Time's Orphan

Molly O'Brien disappears through a time portal.

This is an okay episode that includes decent character moments.

For me the plot unfolds in a mostly contrived way as it includes certain events that feel like they happen because the writers want to have their cake and eat it with painful emotional moments and happy endings. As some reviewers have correctly pointed out, the Federation is supposed to be an advanced, progressive society, which makes the treatment of Molly feel especially forced into the story to create the central dilemma.

I like the interaction between characters in various family situations. The O'Brien family, plus the likes of Worf, Jadzia and Odo are all used very well during interactions with each other. The Worf and Jadzia scenes in particular work well considering what happens in the season finale.

All actors are on good form, particularly Colm Meaney, who always impresses when the writers make his character suffer.

This episode get's dinged a lot. I understand the complaints. But at the same time for some reason I connect with this story. The first time I watched this episode I hated it. There are a few plot points that are simply ludicrous. At the same time, it is that typical late season episode we see on various Trek series. Not part of the story arc, fleshing out background characters, either comical or poignant. Despite the trainwreck of the plot in the third act I like the poignancy of this story. I suppose it is something that came to me after I had experienced loss in my family. And also having children in your life makes you sensitive to the wounding of their innocence.

At this point it's a good idea to hip folks to how TV shows and movies get made. There is a perception that it simply get's written, they shoot the actors doing stuff. Then edited and that is it. In actuality it is more complicated. Quite often scenes and characters in a screenplay/teleplay do not survive to the shooting schedule. And even then, various scenes may end up taking longer or working out differently once they are committed to film. One of my good friends started off as a screenwriter, but instead had a slight career shift to set writer. She hangs out on the set all day and does on the fly re-writes for situations or dialogue that are not working out. That sounds niche, but it's fairly common. She bought a house and built a second house behind it with her re-writes.

I think that this screenplay started off as a good story, was shot and rewritten when some part or another wouldn't work and they just kind of kludged together the preposterous 3rd act to wrap up the story. After all, it's pretty competent up until that glitch. How else that could have been worked which makes more sense I do not know.

Nevertheless, nearly every time I watch this episode it gets the waterworks going. So on that alone I rate this at least a 6 or 7. My criteria for any episode is how well the story works. As entertainment, as a moral parable. As a tearjerker. If that story does that job it works. There are certainly episodes that do none of these!

Season six of "Star Trek: Deep Space 9" was odd. While there were many great episodes, there also were a far larger than normal number of bad episodes...really, really bad episodes. Try watching "Resurrection", "Statistical Probabilities", "His Way", "Valiant" and "Profits and Losses" and you'll see what I mean! Yup, there were some pretty bad season six entries and "Time's Orphan" might just be among the worst.

The show begins with the O'Briens off world for a picnic. While scampering about, Molly falls into a hole and enters a temporal distortion (and temporal episodes are usually quite bad). When they manage to get her back, she's 10 years older--and a wild maniac of a child. Can they get the original Molly back or will they have to take her out of pre-school and get her a kennel instead?

While you must suspend disbelief to enjoy sci-fi, this one required you actually turn off your brain. The worst parts clearly are at the finale--as the O'Briens' behaviors make little sense. Overall, pretty weak and one you would just as soon skip.

Every shows hits its weak phase - and Deep Space Nine started struggling around this time. The previous (very weak) comic Ferengi episode was followed by this very serious Molly O'Brien episode.

So much of it is rushed and shallow. The O'Brien's give up on getting back "their" Molly after a 20 second existential discussion on the nature of being - which they adjust to with little emotional consequence. Ultimately they decide to send her back to her primitive world 300 years previous, alone, with little or no discussion of whether they should all go as a family, or if they could settle on another uninhabited planet s a family. Just send her back to her cavewoman life - end of discussion.

All the while, Worf's inferiority complex about being a good father is thrust upon the viewer as a subplot with very little setup or explanation. At first it seems like it is going to be for comic relief - then it turns very soap opera like.

DSN is a great show, and had more great story lines subsequent - but there is a string of episodes at this time that show how dry the creative well had run.

I wish the writers could give the O'Brien's good scripts and character developments. They just dealt with the family members as extras that can talk!

Here in this episode, the concept was great, yet the execution was kind of "bad". too many things could have happened with them, but again, writers would choose the cheapest way to do it.