Deep Space Nine 4x12 "Paradise Lost"

rating: ****

the story: Martial law has been declared, and everyone's a potential shape-shifter...

what it's all about: "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost" was supposed to a cliffhanger/season premiere straddling the third and fourth seasons, originally.  This would explain why the basic premise of "The Adversary," which ended up being the third season finale (as a standalone story) is similar to what was postponed in favor of the Klingon reboot "Way of the Warrior" that opened the fourth season instead.  And yet, "Adversary" doesn't really prepare you for what "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost" accomplish once they finally happen.

The recap at the start of "Paradise Lost" includes the crucial scene from "Homefront" where Joseph Sisko angrily rejects the notion that he needs to prove he's human.  I already discussed in my "Homefront" review how crucial Joseph, as Sisko's father, is as a general addition to both the series and franchise (as a main character's parent, he's really second only to Sarek in importance), but he's also absolutely critical to understanding how well this particular story works, because he's a running commentary on his son's doubts and the ultimate resolution of the crisis. 

Sisko's conversation with a Founder (a shape-shifter; a changeling; Odo's people, although strangely this is a story that involves him but not in the way they usually do, as more observer than participant), in the guise of O'Brien, is one of the more chilling scenes of the whole franchise (sort of like Voyager's "In the Flesh," in which Starfleet Headquarters is recreated by Species 8472, complete with the perennially disarming groundskeeper Boothby).  This sequence alone justifies the two-part story.

There's a subplot in both episodes involving Nog's early days at Starfleet Academy, which in "Paradise Lost" becomes a little like the Deep Space Nine version of Next Generation's "The First Duty."  But this is among the material that really only pads out the relevant stuff, which again mostly focuses on Sisko, his dad, and that scene with the bogus O'Brien.

Because this is ultimately an allegory for the Red Scare, the period of the early Cold War when Americans were being summoned to the House Un-American hearings to prove whether or not they'd ever had communist sympathies.  In more recent times, the Department of Homeland Security that was created post-9/11 and the fears that Trump intends to in effect reintroduce the Red Scare concept to combat terrorism (also of note: Japanese internment camps during WWII, of which Sulu actor George Takei has eloquently given testimony to).  All of this symptomatic of a state of paranoia, and the excessive responses that can arise from it; that's what "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost" are all about, what Sisko and his dad spend so much time talking about. 

Surprisingly, this is a concept that was dropped from the further Dominion arc (with a few exceptions, such as finding out about the Martok and Bashir doppelgangers; in a lot of ways Ron Moore essentially took this as his main premise on the Battlestar Galactica reboot), with the shape-shifters over time being reduced to conversations between Odo and the Female Founder.  So this is a more crucial moment than it might have originally seemed, both as more relevant than ever after 9/11, and for everything that didn't happen later in the series.  Clearly it was something that needed to be done, and it's actually probably a good thing that it happened before the war actually began, which also lends it further significance, as a commentary on how wars happen to begin with, not so much the obvious provocations, but the fears that build up on both sides.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - A Cold War allegory for a concept originally conceived at the height of the Cold War.
• series - Crucial to the Dominion arc.
• character - This remains a Sisko spotlight.
• essential - It's far more significant in hindsight that it might have seemed when originally broadcast.

notable guest-stars:
Brock Peters (Joseph Sisko)
Aron Eisenberg (Nog)
Robert Foxworth
Susan Gibney

Deep Space Nine 4x11 "Homefront"

rating: ****

the story: Shape-shifters on Earth mean a huge crisis...

what it's all about: If somehow Deep Space Nine had ended after four seasons (as Enterprise did later), I think the legacy of the series would be "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost," especially post-9/11, when this story became hugely relevant.  The rampant paranoia and the questionable decisions members of Starfleet make are unlike anything else found in the series or the franchise, save perhaps "Conspiracy" from Next Generation, an episode that notoriously dropped off any further significance when its storyline was never revisited.  (In that instance, somewhat the episodic nature of Star Trek at that point both at its worst and arguably best.)  Yet "Homefront" directly impacts the budding Dominion arc, which had been developing in fits and starts since the end of the second season with the introduction of the Jem'Hadar and Vorta, as well as "The Search" at the beginning of the third, in which the Founders are revealed, and a few stabs at the reaction they engendered, such as "Way of the Warrior" at the start of this season.

And yet, never before is the whole idea so potent than when the story is largely focused on the good guys acting like bad guys because they're scared.  Isn't that exactly what people have been saying, the past fifteen years, about what happened after 9/11?  Maybe this needs to be emphasized about "Homefront," and that's why I'm choosing it as the leading point of the episode, and its sequel.

From a president who waffles over how to respond (actually the opposite of what happened in the real world) to Starfleet hotheads dictating the course of action (in its basic framework, the story kind of borrows the typical Hollywood framework, which could also be seen in 24, which was actually conceived before 9/11 but eerily debuted at around the same time; Kiefer Sutherland also stars in Designated Survivor, which certainly follows the template, although just as engagingly).

Oddly, it's the rare Deep Space Nine story that does not actually involve the eponymous station, making it one of the rare Star Trek stories to have taken main characters into an arena totally unrelated to their duty stations (away missions don't count).  It's a huge crisis, and it means Sisko is actually given a new assignment, albeit temporarily. 

So the premise is excellent, and what grounds it is actually fairly personal, the introduction of Sisko's father, Joseph.  This is actually one of the things about the season that most blatantly demonstrates the fresh start the season hoped to be, because early in the series it was heavily implied that Sisko's father was dead, so to suddenly see him alive and kicking (most definitely kicking!) is a shock, but a welcome one, because he adds considerable spice to the Sisko family, and a welcome addition to the series repertory of recurring characters, older than the norm by far, a member of a previous generation much like the elder Klingons who had previously filled that function on a less personal basis.  It's actually the one instance in the whole franchise, aside from Sarek, where the aged parent of a main character becomes a significant character, too.

But this is all setup, in an odd quirk of the series (Enterprise would later echo it in its fourth season), a mutipart episode that has different names for each installment, which had already occurred in the second and third seasons, and would again once storytelling became more serialized, especially at the beginning of the sixth season and end of the seventh.  The second half of this story is as important as this one, even if both episodes effectively tell one long one.  In Voyager midseason two-part episodes would eventually be aired in two-hour blocks (that was the benefit of airing on a network instead of in syndication).  But Voyager never had a story quite like this one...

I'll leave further discussion to "Paradise Lost," which comes next.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Adds to the crisis trope frequently found in Star Trek.
• series - Tells a major story of the Dominion arc.
• character - A considerable focus on the expanding Sisko family.
• essential - Becomes more and more significant as the years pass.

notable guest-stars:
Brock Peters (Joseph Sisko)
Robert Foxworth
Susan Gibney
Aron Eisenberg (Nog)

The Next Generation 4x16 "Galaxy's Child"

rating: **

the story: Geordi meets the real Leah Brahms

similar to: "Hollow Pursuits" (Next Generation), Star Trek: First Contact, "Author, Author" (Voyager)

my thoughts: A sort of sequel to "Booby Trap," the episode where Geordi interacts with a holographic version of Dr. Brahms, "Galaxy's Child" is one of those episodes where you can squarely ignore the sci-fi crisis elsewhere happening, if you so choose, and instead focus on the character development happening along the way.

Geordi is one of the more hapless romantics in Star Trek lore, not because of his VISOR, but because of the basic problem of not really knowing what to do around the opposite sex.  Ironically enough, this duo of episodes encompasses the experiences of another engineer in the crew, the infamous Barclay as introduced and featured in "Hollow Pursuits," who is far more comfortable interacting with people in the holodeck than in real life.

(No, these are not episodes based on the Internet age.)

That Geordi somewhat duplicates that in these episodes is a little ironic, because no one would otherwise associate him with Barclay's rich psychoses.  Yet that's kind of what happens with Dr. Brahms, whom he first meets in deceptive holographic form.  This episode is all about learning what the real person is like.  Suffice to say, she's almost the complete opposite of everything Geordi previously thought he knew about her.  Only O'Brien has worse luck, in general.

That makes for a pretty fun episode.  Not only can you discard the rest of it, you really wouldn't be missing much.  This is a rare opportunity in the series to just watch a single character squirm from very human circumstances.  Unlike Scotty, Geordi was not known as a miracle worker.  He wasn't even known as an engineer originally.  Yes, he's hugely capable in that regard, but he becomes more and more useful as one of the more relatable people in the crew, and this is probably the episode to see why. 

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Susan Gibney (Brahms)
Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)

The Next Generation 3x6 "Booby Trap"

**

Geordi La Forge had the unfortunate task of following in the footsteps of a miracle-worker.  When he finally became chief engineer of the Enterprise, La Forge could only be compared to Scotty, who made keeping starships together seem like the biggest emergencies that could only be solved by his quick wits and dedication.  What could La Forge possibly offer in response?

Well, for starters he would always be one of the most visually unique characters in Star Trek.  For some reason Next Generation was full of that.  The bald captain.  The gold android.  The dude with the ridged forehead.  And then there was Geordi, who wore a banana clip over his eyes, giving the blind man the ability to see.  It wasn't until the last three movies that he finally lost his distinctive VISOR, but moreso than being chief engineer, it was this element that made La Forge stand out.

Eventually he formed a tight friendship with Data, but La Forge was better known for his unusual alienation.  It's not that he was a loner, but that his physical handicap, no matter how expertly it was eventually corrected, made La Forge less comfortable with other people than is usual for Star Trek.  The area where this was most obvious, and the episode that makes it stand out the most, was Geordi's relationship with women, as defined by "Booby Trap."

Unlike Scotty, La Forge was a more hands-on engineer.  He helped make it seem more down-to-earth.  Yet he couldn't work miracles.  He needed help.  So he turns to a holographic representation of a brilliant Starfleet engineer, and falls in love with it.  He certainly believes that it's the engineer herself, but it's really the version of her that he's helped create.  It's not quite Reg Barclay, but it's Geordi La Forge in a nutshell.  He's the guy who loves people and technology, but perhaps best when they're in the same form.  He and Data were the original platonic bromance, after all.

Most of the story is pretty generic Star Trek, coming across a derelict ship with a problem our crew must figure out.  It's how the characters, especially La Forge, are brought to their best instincts around it that distinguishes "Booby Trap."  It's another way of acknowledging that Next Generation is more cerebral than its predecessor, and that its characters have more depth.  On this occasion the beneficiary is La Forge.  Also worth noting are some key character tidbits for supporting characters Guinan and O'Brien.  It's funny, because each of these three characters have the elements of this episode revisited in some form or another.  Guinan talks about being saved by a "bald man" (referring to Picard, and to "Time's Arrow"), while O'Brien building ships in bottles is referenced amusingly in the final episode.  This whole episode is revisited for La Forge in "Galaxy's Child."  Little bits of continuity, probably, but still lightyears ahead of what the original series used to do.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Susan Gibney
Colm Meaney
Whoopi Goldberg

Memory Alpha summary.