Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Third Season Review
Too many series start off well, only to drag a bit after the second or third season (e.g., SUPERNATURAL right now). Even BUFFY, as great as it was, was not as good after Season three as it had been before (with the exception of the glorious Season Five). But ST:DS9 was only getting started and peaked in its later half. (So too did ST:VOYAGER to a lesser degree.) The Dominion loomed more and more as a story in Season Three, beginning to drive many of the main story lines. And relations between several of the main characters began to take shape.
One of my complaints with all of the STAR TREK series is the generally weak development of character. If you contrast any STAR TREK series with other series that are noted for their character development like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER or VERONICA MARS or -- staying within SF -- FARSCAPE or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, the STAR TREK shows are remarkable for their lack of character development. There is definitely more development than in the STARGATE series (with the possible exception of the new STARGATE UNIVERSE, which looks like it is going to depart from the three earlier series -- and yes, there were three earlier series, one of which almost no one knows anything about). Although I've had debates with people about characters like Jean-Luc Picard and whether they truly develop or whether they merely add details to his character without actually altering him, I can find almost no real development among the vast majority of STAR TREK characters. (Though one has to add the caveat that there is some development in the movies, especially in someone like Spock and Data.) The one truly huge exception are the various characters who lie just outside the human. STAR TREK excels at characters that expand our understanding of what kind of entities can be considered persons. It began in the original series with Spock, who was nonetheless half human. But his half-Vulcan nature was a groundbreaking development on TV SF. It continued with Data on ST:TNG, easily the most important TV robot (and on a sidenote, since Data virtually all artificial people on TV since Data have been cyborgs -- Data has no serious competitor as TV's most important robot, a mechanical man with no biological parts). That series had many other characters that expanded the possibility of our understanding of personhood. ST:VOYAGER would later have two of my favorite STAR TREK characters along these lines, the Doctor and Seven of Nine, the latter actually a real human who was trying to reclaim her personhood after having been reduced to a nonperson by being a Borg drone. The two characters on ST:DS9 who work along these lines are Dax and Odo. Frankly, while I liked Dax, I was never able to accept the notion of a race of people who aspired to being the host of a symbiote. It was an interesting idea and they certainly gave it their best shot, but they never managed to make the sacrifice of one's individuality plausible. (The only convincing depiction that I have ever encountered in SF was in the superb pair of SF novels by Hal Clement, NEEDLE and EYE OF THE NEEDLE, in which a symbiote enters a human unaware of its presence. But there the blending was not a conscious act by the host.) Odo is one of my favorite STAR TREK characters, not least because of the marvelous performance by Rene Auberjonois. He, Data, and the Doctor (from ST:VOYAGER) are the three STAR TREK characters who push the boundary of the Person furthest. Odo is especially delightful in that he has no necessary shape, except for the one that he has decided to adapt, and even that one, not terribly well. Unlike the other Founders, he isn't able to form himself into a precise human form. And you have to love that every sixteen hours he has to refresh himself by going to rest in a bucket. Odo is also one of the saddest STAR TREK characters, early in the series yearning to discover others like him, only in Season Two to learn that he belongs to an imperialistic, merciless species. His refusal to join his kind renders him a permanent exile. And his absolute otherness means that he can find no love, even though he harbors a deep affection for Kira. Frankly, without characters like Odo and the Doctor and Seven of Nine and Data and Spock, I probably would find little to enjoy in the STAR TREK shows. The stories too often smack of the tales from the pulp era of SF. But the best nonhuman -- or only partly human -- characters are a source of endless delight.
As a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fan, I would like to point out that this was the season when Ronald D. Moore, the creator of BSG, joined ST:DS9. From Seasons three through seven, he would be one of the three most important writers on the show. I think his documented unwillingness to tread over familiar ground helped push the series into new territory. Plus, I always had a soft spot in my heart for him, not just because we share a last name and first initial, but because he was the one who killed my least favorite STAR TREK universe character, James T. Kirk (a character I detest largely because of William Shatner's acting, which I personally consider among the worst in the history of TV -- his acting decisions beggar the imagination).
The best thing about Season Three is that although it was quite good, it would be quickly surpassed. The show was just beginning to find its stride. Episodes: The Search Parts I and II, The House of Quark, Equilibrium, Second Skin, The Abandoned, Civil Defense, Meridian, Defiant, Fascination, Past Tense Parts I and II, Life Support, Heart of Stone, Destiny, Prophet Motive, Visionary, Distant Voices, Through the Looking Glass, Improbable Cause, The Die Is Cast, Explorers, Family Business, Shakaar, Facets, The Adversary.
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Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Third Season - jondibrit - Florida
Excellent Sci-Fi series. Full of lovable characters and villains. Lots of action, inter-personal relationships and some humorous moments as well.
Jun 25, 2010 20:08:08
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