With great power comes... something...

6x09 - "Statistical Probabilities"

Notable Dialogue:

BASHIR: It's not our place to decide who lives and who dies! We're not gods!
JACK: Maybe not, but we're the next best thing.
BASHIR: Can you hear yourself? That's precisely the kind of thinking that makes people afraid of us!

Trivia Note: This episode was directed by Anson Williams, "Potsie" of Happy Days.

"Statistical Probabilities."  One of my favorite episodes of season six.  Just a word of warning: season six is absolutely bursting with great episodes, and thus you will read the phrase "one of my favorite episodes" often in my writings.  Ironically enough, season six also contains my least favorite episode of the series, but there is plenty of time to get to that.

The episode begins with the "Jack Pack" having already arrived on the station.  This is my favorite kind of story-telling: rather than having Bashir read about their various problems before they arrive, as the script was originally written, we get to learn about Jack, Patrick, Sarina and Lauren through their own actions and dialogue.  Too often, television and films feature mindless exposition.  Don't tell us, show us!  That's what the medium of film does best!

I really enjoy the "Jack Pack" characters.  Tim Ransom as Jack is especially terrific, but Patrick's child-like personality is also extremely entertaining and well-portrayed.  Rounding out the guest cast, of course, is Casey Biggs as Gul Damar, and Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun.  Solid as ever, it's always a pleasure to see these recurring characters.  I wonder how Damar will fare as leader of the Cardassian Union?  And, possibly equally important: is he still drinking?  If so, why?  I wonder...  And just what DID become of Dukat?  Is he still languishing in one of Deep Space Nine's holding cells?  Time, as always, will tell.

Coincidently, I am currently reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov, a great science fiction novel written in the 50s.  The plot is based around a branch of mathematics called "psychohistory," whereby practicioners in the field are able to predict the future and determine that galactic civilization will fall within three-hundred years, leading to a dark age for humanity that will last thirty-thousand years.  I'm only a few chapters in, but I wonder if the plot will reveal that one person is able to thwart those calculations, in much the same way Sarina Douglas was able to thwart Jack's plans in "Statistical Probabilities"?

This episode also happens to be one of Alexander Siddig's favorites.  One interesting comment he had about the patients in the episode: "They might not have been misfits if they had not been put away for such a long time."  Food for thought.

Also, I wish to point out that during this episode, the four of them were kept in Deep Space Nine's cargo bay.  What does that say about how the mentally ill are treated in this supposedly utopian society?  I'm not making any sort of point; I'm just asking a question.

In any case, a solid episode, and a terrific Bashir episode.  One of my favorites!

9.5/10

Next time: "The Magnificent Ferengi"