Conference 7.286::star_trek

For The Uniform

Episode #111

Production #511

                                  SPELLINGS

    Malinche

                                     CAST
    Captain Benjamin Sisko                    Avery Brooks
    Odo                                       Rene Auberjonois
    Lieutenant Commander Worf                 Michael Dorn
    Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax           Terry Farrell
    Jake Sisko                                Cirroc Lofton
    Chief Operations Officer Miles O'Brien    Colm Meaney
    Quark                                     Armin Shimerman
    Dr. Julian Bashir                         Alexander Siddig
    Major Kira Nerys                          Nana Visitor

                                 GUEST STARS
    [Michael] Eddington                       Kenneth Marshall
    [Captain] Sanders                         Eric Pierpoint
    Nog                                       Aron Eisenberg

    Written by:                               Peter Allan Fields 
    Directed by:                              Victor Lobel


PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS 

     STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE: "For the Uniform" - Sisko risks everything to
capture a former crew member who deceived him and joind the Maguis. 

TV GUIDE AD 

     VENDETTA! 
     He betrayed Starfleet. 
     He embarrassed Sisko. 
     How far will the Captain go for revenge? 

TV LOG LISTING 

     Sisko risks all in deadly vendetta/STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. 

Great episode!  Wonderful performance by Sisko, Eddington.  Well done.

That new holo-communicator thingie is interesting; I'm curious what the
advantages are supposed to be.  The major distinctions I can see are: Only view
one person, can't see the whole bridge; 3-D view of something that is brought
into scope.  The former seems more useful than the latter, and could perhaps be
a disadvantage.

Spoilers...


I kind of thought Sisko would manage to bring him in, but I wasn't sure if they
were going to keep that plot line going longer and have him get away at the
end.  That added to the suspense for me.

Dax's actions were curious in this episode.  She seemed amused at Sisko's
behavior rather than alarmed or sobered.  It seemed like almost a fun adventure
for her than a serious combat action.

The manual setting of the navigation parameters was done very nicely; it really
sounded cumbersome but expertly handled.

I wonder how much trouble Sisko will get into as a result of this?

I *really* liked the psychological interplay between Sisko and Eddington, their
analysis of each other, their explanation of their own and the other person's
motives.  Sisko's solution really surprised me, I thought it was going to end
up being a bluff or an illusion.  Credit to Avery Brooks, he really carried the
heavy personal frustration and humiliation aspect of the role.

The military aspect of Starfleet is never more apparent than when the crew
carries out orders that they strongly disagree with; Worf did the good soldier
bit very well in this episode.

						Brian

    
    
    Did anyone else find that they tended to be more sympathetic to 
    Eddington and the Marquis(sp) than Sisco?  
    
    fred();

>>    Did anyone else find that they tended to be more sympathetic to 
>>    Eddington and the Marquis(sp) than Sisco?  

(It's "Maquis."  I don't know why they use a French-like spelling, it's
confusing.)

I thought they did a good job of trying to make both sides sound plausible. 
Sisko's speech about Eddington not leaving Star Fleet was crucial, and well
done.  Also the one about the false hopes of the refugees.  Perhaps, given the
typical view of Starfleet being infallible and always in the right, having
something of an attempt at a equal view seemed lopsided the other way.

						Brian

    I am sick of the Macquis...surprised to see it brought back up.
    
    I quess on Voyager where they are all friendly..seemed to 
    make a conflict with this episode in my mind.
    
    Slept thru the end..
    

    I find the morality of the Maquis as wrong as the borg.  Yes
    the Cardassians government is warlike, but various episodes about the
    Cardassians shows they have a less agressive even human like side. Ie
    episodes that show how much they care for their children etc.  For the
    Maquis to justify killing planets for past injustices makes as much
    sense as terrorists bombings for God.
    
    As far as I am concerned they are worse than their enemies.
    
    Brian
    
    

    
    > but various episodes about the
    >    Cardassians shows they have a less agressive even human like side.
    
    Next week's episode may seriously impact that opinion.
    
    fred();

Personally, I like Maquis episodes a lot.  It seems very realistic, makes it
clear that everyone (except Bad Guys) is not Federation Rah Rah, and makes
everything less black and white.  I think that is one of the strengths of DS9
in general is that there are more shades of gray than there ever were on TNG or
especially TOS.

I was pretty shocked that Sisko would actually poison a Maquis planet (what are
the Maquis doing "owning" a planet, anyway?).   And he only did *one* planet,
right?  Didn't it say at the end that the Cards and the Maqs were exchanging
two planets?  Hmmm.

I don't particularly like the holocom gadget.  Why bother?

And finally, I *loved* the manual com, especially when they were pulling away
from the station (not so much the "close encounter", but the dialog).  I got
goose bumps hearing all the cool commands.  That said, I'm not really clear on
how Nog was able to communicate with the engine room if no one else could. 
Regardless, though, I thought Nog did a creditable job with a kind of nothing
part.

Burns

    I also liked this show and thought the manual part was realistic until
    when Dax made the last minute maneuver to clear the pilon.  Yea right!
    Oh, a pilon.  Man, the skills these Fed have.

Yes, yes, I agree, it was a very good episode.

Re: .8

>And finally, I *loved* the manual com, especially when they were pulling away
>from the station (not so much the "close encounter", but the dialog).  I got
>goose bumps hearing all the cool commands.  

Yes! Me too!  It reminded me of an old submarine movie:

	Capt: "Ten degree down bubble!" (presumably to XO)
	XO:   "Helm! Ten degree down bubble!" (presumably to Helm)
	Helm: "Ten degree down bubble! Aye!"

I just love that stuff. :-)

>That said, I'm not really clear on
>how Nog was able to communicate with the engine room if no one else could. 

Clearly, Nog was chosen because of his special Ferengi ability (and with
those ears) to discern sounds even in the midst of a great din -- like
battle. I think O'Brien alluded to this when explaining it to Sisco, but I
didn't think it wasn't obvious at all (at the time) why Nog -- a cadet! --
would get this important task.

While it is reasonable to assume that a special or secondary comm gadget
was used between Nog and Engineering, I think I even saw Nog speaking into
something, possibly pinned to his jersey. He was certainly turning his head
before speaking in some scenes.

-Mark

    It's a good thing Quark wasn't there to egg Nog on.

    
    I think the reason they used Nog is because he is the only Ferengi in
    Star Fleet.  I loved the manual com stuff too - way cool!  It was
    reminicent of being on a submarine.  Too bad they will have it fixed by
    next week, I liked the energy around them having to compensate with old
    fashioned ingenuity.
    
    

Re: Nog

I don't think the question is about why they chose Nog per se, but why anybody
was needed at all.  If Nog could talk into that little communication device,
why couldn't Sisko?

Perhaps it was a physical link, so Nog had to stand right in that spot and not
move about on the bridge or the ship, a restriction that may have been
unreasonable for the standard bridge crew.  Perhaps only one communication
device could be used, but comments and questions and orders might come from
(and go to) several people on the bridge, so it would be difficult for them all
to share the device.

						Brian

>I don't think the question is about why they chose Nog per se, but why anybody
>was needed at all.  If Nog could talk into that little communication device,
>why couldn't Sisko?
    
    Because Sisko wasn't the only one issuing commands...
    
    It reminded me of the TOS with Ohura's communicator.  The whole thing
    reminded me a lot of TOS - non-computerized control.  I also enjoyed
    it.
    
    Nog was needed to hear commands from the bridge when there might be a
    lot of explosions going on.

    EGG NOG!   :^)
    
    I caught that one.

    {phew}
    
    ;)

    Yeah, I got it too - pretty funny!  ;-)
    
    As for the episode, I enjoyed it, because as a previous noter pointed
    out, it presented a reality that was not black and white.  The Maquis
    and the Federation each have legitimate points, and while I prefer the
    Federation view of the world, I can see why the Maquis would stir such
    passion in their followers. 
    
    I was thrilled that Sisco didn't back down, and actually bombed the
    planet.  That was most likely the only thing that would have gotten
    Eddington to give himself up.  Sisco was pissed, and he didn't care 
    who knew it.  Great performance by Avery Brooks.
    
    NAZZ

  I caught this one on tape.

  I'm not sure the program meant to portray Eddington more sympathetically
  than Sisko, though I agree it did come across that way.  I feel this was due
  to Eddington being both a better character and actor than Sisko character's
  and Brooks (another poor wooden, sulking performance imo).  Eddington
  possessed ideals and passion, Sisko just boringly takes things that come his
  way and no more.  I almost expect to see "Good enough for government work" or
  "this is just a desk job" banners pasted to his desk.  Once again Sisko was
  asleep at the wheel again as commander, yet another major event (Eddington's
  betrayal) escaped his dullard attention.  As did his not reminding SF of
  their poor decision regarding Odo.  Odo should not have had to remind him -
  the commander - like that, perhaps he too senses how poor Sisko is at being
  an effective commander (imo).

  I didn't like the fact that Sisko destroyed a planet and killed civilians.
  Unbecoming of and unlike a Star Fleet officer.  For what? Eddington's
  knowledge of secrets would soon be out of date, why was he such an
  unbelievable threat that he personally would be worth the lives of civilians
  and a planet? He was just another Maquis leader, no more and no less, no
  different than all the other ex-Star Fleet Maquis members.  [Kraft vs.
  Parcells comes to DS9? :-)] It was personal, nothing more, and Sisko could
  not rise above that and reacted to it like an uncontrolled and undisciplined
  teenager.  Sisko is a reactive loose canon and a poor SF officer, nevermind
  commander (imo).  This episode lowered even more my opinions of his
  character.

  I generally like any and all of the Maquis episodes too.  I like the
  personality traits of the Maquis members we've seen through TNG, DS9 and VOY.
  Their passion and beliefs move me, even when the Star Fleet (and Picard and
  Janeway) view suits me more personally.  I admire them.  Even Eddington,
  whose character came across far better than Sisko's did this episode. 

  Still though, an enjoyable episode.  Eddington added some spice and flair to
  the show.  

  My favourite scene was with Nog, when his eyebrows went up "Explosions????
  What explosions???" :-) I too thought the Dax scene just missing the pylon
  was a bit silly.  Yeah, right, like she didn't know it'd be there, like I'd
  almost hit my own garage door in a snow storm too.  Missing another Ferengi
  ship, now that'd been a better scene.  I'm mixed on the halo-communicator,
  not sure I like it yet though technologically it seems to fit their
  environment better than a flat viewscreen.  Yet in a way it is too
  distracting, losing the sense that the person you are conversing with is
  actually removed and far away (say, when Sisko needs help from someone too far
  away to give it to him).

  I left this episode feeling Eddington was more in the right given his belief
  system than Sisko was in his (if he held SF principles not quickly giving in
  to his own personal vendetta) - even though on paper I see and agree with the
  Federation side.  Somehow one could see Kirk on the Maquis side as well,
  feeling that crusty old HQ desk-sitters got conditions on the field wrong
  once again.

  I wish Eddington were still out there, as a better educated and more
  passionate constant thorn in dullard always-sulking Sisko's side....  And now
  a Changeling is under the seat of sleeping Sisko as well.  SF really needs to
  put a better commander in charge of the vital area of the wormhole.  Sisko
  belongs with and is ideal as a freighter captain, no more...

  -Erik

>>  I didn't like the fact that Sisko destroyed a planet and killed civilians.

That isn't clear.  He made the atmosphere hazardous to humans (but not
Cardassians), but there were no reports of casualties, just people running to
the evacuation ships.  There may have been people killed, but the planet was
certainly not destroyed.

>>  and Brooks (another poor wooden, sulking performance imo).

Interesting; I thought Brooks did a particularly good job in this one.  Funny
how his style works well for some people and not at all for others.

						Brian

    Were you watching the same episode I was?  Sisko did NOT destroy a
    planet and kill civilians.  They stressed that point at the end of the
    show, when they noted the Cardassians and the humans were going to swap
    planets so that each could live in a proper atmosphere.  And if Sisko
    did NOT order the cannisters shot into the planet's atmosphere, then
    you would have a legitimate beef about his character.  He was indeed
    motivated by revenge, and it was indeed personal; as such, he had no
    choice but to prove to Eddington that he would do whatever it took to
    bring him to justice.
    
    The thing for me that makes Sisko such an enjoyable character is that,
    unlike Picard and especially Kirk, he has flaws, he makes mistakes, he
    isn't perfect.  It's that human aspect of him that is appealing, and
    makes his decisions seem more real.  You stated "Sisko just boringly
    takes things that comes his way and no more."  He does indeed take
    things that come his way - that is his job.  But he has certainly done
    a lot more for the station and the Bajorans.  You must remember that
    DS9 is not boldly going where no man has gone before.  It is a lonely
    outpost on the edge of a wormhole, so naturally things have to come to
    him, and he can't go seek out new life and new civilizations - they
    must come to DS9.
    
    Avery Brooks is an excellent actor.  He has made Sisko a believable
    officer and a believable human being, complete with human frailties,
    which this episode clearly showed.  I'm sorry that you can't see that
    in his performance.
    
    NAZZ

    
  I thought it was made clear in the episode that Sisko killed, outright, many
  Federation civilians by his direct command.  True, he gave the planet a
  warning.  But also true however, former-SF Maquis knew that SF protocol would
  never witness a SF captain firing upon helpless Federation civilians (the
  colonizing civilian farming families down there et al).  When Sisko fired the
  torpedoes, he was told the evacuation had not taken place.  After he fired,
  as Sisko's poisonous clouds were shown taking over an entire half of the
  planet in mere "as you watch" seconds, we were told "all those helpless
  civilians are just now starting to scramble to get to ships." I doubt
  thousands of people could run from their homes to the ships and all get
  safely inside those bulk rescue ships in the time you saw the clouds envelope
  the planet.  To us anyway, it was clear that all those people left in their
  homes on their own home planet were killed by Sisko, deliberately and
  knowingly, just to capture _one_ former-SF Maquis member of thousands of
  others.  This one sole person who just happened to have had the better of
  Sisko many times so far (Sisko risking Defiant, its crew, and killing
  innocents in the sole name of very un-SF-like personal revenge).  The episode
  never made it clear why it was that "now long-gone and gone his own separate
  way" Eddington was such a danger to SF (more so than the other Maquis), one
  worth many thousands of civilian's lives.

  Dax's cavalier "Oh goody, an adventure, let's go" attitude bothered me as
  well.  Of all things, it was only _Worf_ who had any SF-consciousness during
  Sisko's revenge chase.

  Your impressions while watching may have varied, those were mine... 

>    DS9 is not boldly going where no man has gone before.  It is a lonely
>    outpost on the edge of a wormhole, so naturally things have to come to
>    him, and he can't go seek out new life and new civilizations - they
>    must come to DS9.
 
  Yes, and that was part of my problem with DS9 initially.  However the show
  has made many (mostly successful) efforts to overcome this 'stationary'
  aspect of the show.  However, and completely apart from this, is the fact
  that Sisko is entirely reactive (only responds when kicked in the butt as
  with Odo, etc) and is not proactive in any measure at all.  Q criticised
  Picard for "worrying about Riker's career" (etc) where Picard is at least
  proactive (in his actions, in his ideals), I wonder what Q would think of
  Sisko.  Perhaps that is why Q never took any interest in "backwaters freighter
  captain" Sisko. 
   
>    Avery Brooks is an excellent actor.

  To each his own.  I've never liked him as an actor.  I'd bet if you took a
  picture of Brooks surprised, Brooks angry, Brooks compassionate, Brooks
  romantic, Brooks upset, Brooks with indigestion - you'd see the exact same
  wooden unchanging stone face.  He has no range whatsoever imo.  If I liked
  the character of Sisko as written, I'd have a dilemma since he'd be played by
  someone I don't like as an actor.  As 'luck' would have it, the two (actor
  and character) are in synch.  Your view may vary...

>>  I'd bet if you took a
>>  picture of Brooks surprised, Brooks angry, Brooks compassionate, Brooks
>>  romantic, Brooks upset, Brooks with indigestion - you'd see the exact same
>>  wooden unchanging stone face.

Golly, this disagreement is fascinating.  The thing that I think of with Avery
Brooks is his *voice*.  I like the way he speaks his part, I think he shows a
great deal of subtlety and nuance.  I've never paid a huge amount of attention
to his facial expression.  I do think he shows emotion quite nicely, never
overplaying it, and I do know he has a reasonable variety of facial expression,
but in comparison with somebody like Patrick Stewart it is probably less
involved.  Brooks is a more reserved type of actor, and he works well in this
role, in my opinion.

						Brian

Another Robert Hewitt Wolfe note from the Psi Phi site: Sisko did not use
deadly force, he used a slow-acting agent that gave the Maquis on the planet
time to evacuate.