Rewatching this season in preparation for season 2, about a year-and-a-half since it was first broadcast, meant that I remembered the broad strokes but had forgotten the details. I think that helped, and I enjoyed the show quite a bit more than I did the first time around. Things were clarified and I was able to enjoy the ride more rather than overworking my brain trying to work things out.
I think that this is a pretty fantastic season of television. The storytelling is incredibly ambitious, the production value out of this world and the performances are (with some notable exceptions) world class. I find myself being drawn into the world on screen very easily.
But, at the same time, I think the show has serious flaws at this point. Mainly, it's incredibly slow and could have benefited telling the same story over less episodes. Things are drawn out to excess and it's incredibly frustrating, as well as meaning the narrative becomes over complicated. In fact, the plot isn't all that complex but the way its told just makes it seem that way. There is a lot in there and not all of it is relevant or useful, to the point where I'm sitting there wondering, "am I just a bit stupid or does this not really make any sense?". I wouldn't blame anyone for feeling a bit lost at the end.
I also think that the human characters are an issue. Almost without fail, they are scum. All of these people work together and treat each other like garbage, they speak to each other in a vile manner which in any real business environment would never be acceptable, let alone the basic human interaction. Sylvester, Sizemore, Theresa, Elsie, Logan, Hale and even Ford are extremely difficult to like or even watch. I get that the show is trying to drive home a point that these people are playing god and mistreating the Hosts, but it only ever comes across as bad writing. The only humans who come seem to be something resembling good people are Felix and Stubbs.
The other thing which really began to bug me was the completely unnecessary and over-the-top nudity. It's there for no reason other than to say THIS IS AN HBO SHOW AND WE CAN SHOW EVERYTHING! There's a terrible scene where Ford even tells a technician not to cover up a Host and let them be naked, because they don't have any modesty.
But overall, this is a thrill ride and a rare television show which asks the audience to think. I'm excited for where things are going, and hopefully the things which I took issue with can be ironed out.
I was all set to enjoy this and then the awful Bill Hader showed up. Who's next, Ricky Gervais?
A bit too cheesy. Could have done without the silly banter and the fight was a bit simplistic.
This was great, maybe my favourite so far. Parts of the episode genuinely creeped me out. Alara is great and really good when taking the lead in an episode.
That may well be the lamest pre-credits sequence in Star Trek history. They're supposed to get you excited for the episode.
Quite terrible all round really. A lot of time spent down in a meeting hall with a bunch of aliens, and very little time spent with our main characters. The usually reliable Jennifer Lien doesn't do a great job as a villain, either. I take it that she and Neelix are on their way to finishing as a couple given that there was no resolution to the break up scene.
More crappy aliens with leaves in their hair. Awful rescue attempt by Tuvok.
There's a slow burn, and then there's this.
Season 5 has been an absolute grind to get through. It feels pretty clear that the show is not committed to progressing any storylines or allowing things to change. Where are we now that we weren't at the beginning of this season? Or that were weren't at the beginning of season 4?
While the show is always capable of bringing out some astoundingly gripping moments (the double execution, Pasha's wrist-slitting), they are small moments amidst a whole season of the show sitting on its hands. Philip and Elizabeth aren't even that sympathetic anymore, and the lack of communication between them is making things stagnate. Hell, their innermost thoughts are barely coming across to us as viewers.
On the plus side, the acting remains stellar.
Paige's story remains interesting, but again, it just seems to have reached a halt. Some effort was made to (finally) give Henry more to do, but like all the other storylines it appears to have just sputtered out after a long and unnecessary crawl. It's also ridiculous just how much work Philip and Elizabeth are doing, to the point where the show suddenly re-introduces someone that we haven't seen in a long time and we have to try and remember what the deal was with them. In this case we had the teenager Kim, a random pick up of Martha's storyline in Russia (which was heartbreaking) and a completely dead-end plot with Philip's son. And why the hell are we spending so much time with Oleg in Moscow?
What hurts most is that even with the finale, there was no forward momentum or establishing of where they wanted things to go for the final season. Give us something: the Jennings make the decision to go to Russia, or to hide in America to try and live a normal life. Or Paige tells Henry what's really going on. Or Stan discovers who P+E really are. This show was vibrant and exciting from seasons 1-3, but it looks like it's going to fade out with a whimper.
Many of the elements that made the previous mirror universe episode, 'Crossover', work feel like they work against this episode. It just doesn't have any spark and pushes things into pantomime territory (which is saying something for these episodes, which were always intentionally over the top).
Nana Visitor's performance as the Intendent just isn't as interesting of playful as previously. We also get a horribly contrived appearance from mirror universe versions of Bashir and Dax, neither of which feel at all natural. I guess they just had to be in it because they are part of the main cast. The random appearance of Tuvok from Voyager does feel like quite a nice surprise, though.
Sisko manages to fit perfectly into his more ruthless counterpart's role despite having never met him or really knowing much about what he was like - Smiley must have done a really good job preparing him. Harder to ignore is the fact that Sisko sleeps with both Dax and Kira without putting up too much of a fight, which doesn't sit too well with me. I get that these episodes are about escapism, but that shouldn't be at the expense of our characters, and Sisko just would not have done that without feeling like he's violated the trust of his friends.
The actress playing Jennifer Sisko is just very lifeless, too. A bit of a disappointment as an episode, even with Garak acting like a super villain.
This has slowed to a crawl and is full of uninteresting plot lines. It's not the same complex and thrilling show it was in seasons 1-3. This felt like a whole bunch of nothing.
Season 2 gives us a show in growth that begins to establish its identity. It's a definite improvement over season 1, while still not reaching the stellar heights that were to come. There's a good deal of character exploration and the actors have all improved greatly, seemingly getting more of a feel for what they're doing. The storytelling becomes a bit more complex and there are some continuing threads that spread across episodes, notably with the build up of the Dominion as a presence and the crossover stories with TNG that give us the Maquis.
The supporting characters such as Garak, Dukat, Winn and Bareil also get a lot more definition. While there's nothing here that is as impressive as 'Duet' from the previous season, it's definitely more consistent overall.
Best episodes for me: Cardassians, Necessary Evil, Armageddon Game, The Maquis, The Jem'HadarWorst episodes for me: Melora, Second Sight, Rivals, Playing God
This was like somebody attempting to do an imitation of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode.
So, pretty much a Star Trek: Voyager episode.
I was bored out of my mind. It didn't make a bit of sense and not only do the actors not really seem to care about what's happening, it feels like the characters don't either. This was lazy beyond belief.
That digging sequence certainly did go on. And on. And on. And on.
And on.
There's a point where something becomes tense, and then a point where something is clearly just there to pad out time. We know that this show should be much better than resorting to that.
Otherwise, a solid but uneventful episode. A season opener should do more to grab your attention. I find myself enjoying the scenes at home with Paige and Stan, etc., much more than anything else. That's the core of the show's drama and in that respect everything else can feel lesser, so following Oleg back to Russia seems like an annoying side step. The teaser was the most shocking part, seeing Philip and Elizabeth with their new "son".
When a show gets scarily close to things you went through with an ex...
That was a difficult watch for me, and I loved all of it.
A fairly by-the-numbers murder mystery with a decent enough twist at the end. It's an introduction to the character of Odo, but doesn't work as well as it could because Odo personality is a bit of a mess this early in the show. He's just not that likeable and comes across as incredibly confrontational, as well as constantly in a bad mood. Eventually his ill-tempered style is going to be smoothed out (as well as his face) and become something very enjoyable. There's a hint of the mutual respect between him and Quark.
Rom also suffers from a case of undefined personality here, and doesn't show anything of the character he will become. Meanwhile, Keiko is asserting herself from the off (love her or hate her - I quite like her) and Dr. Bashir shows that he's much better at his job than he is at interacting with other people.
The Bajoran side/background characters are an unfortunately terrible bunch, they got some pretty awful actors. The most interesting part is the revelation that there are Bajoran collaborators out there who assisted the Cardassians - something very worthy of being followed up.
Two things really stood out to me in this:
1) Clara bears a distracting resemblance to Mark Wahlberg.
2) Troi and Picard pronounce "Clara" in a very odd way.
An unfortunate embarrassment for all involved. I do like seeing how Worf is handling being a parent, but not when the script is as awful as this. It's got a lot of humour, but that doesn't save it.
I have zero memory of watching this episode before. I don't know if that's because it's one I somehow missed previously, or one that I blocked out of my memory because it's so bad. I'm not surprised to learn it was Brannon Braga's first effort.
Redeemed somewhat by an excellent guest star and pretty cool effects (the glowing eyes and Predator invisibility).
Not much to say about this one, other than it's fun and comes close to being a classic TNG show. The central mystery is really intriguing and Data's behaviour makes you want to know more, but there's no drama or jeopardy making it feel somewhat languid. I didn't enjoy the opening Dixon Hill holodeck scene even with Whoopi Goldberg adding so much character to it.
I did involuntarily laugh when Geordi says "why didn't our beards grow?", and then the camera cuts to Riker with his massive facial hair. Just an odd editing choice.
The concept of "resetting the ship's clock" makes zero sense, because as soon as they encounter another ship or planet the crew would realise that they are missing 2 days! I would also have found it much more satisfying to see exactly how they correct all their mistakes the second time around. A shame, this episode has a lot going for it, but it falls back on the reset button (something which I mercilessly mock Voyager for) almost literally.
Counsellor Troi didn't get many episodes focused on her during the show's run, and those that she did weren't always all that great. This is a bit of an exception, it gives Marina Sirtis a lot more to work with and she has to show a lot more range than usual. I thought she handled it pretty well.
It would be funny that she reacts to her loss of powers by becoming a bit of an unpleasant person if it wasn't so sad. Personally, I like any exploration of the Riker/Troi relationship and you know things are getting serious when he calls her "imzadi" (which if you're not paying attention, almost sounds like he's saying "I'm sorry" with a funny accent).
The Troi/Crusher argument is great - and shocking to see Deanna being so aggressive - while Whoopi Goldberg's scene is wonderful.
The adventure solving the problem of the 2D aliens is way too full of technobabble. It's almost a shame that Troi recovers her powers at the end, with no lasting effect on her character.
The Evolution of the Arm was not what I was expecting!
This is insane and I think I love it.
A bit bland all round, despite some creative (for Star Trek) fight scenes. Worf almost suffers the same injury under a bunch of cargo crates that would affect him later, and James Cromwell makes an appearance as not-Zephram Cochrane! I like that Data is the one to predict Roga's clever moves, especially following the previous episode's discussion of him trusting his intuition.
A powerful episode, if somewhat lacking in subtlety. Data's trial is gripping not just due to the script but due to the performances of all involved, notably Patrick Stewart and Jonathon Frakes. Whoopi Goldberg also proves her presence to the show as invaluable and lending an extra quality of class.
Sure, the result here is never in doubt but the episode pulls no punches. It's regarded as a classic for a reason, although it would be outdone many times over in the years to come, and looking back it does feel somewhat quaint.
Normally I really don't like binging shows as I feel like individual episodes tend to lack the impact they could have if I pace myself a bit better, but I found it hard to resist here. There's the danger of everything blurring together.
I have some mixed feelings. The show is extremely powerful and caused me to break down in tears on a couple of occasions. It's a very important story that doesn't shy away from any of the ugliness. There's some wonderful acting.
Outside of that, the writing and characters can be distractingly... off. It's hard to say what it is. I can't imagine people, especially teenagers, acting the way many of these ones do. Maybe it's just American high school culture that I don't get. People - especially Clay - make huge leaps in logic and reasoning while the story doesn't give justification for it happening. It didn't make sense to me that Clay is labelled as a nerd (just because he makes Star Wars references? Seriously?) and yet is a super popular person that everyone likes. Everyone here is ridiculously attractive. The jocks (arseholes) rule the school and run around whooping and pushing everyone about. The teachers shout at people for not taking sports/cheerleading seriously and act like a crime is being committed.
Hannah herself is her own worst enemy. She says she feels invisible and yet is seemingly the object of desire of everyone, getting invited to the parties and making friends. School for me was being completely unknown, thoroughly ignored, and I struggled to identify with what was shown in the show. But the show evolves and makes you care deeply.
Again, I think I'm letting my lack of understanding of American culture skew my opinions (what's with all the kids calling their dad's "sir"? Why are all these kids driving? How are they able to move about the school so freely? Why are they having routine guidance counsellor appointments? Why are they doing the magazine/yearbook/dances? How come they spend all their evenings out at parties or just wandering around? etc ).
The character of Tony is especially odd and everything he did made little sense. The frustratingly vague answers were present from start to finish and he was the worst culprit. Clay listens to the tapes UNBEARABLY slowly for no reason other than to give us 13 separate episodes. After a very good opening episode things become very muddled for quite a while, but the later episodes are a real gut punch. There is some brutally unpleasant stuff to watch, and the warnings at the starts of a few episodes are important.
Overall, it's a show I'm really glad I watched and will need to roll it around in my head for a while. I did feel it went around in circles several times and the teenage angst may be too much for some viewers to bear. I fear it trivialises depression to an extent and doesn't realistically portray essential avenues of help. It ended without a complete resolution, needing more.
Wow! That ending!
Hello, Keith Mars :)
Netflix finally manage to make a great comedy show. The central concept is not the most unique, but the laughs are genuinely funny and both Barrymore and Olyphant carry the show to a better place. Sheila and Joel are extremely likeable characters, and end up being the most normal people in comparison to the ridiculous humans surrounding them.
I was a bit disappointed that the show fell back on being needlessly vulgar most of the time, but that seems to be Netflix's thing. The younger actors also aren't the most amazing, but they got better as the show went on. The season also ended on a bit of a "that's it?" note.
Convenient memory wipe is convenient. And poor writing.
Brida is the only sensible character. Why won't Uhtred listen to her?!
What?
That was terrible. Arty farty nonsense masquerading as entertainment.
Blinky and Toby surf out of a giant's butthole. This show has changed direction.
Sometimes I find myself appreciating the way this show is taking its time and giving us a very full story. At other times, like with this episode, I feel like it's just standing still.
Okay, potential BIG ISSUE with this episode.
They didn't make it too clear, but I got the impression that the guitar was supposed to actually be one that Kurt Cobain used - HOWEVER, Kurt was famously a lefty. That Jaguar guitar was right-handed.
