Is it “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Into the Woods” or a menopausal telepathic virus? Peldor Joy! Love is in the air on DS9 and Keith and Mike are there for it despite themselves. Who’s gonna end up kissing whom?
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine S3E10 “Fascination” Review
Keith & Mike sit down to do a long-form review of Star Trek DS9. We talk about the episode’s background, trivia, characters, storytelling and give out our episode rating in the AllamaEmmies! It’s nerdy fun.
PODCAST VERSION:
SUPPORT OUR PATREON:
Keith’s favorite Star Trek series is the immortal Deep Space Nine. Mike knows nothing about it at all. Together, they review the entire series episode by episode.
00:00 | Introduction
00:31 | Keith and Mike chitchat/We Thank the Patrons!
13:24 | About the Episode/Time Capsule
21:05 | Trivial Trivia
24:46 | Episode Discussion
1:03:30 | Mike’s Vocab Quiz
1:04:56 | The AlamarEmmys!
Previous Episodes:
Season 1
101 | Emissary Part 1:
| Emissary Part 2:
102 | Past Prologue:
103 | A Man Alone:
104 | Babel:
105 | Captive Pursuit:
106 | Q-Less:
107 | Dax:
108 | The Passenger:
109 | Move Along Home:
110 | The Nagus:
111 | Vortex:
112 | Battle Lines:
113 | The Storyteller:
114 | Progress:
115 | If Wishes Were Horses:
116 | The Forsaken:
117 | Dramatis Personae:
118 | Duet:
119 | In the Hands of the Prophets:
120 | The Maquis:
121 | The Maquis Part 2:
122 | The Wire:
Season 2
201 | The Homecoming:
202 | The Circle:
203 | The Siege:
204 | Invasive Procedures:
205 | Cardassians:
206 | Melora:
207 | Rules of Acquisition:
208 | Necessary Evil:
209 | Second Sight:
210 | Sanctuary:
211 | Rivals:
212 | The Alternate:
213 | Armageddon Game:
214 | Whispers:
215 | Paradise:
216 | Shadowplay:
217 | Playing God:
218 | Profit and Loss:
219 | Blood Oath:
220 | The Maquis: Part 1:
221 | The Maquis: Part 2:
222 | The Wire:
223 | Crossover:
224 | The Collaborator:
225 | Tribunal:
226 | The Jem’Hadar:
Season 3
301 | The Search – Part 1:
302 | The Search – Part 2:
303 | The House of Quark:
304 | Equilibrium:
305 | Second Skin:
306 | The Abandoned:
307 | Civil Defense:
308 | Meridian:
309 | Defiant:
310 | Fascination:
Credits:
Keith Varney
YouTube:
Web: www.keithvarneywriter.com
IG: @keithvarney
Twitter: @keithvarney
Michael Indeglio
YouTube:
Web: www.mike-indeglio.com
IG: @mikeyi99
Twitter: @mikeyi99
Opening Theme: Keith Varney (www.keithvarneywriter.com)
Check out our other stuff!
Keith’s Books:
The Dead Circle (Apocalyptic Zombie Horror):
Beneath the Snow (Apocalyptic Horror):
The Farmer and the Two-Faced Lord (Picture book parody):
Keith’s Music:
Momentum (Debut Album):
Podcasts:
Out of Practice Podcast (Episode Recap & Review of The Practice)
Wisdom of One (Comedy D&D)
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 3, episode 10 “Fascination” is an episode that explores the theme of love and relationships. In this episode, the crew of the space station becomes infected with the wacky Lwaxana Troi’s telepathic virus, which leaves everyone feeling amorous and obsessed with their crushes.
As the crew of the Deep Space Nine prepare to host the arrival of some distinguished guests, Lwaxana Troi, a Betazoid ambassador, comes aboard the station. As she starts mingling with the crew, she manages to spread her telepathic love virus that rapidly starts infecting everyone. People become more affectionate and frisky, and soon enough, old flames rekindle, and new affairs begin.
As the crew of Deep Space Nine descends into a frenzy of love and lust, the situation starts to become a bit awkward, particularly for Captain Sisko, who starts to feel a bit uncomfortable with everyone trying to express their love for him. However, Lwaxana manages to diagnose the cause of the outbreak and comes up with a solution to the problem.
“Fascination” is a fun and entertaining episode that showcases some of the great character dynamics on display in Deep Space Nine. The episode does an excellent job of exploring the various romantic relationships developing between the characters on the station, from the budding romance between Bashir and Leeta to the long-standing relationship between O’Brien and Keiko.
Additionally, “Fascination” provides a bit of comic relief in an otherwise darker and more serious season. The episode humorously lampoons the crew’s romantic entanglements, putting them in odd and amusing situations that poke fun at the idea of romance. The episode also provides a bit of suspense, as the crew tries to figure out what’s causing the outbreak and how to stop it, adding some welcome tension to the narrative.
In conclusion, “Fascination” is a must-watch episode for any fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The episode expertly blends humor, romance, and suspense to create an entertaining and memorable piece of television. The episode makes for a delightful break from the serialized storytelling of the season, providing a light and fun experience that is sure to put a smile on viewers’ faces.
I loved this episode! Fun and whimsical but also some really great authentic scenes with Keiko and O’brien. This was a real ensemble episode and everyone was awesome. Also fyi I really want to have a gratitude festival of our own, you guys know I love a party. 94 stembolts from Chancellor Jen!
I was surprised at how much I liked in this episode upon a rewatch. This is another one I typically skip since I usually don't like Star Trek episodes where people are acting abnormally; also why I don't care for the mirror episodes in Trek or episodes like power play on TNG. And Bareil might be the worst character on the show. He doesn't add anything and there's nothing interesting about him whatsoever. I may hate Kai Winn, but she's interesting abd phenomenonally acted and has purpose. Bareil is just a waste, I don't even understand why they had him on the show at all.
BUT, what's easy to forget is that even in lesser episodes like this one, there are moments of character development that are important to my appreciation of the show as a whole. For example, everything with Keiko and Miles is excellent and completely true to life and the process and resolution of their storyline adds important depth to both of them as characters and the portrayal of their marriage.
Also, this episode gets bonus points for how it handles Luwaxanna Troi. I could not STAND her on TNG but this episode along with The Forsaken do well to make us root for her and I actually kind of love DS9 Luwaxanna. 80 stem bolts, less for the episode it self but for the overall flavor it adds to the series. And do i have to say hell YES they are self sealing.
The Companion's analysis of "Past Tense Part 1" mentions a significant plot detail from a season 5 episode, but nothing that's likely to spoil your enjoyment of that ep once we eventually get around to it. Otherwise, the entry is completely safe.
I give this episode a 78. I always remember this episode as a relative dud, so I was surprised by how engaged I was upon this re-watch. Some things still don't quite gel for me. The humor tips over into the overly broad near the end, Kira's reaction to the whole situation seems a little off, and the way the episode plays Lwaxana's desire for Odo mostly for laughs until that final scene rubbed me the wrong way – the way the very idea of elder desire is so often used for 'eww! Ick!' snickering is a bit of a pop culture pet peeve of mine. But there's less of all these issues than I had remembered, and many of the comic beats do land, especially everything involving Dax and Sisko. They make a great comic duo because of the way Terry Farrell really plays up the comic energy, while Brooks does a great straight man routine. And of course as you guys mention all the stuff between Keiko and O'Brien is just gold, and it gets better and deeper upon rewatch and with age. Overall, a pleasant, minor episode that, while no one's idea of a series highpoint, doesn't deserve its rep as a misstep either.
The only broader issue I have with the story is a problem that really couldn't be solved on a syndicated show in 1994 – namely how heteronormative all the couplings are. It would have been great to get Garak in on the action and see all the polysexual possibilities that would open. But again, obviously not something that could even be considered in 1994.
Also, very minor issue, but I think I heard you say my rating for 'Defiant' last week was a 90, when in fact it was an 80 (shaved down from a potential 85 thanks to that dumb kiss). So fix the record: 'Defiant,' in my eyes, is only slightly better than 'Fascination.' But that's a less damning ranking than I would have thought a couple of weeks ago.
Finally getting to one of the horniest episodes. damn, someone had some strong opinions about Meridian, geez. Strong enough to steal a quote from Billy Madison. That's an interesting thought on Riker in Defiant, I'm not sure it would have worked, but it could have been different. Sunday night I actually slept 8 uninterrupted hours it was like a miracle. 17 babies at once, like a automatic rifle, pop, pop, pop, pop. Ok the Chili's theme is memorable, but the greatest commercial theme ever was for a Houston Business called Thunderbolt Transmission, if you were a kid in Houston between 1980-2000 you can still sing every word of that one. I love that this episode shows an airlock waiting room, and no one thinks about it at all. One of the huge things I think gets over looked about DS9 is how REAL the O'Brian's are, they are every couple some way. I love Quarks jacket in this episode, it's my second fave of his. It's his Trans Ally Jacket, lol. I do appreciate the way the entire cast is utilized in this episode, no one get's side lined. I think the other thing that helps the Keiko Miles story work so well here is the 2 years on TNG before getting to DS9. I think Troi does have some genuine feels for Odo. I think this is a pretty strong story with some silly moments and good acting overall. I would give it a 79 stems.
Now next 2 weeks episodes are what I am really looking forward to, it's a great 2 part-er, In my top 10 for DS9.
I love this episode, I think its fun. I also love anything to do with exploring Bajoran traditions. I give it 80 self sealing stembolts! Also…glad you like your Quark 🙂