Babel

Any good Star Trek series needs to have an episode where the crew are affected by some alien virus that makes them act totally different than normal.

This episode scratches that itch (a future episode in season 1 goes even further).

There are several moments that made me laugh out loud. But then, the virus gets deadly.

Quark (Ferengi bar owner) shows his true Ferengi qualities and his relationship with Odo (the shape shifter) is revealed to be more than only adversarial.

These early episodes are essential with character development and DS9's actors teamed with the awesome cohort of writers/producers do a stellar job giving 1st season viewers a foundation from which to build a personal bond with the characters.

This episode, as with many Star Trek series episodes, has dire live or die consequences if some act of heroism isn't performed by a member of the crew.

Cosmic principles for discussion (especially for Bible-believing viewers): relate what happens with this episode to the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel.

Have you ever seen an episode of a show that you enjoyed but you also felt that if you hadn't seen it your life wouldn't have changed one bit? Well, that's how I felt about "Babel". It's not a bad show to watch but is very slight to say the least and does nothing to really advance the narrative.

When the show begins, O'Brien is frustrated with all the broken systems on the station. However, everyone's frustration soon is stretched to the limits when a weird virus breaks out on Deep Space 9. Suddenly, and without warning, people begin speaking gibberish-- long strings of random words with no meaning. And, oddly, they write the same way and no one can understand anyone who comes down with the virus. Not surprisingly this virus is NOT naturally occurring but was created by someone--but who and why and how to stop it is a HUGE concern.

This is a silly episode that is quite original but also pretty dumb at the same time. Not terrible but not exactly one of the series' finest moments.

Pretty good premise and treatment of the science aspect, but guys, it's a virus and NOBODY puts on a mask? Sisko cuddles his afflicted son Jake, when as a leader he needs to avoid infection. As-yet unaffected personnel don't practice distancing. What-- are we to infer that people in the future have outgrown or forgotten such basic precautions?

Still very watchable, though the suspense is somewhat dulled by the certainty that as in all medical mystery Treks, the cure will be found in under 50 minutes screen time-- unless it goes to a two-parter.

Great episode. pretty unnerving though how relevant this still is in 2020.

This is an Underrated Star Trek episode. If I watched it in another time period, I would not understand its value. However, there is currently a worldwide pandemic. In a way befitting a science fiction; It has shown very well what will happen in a pandemic. The process is lifelike, just faster. With the importance of the situation, the tempo in the episode was successful. With real life experience, I was very excited while watching the episode. An important detail was the unexpected spread of the virus. As a result, Star Trek is always one step ahead.