Tag: star trek | Amy C. Shaw

My Top 5 Episodes of DS9 Season Six

March 22, 2017 • 4 Comments

I seriously can’t believe that my last Star Trek recap post was in October! Timeless, Agents of SHIELD, Designated Survivor, and basketball season seriously slowed my Trek viewing down! Also, stay tuned for my Voyager season four recap coming soon!

So things are getting really real in Season 6 of DS9, but there are still some dud episodes (most notably Profit and Lace… YIKES). But I feel pretty strongly that my top two episodes for this season though are among the best of the series, arguably of the entire franchise. So stinkin’ good. On with my top five…

5. Inquisition

I think I mostly like this episode because it sets up the future of Sloan-Bashir and Section 31, including an episode next season I really love, Extreme Measures. Every time I see William Sadler, I think of his role of Sloan first.

4. You Are Cordially Invited…

Before she can marry Worf, Jadzia has to prove herself worthy to become a member of the House of Martok. But the real gem of this episode is Bashir and O’Brien suffering through Worf’s “bachelor party.” My favorite thing is when Bashir has a “vision” that he’s going to kill Worf.

3. His Way

Odo and Kira… blah, blah, blah… That’s fine, but for me this episode is about Vic Fontaine! I love the introduction of James Darren’s character and look forward to more Vic moments in season 7!

2. Far Beyond the Stars

This episode has a little bit of everything… It’s fun to see our usual characters playing different roles. It speaks on the power of storytelling. And it has a powerful message about racism.

1. In the Pale Moonlight

This commentary on morality in war and those gray places we can find ourselves in make this one of the most compelling episodes of Star Trek ever.

What are your favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine, season 6?

My Top 5 Episodes of DS9 Season Five & Voyager Season Three

October 7, 2016 • 4 Comments

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene. See her favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine Season 5 and Voyager Season 3.

Deep Space Nine, Season Five

5. In The Cards

This is a fun episode before everything goes to heck, where Nog and Jake do favors for members of the station’s crew in exchange for something that will help them obtain a rare baseball card for Captain Sisko.

3-4. In Purgatory’s Shadow and By Inferno’s Light

In this epically named two-parter, we find out Bashir has been swapped for a Changeling, who Garak’s father is, and just how tough of a warrior Worf is.

2. Dr. Bashir, I Presume?

I was a big Bashir fan from the moment I first saw him in TNG, and it makes me sad that Alexander Siddig doesn’t like this episode and the direction it took his character. While I enjoyed the overly enthusiastic, young doctor, I feel this episode really makes his character richer and more complex.

1. Trials and Tribble-ations

There’s just no contest. Everything about this homage is pure perfection. I could fangirl over it all day.

Voyager Season Three

5. Worst Case Scenario

This is a fun one where we get to see how the Voyager crew would have responded to a Maquis coup on board the ship.

3-4. Future’s End, Parts One and Two

I mean, what’s not to love about Voyager traveling back in time to 1996 and Tuvok’s do-rag?

2. Blood Fever

This one definitely has awkward moments but the relationship development that takes place is everything.

1. Before and After

Something about this episode just sticks with me. It’s an interesting look at alternate timelines and seeing Kes’ life play out completely differently.

What are your favorite episodes from these shows’ seasons?

Movie Thoughts: Star Trek Beyond & Jason Bourne

August 17, 2016 • 10 Comments

Hey, everyone! I’m not dead and I promised Charlene I would try to get around to reviewing Star Trek Beyond, so here I am coming back from my unintentional absence to talk about two summer flicks.

I went into these two different movies with different expectations, and they may surprise you. Despite my love for Star Trek, my enthusiasm for Star Trek Beyond waned before I saw the movie because, of all things, my rewatch of the two previous reboot films. I really enjoyed Star Trek 2009 and Into Darkness the first few times, but the more I watch the show and the more I watch these movies the less I care for the latter. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy them enough to rewatch them, but I definitely have problems with their respective stories.

On the other hand, I was really excited about Jason Bourne. It just looked spot-on and I could not wait.

Ultimately, when I went into Star Trek Beyond, I went in a little warily but also hopeful that I could enjoy it based on everyone else’s reviews that it was fun. And fun is a very good word to describe it. Not that there aren’t any serious moments or stakes, but it felt like TOS to me, in the best way. (Well, not the literal best, like The Trouble With Tribbles, but another solid and fun episode like A Piece of the Action or something.) Chris Pine actually for real felt like Kirk to me, but not in some rip-off-of-Shatner way at all. I believed that this alternate Kirk was actually a viable Kirk. Really, the entire cast of the Enterprise crew were great, and I loved how they spent part of the movie separated but paired off, giving us a taste of some different interactions we don’t normally get.

Jaylah was a great new character too, though I’m still annoyed that there are like zero aliens from the prime Star Trek universe other than Vulcans and a couple others, and that almost every alien is something brand new. I appreciate the creativity of it, but it just feels disproportionate. And I feel that leads me to my main quibble with this movie, the villain.

Before we see Krall or even know he’s the big bad, he seems pretty vicious the way he attacks the Enterprise. When we actually meet him and see him on the planet he doesn’t seem quite as bad until we see how he attacks one of the crew members. Then we get a big reveal about him (that I guessed beforehand) that is pretty significant but we get so little development that it ultimately falls flat, and we end up with someone who was just a hair better than Nero in 2009.

Overall, I enjoyed all the great character interactions that felt so genuine, the fun lines, and I really appreciated the tribute to Leonard Nimoy (and there’s just a tiny bit there for Anton as well). I was absolutely against more of the reboot films before seeing this film, but now I’m more open to it if they stay more true to the feel of this film.

The new Jason Bourne feels pretty much just like the first three Bourne films, just more modern. If you enjoyed those, you’re probably going to enjoy this one as well. I had some problems with it… mass amounts of unnecessary destruction, the death of a certain character that felt meaningless, and perhaps a slightly shallow/flimsy storyline… but overall I was entertained. I think my favorite part of the movie was Alicia Vikander’s character, Heather Lee. I love how there was more to her than met the eye, and if the story continues, I definitely want more of her. There was also a little bit of a subplot that I felt was sadly too underdeveloped that I want more of, involving a social media company called Deep Dream and its mogul.

And since I’m like the only person who prefers the Aaron Cross/Jeremy Renner movie to the Matt Damon ones, I would be super intrigued if we could see these two intersect in the future as well. But please don’t fridge Rachel Weiss.

Have you seen either of these? What are your thoughts?

Star Trek Voyager Season Two: My Top 5 Fave Episodes

June 17, 2016 • 2 Comments

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene at Bookish Whimsy, who is going through her first-ever run of Star Trek and sharing her favorite episodes for each season. To compare, see her favorite episodes of Voyager season two.

So this is the season that is infamous for Threshold, which was not as painful the second time but is still pretty bad. And then something I never would have imagined but learned from podcast listening is that apparently Tuvix is a fan favorite and there are people who wished the character stayed on the show. Not gonna lie, he makes me uncomfortable as does the entire episode. So needless to say neither of those made my list. On to those that did…

5. Meld

This episode is kind of hard to watch because (1) psychopath alert and (2) Tuvok mind-melding with said psychopath (terrible idea) and becoming one himself. But it stuck with me and it’s interesting.

4. Persistence of Vision

This one was interesting, with hallucinations popping up all over the ship and the crew has to determine how and why.

3. Resolutions

What I like about this episode is you get to see a new side of Janeway and Chakotay, and I really like their more down-to-earth natures! But darn Kathryn just wouldn’t jump on the Chakotay ship! I mean, the man is building her stuff right and left, being so sweet and thoughtful, and that smile! I’m just saying, you could be stuck on a planet with worse company. Like almost everyone else, this episode kind of makes me ship them a little! No shame.

2. Innocence

While the alien people in this episode drive me crazy for not just being straightforward, I absolutely LOVE seeing another side of Tuvok as he deals with the children. “What are your children like, Tuvok?” “Well behaved.” LOL.

1. Deadlock

I decided to list this one as my top episode of the season because I think it held my interest the most, even though I remembered the outcome from my previous watch. I have to say though, poor Ensign Wildman! This episode also feels a little bit like a prelude to Year of Hell, AKA the best thing Voyager ever did.

If you’ve seen Voyager, what are your favorite episodes of season two?

Star Trek Deep Space Nine Season Three: My Top 5 Fave Episodes

February 18, 2016 • 6 Comments

As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene at Bookish Whimsy, who is going through her first-ever run of Star Trek and sharing her favorite episodes for each season. To compare, see her favorite episodes of DS9 season three.

Things are slowly picking up for DS9, and nearly all my favorite episodes reflect that, no surprise. I did want to give an honorable mention to The Adversary, which almost made this list. The changeling’s last words to Odo were certainly ominous. On to the top 5…

5. Visionary

O’Brien keeps having hallucinations of himself, that turn out to be glimpses of the future. When he finds the station and his life will be in danger in the future, he must find out what’s happening before it’s too late. O’Brien always seems to get the brunt of these psychologically traumatizing episodes, but it’s definitely interesting to watch him consider his choices and make the decisions he needs to in order to save the day.

4. The Die is Cast

Garak + Odo being tortured by Garak + changelings. That’s all you need to know to clue you in that things get real in this episode.

3. The Search Parts 1 & 2

So during these episodes you’re like, “What the heck, Star Fleet?!” but then there’s a big reveal in the end that changes everything. This one had stayed with me from my original watch, and for good reason.

2. Second Skin

When Kira wakes up in a strange place with Cardassian skin and told that she is Cardassian, she refuses to believe it and seeks the truth of what’s happening. This was another one I had really remembered from my first time watching, as I tried to imagine what it would be like to grapple with being told you are someone else entirely.

1. Past Tense Parts 1 & 2

Sisko, Bashir, and Dax are accidentally sent to Earth’s past , where they become part of a nasty chapter in history. It’s not anything we’ve actually experienced here yet, but what’s scary about this episode about how it feels like something that really and truly could happen. These are definitely a couple of very thought-provoking episodes.

What are your favorite episodes of DS9’s third season?

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