"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" Cardassians (1993)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator: "Star Trek")
Rick Berman (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993)

Original Air Date:

24 October 1993 (Season 2, Episode 5)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Political heat rises on the station as Bajorans enter the station with orphaned Cardassians they have adopted.

Plot Keywords:

Orphan | Bitten Hand | Adoption | Orphanage | Title Spoken By Character

Cast

Avery Brooks	...	Commander Sisko
Rene Auberjonois	...	Odo
Alexander Siddig	...	Doctor Bashir (as Siddig El Fadil)
Terry Farrell	...	Lieutenant Jadzia Dax
Cirroc Lofton	...	Jake Sisko (credit only)
Colm Meaney	...	Chief O'Brien
Armin Shimerman	...	Quark
Nana Visitor	...	Major Kira
Rosalind Chao	...	Keiko O'Brien
Andrew Robinson	...	Garak
Robert Mandan	...	Kotan Pa'Dar
Terrence Evans	...	Proka
Vidal Peterson	...	Rugal
Dion Anderson	...	Zolan
Marc Alaimo	...	Gul Dukat

Quotes:

Elim Garak: Children without parents have no status in Cardassian society. The situation is most unfortunate, but I don't make the rules.
Doctor Bashir: But you *do* play the game, don't you, Garak? And there is a game being played right now as we speak, isn't there?
Elim Garak: There are always games, Doctor.
Doctor Bashir: The trouble is, I don't have the slightest idea what this game is all about. So you're gonna tell me what's going on inside that plain and simple head of yours, my Cardassian friend, or we're gonna sit here until we rot!

A very real world style plot, and Bashir gets hints of vindication.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I thought this one was pretty interesting: The ideas of children left behind after occupations or wars are ones we have seen in our own time and it was really daring for this show to go there. The idea of people using said children for politics was pretty rough but sadly a logical progression from the storyline of Season One and the history between Bajor and Cardassia we started hearing about in "Star Trek - The Next Generation" in episodes like "Ensign Ro." Season Two will flesh out the backgrounds even more.

That said, a person can watch this episode without ever seeing one of those others and follow it pretty well.

As the show goes through the plot, we get to see Gul Dukat (Played by Marc Alaimo) again, and get to know a bit more about him. It also covers the Bajor situation well, as the first season of DS9 did brilliantly across the entire season. We also get to know about another Cardassian who we will end up seeing a bit more of as the series goes on.

We first met the fellow named Garak in "Past Prologue" which was the second episode of the show's first season. He was the only Cardassian left on the station, and had struck up a conversation and a ready friendship with Dr. Julian Bashir (The very talented Alexander Siddig.) Dr. Bashir had heard rumors that Mr. Garak (Garak insists it is not "Mr. Garak," just plain, simple Garak) remained on the station to spy on the people there. Bashir is excited and tells his fellow officers, who sort of let it roll off (Terry "Jadzia Dax" Farrell has some priceless facial expressions when she is hearing Siddig's excited telling of it.) Well in this episode, right from the start, Andrew Robinson is back as the friendly Cardassian tailor, and things begin to pick up.

Dr. Bashir gets portrayed at times as sort of wide eyed in the first season or two, and the idea of him thinking the local tailor is some kind of spy and buying into rumors while the more experienced Dax, Sisko and O'Brien shrug it off seems to be an extension of this. Except now we get to see Mr. Garak again, and in this episode we see a couple of hints that he may indeed have some talents that go far beyond his excellent sewing skills. We also see some wonderful work by Marc Alaimo and Andrew Robinson in their brief time together that indicates there may be a bit more there between them. It's just enough to set things up for... but no, I'll let you find that one out for yourself. I can't tell you everything, that just wouldn't be as interesting, would it? (That one was for you Mr. Robinson and Mr. Siddig.) The point is, the "wide eyed" Bashir starts to look a bit more right in his thoughts about the tailor, who again is friendly and nice as can be to him, and from here on out these two characters really start to pick up, not only as individual characters but as a duo. The young, humanitarian doctor and the enigmatic Cardassian tailor are becoming a team of sorts, and now those more experienced officers begin to pay a bit more attention to them. Bashir also shows his willingness to risk his reputation and risk honking off people in command to do the humanitarian thing for the Bajorans and Cardassians involved. He comes out of this episode a bit stronger than he went in, in several ways. Avery Brooks is solid as Commander Sisko, and the rest of the cast is fine as always.

As for what happens in the episode, I won't spoil things further, it was pretty well done and a nice character study with good writing and great work all around from the guest actors as well as the regulars. As for the friendly, helpful tailor, he and Dr. Bashir will again have some conversations in the upcoming episode "The Wire" near the end of this season (Season Two.) After that one neither one of those guys looked back.

As for "Cardassians" it is pretty good and worth a look. It is more driven by character than effects, and when you have good characters with good writing and acting that can really work. This one, being a DS9 episode, has all of the above going for it. Worth watching.