Move Along Home

Allamaraine!

This episode has one huge plus: these aliens acted in a somewhat alien manner and seemingly without the station crew even understanding it. Most Trek aliens behave like humans usually with some exaggerated trait and it's known and loudly trumpeted. Proud Warriors, Space Romans, etc.

Here, it's true they appear to have the exaggerated trait of gamers, but ultimately nobody really knows. Maybe this IS how these aliens do first contact. But at the end of the day, they sweep in and sweep out and you never really know.

This sort of thing should have happened all the time in first contact situations.

Another plus is this one is VERY memorable.

The main downside to me is that this episode was too early. It's a bit like TNG's "Naked Now" in that respect, though not as severe.

Another problem is I can't even fathom how Quark figured out the missing staff was somehow inside the game.

Years ago in the British series called "The Prisoner," Patrick McGoohan was thrust into a world where there were obstacles around every corner, in a kind of "Through the Looking Glass" motif. He never knew who is friends or enemies were or where he was heading. Here, a new alien race shows up and demand that they find "games." Of course, Quark runs a gambling establishment and a kind of holographic house of ill repute. He embraces them and sets off a series of events that are incredibly bizarre. That said, it serves absolutely no purpose other than to force the main characters participate in a fantastic game. Anyway, it struck me as something a writer came up with with for no other reason to play out a scenario.

I'm not sure why it's rated so low. I found it fun and suspenseful. Sure there's some cheesy acting but I notice this a lot in the first season of DS9. I'd give it slightly above a 7.

First contact has been made with aliens called the Wadi in the Gamma Quadrant and they are on the way through the wormhole and to the space station. Where do these aliens want to go but Quark's for some gambling. That's what these folks are all about games of all kinds.

But Quark cheats a little as he considers these people rubes. But when they catch him at it, the aliens have him play a game of their own. Sisko, Kira, Dax, and Dr.Bashir find themselves as pawns in a game of the aliens faced with all different kinds of perils. How they do depends on how well Armin Shimerman spins the alien dice.

The story is a bit silly, but the cast regulars and guests do sell it.

"Move Along Home," is often dismissed as one of the series' more eccentric episodes, but I find its charm undeniable. Yes, it's quite silly, with an unusual premise: the crew, especially Sisko, Kira, Dax, and Bashir, are unwillingly pulled into a bizarre game by the Wadi, an alien species fascinated with chance and challenge. However, the episode's fun lies in its surreal, almost whimsical atmosphere. Watching the crew try to solve strange riddles and puzzles adds a playful, unpredictable vibe uncommon in Star Trek. It doesn't advance any major story arcs, but it gives the actors a chance to show new sides of their characters, caught in an absurd, almost dreamlike scenario. Sure, it lacks depth, but "Move Along Home" is pure enjoyment-an amusing change of pace that proves even a serious sci-fi series can afford to take a lighthearted detour.