Civil Defense

As I write, this has a 7.8 IMDb scoring, but it's not a very good episode IMHO. Station goes into lock-down, based on an old Cardassian program in case of a Bajoran worker revolt. Which is a pretty cool idea. Then, for dramatic tension, the self-destruct countdown starts. Sound familiar? And later on, air shafts (aka, utility shafts) come into use. Aah, air shafts, the writer's best friend. There is a very clever complication about halfway through, which I enjoyed, and you might watch it for that. But otherwise this one runs just by the numbers. Just imagine what it would be like and save yourself forty minutes. If you love the show, it will be all right, but I'd recommend skipping to a better episode.

The premise to this is fine and it is fun up to a point. The problem is that Gul Dukat shows up and begins to extort people. He is the face of the computer which is programmed to keep miners from shirking their duties and rebelling against their masters. This program was left in place when the Cardassians left the station. It is well set up, but it devolves into a silly "we've only got so much time" and how can we get there" episode with several deus ex machina moments. There is some humor which would not be a part of a serious episode. So while the byplay is fun, it really doesn't work very well. I also have a question: What happens to Gul Dukat at the end?

It is a simple fact that the best Deep Space Nine episodes are the ones that discuss the Cardassian occupation. Even better are the ones that feature Garak, the 'tailor' from Cardassia exiled from the home planet to live on the station. (These two categories often overlap.)

This one is a doozy.

Sisko, Jake and O'Brien managed to trip an old Cardassian security system which threatens the existence of DS9 and everyone on it. Garak joins the effort to turn it off.

Andy Robinson, who played the 'Zodiac' style psycho in the original Dirty Harry film, is, obviously, pitch perfect. Gul Dukat - my second favourite Cardassian - gets some scenes and, predictably, steals them.

In short, one of the best, cleverest, wittiest episodes in an excellent series.

After an old Cardassian security system is triggered, DS9 goes into a deadly lockdown.

This is a enjoyable episode that is good fun whilst giving more insight into the Cardassian regime.

The disaster-movie formula is a guilty pleasure of mine, so this type of story always entertains me. Some complain about the flow of the A-B-C plot structure and the lack of urgency about some of the acting but it doesn't bother me.

As with lots of similar stories there is a requirement of suspension of disbelief, whether it be a capsized ocean liner, exploding water tanks dowsing a fire, or in this case a computer booting up a deadly program from an previous operating system. If you can accept this premise you should enjoy the episode. Also, the stakes do get unrealistically high at one point, but again I can let it go and enjoy.

The concept of the Cardassians having this security measure in place does more to expand their background of totalitarianism. The use of Gul Dukat and Garek is very good, particularly Dukat in an ironic and entertaining role.

Visually it is a good one, as it gets into some unexplored parts the station and the camera generally tells the story.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

While doing some routine work on the station, a long-hidden program is activated. It seems that an old Cardassian program designed to handle rebellions by Bajoran slaves on the station was hidden in the system and has just begun broadcasting warnings from Gul Dukat. The warnings indicate unless the rebellion is stopped immediately, stern measures will result. The stern measures mean a release of poison gas! So, as the Commander and crew try to turn off the program, they need to keep moving in order to prevent from being killed. Eventually, however, the real Dukat arrives and he thinks this is all very funny. Well, by the end, the joke is on him. See this one and see what I mean.

The idea for this show is pretty novel and generally good. However, it is hard to sustain this for the entire program and eventually it becomes a bit overlong. An excellent idea but one that was difficult to sustain for so long.