Star Trek: Return to Grace

Episode: "Return to Grace"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 14

Original Air Date: February 5, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Once again, Major Kira and Gul Dukat are compelled to work together.  Dukat, recently disgraced because of his newly discovered half-Bajoran love child, has been abandoned by the rest of his family and demoted within the Cardassian militarily to the role of freighter ship captain.  He has been assigned to transport Kira to a conference.

All goes horribly wrong.  The conference itself is attacked by a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, all attendees - both Bajoran and Cardassian - are killed.  Though our two leads hate each other (at least Kira hates Dukat), they are temporarily united in their thirst for vengeance against the Klingons.

"Return to Grace" is one of a series of episodes (including "Indiscretion") intended to soften the character of Dukat.  Unfortunately, he just comes off as sleazy and gross.  Or is that the idea?  It's hard to tell.  

Dukat does his best to ingratiate himself to Kira.  Clearly, he admires her combatant skills earned as a member of the Resistance.  He's direct.  He wants to work with her more, to draw on her experience as he seeks to regain his former status.  However, every attempt he makes to flatter her also comes across as an unwelcome sexual come on.  

It's not the actor's fault.  Marc Alamo played the part to the hilt.  It's the writers', directors' and producers' fault.  Having recently learned more about head honcho Rick Berman's persistent sexual harassment of Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax), I'm less inclined to be forgiving of the Trek machine here.  Yes, we are reminded by the end of the story that Dukat is thoroughly evil.  But the fact that they seemingly saw nothing wrong with him speaking to a woman this way before that revelation is problematic.

A happier development is the return of Tora Ziyal, the aforementioned love child, to the series.  Even better, at the end of the episode, with Kria's encouragement, Ziyal decides to live on the station.  It's the last appearance for Cyia Batten in the role, though.  It will be Tracy Middendorf in the part next time.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Casey Biggs plays the role of Damar, Dukat's second in command.  At first, Damar seems like an incidental character but as we shall see in time, the creatives had big plans for him.  For Biggs, "Return to Grace" was the first of 24 Star Trek appearances.  Biggs was born in Toledo, Ohio, April 4, 1955.  He graduated from Julliard and studied acting at the Toledo Repertory Theatre.

Star Trek is probably his career highlight but he also made appearances on Ryan's Hope, General Hospital and ER.  Films include The Pelican Brief, Broken Arrow and Dragonfly.  Biggs was married to Roxann Dawson (Voyager's B'Elanna Torres) but they divorced several years before either was on Star Trek.  

Food Adventures: The Mushroom Forager

The Mushroom Forager is a husband and wife team who lead guided mushroom forays around Vermont.  This past weekend, we joined their tour at the Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington.  It's morel season!

Full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms as food.  My wife, however, loves them.  If she has a quiet night at home without me, mushrooms are almost invariably on the dinner menu.   That said, from a biological perspective, I think fungi are fascinating.  If someone had told me at, say, twelve years old that the underground mycelium network (mycelia are the fungal organisms for which mushrooms provide reproductive function) is largely unknown and unknowable, that might have inspired a lifelong interest.  Mycelia are dependent on darkness, you see.  In fact, exposure to any light - natural or artificial - will kill them.  So humans will likely always be limited in understanding their world.  That's exactly the sort of mystery that would have hooked me at an impressionable age.

Plus, our child (briefly home for a couple weeks) is an aspiring botanist so tagging along for their woodland explorations is always gratifying.  

Even during high season, morels can be elusive.  But they did not disappoint us this rainy mid-May morning.

As part of the cost of the tour, we got snacks at the end: oyster mushrooms and ramps with a baguette.  I have to admit, they were quite yummy.  I even went for seconds.

A bonus treat: earlier in the weekend, I nearly tripped over this gorgeous bullfrog while out on a walk in the neighborhood.

Star Trek: Meld

Episode: "Meld"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 16

Original Air Date: February 5, 1996

via Memory Alpha

There's been a murder and Tuvok must investigate.  The whodunnit question is resolved quickly.  Crewman Lon Suder, a Betazoid and a former Maquis, killed Crewman Frank Darwin.  With that out of the way, there's plenty of time left for a more interesting story.

Tuvok is frustrated by Suder's inability to articulate a logical motive for the crime.  He suggests a mind meld and Suder agrees.  The session has a welcome regulating effect on Suder but the impact on Tuvok is highly disturbing, awakening his own violent tendencies.  

"Meld" addresses several important philosophical quandaries in regards to criminal justice: punishment vs. reform, suspicion vs. guilt, logic vs. impulse and so on.  And, of course, there's the long-standing Star Trek question of what happens when a Vulcan lets down their well-honed emotional controls.  Tim Russ gets a wonderful opportunity to flex his acting chops and he makes the most of it.  

One of my favorite lines came early, before Suder's guilt is established.  When asked why Suder was initially recruited despite misgivings, Torres replied "In the Maquis, we didn't ask for resumes.  We needed all the help we could get."

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Brad Dourif (Suder) was born in Huntington, West Virginia, March 18, 1950.  He briefly attended Marshall University before leaving for New York to pursue acting.  "Meld" is his first of three appearances as Suder.

During an off-Broadway production of When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, Suder was discovered by director Miloš Forman who subsequently cast him in what would become Forman's masterpiece, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Suder played the unforgettable (aren't they all in that film?) Billy Bibbit.  Latere voiced Chucky in the Child's Play franchise.  As if that weren't enough to cement both a career and geek-cred for life, he played Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Television has been kind, too.  He played Doc Cochran in Deadwood.  He has won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a SAG and been nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy and a Saturn.

On the Road: Northampton in May

Driving south this time of year is like time traveling through seasonal change.  On the way down, you get more spring, then less again on the way back up.  The Smith College campus is bursting with color, just in time for graduation next weekend.

Our child wanted to introduce me to Paco, a pacu who lives in the children's section at the Forbes Library.  By my calculations, Pacu is 38 years old.  

As it's a children's library in Northampton, it should not be surprising that there's an Eric Carle original on the wall.  (The children's author lived in Northampton for many years)

Star Trek: Crossfire

Episode: "Crossfire"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 13

Original Air Date: January 29, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Odo, as previously discussed, is in love with Kira.  Unfortunately, the Major is falling for her former comrade in arms, Shakaar, now First Minister on Bajor.  Further complicating the situation for the constable, he is in charge of Shakaar's security during his visit to the station meaning he needs to spend far too much time in the vicinity of the budding love affair.

"Crossfire" is all about Odo.  After the "Homefront/Paradise Lost" story, this one feels lighter on the surface, though anyone who has experienced unrequited love knows it's no laughing matter.  Even beyond the Kira situation, the episode involves meaningful development in Odo's relationships with others, particularly Quark and Worf.  This exchange between the two security officers is especially satisfying...

Suddenly and unexpectedly, I have mixed feelings about the Odo/Kira story.  I understand that it's meaningful self-actualization for Odo but honestly, Star Trek should be above the typical "will they? won't they?" schlock that was ubiquitous on mid-90s television.  Admittedly, with an actor of Rene Auberjonois's ilk in the role, the trope plays better than it would for most.  I have the benefit of knowing where this is going and fortunately, the writers don't leave the question dangling for as long as they could have.  Overall, I love the Odo story.  I wonder what it could have been without this element.

Acting Notes

via Battlestar Wiki

Bruce Wright played the role of Sarish Rez, Shakaar's right-hand man.  He guest-starred on the original Battlestar Galactica series as well as Cheers and The X-Files.  Films include Speed, Apollo 13 and The Negotiator.

Squid Eats: Parkside Café

Parkside Café is a relatively new spot in a relatively new commercial plaza in Hinesburg, Vermont.  Hinesburg is mostly a bedroom community south of Burlington and quite a prosperous one.  Nice place to live but shopping and dining options are few.  But with the new shopping center, there's hope that could change - within reasonable affluent exurb zoning limits, of course.

We stopped at Parkside Café for lunch over the weekend while out doing errands.  It's a pretty casual affair - order at the counter, they bring it to the table.  It's clean.  It's reasonably friendly - the two staff at work were in the late high school/early college age range.  It's... fine.

As far as the offerings, they did better on the coffee than they did on the food.  My wife's been complaining about American coffee ever since we got back from our Spain/Morocco adventure but she was pleased with what she got - latte, I think.  My burger was fine but it was an awfully flat, uninteresting patty.  I expect a lot better for $15 (once upon a time, a burger in that price range seemed so exotic - now it's practically average).  My wife didn't even finish her BLT, usually her dependable standby.  First, she wasn't pleased there was (unlisted) cheese.  Then she realized all she really wanted was the bacon so she ate only that.  The rest wasn't so exciting.

So, a mixed bag.  I'd stop for coffee again but probably not a meal.  

Star Trek: Threshold

Episode: "Threshold"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 15

Original Air Date: January 29, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Tom Paris breaks Warp 10, the Trek-canon-imposed absolute speed limit.  Boy are the folks back home going to be impressed.  If Voyager ever makes it.  Surely, this solves all of our heroes' problems and they can get back to the Alpha Quadrant lickety-split.  Except, of course, there's a hitch.  For unclear reasons, the phenomenon causes Paris to de-evolve into a lizard-like creature.  By means even more unclear, he causes Janeway to undergo the same.  The two mate and reproduce with shocking speed.  Of course, the Doctor comes up with a miracle cure and all is made right.  But the idea of using Warp 10 magic to get home is scrapped.

"Threshold" is Voyager's most notorious episode, a popular choice as the series's worst.  I'm more of the opinion it's so bad it's good.  I'd say just in Season 2 so far, "Twisted" is worse.  Don't get me wrong, "Threshold" is a mess.  But the de-evolution contrivance is so absurd that it makes for unmissable comedy.  Lower Decks poked fun, of course, and the result is hilarious.

In their book Star Trek 101, Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block created the Spock's Brain Award to give to the worst episode of each Star Trek series to that point.  I suppose it's a good time to see how their choices compare with mine.

The original series -

Theirs: "Spock's Brain"

Mine: "The Way to Eden"

The Animated Series -

Theirs: "The Lorelei Signal"

Mine: "The Practical Joker"

The Next Generation -

Theirs: "Genesis"

Mine: "Code of Honor"

Deep Space Nine -

Theirs: "Profit and Lace"

Mine: Haven't gotten to the end yet in this watch-through - haven't even gotten to Season 6's "Profit and Lace."  But I'd say the worst to this point (mid-Season 4) is "Storyteller."

Voyager - 

Theirs: "Threshold"

Mine: Also haven't gotten to the end but "Threshold" won't be my choice.  So far, "Twisted" gets my vote for worst.

A few observations...

Erdmann and Block do not like de-evolution.  Both TNG's "Genesis" and Voyager's "Threshold" embrace that idea.  

For both TAS and DS9, even the worst episodes have their selling points.  In TAS's "The Practical Joker," the ship computer plays pranks on the crew, including creating a shirt for the Captain that reads "Kirk is a jerk" on the back.  I want that shirt!  "The Lorelei Signal" is nothing to write home about but it does feature Scotty singing a Welsh ballad from the Captain's chair.  I'll listen to that anytime.  I do not mean to imply that TAS is a great series.  It's not.  But it's fairly even in terms of quality.  I appreciate that.

DS9's "Storyteller" is more hokey than bad.  And it marks the beginning of the Julien/Miles bromance, a meaningful thread overall.  For Deep Space Nine, it definitely is a sign of quality.  Even the worst are still pretty good.  The best are awesome.

Amazingly, for as notoriously terrible as "Threshold" is, the episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Makeup, beating out DS9's otherwise far superior "The Visitor."

Acting Notes

via Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki

Mirron E. Willis played the role of Rettik, the traitor Michael Jonas's Kazon contact.  Willis was born June 12, 1965.  "Threshold" is his last of three Trek appearances.  His films include Universal Soldier, Independence Day and Fracture.  Beyond Trek, he has made recurring appearances on Tarzan: The Epic Adventures and ER plus guest appearances on Cheers, Seinfeld and Monk.