Can a Bashir episode actually be good? Let’s take a look
Plot:
After Bashir refuses an aliens’ request for biomedic gel, he is attacked by the alien with a psychic attack that renders him unconscious.
Bashir wakes up to find the station in ruins, and apparently deserted. After some searching he discovers the others, and finds them all acting oddly. He soon determines that they are not in the station at all. Bashir is in a coma, and the station and his friends are just representations of various aspects of himself.
Bashir is aging rapidly but manages to make it to Ops where he thinks he can destroy the alien. After he gets there he realizes that while Ops was the center of the real station, the center of the his world is in sick-bay. He manages to get there in time to destroy the alien attack and save his life.
The atmosphere is very moody which is good. And the fact that the
characters were all out of character was a nice touch. Since they were
really parts of Bashir, not the actual characters. As a result O’Brien
is more pessimistic, Dax is more aggressive, Odo is paranoid and Kira is
just untrusting of the whole thing. Even having Sisko doing Bashir’s
job is a nice touch. Garak is sort of our guide for the episode (he’s
the alien in disguise) and the episode does a great job using Garak who
can be charming and creepy at the same time, which Garak even brings up
in the final scene. He gives Bashir credit for still not fully trusting
him.
I talked a few weeks ago about Star Trek blowing their reveals to soon, and I have to say the reveal that they are not on the real station but in Bashir’s head is well done here. Before it becomes to obvious they do it about mid way through, and the rest of the episode is trying to solve the problem. A lot better than waiting to “surprise” the audience in the end. Though that can still work just as TNG’s “Realm of Fear” which literally kept us guessing to the end. Of course there is also the surprise reveal that Garak is the Lethean in disguise which is saved til the end.
Do I have to say that the make-up is freaking awesome on Bashir? Some of the best aging effects ever, it even won an Emmy Award. I like the subtle way he ages too, nicely done.
This is a great episode for a continuity fan. In the first season we found out that Bashir didn’t become valedictorian because of a mistake he made in his final exams. In this episode, it’s pointed out the mistake was an obvious one. It was part of the Letvean using Psychology to make Bashir feel like a loser, saying he blew the question because he couldn’t handle the pressure. But later on we find out the real truth, Bashir was genetically enhanced and he made that mistake intentionally to avoid being discovered. We also learn Bashir has talent for tennis but gave it up (being enhanced probably the real reason he dropped it) the Lethean brings up how he gave up chasing Dax and Bashir explains that while he loves Dax he values her friendship more than anything. Nice.
Finally, the “Distant Voices” are the voices of the people in the real world. It’s a nice touch.
What I Hated:
Everyone gets a decent amount of time, except Sisko who doesn’t seem to have anything to really do here. It almost feels like they threw him in though having him by symbolic of Bashir’s medical skills was pretty good. I guess he was supposed to be in it a bit more but it got cut. Also, we see Quark again near the end, betting on whether or not Bashir would die and what of. For some reason, Armin Shimmerman decided to throw and British accent in there. Um….why? I heard or read about why he did that once but don’t recall it.
There is an awful cut when Dax is attacked. Bashir moves to help her and suddenly we see Bashir and Garak playing tennis together. I guess you can say that since this is all in Bashir’s head it’s ok, except the rest of the story is pretty linear. It felt like the creators didn’t know how to do a transition and just did a hard cut hoping the oddness of the story would cover it.
In the end we get told that the real Lethean tripped an alarm when he broke into the sick-bay (or infirmary as it’s called on DS9) and didn’t get two feet before he was arrested by Odo and security. For some reason I always wanted to see that, not sure why maybe just because it would be nice to see security acting responsibly for once.
Fast Forward Moment:
It does get draggy in the end after the other characters are gone and it’s just Bashir and the Letvean taunting him. I almost get the feeling they ran out of story and had to pad things out. That scene on the Ops where they do the surprise party with the girl singing and the golf balls falls on him…it’s just silly and nearly breaks the mood.
Final Thoughts:Much like “Lights of Zetar” it’s a great character episode. And the fact it’s a character I can’t stand but still like the episode? Kudos!
I talked a few weeks ago about Star Trek blowing their reveals to soon, and I have to say the reveal that they are not on the real station but in Bashir’s head is well done here. Before it becomes to obvious they do it about mid way through, and the rest of the episode is trying to solve the problem. A lot better than waiting to “surprise” the audience in the end. Though that can still work just as TNG’s “Realm of Fear” which literally kept us guessing to the end. Of course there is also the surprise reveal that Garak is the Lethean in disguise which is saved til the end.
Do I have to say that the make-up is freaking awesome on Bashir? Some of the best aging effects ever, it even won an Emmy Award. I like the subtle way he ages too, nicely done.
This is a great episode for a continuity fan. In the first season we found out that Bashir didn’t become valedictorian because of a mistake he made in his final exams. In this episode, it’s pointed out the mistake was an obvious one. It was part of the Letvean using Psychology to make Bashir feel like a loser, saying he blew the question because he couldn’t handle the pressure. But later on we find out the real truth, Bashir was genetically enhanced and he made that mistake intentionally to avoid being discovered. We also learn Bashir has talent for tennis but gave it up (being enhanced probably the real reason he dropped it) the Lethean brings up how he gave up chasing Dax and Bashir explains that while he loves Dax he values her friendship more than anything. Nice.
Finally, the “Distant Voices” are the voices of the people in the real world. It’s a nice touch.
What I Hated:
Everyone gets a decent amount of time, except Sisko who doesn’t seem to have anything to really do here. It almost feels like they threw him in though having him by symbolic of Bashir’s medical skills was pretty good. I guess he was supposed to be in it a bit more but it got cut. Also, we see Quark again near the end, betting on whether or not Bashir would die and what of. For some reason, Armin Shimmerman decided to throw and British accent in there. Um….why? I heard or read about why he did that once but don’t recall it.
There is an awful cut when Dax is attacked. Bashir moves to help her and suddenly we see Bashir and Garak playing tennis together. I guess you can say that since this is all in Bashir’s head it’s ok, except the rest of the story is pretty linear. It felt like the creators didn’t know how to do a transition and just did a hard cut hoping the oddness of the story would cover it.
In the end we get told that the real Lethean tripped an alarm when he broke into the sick-bay (or infirmary as it’s called on DS9) and didn’t get two feet before he was arrested by Odo and security. For some reason I always wanted to see that, not sure why maybe just because it would be nice to see security acting responsibly for once.
Fast Forward Moment:
It does get draggy in the end after the other characters are gone and it’s just Bashir and the Letvean taunting him. I almost get the feeling they ran out of story and had to pad things out. That scene on the Ops where they do the surprise party with the girl singing and the golf balls falls on him…it’s just silly and nearly breaks the mood.
Final Thoughts:Much like “Lights of Zetar” it’s a great character episode. And the fact it’s a character I can’t stand but still like the episode? Kudos!
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