Let me take you on a journey. Let’s start with: I’m not a model builder. Some people are talked about as having two left hands….
Tag: Star Trek DS9
TV Junkie: A History
I watched a lot of TV shows over the years. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. And I watched accross the board.
Keep in mind that I’m only 35 years old.
I watched The Guiding Light for two years straight (it’s a soap opera whose German title was the Springfield Story). I watched medical shows like Trapper John M.D. and lawyer shows like L.A. Law. I watched the 80s action shows from MacGuyver to Riptide. I even watched Love Boat every weekday on one of the first private channels in Germany: Sat.1. I got up at 6am on every Saturday morning to watch Rawhide (Tausend Meilen Staub, lit. “A Thousand Miles of Dust”) with a very young and pre-Fistful Clint Eastwood. I knew who Daniel Boone was around the same time I met the Cartwrights as well as the men from the Shiloh Ranch.
And last weekend I binge-watched the first Netflix show House of Cards (Big recommendation! Kevin Spacey is a brilliant Magnificent Bastard!) and I got curious as to how many shows I watched intently over the past two and a half decades.
With the help of the list on the German site Wunschliste.de I created a list of “my” shows.
I only counted live-action fiction shows, no animated shows may they be Saturday morning cartoons like Yogi Bear or Scooby-Doo or evening shows like The Simpsons or South Park. No scripted reality (which I’m avoiding to 99% anyway with the exception of Comic Book Men). In this list are only shows which I followed for more than a year unless the show itself didn’t last that long.
And the answer was: 244 246 247. Two hundred and fourty four six seven different shows I watched with active interest since I’ve started watching television. And the worst thing is: Of most of these shows I watched 90% or more episodes at least once.
TV Shows – A Decade in Retrospect
Since everybody seems to be starting to count at zero instead of one the first decade of this century and millennium is now over. So it’s time to recap these past ten years and take a look at the TV Shows it has given us.
Let me give my résumé at the beginning: Of the four decades I know TV Shows from (70s – 00s) this was without question the best decade for us TV junkies. When you read my review you might say in the end “Hey what about <insert your favourite here>?” (e.g. The Sopranos, Dexter, The Wire, Six Feet Under, …) but that’s exactly my point. This decade has given us so many outstanding shows that it was impossible to watch them all. Also, everybody has a different set of favourite genres but I’d say that every genre got their fair share of excellent series in the last years.
But let’s face it: There’s rarely any series (if there’s one at all) that could keep up the quality and its appeal for its entire run. Some had a bad year in between, some fell short at the end. But even in these “bad years” they had more quality episodes in it than entire shows from previous decades. So all the shows I am going to name have of course aspects that can be criticized and I invite you to do so.
For me the most outstanding characteristic of this past decade’s shows is that they are more often than not more about the “journey” of the character(s) than the actual events. It’s not the character who shines a light upon the unfolding events but it’s the events that shine a light upon the character and his development. I have to say that shows (hereby excluding comedy shows that work with stereo- and archetypes) that don’t have a real character development don’t interest me at all. But if the character development is interesting I might even watch shows from genres that usually don’t interest me at all.
If the character development is interesting enough I might even set the fact aside that my second favourite characteristic is missing: A real story-arc. The first TV Show in my TV universe that had a real story-arc, was Babylon 5. Later Star Trek: DS9 did the same albeit not in that quality and complexity. But these shows were two of the rare exception in the 90s (another famous exception would be Twin Peaks, but I never watched it). It seemed that viewers weren’t interested in either developing characters or story-arcs.
Buffy: Season 3: Disc 2
Deutsche Version | Season 3: Disc 1 | Season 3: Disc 3 Homecoming Synopsis: Buffy has decided to run for Homecoming Queen in order to…
Buffy: Season 1
Deutsche Version | Buffy Marathon | Season 2
Disc 1
Welcome to the Hellmouth
Synopsis: Buffy and her mom have just moved to Sunnydale, California. She was thrown out of her old school in Los Angeles because she burned down the gym (it was full of Vampires). But she hopes that this part of her life lays behind her – how wrong she was. A very old Vampire – the Master – tries to free himself from the Hellmouth that is directly under the town. And she can’t even keep it a secret that she is the Slayer. Everyone seems to know: The librarian Giles, her classmate Xander and even some mysterious guy in the dark alleys.
My Opinion: I’ve seen this pilot for the first time on DVD on November 22th, 2007. And I have watched it 10 times in the past 16 months. I know all the lines by heart by now. “It’s dated?” – “It’s carbon-dated!” I have to say I liked it that the whole gang knew from the beginning. It separates it from other superhero shows (*cough* Smallville *cough*). That makes for a great foundation of their friendship even though each and every one will have secrets of their own over the years.
Shortly before Buffy killed her first Vampire on the show she made a remark that rang a bell – I had heard a similar remark spoken in a similar tone elsewhere. 
Buffy: Now, we can do this the hard way, or … well, actually, there’s just the hard way.
Darla: That’s fine with me.
Buffy: Are you sure? Now this is not gonna be pretty. We’re talking violence, strong language, adult content …
Jack O’Neill: Assuming – of course – you are the Tok’ra.
Cordesh: And if we’re not?
Jack O’Neill: Well, I guess we all start shooting. There’s blood, death, hard feelings. It’d suck.
The Harvest
Synopsis: She may have saved Willow and Xander, but she has lost trace of Jesse. But she won’t give up that easily and she has help: Giles is her new Watcher and Willow is a computer nerd who can find anything as long as it’s on the net. And she will need that help because the time of the Harvest is close and then the Master will rise if she can’t prevent it. Unfortunately there’s nothing they can do for Jesse: He’s already worse than dead: A Vampire.
My Opinion: I know that life had to go on, but I found the end a little bit cheap. All these victims at the Bronze should have been in terror and should be screaming instead of simply getting slaughtered one by one. And then the aftermath where everyone chose to ignore what had happened. But I don’t know a better solution either. And I loved how she outwitted Luke / the Vessel and then dusted him.
Witch
Synopsis: Buffy decides to try out for the cheerleading team. She has been a cheerleader back in LA and she wants to live a normal life here, too – as far as this is possible. But mysterious accidents seem to happen to the cheerleaders of this school and soon there’s no doubt that witchcraft is behind it.
My Opinion: The story of that episode wasn’t that interesting, but I liked certain aspects of it. For example Buffy singing “Macho Man” or her cheerleading tryouts. I also liked that they made their first magic potion with bio and chem class equipment (scalpel, test tube, …).
Teacher’s Pet
Synopsis: After their biology teacher had been found dead in a refrigerator, Buffy, Xander and Willow get a new substitute teacher – and she’s hot. Xander and all other guys totally fall for her and she obviously likes it. But what kind of woman is she really when even a Vampire is scared by her?
My Opinion: This is one of these episodes with the obvious storylines. There’s a new teacher when the old one was killed onscreen. You automatically know that she’s somehow involved. She’s insulted when someone calls an insect “ugly”. You automatically know she’s one, too. All the guys instantly fall for her? You automatically know pheromones or some other stuff is involved. Didn’t like it very much.
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Deep Space Nine: Season 7
Disc 1
Image in the Sand
Synopsis: The Siskos have gone back to Earth where Ben works in his father’s restaurant. He’s still hoping to get an inspiration on how to re-open the wormhole. And then he finally gets a vision about a human female that’s somehow linked to his father. In the meantime Kira (who has been promotoed to Colonel) has to deal with the Romulans who want to open a hospital on one of Bajor’s uninhabited moons. And Worfs seeks a way to ensure that his wife passes the gates of Sto’Vo’Kor (the klingon heaven).
My Opinion: So Sisko’s mother wasn’t Sisko’s mother? This is a bit of a last-minute revelation, isn’t it? Apart from that this was basically just a prelude to the next episode.
Shadows and Symbols
Synopsis: Just as he was about to embark to Tyree where he hopes to find an answer to his vision, Sisko finds himself in front of Dax – Ezri Dax. Ezri never intended to get joined but the Dax symbiont was dying and she was its only hope. So she joins Ben, Jake and Joseph Sisko on their journey to Tyree. And Miles, Julian and Quark have joined a dangerous mission to honour their memory of Jadzia Dax. Worf and Martok plan to take the Rotarran deep into enemy territory where they intend to destroy a ship yard.
My Opinion: So Dax is back. Why? Why did they feel the need to introduce a new character (and that’s basically what she is) in the last season? She’s a babbling irritant and it will barely get better. And Sisko was conceived by a woman that was inhabited by a Prophet at that time? And he re-opened the wormhole. Hallelujah! Praise the Emissary! 
But I liked how Kira took a stand with her wing of impulse fighters agains a group of romulan Warbirds after they deceived her. And I liked the destruction of the ship yard – that should ensure Jadzia’s entrance into Sto’Vo’Kor.
But it was nice to see that they took the chance to show Casey Biggs (Damar) without a mask:
Afterimage
Synopsis: Ezri, who is a counsellor in training, has a hard time. She has to deal with all the memories of her previous hosts (especially Jadzia’s). But she also has to deal with all her – or Jadzia’s – friends aboard DS9 and of course with Worf. But she gets distracted when Garak’s claustrophobia panic attacks worsen and he nearly jumps out of an airlock “to get some fresh air”.
My Opinion: I liked Garak’s inner conflict about “betraying” his own people at the same time as I disliked the entire Ezri plot. And Garaks plot was basically written as a story device for her. If this would have been an exception I could live with it but we will see quite a number of Ezri episodes this season. They wanted to give her a proper profile and background but it feels forced. Ezri here. Ezri there.
Take Me Out to the Holosuite
Synopsis: The USS T’Kumbra (an all-Vulcan ship) comes to DS9 and its captain and Sisko have a history. He challenges Sisko on Sisko’s very own playing field – baseball. Sisko accepts of course and builds his very own baseball team and two weeks later the holo crowd is looking forward to a game of “Logicians” versus “Niners”.
My Opinion: I never cared for baseball but just as Major League this was fun to watch. The huge baseball cap to fit on a Ferengi head or Odo as the umpire or O’Brien’s scotch-flavoured bubble gum: great. 🙂 But I would have expected more of Worf. He’s a skilled klingon warrior and he can’t even hit the ball once? 😉
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Deep Space Nine: Season 6
Deutsche Version | Season 5 | Season 7
Disc 1
A Time to Stand
Synopsis: The war has been going on for three months and the Federation had to take heavy losses. But the minefield is still in place and seemingly unbreachable. Starfleet developes a plan to destroy the Ketracel-White supplies of the Dominion. Without the drug the Jem’Hadar won’t be able to fight anymore. Sisko takes a commandeered Jem’Hadar ship behind enemy lines to accomplish the task.
My Opinion: This is the beginning of a six-part arc, it’s the first time on Star Trek that they did something longer than a two-parter. While Sisko’s mission was interesting it also was “just another mission”. I found it more interesting to observe how the different characters on the station behaved. And I liked how Jake tried to be a reporter and how he and Weyoun discussed the “freedom of the press” in times like these.
Rocks and Shoals
Synopsis: Sisko’s heavily damaged ship crashes on a planet in an uncharted nebula. Most of the crew survives but now they are stranded with no means of communication. And they have another problem: They are not the first to crash there. A group of Jem’Hadar and their Vorta leader are also there and the Jem’Hadar are running low on White which makes them all the more dangerous. On DS9 Terok Nor life goes on. Kira works within the military hierarchy of the Dominion (Dukat has taken command of the station again) and Odo is a member of the ruling council. But that all changes when some Bajorans begin to demonstrate against (what they feel is) the occupation.
My Opinion: It’s seems that you can’t genetically engineer certain attributes together in the same DNA. The Vorta are cunning and shifty and good negotiators but at the same time they aren’t as nearly as loyal to the Dominion as the Jem’Hadar. I liked it how Sisko tried to prevent the bloodshed and although they are the enemy it was a bit sad that the Jem’Hadar had to be slaughtered. But Keevan (the Vorta) will get was he deserves in a later episode.
Sons and Daughters
Synopsis: Alexander Rozhenko – Worf’s son – starts as crew member abourd the IKS Rotarran and Worf has to deal with him, since he is the XO of that ship. But Alexander and Worf have never been close and until now Alexander denied his heritage as a klingon warrior. So why is he there? Meanwhile Dukat has brought Ziyal back from Bajor and to the station.
My Opinion: It was nice to see Alexander again whom we haven’t seen in nearly four years. And I also liked that they didn’t make him suddenly into the perfect warrior. I also liked how Ziyal tried to re-create the triangle relation between her, her father and Kira. But this time it had to fail and it was good that Kira didn’t continue this absurd charade.
This was the second episode that was cut due to the BBFC. About 20 seconds are missing at the end where the three Klingons conducted their hand cutting ritual.
Behind the Lines
Synopsis: Quark learns that Damar (Dukat’s second) has found a way to disable the minefield and Rom (who designed it) confirms that this could work. The resistance cell (consisting of Kira, Odo, Rom, Leeta & Jake) plans to sabotage the station. But then the female founder comes to the station and that changes everything. Meanwhile Sisko was promoted to Admiral Ross’s assistant and Dax takes over the command of the Defiant and she takes it to a very dangerous mission.
My Opinion: This episode was an average one until short before the end. When I first watched it I expected that maybe not everything was going as planned but that they would succeed eventually. It really surprised me that Odo let them down just to get into a link with the other shapeshifter. But that makes the situation aboard the station all the more interesting.
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Deep Space Nine: Season 5
Disc 1
Apocalypse Rising
Synopsis: Starfleet has developed a plan to expose Chancellor Gowron as a changeling. For this Sisko has to borrow Dukat’s Bird of Prey and fly deep into the klingon territory. There O’Brien, Odo and he poses as Klingons – or at least Worf tries to teach them how to do that. And of course it’s not that easy for a random klingon warrior to get close to his ruler.
My Opinion: It was great to see Brooks, Auberjonois and Meaney in klingon masks and costume, especially Brooks. And it was funny to see how they tred to behave like Klingons. But I have to admit I think it was a dangerous choice to take Odo, given his current state of mind. Even if it wasn’t voiced in the episode the reason was obviously to challenge Odo, to show him that he can do his job even as a “solid” but he could as well blown it. But in the end it worked out ok and I liked the twist that it wasn’t Gowron at all.
The Ship
Synopsis: Sisko leads an expidition to a planet in the GQ where they want to determine whether it’s suitable for a mining operation. But then a Jem’Hadar warship crashes on that planet – there are no survivors. But while they are inspecting the wreckage yet another Dominion ship arrives and in the following fight Sisko’s people get trapped in the wreck. Surprisingly the Vorta offers safe conduct if they’d leave the ship. But now Sisko has become curious about what’s so important about a crashed ship (and of course he doesn’t trust her to keep her word).
My Opinion: OK, I was tired, but I dozed off during the episode, what does that tell you?
Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places
Synopsis: Grillka, Quark’s klingon ex-wife, comes to the station because the war had some heavy impacts on her financial situation. And while Quark is happy to see her again, he’s not the only one who finds her fascinating. Worf tries to impress her but doesn’t succeed due to his dishonoured status within the empire. In the end he agrees to help Quark courting her.
My Opinion: The beginning of a beautiful romance. No, not Quark and Grillka, but Dax and Worf. “par’Mach” is klingon for “love”, just a lot tougher than its human counterpart. It was great to see Quark courting Grillka and fighting his challenger while Worf and Dax were secretly helping him to survive. And of course the best part was where the two pairs came into the infirmary at the end of the episode. 😀
Nor the Battle to the Strong
Synopsis: Bashir and Jake (who’s writing an article about Bashir) return from a medical conference when they receive an emergency call. They change course and land on a planet where a Federation force tries to hold the line against klingon ground troops. And while Dr. Bashir works in the clinic Jakes tries to help and not to stand in someone’s way. But he also has to learn about the horrors of war.
My Opinion: I thought this was a really good episode. Once again DS9 has shown Humans much more human and not as perfect as they had been portrayed in TNG. I liked the idea of hearing Jakes notes as voiceover, to hear what he was feeling right now when he meet all these different kind of people. And that he didn’t consider himself a hero just because he saved the day by accident even though everyone else does – that was great.
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Deep Space Nine: Season 4
Deutsche Version | Season 3 | Season 5
Disc 1
The Way of the Warrior
Synopsis: A rather large fleet of klingon ships under the command of General Martok arrives at the station and their true intentions remain unclear. But then they start to search ships that try to leave the bajoran sector to look for changelings. Sisko needs a Klingon to shed some light into this: Lt. Cmdr. Worf, son of Mogh. But when the fleet departs for an attack on Cardassia (that is infiltrated by Founders – or so do the Klingons believe), Worf has to make a choice: To stay with Starfleet or to rejoin his people.
My Opinion: Hawk is back! 😉 This was a great start to the season. Worf and Martok are great additions to the show and I like how fluent the concept of good and bad guys is. Except for Babylon 5 in other shows of that time the good guys remain good and the bad guys remain the bad guys. There’s rarely a grey area. Yes, the Klingons have been the bad guys once, but since the start of TNG they basically belonged to the good guys and that didn’t change – until now. It also often happened that a race was portrayed in a certain way and there were only a few exceptions to that general portrayal. Only Humans had been shown in all variations of grey. That is also due to the fact that TNG has shown a certain race rarely twice (except for the Klingons). DS9 with it’s “port of call” concept has broken with that and has shown all kinds of Bajorans, Klingons, Cardassians and will continue to do so.
The Visitor
Synopsis: An accident happens aboard the Defiant and Sisko gets vaporized and his son is shocked. But a few months later Ben Sisko reappears in Jake’s quarters and disappears again. Then a year later it happens again. Ben is caught in some kind of subspace bubble and Jake (who was involved in the original accident) is his anchor to this world. While his life goes on, he spends his time either with writing or studying subspace mechanics and after fifty years, Jake has figured out how to save his father.
My Opinion: In general, I liked this episode and (again) the relationship between Jake and his father. The story is very emotional and very well told. What bugs me is the fact that the Dominion war didn’t seem to have happened in that timeline. Firstly this contradicts the things we have learned so far about the Dominion infiltration of the AQ (e.g. in The Adversary) and secondly because that would mean that Sisko’s survival would lead to the greatest war in the history of the AQ with its millions of deaths.
Hippocratic Oath
Synopsis: O’Brien and Bashir detect a crash-landed ship along a trading route in the GQ. But when they approach the planet they get shot down and have to face a group of Jem’Hadar. But these are not regular Jem’Hadar, these one want to be free and for this they need to free themselves from the Ketracel-white drug. Bashir doesn’t believe this is possible due to his experiences with the Jem’Hadar infant in the previous year.
My Opinion: For the first time since the start of their friendship a rift has been created between Miles and Julian. Although it was sad to see, their behaviour was very fitting to each character. Miles has fought in the cardassian border wars and seen what an ruthless enemy is capable of and Julian is still a very enthusiastic doctor who values life above all else. But I am glad that their friendship will survive things like that.
And now we’ve seen Jem’Hadar who can think and act outside their genetically programmed pattern. Again a race has been shown more than one-dimensional and it will happen again.
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