Yesterday was Star Trek Day 2022 - celebrating 56 years since Star Trek (aka TOS, The Original Series) first aired. For this occasion, I decided to start re-watching DS9 (for the 29th time) and today, to start reviewing individual episodes. Hopefully, I can stick to this new project.
This pilot episode, first aired 3 January 1993, 3 weeks after The Next Generation's
(= TNG) Chain of Command's second part. I mention this, because it's important to understand a few elements in Emissary. Before I delve into that, however, let me present the main plot :
A scroll screen introduces the first backstory to the pilot. It summarizes TNG's Best of Both Worlds two parter, when Picard became Locutus. The first images following this, we see the battle at Wolf 359, and change perspective to that of the Saratoga, moments before its destruction. There, we meet Lt. Cmdr Benjamin Sisko, the ship's executive officer. In the mayhem of the attack, Sisko loses his wife, saves his son Jake, and has to board an escape pod.
There years later, Sisko, now Commander, is arriving to Deep Space Nine, a space station near Bajor, to take its command on behalf of the Federation, and help the Bajorans rebuild their society after 60 years of Cardassian occupation - during which they had built this station.
In this pilot, we have several back stories embedded into one another : those of Sisko's presence at Wolf 359, his traumatic loss of his wife, and how they had met.
As he arrives to the station, he has to help rebuild it, as it was left in ruins when the Cardassians withdrew. He meets its current Bajoran commander, Major Kira Nerys, who seems to dislike the Federation ; the security chief, constable Odo ; Miles O'brien, who'd transferred from the Enterprise ; Quark, and others already on DS9, and lastly, his old friend Dax, now Jadzia. But, the most important element are non-linear aliens met by Sisko, and their interactions about time, linear existence and so forth are very different to any other Trek.
Indeed, from the outset, DS9 starts in stark contrast to the previous Trek : the scroll screen, the music and early scenes of the episode set much darker, sinister tones than the first two installments in the Saga. We get a flood of traumas of war, loss, death and uprooting of characters, who, for the most part, would've wished to be anywhere else but here.
During the course of this episode, mysteries arise, discoveries made, and many meetings occur. From main cast, to secondary and recurrent characters, almost everyone's there, including Doctor Bashir's arrival, Morn who never says a word in the show (and a nod to Norm from Cheers), and others.
DS9's Captain Sisko is almost the antithesis to both TNG's Picard and TOS' Kirk. In the pilot, we see that he's passionate, sometimes impulsive (but not Kirk-like), and a family man. He's a widower with a son, and the first Trek black captain as a main character (as opposed to previously seen ones, all in guest roles). His portrayal breaks with so many stigmas surrounding POC that it'd require a whole post, but I know someone who done it and can speak to it from a POC perspective. However, I won't link it here, in case you are only discovering the show with this pilot - that article gives spoilers of arcs ending in the 7th and last season.
Cinematography is very good, but with a word of caution : if you have sensitivity to lots of motion, wait for the introduction sequence to finish, as the Saratoga shakes a lot when it's being attacked.
The lighting and shadow-play are exquisite ; the acting is already top-notch from several cast members, especially Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko. His emotions onboard the Saratoga and again during the flashbacks when he interacts with the above mentioned aliens are excellently portrayed and trigger, normally, ones tear-ducts.
Those moments also illustrates ptsd with the key phrase of 'existing here' - in the past, within the traumatic event, re-living it over and over.
A note on acting, directing and actors eyes : pay attention to the excessive blinking from some... dishonest characters, and one that is more mysterious than dishonest, Kai Opaka. Have you see it ? now you can't un-see. You're welcome. The others don't blink, but the camera will change view to the other character/s before, undoubtedly, the actors had to blink.
The exchanges with Picard are awkward. First, because of Sisko's trauma being interconnected with that of Picard/Locutus. Avery Brooks, once again, nails the performance with some nervous twitching. Second, because Picard, in general, is a cold Captain, keeping distance from (his) officers, and thirdly, because of Picard's double trauma : he had just lived one in Chain of Command, and being reminded, by Sisko, of Wolf 359 only exacerbates Picard's coldness. We see it in Patrick Stewart's facial expression, his voice, and mannerisms are colder than ever - even when he says goodbye to Miles, it feels so awkward and distant. Speaking of Miles, right from his first moments in DS9, we can only feel a bit sad that Colm Meaney's acting wasn't fully utilized on the Enterprise, and, conversely happy to see him blossom as a full fledged character on the station, being it's chief engineer - always fighting Cardassian computer routines and refitting the station to Federation - or, rather, Miles' standards.
DS9 brings back the Trill race, in the person of Jadzia Dax and her former self seen during the operation - and we see a new look to the Symbiont, after the one we saw in TNG's The Host. The first 20some times I'd watch the show, I didn't look at it much as it grossed me out, but I've become better at that, and reminding myself it's a prop helped to actually look at it the last few re-watches. Know it's not super gross or bloody, just mildly icky.
The Cardassians also receive a brand new look, equally differing from TNG, this time "the wounded", where Marc Alaimo was another Cardassian, before becoming DS9's Gul Dukat.
Emissary introduces many of DS9's new characters, many of whom will have their individual arcs and storylines, growth and screen presence. You'll have to stick to the show, but, I assume most of you have seen it by now.
Its pacing, story, originality, acting, cast, humour and dialogues all shine, and, for a pilot, certainly makes you wonder where this can go, at least on first watch. On subsequent, you can sit and enjoy the unravelling and tiny details.
It remains my favorite Trek pilot, out of all the ones I've seen for most of the other shows (some haven't made it to France yet).
You might ask me why I don't give a full 10/10 note, and to that, I must answer that there are two characters in a crucial discovery and the questions it raises aren't answered here.
Also, a couple dialogues don't make sense, one from Kira Nerys, and one from the Prophets...
"I exist here", look how powerful is Avery's facial expression in this scene!
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