Product Details

• Actors: Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton
• Directors: Paul Lynch
• Writers: Michael Piller, Gene Roddenberry, Gerald Sanford, Rick Berman
• Producers: David Livingston, Ira Steven Behr, Michael Piller
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: September 3, 1996
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304132336
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,545 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

After arriving at Deep Space Nine, Ibudan (Steven James Carver), a Bajoran murderer recently released from prison, tangles with Security Chief Odo (Rene Auberjonois). When Ibudan is murdered in a holosuite, the evidence points to a shapeshifter as the guilty party. Odo, who had vowed to remove Ibudan from Deep Space Nine at any cost, is accused of the crime. Soon an angry group of Bajorans comes looking for justice and Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) is forced to relieve Odo of duty.

Although tests on a strand of DNA found at the crime scene promise to reveal the identity of the real killer, an impatient and violent mob chases down Odo and tries to take the law into its own hands.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Leave Odo Alone!.. better yet, leave this episode alone.., October 7, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 3: A Man Alone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am torn by this episode. On the one hand, I thought it was a typically poor first season episode. Yes, setting up plot is important. But this just bored me to tears... On the other hand. there were some good Odo scenes here...

Ibudan is a Bajoran recently released from prison. He was in for killing a Cardassian, so the Bajorans let him out. He however has a past with Odo. Odo and Ibudan get into a scruff at Quark's, then less than an hour later, Ibudan is murdered during a holosuite session. Too bad... he was really getting it on with that funky looking alien chick. Oh well.

Odo pretty much is targeted as the main suspect, and has to be taken off of the case because of the conflict of interests. Soon, Odo is pretty much ganged up on in the promenade. Lynching mob, rock throwing, etc etc...

The mystery is solved with the help of Bashir, etc etc... Basic DS9 problem solved in 40 minutes. This was just plain old uninteresting...

Honestly, this should get only one star. But there are a few great scenes here, not to be missed. First involves the nasty Bajorans sitting at Quark's bar. All too often we see Bajorans depicted either as peace loving saints, helpless victims, or righteous freedome fighters. This episode shows them in a different light. They have their faults too... and they are not all so nice...

I also like the way Odo was portrayed in these early days. Odo is still trying to figure out how to handle himself now under Starfleet's command. He still wants to use the swift hand of justice, allowable under Cardassian rule, but now frowned heavily on. He is very frustrated, and quite honestly, has a really neat and sharp edge to him in these first episodes. His relationship with Quark is fun... not this back and forth bantering, but real distrust and hatred. Pure and simple. He also has some authority issues going on with Sisko, which is interesting to see.

The other interesting thing was the way that the writers played with the episode's title in some of the subplots. Or at least I think they were playing with it... While "A Man Alone" probably refers to Odo, it may also refer to Bashir in his loneliness as he persues Dax. Either way, I thought it was fun to watch that...

This was not the best DS9 has to offer. But it's there...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was a very good episode!, November 17, 2000

By 

Rose Tindall Postel (Grimesland, North Carolina United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 3: A Man Alone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This was a very good episode. Odo is one of my favorite characters and this was the first to revolve around him. You got to learn a little about his past in this episode. "A Man Alone" is a good episode. I would recommend it to all my friends!

3.0 out of 5 stars Thus begins the dive into a not so exciting season, January 4, 2008

By 

dominion_ruler "Bryan" (Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 3: A Man Alone [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Following up on the wonderful pilot, "Emissary", and the not so bad "Past Prologue", A Man Alone feels a little too relaxed. With a murder investigation, a troubled wife of Chief O Brien, and continuing tensions between crewmembers, the episode shows promise but never gets things too exciting.

The investigation of Odo for the murder of the Bajoran he dislikes so much was not too thrilling, though it did have an unexpected outcome, yet nothing all too great. I think I enjoyed the struggle between Miles and his wife Keiko, both trying to raise a family the best way they can on the station. Keiko feels useless, and noticing young boys without any direction on the station (such as Jake Sisko and the Ferengi "Nog") she demands to begin a school on the station. Not enough screentime was devoted to this unfortunately, as it was a backseat story to the investigation. We also get some glimpses of the Julian and Dax characters interaction - mainly Julian's crush on the female trill.

Definetly not an episode for action, this is only about story and character relations. I could pass on the investigation story, and its basically left with some ok character interaction, but that's about it.

Acting - 3.5
Action - 1
Characters - 4
Story - 3.5
Overall - 3