Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Little Green Men" & "Trials & Tribble-ations"

Season 4: "Little Green Men"

Time Travel Device: Time wrap caused by a cascade reaction of kemacite . . .

Time Travel Outcome/Purpose: The Ferengi (and Odo) end up in 1947 America.

Coolness Factor: The misinterpretation factor: how nobody understands anybody at first and actions are misinterpreted with the best anthropological intentions. Odo as the big German Shepherd.

Flaws: The time travel explanation--huh? As Quark says, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Paradox: Nog worries about disrupting the time-line, but I, Kate, think this episode falls into the predestination category.

Season 5: "Trials & Tribble-ations"

Time Travel Device: Defiant taken back by a Bajoran orb

Time Travel Outcome/Purpose: To prevent Captain Kirk's death

Coolness Factor: Classic Trek! The Department of Temporal Investigations!

Flaws: The orb moves the Defiant through time AND space?

Paradox: The investigation establishes that it is NOT a predestination paradox.

Kate says I love the underlying premise of "Little Green Men." I totally believe that if aliens did show up, the first order of business (ha ha) would be economics; again, as Quark says, "We just want to sell you things." I also totally believe an alien race would have its fair share of used car salesmen.

The time travel explanation of this episode definitely falls into the "magic door" category of explanations. It really doesn't matter how they get back; they just need to, so the jokes can start.

"Trouble & Tribble-ations" is a sweet episode. It is also lovingly done; the use of a Classic Trek actor, not just character, is inspired. The editing is smooth. As Mike says, the digital work doesn't look artificial; I think one reason is the layering (Odo appearing behind Chekov, etc.).

I got a huge kick out of Bashir's time argument: "I could be my own great-grandfather!" As Mike also mentions, the show takes a light-hearted look at the franchise's obsession with time travel. (Star Trek episodes do appear four times on this list!)

And the final scene is excellent although I can't help wondering, Will this "next generation" enlightened Federation beam the tribbles to an enemy ship?

Mike says that out of all Star Trek, DS9 was always the most willing to have fun, and both of these episodes testify to that. "Little Green Men" is really fun and cute and has a special place in my heart due to a few interesting months I spent living in Roswell.

In my opinion, Star Trek has always been about the science. More than just the setting, the science fiction and how the characters use that technology almost always drives the plot. While this can always be boiled down to the proper use of power, in the end Star Trek really is about how we use technology. As such, techno-babble has always been integral.

I love how "Little Green Men" stays true to using technology, yet having Rom explain it makes it completely incomprehensible: definitely a playful jab at the long-standing tradition of time travel in Star Trek. The story is fun and playful, though only to hide the real point. Hollywood using aliens and time travelers to critique society isn't new . . . however, using both at the same time might be. The political comments are sparse, though, and lighthearted enough not to ruin anything.

I've always enjoyed Quark, and it's no surprise that Quark-centric episodes became more and more popular as the show went on. The slight nod here in the first few minutes of comparing Nog to Worf is a nice touch since being the first of a race to join Starfleet is definitely an honor. But I wish they had developed that relationship more. "Little Green Men" is playful, fun, and really takes full advantage of Quark and company .

"Trials and Tribble-ations" goes even further in the direction of poking fun at the time traveling happening in the universe of Trek. I love the idea of an agency that keeps track of every incident of time travel. Not just funny, but practical! I love how sparingly the special effects are used in this episode. So much so that even years later, it looks authentic in many scenes! The use of the popular original series episode was clever, and not replaying the entire episode, so much as touching upon the highlights, was really a good decision as the episode wasn't bogged down by old material.

The time travel here is classic "magic door": the magic Orb of the Prophets is the culprit, and it's never discussed how the orb works. Here, they're just having fun, and how they got back in time isn't so important as the "Holy crap it's Kirk!" moments. There are so many jokes, nods, and references in this episode, it'd take forever to mention them all. My favorites include "I'm a doctor, not a historian!" and Kirk's appearance.