DS9 - Hard Time

[Fianna]

Yeah, while I complained about how the reset button hurts this episode, the solution to that is NOT to have the consequences last for the rest of the series, 'cause who would want to be stuck with ultra-traumatized, can barely cope in human society O'Brien for the rest of the series? Either you do it in a way where the consequences don't have to be dealt with later, or you just don't it in the first place.

[Wargriffin]

so what chuck's saying in the scoring... is It's a HARD TIME to get through episode


HEYO!

[Linkara]

Not every piece of media NEEDS to be rewatched over and over and over, sometimes it just needs to be powerful enough the first time and I think Hard Time qualifies. I can think of a movie or two (American History X in particular comes to mind) where I watch it once and then never have to watch it again. It's good, it's strong, it makes you think... but you don't need to see it again because it was effective enough the first time around.

[PerrySimm]

Though it's definitely in the "Miles O'Brien must suffer" pile, this episode is also of a kind with "The Quickening" or "Nor the Battle to the Strong" - a deep personal challenge for a particular character with a strong dash of YMMV. In these, Miles, Julian, and Jake each do things that reflect poorly on them, but also find redemption. How much redemption is perhaps left up to the viewer, but yes the reset button is a bit of a factor.

Contrast this with your average Worf character episode... most of the good ones were in TNG. The DS9 ones, especially "Let He Who Is Without Sin" and "Change of Heart" - don't give the viewer a whole bunch to appreciate.

[bronnt]

Either you do it in a way where the consequences don't have to be dealt with later, or you just don't it in the first place.

This is the real problem with this episode. If you don't want O'Brien to be a traumatized and broken character for the next 20ish episodes, then you don't put him in a situation that's going to break and traumatize him. You might like to push the envelope when it comes to how much you can do to a character in a given episode, but if you're concerned about what other stories you want to tell in the future, you need to limit that envelope.

This was also Voyager's problem at times. We might not complain about the Reset Button as much if the writers didn't keep introducing elements that required a reset in order to deal with. If you think it's important for Voyager to be undamaged at the start of the next episode, don't nearly destroy Voyager during the course of your own episode.

[bluebydefault]

It's interesting though how everyone reacts when he comes back though. O'Brien is such a stable down to earth character that you can tell the other characters rely on him a lot. It feels like with any other character they would have spent more time with them when they came back making sure they were okay. That would have given them more leave and pushed for more counseling. But with him it was almost as if they figured he would just be back to normal. That he had already been through other dramatic events but had found it in him to pull himself up again. I think this happens to people in real life. Some people are good at holding it down during stressful times that everyone thinks it will always be like that and that they don't need help sometimes. It was a feeling I got from the script, (with Bashir listing other dramatic experiences) but I wish they spent a bit more time on it if that was suppose to part of the shows theme.

Also it wasn't like he was gone for long and they had to go in and bust him out. It wasn't dramatic or tense they just went in and got him out. He was physically fine. I think it's hard to imagine that it was that bad from the other characters point of view.

[Nightbeat74]

i hate the O'brien must suffer thing the DS9 writers had,it is just to sad and it just got repetitve.I wish we could watch Data's day that is nice ep for O'brien he gets married in it!

[Wargriffin]

Not every piece of media NEEDS to be rewatched over and over and over, sometimes it just needs to be powerful enough the first time and I think Hard Time qualifies. I can think of a movie or two (American History X in particular comes to mind) where I watch it once and then never have to watch it again. It's good, it's strong, it makes you think... but you don't need to see it again because it was effective enough the first time around.

Its like Prayin by Keisha, I like to listen to it every once in a while but its not something you blar on repeat

[Deledrius]

Not every piece of media NEEDS to be rewatched over and over and over, sometimes it just needs to be powerful enough the first time and I think Hard Time qualifies. I can think of a movie or two (American History X in particular comes to mind) where I watch it once and then never have to watch it again. It's good, it's strong, it makes you think... but you don't need to see it again because it was effective enough the first time around.

Tideland comes immediately to mind for me. I don't regret having watched it, but I am entirely happy to never watch it again.

[Thebestoftherest]

Having not watched the episode in question and viewing the review, two questions.
a) Couldn't they get a telepath to put in memory blocks or such? The idea probably came from watching too much Babylon 5, but a vulcan would surely know a few tricks?

Trek has always had a weird (badly thought out?) approach to telepaths. Women like Troi and Lwaxana can read you when they like and how deeply they like without obstacle, prevention, and seemingly without any worry from the law. It has also been stated that no telepathic defences exist short of burning out someone's brain. And yet when it comes to them being used for anything practical or useful such as with O'Brien, it always seems to be limited to the odd mind meld or Troi ''shaking like a puppy and crying'' moment as she reads you.

I am not going to sit here and say that I am on the side of Bester and the Psi Corps - but there is a middle ground. Credit card numbers, top secret information, nuclear launch codes, damning secrets that would ruin you if they got out. Lwaxana should not be able to just steal these things from your brain whenever she likes without penalty.

You do make a good point.