Inspired by the podcast Star Trek: The Next Conversation, I've been re-watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, this time with an eye more peeled for Shakespeare.
At this point, I'm well ahead of the podcast, but I'll be certain to call their attention to the Shakespeare in "Our Man Bashir."
Unfortunately, there's not much Shakespeare here. In this episode, something (imagine that) has gone wrong with the holosuite. I won't trouble you with the details, but Dr. Bashir is playing (essentially) James Bond, Kira is the Russian femme fatal, and Captain Sisko is the evil villain.
The Shakespeare comes in when the evil villain reveals his dastardly plot:
Links: The Episode at IMDB. Subscribe to Star Trek: The Next Conversation.
For more connections between Star Trek and Shakespeare, head to Shakespeare and Star Trek Complete.
For those of you who aren't terribly fond of Prospero, this can be taken as an interpretation of his twisted vision of his power over the island (even though he appropriates Miranda's line for his idea of the future). Through science (rather than magic), he'll have complete authority over the vastly-geographically-reduced brave new world.
To provide much-needed additional depth to what is otherwise a pretty disappointing episode, we're given a biblical allusion as well: The evil genius is named Dr. Noah.
Beyond that, there's not much positive to say about the episode. But the allusions to Shakespeare and the Bible do raise the overall tone somewhat.
Links: The Episode at IMDB. Subscribe to Star Trek: The Next Conversation.
For more connections between Star Trek and Shakespeare, head to Shakespeare and Star Trek Complete.
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