“Star Trek: DS9” – Season 1, Episode 2 (“Past Prologue”)

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Garak [to Dr. Bashir]: Ah, an open mind, the essence of intellect.

The title is based on “What’s past is prologue,” a line from Antonio in The Tempest by Shakespeare. Tahna Los (guest star Jeffrey Nordling), a Bajoran terrorist during the Occupation, asks Cmdr. Sisko (Avery Brooks) for asylum on the space station. He is a member of the Kon Ma (an extremist group) and also accused of crimes against Bajorans. The leader on the ship chasing him, Gul Danar (Vaughn Armstrong), wants Tahna taken to Cardassia. When Tahna promises that he no longer wants to be a terrorist, Sisko decides not to hand him over to the Cardassians. Kira (Nana Visitor) works on getting amnesty from the provisional government for Tahna; they are old friends who went on different paths. We’ll shall see just how different by the end of this ep!

[Kira has managed to get amnesty for Tahna Los]

Tahna: I never realized you were such an accomplished politician.

Major Kira: Me? A politician? You… no, I- I don’t think so.

Tahna: You manipulate Sisko and the Federation, the ministers of the provisional government…

Major Kira: I’m just determined. I think they all simply get tired of hearing my voice.

Two Klingon sisters who tried to overthrow their High Council, Lursa and B’Etor Duras, arrive at DS9. The last Cardassian on the station, Garak (recurring character Andrew Robinson in his first ep), proves an interesting mystery to Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig). Garak claims that he is “plain and simple tailor,” but may have been a spy in a previous life. Near the start of the ep, Kira complains re: Sisko to an admiral (guest star Susan Bay Nimoy); she was married to Leonard Nimoy (Spock). Sisko mentions the Klingon Civil War, which took place in TNG (Redemption, Parts I & II); here The House of Duras is attempting to rebuild their forces. Morn, the silent patron always sitting at Quark’s bar, came over from TNG. I recently learned that Morn is akin to Norm from the popular comedy series- Cheers.

Odo: You know, there’s one thing about you humanoids I can’t imitate very well.

Major Kira: What’s that?

Odo: Pretense. There’s a special talent to it. It’s as hard for me as creating one of your noses.

We see the divided loyalties of Kira; she’s working w/in a system, not trying to overthrow one. Sisko is mad (of course) when she goes over his head; he even grabs her arm and chastises her in public. Now, that’s not something you’d see in TNG! Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and Kira have a good scene in his office; they are friends who respect and trust each other. They are also non-Federation characters, who aren’t gung-ho about dealing w/ new bureaucracy, political issues, and co-workers (who don’t have much experience w/ Cardassians).

[1] …the powerful ethnic conflict between Bajorans and Cardassians becomes a central focus.

[2] Did he [Garak] help the Federation learn what Tahna Los was up to because he wanted to help them, because it also served Cardassian needs, or did he have personal reasons? We just don’t know.

[3] I really enjoyed how Sisko let Kira make the decision of what route she would ultimately go in this episode- an astute command decision that exposes Kira’s true intentions/loyalty.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“Star Trek: DS9” – Series Pilot (“Emissary”)

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It was a bold move for creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller to branch off from TNG (still airing on primetime TV when their new show- DS9- began in early 1993). This pilot is considered to be a very strong start to the sci-fi series, which is known (and loved) for its focus on characters, rather than the alien of the week and techno-babble. The show starts out w/ a bang- literally- as Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks- the first African-American main lead on a Star Trek show) loses his wife, Jennifer (Felicia M. Bell), when his starship is attacked by the Borg at Wolf 359. This attack was led by Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) when he was captured and turned into Locutus; this is another unexpected move by the creators. The survivors of the attack, incl. Sisko and his 12 y.o. son Jake (Cirroc Lofton), abandon the ship in escape pods.

About a year later, we see the father and son headed to Deep Space Nine, a space station (built by the Cardassians) in the Alpha Quadrant near the newly-liberated planet- Bajor. Sisko and Picard have a (very tense) meeting, where Sisko admits that he may not want this job; these are yet more bold moves for the show. Many drew comparisons between Bajorans and the Jewish people (particularly the atrocities they faced under Nazis during WWII); there are several writers and producers of Jewish heritage on the show. The Cardassian occupation of Bajor (which lasted 50 years) can also be compared to England and colonial India. When Sisko arrives, he meets engineer, Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney), who served on the USS Enterprise in TNG. Picard and O’Brien (who served as transporter chief) have a touching goodbye before the Enterprise flies off.

The station (formerly named Terok Nor) is under Federation control; it could be compared to a frontier town in a TV Western (as some reviewers have commented). It’s in ruins and merchants are preparing to leave. We meet the bar owner, Quark (veteran actor Armin Shimerman), who is Ferengi- a race of aliens primarily concerned with profit. The Bajoran commander, Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor- who hails from a dance/theater background), is a former freedom fighter (“terrorist”) who isn’t a fan of the Federation. Chief of Security, Odo (veteran theater/TV actor Rene Auberjonois), is a Shapeshifter (one of a kind perhaps) who worked to keep the peace (for some years under the Cardassians). Unlike most TV lawmen, Odo doesn’t carry a weapon (phaser), and bans them from the promenade. Kira and Odo trust each other implicitly. Sisko is happy to be reunited w/ “old” friend Dax, who is a Trill- an alien race who live many lives inside different hosts. Jadzia (Terry Farrell) is the young science officer who is Dax’s current host. Right on her heels is the station’s wide-eyed doctor, Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig, who is English w/ Anglo and Arab heritage). On his maternal side, Siddig is the nephew of veteran actor Malcolm McDowell (the villain in the TNG movie- Generations). When Bashir sees the sick bay, he comments re: “practicing real frontier medicine.” As a kid, it was very exciting to see an actor of Muslim heritage on such a big TV show! A professor/media critic I follow (Zaki Hasan) said this was the same for his young sons, who are watching DS9 in recent years.

Bajor is not yet a part of the Federation (which Picard explained); it is also beautiful w/ many natural resources. Kira noted that there are several factions now at odds (though they worked together to remove the Cardassians). When Sisko beams down to the planet to meet Kai Opaka (Camille Saviola), one of the most revered religious leaders, she declares that his destiny is to be “emissary” to the Bajoran people. Unlike most TV shows, DS9 doesn’t shy away from religion, or the fact that it plays a big role in the lives of many (humans and aliens). Kai Opaka takes Sisko down to a secret underground cave, and reveals an orb (one of several which traveled to Bajor years ago). When Sisko touches this orb, he is instantly transported (“where no one has gone before”)! There is much more to the story (in the second part of the pilot), so check it out on Amazon Prime.

We see that not all the cast are part of Starfleet, so don’t all wear the same type of uniforms. The makeup for Odo had not yet been perfected, so he looks quite different in S1 than in the rest of the series. The ensemble cast is introduced rather smoothly in this pilot; each character gets a moment to show their personality. There is a mix of young newcomer actors and theater veterans (who provide gravitas). O’Brien is the the “Everyman” character that we know somewhat from TNG; he will get much more to do in DS9. The warm father-son relationship (rare for ST) will grown and develop over the series; Jake is not one of those TV kids who disappears. Brooks insisted on this element to the producers, as he felt there weren’t enough positive role models of black fathers/families in the media.

Hitchcock on Family Life: “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943) starring Teresa Wright & Joseph Cotten

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[1] Joseph Cotten is the perfect charming monster.

[2] As for Teresa Wright, she finds some good notes as well in playing off of Cotten… …those kids are just the right icing to the cake the film cooks up.

[3] One of my favorite elements in the movie is the ongoing dialogue between Henry Travers and Hume Cronyn, avid mystery readers who are constantly discussing the best ways to murder each other. Apart from being a bit of comic relief… it also demonstrates how lightly people think of murder and murderers… until they encounter them face-to-face.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Young Charlie: We eat and sleep and that’s about all. We don’t even have any real conversations. We just talk.

Charlotte “Charlie” Newton (Teresa Wright) is bored w/ her uneventful life, living in Santa Rosa, CA, w/ her family. She knows exactly what they need- a visit from her well-traveled/sophisticated Uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten), her mother’s younger brother. Out of the blue, they receive a telegram from Uncle Charlie announcing that he is coming to visit. Uncle Charlie creates a stir as the new man in the small town, dressing stylish and charming locals. Young Charlie begins to notice some odd behavior on his part. Two strangers, Graham (Macdonald Carey) and Saunders (Wallace Ford), come to interview the Newton family, saying they were chosen for a national survey. It turns out that they are (undercover) detectives!

Uncle Charlie: The whole world’s a joke to me.

Uncle Charlie: I guess heaven takes care of fools and scoundrels.

One reason Sir Alfred Hitchcock considered this to be his favorite movie was that he loved the idea of bringing menace to a small town. Hitchcock believed that the expensive and sturdy, but weathered and worn, look to the house would give the suggestion that the Newton family could be anyone, an average American family in any American town. Edna May Wonacott (book-loving/chatty Ann) and Estelle Jewell (Young Charlie’s friend Catherine) were locals of Santa Rosa, where the movie was filmed. Many of the extras were also locals of the town. The story is lightened up by the patriarch, Joseph (Henry Travers), and his eccentric neighbor, Herbie (Hume Cronyn- in his first movie).

Young Charlie: We’re not just an uncle and a niece. It’s something else. I know you. I know you don’t tell people a lot of things. I don’t either. I have a feeling that inside you there’s something nobody knows about… something secret and wonderful. I’ll find it out.

In his interview with François Truffaut in 1967, Sir Alfred Hitchcock said the dense, black smoke coming from the train that brings Charles to town was a deliberate symbol of imminent evil. Some viewers may have missed his cameo; he is playing cards on the train w/ his back to the audience. The waltz tune is Franz Lehár’s “the Merry Widow;” the nickname of the killer is the Merry Widow killer. Charlie’s sister, Emma (Patricia Collinge), mentions that he’d had an accident on a bike as a boy; his personality changed after the accident (getting into mischief). I learned that Collinge wrote the romantic scene in the garage between Young Charlie and Graham.

You can watch the movie (for free) on YouTube!

“Star Trek: DS9”: Episode Guide (The Dominion War)

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Are you taking some time during quarantine to rewatch (or finish watching) some fave shows? I recently rewatched the series premiere of Deep Space Nine (DS9). The first stable wormhole (in the ST universe) discovered by the DS9 crew is known to the Bajorans as the Celestial Temple of their Prophets. Sisko, as discoverer of the wormhole and its inhabitants, is called the Emissary of Bajoran prophecy. The wormhole’s other end is in the Gamma Quadrant, halfway around the galaxy from the planet Bajor (recently liberated from Cardassian occupation which lasted 70 yrs). Bajor is not ready to be a part of the Federation, as there is much conflict between government factions.

Series creators Rick Berman and Michael Pillar started out wanting to keep DS9 (which originally aired on TV from 1993-199) episodic, like TNG and TOS. In S3, Pillar left the head writing position; Ira Steven Behr (who became Executive Producer in 1995) and Ron Moore (Co-EP: 1997-1999), got more influence (starting S3) and developed the exciting/innovative Dominion War story arc (S5-7). The Dominion is led by “the Founders”, a race of shape-shifting Changelings in the Gamma Quadrant, the same species as security chief Odo. The Founders were once persecuted by non-shape-shifters (who they call “Solids”). The Founders seek to impose “order” upon any who could potentially harm them, incl. all Solids. They have created (or genetically modified) races to serve them: the Vorta (sly diplomats) and the Jem’Hadar (fearless troops). These races worship the Founders as gods.

Rules of Acquisition (S2) marks the first mention of the Dominion, but they are not fully introduced until the S2 finale, The Jem’Hadar. Some fans have noted that the actual fighting of the war doesn’t start until In Purgatory’s Shadow/By Inferno’s Light in S5, or as late as Call to Arms. Since I last saw eps from S6 (not sure where I stopped watching), I plan to stick to the list below. It includes first contact and the “cold war” period, as well as a few suggested eps. *This indicates episodes that involve the Jem’Hadar.

Season 2

E26: The Jem’Hadar

Season 3

E1 & 2: The Search (Parts I &II)

E6: The Abandoned*

E20 & 21: Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast

E26: The Adversary

Season 4

E1: The Way of the Warrior

E3: Hippocratic Oath*

E6: Starship Down

E10 & 11: Homefront/Paradise Lost

E22: To the Death

E25: Broken Link

Season 5

E1: Apocalypse Rising

E2: The Ship

E10: Rapture*

E14 & E15: In Purgatory’s Shadow/By Inferno’s Light

E21: Soldiers of the Empire*

E25: In the Cards*

E26: Call to Arms

Season 6

First six episodes

E10: The Magnificent Ferengi*

E14: One Little Ship*

E19: In the Pale Moonlight

E22: Valiant*

E26: Tears of the Prophets

Other Suggested Episodes (Season 6): 

E9: Statistical Probablities

E11: Waltz

E16: Change of Heart

Season 7

E1 & 2: Image in the Sand/Shadows and Symbols

E6: Treachery, Faith and the Great River

E7: Once More Unto the Breach*

E8: The Siege of AR-558

E10: It’s Only a Paper Moon*

E14: Chimera*

E16: Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

Final 8 episodes (including the series finale: What You Leave Behind)

“The Asphalt Jungle” (1950) starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe, Jean Hagen, & Marilyn Monroe

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Doc: One way or another, we all work for our vice.

This much-loved and critically-acclaimed crime drama (released June 1st 70 yrs ago) barely broke even at the box-office. MGM only earned $40,000 according to studio records and Louis B. Mayer hated it. Critic Thom Andersen noted it as an example of “film gris,” a sub-category of film noir w/ a left-wing narrative. It was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Director and Screenplay. Since its release, it has been remade three times and its realistic storyline copied in many films. There is an ensemble cast- something rare in the 1950s.

Emmerich: …crime is only… a left-handed form of human endeavor.

Director John Huston first met actor Sterling Hayden in DC, during a protest against the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigation of “subversives” in the film. Huston said: “I’ve admired you for a long time, Sterling. They don’t know what to make of a guy like you in this business.” Huston was honest with Hayden about his chance for the lead role. Hayden landed the role of Handley, his first major starring role (over the objection of MGM chief Dore Schary). Hayden’s gritty performance proved naysayers flat wrong. According to Huston, Hayden didn’t have anything to worry about: “The next time somebody says you can’t act, tell them to call Huston.”

Dix: Why don’t you quit cryin’ and get me some bourbon?

When an intelligent criminal, Erwin “Doc” Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), is released from prison, he seeks a $50K investment from bookmaker Cobby (Marc Lawrence) to recruit a gang of specialists for a $1M dollar jewelry heist. Doc is introduced to lawyer Alonzo D. Emmerich (Louis Calhern) who offers to finance the operation and buy the gems immediately after the burglary. Doc hires the safecracker Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso), driver Gus Minissi (James Whitmore), and Dix Handley (Hayden) who will serve as the hooligan. Handley’s loyal girlfriend, Doll, is played by Jean Hagen. Marlyn Monroe plays Emmerich’s mistress, Angela; she was unknown when the film was made and plays a small role. Monroe regarded this as one of her best performances.

[1] The multi character interplay sticks in the mind…

[2] The mastermind of the heist is not such a bad guy, the getaway driver loves cats, the safecracker has a wife and young baby, the “hooligan” is a misplaced sentimentalist who only wants the old farm his family lost…

[3] Hayden, with his big body and tough demeanor, was perfect for film noir. He is a legitimate tough guy, nobody to fool with.

[4] Stylishly photographed in stunning black & white by Harold Rosson, The Asphalt Jungle has joined the ranks, alongside “The Killers” (1946) and “Out Of The Past” (1947), as the finest noir ever made.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews