Deep Space Nine RECAP: 5x06

[wellntruly]

I mean obviously.

Season 5, Episode 6: ‘Trials and Tribble-ations’

A coupla suits arrive in Ops, announcing they’re from the DEPARTMENT OF TEMPORAL INVESTIGATIONS, good god yes.

Dax grins. “I guess you boys from Temporal Investigations are…always on time.”

Kira laughs, the space bureaucrats do not, and I am flipping my shit because no one told me that Deep Space Nine’s love letter to The Original Series was also their tonally perfect homage to the X-Files comedy episodes?? BUT IT SO IS. [Update: SO VERY IS]

Kira shows the suits in to Sisko’s office, where Ben, eager to share Deep Space 9’s bounty of space bevs, the glue that holds this society together, asks, “Are you sure you don’t want anything?”

“Just the truth, Captain,” Suit One responds.

Sisko:

Ok here’s some elements essential to the BRILLIANCE of the meta-tastic comedic episodes of The X-Files, which would have been in its own fifth season at this point, and clearly known and loved by the Star Trek: DS9 writers:

- suits, whose demand for explanations provides narrative framework and ballast — check, just brought those in by turbolift
- outlandish supernatural plot devices — born ready
- diegetic jokes — Jadzia Dax has us covered, now and always
- genre jokes, always with the ~feel~ of puns even when they’re not, delivered straight BUT
- with this pervading sense that everyone involved, actors fully but on some level even characters too, are playing it Extra Straight as their way of having as much fun with it as possible
- basically, everyone holds their stares for one hilarious beat too long to leave space for the imaginary *wink*

It is HEAPS OF FUN because the sense of everyone being in on the joke includes us, the audience, and so we love these episodes for their sense of community and affection as much as we do for their creativity and cleverness in taking a break from form to comment on the form. These kinds of episodes are the best and bounciest and all silliness in the service of sincerity and I’M SO HAPPY and we’re only just starting, ahh, AAHH.

Keep reading

[gplusbfics]

I completely missed this episode recap for “Trials and Tribble-ations.” AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Like all of these, ON POINT.

Meanwhile, a fun paragraph I enjoy from the beginning:
“It’s barely noon and Worf is already wondering once again how he ended up spending his life with these bewildering humanoid puppies. He departs to his quarters blast Klingon opera through his brain on his Beats by Dre headphones, probably.”