PATRON TAKES - DS9 S1E5

A lot of funny lines, especially out of context. I really just don't have too much to say about a lot of early DS9 episodes. I enjoy them and the characters. The tone's really cool too to everyone. Definitely not as good as the other Star Trek episode with Babel in it's name. 7.1/10, C Tier, Good. Below TNG's Rascals and above TNG's Booby Trap.

"Rom's an idiot" made me literally rofl, when i heard it for the first time

You can really tell that this was adapted from an unused TNG script, and it's pretty obvious why TNG didn't use it. Not a terrible episode, but it doesn't have much going for it either. 4/10 (low C)

Just a strange fun episode with people talking stupid .

Being the victim of a terrorist attack planted during a now ended war reminds me of all the landmines that are still around from wars long past.

Obviously the disease didn't affect Odo his biology is way to alien. Not sure why it didn't affect Quark.

“Double strong, double sweet.”

Some of the actors do the gibberish speech better than others here. Love Quark seemingly being infected, but he's just being an ass over bar debts. YOU!! PAY ME!! Largely a forgettable episode, textbook contract filler. C. Don't particularly love that it's the first episode with much medical to do, and Julian just stresses out looking at a computer the whole time. Then, as if to overcompensate for how useless he was, they give the other doctor a throwaway line of "Ah, your brilliant doctor almost cracked it, I just need to tweak this."

Siddig is such a great actor I wish game of thrones would have used him more.

Triple-A for Aphasia Affliction Anomaly. After several episodes dedicated to character introductions and world building, it is nice to see DS9 also does pretty good traditional desk and more light sky pepper training or chicken ropes. Josh twice roast maybe Darmok?

Unexpectedly timely. This was pretty good and had stakes, things got worse with every commercial break, and by the end it was a matter of life and death. It probably needed a red shirt to die to drive the point home though. Of the four episodes the pilot was ok, the one with the Bajor underground was good, the next one was dull and this one was good. So, more good than bad so far.

The DS9 crew has the virus. TNG crew had the virus couple of times is season one. TOS crew had the virus in the naked time in season one. I am seeing a pattern forming. What are the odds the next couple of shows will have the virus? Dr. Bashir says: "I'm a doctor, not a..." just like Dr. McCoy did frequently in Star Trek (1966). The title is based on the biblical story of the The Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis. Man wanted to be closer to God so they built this extremely high tower. God was angered, destroyed the tower and punished the men by making them speak many different languages (everyone was babbling), thus beginning the various nations and cultures after all of man had descended from the same tribe since he was driven out of the Garden of Eden. Quark said a Ferengi rule is "Never ask when you can take".

C tier. A lot of fun moments keep it from falling further.

I simple hesitation when let it Babel. Replay Morning! Quark: You watch! Me watch you watch! Gold you!

I'm flower units about the episode myself

This is a definite "TNG script repurposed" episode, but good character moments carry it through, especially Quark. Enjoyable C.

I liked this episode. It was different. Yes it’s a contagious plague story, but the type of plague being what prevents you working as a team to solve it was cool. This was an example of what you can do with an ensemble cast.

This is a very meh episode maybe, but Kira Noris! I love her! She put this from a C to a B for me ! ( also for such an episode, everyone is acting their asses off ) and can we give it up for the chemistry between Quark and Odo? I know… I’m pushing it hard but they’re GREAT to me in these last 2 episodes.

BREAD!

The basic concept feels very TNG but thankfully Kira’s uh creative collusion, Quark’s presence in Ops and the possibility of there being other nasty surprises hidden in on their station manage to distinguish it.

This one is a pretty big miss for me. It's an episode that feels much, much longer than it is due to the sheer boredom it inspires. However, what saves it a little bit from being the bottom of the barrel is the little bit of worldbuilding that is done with regard to the Cardassians, the station, etc.

Bashir doesn't finish in time and Kira saves the day through kidnapping. DS9 is crewed by the B-tier, but that's part of the charm. I don't care that Bashir graduated second in his class, he's still a first year straight out of med school. I don't care that Dax has lifetimes of experience, she's no match for Data or Spock. And I don't care that Miles is THE CHIEF, he's still a non commissioned regular joe with a patchwork staff. Not every ship has a Picard, but they still have to get it done, and this is what that looks like. It's different, and it's refreshing.

When I wanna show people an episode of Deep Space Nine to give them an idea of the series and what's good about it, I show them this episode. The reason for that is twofold: For One, DS9 is best watched in its entirety in serialized order, so I consider this the first "superb" S1 episode and recommending it doesn't spoil continuity. For Another, I just think this episode really shows the strength of DS9's entire cast. Everyone is doing something to deal with a rapid escalation of challenges, and we even get Quark being useful at the end instead of just being scene dressing. While this might be an "average" episode on the whole, it's a very good "introductory" episode to showcase how great DS9 can be this early on... or at least I believe so.

This episode sort of personifies the 'meh' quality of a lot of season 1 episodes. Not bad, but not very good either. Just okay.

If ever an episode that shows DS9 hasn’t found its legs, here it is. I’m sure it was a fine episode on paper, but the “dilemma of the week” format really belongs on TOS or TNG. And watching Siddig El Fadil struggle through the aphasia dialogue is a little cringy. This isn’t bad, it’s just meh. C for “Chief is a super spreader”

Ah, the most beautiful friendship in the history of ever.

This is the first of many “O’Brian must suffer” episodes. Something happens to the chief we now have to figure out how to help him he gets treated like a punching bag then recovers. Rinse wash repeat

Every 90s sci-fi show did a “crew gets sick and almost dies” episode in the first season.

oops, fingers hit the wrong button, sorry - this is not anyone's favorite episode, and i understand why - but i was a language major and find the silliness of the words delightful - then suddenly turns dangerous - and back in the day, we all had thoughts about the virus that could infect us all - lol - and as always, love the interaction between Ben and Jake

this is not everyone

I really like this one for the first season, everyone helps in their own way, I really love how panicked and uncomfortable Odo is when he's the last one left and his teamwork with Quark is hilarious. I like seeing overworked O'brien and Kira coming in clutch at the end is great too.

This is definitely one of the most forgettable episodes of season 1 for DS9. Meh

This is full on DS9 does TNG, and the results are mixed. It's good to see Kira in action and how she solves problems in ways Starfleet officers wouldn't.

Concept: Fantastic Execution: Ehhhhh.

This feels more like a season one TNG episode. It definitely isn't the show's finest hour. I won't say it is one of the show's worst but it definitely doesn't measure up to what comes later.

This may be a minor point but I never believed for a minute there was any coffee in Siskos mug.

A more typical Trek-like episode here, but it shows off Bashir as a Doctor, how the Chief is handling his new job,the way Kira cuts through nonsense and allows for more comedic moments that have been a little rarer, or at least more subdued on TNG. It's not a huge stand out in terms of being different, but I like it, and it's well performed.

Decently long time patron, first time commenter (DS9 is my favorite series). This episode really feels like it could be done in any Star Trek series which makes it alright in my book. How do you think the TOS and TNG crews would handle this disease?

I used to be "The Chief" of a hospital where I fixed all of the medical devices, and that opening scene was a typical day for me. I can so relate!

"Can't have the operations chief sitting around daydreaming when there's work to be done, can we? Oh, ho, ho, I'll get right on it!" O'Brien is the GOAT (before he starts talking like one). You'd *never* have Geordi talking to Picard like that... 😆

I actually really enjoy this episode. It does feel like it could have been a TNG episode though, and this is not how aphasia actually works. But if you disregard those things, it's pretty solid and it keeps you invested.

It's kinda ok, but not what I'd call great, but been a while since I saw it. I remember the concept more than the execution, so that probably tells you about the quality.

YOU! GOLD! OWWWEEE! MMMMMEEEEE!!!!

Disease-of-the-week episode. This one hits a little harder after Covid than when it aired.

Guinan will always be the GOAT in my opinion, but I think Quark also makes a pretty good bartender when he wants to be :).

SIMPLE HESITATION

A trek staple, when I rewatch the show it’s interesting to see how easily a show could be dropped into TNG with very little rewritten and this is one of them. Doesn’t really show case the show at its best but its always watchable and Odo and Quark were becoming faves by this point.

Please don't overwork the best Federation engineer of 2369. Even the Chief needs a chance to rest.

When Bruce Willis had retired from acting because he was suffering from aphasia, a lot of people didn't know what that was. DS9 fans knew what it was

This one's crap, people suffering from aphasia do not string sentences of random perfectly enunciated words together. This bothers me because I work with patients suffering from aphasia almost daily and it would have been an easy fix. They could have talked to a speech therapist before writing the dialog, listened too a few examples and it would have been much more believable, that wold have taken two extra hours at most.

My dad had a fairly major stroke a few years back, when the doctor tried to explain how aphasia can manifest I just instinctively fell back to this episode and went “got it… he’s inside and fine but it’s not going in or coming out the way he thinks it is” That was such a surreal application of Star Trek

Yeah, I also enjoyed this episode a LOT more than the common consensus seems to be. I... don't know how you guys will feel. How long will it take before O'Brien focused episodes stop getting an extra bonus? (Because I assume they will, at least at first.)

The Chief: "Strike limits. Flame the dark true salt. WAY LINK!" Sisko: "All right. You can cross barrels. All job appalled! Bread!" Me: This must have been so hard to film seriously.

Poor overworked everyman Obrien. I think a head canon I have for how OP he is as an engineer in DS9 compared to TNG where he just pushed a button to transport people is that his job before the Enterprise D was so stressful and in the Wounded he also mentioned he battled Cardassians and struggled with PSTD so he just assigned himself to an easy job for a few years to relax a little and now assigns himself to DS9 and is eager to overwork himself again.

[Comment deleted. Wrong episode.]

This is the first episode of the show I really enjoyed. A simple concept about a terrifying disease.