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Past Tense

By now, Star Trek had settled into a pretty bad standard of time travel theory across the various permutations of the franchise, and for Deep Space Nine's first real time travel adventure here, this third season two-parter wriggles comfortably into the rut and provides one of the strongest pieces of imagery for how to get it wrong. Anytime I talk about how ridiculous it is to have historical records change with one sweep of Star Trek's magic wand of time, I think of the photo of Ben Sisko attached to an article of the impact Gabriel Bell had in the year 2024.

It is useful to look at the entire adventure from the point of view of Odo. Sure he has less to do than any of the other regulars, but he gets a bit of a touchstone perspective due to the fact that he stays in the series' present day throughout the whole thing. It makes no sense that the entire universe should change all around him and back again later. It would be another few months before the debut of "Sliders", when television would learn to finally start calling a spade "a spade", and a parallel universe "a parallel universe".

Is there any good reason for Odo and the Defiant to slide to a universe with no Starfleet, and then back? If so, it is lost in a flurry of technobabble that builds on crap that Star Trek writers had concocted for previous stories, and makes little sense on its own. For story purposes, the writers are trying to raise the stakes for the cliffhanger, à la "City on the Edge of Forever", which doesn't work since all timelines co-exist, or as Brannon Braga put it in "Parallels", all possibilities that can happen, DO happen in alternate quantum realities. Really, for all the impact that it has on the rest of the story, Odo could have stayed in the universe with Starfleet, and the tale would be on better scientific and metaphysical footing.

Also copying a pattern from the less successful "City on the Edge of Forever", it is unclear exactly how the impact of Sisko and Bashir's presence in the rioting situation can so impact the course of history such that Starfleet no longer exists. I'd sooner believe that perhaps a slightly less friendly version of Starfleet might be the logical extension of their version of history, perhaps with a different name, and easily with its headquarters in a different major Earth city. Having it not exist at all is going a bit too far to be believable.

But where this story is miles ahead of "City on the Edge of Forever" is in the human story created for Sisko, Bashir, and Dax. Sisko in particular gets decent heroic involvement, trying to save/protect lives on all sides and defuse tensions, and can keep his actions focused on his principles for the most part. The caveats are in using and/or getting involved in terrorism in any way, shape or form, even if for a good cause, and in falsely borrowing Gabriel Bell's name. Bell's actions may need to be duplicated, but it is unclear how this is any better than having Sisko use his own name.

In any case, is "hostage taking" really the right approach? Although many good scenes are delivered where characters debate a worthy issue to an extent rarely seen on Star Trek, the situation in the episode's Sanctuary blocks has arisen in part out of citizens expecting their governments to take care of them, and perhaps even more basically, from cramming too many people into too small an urban space. Perhaps a better idea would have been blasting the Sanctuary walls down irreparably, letting everyone out where they could proactively find or create their own jobs.

This story almost serves as a bit of a template for the time travel aspects of the upcoming feature film "Star Trek 8: First Contact", including going back to a time that is history for the regular characters but future for the audience (very cool), and including its choice of getting Jonathan Frakes to direct the second half. Unlike Star Trek 8, this one is a bit more clumsy with explanations of time travel dynamics, and is in danger of looking dated now that we're closer to 2024 when this is set than 1994/95 when this was made. It certainly delivers yet another most interesting drama for Deep Space Nine's third season, although the third season up to this point has been so good and so much better than the second season that "Past Tense" certainly has a lot of healthy competition. Bring it on.

Well, we've now crossed the milestone; the story's 2024 setting is no longer a possible future but an alternate past. I think a lot of the "cool" factor has now been drained out of the story's setting as well due to this... Nothing really seems futuristic here anymore, although a few anachronisms show through. Curiously, in our actual history we've not had Sanctuary Districts, but Sanctuary Cities instead, for different collections of people and for vastly different reasons than those presented here. Firstly, let's hope viewers have enough discernment to not mistake this story for a genuine history lesson; they'll end up misinformed for sure. But it makes one curious to know who might have borrowed ideas and/or terminology from whom, the DS9 writers or the powers that be? Or did the writers have access to some hints of someone's long term plans? Who knows? Perhaps this is best looked on as some kind of fiction, with the creative freedom to be vastly different, similar to the alternate worlds regularly encountered on "Sliders".

Personally, I don't think "Past Tense" has aged particularly well. The sequence of events cited as being "history's proper way" to bring about change is VERY lousy and unworthy of its 2 hours in the spotlight, and the time travel theory aspects are badly handled as well, particulary in how they are used to insist that our heroes stick to the very lousy way to bring about change and curtail any effort they might want to make to seek out better solutions. Bringing in better options needs to stay on the table for a Trek story to rank well with me. Plus these slums and overcrowded offices aren't fun to look at; the characters inhabiting them aren't fun to spend time with. I think every other episode in the third season so far has outshone this story. Let's move on and hope the rest of the season can continue to do better as well...

In the end, this is a very satisfying episode, which gets my blessing. Nice one.

I began to take issue with the episode when O'Brien gets to the point where he wants to jump into the future on purpose. First of all, why do it with some half-baked radioactive poison running through your body? Why not employ some refined version of the engine mix formula that debuted in "The Naked Time" and got reused to good effect in "Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home"? The Starfleet personnel also seem a bit dim when it comes to other sources of information other than from O'Brien's time traveling. You've got Romulan guests on the station, and you detect an invisible quantum singularity orbiting the station. Knowing how Romulan ships are powered, as evidenced in the sixth season Next Generation episode "Timescape", how can you not expect that the singularity is the warp core of a cloaked Romulan ship? The crew really seemed to be unnecessarily daft about this point. Whether or not they needed to know that it started to fire on the station may be debatable; they certainly only ended up with an unproven theory about what the Romulans were up to in the end.

"I hate temporal mechanics."
"I hate temporal mechanics."

In fact, there is massive intrigue and viewer interest generated in exactly how much of his past this new O'Brien shares with the one we've been following, since he ends up replacing our O'Brien. Fans of "Sliders" love to speculate that this may have happened to regular character Professor Arturo in "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome", but here in this episode of Deep Space Nine, there is no doubt. The writers chose not to press the usual reset button, and went with something far more cool and intriguing. Nice. In fact, it triggers memories of the DS9 season two episode "Whispers" and all the trouble that Keiko, Molly, and the rest of the station would have in accepting a new version of O'Brien. Will the same play out here, or will the events of this episode be forgotten in future stories?

Of course, if the new O'Brien shares a completely identical history with our O'Brien prior to the beginning of the episode, and this event is never mentioned in any subsequent episode, it may all boil down to the same thing as having the reset button pushed. Except for the fact that the ride has been much more thought-provoking. In some ways the writers were spared a more detailed investigation of temporal mechanics, since O'Brien was no expert and gave us some nice character moments instead. And there's always the danger that the writers wouldn't truly get the concept well enough to articulate it any better.

By and large, this is a worthwhile foray into the world of time travel on Star Trek, though ultimately not one of its all-time greats.

1. The Search, Parts 1 & 2 (This story has it all, especially a brand new and dangerous exploration of unknown territory in the Gamma Quadrant which we possibly should have expected in earlier seasons as part of DS9's standard premise. We also get the introduction of new characters, a new ship, major can't-miss mythological developments in galactic relations, plus personal developments for our regular characters, Odo in particular. Is that the obelisk from "The Alternate" making a return here on today's planet? This story is a giant winner of DS9; so far only "Emissary" can beat this one.)
2. Explorers (Not only is this a totally peaceful premise, not only does it offer an awesome window on galactic culture and history, but it also fixates on sci-fi's primary function - exploration, and making discoveries now that echo those made when the galaxy was unknown, both in manner and substance. This is also quite a world-building episode, introducing Leeta, Sisko's beard, the concept of Kassidy Yates, acknowledging the development between Bashir and O'Brien, and building Jake's writing career. The interplay between all the regulars is very pleasant and very rewarding today. Only 1 minor point of confusion: I understood from the pilot that DS9 and the mouth of the wormhole were parked IN the Denories Belt... or am I wrong? If so, how can it take days to get from DS9 to... the belt you're already in?)
3. VOY: Caretaker (Quark, Morn, and Gul Ivec are on hand to launch Voyager off on its mission in this production-value-rich 2-hour premiere, which branches out of DS9's third season. Technically, this counts as a chapter in the Maquis saga, does it not? ...And possibly is the saga's raison d'être at that.)
4. The Abandoned (I have to say, I really like the regulars in this one. There's nice interplay between Lofton and Brooks, Kira and Odo have several of their best ever scenes together, continuing their recent trend of demonstrating why they might have something much better than they can show in later seasons. And we learn a lot about our characters, including the newest members of the mythology, including a neat message about genetic instinct amongst learned freedoms. Slow to start, but worthy all 'round.)
5. Destiny (Lots of good material for most of the regulars in this one, plus a very good philosophical stance on predictions and [mis]interpretations. Odo's observations about agendas are also informative. Nicely done.)
6. Shakaar (This one uses established characters and situations well, while inventing a few new ones, puts everyone on the correct side, gives us lots of action and production value, and brings it all to a very logical and uplifting ending. A top notch outing for DS9.)
7. The Adversary (A very well-done confined thriller that sees many long-term milestones along the way. It's only Eddington's third story, but he is finally used properly and enjoyably here. Meanwhile, the Defiant's engine room makes its debut. Nice. The final line merely seems to leave us in exactly the same place we were in one season earlier, but this time the adventure has SHOWN us much more of how everything will be accomplished. The blood test seems like a convenience spontaneously conjured up for this episode only; it's somewhat bizarre how often it was later repeated.)
8. Heart of Stone (The main A-plot puzzle for Odo remains intriguing and worthy, even if something is slightly off about his nature in it. Nog's B-plot is also firing on all cylinders with important events for later developments, so we end up with a very strong episode that outperforms most of the rest of what this excellent season has to offer. Good job.)
9. Equilibrium (As a musician prone to some New Age beliefs, I'm fascinated by the idea of a piece of music triggering an exploration of past lives. As a sci-fi aficionado, I'm also fascinated by the fact that the resulting odyssey gives us a chance to tour the Trill homeworld somewhat. In contrast to previous tales that tell us about Dax, the bizarre process that made her what she is becomes visual here, showing rather than telling, nicely burning into our brains and recalled whenever the stories crop up again. Thus this one works on more filmic grounds than on the usual dialogue-heavy episodic TV criteria. Also unlike many of those early stories that give us the basics, Terry Farrell actually has quite a lot to do here in this one - she isn't sidelined nearly as much or as noticeably as in "Dax" or the much inferior "Invasive Procedures". And Joran's better side seems prolific, even dominant in this one. With all that said, I can easily forgive the central mystery for being merely okay and slightly limp. The audio-visuals remain highly memorable while the story vague enough to become a mystery again upon repeat viewing. ;-) )
10. Through the Looking Glass (If you could go to a parallel universe and meet a double of a lost loved-one, would you not jump at the chance? Add that to logistical goals in aid of a better philosophical existence for your entire species, and you have a VERY successful and powerful motivation for a lead protagonist from our good universe whilst he interacts with the mostly nutcase inhabitants of the dark mirror universe. This is a much better palette of things to look forward to seeing the protagonist do than the stare-and-escape mode of "Crossover"; I always get very deeply invested in this one. Though many of the later plot-turns aren't worked out as logically or neatly as might be ideal, this is more easily forgiven with such strong investment in place, and the episode still delivers a good adventurous odyssey. A nice winner for season 3.)

11. Defiant (Though the initial draw is a Riker crossover event, this quickly morphs into something quite different... but it's not so much a chapter in the Maquis saga as it is a spy thriller / action story that involves a few Maquis players. In that sense this one is not too shabby, even though perhaps its most intriguing payoff is put off for later down the road...)
12. The House of Quark (An enjoyable outing for many of our regular characters [bar the unfortunate opening gruesomeness], contrasting the differences between Ferengi and Klingon customs, and marking an important turning point for Miles and Keiko O'Brien.)
13. Civil Defense (Action and some intrigue in a well-paced bottle show. This simple episode idea delivers well.)
14. Movie - Star Trek 7: Generations (Well, Worf gets his promotion, but he'll probably want to be looking around for a new posting and a new challenge after this one...)
15. Odo & Garak: Improbable Cause / The Die Is Cast (The unusual pairing of Odo & Garak is central to this two parter and produces many sparking exchanges unique to this tale in all of DS9. The larger canvas also sees some major events in the political landscape. All is not clear sailing, however, as the escalation from personal intrigue to large scale plot hasn't enough logic in it to make a compelling, driven shift of gears. This perhaps marks the point where DS9 begins to get too enamoured with vast territorial conflicts, although it's still rare enough to have shock value in such big events. Most unfortunate of all is the inclusion of a bizarrely unique torture scene - another ugly trend for Trek to sink into, and the biggest loss of points for the story on my totem pole. A curious note is that Eddington returns for the first time since the season opener, acting like he hasn't been missing for nearly the entire season. Weird. Well, this one is entertaining, but odd, and I'm not sure I like where it went.)
16. Visionary (An unusual tale of intrigue, with a bizarre sci-fi twist to use to unravel the intrigue. But it is mucking around with time in a messy, not-quite-airtight fashion, and getting both hokey and gross with the radioactive poisoning trigger. Interesting, but not my favourite method to get a protagonist to solve intrigue.)
17. Second Skin (A less successful attempt to repeat the idea behind TNG's "Face of the Enemy". Though the political thriller aspect is less riveting here, not giving Kira as much to do as Troi had, and being equally devoid of enlightening philosophies, it still turns out to be a good episode well worth seeing.)
18. Fascination (A pleasant holiday story about nothing other than speculating about interchanging some of the long-term character relationships on the show. Nothing serious; nothing political. A nice diversion to enjoy the characters all pleasantly going a bit off on tangents for a while.)
19. Prophet Motive (Pleasant but not compelling was the main feeling for this week's Ferengi shenanigans and its sideorder of Starfleet awards trivia... until the orb and the Prophets took everything up a few notches and gave this one something unique. Not bad... but I think I like it more in retrospect than in the moment.)
20. Family Business (More world-building with the introduction of Quark & Rom's mother Ishka, liquidator Brunt, and Kassidy Yates proper. The characters and performances are all magnificently enjoyable in this one. Unfortunately, the main issue at the heart of the Ferengi drama is the most direct repercussion you could get from the thoughtless gauntlet thrown down in TNG season 1 when the Ferengi were first introduced in "The Last Outpost", and our episode here today is jettisoning points for digging into it and investing so hard in it. It doesn't make that interesting a drama. It would have been better, I think, to jettison the Curse of the N-word concepts, or at least reduce their scope to a fringe group and not the entire species' society.)
21. Facets (This one projects the sense early on that it is going to be a dull and formulaic exercise putting former Dax personalities on parade, and most of them do turn out to be unworthy of their time on screen. Joran has morphed into something new here; the writers seem to like to latch on to his one black mark and ignore the rest of what made him a whole person, to the detriment of any interest I might have had in the character... a definite low point for the episode. However, things turn fun and profound once Curzon shows up, and Echevarria finally puts some magic into the script. Nog's subplot is working much better for most of the running time, until Curzon edges it out at the end.)
22. Distant Voices (Joe Menosky seems to love to find ways for his speaking players to be symbols rather than characters, doesn't he? This is a better than average outing for that basic idea, since it makes some sense here. But watching an ageing Julian stumbling about for the last act isn't great. Not a favourite episode.)

23. Meridian (Great to see DS9 holding up the true Star Trek tradition by having the Defiant explore an interesting new planet. But though there are plenty of healthy scenes here that work well, the romance at the core of this one fails to be romantically interesting, and has no pace or drive to it. And when Dax falls back on her science, the science of the planet turns into technobabble gibberish that fails to be scientifically interesting. The dilemma at the end produces some weight, but far less than was the intent, I would guess. Meanwhile back on the station, stronger actors mine a seedier and less satisfying situation for all its possible entertainment value, which still rates pretty low in being worthy of Star Trek. Ah well. It's a pleasant hour with our crew, just not a great one. I think it can hold its own well enough amongst many of season two's episodes, however in season three it is outclassed by nearly every other tale.)
24. Past Pense, Parts 1 & 2 (Now that the main time period of this one is the audience's past and no longer our future, the story is even less interesting than before, and will be a source of dangerous misinformation for any who might regard this as history, not to mention that it simply sets many bad examples for Human behaviour. There is a decent moral and sentiment buried in here, but it's muddled amongst far too much crap to come through cleanly. The sequence of events cited as being "history's proper way" to bring about change is VERY lousy and unworthy of its 2 hours in the spotlight, and the time travel theory aspects are badly handled as well, particulary in how they are used to insist that our heroes stick to the very lousy way to bring about change and curtail any effort they might want to make to seek out better solutions. Bringing in better options needs to stay on the table for a Trek story to rank well with me.)
25. Life Support (Easily the most depressing story so far this season, too eagerly limiting itself to the destructive style of today's medicine. And all too often Jake's subplot is painful to witness as well. [Why always the Klingon restaurant, again?] Somehow I'm not surprised to find Ron Moore wallowing in his favourite well-worn territory here again...)

And now, something a little extra. In preparing my rankings, I ended up with an unplanned little bonus, which I think nicely demonstrates how much I value Season 3 (my favourite of DS9) so much more than Season 2 (one of my least favourite in all of Trek). This chart combining their rankings demonstrates that, although the best of each season might not be in too different a league, most of season 3 maintains a standard that most of season 2 could not come close to...

No.	DS9 Year Three	DS9 Year Two
1.	The Search, Parts 1 & 2
2.	Explorers
3.	Voyager: Caretaker
4.		The Alternate
5.		The Jem'Hadar
6.	The Abandoned
7.	Destiny
8.	Shakaar
9.		Whispers
10.		TNG: Journey's End
11.	The Adversary
12.	Heart of Stone
13.	Equilibrium
14.	Through the Looking Glass
15.		Rules of Acquisition
16.		TNG: Firstborn
17.	Defiant
18.		Armageddon Game
19.		Circle Conspiracy (The Homecoming, The Circle, The Siege)
20.	The House of Quark
21.	Civil Defense
22.	Movie - Star Trek 7: Generations
23.	Odo & Garak: Improbable Cause / The Die Is Cast
24.	Visionary
25.	Second Skin
26.		Profit and Loss
27.		Playing God
28.	Fascination
29.	Prophet Motive
30.		Crossover
31.		The Wire
32.	Family Business
33.		Cardassians
34.	Facets
35.	Distant Voices
36.		Melora
37.		Rivals
38.	Meridian
39.		The Maquis, Parts 1 & 2
40.		Blood Oath
41.		Sanctuary
42.		Second Sight
43.	Past Tense, Parts 1 & 2
44.		Invasive Procedures
45.		Necessary Evil
46.	Life Support
47.		Tribunal
48.		The Collaborator
49.		Paradise

Another reason for Season 3's success is that it didn't have certain writers like Peter Allan Fields subverting Trek's morals and philosophies in episode after episode, and THAT works like a charm for me.

The bottom section of this chart is the most telling, for me. Nearly half of season two sits here, with only a select few season three stinkers joining them.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season Three (1994-1995): 26 episodes @ 43 minutes each. Get your copy of this 7-disc DVD set from the links below: DVD Extras include: Crew Dossier featurette: Odo The Birth of the Dominion and Beyond Time Travel Files - "Past Tense" Sailing Through the Stars - "Explorers" Michael Westmore's Aliens
U.S. Region 1 NTSC	Canada Region 1 NTSC	U.K. Region 2 PAL	U.K. PAL (Slimline Ed.)

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