Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 43: Crossover [VHS]

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 43: Crossover [VHS] Review

"Crossover" is a runaway favorite with fans, and it's easy to see why. The alternate universe is a dark, twisted place full of intrigue and high weirdness--and Kira Nerys's evil twin running amok in black stretch vinyl. We're talking kitten with a phaser. We're talking the whole reason for Starfleet's temporal policy department. Watch as alternate Odo rules hapless Terran miners with an iron fist. See Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) perform actual hard manual labor in the mines of Terok Nor; think silently that after the way he behaved in the episode's teaser, maybe he deserves it. Meet a kinder, gentler Quark who rescues hew-mons from their torturous fate. Marvel as Kira flirts with herself. All this while alternate Garak schemes... it's just too wondrously bizarre for words.

The story has its roots in the original series' "Mirror, Mirror"--a fact openly referenced in the screenplay. Thanks to solid writing and a lot of inside humor, the ensemble cast plays it to the "alternate" hilt. Special kudos to Nana Visitor as the coquettishly perverse Intendant--a woman with an ego so large she gets a charge out of having her alternate self around to talk to. Kudos to the DS9 station as the eerie Terok Nor, which looks like a slice of juicy film noir. Watch for Colm Meaney's poignant performance as Smiley and Armin Shimmerman's softened Quark. Both alternates offer subtle twists on their core characters. Watch "Crossover" for the hoot value; treasure it for the nuances. --Kayla Rigney

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 54: Meridian [VHS]

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 54: Meridian [VHS] Review

Exploring the Gamma Quadrant, Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) encounters a planet where none had existed moments before. That planet, Meridian, shifts between dimensions, appearing in our time and space for short spells every 60 years. Upon investigating, Dax falls in love with one of Meridian's inhabitants, Deral (Brett Cullen), setting up a big problem as the clock ticks down to another, imminent dimensional shift. Basically a star-crossed romance from the get-go, "Meridian" doesn't have a lot of mystery to it. But it does have the considerable charm of Terry Farrell, whose Jadzia was always a woman for all seasons on DS9: gorgeous, funny, tough, lusty, a tomboy, a lover, a surrogate sister. Not surprisingly, this character-driven story, with a higher quotient of emotion than usual, was directed by Jonathan Frakes, Riker on The Next Generation and heir to directorial duties on Star Trek feature films. --Tom Keogh

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 70: Shakaar [VHS]

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 70: Shakaar [VHS] Review

Major Kira (Nana Visitor) has another attack of divided loyalties when her former mates in a Bajoran resistance cell come under fire from the new Minister of the Bajoran Provisional Government: the loathsome Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher). Oblivious to the irony of persecuting the very people who fought Cardassian occupiers for self-rule, Winn becomes unnervingly reminiscent of Fletcher's turn as the manipulative, power-mad Nurse Ratched in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. A major problem in the first couple of seasons of DS9 was overexposure of Kira in too many episodes focused on her. Thus a Kira-centric story such as this one from the series' third year, in which she rejoins her old compatriots, really does look better with time and distance. Supporting players Duncan Regher, Dianne Salinger, and William Lucking, among others, are very good as weathered freedom fighters ready to take up arms again--this time against an internal enemy. --Tom Keogh

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 51: Second Skin [VHS]

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 51: Second Skin [VHS] Review

Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is a good person. She often serves as the series' voice of reason, because she can always be trusted to do the right thing. This trust is hard earned because Kira also has one very particular prejudice, and everybody knows it: Kira Nerys does not like Cardassians. Her prejudice elevates "Second Skin" from just ironic to deliciously creepy. Imagine waking up in a strange place in the middle of your own worst nightmare. All the people around you insist that this is reality and everything you hold to be true is a lie. Now imagine that when you look in the mirror, the reflection of your mortal enemy stares back at you...

In this episode, nothing is what it seems. The viewer is forced to peel away layer after layer to finally reveal the answer. And that answer isn't black or white. It's gray--like the Cardassian skin in which Kira finds herself encased. Nana Visitor is given good, solid material here, and she runs with it. Cardassian kudos to Lawrence Pressman as Legate Ghemor and to Andrew Robinson as the ever mysterious Garak. Great line: "Anything worth doing in a holosuite can be done better in the real world." Great scene: Sisko gleefully blackmailing Garak into submission. "Second Skin" is a puzzle within a puzzle--there may be only one solution, but getting there is half the fun. --Kayla Rigney