UNCUT - A Man Alone (DS9 S1E4) | Star Trek Journey 247
Comments (82)
DS9 sex scoreboard catch up version Though I have never ever gone to a massage parlor. That was the worst happy ending EVER!!! The sex score board Chief 1 Keiko 1 Ibudan (or clone) +1 new (ouch)
I found this one kinda weak. The show is still in set up and intro characters mode. Btw I really miss the letter grades.
According to people behind the scenes the crew enjoyed eating lunch on-set while filming was not happening on the promenade. Apparently it was really neat because there were plenty of locations where you couldn't see lights or equipment and you could really think for a few minutes like you were really there...
Have not seen this one for at least 20 years and on rewatch I noticed was surprised how good this one is. Especially for introducing Odos an Quarks relationship, Keiko, Dax etc. But also to show more about the promenade and the station itself. I think TV shows nowadays, especially on streaming, with their limited 10 episodes per season, would have to skip such smaller episodes and jump directly into heavier stuff
im watching ds9 for the first time along with them (just saw s1e8) and this ep is my favorite so far
This is an episode where once you have seen the whole series, or even maybe the whole first season, this epsiode is definitely one of the weaker ones. But as the second episode after the pilot, it's good for what it is. It introduces more things, delves a little more into the characters, and gives us a focus on Odo. Nothing wrong with this one at all. It's just skippable once you already know everything that it's trying to set up.
The first time in rewatch my TV screen is big enough so I could read the files in Odo's jornal check, And what did I read: Alderaan station! Are you kidding me?
I think Alex helped me understand Sisko better. Instead of questioning the performance, I’ll look at it as Ben having two modes- on and off-duty. Makes perfect sense. Most people do the same. Work mode vs. relaxed mode. I would imagine that’s heightened for those in positions of authority.
The Bajoran day is 26 hours and DS9 is a Bajoran station.
So I think the connection between the teaser and the episode was 1. Setting up the minor continuance of the plot about Bashir being interested in Dax which leads to his conversations with Sisko. 2. Establishing there was a holosuite aboard DS9 so we could be familiar with the setting the murder takes place in.
Not a bad episode. Okay mystery but not very entertaining overall.
I really enjoyed the brief conversation between Odo and Quark in the security office. It sets up a backstory for the cat and mouse relationship between those two. With only a few lines of dialogue, you get the since of a long rivalry that has been ongoing for years it seems.
Avery Brooks has a quirky sense of humor that comes through in his performance. Sometimes jarring at first, but I couldn’t get enough of Sisko once I got used to his delivery.
Solid episode.
A good episode. We're still in the defining characters stage of the show. Speaking of court and horror episodes, DS9 isn't afraid to do Star Trek tropes but it also isn't afraid to subvert them. You're in for a hell of a ride.
This is definitely not one of my favorites and I think it gets a little hokey at times (like when the crowd is chanting outside of the security office), but it's still not really *bad*. I think very few DS9 episodes cross into the threshold of what from a TNG standard would be considered bad. There are a handful of exceptions, but generally the "bad" DS9 episodes I would rate similarly to the average TNG episodes.
The showrunners said they had a really good mystery show on paper that didn't quite translate to the screen in the way it came off in the script. Would be curious to know more of the specifics there.
Someone get Alex a pipe and a deerstalker hat because he's the new Sherlock :P Also, Josh. The way I see your hair in this video makes me think you could really pull off one of those short mohawk looks, lol
A great reaction! I really like this episode, okay i love DS9 so there are very few i don't like. This is a high B from me.
Jadzia is not an allegory for trans. It's just a neat sci fi alien concept to explain. It's easy to copy/paste your preferred ideology onto trek and scifi simply because of how hungry the medium is to imagine up novel dynamics. As we'll see with some future episodes, when it wants to be an allegory it is not subtle.
As I said in the discussion, it can be a representation for lots of things. That’s what’s cool about science fiction.
The Bridge = Ops or Operations haha. I remember sitting down for the DS9 premier way back when and it was definitely a different feel coming from TOS/TNG. From the clean flagships to a run down Cardassian space station, set it apart at least. Also feeling like a real place the Promenade set was the largest set constructed for Trek and for a long time the largest created for TV which I think helped it feel more expansive. Bashir has a youthful naivety but focusses down when it comes to the work and being a Doctor. Haha looking forward to you DS9 journey!
wow the doc is basically unwatchable
Bashir has a learning curve. Give it time.
i would imagine Avery Brooks is still figuring out how to play Sisko...
May the Prophets guide him
As someone who has seen the whole series this is one I usually skip in rewatches. But seeing it with new viewers I realized it is a fun episode for explaining all the relationships between the characters. Great scenes for all the characters. Odo and Quark have some good stuff. The murder mystery is the only weak part of rewatching it because you already know the culprit ect. Still pretty solid episode and better than I remember
The thing was ..killing the clones in up the long ladder was different because they weren't yet conscious and fully grown. I'm in trying to do a political or ethical/medical debate here...but it was portrayed along the same lines as abortion. Which TNG seemed okay with as Worf once suggested that Troi's alien pregnancy be "terminated", and his idea was only shot down when Troi said she was keeping it.
I'm basically in "new territory". I guess I watched this episode but didn't particularly remember it (I remembered the Keiko starting a school part). Different experience than watching a TNG episode where I can almost say all the lines along with the character. All in all pretty good...
C'mon Josh, the Jake and Nog stuff is badass! Nothing is funnier than two people crying for doctors while two children piss themselves laughing over it.
I really don't understand the love of darkly lit and how it's "cinematic" (whatever that means this week).....it's inferior to brightly lit shows like TNG
It looks like a real lived-in place. TNG looks like a set. Both have their pros and cons.
Hah, seems I did catch the beginning of this episode on first airing; I remember the conversation between Quark and Odo at the beginning. Also, Rom. Hmm.
So I'm a bit surprised, it seems like this has fewer comments then you typical TNG episode. I guess that's because it wasn't available to the lowest tier, which i'm not sure may be a new thing?
It could be time of day as well. Early viewing was yesterday and was considerably higher in the evening than the first few hours after. Some might be waiting until the show gets past its early season 1 struggles for full episode reactions(TNG is at its height while it’s DS9’s early days still). I wouldn’t be too worried. A ton of watchers signed up on Patreon for DS9 to get to the 3 episodes per week threshold after all. The season finale/season 2 premiere might be a solid comparison. 🤷♂️
A general question- I had been on the basic tier but I had previously had access to these uncut vids. This one was "locked". I did upgrade to see it, but is this a knew thing? The uncut reaction vids are no longer available to the bottom tier?
It’s 24 hour early access for the higher tier. They still release to everybody on the normal release days
So you probably figured this out, but when you asked where Odo was when the mob was harrassing him, he was inside his office on the promenade.
I am away until Monday so if you could hold off on posting stuff that would be great
I feel like we need those TPS reports on my desk by the end of the day. That would be great. Don't take my stapler!
Sucker fingered massages, some Dax backstory, great Quark and Odo fun, a mystery and mask reveal, even a quick drive-by Star Wars joke in Odo's notes he was reading. What a great start...I love the little snippets of each character you get..
what was the Star Wars joke? Something about the planet Aldeberran?
you didn't grasp Odo's role from the bit in the pilot where he arrested someone?
Picard has a big old british stick up his ass; and I'd argue that one of the ongoing themes of the show is helping him ease it out of there. He's reserved, detached - it's clear he maintains a professional distance from his crew - he really only opens up around Guinan and Crusher, because he's known them 'outside of work' so to speak for a very long time. Sisko is a very different style of leader - he can put on the offical face when he needs to, but the rest of the time he's the down to earth boss who gets his hands dirty and goes out for a beer with the team after work.
I'm remembering the wonderful feelings that I had back when we had so much Star Trek to look forward to. I had to record DS9 and TNG on VHS so as not to miss anything. 🤪
I had so many VHS tapes with 6 eps each of Trek recorded on them in the 90s
One day on DS9 is 26 hrs.
Yes, according to Memory Alpha that's because the Bajoran day is 26 hours as the planet has a slower rotation then Earth.
First Odo-centric epsidoe of the series. He's one of my favorites in the series. I hope you guys feel the same in time.
If you want to see Avery Brooks in another role, I recommend his performance as Hawk in the Spencer TV series and movies. I read most of the Robert B. Parker Spencer novels and his performance as Hawk was stellar and spot on. He would have made a great Nick Fury in the Marvel films, too.
I feel like this is another strong one. I’m not remembering Season 1 this good? 😊
Everyone underrates season 1 of DS9. It's become gospel that the first two seasons of TNG and DS9 are 'bad' but while both shows are weaker in their first 2 seasons, I firmly argue that only TNG was actually bad. The first 2 seasons of DS9 are actually pretty good even if the rest of the show was better. DS9 also does a much better job early on of actually fleshing out characters. TNG mostly just focused on Picard/Data (later it became Picard/Data/Worf).
just to throw fuel on the fire but Riekr and Pulaski terminated their clones before they were fully done.
Exactly. No one had any life yet that was being terminated.
SHIFTER!!!
I keep forgetting to tell you TA: the DS9 computer voice (the Cardassian computer), was voiced by Judi Durand, whose first Star Trek credit was in Star Trek III. She was the voice of the spacedock doors. (Warning! Space Doors are closed! Warning!)
Episode 2, I think?thought it sounded like Kira..
This was ok at best. I honestly don't even remember much about it and I watched it in time for patron takes, I guess a few weeks ago, and already forgot most of it.
I was afraid that y'all might not like this episode because the pace is somewhat stilted and the "twist" is a bit obvious (imo), but it seems like this installment was pretty well appreciated and I'm happy about that. I suppose I never really considered just has well this episode is executed, especially in direction. The producers of this show got a HUGE budget and a damn good set, and they sure as Hell use every part of the buffalo to get the mood and atmosphere of the setting across. Re-watching S1 with you two, I can truly appreciate how encompassing and forward-thinking in control the producers were in establishing this show, its cast, and its vision. It's a bit janky, yes, but it shows a very solid focus going forward, which wasn't nearly as well executed in TNG S1. So, thanks for the renewed appreciation~
yeah, its funny. The guys have a very different perspective on the show then I ever had, focusing on more technical aspects. It's interesting, but also kind of a shame, because there are definitely episodes I liked that I know enjoy a bit less because of the things they point out. Like I always looked at them as stories in the universe, didn't think about things like direction or hooks or sets (at least not in a conscious way) Like for me, I much prefer the modern TOS with the updated effects, because it looks more like a futuristic show whereas they like seeing how it was originally presented. A different take from me, where I'm already bought into the universe so I watch it more like an alternate future history and am much more interested in details about the fictional world then things like ADR's or camera angles.
Has anyone told them about Straczynski/Babylon 5 situation?
Briefly.
No mention of the log stating that the villain travelled to DS9 from ALDERAAN SPACEPORT?!?!?!
WHO
Not a bad episode, but not one of the most memorable. Except for the fact that the main bajoran thug is particularly punchable for me. Like with TNG, looking back after having seen the series, you can tell in the early episodes that neither the writers or the actors had quite found the lane these characters belonged in yet, though TNG was worse for this except for maybe Crusher. Still, given that TNG and TOS would often almost completely sideline characters for multiple episodes, you can tell how much they spread the love around on DS9. This clearly is an Odo episode, but they still found time for basically the whole cast to get a scene or 2, and even secondary characters like Keiko and Nog. Even Bashir who was just simping most of the episode, by the end he figured the whole thing out and shows us that while young, he still knows his stuff. The whole fremeny dynamic between Quark and Odo is a favourite of mine. And of course learning more about the kind of trouble Sisko used to get into with Curzon. Sometimes it seems like Curzon is this old guy who took Sisko under his wing at least partially as an excuse to vicariously relive his 20s again. I feel for O'Brien in this one though. He's offering to do everything to help and Keiko is just like "Miles, you don't understand. I don't want you to fix anything, I just wanna be miserable and make you listen to me gripe about it". In all seriousness though, if she doesn't want "favors" from O'Brien, why not just ask Sisko herself? Was easy enough to do for the school. It's a perfectly fine B tier for me. It does it's job building up the world and the characters of the show, and showing us a bit of what Odo is about.
I don't know. I feel like the characters are being developed nicely. I would say the exceptions are Bashir certainly who is one note but gets much better, and Dax. The others though are consistent with how they'll evolve. In universe I can attribute this to being Bashir's first assignment and something else spoilerish. With Dax, I figure she is still integrating and hasn't fully developed the proper balance between host and symbiont. They probably mention it at some point but I forget how long ago Jadzia was joined.
The Jake and Nog mischief scene was definitely just meant to set up that bored/non-engaged kids often get into trouble, which sets up the Keiko starting a school plot.
Not really, it's also setting up their friendship.
I love how you guys are re-introducing me to "old" Star Trek. You guys are really enjoying the early seasons, which refreshes my perspective on them. Loving these watch-alongs.
While we still haven’t hit the groaner episodes of season 1, they’re enjoying the episodes enough considering these would be fairly “meh” in other seasons. I’ll say I’m appreciating the character stuff(even if a few are still being figured/fleshed out by both the actors and the writers) more than I remember in the season I’ve rewatched the least. I think that and just creating a status quo for the show in general will make it more enjoyable than I’d expected(and keep me from skipping the middle episodes like I’m always tempted to on past rewatches).
I know the actors on DS9 had much more say in how there characters would act and develop then on previous treks.
ok I am ready for the next ep now
was that Michael Ironside in the scene where Quark defended Odo?
NO! Michael Ironside was a major TV star by this point. He would have been credited.
The lighting difference is this set is naturally lit with lighting as part of the set instead of light fixtures. It allowed them to build much larger sets than TNG
This is actually the third episode of the season, not the fourth, At least that’s the way it appears in Amazon. Are you counting the pilot as two episodes?
It was the first episode filmed after the pilot but the second aired. A lot of the dvd sets and VHS releases have them in air date order. Despite being aired as 90 minutes the pilot is counted as two episodes in the same way Farpoint is.
Odo also makes reference to 78 hours I take it that Bajor has 26 hour days.
Yes, that's exactly it. They're on Bajoran time. (Well, Bajoran military time.)
It’s a good job Riker and Pulaski weren’t on DS9 back in Up the Long Ladder, Odo would have thrown them in jail.
That clone wasn't sentient yet and prob wasn't considered a lifeform. I doubt the Federation would allow the murder of a living, breathing sentient clone.
Yas!! :)