Wow... so true!

Credit where credit is due: this rage comic was created by "TheStarTrekGirl"  Here is her blog.

The Story of a Little Ship That Took a Little Trip

DS9 - 6x14 - "One Little Ship"




O'Brien: "Don't hit it too hard...you'll shatter the control panel."
Dax: "Don't worry, I have a light touch."
Bashir: "Not according to Worf."


"One Little Ship" isn't the most serious, grounded, or plausible episodes of Star Trek.  It is, however, one that I love.  The plot isn't all that deep; rather, the episode is a showcase for the wonderful special effects as a runabout and its crew are shrunk down in size.  During a study of a spatial phenomenon, the USS Rubicon is shunk, and Commander Dax, Dr. Bashir, and Chief O'Brien are each shrunk to the size of about half a centimeter tall.  

Kira and Sisko laugh about the prospect
of tiny Starfleet officers

At the beginning of the episode, Kira is incredulous.  She finds the entire idea of shrinking the crewmembers hilarious, and is overcome with a case of the giggles.  According to the episode's writers, Kira is the stand-in for the audience.  They're basically letting the audience know, "yeah, we know this is ridiculous.  Just go with us on this one."  


Worf: "I do not see what is so humorous about being small."
Nog: "Neither do I."


The runabout and crew should return to their normal size upon exiting the anomaly, but a Jem'Hadar attack on the USS Defiant causes the experiment to go awry.  The runabout exits the anomaly, but remains tiny in proportion to the rest of the universe.

Tiny O'Brien and Bashir can't breathe
the normal-sized air

The runabout crew find themselves navigating through the corridors of the Defiant, narrowly avoiding the Jem'Hadar, and aiding the captured crew in retaking the starship.  Kudos to the science advisor for reminding the writers that a tiny person wouldn't be able to breath the huge air molecules they would encounter.  Therefore, when Bashir and O'Brien enter an airtight compartment, Dax beams a pocket of air ahead of them.  Good thinking, I might not have caught that if I were writing the episode.

The Rubicon fires minuscule antimatter
warheads around the engine room

All in all, I really enjoy this episode, even though the plot isn't that deep.  One plot element that was introduced but later dropped from the series is the idea of Alpha Quadrant-bred Jem'Hadar being superior to those bred in the Gamma Quadrant.  Also, one small problem I had was with the Rubicon firing tiny photon torpedoes at the Jem'Hadar.  Don't those cause antimatter explosions?  Maybe phasers would have been a better idea than shooting highly explosive bullets around the warp core?




Highly enjoyable, and visually very exciting.  8/10.

Sisko: Mr. Worf, I think your wife is here.

Next week:  

Nebula-class Starship

Taking a break from the usual episode reviews to dive head-first into a geeky look at one of my favorite starships of Trek: the Nebula class starship!

There has been some question about the origin of the CGI Nebula class starship USS Honshu in the comments of my review of the Deep Space Nine episode "Waltz."  This post will recount the history of the Nebula class in Star Trek, both as a physical studio model and CGI model.

The Nebula class starship has made many appearances in Star Trek.  In its various forms, this interesting design has appeared in twenty-three episodes of the various Trek series as well as two feature films.  The first appearance of the ship was as a deep-background ship during the graveyard scene depicting the aftermath of the Battle of Wolf 359 in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" (TNG).  This version was never meant to be seen up close, and actually featured two very small warp nacelles where the pod would later be positioned.  This model is seen in the episode "Future Imperfect" (TNG), displayed on a table.

Nebula class display model in "Future Imperfect" (TNG)

The producers decided that they liked the design and featured it as the USS Phoenix in the episode "The Wounded" (TNG).  A new, high quality studio model was constructed, but included some changes from the original.  The upper warp nacelles were replaced with a pod which resembled an AWACS pod seen on modern military aircraft.

USS Phoenix NCC-65420 ("The Wounded" - TNG)

The next appearance of the Nebula class was as the USS Sutherland in the TNG season five premiere, "Redemption, Part II."  The upper "AWACS" pod was once again replaced, this time with a roughly triangular pod housing a torpedo launcher.

USS Sutherland NCC-72015 ("Redemption, Part II" - TNG)

This same model in this configuration appeared frequently over the years, mostly in Deep Space Nine.  The ships that this model represents are:

USS Bellerophon NCC-62048 ("Emissary" - DS9)

USS Prometheus NCC-71201 ("Second Sight" - DS9)
USS Lexington NCC-61832 (Stock footage - "Explorers" - DS9)
Unnamed Nebula class (Stock footage - "Dr. Bashir, I Presume?" - DS9)
USS T'Kumbra (Stock footage - "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" - DS9)

Unnamed Nebula class ("Non Sequitur" - VGR)

For the film Star Trek: Generations, the same model was used, but it was given a new, highly detailed paint job to make the transition to the big screen.

USS Farragut NCC-60597 (Star Trek: Generations)

This model, with its updated livery, appears in EVERY Deep Space Nine episode from seasons four through seven.  Don't believe me?  Well, you should, because the model was retouched as the USS Leeds and is seen docked at DS9 in the opening credits sequence of every episode starting with "Way of the Warrior."

USS Leeds NCC-70352 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine opening credits)

This updated model can also be seen in the Deep Space Nine episode "The Visitor" and in the film Star Trek: First Contact.

Unnamed Nebula class from "The Visitor" (DS9)

Unnamed Nebula class from Star Trek: First Contact

Finally, with the transition from physical models to CGI, a computer model of the Nebula class starship was created.  Designed by Rob Bonchune, the new CGI model used parts from the Galaxy class USS Enterprise-D rather than referencing the Nebula class model.  Thus, some details such as the main deflector dish and secondary hull shape are much more reminiscint of the Galaxy class starship.  Every subsequent appearance of the Nebula class starship was the Bonchune-constructed model, starting with the cleverly named USS Bonchune in the Voyager episode "Message in a Bottle."

USS Bonchune NCC-70915 ("Message in a Bottle" - VGR)

USS Honshu NCC-60205 ("Waltz" - DS9)

Unnamed Nebula class ("The Changing Face of Evil" - DS9)

Unnamed Nebula class ("What You Leave Behind" - DS9)

Unnamed Nebula class (lower right) ("Endgame" - VGR)

Here are a number of orthographic views of the actual CGI model of the Nebula class starship designed by Rob Bonchune (thanks to The Drex Files).  As you can see, the design of the model is much more in line with the Galaxy class than with the previous Nebula class model:

The Nebula class starship, a true workhorse of Starfleet, has made many appearances throughout the 24th century incarnations of Star Trek.  Many talented people are behind its design and presentation on the big and small screens.  While my love of Trek is mostly due to the positive view and optimism with regards to the future, sometimes taking a look at the tech behind it is a world of nerdy fun!

References:

The DrexFiles: Nebula Class (http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/nebula-class/)

Ex Astris Scientia: Nebula Class Observations (http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/nebula.htm)

Ex Astris Scientia: Proto-Nebula Class Reconstruction (http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/proto-nebula.htm)

Ex Astris Scientia: Starship Gallery: Nebula Class (http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/scans/nebula1.htm)

Memory Alpha: Nebula Class (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Nebula_class)

Memory Alpha: USS Bellerophon NCC-62048 (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Bellerophon_(NCC-62048))

Memory Alpha: USS Bonchune (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Bonchune)

Memory Alpha: USS Farragut NCC-60597 (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Farragut_(NCC-60597))

Memory Alpha: USS Honshu (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Honshu)

Memory Alpha: USS Leeds (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Leeds)

Memory Alpha: USS Lexington (Nebula Class) (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Lexington_(Nebula_class))

Memory Alpha: USS Phoenix (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Phoenix)

Memory Alpha: USS Prometheus NCC-71201 (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Prometheus_(NCC-71201))

Memory Alpha: USS Sutherland (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_Sutherland)

Memory Alpha: USS T'Kumbra (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/USS_T'Kumbra)

Maybe life is a dream...

6x13 - "Far Beyond the Stars"


PREACHER: Rest easy, brother Benny.  You have walked in the path of the Prophets.  There is no greater glory.
BENNY: Tell me, please... who am I?
PREACHER: Don't you know?
BENNY: Tell me!
PREACHER: You are the dreamer, and the dream...






"Far Beyond the Stars" is one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek in any incarnation.  It says so much about the issues of the 50s and even today with regards to racism and humanity in general.  It is the kind of episode that Star Trek cannot do very often, and breaks the mold of what a Star Trek episode should be in many ways.

One of the strengths of science fiction in general, and Star Trek in particular, is that it can examine and discuss social issues in a clandestine way, which means that it can talk about topics that, at the time, may be verboten to talk about openly.  Examples of this can be seen in episodes such as "A Private Little War" (TOS), which was an allegory for the Vietnam conflict at a time when you could not talk about it on television, and the episodes "The Outcast" (TNG) and "Rejoined" (DS9), which dealt with issues of homosexuality, the former having aired as early as 1992.  "Far Beyond the Stars" deals with the issue of racism in a much more direct way, however.  This episode shows the effect of racism through the eyes of one man: an African-American science fiction writer by the name of Benny Russell.  In many ways, the glimpse we get of his office and co-workers reveals a fairly enlightened place for the 1950s: working together alongside three white males are Kay Eaton (a woman writer), her husband who is a man of middle-eastern and British descent by the name of Julius, and Benny.  However, as we find out more about the dynamics of the office, we see the spectre of racial tension (along with other prejudices) rear its ugly head:

PABST: Some of our readers have been writing in wanting to know what you people look like.
KAY: Oh, write back and tell them we look like writers: poor, needy, and incredibly attractive!
PABST: Well, our publisher has a better idea.  Mr. Stone has decided to run a picture of you in next months issue.
MACKLIN: Is that absolutely...
PABST: Necessary?  I'm afraid it is.  Kay, you can sleep late that day.
KAY: Of course I can.  God forbid the public ever finds out that "K.C. Hunter" is a woman.
BENNY: I suppose I'm sleeping late that day too?
PABST: It's not personal, Benny, but as far as our readers are concerned, Benny Russell is as white as they are, let's just keep it that way.
ROSSOFF: Oh, yes.  If the world's not ready for a woman writer, imagine what would happen if it learned about a negro with a typewriter.  Run for the hills, it's the end of civilization!


One of the best observations about the episode I've ever read was an account by Avery Brooks about what the episode is about.  He said that it's not necessarily about racism, but rather just a snapshot of life at that time.  It was perfectly natural for someone like Douglas Pabst to work in an office alongside this rather diverse group and still hold the views he does.  It may seem incredible, but it is a reality.

I don't pretend to know a lot about prejudice or bigoted behaviour, but I have experienced it in a very small way.  I'm not a visible minority, but my background includes Metis and Cree Native on my mother's side.  I don't look aboriginal, so without realizing that I have that background, people would make "Indian jokes" around me while I grew up.  I didn't really know enough or have the confidence to take a stand against those attitudes and to correct false assumptions that people have, such as the "fact" that natives have their education paid for or are simply given money by the government "just because."  I sometimes wish I had, if for no other reason than to possibly open someone's mind to reality.  That is the largest and most pernicious aspect of racism: not the out-loud, in your face rantings of people that harbour true vitriolic hatred, but the small seeds of prejudice that allow a man like Douglas Pabst to get away with saying things like "It's not personal," or "It's just the way things are."

Stepping away from the racism aspect for a moment, I'd like to also speak about what a thrill it was to see the cast without their makeup.  I especially love how certain members of the cast are almost unrecognizable, such as Aron Eisenberg, Armin Shimerman, or J.G. Hertzler.  Also, sometimes it's difficult to take an actor seriously under a rubber mask or inches of makeup, but this episode makes it apparent: these people can act!

While researching this episode to write this, I learned something I hadn't known before.  Apparently, one idea being thrown about for the end of the series was to have Benny Russell standing outside of a television studio wrapping up filming as he clutched a script entitled "Deep Space Nine."  While I don't think they should have gone that route, I guarantee that that ending would have been talked about by Trekkies for years to come!

JOSEPH: Sounds like that dream you had helped you sort things out.
SISKO: I suppose it did.  But I have begun to wonder.  What if it wasn't a dream?  What if this life we're leading, all of this, you and me, everything...  What if all of this is the illusion?
JOSEPH: That's a scary thought.
SISKO: I know, I know...  But maybe, just maybe, Benny isn't the dream... we are.  Maybe we're nothing more than figments of his imagination.  For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere far beyond all those distant stars, Benny Russell is dreaming of us.

NEXT EPISODE: 

"I am a human being, dammit!"

Far Beyond the Stars

I’m back from vacation and finished with the craze and stress of finals!  University is no picnic at times. 

Anyways, I will begin this post with a quote from one of my favourite scenes of the episode:

"Call anybody you want, they can't do anything to me, not anymore, and nor can any of you. I am a human being, dammit! You can deny me all you want but you can't deny Ben Sisko – He exists! That future, that space station, all those people – they exist in here!  In my mind. I created it. And everyone of you knew it, you read it. It's here.  Do you hear what I'm telling you? You can pulp a story but you cannot destroy an idea, don't you understand, that's ancient knowledge, you cannot destroy an idea.  That future – I created it, and it's real! Don't you understand? It is real. I created it. And it's real! It's REAL! Oh God!"

- Benny Russell (Benjamin Sisko)

This episode was so different from all the previous episodes.  It was refreshing to have such a unique episode thrown in.  It was an episode that focused on the human characteristic of despair and that sometimes inescapable feeling of just wanting give up.  It is a feeling that I’m sure most people can relate to and I think that is why this episode is so compelling. 

The writers of this episode took Sisko’s despair over the loss of a friend and many human lives and showed the audience in a rather unique way, of how people deal with such despair and the processes we go through when struggling with whether to give up or not. I think using racism as a way to convey that despair was a very good choice.  I can’t imagine what Black people must have gone through in 1950’s or before, or even now for that matter.  As a person who is white, I cannot begin to know what racism these or other people must go through throughout their lives.  Seeing the sheer hopelessness in Benny Russell’s face was distressing to say the least.  You would think that after being severely beaten and losing his job that Benny would just give up, but he does not.  Instead he says "Call anybody you want, they can't do anything to me, not anymore, and nor can any of you.”  Benny is not giving up, and in the end, neither does Ben Sisko.

 I congratulate Avery Brooks on such a compelling performance and for wonderful direction.  This episode caught my attention and held it through to the very end.  My eyes welled up with tears at various points and I wanted to scream at the way Benny Russell was treated.  This episode showed so many of injustices that were running rampant back in the 1950’s and I think highlighted a lot of same ones that still exist today.    I think it was a good way to focus on the pressures people face and just how they affect our lives.  I also love the way that this episode highlighted the way family and friends stand behind you.  They are the people that get you through those times of despair and help to get you back on your feet again.  This was a wonderful episode and I very much enjoyed watching it (especially since I got to watch with Kertrats again). 

On a side note- it was friggin awesome to see everyone out of their make-up.   I didn’t even recognize Michael Dorn!  So awesome and entertaining. 

LLAP

-B