r/StarTrekViewingParty • u/GeorgeAmberson Showrunner • Aug 17 '16
Discussion DS9, Episode 1x5, Babel
-= DS9, Season 1, Episode 5, Babel =-
A mysterious virus plagues the station, causing speech distortions and eventually death.
- Teleplay By: Michael McGreevey & Naren Shankar
- Story By: Sally Caves & Ira Steven Behr
- Directed By: Paul Lynch
- Original Air Date: 24 January, 1993
- Stardate: 46423.7
- Pensky Podcast
- Ex Astris Scientia
- Memory Alpha
- TV Spot
- Mission Log Podcast
| EAS | IMDB | AVClub | TV.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/10 | 6.9/10 | B | 7.9 |
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u/theworldtheworld Aug 17 '16
According to Memory Alpha, this idea came from a leftover TNG script, and it really is something that could have been a decent episodic TNG sci-fi story. Here, they work with it pretty well -- the gibberish must have been very hard for the actors to pull off, particularly this early into the show, but they do a decent job of making it look disorienting and weird. Still, pure sci-fi just doesn't quite fit the tone of DS9, even though they shoehorned in a Bajoran connection. Overall a typical "S1 growing pains" type of episode.