Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 2x11 — Rivals
Synopsis
Quark feels threatened when a charming swindler arrives on Deep Space Nine and opens a competing bar.
Filler rating: good filler
There's no essential plot or exposition in this episode that renders it unskippable, but it's a decent episode, even though it could have been better.
Remarkable scenes
- Bashir's tennis exercises. Hysterical.
- Bashir presenting O'Brien with quite a challenge at the game.
- O'Brien: "'I guess you prefer old style rules!' Like I was some kind of fossil! In my day I coulda wiped the court with'em!"
- Bashir talking to Dax about O'Brien having severe high blood pressure problems during the game.
- Bashir throwing his second game with O'Brien.
- I like the scene where Quark is pleading with Sisko to get Mazur off the station. They got on the turbolift. The door closes. The camera pans down. The door opens. You can barely hear Quark rambling on to Sisko behind the closed door. Hilarious detail.
- Quark: "You owe me! You begged me to stay here when you first came on board! And I did! Against my better judgement." Sisko: "I didn't beg, I blackmailed you. And don't pretend it hasn't paid off for you either!"
- Scene begins with O'Brien on the floor. Bashir: "I am so sorry!" O'Brien: "What happened?" Bashir: "Well, you served, I returned low, you slipped on the ball." O'Brien: "I slipped on the ball!?" Bashir: "Stepped right on it mid-flight, never seen anything like it."
- Keiko: "Kick his butt!"
- Quark trying to get Bashir to throw the match.
- O'Brien being able to pull off impossible shots and Bashir not being able to "hit the broad side of a Plygorian mammoth."
- Dax and Sisko phasering the luck devices.
- Rules of Acquisition; 47. Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own. 109. Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.
- Morn appearances; 1. Plays Quark at prosecco and loses. 2. Sleeping at the bar when O'Brien enters Quark's. 3. At Quark's when Quark gives his commercial speech to the crowd advertising a Racketball match he conned Bashir and O'Brien into. 4. Watching the match between Bashir and O'Brien.
Review
This episode features an original plot and a charming concept for a character: an El-Aurian (Guinan's race) who uses his species' talents to make profit. The title is a reference to the rivalry between Martus Mazur and Quark, as well as the rivalry between Bashir and O'Brien playing Racketball. There are a great number of small details in this episode that make it a fun ride and the character-driven nature of the episode is entirely to its advantage. The science fiction regarding the luck changing devices is outright horrendous, but it's easy to overlook. They were quite literally plot devices, pun intended. Bashir and O'Brien have a developing friendship now, which is a step up from O'Brien's expressed irritation with spending any time with Bashir last season. But as the time passes, you can tell they're becoming more and more fond of one another.