Title :
Empok Nor
Series :
Rating :
Overall Ep :
121
First Aired :
19 May 1997
Stardate :
Unknown
Director :
Year :
Writers :
Season Ep :
YATI :
How come all the exterior views of Empok Nor showed it tilted at an angle? There's no reason any ship in space would have the same orientation as any other, after all. So really, perhaps the better question is why isn't every other ship and station shown tilted at an angle!
Factoid :
Andrew Robinson first gained widespread prominence when he played the psychotic Scorpio killer in the Clint Eastwood movie, Dirty Harry. Robinson, who is by all accounts a very pleasant and gentle person, fought for years afterwards to avoid having to play similar killers over and over again. So he was quite disappointed to find Garak turned into an insane killer for this episode.
The original concept for this episode had Worf and Garak in a Runabout, discovering a derelict spacecraft in deep space. They would beam aboard and find it to be an Obsidian Order ship with bodies all over the interior.
At one point, Amaro laments Stolzoff's death and notes that he would like to kill the "spoonhead" responsible. The line was intended as background dialogue, which is usually unchecked by producers since it is generally inaudible. This line, however, could clearly be heard, and the use of a racial slur by a Starfleet officer was considered to be highly controversial. Ultimately the line was left, as the producers felt it highlighted the intensity of the situation.
Plotline
In need of replacement parts, O'Brien leads a team to DS9's abandoned sister facility, Empok Nor. But the Cardassians have left a team of fanatical commandos in stasis on the station, pumped full of drugs that heighten their aggression. Soon Garak is also affected, leaving O'Brien alone and fighting for his life.
