Monday, March 30, 2009

Terilynn's Trek: 3-30-09; DS9's The Visitor - Trek Perfection

It's been a hell of a week. More so for my mother than for me specifically, but it's still been very, very rough. Getting bad news about one's health is always difficult, but when the news is this bad (my mother has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer) it's doubly hard.

I'm most likely still in denial over most of it. I was busy this weekend just trying to make sure the house was as prepared for our needs as they arise over the coming weeks. Grocery shopping and warehouse stores became my focus.

Through it all, The Husband was and is amazingly supportive by taking time out of his work schedule to take my mother to her procedures as I have certain commitments with my job right now that would make time off extraordinarily difficult.

Another thing I've been thankful for has been the fact that DS9 is still a part of the ritual – as much as we have one right now. We finished viewing the third season and have jumped right into the fourth.

People here at TrekUnited and at The Omega Sector (TrekCore's BBS) have all told me that this is when the show really starts to take off.

That's saying something, because some of the shows from the first three seasons are already some of the best Trek I've ever seen. Duet was as striking an episode as I have seen from any Trek, and I utterly adored Family Business. I've have learned how easy it is to loathe Kai Winn - and idolize Louise Fletcher in the process. I like Sisko, adore Jadzia, understand Kira, and root for Nog. I really appreciate that Sisko is a father and that Jake isn't an idiot. Quark is a jewel and Odo crushes me.

The political intrigue however is really becoming more than riveting! This is a huge confession for me…but I wish TNG were more like this show. Allowing a thread of a continuing tale to hold the show together has been great and is only getting better. I likened the current form of DS9 (into disc 2 of Season 4 now) like a curtain rod that holds individual hangers. The thread of the show – the political story line – is the rod that bears the episodes which can all stand and be shown on their own without getting lost in the shuffle of the greater story arc.

This is great television folks.

One episode we just watched almost killed me though. The Visitor is, I think, DS9's answer to TNG's The Inner Light. A pure character study with a story that could only happen in science fiction but whose moral and myth serve to remind you that Trek really is about showing the Human condition. I was crying ten minutes into the show. As much as he tried to hold out – by minute 15 the Kleenex box was sitting in between The Hubby and I. I actually had to recover from that episode.

Maybe a part of that is because of what we're currently enduring with my mother's diagnosis. That's okay. The lessons rang very, very true. If you haven't seen this episode of DS9, do yourself a favor – find it, watch it and listen to it.

It is Trek story-telling perfection.

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