TW Flashback Stargate Children of the Gods

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright MGM

Who would have thought that the movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell would spawn a legacy similar to Star Trek. They spawned two spin offs, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe both of which were shamefully cut off in their primes.

Many people didn’t think a Stargate television series would ever work especially when they heard MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson, was cast as the new Jack O’Neill. The role had been played in the movie by Kurt Russell so given the perceived image people had due to his time as MacGyver, would the audience buy it?

What they cleverly did was use the movie’s established history rather than ignore it like many television pilots do. Jack O’Neill would head the new team which would be made up of Sam Samantha Carter, whom O’Neill doesn’t expect to be a woman due to her preferring to be called Sam. The alien aspect would come in the form of Teal’c, played by Christopher Judge, a Jaffa head honcho to the god Apophis. He turns his back on his god when he meets O’Neill and the others. But we will come to that.

We get a great hook to open the show as a group of bored soldiers are playing poker in the gate room with the defunct Stargate. It is clear from their dialogue that no one comes here and staff are being shipped out. Like all classic horrors, something is moving under the tarp covering the gate. The female soldier goes to look as none of the others believe her. However, the gate opens with the same brillaint special effect that blew me away in the cinema. A metal ball pops through, scans the woman and a snake headed warrior grabs her. Out comes a squad of snake headed warriors from the movie. The last one, whom we will learn is their Lord Apophis, comes out. The guard holding the woman is revealed to be Teal’c who will become instrumental to the team and show. Subduing the woman with a hand device, Apophis then orders the others to kill the others. A squad of Stargate personnel burst in led by General Hammond, Don Davis. Apophis’ eyes flash just like Ra’s did in the original movie and they leave.

That’s a great way to start that really brings in the viewers, raising questions. Who are these aliens since Ra was killed? Is Ra actually dead? How did they get through the gate?

And just like Star Trek The Next Generation, they use the movie theme rather than try something else. It is clear the producers are embracing the roots rather than ignoring them and it is so much better for it. That sweeping score by David Arnold is as powerful today as it was back then, standing tall with the likes of Battlestar Galactica and Next Generation.

O’Neill is recalled and goes after Daniel Jackson. In O’Neill’s head, only Daniel can help him with it especially after seeing the dead body of a Jaffa from the initial attack. It is to his credit that Jack is maintaining the lie that Daniel died on Abydos after the nuclear device went off. However when he sees his old teammates, Kowalski and Ferretti being questioned also, and with Hammond about to send a bomb to Abydos, he has no choice to reveal what really happened. He throws a box of tissues through the gate knowing Daniel will know it’s Jack connecting with him.

Together with new addition captain Samantha Carter threy return to Abydos where they are reunited with Daniel and the others. Michael Shanks takes over the role of Daniel from James Spader and is born for the role. Using the original actors for Skaara and Sha’uri is nice touch. Daniel and Sam hit it off right away as they discuss the gates and what they mean. He believes there is a whole network of gates scattered all over the galaxy but Sam disagrees. Their technobabble leaves O’Neill and Kowalski none the wiser which will be a running gag every time scientific stuff is discussed round Jack. That is the only explanation for the new alien threat.

Another nice touch is when they talk about Jack’s son and how much Jack has recovered since his suicidal tendencies in the original movie. However, Jack and his wife have now separated following the death of their son. Add to that, Skaara trying to give O’Neill back his lighter is a nod to his giving up smoking. It’s also nice to see the Abydos locations again. The characters feel like they have known each other and bounce off each other nicely. Nothing is forced here and feels comfortable, a genuine extension of the movie.

But they are attacked by the snake warriors again, both Sha’uri and Skaara are captured leaving Daniel no choice but to go back and help O’Neill. The stakes are now personal as Ferretti is badly injured and Daniel is out to get his family back.

Something else that is laid here is the nature of the possessed lords. We discover they are hosts to a serpent like creature that lives in their stomachs and can move from person to person. In a full frontal nude scene, Sha’uri is taken over when the creature buries into the base of her spine. This is a marked departure from the grey white alien seen in Ra. This will become fundamental in the show going forward as will the existence of the network of gates.

Despite initial resistance, Daniel insists on being part of SG1 and they head off after Skaara and Sha’uri.

No expense is usually spared for a new pilot hoping to become a series and this is no exception.

All this time, we have seen Teal’c witness the murder of the soldier taken at the start of the episode and Sha’uri’s conversion for which, lest we forget, is his fault, through the episode. bit by bit, he is having doubts.

We also establish a regular event as SG1 meet a simple village of people who worship the Stargate. When they are captured by this lord and his new Queen Sha’uri, it becomes a fight for life. Thrown into a prison compound along with the other captured citizens, Skaara is chosen to be a host leaving Apophis to order the remaining prisoners to be executed immediately.

O’Neill sees something in Teal’c, a hesitation as to his Lord’s orders. With no weapons, no escape, it is a heart stopping moment when they are about to be executed by the squad of snake heads. O’Neill calls out to Teal’c telling him he can save these people. He says help me and Teal’c says, many have said that before but he is the first one he believes can do it. This moment seals the future as we witness the birth of a new friendship. Teal’c says he has nowhere to go but O’Neill says he can stay at his place for helping them. In a firefight, they blast a way out of the prison with the prisoners and run for it. But the excitement builds as warlord airships attack just as we saw in the movie. The serpent creatures we learn are called the Goa’uld, larva stages of the larger ones that every Jaffa carries.

As the group are attacked from the air and the flood of Jaffa ground troops, Apophis and his new Queen escape home through the gate. The effects are impressive, building on what came before. Watching it now for this flashback, my heart is in my mouth and I know what is going to happen. SG1 bring hope to a downtrodden people and this will never change.

The stage for all that follows is now set. The Goa’uld threat now that Earth has revealed itself as an enemy, the reveal of countless gates, the mission to save Skaara and Sha’uri, and the fact Teal’c is responsible for what happened to Daniel’s loved ones. Add to that, Kowalski is now infected by a Goa’uld and we are off to a great start to the series. No, I’ll change that; a spectacular start to the series.

I can look back now at all that spawned from this episode and feel a gratitude and delight that one of the best shows ever started with an episode that put its balls on the table and more than delivered. Against the odds and despite the critics, a legend was born.

TW Watches Doctor Who The Awakening S21E05

By Owen Quinn author

All photos copyright BBC

I first learned of the Awakening when the BBC released the twentieth anniversary one off magazine in which they premiered the upcoming episodes of the 21st season. The Sea Devils, Silurians, Daleks and the The Master were coming back but hidden among this was a new foe that hooked me right away. The Awakening is a compact story, a little gem that is much better than some of the new era stuff.

We have a story with spooky elements, a deadly alien hidden in a church tapping into the darkest side of humanity, a family member in danger and a potential new companion if history had played out in a different way. The story that is literally begging to be a four parter.

There’s a classic feel to the locality of this story. The quaint English village, Little Hodcombe, the tyrannical lord and alien hidden in a crumbling church that has spawned their legends and myths to the point they are ingrained in the very etchings of the church itself. The episode opens with teacher Jane Hampton (Polly James) criticising the over zealous nature of Sir George Hutchinson’s celebratory war games of the Battle of Little Hodcombe. Sir George has sealed off the village and at first seems to be just caught up in the spirit of it all but we will soon discover that he is being influenced by the Malus itself.

Now, as an audience, we know the Malus is lurking somewhere but first we get to see the influence it has on churning up violence and murder via the war games. The English Civil War came to Little Hodcombe where there was a vicious battle between a regiment of the King’s and a parliamentary force fought destroying not only themselves but the village along with it. Now Sir George wants to create this. But somehow the Malus has brought out his need for power which given his job as a magistrate, is one he would revel in as a position of absolute power. Such is its influence, that Tegan and Turlough discover that it has also invaded the Tardis. Perhaps it is using the telepathic field of the Tardis but the very fact that it could do this at all speaks volumes to what it can do once fully charged.

Something else is happening amid all this. A figure dressed like a pauper steals Tegan’s handbag and she is terrified by the ghost of an old man. The Doctor goes to the church, despite being warned away by Sir George, and finds a refugee from another time. Will Chandler, a teenager from 1643 who was hiding in a priest hole to avoid the battle. Time itself is breaking down between the two time zones explaining why Will and the others are in the present day.

Will reminds me very much of the second Doctor companion, Jamie McCrimmon, a huge fan favourite played by Fraser Hines. Will holds the answers to the Doctor’s questions as he witnessed first hand not only the battle but the arrival of the Malus. It magnified the battle and made it the bloodbath history recorded. I do think that if the imminent departure of all three of the show’s leads was not coming then Will would have become a fan favourite. The interaction between him and the Doctor fells like it’s been happening for years. Played by Keith Jayne, who played the Stig of the Dump from my childhood, Will would have been a great addition to the cast. If it had been only Turlough leaving that year, he would have slotted right in.

Peter Davison is in top form as the Doctor, this being his third and final season. One of the inhabitants of the village is Tegan’s (Janet Fielding) grandfather, Andrew Verney who has disappeared. Being the hot tempered woman she is, Tegan goes off along with Turlough launching a search and retrieve party from Sir George. A nice little touch is Sir George is playing with what looks like a stress ball in scenes. Later in the episode during his frenzied search for Jane and thre others, he drops it in a secret tunnel leading from the church to Sir George’s house. the Doctor relaises that it is a metal mined on the planet Raga exclusively for the people of Harkol which completes the picture for him. The Doctor now knows what the Malus is.

This realisation makes Sir George’s behaviour even more chilling and confirms he is possessed by the Malus. He declares confidently that something wonderful and strange is coming to the village that demands the old customs be restored. This includes the crowning of the Queen of the May. Tegan has been chosen but the crowning of the Queen always meant she is burned at the stake at the end of her reign. Tegan is a complication especially with her grandfather missing so Sir George will burn her alive. And given everything will be recreated, it means that every man, woman and child will be slaughtered. But at this point we still don’t know why.

It is only when the Doctor discovers the metal from Raga that he reveals that the people of Harkol utilise psychic energy in much the same way that humans do electricity. the Harkols sent a probe to Earth on a reconnaissance vehicle. Varney discovered it was real which was why Sir George imprisoned him. It went dormant and it was the Battle of Little Hodcombe that reactivated it and now it is using Sir George to recreate those events to bring it to full power.

And in the cliffhanger, the Doctor, Will and Jane are in the church when the wall cracks revealing the huge face of the Malus with burning green eyes. It roars, drawing the Doctor in. As he covers his ears, he is consumed in smoke.

The Malus is a great prop, moving as if trying to pull itself free from the wall. Its devilish nature is genuinely scary and its spider monkey version that appears in he Tardis in episode two brings to mind old horror movies from the likes of hammer House of Horror. It has inspired legends of the devil because it looks like what we believe the Devil would look like. Or could it be that the dormant Malus used its psychic energy to feed into human minds just as it did Sir George to inspire enough fear to regenerate itself. It could be said that there are shades of the Jon Pertwee story, The Daemons here but for me they are superficial. If anything, the real comparison comes at the climax of the story.

I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight the supporting cast. Denis Lil dominates the screen as Sir George. His fierce enthusiasm for the recreation soon bubbles as you relaise that his love for his hobby goes much deeper than we first thought. Maybe a four parter would have lost his descent into madness but here it is so well and so subtly done. Jack Galloway as his unquestioning henchman, Joseph Willow is rough and gruff and sadly his blind faith in Sir George is not as clear cut as Malus control.

The voice of reason Glyn Houston as Ben Wolsey walks the line of reason well until he realises something is seriously wrong.

It is nice to see a companion have more to their characters by adding family members. We had met her cousin, Colin Frazer, in Arc of Infinity where he became a slave to Omega and poor Aunt Vanessa murdered by the Master in logopolis. It isn’t really until the new era that family became more significant to stories but here in the classic series, it adds volumes to the characters; when they stay alive that is.

Turlough (Mark Strickson) gets his usual stuck in a cell moment because the slight of the story does not allow him to do much else because of everything else that is going on. That’s why I thought Will would be a good replacement because he brought a fire to the show. He was brave but vulnerable and when it came down to it he had no hesitation in killing Sir George, not out of hate or bloodthirst but it was the only way to save everyone and everything. It’s interesting that the Doctor doesn’t condemn or criticise Will for doing this. Unlike Warriors of the Deep, there was no other way.

The novelisation of the story is packed with detail and extra bits demonstrating this would have been an equally successful four part story. You should read it as it is a good read regardless of the umbrella.

Eric Pringle brilliantly weaves together a story that is almost the love child of Doctor Who and Sapphire and Steel in a pseudo historical tale. The Awakening combines alien terror with the supernatural that brings this two parter into an unmissable slot. One of the highlights of the show’s library.

Tales from Ballinfree Book Excerpt: The Colour of Honey

By and copyright of Owen Quinn

ales from Ballinfree is a brand new book series for children. It is a real return to the innocence and simplicity of a child’s world growing up.

It follows three friends, Rose Hoppity, a determined young frog, Lala Bumby, a brave rabbit also known as Rocket Rabbit with a love of bowties for every occasion and butterfly, Diamond Sparkle who loves all things sparkly. Together, we meet the unhabitants of Ballinfree and beyond in a series of exciting books.

Adventure is everywhere you look.

Welcome to the land of Ballinfree where anything can happen.

Join the good hearted Rose Hoppity, a young frog, Lala Bumby, the brave young rabbit and beautiful, butterfly, Diamond Sparkle and all their friends on their exciting adventures.

In this volume, Rose, Diamond and Lala meet Bobby Bumblebee in Flower Valley for a school project.
Soon, they are on a mission to help Bobby with an issue he has so he can collect pollen.
They must make a bargain with the leprechauns and find a living rainbow.
Will the rainbow agree to help? And what will the leprechauns want in return?

“My name is Bobby and as you can see, I’m a really, really, really, busy, busy bee.

I buzz and I sing when doing my thing.

I sing all day and I sing all night,

but it doesn’t ease my sorry plight,

You see, I’m a very poor bee, not good at all,

So all I want is to enchant and enthral.

Sing my songs and make the people dance,

all I ask is for is that one lucky chance.”

He bowed as the trio cheered and clapped and applauded.

“That’s awesome, Bobby!” cheered Rose.

“I swear even the flowers were dancing,” Diamond chimed.

“Can I be your manager? We’ll be famous! Er. I mean, you’ll be famous. We can have a famous friend!” Lala rambled rapidly, thumping his hind foot on the ground.

Bobby blushed and giggled nervously.

“Bzzzz, do you really think so? My brothers and sisters keep telling me to be quiet because I’m too noisy.” He bowed his head sadly. “I can’t help it. I like to sing. The tunes won’t stop and I don’t want them to.”

“Ignore your brothers and sisters,” Rose said. “They can’t see how talented you are!”

“Why, thank you. I try,” Bobby said.

Diamond frowned as something struck her.

“Wait a minute, Bobby. What did you mean when you said you’re a terrible bee?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not as fast as the other bees at gathering pollen and nectar to make our honey. They keep telling me I need to speed up.”

“Everyone works at different speeds,” Lala said. “it’d be boring if we were all the same.”

“I get scared when they shout. The more they shout at me, the more flustered I get,” Bobby said.

Diamond put her hand gently on his shoulder while Rose gave him a quick hug.

“That’s why I want to be a rapper because then I can sing all day to thousands of fans and never worry about getting flustered again.”

To be continued….

Classic Villains: Doctor Who’s Vivienne Fay

By Owen Quinn Photos copyright BBC

The Stones of Blood, originally broadcast during the Key to Time season was the show’s 100th story. It saw the fourth Doctor, K9 and Romana 1 land on Earth in the present day where they find a stone circle and witchcraft.

The nine travellers stone circle has a couple of extra digits which have a habit of going off on their own. They also have the habit of sucking every drop of blood from your body. The Ogri from Ogros are stone monliths that, when they come to life, light up from within with the sound of a heart beating. They live in swamps but as we will learn they have been brought to Earth for a very special reason.

The Doctor and Romana meet Miss Fay at the stone circle where she is introduced as the friend and colleague of Professor Amelia Rumford. Amelia is one of the most eccentric characters in Doctor Who history. It would have been fun to have her in the Tardis for a time.

The Doctor notes that she moves very quietly as he didn’t hear her approach to which she credits being a Brown Owl for that. She is versed on druids and their history. This is not surprising as she has been in the area for thousands of years. She has manipulated the locals all this time especially the druids. She assumes the guise of the Cailleach, a celtic goddess in order to keep the stones fed, her guard dogs. But as Vivienne, she is conducting a topographical, geographical, astronomical survey of the stones. Some of her identities include the wicked Lady Morgana Montcalm, Mrs Trefusis, Mother Superior of the convent of the Little Sisters of Saint Gudul and Senora Camara. Two of these identities seem to have murdered their husbands…allegedly. So it is safe to say, she has married and romanced men of wealth and power in order to secure her position on Earth. Each have had portraits done which have been taken away to be cleaned but in fact are hidden in the cellar of the house of De Vries, her right hand in the Cult of Cailleach. He is merely a pawn for Fay, demonstrated when he is murdered by the Ogri. Fay ordered him dead along with his wife, Martha, for failing to kill the Doctor at the stone circle.

As Vivienne, she is a charming host but actress Susan Engel brings a predator quality to her performance. She is also serpentine, always fishing for information about strangers to the area, ready to strike down anyone that susses her real identity. It is almost a ballet when she interacts with either of the time travellers. You can see this in the scene in episode two when Romana figures out that it has been all women owning the land in this area since the twelfth century. This is the time Fay became Mother Superior so disrespecting religion just to strengthen her power base here. As with De Vries, anyone threatening this was killed straight away. With a cup of tea in hand and eating a sausage sandwich she made herself, she counters every one of Romana’s theories including pointing out Ded Vries is a man, and head of the order.

But Romana thinks he is just a figurehead to put people off. There is something beautifully macabre about this. Fay is so cool and calm in the face of Romana’s correct reasoning yet beneath the surface, she is plotting to get rid of Romana for getting too close to the truth. Engel does it in such a blase fashion as the perfect host including telling Romana an amusiong story about Amelia being arrested in America for carrying an offensive weapon, a policeman’s truncheon for self defence. In the next scene , she is waking the Ogri to go after the Doctor. She kills two birds with one stone when she sends Romana to the prison ship she has in hyperspace which kills her investigations. Neither does she have a problem leaving Amelia and K9 to be killed by the Ogri.

It turns out that she is fact a criminal wanted for murder from the planet Diplos who has been hiding on Earth. She stole the Great Seal of Diplos, killing someone in the process. She has a prison ship in hyperspace which is connected to the stone circle in a teleport beam.

Ironically, it is in a courtroom that the Doctor must defeat her. Freeing the judicial Megara, the Doctor faces death for breaking the seal of their cell. She uses her Fay identity to fool the Megara, demanding they execute the Doctor immediately. But it is just typical of Fay that she hides behind a disguise to ensure her own ends. She fears the Megara so when Fay is called to be a witness, she is not keen on that. She calls the Ogri but the Megara destroy one. Again, just a pawn in Fay’s machinations. But the Megara have only a name on their judicial papers, no photogrpahic evidence at all to identity Cessair of Diplos. Even under oath, she evades detection. She uses the strict A to B thinking of the Megara. It is not within their awareness that she could be the criminal they have been sent for.

The Doctor uses the law against the Megara to call them as witnesses and detemine their original mission which was to judge Cessair of Diplos. In one last desperate attempt, the Doctor grabs Fay as they try to electrocute him. Under law, the Megara can read someone’s mind in certain circumstances such as a state of unconsciousness. They read her mind and Cessair is revealed as the murderer, the thief and removing Ogri from their natural habitat illegally. Fay is condemned to eternal imprisonment and is made into living stone, becoming part of the stone circle.

Vivienne Fay was a great villain. She used everyone and everything around her to ensure her powerbase. The properties of the Great Seal allowed her to cement myth and legend including the Gog, Magog legend. Susan Engel gives one of the most relaxed portrayal ever in the show. Her villain is so sure of herself that nothing fazes her. She instantly deals with problems and the Doctor proves a difficult one to deal with. It is sheer desperation that allows him to defeat her once and for all. Fay was the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing with the patience of a serpent. Nothing mattered to her bar her own ambitions. And for the 100th story, she was the perfect fit. Evil has never been so suave.

White Boba Fett Debuts at Newry Minicon’s First Ever Show

By and photos copyright of Owen Quinn

Sunday 29th March saw the very first Newry minicon at the Canal Court Hotel. Lots of fun was had and it saw the white Boba Fett cosplay by Karl Dornan. Check out some of the great cosplayers at work today.

Local Author Releases Debut Novel. What price is your soul?

B Owen Quinn author

Locla Armagh author, Robert T Nesbitt has released his debut novel, Eidolon Nexus. What price is your soul.

Time shivers. The city exhales. And something ancient stirs beneath the neon. Chronos slips through the cracks— a quiet tremor in the hours, a pulse beneath the rain. Memories unravel like smoke, rewinding, repeating, rewriting. Drawn toward the whispering heart of the Eidolon Nexus, He walks streets that bend like wounded light, shadows that remember him, reflections that breathe. Every step is a fracture. Every moment is borrowed. Every truth is a ghost wearing the shape of time. When Chronos awakens and the Nexus opens its eye, Reality becomes a tide— And he is already drifting. Freeing your soul comes at a price!

Buffy and Angel star returns to Dublin Comic Con Spring 2027

We’re thrilled to announce that fan favorite, James Marsters, is heading to Dublin Comic Con – Spring Edition 2027! 🧛‍♂️

Best known as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, James has become a fan-favourite across generations, as well as appearing in Smallville and more.

Get ready to meet a true cult icon when he joins us in Dublin next Spring!

📍 Spring 2027

📸 Photos | ✍️ Autographs | 🎤 Panels

🎫 Tickets coming soon

Brought to you by Comic Con Ireland – Est. 2013

Departed Star for Dublin Comic Con Summer 2026

We’re delighted to welcome David O’Hara to Dublin Comic Con – Summer Edition this August 8th & 9th!
David is known for his powerful performances across film and TV, including Braveheart, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and The Departed. 

🎬
🔥

Best of Trek: DS9’s Children of Time S05E20

By Owen Quinn author

All photos copyright of Paramount Pictures

When Dax’s scientific curiosity plunges the weary crew of the Defiant into orbit above a world surrounded by an energy field, they are contacted by people with familiar names. Soon, they discover this colony is made up from their descendants. Two hundred years previously, the Defiant was thrown back in time when it tried to go through the energy field only to crash on this world. With no choice but to survive, they settled into this new life. Kira died leaving Odo alone. Now they know they future, the divided crew are split on what to do. Go home to their families wiping the colony from history or stay here and let the crash happen to ensure 8,000 of their ancestors stay alive.

Only Odo is still alive from the original crew and Kira learns a startling secret; a secret that may well bring destruction upon all of them.

Star trek has dealt with many deep and powerful themes over the decades but Deep Space 9’s fifth season episode Children of Time stands today as not only a powerful piece of science fiction but an extraordinary piece of television drama. We have seen dilemmas over one life against millions but here we have a situation so unique that it changes our heroes forever. There is no reset button, no easy answer but the emotional depths of this story stay with you long after the episode ends.

Children of Time is a very unique and integral episode to the show as it takes place in the middle of the Dominion War and as we know the DS9 crew are instrumental in stopping the Dominion from winning and wiping out the Federation. It also brings to a head a story thread involving Odo’s secret love for Kira. Additionally we get a new aspect of Dax and what may have been. All of the characters are put under the microscope as they are faced with letting all of their ancestors die.

The fact that their ancestors are so likeable makes it hard for us as an audience to easily come up for an answer as top whether the crew should turn tail and go home. Now they know what will happen they can now evade that future and continue with their lives. However the cost will be the extinction of this colony.

O’Brien is fully committed to going home as he has a family while Worf would stay as this could be their destiny. O’Brien throws in the fact that Worf rarely sees his son Alexander so it would be easy for him. This is interesting given how little the honourable Worf pays attention to his son. While he tried to be a father on the Enterprise, Worf and Alexander have moved apart. For all his honour speeches and the fact he risked death when his father was accused of being the traitor, looking at his speech in Birthright when he finds out his father may well be alive, Worf’s treatment of his son is shameful. Whereas O’Brien has a young daughter and a son whom he loves dearly. He is happily married and will move heaven and earth to get home.

Kira is happy to accept her fate and when she tells O’Brien that the Prophets will look after Keiko and the kids, he gives her a short answer. This reflects his true feelings about her religion. This is O’Brien at his best. He is the everyday man we know and love who refuses to give up. In the alternate history, he was the last to give up which is very much him but he honoured his lost loved ones by naming his new family after them which is carried on sown the bloodline.

The alternate history of how they survived and grew after the crash is fascinating. Bashir is delighted that his healing skills are something of a legend while such is the power of Worf, there are Klingons both born and those who have adapted the lifestyle and teachings. They live separately to the rest of the colony while Dax meets a future Dax, Yedrin Dax, who has a plan to allow both the crew to leave while maintaining the colony safe behind the planet’s energy barrier.

When the Defiant came through the energy barrier it caused a duplication effect as seen when Kira was hit by a blast of energy. We, as an audience, have seen her split in two for a second before merging back. Yedrin has plotted a course that will send the Defiant safely through the barrier leaving them intact. He is a source of great stories about what happened. Dax and Worf got married, Worf was shaking with nerves and hated the fact Jadzia cut her hair short. All these anecdotes build a lovely picture but when Yedrin is exposed as a fraud, it brings out more in Dax.

Yedrin’s plan will ensure the Defiant crashes and when challenged, he reveals the guilt he feels for causing this in the first place. It was Jadzia’s need to make the next big discovery at any cost that robbed all these people of their home. This is something you don’t really think of but the brilliant Jadzia is so loveable, we forget she has a double intelligence that takes risks to be the first.

Now the choice of letting events happen as before or not is down to the crew.

The other cog in the wheel is Kira played by the wonderful Nana Visitor.

Sadly, the discharge that struck her caused irrevocable damage to her synaptic pathways which, without the medical facilities of DS9, caused her to die weeks later. Her grave is on a hill and she gets a special guide; Odo. But our Odo is currently stuck in liquid form as the barrier cancels out his shapeshifting ability. This Odo is one that has loved for over two hundred years. This Odo has mamanged to improve his shapeshifting and looks more human than before.

But this Odo jas been living with a broken heart for all these years and he takes Kira down to the planet after he tells her that he loves her. Taken aback, she accepts his invitation and visits her own grave. Odo is hopeful they can avoid this future and she and her Odo can finally have a relationship now she knows the truth.

It is an intersting dilemma. Kira’s survival is part of the equation and when Yedrin throws it in Sisko’s face about risking all their lives for just Kira’s, Sisko slaps him down hard. Jadzia and Kira are close friends so it’s startling to see this Dax ready to sacrifice her for the sake of the colony. But it is guilt that drives Yedrin.

Sisko decides that they are going home and as the final day descends over the colony, they find the colonsit planting fields despite the fact they know they are about go be wiped out from existence. The crew help them and when O’brien is shamed into helping by one of his great, great granddaughters and finally interacts with them, he goes to Sisko and tells him, they can’t let these people die. They have to let history take its course. The decision is made to let the Defiant crash as it did before.

With this decision, it would have been cool to see what happens to the rest of the galaxy since the key players of the war are now gone. Would the Dominion win? Would the Federation fall and humanity destroyed a la Star Trek Enterprise’s episode, Twilight? But it also displays the very heart of Trek. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Could you really look at yourself in the mirror knowing you had let babies you had held hours earlier, die in the blink of an eye where lives are never lived? It could also be argued that it also shows the faith the crew have in the rest of the galaxy in defeating the Dominion. Add to that the issue of Ben Sisko being the Emissary of Bajor and soon to be revealed as part prophet/wormhole alien himself. The Prophets let him crash in the first place and never came looking for him or sent any visions. Given Sisko has always been of Bajor, it seeds curious that they could not do something especially as we saw them wipe out an entire Dominion fleet inside the wormhole. We know they have certain time travel abilities given the Orb of Time so it does raise the question of why they never came back for Sisko. It is a testament to Kira’s faith that she chooses the colony over her own life.

But at the last second, the Defiant swerves and avoids the wormhole. In a second, history wipes the colony away. We learn that it was the other Odo that ensured the ship would not crash in order to save Kira. This appals Kira. She had opened herself to feelings for Odo but now all she sees is a man that murdered 8,000 people for her. That is something the Dominion would do just to send a message so how well does she know Odo after all? Is he a lot darker and dangerous than she thought? It’s not the first time she has seen a darker side to him as seen in Necessary Evil and Through The Looking Glass so it is certainly there. This derails any chance of a relationship going forward.

In this case, the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many resulting in mass death. Children of Time is a love story exploring many issues and being the hard hitting show Deep Space 9 always was. Children of Time stands today as strongly as it did when broadcast. A beautiful weave of sci-fi and human drama that shine sbrightly in the Star Trek universe.

Tales from Ballinfree Book Excerpt: Oscar the Octopus

By and copyright of Owen Quinn

Tales from Ballinfree is a brand new book series for children. It is a real return to the innocence and simplicity of a child’s world growing up.

It follows three friends, Rose Hoppity, a determined young frog, Lala Bumby, a brave rabbit also known as Rocket Rabbit with a love of bowties for every occasion and butterfly, Diamond Sparkle who loves all things sparkly. Together, we meet the unhabitants of Ballinfree and beyond in a series of exciting books.

Adventure is everywhere you look.

Welcome to the land of Ballinfree where anything can happen.

Join the good hearted Rose Hoppity, a young frog, Lala Bumby, the brave young rabbit and beautiful butterfly, Diamond Sparkle and all their friends on their exciting adventures.

In this volume, their class goes to the beach on a school trip for the very first time. Exploring the rockpools, Rose, Lala and Diamond meet Oscar, an octopus who has a very unique problem.
Can they help him solve his issue and get him back to his mummy before they have to return home?

Diamond hovered over a deeper pool with slightly blacker water than they had seen so far.

“Look at this!” she called.

“Wonder why the water is so different here?” asked Rose trying to see something in it. Rose, Lala and Diamond stood together looking down into the murky pool.

Suddenly a long orange…something with big white suckers all along it, slapped the rock before them. It looked like a leg of some sort. In a heartbeat another quickly followed, also slapping on the rock.

Suddenly, a huge bulbous head rose slowly before them, water running off it. Three more leg like sucker things broke from the water. They glistened with the salt water.

Lala, Rose and Diamond, all alone, clutched each other tightly in fear as they realised just how far they had come.

The great bulbous head, unlike anything they had ever seen before either in books or real life, opened two yellow and big black coin eyes on either side. The eyes stared at them as a beak where the mouth should be snapped open and shut.

“Only birds have beaks!” cried Diamond holding tightly on to the others. They were trembling, their legs refusing to run.

“What is it?” cried Rose staring at that hungry beak.

“It’s a big, baldy bird monster!” Lala cried, closing his eyes

“No, it’s…it’s a sea monster!” cried Rose. “And I think it eats frogs, rabbits and butterflies!”

The trio hugged each other tightly, afraid to move as the monster reared before them.

“Aaaaargh!”

To be continued