“Storyteller” is a relatively lighthearted episode which has some amusing and charming moments tucked into an otherwise clumsy and awkward story. The truth is, though, that the episode doesn’t try to be much more than mid-level comic romp and so by planting its tongue firmly within its cheek, it manages to traverse its most detrimental moments. The end result is an installment which can prove to be an enjoyable distraction, but certainly won’t prove inspiring, thought-provoking or particularly memorable.

There are two plot threads to the episode. The first involves O’Brien and Bashir being caught up in a mystical, supernatural Bajoran village ritual while the second involves DS9 playing host to negotiations between two Bajoran factions. On the surface, it’d seem that the negotiations would be the more serious of the stories but, in fact, it becomes rather juvenile when we learn that one side is represented by fifteen year-old Varis Sul (Gina Philips) who soon becomes the object of affection of both Jake and Nog.

This teenage plot manages to be charming enough despite some rather puerile moments such as the trio breaking into Odo’s office to steal his pail. It works because the friendships developed between the three characters feels plausible. Varis certainly needs someone to talk to and both Jake and Nog never become overly ridiculous in their pursuit of her attentions. The fact that their interactions eventually become the key to settling the dispute at the negotiating table only serves to highlight the importance of friendship, and the need to be able to share hopes, fears and ideas.

The O’Brien story has a bit more depth to it, playing on notions of spirituality and mysticism. It would seem that the village is threatened once every year (for five consecutive nights) by a Big Bad Cloud called the Dal’Rok (which looks intriguingly like a precursor to Lost’s Smoke Monster) which hovers above the village, threatening to destroy it. The episode leaves the origins of this phenomenon vague until nearly the end when it’s described as a projection of the villagers’ negative emotions. It was originally created using a piece of a Celestial Temple Orb as a means to unite a divided village against a common foe. There is one person in the village, the Sirah (or Storyteller) with the power to help the villagers focus their thoughts and vanquish this threat.

And the dying Sirah has chosen O’Brien.

O’Brien’s exasperation at being labeled The Chosen One makes for some enjoyable banter between himself and Bashir. Indeed, the pair are meant to form a kind of comic duo akin to Odo and Quark. But the success here is limited due to the fact that the episode tends to overplay the circumstances just a bit too much. Predictably, we discover that the true “heir” to the Sirah is someone else who must earn the confidence of the people by saving them from O’Brien’s admitted incompetence at controlling a seething cloud of bad feelings.

“Storyteller” manages to play out just a little bit better onscreen than the concept sounds on paper. It’s far from an abomination. But neither is it worthy of a whole lot of praise, either. Even if it does make you grin from time to time.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine