Wanderlust

1.14 — “The Storyteller”

1.14 — “The Storyteller”

Plot: O’Brien and Bashir are stuck together on a mission to Bajor filled with abject silliness, culminating in O’Brien’s designation as a kind of god who saves the village nightly by yelling at violent clouds. Meanwhile, Jake and Nog befriend the young leader of a different Bajoran village who needs guidance in negotiations with a rival faction.

Thoughts: Hoo boy, this is awful. Think DS9 can do no wrong? Memory Alpha says this episode was based on an unused script idea left over from TNG’s first season. Sounds about right.

Is the worst part that the leader of the Paqu delegation is only notable because she’s soooo pretty? Jake and Nog play the role of the male gaze, repetitiously reminding us what some television writers from the early 1990s think women are worth.

Or is it the brain dead murderous cloud subplot? Which is practically unwatchable.

It all has the air of “Now what have we learned?” Which would be bad enough if there was a lesson in it somewhere. I can’t think what that would be.

I like the characterization of Odo and discussion of his background, including the introduction of Odo’s bucket. I also enjoy the interplay between O’Brien and Bashir while they are still in the shuttle, and not surrounded by idiocy.

1.5 of 5 killer clouds.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Storyteller

Posted

in

by

krblack42

Tags:

Comments

3 responses to “1.14 — “The Storyteller””

  1. Randi Cohen Avatar
    Randi Cohen

    I enjoyed the delivery of the old cloud-yeller.

    This does rather remind me of bad TNG, in that the two plots have zero to do with each other and either could have been expanded and deepened so that it possibly could have been compelling, but as is, both are trite with shallow characterization and lame exposition.

    Why were the cloud villagers fighting with each other in the first place? Perhaps at this point we could dispense with the fake magic cloud and have them find some other common cause? I could have done without the “king for a day” aspect… I kept waiting for them to throw O’Brien into the volcano or try to eat him for lunch.

    With the Paku, how the the heroine’s parents die? Does she really have an interest in palling around with Jake and Nog, who really have nothing non-trite to say almost ever? Surely there is something more controversial than free trade to try to get in exchange for the land (something that the rival tribe cannot easily take back).

    (I actually think that the heroine is correct that it looks weak to compromise given her age and newness to the position, and that Sisko did not do a particularly great job of countering that point).

    Yes, pretty lame, although certainly not nearly as lame as the giant board game one. (I don’t think the actors were actually in pain when shooting this episode, as they clearly were with that one).

    And yes, it’s nice that we get to actually see Odo’s bucket.

    Reply
  2. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    Throw O’Brien into the volcano!

    Reply
  3. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I kept thinking, aren’t Bashir and O’Brien due back at the ship? Don’t they have to report in? Because don’t tell me they can explain all of this to Sisko. You make good points–the potentially interesting parts of the story are precisely the elements that they don’t bother to flesh out, or ignore.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *