This is a “let your hair down” episode of DS9. Something light, frivolous, meaningless, but fun. I guess the writers got tired of working so hard the last few episodes with all that character development and decided what we really needed was some pin-ups!
Well, that’s OK. Fun and frivolity can make decent TV too, and this episode is pretty imaginative, if not particularly meaningful.
Primary Plot
The crew discovers they can summon things by thinking about it. Their imaginations plop out into the real world, sort of like Ray when he tried to empty his mind, but something just popped in there. He tried to think of the most harmless thing, and could only think of roasting marshmellows back at camp Waconda…
Yes, DS9 faces the StayPuft Marshmallow Man, except in the form of a Rumplestiltskin, a baseball player, an extremely horny Dax, some snow, and space pin-up girls straight from Quark’s imagination.
The plot on this one is pretty low. Some aliens show up and decide to mess with the DS9 crew as part of a social experiment. You know, to learn about them. ‘Cause that is what enlightened aliens do…
Anyway, it really is an excuse for some cleverness, and lots and lots of screengrabs.
Hero O’Brien ends up summoning Rumplestiltskin by reading a bedtime story to his daughter.
We get lusty Dax…
And we get seductively amused Dax.
We even get 2.5 inches (6 cm, according to Odo) of snow on the main concourse.
But most importantly, we get space pin-ups!
Once again, Quark and Odo in one scene, in one quick shot, do more storytelling with their faces, while wearing immovable masks, than most of the rest of the cast does in the entire episode. These two deserve gold stars on every outing. If they didn’t receive awards for their talents and abilities, then they were surely robbed.
Other Thoughts
The plot was pretty terrible in this one. It was a lot of fake drama, mixed with a lot of creativity. I didn’t hate it. Nor did I really think it was very good. It was more fun than the no-good and no-fun stodgy episodes from earlier in the season, so it has that going for it.
Final Grade: C+
C+ for space pin-ups!
