154. Take Me Out to the Holosuite

Summary

Sisko is less than pleased to find an old Academy rival, a Vulcan captain named Solok, on the station for repairs. It is evident that there is some bad blood between the two...so when Solok insists that his all-Vulcan baseball team could beat any team of DS9's, Sisko agrees to a game even though only he and Jake have any experience playing the game. He assembles his team in the holosuite (himself, Jake, Kira, O'Brien, Bashir, Dax, Quark, Rom, Nog, Worf and Leeta) and begins practicing...it soon becomes evident that much work lies ahead if the Niners stand a chance against Solok's team. The Chief is sidelined with a rotator cuff injury and is made a coach, so Sisko pulls some strings to get Kasidy (who also plays baseball) to the station so she can play on the team. He asks Odo to act as umpire as he can be trusted to be impartial and fair to both sides. The team members make progress...except Rom, who is hopelessly inept. In a show of ruthlessness that shocks and dismays the entire roster, Sisko kicks him off the team. The others threaten to quit as well, but Rom insists they go on and play so he can cheer from the stands. Kasidy gets Sisko to admit the real reason for his determination to win...years ago, Solok humiliated him at the Academy and has been gloating about it ever since. Now, he threatens to beat Ben at *his* game and that's something Sisko isn't willing to accept. Although she promises not to, Kasidy tells the Niners about Sisko's motivations and they vow to win it for the captain. The game begins, and not surprisingly the Vulcans are soon ahead 10-0. The Niners become disheartened...even more so after Sisko is ejected from the game after arguing with Odo over a call at the plate. The 9th inning comes up. Nog is at third, Jake is up to bat. Sisko, realizing his priorities have been a bit out of whack, reinstates Rom to the team and sends him to pinch-hit for Jake. Purely by chance, Rom bunts the ball and brings Nog in for the Niners' only run, prompting an infield celebration. Solok, disconcerted at the frivolity while the game is still underway, challenges Odo...who gleefully ejects him from the game. The Niners celebrate their glorious 10-1 "manufactured triump" and delight in ribbing Solok for being too emotional.

Analysis

This episode was great fun, and to my relief, not as slapstick-heavy as I feared it would be. Sisko's long-standing embarrassment at Solok's hands provided a good emotional underpinning to the episode, and it was certainly a different way of seeing Sisko...as the butt of someone else's self-serving jokes and fodder for psychological papers. Continuing the trend begun in Afterimage Avery was on his game (no pun intended)...his performance was very relaxed and natural, and showed a lot of personality, especially as he relates the story of his rivalry with Solok to Kasidy. I felt that the Rom subplot weakened the episode, allowing it to mire itself at times in sitcom cliches about the benchwarmer scoring the winning run. Rom has become a bit more interesting than he used to be, but here he was firmly back in bumbling-dolt territory. Less Rom and more Quark (who was curiously invisible even though he was on the team) would have been better. The Chief's injury, as well, seemed an unnecessary plot device. It served only to get Kasidy into the game, but I think the episode would have been stronger without her...it would have been better to have Dax or even Kira drag the truth out of Sisko. But I guess it would have been a little weird having one of *them* giving Sisko a backrub. The game itself was well-staged, and I was relieved that an against-all-odds Niners victory wasn't contrived. The episode was replete with great moments. Odo made a great umpire (a role I predicted he'd play months ago, if I do say so myself) and it was nice to see him that relaxed around his crewmates...his big goofy smile when he got to eject Solok was worth the price of admission, though I was disappointed no one got to kick sand on his shoes. Ezri's back-flipped Fancy Dan catch against the rear wall (courtesy of third host and gymnast Emony Dax) was cool. The best moments, though, were courtesy of Worf. His Klingonness made a great contrast to baseball...as everyone else is yelling "hey, batter batter batter" he's yelling "Death to the opposition!" They all looked cute in their baseball uniforms...especially Julian, slurp. I just wish we could have seen Garak playing second base...and Vic Fontaine singing the Federation anthem. Other nice touches: the names on the backs of the Logicians' uniforms were in Vulcan, Miles' Scotch-flavored chewing gum, the amusing sight of the entire team signaling Rom (who doesn't know the signals) to bunt...and hey, who else noticed that Odo's number was 6 and Kira's was 9? Surely just an amazing coincidence. I know...getcher mind outta the gutter. What can I say, I yam what I yam.

Rating: 8.0

Memorable Quote:

O'Brien: He didn't touch home, Nog!
Nog: What do I do?
Worf: Find him and kill him!

"It's in the rules...look it up, but do it in the stands because you're OUTTA HERE!" --Odo, ejecting Sisko

Classic Scene:

The final scene, with everyone getting in some good verbal jabs at Solok's expense and finishing in that cool baseball-into-station fade shot, was the perfect capper to an enjoyable episode.

Sexually Slanted Line 'O the Episode:

"You'd better start working on your moves." --Sisko (it's a weak one, but this ep had a curious dearth of sexually ambiguous lines)

The O/K Status Report

Well, we're four for four in terms of eps that have at least a small O/K scene. At one point Kira, walking along the Promenade, glances into Odo's office and stops in surprise...he's in there practicing his umpire moves, his back to the door. She chuckles and grins, leaving him to his rehearsals.

Special Alerts

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