Customer Reviews

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 46: The Jem'Hadar [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Quark and Nog take off to the Gamma Quadrant with Captain Sisko and Jake. At this point you know its going to be one big old treat to see just what happens on this so called science project for Jake and Nog. Ha! You know your about to get some scientific laughs outta this one ... Then Sisko says the coolest thing" lets get going before anyone else shows up" Ha! And zoom thru the wormhole they go! As soon as they land on the planet Sisko is singing the blues having to deal with a good idea gone bad and poor Quark is covering his lobes in some green goo...something about he is allergic to nature! ha! Then a little time passes, darkness falls and O NO! A campfire scene, it might not be row, row, row your boat material, ha! In reference to Star Trek: 5 with Bones and Captain Kirk trying to teach Spock an old earth song, but its funny enough seeing old Quark complaining about bugs and bad food and getting himself caught on fire! Suddenly bad gets worse...THE JEM'HADAR! Captain Sisko and Quark are taken as prisoners, Jake and Nog take over a shuttle and its funny to see those two taking command.. You would swear Jake had been into a case of Romulan Ale with his horrific flying. The tension builds rapidly because of certain events that take place at DS9 and the present situation of Captain Sisko and company. DS9 to the rescue, but at what cost? Jailbreaks, starship fights the action builds! What will happen? Set a course for this episode a must see for any Star Trek fan !

This episode centres around Sisko and Quark and how they are forced into camping together on a lonely planet, a comical account that really kicks into high gear when an alien with a personal cloaking device emerges from the trees and reveals himself as a Jem'hadar. Sisko, Quark, Nog and Jake are kept in a prison camp surrounded by a deadly forcefield, in there they encounter another trapped individual who reveals fascinating information about the Jem'hadar and a powerful new force... brilliant!

This episode starts like any other slow, character driven episode and ends with awesome action and a new 'bad guy' to menace the Federation! This finally shows the rumored Dominion who then became one of the more interesting enimies in Star Trek lore.

The action in this episode clearly demonstrates what some consider a weak aspect of the series as well as another characteristic that was generally considered a strength. It opens with Commander Sisko and his son Jake discussing his science project in their quarters and the talk moves to having Jake do a real science project by exploring a planet in the Gamma Quadrant.
Excited, Jake invites his friend Nog to come along and this leads to Quark inviting himself. Sisko is disappointed in having the company, for he wanted it to be a time where he is alone with his son. Quark is obnoxious, complaining about the primitive conditions, the bugs and the company. This demonstrates the weakness in the episode, where the slow expression of relationships between the characters often seems to drag on.
After Jake and Nog walk away from camp to continue their survey, a female humanoid runs into the camp and tells Sisko and Quark that they must flee. A group of powerful soldiers quickly capture the three of them and this introduces the powerful Jem'Hadar soldiers of the Dominion. Sisko, Quark and the female are placed in a containment field and Quark is once again his obnoxious self, constantly complaining and yelling. The appearance of the Jem'Hadar is one of the strengths of the episode, for they are powerful and efficient soldiers.
One of the Jem'Hadar soldiers then tells Sisko that the Dominion will no longer tolerate Federation exploration of the Gamma Quadrant and a rescue mission is launched from DS9. It is made up of a starship and two runabouts and they quickly find that the Dominion technology is superior to their own. Sisko and his party manage to "escape" but at the cost of the starship and when they arrive back on DS9 they discover that not all is at it appears to be.
While one must "suffer" through some slow setting of the context, this episode is excellent for it introduces the most powerful of adversaries, the Jem'Hadar. To have true heroes it is necessary to have strong villains and the Jem'Hadar are among the most powerful. Most of the remainder of the series is based on this threat.

"The Jem'Hadar" stands as one of DS9's most intense episodes, introducing the viewers to the one-dimensional "policemen" of the Founders in the form of the title characters and the conniving and sinister Vorta. Both would be a staple for the duration of the show's run.

The kamikaze attack during the installment's final minutes still remains one of the most shocking scenes in Trek history.

Deep Space nine in its first two seasons seems slow at times and rather flat, but in this season two finale we are introduced to the Dominion. The excitment starts here. Ira Steven Behr has written the best DS9 shows, it is him more than Berman or Piller who gave the show its seperate unique indentity.

The season finale sees Commander Sisko come face to face with the Jem Hadar, the henchmen of the Dominion. Whilst on a science survey in the Gamma quadrant Sisko and Quark are captured by the Jem Hadar who are intent on keeping them captive in order to show what will happen to anyone else who ventures into their space. Getting word of their capture, Captain Keogh of the USS Oddysey and Major Kira and the other senior staff set off into the Gamma quadrant for a rescue mission which will have deadly consequences for the Alpha quadrant.......