names... but I refer to Vice City as GTA 4 and San Andreas as GTA 5... by all rights, they're the fourth and fifth games, though some argue that they're merely expansions to GTA 3. That may or may not be true, but the TNG Trek films are certainly not extensions to ST6 by any means, they're actually more individual than all the Trek films, which were pretty much all tied together.

I don't think the TNG cast, at least not most of them, want to do more movies. I also don't think a prequel is going to fly... look what happened to ENT. Prequels worked wonders in the Star Wars universe, but with Star Trek, it seems people in general want to see what comes next, not what came before, regardless of what specific fans may feel about it. I never watched ENT, so I'm of no opinion one way or the other on the subject. However, I'd prefer a DS9 or Voyager movie, specifically one with a mixed TNG/DS9/VOY crew, to anything taking place in "Starfleet History".

Actually I think they'll stop at 10. Ten is a good rounded number for a series. If they did a XI the fans would really want a XII, considering the "even/odd rule" (which I disagree with, but that's beside the point), and the next good rounded number after 10 is 20, and that's a commitment they're probably not willing to make... and anything between 11 and 19 will seem like an "odd" stopping point.

Another option is to restart the count, somehow call it something else so it's not a "Star Trek XI" but like a "Star Trek xxxxxx" followed by a "Star Trek xxxxxx II" so there can be no confusion. Maybe a trilogy based around a specific point, such as the Borg.

And then there's the issue with numbers. How much did the last few Trek films make at the box office? Let's face it, the Star Trek name isn't pulling people into theaters by the busload. What they need is to wait a few years (at least 5-10) and then come out with something that is still Star Trek, but that calls non-Trekkies to the theater, something which will draw in new fans. That's the challenge which lies before the Trek producers, not "Star Trek XI".

You totally got me confused by this topic... First of all the original poster is "stvoyagerfan", second the post icon is a Voyager ship... "Threshold" is a Voayger episode... no indication you're talking about some new show which happens to be called "Threshold"... I was gonna say, "Why... I thought that was collectively thought to be the worst Voyager episode (though I liked it more than a few others)."

Oh well...

Streaming TV shows over the Net is a good idea, but streaming itself is a shaky technology... Better just to download the episodes. But it is a good move, seeing as how more people are on high-speed Internet and are going to be downloading shows from BitTorrent... they may as well offer them via their web site and cash in on the advertising revenue that way...

I do not deny Jadzia's greatness, just the absoluteness of it.

I didn't know Terry Farrel wanted off the show. If that was the case, killing her off is a great way to do it. Like when Nana Visitor got pregnant, they did that thing with the O'Brien's baby, so she wouldn't have to hide it.

Now that you mention First Contact, when did that take place? Worf was in all four TNG films... I have no idea where DS9 fits with all that. I assume it goes TNG-DS9 ep.1-Generations (since the Ent-D is in Ep.1 and it's destroyed in Generations) and I know First Contact is after DS9's fourth season starts (Worf has the Defiant, nuff said) but beyond that I don't get it.

Back to VBG... Ah, the Army... that too will do it. Actually I liked history a lot in high school, but lost some interest afterward. Did your brother's script ever get made into a movie? Or is he still trying for that? I'm not much for war films, but if I saw another one, I'd like to see one for the Civil War... I think I've seen one for just about every major conflict but the last two... I had a friend who was in the Army in the early 80s, and he loves war movies... I guess they kind of go together. Other than Braveheart and maybe one or two others, the names of which are presently escaping me... I don't much care for war movies. As far as military drama, though... the first part of "Full Metal Jacket" rocks, "The General's Daughter" was pretty good... anyway, I'm getting a bit offtopic... :angry:

The episode is called Take Me Out to the Holosuite... I have an uncle who loves baseball, but probably doesn't care much for Trek... I usually don't send him stuff for birthdays/Christmas as we're not that close, but I may burn that episode to DVD and send it his way... I think he'll get a kick out of it.

[source]

Although we only rarely see it, there is an ATM in Quark's bar. It dispenses the various types of currency used by major races visiting the station: Federation credits, Bajoran litas, Cardassian leks, and Ferengi latinum.

I disagree for two reasons. First, I've watched every episode, and I've never seen an ATM. Second, when Quark counts his money, he counts only latinum. The Federation don't have physical money, and I don't think I've ever seen Bajoran or Cardassian currency out in the open. Third, Quark's regular customers carry a tab... I have seen people "pay" with a thumb print on a pad. So I call bulls**t on that one.

Is any of the other trivia there wrong or misleading for DS9? Often after seeing a movie I like to read the trivia and the goofs. I used to read what they pass off as a message board, but they seem to delete accounts after a few days of inactivity... I've created a few, and they all get deleted, though to my knowledge I've never done anything to get banned... and now you need to have an account in good standing to read the posts there... but the rest I can access no problem.

Ezri's a little too young-looking for my tastes.

I think they killed off Jadzia mainly to give Sisko a good reason to take a leave of absense, and for the dual purpose of creating conflict with Worf, that and bringing back a new Dax. It's not drama if it's always peaches and cream.

@VBG - Don't all Virginians have an interest in the American Revolution? I have a friend from Suffolk, VA, and he's a pretty big patriot, too. I've noticed that the farther east you get in the US (closer to the original 13 colonies) the more patriotic people are, the more serious they are about it. Likewise the concentration of civil war buffs is higher in the south. Now, I'm a patriot, I love my country, but not blindly by any means, and I just don't take it as seriously as most people. Seriously though, Mel Gibson's war trilogy (Braveheart, The Patriot, We Were Soldiers) are all great movies, I just saw too many similarities in the first two, and I loved Braveheart. I tend to take a negative outlook on movies that are very similar to movies that came before or out around the same time, e.g. Volcano/Dante's Peak, Bugs Life/Antz, Armageddon/Deep Impact, The Core/Descent... there's a good few more of them out there. I actually owned both (Braveheart and The Patriot) but Braveheart is one that was borrowed and never returned, and part of the reason I don't like lending out movies from my DVD collection.

Jadzia the best thing on Trek? Nah... A very good idea, a very good character exploration, but she's too much in line with Spock and Data to be "best". Spock may be the best thing on Trek; though I'm no TOS fan, I can't deny that the three series I do like have all copied his character (Data, Dax, Tuvok/Holodoc), so the producers must have thought he was pretty special. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Dax, but to say Jadzia is the best aspect of Trek... nah.

I have The Patriot on DVD. *checks it* Wow, Odo IS in it! I didn't particularly care for that film (spent too much time comparing it to Braveheart) but the next time I watch it, I'll have to look for him.

Speaking of Trek actors in 'regular' films, I noticed a movie called Descent on the new releases shelf at the video store. I had heard they were making a movie based on the 1990s first-person space-shooter of the same name at some point, but this was actually a ripoff of The Core... but I noticed Michael Dorn (Worf) is in it! Neat little fact... but it didn't stop me from putting it right back.

You guys know the Breen... they're kind of hard to miss, being modeled after Princess Leia's bounty-hunter disguise she used to get her and Chewbacca into Jabba The Hutt's palace in Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi... well, towards the end of Deep Space Nine, a few characters point out that no one has ever seen them unmasked. Well, do we ever see them unmasked?

If not, I'm betting they're all Leia clones... since then the only one to have ever taken off its mask is the original, Leia in that costume.

I also like how they ripped off the Predator with the Nausicaans... those guys are bad. The Predator itself looks a little better, but I'd have to say the Nausicaans are the ugliest (in a good way) Trek alien ever. They should have been used a lot more...

It's a screen, no two ways about it. It can be made to show directly ahead, or behind... often they zoom in or even change to show people on the bridge of another ship. The "main viewscreen" on Deep Space Nine was off most of the time.

On shuttles and Runabouts, it's a very thick window... when they communicate visually, it's on a screen off to the side.

They don't use cameras as we know them; they have what they call holoimagers. Basically three-dimensional cameras. The Doctor uses one on Voyager from time to time, but I imagine they have larger ones on the starship itself. The (fictional) technology behind holoimagers could explain the enhancements you see.

Never forget that it's all technobabble anyway.

I won't join the lynch mob, but I wouldn't think of a woman as a "chick"; haven't since I was 14 or 15. When I think of "chick", I think of a ditzy young teenager, and there's really no one like that on Trek, that I know of. As far as young goes, there's Naomi and Molly, but they're not old enough to be called chicks... and they're not really ditzy either... in any case, I think most of us can agree it's not the right term... but anyway...

It depends on what you like. I'm in a relationship, so when choosing my favorite female character, I think first of a good strong female character... Either Kira Nerys (DS9) or Kathryn Janeway (Voyager). But I am a man, and I do find women on the show attractive... In that case I'd have to say Jadzia Dax (DS9). I think she's hotter than Seven, but I don't fall for blondes, I prefer brunettes and especially redheads. Seven's smart, but it's artificial, and I factor intelligence into attractiveness... so Jadzia wins there as well. I almost forgot about Torres (Voyager) but I guess that must mean something...

Being that these are fictional characters, I'm going to go with the stronger female character than most attractive. Janeway was an awesome captain, but Kira had a lot more depth to her.

MB - That's why you get Cable internet and a little program called BitTorrent... and a fairly big hard drive. Watching downloaded DVD rips has advantages over every other format, so far as I can tell. Against TV, it's obvious: I don't have to put up with commercials, I can pause on demand, I can skip the intro/credits, much better quality, and no station watermarking. Versus DVD, well, all the episodes are on a hard drive... no disc switching. No disc scratching either. Also the official DVDs pack a whopping three or four episodes per disc to keep costs high. Newsflash, a 4.7GB DVD+R disc will hold 11 episodes, I think... it's somewhere in the 10-13 range. Anyway, even with the extras, you only need 15 DVD+R discs, not the 40+ that come with the official pack, to back-up an entire Trek series.

Cable or DSL internet + BitTorrent + a big hard drive + a 50-pack of DVD+R discs = Trek Bliss

I actually stand by my old posts about DS9. It's not a show you watch from the middle. They really did a good job with it, but you have to watch most episodes, and you really have to watch it in order. There aren't a lot of great stories out there that go on so long as Deep Space Nine, because they're ultimately lost on the general public. Most people don't have the time to invest in such a long journey, and the television networks don't respect that at all, so they just play them from wherever. There's another franchise which delivers such developed and intricate stories... it's called Final Fantasy. Anyone who's gone through a FF game knows what I'm talking about. And with FF, there's no coming into the middle and only seeing a part. You have to start from the beginning and take it all the way... or quit partway through, because they're video games. I can't speak for any but VII (7), but VII took me 3-4 months to play through, cheating: I had my characters all maxed out, random battles turned off, and I was following a walkthrough... and it STILL took that long. And when I was done, though I had cheated, I really enjoyed the ending and the complete experience. It's similarly possible to cut fluff from Deep Space Nine and watch only episodes that contribute to the main arc and the arcs involving the characters you love, and still get most out of it, but unlike FF, the fluff is pretty cool, too (random battles, character building = FF fluff).

Actually, I thought DS9 had sort of a Final Fantasy finish... not to spoil anything, but with the final events involving Dukat, Winn, Sisko, and the Prophets... just f***'in wow... and that whole sense of fulfillment and completion is exactly what Final Fantasy is all about.

Taking that further, I've actually thought about how DS9 would work as sort of a Final Fantasy game. To start as Sisko (who else?) and role-play building relations between Bajor and Cardassia, running the various quests in the Alpha and Gamma quadrants (FF games often had one hero, but many playable characters... and DS9 has about the right amount of main characters) building the various characters... Maybe not all episodes could transition properly, but it might work as a combination strategy/RPG game.

Yes, DS9 is a different kind of Trek. With TNG and Voyager, the story really boils down to exploration. That's all TNG is, and little more. Voyager has the arc of getting home, but Janeway tosses chances to get home faster in order to explore a nebula or save an alien race in every other episode... so it's more about exploring the Delta Quadrant than getting back to the Alpha Quadrant. I don't know much about Enterprise, but I doubt it's not as much about exploration as the others. DS9, on the other hand, turns within to explore each character and what's happening in one place. Between the Cardassian-Bajoran conflict wrap-up and the discovery of the Wormhole/Celestial Temple and the wonders within, there was more for the crew to explore by staying on a stationary space station than flying around in a starship.

@TR: Of course I prefer Jadzia out of the two. How could I not? But Ezri only had one season, and that's not fair. Also, she didn't exactly get off to a great start... between the whiny stuff and her whole family being involved with the Orion Syndicate... No, she should have had a few episodes. Either they should have run DS9 10-11 seasons (they could have, easily) or they should have just let Jadzia live. Killing her really only served to get Sisko and Jake away from the station for a while.

Actually my favorite Dax would have to be Curzon, though we only hear of him. I think they should have had a few more Curzon episodes, either with flashbacks or with some other way to bring him back. They could have done this in the mirror universe... why oh why does Dax changing hosts in the regular universe force it to happen as well in the mirror universe? I know it doesn't, that it just happens that way, but a great twist would have been for Sisko to meet Curzon Dax in the mirror universe, but with different hosts before Curzon, so it's Curzon, but with different memories, and thus, a different persona... and then go from Mirror Curzon to Mirror Jadzia, and then you'd have an excuse to make Mirror Jadzia evil, or however they want her.

Rather than jump into a report on DS9, I wanted to get more insight into the series, really delve deeper into it, so I'm going to watch all of the extras as well. The Torrents I downloaded came with, not only all 176 episodes, but a dozen or so "extras" per season. Most notably, crew dossiers for every major character except Ezri... Keiko and Molly don't have one, Morn, Rom, and Nog don't have them... Dukat, Damar, Kai Winn, Shakar don't have them... but just about every other main character has one. Then there are highlights, for example a closer look at "Trials and Tribble-ations" and another called "24th Century Wedding", which I can only assume is about Worf's wedding to Jadzia Dax in "You Are Cordially Invited...". Then there are these odd files, "Section 31 Hidden File XY". I've looked at a few, and they're little featurettes, but they're just not labelled for what they are.

First I'm watching the dossiers, in the order they're given. The first one is Nana Visitor/Kira Nerys. There's only one shot of Nana completely out of makeup, with blonde hair, and I'd have never recognized her if not for her voice. She looks much better as a brunette, but that's just how I know her, from the show. Then there's Terry Farrell/Jadzia Dax. Terrry doesn't look much like Jadzia out of makeup, except maybe for the eyes. Her hair is shorter, fuller... she reminds me of a friend of mine I met online (who actually got to meet my girlfriend in person before I did, she travels a lot). And I am SO glad Michael Westmore dropped the forehead effect for the spots. Dax has always been about the spots, no real two ways about it. Then there's Rene Auberjonois/Odo, who I'd never recognize out of makeup, even if he spoke. I could tell the guy behind Odo was an older man, but I didn't think he was that old. Rene is a really distinguished character, and with a full beard and moustache to boot, so he really had to go a long way to become Odo. Next up was Michael Dorn/Worf. I had an idea of what Dorn was like, because of "Far Beyond the Stars" where he appeared out of makeup (Rene was in the same episode, but still in makeup, just not in costume), but also because I knew he was the bus driver in "Speed" (Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, came out between or around TNG and DS9). It's not just the forehead that makes Worf; Dorn has a very subtle voice, and when playing Worf, he speaks up. The closest Dorn gets to his usual voice is when he speaks low (for example, in "First Contact" when he says to Picard "If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand"). Colm (pronounced just like "Calm" or "Column", depending on who's saying it... I thought it was pronounced like the 'colm' in 'Malcolm', if you can see the difference) Meaney looks EXACTLY like Miles O'Brien; all he really did, it seems, is throw on the uniform. But then, they (Meaney, Behr) make the point that O'Brien is the most human character, the "every man" character.

Then we have Alexander Siddig/Bashir. Mirror Bashir looks more like Siddig in real life, with the stubble. In fact, with that look, he could have played a pirate of sorts, maybe on Voyager... that would have been interesting. I agree with what Siddig said at the end of the featurette as being seen as a 'white' actor... I knew he was Middle Eastern, but I could never really think of him as such. (Not that being Middle Eastern is a bad thing... but then Bashir has very light skin anyway, so it's hard to distinguish, even if you know he's not 'white'.) I had no idea he had a cameo appearance on TNG; had I not watched this featurette, I would have jumped out of my seat seeing Bashir on the Enterprise-D. I thought I had all my crossovers down. We also see Andrew Robinson/Garak in this featurette... Being a Cardassian, he looks nothing like his character, but the voice is similar... it lacks the intrigue of Garak's whole persona, but it's him. I accidentally skipped Quark (overlooked it) and intentionally skipped Ben Sisko, because I really felt his would be the most important featurette among the crew dossiers. Cirroc Lofton looks just like Jake, and it's really interesting to see within 10 minutes how much he ages from the first to the last episodes. Also we see Aaron Eisenberg, aka Nog, who looks nothing like his character (but then, the Ferengi makeup is a full mask... even around the cheeks it's puffier, changed... The voice is the same, though. Quark/Armin Shimmerman's file actually had a few other people: Max Grodenchik as Rom and Jeffery Combs as Brunt (also as Weyoun, but that's not brought up). None of the Ferengi look anything like their actors, but only Armin sounded like Quark. Both Max and Jeffery altered their voices for their characters (Rom and Brunt). And though I didn't recognize Armin in the TNG episode "The Last Outpost", I agree that Quark really changed the whole outlook on Ferengi. With Avery Brooks/Sisko's file, we don't see Dukat or Winn, as I hoped, but we do see Penny Johnson (Kasidy Yates). Both of them look just like their characters, of course.

I wasn't expecting to learn a whole lot from just the crew dossiers, but the highlights and recaps were good to see. I learned a couple things... most notably Bashir's cameo appearance on TNG. And, to a lesser extent, Quark's (though that Ferengi probably wasn't "Quark"). I knew Ethan Phillips (Neelix, on Voyager) played a Ferengi in the TNG episode "Menage a Troi", but thought that was the only later-series character to appear on TNG, albeit as another character. Now I wouldn't be surprised if some of the DS9 and Voyager people played extras or small parts on TNG. I know Tim Russ (Tuvok) and Robert Picardo (The Doctor) from Voyager both had cameos on DS9 but that's different.

Before I forget... Would I be too obsessed with DS9 to say the [bajoran] Prophets have blessed my cross-country journey, or would that make me sound like Kai Winn (fake)? Nah... get this... I was surprised, in the episode "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" when Kasidy Yates asked the security guard if he came from Asheville, NC. On the way into NC, Asheville was the first major town, maybe the first town, I came through coming into this state. For those who don't know my state's geography (I'm still learning it myself), Asheville is to the northwest part of the state, in the mountains, near the Tennessee border. It's several hours away from where I actually stopped, but I feel somewhat honored that a character on DS9 made a reference to a point I passed through on my trip. Reading into it further, before I left California, I worked as a security guard, though never in a casino or anything remotely similar. Maybe I'm reaching, maybe it's just a minor point, but I thought it was worth noting, and I forgot to mention it when talking about that episode.

Now I have just 2 episodes to go (3 if you count the last as two) and plenty of time to watch them in. w00t!

Spoilers ahead!

"The Dogs of War", DS9's semi-finale, was OK. The last few episodes have seemed shorter and shorter. Damar's resistance cells are destroyed, but with Kira's help, he starts an uprising in the streets of Cardassia, Braveheart style. Odo's pissed that Starfleet in fact gave him and the Founders the disease, but gives Sisko his word he won't pursue it. DS9 gets a new ship, the third Defiant-class ship (that is the name of the class, right?), the Sao Paul. It's suggested renaming it to Defiant... but wouldn't that make it the Defiant-A or the Defiant-B, like what happened with the Enterprise? Anyway, also Kasidy is pregnant, and by extension we learn that birth control is practiced in the 24th century. Both Sisko and Kasidy were getting injections from Bashir, but one of them skipped a month. One might think that with fundamentalist groups today fighting abortion and even contraceptives (the more extremists believe condoms and The Pill interfere with God's will) and with the Federation's conservative views on life... I'm surprised they don't force couples who [choose to engage in sexual activity] to carry pregnancies to term, then beam the baby out and put it up for adoption, if they don't want it. Because there are people in our society who would consider that their utopian view of childbirth versus those who would choose to remain childless, and the Federation is the ultimate utopia...

Now onto the finale. I feel like a Cardassian about to look into one of the Orbs. Mwa ha ha ha ha. OK...

"What You Leave Behind" was indeed an awesome finale, and pretty much wraps up everything except one: we still don't know what the Breen look like under those helmets. My guess is they're all Princess Leia clones, but I suppose we'll never know. Posting anything that happens would be a major spoiler, so I'll just say that I was very satisfied with the last episodes and the series as a whole, and if I didn't make it clear before, Deep Space Nine is easily the best Star Trek series, in my opinion. I'll still respect TOS and TNG as groundbreaking predecessors and Voayger and Enterprise as interesting ventures into the Star Trek universe (though I haven't seen all of TOS or ENT), but DS9 is by far my favorite. No competition. Easily the best season finale, easily the best first episode, and more great episodes than any series. My two favorite episodes are still "The Inner Light" (TNG) and "Blink of an Eye" (Voyager), but "What You Leave Behind" is very close. Very close.

I'm not done with this thread... I suppose conversation will contine on for a few days at least. I'm down as long as you guys are. And I plan to make a DS9 post on other forums I post on (mine and a couple others) singing the praises of DS9, covering a broader view of each character and what makes DS9 so great. I'll copy that here, of course.

VBG - Wanna talk about intermittent connections? After four tries, I'm on at 9600bps. I know you have a couple years on me, maybe you remember when 9600bps was a fast connection, before the days of 14.4K. And you should be happy to know that your board is approved (or at least not yet rejected) by Walmart/AOL's fundamentalist Judeo-Christian approval committee, which kicks me off when I try to access certain (not even pr0n!) sites...

Minor spoilers ahead!

"Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" was a good Holosuite (Vic) episode in the tradition of "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" and "Oceans 11" (movie, not DS9 episode) in which Sisko, Kira, Odo, O'Brien, Bashir, Ezri, Nog, Vic, and Kasidy organize a heist, as Vic's lounge has been bought by the mob, and they need to stir things up to get Vic his lounge back. This was just a fun episode to watch, though there was no real point to it as far as the major arcs go. But it was worth watching for sure.

"Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" (Latin=>English translation: "In time of war, the law is silent") was a rather confusing episode. Section 31/Sloan recruits Bashir to make observations about the Romulan government during a conference, and report his findings. Part of the episode takes place on an Intrepid-class ship (Voyager replica); when you first see it, coming back from commercial or after the fadeout-fadein, it almost feels like you're watching Voyager, not Deep Space Nine, for a second. Until you see the mess hall and there's no sign of Neelix or the rest of the Voyager crew. Worth watching? Well, I didn't really care for it. If you like Section 31 and/or Bashir, go for it... otherwise you may find yourself as confused as I was.

"Penumbra" is another strange episode, but a good one, and strange only at the end. Worf is lost in the Badlands, presumed dead. Sisko buys land on Bajor, plans a house, and proposes to Kasidy, and Ezri and Worf... err, resume old habits. And let's not forget Dukat becoming a Bajoran through surgery. Worth watching? It was entertaining, held my interest... but not altogether great. And what the heck does Penumbra mean? Regarding what I saw ahead in the music video previously mentioned, what I saw about the army men and model houses was similar to Sisko's model house... but I'm pretty sure I didn't see Sisko with one. Jake maybe... I don't want to watch it again to be sure, but I'm pretty sure I remember it being O'Brien, Bashir, and maybe the Ferengis. Unless all of them are planning on building houses on Bajor.

"'Til Death Do Us Part" continues where "Penumbra" left off. Sisko and Kasidy are married, Ezri and Worf have differences to work out... and Kai Winn and Dukat (disguised as a Bajoran) fall in love... or at least she falls for him. And the Breen (the aliens modeled after Princess Leia's mercenary disguise in Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi) join the Dominion. This and the one before it are worth watching, of course; they follow the main arc.

"Strange Bedfellows"... What can I say? The third episode in an arc about love and alliances. Worf and Ezri reconcile their differences, Worf kills Weyoun 7, we meet Weyoun 8, Damar (the Cardassian in charge) helps Worf and Ezri escape, and best of all, Kai Winn shows her true colors, denounces the Prophets, and joins Dukat (still as a Bajoran) in order to follow the path of the Pa-Wraiths. I sense DS9 is drumming up for a big finale... five more to go before the last episode. :(

"The Changing Face of Evil" continues this final arc. I don't suppose there will be any more 'individual' episodes before this is over. Let's see... most notably, Winn discovers "Bajoran Dukat" is really... well, Dukat... but does she have him killed? Or even leave his side? Oh no... Kai Winn and Gul Dukat are officially a team now. Cardassia has broken off from the Dominion... Oh, and the Breen destroyed the Defiant practically with a single shot. So what I want to know now is where Star Trek VIII (First Contact) fits in, since the Defiant makes an appearance. If I remember correctly, Worf was on leave from DS9... when was that in DS9? Similarly Worf was in IX (Insurrection) for sure, and maybe X (Nemesis). I'm sure X takes place after Voyager, and thus after DS9, but I have no idea about IX.

"When it Rains..." is the fifth episode in this arc, and rather than have plot points, it just continues this final story. Let's see... Dukat loses his vision trying to read sacred texts outlining how to free the Pa-Wraiths from their imprisonment... Gowron takes control of the Klingon fleet, and Bashir discovers that Starfleet created the disease plaguing the changelings. Kira, Odo, and Garak join the Cardassian Liberation Front, as Damar and his people call it... with Sisko's blessing, and Kira is given a Starfleet uniform and the (temporary?) rank of Commander.

"Tacking Into the Wind", sixth part of the final arc, has Kira, Odo, and the Cardassians steal a Jem'hadar ship equipped with the Breen weapon and head back to Federation space, and Worf kills Gowron, but gives the cloak of the Chancellor to Martok. Pretty cool...

"Extreme Measures" sort of takes a break from the arc -- but not really. After a cure for Odo, Bashir lures Sloan of Section 31 to the station, and he and O'Brien invade Sloan's mind a la "The Cell" (Jennifer Lopez film with a similar plot, but a lot better visual effects... the room-long cloak, the split horse...). Odo is cured, but what troubles me is we aren't told what Bashir did with the cure after healing Odo; I think he should have destroyed it to carry out Sloan's final wishes, to prevent it from getting into the hands of the Dominion.

Two episodes to go (three if you consider the last is a 2 parter), but I haven't got the time. I'll have to finish DS9 tomorrow.

Watched these yesterday, but it was sprinkling, so we couldn't get on the Net. No joke.

"Take Me Out to the Holosuite" was a fun episode. Didn't really have much to do with any of the arcs, just a fun episode to watch. A Vulcan crew challenges Sisko and his command crew to a game of baseball. Classic Worf line: "Death to the opposition". And the first time (only time?) the term Niners is used in the series. It should have been used sooner methinks... :( Worth watching when it comes on TV? For sure.

"Chrysalis" was OK. I suppose liking this episode carries the requisite of liking the four genetically enhanced misfits from "Statistical Probabilities" (6x09). They return to DS9 and Bashir makes Serena, the quiet one, able to function in society... then falls in love with her. Serena makes a good prediction regarding Ezri: "Once she learns she's more than the sum of her parts, she'll really be someone." Good generic advice, but it really fits for a joined Trill. It was good to see Bashir find a woman, but other than that, it fell short of being a good episode. Worth watching when it comes on TV? Only if you like the four misfits and/or you really like Bashir. Other than that it's skippable.

"Treachery, Faith and the Great River" was a little better. O'Brien needs a part in less time than the Captain is allowing him, so he gives Nog his access codes and has the Ferengi officer trade, trade, trade, and trade some more to get what they need. Meanwhile Weyoun 6 defects to Odo, and Weyoun 7 sends some JH after them. We learn that Weyoun 5 died under mysterious circumstances, and that the Founders are (possibly) dying. Worth watching if if comes on TV? Sure, it was entertaining enough. The episode highlights Odo, Weyoun, and Nog.

"Once More Unto the Breach" was a good Klingon episode. Oh, how I love the Klingon episodes. :lol: Martok and and old rival, Kor, with Worf, take five Birds of Prey behind enemy lines to strike a blow against the Dominion. Notice in the beginning, the bottle of Bloodwine Worf shares with Kor is the same year (perhaps the same bottle) he got from Martok at the end of the last episode, 2309. Nice little bit of continuity if you ask me. Quark gives Ezri some free advice, but I'm not so sure she will take it. Worth watching on TV? Oh yeah, especially if you, too, like the Klingon episodes and any of Kor, Martok, or Worf.

"The Siege of AR-558" was a good episode about the glory and sacrifice of the Dominion war. Sisko and the Defiant crew (including Bashir, Ezri, Nog, and Quark) join a diminished crew holding a captured Dominion communications array on a planet, against stiff odds. This is the second time I've seen someone sharpening a blade with a laser, though I cannot recall the first time. Should you watch it when it comes on TV? You shouldn't miss it if you like action. There are a lot of better episodes, but I can't think of any points to mark against this one.

"Covenant" was pretty cool. Dukat starts a cult based on the Pa-wraiths (enemy of the Prophets) and has about 50 Bajorans with him on Empok Nor. They kidnap Kira, who exposes Dukat as a fraud. Kind of like something which happened on our world years ago involving poisoned Kool-Aid. So it was a cool episode, but seemed kind of like filler. But is it worth watching? I think so. Just one thing continues to puzzle me... why don't they ever straighten out Empok Nor, or is it supposed to tilt at an angle?

"It's Only a Paper Moon" chronicles Nog's emotional recovery following the events of "The Siege of AR-558" with the assistance of Vic Fontaine. Downplayed is the event that Jake Sisko gets a girlfriend. A decent episode, a good follow-up to its predecessor, but if you missed that one, you may as well skip this one. But if you saw the other, it really doesn't matter if you catch this one or not. Watch it if you like Nog and/or Vic. I think, should a movie ever follow up DS9 and Voyager, Voyager's Holodoc ought to meet Vic.

"Prodigal Daughter" was mostly about Ezri going back to her family for a visit, and to locate O'Brien, who is tracking down the widow of a man he met in "Honor Among Thieves" (6x15). Turns out Ezri's family business is involved with the Orion Syndicate. I didn't care for this one all that much... maybe it's because I don't (yet?) care for Ezri that much... because no one else in her family was all that likeable... it just seemed flat. Worth watching on TV? Maybe if nothing else is on, or you really want to see all 176 episodes as I do. Other than that, it's skippable.

"The Emperor's New Cloak" is another alternate universe episode, featuring a mirror Ezri, mirror Leeta, mirror Brunt, and a mirror Vic. Though they never explain how they get him out of the Holosuite; it doesn't make sense for there to be a real Vic in the AU. Rom and Quark have to go to the AU to rescue the Nagus (Zek) from the Alliance. It's a pretty good episode, barring a couple minor faults. Worth watching? I think so. The AU is always fun.

"Field of Fire" was good. A serial killer is loose on DS9 and Ezri, with the help of that host she had before Curzon who killed, is determined to track him down. We never learn exactly why the killer killed those people (aside from whats-his-name's speculative explanation) but it was a good episode nonetheless. Worth watching? Sure, it was fun. You won't miss anything if you miss it, as far as the arcs go, but it was entertaining.

"Chimera" introduces us to Laas (another of the 100 changelings the Founders sent out however many years ago), who tries to convince Odo to leave DS9 with him, in search of more changelings. Decent episode, shows us more of what the changelings are capable of. Worth watching? Yeah, it was pretty good.

Now here's the deal: tomorrow I start work, and I have 12 DS9 episodes left to finish. I know I can watch 11 in a day; I did that yesterday, as you can see. So what I'm going to do is watch all of them up to "What You Leave Behind" (series finale, a 2 parter) and then watch that when I get home from work. I'd only be able to watch half before my girlfriend gets home, and she shouldn't be seeing the last episode.

The adventure begins... and, as always, I'll be chronicling my progress in Editpad.

TTFN

I'm not seeing what you're saying... unless the events leading up to what I saw are drastically different. I know, or think I know, two other things about the last episode:

But I've been wrong about DS9 predictions. In any case, I'm fasttracking through season 7, so I'll see, in any case.

Watched another 8 episodes... and Jo just drove up.

Oh yeah, the chicken jambalaya last night was AWESOME. For those of you in charge of preparing the meals, get a pound of boneless/skinless chicken breast, Chicken Helper Jambalaya, and just follow the directions. It was pretty easy to make, and turned out great. Though saying it was dedicated to Sisko probably helped.

"Valiant" was a decent episode, which answered my question about other ships like Defiant. Nog and Jake are attacked by the JH and rescued by a Defiant clone called Valiant, run by Starfleet Academy Red Squad, a crew with something to hide. It was cool to watch... one thing troubles me, though... how does this shy girl who cries over memories of the moon, and then goes crying to her Captain, get into Red Squad? A couple of the girls, actually, didn't seem to be the Red Squad type. And the Captain... well, I didn't think drugs were a problem in the future. :lol: This is the only episode I've seen, that I recall, where someone pops pills (rather than uses a hypospray).

"Profit and Lace" was a decent Ferengi episode. It started out rather dull, but got good when Quark had to become a woman to help Grand Nagus Zek defeat a political rival. Long story. The best part of this episode is the beginning and end, where Quark learns a thing or two about women.

"Time's Orphan": another great season 6 episode. Molly (O'Briens' daughter) falls through a time portal on a picnic on Bajor. Starfleet is able to get her out, but they miscalculate, and the Molly they pull out has aged 10 years and is now 18, and pretty much a cavewoman (*thinks of the Geico commercials*). I guess you could say I like the Star Trek episodes which deal with people in the strangest situations, because this is one I'll remember for a while. Definitely not one to miss. I suppose more so if you have kids. And the scenes with Worf and Yoshi (the O'Brien's second kid) are priceless... like when Worf lists his accomplishments to Dax and vows that he will prove to be a worthy parent. Such a Klingon outlook...

I recall reading that Spike TV is in the middle of season 6... hopefully this thread can also serve as a guide for those watching DS9 on cable. Decide from my posts which ones you have to see, and which ones you wouldn't mind skipping over. That said, only "Valiant" of the last three serves the Dominion arc, and only barely (the introduction of a new Dominion ship). "Profit and Lace" is just a Ferengi episode - skip it if you don't like them. And "Time's Orphan" is good, and worth watching regardless.

"The Sound of Her Voice"... what a creepy episode. Sisko and the Defiant crew pick up a distress call from [at maximum warp] 6 days away. O'Brien establishes two-way communication with the Starfleet captain whose escape pod crashed on an inhabitable planet, and the crew only have a few days to reach her before she runs out of the medicine needed to keep her alive. I kept expecting it to be a trap, especially when they used the phaser power to reinforce structural integrity to go faster. Now the ending was just messed up, and only because I know what's going to happen in the next episode. At the end of this one, O'Brien points out that

Trivial note: "Tears of the Prophets" -- the Captain's full name is Benjamin Lafayette Sisko. Second trivial note: I'm no big fan of Star Trek: Enterprise, but I do have a couple NX-01 wallpapers. I know that ship design... and one got destroyed in this episode. (At least I think that's Archer's ship in those wallpapers... yes, it's gotta be. No other has those two... bars... running back from the saucer to hold the nacelles, with a pod-like thing in the middle... [finishes episode] Wow, that was a bit sadder than I thought... and a lot better than I thought, too. Starfleet decides it's time to invade Cardassia (being the major Dominion foothold in the Alpha Quadrant) but the Prophets try to tell Sisko that he is of Bajor and not to stray from his path. He has a choice to make. Meanwhile Dukat thinks he has something which will get the rest of the Dominion into the Alpha Quadrant. Great episode, great close to season 6.

What's sadder? Just before the end of "Time's Orphan" or the end of "Tears of the Prophets"? I know which one I would choose. Three sad episodes right in a row, too. And a question, which will probably be answered soon:

*stops "Image in the Sand" in the opening credits* Now that's one thing that's always ticked me off about Star Trek. Opening credits spoilers. They did it in Voyager, when Kes dropped off the opening credits, replaced by Seven, and Jennifer Lein was listed as a guest star. I said, "Oh, now I know something's gonna happen to Kes." JL "guest starred" for a couple episodes, then she was gone. It's a little different here... From the last episode I know that

"Image in the Sand". That's what Sisko sees in a vision from the Prophets he's been waiting for. A mysterious woman, but who is she? All this episode really does is shows us what's happened three months after Sisko left DS9. He and Jake have been helping his dad in New Orleans. Kira is a colonel, and Worf is still mourning. The episode ends... it ends with Sisko meeting the new Dax. What was spoiled in the opening credits. Also I noted that the screen stayed black before cutting to the end credits a few seconds longer than usual, really letting it hang. I've noticed... Next Generation and Voyager episodes mostly end smoothly, with the executive producer (or whatever) line appearing in the episode. With DS9, more often than not, it ominously fades to black first. I like that, especially following a dramatic end. 7x01 here didn't have that dramatic an end, but it played off like it did. Not that I'm one to complain, but it was strange.

"Shadows and Symbols" is a great episode, in that it deepens the relationship between Sisko and the Prophets, and really takes the whole of Star Trek into a new frontier. This is not necessarily a favorite of mine, though it was very good, but at the same time, along with other "Prophets" episodes, shows that DS9 really takes us where no Trek has gone before. Let's just say that, despite the fact that in real life I'm an atheist, if I were on DS9, I wouldn't be. Especially if my name were Benjamin Sisko, or that of one of his friends or associates. This episode answers (no) the question I asked at the end of "Tears of the Prophets".

"Afterimage" was just OK; it mainly centers around Ezri Dax's integration into the DS9 crew. Oops, I just spoiled the ending, but not so much so as if you had seen the season 7 DVD set or the season 7 promo shots. Why else would Ezri be part of the team in the picture if she left after only being in two episodes (let's not count her brief appearance at the end of "Image in the Sand". If you're willing to accept that Ezri made peace with the DS9 crew and came into her own (after a fair bit of whining), you can skip this episode. But there's a cool fact about Worf in relation to Sisko revealed here; if you like either of those characters, you ought not to miss it.

No, no Sovereign or Intrepid class ships in the battle scenes thus far. I've seen plenty Ent-B's and Galaxy class ships, some others... And, is Defiant the only ship in its class, or are there other Defiants out there? That's one bad little ship, they need to make more. I'm curious where Picard and his crew were, too. Starfleet wants to keep Picard away from the Borg because of his previous experience with them? Well, what about the Dominion?

Spoilers! I watched the DS9 music video I have (DS9 clips dubbed to Enya's "On My Way Home"; you can find it on eMule or whatever searchable filesharing network) because I thought I'd seen enough of DS9 to not be spoiled. I was wrong. I saw the video once before, but it was long before I watched DS9, so I really didn't know what I was seeing (except noticing O'Brien and Worf, and recognizing Quark as a Ferengi, Martok as a Klingon, but not knowing anything more about them). Here's what was spoiled:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to finish Season 6. B) I've only got five six episodes to go! :lol:

//edit: I thought I had six because I hadn't moved "The Reckoning" to the "Seen'em" folder... so it's only five. Suh-weet.