It's sad to say that the best thing about "Ferengi Love Songs" is that it could have been worse. That's all I got there.

I think it just shows we used to be better people.

To be fair, if things suddenly start going your way and you have no idea why, it is a little strange, no matter who you are.

Maybe he got the upgraded model thanks to all those TNG breakdowns? Every way it broke was a way newer models would be guarded against.

They were trying to punish potential shippers.

Only when it's honorable.

Planet of the Rapes: Triggering Fun for Everyone!

I think "Business as Usual" also benefits from the shared history of the series so far. It's hard to imagine the Quark of Season One being as hurt by human rejection, but in Season 5? He's already a softie, and he's even admitted it a little bit to himself before now. I think that also lets me forgive some of the…

That also plays into the idea of why Bashir might be so frustrated about not having a cure for the plague, just a vaccine. He knows he's smarter than almost any human, which makes it sting worse when he has such a visible failure. He's not emotionless about it-the number of people suffering and dying still affects…

Best fanwank I can think of for the sensors: Federation Sensors are generally considered the best around, so if they say they're reading a bunch of warp signatures, the Romulans and Klingons keep their mouths shut and just assume they'll pick it up eventually.

Keep in mind that the conversation happens after "The Die is Cast," and Garak had recently tortured Odo and helped plan the destruction of the Founder's homeworld. One of them who was in disguise came back to the link, joined with them…and then the Founder has that same person smiling at her, asking if there were any…

As for Inferno's Light, my favorite small bit is Martok talking about Worf in song and story, including Bashir as the noble healer, and Garak's little bit of camaraderie about how he can't afford to spoil the song with his cowardice. It's just a beautiful scene for all 4 of them, and it almost-ALMOST-makes me wish…

As much as I understand why Alexander Siddig was unhappy about the genetically altered reveal, I loved it so much, because it touches on a topic that really hadn't come up much since Khan-altering people to be "better." And rather than having some crazy soldier running around like we got in TNG, it's a series regular,…

@mem359:disqus  Now I can't get rid of the image of Alexander Siddig as the next Doctor.

@avclub-cb0e59b8f769a8698b9f7154dd8809b5:disqus I have actually never watched an episode of Enterprise. I have watched reviews, but not a single raw episode.

Exactly. It's not an issue with me of evidence about when he became a changeling, I just prefer not to get into that particular hornet's nest. Which I'll admit is weird, given my stance on "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?"

People underestimate how important a straight man can be for humor.

Diffidently.

I love the holo communicator in concept, but in practice it doesn't work because of how late the introduction is. I can't think of a good reason why they couldn't have used it in Starfleet before "For the Uniform," and therefore it breaks suspension of disbelief, just for being a good idea too late.

I get it, at least. Being able to see some sign and going "Hey, what's up with Bashir?" a few episodes back could have been a nice reveal, where we knew something was wrong, but not THAT wrong.