STAR TREK

[Josquius]

It's a shame they couldn't have kept pushing that path with Garak. The actors say they always played it like Garak was into Bashir and came off sort of that way to me - though with an air of creepiness and possible inauthenticity.

[HVC]

It's a shame they couldn't have kept pushing that path with Garak. The actors say they always played it like Garak was into Bashir and came off sort of that way to me - though with an air of creepiness and possible inauthenticity.

 it was a bit off putting at times. Not the gay aspect, but Garak kind of gave off a predatory (grallon ) vibe. When it wasn't too much in that direction I did like Garak's (potential) sexual fluidity as a character aspect.

*edit* although early bashir did give off his own creepy sexy pest vibe

[Josquius]

It's a shame they couldn't have kept pushing that path with Garak. The actors say they always played it like Garak was into Bashir and came off sort of that way to me - though with an air of creepiness and possible inauthenticity.

 it was a bit off putting at times. Not the gay aspect, but Garak kind of gave off a predatory (grallon ) vibe. When it wasn't too much in that direction I did like Garak's (potential) sexual fluidity as a character aspect.

*edit* although early bashir did give off his own creepy sexy pest vibe

Yeah, which is really problematic in its own right but I think there was an air of appeal at the time in this character, Bashir, purposefully designed to be unlikable, getting his comeuppance- being hit on by a gay (a horrible horrible thing to happen to a man of course).

I've heard some mention the age gap as a creepy factor too, especially the 'portrayed' age, with Bashir coming off younger than Siddig was.
Which again is interesting as main characters getting it on with considerably younger women was a well established ST trope.

What I mean as well, is there was an air of "Does Garak really want to get into Bashirs pants or is he just pretending so as he's after something else?".
Helped as perhaps due to direction and pulling back from the "Gays exist in the 24th century" thing, Garak's flirting also had vibes of the sort of thing somebody with zero intention of actually following up, not expecting a response of "lets do it", and just doing it for fun would do.

[HVC]

Keeping someone off balance is  something garak would do just for the shits and giggles. Like when he messes with worf.

God, DS9 was a great show.

[Barrister]

I'm just trying to think back on gays in pop culture in the 90s...

Star Trek TNG already had it's first stab at a "LGBT" episode with (I had to google for details) with The Outcast in 1992, where Riker falls in love with a genderless person from a planet where gender expression was banned.  It was rather silly and unbelievable, but it did break (kind of) a certain barrier.

YOu didn't have shows like Will and Grace until 1998, a full six years later.  So yeah - maybe expecting DS9 to have a gay (or at least more openly gay-coded) character when it started in 1993 would be expecting a bit too much.

But still - I guess it was Discovery to have the first openly gay characters in Star Trek, but the large gap in ST material between Enterprise and Discovery probably has something to do with it.

[HVC]

DS9 also had the lesbian kiss.

[Barrister]

DS9 also had the lesbian kiss.

I had forgotten that one.

(googles again)

Rejoined, 1995.

Dax meets up with another Trill symbiont.  Both symbionts had been married to each other while in prior hosts, but now both are in female hosts.  They nevertheless feel attracted to each other.

I barely remember this episode for some reason, though it sounds familiar.  Much like The Outcast mentioned above it's trying to deal with homosexuality while not really dealing with homosexuality.  I feel like Star Trek had enough cultural power they could have gotten away with being more explicit about its topics.


(There's also the Mirror Universe Intendant who may or may not have been bisexual - but since she's literally evil I can see why they wouldn't want to go down that road)

[HVC]

The allegory is stronger in that episode. Forbidden (and for a time secret) love that faces strong family objection and anger. Facing societal ostracism, and planning to run away to escape it all.

Still, nature of the time, everything went back to normal the next episode

[Syt]

You also had Beverly Crusher who fell in love with a Trill (I think), and when the male host died and the symbiont returned in a female form she had a very negative reaction IIRC and broke things off.

(Episode "The Host")

[Syt]

Man, I'm gonna miss the Cerritos crew

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Keeping the last two episodes until the weekend, with the kiddos.
And then it's over. 

Until we rewatch it all

[HVC]

It's over

I liked the Kamehameha with a baseball pitch twist