#jadzia dax out of uniform series

[the-last-dillpickle]

DS9 trivia from IMDB - Part 1

- Colm Meaney was initially reluctant about signing onto the series. Meaney was comfortable playing O'Brien on an episode by episode basis for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), and at the time, was unsure if he wanted to play a full time television role.  

- 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.  

- Constable Odo was originally envisioned as a young Clint Eastwood type. When Rene Auberjonois was called in for his audition, the casting director told him that none of the previous actors had been "grouchy enough". So Auberjonois improvised his lines using his most gravelly voice, and secured the role. Odo's scoff eventually became such a character trademark that the screenwriters would often script it into his lines (as "harrumph!"), much to Auberjonois' annoyance.  

- Michael Dorn did not want to reprise his role as Worf, since the daily make-up application was exhausting, and he was relieved to be able to move on. Dorn said that the salary he was offered made him reconsider.  

- The Dominion storyline was originally only meant to span two episodes. Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr lobbied to make the storyline on-going, but met with resistance from Executive Producer Rick Berman, who wanted to maintain an episodic format to the series. After Berman left production to oversee the launch of Star Trek: Voyager (1995), Moore and Behr were given more creative control over this series, making the Dominion War the main plot of the show, and adopting a serialized format.   

- Wolf 359, mentioned as the battle site between the Borg and the Federation where Sisko lost his wife, is a real star that is seven and a half light-years from Earth.  

- In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996) when Sisko and Dax see Kirk and Spock, Dax has the hots for Spock. In August 2017, Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) got engaged to Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy (Spock).  

- The jars of "pills" in Dr. Bashir's office were filled with M&Ms. In many instances during the early episodes, the level of the pills would change between shots because crew members kept stealing them. The problem was solved by epoxying the lids in place.   

- When Colm Meaney was fitted for his Deep Space Nine uniform, he made two requests of the costume designers. He explained that unlike the officers, the non-commissioned Chief O'Brien was a working man. So he needed to be able to roll up his sleeves, and he needed pockets for his tools. The costume department altered his uniform accordingly.  

- The character of Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd), the Lurian bar patron who is always seen sitting at Quark's bar, was written as a nod to the character of Norm Peterson, played by George Wendt on Cheers (1982). Morn is an anagram of Norm. The mask worn by Shepherd originally had no opening for the mouth, so make-up artist Michael Westmore gave him lips over the course of the series, in case the character needed to speak. Several lines for Morn were scripted over the years, but unfortunately for Shepherd, these were always written out at the last moment. So Morn never said one word during the entire run of the show, leading to a running gag where bar patrons, station crew members and civilian residents often mention that Morn is excessively talkative off-screen, and "never shuts up."  

[quasi-normalcy]

Star Trek series rated by horniness (as rated by me, an asexual, so you know its objective):

Star Trek: The Original Series - what is there to say for the series that invented slashfic, fuck-or-die, and Thiess's theory of titillation in costuming? The universe is full of greased-up pecs and scantily clad women wondering what is this thing you call...love? It's easier to mention the episodes that *aren't* horny. 10/10, for how could it be otherwise?

Star Trek: The Animated Series - It's a Saturday morning cartoon series from the 70s, and yet... 3/10, for the surprising number of scantily clad muscular guys

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Oh, we *start* quite horny; Roddenberry is keen to let us know that the android has a penis in the second episode; but then Roddenberry dies, and by the final season even Troi is wearing a sensible duty uniform. 6/10 for Will Riker, though

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - We've got Quark's, where the women are scantily clad, the holosuites are for fucking, and the waiters give themselves ear infections from doing too much oo-mox on themselves. We've got Jadzia Dax, who has three hundred years worth of sexcapades in two genders and will tell you about them at the drop of a hat. We've got Bashir and his sad blue balls for the first two seasons. We've got Klingons breaking each other's clavicles to initiate coitus. And we've got an enemy power led by the perpetual mind-melting gangbang that canonically is the Great Link. 9/10

Star Trek: Voyager - Weirdly conservative in its sexual politics. I mean, it goes out of its way to stick poor Jeri Ryan in that body condom, and there's a whole episode about space whales wanting to fuck the ship, and another one about Janeway wanting to fuck an Irishman, and *two* episodes about Pon Farr...actually, you know what? 6/10.

Star Trek: Enterprise - You know what, let me tell you about this series; this series is like a 14-year-old asexual boy boasting about his supposed sexual conquests in the hopes that it will endear him to the cool kids. It doesn't work; there's nothing genuine about it and everyone knows it; no matter how many innuendos he throws in, it's clear that there's no joy in it for him and he'd be happier if he could just go off and read comic books. Secretly, he wishes his friends still wanted to play with action figures. -1/10

Star Trek: Discovery - The show presents us with wall-to-wall gays who just...never seem to shtup each other. Like, I of all people know that sex doesn't define queerness, but...really? I guess maybe they're afraid of being less than wholesome? Anyways, 2/10 for that time that the Emperor went off to fuck a couple of Orions in the middle of a dangerous secret mission on the Klingon homeworld.

Star Trek: Picard - A series so sexless that it can't even show its main canonical couple enjoying each other's company for more than 5 seconds each season. And yet the chaste Jurati/Borg Queen pairing manages to be the hottest thing ever in the history of fiction. Anyway, I guess they technically had Agnes sleep with Rios in the first season, so 1/10.

Star Trek: Lower Decks - Oooh boy, we're at the heavy hitter now, my god. Completely, unashamedly horny. Gene Roddenberry *wishes* he could have done that orgy scene that people on Twitter were freaking out about. 11/10

Star Trek: Prodigy- They're *kids*. 0/10

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Not really a lot, surprisingly given their TOS pastiche. Still, we get some stuff with Spock. 3/10.

[opinions-about-tiaras]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is back for a second season after an EXTREMELY strong freshman outing, and I’d like to talk a bit about an opportunity this show has, if not this season than at some point, to right some previous wrongs.

I’m speaking specifically of those done to Jolene Blalock, and to her character, T’Pol. Let’s dive in, under the cut! This’ll be a long one.

All of the classic 20th century Trek series (TOS through to the end of ENT) had a female actress and character they did not do especially right by either on or off screen. TOS had Grace Lee Whitney’s Yeoman Rand, and Roddenberry did... not always treat Nichelle Nichols appropriately. (Roddenberry had real problems with women at times.)

TNG had Marina Sirtis’ Deanna Troi, forced to constantly parade around in that cleavage-showing onesie and regularly being written into really gross and weird situations. It also had Gates McFadden’s Beverly Crusher; the show just very clearly had no fuckin’ clue what to do with an actress of McFadden’s caliber, and while she had some incredibly episodes (Remember Me is one of the best of the series) she was grossly underutilized.

DS9 fares the best here; Terry Farrell’s Jadzia Dax was generally given a lot to work with on-screen and her character was treated with respect and dignity. Off-screen, however, she was basically harassed into quitting the show by Rick Berman. (She spoke out in detail about this for the first time very extensively in the 2018 DS9 documentary What We Left Behind.)

VOY never knew what the fuck to do with Jennifer Lien’s Kes, and it must have been extraordinarily humiliating for her to be fired to free up money for Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine. Seven, of course, became a colossal fan favorite and ended up having some dynamite scripts and episodes, holding up a LOT of the back half of VOY... but we can’t pretend or ignore that she wasn’t brought onto the show because they wanted a hot piece of ass to pour into those awful shiny skintight uniforms. Or that she wasn’t given some weird and gross materiel to try and make work.

And then we come to ENT, and Jolene Blalock’s T’Pol.

Blalock had a thankless task. She was the best part of ENT, hands down, carrying that show on her back through four seasons. For this, she was constantly put in very tight, revealing outfits while the rest of the cast got to wear, you know, uniforms, and T’Pol was often written as either a ball-breaking bitch there to be shown up by the much more clever and emotional humans, or as nearly on the verge of an explosive meltdown herself. She had a whole plotline devoted to her addiction to space cocaine.

The absolute nadir was probably the time Rick Berman responded to a press question about upcoming episodes saying they had a “fun, sexy T’Pol episode” coming up... and that “fun and sexy episode” was her getting mind-raped by another Vulcan.

(Rick Berman was a piece of shit and the franchise prospered in the 90s in spite of, rather than because of, him.)

This isn’t to say she wasn’t in episodes of worth; ENT managed to right the ship in the third and fourth seasons with the involvement of the Reeves-Stevenses, and even before that she was rather the breakout star in the same way Jeri Ryan had been on VOY before her. (It probably helped that, with respect to the rest of the cast, Blalock was leagues ahead of them as an actor and it showed.) But she wasn’t treated well, and she hasn’t been shy in speaking up about it.

This was all two decades ago, of course. What’s happening now?

Well, Star Trek as a franchise has been making some effort to... sort of apologize. I yield to no man in my utter contempt for Star Trek: Picard; I consider it a creative failure on almost every level, yes, even Season 3. But something it resolutely did RIGHT is to revisit the franchises female characters and try and make amends for past wrongs. Seven of Nine was allowed to grow into this complex, weary, mature woman, a proper leading character, treated with respect by the narrative she was in. Ditto Deanna Troi. Beverly Crusher... okay, it’s kind of weaksauce to have the doctor man the weapons console and blow some ships the hell up and quip about it as a way of demonstrating “Doctor Crusher was cool then and she is cool now, dammit” but their hearts were in the right place even if their writerly talents weren’t up to the job.

Which brings us all the way back around to Strange New Worlds, and the opportunity this affords narratively.

A major ongoing theme of SNW is Ethan Peck’s Spock trying to find his feet within both Starfleet and within Vulcan society as he grapples with his mixed heritage. This has been a theme of the character since Leonard Nimoy’s day, of course, but Strange New Worlds is finding new ground to break; Nimoy’s Spock was more mature, more seasoned, largely understanding himself and possessed of a strong, inner self-confidence and unflappability. SNW is showing him BECOMING that man we saw in TOS. Spock always engaged with Kirk as an equal, even if Kirk technically outranked him, but he clearly engages with Chris Pike as a MENTOR, which is a wonderfully different dynamic.

You know who slots directly into this narrative space, these narrative themes? Motherfucking T’Pol, that’s who.

You cannot tell me that T’Pol would not have a burning, intense interest in the first product of a mixed human/Vulcan marriage. Spock is the shadow of what might-have-been for her and Trip Tucker; where their own mixed child, conceived in secrecy and violence as a weapon, did not survive, Spock lives and thrives.

T’Pol was an unwelcome, burdensome addition to the NX-01 Enterprise, needing to constantly claw and scratch to earn the respect, trust, and confidence of her peers, distrusted by the human authorities and regarded as a suspect borderline failure by her own government. Spock is a beloved member of the NCC-1701 Enterprises family almost from day one, the first Vulcan to go through the Academy, the first of his people to be “proper” Starfleet... and a huge part of the reason he’s able to be that is the work T’Pol put in when in the UEG Starfleet, and the colossal lift she preformed in reforming Vulcan society. The High Command in her day would not have countenanced Sarek and Amanda’s marriage, and would never have admitted Spock to the Academy.

Spock exists because of T’Pol.

T’Pol would know this. SPOCK would know this. There’s no way he has not read, extensively, of the Vulcan first officer of the NX-01 Enterprise. T’Pol, in turn, would have maintained an appropriately Vulcan interest in Spock’s career, his successes and failures. As an elder, respected Vulcan, she would likely have nudged it along to the extent she was capable. She would have mentored.

This all creates a ton of narrative space for T’Pol to appear on SNW, to have some really dynamite interactions with Spock and T’Pring, and more importantly for her to get the same “uplift” that Seven of Nine, Troi, and Crusher got in Picard, just... hopefully with a lot better writing behind it.

Maybe the writers aren’t interested in going in this direction. Maybe Blalock has zero interest in returning to the franchise. But dammit, this possibility should be explored and explored aggressively. It’s a golden opportunity to salvage some of the best parts of ENT, which was, yes, a very bad Star Trek show but had some things of worth in it, and to do right by another woman, and another character, the franchise wronged.

#strange new worlds #star trek #star trek enterprise #t'pol #spock

[animentality]

#star trek #ds9 #tng #yeah #the misogyny of star trek

[fourthreee]

Saw a post a while back about favourite and least favourite bits of star trek and I wanted to join in. So here's my two cents :

Original Star Trek

Favourite: Spock. Bones. Scotty. Uhura. Kirk. Chapel. Sulu. Chekov. EVERYONE. The sets. The lighting. The camp. The blatant homoeroticism. The do or die for each other crew. That time they found an alien that was just a pomeranian wearing fancy headgear. The fact that every episode is self contained and ends with a little bit where everyone stands around the conn and chats. Leonard Nimoy. Sulu with a sword. Sulu the rest of the time.EVERYONE. This is my favourite trek, and the one I return to over and over again. First trek is best trek.The bell bottom trousers and cuban heel knee high boots. More kinky boots, modern trek, d'ya hear me? More kinky boots.

Least favourite: When the show reveals how terribly it can abandon everything that makes it good. Of all the episodes, there's about a third I just cannot watch. Times where they fill it full of weird christian metaphor.

TNG

Favourite: Geordie and Data. And Spot. I keep trying to watch this but I've only ever seen A Fistful of Datas. IT was great. And horribly horribly slow. (oh. And one where Picard chases bandits through the ship armed only with a saddle and while dodging a laser car wash. That one was great. Except for when I rewatched this as an adult. When it was horrifying.)

Least favourite: Invented the holodeck which gets used too much later and which always confuses me. Can't watch holodeck episodes without obsessing over how it works. Everything is carpeted and it panics me. Why are there wall to wall carpets in the future. In high traffic areas. Also it was genrerally too slow and difficult to watch. And whil I love Hornblower I have a headmaster nor a Naval Captain fetish, so Picard never does it for me.

DS9

Favourites: Everyone. Everyone together. I want Sisko to be my dad. Or my friend. Or my Captain. All of the above. Julian Bashir trans icon. Jadzia Dax trans icon. Everyone is poly and queer. Ferengi episodes. Kira Nerys lesbian energy. Every 36 hours I turn into a liquid. I can swim. The whole Odo marrying Lwxwna episode. Our Man Bashir. He was more than a hero. He was a Union Man. It's written all over his back.

Least favourite : When they switched to serialised I do struggle to keep watching. Taking away Kira's butch haircut and stompy boots. Show never recovered from that. Any time they give Kira a beard. I've never finished the series bc I couldnt face the Julian/parents arc or the Jadzia death/Julian and Ezri thing. When they stopped Andrew Robinson from being on screen with Siddig El Fadil. Any time Dukat got more than a minute airtime. Any executive decision Rick Berman made.

Voyager:

Favourites: Seven of 9. Harry Kim. Janeway. B'elanna. The time they all opereated the French Resistance out of a bar. Stand alone episodes. The time Janeway definitely slept with Amerlia Earhart. The time Janeway ran around in a dirty singlet with a big gun. That episode where they hide the telepaths in the buffers of the transporters to sneak past a moustache twirling villain while Janeway flirts with him like they're both opponent pirate captains with insane homoerotic tension. Ther's coffee in that nebula.

Least favourites: The Doctor. Seven not getting a uniform. Tom Paris any time he's not just Harry Kim's boyfriend. Janeway's inconsistent characterisation. The fact that phages might be a real world last line defence against antibiotic resistance but thanks to voyager it will always terrify me. I've never made it to the end because Tom/B'elanna was too hard to watch and I didn't know how to deal with them actually getting home. Ithink they never should have. Any executiev decision Rick Berman made.

Enterprise:

Favourites: I have seen two episodes and Hoshi Sato has my heart forever. Phlox is great. Tight-wound angry queer british guy can stay too. Travis is great. Theme song is terrible and I love it. It's so incongruent. Sounds like the sort of country song you listen to while committing suicide in the bathtub. Can't stop singing it. The fact that it killed Rick Berman's career.

Least favourite: Everything else. The dog in particular. Why is it there. Why is it soulless. Poor Jolene Blalock. Why are their uniforms so bad. I love a jumpsuit but they didn't colour code them properly! Every executive decision Rick Berman made.

JJ Abrams:

Favourites: Nothing. This is terrible.. If you can't make up you own characters why are you butchering my boys. Go away.

Least Favorites: Trying to remake wrath of Khan (the worst movie with the original cast imo) without even bothering to buiild the relationship that makes us care. Why is he still white? Why are they in a brewery? Why is Pike a hot dad now? He's a wreck of the american masculine heroic ideal who exists as a counterpoint to Kirk. If tumblr wants to make his doomed ass a poor little meow meow fine. JJ Abrams shouldnt put him in his movie. Every exectuive decision they made about women in this movie. Making Sulu gay in massive disrespect to Takei's depiction of him and Takei's own acting skills. Making everyone else straight in the worst possible way. Pretending miniskirts in 2009 meant the same thing as in 1969. Also I stoppped after the first couple because it was starting to feel like self harm. Blue orbs. The fact their chracterisation feels like if you'd never star trek but a cabbie had explained it you once badly, and the fact that literally WAS WHAT HAPPENED

Oh wait. Leonard Nimoy cameo. only good thing.

Discovery.

Favourites: Wanted to love it. Couldn't see what was going on because it was too dark. Everytime I tried in spite of that I fell in love with many parts of it, then they immediately fucked it over. they fucked over a thing I love. Michael Burnham? In jail for unfair reasons. Cap. Georgiou? Dead. Burnham should be Captain, and I think she still isn't. I don't know I couldnt see. Etc etc. Apparently it gets better but It's too serialised to start in the middle.

Least Favourites: Too dark. Bad uniforms (Why would you bring back the ENTERPRISE uniforms of all things?) The fact that klingons are now middle eastern coded so that they still align with the zeitgeist of who we're being xenophobic again right now. (OOHscary FIGHTYculture is Russian. No WAIT black. NO middle eastern. yeah) Jason Isaacs. I liike my villains NOT on the crew. Why does EVERYONE have to be related to Spock

Lower Decks: I don't do this format of cartoons.

Prodigy: I don't do this kind of animation either.

SNW:

Too dark to see. Also stop just redoing the original characters. Make your own. For years now I get excited about new Star Trek and it ALWAYS either too dark to see or animated to see or just about tos characters done badly. At which point I'll just go watch tos. Also remember when Star Trek uniforms actually looked futuristic? Yeah, me too.

Turn the lights back on and maybe we can talk.

#long post #og 4:3 #star trek #this makes me painfully aware of how few shows I actually watch all the way through #i have the attention span of a squirrel #wrote this ages ago the found it in my drafts

[starfleetimagines]

Mobile Masterlist

I figured it might be easier for my readers to find my previous imagines if I make a mobile masterlist that I update at the same time as I update my desktop one. So here it is! I’ll add to it when I post new imagines, so it should always be up to date. Some imagines are listed in multiple series if the character is found in both - like Q or Pike, for example.

If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi (it’s as low as $1CAD and it’ll go towards my education funds) or check out my commissions! Please check my bio and title to see if requests are open before requesting.

Alternate Original Series/The Original Series:

Being Leonard “Bones” McCoy’s younger sister would include…

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - “Have you lost your damn mind?!”

Being Jim Kirk’s twin would include…

Jim Kirk - “I can’t explain right now, but I need you to trust me.”

Jim Kirk - “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to seduce me.”

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - “I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - “Were you ever going to tell me?”

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - mismatched uniforms

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - you get hurt

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - medical anxiety

Montgomery “Scotty” Scott- “That’s a promise.”

Leonard “Bones” McCoy- flirting in sickbay

Pavel Chekov - Period Cuddles

Pavel Chekov - Moving Forward

Jim Kirk - Family

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - Shore Leave

Montgomery “Scotty” Scott - Open Waters

Dating Leonard “Bones” McCoy Would Include…

Being Pavel Chekov’s Betazoid Wife Would Include…

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - Study Date

Spock and Uhura’s Wedding Would Include…

Leonard “Bones” McCoy - Dance Practice

Pavel Chekov - Set Up

The Enterprise Crew Finding Out You’re Bisexual Would Include…

Montgomery “Scotty” Scott x Jayla - Graduation

Spock and Uhura Having A Baby Would Include...

Spock - “To say that was unexpected is an understatement.”

Spock - Fireplace

Deep Space Nine:

Julian Bashir - “Cuddle me.”

Julian Bashir - “It’s almost midnight.”

Julian Bashir - “Just kiss me.”

Odo - “Are you hurt?”

Julain Bashir - “Please hold me.”

Benjamin Sisko - “How do you cope?”

Garak - “I’ll keep you warm.”

Dukat - you get hurt trying to defend him

Odo - you’re his adopted child

Miles x Keiko x Reader - Sunflowers

Julian Bashir - Insecurities

Enemies To Lovers With Odo Would Include…

Garak - Pregnant

Garak - Lulled To Sleep

Quark (platonic) - Marital Advice

Garak - “So, you like me?”

Garak - Rescue Party

Julian Bashir - Growing Family

Garak - Presents

Ezri Dax x Julian Bashir - Moving In

Julian Bashir (platonic) - Worries

Kira Nerys - Stress

Kira x Dax - Pride Month

Weyoun - “I don’t understand.”

Nog x Jake - Pleasure

Weyoun - “You’re the only one for me.” [NSFW]

Weyoun - “Please wake up.”

Enemies to Lovers With Kira Nerys Would Include...

Weyoun 6 Living on the Station Would Include...

Worf x Jadzia - “I love us.”

Weyoun - “Why did you take that shot for me?”

Cuddling With Weyoun Would Include...

Discovery:

Gabriel Lorca - “Did I stutter?”

Ash Tyler - “I need you.”

Saru - Christmas Gifts

Saru - You’re Overworked

Michael Burnham - “That was hot.”

Michael Burnham - She Saves Your Life

Saru - Confidence Boost

Christopher Pike - Longing

Christopher Pike - Longing part 2

Sylvia Tilly - Romance In Sickbay

Saru - Homesick

Ash Tyler x Michael Burnham - “Breathe with me.”

Christopher Pike - You’re In Labour

Being Saru’s First Officer and Best Friend Would Include...

Spock - “To say that was unexpected is an understatement.”

Enterprise:

Jonathan Archer - “Leave her alone.”

Malcolm Reed - you’re his sister

Trip Tucker - de-con talks

Malcolm Reed - PDA

Jonathan Archer - jefferies tube acoustics

Jonathan Archer - “Did you enjoy yourself last night?”

Jonathan Archer - “For some reason, I’m attracted to you.”

Dating Jonathan Archer would include…

Malcolm Reed - “Stop talking about the past, I could be dead in a matter of hours… make me up a future.”

Being friends with Trip Tucker would include…

Jonathan Archer - “Go then, leave! See if I care!”

Malcom Reed - “Oh my god! You’re in love with them!”

Trip Tucker - you’re shy

Jonathan Archer - “I thought you were dead.”

Malcolm Reed - you’re taken hostage

Trip Tucker - sleepless nights

Malcolm Reed - “You make me feel like I’m not good enough.”

Jonathan Archer - “That’s almost exactly the opposite of what I meant.”

Being Trip Tucker's  twin would include…

Malcolm Reed - “Go then, leave! See if I care!”

Jonathan Archer - dress shopping

Jonathan Archer - pillow fights

Trip Tucker being your boss would include…

Cheering Jonathan Archer up would include…

Phlox - you avoid him

Jonathan Archer - nightmares

Helping Trip Tucker in engineering would include…

Jonathan Archer - horseback riding

Malcolm Reed - cuddles after a mission

Jonathan Archer - hideouts

Malcolm Reed - “Because I love you.”

Phlox - Trip sets you two up

Jonathan Archer - “This shuttle was roomier before I realized I’m attracted to you.”

Malcolm Reed - “Can I kiss you?”

Malcolm Reed - sexting on PADDs

Phlox - you hide an injury from him

Trip Tucker - “It was just a dream.”

Jonathan Archer - “Am I dreaming?”

Trip Tucker - “I just want you to hold me.”

Malcolm Reed - Emotional Trauma

Malcolm Reed - He Sees Your Scars

Trip Tucker - “Thank God you’re okay.”

Malcolm Reed - You’re Ill

Malcolm Reed - “I don’t fit in.”

Trip Tucker - Restless Nights

Enemies To Lovers With Malcolm Reed Would Include…

Malcolm Reed - Labouring Mission

Trip Tucker - Jealousy [NSFW]

Dating T'Pol Would Include…

Malcolm Reed - Nightmares

Trip Tucker - Tension

Malcolm Reed - Destiny

Malcolm Reed - “I’m broken.”

Malcolm x Trip - Caught [NSFW]

Shran - Blue Boy

Trip x T'Pol - New Life

Malcolm Reed - The Way I See You

Malcolm Reed - Confessions

Being Trip Tucker’s Sibling and Jonathan Archer’s Partner Would Include…

Trip Tucker - Helping Hand

Being Pregnant With Phlox’s Baby Would Include...

Malcolm Reed - Destressing [NSFW]

Jonathan Archer - Too Busy

Trip Tucker - “You can’t protect me forever.”

Malcolm Reed - Mistletoe

Picard:

Chris Rios - “Thank you for not dying.”

Elnor - Quiet Time

Strange New Worlds:

Christopher Pike - Longing

Christopher Pike - Longing part 2

Christopher Pike (platonic) - Mentor

Christopher Pike - Brink of Death

Spock - “To say that was unexpected is an understatement.”

Spock - Fireplace

The Next Generation:

Falling in love with Data would include…

Dating Data would include…

Data - “Is there a special reason as to why you’re wearing my shirt?”

Data - you tell Tasha and Deanna about your crush

Worf - “You did this for me?”

Data - pet names

Data - “You never told me you had a fucking twin.”

Jean-Luc Picard flirting with you would include…

Q loving you would include…

Being friends with Worf would include…

Jean-Luc Picard - he realizes he loves you

Data - “When I picture myself happy … it’s with you.”

Will Riker - midnight visits

Will Riker being a father figure to you would include…

Data - he protects you

Data - bathing with the emotion chip

Data - you repair him

Will Riker - cuddles

Dating Wesley Crusher would include…

Data - he teaches you how to fight

Will Riker - “I’m sorry I had to kick you out when you were possessed.”

First time with Jean-Luc Picard would include…

Data - “I think I forgot how to breathe.”

Q - “You’re so hot when angry.”

Wesley Crusher - “You said my name in your sleep.”

Data - you get caught kissing

Data - hometown trip

Data - stuck on a cold planet

Will Riker- “If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

Deanna Troi crushing on a girl would include…

Data - “Are you hurt?”

Reginald Barclay - Fencing

Reginald Barclay - Unexpected

Data - Teacher

Deanna Troi - Feeling Down

Data - First Meetings

Wesley Crusher - Hidden Talents

Being Will And Deanna’s Child Would Include…

Visiting Risa With Will Riker Would Include…

Will Riker - Confessions

Beverly and Jean-Luc’s Date Nights Would Include…

Data - First Date

Having Worf as a Father Figure Would Include…

Will Riker - All Partied Out

Data - “You must breathe.”

Will Riker - “I love you.”

Coming Out As Bisexual To Q Would Include…

Being Married to Jean-Luc Picard Would Include…

Worf - “What were you thinking?”

Data - Art Teacher

Beverly Crusher - “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

Being a Scientist and Dating Q Would Include...

Data - “I suppose we would make a good couple.”

Voyager:

B'Elanna Torres - best friends

Going on a date with the Doctor would include…

Tom Paris - date night

Kathryn Janeway- “You’ve only heard his side of the story. You never asked for mine.”

Doctor - “I love you, you asshole.”

Harry Kim - “I thought you were dead.”

Being friends with Tom and Harry would include…

Chakotay - near death confessions

Icheb - you’re shy

Being Harry Kim’s twin would include…

Being shy around the doctor would include…

Q Loving You Would Include…

Doctor - “You did this for me?”

Being Icheb’s friend would include…

The doctor being jealous would include…

Tom Paris - kidnapped

Harry Kim - “This shuttle was a lot roomier before …”

Keeping the doctor company would include…

Q junior - “You’re hot. Shame about your personality.”

Chakotay - “You love me.”

Q - “You’re so hot when you’re angry.”

Harry Kim - mismatched uniforms

Dating Icheb would include…

Harry Kim - he proposes

Kathryn Janeway - you’re insecure

Icheb - first date

The Doctor - talent show

Harry Kim - “Please don’t go.”

Dating Q Junior Would Include…

Chakotay x Kathryn Janeway - Dancing The Night Away

Date Night With Chakotay Would Include…

Tom Paris - Old Flames

Dating Tuvok Would Include…

Dating Seven Of Nine Would Include…

Q Junior Being Jealous Would Include…

Harry Kim - You’re Tom’s Sister

Tom x B'Elanna - “I’m scared, all right?!”

Kathryn Janeway - Locked Up

Being Kathryn Janeway’s Kid and Living on Voyager Would Include…

Coming Out As Bisexual To Q Would Include…

Tom Paris (platonic) - Different

Seven of Nine - Exploring

The Doctor (platonic) - Aromantic

Comforting Kathryn Janeway Would Include…

Tom Paris - “You are enough.”

Cuddling With Q Would Include…

Kathryn Janeway - Here For You

Friends to Lovers With Chakotay Would Include...

Harry Kim - Avoidance

Being a Scientist and Dating Q Would Include...

#star trek #star trek imagine #star trek imagines #star trek fanfiction #star trek fanfic #star trek aos #star trek alternate original series #star trek kelvin timeline #star trek ds9 #star trek deep space nine #star trek discovery #star trek disco #star trek enterprise #star trek picard #star trek strange new worlds #star trek tng #star trek the next generation #star trek voyager #star trek the original series #star trek tos

[sshbpodcast]

Something for Everyone (unless you liked Jadzia) in S7 DS9!

by Ames

How exactly does one pick top and bottom episodes from a clump that’s mostly serial? A Star to Steer Her By found a way! It’s a strange final season of Deep Space Nine that’s split almost evenly between the ongoing storyline of the show and a bunch of episodes to pad for time while the writers created that ongoing storyline for the show.

Read on below for our bests and worsts of season seven, which you can also listen to at our absurdly long series-wrap podcast episode here (jump to timestamp 1:38:05 for the season discussion), where you can hear the bonus tops and bottoms of fan-favorite guest star Liz and also the full series ratings!

[images © CBS/Paramount]

Bottom Three Episodes

This season really suffers from some characters regressing hard as if they didn’t make any development over the course of the show. Some regressed so hard, they basically restarted the character (oof, too soon…).

“Afterimage”: Chris Quick! We’ve only got a couple episodes to establish Ezri as a character because we were huge dicks to the last Dax and killed her off. Let’s rush through showcasing this new Dax in a barely formed plot mostly spent treating her like a sex object. Check, check, and check!

“Take Me Out to the Holosuite”: Ames, Caitlin Season 7 is all about wrapping up the Dominion War arc, but let’s pause that for two weeks to have a goofy baseball game that is entirely lifted from every other TV show, to wash all the sci-fi off the show, and to just crack jokes that don’t land. That’s strike three; you’re outta here!

“The Emperor’s New Cloak”: Caitlin, Jake Mirror universe episodes tend to always feel like fanfic as it is, but our final trip through the looking glass basically said “Hold My Beer.” The whole thing felt like a checklist of in-jokes, some tropey character nonsense, and even more objectifying women to round it off!

“Extreme Measures”: Ames, Caitlin Julian goes full hypocrite in this not-even-a-little-bit-surreal mindtrip when he kidnaps and tortures Sloan, gets him absolutely killed, and takes a whole episode for a boring brain adventure. This is not the Julian we thought we knew, and it’s a shame.

“Chrysalis”: Chris, Jake And that’s not even the worst thing Julian has done lately! He has fully reverted to his sleazy season-one self, grooming women so he can date them, performing surgeries on them to “fix them,” and still somehow making everything about him. Gross, Julian. Gross.

“Field of Fire”: Ames, Chris, Jake One thing we can say about our new Trill character is at least she’s consistent… because every single time we do a Trill episode, it’s entirely contradictory of all the preceding Trill episodes to the point of confoundment! Joran is the worst he’s been and what even is this new overpowered weapon?

—

Top Three Episodes

On the flip side, this season also benefits from how varied its episodes are that it really does somehow have something for everyone, especially if you love you some schlock!

“Take Me Out to the Holosuite”: Chris Sigh. Chris likes doofy, fillery episodes and I’m not even going to try to parse why this time. The uniforms looked good, I guess? That must be it. If you like doofy, fillery episodes and aren’t bored to tears by baseball, then this episode… has some good uniforms for you.

“Once More Unto the Breach”: Jake We love us a good Klingon episode and this one’s got a lot to sink your teeth into. It was an excellent send off for the long-established character of Kor, it reflected on some of the less honorable elements of Klingon culture, and Worf got to put his knife skills on display!

“Badda-Bing Badda-Bang”: Caitlin Heist episodes of the world, take note! This is how you pace and tell a concise, interesting, coherent, and clever heist story. Placement in the middle of the war arc aside, this episode gave us some great acting, costumes, music, film techniques, the works! Badda bing!

“The Siege of AR-558”: Chris, Jake We’ve also got a straight-up war episode featuring some tense ground patrol action, horrifying new weapons, and Quark with a gun! Also we see actual consequences for characters’ actions! What Star Trek so far has ever given us that before?

“Treachery, Faith, and the Great River”: Ames, Jake Proving that two Jeffrey Combses are better than one, this episode doubles your Weyouns and gives us some excellent Vorta time that really kicks you in the feels. It would take a bunch more Weyouns to reach the level of this excellent story. Those are our demands, Star Trek; get on it.

“The Changing Face of Evil”: Ames, Caitlin One of the absolute highlights of the big honkin’ ten-part finale is the Dukat-Winn relationship you never realized you needed. The hottest elements of which are all on display in this episode in particular, which are all pretty drool-worthy, but the most props go to Louise Fletcher for totally selling every moment.

“It’s Only a Paper Moon”: Ames, Caitlin, Chris This episode achieves the impossible: It gives us some really genuinely good Vic Fontaine. All the credit, of course, does go to Aron Eisenberg for his really touching and complete characterization of post-traumatic stress disorder. Thank you, ensign Nog, for being such a treasure.

—

So that’s all the season-by-season bloodwine we can spill on Deep Space Nine. We’re sad to leave the station and take our final look at the wormhole, but there’s also the full series top and bottom fives to celebrate and lament, respectively. Watch this page for more, listen to weekly episodes at our home on the web on Soundcloud, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and tell the prophets to stop it with all the baseball already!

#star trek #star trek deep space 9 #ds9 #podcast #star trek podcast #top three #bottom three #afterimage #take me out to the holosuite #the emperor's new cloak #extreme measures #chrysalis #field of fire #once more unto the breach #badda-bing badda-bang #the siege of ar-558 #treachery faith and the great river #the changing face of evil #it's only a paper moon

[onimiman]

DS9 and Star Wars Rebels for the show ask?

For DS9

my all-time ultimate fave character: tie between Elim Garak and Gul Dukat

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: Nog

a character I used to like but now don’t: I can’t think of any that fit this category

a character I’m indifferent about: Miles O’Brien

a character who deserved better: Damar; he should have lived to guide Cardassia out of the wreckage that the Dominion brought to his planet so that they could move away from the practices that made them into the society that enslaved Bajor

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: Odo/Kira

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: Can’t think of one

a cute, low-key ship: Rom/Leeta

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: N/A

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: Worf/Ezri Dax; even they knew it wasn’t to be just because Ezri had Jadzia’s memories

my favourite storyline/moment: gotta be a tie between Sisko compromising his morals in capturing Michael Eddington in “For the Uniform” and tricking the Romulans into aiding the Federation and Klingons against the Dominion in “In the Pale Moonlight”

a storyline that never should have been written: tie between “Move Along Home” and “Profit and Lace”

my first thoughts on the show: started off interesting and had promise with a broader range of more interesting characters than TNG or even TOS

my thoughts now: a triumph of storytelling that shows that you can break out of the creative mold of previously established Star Trek without having to utterly ruin it (lookin’ at you, Discovery and Picard)

For Star Wars: Rebels:

my all-time ultimate fave character: DARTH MAAAAUUUULLLLL! (the opening of Duel of the Fates plays in my head as I type that)

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: Ahsoka Tano, but that’s more of a carryover from her time in TCW

a character I used to like but now don’t: Thrawn; he had elements early on of his Zahn-esque writing, but overtime, he just became an uninteresting Disney villain

a character I’m indifferent about: Sabine Wren

a character who deserved better: Thrawn; he should have been written better, he should have had Zahn actually write for him

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: Kanan/Hera; I don’t care enough about either of them on their own to begin with

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: nada

a cute, low-key ship: none in this show

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: nada

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: no one’s interesting or subversive enough in this show to make me feel that way

my favourite storyline/moment: Kanan’s sacrifice; the only time this show was ever truly interesting when Darth Maul wasn’t around

a storyline that never should have been written: the introduction of the tentacle space whales, because then I’d love to see how the fuck the writers would have finished off this series that didn’t involve Thrawn getting defeated in that way

my first thoughts on the show: kind of uninteresting drek that I hoped would get better

my thoughts now: no, it just ended up being worse than I thought, especially when it came to Maul and Thrawn’s defeats

[racingliners]

Costume/Cosplay Wishlist

Rambly sewing post? Rambly sewing post.

So I feel like sewing is just going to be a part of my blog now some some of my pals and mutuals are actually enjoying my sewing posts (which honestly, I’m thrilled at) I don’t want to turn into a full sewing blog or anything like that, but I do want to keep sharing any current projects/makes I’m working on, or just go off about general sewing things.

As much as I love making things to wear day-to-day, making costumes/cosplays from my fandoms and favourite films is just so much fun despite going to cons not currently being a thing (but there’s always Halloween right?) so to try and help me deal with the coronavirus lockdown (and for the sake of being organised) I’m finally writing down a list of costumes and cosplays that I would love to make. Some of these might be a pipe dream, and some I’ve been hinting at for months, but this is where I’m at so far! (Spoiler alert, there’s a lot of Star Trek)

(Under a read more for the sake of not clogging up your dashes)

Star Trek Enterprise - Operations Uniform (Trip Tucker & Malcolm Reed)

So this is the Enterprise uniform that I’ve been nattering on about in the tags of some posts that is at the moment my next major sewing project as soon as I can get all the supplies I need for it! I currently have fabric, rank pips, Enterprise patch and some bias binding for the division stripes, but I still need zips, thread and an actual sewing pattern. 

There’s a fan-run company called Bad Wolf Costumes that sell patterns from uniforms from TNG, DS9, VOY and Enterprise, according to their various websites they will be selling women’s patterns soon (when soon is, who actually knows), I might still cave and buy a men’s pattern and adjust it depending on how desperate I am to start making it, but for now I’m happy to keep waiting while I beef up my sewing skills.

This is the one I’m most excited to make since Enterprise is one of my fave Trek shows, and while I know I don’t bear that much resemblance to either character, they’re my absolute favourite characters from Enterprise so of course I want to cosplay them eventually.

Star Trek Enterprise - “Two Days and Two Nights” Trip Tucker & Malcolm Reed

So the idea for this wafted into my head the other day, since TDATN is a shore leave episode and the characters are all in their civvies, it’s a cosplay that would also easily work as casual wear. I’ve been looking around for some blazer sewing patterns since I want to have a go at making some anyway, the main thing to work around would be finding patterns for dresses and fabrics that would work for both characters (the Malcolm version would be easier since it’s all unicolour fabric, but I do have a couple of ideas for the purple Trip dress (lace overlay and maybe the odd ruffle who knows???)

Star Trek Discovery - Number One

So the second I saw the TOS uniforms on Discovery I absolutely loved them, and I loved what the writers did with fleshing out Number One’s character (I’ve yet to see all the Series 2 Short Treks, but from what I’ve seen in gifsets I’m pretty sure that Number One has a spot on my favourite characters list)

This would probably have to be a self-drafted pattern but from what I can tell it doesn’t look as complex at the ENT jumpsuit or the standard Discovery uniform (as I type this, it is probably not as easy as it looks). So it’ll probably be a “for when my sewing skills are good enough project”

Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Medical & Sciences Uniform (Jadzia Dax)

As much as I love Ezri, I doubt I’d be able to pull off a pixie cut so I’d probably be better cosplaying as Jadzia (who again, is one of my fave DS9 characters). I don’t know if making the uniform or painting all the Trill spots on my self would be harder but that’s all part of the fun I guess.

The second DS9 uniform is another one of my fave Trek uniforms, I don’t know why I like it so much, but it’s just really nice.

This is also another “waiting for a women’s pattern” project that’s very much on the back burner, but I would absolutely love to make and wear it one day!

Star Trek Beyond - James T. Kirk

The re-design of the Kelvin timeline uniform for Beyond was just *chef’s kiss*, the women’s uniforms finally got ranks and the men’s uniforms just look so much nicer??? (I really liked the uniforms in the first two movies, but I was so sold on the Beyond versions the second I saw them in the cinema).

I actually bought myself a merch command badge recently with the aim of eventually using it in a Kirk cosplay, I’m leaning towards making it in the shirt and trousers style as opposed to the women’s dress version, mainly because it looks like an easier pattern to draft and make. My main issue while hunting for materials is finding the right metallic fabric for the rank stripes as well as finding something in the right colour that looks close enough to the screen used fabric.

Scoob! (2020) - Daphne Blake

Scooby-Doo was one of my favourite TV shows as a kid, and (again this is very much a recurring theme) Daphne was my favourite characters out of the bunch. So when I saw the trailer for Scoob! and saw what the animators did with Daphne’s iconic purple dress I fell in love and knew that one day, that was the version of the costume I wanted to make (mainly because of the adorable green peter pan collar they put in as a replacement for her green scarf)

Frozen II - Anna & Elsa’s final dresses

Yes, they have been made by Disney cosplayers everywhere but look-at-them-they-are-such-lovely-dresses-I-legit-can’t

I want them, that is all

Disney Midnight Masquerade - Tiana

So obviously a huge disclaimer that I would never intentionally cosplay as Tiana (as a white person that would not be appropriate of me) so this would be more of an occasion wear dress even though it is technically a costume (sort of).

I love the 20s aesthetic that Disney added to Princess and the Frog (it’s something that I’ve loved the look of since I studied Art Nouveau and The Great Gatsby at High School). And after I started following cosplayers and sewers on instagram the above sketch by Steven Thompson (based off designs by Jessica Fuchs) and the dolls that came from them started appearing in the explore feed of my instagram and I fell in love with Tiana’s dress instantly. It’s just so beautiful and looks like it would be a lot of fun to make (and maybe even wear if I do get round to making it)

#sewing #sewing thoughts #idk what this was I just really wanted to go off on one #but that's it for the moment (I think!) #I also have these in mind *without* thinking about the amount of embroidery some of these would involve #also if anyone ever wants to chat sewing or ask me questions about it then I'd be happy to do so!

[daisyachain]

through a series of happy coincidences i ended up watching What We Left Behind today (wanted to, never planned on it, happened to end up in the right place at the right time) and it was...honestly better than i had expected. a bit self-congratulatory at times, obvs taking a ‘neutral’ stance on issues where dick bitchman is well known to have been in the wrong, but the cast comments, the commentary on commentary (esp wrt non-straight rep) and especially s08e01 were well worth it

the battle sequence....Deep Space Nine was very close to perfect but some of the things that could elevate it into literal heaven would be good CGI and good fight choreography

nice to see the babes in HD

everyone was wearing these Kira shirts in the style of that famous Che Guevara poster

i mean we all knew garak was making a pass at bashir and further was very much not straight but it’s just great to have it there, in audio, said by both the showrunner and the actor. that raises us to an explicitly canonically bi/pan jadzia dax (clear in one episode and not really addressed again) and a word-of-all-gods-involved garak (clear in several episodes but patchily written due to editorial intervention)

s8e01 was FUN and interesting. 

vedek kira wasn’t what i would have picked but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. a kira who realizes that combat is no longer an option but who can’t just sit still would make an excellent missionary. changing her arena from a war of bodies to a war of minds.

i’m neutral on ezri/bashir but the plot element of them being a married captain-and-commander where ezri is more flexible and julian is secretly section 31 would be good. if they’re still on-and-off, then there aren’t the same stakes as if they’re married and julian is living a double life

on that note, section 31 julian did not seem like bashir at all, but i feel like it’s nothing a bit of midseason flashbacks couldn’t make disturbingly realistic. e.g. bashir’s strict statistical tendencies (as showcased in the episode where he and the other augments try to get the federation to surrender) and his unswerving determination to do whatever he sets out to do (initially Heal People) whatever the obstacles could result in a bashir who has seen that many bloody wars are fought over religion and who isn’t about to let another one start

fully bastard julian would be a bit of a stretch, so perhaps it’s a bit better to have him participate in some section 31 activities without knowing about what happened to nog, but then again fully bastard julian would be great if pulled off

joseph yates-sisko!! the slightly strained relationship between him and jake was kind of interesting. 

also a potentially interesting plotline was the tension between starfleet officers and the kira-run station, given that kira’s allegiance to the federation grows continuously stronger through the seven seasons (with her wearing the uniform at the end). not enough sisko sauce? kira getting jaded? federation rhetoric growing hostile towards bajor because it’s a federation-compatible system that refuses to join?

worf and garak OH YEAH

more specifically, two characters that hate each other but that are both pathologically devoted to their ‘home’ culture despite having a very difficult relationship with it and who are both devoted to duty above all

i just love the ominous chord that played when garak stepped out of the shadows of the cave, no offense to plato

who else was there. oh yes! love molly all grown up

t h e s i s k o

sisko should have returned sooner but with the premise of the experiment (write a show going on the air today) the delay is kind of baked in

#kelsey liveblogs ds9 #gosh darn i would watch the hell out of that s8 #even if it's not how i may have wanted things to go it's got the seeds of a damn good story

[kelpiencomplexities]

I love Star Trek but here’s some things that irked me in the series

They say you tear apart the things you love the most

1) Before Disco there was no real LGBTQA+ representation:

The first time we got sorta representation was when Riker falls in love with Soren in The Outcast, now I know this is a potentially controversial opinion but Soren identifies as not Gender-less but as a Woman (”female”) so still it’s a hetero relationship, also if Soren was played by an actor who is trans I would consider it an actual attempt at including People who are Transgender in Star Trek. (It’s more akin to Eddy R playing a man whose trans, or when Scarlet J was poised to play a woman whose trans)

The second time we could have had a shot was in Past Prologue where Julian Bashir and Elim Garak first meet. Initially that scene was first wrote as Garak potentially flirting with Bashir, but then once again the Show Runners/Sponsors were like nope! No non-straight content here! And then afterwords re-wrote the scene so that Garak was simply trying to coax some intel out of Bashir. (The whole Garak/Bashir thing angered me, Andrew Robinson even said he tried to put as much “subtext” into Garak as he could get away with, and even still claims that Garak is an Omnisexual which gets further explored in his own novel “A Stitch in Time”

The third time we got close to the line but bailed at the last second was in the Episode Rejoined where Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn reunite (more specifically the symbionts remember their relationship from their time as Torias and Nilani). Now this episode drives me nuts in retrospect because the show runners/sponsors made it a point to shoot down any non straight content especially when Terry Farrel suggested that Jadzia/Dax/Jadzia Dax should be Pansexual/Omnisexual. When knowing this it all but makes sense why an episode where Dax and Kahn who clearly love each other are forbidden to be together because of a strange Trill law.

The fourth time this happens is in all the DS9 Mirror-Verse episodes because of the fact that the only time a character is allowed to be “gay” is if that character is an villainous woman in sexy clothes, in some alternate universe.

2) Then there’s the shitty treatment of both characters and actors who are women

Denise Crosby demands a higher salary - FIRED

Terry Farrel suggests inclusiveness and asks for more respect - FIRED

7 of 9 couldn’t breath in some of her costumes but I guess that’s okay if we can still see every part of her body.

JJ-Trek Exclusive of Point 2 (Thank you Simon Pegg for at least trying to fix up JJ’s B.S,’ery)

Nurse Chapel becomes a one-night stand to Kirk

Carol Marcus’ unnecessary change of clothes scene

Kirk checking out almost every woman he comes across, sleeps with an Orion and two weird renditions of Caitians on screen. (Kirk in the original series actually respected women far more than JJ’s does)

Also why does Uhura (the only woman that seemed to make it to Enterprise herself from the original series) have to be in a relationship? (Probably to de-t’hy’la the heck out of Spock’s and Kirk’s relationship, to eliminate any doubt that Spock and Kirk are 1701% hetero)

4) Misc!

Benedict Cumberbatch being cast as a North Indian character Khan Noonien Singh (it’s even worse when you find out BC was not told what character he was actually playing until basically the “I am Khan” scene)

JJ literally stripping the rank and sleeves off of the “women’s” uniforms in his movies. (Again thank you Simon Pegg for bringing it back)

JJ Killing off Amanda Grayson.(thank you Disco for giving Amanda some respect)

JJ deciding that Winona Kirk would enter a relationship with a man by from the sounds of it seems rather abusive.

JJ’s elimination of Romulus and Vulcan because “why not” 

JJ deciding that spelling Qo’nos right was too much of a bother

Nemesis exclusive - Shinzon’s sexual assault of Troi, thus sorta implying that from out of no where Picard has a thing for Troi. (Why couldn’t Sela come back instead of the whole convoluted Shinzon idea??)

#negativity tw #>> Out of Blueberries (OOC) #don't read if you can't handle criticism

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 (5 of 5)

As the month of February is almost finished, we now also finish our look into the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation by looking at the last three episodes of that season…

Episode 20: The Emissary

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise receives an urgent message from Starfleet Command ordering them to a set of coordinates without stating a reason. While en route, they are contacted by Admiral Gromek who informs them that the Enterprise is to rendezvous with a Federation emissary who will brief them on their mission. She refuses to disclose any details, only that Starfleet considers the mission a "top security matter".

 Data reports that the emissary is being transported in a class 8 probe, an unconventional mode of travel and barely large enough to contain a person, traveling at warp 9. Picard notes the evident urgency of the mission. The Enterprise intercepts the probe and beams it aboard, and its passenger is revealed to be a half-Klingon half-human woman named K'Ehleyr. It is immediately clear that K'Ehleyr and Lt. Worf know each other, and Worf is not pleased to see her.

 K'Ehleyr informs the command staff that Starfleet has detected a Klingon battlecruiser called the T'Ong, which was launched from the Klingon homeworld over 75 years ago, when the Klingons and the Federation were still at war. The crew has been in suspended animation and are about to awaken, at which point it is feared they will immediately attack the nearest Federation outpost. There are several such outposts nearby, none of which would not be able to adequately defend themselves. As the nearest Klingon ship is three days away, the Enterprise is to intercept them instead. Though K'Ehleyr strongly believes that any attempt to reason with the Klingons will fail, and advises that Picard plan to destroy the ship, Picard disagrees and orders the staff to come up with alternatives.

 Picard orders Worf to work with K'Ehleyr over Worf's objections, as Worf concedes his reasons are purely personal. Worf and his ex-love interest have a heated argument, barely managing to concentrate on their task. At Troi's suggestion K'Ehleyr goes to the holodeck to vent her frustrations, where she chooses one of Worf's exercise programs, a hand-to-hand combat simulation. Worf finds her there and joins her in the program, and invigorated and stimulated by the battle, they mate. Following tradition, Worf then starts the Klingon vow of marriage, but K'Ehleyr refuses to take the vow and storms out.

 At a senior staff briefing, K'Ehleyr presents her plan to deal with the T'Ong: If they find the crew still asleep, they keep them that way until a Klingon starship can meet them in three days; if the crew is awake, they will have to destroy them. Picard is still reluctant to accept that a peaceful solution is impossible, but before they can work out an alternative plan, Data reports that they have detected the T'Ong. Data detects life signs, but is unable to determine whether or not the crew is awake. Suddenly, the T'Ong fires on the Enterprise, cloaks, and moves away. The Enterprise is able to track the older vessel even under cloak, so they set off in pursuit.

 K'Ehleyr urges Picard to let the Klingons die with honor, in battle. However, Worf comes up with another option. While Picard and first officer Commander Riker position themselves out of sight, Worf and K'Ehleyr, clad in full traditional Klingon command uniforms, appear as captain and first officer of the Enterprise, informing Captain K'Temoc of the T'Ong that the war is over and ordering them to surrender. K'Temoc initially refuses, believing it to be a Federation trick, but when Worf, in typical Klingon manner, shows his resolve and threatens to destroy the T'Ong, K'Temoc grudgingly agrees.

 K'Ehleyr transports to the T'Ong to begin the process of acclimating the Klingons to life in the 24th century and await the arrival of the Klingon escort that has been sent to meet them. Before departing, she admits to Worf that she was tempted to take the marriage vow with him, but felt it was not the right moment for it, and implies that their paths will cross again. Worf informs her that he was not purely motivated by honour to take the vow and that he will be incomplete without her.

Review:

Of this season’s Klingon episodes, I think this one is better than ‘A Matter of Honor’.  There’s no annoying B-plot, for starters, and not only are we focused on Worf, but we also get him dealing with one of the few women in Trek history that could really work for Worf.  The guest character of K’Ehleyr is uniquely suited to Worf because she’s a biological hybrid of Klingon and human.  This makes her someone who, in her own way, shares Worf’s culture-clash dilemma and has to reconcile being of two different worlds.  She’s also got a personality not a million miles removed from Jadzia Dax, who as DS9 fans know would later become Worf’s wife.

 It’s also interesting to see K’Ehleyr interact with Deanna Troi and compare notes on their experiences of being hybrids of humanity and another species.  Up to now, Troi’s nature as a metaphor for people of mixed heritage hasn’t been utilised much by the series, which is a shame.  However, at this point in Trek there wasn’t much of that kind of plot going on for a lot of the characters that could be taken as metaphorical representatives of certain groups.  It’s a pity, but on the other hand does allow later exploration to better effect elsewhere in this and other Trek shows.  From the perspective of hindsight, this episode also has a very impactful legacy, but more on that when we come to it.  For now, I give this episode 9 out of 10.

Episode 21: Peak Performance

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is ordered by Starfleet Command to take part in simulated combat exercises to prepare for the Borg threat. A renowned Zakdorn strategist named Sirna Kolrami is sent to serve as observer and mediator of the exercise. Commander Riker challenges Kolrami to a game of Strategema, knowing he has no chance to win, just for the honour of playing a grandmaster. Dr Pulaski pushes Data to challenge the arrogant Kolrami, assuming Kolrami will be no match for Data's android reflexes and computational ability. When the two later play, however, Data is also soundly beaten, causing him to become convinced he is malfunctioning and remove himself from duty.

 The combat exercise pits the Enterprise against an 80-year-old retired Federation ship U.S.S. Hathaway, which is in orbit around a nearby planet. Picard is to command the Enterprise, while Riker is to choose a crew to man the Hathaway. Riker recruits Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge and Lt. Worf as his senior staff and sneaks acting Ensign Wesley Crusher into his crew under the pretence of him ‘observing for educational purposes. Riker and his crew beam over to the old ship and begin their efforts to restore it to working order. The Hathaway is easily outclassed by the Enterprise, and has no antimatter, making warp speed impossible. Wesley, however, returns to the Enterprise under false pretences and surreptitiously beams a school experiment containing a small amount of antimatter to the Hathaway, which would allow them a very short warp burst, though they are uncertain it will work.

 Pulaski and Troi are unable to persuade Data that he is not malfunctioning, but Picard reminds him of his duty, and advises him "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life." Data's confidence is restored, and he returns to the bridge.

 As the battle begins, Worf accesses the Enterprise's sensors, generating a fake sensor & viewscreen image of a Romulan warship attacking, and while the Enterprise is distracted, the Hathaway scores the first hits. Kolrami, who was initially dismissive of Riker's ability, is impressed. The Enterprise regroups and prepares to attack the Hathaway when sensors report another intruding ship, a Ferengi marauder. Picard realizes too late that this ship is not a sensor trick, and the Ferengi attack leaves the Enterprise's phasers locked in simulation mode and unable to return fire.

 The Ferengi commander, DaiMon Bractor, is unaware of the wargames and suspicious of the behaviour of the two Federation ships, concluding the Hathaway must be valuable, and demands that Picard surrender it to him. Picard and Riker devise a risky plan, where the Enterprise fires photon torpedoes at the Hathaway, with the Hathaway using their short warp burst to jump to safety an instant before the torpedoes detonate. The Ferengi, believing their prize has been destroyed, turn their attention to the Enterprise, but Worf tricks their sensors into detecting another Federation ship approaching, and the Ferengi flee.

 With the wargames over, Data challenges Kolrami to a Strategema rematch. This time, Data is able to hold Kolrami in check; Kolrami grows more and more frustrated as the match progresses, ultimately throwing down his controls in disgust and storming off. Data explains that he altered his strategy, giving up opportunities for advancement in order to maintain a stalemate, which he believes he could have maintained indefinitely. He initially regards the result as a draw, but after prodding from Pulaski, admits his success.

Review:

I quite enjoy this episode because it’s a fun and interesting departure from what you normally expect from both Trek in general and TNG in particular.  The reference back to the issue of the Borg shows some actual continuity in a show that frequently stands out from its spin-offs by being a show where you could watch a lot of episodes out of order and it wouldn’t make much difference. All too often, the adventures of Picard’s Enterprise are self-contained to each episode and don’t always have much subsequent effect, as opposed to Deep Space Nine where the crew doesn’t have the ‘sail off into the sunset option’, or Voyager whose whole series is predicated on the timeline of a long journey home.

 There are some interesting lessons about leadership worked in, such as Picard’s defence of Riker’s command style to Kolrami and how Polaski, Troi and Picard try to deal with Data’s concerns following his initial defeat at Strategema.  Picard’s line about it ‘being possible to commit no mistakes and still lose’ is certainly true, though by the same token it is also possible that if someone loses while making no mistakes of their own, that does not necessarily mean no mistake has been committed anywhere.

 In the context of the game between Kolrami and Data, or any other such head-to-head contest, losing because one person is simply a bit better is all well and good, but applied to other situations, other people come into the equation who can make errors even if you don’t. In my working life, for example, I’ve found that if staff in positions of authority do not create a system of working that eliminates all preventable errors, there is only so much other staff can do to compensate.  Also, how do you define what is a mistake?  To my mind, most of society is based on the faulty premise that all people are the same, resulting in systems required to make corrections for anyone who in reality contradicts that supposition.  Within that premise, such after-thought amendments are correct, but to my mind they are symptomatic of a huge mistake resulting for egocentric arrogance and privilege-based delusion.

 As a whole, this episode is very good and is probably the best point at which to end if you wanted the season ending on a high. However, as there’s still another episode to go, I’ll just give this episode a score of 9 out of 10 and move on to the final episode of this round.

Episode 22: Shades of Gray

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

During a geological survey on Surata IV, Commander Riker is struck by a thorn growing on a motile vine plant. The away team immediately beams back to the Enterprise, where Dr Pulaski finds out that the thorn has released deadly microbes into Riker's body. Within a matter of hours, the microbes will reach Riker's brain, killing him. To try to save Riker's life, Pulaski puts him into a machine that will artificially stimulate his brain neurons, keeping them active and resisting the microbes. This causes Riker to relive memories of his past adventures aboard the Enterprise. Riker's first memories are of reasonably neutral occasions, such as his first meeting with Lieutenant Commander Data. He soon moves on to more passionate and even erotic memories, such as meeting the cheerful young Edo women on Rubicon III, the matriarch Beata on Angel One, or the computer-generated holodeck woman Minuet.

 However, while pleasing to Riker's mind, the passionate memories only worsen Riker's condition, as the microbes feed on the positive endorphins his brain is creating. Pulaski and Counsellor Troi therefore agree to try to make the machine evoke negative memories instead. Thus, Riker relives memories of Lieutenant Tasha Yar's death and the apparent death of Deanna Troi's child. This has the desired effect, as the negative endorphins drive the microbes away, but the endorphins are not strong enough. As a last resort, Pulaski uses the machine to evoke memories of raw, primitive feelings of fear and survival. Riker then remembers being enveloped by the creature Armus, his fight with the alien-controlled Admiral Quinn, and the fight with Klingon officer Klag on board the warship Pagh. Seeing that the raw emotions work best, Pulaski intensifies the dreams to come at a more rapid pace. This finally kills the microbes and Riker recovers.

Review:

Apparently, this episode came about because the series went over-budget on episodes like ‘Elementary, Dear Data’ and ‘Q Who’, and Paramount insisted the show do a quick episode on the cheap to satisfy the commissioned number of episodes within the allotted budget.  The result is a very poor episode that is TNG’s only clip show, and a stupidly premature one to boot.  It’s made even more annoying by Wikipedia’s inaccuracies that I’ve had to correct; Riker is infected by microbes that Polaski notes are ‘neither bacteria nor a virus’, yet a virus is what Wikipedia calls it, and Riker is remembering past events, not dreaming.  If it was a dream he was having, we’d have new footage showing a dream sequence, not clips of past episodes acting like a memory slide-show.  Even Riker claims to have been ‘dreaming’ when he recovers, which doesn’t help.  Remembering and dreaming are two totally separate things, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a total bloody moron.

 Mind you, they have company, because doing one last episode on the cheap of this poor quality was so not the way to go. They could have done a bottle episode without the clips by doing something like a night in Ten-Forward, or a holodeck-goes-wrong episode where the only sets where the holodeck simulation and the corridor outside the holodeck.  How anyone thought a clip show was the way to go when you’re only at the end of a show’s second season, I’ll never know.  A pity Red Dwarf didn’t reach its third season, and the bottle episode ‘Marooned’, until the early 90’s.  Trek could have actually learned a lot about how to do a bottle episode well from just that one bit of British sit-com gold.  As it is, at least this episode now serves as a cautionary tale on how not to do bottle episodes.  I give it 0 out of 10.

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 4 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “Forget Me Not.”

Although Star Trek: Discovery was positioned as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the edgier nature of the series immediately drew comparisons to Deep Space Nine. And, now that Discovery has jumped well beyond the 23rd century, it’s in the strange position of being a prequel that is now a sequel to all of Trek.

In Season 3, Episode 4, “Forget Me Not,” Discovery doesn’t just seem like a sequel to DS9 in its style or grittiness, it literally revisits one of DS9’s most famous planets, the Trill homeworld. So, if you felt like you were watching a far-future DS9 sequel, you’re not wrong! Here’s all the Easter eggs and references to the entire canon of Trek (but mostly DS9) in “Forget Me Not.”

Senna Tal’s name

The Starfleet admiral whose message Burnham intercepted is named “Senna Tal.” In episode 3, we learned that Adira carried Senna Tal’s symbiont inside her, which means the symbiont itself is named “Tal” and the male Starfleet Admiral was Senna. This is just like the difference between Jadzia Dax and Curzon Dax. Of course, Adira doesn’t start the episode as “Adira Tal,” that comes later, when we also learn about Grey Tal.

Culber’s medical scanner

Though this isn’t exactly a new Easter egg, Dr. Culber uses a classic spinning TOS medical scanner to check over several members of the crew, including Adira. This is the same kind of scanner Bones used in TOS, which is kind of interesting only because according to Jadzia in “Trials and Tribble-ations” she knew Leonard “Bones” McCoy when the Dax symbiont was joined as Emony Dax. 

Bajoran Hasperat

Adira says she knows how to cook a “mean Bajorian Hasperat.” This is a spicy Bajorian food featured throughout DS9, but first mentioned in the TNG episode “Preemptive Strike.” So, if you seem to recall Ro Laren talking about Hasperat on TNG before Kira did on DS9, you’re right! That said, we never actually saw Hasperat until DS9, at which point it appeared to look like a burrito. On some level, saying “Bajoran Hasperat” might be a little redundant, but we can forgive poor Adira; her memory is really scrambled! 

“There’s no precedent”

Dr. Culber says “There’s no precedent” for a human having a Trill symbiont in their body, but TNG Trekkies might be upset because they know there totally is. In the TNG episode “The Host” (the first Trill episode ever) Will Riker took on the symbiont of Ambassador Odan. So, did Discovery ignore this? Nope! In fact, Culber saying this makes perfect sense. Dr. Crusher helped put the Odan symbiont in Will Riker in 2367. Dr. Culber’s medical records come from the year 2257, plus the Sphere Data, which is considerably older. So, although Discovery now takes place in 3188 (or 3189), the information Culber has is from 2257 or older. With that in mind, it would have actually been weird had Culber known about Riker. 

The planet Trill and the caves of the Caves of Mak’ala

It’s been a minute since we’ve visited the Trill homeworld. In Deep Space Nine, Jadzia had to return to the planet Trill in the episode “Equilibrium.” The caves that Burnham and Adira visit, complete with symbionts floating in those milky pools come from that episode. 

The tardigrade on the Glenn

Talking to Tilly about the Spore Drive, Stamets mentions he was unable to find an interface for making the hub work “before we discovered the tardigrade on the Glenn. This references the episodes “Context is For Kings” and “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not For the Lamb’s Cry,” from Discovery Season 1. In those episodes, the crew found a giant mutated Tardigrade nicknamed “Ripper” on the sister-ship to the Discovery; the USS Glenn.

“932 years of technological advancement”

How long has it been since the Spore Drive was made operational? 930 years or 932? Well, Discovery Season 1 mostly took place in 2256. Then Season 2 was in 2257. Then we were told that the crew was going to jump ahead 930 years. But, we also know that there’s been one extra year in there — Burnham’s gap year. So, 932 years work: you’ve got the 930-year jump, plus the year prior (2256) and then, the gap year, and that makes 932. Still, it’s a little confusing if at this point we’re at the end of the year 3188 or starting to cross over into 3189? If Burnham arrived at the beginning of 3188 in “That Hope Is You Part 1,” then we could still be in 3188. Or maybe not! So, is it actually 933 years of technological advancement? 

Tilly loves Dark Matter

Tilly wants to use a dark matter interface to make the Spore Drive work. She loves dark matter. In the Discovery Season 2 episode “New Eden,” Tilly also wanted to try and use some dark matter to make a new interface for the Spore Drive.

“A subspace domain”

Stamets mentions that the mycelial network is a “subspace domain,” meaning that it’s inherently not part of “normal space.” While subspace domains are made-up sci-fi, dark matter is closer to being real. What Stamets is kind of saying is “Dark matter exists in real space, and all the spore drive stuff happens in not-real space.” He’s not wrong.

Culber and Burnham compete for who has had a harder time at life

When Culber suggests that Burnham go with Adira to the surface of Trill, the convo goes like this.

Culber: “She’s had everything she knows stripped away, I think you understand that.”

Burnham: “I think you do too.”

Culber’s comments that Burnan “understands that” probably references the idea that Burnham was once court-martialed and sent to Federation prison, way back in the episode Discovery Season 1 episode “Battle at the Binary Stars.” But, Burnham’s retort “you do too,” references the fact that in Season 2, Culber came back from the dead and had an entirely new body reconstructed from the mycelial network.

DOT bots

The DOT bots are back! Two episodes in a row! These little maintenance bots come from “Such Sweet Sorrow,” but also from the Short Treks episode, “Ephraim and Dot.”

Burnham and Adira take a shuttle down to the planet

Why don’t Burnham and Adira beam down to the surface of Trill? Well, in the TNG episode “The Host,” Trill couldn’t use the transporter because it could damage the symbiont. But, in DS9, Dax beamed up and down all the time. We also saw Adira beam onboard Discovery in the previous episode. Are they slightly more worried now? Just being careful? 

No records of a joining between a human and a Trill symbiont 

The Trill guardians say that in “2,000 years there’s no single recorded instance of a joining” between a human and a symbiont. Next Generation fans know this is slightly wrong. Riker was joined with the Odan symbiont in “The Host.” Seems like the Trill government didn’t want anyone to know about that, hence it not being a “recorded instance.” In this scene, it’s also mentioned that “forced separation could kill the host.” This idea was established in DS9 numerous times.

“We are not Federation members”

The Trill guardians mention that they are not part of the Federation, which seems similar to the status of Earth in Episode 3. There’s just one difference, although we’ve seen several Trill serve in Starfleet throughout the years, it was never explicitly stated in onscreen canon that the planet Trill was part of the Federation. (Though some non-canon books do put it in the Federation as of 2285, the same year as The Wrath of Khan.)

Viable Trill hosts

Not all Trill are “joined.” In the DS9 days, we were mostly told that it was very hard for humanoid  Trill to be suitable to carry symbionts. However, in the DS9 episode “Equilibrium,” we learned that this was a myth, and that actually there were plenty of viable hosts. Is it possible this myth has been perpetuated even further? One of the Guardians says Adira could be the future because “We no longer have enough viable hosts.” If this is the truth, then something has radically changed with Trill biology. 

That wasn’t Federation protocol!

Adira notices that Burnham takes out the Guardians pretty quickly with her phaser. Burnham says “they’ll be fine.” This means her phaser was on stun, and we know that because it had little blue light illuminated and not a red light.

The return — or origin of — Zora

When the USS Discovery computer starts getting a little personal with Saru, the voice changes and we briefly see a graphic of the Sphere data. Annabelle Wallis reprises her role as the voice of “Zora” the sentient Discovery computer from the Short Treks episode “Calypso.” In real life, Annabelle Wallis has supposedly been dating Chris Pine (Captain Kirk!) since 2018. 

What’s you and what’s all the other hosts?

In the flashback, Adira asks Grey (Ian Alexander) which parts of his personality are coming from him and which parts are coming from the previous hosts of the Tal symbiont. When Ezri Dax was first given the Dax symbiont, she had similar questions about what she was really like. In fact, on some level, the origin story of Adira is similar to Ezri: Both became joined Trill because of an emergency.

Medical bots were foreshadowed in the new credits

The emergency medical robots that help perform the surgery on Grey to put the symbiont in Adira were previously glimpsed in the opening credits of Discovery Season 3, starting with “That Hope Is You Part 1.” This Easter egg is similar to Discovery Season 2 when the Red Angel and the time crystals were both teased out in the opening credits.

Previous hosts of Tal have various “new” Starfleet uniforms

Counting Admiral Senna Tal, at least two other of Tal’s previous hosts were Starfleet officers. We see one woman in a teal-colored Starfleet uniform that appears to precede the era of Senna Tal’s uniform. But, we also see a man in a Starfleet captain’s uniform who is very much from the era of Star Trek: Picard. This seems to imply that the Tal symbiont is at least 789 years old, but actually, probably much older. Did a previous host of Tal know characters from TNG or DS9? Is Dax still around? 

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Also, seeing a Starfleet uniform from Star Trek: Picard on Discovery is certainly not a crossover anyone could have imagined when Discovery first debuted. But this small bit of continuity might foreshadow more crossovers to come. If Adira has memories that go all the way back to the era of Picard, then suddenly, there are a myriad of possibilities for what they know about the history of the Federation. Or, if you’re someone living in the Picard timeline, Adira’s memories tell the future. Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 airs new episodes on Thursdays on CBS All Access.

The post Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 4 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.02: Missions Reviewed, “Ferengi Love Songs,” “Soldiers of the Empire,” and “Children of Time.”

Quark’s bar is overrun with voles as “Ferengi Love Songs” opens, and Rom tries to cheer him up by announcing his engagement to Leeta.  That of course fails miserably, so Rom suggests Quark go visit Moogie on Ferengenar.  Quark goes there to find the Grand Nagus hiding in his closet, where the head of the Ferengi financial empire is having a secret love affair with Quark’s mom Ihska! 

Quark immediately begins to propose that Zek reinstate his Ferengi Business License, but Zek refuses. He sees another opportunity though when Brunt, FCA, beams into his closet to offer the license back in exchange for Quark breaking up Zek and Moogie so the Nagus doesn’t get caught in a scandal.  Meanwhile, Rom, thinking he’s not being Ferengi enough creates a prenup for Leeta that prevents her from ever owning property or making profit. This of course ends the engagement. When he laments to O’Brien, O’Brien ask him what Leeta’s worth. Rom donates all of his latinum to Bajoran war orphans, so when Leeta marries him he will know it is for love. On Ferenginar, Zek, grateful to Quark for letting him know about “rumors” that Ishka was making profit, appoints him as first clerk. Quark realizes that Zek is having memory problems, and Ishka has actually been the brains behind the great Ferenginar expansions of the last couple of fiscal years. When the Ferengi market tanks, the FCA wants to bring Zek in for questioning, and Quark realizes Brunt set all of this up so he could seize the position of Nagus. When the inquiry comes, Zek aces it, and the FCA has to back off. Zek thanks Quark, who tells him all the advice actually came from Ishka, and that they should really be together. 

With the couple reunited, Brunt decides to let Quark keep his business license, just so Brunt can watch him like a hawk. Ishka gives Quark back his favorite toys as a kid, “Marauder Mo” action figures, that would have been worth more left in the original packaging.

Quark’s ever cascading financial difficulties come to a head in this episode, but he manages to pull it all together.  The romance is pretty funny, as is the internal workings of Ferengi society. We see Cecily Adams step into the role of Ishka here since Andrea Martin who played her earlier couldn’t continue to wear the extensive prosthetics. Wallace Shawn is always great as Zek, and Jeffrey Combs really needs his own Star Trek series where he just plays every role. Also- bonus picture of Quark with his Marauder Mo figures, sporting the energy whips the Ferengi had on TNG when they were really meant to be the villains.

“Soldiers of the Empire” has Martok take command of the Rotarran, a Bird of Prey with a bad history and broken crew who need to find a missing Klingon cruiser along the Cardassian border. He asks Worf to be his First Officer, and Jadzia signs on as science officer. Morale on the ship is bad, and as they conduct their mission, Worf begins to suspect that Martok may be a little gunshy after his time in Jem’Hadar custody.

 The crew is volatile, some defeatist, some ready to try to overthrow Martok the old fashioned way, some simply apathetic, their fire gone.  When Martok orders them NOT to fire on a lone Jem’Hadar over whom they could have an easy victory, things get worse; when they find the other Klingon ship, but Martok won’t cross the border to rescue survivors, it comes to a head. Worf orders the Rotarran ahead anyway and challenges Martok to combat. As they fight, Worf gets the advantage, but suddenly the tide shifts, and Martok sinks a knife into his gut. 

The crew now behind him, his warrior spirit ignited, Martok leads them to rescue the other Klingons and fight some Jem’Hadar. Back on DS9 Martok confronts Worf, telling him he realizes exactly what he did; unified the crew and re-energized Martok by losing. “But how did you know I wouldn’t kill you?” Martok asks.  Worf replies that he didn’t.  Martok in gratitude adopts Worf into the House of Martok.

All Klingons, all the time! This episode really does play out as if the show were just about the Rotarran, and it gives us a good chance to see the Klingons up close, and not just as the monolith warrior culture, but as having personalities, and differences, and there being diversity among them; there are red-head and blonde Klingons in this episode! I definitely see a few things they do here that will later inform how the Klingons are portrayed on “Discovery.” They finally show us some uniform variants here, and we get to see some of what passes for nautical custom in the Klingon fleet when Worf requests the ship’s “battle log.” Worf becoming part of Martok’s house is going to have ramifications later.  I have heard people complain that Jadzia is too good at being Klingon sometimes, but when you take into account that Terry Farrell is six feet tall, I can buy her handling herself here.

“Children of Time” has the Defiant returning from a mission in the Gamma Quadrant when Dax surveys a planet with a strange energy barrier around it. Though everyone is tired, she convinces them to go investigate. When they enter the barrier, they get some damage, it will take a couple days to fix, and Kira gets a zap from her console. They find a mostly human settlement of 8000 people on the surface, which hails them, and seems to know who they are. Beaming down, they find a Yedrin Dax and a Miranda O’Brien. Scanning, Jadzia finds that Yedrin is carrying the Dax symbiont…and it is 200 years older. 

The colonists tell them that in two days the Defiant will try to leave the planet, and instead crash after being thrown back in time by the energy barrier. These are their descendants.  Further complicating the issue is that the zap Kira received has created a condition which will kill her if she doesn’t receive treatment in a full hospital. But if the Defiant does go back, 8000 people, and their preceding generations cease to exist.  Still alive is Odo, who comes to visit Kira, and tells her that he loves her, and has always loved her. Yedrin meanwhile has a plan to allow the same effect that “doubled” all of Kira’s quantum particles to allow one version of the Defiant to escape, and another to complete its destiny a go back in time to preserve the colony. Jadzia soon realizes it is a sham. The crew debates whether they can leave, saving Kira but allowing the rest to poof out of existence, or stay. As the day arrives they decide to help the people plant their crops, despite the fact it will all be gone when Defiant leaves. Worf works with the local “Klingons” who are his descendants both physically and philosophically- anyone can decide to take on the warrior life and hunt as the Klingons out on the plains.

 Older Odo spends more time with Kira (“modern” Odo can’t hold form under the energy field, but old Odo has had centuries to practice), and she realizes she cannot allow her life to supersede 8000 others. O’Brien, who initially just wanted to back to his family, now sees that they can’t let these people die- worse, never to have existed at all. The Defiant crew decides to go ahead with the course that will make them crash. Yedrin gives them a preprogrammed course, and they follow it. The anomaly that will throw them back looms ahead, and then the Defiant swerves around it. As they leave the energy field, a scan back to the planet shows there has never been a colony there. Initially, they believe Yedrin Dax gave them a false course, choosing not to sacrifice their futures for the colony, but Odo, now back, reveals that the colony’s Odo linked with him, and he was the one who changed the course because he refused to let Kira die, and hoped there might be some chance that Odo could find happiness with her.

A really great episode, that sells the descendants of our crew exceptionally well, particularly all the O’Briens and the Klingon “tribe.” A really fascinating way as well to bring Odo’s love for Kira to the light, and not to avoid the tragic ending.  There may be some inconsistency with Trek time travel here, as the creation of alternate realities is the norm when things are changed, but the tragedy of this group of people simply winking out of existence works effectively here.  The romantic in my can accept the quantum “Parallels” and “Trek 2009” version that says there’s a timeline where the Children of Time still exist, but their disappearance still hits pretty hard. This is the “Trolley Problem” presented to us as only Science Fiction can, and it works with terrific—and sorrowful—effect. 

  NEXT VOYAGE: The final fate of the Maquis is settled in a “Blaze of Glory.”

#star trek #star trek: Deep Space Nine #DS9 Rewatch

[heroesandvillainsofmbti]

ISFP: Kira Nerys, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

ISFP – the Composer, the Seeker, the Virtuoso

The leaders of Trek’s two previous incarnations were mostly Thinkers. Both shows could be campy and fun, but also intensely cerebral. So it figures that for the “dark, moody” version of Star Trek, we’d get a pair of commanding officers who are driven by Introverted Feeling.

Sisko and Kira don’t start off as best friends. Their Fi needs time to check the other out and make sure they measure up to their deeply held values and goals. In time, they see the same thing in each other—a very passionate, individualistic, sometimes emotionally broken leader with fierce inner moral codes fighting against a universe that wants to control them.

Dominant Function: (Fi) Introverted Feeling, “The Deep Well”

To say that Major Kira Nerys is uncompromising in her values would be like saying Superman is kinda good at lifting heavy stuff. Kira leads with a strong inner moral compass, forged from her years fighting for the Resistance against the Cardassian Occupation of her homeworld. Everything she does, every choice, every step, is to fight for the cause of her people. She acts only on what she believes is right.

While Sisko goes through his emotional healing in the first episode, Kira’s takes the entire series. She’s broken and raw after a childhood spent fighting as a terrorist to free her people, and her only reaction to most situations is anger. She’s quite certain that the Bajoran government only assigned her to DS9 to get her off the planet and out of their hair.

Her first big breakthrough is pouring her heart out to Kai Opaka. She’s desperate that the wise, spiritual woman see her as something other than an angry fighter, and Opaka lets her grieve her violent past. When she’s kidnapped by a Cardassian intent on exacting revenge for the deaths of the family he served, Kira is brutally unapologetic. She has no sympathy for any Cardassians, young or old, who died as a result of her crusade. None of them belonged on her planet, and all of them were guilty of the atrocities committed there.

Over the years, Kira learns that Sisko and the other Starfleet officers are authentically committed to her cause, and accepts them as friends and family. She finds love and romance in unexpected places. She sympathizes with Cardassians who are fighting for their own freedom, and joins their resistance to show them how it’s done. She never, ever believes that Dukat or Winn are anything less than pure evil (a position she shares with fellow Fi-dom Sisko).

Kira experiences great loss in her life—she sees a lot of death and pain during the Occupation, and continues to lose the ones she loves throughout the run of the show, culminating in Odo’s departure for the Great Link in the finale. She often has to retreat to meditate or process what she’s gone through. After she gives birth to the O’Briens’ baby, she also feels a sense of loss, more bittersweet than tragic, and rather than join the birthday celebration, asks Odo to go on a walk with her.

In the final moment of the final episode, she joins young Jake Sisko in staring silently out at the stars, pondering the fate and the whereabouts of the ones they’ve lost.

Auxiliary Function: (Se) Extraverted Sensing, “The Kitchens”

Because she’s emotionally on-edge when her story begins, Kira acts out much more often than the typical ISFP or other Introvert.

She doesn’t wait. She takes action. She confronts. She challenges. She fights.

Initially, she’s unreceptive to her Starfleet comrades’ scientific curiosity and zeal for discovery. It’s impractical, and distracts from the real work that needs to be done. Even later, when they’re more of a team, she’s the first to break down laughing at the idea that Dax and the others are about to get shrunk down to less than an inch high—for science!

Contrary to the ISFP stereotype of the “Artisan,” Kira claims no artistic skills or creativity. Her Extraverted Sensing is of the pragmatic kind, interested in real-world actions. She complains to her friend Jadzia that she has no imagination, and can’t enjoy their trips to the holosuite because it isn’t real. As her youthful rage cools off and heals, though, Kira learns to enjoy life and its pleasures, and even shows off a lovely fashion sense in her off-duty attire.

As Kira matures, she never loses her fiery nature, but she focuses her passion. As O’Brien comments in the first episode, after she bluffs a fleet of well-armed Cardassians, “Remind me never to get into a game of Roladan Wild Draw with you.” Seven years later, she’s staring down a Romulan armada and a Starfleet admiral and still coming out on top, all because she believes in her purpose.

Tertiary Function: (Ni) Introverted Intuition, “The Labyrinth”

Kira trusts her instincts, and paired with her strong Fi, her Intuition delivers instant judgments about most people she meets.

Though she regularly practices meditation, Kira has great difficulty with patience, with slowing down and considering options and outcomes when she’s decided it’s time to take action. She tries taking some R&R at a monastery, and the tranquility makes her crazy. Vedek Bariel encourages her to “Be useless, Nerys,” in an attempt to get her out of the moment and see the big picture of her life.

It takes a while, but her patience and foresight grows, as does her appreciation for the future that the Federation is helping Bajor build.

Kira enjoys a close platonic friendship with Odo, almost intimate in its own way, but she misses a lot of the cues that he’s in love with her. Once he reveals his feelings, she’s not sure what to do, as she’d never considered him any other way but a friend. Suddenly, she tells Dax that she’s had a moment of clarity, a once-in-a-lifetime insight, that changes her feelings and begins a new relationship.

Meanwhile, Kira holds her spirituality and religious beliefs close. It’s part of what got her through the Occupation, and sustains her afterwards. Even though faith in the Prophets is her people’s tradition, Kira’s faith remains personal, often inexplicable. She understands that Starfleet sees the Prophets only as wormhole aliens, but it doesn’t matter to her. She tells Odo that if you don’t have faith you can’t explain it, and if you do, no explanation is necessary.

Inferior Function: (Te) Extraverted Thinking, “The Workshop”

Kira’s prone to going off to do her own thing without permission, and without much of a plan. She hates authority structures, whether it’s the Cardassian Union, the Dominion, Starfleet, or her own people’s petty and bureaucratic Provisional Government. She hates that she has to become part of the establishment just to help Bajor rebuild. She’s constantly fighting within herself to be her own person while doing her job as First Officer of Deep Space Nine.

In only the second episode of the series, she has to stop a fellow former Resistance fighter from destroying the progress Bajor is building with the Federation, and she surprises herself by explaining to him that the Starfleet people are doing some good. Years later, she’s disgusted with herself for passively acting as a collaborator when the Cardassian/Dominon alliance takes over the station, so she starts a new Resistance to fight back. Once the Cardassians begin rising up against the Dominion, Kira takes the ironic position of helping her former oppressors organize for their own freedom.

She’s commanding and assertive in her role, and insists on proper organization to make the resistance work. It’s obvious that her years of growth have allowed her to lead with a cooler confidence and less impulsive anger. She’s promoted to Colonel in the Bajoran Militia, and takes command of Deep Space Nine when Sisko departs. She becomes even more formidable as a grown woman with a uniform than she was as an angry girl with a gun.

#MBTI #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #Kira Nerys #Nana Visitor #ISFP #cognitive functions #Fi-dom #Fi #Introverted Feeling #Se-aux #Se #Extraverted Sensing #Ni #Introverted Intuition #Te #Extraverted Thinking

[ltbroccoli-archive]

ST ask meme - ALL OF THEM

Star Trek ask meme

Under a read more, because long.

1. Top 3 favorite female characters? Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine, Uhura.

2. Top 3 favorite male characters? Reg Barclay, Rom, Data.

3. Top 3 least favorite characters? Katherine Pulaski, Wesley Crusher, Jadzia Dax. (I said Travis Mayweather on my other post but he’s honestly tied with Jadzia.)

4. Favorite alien species? I really enjoy the Borg. Voyager ruined them just the tiniest bit though, by overusing them.

5. Episode plot you wish they had handled differently? Several are coming to mind, but I think I’m actually gonna go with the Enterprise finale. Which I don’t remember terribly well but I remember that it sucked. Riker and Troi? Seriously? The least that show could have done was end on a reasonably high note. Granted it was never a great show in the first place…

6. Character you feel a show could have done without? Pulaski was so utterly unnecessary, and just horrible. I realize they wanted Gates McFadden gone, which was also a mistake. Just let her stay through the whole thing.

7. Who would make up your crew dream team? Captain Janeway, First Officer Spock, Chief Engineer Reg Barclay, Doctor EMH, Tactical Officer Worf, the rest can just fight for it idk.

8. Which captain would you most want to serve under? It’s a toss up between Picard and Janeway… I think Janeway wins by the tiniest bit. Picard would also be awesome.

9. Which episode plot do you prefer?

     a. Time traveling to the past or dealing with time travelers from the future? The past. I love time travel everything give me all the time travel please.

     b. Going undercover to spy on enemies or going undercover to explore pre-warp planets? Probably the enemies, but it really depends on the episode.

    c. Holodeck malfunction or space anomaly? Depends what the holodeck malfunction is and what the space anomaly is. Holodeck malfunctions are always stupid, but we need to know if it’s the good kind of stupid.

    d. Ship being taken over or being stranded on a planet? Taken over.

    e. Rapid aging or de-aging? De-aging. “Rascals” is a gift.

    f. Diplomatic negotiations or all out battle? Both? Both is good. (Negotiate to stop the battle.)

10. Which alien pet would you most want for your own? The unicorn dog.

11. Top 3 OTPs? Janeway/Chakotay, Doctor/Seven, Rom/Leeta

12. Top 3 NOTPs? Chakotay/Seven (seriously wtf), Dukat/Winn, Garak/Ziyal

13. A ship you wish had been canon and why? Garak and Bashir. They had great chemistry from their very first scene and it’s just such an interesting pair.

14. A ship you wish hadn’t been canon and why? Garak/Ziyal. She’s barely legal. They were only doing it so the Garak/Bashir shippers had no chance. It didn’t make sense. It was forced.

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers? Spock, Worf, Seven of Nine.

16. If you could steal the basic plot of an episode for one show and apply to another which would you choose? Well Enterprise directly stole plots from other shows multiple times… honestly I can’t think of any.

17. What role would you have aboard a starship? Science officer…? Engineer? One of those.

18. If you had to fight a character who would you choose? Pulaski.

19. You can undo one plot point, which do you choose? Dukat joining the Pah-Wraiths. That’s the exact moment his arc went from absolutely incredible to just… a piece of shit.

20. Which piece of technology do you wish existed in reality? Transporter.

21. What kind of stories do you hope the new show does? Explore current issues. Make important points about our current world. Make people uncomfortable. Make people examine themselves and how they behave.

22. Would you rather serve on a starship or a space station? Space station, probably.

23. Favorite tropes? The non-human character trying to figure out what the hell humans are even doing.

24. Which character do you relate to the most? Reg Barclay.

25. Favorite villain(s)? Dukat, the Borg, the Dominion.

26. Which alien hybrid offspring are you most interested in seeing? Uh… this is really not something I thought about before. Maybe a Bolian and a Klingon. See how that one works out. (Yeah I just kinda picked two random races…)

27. What do you wish they had handled differently? A lot of Reg’s later TNG episodes treated him as comic relief. I would have liked to see more of him in a serious light and less comedic. And also directly acknowledging that he has anxiety of some kind, whatever that might be, would be great.

28. Character(s) you want to cosplay as? I really don’t do much cosplay, I’d be happy just to have a StarFleet uniform.

29. Favorite and least favorite episodes? I’ll just go one from each show, this is hard. These might not be the absolutes but they’re what popped into my head first.

Favorites - “The City on the Edge of Forever”, “Realm of Fear”, “Far Beyond the Stars”, “Bride of Chaotica!”, sorry I can’t consider any ENT episode to be a favorite.

Least favorites - “The Mark of Gideon”, “Sub Rosa”, “The Muse”, “Year of Hell”, “These Are the Voyages…”

30. Something you wish you could delete from canon? That ghost trying to bang Crusher? Yeah I completely skipped that episode on my rewatch, no thank you.

31. A crossover with another show/movie/book/ect, that you’d want to see? Doctor Who, Stargate, or Firefly.

32. F/M/K. I dunno. Someone give me three choices and I’ll answer this.

33. Whose twitter feed would you most want to follow? Data’s would be a blast, I think.

34. What do you think *insert character*’s tumblr would be full of? Someone has to send a character. Since I write Reg, I will say that Reg’s Tumblr would be cats, advice for dealing with anxiety, cool space pictures, cats, engineering facts, and cats.

35. A minor character you wish had become a main character? Reg Barclay. I always want more Reg Barclay.

36. A social issue you hope the new show tackles and how? Actual gay people would be nice.

37. Character A and Character B get into a fight, who wins? I need characters.

38. *Insert crew here* is thrown back in time to *insert time period here*, how do they handle it, which fashion trends do they pick up, who threatens the timeline the most, who is saddest when they have to leave, who is most knowledgeable, who stands out the most, ect? Again, I need things. Also this would take forever to answer, so…

39. You have to relocate to a planet other than Earth, which do you choose? …Vulcan? Andoria? Some Earth colony? Yeah probably an Earth colony, if there’s a nice big one.

40. If you got a trek inspired tattoo what would it be? I don’t think I’d get a tattoo… but I mean, if I were forced to get one at gunpoint for some reason, maybe the IDIC medallion on my ankle or something simple like that.

41. Which episode(s) creeped out/scared you the most? “Night Terrors”, the TNG episode where the crew can’t dream. When Crusher’s in the morgue and all the corpses are suddenly sitting up? I lost it the first time I saw that as a kid. Still creeps me the fuck out.

42. Which episode(s) made you cry? “Real Life”, the VOY episode with the Doctor’s holographic family that you never see again. I don’t know why that one got to me but it got to me.

43. Order of shows from most to least favorite? Deep Space 9, Next Generation, Voyager, Original Series, Enterprise, Animated. Honestly DS9, TNG, VOY, and TOS are all at about the same level for me, I love them all but in different ways. ENT is a noticeable step down in quality and TAS is uh… yeah.

44. If *insert crew* ended up in the modern day what would amaze them the most? Gotta give me a crew.

45. Which alien culture would you most want to live in/would feel most comfortable? Denobulans would be super friendly, I feel like.

46. If they rebooted *insert show here* who out of modern day actors would you pick to play the main characters? No more reboots.

47. An unpopular opinion you have? Jadzia Dax is the worst character on DS9. She’s an annoying know-it-all who can apparently do no wrong. She also has no character development to speak of and her episodes were always the most boring, despite the Trill being a fascinating race. Worf deserved better. Also, Terry Farrell never seemed the right choice for the part. I was glad to see her go and I genuinely don’t understand why this fandom worships the ground she walks on.

48. Sort the crew of *insert show here* into Hogwarts houses. Someone want to send a show?

49. A favorite ST fic? I don’t read much fanfic, actually. I did read one where Q was trying to help Reg get over his stage fright. That was pretty funny. I can’t remember where it was or I’d link to it.

50. A random headcanon? At some point after the episode “Hollow Pursuits”, Reg Barclay gave Deanna Troi a damn good (and completely genuine) apology for recreating her on the holodeck for make out sessions.

#anonymous #answered asks #ooc #Anonymous