The Greatest Generation - Cheesesteak Handshake (DS9 S7E15)

Episode Date: November 23, 2020

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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. Is to the finest crew in Starfleet. Engage! The god of the universe, the heaven and the world. Commander of Benjamin, Cisco, the Federation of Starbase, Deep Space Nine. Welcome to the greatest generation, Deep Space Nine. You forget which space station?

It's a Star Trek podcast by a couple of guys, you're a little bit embarrassed about having a Star Trek podcast, I'm Adam Pryanaka. I'm Ben Harrison. See what I was trying to do is like step down with each word. And I'm not a lot of vocal range. I don't know if you know this about me. I'm very monotone. You know Avery Brooks. Not at all. You don't say deep space nine when you introduce the show.

Great Avery Brooks impression, Ben. Say deep space nine when you introduce the show. Great Avery Brooks impression, Ben. We've gotten a lot of trouble for impressions on this show, but yeah, good job by you. You know, it was mostly doing the kind of song that they're singing at the end, not Avery Brooks in and of himself. You gotta be careful when you ask a cast member to do a singing scene, right? Boy, you sure do. Are you someone who sings? You a big singer?

You a karaoke? I sing in the shower, and that's pretty much the only place I sing, and I pretty much sing one song, which is a Wop, which is Go down Moses way down in Egypt land, but I just put my dog's name everywhere. There's a noun Down Darwin way down in Darwin Tell old

Darwin And then like, you know, it sounds good because it's got all the reverb of the shower. You got some great pipes. Man, that sounded very pleasant. You're a singer, right? You do a karaoke, too. I do karaoke specifically because I'm not a good singer, right? You do a karaoke or two. I do karaoke specifically because I'm not a good singer It karaoke is a safe place for bad singers But I do like the the performance aspect of it is the thing that's fun, right?

That's the fun of karaoke for even a person who can't sing I Love being on stage with you especially, like our live shows or something I've really, really missed in 2020 and I can't wait to get back. But when I do karaoke, it fucking shreds my nerves. Like right before the lockdown started, you and I were on a Palm Springs birthday hang for a friend of ours. And I did a one karaoke number and I Like I needed like half an hour to recover

That's why you left immediately. Yeah, yeah, I thought it was our constant references to the great dinner We were involved The references to how good the pasta salad were Definitely buoyed my spirits that night. Nothing like a pasta salad for a boi. I only said that. But I mean, this show, like, more than any other star trick, I think,

has quite a bit of singing, especially in this last season. We talked about them throwing some song to Faith Saley and discovering that she was fucking awesome at singing. I think that's emblematic of this idea, though, of like, well, we wrote a thing. Hopefully, the past can carry it. Holy shit, it turns out they can.

Yeah. That seems to be a, like, why would you risk that? Right. It's my question. It's like they threw an impossible shot the first time and now they like think that they are amazing at this. And then they throw an impossible shot the second time. God damn it!

It's pretty good. Well, Adam, we got to review this thing before I find out if this episode sang to you. Do you want to get into episode 15 of season 7 of Deep Space 9? You're talking about Butterbeam, Butterbang. What? Do you realize how many credible this is? No, of course you don't. That's the one. I tried to tin man that.

Tin man. Bang is tin man. Tin man. Butter bang. Butter big boom. Big butter boom. That one ensign from a couple episodes ago. Not invited to the alamo. But Vic Fontaine totally invited.

Yeah. What's that about? Are they do have O'Brien and Bashir? Realize that their preciousness about their stupid Alamo program is maybe unfair to everyone and they are, this is like a baby step to starting to invite other people like, well,

we'll invite our hologram friend. I think the depraved things they do in the holo suite with Koonst-Gin caps is fine for a hollow suite generated audience. And that's what Vic Fontaine is. Vic Fontaine is of the hollow suite. So I guess what would be the difference? I don't look good on Fulxkin. He is turning them down though.

He does not want to participate in that program. He gives back their hat and immediately puriles his hands. And he goes up to sing them a song about a crew. I didn't know this existed. A crooner song about the album. That's fun. They fucking love it too. O'Brien and Bersier are loving this and then the holodeck glitches and the tone of the room changes. It's the same room, but it's like, you know, it's suddenly full of jerks and the core is much darker and grimeier-looking, people are smoking,

the band's playing a different kind of music, there's burlesque dancers strutting out onto the stage, and everybody wants Vic Fontaine off. And I felt like they made this moment last a really long time, like this deeply uncomfortable, like Vic, the coolest cat there is is suddenly upended and in a environment he doesn't understand being jeered at. And I thought it was really nicely done. I don't like the association of Berlesque with an unsavory type of person.

I think Berlesque is a beautiful art form. I don't like what this episode is saying about it. Wow, I've never actually seen a Berlesque show, so I only know it from movies and television. I felt like one of the things that seemed to be part of the appeal was that it was a little bit grimy. I mean, my interest in burlesque is a big reason why I can make my tassels counter rotate. Look, I'm doing it right now.

Hey, that's really good. Oh, the people in the livestream are going to love that. Oh, one of them hit the keyboard and I had to restart the record. Oh, shit. Okay, lots of resync. Okay. It's interesting that you can do that and then you denigrate your own singing ability.

You know? Oh, no. Anyways, somebody comes in to the bar that Vic knows and this kind of pours a further bucket of ice water on the, on the affair. It's Frankie Eyes. Adam, Frankie Eyes is a, a dude that we don't like. We don't like him because Vic fears him. Yeah. We can. I believe for the very first time Vic Eyes to theme here.

Yeah, it's like lapel grab Vic Eyes. Uh-huh. Not a great way to start your hollow day, I guess. We need an org chart for this casino because the story we're given here is that Mr. Eyes has taken possession of the casino thanks to an investment by a backer, Mr. Zemo. But I thought that Vic was doing so well on the business side of the hotel in Casino that like what was your understanding of Vic's place in the workplace because I thought he would be untouchable.

Right, if he's the owner of and like building a new Casino. But I think that the logic here is that this was like pre-programmed thing that you could like encounter in the game, and the game maybe didn't doesn't care about previous continuity. Yeah, maybe the game rewrote that part or ignores it completely in favor of this new skin. I guess, this jack-in-the-box skin. This is a mystery that Bashir and O'Brien need to unravel because at Ops, a set that still exists, Ben, I was shocked and delighted to see. They hadn't scrapped it.

The gang needs to figure this out because they don't like this new program. They like the old Vic Fontaine program. And Felix, the designer of the Vic Fontaine program, what he does to keep things fresh, like any relationship in. You got to fill it with some unexpected moments. And so Felix has put this jack in the box into the Vic Fontaine program to keep it from becoming boring. This scene is maybe just here to remind us that ops exists and also that Warp exists

and then and no other reasons. I neither like it nor dislike it. Right. Couldn't they have had this conversation anywhere else? There's kind of a check-offs warf thing being established here because I expected Worf to be a part of this story later on at any point. Like when they're conceiving of the heist and all that, I'm like, Worf is going to cut someone's head off in this casino.

And that moment never comes. Perhaps today is a good day to lose at PyGao. Casino war a warriors game. It'll be so awesome. Like, here's the C story. Warf gets a little to involved in the setting for the highest that he can't do his mission. He's addicted to gambling like Brandon Walsh and I know to one. Oh, wow. That would be great. No, I mean literally It's actually check out Cisco as it would happen cuz Cisco is also there to kind of shit talk there You know, he's like I kind of thought we were here to work

But you guys seem to be talking about your video games back at home I kind of thought we were here to work, but you guys seem to be talking about your video games back at home. You got time, Lee, you got time to clean, buddy. All right. There is a vanity of Hollisweep programs playing out here too, because, come on, Cisco, your obsession with baseball is equal to the obsession with Vic Fontaine's program. Yeah, this is like, my wife famously has said that she will never play a video game in her life. And I kind of called her on it the other day. I was like, you play the New York Times Crossword puzzle app every single day. And I would call that a video game. Yeah. And it's kind of the same thing, right? Like if it's baseball, it's not a, it's not a video game to Cisco. Right. It's very

old Cisco yells at cloud. Yeah. And he kind of gets called on his shit too, right? Because he has a dinner with Cassidy Yates and she is just as intrigued by this Hollis Wheat program as anybody else on the station. And he's like, what? You're into that shit with those nerds? That you were cool. Maybe that's part of the attraction.

I was jolted by the composition of the frame around Cisco. It looked to me like he was sitting on a throne. The way that the replicator is shot behind his head, it's so symmetrical. It made it look like he was sitting in a seat with a tall back. Did you get that vibe? It was distracting in a weird way.

I'm looking at it now and I see what you mean. They parallax it a little bit as the scene goes on so that you don't... It doesn't look like it way anymore, but establishing shot wise, I was like, this goes a big boy sitting in the big chair. I feel like he sits in front of the replicator to really accentuate the fact that he is serving Cassidy a home-cooked meal. Your dad would be proud. And no matter how much Cassidy wants something out of the replicator, she'll have to get

through him first. Yeah, he'll have to come through me. Cisco wants to talk about anything else besides this, and it sounds like there's something to it that's a little more than Cisco believing that this is nerd shit. Like he's trying to cover up some stronger feelings, I think. Right, and not starting a fight, he kind of just puts a damper on the mood of the entire evening. Like there will be a reckoning for whatever was left unsaid here. He definitely pulls an Adam Pranaka this moment. That was a really big poppin. I was sort of expecting a normal...

What are you talking about, Adam? You never do that. I'm gonna have to do some soul searching, I guess. I'm drinking a nice glass of the Meroro Merro Moscow that you got me. How is it? It's really good. Oh, that's good. Maybe I'm getting a little tipsy, who knows.

Go to Kotlin'ka, the cup, go to Kotlin'ka. So back on the Hollis, we basherin' O'Brien, fine, Vic, all fucked up. Did you notice that the numbers on the door to his room were just like the kind of address numbers you put on the side of your house, nailed to a piece of foam core. I love it.

A lot of the casino set feels very temp. Yeah, I feel like this hallway could just be like one of the bungalows on the studio back lot that they put like one sort of art deco wall sconson and put one number on the studio back lot that they put like one sort of art deco wall sconson and and put one number on the door and they're like it's the hotel. Yeah I think the production nerd in me would have liked to have seen the movie magic of this because I imagine it's a very tiny bit of set. But the the stakes of the

episode are established here in this conversation. If Bishiro, Brian and the gang aren't able to neutralize this Frankie-Eyes threat, then Vicks gonna continue getting hurt, or maybe even killed if that's possible. The good news is, you're a scalist in one piece. I think this is a really interesting episode from a steak standpoint because the character who is in peril is a imaginary person and they haven't like really gone into the metaphysics of Vic on this show in the way that they do with Moriarty in TNG and with like data, but he's like, he's very real to a lot of them and there's a lot of discussion of how he's real to them,

but they never take the next step up and go like, well, if he's real to all of us, is there like an ethical problem with XYZ or like? Yeah, it's interesting because they put those factors into VIX dialogue. I think they very briefly say, well, we can't reset the program because it will erase VIX memory, and that would be tied to Mount 2 to murdering him. And that's about all the credence they give it. Yeah. And I think it's so interesting because none of the rest of the cast is at any risk in this episode

Like they're still in a Hollis suite game Not only are they not in any risk, but they all agree upon the rules of this game And right if it if it were to be considered a game like O'Brien doesn't go get a bunch of phaser rifles for the group and they don't go in there and Shoot Frankie eyes in the head like they could at any moment. Right. They play by the Hollisweets rules. Like they have to win on the terms of the game.

And that's like, it's surprising that after seven seasons of TNG, having the holiday safety protocols get accidentally turned off or whatever, they never did a storyline quite like this. Death is never on the line in this app. Unless you're Vic and he is a fun like character to run to the rescue of. Everyone gets to play this game. This is a MMORG, I guess. Everyone's here. The whole gang is here.

Odo and Kira are the first participants that aren't Bashir and Obrayan, I think. Yeah. Odo was shockingly horny in this scene. They walk in and he sees the sexy ladies up on the stage and Kira is like, all right, have your fun. You know, horn dog you. I'm going to go walk around and get the lay of the land. You could just watch all the eye candy up there, all those ladies shifting shape. Yeah, I mean, nothing wrong with a little window shopping. If you know, I guess.

But Kira in her own right is having her own kind of fun. Yeah, that's true. But like, he doesn't have the same biology as anyone. Like, but this really gets his, his, like, I don't have blood, but if I did, it would be pumping intensely right now. I mean, you know, you know who could easily counter rotate his tassels is Odo. I mean, that's nothing to him.

Yeah. I don't even have to move my waist. This is like the fun of Odo in an episode like this is embodied in that close up bar magic scene. Like the agreement that Odo makes with the rules of this thing are maybe like the top line rule. If Odo is obeying the rules of this story as it exists on the holodeck knowing that he could do anything and all he does literally is is play a little mister stretch game like a hand like the restraint that he treats it i think is what teaches us the viewer that everyone else is gonna fall in the line with respect to the rules here like him. Right. He meets Chi Chi who is the, he's kind of the muscle that that eyes has brought with him. And so they're starting to like form relationships. And the other relationship

getting formed is Kira and Franky Eyes who spots her playing 21 at a table and getting Delta card that busts her. And he goes up to the groupier and like scolds him for dealing Kira a card that would not get her to 21. How did card is up to give such a pretty lady? The groupier really does not get this. It takes him like three tries

to pick up what Frankie is is putting down. What's wrong with you? Again. Yeah, that's not how Blackjack works. It's not how any of the Swarix. Yeah, but if you own the casino or are the proxy for the person that owns the casino. Right. I guess you have a little latitude there.

The rules don't apply to Frankie eyes. The banter between him and Kira is straight out of a 50s movie. Yeah. And I thought it was a nice writing flourish. The writing for this dialogue is gotta be a real treat. And it's done very well here. Yeah, I just wish Frankie had been like a more alluring character because Kira is turning the sexiness stuff up to 11

in this episode. And I kind of thought it would be fun if Frankie Eyes had been like just as sexy. Like if Frankie Eyes were played by Robert Redford. Right. And there was actually a threat that he was seducing Kira. That would have been interesting.

Yeah. I don't have anything to worry about here. Do I? What are your intentions toward? Well, she's not my wife yet, but I'm hoping eventually. I couldn't help but notice you hitting on my queen. See I can write gambling related dialogue too. You start nagging me, though.

So they get everyone together. Vic Fontaine is still routinely getting beat up by these guys, so he's like icing himself, but pretty much the whole crew minus Cisco plus Cassidy is here, and they kind of hatch a plan. This is gonna be an Ocean's 11 style thing. The way we get rid of Frankie Eyes in the logic of the game is that we have

Frankie eyes fall a foul of the higher ups in the mafia and in Zod doing, you know, make himself disappear and wind up in a hole in the desert somewhere. It's an indirect way to solve their problem. It's like circular firing squad, the bad guys, and not taking them out directly. It's the idea. So what they've got to do is knock the casino over, steal the million dollars in the bank vault,

and in so doing, make Mr. Zemo want to eliminate Frank Yis. It's all starting to make sense. The episode does a good job of touring us around all the sets that are required to pull off the heist. And this is even before the montage of the heist going on in our imaginations. Like the world of the hotel is very lived in

by the time we actually have to go through with the thing. I thought that was nicely done. Yeah, and so much of what Vic Fontaine's vibe is has been established that the ways they kind of pervert that to make it the Frankie eyes version of these sets. Yeah, they tried to bif-tan in it, don't they? Yeah, and it feels like a violation. We as viewers want to return to the established normal. Yeah, but that's the problem with introducing a character who doesn't obey the norms of a society, and you start to realize all of the agreements you had were verbal and non-binding. Right. These norms were never codified in a way that maybe in retrospect they should have been.

The codification of Morn is what I'm primarily interested in on a deep space nine podcast, then. So Kira and Frankie get closer and closer. Kira, Kira starts this episode in her holodeck crooner look and quickly they realize that they need more couture for her to be in because she gets several like very glamorous dresses in this episode as Frankie starts like showing her the cash counting room in the casino and stuff. As the only primary lady character on the show that remains, I think that's a fortunate spot for Nanao Visitor to be in. Like, she gets all of the attention of the costume designer here. I mean, outside of Cassidy Yates, whose costume is a little more low key. Yeah, I thought it was kind of surprising.

They didn't, I mean, I think that it maybe is an attempt at just making her look period appropriate, but I mean, part of this episode is about how period appropriate is a concept that is a bit broken in this game. And Cassidy is so much less glamorous in the way they did her makeup and costume. Yeah and I wonder to what extent an actor and courage is or discourages that. Yeah her role in this

episode is to cozy up to the casino guard that stands by the door to the cashroom and she there's a very fun scene where she just hits on him relentlessly. You have the body of an athlete? Really gases him up. I thought that this interaction was very fun and funny. And that leads right into a scene of Chi Chi shoving a unsatisfactory Philly Cheese Steak

into the face of a vested casino employee. Close a cheese steak. I don't care who you are, if you aren't delighted by the image of a person hitting another person with a sandwich. Like, that is just great. That was big fun. Mike Star, the actor that plays Tony Chi Chi,

is a really great Hollywood that guy. He's in a bunch of Cohen Brothers movies. I'm always delighted to see him on screen. As fun as a scene like this is, my production heart can't help but win. Like, there's sandwich continuity to consider. There's the mess that a sandwich makes when you hit someone with it that you must clean up and over the reset the scene. Like there's

more going on here than I think a lot of people realize. Yeah. Well crucially, I think and I think this is probably part of why the sandwich did not meet his high sandwich standard. It's not very cheesy. Yeah. Which is, you know, if you're gonna have a cheese steak, you want there to be some cheese on it. You want it wit whizz, and that clearly was a little bit dry, huh? Yeah. He smacks this guy with the sandwich

and turns around to see Odo, who introduces Tony to Ezri, and Tony gives her the classic cheese steak handshake. It's not going to get better than that, but... And she's looking for a job that's her cover. She's going to be a cocktail waitress and Odo having impressed Cheechy with all his stretchy arm magic is in a position to lobby on Asri's behalf. You know, I neglected to mention Asri as a recipient of a of a loud costume. And she sure

as shit has one as soon as she gets this job as a server. That's true. Yeah. Her like civilian clothes are are pretty unremarkable, I think, but then when she's in the Vegas, like the kind of waitress in Vegas that is being put forth as showgirl, the Jason. Right. That's a pretty outtray look. Later on, there's a McLaughlin group. Is your one.

Where there's an intermediate costume choice, where the crew wears TNG, season one collection, vacation wear, when the magic fontains, sweet, which is such a weird break in the costume continuity of the episode. I really couldn't figure out why they pivoted into that. Yeah, well we'll talk about that scene, but like specifically Cisco shows up in something that is like not anything close to 1962 and is much more close to Picard going to

Rysa during a cold month or something like that. But first he has to be warmed up to the idea of making a grand entrance. I'm a rain, come to a form, I'm a rain, come to a form. What are you doing? Come to a form, what are you doing? Come to a form, what are you doing now? Come to a form, I'm a rain, come to a form. Not be guard, not be guard, not be guard,

not be guard, not be guard. Exactly. And that is the next scene we get, which is between Cisco and Cassidy. And he explains what his real misgivings are about being interested in this game. He's never gone into the Vic Fontaine program. And I think it's very interesting because of what it did for a nog But he has a real problem with the fact that 1962 Vegas was not a nice place if you had black skin I can't believe how we called this shot. I thought it was a joke That we were doing and now it's real.

It's very interesting, right? Because this really reminds me of a kind of light motif that we come back to a lot on friendly fire, our Hit War movie podcast, which is like if you are doing a history movie and you revise something about history or allied lied and ugly truth about history to make this story more fun. Does that do the audience a disservice or not and Cisco is firmly on. It does the audience a disservice side of the argument and. Cassidy argues very persuasively to the contrary in this scene in a way that I thought was really good.

I was like, shit, friendly fire has been batting this idea around for at least a year and a half, and Cassidy just had a very forceful argument that I don't think we've ever really articulated. You're supposed to help your friends when they're in trouble. Sisko's like, have you heard the overlord episode of Friendly Fire? It's in the donor feed, Cassidy. So you're gonna have to support the show the way I have.

But it's something that really bumped me out. Clearly. Yeah, Cisco is a max fund donor. Yeah. I mean, Cisco's feelings are strong. This isn't just a, I would prefer not to hear about the hobby that you guys are interested in because I'm just not interested in the same hobbies as you.

It is a very direct kind of repudiation of the idea of this being a thing, which is interesting that he's been simmering on this for as long as he has. Right. It's almost immaterial to Nog, right? Nog is an alien, so segregation is not going to be an issue that would have affected him ever because he comes from a totally different planet than never dealt with it, but Cisco is

very conscious of the history of black people on Earth. And I think that that's like such an interesting distinction. And also interesting in the context of how far in the future this show has set. Like he was thinking back hundreds of years, and it's still a very present and important issue for him. The idea of like the Ben Sisko bat signal being lit has to do with the plan. I mean, everyone has a role to play in this heist, but they need, they need a whale is what they need. They need, and they need someone to play that whale. It's Ben Sisko that ends up doing that.

No. Exactly what do you need me to do? Yeah. And the argument that Cassidy makes on behalf of going in is like, there is a way to think about a better version of the past that doesn't dishonor the memory of the struggles that made the future better. And I think he finds that persuasive. Like, he actually listens to her and changes his mind.

It's so interesting that this isn't a widened Picard play poker with his crew for seven seasons until the very last episode. Like, there's never that wistful separation between the captain and his crew in play here. And I kind of missed that. Yeah. You know, like, there is a very, know, like there's a very like this, when he enters the scene, when he enters Vick's condo with a flourish and everyone's happy to see him, like that's a great moment. But there's never that corresponding sadness that comes with, you know, I'm apart from my

crew because I have to be because of rank being associated with this. It is very clearly a line between the two dots, the dot of 60s Vegas's racist, and I don't want to participate, and where my crew is choosing to enjoy there for you time. Well, and like this show is set in a context now that is so different. Like Picard was in some battles in TNG, but TNG was never in the context of a war. And like Cisco has to look at all of these people every day and know that he may need to send them to their death. And I feel like that separation must be something

that is a much bigger gulf between a wartime captain versus a peacetime captain. It's true. But the war feels so far away at him because we are in 1962 Vegas where they are going over the Italian job style run through of the ideal way the plan goes down. And this is a very like by the numbers.

Here's what the plan is and then here is them executing what the plan is kind of back half to this episode. Take us through it again. You got it, Pally. This scene is a delight every time. In every show, in every movie, you'll love to see it. I love heist movies for this scene. Part of the montage is Warf sitting at home alone,

and just enjoying a plate of gach by himself. Playing a little malota on his home pod. No one invited Warf. Yeah, it was too bad. Made me sad. He knows how to get down in a casino. He's been to the Royale. Oh yeah.

I mean, the scene that we love so much where we see the run through is followed up by all of our characters practicing their roles, which was almost as enjoyable. Yeah, yeah, it was cool. And then like the quintessential slow motion strut down the promenade. The reservoir dog shot.

Yeah. And they walk past quarks in a way that I, I loved, I loved seeing quark filling up hooves with, with frozen dacqueries. Yeah. For everyone. Multiple hooves for morn. One for each stomach. everyone. Multiple hooves for mourn. One for each stomach. Yeah, there's a there's a scene at the end where mourn barfs up some hoof drink to refill somebody. I mean, there's a moment where Quark mentions that something big is going on in the Hollow Suite, and you get the business person sense of a character missing out on profits associated with what might be happening, but also like I think socially he's feeling left out the way anyone would. Yeah, he does not get a job here. Nog gets a job. Yeah. Jake does not get a job. For some reason Jake not involved.

It's so wild that like Sir Ockloth then is still in the opening credits of this show and I feel like Nog has had more and More interesting episodes at this point in the series than Jake. Yeah, so they they strut into the Hollis suite and we get the The in practice version of the plan, which I think we should go through It's all kinds of fucked up right away. Yeah, so Kira's job is to distract Frankie Eyes and she is wearing a very distracting spaghetti strap dress. Very eldeity. He immediately starts talking about how he wishes there was even less of it.

And so she's got to like kind of get him off in a corner and get him even less of it. And so she's got to like kind of get him off in a corner and get him get him away from the bar and the gambling floor because they don't want him casting any scrutiny on things. I'm glad you like what you see. The Navisitor credibly distracts Frankie Eyes with the need for more alcohol. Like everything is believable about this scene. Yeah, I found her very distracting. Right. O'Brien and Cassidy are doing a table game next to each other, but their role is to portray people who are strangers to each other. Right. Which they do credibly. Right, because I don't think they've ever been in a scene together.

I know. Like it's interesting, no one makes anything of Cassidy being a criminal. Like an actual felon is what Cassidy Yates is and no one uses that as a strength. No, yeah. O'Brien is a guy that we know spends a lot of time in the hall of sweet, but he also seems to be like the least capable of of sinking into his character. Yeah. In a funny way, he is visibly nervous in this series, like standing half up out of his stool and looking around the room and making eye contact

with all of his accomplices. It's like, come on, chief, simmer down. Like, be cool here. Like, this is game time, man. Maybe that's the thing about him that's been in our face from the start. This is another separated shoulder kayaking program for him, maybe he's just not good at hollow.

Maybe that's it, yeah, he can never remember whether you're supposed to press A or X to jump. And maybe he's always separating a shoulder no matter what the program is like yeah, yeah, hit me Okay 100 on red Sure, I'll have a some I'll have a third martini. Oh god the answer to this crossword clue is aria The answer to this crossword clue is Aria. Oh! Oh!

But she orders his martini that he's supposed to order from Esri. He orders it stirred not shaken. Obvious reference to James Bond. But I think that James Bond orders shaken not stirred specifically because you would stir a martini. I don't think you would need to specify stirred not shaken if you just said, give me a martini. Asry knows this, which is why she shakes the martini onto the floor. Yeah.

She, like, much like that, that Klingon shuttle pilot in TNG just makes super evil eye contact with him and pours it on his shoes. Right. She gets the two martinis from the bar. She's heading back and this is where one of the interruptions to the plan happens. She's about to give the doctor his beverage when she collides with another patron of the casino, knocking the tray, which is Odo, and the two drinks onto the floor,

and the tray goes, oh, fuck! And everybody's onto them from that point, and they're like, well, kind of tray says, oh, fuck. It's when Odo turns himself into a helicopter and spinning blades to capitate. Ha, ha, ha, to capitate. Everyone involved? It was just a blood bath, and Frankie gets it, and that's the end of the episode. I love how time feels when the plan begins.

Because as the mess-ups mount, you feel the compression of time in such a way that applies to the scene that follows. It's not just that shit is fucked up, it's that it's also that Howard isn't working the shift. And it's also that Nog can't figure out the safe because it has a weird tumbler he wasn't prepared for. Like as the train cars of the plan start crashing into each other, time works differently in these scenes. And it really amplifies how stressful things become. It's really well done.

I love Ezri's gambit to get the substitute money counter to drink the Ipa-Cack. But I hate that Odo doesn't just suggest like, oh, I could just get inside the safe and undo the locking mechanism. This has everything to do with the rules that we agree upon though. Like, and that's a great point.

I think to enjoy the episode means subscribing to those rules from the top like everyone has agreed not to use their special power like we're not using phasers and odos not Odot can go as far as becoming the tray, but he can't become the instrument that Actually fixes the problem right. He can't be Deus X Odot So then and So then the big catastrophe happens, which is that Mr. Zemo shows up to the casino a day early. He is now in the picture in a way that is a dismaying surprise to everyone involved in the heist. Yeah. dismaying surprise to everyone involved in the heist.

Yeah, speaking of James Bond references, this guy's from Diamonds or Forever. Yeah, what a face on this guy. A hell of a face. For a split second, I was like, did they put Mark Elimo in crazy old man loaf? Yeah. That's unusually good for this show, but but no this is this is Mark Lawrence

He's in a bunch of bond films Good get for the show. Yeah, he's very lived in as a character seems yeah Really smell the coffee and nicotine off of his breath. Yeah, sadly Mark Lawrence's legacy is somewhat sellied by the fact that he ratted on his fellow reds to the House Un-American Activities Committee. Oh no, Star Trek, don't do that. Yeah, don't, I mean, he was blacklist and he got fucked over, but.

Wow. Like, no, no, that. Yeah, interesting reading about him. Morning, morning, morning, Steve, yeah, interesting reading about him. Anyways, the, all of the timing kind of comes down to the dog. Nog is the, is the lynchpin. He's got to crack this safe and they, they blow their eight minute window. And so now it's all about like what can we do to distract everyone in this casino while we buy ourselves some time and Cisco figures it out.

Though he comes from a moneyless society he realizes that those of us unfortunate enough to grow up in capitalism will sell our mothers down the river for money flying in the air. He makes it rain. It's got to be the most fun fortunate enough to grow up in capitalism will sell our mothers down the river for money flying in the air. He makes it rain. It's got to be the most fun thing to do in a casino especially. Big, big fun.

And it is exactly a distraction that they need. Mr. Zemo is pissed and they finally crack the safe, clear the money out. And the plan is just go throw it away, because like, who gives it shit? I feel like they should have made Vic whole. Deal me in. Because Vic Fontaine provided the seed capital

for whale Cisco to enter the casino. I thought that was such an interesting detail. I'm with you on that, and how fun would it have felt to give Vic the giant suitcase of cash? Extremely. The plan as stated is to throw it in a garbage can outside the casino. Yeah.

I think you got to make someone's day. And I'm not saying it has to be Vic, but like, give huge tips to the Valais. Make it rain like the way Cisco did. You got to do something good. You can't just throw it away. Yeah, I mean, I think that like that's the thing that kind of breaks the logic. Like this is all based on Ocean's 11, the original Ratt Pack version. And like the thing that is great about that movie is that they fucking blow it. Like they wind up as paniless as they started. And this is like a television episode

where they have to provide more catharsis in less time. So what they wind up succeeding in doing is making Frankie and Tony look like total assholes to the out of town mobsters and and they get kind of Perp walked out of the building and the program reverts to normal and In the Vic Fontaine logo reappears on the curtain behind the stage I had to admit I didn't like the moment where as soon as Frankie leaves the simulation at changes back

Yeah, I don't know why and I don't have another like I have no idea how to make it better the moment where as soon as Frankie leaves the simulation, it changes back. Yeah. I don't know why, and I don't have another, like, I have no idea how to make it better. No, I think it's the same thing of like, when you shoot a guy in a video game and he like falls over, then like, the body disappears. It's like, if you... That's gotta be it, the impermanence of the stakes.

Yeah. The stakes should have sustained. It should be a jack in the box that there should be an intermediary scene where we clean up the mess of what has happened and we fix it. Yeah, and hang the Vic Fontaine logo back up on the wall. Right. But I guess you need to obey the rules as set up. And because we blurred into the Frankie Eyes version of the casino, we must blur back to the original version. Yeah. And also partly, I think this is in service of the showrunner wanting enough time for this button scene where Vic calls

Cisco up on the stage and... Play a little song for you about the nastiest freaky little sex puppet I know. Cisco reveals himself to be a fucking incredible singer. The best is yet to come. The best is yet to come. The best is yet to come. Come a day on mine. It sounds like they're both singing the same part. Like one person isn't taking the harmony and the other person, like, they aren't harmonizing with each other. Yeah, it's not a duet. It's like two people singing one song

and just kind of passing the verse back and forth. That's an interesting choice. And I imagine you make that decision based on the range of, of Avery Brooks. Like, you need to do what he's able to do in this scene. Yeah. They really luxuriate in the song. Yeah, and the crew reacts shots to the song. Like they are fuck like the crew is loving it. It's the most incredible performance of song in the history of song as far as the crew is concerned. It's what makes the moment where Vic tells Sisko to leave through the kitchen. I'm a poor herfell.

After. You think everything is different and better from this scene, but it's not. No, it's not. Sisko got his wish. It's a accurate depiction of 1962 Vegas in the end. Like, and that's his revenge on the crew. Like, enjoy your Vic Vontaine program now, assholes, and then drops the mic. Nog is probably not going to be permitted. Yeah. Did you like the episode Adam? You really want to do this here.

Now, okay, okay, let's do it. Yeah, I mean, there's a contract involved in liking this episode, though. Like you have to give yourself over to it. You have to obey the rules of it because if you do any kind of deeper thinking about it, you're not going to enjoy it and this episode doesn't for you if you can't. Like it's a mirror universe episode in a strange way, right? Obey the rules and you're in for a good time. But a cynical take, I don't think we'd have the appetite for an episode like this, but

I did. I'm not a cynic bin, I'm not the cynic of this show. Whoa, hot take. I also liked the episode. I thought it was very enjoyable. You can expect Vic Fontaine is gonna be in many more apps this season. If we're gonna start the war back up, right?

Right. Is this the good bite of Vic Fontaine? I think Vic Fontaine plays a big role for the rest of the season, but that is a vague memory. So it's been a long time since I've watched V space 9. And I don't remember every single instant of it the way I remember every single instant of TNG.

Oh, yeah, down cold. So we'll see. We'll see what Vic Fontaine gets up to in the back half of this final season of Deep Space 9, but we also gotta see what our viewers have gotten up to in the priority one message section of the show, Adam. Do you wanna head over there with me and check that out? Yeah, speaking of back haves,

that's when the back half of an episode begins, the P1s. Priority one message from Starfleet coming in on Secured Channel. Stop a little, un-pup. Stop a little. Yes, extra. The interest alone could be enough to buy this ship! Well, Ben, our first priority 1 message is from two people embarrassed to receive a P1

at the SF Greatest Gen Con 2. Oh man. And it is to the amazing Twitter artwork supplier and her probably equally talented physicist husband. The message goes like this happy wedding anniversary. We're so happy to share Trek and TGG with you. Lockdown blows, but we've enjoyed sharing our thoughts on the Demar Show and sending you awful Voyager Screen Cat memes. In the words of the man, in longest and therefore most stable on-screen Star Trek marriage, Chifo Bryan, Marriage is the greatest adventure of them all.

Wow, beautiful. Uh, two people embarrassed to receive a P1 at the SF Greatest Gen Con too. A treasured memory by you and me. Two people embarrassed to receive a P1 at the SF Greatest Gen Con too. A treasured memory by you and me. Yeah, that was the last time we performed live, right? Live P1's, yeah. I was just thinking the same thing. I think we missed our deadline with that. They wanted that to go out August 12th. Damn.

Damn, Daniel. So sorry, amazing Twitter artwork supplier and probably equally talented physicist husband But it's the thought that counts right our next priority one message also targeted for August this one late August is from Marney and it's to Dr. Alan Davis PhD goes like this Congratulations on finishing your astrophysics PhD, you giant nerd. Giant nerd.

I am perpetually grateful for that your communicator ringtone went off in the physics common room, your freshman year. A jump started this beautiful friendship. I also gladly welcome you to the ranks of high school physics teachers. We are lucky to have you. Wow! When you're in the physics common room and your ringtone is Star Trek communicator, I think about 40 people reach for their phones.

Yeah, out of the 40 people that are in the room, right? Right. Very confusing. Wow, congratulations, Dr. Alan Davis, comma PhD. That's a huge accomplishment. And thank you for teaching science to the kids. Giant nerd rules. You're one good. Congrats. Yeah. Well, if you would like to congratulate somebody or do any other kind of fun stuff with a P1, we encourage you to head to maximumfund.org slash jum GemboTron where it's a hundred bucks for a personal message and 200 bucks to promote something.

And we really appreciate it because it helps us keep the lights on around here. Hey Adam. Zappin. Did you find yourself a drunk Shimoda? Drunk Shimoda! Gifu Brian allowed himself to be stripped searched at the end of this episode with which I think is

Emblematic of how far Everyone's willing to go to obey the rules of the world that they're in yeah They cut the scene where he took his trousers off and his shoulder dislocated. He's stripped searched Yeah, and he says it at the end. Yeah, he does. I wonder how often that happens on the program he does with Bashir. Yeah, it's a thing pretty often, right? What about you, Ben?

My drink's about to is nog for the specific close up of nog practicing on his fake safe door. The clenched pointy, forngy teeth in the ear to the wall. Look in the ECU just made me laugh out loud. I loved that moment and Nog got my drunk shimata just for that. I love that scene because of the shot reverse shot of it. Like from his perspective, you see the safe door and then from behind, you see that it's a mock up.

And the way they do that reveal is really fun. Yeah, because like when he opens the door, you think that that's like a fancy edit and then you realize, like, oh no, it's just a door to nothing. It's weird like how in Star Trek were trained for the comp. It looked like a comp there, but it was real. Yeah. Good job. Yeah. That was great sleight of hand in the part of the production.

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 Sherry Reembarishment 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. 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 Non-Giani. 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. Oh, raps, hey, hey, hey, oh, I'm about to count you in line. 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've such short nacks. But I'm hearing we need to get on this. We've got to get on the art. It is about terrain, about a story of humanity. Hey oh sorry sorry sorry are you Noah? Yeah I know we look like humans.

We're actually we're podcasters. We are podcasters so it's different. Have you heard of Ono Ross and Kerry? 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 to by two. What do you think?

Ono Ross and Carrie, available on MaximumFun.org. That's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like that, that's goldfish like them, that changes, and it's the game of buttholes will the prophets that tells us how. Much like a casino, this is a game of chance where the house always wins, and the house are the friends of DeSoto. It's true, Ben. We are currently on Square 50, according to the game. Halfway up the board. Yeah, we've got some stuff ahead.

And the Quark Spar Drunk is the closest to us. Wow. What episode are we gonna review next, though? The next episode is season seven, episode 16. Inter-Arma-NM-Silent Legas. That's just a classic Star Trek episode title right there if I ever heard one. That's a classic. Somebody is going to tweet us and tell me that I pronounced it incorrectly, episode title.

That's a great way to get muted. Yeah. Sure is. The description is as follows. Bashir becomes an unwitting pond in a deadly game between Romulan intelligence forces and a covert Starfleet organization. I smell section 31 in this description.

Sounds like someone's gonna get pissed. Bleh. I think I see Admiral Belt buckle in this thumbnail too. Oh, that's fun. Better, that's fun. Yeah. Let him bring that guy back. Yeah. Uh, Adam, do you want to get your dice out and roll that bone? Tell us how we will be watching this episode.

Marty there, Ben. Uh, I've, I've removed all my clothing. I've stripped, searched myself to find the die, which I have. You're required to learn as you play, roll. And I'm gonna give it a roll right now. Boy, big roll by me, I've rolled a five. Shula! Did I win?

Harvey. Which puts the runabout between the Quarks bar episode and the looking at each other during episode. So we're on square 55 right now and that means it is a regular old episode for you and me. Hell yeah. Well, I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait for next week's app, but in the meantime, if you want more of our Star Trek bullshit, listen to the greatest discovery, and if you want more of our general bullshit,

listen to our hit war movie podcast, Friendly Fire, that we do with our buddy, John Roderl. We gotta thank some people who helped make this show, the program that it is. I'm not gonna even describe it. Nice, good or bad. This people involved in its production include people like Adam Ruggusia. Sure.

Just one of the reasons why the music is so fun and interesting. Of course, you and I were inspired as much as he was by dark materia. Maybe. Card zone. Yeah. We gotta thank our buddy Bill Tilly, who is on the payroll now, running the at greatest trek Instagram and Twitter accounts. Your P1 money basically goes directly to Bill Tilly. That's true. We wouldn't,

wouldn't be able to do this without the generosity of the friends of a Soto, and Bill Tilly wouldn't have that nice, supplemental social media money coming in every month. Yeah. So if you'd like to support the show either get a P1 or head over to Maximumfund.org slash join. Instead of a monthly contribution we really really appreciate it. It helps get us through. With that we'll be back at you next time with another great episode of Star Trek Deep Space 9. See you at Star Trek at Back Down again. That's a nice callback, right? No, it was good.

And an episode of the greatest generation, which probably going to have to remain secret from the rest of the episodes. Can't tell anyone about this one. Yeah. You could listen to it, but then we'd have to kill you. Yes, we don't want to move no downloads next week, okay? I would say set up your support at maximumbud.org first before listening to the episode and then the auto subscription will just continue to play out after you did.

Your estate will handle the rest. Maximumfund.org Comedy and Culture Artist-Oat