Product Details

• Actors: Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton
• Directors: Kim Friedman
• Writers: Gene Roddenberry, Michael Piller, Rick Berman, Robert Hewitt Wolfe
• Producers: David Livingston, Ira Steven Behr, James Crocker
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: October 6, 1998
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792146468
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #537,390 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Garak and Bashir have been having lunch once a week for over a year, and yet the doctor really knows nothing about the Cardassian. Garak's life is an intricate puzzle of lies within lies. And then something happens, and Dr. Bashir slowly discovers what seems to be a truth of sorts about the mysterious tailor. The titular wire is a mind-control device buried deep within the Cardassian Garak's brain. It was planted there years ago by the Obsidian Order and designed to protect him and shield him with heightened endorphins if he was ever captured and tortured. The trouble is that Garak was not captured but exiled, and his very existence is torture. He spends his life on a station that is too cold and too light; and he is surrounded by people who hate him. So one day he activated the device to dull the pain.

"The Wire" solidified the Bashir/Garak cult in DS9 fandom and it garnered critical and internal praise. This episode, along with "Duet," is one of the best explorations of the aftermath of the Cardassian occupation and features the first appearance of the mysterious Obsidian Order. And there's the whole Odo-spying-on-Quark thing going on. Paul Dooley fairly oozes evil banality as Enabran Tain, and Siddig El Fadil is smugly hoity-toity as Bashir. The incredible Andrew Robinson manages to convey Garak's painful endorphin withdrawal through heavy Cardassian make-up. "The Wire" is, in a word, great. --Kayla Rigney

From the Back Cover

During lunch with Bashir (Siddig El Fadil), Garak (Andrew Robinson) is overcome by extreme pain and collapses. An examination reveals a small implant in his brain.

Bashir confronts Garak with the information and learns that the implant was a gift from Enabran Tain (Paul Dooley), the head of the Obsidian Order, a clandestine group which acts as the eyes and ears of the Cardassian empire. It was designed to make the recipient immune to pain in case of capture or torture. Unfortunately, Garak has been using it to cope with his exile on the station, and now that he's addicted to it, the device is malfunctioning from overuse. The enigmatic Tain may be his only hope for survival.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Riveting Garak Show, December 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 42: The Wire [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"The Wire" is a very intense and riviting show about DS9's only Cardassian resident, Garak. Over the many years of DS9's distinguished run, Garak has often been the most mysterious character of DS9's ensemble. "Wire" reveals (however, incompletely) Garak's past. This show owes a lot to the performances from Siddig El Fadil(Dr. Bashier) and Andrew Robinson(Garak), for without these two marvelous actors, the show would've certainly been a failure. However, these two do not disapoint, and carry every scene with intensity. Kim Friedman's directon is also wonderful. "Wire" also gives some insight into the ominous Obsidian Order, so frightening, it can scare even a seasoned, Cardassian military officer (those of you who know how seasoned those officers can be, know what this means). "Wire" has no action scenes(although, there is a short fight between Garak and Bashier, but it is quite minor) or space battles, it simply puts two characters in a room, and reveals one's inner struggles. A top-notch show, it shouldn't be missed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Garak, take two asprin and call me in the morning..., September 25, 2000

By 

L C "lc70" (Binghamton, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 42: The Wire [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In this episode, our favorite Cardassian "mender of pants" and "hemmer of skirts" - Garak - literally comes apart at the seams. Or so it seems...

The episode begins as Dr. Julian Bashir notices his occassional lunchmate, playmate and object of his constant curiosity, Garak the tailor, is suffering from a not-so-mild headache. This headache, however, is caused by an implant, placed in Garak's brain, by the deliciously despicable Obsidian Order. The breakdown of this "wire" turns out to be a catalyst through which Bashir tries to learn about Garak's past, and an opportunity for Garak to practice tormenting the good doctor with all kinds of lies and fiction, even as he writhes in agony, or tries to drown his pain in numerous bottles of kanar.

Throughout the episode, as Garak literally falls apart and Bashir tries to help save him, we watch their friendship develop. We are introduced to the Obsidian Order, and it's former master, Enabrin Tain. More importantly, we learn the truth about Garak's past... And that truth is that it is made up of nothing but possible truths and probable lies. The contradiction is poetic... In fact, after viewing the episode, we still have no real knowledge about the mysterious Garak, or the circumstances leading to his exile on DS9. Instead, what we have are a series of half truths, bald-faced lies, and sob stories, brilliantly executed in classic Garak style.

My favorite scene, however, peaks when the Ferengi Quark is affectionately called a "parasite" by an uncommonly jovial and obviously raunchy Cardassian called Boheeka... For that alone it is worth the shipping and handling costs...

It would be a lie to say this was not my favorite DS9 episode. But that's what it's all about, isn't it, Mr. Garak? Lies, deception, and all other types of poetry in motion...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The History Of Garak, Part I., March 21, 2000

By 

Geebus (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 42: The Wire [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Surely Andrew Robinson's Garak was the best EVER recurring guest star on television. It seems that the writers couldn't help but produce pure gold whenever he was in an episode and "The Wire" was no exception. Simple as it is, this one grew on me the more I watched DS9, largely because it was a brilliant way to set up future Garak episodes without revealling a thing about his past. If you're looking for action you won't find any but as long as you watch this episode before "Improbable Cause", "The Die Is Cast" or "In Purgatory's Shadow" you'll swear the writer's had his whole history mapped out from the very beginning.