5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Episode!!, May 27, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 5: Babel [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This is a great episode!! Babel is one of the best! The crew is "looking window car green sea" See what I mean! DS:9 is infected with a virus that affects everyone except Odo and Quark who take command of the Station. Its up to Kira to locate the cure of the virus before people starts dying.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting concepts, October 20, 2004
This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 5: Babel [VHS] (VHS Tape)
In this early 1st season episode, Quark's makeup is more refined than in the first episode and looks more like how we're used to seeing him in later seasons - Odo's face is still a bit too chiseled and it will take a few more episodes before they make him look more like the Odo we get used to over time. In these early episodes, Quark, Nog & Rom are still reknowned thieves and Rom is thought to be an inept idiot, although his true genius is added to his character in the last 2 seasons. Kira has the aggressive "I hate men, especially men in power" hair cut and shoulder pads and it's interesting to see these characters slowly evolve into the characters we grow to love over the years.
Before the Cardassians left Deep Space Nine, they trashed the place (ala Clinton leaving the White House) and stole what they could remove and vandalized fixed structures. Chief O'Brien hasn't slept winks in days as he runs all over the ship fixing things that the Cardies broke. Captain Sisko displays some poor leadership qualities as he belittles the Chief for not fixing the replicators, instead of patting him on the back for all the amazing repairs he had done in such a short amount of time and throws a little hissy fit because his coffee doesn't taste good.
O'Brien grumbles and goes to a junction that controls the replicators on the command level, crawling along on what looks to be extremely uncomfortable flooring. After he completes repairs, he closes the hood (so to speak) and orders coffee, hot, double-sweet - just like he likes it. The replicator fizzles and reacts by spitting out arcs of electricity. O'Brien runs some diagnostics, orders his coffee again, and drinks it happily. The camera then pans back inside the junction on a hidden device attached to the replicators and ominous music is played - thank goodness this series evolved beyond these grade-school plots!
Quark's replicators aren't working yet and his bar is so empty, you can hear tumbleweeds blowing in the wind, so he improvises by accessing unused crew quarters on the command level to fill his drink orders.
All food on the station is replicated, so you wonder how everyone else is able to eat, considering there is no formal mess hall on DS9. O'Brien first complains about the heat, mumbling about the environmental controls and next he's speaking in gibberish. All the words are clearly English, but they make no sense - just word salads. After Dr. Bashir (with bigger hair) examines him, he is befuddled. O'Brien is exhibiting all the symptoms of Aphasia, synaptic problems caused by trauma to the head - but there is no evidence that anything is even neurologically wrong with him or that he has had any head injury.
When Jadzia starts to exhibit the same symptoms, they realize they have a much worse problem on their hands - this isn't true aphasia - it's a virus that mimics aphasia. Not only do these aphasia victims talk and hear gibberish, they write and read in gibberish as well, so they can only communicate by pointing and via facial expressions.
Bashir announces that the virus had to be ingested, so they search every nook and cranny of the replicators. Once the ominous device is discovered, it is too late. Thanks to Quark, everyone on the station has been exposed to this virus, which is now mutated to the point of being airborne, and it's only a matter of time before everyone is affected... except for Quark and Odo. Quark appears to be immune and since Odo technically doesn't have a brain or nervous system as we know it, the virus does nothing to him - but all other species aboard have been infected and as the incubation of each host continues, it's only a matter of time before Odo must run the whole station by himself and reluctantly receive help from his Nemisis, Quark. Quark's "good side" is being developed in this episode as well as Kira's ingenuity and determination. It becomes obvious that this resourceful woman was a formidable ally in Bajor's underground movement to unseat the Cardassian invaders. They must determine who made the virus so they can cure it - if that is even possible. Their first guess was that this was another booby-trap left by the Cardies - but when O'Brien exhibits a high fever and goes into a coma, the virus is no longer a comical threat - but instead has turned deadly and they race against time to save everyone aboard.
The virus' concept - how it works and how it was implemented are fascinating concepts in the world of sci-fi and the episode helps to further develop the station's characters as they react to a common crisis.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
[2.5] A fitting title, though uneventful for the most part, January 4, 2008
This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 5: Babel [VHS] (VHS Tape)
If you know your Bible history, then you may be famailar with the Tower of Babel and how all who worked on the project were suddenly strucken with the inability to communicate and understand one another - thus the project was never completed as seen fit by God (I think I got it correct). Anyways, it's not quite like that in this episode of DS9 titled "Babel", but a similar experience occurs where crewmembers begin suffering from a virus that keeps them from communicating among one another.
As crewmemebrs begin to suffer one by one, you are left wondering who exactly is going to save the day and get the antidote. On top of it, some lunatic alien tries to flee the station in fear while the locking clamps are still attached to his ship. In addition to the virus, there is also the soon to be threat of a large explosion unless someone releases his ship manually. So, there is some excitement, but not much for the most part. Most of the episode is spent trying to figure out where the virus originated and then where an antidote can be found. It was kind of boring throughout, and there wasn't really any secondary story like many DS9 episodes have.
Possibly the best thing about this episode is that the Quark character finally begins to take shape. His seriousness from Emissary is now being replaced with humor and a louder, whinier voice. His makeup has also begin to change into a more comfortable, smooth look. My favorite scene is near the end when Odo is on the transporter pad and he is seriously asking Quark if he even knows how to operate a transporter system, and Quark interrupts him quickly, laughing "Energizing!"
Bable is just not a memorable episode for the most part, and one of the many reason season one was probably the most boring of all the DS9 seasons. Hand it to Quark to save the episode from complete misery.
Acting - 3.5
Action - 1.5
Characters - 3.5
Story - 3
Overall - 2.5
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