UNCUT - Vortex (DS9 S1E12) | Star Trek Journey 262

DS9 sex scoreboard catch up version No scores that I saw (remember I am only catching up with the short versions) The sex score board Chief 1 Keiko 1 Quark 1

I love the jokes about the clowns who call everyone a fascist 🤣

I'm watching some of these episodes for the first time as well, I remember seeing the first half of this episode but must have fallen asleep or something? Totally agree with Quark being over used, he's a great character but it feels like the show is about Quark and his bar. This must have been where I checked out of DS9 when it was first airing.

HE is norm from Cheers. Morn.

how did we even get enough of the daughter for her to be terrible?

heh

As people have said, the show gets MUCH better. Season 2 is a huge improvement over season 1 and starting with season 3 it's in my opinion the best ever done with the trek universe. While there are some good season 1 episodes, I think season 1 is a little more enjoyable if you've seen the rest of the show, going back and seeing the early development of the characters. I have said this before, but DS9 suffered in season 1 from relying on recycled rejected plots from TNG. They were being strongly supervised by the TNG showrunners and the network. That becomes less so in season 2, and after Voyager starts, they basically let the DS9 showrunners do their thing and they run with it. So I understand your frustration with some of the early episodes. I think the best way to view season 1 is almost like a prequel to when the show really starts and more of the world building and serialization kicks in.

So you guys picked up on the Morn joke. Very talkative fellow as everyone says.

Another Mandela effect for me, I remember this whole episode... but not the Vulcans at the end, the hell?

This episode features one of the things about Star Trek that almost takes me out of the story. On one hand, you've got these never-before-encountered aliens, and the universal translators (which everyone seems to have) are like, no problem. I'm okay with that, even though it seems implausible. BUT, said alien can instantly take over the controls on a Federation ship with more skill than Odo? I guess in the Star Trek universe, if you've seen the controls on one spaceship, you've seen them all—LITERALLY.

DS9 is going into its kinda slow phase. I think it lost a lot of viewers here, in part due to TNG being on the air at the same time. Viewing was different back then. But overall its season 1 was better than TNG season 1. TNG was trek returned though. We were gonna watch it anyway. Don’t worry, DS9 will pick up. It does have a slooow time with a few good stories for a bit at this point.

I always thought Odo is little bit fascist.

I think you hit the nail on the head with DS9 season 1 - it's almost never (Move Along Home aside) as cringe-inducingly bad as really bad season 1/2 TNG episodes, but it's a lot more boring. By this point, most of the writers were experienced hands at writing Star Trek so there's a structural sturdiness that early TNG missteps lack, but that means there's also an even greater reliance on rote formula that feels pretty played out. But even then they're using those formulas to define characters and relationships so even some boring ones like this one subtly build toward what ultimately makes the show great.

This is one of a few season one episodes that for whatever reason when I see them on somewhere I always think they from later in the series, even though episodes from later in the series are typically a lot better than this.

A better word imo than fascist is authoritarian. Odo has a very authoritative governance of his position. Fascist is such a charged word and is so overly used in rhetoric, especially without it being understood (other than very basic historical reference). Also, concerning Data/Odo comparison, I think it's a little different with Data's story because Data is essentially known. The unknown element of Data is the 'why' does he exist, and the extent of his potential. For Odo, we don't even know where he is from -- he is just here. Whereas Data knows where he is from, and even knows the name of his creator, etc, Odo is completely in the dark on everything of his identity, other than what he has created for himself. In fact, his entire presentation of self is based on the physicality's of those he knows. Who is to say that is the form his species takes on? Odo doesn't even have access to his culture and is forced to create his own.

During the opening credits Alex said he wanted an Odo episode. What's your second wish? One more thing what are your lottery numbers for next week?😋

Quark's exposition was to show he cares about Odo in a funny sort of way. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that. Back to watching the rest, now... :-)

If you guys are going to be Trek fans you're going to have to step up your game.....YOU GUYS DIDNT EVEN NOTICE THE FIFTH GLASS!!!!!! Cmon!

I always felt that Nana Visitor's wailing when Opaka died was a more of a cue from the director than an instinct from the actress. Her acting throughout the rest of the series is otherwise stellar. She has some absolutely amazing moments.

"Odo must have had a different opinion than him" LMAO

I wasn’t getting boring on this rewatch? Maybe you guys kept me entertained..

You guys just got through what I refer to as the DS9 S1 "doldrums." It's a slog of boring and uninspiring episodes. This episode's premise isn't terrible, but there just isn't enough to keep it interesting throughout. These types of episodes make me wish you could just watch three episodes a week of only DS9 for a while until you get to the better episodes. There are some coming in just a bit that are phenomenal. It's just rough getting there.

I thought Cliff Deyoung looked familiar. Looked up roles that he played. Turns out the only movie I remember him in was Flight Of The Navigator.

I'm glad you said S1 isn't bad, just boring, because that's been my take on the first couple seasons of DS9 for a while. S1 of TNG had a lot of legitimately bad episodes. S2 had a fair number as well, but a lot more good and great eps to balance them out. DS9 played it safer, the writing was generally more competent, and the show didn't have as many cases of "WTF were they thinking". But even when early TNG was bad, they were taking chances, whereas DS9 can be very dull precisely because it doesn't early on. Certainly, there were also boring TNG episodes, and bad DS9 episodes, but TNG definitely leaned more on the bad episodes, and DS9 on the boring ones. Just hang in there, good stuff is coming. I certainly wouldn't say Vortex is the worst of S1, but it is probably the least memorable. I'm glad they didn't go beyond teasing Odo's origins here. Any kind of big character development like deserves a better episode than this. Part of me wondered, thinking back on what I could remember of this episode, that it seemed pretty out of character for Odo to let a murderer go free just because he felt sorry for him. Then again, if we take him at his word, the only people he's killed are the people who killed his family, and someone who already took a shot at him and was heavily implied to be involved in piracy. So on rewatch it makes a bit more sense that Odo wouldn't see him as a threat to the general public, especially with a daughter to care for. Still, Vulcans are federation members, no way someone doesn't connect the dots that 1 of these 2 Gamma Quadrant aliens living on Vulcan is the prisoner Odo was supposed to return to his people. C- episode

This wasn't very interesting, I not only don't remember much about it, I don't remember my take.

Morn needs to keep his big mouth shut. Can't even hear the main dialogue in the bar sometimes. Anyways your reaction is pretty much it, its a meh episode with a surprising good heartfelt ending. The Miradorn got to be reunited with his brother in the end after all.

OMG!!! I had to wait a week for a DS9 episode reaction!!! I’m losing my mind!!!

Speaking of real-life twins and "shared pain", I actually met twin brothers (they weren't even identical!) through a cancer group, who were diagnosed with 2 different types of testicular cancer within a couple of weeks of each other. Anecdotal? Absolutely lol

morn was the only other char in the TNG crossover with Bashir.

I have no memory of this episode

Good catch Alex. Morn absolutely is Norm, as an homage to Cheers, and he's pretty much furniture at the bar.

Odo is my fave character but yeah it’s very bland, watchable just nothing special

Yes, the boring quotient is higher in season 1 and somewhat in season 2, too.

What, no tractor beam to stop the Myridorn ship from leaving DS9? Plot expediency.

Morn! That blabbermouth!