An entryist coup for your subconscious

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L.I. Underhill is a media critic and historian specializing in pop culture, with a focus on science fiction (especially Star Trek) and video games. Their projects include a critical history of Star Trek told through the narrative of a war in time, a “heretical” history of The Legend of Zelda series and a literary postmodern reading of Jim Davis' Garfield.

4 Comments

  1. David Faggiani
    November 30, 2015 @ 2:40 am

    Wow, you managed to get through that whole post without discussing Wallace Shawn's voice! Inconceivable…

    Reply

  2. K. Jones
    November 30, 2015 @ 2:17 pm

    I'll always call Jake Sisko and Nog the only successful stories of adolescence in Star Trek. This episode makes good on running the parallel father/son dynamics or Ben/Jake, Rom/Nog and Zek/Krax, and additionally runs a perfect trifecta for Ben himself by having him have Miles (new parent) and Jadzia (multiple times old parent) as his confidantes. I really appreciate that layer of father/son thematics.

    But what I really want to get into further is the Ferengi world-building, and that ever present sense here of "What if Goblins were as sophisticated as Hobbits?" I mean the Ferengi are Hobbit Goblins. Hobgoblins, really, akin now more to Gollum than anything else. One needn't look any further than their waistcoats, jackets and Nog's short pants. As time goes on, even their architecture will be explored, and surely we'll find they have round doors and low-built houses. But moreover, there are specific lines that foster this comparison. Kira's line about keeping an eye on the silverware is a direct callback to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.

    Reply

  3. elvwood
    December 8, 2015 @ 11:35 am

    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

    I didn't spot his name in the guest list, but recognised him as soon as he spoke.

    This is my favourite episode in quite a while. As usual, Josh, you manage to express why before I've even figured it out myself.

    Reply

  4. Daru
    December 21, 2015 @ 12:52 am

    "I'll always call Jake Sisko and Nog the only successful stories of adolescence in Star Trek."

    Absolutely agree with you K. One of the things I love most about DS9, as well as the mysticism, is the family aspect of it. I really like also the real journeys that Nog and jake take.

    Also great for me is where the relationship between Odo and Quark goes – one the best double acts in the whole of Trek for me.

    Reply

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