Watching a lot of Star Trek

I just watched an episode of DS9 titled "The Children of Time." The Defiant folks land on a planet and find their descendants living there.

They're there because the Defiant went through a time warp and got stranded 200 years in the past. In this timeline, they never got back to DS9, and one of them (Kira Nerys) didn't make it because she didn't return to DS9.

Ultimately, they have a dilemma: If they stay there, their descendants continue to exist. If they go home (and save Kira Nerys), their descendants will never exist.

Odo (the one on the planet; yes, there are two Odos and two Daxes) makes sure they get through the barrier safely so that Kira will continue to exist.

This episode was all about philosophy, and I don't know that I was happy with the outcome. I wanted the 8,000 people on the planet to live. And they didn't.

It was one of those times when Star Trek personnel couldn't beat the odds and have their cake.

In some ways, it's one of the best episodes Star Trek ever did. In another way, I couldn't bear having two Odos and two Daxes at the same time. Einstein would not approve.

***

My wife has been ODing on "Mission: Impossible" the last  year or more, but now it's my turn. Netflix also added all of the Star Trek shows some time ago, plus a few movies (which were later removed), to its streaming list.

I'm watching "The Cage" as I write this, and I've watched many regular Star Trek shows, plus nearly every Voyager and Next Generation episode and a few of Deep Space Nine (I watched two last night). I also watched every episode of Enterprise, although it's not my favorite Trek show.

In recent months, I've also seen "Wrath of Khan" and "The Search for Spock" (I wish they'd put "Voyage Home" on there).

I can watch Star Trek to my heart's content. And if I get tired of Star Trek, hey, there's always NCIS. (They took "Mission: Impossible" off Netflix some time ago.)

***

I just found one of the better DS9 episodes, The Visitor. Ben Sisko has been taken into subspace, and Jake wastes his life looking for him. You can find it here. Actually, it's probably as good as any Star Trek episode ever done (with all due respects to "The City on the Edge of Forever").

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing