Star Trek: Second Skin

Episode: "Second Skin"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 3, Episode 5

Original Air Date: October 24, 1994

via Memory Alpha

Garak episode!

Kira is kidnapped by Cardassians and surgically altered to look like a Cardassian.  Her captors tell her that she is, in fact, one of them, an agent for the Obsidian Order who had been sent to Bajor to live as an embedded spy among the resistance.  She is being held in the home of Tekeny Ghemor, a high-ranking government official who clearly believes that Kira is actually his long-lost daughter, Iliana.

"Second Skin" is the best episode of the series so far.  It's not an easy call.  I like "Necessary Evil" a lot, too.  And the jockeying for the top spots is only going to get tougher moving forward.  Why is this week's show the best?

The basic idea is a good one for starters.  What really sells it is the doubt we see growing within Kira as her ordeal progresses.  At first, she's convinced the Iliana story is ludicrous and to her credit, she never cracks under pressure from the agent.  But we, as viewers, see the doubt in her face, especially as she comes to believe that Tekeny truly did have a daughter who had accepted the assignment.  Plus the recordings she sees of Iliana and the cryogenically preserved corpse of the other Kira (both played by Nana Visitor, of course) certainly do look like her.  There was an idea among the creators to preserve the mystery through to the end, with Bashir ultimately telling her he couldn't be sure whether she was the real Kira or the Cardassian-produced impostor.  Even though the notion was scrapped, the lead up was strong enough that it could have worked.

The original choice for the lead in "Second Skin" was O'Brien rather than Kira.  What a lost opportunity that would have been.  While Miles has a well-established hatred of the Cardassians as the enemy across the battlefield, for Kira, it's the hatred of the oppressor.  That runs a lot deeper.  As doubt creeps in for her, so does self-loathing.  What if she had been the monster herself all along?  Plus, the emotional range of Kira's character allows for tenderness to develop between her and Tekeny.  After all, he really did lose a daughter whether it was Kira or not.  By the end, Tekeny and Kira genuinely care for one another.  Their parting scene is deeply moving.  It couldn't have been that way with Miles.  Besides, he already got his touching moment in "The Wounded."

Of course, Garak gets to shine.  He plays a key role in Kira's rescue, enjoying fine verbal sparring with Commander Sisko and a couple of Cardassians along the way.  His best line: "Treason, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Screenwriter Robert Hewitt Wolfe claimed two Philip K. Dick stories as influences for "Second Skin": Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale."  Unfortunately, the Iliana story never went any further than this one installment.  Tekeny comes back for an appearance in Season 5, though Iliana is only a minor plot point.

Acting Notes

via Criminal Minds Wiki

Lawrence Pressman played Tekeny Ghemor.  Pressman was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, July 10, 1939.  In television, he had regular cast roles in Doogie Howser, M.D., Ladies' Man and Mulligan's Stew.  Films include Shaft, The Hellstrom Chronicles and 9 to 5.  This is his first of three DS9 appearances.

Star Trek: Tribunal

Episode: "Tribunal"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 2, Episode 25

Original Air Date: June 5, 1994

via Memory Beta

The O'Briens are going on vacation.  Unfortunately, en route, they are stopped by a Cardassian patrol.  Miles is arrested, charges unknown, and brought to Cardassia Prime.  As we know from earlier stories, criminal trials are mere formalities for the Cardassians, the accused already deemed guilty in advance.  In time, we learn that Miles is being charged with smuggling photon torpedoes to the Maquis.  His friends back at the station have to work quickly to prove he's been framed.

"Tribunal" provides our first meaningful visit to the Cardassian homeworld.  The repressive society is inspired by George Orwell's 1984.  As expected, the trial (based on Franz Kafka's The Trial) is a sham.  Truth and justice are irrelevant.  Instead, the exercise, broadcast to the masses, is orchestrated to bolster pride in the state.  Miles's Public Conservator (attorney) is not expected to prove anything.  Instead, he coaches his client through the theatrics: when to cry, when to beg for mercy, etc.  Thankfully, Odo elbows his way into the proceedings to provide what one would expect for a defense - or at least to stall long enough to make it to the Perry Mason-esque reveal that saves the day in the end.

Worthy of note: one quite reasonably expects that once Odo is on the scene, he'll use his shapeshifting abilities to help Miles escape but that's not how it pans out.  Of course, the Cardassian authorities would know of Odo's particular talents already so they might not provide the advantage they would under other circumstances.

The episode has a lot to recommend it.  There's meaningful development for Miles, Keiko and Odo.  The glimpse of Cardassia Prime is important.  Colm Meany gets to flex his thespian muscles.  The guest actors are strong.  It's also the DS9 directorial debut for Avery Brooks.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Fritz Weaver played the role of Kovat, the Public Conservator.  Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, January 19, 1926.  He was a conscientious objector during World War II, working in the Civilian Public Service.  He started acting in the '50s.  

Weaver was especially successful on stage, winning a Tony in 1970 for his performance in Child's Play.  He also got a Tony nomination for The Chalk Garden in 1956.  In 2010, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame - I didn't even know there was one.  

Weaver's television career spanned four decades, particularly in science fiction.  Beyond Trek, he made guest appearances in The Twilight Zone (in both the '60s and the '80s), Night Gallery and The X-Files.  He was nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the miniseries Holocaust in 1978.  Films include Fail Safe, Marathon Man and The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).

Fritz Weaver was married twice.  He had two children from his first marriage.  He passed away in 2016 at the age of 90.

Star Trek: The Maquis, Part I

Episode: "The Maquis, Part I"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 2, Episode 20

Original Air Date: April 24, 1994

via Memory Alpha

A Cardassian freighter explodes immediately after leaving space dock.  Our heroes deduce that it was the result of a deliberate attack and what's more, Federation technology was used to do the job.  We soon learn there's a new player in the neighborhood.  Federation colonists in the Demilitarized Zone are initiating terrorist attacks against Cardassian targets and Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hudson, an old friend of Commander Sisko's, is one of their leaders.

The story introduces the Maquis, a group with a notable future in the franchise.  A new series was set to launch in January 1995 and the Maquis would have a role to play, especially in the early stages.  Otherwise, I feel this first part suffers from slow pacing.  I like Hudson (Bernie Casey) just fine and the basic premise is alright.  But the narrative drags.  

On the other hand, Gul Dukat gets excellent character development.  First, he breaks into the Sisko quarters, scaring the bejesus out of Ben when he arrives home, but still convinces the commander to join him in a deeper investigation of the freighter explosion.  Later, Ben softens when he learns Dukat is, himself, a father of seven.  Finally, as part of the double-pronged cliffhanger, Dukat is kidnapped by the Maquis and will obviously need to be rescued by Starfleet.  That's quite a lot of range granted to a secondary character in a single episode.

Dukat also gets the best line, an homage to George Orwell's 1984:  "Education is power.  Joy is vulnerability."

In the B plot, Quark makes a friend, a beautiful Vulcan named Sakonna who we eventually learn is a member of the Maquis.  Quark tries to seduce Sakonna as both lover and business partner, ultimately more successful in the latter than the former.  Quark serves her Vulcan port, the first mention or appearance of such a beverage.  It's a darker blue than Romulan ale, edging towards indigo.  Surprisingly (and a little disappointingly), the internet offers no recipes.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Bernie Casey was born June 8, 1939 in Wyco, West Virginia.  He attended Bowling Green State University where he established himself as one of the premier college athletes in the country.  He was a small college All-American in football and a record-breaking high hurdler on the track, earning an invitation to the US Olympic Trials in 1960.  He played in the NFL for eight seasons - six years for the 49ers, two for the Rams - serving variously at flanker, halfback and tight end.  He made the Pro Bowl in 1967.

Casey made his acting debut in in Guns of the Magnificent Seven, a sequel to The Magnificent Seven.  Other films included Brian's Song, Never Say Never Again, Revenge of the Nerds and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.  He was a popular choice for mid-'90s sci-fi television.  In addition to Trek, he made guest appearances on both SeaQuest 2032 and Babylon 5.

 Casey passed away in 2017 after a stroke.

Star Trek: Whispers

Episode: "Whispers"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 2, Episode 14

Original Air Date: February 6, 1994

via Memory Alpha

After coming back from a mission, O'Brien finds everyone treating him differently.  He grows suspicious of a conspiracy on the station and suspects he's the only one aware of it.  He escapes in a runabout in order to warn others but finds even Starfleet brass have turned against him.

Two O'Brien stories in a row!

I think 29 years is past the statute of limitations for spoiling the twist at episode's end.  In the final scene, we learn that the "O'Brien" we've been following is the imposter, a replicant who was meant to be used to undermine peace talks in the Parada system à la The Manchurian Candidate.  The Parallax View and Invasion of the Body Snatchers are acknowledged influences on the story.  The use of the word replicant is an homage to Blade Runner.  

Critics have asserted that "Whispers" doesn't hold up to rewatching once you know the twist.  To be honest, I'd forgotten all about it which, in some ways, speaks to the same problem.  In effect, even with the wrinkle, the narrative isn't especially memorable.  The acting's good.  Rosalind Chao (Keiko), in particular, plays the dilemma well: needing to preserve the secret that she knows this Miles is a fake while also needing to protect herself and Molly.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Todd Waring played the role of Ensign DeCurtis, an engineer on the station - essentially taking over O'Brien's duties while Miles is under suspicion.  "Whispers" is Waring's first of two DS9 appearances.  Waring was born April 28, 1955 in Ballston Spa, New York.

Films include Love & Murder, Take and Heartland.  Television appearances include Wings, NYPD Blue and The Young and the Restless.

On the Coffee Table: Lamia Ziadé

Title: Bye Bye Babylon: Beirut 1975-1979

Writer and Artist: Lamia Ziadé

via Amazon

Bye Bye Babylon is Lamia Ziadé's graphic memoir about her childhood in Beirut, when one of the most beautiful cities in the world was reduced to a war-torn hell-scape in a matter of weeks.  Ziadé was seven years old when the Lebanese Civil War erupted.  Her story begins with the images of Bazooka bubblegum, Kraft marshmallows and other consumer products familiar throughout the world.  It soon moves to the weaponry of war, pictures that shouldn't be part of anyone's normal day, let alone a young child's.  Her artwork appears painted rather than drawn, with sharper lines for the war and political material than for the dreamier, mostly pre-war elements.

Though I didn't plan it that way, this was my second read in a row with Babylon in the title (see here).  Both this and Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon draw on the biblical/historical story of a great city lost.  There are common themes as the communities in each adapt to the realities of war: supply shortages, inconsistent and unreliable communication from the outside world, violence, lawlessness, death, uncertainty, fear.  There's an essential difference, of course.  Frank's work is fiction.  Ziadé's is the real deal.  The Lebanese Civil War really happened, a deeply embedded experience for millions.

Ziadé offers an intimate view.  There are sweet moments throughout her story, even after the war begins but one always feel horrors lurking on the next page.  The author has lived in Paris for most of her life but clearly still loves her native country.  She makes me wish I could visit Beirut before the war.

On the Coffee Table: Pat Frank

Title: Alas, Babylon

Author: Pat Frank

via Goodreads

In 1959, Pat Frank, a journalist and government consultant by day, wrote a novel based on the great what-if scenario of the era: what would happen if the nuclear war everyone feared actually happened?  Alas, Babylon follows the story of Randy Bragg as he leads his family and community after Soviet missiles have destroyed much of the United States.  Fort Repose, a fictional Florida town, is isolated enough to have been spared direct attack and the resulting radiation.  But with the major cities in rubble, the comforts of modern civilization are severely limited and eventually exhausted.  Survival is the initial drive, then adjustment, then ultimately acceptance and rebuilding.

Pat Frank was clearly a practical man. While there is some exploration of relationships, subtlety and nuance are as scarce as food and potable water.  Instead, the author focuses on community management.  Over time, Randy and his group overcome supply shortages and lawlessness to forge new, meaningful lives.  As a survival narrative, Alas, Babylon is thoughtful, thorough and even hopeful, no doubt providing a template for other post-apocalyptic stories to follow.

Not surprisingly, attitudes towards sex and race reflect the time period.  Gender expectations are firm, roles and responsibilities delineated.  The story is pro-integration but there is still a patronizing attitude towards the black neighbors.  And yet, the emergency results in a woman President (shocking!) and several of the female and black characters are portrayed in an heroic light - Latinx characters decidedly less so.  By late '50s standards, Pat Frank would probably pass for progressive but he sure wouldn't now.

If you're interested in a more factual account of what surviving a nuclear attack is actually like, I can't recommend the Barefoot Gen manga series about the Hiroshima bombing highly enough.

On the Coffee Table: Cycles

Title: Y: The Last Man, Volume 2: Cycles

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Penciller: Pia Guerra

Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.

via Amazon

Y: The Last Man continues with Cycles, collecting issues #6-10 of the comic book series.  The basic premise: Yorick and his monkey are the last two male mammals on Earth, or so it appears.  At the moment, they're trying to make their way to California along with geneticist Dr. Mann, who is hoping to understand how Yorick survived, and federal agent 355, who is trying to keep them all alive.  Story lines converge in Marrisville, Ohio where a community of women is untroubled by the lack of men, a significant contrast with practically everyone else in the story.  The women of Marrisville also have a secret.

I've been reading other dystopian comics recently - Transmetropolitan and Trees - and Y: The Last Man works better for me.  For starters, the narrative is much simpler in structure.  Yes, there are multiple strands but they converge regularly and their relationship with one another is easily understood.  Also, there's a surprising lightness to Y, not easily accomplished with such a dark tale.  Yorick is likeable and goofy enough to provide comic relief.

There's a lot to unpack with the sexual politics.  Would human society truly fall apart if men suddenly vanished?  The implication is not that men are more capable.  Rather, it's that our entire civilization is built around the patriarchy and losing men would leave a dangerous power void - governments would be thrown into confusion, for instance.  Nearly all airplanes would fall out of the sky because the vast majority of pilots are male.  I think it's fair to say that men would find out in a hurry how dependent they are on women if the reverse were to happen.

But I suppose that's a different dystopian narrative.

On the Coffee Table: Y: The Last Man

Title: Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Penciller: Pia Guerra

Inker: José Marzán, Jr.

via Amazon

In a flash, every male mammal on the planet dies, except for one - well, two really.  Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand have both been spared, though no one is sure why.  Can Yorick survive long enough to help perpetuate the species?  Will the extremist Amazons - of which his sister Hero is one - kill him first?  Will he ever be reunited with his girlfriend, Beth, currently stranded in Australia?  Will his mother, one of the few surviving members of the US Congress, succeed in helping to re-establish law and order?

Unmanned is the first trade for the Y: The Last Man series, collecting issues #1-5.  First published in 2002, the series has since inspired a television show of the same name, released in 2021.  Unfortunately, it was canceled after one season.  Poor timing, I'm guessing.  Perhaps the world had an understandably limited appetite for post-apocalyptic narratives last year.  No, I haven't watched it.

The storytelling is effective and the premise intriguing.  Yorick is a tolerable idiot - clever enough to stay alive, foolish enough to keep things interesting and goofy enough to provide occasional comic relief in a necessarily heavy narrative.  The story raises ethical questions as well as concerns about the limitations of lines of succession within government.  My one gripe: the treatment of time is unnecessarily awkward.

As we leave matters at the end of Unmanned, Yorick, his bodyguard Agent 355 and geneticist Dr. Mann are trying to decided on their next best step.  I'm definitely up for finding out which they choose.

Marvel Unlimited: Age of Apocalypse Reign

For anyone keeping track at home, I'm taking a slight detour from the Comic Book Herald's recommended reading order for Age of Apocalypse.  For now, I'm skipping the prologue stories in the Dawn trade and heading straight for the heart of the story in Reign.  I only have about a month left in my Marvel Unlimited subscription and, at least for the moment, I'm not planning to renew.  So, I want to focus on the main story, then go back to the prologues if I have the time.

My Recent Reads

X-Calibre #1

Cover Date: March 1995

Writer: Warren Ellis

Artist: Ken Lashley

via eBay

The Amazing X-Men #1

March 1995

Fabian Nicieza/Andy Kubert

via Marvel Database

The Astonishing X-Men #2

April 1995

Scott Lobdell/Joe Madureira

via Marvel Database

The Amazing X-Men #2

April 1995

Nicieza/Kubert

via Marvel Database

Gambit and the X-Ternals #2

April 1995

Nicieza/Tony Daniel

via Marvel Database

Marvel Unlimited: Age of Apocalypse

The historical parallel for the Age of Apocalypse story is clear: the persecution and mass murder of Jews by the Nazis in the 1930s and '40s.  The usual X-Men script is flipped: the humans are the oppressed, the mutants the oppressors.  The stories that adhere most closely to the allegory - X-Man #1, for instance - are the most effective to me.

Still, I have great sympathy for the comic book readers of 1995 in how maddening it must have been to sort out what's going on in all of these different narrative threads released essentially simultaneously.  Even with the benefit of on-demand web resources and a quarter-century's hindsight, I am thoroughly overwhelmed.  I'm guessing you'd have had to hit the comic stores pretty early to get all those #1 issues at once.  I remember the mad rush to get the New 52 issues back in Fall 2011 and I at least had the fallback plan of reading the stories online.  The world wasn't like that in 1995.

My Recent Reads

The Astonishing X-Men #1

Cover Date: March 1995

Writer: Scott Lobdell

Artist: Joe Madureira

via Marvel Database

Gambit and the X-Ternals #1

March 1995

Fabian Nicieza/Tony Daniel

via eBay

Weapon X #1

March 1995

Larry Hama/Adam Kubert

via mycomicshop.com

Factor X #1

March 1995

John Francis Moore/Steve Epting

X-Man #1

March 1995

Jeph Loeb/Steve Skroce

Marvel Unlimited: Legion Quest Ends - Age of Apocalypse Begins

While Legion's intent was to kill Erik Lehnsherr (see last week), it is actually Charles Xavier who dies, setting up the alternate timeline story known as Age of Apocalypse.  Magneto is now the leader of the X-Men and the world, ruled by Apocalypse, has become a hell-scape in which humans are hunted by mutants.

When I first started this a couple weeks ago, my friend Andrew Leon predicted that I wouldn't care for the Age of Apocalypse arc.  So far, I must concede he's been right.  It's my frequent complaint with the teams (X-Men and Avengers): too many characters, too much going on.  Sure, I could draw up a diagram or something but my frustration pushes me to the point where I don't really care enough to do anything like that.  

And yet I read on.  This journey may yet bear fruit.

My Recent Reads

X-Men Vol. 2 #41

Originally released February 1995

Writer: Fabian Nicieza

Artists: Andy Kubert and Ron Garney

via Marvel Database

Cable #20

February 1995

Jeph Loeb/Ian Churchill

via Marvel Database

X-Men Alpha #1

February 1995

Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid/Roger Cruz and Steve Epting

via Memory Alpha

Generation Next #1

March 1995

Lobdell/Chris Bachalo

via Amazon

Marvel Unlimited: X-Men #40, Uncanny X-Men #321

Last week was quite a week in the real world for me.  Ran out of time for the Star Trek post.  I suppose it was bound to happen eventually.  Not much time for reading, either.  So it goes.  Onward...

Legion Quest is the prelude story to Age of Apocalypse.  Legion, Professor Charles Xavier's estranged and psychotic son, has gone back in time to kill Erik Lehnsherr before he becomes the arch-villain Magneto. 

My Recent Reads

X-Men Vol. 2 #40

Originally released January 1995

Writer: Fabian Nicieza

Artist: Andy Kubert

via Marvel Database

Uncanny X-Men #321

February 1996

Scott Lobdell and Mark Waid/Ron Garney

On the Coffee Table: Sweet Tooth

Title: Sweet Tooth, Volume 1: Out of the Deep Woods

Writer and Artist: Jeff Lemire

via Amazon

Now a TV show, Sweet Tooth began as a comic book series.  Out of the Deep Woods collects issues #1-5.

Gus is a young boy living with his father deep in the Nebraska woods.  They live isolated from the world outside.  Oh, and Gus has antlers and other deer-like features, though we don't know why yet.

One day, Gus's father dies and he is rescued from would be kidnappers by Jepperd, a drifter.  The two bond as Jepperd takes Gus along on his wanderings.  Unfortunately, this initial story ends in betrayal.

Sweet Tooth is weird and dark but good.  I am definitely up for more.

Marvel Unlimited: Marvels #4, X-Men #38-39, Uncanny X-Men #319-320

Marvels #4 offers a retelling of what is arguably Marvel's single most important story: the death of Gwen Stacy.  Phil Seldon befriends Gwen in an effort to learn the truth about her father's death.  Phil witnesses the tragic event himself and is thus as shocked and heartbroken as the rest of us.  It's a powerful moment in a powerful series.  I am glad to have experienced it.  I'm not prepared to say Marvels is the best series I've read in this exploration as the full impact is so dependent on familiarity with the source material.  But there's no denying the quality.

Next up is the Age of Apocalypse, an X-Men event crossing over numerous titles.  There seems to be a lot of disagreement over the reading order and even which issues are included in the story.  Marvel has, in fact, changed the order in different editions of its collected trades.  For now, until I am convinced otherwise, I will trust in Comic Book Herald's reading list.  He has guided me well thus far.

My Recent Reads

Marvels #4

Originally released March 22, 1994

Writer: Kurt Busiek

Artist: Alex Ross

via Marvel Unlimited

X-Men Vol. 2 #38

November 1994

Fabian Nicieza/Andy Kubert

via Marvel Database

Uncanny X-Men #319

December 1994

Scott Lobdell/Steve Epting

X-Men Vol. 2 #39

December 1994

Nicieza/Terry Dodson

via Marvel Database

Uncanny X-Men #320

January 1995

Lobdell and Mark Waid/Roger Cruz

via Amazon

Family Book Swap: Parable of the Sower

Title: Parable of the Sower

Author: Octavia E. Butler

via Amazon

Lauren Olamina is a fifteen-year-old girl living in southern California in the 2020s.  Except it's not now exactly.  Butler published her novel in 1993.  In the future she envisioned, climate change has brought economic collapse.  Lauren's family lives in a gated community which doesn't do a very good job of protecting them from roving street gangs, many of them high on a drug which makes fire look awesome.  So they burn people's houses and also rape and murder people.  And steal all of their stuff.  It's all pretty bad.  

However, Lauren's not one to sit quietly.  She's prepared for the worst, or so she thinks.  She has also invented her own religion.

When reading a dystopian narrative, one must parse out what is metaphor from what is cautionary tale.  In this case, while Butler offers a culprit for the future condition of the world, the sad truth is that much of her story is a repackaging of history, or even the present.  Forced migration - where Lauren's adventure ultimately leads - is real.  It has happened over and over again.  Listen to news reports about current conditions in Honduras and it doesn't really seem so different from the horrors Lauren must escape.  Human slavery is real.  Human trafficking is real.  The exploitation of "unskilled" labor is real.  Butler hits on all of these in a fictional context but it's an easily believed world.

At one point, Lauren and her fellow travelers go through Salinas.  No late 20th century writer brings up Salinas, California by accident.  It's an obvious allusion to Steinbeck.  The message is clear: this has all happened before and I'm not even the first person to write about it.

Parable of the Sower is a strong novel and it reads fairly quickly.  Butler develops characters well, though I'd say there are a few too many of them.  I was half-tempted to make a diagram.  There is a sequel and I'm definitely curious.  In fact, Butler initially envisioned a trilogy though she died in 2006 without having written a third book.