Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Passenger Rewatch
May 20, 2015 7:05 AM - Season 1, Episode 9 - Subscribe
Captured criminal Rao Vantika dies in Bashir's arms... or did he?
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Bashir: "Fate has granted me a gift, Major: a gift to be a healer."
Kira: "I feel privileged to be in your presence."
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Notes (Cribbed from here.)
* Morgan Gendel's original story was to have Kajada possessed by Vantika. Gendel commented "I thought the idea of a cop who's chasing himself was something you could only do in a science fiction show.
* Gendel also scripted a song for Quark to sing but decided not to use it: "I had [Quark] singing a whole little ditty, like a Hobbit. I took a day to write this ditty about making money while he's serving people and shorting them on their drinks. I thought it was hysterical and also thought if I turned it in, they were going to laugh me out of the room".
* All of Alexander Siddig's original on-set dialogue as Vantika in the episode was dubbed in post-production. Rick Berman: "We had a very odd experience on the show. Siddig made a choice of a voice that didn't work for us. It was too Bela Lugosi-like, and we replaced his entire part with him again, but we had him do it a different way. We didn't really know if it would work or not, but it was fine".
* Several people involved with the episode commented on Quark's role, as his actions are the first illegal action the character was involved in in the series. Armin Shimerman commented: "He is still the middle-man. I say that in the episode, 'I'm just the middle-man', when they ask me if I'm going with them. He's just trying to make a buck. But it was a darker Quark, getting back to the Quark of I think of in "Emissary". And that's good. Anytime that I get close to that I feel a little bit better. I feel more confident with that. Drama is always easier to play than comedy". Paul Lynch commented: "[Quark] is suckered in over his head by his own greed. He doesn't really go looking for trouble, and if he had known what he was getting into he wouldn't have, but his own greed overruled him".
Bashir: "Fate has granted me a gift, Major: a gift to be a healer."
Kira: "I feel privileged to be in your presence."
--
Notes (Cribbed from here.)
* Morgan Gendel's original story was to have Kajada possessed by Vantika. Gendel commented "I thought the idea of a cop who's chasing himself was something you could only do in a science fiction show.
* Gendel also scripted a song for Quark to sing but decided not to use it: "I had [Quark] singing a whole little ditty, like a Hobbit. I took a day to write this ditty about making money while he's serving people and shorting them on their drinks. I thought it was hysterical and also thought if I turned it in, they were going to laugh me out of the room".
* All of Alexander Siddig's original on-set dialogue as Vantika in the episode was dubbed in post-production. Rick Berman: "We had a very odd experience on the show. Siddig made a choice of a voice that didn't work for us. It was too Bela Lugosi-like, and we replaced his entire part with him again, but we had him do it a different way. We didn't really know if it would work or not, but it was fine".
* Several people involved with the episode commented on Quark's role, as his actions are the first illegal action the character was involved in in the series. Armin Shimerman commented: "He is still the middle-man. I say that in the episode, 'I'm just the middle-man', when they ask me if I'm going with them. He's just trying to make a buck. But it was a darker Quark, getting back to the Quark of I think of in "Emissary". And that's good. Anytime that I get close to that I feel a little bit better. I feel more confident with that. Drama is always easier to play than comedy". Paul Lynch commented: "[Quark] is suckered in over his head by his own greed. He doesn't really go looking for trouble, and if he had known what he was getting into he wouldn't have, but his own greed overruled him".
This comment contains spoilers for ST:Voyager.
I generally skip this episode when I'm doing a rewatch. That said, I do really like the character of Kajada. She reminds me of Major Kira a lot, in that very determined, focused way she has.
If deuridium is so toxically awful that nearby planets would have to be evacuated, why is a species using it to prolong their lifespans?
This episode is very much like that episode of Voyager, Warlord, where Kes is overtaken by the consciousness of a hostile alien. Jennifer Lien's acting in that episode is far superior to Alexander Siddig's in this, though.
posted by Solomon at 1:02 PM on May 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
I generally skip this episode when I'm doing a rewatch. That said, I do really like the character of Kajada. She reminds me of Major Kira a lot, in that very determined, focused way she has.
If deuridium is so toxically awful that nearby planets would have to be evacuated, why is a species using it to prolong their lifespans?
This episode is very much like that episode of Voyager, Warlord, where Kes is overtaken by the consciousness of a hostile alien. Jennifer Lien's acting in that episode is far superior to Alexander Siddig's in this, though.
posted by Solomon at 1:02 PM on May 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also in that vein is TNG's "Masks," where what might be an otherwise subpar episode is saved by Spiner's strong acting.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:18 PM on May 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:18 PM on May 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's a much better premise! I guess we have to use a regular because it's season 1.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:44 PM on May 20, 2015
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:44 PM on May 20, 2015
(SPOILER for future seasons!)
Been years since I've seen this one. Is there anything in this one that doesn't track with the later revelation that Bashir was genetically modified? Like, when he's possessed, it would seem like Vantika would suddenly have super reflexes and stuff, but perhaps there are no instances in the episode where the superman-hood of Bashir's body would be relevant.
I don't think there are a lot of instances in the early seasons where the retcon about Bashir's genetic superman-hood didn't work, because he was always a smart guy and they dropped in some lines about him deliberately performing below par to hide his abilities. But is this one where his superman-hood doesn't track?
With these early episodes, I think a lot of the problems, such as they are, stem from Ira Steven Behr not being in charge. While he's done some really crappy shows since DS9, he was the ideal showrunner for DS9 and I get the impression he rode everybody hard to make the most interesting choices they could and dig deep to find good character conflict.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:00 PM on May 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Been years since I've seen this one. Is there anything in this one that doesn't track with the later revelation that Bashir was genetically modified? Like, when he's possessed, it would seem like Vantika would suddenly have super reflexes and stuff, but perhaps there are no instances in the episode where the superman-hood of Bashir's body would be relevant.
I don't think there are a lot of instances in the early seasons where the retcon about Bashir's genetic superman-hood didn't work, because he was always a smart guy and they dropped in some lines about him deliberately performing below par to hide his abilities. But is this one where his superman-hood doesn't track?
With these early episodes, I think a lot of the problems, such as they are, stem from Ira Steven Behr not being in charge. While he's done some really crappy shows since DS9, he was the ideal showrunner for DS9 and I get the impression he rode everybody hard to make the most interesting choices they could and dig deep to find good character conflict.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 3:00 PM on May 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wrote my list of tribulations, but really, I agree with the above, especially cjelli.
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We all know what's next, right? ::shudder::
posted by Seeba at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
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We all know what's next, right? ::shudder::
posted by Seeba at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'll say that rewatching this, when they were heavily telegraphing that Lieutenant Primmin was Vantika (having a rando suddenly be a part of the mix and the drama with the senior officers, getting a lot of security clearance and power, having him missing at key points), I was like, "I remember the writing being a bit less daring/even in the early episodes, so this clumsy foreshadowing totally fits," and then when it was Bashir, they legitimately got a "Woah!" out of me - I had completely forgotten! Thanks writers. I agree that this was not Alexander Siddig's finest hour by any stretch though.
posted by nightcoast at 10:43 AM on May 1
posted by nightcoast at 10:43 AM on May 1
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posted by Kimberly at 8:32 AM on May 20, 2015