The Storyteller

Underrated episode on IMBD, presumably by attention deficit viewers who came on board for Discovery; a show that can be watched while playing with your phone.

A vehicle to give Miles and Bashir's relationship plenty of air time, further develop Nog and Jake's relationship, and the relationship with their fathers.

This is something DS6 has always done well, particularly this first season, which has less action and bolder plot driven epsiodes, but more than makes up for it with character development.

Kira, Odo, Quark, Dax, Sisko, Jake, Nog, O'Brien, Bashir and their families, as well as the extended cast are all fully fleshed out by this point - which is a quite a remarkable feat.

Especially given Discovery and Strange New Worlds are still floundering to add some meat to the bones of their barely formed crews, who all seem to have the same voice, mostly narky or overly emotional, 5 seasons and 2 seasons in respectively.

Their failed writers could learn a thing or two by watching this episode and this season of DS9 in general.

I read the other reviews and I disagree. I enjoyed how it showed character development plus the strength of friendship and compromise. And I certainly don't understand why everyone is so down on Jake and Nog. I get a kick out of them. True friends, despite all the odds against them. This was not an action driven episode. Both stories were about relationships. You don't have to blow things up to make a point. And it's alright to be a little bit lighthearted once in awhile.

Chief O'Brien and Dr Bashir visit Bajor.

I had low expectations of this but was pleasantly surprised as I personally think it is not as bad as it's made out to be.

The storyteller concept is silly on numerous levels, but O'Brien's awkwardness in a 'The Man Who Would Be King' tribute is quite entertaining. It lightheartedly explores themes of social control via religious figureheads. Although it's resolution leaves a lot to be desired.

The Nog/Jake shenanigans are fairly hit and miss, but they do have some fun moments.

Colm Meaney and Alexander Siddig have decent chemistry and although this episode does not have best example of their character work, it's a good starting point.

5.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

Chief O'Brien ends up on a planet where once a year a threat appears. Something that looks like some Pillsbury dough gone ma shows itself in the sky. It fires laser shots at the people. An old man stands on at the top of some steps and yells at it and it goes away. The problem is that he is dying and when the inevitable happens, Chief O'Brien is at hand and is given the title the old guy had. Of course, he is helpless to do anything. This is a silly situational thing. What is this thing and why is it malevolent?

O'Brien and Dr. Bashir are sent on a mission to assist the Sirah, a spiritual leader who controls a monster, the Dal'Rok, by sending it away as it approaches the town each year. Oddly, however, the Sirah is thrilled to see O'Brien and indicates HE is his successor...and the Sirah then dies. But O'Brien has no idea how the old man controlled the weird creation and soon he's shocked at the instant devotion the villagers have towards him.

The other plot involves some negotiations between two Bajoran tribes. It seems that their boundary was a river--and the Cardassians re- routed it. So where is this new border? Well, as for one group, their leader is an obnoxious and extremely immature young woman who seems to delight in arguing during these important negotiations--and Sisko is baffled how to deal with her. At the same time, Nog and Jake are infatuated with her and spend time lusting after her and eventually befriending her.

Both plots seem very inconsequential and rather dull--particularly the one about boundaries. Relying so much on the boys make this one particularly unimpressive and insignificant. And, as often is the case in this show, the Bajorans are an incredibly annoying race, as they are almost constantly fighting and arguing. It also didn't help that the 'monster' in the other plot was created by a special effects person who dumped cream into another liquid and played it back very slowly. All in all, there are quite a few things about this one that make it sub- par and a bit silly.