Cheap Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 3: A Man Alone (Video) (Rene Auberjonois) (Rene Auberjonois, Michael Dorn, Alexander Siddig, Corey Allen, Reza Badiyi, Gabrielle Beaumont, LeVar Burton, David Carson, Chip Chalmers) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 3: A Man Alone

The main plot revolves around a suspicious murder on the station, of which Odo appears to be the prime suspect. Various clues point to the constable: he had a strong motive, he had the ability, he had the opportunity, and his alibi is non-existent. I suspect this entire plot was worked just so that Sisko could have a loud speech imploring an angry mob that they shouldn't hate or harm a man just because he's different. Yawn. It's not an awful idea, it's just a horrendously clichéd one. How many thousands of times have we seen this scene before? How many hundreds of those times have we seen this in a Star Trek episode? William Shatner must be able to recite that exact speech in his sleep by now.

The secondary plot revolves around Miles O'Brien's wife, Keiko, deciding to open a school for the various children who live on the station. This might have actually been quite interesting, if it had delved deeper into the questions that it raised (how to teach children of different cultures in the same class, how someone with no background in education could rise to the challenges, how to persuade the skeptical that education is not propaganda, etc). Unfortunately, most of the solutions that Keiko must arrive at take place off-screen, so we never get more than a superficial look.

There are a handful of good moments in this episode. I like seeing the crew getting all grumpy with each other. Odo gets a few good lines and scenes. It's a pity the whole thing just feels rather convoluted.

Odo is accused of murder while Keiko starts a school
Odo has an encounter with a bad dude named Ibudan and when the guy shows up dead in a holosuite, Deep Space 9's Security Chief is the prime suspect. The only way of getting in and out of the room is perfectly suited to a shapeshifter and since Odo was in his liquid state in a bucket in his office, he does not have an alibi. The subplot for this episode finds Keiko starting a school for children on the station, who might not be interested in learning from the new "occupying" force. Given that "A Man Alone" is one of the earliest DS9 episodes only serves to remind me how so many of the Star Trek writers must be frustrated mystery writers. Of course we are supposed to have our doubts about Odo, since he served as Security Officer during the Cardassian occupation, but it is clear from the start that the Constable prizes the law above such minor niceties as Starfleet. This is an average episode of DS9 at best, that only begins to explore the potential of Odo's character. However, there is a consistent effort in these early episodes to indicate that Commander Sisko does not have a tradition Starfleet crew, forcing him to play the diplomat with his own officers (i.e., this is not your parents' Star Trek).

This was a very good episode!
This was a very good episode. Odo is one of my favorite characters and this was the first to revolve around him. You got to learn a little about his past in this episode. "A Man Alone" is a good episode. I would recommend it to all my friends!