I was meaning to watch this sunday but fell a little behind. Hope that is ok. Am planning on doing two more this week.
1x05 "Captive Pursuit"
Story by: Jill Sherman Donner
Teleplay by: Jill Sherman Donner & Michael Piller
Directed by: Corey Allen
Synopsis:
O’Brien befriends a bizarre alien, Tosk, and is appalled to find that his new acquaintance is the prey in a blood sport in which he is to be hunted and killed.
Review:
Now that is more like it. After a couple of episodes I would consider to be so-so in quality I think that “Captive Pursuit” is a winner. This is a well written and well acted episode.
First of all, it is nice to see something come through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant for the first time. After 4 episodes I think it is about time that we are introduced to something alien from a quadrant we do not know much about at this point.
And ‘alien’ is a keyword in this episode. I feel that special praise must be given to Scott MacDonalds portrayal as Tosk. His performance is perfect down to the last detail, and presents us with a character that is unlike anything we have seen before. Much of this lies in the physical acting which I think is phenomenal. The way Tosk has these certain fast and lizard-like movements and his tendency to get very close to people sells a character that is inquisitive and different. MacDonald’s performance is one of the episodes best points.
Having Miles O’Brien being at the centre of the plot is a good move on behalf of the writers. Firstly, Colm Meany is always a joy to watch and secondly I find that it is easy to connect with the O’Brien character – the ‘average’ worker of Star Trek. It is episodes like this one that establishes O’Brien as perhaps my favourite character of Deep Space 9.
Another good move by the writers is the plot itself. During the first half of the episode (when I watched it the first time) I found myself struggling to understand and interested in what was going on. What was up with Tosk? What was this condition he could not explain to anyone? The episode presents some genuine intrigue, and when the intrigue is resolved with arrival of the hunters it is replaced by an interesting moral dilemma.
Good science fiction makes us think and this episode delivers in spades on that front. I can connect with Sisko and O’Briens worries as the situation surrounding Tosk is indeed problematic. I guess I think that O’Brien in the end makes the right decision, but on the other hand a civilization that breeds a race just to be hunted seems somewhat questionable to me. I have no clear answer to the dilemma and I always like to think that this is the point of the writers.
In order to sell me the solution that O’Brien decides to take into his own hands the character of Tosk must convince me that he does indeed ‘live for the hunt’ and this is done in a standout scene between Tosk and O’Brien in the brig. This scene works so partly because of the writing just as much because of MacDonald’s stellar performance.
One objection I have is the scene in Quark’s when O’Brien decides to bend the rules. In my opinion he does not bend the rules – he breaks them.
Some notes:
- I love the opening and the way O’Brien calls Tosk as ‘friend’ when convincing him to be tractor beamed to the station.
- O’Brien refuses to call Quark other than ‘Barkeep’ – I think that is pretty funny.
- Having a computer that informs someone outside of station ops where the weapons are located is very, very silly!
- The hunter’s outfits are very silly as well. It reminds me of something out of a Daft Punk video.
Summary:
Great plot with a genuine dilemma and a stellar guest performance rates this episode as an early classic for me. I can not find any real weak point in this episode. 4/4
1x05 "Captive Pursuit"
Story by: Jill Sherman Donner
Teleplay by: Jill Sherman Donner & Michael Piller
Directed by: Corey Allen
Synopsis:
O’Brien befriends a bizarre alien, Tosk, and is appalled to find that his new acquaintance is the prey in a blood sport in which he is to be hunted and killed.
Review:
Now that is more like it. After a couple of episodes I would consider to be so-so in quality I think that “Captive Pursuit” is a winner. This is a well written and well acted episode.
First of all, it is nice to see something come through the wormhole from the Gamma Quadrant for the first time. After 4 episodes I think it is about time that we are introduced to something alien from a quadrant we do not know much about at this point.
And ‘alien’ is a keyword in this episode. I feel that special praise must be given to Scott MacDonalds portrayal as Tosk. His performance is perfect down to the last detail, and presents us with a character that is unlike anything we have seen before. Much of this lies in the physical acting which I think is phenomenal. The way Tosk has these certain fast and lizard-like movements and his tendency to get very close to people sells a character that is inquisitive and different. MacDonald’s performance is one of the episodes best points.
Having Miles O’Brien being at the centre of the plot is a good move on behalf of the writers. Firstly, Colm Meany is always a joy to watch and secondly I find that it is easy to connect with the O’Brien character – the ‘average’ worker of Star Trek. It is episodes like this one that establishes O’Brien as perhaps my favourite character of Deep Space 9.
Another good move by the writers is the plot itself. During the first half of the episode (when I watched it the first time) I found myself struggling to understand and interested in what was going on. What was up with Tosk? What was this condition he could not explain to anyone? The episode presents some genuine intrigue, and when the intrigue is resolved with arrival of the hunters it is replaced by an interesting moral dilemma.
Good science fiction makes us think and this episode delivers in spades on that front. I can connect with Sisko and O’Briens worries as the situation surrounding Tosk is indeed problematic. I guess I think that O’Brien in the end makes the right decision, but on the other hand a civilization that breeds a race just to be hunted seems somewhat questionable to me. I have no clear answer to the dilemma and I always like to think that this is the point of the writers.
In order to sell me the solution that O’Brien decides to take into his own hands the character of Tosk must convince me that he does indeed ‘live for the hunt’ and this is done in a standout scene between Tosk and O’Brien in the brig. This scene works so partly because of the writing just as much because of MacDonald’s stellar performance.
One objection I have is the scene in Quark’s when O’Brien decides to bend the rules. In my opinion he does not bend the rules – he breaks them.
Some notes:
- I love the opening and the way O’Brien calls Tosk as ‘friend’ when convincing him to be tractor beamed to the station.
- O’Brien refuses to call Quark other than ‘Barkeep’ – I think that is pretty funny.
- Having a computer that informs someone outside of station ops where the weapons are located is very, very silly!
- The hunter’s outfits are very silly as well. It reminds me of something out of a Daft Punk video.
Summary:
Great plot with a genuine dilemma and a stellar guest performance rates this episode as an early classic for me. I can not find any real weak point in this episode. 4/4
