It is a complete stroke of good fortune the episode featuring America’s pastime fell on the fourth of July. Amazing how appropriately some things work out, no?I am a big baseball fan--have I mention my beloved University of South Carolina Gamecocks are national champions?--so “Take Me Out to the Holosuite” holds a special significance. Enough of one for me to overlook its glaring shortcomings.
But let me start off with what is good, which is the whole concept. A Vulcan named Solok has been a rial of Sisko’s since the academy days. Solok has a particularly bad case of bigotry regarding the perceived inferiority of humans to Vulcans. His attitude prompted abar fight when they were younger, which Sisko soundly lost. There has been animosity between the two since which culminates in this hopeless baseball game between the DS9 crew and Solok’s Vulcan crew.
The episode is played as lighthearted fun and winds up better than most filler episodes. It is amusing to watch theDS9 gang trying to play a game they have no familiarity with whatsoever because they want to defend Sisko’s honor. Personally, I think Worf’s, ’Death to the opposition!” batting chatter is funnier than his more famous, ’I am not a merry man” from TNG’s “Qpid,” but I appear to be in a minority there.
The big flaw of the episode is its story structure. It starts out with the rivalry between Sisko ad Solok in which Sisko takes the game way to seriously. Then Solok disappears for two acts. Oncee he is back in the picture, the episode becomes centered around Rom rather than either Sisko or Solok.
Rom is a terrible player and in Sisko’s obsession about winning, he forbids Rom to play. Hechages his mind after being thrown out of the game for making physical contact with the umpire, Odo, and realizes what a jerk he has been. In spite of Rom’s ineptitude, he manages to score the only run for DS9 in a lopsided loss. Normally, my cynical heart would say that is cheesy, but Rom is played so sympathetic, I want him to d well, so I am happy when he does.
No one else seems particularly bugged by Nog’s inability to discover which Vulcan on the bench did not touch home plate and is therefore still eligible to be tagged out because they all look alike to him. Maybe I am reading racial overtones into that which are not really there, but I cannot see a gag like that working for an ethicitygroup rather than fictional aliens without someone becoming offended.
“Take Me Outto the Holosuite” is a fun, frivolous episode. Your feelings about it will likely hinge on how you feel about baseball. I probably would like it far less if they were playing basketball, soccer or some other sport I do not care about. Mileage may vary, particularly considering the disjointed story.
Fun fact: Cirroc Lofton, who plays Jake, is the nephew of retired MLB outfielder Kenny Lofton. Lofton had been centerfielder for my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, the season prior to this episode’s filming.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
