Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series) Captive Pursuit (1993) User Reviews

Original and Touching Story, and one of Colm Meaney's Best Performances

[mstomaso · 9/10 · 17 February 2008]

Guest star Scott MacDonald great performance helps to make this memorable episode one of the best of DS9's first season, and a remarkably original show. MacDonald plays opposite Colm Meaney's Miles O'Brien as Tosk - a new species of alien which has just emerged from the Gamma Quadrant through the wormhole in a battle-damaged ship. Tosk is an intelligent creature, but so radically different from his human benefactors that he seems incomprehensible. O'brien is convinced that he means no harm, but is taken aback by Tosk's attempt to steal weapons from a secured weapon's locker. When Tosk's pursuers arrive, everybody is in for a surprise.

As one of DS9's most unilinear and self-contained stories, Captive Pursuit is nearly unique among the post-TNG franchise episodes. It intelligently explores cultural difference without relying too heavily on the tired old Prime Directive.

Colm Meaney gives one of the best performances Miles O'Brien experienced during Captive Pursuit. Despite Tosk's reptilian appearance and mannerisms, Meaney and MacDonald give their characters a certain odd and subtle chemistry which helps to carry the intelligently plotted story and well-written script. Avery Brooks also makes a very nice impression with his sparing but crucial portrayal of Sisko in this episode. Corey Allen's directing is economical and clean.

Highly recommended for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike

A good chance for Colm Meany to show he can act.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 9 December 2014]

Throughout his time on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Colm Meany's character, Chief O'Brien, was a recurring character who received more and more screen time as the show progressed. However, he really never was a major character and only after he was transferred from the Enterprise to Deep Space 9 did he become a major character. Here in "Captive Pursuit" he's got his largest and most interesting role yet. It begins with a strange alien from the Delta Quadrant coming through the wormhole. His ship needs service and O'Brien tries hard to befriend the strange lizard-like being, Tosk. However, soon it becomes apparent that Tosk is some sort of prey in a hunt by some very powerful beings--and the station is expected to just hand Tosk over to them.

I liked the episode for two main reasons. I loved how O'Brien was very tricky and behaved most unlike a Federation officer. The same, to a lesser extent, can be said for Sisko. I also liked it because the show was wholly original and engaging. Well worth seeing...and the best episode of the series so far.

The Most Dangerous Game

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 23 September 2018]

Here is a slightly new twist on the continuing idea that there are alien races that hunt others for sport. A being, a Tosk, has had his ship disabled and is brought into the space station. He is secretive and while he develops a relationship with O'Brien, he doesn't reveal his role. What happens seems cruel to reasonable beings. But there are options. Miles does a good job of balancing the Prime Directive and the realities of the situation. This basic plot will be reprised in Star Trek: Voyager.

Great premise

[phxtonash · 10/10 · 26 December 2018]

I really like this episode especially watching it a second time, knowing what Task knew. There is a little bit vilifying Hunters per usual in the Star Trek universe. I wish we had replicators, until then hunting is the most ethical way to get your meat. I'm not a hunter I have alpha-gal. back to the episode I think it was really great one of those that makes your mind work, and you might be thinking about it when you're trying to go to bed tonight. Love Star Trek love the way it makes you think.

Tosk!

[gritfrombray-1 · 10/10 · 12 March 2007]

Love anything with Colm Meaney. But this episode highlighted one of the things I hate the most. Hunting animals and killing them for pleasure. Even worse when it's a sentient, intelligent life form. O'Brien's stance with the alien, Tosk, who comes aboard is great viewing. When the aliens hunting him come aboard and demand his release, O'Brien does the proper thing and frees him. The whole situation moves at high speed and, after Tosk escapes, we see O'Brien in front of Commander Sisko who gives him a dressing down. But, just after O'Brien leaves, Sisko breaks into a wide grin, putting a cap on a superb episode. Scott McDonald was brilliant as Tosk also! This episode set the pace for a really good Star Trek series to come with some of Trek's most interesting characters and stories.

Solid episode.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 8 March 2020]

A solid episode that digs into some unique cultural traits of a species that maintains the prey/hunter instinct even after the development of space travel.

We get some good development of O'Brien being a 'good guy' who will ultimately go with his conscious over Starfleet regulation if the situation calls for it.

The scene that I absolutely loved was 'tough love dad' Sisko and his verbal takedown of Obrien's violation of Starfleet protocol yet showing his loyalty to his crew by letting Obrien carry out his plan.

Early Form

[iamirwar · 10/10 · 18 January 2023]

I really liked this story and believe it was one of the first to set the bar on what we could expect from Deep Space 9 as opposed to TNG.

It has to be agreed that TNG still retained that 'cosy' Star Trek feel which is a hangover of Gene Roddenberry's vision for the original show. I have recently watched the entire TNG series again and although there were many great stories, I always felt that maybe the writers were being held back a little by the limitations that Gene's vision placed upon their shoulders.

Not only was the make-up of the Tosk done so very well, but this story also pushed Miles O'Brian to the forefront of the action. In TNG he was little more than a glorified extra.

I like to think the Tosk lived to a ripe old age. Indeed, I consider that Tosk's live the life of royalty when they are on their home world. They are then given 100 days to set-off on their journey as quarry before the pursuers join the hunt. Legend has it that the most famous Tosk of all was Tosk XXXIII who lived a number of centuries ago. To date his hiding place still hasn't been discovered. Some maysayers suggest he flew straight into a star as soon as he left the home world, but history believes he ivaded the hunt for all this time. Considering most Tosk live to the age of 80, it is believed Tosk XXXIII died centuries ago, but the people of his home world have not forgotten him and now there is a constellation in their night sky named in his honour.

Predator-esque Episode.

[dand1010 · 7/10 · 8 August 2021]

This is a Chief O'Brien (Irish actor Colm Meany) centric episode. He is in almost every scene and shows his real acting chops, developing his character extensively in this episode.

Imagine a culture where hunting a person is ritualistic, honorable and involves chasing each other through the cosmos. That's the essence of this episode.

DS9 is exciting as a sci-fi series because it is right next to a wormhole (stable) connecting one quadrant of space with another very distant (and never before seen or explored) quadrant. In any given episode the most amazing and unique characters can pop out of the wormhole and into an episode. Exciting for the writers, exciting for the actors and exciting for the audience.

Cosmic principles: Do we as a culture ever glorify the idea of dying an honorable death?

Glass jaw

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 28 November 2021]

A native of the gamma quadrant comes through the wormhole and DS9 is put in a difficult situation.

This is a great episode for the development of Chief O'Brien's character and a decent take on the subject of hunting for sport inspired by 'The Most Dangerous Game'.

As a way of getting to know O'Brien and providing his a character with quality screen time it is excellent. Colm Meaney and the writers successfully portray him as the good natured, funny, hard working, heroic every man and comfortably leads the episode.

Sisko, Odo and Quark also have strong character moments. I particularly enjoyed Rene Auberjonois 'not hurrying' to track down O'Brien and Tosk.

As a Prime Directive themed episode it is reasonably good. There is an interesting dilemma for the characters to contend with and it's done in compelling way. However, for me, the outcome is fairly dubious. It is not clear whether or not certain characters were killed in a particular confrontation or not, but it implies they were, so I would hardly say it has a positive outcome from an interference perspective.

Visually works very well, with some superb makeup effects to help Scott McDonald portray the Tosk character.

It's a 7.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

O'Brien Makes a New Friend

[Samuel-Shovel · 6/10 · 7 July 2020]

In "Captive Pursuit" DS9 gets its first visitor from the other side of the wormhole, a creature being hunted for sport by another alien race.

Every sci-fi show loves a good "The Most Dangerous Game" episode and Star Trek is no different. But this is mostly an episode that flushes out O'Brien's character a bit more. Even though we know him the most, him being a TNG transplant, I felt like we don't have too much info on his background beyond his love of kayaking and his constant marital troubles. Here we see him as the "every man", befriending this new lifeform and even breaking protocol by helping his new friend escape when everything's on the line. It's not a perfect episode but it's probably the best of Season 1 thus far.

Best so far of the series

[Nominahorn · 8/10 · 13 September 2018]

1.05 "Captive Pursuit"

A damaged ship comes through the wormhole, piloted by an agitated creature named Tosk. He comes aboard DS0 for repairs and O'Brien befriends him and tries to earn his trust to figure out what he is so afraid of. He gets his answer when an advanced alien ship appears from the wormhole and attacks the station, but it quickly becomes apparent that their real target is Tosk. Now the crew of DS9 is faced with a moral dilemma and O'Brien's friendship with Tosk may influence him to put his entire career on the line to help his new friend.

Finally we get an episode with the Gamma Quadrant playing a role. I don't know why they waited until the fifth episode to start unpacking this particularly dense web of storytelling potential, but I'm just glad we are here now. The wormhole/Gamma Quadrant will be the driving narrative force for the whole seven seasons of DS9 and it all starts right here, which is very exciting.

Furthermore, even though the terms "Dominion" or "Jem'Hadar" are not mentioned here, this episode definitely foreshadows both. Most obviously: Tosk is very clearly Jem'Hadar or some closely related species created by the Dominion. It seems like a reasonable inference that the Hunters are members of the Dominion and were given slightly altered Jem'Hadar for their hunt (either that or the Hunters created the Tosk and then the Founders liked them so much that they adapted them as their own footsoldiers). Either way, the Dominion connections are clear, though not explicitly stated.

This episode is jam packed with story. At one point I thought the episode was probably close to over and checked the time stamp. Nope--there was still almost a third of it remaining. Probably more happens in any one act of this episode than in the entirety of the previous episode. So obviously there is a lot going on but we'll try to get into some of the details.

THE GOOD

-This story hits all the notes of a classic Trek episode. Moral dilemmas, touching human moments, conflict between Federation and alien value systems, tension and suspense, sci-fi technology, exploring the unknown, and of course, Prime Directive invocations. If you were to design a prototypical good ST episode, this is exactly what it would look like.

-Colm Freaking Meaney. This is why they brought him over to DS9; as a starring actor he can do the same thing Patrick Stewart does on TNG by taking an already very good script and making it great with his acting abilities. There is not a warmer or more relatable character in all of ST than Miles Edward O'Brien, and much of that is due to Meaney's talents.

-I like the interior design of Tosk's ship. The narrow crawl space to get to the inner workings of the ship feels realistic for a 1-man craft.

THE BAD

-The action sequences are very primitive and poorly done. Why do Star Trek directors think that combat is two groups of people standing in the open taking turns firing at each other? This isn't 1776.

-As good of an actor as he is, Meaney doesn't always sound like he believes his own lines when he has to speak technobabble. The lines in this ep about reversing polarity and bypassing phase inducers sound like an actor reading lines, not an engineer talking about his job.

-The episode focuses almost completely on O'Brien, which is nice, but the bad part is that the other characters don't get to do much, including Jadzia and Bashir, who have now played minimal roles in three out of the last four eps.

THE UGLY

-Miles cutting Bashir off sharply during the scene in Ops. This is the first indication of his dislike for Julian.

-Odo Shapeshift count: 1 (picture), 5 total for the series. It seems like my memory of Odo not shifting a lot was faulty, at least so far.

Slow paced but interesting

[Paularoc · 6/10 · 2 October 2012]

Miles O'Brien befriends the first alien to come through the wormhole. The alien, Tosk is nervous about something but needs O'Brien's help to fix his ship. Come to find out Tosk is a member of a sentient species that is hunted for pleasure. Since I find all hunting for pleasure repulsive, I found it hard to swallow the implied message of "different culture, different values." I don't think O'Brien was buying that either but he naturally had to concede to Tosk's wishes. Meaney did a wonderful job in this episode and it great seeing him in such a dominant role. This was a thoughtful, interesting and memorable episode but it was a little slow. But that's okay because if every show was non-stop action, that would get boring. So a nice change of pace.

Sanctimonious Garbage!

[mrwb77 · 5/10 · 21 March 2022]

So they let an Alien on to the station from the Gamma Quadrant having no idea who he is or what his intensions could be.

He's able to find where the weapons are on the station by asking the computer without it even alerting security! Lolz.

The Captain doesn't even bother with first contact.

Then we've got the prime directive breaking end where the hunted is rescued...

Worse than Janeway!

Some good acting put the plot of this episode is garbage!

Born to be hunted

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 10 February 2010]

When the first ship from the Gamma Quadrant comes through the worm home severely damaged its pilot initially doesn't want help but as his ship is about to fall apart he lets Chief O'Brien bring to to DS9 with a tractor beam. Once docked the chief goes to the ship but there is no sign of the pilot at first, as the chief examines the ship the alien appears behind him, clearly he has some sort of personal cloaking device. As the chief gets to know him we learn that he is called Tosk although it is uncertain whether that is his name or his species. Gradually Tosk and O'Brien become friends but this friendship is tested when Tosk is caught trying to access weapons. He is put in the brig but refuses to explain his actions. Soon another ship comes through the wormhole and it becomes clear that they are hunting Tosk; not for any crime he has committed but for sport. Sisko is horrified that a sentient being is being hunted, it is suggested to Tosk that he should seek asylum but he refuses; he lives for the hunt as much as the hunters. To seek asylum would be a greater shame for him than being taken alive. As the hunters prepare to take Tosk back Chief O'Brien decides to help Tosk escape so he will avoid humiliation and continue the hunt.

This episode centred on Chief O'Brien who was excellently played by Colm Meaney, Scott MacDonald also did well in the role of Tosk. The story was interesting showing that not all cultures have the same values and not everybody who appears to be a victim really is. While this is a good character led episode there are also some good action scenes.

Wonderful early episode - where is the cheese?

[christianschumann · 9/10 · 13 September 2023]

This completes a run of three great episodes. I spared the first two seasons during my last rewatch runs because I found them to be cheesy during my first runs many years ago. But this one and the two before it are great examples of prototypical Trek. I forgot how good they are and also thought they would be much later, in the second sason or so.

But of course this one is especially a show case for Colm Meaneys talent. Man, I like Miles so much, he's the unsung hero of DS9. Can't wait for his friendship wit Julian to pick up speed. Also Sisko is much mor mature and open for the grey zone here than I remembered. All the performances are just great already... I'll never compare this first season to that of TNG or any other Trek. I know there are some stinkers awaiting, but the quality is just better. Just started this rerun, but this episode really got me in the mood for much more now.

What makes him tick

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 14 October 2019]

Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien takes center stage in this DS9 story of the first contact with an alien species through the wormhole.

Scott McDonald comes roaring through the wormhole and he identifies himself and his species as a Tosk. As his ship is badly damaged Chief O'Brien looks to repair it and get some idea as to what makes a Tosk tick.

All that O'Brien can get is he's on the run from something. When they do get other aliens headed by Gerrit Graham coming to the station looking for McDonald we learn why.

Which I won't say other than there's a prime directive problem involved that O'Brien and to a lesser extent Sisko get involved in trying to work around.

Quite a culture Starfleet encounters.