I appreciate that

Episode 9
'Move Along Home'

Plot: The Wadi arrive from the Gamma Quadrant, and all they want to do is gamble. Quark is skeptical at first, unti they bring out a bag of gems

When they start winning, Quark tries to cheat, and gets caught. The Wadi break out their own game, and Quark is pretty excited.
The game apparently results in the crew(accept Odo) being game pieces. They try to figure out what's going on there, while Odo and the Starfleet Security guy try to figure it out from the other end.

The game seems to be Quark choosing what the crew does, why they do stuff. He figures it out (FAR too easily), when Odo comes to ask him where the command crew is...
Meanwhile in the game, Dax figures it out about the same time.

Quark gets upset when he loses a 'piece' then has to sacrifice one... which the end up picking at random instead.. in the game, Dax gets hurt (the 'sacrifice'), and in typical Starfleet fashion, Sisko tries to beat it.... he fails completely, and they all fall into a bottomless pit...

They all appear back in the bar, and Quark has a moments joy, until the Wadi tell him he lost, and they all laugh at the fact that they thought it was real. 

Odo points out he admitted he cheated them, but apparently that has no reprocussions, and he goes off to try to get the Wadi to let him use the game.

Notes:

-- Always fun to see familiar faces in alien clothes... Joel Brooks is one of those actors that seem to show up everywhere.

-- Jake sighting!!! Only for about 45 seconds, though. Apparently, Nog is a bad influence, but Jake is happy to defy his dad and hang with him anyway.

-- Now Bashir is a sissy as well as the rest.

-- I do wonder why Odo isn't a game piece... seems like it should have been him and not the Bashir if they were picking the senior staff.  One of those times where plot (the fact that Bashir would have no business figuring anything out, or even noticing anything was wrong) supercedes logic.  

-- Alien hopscotch? Wow... just Wow. Pretty hilarious, actually.

-- Just went it seemed Quark was taking control and knowing what was going on, he collapses into blubbering? Really? That seemed REALLY out of character... especially admitting he cheated. I guess we're supposed to see he's not really such a bad guy after all, but I didn't like it.  There's no particular reason he should have felt bad about the crew's situation, especially given his usual world view.

-- Here's another point where Sisko is indirectly compared to the past, and comes up lacking... he couldn't beat a no win scenario

-- O'Brien's been gone quite a while... wasn't the station falling apart without his constant care?  Who's doing that now?  And why don't they hire him/her/it on, since things have run FAR more smoothly since he's been gone.

-- Not much of a first contact... shouldn't Sisko have, you know, tried to talk to them after the game?  I guess he was too shook up to do so.

I found this to be a fun, enjoyable episode (and one that a sorta remember seeing before), despite the flaws that become clear if you analyse.

Heh, really?  Too silly?   It seemed to border on self-parody, but it was  entertaining, I thought.

I don't know, it wasn't THAT bad... transporter and a holdeck mixed with a board game... seems like the sort of thing that culd exist. I agree the 'move along home' thing was annoying.

I liked Quark actually being freaked out at the prospect of choosing a "piece" to "loose" and Kira Dax and Sisko ignoring each other telling the others to leave them behind - both nice character bits early on in the series - and remember laughing out loud at the "Of course not, it's only a game." line at the end. Otherwise I found it pretty meh. I know the SFDebris reviewer didn't like it at all.

I don't think she likes them as much as she's willing to sacrifice herself for people.

Episode 10
'The Nagus'

Plot: A very old Ferengi named 'the Nagus' comes to Quark's and abuses his hospitality.  Quark thinks he's there to take over.  Turns out he wants to use the bar for a Ferengi business conference about the Gamma Quadrant.  Nog gets banned from school when the Nagus doesn't approve, and blows up when Jake asks him about it.

The Nagus is thrilled that the Gamma Quadrant is full of people who won't know not to trust them... he then announces Quark will be in charge of it, as the new Grand Nagus... and the rest of the Ferengi have a cow and storm out.  As Quark tries to get his head around people wanting to kill him, the Nagus falls over and dies.  Someone tries to kill him at the funeral, and he narrowly escapes.

Meanwhile, Nog and Jake try to stay friends, and stay out too late... Sisko gets mad and yells at him.

Back with the Ferengi, it turns out the it's Nog's brother is the culprit, with the Nagus' son... probably good for Quark, considering how dumb he seems to be.  He REALLY wants to run the bar, apparently.  They next try to get Quark to visit to the Gamma Quadrant to 'finish negotiations'.   They very suspiciously flatter him into not taking anyone with him... They try to send him out an airlock.. just as are about to do it, Odo and the Nagus(not dead), show up.  Apparently, it was a test for the Nagus' son, which he failed completely.  The Nagus instead goes off to run the Gamma Quadrant on his own.  In typical Ferengi fashion, Quark is proud of his brother's treachery, and gives him a 'promotion'.

On the parenting front, this time we get advice from Dax, who tells Sisko to take the hard line.  Sisko finds him teaching Nog how to read, which makes him very proud, and all is well.  



Thoughts:

-- I LOVE the Ferengi stuff!  I think that was only the 2nd time Nog and Rom are on camera.  And another semi-famous guest star!

-- One of these days, I really have to get the Ferengi rules of Acquistion book, I suspect it's hilarious.

-- So O'Brien is back, and he's subbing for his wife (who's still on Earth, I guess)?  It seems not only is teaching easy, but the station is in great shape these days, in the chief engineer has so much free time he can be a substitute teaching.
 
-- 'Vulcan's stole my homework'  LOL!  Though why O'Brien wouldn't answer 'what Vulcans?', since there hasn't been a Vulcan on camera in the entire series.

-- Sisko and O'Brien talking parenting, I love less.   

While the stuff with Jake is was over done and predictible, the Ferengi storyline was hilarious... probably my favorite episode so far.