The Greatest Generation - Anachronistic Mustache (DS9 S2E25)

Episode Date: August 13, 2018

When Chief O’brien has his vacation plans derailed by the Cardassians, he goes from runabout seat to dentist’s chair in short order. But after his lackluster accommodations on Cardassia Prime are relayed back to Commander Sisko, it’s up to the crew of DS9 to get him rebooked elsewhere. Is there an “Alexander Bubble”? What are the three rules of Greatest Gen? Is Odo stuck in the uncanny valley? It’s the episode that ignores the very spacious “back of a runabout”!

Priority 1 message from Starfleet coming in on Secured Channel. Hey friends of Disodo. Before today's episode, we just wanted to take a moment to talk about the historic labor actions being taken by writers and actors in the American Film and Television industry. If you're a fan of the work done by the people who make Star Trek, we hope you'll join us in standing in solidarity with the folks who actually bring these adventures to life. Over the past several years, the AMPTP, the organization that represents the American Film and Television Production Studios, have reduced the profit from movies and TV going to workers. And in so doing,

they've attempted to weaken the labor unions that represent those workers. They wouldn't even engage the unions on many issues in their negotiations. And so a strike was the only course of action to take. Adam, Wendy and I have been having a lot of internal discussions about how best to stand with the unions and we are continuing those conversations in a dynamic situation. We're doing our best to understand where the picket lines are in these digital spaces,

and we would never intentionally cross one. With the information we have, we feel like we can do more good talking about and supporting the strike and continuing our show as planned. We'll keep you informed about what all this means for greatest trek specifically. Today we're making a contribution to the Entertainment Community Fund. This fund exists to help all the people whose livelihoods have been put on hold because the AMPTP refuses to negotiate

in good faith with the unions. It provides financial support for writers, actors, and all the thousands of laborers who make the shows that we talk about here and without whom we wouldn't have Star Trek to cast pot about. Those folks are all out of work because billionaires, company shareholders, and the executives of these companies don't want to compromise on the length of their yachts. We hope you'll join us in supporting entertainment workers in a challenging time, especially after they've already endured several years of challenges brought on by the pandemic

and season two of Star Trek Picard. We've set up a page where you can also contribute. It's at friendsofdecotoforlabor.com. That's friendsofdecotoforlabor.com. That's friendsofdisotoforlabor.com. Link in the episode description. Okay, now let's get on with the show. Here's to the greatest generation. Deep Space 9. It's a Star Trek podcast.

By two guys who are a little bit embarrassed to have a Star Trek podcast, I'm Adam Pryanaka. I'm Ben Harrison. Ben, the two best showers that are possible to be taken. I've always thought. Are the shower you take before you go camping? Oh, yeah. And then just above that, in the number one position, the shower you take upon returning from camping.

Why is the one before you go camping so good? Because it's the last shower you're going to take for a while and so you really get into all the folds. What folds? Oh, you're putting your leg up on stuff, you're using like the brush on the stick. You're grabbing the faucet, like if you're lucky enough to have a shower with one of those things that you can grab off the spigot and move around. But yeah, and the last time we talked about matters of personal hygiene, the greatest gen Facebook group,

almost self-immolated. So I'm feeling a little hesitant about getting too deep into what your routine is. Oh yeah. Wreck the internet. Adam's bathing habits. That's the quote. Yeah, so I just recently took the post camp shower, the silkwood shower of showers. So I'm feeling feeling alive and refreshed again. Oh good. My wife really loves camping and I am,

I would just say I'm a beautiful husband about camping. I've yet to come around to it, but I know the kind of camping that we do isn't real camping. It's music festival camping and that's not the same. Having traveled on the road with you a bunch, I know that you're nothing if not dutiful.

You're dutiful! Then I gotta tell you, one of the bands I saw at this music festival that I was at, one of our good buddies puts on this music festival. It's in the town of Carnation, Washington, it's called the Timber Music Festival. And it's a yearly thing that our buddy Phil does every year. And I went to it this year as I do every year and one of the bands on the bill, Ben was named Beverly Crusher. Whoa! Cool!

They had my attention with the band name. I hadn't heard a single bar of their work. I thought you were gonna try and put out a pilsner named Beverly Crusher. Right, that'd be a great name. What's the brewery that puts out the Star Trek theme beers? What are they called?

I don't know. They put out a couple of them already. They've put out the Klingon Porter and also the, yeah, the Klingon Imperial Porter is made by the Schmaltz Brewing Company. You really want to name your beer after chicken fat, don't you? And I was just gonna say, like a rendered after chicken fat, don't you? And they also just gonna say, like, rendered poultry fat, it does not make me think beer.

And they also have a pilsner, which is probably the more crushable of the two, but yeah, they should really make the Beverly Crusher, the crushable logger. Yeah, you can use that for free, Schmaltz Brewing Company company Yeah, use it for free as long as you send it for free. Yeah send us send us each a 24 pack So Beverly Crusher is a punk band cool and they they lit the stage on fire they were fucking great I heard they will highest recommendation just recommendation, just a strong three-piece. Man, is this them at beverelycrusher.bancamp.com? That is them.

Cool. And you enjoyed their music? I did. You know, like music is subjective. I don't imagine it would be for everyone, but they were most definitely for me, along with a really great t-shirt that I picked up. So we'll be, I know Ben, you've instituted a strict no t-shirt on stage policy for all greatest

gen live shows, I understand that, but maybe I could ask for a little bit of leeway for the Beverly Crusher shirt. I mean, as long as you're not wearing one of our pieces of merch on stage, I think I can get down with it. Would never do that. Oh, man. I just, I was Googling them and I discovered on a Reddit post.

I play in a band called Beverly Crusher and recently had a stroke. Somehow, my friends managed to pull this off while I was in the hospital. They got him a signed by Gates McFadden, him or her, I guess I don't know the gender of this poster, signed by Gates McFadden photograph of Beverly Crusher. Wow, very cool. Ben, there's been a piece of mail that's been on my desk for a while and it's been a piece of mail that's been on my desk for a while and

It's been a it's been an uncharacteristically low mail part of our existence I thought before I let too many more weeks go by I might open it. I could go for a little mail segment. How about a mini mail call I'm receiving a code 47 Verify it is code 47. Verify. It is code 47, sir. Stockly emergency frequency. Captions eyes only. Ben this message comes to us postmarked from Ben C. He's from South Carolina. Ben has attached extra postage because he has sent me a natural Alexander Roshenko card.

Whoa! Oh my God, Ben, this is... So it's a folded up, letter-sized piece of paper. Sure. The Roshenko is inside. It's autographed, as the Roshenko is. It has a single handwritten line.

It says, Yeagers are out. Alexander's are in. Period. That's in. Period. That's it. That's it. Wow. Is it in the same style

as the written house card packs we'd been opening up? It is. I will, if you'll allow me, I will Jackie and Laurie show you a picture. I'll allow it. Remind me, what is the actor's name that played Alexander Rishenko? Yeah, side by the great and late John Stoyer, so

Pretty cool gift there from Ben C. Thanks, dude Thank you Ben C Not sure if I totally agree that the anger is out, but I will say that Alexander is here Yeah, I don't think that they I don't think it's a zero-sum game. What I can tell you is that there is no Alexander bubble yet. Yet I doff my cap to you as someone who may or may not be attempting to create an artificial Alexander bubble. Yeah, that's a strong opening move in a bubble creation scheme. Speaking of strong moves, Ben, we've got a strong episode coming up on the show today.

Why don't we pivot on over to that? It's Deep Space 9 Season 2 Episode 25 Tribunal. How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many?

How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many?

How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? How many?

How many? How many? How many? How many? How many? thing where he's like downloading everything everybody needs to know and we are perfectly capable of running this place by ourselves for a week I think this is something a lot of us do like over estimating how important our contribution is at work Like everybody is like yeah chief we can fucking Handle a week without you here turning your ranch on everything. Like, this is the total, like, this is the opposite of ghosting a party. Like, he is saying goodbye to everyone. Yeah, he's doing the saying goodbye without leaving,

which contrary to the Irish goodbye, which is leaving without saying goodbye. Right. Ben, as we all know, there are three rules that the greatest generation prescribes to you every time. Yeah, the three rules of greatest gen acquisition. Rule number one. No reclining of a seat on an airplane. Never.

Rule number two. I don't remember what rule number two is. Do you? No. We just... Oh my God, we just... Ah, we hope. Somebody write in, we do need to make a running list.

Rule number two, question mark. Rule number three, always leave a party without saying goodbye. Hahaha. I'm a, in my 30s, developed a technology of leaving my own party without saying goodbye. Like, we've had house parties where I just went to bed. God, that is the best. I don't know. This is not talking. I just school to say this.

John Roderick famously did this at Max von Kahn. Do you remember that? No. He hosted a party at his condolet there. And as soon as there's a moment in every party where the party starts and there's the amount of people that people were expecting, and then there's a moment where the party gets swole.

Yeah. Too many people maybe. The exact moment where the party gets swole. Yeah. Too many people maybe. The exact moment where the party got swole, John went into his bedroom and shut the door behind him, like to like lay down and read. Yeah. It was great. Fun. The greatest part about that was that his bedroom was on the other side of the door where the party was happening. It was like three feet away from him. Yeah, I mean, we've already gone into the reasoning why I never will hide your seat on an airplane, but the reasoning behind why you don't do the say goodbye to everybody and give them a ton of like information, download, knowledge dump before you leave is exactly described in this scene where everybody is so eager to

get rid of him and he is so eager to cover his bases before he leaves that by the time he does actually leave they all turn around and start talking shit about him and he does that thing where he like pops back up on the elevator. You're on leave. Please disembark this station. I did that to a roommate in college one time where he was like, he was like bugging me in our dorm room and walked out the door and I turned to my other roommate and was like, God, give me a fucking break with that guy.

He is so annoying. And my other roommate said, is he right behind you? And I go, no! And I just hear him cruise past me in the hallway saying, I heard what you said. The overly theatrical no is the only way you can respond in that moment. Yeah, the no where you go up and active. The know that could be perceived as like an intentional bit. Yeah, exactly. It's the only refuge you have and it doesn't work, but it's the closest thing there is to working. Otto Brian's way to the runabout pad.

He runs into an old buddy from the Rutledge days. Yeah. This guy's name is boom. Boom. Oh, it's been a long time. It's like backslaps and high fives and, uh, boon looks like a guy who sells Russian dumplings out of a food truck. He's got a very specific look, I think. Yeah. And a great voice. Boon really reads as a boon. Yeah, really powerful mustache.

So much of my authority is derived from the power right here. Future mustache game is not so much of a thing, but it is for boon. Yeah, boon is keeping the mustache flame lit and lit in a big way. They have one of those conversations where, you know, you run into somebody that you've not seen in a long time, but you're also in a hurry.

Yeah. Which is tough, you know, you're like, you're trying to show that person that it really means something to you that you're seeing them, but also you're gonna be, you know, you're gonna be setting your balls down on a grill every second longer this takes you.

And that grill is hot. So Boon was on the Rutledge with O'Brien. They dropped the name of a battle that they were in. Boon is no longer a starfleet. He's now a farmer, is that right? Yeah, like most people in Star Trek these days. He's a farmer. He retired into farming.

But also, you want to take it easy once you retire, right? With hard manual labor. But he is also a podcaster secretly. Because in the next scene, we see him take out his Zoom H4N recorder. Yeah. Play back a little bit of the wave form of O'Brien speaking to him. The recording is good. Good levels. Yeah, nice levels, very clear, not overmodulated at all. Yeah, no peaking, nicely done, Boone. Good job, Boone.

We get the backstory that this is the O'Brien family's first vacation in five years, so of course they're going to do that without the kid. Yeah, I mean, like Molly's too young to remember the vacation, let's be honest, and also, you know, O'Brien and Kiko may not have had sex since she was born. You're an engineer, do something about it. Yeah, they really make with the horny, pretty fast. Yeah, they're attempting to jump each other pretty fast. Yeah, they're they're they're attempting to jump each other's bones in the cockpit of the runabout. Another another scene that ignores the very spacious back of a runabout. Ben, what do you think it's called when people fuck on a runabout? Like it's not it's not my high club. Obviously. Right. They're not

on a road so you couldn't give anybody road head. Yeah. Is it win a bingo? Fuck it is isn't it? It totally is. It's win a bingo. Yeah. They've got a horde gun as a hood ornament. Yeah. This is this is also the seed and where the all the credits roll over directed by Avery Brooks this episode.

How about that? And a fun episode, like a lot of fun directing. Like their interaction as a couple is so naturalistic compared to some of the stuff on this show. The kind of quippy banter that they have feels very like lived in, like they're two people that actually are married. And like the way the way they get romantic is like kind of that like fun awkwardness, like does this thing tilt back? thing tilt back, like, you know, when you're having fun underpants time with your spouse, like it's not always like slow motion with curtains blowing and candles lit and Kenny

G playing in the background, you know, like sometimes there's a little hijinks. I liked all of that about this scene. One thing that was sort of a buzzkill though, Ben, was the stranger leaning in from the back saying, you're really blowing it, dude. She's just not that into you. Yeah. Yeah. If you want the backstory on that,

listen to the greatest discovery episode from a couple of weeks ago when we read a comic book. Look, A.O. K.O. for sure, right? Yeah. It's a scene that really starts with K.O. seeming to be unredeemably angry with him. And they like have actually a healthy relationship moment here where he notices what an asshole he's being and like shuts it down and starts being present for her.

They don't get too far along with the makeouts before a Cardassian ship shows up on the sensors and the computer is the one to tell them. Been the timing of the scene is crucial because had this ship been picked up even five minutes later, could have really been a scene. Yeah. Had this episode been made ten years later, Could have really been a scene. Yeah. Had this episode been made ten years later, it could have been a scene. Right. Yeah. Gullivec could have seen it going in. Yeah, Gullivec shows up on the FaceTime and it's a random pullover for inspection.

Is what he's proposing and he does not give them much of a choice in the matter. Shut down your drive and come to a full stop. And you know, like they kind of argue the like we're nowhere close to the Cardassian border thing. And he's like, yeah, like, well, the, you know, under US law, the, the borders consider to be up to 100 miles within the the border and ice can pull you out over at any time and demand your papers, please. And so from the moment they're on scene

to the moment where O'Brien is being detained and taken away, it happens in like 40 seconds. Right. Shit goes down really fast and it is deeply troubling to watch like there's Prudestations in the beginning. I demand to know what I'm being accused of. And then full on Assault by the Cardassians. I'm not going anywhere with you. O'Brien is eventually shot and beamed off the ship, leaving a crying and screaming cake-o behind. Like, it's such a hard emotional left turn, like the amount of fun that they were having before this happens. It really gives you the bends, you turn, like the amount of fun that they were having before this happens.

It really gives you the bends, you know, like your, like shit, it's devastating really. It helps. It helps to have the beginning to make the end more powerful. Like I think it's very well done. I agree. And we get to see the surface of the Kardashian home world here, which is very or well-earned. Like the architecture is very fascist. There's like screens everywhere with just kind of a head saying, you know, kind of like

the 1984 Apple commercial head speaking to the populists about proper Cardassianness or something. And Brian gets like hauled into a prisoner processing center that they tell him that he's gonna be in the central prison on Cardassia Prime. He keeps doing the prisoner of war, like name, rank, serial number thing. And they don't care that much.

They turn him around and rip his clothes off. It's a classic Cardassian prisoner treatment. Get them naked. Right away. They are the Lindy England's of the galaxy. It's an episode that pays off a call back that DuCa introduces several episodes back, which is like how the Cardassian Judicial System works. And it combines that with the experience that we've seen that Picard went through. Like there are many things about this initial processing scene that seem familiar, beginning with the stripping and the lights and the dentist chair. Yeah, they're taking hair clippings and teeth out of them.

But Ben, they don't even put down a paper sheet on that leather chair before they stick a Brian into it and you just don't know how many people have sat in there. It's almost like they don't even care that much about cleanliness. Yeah, that moment really squicked me out. Yeah, so gross. That one, that moment really squicked me out. Yeah, so gross. Yeah, I mean, like, if you could have had a scene in TNG where somebody said something like the thing Ducat says about his system of jurisprudence and you might never have seen it again.

Is like a few episodes later and we are getting an object lesson in Cardassian jurisprudence. a few episodes later and we are getting an object lesson in Cardassia and Juris Prudence. Yeah and it's at one of our favorite characters. I mean if I think you can do some headcan in here about what an episode would be like using any of our main DS9 characters and I think O'Brien's probably the guy that makes you feel the most empathy. He's more of a teddy bear than almost anybody. And like the injustice of it is so present here. Like we know that O'Brien is not a big fan of the Kardashians, but it's also impossible to imagine that he did anything to deserve what is happening to him.

It is very Kafka-esque. The idea of him just being taken from his life and being told that he's on trial for something and then not being told what he's on trial for and being told that it's already done, like you just need to experience what this trial will be and then you'll be executed. And so all of O'Brien's questions are responded to with you don't need to know style answers. Right. Yeah, and to interrogate a little bit further, what I just said, like the idea of what he deserves is a cultural difference in this episode. Like, the Cardassians believe themselves

to be kind of infallible in terms of their approach to justice and their idea that you're guilty and incapable of being proven innocent and that like the idea of a trial means something very different to Cardassians than what it does to people that live in the federation. So it's kind of a like fish out of water culture shock story as much as it is a story about him being having an injustice visited on him. O'Brien is fairly unflappable throughout and it begins from jump right? He said he said a tooth taken out of his head and there is never a moment where he really even raises his voice to a scream and I feel like screaming is warranted in his situation.

He's very composed. Yeah, like I feel like the guy would hear him a lot better if he told him, Instead he's like dare for lights. Just kind of, you know, normal tone of voice. Like the one way that Kalamini really affects his pronunciation is saying fur instead of four. So be like, dare are fur lights. That's it. Something like that. That's the winner. I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a rain, come to a Ford, I'm a Ford, I'm a rain Not be gone, not be gone, not be gone, exactly. Into the room steps Mach Bar,

I'm Mach Bar. Who seems to like take control of the proceedings and she is unhappy that O'Brien has been fucked with and wounded. I apologize for the way you've been treated Mr. O'Brien. The person who has processed him is never seen again, basically. Yeah. All of those people just process people all day.

It's not, you know, they don't change the routine for anybody, even the chief Arcan, Macbar. Macbar has the hair of that like triangle office worker from Dilbert. Ha, ha, ha. Yeah. She has a lot of thoughts about how men should have more rights.

Sure. She also has the political leanings of how men should have more rights. Sure. She also has the political leanings of a Dilbert artist and creator. Yeah. She's like, hey, maybe fascism, not such a bad idea after all. But she is most definitely portraying herself as good cop to the processors bad cop. Like, she comes in almost nice about things. Yeah. Like, hey, buddy, sorry, they roughed you up a little bit.

We're just going to whisk you right through this trial and on your way to the chopping block. So, so just hang in there, buddy. You'll be dead in a jiffy. Don't you wear your pretty little head about it. Yeah. Back on the station, we get, we get the conversation between Cisco and Keko. This is a big diplomatic incident. Like Starfleet has even gone to the extent of scrambling several starships, including the entrepreneur to the Cardassian border. And he is, you know, keeping his fingers crossed that the diplomaticness of this incident will cause the Kardashians to reconsider what they're doing.

And she's like, yeah, okay, that's nice. But like, we're talking about something that will potentially take several days or weeks. Dude is being tortured now, Ben. Like, what are we doing about it? This is two straight scenes featuring Kiko where like her paranoia at what is happening to her absent husband is laid bare. Like she is legit freaked out and for good reason. And everyone in that room knows what's happening to him.

Oh, no. Not. Oh, it was bedside manner. Not great here. Because Odo is like, yeah, you're right. He's really getting work done. I just want to read you a note from my sheet of notes here. Odo, and then arrow, no bedside manner.

Then I know that story efficiency means that we could never get this scene, but I really wanted the scene where the cadassians leave the runabout and Kiko inside, and she just looks down at the controls like How the fuck am I supposed to get home? Computer go to deep space 9. I'm sorry. I can't find deep space 9 in your music library It just plays deep purple tracks

Like she just stays out there in the RV until O'Brien's tortured and killed. Yeah, yeah. Cut to end music. But yeah, the, you know, they get, they get word from Machbar. She gets on the FaceTime and she's like, hey, great news.

So I got your husband. He's gonna have his trial and then we'll kill him in a couple of weeks. So just wanted to give you that little update. All right, bye. And just goes like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. And they started asking questions. The significance of the trial is kind of new to them as well.

Like they did not all take Cardassian civics in high school. And the foregone conclusion is it comes as a real shock to them. The fact that the charges have not been announced comes as a real shock to them. And Kiko is still there. Like she's still, she's present and gets into the conversation quickly. She's demanding information and Mark Barr is not willing to give it. The only demand that really does seem to land is odors. demanding information and Mark Barr is not willing to give it. The only demand that really does seem to land is odors. I volunteer to serve as Nestor in this trial.

Yeah, and this is really great inside baseball because Odo knows how this system of justice works. And he has been given credentials of a Nestor Republic. Like, he's got the stamp at his desk and everything. Like, he's ready to go. I can emboss paper just as well as anyone else, Mark Barr. And, and, and,

Mark Barr is resistant to his joining of the trial. And it's a great scene because Odo can challenge her in a, like, using her vocabulary in a way that makes sense. It's a lot of fun. Another scene that kind of further exposes what a weird position Odo has as like a guy who believes in justice systems, not necessarily on their own merits,

but just as systems. Like he was just as involved with the Cardassian one as he is at the Federation Bajorin one. So the big takeaway from the scene is that Odo has talked his way to Cardassia and he's taking Kaka with him. Yeah, she's got the right to be present for the trial and he's thrown his hat in the ring, not as Obrayan's lawyer, but as his kind of advisor.

Yeah, O'Brien has a lawyer and he comes in the form of conservator Kovat and Kovat right away encourages confession because the whole idea of this trial is to make it seem to the Cardassian public that just as is being served in a quick and efficient manner. I thought it was interesting that O'Brien's prison garb is very similar to LaRelle's prison garb in Star Trek Discovery. I thought the same, yeah.

Sort of a more formal look, though. Yeah, yeah. It's a little black prison jumpsuit. Yeah, a little murdered out compared to LaRelle's, but a lot of the same ideas in there. I don't have a lot of faith in conservator Corvettes ability to get O'Brien freed from his circumstance, and neither does O'Brien.

Have you ever won a case? Winning isn't everything. Ever will in case. Winning isn't everything. designed essentially as a piece of propaganda, you know? Like the benefit of the trial is self-evident to him because it helps the common folk on Cardassia feel more confidence in the unwavering abilities of the Cardassian government. And the fact that like O'Brien has no dog in that fight and is primarily concerned with his own personal safety, it goes right over Kovats head, like they're speaking to

each other from two totally different points of view and basically can't get to a point of understanding. I think it's instructive to compare this episode at least a little bit to chain a command because this is the second scene of several where O'Brien has given a chance to break or lash out or otherwise fall apart and he just doesn't. He's unflappable and like there's something about Picard falling apart in Chain of Command that put you on his side forever. Like it made the two-part episode that much stronger,

it made it dark and sad, it made it scary. But I think it's useful to be scared in a circumstance like this. And when O'Brien never demonstrates that fear, like there's only so far I can go with him as a viewer down that path. You know, were you wanting him to be like to move his needle a little bit more emotionally? I kind of did. I guess so.

I mean, I think that this is more about the scenes that we see him in, like he's never gonna put in a situation where he can be vulnerable because he's always, you know, up on his own two feet and like the one scene where he's really getting abused is when he's being processed. He's never broken, you know, and never quite gets to that here.

You know, you bring up a great point with the episode being very seiny, and you're totally right. Like, this is not a character episode. By the end of it, I do not feel like O'Brien is a changed man in the way that Picard clearly is after Chain of Command. Yeah. And that's not what this episode is setting out to do.

So, I think, like, to the extent that we do get that, it is through Keko. Yeah. And, you know, I think because the episode is not trying to be that it maybe works better through Keko. Keko is freaking out because O'Brien has not had his three o'clock coffee and the headache is starting to sit in. Yeah, she's like, you don't want to be around him

when he has an Addis after him coffee. It is not pretty. He is definitely an escape risk at this point. Odo pays O'Brien a visit in jail. And O'Brien's like, this is great. You're going to take me home, right? I was like, sorry, bud. Yeah, Odo is there to, this is great. You're gonna take me home, right? I was like, sorry bud. Yeah, Odo is there to be the go between, between two scenes. There's a scene that happens before

where people meet in a brand new set on Deep Space 9. It's a, it's Weapons Locker 4. And they find that some photon torpedoes have gone missing. And so when Odo shows up on Cardassia, he arrives as a friend and familiar to O'Brien, but immediately pivots into some hard questions about those missing torpedoes. It's interesting, like, I feel like Kira and Dax,

and even to some extent, Cisco, are kind of willing to entertain the idea that O'Brien actually did this crime. This is, as far as anybody can tell the crime that he's going to be accused of when the trial starts stealing torpedoes in order to help the Maki arm themselves. You know, Cisco's kind of playing the fence. He's like, I want to determine definitively one way or the other whether this was the chief, you know, we have an audio recording of him entering this room right before he left and we know that the torpedoes were believed to have gone to the

runabout and you know like whoever did this knows a lot about transportors, all of that points at the chief. I want to find out if it really was him. But you know, the tech auto takes and like, Kira takes especially is like, why'd you do that, Chief? And I like that Bashir is like really riding for O'Brien, you know? Like in the scene where they go into the cargo bay, Bashir is like, what are we talking about here? This is Chief O'Brien! He is not that dude.

I don't believe it. Two and a half seasons of character. We know this guy. Yeah, I like that. It's a good scene for Bashir. Yeah, totally. And the cell, Odo kind of pimps O'Brien into a great monologue about duty

and about how he considers himself and the sort of model he thought he was and what he wants to be for his family and his daughter specifically. Yeah. And I smoothed out a lot of appeal for Odo like that. That helps Odo find a way to not treat O'Brien as potentially the guy, you know. Ben, I got a question for you. The Kardashians know Odo is a shape shifter.

They know this. Sure. So if they know that, why do they let him into the cell? It's like letting in a cake with a file inside it, because Odo is the cake and the file. Yeah. Could Odo turn himself into a suit that could surround O'Brien and disguise the both of them, do you think? Oh, like O'Brien is wearing an Odo.

But they look like a Kardashian? Yeah. That would be fucking great, right? Except for Odo can't make himself look like that good of a pejorant. Yeah, it's, yeah, there are limitations to Odo's for similar to, right? Yeah, Odo is stuck in the uncanny valley, So if he tried to go to a Cardassian look,

it would be imperfect. Odo D'Assian's like, DURR! He just looks like a very melty Cardassian trying to leave the cell. Herp DURR, I love the state. I'm a fascist DURR! You got any of that?

Yamaksas? I love it on everything. I've been swimming in Yamaksas, and I love it. Anyways, after my galore class battleship. That would be so fun. Like the bug and men in black, he just kind of staggers out. And everyone's like, oh, what's wrong with that guy? Oh boy, really hit that card asking with the ugly stick. The rose.

So, so we come back to the station and DX has done some audio analysis on this recording of O'Brien opening up the cargo bay. You know, like he got voice print analysis and the computer was satisfied that it was him and led him into this room with high powered weapons. And DAX has been able to determine that this was a reconstructed voice file. And not only that, Cura has nailed O'Brien's old buddy Boone. Boone! Boone!

That's it, I didn't expect he would come back into this story. Oh, it's been a long time! Ben, this is something that any audio professional can do. For example, I can make you say this. I love to stroke it with rendered poultry fat. Using words that we've already said in the episode. Yeah, that's fucked up. So it has become pretty clear that there is a shadow of a doubt on the accusation that Gifo

Brian provided wordheads to the make-wease. When the trial starts, the feeling for O'Brien is not so much resignation, but it's defiant, right? Like he's dragged into that court, there are rules that the court has to follow. Machbar is the judge. She's banging her gavel and she's asking him questions and she's asking him to say things and he is like, he's flip. Yeah. And it was flip too. Odo has kind of coached him. Like he wants O'Brien's vibe to be, I'm an, I'm an innocent. And this is gonna, like, if they manage to pull this off,

this is gonna be a real head fuck for the Cardassian viewers at home watching on Cardassian court TV, because they've never seen a trial where somebody's innocence was established. Even Keko is saying things with that attitude. Like, I don't know, like, there's a way to take something like this seriously, but what they're doing doesn't necessarily read as that.

Right. Yeah. How Bashir was in the Mirror universe when he's answering questions from Odo. She comes in and there's this amazing God shot of her, because everything is kind of from the Arcan's point of view or from the point of view on the floor, and the Arcan is sitting super high up. Her judges stand is up on a couple of risers. And they take the idea of if this is true about the Cardassian, Justice System, what else is.

And the first thing is like Kiko has given an opportunity to announce her husband, which is like, there's like a, you know, a right in the American legal system that you don't have to do anything in court that would incriminate your spouse. And it's the opposite in Cardassian court, like, which is a fun, it's a fun yes and to the thing that Gildou Kat said that,

that gave us this episode. Right. But, uh, Odo must be shape shifting his balls to be quite large because he, uh, gets out there and starts arguing O'Brien's case pretty quickly and they're like, hey, shut up. You're not actually allowed to talk here. And he's like, I don't care. I believe he's innocent. And he's got new evidence that he's trying to introduce. It's the evidence that we saw back on DS9 about this dialogue being doctor to the weapons locker. And this is driving conservator, Kovac crazy.

He thought he was going to be able to coast through this trial. Right. And it's really not happening. And he said a couple of things like, I'm like a year from retirement. Like he's, he's almost out of the game, but he's got like one last big mission. So he's getting a little too old for this shit. Yeah, like from Covets perspective,

he's De Niro in heat, basically. Right. And, and he does a lot of like, Cardassian virtue signaling, like, I don't, I don't want to prove anybody innocent here. This is not what I want in this trial. So just for the record, if anybody asks, I'm not a fan of this way of proceeding.

Your owner, please do not confuse my efforts as any sort of example of me given a shit pursuant to my client. We really do a lot of cross cutting between DS9 and the trial and what's going on on DS9 is that Boone is dragged into a conversation with Cisco and Kira and what's made clear is that his life has sort of fallen apart after the events of set lick three. Yeah and you know he's got he's got all of the gripes that you that you talk about as a as a make-weease as a guy on the wrong side of the the treaty but they're like hey why have you not been in touch with your parents or your wife for a long time? And he's like, you know, no reason. Don't get along.

They're like, that's not what they said. Yeah, they said they've been missing you big time. Yeah. Or whatever. Yeah, they send Christmas cards, they don't hear back. Very, very hurtful. What's that about, buddy? Do you think this guy wouldn't be so suspicious if he didn't have an anachronistic mustache? Well, he doesn't have like a mirror universe mustache.

He's got like a, he's got like a cop mustache. He's got a Magnum PI mustache. But you never see that mustache in Star Trek. Yeah. It makes him conspicuous from the start. Well, we also, we also get the C and Nourish year, like, is, uh, he's in the infirmary late at night and tries to turn the lights on. They don't go on. He's like standing there clapping like an idiot and the lights aren't turning on. Yeah, hey Siri, and he gets paid a visit by a shadowy figure. This is Boone, right? Boone!

Is it? I don't know. They never tell you who this is. I feel like they're establishing a character here. That's why. I get a Boone. This is someone that's gonna be paid off. I mean, that's all I can imagine.

I think it's Bishir covering his voice. He's done it before. Yeah, this is Mayquease Batman. Mayquease? Here to tell Bishir that boon is not a Mayquease and that they're not behind this obriand getting stuck in Cardassian death row situation. Which is, you know, the Make Weasts have an image

that they've earned and they want to uphold it, you know. The Make Weasts don't allow facial hair. Anyone who is in the Make Weasts knows that. It makes it incredibly difficult to put on a final mask. This galaxy deserves a much better form of personal landscaping. It's incredibly painful to take off the bat mask if you have even a little bit of facial hair. You merely adopted using Nair, Batman. I was born using it. I was born using it. Back at the trial, O'Brien does not want Keko to be there for the execution.

There's a little bit of a private moment between them. Unclear whether Keko would actually stay for it, I get the feeling that she would. You know, she's in this fight and... Keko's rugged, she's had her school blown up before. Like, she's been through some scrapes. She ain't scared. No. So we got like, uh, you know, witness Gully Beck

and Odo has just like fully inserted himself into the stride at this point. Like, he's like asking questions, he's demanding things of the court. And there's a proportional response from Kovat, right, who is just like a total boot lick at this point. Like he's taken Macbars boot and just shoved it totally down his throat. Which is fun, like there's a proportionality to it. The more on edge, Odo becomes,

the more ask hissy Kovat becomes. The anger of the Arkon is probably the biggest problem, right? Like, she's gonna have, say, eventually, about what happens to Brian. And it feels a little bit like bad defense attorney to be so antagonistic the way Odo is being. Odo just like doesn't know any other way to be. He never plays politics, you know?

He just pursues the thing he thinks is right a thousand percent. You know, it occurs to me that there may be such a thing as like a form of character trust with him. Like he already he already demonstrated his bona fides up front with with reference to him being a nester when no one else knew what that was. Yeah. So you sort of have to trust that, like, that his strategy here is sound in some way, even though we have no reason to, like, there's no corroborating evidence that would have us believe that.

Yeah, but also, like, everything the story is telling us is that the Kardashians are not interested in any of the kind of shit he's trying. Morning. Morning. It's sweet. Morning. Morning. Morning. Morning. Have a time. One thing I really wish we got to show sort of the passage of time, but also how dire

the circumstances become, or maybe how unordinary the trial has become, is like a scene back to the exterior where like maybe a growing number of people are watching the trial on the screen. Yeah. So as to demonstrate that this is, you know, much longer than it usually takes and this is an outlier form of a trial, as it is, the variables are contained within this courtroom. And the idea of this being a show trial is only paid lip service to, it sort of seems like the OJ Simpson saga trial of the century to the Cardassians and when they talk about it, but we never get the sense that the way this is proceeding is causing a problem for them.

The trial is there to demonstrate to the Hoy-Palloy on Cardassia that the government is in control and in charge and knows what's right and never makes mistakes. And it's fucking spinning apart, you know, like it's, you would want people to be at least reacting to it. You would want to like get a sense of what or just get a set like, okay, like the government like stopped streaming this feed, you know, like, yeah, like someone should pull the plug on it. But as it is, like when this story comes to a point and a climax is when Cisco and Boone come in from stage right? Right. They've,'ve they've they've hauled boon into the infirmary and verified something about him that explains why he hasn't really been hanging out with his family for the last eight years. As soon as he's

delivered to the courtroom the trial stops. Like the Arkon like the fact that he shows up is all the Arkon needs to decide that the trial is over. She's like, all right, you're guilty or whatever, but we're going to commute your sentence. We're going to turn you back over to Starfleet. Sorry for the hassle. This is a demonstration of how magnanimous we are. It is the ultimate way in which this episode becomes about the macro story instead of

the micro story like you were describing earlier. Yeah. Like this was never about the trial. This was about something bigger. Yeah. And what it turns out being about is that Boone was never Boone. Yeah. He was a re-skinned Cardassian.

A Cardassian with a mustache. Imagine that. You know what, he might have gotten away with it too, if he just didn't have that pesky mustache, right? Right. The plan was sort of interesting, right? It's so not about O'Brien, that's what's amazing. Right, O'Brien is entirely caught up in it.

The trial was about establishing an official relationship between the Federation and the Makewies, and in making that public during the trial, it was going to be used as a reason to undo the treaty and give cover to the idea of Cardassians attacking the colonies on the other side of the DMZ. Yeah. And like, Michael Bryan, the co-that is kind of, fucked over by the situation. He's won his first trial, which is not his job. And like, we go out on him saying, like, they're going to fucking kill me. But it's sort of played as a slide whistle, too. Like you rarely get a guy saying, well, I'm dead. And have it being kind of a laugh line. Yeah, that that that that. Yeah,

but it's slide whistle after slide whistle because the last scene is on the runabout on their way home where O'Brien is being told that he really deserves a vacation and a cup of coffee for going through what he did. So from one prison into another, O'Brien goes. And he says like, but I don't have any summer beach reading. And Kiko's kind of takes that as her opportunity

to let everybody know that they're gonna fuck. They clearly aren't allowed to use the replicator on board the runabout, right? Yeah, that's not a good beat of writing. That's like writing that forgets what universe this is taking place in. It's betting that you don't know that there not a good bit of writing. That's like writing that forgets what universe this is taking place in. It's betting that you don't know that there's a back area to the run about. Yeah, that's not a good bet, yes, nine writers.

Yeah, I'm going to win that bet every time. Did you like this episode, Ben? Yeah, I liked it was a nice little bottle episode, a little cops and robbers where we win. It doesn't necessarily make a big difference for like larger story arcs, but it's, you know, it's deep space nine saying, okay, we've got the established Mikey. We've got the, this interesting idea about what jurisprudence looks like on Cardassia. Let's make a little bottle episode about it. And I mean, I don't know if we've been to Cardassia Primate, but I really like seeing that.

Yeah, I did too. I mean, I like the story without the bookends. I know the reason they're there, like you need an inciting incident and you need a conclusion that softens the horror of what this thing was for O'Brien, but I think it soffins it too much. Like I would have liked to have felt more deeply for O'Brien's circumstance and to feel like he was in true danger. And I think the bookends to this story make that impossible. In a way that I feel like could have served the story even more.

Yeah. I mean, I like it. It's a great O'Brien episode. He gets a great monologue here. It's well directed by Avery Brooks. I think he's competent. If he's not competent, he is very good at directing. Yeah, I don't know how much directing he'd done before this, but if this is his first time at the show, he did great. Like a lot of first time Star Trek directors, not a lot of flash, and I think that's good.

Like you don't want to have your compositions really stand out. And I think Freaks was like that the first time he directed and so was Lavar Burton. Like it wasn't, hey, look at me style directing of compositions and actors. Everything looked very lived in and natural, and that's good. It's a great job. Adam, do you want to check in and see if we have any priority one messages?

Let's do it. Priority one message from Starfleet coming in on Secured Channel. Need a supplement on it. A supplement? A supplement. Yes, extra. The interest alone could be enough to buy this ship. Ben, our first priority one message is of a commercial nature.

It is from our friends at mammary alphots, the mammary alpha podcast on iTunes or at mammaryalpha.com. I love that name. Tell me about it, Adam. Message goes like this, if you like podcasts, chock full of Star Trek references, raunchy jokes, bad puns, and even worse accents, and we know you do. Check out Mamri Alpha. It's an actual play RPG podcast

set in our favorite sci-fi universe, and featuring a cast of all women. Join a starship not unlike the hood with a crew of lieutenants that wouldn't cut it on the entrepreneur as they embark on fun space adventures that only end in orgy like 20% of the time. That's mammary alpha on iTunes or mammary alpha.com. You know, you know, you, you know, to spell mammary, don't you, M-A-D-L-M-A-R.Y. A-L-P-H-A. Mamry Alpha. That sounds like a great, uh, a great side car podcast for anybody that's a friend of

the Soto to get into. That is a ship full of women. It's, uh, it's Starship Angel 1, it sounds like. Yeah. I don't believe this. Here's the deal, Adam. I think we are but one example of the many all-dude Star Trek podcasts and the world needs more of this. I completely agree. On the

other side of that coin the world needs far less of us. I would hard agree with that as well. I believe that we have met some or all of the ladies that do this show at live shows of ours. So good on them for taking the leap and starting their own thing. Always pro friends of DeSoto projects for sure and this one especially. Yeah. So go find mammaryalpha on iTunes or at mammaryalpha.com. All right. Adam, our second priority one message

is of a personal nature. It is from Connor, and it is to Ben and Adam. Hey guys, I found your pod just a couple of months ago, and since then, I have watched all episodes everywhere. Just wanted to throw some money away and express my regrets that I can't see or turn in 2018 because I will be starting music grad school. Thanks for all the laughs and hopefully I can get out to see you next year. Well, yeah, I mean once you've completed music grad school, you'll be drowning in money.

So... I was just going to thank Connor for buying a priority one message now before he can no longer afford one. Yeah, wait a second, I'm just doing the math on this. One priority one message costs about four times as much as a ticket to a live show of ours. Connor's not going to school for economics. He made that very clear in his message. Yeah, but thank you so much for getting a message, Connor, and thank you for listening

to all episodes everywhere. Yeah, completionist. I love hearing about people that start from the beginning. Right? There's a lot of good stuff back there. A lot of good stuff in our caboose. Yeah. We've got a lot of nice junk in that trunk.

If you have an enviable donkey, that's what we've got. If that- Could set a drink on it, Adam. I'm gonna go right, I already won it. You could see it from the front, Adam. This is a show with great honches. I think we've always known that. That booty sick.

Sick, antique. Adam, folks that want to support the show can go to maxmoonfund.org slash jumbo tron. It is a hundred bucks for a personal message and two hundred four a commercial message. Both of which you heard examples of here today and they're a great way to support the production of our show. Thanks to One and All. Hey Adam. What's up in? Did you find yourself a drunk Shimoda?

Drunk Shimoda! Yeah my Shimoda is Boone. Boone! Boone! Oh it's been a long time! It's really chaos agents all the way down in this episode. But Boone is maybe the chaosiest without really having to do that much. Like he has a very basic conversation with O'Brien up front.

He's hauled into an interrogation where his answers are just not very illuminating. Like for someone who is as destructive as he is in relationship to the story, he is very chill and unflappable. And that was just a weird way to be. I can really, I could appreciate it about him. So he's my drunk Shimoda. What about you? You might want to look at timecode for this Shimoda. The, um, when the O'Brien's first set out on there, went a big out trip. Kiko is asking O'Brien about something, whether he packed something and he's like, I don't remember even talking to you about that. And

she says, you talked to me for half an hour in bed last night. And he says, oh no, no, no. I was, I was asleep the second my head hit the pillow. And so, apparently, he was sleep-talking. But the joke he makes is, there must have been a third person in bed with us. And then he stops and puts his hand to his chin and ponders that idea. It's like at 5.0, 5 minutes and I don't know, 5 seconds, 6 seconds. But he does this. He really is like, wow, that's an idea.

Yeah, he's clearly not reading the schematics. He is preoccupied with the idea of... A third. Very interesting. he is preoccupied with the idea of a third very interesting maybe we should get on one of those one of those kinks they're dating apps he picks up the pad not long after that and he's just starts Google searching the lifestyle A greatest-gen live show is something you don't want to miss. Why? Well, it's a great opportunity to see me and Ben in person, but that's not all.

FODs from all over gather at these shows to cosplay, to do pre- and post-show hangs, to make friends, and share their embarrassment. Hey, let's make a pretty great name for a tour. Let's do it! The Sherry Reembarishment Tour is coming in August 2023, and we've got a bunch of dates in a lot of great places. Go to GreatestGenTour.com to get more info. That's GreatestGenTour.com for dates and ticketing information for the share your embarrassment tour.

I'm Jordan Morris and I'm Jesse Thorne. On Jordan Jesse Go we make pure, delightful nonsense. We were open awesome guests and bring them down to our level. We get stupid with Judy Greer. My friend Molly and I call it having the spaceweirds. Pat Noswald. Could I get a ball-rock burger and some air-gorn fries? Thank you.

And Kumail Nanjiani. I've come back with cat toothbrushes, which is impossible to use. Come get stupider with us at MaximumFun.org. Look, your podcast apps are already open. Just pull it out. Give Jordan Jesse Goatry. Being smart is hard.

Be dumb instead. Whoa, Russ. Hey, hey, hey, oh, I'm about to count you in mine. These clouds are really freaking me out. I hate having to stand in line and, boy, what do I, these giraffes do not smell good. No, they do not, and they have such short neck. But I'm hearing we need to get on this. We've got to get on the art.

It is about terrain, it's about historic humanity. Hey, oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. Are you Noah? Yeah, I know we look like humans. Oh, we're actually, we're podcasters. We are podcasters, so it's different. Have you heard of Ono Ross and Carrie? We investigate spirituality, claims of the paranormal, stuff like that. And you have a boat and say the world's gonna end, so seem like something for us to check out. We would love to be on the boats. We came two by two. What do you think? Oa Ross & Carrie, available on MaximumFun and Outdoor. next episode. The next episode is season two episode 26, the gem hadar. During a trip to the

Gamma Quadrant with Jake and Nog, Cisco and Quark are imprisoned by soldiers working for a mysterious power known as the Dominion. The Dominion you say? The the Dominion, Adam. A group that has been referred to maybe two or three times? Yeah, we keep- we keep hearing their name and then having dun dun dun. Well, this is the episode where everything changes, huh? Yeah, uh, end of season two, 26 episodes in season two. Wow. It's- it's kind of going by fast. Yeah. What do you think that? I- I kind of going by fast. Yeah. What do you think that?

I kind of feel that. The Netflix description is Cisco's plans for Father Sun bonding are ruined when Jake invites an object to accompany them on a trip to the Gamma Quadrant. That's great. I like that one better. Yeah. There's much more TGIF level of story there.

Yeah. Well, what do you say we take a look at whether or not we're going to do this episode in a particular way? You're required to learn as you play, role. For right now, we're on square 79, Ben. 79, you say. So we could easily get caught in the nebula. No notes is what caught in the nebula is. It's the show we do.

I mean, I guess it's not blind because we've seen the episode, but I don't think it would surprise anyone to know that you and I take notes as we watch the episode and occasionally refer to those notes as we do pod. It's a responsible thing to do. You're sort of got a sheet of notes and then I've got the episode open and I like scrub around in it to find a scene

that we're talking about. And not having those would feel fairly terrifying to me. So this is a square I'd really not like to hit. So please go with without a net. Please roll the dice and don't fuck me over here, Adam. All right. All right, I am rolling, and it is a one. Tula!

Did I win? Hardly. A snake eye. So that gets us to square 80. All right. Which is a regular old episode by you and me. Just a plain old episode. And that feels like a good way to go out on season two.

Plain old episodes are some of the best episodes. That being settled, we should direct the people to talk about the episode online using the hashtag greatestgen. Recommend the show to friends and family and stuff. Really helps us. Adam is on Twitter at Cut for Time. I'm on their at Benjamin R, a HR.

You can find us on Facebook. There's a great Facebook community surrounding this show. And you can write us an email at drunksremotaatgmail.com. We read almost everything, we read everything that comes in, we don't reply to everything anymore, just because not enough hours in the day, but if you need to get in touch with us for something,

that's the way to do it. Our thanks, as always, to Dark Materia, the creator of the original, creative generation music, as well as Adam Ragusia, who has re-skinned that music and turned it into our fun DS9 theme and interstitial theme music. So thanks to him. Listen to the greatest discovery and friendly fire if you get a chance.

And our deepest heartfelt thanks to the folks that go to MaximumFund.org slash Donate and put their money behind the shows that we make because it has really changed the game for all of us. And with that, we'll be back at you next time with another great episode of Star Trek Deep Space 9 and an episode of Greatest Generation Deep Space 9 which features Ben and I bonding during a long road trip. In which Ben plays the father and I play the son. It could be no other way, Adam. Hold me to your ample bosom, Ben. What?! What?

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