Dark Reality

Oh, let it be known that I was not complaining. This board's been great. Even with a few spoilers here and there, I've had a great experience. I watched NINE DS9 episodes today... obsess much? And as per my usual habit, I posted in Editpad (souped-up Notepad) as I watched them. Here goes...

 

 

"Far Beyond the Stars" was a very different episode. Contemplating resignation, Sisko begins an hallucination in which he and the other main characters (Dax, O'Brien, Kira, Bashir, Odo, Quark, Worf, Kassidy, and Jake and Joseph Sisko as well) are in the 1950s, most working for a science fiction magazine. Nog and Dukat make brief appearances, but it's hard to tell with a couple of them as all actors are completely out of uniform. Sisko, Dax, O'Brien, Kira, Jake, and Joseph are pretty obvious. You can tell Odo by his voice. You'd only know Kassidy if you'd seen a few or more of her episodes. Worf is hard to tell as well; the voice is a little different. Nog is right in the beginning, a short little dude at a newspaper stand. And a guy who appears once in the magazine's office, I think is Dukat. Quark's surprisingly easy to identify. This one was good, but racial issues always bothered me.

 

I really, really liked "One Little Ship". Now that was amusing. A shrunk Runabout (Rubicon) with Dax, O'Brien, and Bashir infiltrates a full-size Defiant where Jem'hadar have taken Sisko, Kira, Worf, Nog, and several nameless crewmen hostage, and hilarity ensues. This is the first we hear of Alpha JH versus Gamma JH, and the rivalry between them. Also, a JH passes out the white without a Vorta present, and dismisses the otherwise mandatory "we serve the Founders" speech. Interesting, interesting. O'Brien and Bashir inside the computer was a little silly, especially since they could have asked Dax for more air when they were running low. This was a good episode, though, one of the better ones, if only for the amusement value.

 

"Honor Among Thieves", another good one. O'Brien infiltrates the Orion Syndicate to find out who their mole in Starfleet is. They don't quite come out and say it, but then, O'Brien wasn't there... he wouldn't have made the connection. Bashir would have. Bilby (the Syndicate man) tells O'Brien that they had the mole

So those guys were Orion Syndicate as well. Nice.

 

Before I forget... when do we start seeing Sovereign class starships? Or Intrepid class? I'm getting rather annoyed constantly seeing ships that appear to be in the same class as the Enterprise-B. I have a toy from Star Trek: Generations which shows the Ent-B (about 5" long) over the Nexus wave, which looks rather cheesy. I never really liked the thing, but I'm setting it on top of my monitor. I seem to remember having an Enterprise-D and a Klingon Bird of Prey, both about 2" long, but I haven't seen them in years. I think I got them all at the same time. Anyway, it (the Ent-B/Nexus) is the only Star Trek related thing I have, besides the movies on DVD and the episodes on my computer... and a schematic/mini-poster of the Ent-A that came with a model of that ship... but that model ship got spray painted silver (we were too lazy to paint it properly) and I left it in California. It wasn't in good shape anyway. Now I want Voyager and DS9 models... but I'm not willing to pay $85-$120, prices I've seen online... that's highway robbery. No sense paying any more than $20-$30 for a model, less if you have to assemble it yourself. But those two, and the Enterprise-D... I'd do the paint and decals exactly. :lol:

 

"Change of Heart" was OK and just that. It starts with something to please both the ladies and the gents... Worf with his hair down, and some candid shots of Jadzia... though all in all, it was a better Worf episode than a Dax episode. No, the real point with this one was that Starfleet doesn't always win. I saw the ending (at least, the jungle outcome) coming from the beginning, though. And it was missing something: Worf could well have told Dax that their man was killed... it would have alleviated some of her guilt. And Quark winning 208 games of Tongo in a row... someone ought to look over his tactics. Either he's very good at Tongo, or he's very good at cheating. In any game of chance (as any game involved with a deck of cards is, to some degree) there's always the chance of getting a bad hand. If we're not to suspect Quark of cheating, his winning streak should not have been so great. And what Quark said was right... about no computer being able to master Tongo. Computers today can't master our card games because of the element of chance. Chess is another story, though. While IBM has a supercomputer (named "Big Blue" after IBM's nickname IIRC) dedicated to chess, it's been beaten, but only by the top chessmasters. That computer would spank anyone who hasn't devoted a lifetime to the game. But IBM couldn't build such a good poker or blackjack playing computer, unless it cheated and the playing logic routines had access to the card information.... giving it some access is the only way to make it 'harder'. Otherwise, you can teach it the rules and all the strategy you can cram in its memory banks, but in the end, it could still deal the human opponent a royal flush, and nothing beats a royal.

 

"Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night"... a couple notes before I finish (just started really)... Director Jonathan West. Where do I know that name from? And O'Brien suggests to Bashir, a holosuite program based on The Alamo. I'm pretty sure this program exists in the computer game Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. [finishes episode] Pretty good, pretty good... Dukat tells Kira that he and her mother were secret lovers, and she goes back in time with the help of the Orb of Time and confirms it. Now what about that Bajoran that was barking orders to the Cardassians? A collaborator no doubt, but he must have been pretty important to be giving orders.

 

Now it's time to meet Section 31...

 

"The Inquisition"... another early note, this before the opening credits. You know, this and many of the previous one have had the same damn exterior shot of DS9. The Defiant docked along the ring, and something that looks like Voyager with an extra warp nacelle underneath as if in tow. I doubt it's an Intrepid class, it's not the most attractive starship out there... but it's always there, in the same place. (Yes, I know, they use the same exterior shots in all the episodes, they did the same thing in Next Generation and Voyager... those exterior shots are mostly time fillers.) [finishes episode] Another good one. Wow, Section 31's pretty bad. They abduct Bashir and accuse him of spying for the Dominion. My sympathies for the Maquis grow, what disrespect I had for the Cardassian legal system diminished with contextual perspective. Like the episode two before ("Change of Heart") it's not an episode to feel altogether good about.

 

I remember thinking six episodes a day was a lot. I did seven yesterday and I'm quite likely to do eight today. The streak ends tonight, though... at least as far as I know, it does. Tomorrow morning I have a job orientation. That may only run half a day... and if it does... streak tomorrow as well. But I really don't know what will happen tomorrow. Saturday I'm going to a rock concert (X-Fest 6, featuring Chevelle, Taproot, and Crossfade... not bands I like, but my girlfriend likes... it was only $21 a ticket, how could I pass it up). Hopefully I start work Monday, but nothing's (ever) for sure. But if I get this job, it'll be really cool.... I'd be working for the same place my girlfriend does, hopefully on the same shift. We'd be able to carpool, save about $50-60 a month on gas.

 

Now I'll see if "In the Pale Moonlight" lives up to the hype. [finishes episode] Bravo... it was a good episode, but VBG was right, the hype does raise expectations for it above an attainable level. Is any Star Trek episode worthy of such praise? I've seen a couple that are... "The Inner Light" from TNG and "Blink of an Eye" from Voyager. Of course, I think the latter was trying to replicate and spin on the former. The idea that so much could happen in so little time, that in the case of the former, that Picard could live an entire lifetime in a matter of minutes (forget that DS9's "Hard Time" uses a similar plot device -- it is not the same), and in the case of the latter, that the smallest (in)actions by Voyager could so influence a whole society.

 

"In the Pale Moonlight", in my opinion, doesn't stand with those two. All that said, it was a very good episode, perhaps the best directly dealing with the Dominion. Sisko fabricates proof that the Dominion are going to turn on the Romulans, to get the Romulans to abandon their treaty with the Dominion and join the fight against the Dominion. It shows us how far Sisko is willing to go to fight the Dominion; in this episode, lying, cheating, and technically stealing, were not below him. This however, was one case where, unlike the actions of Section 31 in the previous episode, the ends do justify the means. The Romulans, though not a major player in the events of DS9 thus far, are supposed to be a formidable empire.

 

What, exactly, is the difference between a Vulcan and a Romulan? I think this was answered in TNG, in the episode with Spock and Sarek, but I can't remember. Weren't they once the same people, but at one point split?

 

Seven episodes... And DR sets to break the previous record by watching an eighth one. Technically I could do nine and still have time to have dinner ready by the time Jo gets home. She's stopping at Walmart after work (if she remembers... it's only for stuff for me that I don't need as a favor, but she probably will), the chicken is defrosted, and we're having a Jambalaya Chicken Helper. Jambalaya is a Cajun dish... I'm going to tell Jo it's a tribute to Ben Sisko (if it turns out good). B) If I forget, she'll read it up here anyway... she stalks me. We mean stalking in a positive way; that's what she called our online courtship before and even after I moved in with her... she'd go to boards I posted at and read all my posts, often posting. So yes, when I posted "don't tell Jo" about the Jalepeno Poppers... she knew about it, and even told her sister and mother that I'd gone behind her back like that. But we do all that just playing, it's all in good fun. I tell ya, having a regular girlfriend is one thing (not that I'd know, Jo's my first), but it's another entirely to have one who's also your best friend, who you can joke and kid with like that.

 

"His Way" was another fun episode. Who but the most unromantic of us couldn't help but smile when

? Vic Fontaine is a pretty cool character... For a hologram. So Voyager's Holodoc wasn't in fact the first hologram who could disable himself (when Vic issues the command "Computer: end program" ahead of Kira). Good break from serious episodes.

 

Numero nueve... "The Reckoning", another episode following the Prophets and Sisko's faith, was good. At first I thought the supernatural stuff towards the end would leave me thinking it had been cheesy, but it wasn't. A 30,000 year old tablet is discovered under that ancient city Sisko discovered the location to, and it leads to a prophecy involving Bajoran suffering and a battle between good and evil. Afraid that evil would triumph, Kai Winn stops the fight using radiation to chase the prophet and Pa Wraith out of the station... showing her lack of faith, and Kira gets in some good words against her.

 

I watched nine pretty good DS9 episodes today. I did little else, but there was little else to do.

 

Cooking dinner, listening to my 'casual and soft' mix on Winamp, I've heard some interesting selections. It's on random, a playlist with 222 songs... I started it with a classic rock song... it then played two religious-leaning rock songs ("Sight Unseen" by Petra and "Higher" by Creed), another classic rock song, then "On My Way Home" by Enya... a good song by its own right, but it's also the song I have a homemade DS9 video dubbed to. I didn't make it, I found it on either Kazaa or eMule. Now it's playing "Ends" by Everlast, but that doesn't really relate to anything.

Well, I've seen a few spoilers, just from reading the board. I know

because 1. There's a new Dax in Season 7, and 2. Major characters are added and removed at season changes, 2a. Voyager Season 4, remove Kes, add Seven, 2b. DS9 Season 4, add Worf... and you don't introduce .

 

Morn was designed after the Cheers character Norm, the lovable guy at the end of the bar that everyone likes.

But how lovable is Morn, really? He just sits there and nods occasionally. Does he ever get a single spoken line? I don't like him much. I don't dislike him, he's just there.

 

I watched that episode last night and had to rewind the very end about 5 times and roll laughing every time I see Bashir's face and that "primal scream" as he goes after Worf. Classic moment lol.

 

I love it when Nog checks Moogie to see if she's a changling or not then she beats him over the head to check him. Rom says 'That's not how you test a changling' and she trys to get the knife lol.

 

I also love it when they are practicing their assault and Lek shoots Moogie to "put her out of her misery" and Nog's reaction... "and you shot Moogie!"lol

All classic moments. :lol:

 

I'd consider having your debts paid off as a profit lol

I conceded this at first, then thought about it... In business, anyway, profit is what you have after cost. Cost is the business's overhead, what they put out for electrical, water, and employees. A business is always in debt to its employees, a debt it resolves every week, or every two weeks, more commonly. So Quark was in the red... the arms smuggler paid off his debts, getting him out of the red... and thus he broke even. No profit... true, he had more than he had before (zero versus negative something) but zero isn't "profit"... There's probably a Rule of Acquisition to back me on this, but beyond that, I suppose it's subjective definitions... but I remember that from business studies in high school. B)

I think I have seen parts of "You Are Cordially Invited" before when it was on TV. It was like deja vu watching Dax's and the mens' trials before the wedding. Dax's age is confirmed -- 356 years -- and that as Curzon was ambassador to the Klingon empire, and helped the Kitomer (Sp?) Accords pass before Worf's birth. Did you notice, at the end, Bashir just couldn't wait to have at Worf and Jadzia with those padded sticks?

 

"Resurrection" was OK... sort of but not really a mirror universe episode. Mirror Bareil and Mirror Kira conspiring to steal one of the Orbs from the station. Makes me wonder what happened to the orb during the Dominion occupation... maybe they just got it out of there in a hurry?

 

Good call VBG, close to where I was... Anson Williams directed "Statistical Probabilities". Interesting episode, too. Four geniuses, genetically modified like Bashir (but not as well... they're all crazy) visit the station to observe one of their own living a "normal" life, and end up making some startling observations, then predictions, about the Dominion. Good ep all around, though the one called Jack was annoying from time to time.

 

"The Magnificent Ferengi" was another decent Ferengi episode, better than some of the others. Quark, Rom, Nog, and three other Ferengi go on a rescue mission, to retreive Quark and Rom's mother (moogie) from the Dominion. Empok Nor (from the episode of the same name) and Vorta Keevan (from Rocks and Shoals) were both reused in this episode. Could have been a lot worse... and the ending was pretty funny.

 

"Waltz" was OK. Sisko and Dukat trapped on a planet, Dukat hallucinating and trying to justify his war crimes on Bajor. If Dukat's serious about taking out a personal vendetta against Bajor, I can see why so many people here consider him so bad. Up until now... well, up until the second occupation of DS9, Dukat hasn't been that bad, at least not within the episodes. This episode shows him worse than he's ever been.

 

Now "Who Mourns for Morn" was a very strange episode. Morn is like DS9's Silent Bob (reference for Jo's benefit). Dude never talks, just does gestures. The difference between Silent Bob and Morn, though, is according to all the characters, Morn actually talks (and spars with Worf) off-camera; he's only mute on-camera. Morn is reported dead, and everything gets left to Quark, who finds that Morn has a thousand bricks of gold-pressed latinum in a bank... and four odd characters all want part of it. And we learn that about a half liquid ounce of latinum (a liquid at room temperature) is about 100 bricks worth of gold-pressed latinum. So the gold is worthless in the 24th century, but it holds the latinum. Which makes me wonder how worthless gold bricks without latinum really are. And even if they aren't, they still are if you can convince someone they're real. I've been stuck with money I thought was... not real... just small bills, but cashiers will often pass it off as change, between other bills, rather than answer for it at the end of their shift. Likewise, you can pass it back at a store between bills. It's technically illegal, but counterfeit or otherwise invalid* money still gets circulated. (One way to invalidate American money is to tear off two of the four value numbers in the corners.)

Oh wow...

 

"Genesis" from TNG... If only they would have shown more of mutated Worf.

 

"Empok Nor" from DS9. Like I said in my 'DS9 Blog', tell me you didn't jump when the first Starfleet guy got it. O'Brien, Garak, Nog, and four nameless Starfleet officers go to an abandoned Cardy station with the same design as DS9/Terak Nor in search of parts, and two Cardassians in stasis there are woken and go after them.

 

I don't recall TNG's Frame of Mind, but I'll be looking for it when I catch it on our way through that series. :lol:

"Favor the Bold" starts with Sisko's plan to retake Tarak Nor/DS9 from the Dominion. Odo has pretty much sold out to the Founders, and the episode cuts just as the Federation and the Dominion are about to start fighting... 1,254 Dominion/Cardassian ships outnumbering the Federation by about 2:1. As far as the "loss of and retaking of DS9" arc, this one is better than the last few... I eagerly await the conclusion.

 

"Sacrifice of Angels" ends the arc with Sisko retaking DS9. Pretty good episode, lots of ships, lots of battles... pretty much a happy ending. I'm not sure I got how the Prophets just wished away 2,800 Dominion/Jem'hadar ships, but it was a nice little twist.

 

[All quotes below here from VBG]

 

He played super (bumbling) spy Maxwell Smart in the 60's sitcom "Get Smart". He just passed away a couple weeks ago himself.

Oh, Inspector Gadget. :lol: I've never seen Get Smart, but I do remember hearing it (or at least its main character) was the basis for Inspector Gadget, that silly cartoon from the 1980s (did they ever show the bad guy's face?).

 

But at the end Worf has given Martok back his 'Warroir's Heart' and Martok gets better from this point on. By the final episode I think you'll like his character a lot.

Martok has since gotten better. B)

 

Did you see the reference in season 6's "Rocks and Shoals" to this episode where Nog refuses to be in front of Garak? I found that to be amusing lol.

Oh yes. And then he turns his back on Garak, either in that episode or the next one.

 

This was a fun episode, it keeps elements of the arc in play but is completely outside of the arc. Ever since the first time I saw this episode I've been on the look out for the "soulless minions of orthodoxy" lol

 

On a side note about directors, keep an eye out on the names. You may notice Anson Williams name pop up a time or two. I just saw an episode the other day that he directed but I don't remember which one it was.

Will do... The name Anson Williams doesn't ring a bell, but I'll make special note if I see his/her name in the credits, pause the episode immediately, and make note... Assuming I remember.

 

Could the soulless minions of orthodoxy been the Dominion (the Vorta are always talking about order... another word for orthodox... sorta) or was the guy just crazy?

 

This was a good ending for season 5 and really springs you into season 6, DS9 was great for those kinds of season finales and season premiers. I think Rom is probably one of the luckiest Trek characters in all of Trek, He got to marry Leeta! lol

Spelling noted. But Worf's luckier... Prior male hosts or not, it's all about Dax. Remember how Leeta cries (there's an example in either Favor the Bold or Sacrifice of Angels)?

 

Bashir's genetic "condition" will be brought up many more times, I think it really added to his character in the final seasons.

 

{snip}Have you ever heard of Iggy Pop?

Heard of him, but I won't make a fool of myself by pretending I know anything about him. :lol:

 

Yeah, I keep hearing about Bashir's genetic resequencing/manipulation. Apparently he can now outthink a computer (calculate faster than one, anyway).

 

You're getting close to my alltime favorite Trek episode and the episode that has been voted as the best of any Trek episode in many polls... "In The Pale Moonlight". I hope all the hype doesn't raise expectations to an un-attainable level but when I first saw this episode it really blew me away. This episode, to me is Trek at it's very best.

Yes, it's seen its share of hype... it's one I'm looking forward to.

[Monday night]

 

"Children of Time" -- I think I got me a new favorite DS9 episode. I like the episodes like this -- TNG's "The Inner Light" and Voyager's "Blink of an Eye" -- which cover so much ground in so little time. Wow. Great episode all around. What I don't understand about the ending was this: At what point did Sisko and the crew decide to give up returning to the station, and recreate the accident? And how was it a bad thing that Odo saved the day? Yes, I realize he caused about eight thousand people to cease to exist, but it's more accurate to say that he saved the Defiant crew from being marooned in the Gamma Quadrant.

 

"Blaze of Glory" wasn't as good as its predecessors "For the Cause" and "For the Uniform" but it wrapped up the "trilogy" (or "arc") quite nicely. Sisko has Eddington freed to track down thirty cloaked missiles sent by the Maquis to Cardassia. Eddington gets a more fitting fate than dying in a prison (or waiting for said prison to be destroyed by the Jem'hadar) and Sisko comes to realize something about the Maquis. He doesn't come to fully understand them, but he does wind up with a bit of respect for Eddington at least. The scenes between Nog and Martok (the confrontation, and the respect) are priceless.

 

[Tuesday]

 

"Empok Nor" was OK... it was too dark most of the time. I don't know if it looks any brighter on TV, but I really, really hate movies that use darkness. It messes with my head. Games that do it are even worse. As far as the episode... O'Brien, Nog, Garak, and some nameless crewmen travel to an abandoned Cardassian space station called Empok Nor (identical to DS9/Terak Nor in just about every way) in search of some parts they need. For those who have seen it... tell me you didn't jump when the first Starfleet officer got it. :P

 

I have to say, I really liked "In the Cards". Nog and Jake scheme to acquire an old baseball card (a 1951 Willie Mays rookie card, before I forget). Why they can't just replicate one is beyond me. Use the transporter to steal it, the replicator to copy it, and give back the original. Would Captain Sisko look a gift horse in the mouth (and scan the card to reveal it's a fake)? But that's not the point. Also, I think this is the first episode directed by Michael Dorn (Worf). I pay attention to who directs, because often it's one of the cast members. LeVar Burton (LaForge, from TNG) directs a lot. The guy who plays Odo (not even going to try to spell that out) and Avery Brooks (Sisko) direct a few. Jonathan Frakes (TNG's Riker) may have directed a couple... I know he did a few of the movies, maybe some TNG episodes... DS9 I'm not sure of. I usually don't pay attention to the behind-the-scenes people, but I do see a few names a lot.

 

"Call to Arms" was an excellent episode, particularly the ending. Actually it reminded me of the end of the last Voyager episode, but in that case the whole fleet was welcoming Voyager home; in this case, they're joining the Defiant and Martok's Bird of Prey in an attack on Tarak Nor, which just got taken by the Cardassians and the Dominion. Well, that was at the end, anyway. Rom marries Lita (Leeta?), Dax accepts Worf's... proposal?... Quark kisses Rom on the back of the head (not as significant, but I don't think he's shown as much affection for his brother before), and Jake stays behind to report... Naturally all I can really say is I'm anxious to get Season 6 started. :P

 

"A Time to Stand" was an excellent start for Season 6. With Tarak Nor still under Dominion and Cardassian control, Kira and Weyoun are keeping the peace between the Cardassians and the Bajorans. Sisko and crew take a Jem'hadar ship* into Cardassian space to destroy the supply of Ketracel (sp?) White in the Alpha Quadrant, and, in doing so, cripple their ship. With something of a tribute to Voyager, Bashir calculates that it will take 17+ years to reach Federation space without warp drive. I'm noting that they keep referring to Bashir's genetic modifications. Seeing the season 5 episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" is required viewing for these episodes. *Was the Jem'hadar ship the one Sisko salvaged in the Season 5 episode "The Ship"? If so, the Federation has been busy with it.

 

In any case, time and time again, DS9 is proving to be far superior to the other Trek series. B) If I can ever afford to purchase any Trek series on DVD, DS9 is the first one I'll get. TNG will always be a classic to me, and I still sort of feel the need to have it on DVD, but the truth is I enjoy watching DS9 a lot more. And I can't wait until Jo and I start watching it.

 

Just finished "Rocks and Shoals". Chased into a nebula, Sisko and crew crash their stolen Jem'hadar warship on a desolate planet. Unfortunately for them, it's populated by ten Jem'hadar soldiers and one Vorta. This is sort of like the season 4 episode "To the Death" where the Federation and Jem'hadar had to work together, although more loosely this time around. Sisko admits it was an honor serving alongside the Jem'hadar in that episode (it's referenced). I always appreciate seeing someone from one side showing respect for the other side; it adds an extra depth to the conflict.

 

It just doesn't end, does it? People on this board were asking for a DS9 movie? Some video editing genius ought to take this arc I'm in, chop out the symphonic intros from each one, the fadeouts/fadeins, and make something of a DS9 movie out of it. It's been known to happen... Well, at least there's a "Kirkless Generations" floating around the filesharing networks which completely removes James T. Kirk from Star Trek VII for the given reason that Kirk deserved a better end. Anyway, the DS9 movie would end up quite long, encompassing so far three episodes (that's about 2 hours 8-10 minutes) and probably more. That's it, I'm scanning ahead... OK, it looks like "Sacrifice of Angels" is the episode in which Starfleet retakes DS9. So eight episodes total... times 43 minutes... comes out to 344 minutes, or about 5 and a half hours. Much too long... sadly as well, looks like I won't finish this arc tonight. The movie suggestion was just a thought... but maybe it will inspire someone to do something with a shorter arc.

 

"Sons and Daughters" reintroduces us to Alexander (Worf's son) and is mostly a Klingon episode, though not to the caliber of the season 5 episode "Soldiers of the Empire". The plot structure of the episode revolved more around the relationship between Worf and Alexander than anything directly having to do with the arc. It turns out that between this episode and the last one, O'Brien did in fact fix the Vorta's communication device, and they were rescued by Martok's Bird of Prey. I didn't really like this episode, despite seeing Alexander again.

 

Six episodes, AGAIN... and I plan to watch another one. I confess... I'm hooked on DS9 like the Jem'hadar are hooked on the white... :P

 

The arc/saga continues with "Behind the Lines". The last few episodes, while good in that they're continuing the arc, don't seem to really be of much value on their own. These episodes are different... but I'll have to conclude the arc tomorrow.

Who is Don Adams? That's sad about Cecily... I was thinking she sounded familiar for some reason.

 

I didn't like Martok in "Soldiers of the Empire" as much as in "By Inferno's Light". He seemed to be something of a coward this time. Worf was the one who got back into action... not to mention some of his lost honor.

 

As for Weyoun... Well, let's just say I browsed the The many deaths of Weyoun topic here, so his death back in season 4 did not come as much of a surprise.

 

And Quark didn't earn profit in "Business as Usual". He did, however, get his debts paid off. I'm pretty sure that the deal he sabotaged is the one he was supposed to profit from; it was just before that that the guy told him rather than paying him, he was paying his creditors. Quark doesn't do much profiting really... he usually seems to lose whatever he gains or just plain break even. Nog and Rom were wise to distance themselves from his bar.

 

You know, VBG... there's going to be a good gap in there... but when I finish DS9, I'm going to just be watching TNG with Jo... then when that's done with, I'm going to sit through all of DS9 all over again... and then Voayger all over again. But it'll be worth it because she's never seen any of it. She may have seen bits and pieces of a couple episodes from each on TV, but never any one episode all the way through (as far as I know) before I came along. I just hope that we're able to finish out all three series. She's proud to have finally seen all of Star Wars, but that's only six movies... Nothing on the "whole Star Trek experience" -- nevermind that we're skipping TOS and missing ENT. (Though I do plan on showing her the TOS movies, so she at least knows who Kirk and the others are.)

"Business as Usual" was a pretty good Ferengi episode. Shows how far Quark is -- and isn't -- willing to go to make a profit. It doesn't make him admirable, just a little less despicable. I thought he handled the end pretty well.

 

The topic came up much earlier in this thread about the Federation and money. In an episode a few back, one of the Starfleet crew (Worf?) "owes" Quark so many strips of Latinum, so puts a thumb-print on some kind of tricorder. I would guess that the Federation has some kind of credit system. Starfleet is modeled after the Navy, which, like the other branches of the armed forces, does pay its members. Though the economy of the 24th century is different, I would assume that the Federation and/or Starfleet make so much money for their services, and despite being a socialist state, give their officers so much allowance to be used to purchase goods and services in areas still capitalist.

 

A previous episode, "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" has got me thinking. If you had a child and he or she had problems, and the service was available to you, would you genetically modify them? There are good points to both sides of the argument. On one hand, unless the procedure is free and available to all (and it doesn't sound like it was in the episode, or will be in real life) you wind up with the perfect upper class and an imperfect lower class. Since it's the lower class which pushes the development of a society through work, and the upper class merely reaping the benefits, it's not hard to see how something like this would cause more problems than it would solve. On the other hand, if a medical treatment is available to you, how smart is it to turn it down based on morality? This question is being asked today about birth control... the "right" is asking if people have a right to choose not to have children, in possible contrast to the wishes of a higher power. My counterargument to that is that the common cold and headaches are similarly inventions and wishes of a higher power (to assume one exists), and cold and headache medicine is Man's answer, but you never hear of the "right" speaking out against Sudafed or Tylenol. Genetic manipulation is in the future of medicine. Personally I think it should come down to choice: those who want it and can afford it should be able to get it and those who don't want it can boycott it all they want, but should not interfere with those who want it. And of course, manipulations should only be available which benefit the individual, not cosmetic things. Then again, I'd be one to choose the gender of my child(ren). I wouldn't go messing with the details, but I'd be interested in weeding out impediments such as hereditary illnesses and allergies.

 

"Ties of Blood and Water" continues the relationship between Kira and the Cardassian Ghemor, who we met in a previous episode, when Kira was kidnapped and surgically altered to look like a Cardassian, and pose as Ghemor's daughter. Decent episode, not much to say here... It's officially stated for the first time that the Vortas (namely Weyoun) can be cloned, and the one Sisko saw die was the fourth; we're now "on" the "fifth" Weyoun.

 

"Ferengi Love Songs" wasn't quite as annoying as "Family Business" but it wasn't quite as good as "Bar Association". No, I don't particularly care for most of the Ferengi episodes, but I guess it's cool that Quark has his license back. Odo gets his shapeshifting abilities back, Quark gets his license back... it all fits together nicely, but what's next?

 

"Soldiers of the Empire". Now this was a good [Klingon] episode, justifying the previous three. OK, the previous three weren't so bad, but coupled with the two before them, it's been pretty slow since "By Inferno's Light", which, with its predecessor, easily dwarfs everything after. You know it's going to be a good episode when you cross Klingons and Dax, not to mention Dax and Worf joining a Klingon ship for a mission. Like so many Star Trek episodes, the ending wraps up too quickly (where was the battle?) but it was good nonetheless.

 

I suppose now I have no choice but to watch the next two, which I've been waiting for for so long: "Children of Time" and "Blaze of Glory". And then it's only three more episodes in Season 5. Though it's now time for a break... I have soup and pizza (well, calzone) crust to be eaten. :P

I think the most likely explanation is licensing. If you look in music stores, classical and opera music is often found reproduced and is thus very cheap... with computer technology nowadays, it would not have been hard for the producers to find some public-domain classical music and synthesize it with a computer. Next to zero cost.

 

If, by some miracle of technology, I were ever transported to the world of Star Trek, I'd introduce Worf and any Klingon I could find to Nightwish and similar bands... and drop some Enya and Yuki Kajiura (Japanese new age artist similar to Enya) CDs around Picard's and Janeway's offices... I'm sure they could replicate a CD player with little trouble. :P (Being even less serious here.)

I suppose it's different if you know what he's saying ahead of time. Or if you're familiar with whatever accent he's using. Though I'm not sure it's an accent so much as being cracked-out... :P Or, in my girlfriend's case, if you've never heard the name Nerys before.

 

If you don't... with me anyway... when I hear something I can't make out, my mind suggests the closest thing it can find... and the way he pronounces "berries" in that song, particularly the second half of the word, comes out more like Nerys than Berries... it's the abruptness of his pronounciation.

I am looking at the episodes for download..  Anyone have any recommendations (not emissary, already seen it)

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I agree with VBG, see them in order. I don't know where you're getting them from if you're getting them randomly. If you get them from BitTorrent, you'll get them by the season, nearly 10GB per season... works out to 350MB per episode (700MB for doubles) and includes a bunch of "extras". But for that deal, you'd better get a big hard drive and/or a DVD burner and a stack of DVD-Rs. Each series (TNG, Voyager, or DS9 -- ENT and TOS are smaller) will occupy a full 15 DVD-R discs if you burn them as DATA DVDs (not encoding them to be played on a set top player).

You just answered the question I was asking myself: Did I post the offline blog? Apparently I haven't, because I saw those two, and they are my favorites of season 5, off the top of my head. Maybe of the series. Anyway, here it all is:

 

 

[Friday]

 

"For the Uniform"... wow... Frustrated in failed attempts to recapture the traitor/Maquis member Eddington, Sisko goes to some extreme measures. All I can say is, 'Picard wouldn't have done that.' Or Janeway, for that matter. I'll be surprised if Sisko doesn't catch at least an earful from Starfleet Command for what he does at the end. I can only wonder what "Blaze of Glory" adds to the story. Oh... and I liked the episode.

 

How wrong are the Maquis, anyway? I'm inclined to side with Eddington here. Well, he was wrong to betray the Federation, but his actions aside, considering only the part about the Federation betraying the colonists, selling them out to Cardassia(ns), who have been less than hospitable to them... I think if they didn't take up arms, they'd be little more than sheep, going where the Federation and Cardassians herded them. It's like Mel Gibson in The Patriot. He didn't want to take a side until the English came and destroyed his home, and his family, and forced him to fight... or die. Mel Gibson basically played the role of the Maquis. The only difference is, because the Federation equated to the US Government and the Cardassians equated to the English, in the case of the Revolutionary War, the US Government was fighting, rather than selling its people out in a compromise. For those who would say Gibson was right, but the Maquis were still wrong, would Gibson have been wrong if the US Government "gave" the thirteen colonies to the English, who in turn treated the people cruelly? No, I think he would have been "more" right to take up arms and defend his home.

 

It has begun! I believe "In Purgatory's Shadow" is the episode I've been waiting for since I learned one major plot point of DS9 was the Dominion war. Great episode all around. It's interesting to note that when the real Bashir shows up, he's wearing the old Starfleet uniform... I wonder why he doesn't ask Worf about his new uniform. Unless, before leaving for that seminar or whatever it was from which he was taken, he heard new uniforms were on the way. Odd how they change the uniforms with no reason given. Oh, I think I know why... it's because in Star Trek: First Contact, they have new uniforms, and I'm assuming Picard's Enterprise-E crew got their uniforms at the same time as Sisko's DS9 crew; maybe the first "new uniform episode" was the closest to the Stardate of First Contact, or at a point before it. Just a guess though; I'm too lazy to put in First Contact and compare Stardates (since they're such an unreliable measure anyway).

 

"By Inferno's Light" was a great follow-up/second part to "In Purgatory's Shadow". No new thoughts on the two-parter, but one thing that didn't sit well with me was Worf's Klingon Opera collection. Dax pulls out these five or six data rods and Worf acts like they're his only copies! My own Klingon Opera collection (read: Nightwish albums) I have on CD, and in Mp3 format on both my computer and my Mp3 player... plus I probably have the Mp3 files backed up on CD somewhere. The equivalent of the data rods is probably the original discs, but I have backups... so should they in the 24th century. Worf ought to get himself a 1GB USB keychain drive to store his Klingon Opera while he's on the Defiant, leave his precious originals in Dax's tender care. :P

 

Now that Cardassia is part of the Dominion, the Federation ought to supply the Maquis; even if they don't condone their methods, they can still sponsor their means, fight the war on an additional front. :P I still like the Cardassians, though I realize they haven't had much chance to come into their Dominion evil just yet. (The Bajoran sun plot was more the Founders than anything.)

 

[sunday... Nothing Saturday]

 

Wow... "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" was a heck of a treat, on a few counts. First a cameo by Voyager's Holodoc (Dr. Zimmerman and another EMH, but Robert Picardo nonetheless), second Bashir's parents (Egyptian mother, English father), and third, at the very end, a Galaxy-class ship docked on one of the upper pylons. Not to mention the bits about Bashir's "secret". This was a good episode, but not necessarily one I'd enjoy again and again.

 

It's a Sunday, but Jen/Jo is in our room watching Spaceballs, which I loved as a kid, but I'm good and tired of as an adult. I'm a little more than partially disappointed with the uncut DVD edition. It was a great movie on TV without the cussing... I bought it hoping to have a great movie to show our kids one day... but now I can't. The DVD ought to let you watch the cut TV version as well. One day I should record it (I'll need a TV tuner card in my PC for that) and burn it on DVD... :P Anyway, I figured Spaceballs is around 90 minutes long (typical 80s movie), so I could sneak in 2 DS9 episodes.

 

"A Simple Investigation" became more of a not so simple romance. I'm happy to report that Odo loses his [proverbial] cherry here; the episodes where the non-feeling characters (Data, Odo, Holodoc) get laid are always a real treat. I didn't particularly like this one, though. The mystery aspect was okay, but overall it didn't satisfy as much as others in the season.

Dude, how do you type a capital letter on each word? I know there are programs that can do that (convert to title caps) but it must be rather taxing to type like that.

 

The [Dominion] Founders weren't the only xenophobes... have a look at the Bajorans as well. They don't show that aspect as much, but they do show it when the Bajorans are given a chance to be.

 

I completely forgot about the supposed limitation of DS9 being on a space station long before I became a Niner. It's not a limitation at all. Yes, it is very different, but there are other things to focus on. Such as character development, and the development of the relationship between Cardassia(ns), Bajor(ans), and the Federation. I know nothing about Gene's vision, but DS9 is an accomplishment for anyone to be proud of. I'm sure Roddenberry would be. Besides, most of the "DS9 is a station, not a ship" crowd don't like Voyager much more, they pretty much like TOS and maybe TNG. It's pure hypocrisy that they don't give Voyager the same respect. If you like the series Roddenberry worked directly on, that's fine, but to say DS9 is bad just because they're all on a station is BS. TOS and TNG were classics, but DS9 and Voyager represent the best of modern science fiction.

I can sort of understand Kai Winn. She was basically an empty person who used the Bajoran faith as a crutch. My evil stepmother (and that's no exxageration) is the same way with Christianity. Not all Christians use their faith as a crutch, or an excuse, but this woman did, and it almost felt like Kai Winn was modeled after her, or people like her. It's truly scary that there are so many people in the world like that for the Trek producers to base Winn on.

 

As a villain, I kind of like her. She was annoying at first, but it became fun to see her pitted against the station, and the good Bajorans. I can't wait to see what happens to her by the end of the series.

Here's another. Voyager's Ethan Phillips (Neelix) plays a Ferengi in the TNG episode "Menage a Troi". I haven't seen the TNG episode in question, so I don't know how obvious it is.

 

It doesn't bother me at all. I haven't voted, since I don't feel it added to or detracted from the franchise much.

 

It does however show a limitation, as there are plenty of actors out there that they did not need to double up roles as they did. Were all of the Trek actors so talented that they were so much better than other actors, that the producers were so hard-pressed to fill roles, that they had to double up? That's the question it presents me... but it doesn't really bother me.

... but not like DS9, which is easily the most involved and intricate [Trek] series yet.

{snip}To me that's one of the things that makes DS9 the best Trek series of any of them, but to others that's the reason they don't like it. I'm not sure why, maybe it's an "attention span" thing.

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I think it's more of a "not having watched it from the beginning" thing. Like I said, I thought it was confusing when it was on TV. I really felt like you had to know what came before.

 

With TNG, you can watch it mostly in any order. Jen (Jo) says she likes TNG so far, about 60% of the way through the first season... I just can't wait until she gets to where they were spending $1 million an episode, episodes like "The Best of Both Worlds" and "All Good Things". There were others, of course, but episodes like that made me really fall in love with Star Trek. Those, and the Holodeck episodes, and the one where Data has nightmares... lots of good stuff ahead, far ahead. Season 1 of TNG feels like an updated TOS so far.

 

And I know she'll be hooked with DS9. She doesn't completely understand why I was almost late picking her up from work Friday night watching the end of "By Inferno's Light". I told her a little bit about the Jem'Hadar invasion, and how cool it was seeing the JH/Starfleet/Klingon fleets standing off outside DS9, but I think you really have to have been with the series from the beginning to really feel it.

 

I had a weird dream about DS9... at some point the station had been destroyed, and Starfleet built this thing that looked like the medical cruiser on Star Wars: Return of the Jedi... all bulky and white and ugly... I was contemplating not watching anymore... :P

Curzon was the Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire.

 

They made you watch The Grudge?!?! :P I'm so sorry...

 

And you'll meet Section 31 in season 6. The way it's introduced is very cool.

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Ah... I didn't know that about Curzon. Maybe it's expressly stated in a later episode; if an earlier one, I missed it.

 

"The Grudge" wasn't bad... it was very weird, and had some good scary moments.

 

 

@VBG - I haven't seen "Honor Among Thieves" yet; I have 25 more episodes to go. I'm not moving that fast. :P

 

 

@athena - I was explaining to my brother-in-law yesterday, that's why I don't watch the episodes on TV. I was talking about DS9, and he told me an episode was on earlier (that day) but that it didn't make any sense to him. I explained that I didn't like DS9 when it was on TV either. It took me watching it from episode 1 on chronologically, on the computer, at my own pace, for me to appreciate the series. Whether you download them or buy the DVDs, that's the best way to do it. There are a lot of episodes you could skip and later episodes would not be affected, but each episode is better if you've seen all the previous ones, and in order. This isn't exactly true with TNG and Voyager. They do have some things about them which you should see them in order for, but not like DS9, which is easily the most involved and intricate [Trek] series yet.

 

 

I realize I've neglected my signature. It's now updated. Being on Dialup has limited what I do... plus on this (and every other Invision I post at) forum I've got signatures, avatars, and posted images (including emoticons) disabled. It really speeds things up, but has the side effect of not reminding me I need to update my signature.

When hearing the new System of a Down single "Question!" on the radio, do you think of Major Kira on DS9?

 

The line Sweet berries ready for two ghosts are no different than you starts the song and is repeated three other times... well, the way the guy pronounces "berries" comes out sounding almost like "Neris" (Nerys?). There might be a "b" rather than an "n" sound, but I don't pick it up. I asked my girlfriend what she thought they were saying, but she had already looked up the lyrics online and knew what it was. I was hoping to get the perspective of someone who didn't know what he was saying, and had never heard Kira's first (actually last, Bajoran names are Japanese style) name.

 

Very strange... When I hear it I can't help but hear "Sweet Neris" and chuckle...

@LotB - Yeah, Worf+Dax started in Season 5, but it was a long time coming, since Dax is a big fan of Klingon culture, mostly because Curzon was involved with Klingons. The episode "Let He Who is Without Sin" that I just watched a day or two ago goes into their relationship... which probably started in "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places".

 

I wouldn't recommend against getting the episodes on DVD if you can, but if you're pressed for funds, high speed internet and BitTorrent would actually be cheaper. You should be able to get the whole DS9 series in 2-4 months, provided you've got about 75GB free hard drive space. Even including the cost of a 300GB hard drive (I got mine on Newegg.com for about $140) it's cheaper than $600 for the whole series on DVD. Though, if you can afford it, it would be a great addition to any DVD library. B)

 

"Things Past" was another good what-the-hell-is-going-on episode. Sisko, Odo, Dax, and Garak transported 7-9 years in the past to the days of Tarak'nor (sp?) forced into the identities of three infamous Bajorans (we never learned who Dax was supposed to be). Confusing episode until the very end when they explain it... but still pretty good.

 

The next day... My goal for today is to watch "For the Uniform" (5x13) and the episodes leading up to it. Five... not so hard. And that will set me up to watch "In Purgatory's Shadow" and "By Inferno's Light" tomorrow with no challenge. OK, I watched only one ("Things Past") yesterday, but my sister in law and her boyfriend kidnapped me, fed me burritos, gave me a couple beers, and we watched The Grudge so I had an excuse.

 

"The Ascent" was okay. Not as good as the first eight episodes of season five, but not bad either. Jake and Nog forced to live together, and Quark and Odo forced to brave a mountain together. We still don't know who planted the bomb on the Runabout.

 

When do we meet this "Section 31" organization I've heard about?

 

Jalepeno poppers are in the oven (don't tell Jo!) and I've got two more to go.

 

"Rapture" was a much better episode. If Sisko didn't fully appreciate his faith in the Bajoran prophets before (yes, I remember the episode "Accession" where Sisko handed over the Emissary post for an episode), he does now. Was Bajor right to reject Federation membership because of something the Emissary may have seen in a vision? And were Jake and Bashir right to save Sisko's life rather than allow him to complete his vision? Hard choices, but I think the characters in question made the right decision. And this is the episode where the DS9 crew start wearing the new uniforms.

 

"The Darkness and the Light" was fun to watch. A serial killer/assassin killing Kira's friends in the Bajoran Resistance. Not much to say other than that I enjoyed watching it.

 

"The Begotten" was good as well. Odo acquires a "baby" Changeling, and tries to raise it, and the Bajoran doctor who found Odo comes aboard to help. The two reconcile their differences, Kira has the O'Brien's baby, and Odo gets his shapeshifting abilities back when the "baby" dies.

 

I got doing other things and didn't get to see "For the Uniform" today. I'll watch that and at least the two following it tomorrow.

 

(Time reference: "Things Past" remarks two days ago, the rest yesterday. I would have posted yesterday, but I got kicked. Damn AOL Dialup.)

The dematerialization is centuries ahead of us... but the real catch is rematerialization. If storage advances to the point where you can store a pattern, what's to stop you from making two of a person? With the exception of the Thomas Riker case (which is a different scenario altogether), Trek doesn't really explore this possibility very far. What may be more popular than actual teleportation would be parents making daily "backups" of their kids... and it would have to be public, non-military uses which would drive demand up and costs down, for such a technology to take hold.

 

Then you have to figure, if the military can beam up war criminals such as OBL against their will, what's to stop a pedophile from entering very specific specifications they want and beaming such children into their dens? Something would inevitably come out to protect people from transport, and everyone would get one, and transporting someone without their permission would become impossible... hence no military applications. Surely the military knows this already.

I've always gotten Star Trek and other TV shows from filesharing networks, from long before the TV shows all came out on DVD. Star Trek has always been available on VHS, but for unreasonable prices (unless you had a favorite you just had to have). For a while I just downloaded episodes I recognized the titles of, and watched them randomly. Then I discovered BitTorrent, which could be used to download whole series, by the season, in perfect DVD quality, with no television watermarks or commercials. I have a 19" computer monitor, so I just watch them on the computer.

 

It would be nice to have the three series I like (TNG, DS9, and Voyager) on DVD, but they're way too expensive, and the discs have far too few episodes per disc versus what the format supports. With mine, I can get 11 or 12 episodes on each disc... each series is 15 DVD+R discs and takes up about 75GB of hard drive space. The next television I get (long ways away...) will have S-video in on the back, so I'll be able to hook the computer up to that, and watch them on a much bigger screen.

I think they stayed away from popular music

for a reason. as stated classical and opera  have have

been around for centerties.

But whats popular today may not and usally

is not tomorrow.

The music they used is timeless todays music is not

It would also have dated the shows to a certain time.

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Agreed as well, but...

 

They wouldn't have to use new music. Stuff that has come out in the last 5-10 years would be a mistake. Older stuff, though, you can pretty much judge what's timeless and what isn't. The Beatles are timeless. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix... this stuff is going to be around and popular for a very long time. It's stood the test of time. Not as long as classical, but more people today know more about Led Zeppelin than they do about Ludwig von Beethoven and his work. That's not to say classical won't outlive classic rock, but it's got the advantage of its youth.

 

They wouldn't have to use popular music, either. If an American audience heard some of the stuff I like in a show, it would sound very foreign, and could be passed as futuristic, because it's so far removed from popular music. Using my example, Nightwish... what's the most popular metal out today? Disturbed and Godsmack? Mudvayne and Slipknot? Nightwish are light-years away from that stuff. NW and bands like them could work well as 24th century rock, at least to American audiences.

 

...And even if something that is popular now is not popular in 10 years, music styles have a way of coming back. It's been stated on TNG at least, that their computers contain record of everything ever recorded (I know I heard that once), so the idea of the whole of 1980s or 1990s or 2000s music culture re-emerging is not a remote one. Though it does conflict with the utopian nature of the Federation.

NEVER, and I'll tell you why. The technology in Star Trek is all fictional. Most of the technobabble is pure improvisation. They have to spit out something to make it realistic, but since none of it means anything, I just let it go in one ear and out the other.

 

There are some terms you should take note of, but they should be pretty obvious. Phasers and torpedoes, impulse and warp engines. There are some basics established for how these technologies work, that you can learn, for example that warp engines run on dilithium... but most of the time, they're just making stuff up with little regularity and consistency. They do a good job of it, but it's all faked... and it never confuses me. Not because I know what they're talking about - I do not - but because I don't let it distract me from watching/enjoying the show and understanding what the episode is really about. None of them are "about" the technobabble, that's just a means to an end.

Not really. Or, at least, I've never thought about it that way.

 

There are a couple regular characters I don't particularly care for... from time to time.

"The Assignment" was good... not quite like any episode I've seen before. Keiko gets posessed by an unknown entity, and has O'Brien conspiring to sabotage the station, and worse. Personally I think he should have transported Molly somewhere safe, like Ops, right from the beginning. And then taken his chance with a phaser set to maximum stun... save himself a lot of trouble.

 

"Trials and Tribble-ations" was OK... I really think most of the appeal of this one was the editing of the DS9 crew into the TNG episode "The Trouble With Tribbles", though. It was a landmark episode, doing something they hadn't done before (and as far as I know, didn't do again). I didn't realize Klingons looked so normal in the original Star Trek... Nice how Worf dodges the question about the evolution of Klingons... but is that question ever really answered, or just swept aside?

 

"Let He Who is Without Sin" gives us our first look at Riza (Risa?), at least on DS9. And I don't recall seeing it on TNG, if it was at all. The episode raises an important question: is the Federation too pampered to deal with a Borg or Dominion assault? It's a hard question, easier asked through the veil of science fiction; one could ask the same thing about America after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Are we really prepared? And more importantly, do we let the terrorists (Borg, Dominion) "win" by changing our way of life? And I think that's the point the episode made, although it wasn't directly stated. In the Trek universe, we don't have the distinctions of nationality (for example, Sisko being African-descent and O'Brien being Irish-descent) but rather the distinction of species (they're both Human), and like Americans and British, Humanity is defined by freedom, and to give that up to accept military rule is to let the terrorists win. The real-world debate has no place in this discussion (I believe this board has a forum for that, but that's not here), but we can debate the fictional Trek situation similarly as we like. And I think the answers will ultimately come in later episodes and seasons. So while this episode didn't feature the Dominion or the Borg, the point of the episode makes it very important.

 

Do the Borg make an appearance in DS9, or were they only in TNG and Voyager?