Yeah, it'd make more sense to just wait till TNG is done. There isn't all that much overlap in storylines, or anything.

@Trekinosis — yes, and yes. I agree with most of the criticism of this episode, but those scenes make me remember it warmly.

I prefer "Trillopolis."

And yeah, the Data scene is wonderfully done; too bad the rest of the episode is so middling.

And Cardassians are nasty (even the "good" ones), but they're all TORMENTED, by Oedipal traumas (Garak), substance abuse problems (Damar), delusional narcissism (Dukat), or desperate childhood poverty (Madred). You feel BAD for these guys. They're just acting out their impotent rage at an uncaring universe.

I agree that DS9 was actually very good at war stories. Most of the high points have already been named, but I don't think anybody mentioned "Nor the Battle to the Strong." Bleak and ambiguous.

They pretty much did a Poochy on ol' Tom Riker, even in canon. Cardassian prison…wow, hope that worked out for him. And they all said "oh, we'll get you out of there, someday, and then agreed to never speak of him again. I think it was perfectly fair.

@skip — beautiful. That would explain everything. Especially if it was somehow the "Redux" cut, with the Playboy bunnies.

@dgl — concise, and spot on. "Electrolite" is lovely, and is I think a cornerstone of the case often made that they should've split right then. Imagine going out on that song. ("Don't be scared. You are alive.")

Out of Time was the first one I bought, and I loved it with the deep fanatical love of a teenager. I no longer rate it among their best, but I don't fault you for that. We've all got our favorites. Likewise, I'd NEVER call "Country Feedback" one of their favorites, but I deeply love it. It meant a lot to me. So,…

I thought Monster was great at the time, and I still think pretty highly of it. I don't really like the singles. "Kenneth," is good enough, but has a ridiculous Stipean lyric. That record has an amazingly strong finish, though. Go listen to it again, with fresh ears. They got dismissed a lot at the time for trying to…

I have a HUGE warm spot for Ravenous. It's all over the place and sort of a mess (which makes sense, since it had three directors), but yeah. Carlyle, Pearce, Jeremy Davies. ("He was LICKING me!!")

Yeah, the whole point of Garak was that he was a nasty piece of work, a cold-blooded killer. The only real anti-hero Star Trek could bring itself to come up with. He was uglier than most of the "villains."

Yeah, "going gray" is a useful trope. We must remember that.

Yeah, wow; I can't believe everyone hates "The Betrayal." That one floored me. I mean, yeah, it was cartoonish. And okay, maybe offensive to Indians. But geez.

But, as you say, they just didn't, very much. Honestly, I think, because it was a gimmick that somebody had thought would be really cool, and then they realized it just…wasn't. The ship looked dumb, separated. (I liked the battle bridge, though.)

Chico ftw. Coughing fit at "Frisbee Golfgasm." I want to think of one, now, too, but I can't top that.

True. But Sirtis did step up her game; she got pretty fiery there, for a while. I remember sitting up, thinking "hey, what's this? Interesting." But no, it had no effect on her character beyond that episode.

Without proper training, you're just going to be reduced to saying "Aeneas and Dido at Carthage," and getting blank stares.

@Jeebus — well, to be fair, it's clear that Trek baseball is strictly for geeks and history buffs. Sisko is shocked when he finds out somebody's started an actual league; it seems to be the equivalent of a bunch of Ren Faire dorks. Seems actually fairly accurate, since baseball is already well on its way to that level…