Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) – Progress, and If Wishes Were Horses

Station log: stardate 46844.3

Airing on 9 May, 1993 this episode was written by Peter Allan Fields pens this episode that centres on Kira (Nana Visitor). The Bajoran major is assigned a mission that sees her travelling to a Bajor’s fifth moon to oversee its evacuation as it is transformed into a power plant, tapping into the molten core of the celestial body.

It seems to be going well, until a runabout manned by Kira and Dax (Terry Farrell) locate one lone farmer, Mullibok (Brian Keith) who refuses to leave. A familiar tale to countless people.

Mullibok loves his farm, and his land, and has fought to keep it first with the Cardassians, and now his own government. The more Kira chats with him, the more she begins to relate to, and admire him, What happens when she has to make him leave? When a security officer fires on him, and injures Mullibok, she sheds her uniform, and takes over the farm, risking repercussions and dismisal to stand up for what she knows is right.

The story culminates in a moral showdown that sees Kira saving Mullibok’s life, and destroying his farm.

This A-Story is balanced by a lighter B-story that sees Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) as they plan to make a profit off of a choice condiment, a Cardassian yarmok sauce.

The episode could have explored these themes a little more, as it’s something that still seems to be happening, the exploitation of the few for the many, and the continual strive for progress.


Station log: stardate 46853.2

Neil McCue Crawford, William Crawford and Michael Piller write the teleplay for this episode from a story by both Crawfords. It aired on 16 May, 1993.

This one is a little goofy, and incredibly silly. Dax investigates a spatial anomaly caused by unusual energy readings to ensure that it isn’t dangerous to the station. Unfortunately it begins to have an effect on everyone in the station right away, bringing images, ideas and characters from their imagination to life, disrupting all of DS9.

An incarnation of Rumpelstiltskin (Michael J. Anderson) plagues O’Brien (Colm Meaney), a romantic version of Dax tries to woo Bashir (Alexander Siddig), and a ball player, Buck Bokai (Keone Young), is looking to catch a few fly balls with Sisko (Avery Brooks).

As the crew investigate, they try to control themselves, and keep their imaginations properly restrained. But what if these beings are something more than the figments of their imagination?

The Human Adventure continues next week as I finish the first season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine while exploring The Complete Series now available from Paramount Pictures.



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