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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 2 Episode 11

Rivals

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7.0

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AIRED: 1/2/94

Stardate: 47349.2

A con artist opens a bar with a gambling machine that can alter the laws of probability.

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Fan Episode Reviews (3)

Episode doesn't have much luck

6.0

By Celedorian, Jan 13, 2013

The idea of distorting the laws of probability to manipulate luck is an interesting concept, and the premise of this episode would easily fit into any incarnation of Star Trek. DS9 takes it and doesn't really flesh it out so much as it sketches it out, outlining the general idea and mostly avoiding anything of ambition or substance. The high concept, which opens itself to a wide array of possibilities, is used merely for petty gambling and sporting games. The idea of borrowing a little good luck at the expense of a lot of bad luck later, touched upon here for comedic purposes, is a rich source of drama that would be more interesting with a better plot.

The A story involves guest star Chris Sarandon and his rivalry with Quark. The plot goes nowhere, because Sarandon and Shimmerman have no chemistry together, and the scriptwriters completely botch their game of one-upmanship. The B story, about a sporting rivalry between Bashir and O'Brien, fares better thanks to strong performances of the actors and a relationship that works well on screen. In the end, however, the only must see feature of the episode is Bashir's racquetball attire.

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Lightweight fun. Worth it for Bashir, O'Brien and Quark.

7.5

By pharoahsdance, May 14, 2010

This isn't a heavyweight episode by any means, but by this point DS9's characters were established enough that even 45 minutes of fluff could be entertaining.

The Bashir-O'Brien pairing gets a second go here (after season 1's "Storyteller"), and it's even more entertaining this time around. They aren't friends yet, but the chemistry is obviously there. Armin Shimerman is absolutely great with another over-the-top performance. (The Bajoran orphan fund!) And Prince Humperdi... Martus - well, this is a fairly minor role, but I think more than acceptable.

The underlying scifi plot doesn't make sense, but unlike TNG where they would have spent 10 minutes spouting technobabble and then solving it to our boredom, here it's dispensed with quickly by two phasers.moreless
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Kinda fun...but ever so slight.

5.5

By Amoyaan, Jan 29, 2008

'Rivals' is a lightweight instalment with a tenuous plot that borders on ridiculous. An conman named Martus arrives on DS9 and sets up a rival casino that threatens to put Quark out of business. It seems that Martus has an alien device that is changing the laws of probability, thus changing people's 'luck'...or soemthing like that. I'm not really sure if it makes much sense actually...

There are some amusing scenes, mainly involving Bashir and O'Brien (the other two rivals referred to in the episode's title), but as a comedy piece this falls flat on its face: simply because it isn't nearly funny or outrageous enough to sustain the already brittle plot.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Armin Shimerman	Quark
Terry Farrell	Lt./Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Season 1-6)
Rene Auberjonois	Constable Odo
Nana Visitor	Major/Colonel/Commander Kira Nerys
Avery Brooks	Commander/Captain Benjamin Sisko
Alexander Siddig	Dr. Julian Bashir

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Chris Sarandon	Martus Mazur	Guest Star
Albert Henderson	Cos	Guest Star
K Callan	Alsia	Guest Star
Rosalind Chao	Keiko O'Brien	Recurring Role
Mark Allen Shepherd	Morn (uncredited)	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- El-Aurian are a race of 'listeners'. The word El-Aurian is clearly derived from auricle, which is the outer portion of the ear.
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QUOTES (5)
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- Rom: I'm going back to Quark! At least then I'll be cheated by family!
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- Martus: I bet you're enjoying this.
  Quark: Taken in by one of your own victims, and no one to turn to but me? Ha-ha-ha! I can't remember when I've been so entertained.
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- Quark: My benevolence is known far and wide.
  Martus: Oh, it's legendary, I'm sure!
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- Quark: You practically begged me to stay, which was against my better judgement, but I did!
  Sisko: I didn't beg you, I blackmailed you.
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- Keiko: (to her husband, about Bashir) Kick his butt.
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NOTES (7)
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- The name "El-Aurian" was first used in this episode, which aired before the movie Star Trek Generations.
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- The character of Martus was originally planned to be the son of Guinan, a recurring character, played by Whoopi Goldberg, from Star Trek: Next Generation. When Goldberg was unavailable to appear in the episode, that aspect of the character was dropped.
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- The character of Martus was originally conceived as a recurring character who would be a rival of Quark's.
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- Rule of Acquisition #47: Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own.
  Writer Joe Menosky began including references to the number 47 in almost every episode of Star Trek since season four of The Next Generation. It is an in-joke, referring to The 47 Society at Pomona College in California, a college which Menosky attended.
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- Ferengi Rules Of Acquisition:
  Number 47: "Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own."
  Number 109: "Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack."
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- Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) does not appear in this episode.
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- Guinan's mysterious race finally gets a name in this episode: the El-Aurians. We discover Guinan is member of this race in Star Trek: Generations.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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