Well, well, well ... good morning, gentle readers, and welcome to February 14th, 2024 ... and Happy Valentines Day to all of the good people out there in cyberspace!
Woohoo!
I know, I know, I know ... "Look, bubb, don't overdo it," and I won't. I just thought I'd do the honorably deed of mentioning the holiday for all involved. Let's face facts: when the hardest part of being a daily blogger is knowing when and when not to use the exclamation point, it's a pretty easy gig. I try to suppress the natural tendency around here to get excited about every little thing, but such a feeling of giddyness creeps up in even old me. The older I get the more I do try to treat every day like it's a great day to be alive (thanks, Travis Tritt) because you never know when the ride's gonna end. You youngsters? Consider that the only wisdom I'll ever really try to impart. Otherwise, all I got's is trivia, and it's currently standing at a happy and healthy 61 different ones for you to relish today. 'Nuff said.
Woohoo!
I know, I know, I know ... "Look, bubb, don't overdo it," and I won't. I just thought I'd do the honorably deed of mentioning the holiday for all involved. Let's face facts: when the hardest part of being a daily blogger is knowing when and when not to use the exclamation point, it's a pretty easy gig. I try to suppress the natural tendency around here to get excited about every little thing, but such a feeling of giddyness creeps up in even old me. The older I get the more I do try to treat every day like it's a great day to be alive (thanks, Travis Tritt) because you never know when the ride's gonna end. You youngsters? Consider that the only wisdom I'll ever really try to impart. Otherwise, all I got's is trivia, and it's currently standing at a happy and healthy 61 different ones for you to relish today. 'Nuff said.
Yes, yes, and yes: I enjoyed a good portion of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's run on television, but if I'm being perfectly honest with you I wasn't a huge fan of it.
No, my opinion has little to nothing to do with that whole "oh, it's so much darker than the original Star Trek" -- which, in ways, I thought was true but nothing all that noticeable in most episodes. My struggle with it was that it had a great number of episodes I just didn't much care for. First seasons being what they were, DS9 had some stinkers; and the writing crew just couldn't quite shake whatever ideas could make for less-interesting diversions as well as the team of other Treks. (No, I'm not complaining or insulting them; it ain't easy always coming up with fresh ideas, and I think that showed in such stretches on the program.) While I appreciated a good portion of the whole Dominion War arc -- which was very, very, very long -- I also thought they found themselves retreading ground they'd already tread before; and that slowed down the forward progress of the series' run.
But what I did like almost universally was the incredible characters they created. It was in this respect that DS9 far outpaced the other Trek shows, crafting authentic beings with flaws and hangups and shortcomings and prejudices and emotional baggage and a whole lot more. The writing crew wasn't afraid to really dig in and truly flesh out a bit of psychology now and then; and it was this that made the show vastly more complex ... when it was done right. Granted, not every player got great material to work with, but perhaps one of the semi-regulars they got pitch perfect was Garak, played to wondrous delight by Andrew Robinson.
Under his watchful eye, Garak never settled into any predestined path. When he found himself involved with station's happenings, you never quite knew where he was going to come down on it, choosing the high and bold 'Starfleet-approved' option or that which showed what a troubled mind he had and nurtured. Naturally, this made for far more interesting developments on the show; and this is what DS9 -- under Robinson's care -- did uniquely well.
In fact, I'll go one step further and remind folks that the TV show wasn't the actor's only foray with this seminal character: in 2000, Robinson and Simon and Shuster teamed up to publish "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #27 - A Stitch In Time," a novel that takes place after the series' run and puts the fabled Cardassian right in the middle of rebuilding his homeworld after the Dominion War has ended. It's a brilliant character piece dreamt up and delivered by the man who knew this key player best; and it's arguably one of the best novels in all of Trekdom. I've read it, and I give it a huge thumbs up for fans of that saga.
Happy birthday, Mr. Robinson!
No, my opinion has little to nothing to do with that whole "oh, it's so much darker than the original Star Trek" -- which, in ways, I thought was true but nothing all that noticeable in most episodes. My struggle with it was that it had a great number of episodes I just didn't much care for. First seasons being what they were, DS9 had some stinkers; and the writing crew just couldn't quite shake whatever ideas could make for less-interesting diversions as well as the team of other Treks. (No, I'm not complaining or insulting them; it ain't easy always coming up with fresh ideas, and I think that showed in such stretches on the program.) While I appreciated a good portion of the whole Dominion War arc -- which was very, very, very long -- I also thought they found themselves retreading ground they'd already tread before; and that slowed down the forward progress of the series' run.
But what I did like almost universally was the incredible characters they created. It was in this respect that DS9 far outpaced the other Trek shows, crafting authentic beings with flaws and hangups and shortcomings and prejudices and emotional baggage and a whole lot more. The writing crew wasn't afraid to really dig in and truly flesh out a bit of psychology now and then; and it was this that made the show vastly more complex ... when it was done right. Granted, not every player got great material to work with, but perhaps one of the semi-regulars they got pitch perfect was Garak, played to wondrous delight by Andrew Robinson.
Under his watchful eye, Garak never settled into any predestined path. When he found himself involved with station's happenings, you never quite knew where he was going to come down on it, choosing the high and bold 'Starfleet-approved' option or that which showed what a troubled mind he had and nurtured. Naturally, this made for far more interesting developments on the show; and this is what DS9 -- under Robinson's care -- did uniquely well.
In fact, I'll go one step further and remind folks that the TV show wasn't the actor's only foray with this seminal character: in 2000, Robinson and Simon and Shuster teamed up to publish "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #27 - A Stitch In Time," a novel that takes place after the series' run and puts the fabled Cardassian right in the middle of rebuilding his homeworld after the Dominion War has ended. It's a brilliant character piece dreamt up and delivered by the man who knew this key player best; and it's arguably one of the best novels in all of Trekdom. I've read it, and I give it a huge thumbs up for fans of that saga.
Happy birthday, Mr. Robinson!
There's more, and with an amazing 61 different trivia citations it's pretty clear that there's room to grow. As I'll remind all of you, my goal initially was to have 100 different items listed on every single day in the year, and I'm well on my way to seeing that achieved. These 61 are a great start. So -- without further delay -- head on over there and check them out ...
As always, my friends, thanks for reading ... thanks for sharing ... thanks for being a fan ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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