Customer Reviews

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 34: Whispers [VHS]

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Although Colm Meaney has been an underused actor throughout Deep Space Nine's seven year run, almost every episode of the series that has focused on his Chief O'Brien character has been superb.

"Whispers" is not only the best Chief O'Brien episode, it's one of the best Deep Space Nine episodes, and quite possibly, when taking all four incarnations of Star Trek into consideration, one of the best Star Trek episodes. Meaney plays out the paranoid element of the story perfectly, the music was better than Trek's (at least TV Trek) usual sub-par fare, and the story kept you guessing until the end (is there something wrong with O'Brien, or is there something wrong with everyone else?). Not to be missed.

The episode opens with O'Brien talking to the computer aboard his runabout. He is trying to leave a final log entry, as he knows he is living on borrowed time. Someone is after him, but who? Has he done something wrong?

As his log continues, we're thrusted back 52 hours as he returns to DS9 from the Paradas system. He had been working with the Paradas on security preparation on the station and is happy to be home and near his family. He awakens to find Keiko not in bed. She is up at 5:30am, fixing an earlier-than-ever breakfast. When he bends down to kiss his daughter Molly, she shrivels away from him and says "Go away!" Keiko brushes it off as a phase, but she herself is shockingly cold and resistent when O'Brien embraces her and tries to kiss her.

He figures it's a woman thing and goes to work. There, he finds one of his underlings busy at a securty junction that he was supposed to work on. He is aggitated that this snot-nosed rookie is working on his project until he's told that it's orders from Sisko. Even though the Paradas went through everything they wanted through the Chief, Sisko wants him working on the upper pylons instead. O'Brien can't understand why all the pylons are out - he had just repaired them before he left and even checked on them when he returned.

Everyone is surface-friendly to him, but he gets this weird "Stepford Wives" vibe from everyone. He begins to think that everyone on the station is under some alien influence. He knows that the Keiko in his quarters is not the Keiko he married. He doesn't know if she's been replaced or if she is somehow being controlled by an outside influence.

O'Brien is forced into a long-overdue medical exam by Bashir. Bashir has him in there for hours - far beyond the norm - I'm surpised he didn't try to give O'Brien a pap smear. Miles is beside himself. Everyone acts so friendly and yet secretive. He first thinks there might be a surprise party for him, but his birthday isn't for months.

When he finally discovers the problem in the upper pylons, he knows that someone deliberately sabotaged elements deep in the system to keep him occupied for hours while security preparations are made for the Paradas without his involvement. He suspects that somehow the entire station is under an alien influence and the Paradas are in danger. As he heads out to warn them, he is being persued with diligence from Sisko and company.

This is an episode that will make your goose pimples stand on end - you really don't know what's going on until the end. Once again, Colm Meanie demonstrates his awesome, often-overlooked, acting prowess. Rosalind Chao, as always, is mind-blowingly awesome, even in her short amount of screen-time. She should really be getting more Hollywood roles - it's been way too long since "The Joy Luck Club" and she deserves a chance at an Oscar. She kicks interstellar butt.

"Whispers" is an excellent stand-alone mystery. It's so complex, you can watch it two times and it will still be interesting. The first time, when you have no idea what is going on, the mystery angle as O'Brien tries to figure out what is wrong with everyone on the station, is done so well, you don't want it to end. The second time through, when you know is really going on, everything comes on a different level. That is difficult to write and perform, but everyone delivers in a marvelous way. Even though "Whispers" has no impact on the series' plot-arc's, it is still a wonderful show, worth seeing.

This is not so much a review as it is a search for an answer. The episode "Whispers" in which Miles Obrien returns to DS9 to find that all is not as it should be stikes a remarkable resemblance to the movie staring Gary Sinise - IMPOSTER. I'm curious as to which story is the original. As this episode was part of DS9's second season and the movie came out much later, it appears as though there was a slight "borrowing" of a story line here. If anyone has seen both the episode and the movie and can offer some enlightenment, please do so. Thank You.

Returning to DS9 after a short absence Miles O'Brien slowly finds that he has stumbled unto a potential conspiracy that the Federation may or may not be a part of. As he tries to untangle what he believes is a plot to disrupt an upcoming peace conference, the Chief is constantly diverted and encounters many peculiarities among the crew members. The conundrum becomes a full blown conspiracy when he is summoned to Odo's office where the DS9 staff officers draw weapons on him and order him to surrender! I don't want to give away the mystery any more than that, but be certain that you watch this one if you haven't yet.

Borrowing liberally from the 1956 sci-fi masterpiece "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" and mixing in a small dosage of "Blade Runner" and adding just a touch of "The Manchurian Candidate", the writers of DS9 create an exceptional mystery. The political themes and undertones so present in those classic films are retained here as well, injected occasionally building an uncomfortable amount of tension for the Chief to endure.

Flashback episodes can be cliched and pedestrian by nature but the Star Trek writers breathe new life into that tiresome vehicle here. "Whispers" is a uniquely filmed episode because O'Brien is featured in literally every shot. Every line of dialogue that is heard in this episode is a conversation that he has with another of the DS9 crew members. This technique works great for the story as we become totally convinced that O'Brien is right to suspect the crew of deception. Also, the ending of this episode is well constructed - it provides a great twist and a satisfying explanation for the strange happenings.

A few notes: In this show O'Brien is referred to as a replicant, the term used in the film "Blade Runner". Wisely, both the Trek creators and writers decided against using the term android which would have caused some small confusion considering it is so closely associated with Data. Using replicant also works effectively because in "Blade Runner" the replicants were on the run - O'Brien eventually does too toward the end of the episode. I've noticed also that O'Brien has to be DS9's most durable and put-upon crew member. After this ordeal he would suffer through worse personal trials on such episodes as the later "Tribunal" and "Hard Times".