"Captive Pursuit"
DEEP SPACE NINE: Season One, Episode Five
Originally Aired January 31, 1993
Finally an O'Brien centric episode after last week's "bait and switch." I wanted to watch this series for the "relationship" between Quark and Odo, but O'Brien is a surprisingly well-written character and he's fast becoming one I want to watch. He even states that he hasn't seen his wife in three weeks, probably making reference to her lack of appearances the past few episodes, further cementing this "O'Brien must suffer" trope that I've heard about. O'Brien is the "everyman" out of the series cast, so it makes sense to pair him up with an unfamiliar alien who arrives aboard the space station. This unfamiliar alien named "Tosk", and that's all he'll say when asked if "Tosk" is his name, race, or job; "I am Tosk." Very similar to "I am Groot". The two form a bond, a friendship even, when O'Brien shows him around Deep Space Nine and Tosk learns about things like "R and R", which includes a stop at Quark's bar. There really isn't any interaction this week between Odo and Quark like past episodes, since "Captive Pursuit" is centered on O'Brien and Tosk, although Quark does get a few good scenes throughout.
I should've realized what this episode was about given it's title, but since it was centered around Tosk and his mysterious background, I thought it might have something to do with the Bajoran-Cardassian War since he was looking for weapons. Instead, it turned out to be something similar to a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie also released in 1993, Hard Target. In that movie, the homeless are hunted for sport by the wealthy who pay top dollar for each hunt. "Captive Pursuit" presents a species of alien that breed their own specifically for the hunt and the ones doing the hunting have cool helmets and lazer guns. They even start a shoot out with the Federation officers, which results in them blowing a door off its hinges, in a pretty cool "wild West" styled shoot-out. That furthers the comparison with this series being like a Western in outer space. Since these "Tosk" creatures are bred just to be hunted, it is their honor and duty to provide a great challenge to be hunted..that is, until Tosk meets the DS9 crew. I could see that happening in the wild West too, as maybe outlaws would hunt and kill Indians for the thrill of it.
I'm a bit sad this episode doesn't give me an opportunity for "Better Know A Bajoran" or more of the "Ferengi Perspective" angle that I'm trying work, as Kira's only big scene is part of the phaser war, though Quark does help lead to the episode's climax. It was more inadvertently what led to the climax, as O'Brien visits the bar and gets the idea to bend the rules as a Ferengi would do. O'Brien broke Tosk out of the Brig and allowed the hunt to continue so "Tosk" wouldn't be a disgrace after his capture. Although my review probably won't convey it, I enjoyed this episode most of this early batch of episodes. It was an entertaining story, like a mini action movie, and I like how the spotlight continues to shift with each episode as this one had O'Brien front and center.
Originally Aired January 31, 1993
Finally an O'Brien centric episode after last week's "bait and switch." I wanted to watch this series for the "relationship" between Quark and Odo, but O'Brien is a surprisingly well-written character and he's fast becoming one I want to watch. He even states that he hasn't seen his wife in three weeks, probably making reference to her lack of appearances the past few episodes, further cementing this "O'Brien must suffer" trope that I've heard about. O'Brien is the "everyman" out of the series cast, so it makes sense to pair him up with an unfamiliar alien who arrives aboard the space station. This unfamiliar alien named "Tosk", and that's all he'll say when asked if "Tosk" is his name, race, or job; "I am Tosk." Very similar to "I am Groot". The two form a bond, a friendship even, when O'Brien shows him around Deep Space Nine and Tosk learns about things like "R and R", which includes a stop at Quark's bar. There really isn't any interaction this week between Odo and Quark like past episodes, since "Captive Pursuit" is centered on O'Brien and Tosk, although Quark does get a few good scenes throughout.
I should've realized what this episode was about given it's title, but since it was centered around Tosk and his mysterious background, I thought it might have something to do with the Bajoran-Cardassian War since he was looking for weapons. Instead, it turned out to be something similar to a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie also released in 1993, Hard Target. In that movie, the homeless are hunted for sport by the wealthy who pay top dollar for each hunt. "Captive Pursuit" presents a species of alien that breed their own specifically for the hunt and the ones doing the hunting have cool helmets and lazer guns. They even start a shoot out with the Federation officers, which results in them blowing a door off its hinges, in a pretty cool "wild West" styled shoot-out. That furthers the comparison with this series being like a Western in outer space. Since these "Tosk" creatures are bred just to be hunted, it is their honor and duty to provide a great challenge to be hunted..that is, until Tosk meets the DS9 crew. I could see that happening in the wild West too, as maybe outlaws would hunt and kill Indians for the thrill of it.
I'm a bit sad this episode doesn't give me an opportunity for "Better Know A Bajoran" or more of the "Ferengi Perspective" angle that I'm trying work, as Kira's only big scene is part of the phaser war, though Quark does help lead to the episode's climax. It was more inadvertently what led to the climax, as O'Brien visits the bar and gets the idea to bend the rules as a Ferengi would do. O'Brien broke Tosk out of the Brig and allowed the hunt to continue so "Tosk" wouldn't be a disgrace after his capture. Although my review probably won't convey it, I enjoyed this episode most of this early batch of episodes. It was an entertaining story, like a mini action movie, and I like how the spotlight continues to shift with each episode as this one had O'Brien front and center.
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