Alaska Day 1: The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Trip to the In-Laws /  by Mark

42°54' N, 87°55' W -- Oak Creek, WI

After some frantic (OK, mostly me) packing, we left at 8:02a. Packing had to be optimized, since we're taking heavy cold weather gear--long underwear, sweatshirts, boots, etc--and one of the upcoming legs of the trip has a single bag, 40 pound limit. From Columbus to Lima to Ft. Wayne to Merrillville to Chicago to Milwaukee to New Berlin; Mindy's hometown and where my in-laws George and Martha still live. Driving days are generally boring, especially when it's a drive you've taken many times.

It was a bright, shiny day most of the way as I drove us over. The weather went south as we went north--just as Mindy took over driving duties, unfortunately. It went from rain to freezing rain to snow very quickly. Mindy called it "snowman snow"--huge flakes since we were so close to the lake. Mindy always drives the Chicago run--I just can't handle the traffic. I did offer to drive in the bad weather but she was resolute (whew!). I took some pics of the snow...

We pulled into the hotel at 4p central--about 8 hours driving time plus breaks. We then picked up the in-laws, went out for some pizza, then back to the hotel. The airport shuttle picks us up at 5:50a--gotta get some sleep.

One last thing--Beard Day 1. Mindy referred to me as a ragamuffin.

Day 0: North to Alaska /  by Mark

Mindy and I are off on an Alaskan vacation (actually, I'm planning to post the whole thing after we return--so let’s hope there's no horrible accident, or these entries will be rather ironic). Why go there in the winter, you might ask? It's the Aurora Borealis aka the Northern Lights. We will travel by road, air, rail, and snow. Dogsleds and snowshoes may be involved. At one point, we will cross the Arctic Circle. We're going with my in-laws (George is a computer geek like me, and Martha is into crafts and sewing like Mindy, so we work together well). I am also planning to grow a beard--we'll see how that goes.

Mindy and I have been prepping for months (she did most of the work)--getting cold weather gear, working out travel details, and coordinating with the in-laws and our work.

Tomorrow, we ride!

Star Trek DS9: Season Two Continues /  by Mark

Let's move on...

  • After the excitement (and cost) of the last three episodes, we've gone to a bottle episode--"Invasive Procedures". There's a technobabble storm battering the ship, so most of the crew is evacuated (offscreen, to save costs). A damaged ship is rescued, only to find terrorists onboard that quickly take over the station (thanks to Quark, of course). One of them is a Trill, played by John Glover. He wants Dax's symbiont--he didn't make the grade at the symbiont trials, and wants a second chance. They threaten to kill the others, so Bashir reluctantly agrees to perform the operation. It's a success--but without the symbiont, Jadzia will die within hours. One of the terrorists (Megan Gallagher) is in love with the Trill, so Sisko plays mind games with her--he's not the same Trill she knew. She realizes he's going to leave her, and she agrees to help. They manage to stop the rogue Trill and save Dax. By the way--one of the terrorists is a Klingon, played by future Voyager star Tim Russ.
  • Garak the "Tailor" returns in "Cardassians". He and Bashir are having a nice conversation on the Promenade (there are two alien extras with what appears to be blocks of concrete on their heads) when a young Cardassian (Vidal Peterson) bites Garak on the hand. The kid is with an adult Bajoran--he's an orphan. Gul Ducat gets involved. The foster father (Terrence Evans) has been teaching the kid to hate his race, and they consider him to be Bajoran (message coming in...). Another alien (with what appear to be cell phones festooning his cloak) tells Bashir that the kid is being mistreated, and an investigation begins. The O'Briens take custody of the kid temporarily. Ducat calls--the kid's father is a Cardassian bigwig. Garak and Bashir go to Bajor to find out what happened in the adoption process--and find more Cardassian orphans there. Bashir demands to know what's going on. Garak explains a political battle between the real father and Ducat. The real father (Robert Mandan) arrives, 'Brien explains the situation, and the kid rejects him. Ducat shows up just as the hearing begins. Bashir and Garak arrive--and drops a bomb. The Cardassian military dropped the kid off at an orphanage knowing he wasn't an orphan. The real father is allowed to take the kid home.
  • We get another "message" episode in "Melora". Bashir greets alien cartographer Melora (Daphne Ashbrook) from a low gravity planet--she uses a wheelchair on the station, and her quarters replicate low gravity. Apparently, the Cardassians never got around to ADA rules, or she would have a much easier time on the station. Of course, Melora's the "I don't need any help" chip on her shoulder type. Bashir sees right through it, and like all female guests, he falls in love with her. Unlike the others, she reciprocates, and they end up doing the low gravity mambo in her quarters. Later, she and Dax have some girl gab time on a shuttle. Bashir comes up with a technobabble treatment to help Melora move around normally--it's like a Love Boat episode with Doc Bricker. She starts to debate if she wants to leave her old life. In the B-story, a stranger arrives at Quark's bar, and enigmatically tells him he's there to kill Quark. Attempts to mollify him are wasted. He attacks Quark in his quarters, and he bribes the would-be killer. The two storylines combine when the killer kidnaps Quark and the girls. Sisko, Bashir, and O'Brien teleport onto a shuttle and follow them through the wormhole.  Melora saves them all by turning off the gravity and taking out the killer. She decides to stop the treatments and says goodbye to Bashir.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: Onto Season Two /  by Mark

Let's move onto the season season of the series:

  • We start with a three-parter--let the plot padding begin!. In "The Homecoming", Quark gets an artifact from a freighter captain, and Kira freaks out when she sees it. It's from a resistance fighter, and now she wants to rescue him from a Cardassian labor camp. While Sisko decides whether he will let her go, O'Brien finds graffiti on the station from political extremists "The Circle"--it looks like the mission to stabilize Bajor is falling apart, and this fighter might be the one to unify them. Sisko sends O'Brien along with her on the mission. They manage to break in and grab their leader Li Nalas (Richard Beymer) as well as a few other prisoners. Bajoran minister Jaro (Frank Langella) arrives, and he grandstands in front of a crowd about Nalas' escape. He's a hero to the Bajoran people, and Sisko asks for his help--but he's hesitant. It turns out Nalas' heroic story is more legend than fact--he was just in the right place at the right time. However, based on the legend, the Bajorans make him the new DS9 liaison--putting Kira out of a job.  Onto...
  • ..."The Circle". Jaro tells Sisko that Kira's reassignment is a "promotion", but he doesn't buy it. The rest of the cast drops by Kira's quarters to check on her (it's like the Marx Bros stateroom scene), then Vedek Bereil arrives and offers her time at his monastery. Tearfully, Kira leaves the station--Sisko promises he will get her back. Down at the monastery, Bereil shows Kira one of the celestial orbs, and we get a dream sequence--a SEXY sequence--with her and Bereil. Meanwhile, The Circle is causing havoc on Bajor, and Quark tells Odo they need to leave--the Circle is ready to stage a coup due to weapons from another race. Odo responds by making Quark his deputy.  Sisko calls out a Bajoran military leader--they seem to be retreating from The Circle. He also wants Kira back. Nalas holds up a ship from the alien race while Odo sneaks on as a mouse to find out what's happening. Kira gets nabbed by The Circle, only to find out that Jaro is leading them. He wants to know what the Feds will do once the coup occurs. Fortunately, Quark aka "Deus Ex Machina" found out where they are hiding, so Sisko, Bashir, Nalas, and some red (well, brown) shirts beam down and back up with her. Odo returns--the Cardassians are arming The Circle. Vedeks Jaro and Wynn do some scheming, The Bajorans are about to kick the Feds off the station, and Starfleet plays the Prime Directive card--they are to leave. Sisko's not giving up without a fight, so onto...
  • ..."The Siege". Sisko uses Starfleet officers on the station we've never seen or heard of before and their associations with Bajorans as examples to get the others to volunteer. Of course, it works, and they all stay. Most of the non-Starfleet residents and the families are sent away. Quark tries to sell seats on the transports, and ends up with no seat for himself. Kira and Dax go to a Bajoran moon to get a ship that will be allowed back on Bajor. The Bajoran military board the station, only to find it empty--Starfleet is hiding in the ducts (why are ducts always made big enough for people)? There's various skirmishes on the ship while they battle for control. Meanwhile, Kira and Dax dogfight over Bajor, then crash. Bereil's monks save them, and they go to the government to plead their case. Vedek Wynn changes sides once she hears the evidence. Just in time, the Bajoran military gets the word, and Starfleet is back in charge of DS9. Of course, Nalas is killed by one of the military, so Kira gets her job back.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

House of Cards: Netflix's Big Gamble /  by Mark

This past weekend saw the release of "House of Cards", an original series from Netflix and Kevin Spacey's Triggerstreet Productions. In order to recoup the estimated $100M production, Netflix needs to add over 500K new subscribers. While the immediate goal is fairly easy to meet (they have 30M subscribers today), there's a bigger battle to consider--Netflix vs. HBO. The latter has the content to crush Netflix, but to really move into online (I'm sorry, but requiring a cable account doesn't cut it), HBO would have to bite the content companies that feed it--rather unlikely, especially in the short term.

For now, 13 episodes of House of Cards are available--posted simultaneously by Netflix in a bold move. We watched the first two, and this is not the cheery world of The West Wing--it's amoral and dark. If that's not your bag, you may want to steer clear. Spacey gives a great performance as an ambitious congressman, if possibly a bit too Tennessee Williams-esque for me. When he wants to present his thoughts, he turns to the camera and just speaks up--a gimmick, but it works. His supporting cast, especially Robin Wright as his wife, do a great job as well.

If you have Netflix, check it out. If not, this may be a good reason to sign up.

Bob: Drawing a Blank /  by Mark

From Newhart's early 90's TV series "Bob" (see my recent entry)--

The second episode of the series really establishes Bob's new comic book partner and antagonist Harlan Stone, plated by John Cygan. Harlan is essentially playing Todd McFarlane who led the charge for "grim and gritty" comics in the 90's.  He's an egomaniac and bi-polar at the same time.  I'm surprised Cygan never went on to bigger things (he's doing voice work for Pixar, Warner, and video games now).

The episode spends most of it's time in their office as they try to hammer out the first issue of the new "Mad-Dog" comic. They run into writer's block and come up with various excuses to avoid working, including repairing an air conditioner. At one point, Bob has to literally talk Harlan off the ledge of the building. In the end, they are forced to improvise a story when Bob's wife and daughter arrive to see how things are going.

The Complete Series DVD is available on Amazon.

Star Trek DS9: Rounding Out Season One /  by Mark

Let's review the three remaining episodes in the first season of Deep Space Nine--

  • It's the old "cast gets possessed" bit in "Dramatis Personae". Kira's angry that a Valerian ship is going to dock--they helped the Cardassians in the war. A Klingon ship comes thru the wormhole then explodes, with a single survivor beaming over before dying. Odo talks to Quark to get info on the Klingons when they first came through, then suddenly has an attack. Quark calls Bashir, and when Odo comes to, the doctor is very interested in the station politics. Sisko and Kira have an angry exchange on the Valerians, O'Brien becomes paranoid, and  Dax becomes preoccupied and removed from his duties. Kira tries to get Odo then Dax on her side, while Sisko has stepped away from his duties and is working on a clock in his quarters. Odo seems to be the only one unaffected. A recording from the Klingon ship is retrieved, which indicates a mutiny was underway before the explosion. They found a set of telepathic "energy spheres" in the Gamma Quadrant which caused the mutiny and change in personalities on the station. Odo manipulates Bashir into shutting down the field and sucks it out the airlock (how is energy affected by a vacuum?). The cast gets a chance to play against their regular roles throughout the episode.
  • Kira gets another big role in "Duet"--it's a "message" episode. A man is beamed onto the station with a disease that only occurred at a Bajoran forced labor mining camp. The patient is Cardassian Marritza (Harris Yulin), which means he must be a war criminal--it's an Auschwitz parable. Odo nabs Marritza, but he's not a known criminal, and he denies he ever was on Bajor. Bashir confirms Marritza has the disease, and that's the only way he could have gotten it. Kira gets the Bajoran government involved--they want the Cardassian handed over. Sisko hesitantly allows Kira to run the investigation. It becomes a psychological exercise between Kira and Marritza, and "audition scenes for young actresses" follow. Marritza finally admits he was the leader of the mining camp, but Odo determines that isn't the case. He actually is Marritza, a file clerk at the camp, who went insane and decided he was the leader there--even undergoing cosmetic surgery to look like him. He wanted to be punished to bring the issue to the forefront, but Kira lets him go. Another Bajoran knifes him on the station, killing him.
  • Keiko O'Brien stars "In the Hands of the Prophets". A Bajoran religious leader Vedek Wynn (Louise Fletcher) objects that Keiko is teaching science vs. Bajoran beliefs on the wormhole. It's creation theory vs. evolution in SPAACE! Keiko goes to Sisko to help, but Kira suggests there needs to be a change in schooling--or possibly separate schools. Sisko talks with Wynn with no luck. Wynn plays passive-aggressive against Keiko, and she resists in return. Wasn't Keiko a botanist when she arrived? Why is she so passionate about this? Sisko talks to another Vedek, Bereil (Philip Anglim) on Bajor. but he's a candidate to be the next Kai--and doesn't want to make waves. Meanwhile, Miles is working with new assistant Neela (Robin Christopher). He's on the lookout for a tool that could be used to break ship security, and finds it melted down--the result of a fatal "accident". Miles is not convinced, and Bashir proves the death was the result of phaser fire. The school is blown up, and Sisko blames Wynn's religious rhetoric. It becomes clear Wynn is doing this to gain favor and become the new Kai. Neela turns out to be the attacker, and Wynn the mastermind. Neela tries to take out Bereil on the Promedade but misses the mark. This leaves Kira shaken in her beliefs and the relationship between the Federation and Bajorans in tatters for season two.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Bob! /  by Mark

I've always loved the work of Bob Newhart. A missed gem is the appropriately named "Bob" series (1992-93), and the Complete Series DVD finally came out late last year.

Bob plays a greeting card artist who once published comic book "Mad-Dog", and gets a chance to do it again. It's actually a critique of the comic book industry of the 90's, when heroes were turned into gritty vigilantes, and sales were at their zenith with gimmicky covers and "events" such as the "Death of Superman". Of course, it's also a Newhart series, with Bob trying to relate to bizarre characters. 

I think it's interesting that almost none of his supporting cast (at least for the first season) went onto bigger things. I really thought Cynthia Stevenson (who played his daughter) was a revelation and would make it big, but despite starring vehicle "Hope and Gloria" and steady work since then, never became a household name.

Bob's classic bit is the "telephone call", where Bob relates both side of the call in his halting manner. This is updated as a speakerphone call from the unseen "Mr. Terhorst" character, played by Michael Cumpsty.  He's the CEO of the AmCanTranConComCo corporation that owns the comic book company, and apparently has time to personally OK all creative decisions.

Industry legends Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, and Sergio Aragones have cameos on the series.  

The show never got great ratings, and the second season reversed the whole point of the show--the comic was cancelled, and he went back to greeting cards and a mostly new cast including Jere Burns and veteran Betty White.

I'll cover a few key episodes in future entries. The Complete Series DVD is available on Amazon.

Star Trek DS9: Season One Rolls On /  by Mark

We're getting close to the end of the first season...

  • Kira gets a chance to shine in "Progress". There's a Bajoran moon set to be tapped of magma as a heat source, and she has to convince farmer Mullibok (TV veteran Brian Keith--Unca Bill!) to vamoose. He tells her about his time fighting the Cardassians, and now she's somehow become the enemy. She ends up bonding with the old guy, even joining him there. The end is rather abrupt--Kira decides he has to move on, so she burns down his hut and beams them up. There's also another stupid storyline with Nog--this time, he's trading "yamok sauce", and Jake tries to help out. They go through a series of trades, each worse than the last. The pathos of the main story keeps colliding with the wacky subplot.
  • In "If Wishes Were Horses", it's normal life on the station--O'Brien is telling his daughter Molly (who can now speak) a bedtime story. Suddenly, she sees "Rumplestilkskin"--and he's there. Bashir dreams of Dax--and she attacks him in his bed. Back on the bridge, the real Dax shows up--oops! Quark's losing his shirt--everyone is winning "Dabo". Of course, some technobabble anomaly is to blame, and they fight it with more technobabble. In the end, they figure out the anomaly is all in their minds, but the apparitions are actually enigmatic aliens. There's an amusing scene with Quark and Odo at the start--he wants to get into "family entertainment" with the holo-suites--a commentary on amusement parks?
  • Perhaps anticipating the need to jack up ratings with TNG cast members, Lwaxana Troi drops by the station in "The Forsaken". She's part of a Federation delegation there to see the wormhole, and Bashir is trying to handle them. Troi is impressed with Odo--which is never a good thing. Meanwhile, the delegation keeps getting underfoot, bugging the whole crew. O'Brien is fighting with the Cardassian computer, when an unknown probe comes thru the wormhole, and Dax and O'Brien try to figure it out. It starts knocking down systems, including the turbolift with Odo and Troi inside. O'Brien realizes the computer is changing--starting to "need" him. Odo finally breaks down to Troi and we get some backstory--he also reaches his regeneration period (when he turns into liquid). Troi ends up collecting him in her skirt (eewww!). Bashir plays the hero when an explosion puts the delegation in danger. O'Brien figures out the rogue code is like a puppy that wants attention, so he builds a "doghouse" to save the station.  A lot of varied plotlines that don't work together very well.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Plug-ola! /  by Mark

I'm going to shamelessly plug our...FIRST VIDEO PODCAST! 

After a lot of planning (and spending), "From the Pop Culture Bunker" went live on iTunes yesterday. Mindy and I will talk pop culture every week--TV, movies, media, whatever.

You can check out the first episode here, or just click below. Please subscribe on iTunes and leave your comments.  Enjoy!

Star Trek DS9: Even More of Season One /  by Mark

We start with more of the Quark and Odo team...

  • Everyone's favorite Ferengi is creating trouble again in "Vortex". He's dealing with a Miradorn "raider", and Odo is his usual paranoid self, so he shape-shifts into a bar glass (how can he change his mass as well?) to spy on them. Bumpy-headed alien Croden (Cliff DeYoung) arrives and shoots one of the Miradorn. Croden mentions that Odo is a "changeling", and has seen others of his race in the Gamma Quadrant. Meanwhile, Sisko and Dax goes to his planet to resolve the legal issues, and they demand Croden is brought there for his "myriad" crimes. Croden continues to string Odo along about his race. Conveniently, Sisko orders Odo to return the prisoner to his planet. There's a whole "Silence of the Lambs" vibe during the trip. It turns out Croden was just trying to save his daughter, and he and Odo manage to save each other during a battle. In the end, Odo hands both Croden and his daughter off to a Vulcan ship. The "Changeling" subplot will become a major storyline over time.
  • Our heroes are dragged across "Battle Lines". Kai Opaka--the Dalai Lama of Bajor (Camille Saviola)--shows up announced on the station, and Sisko agrees to take her on a trip through the wormhole. Sisko, Kira, and Bashir stupidly investigate a signal, get Opaka killed (?!), and end up trapped on a prison moon. After an attack, Opaka returns to life--she was somehow reincarnated! It turns out their jailers have figured out how to make people immortal via technobabble. It's the punishment for the inmates--eternal imprisonment and war against other factions on the moon. It's kind of like the TOS episode "Day of the Dover", except it went on for generations. Sisko gets the chief inmate (Jonathan Banks) to talk to the leader of the opposition by agreeing to get them off the planet. Opaka councils Kira about her martial nature, telling her to move beyond it. The peace talks do not go well.. Bashir figures out the technobabble reanimating them only works on the moon--if they leave, they die. This means Opaka can't leave either. It's a moot point--she decides to listen to the "call of the prophets" and stay there to help them move toward peace. Bashir offers to "save them" by reprogramming the technobabble so they can die, but Sisko stops him despite their pleas.
  • O'Brien becomes a spiritual leader in "The Storyteller". He and Bashir are sent on a medical mission to a Bajoran village--Miles isn't happy about it. The village's high priest (Kay E. Kuter) is dying, and they need him to fight off a bizarre mythical creature. Isn't Bajor an advanced civilization? During the "battle" with what looks like an angry cloud, the elder collapses and gets O'Brien to take over the ceremony, telling him what to say. He then passes away--Miles is now his successor! Bashir enjoys the whole thing immensely until they figure out how much danger they're in. Turns out the elder's assistant was to be the real successor, and he has an artifact that controls the cloud--it concentrates the villager's thoughts, creating and then destroying the menace. It was used to unite the village. The apprentice has to step in save O'Brien in the end. Meanwhile, Sisko works with Bajoran factions to avoid a civil war (one of their leaders happens to be a 15 year old girl, played by Gina Phillips). Nog is entranced by her, but it seems she has eyes for Jake. They teach her to be a kid, and she decides Sisko can help her in the negotiations.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Justice League Unlimited: To the Finish Line /  by Mark

It's the final three episodes of the Justice League animated series...

  • Just in time for the end of the show, we wrap up the John/Shayera storyline in "Ancient History". Hawkman/Carter Hall helps out John with Gentleman Ghost (Robin Atkin Downes) while Shadow Thief (James Remar) hides in the--uh--shadows. Meanwhile, Shayera is working out with Vixen in the League's gym. John warns her about Hawkman (he's essentially a stalker). Shadow Thief attacks John and Vixen in his apartment, and they get their butts kicked. The girls go see Hawkman in Midway City (he's an archeologist, as in the SA comics), and find John tied up by Shadow Thief--a battle ensues. Our heroes (minus Vixen) are tied up in front of the Absorbachron--a Thangarian super-computer with all knowledge.  We get the backstory on the Hawks--aliens stranded on ancient Earth, creating an Egyptian empire, a love triangle with a general (clearly John in an earlier life), advisor Hath-Set kills the lovers in Katar's name, and Katar commits suicide (rather adult for a cartoon--very Shakespearean). Turns out Shadow Thief is just a manifestation of Hawkman's dark thoughts--he gives Carter the chance to kill John, but he releases them instead, then absorbs the villain into his mind. Back at HQ, John tells Shayera about the future (he learned they have a son when he was there), but says he's staying with Vixen anyway. Shayera goes to Bruce to find out more about this son...
  • We're back with the Legion of Doom in "Alive". Lex continues to work to save Brainiac. Talia uses her magic on the Brainiac artifact, and they are psychically teleported to Brainiac's world just as it was blown up. Now Lex knows where to go--he gets the Legion to turn the HQ into a spaceship. We see the regular baddies plus Merlyn, Goldface, Count Vertigo, and several others--even I don't recognize some of them. There's a great shot of Bizarro trying to put a square object into a round hole. Tala decides enough is enough, and uses the ship's launch to free Grodd. There's a mutiny and a big fight amongst the villains. It al winds up in a duel between Grodd and Lex, and the latter uses the former's mental powers against him. It's out the airlock for the ol' gorilla. The reach the coordinates, and Tala is used to track down Brainiac's parts. Metron of the New Gods (Daniel Dae Kim) warns him, but Lex won't be stopped. He reforms--Darkseid (Michael Ironside)?? He blows up the ship (but somehow doesn't kill all the villlains?). We switch to Apolkolips, where a final battle is stopped by their ruler. The villains stop by the League's HQ and ask for help, which brings us to...
  • ...the final episode, "Destroyer".  We learn how the villains survived (Sinestro's ring plus an assist from Orion of the New Gods). Darkseid's army attacks Earth via Boom Tubes. The League and Legion begrudgingly team up. Everybody--and I mean everybody--checks in. We see battles in Washington, Paris, London, China, Rome, Toyko, and finally Metropolis. Clark, Bruce, and Lex go up against Darkseid. Lex jumps in, gets his butt kicked, and Bruce has to save him, leaving our two combatants fighting on top of the Daily Planet. The other heroes learn that huge drills are trying to create Apokolips on Earth, which have to be stopped. There's an old guy on the Great Wall kicking butt--it turns out to be Martian Manhunter, back for the finale. Clark and Darkseid trade blows--then Metron arrives. Lex gets Metron to tell him how to beat Darkseid,  Clark tells Darkseid how he always has to take care--"the world is made of cardboard" to him. Now, he can really let loose--we get the greatest hits ever seen on the series (shock waves and everything) before Darkseid pulls out the "agony matrix" to stop Clark. Meanwhile, Metron has taken Lex to the Source Wall (essentially God/Heaven in the New Gods universe), who manages to survive it. He returns to the battle (in a business suit) with the "Anti-Life Equation" (what Darkseid has always searched for). Both Lex and Darkseid are wiped out by the resulting explosion. The League gives the Legion a 5 minute head start to escape, and we get a final curtain call from the whole League (I'm not afraid to admit I watched this last part more than once).

I hoped you enjoyed these reviews--it gave me a chance to finally watch the series in order. If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek DS9: More of Season One /  by Mark

After a holiday break, we're back to Deep Space Nine...

  • Bashir gets possessed by a dying criminal and hijinks ensue in "The Passenger". Bashir is a REALLY obnoxious character--we'll learn why later in the series--and Siddig really chews the scenery while under the criminal's control. Of course, most of the characters on the show are full of themselves--maybe it's the "younger brother" syndrome vs. TNG, so they feel they have to prove their worth. The mcguffin this week is a shipment of "deuridium". It's important enough that the Federation has brought in a security officer (James Lashly), which creates friction with Odo. Complicating things is bounty hunter Kajada (Julie Caitlin Brown), who's understandably obsessed with the dead(?) criminal. It takes a load of Dax's technobabble to save the day.
  • Quark gets into the middle of "first contact" with a new Gamma quadrant race, and our heroes become literal pawns in a deadly game in "Move Along Home". The aliens and their leader (Joel Brooks) put the senior staff through a maze of obstacles--it seems rather silly. Quark realizes he's playing a game with the crew's lives, and tries to beg his way out of it. The new security officer makes his second and last appearance on the series--he seemed rather superfluous. There's an subplot with Jake Sisko which is clearly added to extend a weak plot. In the end, they learn their peril was all simulated--"it's only a game!"
  • Had enough of Quark already?  Too bad--he's made the head of the Ferengi Empire in "The Nagus". The previous chief is played by Wallace Shawn (Inconceivable!)--he arrives on DS9 for a conference with his lieutenants, and things go south when he announces Quark's new position. The Ferengi was supposed to be a big baddie for the Federation, but they quickly turned into comic relief. There's a subplot with O'Brien (remember him?) playing substitute teacher at Keiko's school. It turns out that Nog isn't as bad an influence on Jake as everyone thinks.  

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek DS9: Season One Continues /  by Mark

Let's get back to DS9:

  • O'Brien is dealing with mechanical problems in "Babel". He's busy fixing systems all over the station (seems DS9 is a lemon). He fixes a replicator, but there's something strange attached to it. O'Brien starts speaking in random words (hence the episode title). Bashir can't find the cause--his brain functions seem normal. The problem spreads to Dax, and then to others. A virus turns out to be the cause--it randomly reroutes neural pathways. We learn that Quark is using a replicator outside his bar (his isn't working), so the virus is spreading even more quickly, and has become airborne. Kira finds the strange device behind the replicator--it's sabotage! Kira is convinced it's Cardassian (of course), but Bashir finds evidence the Bajorans did it--sabotage for the previous station owners. The virus gets worse--O'Brien's now close to death. (Where is Keiko during all this?) Kira tracks down a doctor involved with the original sabotage, and when he refuses to help, she beams him up so he's infected too. Finally, Odo and Quark are the only ones not affected. Dr. Deus Ex Machina finds an antidote, and everyone is saved.
  • Message coming in! "Captive Pursuit" begins with a strange ship exiting the wormhole. It's a First Contact situation with a new race. O'Brien helps save the ship, so he's given the honor. The alien (who says he's Tosk") is very nervous--guess I would be too. Miles has his hands full trying to explain everything. When Tosk is left alone, he asks the computer for info on their weapons (Starfleet seems awfully trusting in First Contacts). O'Brien is convinced Tosk is not telling the whole truth, and he's on the run from something. Odo finds Tosk tampering with security systems, and sends him to the brig. O'Brien presses him, and he asks to "die with honor". Another ship arrives, and three guards that look like they came from the 70's Buck Rogers TV series beam over. They find Tosk and capture him. It turns out the whole thing is a "hunt"--and Tosk is the fox. They are so disappointed that they plan to leave him alive. Sisko says he has to release Tosk to them--the whole Prime Directive thing. O'Brien tries to get Tosk to request asylum--but it's too big a dishonor. O'Brien decides to "change the rules" by knocking out one of the hunters and setting Tosk free. After some dicey moments, O'Brien gets Tosk back to his ship so he can escape.
  • The producers must have felt the need to goose ratings with two TNG guest stars--Picard's girlfriend Vash (Jennifer Hetrick) and good ol' Q (John de Lancie) in "Q-Less". Dax finds Vash in the Gamma quadrant, and their confused how she got there. We know she went off with Q on a TNG episode. She tired of him and he reciprocated by stranding her. There's a "mcguffin"--an artifact that keeps knocking out the station's power. Q plays with Sisko, and he decks him--"I'm not Picard".Throughout all of this, O'Brien does exposition for the rest of the cast, since he's from TNG as well. Quark is working his own angle--auctioning off the artifact. Vosh and Q continue to bicker--he does his normal threatening. He also taunts SIsko, saying the Enterprise crew would have decoded the "technobabble" and resolved the power issue hours ago. The auction is on, but Vash is getting cold feet--one of the alien bidders looks like he has a trash can on his head. Meanwhile, the station is getting dragged into the wormhole. After some of the famous technobabble, they figure out the artifact is a "space egg"--it hatches and goes back through the wormhole. Q and Vash part ways, and Bashir stops in comedy relief.
  • "Dax" is all about our favorite Trill. She's nabbed by a group of aliens, and our heroes are unable to stop them before they get off the station. They are able to get a busted tractor beam working and grab their ship. The aliens have a valid reason for the abduction--Dax is charged with treason and murder 30 years ago. (Why didn't they go through formal channels, if they had a valid warrant?)  Sisko asks what he can do, but she refuses to fight the charges. Sisko finds a delay--the station is Bajoran, and there's no extradition treaty, forcing a hearing. Odo is asked to investigate the case while the hearing commences. The case hinges on whether Jadzia Dax is a different person than the original host. Odo meets with the widow of the murder victim (Fionnula Fanagan) --her son is prosecuting the case--and she learns about the new Trill host. Back at the hearing, another Trill becomes an expert witness, and it gets a little heated. Bashir is called to the stand, and makes a mess of things as always. Sisko calls himself as a character witness, and makes a big speech. Odo determines that the previous host and the widow were "close". Dax finally opens up to Sisko, and then she's on the stand. At the final moment, the widow arrives and admits what really happened (at least the official story). Dax and the widow have a moment to run out the episode.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.