Deep Space Nine has done a number of episodes with plots that seemed more suited for TNG. “One Little Ship” was originally pitched by writer Rene Echevarria for Tng years before, but never sold. Now that he was a staff member on DS9, they went for one. For me, that idea of an anomaly shrinking a runabout to micro size and forcing its crew to repel a enemy invasion at that seems even more suited to TOS. But does it work? For the most part, yes. I imagine “One Little Ship” is great for anyone who loved Land of the Giants.. It is difficult to count me among those, bt ’One Little Ship” had its moments.
After an anomaly shrinks the runabout Rubicon with Dax, Bashir, and O’Brien aboard, the Jem’Hadar capture the Defiant. The Rubicon, now at its tiny size, is well suited to sneak around, aiding the captured Defiant crew in retaking the ship.
They are helped further along the way by a story element that appears for the first time, hits at playing a role in the Dominion’s eventual defeat, yet is never mentioned again. The dominion have been breeding Jem’Hadar in the Alpha Quadrant which are supposedly better suited for fighting there. But there is tension between the Alphas and the Gammas. It is a class struggle. The Gammas think of themselves as real Jem’Hadar. The Alphas are inferior, suited only to fight aliens for which the Dominion has nothing but xenophobic contempt.
You might think the revelation of tension could lead to an eventual insurrection, but the whole idea of animosity between Alphas and Gammas is dropped altogether after this episode. Perhaps that is because it would have been overkill to have the Alphas rebel, too, considering the actions Damar will take towards the end of the series.
Draw whatever conclusion you see fit over the disappearance of tension. Think about this one: sice the Alphas failed to hold the Defiant here, perhaps they were proven inferior like the Gammas assume and their breeding was stopped. There is an enlightened idea for the utopian Trek universe, no?
“One Little Ship” has some nifty special effects that make it an entertaining episode. I cannot help but feel the lighthearted tone of the Rubicon mission would have been better suited against a less serious enemy than the Jem’Hadar, but with the Dominion War falling to the wayside in recent episodes, I see the logic in using them anyway. So soon after the Dominion were comic fodder in “The Magnificent Ferengi” is strange, though.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
