Melora

Bashir is in Star Fleet and his career is to live and work on starships, alien planets and now a space station... but he's never experienced low gravity? Not even in training? If technology is so advanced that they can always have a gravity system in place and never have to worry about it to the point of not even training officers to deal with low gravity, then the technology to help people from low gravity planets would also be easily accessible. Wouldn't you think?

This is an interesting episode all about physical handicaps. While in the 24th century most disabilities have been eliminated, Melora is an unusual circumstance. She is from a planet with no gravity and because of this, moving on normal Earth gravity is almost impossible. So, while she can move about normally at home, she's stuck in a wheelchair- like device because she's serving with Starfleet. Dr. Bashir is fascinated by her and tries hard to make her feel welcome. However, he and the rest of the crew are a little put off with Melora's strong independent streak--so independent that she rebuffs normal politeness and procedures as she sees them as patronizing towards her and her disability. Can Melora manage to fit in with the crew? And, what about her budding relationship with the Doctor?

I liked this episode because Melora is not to be pitied and doesn't want to be. But, at the same time, the show seems pretty realistic and avoids being patronizing. A good job in most every way. HOWEVER, the show is frustrating as well because this very interesting character becomes a HUGE love interest with Dr. Bashir-- --yet, inexplicably, this disabled character is NEVER seen again on the show nor do they explain why the Doctor struck out at love once again. WHY?!?!

Daphne Ashbrook is a new staff member at the space station and she is the first Elaysian to graduate from StarFleet Academy. Because she comes from a world of little gravity she has special needs. Dr. Bashir tries to help her out, but she has one big chip on her shoulder.

At the same time Quark is visited by an old business acquaintance he double banged in some business adventure and he's looking for some fatal payback.

Both those story lines interconnect and our light gravity recruit proves to be quite useful in a dangerous situation.

Kudos for Daphne Asbrook and Alexander Siddig for this story.

1-SENTENCE PLOT SYNOPSIS: A disabled Star Fleet ensign makes a go on DS9 and Quark faces a guy with a beak and a grudge.

VIEWERS TAKE NOTICE: *Weird creatures abound with a lot of weird make-up and muppet-like prosthetics.

*The disabled ensign Melora Pazlar could not have been more annoying as a character if she had tried. From the moment she agonizingly grimaces & staggers into the first scene as a "don't feel sorry for me just because I'm disabled" character (Sarcasm alert: Good Lord....we need way more scripts with that plot point!) to her final scene holding hands with the doctor on the promenade, watching her on screen had all the joy of getting a cavity filled. Apparently the DS9 creative powers-that-be were contemplating making Pazlar a series regular. Viewers can thank the Star Trek producers with deciding to not.

*If this episode was written with the intention of encouraging viewers to feel empathy toward those with disabilities, the failure is massive and complete. It mostly felt pushy, preachy, pathetic & patronizing.

*Apparently Beak Man's race are attracted to female mammary glands just like human males (approx time: 14:43).

*A Klingon restaurant on the promenade? Really? DS9 moves into the realm of farce with that idea. The chef nonchalantly tossing his own dinner ware around was....stupid silliness.

*Doctor Bashir's kissy-poo scenes with Pazlar were not convincing at all. Uncomfortable is more like it.

EPISODE SUM-UP: Just...bad. Not convincing or interesting in the slightest. Attempts at humor, romance, action and in eliciting sympathy for disabled individuals was horrible. Those who green lit and wrote this episode should be tossed from an airlock for making us suffer. It is 50 minutes of our lives we will never get back.

God this was boring. Plodding, preachy, insincere and without heart. A romance completely devoid of chemistry and a guest star performance that might be the weakest of the show so far.

The ex con come to kill Quark was a more interesting thing to explore, here reduced to a slapstick B story with not nearly enough Rene.

Terry was good in this, and there was potential heart with the friendship formed between Dax and Melora, but no. It gets about 2min of screen time.

Some super dodgy wire work effects are notable just with their rarity in this era of trek, but it's still not worth watching.

I'm struggling to come up with anything else to write about. Dull as a beige wall.

Klingon restaurant owner was good.