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The Circle

Deep Space Nine's second season opens with an ambitious 3-part story, introducing their soon-to-be staple practice of partly disguising each episode with its own individual on-screen title. Although I really like the plot of this story, and the series' regulars all do well within it, it often seems to be dragging itself along at a pace that is just a bit too slow.

Personally, I think the performances of the guest characters are a little too inanimate in this three-parter. The character of the newly rescued navark Li Nalas is pretty much scripted that way, and had to remain that way to make certain worthy thematic points, so that's all well and good. But Minister Jaro, the ambitious high-ranking politician we see, although having a nice sense of calm, charismatic power, is just a little too dead-pan to maintain much excitement for the story, while Vedek Bareil strangely seems to be much more stiff than usual. The regulars are really up against it trying to infuse the rest of the story with energy, but Quark leads the charge with comic relief, while Odo, Kira, Dr. Bashir, and Vedek Winn all give the drama suitable boosts when they can.

Our focus today will center on the second of the three episodes, titled "The Circle", particularly the end when the Prime Directive is mentioned. I was very sadly shaking my head as I laughed at the opinion expressed through an Admiral Chakotay, who turns out to be some young white Caucasian dude completely unrelated to the character of similar name that had not yet debuted on Star Trek Voyager. The Chakotay here in "The Circle" seemed on the surface to have no memory of what happened in the TNG season four cliffhanger / season five opener "Redemption", which is sad because the situation has repeated itself verbatim.

In "Redemption", our Federation characters believed that the Prime Directive prevented them from interfering in a Klingon civil war, which is fair enough. BUT, if it could be proven that the Romulans were involved, that would be a different story, and the Federation could jump right in.

Well, here this upstart Chakotay tries to insist that the Prime Directive should force Sisko and company to haul out and not take sides in the violent coup about to change the fate of Bajor, and he does this AFTER our crew has presented good evidence that the Cardassians are not only supplying arms but indeed have set the whole plot up.... all without any Bajorans really knowing who was pulling their strings. Time to let the truth rule above secrecy, and chuck that damned two-faced label for ethics whose meaning changes with every passing gust of wind.

If there is a point to Starfleet's stand today, it may very well rest on the Trial of a Time Lord authority-request precedent. Because Gowron had the best claim to speak on behalf of the Klingon Empire and repeatedly requested and begged for Federation support, perhaps that helped make Starfleet's involvement okay in that situation. But here, there is no member of Bajoran government to be seen requesting any Starfleet help - instead Starfleet is being kicked off the station. An interesting way to go this time around, not that our heroes will let that stop them from getting involved on the truthful side of the issues. Kira and Odo are well within their jurisdiction to remain active participants, and it's great to see their new friends support them. Nice one.

This opening three-parter may require a bit more patience from its audience than other episodes of DS9, but in the end, it turns out to be a fairly satisfying story.

Second Sight

Of particular interest in his latest stunt of reigniting the dead star Epsilon 119 is the fact that he's basically going to pull it off by ramming a package of proto-matter into it. This sets off a red flag. Back in Star Trek III, Dr. David Marcus was embarrassed to admit he had used proto-matter in the Genesis Project, after which Lt. Saavik chewed him out for violating the ban that all known scientific bodies had agreed on to prohibit use of such dangerously unstable stuff. Has such a ban now been lifted as we come to this episode some 70 odd years later? How is it that today's scientist can boast about using it and get away with it so proudly?

We may also have a conundrum concerning dates. Sisko says that this is the fourth anniversary of the battle of Wolf 359 when he lost his wife. The battle was stardate 44001 at the beginning of TNG's fourth season. If Star Trek meant to have exactly 1000 stardates for every Earth year, today should be stardate 48001, yet Sisko's log is 47329.4. Another easy variable comes from questioning whether or not Sisko intends to count in Earth years, or Martian years (he was stationed at the Utopia Planitia shipyards between Wolf 359 and his assignment to DS9), or Bajoran years, or what. Today's stardate seems to better indicate one year after the DS9 pilot episode, when his issues over his wife's death debuted on TV.

Armageddon Game

I suppose we'll have to rack up another point for the Trial of a Time Lord authority request precedent allowing us to bypass any Prime Directive arguments in this one.... although O'Brien and Bashir must be spending most of the episode wishing they HADN'T got involved.

I suppose we should also be thankful that none of the absolute illogic of the first season TNG episode "Justice" is around anywhere in this one, trying to extradite Starfleet officers into the custody of this still-not-very-evolved society. In fact, none of the issues in this story get muddled with ill-defined labels, such as the Prime Directive, and the script articulates its concerns more directly and cleanly. Nice.

In the end, this is quite a decent episode, giving each character some good material and helping to define Dr. Bashir in particular, who was glossed over a little too much in the first season. Although the middle act may give the impression that it will be slow, it turns out that there are too many characters in play for that, and many interesting avenues are explored. Not the greatest episode ever, but a good one.

Profit and Loss

The Maquis

This story really begins with the season seven Next Generation episode "Journey's End", and the treaty that perhaps doesn't so much realign the border with Cardassia as it does define it for the first time that both sides can agree on. However a lot of colonies end up on the wrong sides of the new border. Watching this situation's debut on Deep Space Nine really doesn't leave this treaty looking like it makes any sense, but add a viewing of "Journey's End", and it starts to look a little bit better.

Now we come to the story in "The Maquis", where it seems that many other colonies have followed suit. Their people have not been evacuated, they have stayed put in Cardassian Space. So how is it that Admiral Nechayev can come to Deep Space Nine, get in Sisko's face, and insist on emphasizing, twice, that all these people are still citizens of the Federation? They don't live in the Federation anymore. They are either Cardassian citizens if the Cardassian Empire will have them, or squatters in Cardassian space. Perhaps they can now claim, legitimately, to be independent societies. Not only do Nechayev and Starfleet and their chain of command have no business trying to boss them around, but the Prime Directive now applies as well. If the colonies want to declare war on Cardassia, that's totally up to them. Starfleet is limited to policing Federation sympathizers from selling them arms, or offering to help them negotiate their differences with the Cardassians, which requires a much more open and understanding stance from them. All this makes the original border treaty kind of useless, because there is still fighting and there is still negotiating. The voices of these colonies needed to be taken into better account back then, and the issues that create conflict in the first place won't simply vanish because the name of peace comes up. Issues need to be dealt with.

So this story, while having its good moments, turns out to be two episodes of much exposition of this weird situation without really coming up with an engaging conflict that makes me want to root for the Starfleet characters. The political and moral arguments are really falling flat and failing to see the obvious.

Where the story has potential is in investigating the mysteries of who's supplying arms to whom, and what the agenda of the Cardassian high command really is. Our Starfleet crew is well within their rights to prosecute the Maquis for bringing their war into Federation space, or target Federation sympathizers who smuggle arms or equipment to them. In terms of morals and philosophies, perhaps the many characters need to learn to not judge citizens by their external appearances or biological heritage - just because someone is Human doesn't mean they are automatically a Federation citizen, in the same way that just because someone is obviously of Cardassian descent, it doesn't automatically make them part of the Cardassian Empire. The situation here still produces many great story possibilities. But the possibilities that were pursued in this two-part adventure were not pursued particularly well.

The Collaborator

1. The Alternate (A strong vein of exploration quickly got me on board with this episode, and it continued to hold my interest well until the very end. This one packs in everything I'd want in a good Star Trek sci-fi episode, particularly exploration galore, plus it perfectly exploits both what we know and what we don't yet know about Odo, introducing his discoverer Dr. Morra in one of James Sloyan's most remembered portrayals. The cast are all well-served here.)
2. The Jem'Hadar (A fun outing for Sisko and the Ferengi brings much humour to the early portions, while the escalation to galactic intrigue and action in the later portions teases DS9 mythology to all new heights. Very nicely done. Previously this had been my season favourite, in part by containing the most significant event of the year, so I'm a bit surprised another episode bettered it in the end.)
3. Whispers (One of the most perfect Star Trek conspiracy thrillers ever, this one kicked off an almost annual convention of "O'Brien vs the cruel world" stories, but remains one of that set's best and cleanest entries.)
   • (Circle Conspiracy 1: The Homecoming might go here if its parts were ranked separately)
4. TNG: Journey's End (An important primer in the Maquis situation featuring Admiral Nechayev and Gul Ivec, therefore useful in a DS9 season 2 rewatch. This first chapter in the Maquis plotline enacts the actual best small-scale solution to that saga's central debacle, plus this is a refreshing return to real events with lasting impact within TNG's run. While most characters make a VERY worthwhile and memorable journey in this one, the route is clumsy - some scenes miss the mark completely, while most scenes, particularly at the end, finally do reach their objectives nicely.)
5. Rules of Acquisition (Successful world-building is enjoyably off the chart in this one. After TNG's initial introduction of the Ferengi in "The Last Outpost" where they thoughtlessly dropped the Curse of the N-word on their new "adversaries", the main stunt in "Rules of Acquisition" is what was required to get a Ferengi female on screen, and was sadly not repeatable. Thankfully it makes for a fun story here that utilizes a good deal of the potential. We also manage to further the Zek saga, intrigue everyone with the first subtle hints of the Dominion, throw in the Dozi via another reliable Brian Thompson character, plus, surprisingly, Terry Farrell actually seems to really be Jadzia Dax for the first time since the pilot, her wild side finding its expression via the game of Tongo. This episode gets more long term things right than we could know when watching it for the first time.)

6. TNG: Firstborn (A worthy exploration of Alexander's character and destiny, with a good adventurous odyssey spine and an enjoyable connection to Quark and DS9. Fairly solid and satisfying.)
7. Armageddon Game (A good philosophical / sci-fi conundrum leads into a pivotal bonding ordeal for Bashir and O'Brien, while the rest of the crew have a mystery to investigate. This one has a good variety of environment to move through, and a good balance of action all the way through. Nice one.)
8. Circle Conspiracy: [1 - The Homecoming, 2 - The Circle, 3 - The Siege] (An engaging three-part political thriller with barely an odd nugget or two of philosophy tucked into a scene or two, and a bit slow paced in some sections. The series' regulars are highlighted, defined a second time for those who missed it previously, tested, contrasted, and put back in place. Enjoyable, but not groundbreaking.)
   • (Circle Conspiracy 3: The Siege might go here if its parts were ranked separately)
   • (Circle Conspiracy 2: The Circle might go here if its parts were ranked separately)
9. Profit and Loss (A somewhat lacklustre backdrop of Cardassian political intrigue merely peppers Quark's romantic A-story here, which shows much genuine heart and earns the episode most of its points.)
10. Playing God (Not great, but enjoyable and pleasant. The story of Jadzia evaluating the new Trill initiate never really takes off, but we get a lot of interesting sideshows along the way. We introduce the Voles, challenge our morals and our science analysis skills with a sadly too-forgetable proto-universe, and for once give Terry Farrell lots to do in a story that showcases her character - the character that will continue for the rest of her time, with an odd comment about her "lack of serenity" as it gets put to rest. Interesting and worthy.)
11. Crossover (This one earns some points for its ending, and its opening scene, but it doesn't quite center on a moral dilemma for its heroes as "Mirror, Mirror" did. Instead, too much of its energy is invested in the Intendant and its dark characters and situation, which isn't recommended ideal viewing. Notice how often our Kira is reduced to merely staring at a display of theatrics from the nut-job alternate-universe characters, but not really doing anything or interacting herself; I don't really want to stare at the crazies along side her. "Mirror, Mirror" was much better, and gave our four protagonists more productive things to do. Thankfully, this universe's shenanigans do eventually lead to a somewhat better place...)
12. The Wire (An important Garak/Bashir outing, but not particularly exciting or pleasant. Establishes character and intrigue, but hasn't much good philosophical point.)
13. Cardassians (Not a great story, and it does leave some of its important thematic threads dangling loose, but it's a decent vehicle for Garak and Dukat, both making their first proper return to the show since their introduction, and its a good vehicle for Doctor Bashir to flex his deductive and investigative muscles.)
14. Melora (Bashir's A-story is worthy, though not great, generating intrigue and leaving a satisfied lasting memory, even when awkward chemistry confirms certain circumstances will not favour all desired outcomes. The B-story is forgetable recycled rubbish with dumb make-up design, yet Shimerman and Auberjonois still manage to be exceedingly entertaining in it. I also really hated the running gag, introduced here, of the Klingon chef in concept; it makes no sense that he would have any genuinely satisfied non-Klingon customers. I mean, FRESH Klingon food is disgusting enough, but who is gonna prefer the stale version when replicators and other choices are so widely available? It seems people go to him for vain virtue signaling, as though to say "Look at me; I'm so open to other cultures that I'll endure their gutter rubbish!" Going there to eat seems like an easy way to kill romance rather than foster it.)

15. Rivals (Oddly centered on a not-quite-compelling guest star, or so it seems at first, but this turns into something with an interesting scientific problem for Dax in addition to some competition for Quark, and it's good to see another important step in the Bashir and O'Brien pairing. Lots of entertaining scenes abound. My recent enjoyment showed this to be much better than my memories had at first suggested.)
16. "The Maquis" (Long-winded, dull, and confused. There is some merit in the efforts of some of our regular characters to sort through this mess, but Wesley Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard have already beaten them to it and shown the way - there is no real treaty until each colony gets on board to do its part of its own free will, or suggests something else that everyone can agree to. Negotiation must continue. Watching these nimnuls fuss around with lesser ideals isn't fun; there's not much energetic charisma or charm in Sisko's buddy or the Vulcan woman, and the plot never settles on any action scene where we can root for anyone or where something truly significant happens. It's all too dull and confused to rank well. Dukat is the only character who benefits in this one - he finally gets the amount of focus he deserves, and Marc Alaimo delivers well.)
17. Blood Oath (I consider it a minor coup to have the three most successful and charismatic of Klingon adversaries from Kirk's TOS series each make his first return to Star Trek in this episode, and it provides the episode with the bulk of its positive points. The fact that there is also an action quest with some production value in it completes the positive side. However, this is also a Peter Allan Fields episode, so true to form, our principle Starfleet character's morals are painted on backwards, giving the episode major minus points. I don't think I like the "new" Dax in this one at all, nor have DS9's Klingon stories got on my good side through this example here.)
18. Sanctuary (A story of refugees that scores its biggest points simply letting its set-up unfold aimlessly and realistically, resulting in a few good scenes. The "main" conflict has to be saved up until almost the end of the story, because there's not really much to it other than some boring canned political speech posing as "debate", and a bit of a contrived obsession to force the matter.)
19. Second Sight (a mildly intriguing situation plays out via some very dull scenes lacking in chemistry. Pleasant, but not compelling.)
20. Invasive Procedures (The hostage situation is far too stale a device to prevent a major loss of points for the episode, but we do get a few more good info-dumps about Trill customs and possibilities, some of which are tested, probed, stretched, etc. Plus a few good moments between various crewmembers as well. Overall, a weird episode that I didn't really like.)
21. Necessary Evil (How could I forget this flashback to so many first meetings between Odo, Kira, Quark, and Dukat? And in an episode showing the first hints of Rom's savant-like genius, no less? But yes, this is a forgettable episode, because Fields throws out his moral compass and flushes the ending down the toilet, making one WANT to forget the episode, no doubt. And most of these first meetings are not really very memorable anyway.)
22. Tribunal (Though there are a few good scenes on the periphery in this one, and there's some inspiration in Avery Brook's debut as director, the core of this one boils down to some terrible, cliché, distasteful imagery stretched out as "drama". Is this O'Brien's story? He gets nothing he can sink his actions into to help solve his troubles, so it's a limp one for him, and he can only play the part of the McGuffin. Is this an Odo story, stepping up to be a "nestor" lawyer that delivers the cleverness to win the day? Nope, there's nothing effective for him to do either. Two big fake-outs wasting time in the audience's search for the protagonist of this one. Early "Sliders" episodes often had the same trouble; unsurprisingly writer Bill Dial eventually wound up on that show for its 4th and 5th seasons. Back to DS9 here, there's not much to learn from this "imagery posing as fake drama" that wasn't already obvious. An unhealthy hour that is best skipped on re-watch.)
23. The Collaborator (A cesspool of unhealthy imagery, detrimental secrecy, and loser mentality. Unfortunately, a big piece of DS9's larger mythology rests on the turns of this episode, making it less skip-able than it should otherwise be.)

24. Paradise (Look at what they have achieved, the identity they have become: Slaves to a psychopathic woman! I have to give this crowd of losers [unfortunately, Sisko included] a lot of negative points for offering so little debate and challenge to the long-winded self-appointed asshole-in-charge each time she starts prattling - it is both an unrealistic crowd dynamic and makes very frustrating unsatisfying viewing for the audience. Plain badly written, in my book. If living without technology was such an effective path to a greater sense of community, shouldn't they have more easily detected the rot at the core each time she engages in orating her control-freak tendencies? The control-freak-factor is painfully in overdrive here, sinking this one's score along with any desire on my part to ever see this one again. The Federation was supposed to have evolved far beyond such bad behaviour already, which should make this example stand out even more obviously to ALL other characters.)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season Two (Fall 1993-1994): 26 episodes @ 45 minutes each. Get your copy of this 7-disc DVD set from the links below: DVD Extras include: Crew Dossier featurette: Jadzia Dax New Frontiers - story development "Section 31" barely hidden featurettes New Station, New Ships featurette Michael Westmore's Aliens Sketchbook S2 (w. Rick Sternbach)
U.S. Region 1 NTSC	Canada Region 1 NTSC	U.K. Region 2 PAL	U.K. PAL (Slimline Ed.)

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