 "His Way" |
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by David E. Sluss |
27 April 1998 |
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THE BOTTOM LINE: Alright. I posted all sorts of nasty things about the premise of this episode based upon the information reported in the "His Way" press release. I also promised to keep my mind open and report back if the episode didn't turn out to suck. Well, <ahem>... it didn't suck. There; I said it. Understand, I can't say I was enthralled by this episode. I mean, Kira and Odo were so far out of character that they might as well been from the Mirror Universe, and the ridiculous Big Clinch scene was an amateurish, juvenile, sitcomesque way to Get Them Together after 3.5 years of build-up. Still, there is a certain style and flair to the episode, due largely to the music and James Darren's performance. While not making up for all the faults of the episode or its premise, they do lend a bit of class to the proceedings and make the resulting episode a lot less revolting than it had any right to be. In short, thank heavens for low expectations. CYNICS CORNER RATING: 5.8 (F+) STAR TREK THEME OF THE WEEK: I don't know if The Powers That Be planned this, but both Voyager ("Unforgettable") and DS9 featured amnesia this week. In DS9's case, of course, the amnesia relates to the War That Time Forgot, a.k.a. the so-called Dominion War. Aside from the obligitory "Don't you know there's a war on?" line, delivered by Major Kira this week, to remind strip syndicators which season this episode is from, there is, of course, no mention of the war, no indication that the Romulan entry did any good, etc., etc. The DS9 writers are either not very good at "arc storytelling" or they are being severely hamstrung by suits. DEMOTION OF THE WEEK: Anyone catch the gaffe when Dax walks by a DS9 crewman who addresses her as "Lieutenant"? I guess it doesn't really matter, since she'll be "Ensign Wormfood" after just six more shows. And speaking of which... CAN OF WORMS OF THE WEEK: So now the geniuses at Holoprogrammers, Inc. have decided that deliberately creating sentient recreational holograms which can move themselves between holodecks, access the communications system and presumably the computers, and learn all sorts of embarassing information about people is a good idea. Well, you can count me out. Given the appalling safety and security record of holodecks, it's a wonder Starfleet hasn't ripped every last one of them out. Sisko should throw Bashir's program, and the Doctor himself, out an airlock as soon as he finds out about it, in order to secure the station. On the other hand... SURPRISE TWIST OF THE WEEK: ...The holodeck and the holograms in them did function appropriately and within the bounds of their programming. Is this the first time a holodeck/suite has played a pivotal role in an episode while functioning normally and without it being part of an elaborate hoax or deception? DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB OF THE WEEK: No, I won't pan Nana Visitor's
singing (and as near as I can tell, it was her voice, even though it was dubbed in); it
was serviceable. Sisko and Odo, though. Eek. |
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© 1998 David E. Sluss |
