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Capsule Review: DS9 1.05 "Babel"
Mar. 1st, 2013 10:45 pmAre we on "Captive Pursuit" yet? One more to go? Well then...
On its own almost until the resolution, "Babel" is a by-the-numbers Trek episode: Crisis strikes the station, the crew work to solve it, and save the day with their ingenuity and- wait, no they don't. And that's where it's interesting.
( Active potatoes eradicate no rayon? )
Lavanyasix called DS9 the red-headed stepchild of the Trek franchise, and I think episodes like this encapsulate its status as being in the franchise yet not of it. The writers use the Trek tropes only to twist them and tell a story about the local situation, establishing what kind of place Bajor is. This kind of work laid the foundation for what was to come down the road, establishing DS9 as the odd one out in the franchise, sure, but a great odd one out.
On its own almost until the resolution, "Babel" is a by-the-numbers Trek episode: Crisis strikes the station, the crew work to solve it, and save the day with their ingenuity and- wait, no they don't. And that's where it's interesting.
( Active potatoes eradicate no rayon? )
Lavanyasix called DS9 the red-headed stepchild of the Trek franchise, and I think episodes like this encapsulate its status as being in the franchise yet not of it. The writers use the Trek tropes only to twist them and tell a story about the local situation, establishing what kind of place Bajor is. This kind of work laid the foundation for what was to come down the road, establishing DS9 as the odd one out in the franchise, sure, but a great odd one out.
