Remember That DS9 Episode About a Giant Board Game? (Move Along Home) (Manic Episodes)

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[@emilsoderman3691]

I actually do like the twist at the end with "No, of course it's not a death game, that's an insane thing to do."

[@VampireNewl]

Same, I like how it is actually more of a misunderstanding than yet another needlessly agressive move by an alien species.

[@danielyeshe]

I agree. Aliens, in sci-fi in general, are always testing humans!

[@henrygvidonas9573]

It's bit of a "what kind of asshole would even think somebody did this in earnest?" burn. Kira definitely wanted to talk to the manager in this episode. She did NOT sign up for THIS!

[@Swindle1984]

They even foreshadow it by pointing out that children play the game. The whole thing is a massive prank just to humble Quark. Although there's probably a reason these guys never showed up again.

[@TheSpacecraftX]

@@almightyk11 That was the point I think. they wanted to knock Quark down a peg.

[@nekolalia3389]

I can’t hate this episode. Kira’s life prepared her for many hardships (via those hardships) and exactly 0% Starfleet’s Wacky Found Bullshit™️ - the resignation in her soul as she allamaraines through the forcefield is a mood.

[@bootsthecat6718]

I would love to see Starfleet teaching some sort of "outer space buffoonery" class to prepare trainees for the nonsensical horrors they may face

[@DarthAzabrush]

@@bootsthecat6718 Considering that the really silly stuff only happens to main character ships/stations it is possible there is no book on this shit. In fact in Peter David's adorable "New Frontier" book series its revealed that Captain Kirk's offical reports on several beloved TOS stories (giant green space hands, Abe Lincon on the bridge, Planet Wonderland, the Haunted House aliens) are considered practical jokes by the top brass and only offered in the speculative fiction modules at the academy.

[@michaelcook7107]

That is ultimately where DS9 is strongest, showing the Federation ethos from the pov of non-federation characters like Kira, Odo and Quark. I really liked the premise of this episode. It's execution is...less than stellar. And I hate the Federation Security guy (not that Eddington was much better before he went all Victor Hugo-esque revolutionary).

[@Xondar11223344]

@@michaelcook7107 Eddington was good because he comes across as a typical ambitious Starfleet officer. He even mentions wanting to become a captain in one episode. But then, *WHAM!* he's really a freedom fighter against Federation oppression!

[@DarthAzabrush]

@@michaelcook7107 Kira and Dax's conversation over why she would make a shit counsellor is a real gem

[@Froggievilleus]

"Emmy-nominated mullet" are words that I never thought I would hear put together in a sentence.

[@henrygvidonas9573]

They were robbed of that hairstyling award. ROBBED, I say!

[@jbleichman]

Nana Visitor has a “please just kill me now” expression through the whole “Alamaraine” sequence and I am here for it.

[@justinwhite2725]

All business - get the job done. That was early Kira and I love how the character developed.

[@paulhunter6742]

What about how stupid Dr. Bashasa's behavior seen like he was prissy little teenager. I didn't believe Captain Sisko be so ridiculous either.

[@planescaped]

Season 1 DS9 had a lot of embarassing moments. Felt like the leftover season 3 TNG scripts they were too good for now were used on DS9.

[@sockpuppy8811]

@@planescaped At the very least, Season 1 of DS9 gave us Duet

[@hariman7727]

In character AND enforced method acting.

[@marcushead9985]

The hardest part of being a diplomat in speculative fiction settings must be not laughing at other cultures' fashion choices.

[@twig8523]

Hah! You're bringing to my mind the episode of Voyager where Neelix bails out Captain Janeway when she offends a new Alien species by putting her hands on her hips. 😆 In their culture every sentence is given tone/context by an accompanying pose. It's like if voguing was common body language. 😂

[@guiltygearalonecompl]

“Hm, intergalactic Danny McBride. Bold choice.”

[@thunderphoenix440]

@@twig8523 Those aliens were really silly but I kind of liked them. They were going to blow up Voyager to kill the MacroVirus also.

[@russellharrell2747]

I’d think once the translation issues are dealt with, this may be true for real world diplomats as well

[@DonCDXX]

It's a shame we never saw Neelix and Jake Sisko exchange fashion tips before they realize they steal the fabric for their outfits from bus seats.

[@SonarTheBat]

This is like knocking a group of strangers unconscious, kidnapping them, locking them in an escape room and saying "it's just a prank, bro!" when they get out and confront you, threatening to press charges.

[@stephengrigg5988]

So just an average KZbin prank channel?

[@GreysonMacAllister]

"This is Quark's doing somehow." Okay but he's right like 85% of the time.

[@alanpennie8013]

It made police work aboard DS9 super - easy.

[@TheWatcherMark]

Lest we forget, this episode still managed to get more Emmy nominations than the entirety of Baywatch.

[@astrowuff]

What about Baywatch nights?😂

[@BlazingOwnager]

It is absolutely hilarious that Trek has a thing for getting Emmy nods on it's worst episodes. Threshold won an Emmy for effects, too. You could without lying say Threshold and Move Along Home are Emmy nominated episodes of Star Trek.

[@josephmarkese8563]

Bay.. Who?

[@josephmarkese8563]

Twice as many then.. that show..

[@rrrrthats4rs]

The reveal that it was a totally meaningless game with no consequences and Quark totally misunderstood the stakes is so, so funny to me

[@daveroche6522]

Perhaps Quark should have lobbed a few freebie Ferrero Rocher at them a few minutes in? On second thoughts, perhaps not [insert your own 'Ambassadors balls' reference(s) here]....

[@planescaped]

That's the one part of the episode that worked... the rest was straight up TOS goofy.

[@optillian4182]

Armin Shimmerman's performance was fantastic in this episode. I genuinely felt bad for Quark when he begged the Wadi to let his friends live.

[@hariman7727]

And it's such a perfect twist, considering how many alien species are aggressive selfish murderous jerks. These aliens are just jerks with a game they don't explain.

[@rrrrthats4rs]

@@hariman7727 and what is Quark's WHOLE DEAL but trying to win a game that his customers don't know or don't understand they're playing? Super underrated episode

[@optillian4182]

The Wadi is an entire species of gamers. This says a lot about society.

[@LaNoLaCola]

If only Giant Spock was here. I bet he'd enjoy the giant board game

[@Tareltonlives]

Weed helps

[@senorpepper3405]

Go ask alice When she's 10 feet tall.

[@jonathanhoush2384]

"SUP?" -- Giant Spock

[@AnansitheSpider8]

Does Giant Spock have his brain, or did an alien woman steal it? LOL

[@bittertroll7476]

I wonder if alien races look back at their old fashions and think “ what was. I thinking ?? “

[@johndavidtibbetts7320]

sisko and his son is the highlight of any episode no matter how bad

[@morphman86]

"Emmy-award-winning mullet" is something I never thought I'd hear anything being described as past 1997... much less from an episode of Star Trek.

[@Clydoken]

"The Emmy nominated mullet" is not a phrase I expected to hear today.

[@LexysHereAfter]

I enjoyed this episode quite a lot, it was stupid fun. I have a soft spot for sci-fi shows that do bonkers light episodes like this. This being so early in the series does make me think it'd been more interesting after the characters were more developed.

[@Faction.Paradox]

I could easily see this being an episode of TNG's first two seasons

[@j.rileyindependentproductions]

@@Faction.Paradox I can easily see this being rewritten into an episode of Stargate SG1 for almost any season, though best in the earlier ones, and be lauded as a phenomenal episode. I mean, think about it, as SG1 was a show that never took itself too seriously as opposed to Trek (don't hate me for that, TNG is still my favorite show of all time!). Once in the game, at least: Bashir = Jackson Dax = Carter Sisko = Teal'C (the most even-tempered character(s) in the episode, most lines would have to be moved around, but the jokes could stay) Grumpy Kira = Grumpy O'Neill Odo = Hammond Quark = Maybourne Even Bashir's screaming (and why) would be much funnier and more realistic for Jackson, with his calmer, admitting he didn't believe it would work but had to try, tone.

[@jasonbourneistreadstone]

I also enjoyed this episode. Falow was cast perfectly and the interaction between the 4 "players" and Odo and Quark on the outside in the bar is fantastic.

[@ShamrockParticle]

this is "Star Trek meets Doctor Who" and it's wonderfully bonkers

[@olicityfan1150]

Nana Visitor asked on Twitter a year ago about what you call a group of Star Trek actors and someone said an allimarane. She said she loved it, but still gets nervous twitches from hearing the word. Also a person said how Kira looked very uncomfortable during the episode and asked if that was her shining through and she said yes

[@Shades14]

That only makes too much sense. I feel secondhand embarrassment just watching it.

[@michaelnally2841]

My favorite part of this episode is where Quark is forced to sacrifice one of his pieces and begs not to be made. Because he believes one of them will die kinda adding a bit to his character showing while he is a greedy bastard he doesn’t want people to die.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I think that’s the value of the twist. The visiting Aliens want to teach Quark a lesson. His panic when he realized the stakes were a part of that lesson.

[@michaelnally2841]

@@TheDawnofVanlife true although there’s a couple deals Quark makes later that’re questionable and could get many people killed in the process. For the record I haven’t seen all of Deep Space 9 but I did think this was a good episode to show part of Quarks character that wasn’t seen in the first season much.

[@beardlyinteresting]

"Joe Dirt, meets Liberace, meets a wizard" This killed me 🤣

[@FowlFolk]

I...I can't believe I didn't realize that's what Chula stands for.

[@craigh5236]

This episode feels like a D&D session

[@patrickmccurry1563]

With the exasperated DM ending the session with, "Ok! You all fall off a cliff.... and none of it really happened."

[@TeianDown]

I thought the same thing, to the point where I stole the allamarine room for a dungeon in a D&D homebrew campaign I ran years ago. My players, none of whom were Trekkies, figured it out without even triggering a forcefield hit.

[@Shades14]

​@@TeianDown Your players are clearly smarter than how the characters were written.

[@ryancoulter4797]

Kind of liked this one actually. People criticized it but now we live in a world where Escape Rooms are a thing. The scene with the skipping rhyme I remember best because the actors all have this look like they all regret signing on for this.

[@justinwhite2725]

But it works because it's in character going 'what the hell am I doing?' And yeah - escape rooms.

[@explosivooo]

Dude these Star Trek reviews are totally your jam! I don't think I've seen someone so willing to acknowledge the shows faults but also love them at the same time. Please more of these!

[@SwiftNimblefoot]

Agreed, we need more of these. Do the Picard is Robin Hood episode next!

[@danielyeshe]

She is obviously fantastic but you should check out SF Debris.

[@Joe-pd9hj]

Make it so!

[@broodjebamibal]

This episode walked so take me out to the holosuite could fly.

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

I have a real soft spot in my heart for "you can't prove aliens AREN'T like this!" episodes. From giant witch cats in space to gambling space hillbillies, you can't prove aliens won't just be like Earth stuff but SLIGHTLY askew. Avery Brooks was much... kinder to this episode than Jonathan Frakes was to "Code of Honor" when he referred to it as, "That really shitty, racist one we did season one." Though his blunt honesty WAS refreshing.

[@thunderphoenix440]

Yeah, this episode is silly and kinda pointless, but it's not BAD.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

deservedly so. this episode is like a tasty chocolate muffin compared to the faeces sandwich that code of honor was

[@kaitlyn__L]

I saw a Q&A from one of the last conventions he did, where someone asked him his least favourite episode and he started singing the nursery rhyme. And then he said something like “that was just terrible, what were they thinking?”, so he definitely got harsher later on haha

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

@@kaitlyn__L Probably felt a lot more secure in his job and position! That's wonderful.

[@seamusburke639]

Look, "Move Alone Home" isn't good, but it isn't unambiguously racist as shit like "Code of Honor".

[@amazedsatsuma]

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if Wadi show up on Lower Decks as they are the type of random nonsensical aliens that are perfect for 30 minute comedic episode of Trek

[@kamenanew9867]

Honestly true. That'd work out well imo.

[@michaelzaiser8088]

That... would actually be a really good idea that fits the tone of the show. I love it. Hope someone makes it happen.

[@murphy7801]

I mean you'd have like lower decks humour which is subjective in the extreme.

[@FamAD123]

@@murphy7801 Literally all humor is subjective. You're not saying anything with that statement.

[@chengarqordath]

They did briefly show up in Season 3, though it was just for a quick gag of Boimler yelling at them to stop putting people into their games.

[@qlipothian]

If Captain Archer was in this scenario he would have probably killed someone.

[@Faction.Paradox]

And then paced back and forth in front of his chair saying "blah were not going to get everything right.. Blah something about gazelles"

[@Trevin_Taylor]

@@Faction.Paradox then water polo. Trek audiences love water polo. Those writers know what we’re all about.

[@Faction.Paradox]

@@Trevin_Taylor I mean we got Archer shirtless, chainsawing a log with what looks like Dr Zoidberg's intestines on his head, the show peaked there and then! Asking for anything else would just be greed.

[@JonWilsonPhysics]

Or Sterling Archer

[@creativerealms]

It was DS9 doing an episode that wouldn't feel out of place in the Original Series.

[@eamonndeane587]

As in a Third Season Episode of the Original Series?

[@Akira625]

Could you imaging Spock singing "Allamaraine"? lol

[@bootsthecat6718]

"it's like Joe Dirt meets Liberace meets a wizard" 🤣🤣🤣

[@wstine79]

I remember seeing this in second run syndication at 1am. I thought the hopscotch scene was a fever dream I had.

[@Talisguy]

I really wish they'd handled Kira more creatively in this episode, because her utter refusal to play along with this nonsense could have done a lot to shore up the episode if it was played better. This must be old hat for the Starfleet characters at this point, but she's a former guerrilla fighter who's had almost no exposure to the typical Star Trek plots of the week at this point and she has no patience for any of this bullshit. It would've really livened the episode up if she'd brute forced her way through the maze by, say, using components of the puzzles to craft IEDs and blasting her way through the walls.

[@Jokie155]

Having heard more about the writer's insistence on that the whole game be 'actually deadly', which is the absolute worst way of going about such a plot to begin with, yeah I can absolutely believe he was full of nonsense and wasn't at all interested in doing a more nuanced character examination that you'd expect from this kind of epuisode.

[@gregorywiederecht]

@Talisguy definitely agree. She could have been so funny as the one person not on board with the whimsy... it would have made perfect sense, what with her growing up in a perpetual war, and not having a real childhood

[@Talisguy]

@@Jokie155 I'm not looking for a nuanced character study in an episode like this, just that "here's how a no-nonsense resistance fighter reacts to being dropped into Wacky Star Trek Bullshit" could have been something new enough to stop the episode from feeling quite as dull and clichéd as it is. I actually kind of like the twist of them not being in any danger on paper, because fights to the death/deadly games/lethal holodeck malfunctions are so common, but the episode needed to have something else to it besides the game if the danger was all imaginary. The Starfleet characters resignedly playing along while Kira just takes the most blunt, direct path possible through the maze and breaks the game with lateral thinking would have been a good way to spice things up. They kind of tease this possibility in the episode, but aside from her dead-inside recitation of the allamaraine rhyme, they don't do anything amusing with the idea.

[@KhaosAdmiral]

@@Talisguy That absolutely would make the episode absolutely more tolerable because there is something inherently funny about Kira being annoyed with the standard Sci-Fi Bullshit of the week and decides "You know what Fuck it, I'm gonna fix this issue by brute-forcing my way through it"

[@travissmith2848]

Don't know that I'd go that far, but the allamaraine bit really showed glimpses of the characters that could be worked with. Kira was really a "Do I really have to do this silly $#!* ?" so go a bit farther with Sisko's "It is a game so try to enjoy it." And Bashier's "What he heck? Let's do it!" It did a fair job at it, but it really could be used to explore how each character deals with problems and creative solutions.

[@Blacknight8850]

I love the shot at 9:42 because, based solely on Odo telling him four officers are missing, this is Quark instantly deducing "The game is real, my friends are trapped in the pieces and if they die in the game they die for real" through the power of shitty scriptwriting. And reacting by going "... buhh?"

[@NathanTarantlawriter]

Yeppers.

[@alexanderrau7788]

"Emmy nominated mullet" sweet lord, it was, wasn't it?? Jesus you can't make that up 🤣🤣🤣

[@Tadicuslegion78]

You could tell me the writers smoked too much pot while playing chutes and ladders and watching a Fu Manchu movie while typing this script and I'd be 100% convinced that is the truth.

[@daveroche6522]

I still wonder why Steven Seagal didn't just jump out of a nearby space cake, mumble some Schwarzenegger-lite pun and take them down.... "That's why Star Fleet is more than a career - it's an adventure".

[@KonElKent]

Hearing Hobie's voice coming from Jake Sisko is... Jarring.

[@Tareltonlives]

"That's it, I'm getting Jake 2 out of the cloning tank!"

[@vfvfq1279]

Hobie was a Vorta all along !

[@Cdr2002]

@@vfvfq1279”Hobie’s with the Founders!” Mitch 6

[@ComradePhoenix]

I actually love this episode because of how silly it is. Like, a lot of DS9 detractors keep talking about how its 'just darker and edgier', and to an extent, that's true, but that's not the whole story, and this was basically the first episode to truly embrace wackiness, and prove the show wasn't just one note.

[@thunderphoenix440]

The irony is that DS9 probably had the most and best comedy episodes in the franchise (I directly point to "In the Cards" and "The Magnificent Ferengi".)

[@ComradePhoenix]

@@thunderphoenix440 Oh god, I think almost gave myself a hernia from The Magnificent Ferengi.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

@@thunderphoenix440 yeah, if anything that's something I love about ds9. it was a serious show overall, very much so, but it knew when to let its hair down and have some fun. made the serious stuff more impactful as well by giving them something to contrast them against. as much as I adore TNG, it could feel pretty stiff at times and its few attempts at comedy episodes were... less than successful.

[@hariman7727]

@@thunderphoenix440 The Magnificent Ferengi isn't just good comedy, it's good trek. This episode is silly fun.

[@pseudonymous9153]

Did they forget that the final, "darkest and edgiest" season has an episode entirely about playing baseball?

[@dm121984]

10:55 tbf, this moment was one of the only redempting points as it showed Quark wasn't all about profit above all; he wanted to get the missing crew back and couldn't bring himself to kill one to save the others. It was actually an early fleshing out of his character.

[@ragnarhaukursverrisson2755]

In my headcanon, I want to believe that the Wadi returned back through the wormhole after Sisko punched each and every one of them in the throat, only to be immediately blown up by the Dominion, therefore sparing the rest of the universe from ever seeing Wadi and their "Emmy nominated mullets" again.

[@BurnyToast]

And nothing of value was lost

[@alanmackie7012]

The Breen deserved to live, more than the Wadi.

[@cliffordterrell5524]

I can say that I watched every episode of Star Trek back then with my family and we would be amazed at all of them.

[@leigy100]

This horrible episode was nominated for an Emmy Award, something Baywatch NEVER could achieve!

[@MrCOLBSTAH]

I haven't even watched the full episode I just clicked. I saw the thumbnail and immediately went "ELEMERAINE!

[@sockpuppy8811]

I just love how Kira's reaction to Starfleet Shenanigans™ evolve from hating it to joining the fun: S1 Kira: "I didn't sign up to play Space LARP chutes and ladders!! S6 Kira: "Let's shrink this Spaceshuttle to the size of a teacup! Funniest thing ever!"

[@jacks7852]

I'm convinced the emmys were just having fun deciding on which bad trek episode to nominate for an award next. I will say I think the idea of the game not actually carrying any risk could have been used for something interesting in a better constructed episode? Connecting it to the fact that this is a first contact situation and the tension that brings along with it.

[@heywoodjablome9114]

There's an episode of Futurama that plays with that. The Space Harlem Globetrotters come to Earth to challenge humans to a basketball game. Fry asks what happens if they lose, and Bubblegum responds, "Nothing! There is nothing at stake and no threat... beyond the shame of defeat!!" Then the rest of the episode is about time skips and Fry convincing Leela to marry him.

[@cartoonkelly7924]

“Out of how many?” “That’s not important!”

[@markuscriticus8278]

Always great to see you do a Trek review! One thing I will defend, the "it's only a game" reveal, I thought was actually kinda clever. A lot of shows do this trapped in a game/simulation where they are in danger of dying, so you would assume that's the case, but like, why would it, even if those people are dumb jerks, they have no reason to actually put people in danger, that would be absurdly sadistic. After all the nonsense, ending on something so mundanely sensible, it's the one thing I think worked about the ep.

[@amazedsatsuma]

Yea the game was a morality lesson for Quark disguise as being deadly holodeck episode for ds9 senior staff

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

Same

[@ademisc]

It is a fairly literal commentary about getting caught up in a game and taking it too seriously. This is a fine episode.

[@noneya3635]

I had no idea how much I needed Allison’s take on this shitshow of an episode. But this will be the finest 15 mins of my week 💙

[@jonathanhoush2384]

As soon as I saw Quark, I immediately said out loud "oh, no stakes, then, okay!" Also, I have introduced "I've got nothinggg" in the Odo voice to my vocabulary, thank you so much for that

[@prastarkeepers]

Honestly as long as everyone in the game was CONSENTING and everyone knew there was no danger, I agree with Quark in the end. There’s some dang good money in it.

[@dobb7101]

"Emmy Nominated Mullet"! Oh my Nog! You're killing me! This episode was a delight, as always. I love your Manic Trek videos. Thank you and have a nice day.

[@russelldavis1875]

The "It has... many... uses" line delivery makes me bust out laughing at utterly unpredictable intervals throughout my life.

[@lecafard4327]

It's saying something when your fashion sense makes the Ferengi look dialed back. P.s. the Ferengi were the best thing to happen to Star Trek since tribbles.

[@dupersuper1938]

I always liked the "It's only a game" bit. Also seeing Quark - for all his faults - grovelling on the floor begging not to be forced to sacrifice some one.

[@joshuamoore8560]

Allison, you nearly killed me! The hopscotch/nursery rhyme montage nearly made me choke on my cereal. I then proceeded to rewatch it 4 times and came close to dying from laughter.

[@mitkitty]

This episode is honestly appealing to me, i love that stupid weird bullshit

[@michaelpuglisi6767]

I absolutely love this episode, it's so darn fun. Siddig is giving it his all, and Kira is very relatable in that she doesn't want to deal with any of the game's bullshit. It's just magnificently enjoyable all around.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

Ahhhh, but I love this episode in all its foolishness. Modern Trek needs more of this. I like Modern Trek ok, but it hardly ever just breaths with dorky diplomacy situations like this one. I also love your general take on Star Trek. So much fun.

[@FattyMcFox]

I actually love this episode in a weird way, It subverts the deadly game trope wonderfully, the incredulity of the actors lends reality to the incredulity of the characters as they have to do arbitrary thiungs to succeed. You could go deep on the messages of this episode, but it is so goofy, no one would take such an analysis seriously. It was like it was MADE to troll media critics.

[@caitm4138]

I have listened to so many Star Trek recap podcasts. So many! And yet--AND YET--I would give my right eye tooth to hear Allison's take on every single episode instead. She has such a fun take on them, and her delight in the less-than-stellar episodes warms my heart.

[@MabDarogan2]

I'd forgotten this episode. My mind had locked it away. Now the memories are returning. Horrible, horrible memories.

[@cmbeadle2228]

Would love to see the scene where these guys meet the cardassians for the first time and make Gal Dukat play Tic Tac Toe.

[@alionfish5]

Dukat would pathetically lose only to insist he let them win, before killing them all.

[@candidgamera]

"Emmy nominated mullets" :D

[@virginiadare1587]

As Malcolm McDowell nephew, it's easy for Alexander Siddig to have creepy expressions.

[@alanmackie7012]

He's a cockwarp orange.

[@actionfigurestory3347]

Your Star Trek and Charmed reviews always make my day!

[@AllisonPregler]

Thanks so much! And NOICE

[@butterflyminder]

Could not stop laughing, when I wasn't nodding in agreement. You are having WAY too much fun with these Trek reviews and I am here for it.

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Sisko : And in conclusion, Major Kira, that is how the Vulkans were mean to Jonathan Archers dad .

[@AdamKNAC]

Allamaraine, count to four, Allamaraine, then three more, Allamaraine, if you can see, Allamaraine, you'll come with me..."

[@RogueBoyScout]

Choose their path. Double their Peril, Double your winnings!

[@Spikespiguel]

I would degrade myself for more of these Trek reviews

[@sethsassy]

Please don't ever stop making the Star Trek videos. I love them so much.

[@Strideo1]

I like how their dress uniforms are just perhaps marginally fancier looking than their regular uniforms.

[@DenderFriend]

The Wadi returning in Lower Decks after being absent for thirty years is fun.

[@grandetaco4416]

8:10 Kira gets the best line in this. Apparently the whole quadrant knows what surreal crap star fleet gets itself into all the time.

[@grapeshot]

My mom she loved this Star Trek series. I remember when it look like he was going to punch Jean-Luc Picard out. Because of course when Picard was a Borg he destroyed the ship that his wife was on.

[@Vipre-]

Honestly that was just on Starfleet. "We're going to go face a seemingly unstoppable threat we've dedicated serious military R&D to but nah let's not bother sparing a couple shuttles to get the civilians out of the potential line of fire despite us picking both the time and location of the engagement." The Saratoga's captain is lucky he died, that level of bad judgement would be a surefire court martial.

[@BetaRayBenX10]

The entire galaxy needs to know about how awesome your Star Trek reviews are!

[@arnekgriswold9059]

Actually...I love how this is the Shore Leave of DS9. Insane misunderstandings, death on the line, but actually it's OK because they've met someone more advanced than their crazy, savage selves? Totally Shore Leave!

[@gregmark1688]

When it came out, a lot of us referred to DS9 as "To Boldly Sit Where No One Has Sat Before".

[@arlequinelunaire418]

"Bashir, what happened?" "SQUID GAMES!!"

[@derworfnet]

My favourite part of this episode is Odo, sauntering around Quark's, looking bemused and acting like the only sane man in the room.

[@pseudonymous9153]

Odo in every episode

[@tineye5100]

I’ve always loved Move Along Home. It’s funny. It’s campy. It’s satisfying to see Quark get a bit of whatfor as he falls into desperation.

[@Johnsavage1]

Not enough Groppler Zorn.

[@Zeit142]

🎶Allamaraine, count to four! Allamaraine, then three more! Allamaraine, if you can see! Allamaraine, you'll come with me.🎶

[@kamenanew9867]

Never stop doin what you do. I love the dopey and quite believable character voices you make up, just brilliant.

[@markmyers6756]

If you die in the game you don't die for real.

[@EpicBeard815]

Giving Jake the Hobie voice has my synapses firing with crossover potential

[@Tareltonlives]

Does that make Odo Garner?

[@Tareltonlives]

Guido's equivalent is Neelix of course

[@Tareltonlives]

Cut to Sisko sitting on the couch eating burgers while watching Spencer for Hire

[@brianstraight9308]

I always thought this episode was treated harshly. Is it "good?" No. But it's not terrible and I like aspects of it. The "it's just a game" ending to me is funny and a nice sorta-twist. The behavior of Bashir here and him generally in the earlier seasons always made it hard for me to buy the character twist that comes upnwith him later on. I mean, come on.

[@suedenim]

I do like the twist: "What kind of psycho culture do you people have where you play games where if you die in the game, you die in real life?!?"

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

I disagree. obviously it wasn't intended at the time, but we know that Bashir took many actions to draw attention away from himself to prevent people from suspecting that he was engineered (most obviously being intentionally getting a test question wrong). now, it strikes me that if you want people to avoid you that acting like an idiot asshole to make them not want to spend much time with you is not a bad way to do that. this explanation doesn't work for some episodes admittedly, but overall i think it makes sense in 95% of cases.

[@pseudonymous9153]

Early Bashir was never dumb, he was just awkward and annoying. Which fits very well with the character of a superhuman genius. He was also young and inexperienced.

[@brianb5533]

What a great review. I'll be checking out some of your other videos for sure. That slowed down "not what I signed up for" had me in stitches.

[@edisonlima4647]

Awww, that was the first DS9 episode I ever watched and I'm actually fond of it. The idea of presenting a tale of unwittingly betting the lives of your friends in a game and having the audience know that but not the characters only to later on fear you did just that and actually not... that seems like such a fun premise!

[@johnpotts8308]

While this is not a great episode, I've always had a soft spot for it for the last line. Given previous Trek series had done the whole "the crew enters a game...TO THE DEATH!" on more than one occasion, the idea that the game was, in fact, just a game was a good twist (IMO).

[@eljaguar4789]

"We were told you had games" haha now I have to watch this

[@BurnyToast]

Do appreciate going straight for the Hobey 2 voice for Jake

[@Tareltonlives]

"DID YOU PUT A DOG ON BOARD THIS SHIP JAKE 2?!"

[@christopherwall2121]

@@Tareltonlives [Targ going "AROOROOROOROOROO!" in the background]

[@Tareltonlives]

@@christopherwall2121 (Ben swats away empty Slug O Cola can)

[@vurrunna]

Even with all the general wackiness, I always felt this episode did a great job at priming Quark's central character. He's a greedy, selfish son-of-a-gun who'll happily cheat his customers to make a buck, but he then he begs not to kill a member of the crew for his mistake, even admitting that he was wrong to cheat the Wadi. It basically showcases the full range of his personality, and reveals that at the end of the day, he's not as heartless as you might think. Still a sleezeball, though.

[@mister.Ed1]

One of my favorite episodes I don't care what anyone says.

[@mathieuleader8601]

Jumanji in *SPACE*

[@zeathosthomas4847]

Once my favorite part of DS9 showed up, the Jem Hadar, I'd like to think they personally took care of these board game guys before invading the Federation.

[@nekolalia3389]

With how singularly focused they are on gameplay, the Wadi could well be part of the Dominion. (The Founders purposely engineered them wrong, as a joke.)

[@zeathosthomas4847]

@@nekolalia3389 The founders do have a sense of humour.

[@gcooper642]

The head Wadi looks like the villan from Despicable Me 3

[@Cdr2002]

I love that Sisko genuinely sings the alamaraine song beautifully for no reason

[@rodrolliv]

Somewhat hot take, I enjoyed this silly ep more than the one where they play baseball.

[@cmbeadle2228]

To my mind the worst is the one where Worf and Dax go on holiday to the sex planet.

[@limalepakko6074]

The worst one is the one with a horny Dax clone

[@Tareltonlives]

@@cmbeadle2228 THAT was the worst one

[@Slopmaster]

@@cmbeadle2228 Jadzia in a bikini is never a terrible episode rawr…

[@1Embla]

I like the baseball episode, because their characters are all well developed at that point so it's kind of fun to watch the characters in a pretty atypical setting. The Risa episode is also awesome, because that's a very serious and prescient characterization of a lot of culture today. Of course, people have always said what the conservatives in that episode have been. But the mythos of "you people are enjoying your life! You should become rigid stoics and adhere to every form of heirarchy we can find! And if you don't, we'll start being terrorists to prove that we're right!" is 100% relevant in today's age. And in the episode and now, the entire mythos is based on historical fiction.

[@miketate3445]

"Joe Dirt meets Liberace meets a wizard." Thank you for finding the exact words to describe that.

[@top_gallant]

Mario Party meets DS9. It was awesome!

[@jbwarner8626]

It's fun to look at Season 1 of DS9 with its human board games and its fairy tale-averse cloud monsters and its Rumplestiltskin aliens, all framed against the backdrop of a war-ravaged planet trying desperately to rebuild. You can visibly see the show asking itself "Are we still TNG? Are we not? Where are we going with all this?"