|
Post by stargazer1682 on Aug 9, 2020 16:10:53 GMT
Ah, yes, DS9's two-part, "Past Tense" - the episode where characters go back to their distant past - the audience's future - where the "Bell Riots" are a pivotal moment in Earth history; shinning a light on our social failings, as a cautionary tale of a remote future and circumstances we need to work towards avoiding.
Commander Sisko: What year is it?
Bernardo: Same year as it was yesterday. 2024.
Me: Well, shit....
But here's another observation. Doctor Bashir remarks, "But it makes you wonder, doesn't it? Are humans really any different than Cardassians or Romulans? If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation, if we are frightened enough, or desperate enough, how would we react? Would we stay true to our ideals or would we just stay up here, right back where we started?"
This underscores the issue I have with more recent iterations of Star Trek; the fundamental failure to understand the social strides humanity is supposed to have made over the next few centuries is largely ignored. This seems to be especially true of Star Trek Picard; with much of the blame for the shift in attitudes in humans and in the Federation overall following the Dominion War. Bashir sums it up perfect in asking the question, if push comes to shove would we stay true to our ideals? The answer Star Trek Picard offered would appear to be, no.
But interestingly, and quite appropriately for a casual quote from classic Star Trek, the question of, do we hold to our ideals when push comes to shove, or go back to where we started, is about as poignant a question that can be applied to the modern day as there ever was.
|
|
|
Post by stargazer1682 on Aug 10, 2020 1:46:36 GMT
This two-part episode is good; and I think I appreciated more during this re-watch for some reason than other. The scene where Bashir and Jadzia are retrieving her combadge from the mentally ill man (played by Clint Howard) seems like one of the most real scenes in the series; even if it was kind of a pointless speed bump in the episode.
I do think they could have done more setting the stakes with this episode. It's supposed to be the critical turning point for nation, if not the world, but we just see a handful of people holed up in an office. When they leave at the end of it all, Vin sees the damage done outside and he asks, "how could we have let this happen?" and I can't think there was so much more story potential of the events being told out the office. Ostensibly we should have seen actual rioting, and perhaps just as important, the reprisal; where things have reached such a boiling point that even someone as jaded as Vin, who's seen the everyday inhumanity of the Sanctuary District and has become inured to it, could look at the result and think, "holy shit, what have we done?" I'm not saying it necessarily had to be gratuitous in depicting the violence of the situation, but it probably could have set the stakes a little better; created a greater sense of danger for all of the characters, so that the act of protecting the hostages, even at the risk of their own lives, has stronger implications.
Sisko, as Bell, along with Bashir (and BC and Webb) could have been trying to get to safety, and end up taking the likes of Vin, Bernadeno and Lee with them; protecting them from the violence of the riot, while exposing them to the innocent people caught in the crossfire of the riot, and how they're treated by the authorities as something less than human just for living in a Sanctuary District. This might have been difficult with their budget, but I don't think it would have been impossible. Quantum Leap managed to do something similar with the episode "Black on White on Fire".
Still a decent episode overall.
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on Aug 10, 2020 5:40:26 GMT
I am sure I saw it but can't remember it. I recall when Voyager did an episode where they went back to the 1990s someone complained "Where's Khan and his genetics war?"
|
|
|
Post by alpha128 on Aug 10, 2020 12:40:42 GMT
I remember seeing this one, but it's been a long time.
I do remember that this episode is referenced in a later DS9 episode where Nog is studying up on Earth history, and notes that an old photo Gabriel Bell looks just like Sisko.
|
|
|
Post by kleinreturns on Aug 22, 2020 19:20:44 GMT
I hated the constant cocking of the shotguns in part 2 and the actor who played "BC" is absolutely TERRIBLE!!!!
|
|