162: Pliable Truths

"Duet" 30th-anniversary reflections

When a Cardassian named Marritza arrives seeking medical help, Kira claims he is the notorious Gul Darhe'el and wants to punish him for his war crimes. But this case of possible mistaken identity may not be as simple as it seems. At first claiming to have been Darhe'el's file clerk, Marritza later admits to being the butcher himself. Apparently, he payed his surgeon well to break the spell of aging, leaving Kira to ask, "Is that your chin or was that war you were raging?" A mystery unfolds aboard the station as psychic spies from Gallitep try to steal your mind's elation. It's Kalla-Nohracation.

In this episode of The Orb, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 30th-anniversary retrospective that will take you through all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one episode at a time. In this installment, we discuss "Duet" and how a story pitched by interns to save budget broke the dam and unleashed the potential of the young series.

Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
World-Building (00:06:01)
Where Was the Federation (00:12:49)
Kira's Journey (00:19:23)
Write Your Own Ending (00:25:00)
The Anti-Dukat (00:30:39)  
Pitched by Interns (00:37:15)
Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:42:37)
Closing (00:43:41)

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)