There goes my credibility.
I've always liked this widely-panned episode. Yes, the riddles could've been more involved, but maybe they're softened for first-time players ("only children enter on the first shap"). Everything's relative: "Move Along Home" surpasses "Journey to Oasis," the 1981 episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, riddles dispensed by Felix Silla as a blue gnome.
Despite nods to cheesy sci-fi (Irwin Allen), there's meaning here: the crew are punished for disrespecting the Wadi during first contact. The obvious offender is Quark, who cheats at dabo after refusing credit for alien artifacts (without even learning their uses). Bashir lost his dress uniform; Sisko rejects "childish games," a key character moment aligning the commander with today's career officers.
Speaking of character, Quark's groveling seems unlike him, but may be histrionic: he's decided begging's his best move.
The names emphasize DS9's medieval quality. Their imposing visitor is Falow (Joel Brooks), a homonym with "fallow." "Wadi" may recall the Mahdi, the messiah figure of Islam. The repeated "Allamaraine" evokes Allemagne, the French word for "Germany." Indeed, the writers took inspiration from old European and Egyptian games (as well as Dungeons and Dragons, and Chutes and Ladders, thus the name of the game, "chula").
** Precluded by its poor reception, sequels to "Move Along Home" would've been preferable to DS9's overrated mirror-universe arc. ** The episode looks ahead to Star Trek: Voyager's fascination with nested narratives. **
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| chula! |
Despite nods to cheesy sci-fi (Irwin Allen), there's meaning here: the crew are punished for disrespecting the Wadi during first contact. The obvious offender is Quark, who cheats at dabo after refusing credit for alien artifacts (without even learning their uses). Bashir lost his dress uniform; Sisko rejects "childish games," a key character moment aligning the commander with today's career officers.
Speaking of character, Quark's groveling seems unlike him, but may be histrionic: he's decided begging's his best move.
The names emphasize DS9's medieval quality. Their imposing visitor is Falow (Joel Brooks), a homonym with "fallow." "Wadi" may recall the Mahdi, the messiah figure of Islam. The repeated "Allamaraine" evokes Allemagne, the French word for "Germany." Indeed, the writers took inspiration from old European and Egyptian games (as well as Dungeons and Dragons, and Chutes and Ladders, thus the name of the game, "chula").
** Precluded by its poor reception, sequels to "Move Along Home" would've been preferable to DS9's overrated mirror-universe arc. ** The episode looks ahead to Star Trek: Voyager's fascination with nested narratives. **
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