"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" Extreme Measures (1999)

Director:

Stephen L. Posey

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator: "Star Trek")
Rick Berman (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993)

Original Air Date:

19 May 1999 (Season 7, Episode 23)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien go to some pretty extreme measures to try and track down a cure for Odo. |

Plot Keywords:

Antidote | Suicide Pill | Suicide | Wormhole | Klingon

Cast

Avery Brooks	...	Captain Sisko
Rene Auberjonois	...	Odo
Nicole de Boer	...	Lieutenant Ezri Dax (as Nicole deBoer)
Michael Dorn	...	Lt. Commander Worf
Cirroc Lofton	...	Jake Sisko (credit only)
Colm Meaney	...	Chief O'Brien
Armin Shimerman	...	Quark (credit only)
Alexander Siddig	...	Doctor Bashir
Nana Visitor	...	Colonel Kira
William Sadler	...	Sloan
Andrew Robinson	...	Garak (as Andrew J. Robinson)
Jacqueline Schultz	...	Jessica
Kate Asner	...	Nurse Bandee
Tom Holleron	...	Operative

Company:

Paramount Television

Trivia:

The producers were a little disappointed with the way this episode turned out. They wanted it to be an exploration of two topics, Bashir/Sloan and Section 31, and O'Brien/Bashir's friendship. They later reflected that it would have been better by just focusing on one or the other. By trying to straddle both, they achieved neither one.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the episode, Bashir throws two darts at the (off-screen) dartboard (we hear them hit). At the very end of the scene, Bashir throws his third dart; the camera follows it to the board. The first two darts are nowhere to be seen.

Quotes:

Sloan: [saying his farewells to his family] As I stand here, reunited with my friends and my family for one last time, I want you, the people I love, to know just how sorry I am for all the pain that I've caused you. I dedicated my life to the preservation and the protection of the Federation...

Very disappointing episode

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

One good thing about this show was the eerie secret organisation "Section 31" and the shadowy Sloan who was a part of it. I loved the way Sloan was always one step ahead of the hapless Doctor Bashir and could never be caught. It was like a Star Trek conspiracy. This episode completely ruined the whole storyline. I knew why they shot this travesty of an episode. The series was drawing to a close and they had to wrap up the Section 31 sub plot as quickly as possible. I was very disappointed in it.

In previous episodes with Secion 31, Sloan was shown to be a devious untouchable operative who could lie and cheat to get what he wants. Despite that, in this episode, Sloan easily falls for the bait regardless of Doctor Bashir saying that there was a very slim chance it would work. He falls for the whole thing hook line and sinker but that wasn't the worst part oh no. Then comes the part when Doctor Bashir starts his usual speech about morals and why Section 31 is bad and evil even though they only want to protect the federation. It's only fair as the Romulans have a similar organisation as do the Cardassians: the Obsidian order. The federation obviously needs one and Sloan rightly points out that Bashir is just an idealist. After the speech where Bashir naively asks how such an evil organisation came into being in his perfect idealistic world (despite being genetically enhanced and miraculously not being stripped of his commission for it) we are treated to more hypocrisy as the good Doctor uses illegal Romulan gadgets to (painfully) extract memories from Sloan which unbelievably Captain Sisko allows! I'm sorry but that would never happen.

The worst part though is the stupid (even for Star Trek) explanation of somehow walking round Sloan's head to find the cure for their precious Odo. I still laugh when I recall Bashir saying something like "Sloan's mind could appear as a maze or EVEN DS9" and surprise surprise it appears as DS9. Yet more great script writing. No imagination. That proves they were in a hurry to finish the series.

Why do they want to save Odo anyway? They blow things out of proportion. It gets all schmaltzy and sentimental like being on a school playground or at an AA meeting: "Odo's our friend" awww really? You'd do that for a friend? Hasn't the Doctor great morals? The fact is Odo betrayed the federation on numerous occasions by cavorting with the other shape-shifters and disobeying Sisko's orders. In reality he would've been replaced by a Starfleet officer the moment Sisko had arrived.

That last part of O' Brien and Bashir wandering round Sloan's mind was a truly awful piece of television and belongs in some late night B-Grade horror film. What were the writers thinking? They had the potential to do something great with Sloan's character but they screwed it up royally.