Annie's Pick: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Host Name: Annie C
Date For TVBC Session: 4/4/2021
Show Name: Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Episode Title(s): You Are Cordially Invited...
Season(s): 6
Episode #: 7
Source(s): Amazon Prime
Episode Length: 45 min
Show Description/Introduction:
**Note: Oops, this is super long. Feel free to skim, especially the first part (but I think the character bios are important to understand the episode).**
DS9 is the fourth TV series in the Star Trek franchise and is set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets. (For reference, the Original Series - with Kirk and Spock, et al - takes place 100 years before the events of DS9.) This show is essentially a spinoff from Star Trek: The Next Generation and premiered halfway through the sixth season of TNG. Several characters who originated on TNG (including Worf and O'Brien) eventually transferred to DS9, and the shows share many guest starring characters and actors.
DS9 is unique among Star Trek shows in that it takes place on a space station, rather than a starship. Consequently, the storytelling in DS9 is much more serialized, as story lines delve deeply into the politics and conflict between a few species located in the vicinity of the station, rather than following the episodic "alien of the week" model typical of TOS (the Original Series), TNG, and Voyager. Tonally and thematically, DS9 is also more complex and, at times, dark than other Star Trek properties (at least pre-Discovery/Picard). I would stridently argue that DS9 is, all-around, the best of all Star Trek series.
Deep Space 9 (which is the Federation's name for the space station on which much of the show takes place) is located near the planet Bajor, which, at the outset of the series, has just successfully liberated itself from occupation by the imperialistic Cardassian Empire (think: Nazis). In the series pilot, the Federation commander in charge of the station, Benjamin Sisko, discovers a stable wormhole near the station that leads to the unexplored Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy. (Earth and the other Federation planets are located in the Alpha Quadrant; Voyager takes place in the Delta Quadrant.) DS9 immediately becomes an important base of exploration and trade with the newly-accessible Gamma quadrant, and so much happens, guys! The first couple of seasons are focused on Bajoran politics (more fun than it sounds); later seasons follow the Federation's introduction to, developing conflict with, and eventual all-out war with the Dominion, a Gamma-quadrant-based empire led by a mysterious species of aliens. It's so good!
This episode takes place in the throes of the war with the Dominion, which the Federation and its allies, the Klingons (yes, those Klingons!), are in real danger of losing. However, following an epic 6-episode arc the spoilery details of which I will not give you, things are now looking up as we begin this episode!
Main Characters:
* Captain Benjamin Sisko (species: human; allegiance: Federation) - The Commander of DS9, Sisko is also a religious figure for the Bajorans (long story), and father to a teenage son, Jake, who lives on the station. Among the crew, he is particularly close to Dax for reasons described below.
* Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax (species: Trill; allegiance: Federation) - A science officer at DS9, Jadzia is a joined Trill, meaning that she shares a symbiotic existence with an extremely long-lived entity (known as a “symbiont”) named Dax. (The symbiont species resemble large slugs and reside in the belly of their Trill hosts.) Being joined is a great, relatively rare, honor for Trills and selection for joining is highly competitive. Because the symbionts are so long-lived, they have many Trill hosts in their lifetimes and carry the memories of each successive host, imbuing a new host with the memories (and some personality traits) of all the previous hosts. Jadzia is Dax’s seventh host; thus, she carries the memories of all six of Dax’s previous hosts. The sixth host was a man named Curzon Dax, who was Benjamin Sisko’s best friend and mentor; as a result, she and Sisko have a particularly close relationship and Sisko often calls her “Old Man,” his nickname for Curzon.
* Lieutenant Commander Worf (species: Klingon; allegiance: Federation) - Although a Klingon, Worf was raised on Earth by adoptive human parents, attended Starfleet Academy, and became the first Klingon officer in Starfleet history. (In the Original Series, the Klingon species were the primary antagonists; as of TNG and DS9, the Klingon Empire and the Federation vacillate between grudging friendship, contentiousness, and alliance.) As evidenced in this episode, Worf is frequently torn between his Klingon identity, which is very important to him, and his life in Starfleet.
* Major Kira Nerys (species: Bajoran; allegiance: Bajoran Republic) - A former guerrilla fighter and terrorist in the Bajoran resistance against Cardassia, Kira is the ranking Bajoran officer on DS9. I wish there was more of her in this episode because she is my absolute favorite. All you really need to know for this ep, though, is that she has a close, emotional, and very complicated relationship with Odo.
* Head of Security Odo (species: shapeshifter; allegiance: Bajoran Republic) - Odo was found drifting through space by a Bajoran scientist some years ago, during the Cardassian occupation, and is now the head of security on DS9, where he is known affectionately as "the Constable." He is a shapeshifter but knows nothing about his own species or origin (at least, not at first). Odo’s search for his people and struggle with his identity are a huge part of DS9, but don’t really figure much in this episode. As with Kira, all you really need to know is that their close relationship has recently been tested.
* Doctor Julian Bashir (species: human; allegiance: Federation) - The ship’s doctor, Julian is extremely intelligent but also a bit of an immature man-boy. He has nursed a not-at-all-secret crush on Dax for years and is best friends with Chief O’Brien.
* Chief of Operations Miles O’Brien (species: human; allegiance: Federation) - Starfleet NCO and chief engineer of the station, Miles is the go-to “everyman” - and also the most tragedy-prone entity on the station. Best friends with Julian.
* Quark (species: Ferengi; allegiance: none) - Acquisition of profit is the highest goal of hyper-capitalist Ferengi society, and Quark is definitely a Ferengi. The obnoxious but lovable mischief-maker of the station, Quark runs DS9’s most popular bar.
Other Characters:
* Alexander Rozhenko (species: Klingon-human; allegiance: Klingon Empire) - Worf’s son with the now deceased Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire (who was half Klingon). Alexander was raised mostly by Worf’s adoptive parents on Earth and has not had much of a relationship with his father, although they are now becoming closer. Alexander has enlisted with the Klingon Defense Force and is fighting with them in the Dominion War.
* General Martok (species: Klingon; allegiance: Klingon Empire) - A famed Klingon warrior and leader, Martok is Worf’s close friend and mentor. By offering Worf a place in his House (dynasty/family), Martok has essentially adopted Worf, which is why he and his wife, Sirella, oversee Worf’s wedding ceremony.
Discussion Topics:
1. This episode is a bit of an outlier in the series, in that it is primarily comedic and pretty much standalone; there are a solid number of humorous and delightful one-off eps in DS9, but the soul of the show is in its longer, darker storylines. (Given that, discussing the tone of the show overall may be impossible for the newbies, but I'd like to hear others' takes if they have them!) Do you like the darker tone of DS9, as compared to TNG, TOS and Voyager? Does the tone and serialized storytelling make DS9 the closest precursor to the current Star Trek shows (Picard and Discovery)? Is the general move away from an episodic "alien-of-the-week" structure a good one for Star Trek, or would you like to see it return?
2. Let's just take some time to appreciate how awesome Dax is and talk about her awesomeness. (Also Kira - although since she doesn't figure heavily in this ep, I may have to just monologue a bit about my love for her.)
3. What do we think of Sisko and Dax's relationship? Let's talk about the nature of being a joined Trill and how complicated that would make your interactions with people who knew your previous host. (I considered picking another great Dax episode where she is reintroduced to someone she was married to when they both had different hosts.)
4. Should Dax and Worf get married? When (if ever) are cultural and/or personality differences between partners too great to overcome?
5. What do you think of Worf's and Dax's behavior in this episode? Are you more or less annoyed at either of them?
6. Should Anna and Joshua have had a Klingon wedding? (The answer to this one is obvious.)
FUN ZONE:
* The actors who play Julian and Kira got married and had a baby during the run of the show! (They had to write her pregnancy into the show, which they did in a super weird way!) They broke up shortly after the show wrapped. Also, they named the baby Django. In real life.
* Michael Dorn (who plays Worf) has appeared on-screen as the same character in more Star Trek TV episodes and movies than anyone else (281 total appearances). My hero!
I'll rustle up some more before Saturday...
