Guest stars and time jumps in this log entry--
- Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) drops by the station in "Defiant"--or is he? Nope--it's his transported-created clone Thomas Riker, now working for the Maquis. He plays William to get Kira to give him access to the Defiant, swipes it, and starts attacking the Cardassian empire. Why didn't the security systems recognize the difference? Sure, William and Thomas have the same DNA, but when Thomas went AWOL, wouldn't the systems be updated with this info, track William, and see if another William showed up? Thomas doesn't have the full beard--just a goatee (making him the evil Riker, per TV rules). There's also a silly subplot about Gul Dukat worrying about his son's birthday. In the end, Thomas surrenders to save others.
- Love is in the air--unfortunately, it's a disease--in "Fascination". The episode is set against a Bajoran "Gratitude Festival"--seems like a lot of new-age nonsense. The aforementioned disease brings suppressed desires to the surface--Jake's got a crush on Kira, while her main squeeze Bereil wants to be with Dax, and she in turn wants to be with Sisko. Also, Miles and Keiko are feuding (she's back from a Bajoran mission). It's all due to the presence of Lwaxana Troi--so it's a problem for Odo as well. When did this show become a soap opera? I also noticed that the crew each have one set of "off duty" clothes--you see them over and over. Why wouldn't they just replicate different clothes each time? Finally, just how far is DS9 from Bajor--why can't Miles just shoot over there to see his wife?
- It's yet another two-parter: "Past Tense". Dax, Sisko, and Bashir have a bad transporter trip--and end up on Earth in 2024. While Kira and O'Brien spout technobabble, Sisko provides exposition about this era, where the homeless are pushed into gulags, and the rich enjoy the good life (of course). Actually, based on current trends, I wouldn't be surprised if this is what the real 2024 will look like. Dax has a better time of it--a rich plutocrat takes a liking to her, and she seems to easily lie about herself. Sisko also knows that a major riot is about to happen. We hear about a "Starfleet Temporal Displacement" policy--rather like the Prime Directive for non-interference, but for the time stream. When the leader of the upcoming riot is killed defending Sisko (played by Brook's stunt double), our hero has to step into that role in order to allow Starfleet and the Federation to exist in the future. (The Defiant, with Kira, O'Brien, and Odo inside, is protected from the nonexistence of the Federation due to a technobabble bubble.) Dax and O'Brien beam back to 1930 (to the same point Kirk and Spock went in "City on the Edge of Forever", per the Memory Alpha site), 1960 (where they meet some hippies), and 2048 before they figure out the right time to rescue their comrades. This is a "big message" story.
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