Chief Miles O'Brien Rules: the most important person in Star Trek history!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Unlike O'Brien, I don't live in a post-scarcity society. While he gets the privileged of choosing to go into space, I instead have to live in closets as an editing goblin and ask for your help via Patreon. I'm also powered by potatoes, but I gotta PAY. Please send potato
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Omet'iklan: "I am First Omet'iklan, and I am dead. As of this moment, we are all dead. We go into battle to reclaim our lives. This we do gladly, for we are Jem'Hadar. Remember, victory is life."
Jem'Hadar troops (in unison): "Victory is life."
O'Brien: "I am Chief Miles Edward O'Brien. I'm very much alive and I intend to stay that way."
Sisko: "Amen. Let's get it done!"
says the guy taking life into his very own hands everytime he operates a teleporter
@@ReinaSaurus it's safe tech, it only deatomizes you and puts you back together on the other side....perfectly safe, no accidents with this tech ever....I swear! [crosses fingers behind back]
Hoshi never became a ghost.....that is false!
@@ReinaSaurus Technically it's not his life on the line~!
@@nonya1366no? Have you seen how often those starfleet computer terminal explode? Now factor in teleport tech and you have a much more disastrous death/injury in the cards
@@JJJJJJJJJAAAAAA I've seen starfleet ships, either they've "Contained the situation" or "This is absolutely effecting basically everyone on this ship."
The hallways have terminals, the bedrooms have terminals, the bathrooms have terminals in the walls. Medbay's ready 'this time.' In their terminal filled bay.
HE WAS A UNION MAN
More than a hero...
Sad this wasn't brought up because the Irish were pretty important for the labour movement.
Yeah I don't know why he completely ignored this and even said that he wasn't political lol. He's One of the few Star Trek characters we've actually seen express a political opinion and it was an extremely passionate one at that!
This was what first came to mind when he said O'Brien was a conservative lol...
"a fair days pay for a a fair days work." the most reasonable idea in the history of humanity.
"He's not an emotionally available man, unless you count irritation, then he is *very* available." - Brilliant. 100/10.
21:46 it never fails to amuses me that Cardassian courting traditions are basically "Be Tsundere"
@Zinlain i think its why they make better villians than the Romulans. A species and civilization where a quintessential buildingblock of existence is serving cunt.
Horrifying really, at least to me. However i am not cardassian. garak probably would have found it charming.
Or not. Bashir seemed to be more his type to be honest.
Isn’t that Klingon, too?
@@jameswilkerson4412 I thought Klingons were honest about their affections, but violently so.
Cardassians are closer to Tsundere in that they will verbally berate each other before devolving into a more intimate acts from what I gathered watching DS9.
@@ZinlainKlingon yandere lol.
Miles "Have a Party, kill a Cardi" O'Brien, the best character in all of Star Trek.
I completely agree about your assessment of miles "melt the spoon to make me swoon" O'brien.
You forgot the plotline where he encouraged Rom to start a union.
And fist fights Worf for crossing the picket line
@@Piterdeveirs333hey man, they apparently forgot there was a top entrance. Poor planning on their part
such a fun episode!
Yes . . . but why are you bringing that up. Are you trying to say something without saying it?
@@Piterdeveirs333"Scab!!" -Miles Edward O'Brien (probably)
Miles "I'm not racist I just don't like em" O'Brien
Only good Cardy...
Y'know, it's not racism if it's against a spoonhead.
Based
It’s not a race, it’s a different species
@@avengemybreath3084 please look up allegory
O'Brien tried to walk softly but ended up having to use a big stick. A lot. And his stick is pretty massive
Indeed, Miles' shillelagh is legendary. He had to stand behind that transporter console most of the time, because he'd make the bridge crew insecure and ashamed of themselves. And rightfully so.
@@benjaminpeterman7223 Keiko is a very lucky woman.
Often a stick he had to make with whatever was on hand. However as a star fleet engineer. McGuyvering tends to lead into terrifying results.
"O'Brien? From Setlik III? We called him Silverware, on account of all the spoons he collected."
I like to think he has a storage unit or a shed with a semi deconstructed Alamo, tool boxes and a chest with thin drawers.
Every so often he walks in slides open a draw and lovingly looks at his preserved "spoons" pinned on green felt.
God that episode where he was trapped in that mind-prison was brutal
I hope the Federation put that planet on a "No Contact" list. Fuck them.
I mean, for my own sense of well being I just have to head canon that Julian magic'd up some kind of technobabble serum that allowed Miles to "Fuzz out" those prison memories. Make them less real, somehow. Because jeez.
When Picard gets trapped in a mind prison, it gives him a fulfilled life, lingering melancholy and a message for the future.
When O’Brien gets trapped in a mind prison, he gets PTSD.
Ironically the same technology for the prison would work as a good therapy device with its time distortion. I don't believe the family of murder or grape victims would forgive the murderer or believe he or she is reformed but maybe the same devices help them forgive.
@@saintsinningswordso like…a forgiveness cell? I made that in the sims once, where you had no choice but to become friends. Makes it easier to fuck everyone in the neighbourhood, or whatever you wanna do I guess
O'Brien is the guy who's got a wife and kid, he's just trying to do a solid shift of work professionally, and he's not really interested in any high adventure or esoteric mystery. If he's not working or with the family, then all he needs is a pint at the bar, maybe a game of darts, and talking about nothing in particular with a friend.
...it's just that the universe seems intent on raining on his parade, and he spends his time wondering why him, when he's not some alien or super-being.
The Trek writers called them "Miles Must Suffer" episodes, and it was done on purpose.
He also seems quite fond of reenactments with his friends. Granted they largely are last stand scenerios where he is on the losing side...
Guy'd make one hell of a civil war reenactor.
the usiverse rains on anyone's parade who seems to have it figured out....or who just isn;'t into that war concept everyone else likes so much....
I'm the second one.....that's why i got a red ring....my lot in life is to suffer one way or another and now the suffering empowers me!, the angrier i get the stronger my attacks are lol [cries in a corner] i have no heart!
@LabTech41 Simple as.
You know, he doesn't actually spend too much time thinking "Why me??"
"Keiko was very pleased" is now a meme.
The idea that Keiko was just really into the idea of Miles being with other women is pretty funny.
@@planguy9575 she is supposed to be a Japanese woman, and they love the NTR stuff, so...
Some of it's just Mid Writing Over Years, but there's an argument that Keiko is just a hardcore contrarian - She seems to live for some sort of emotional fighting. So the idea of how much conflict Miles is willing to get into?
Oh, yeah. Keiko Was Very Pleased.
All according to Keiko-ku.
It would be xenophobic not racist?
I love it in DS9 when something breaks down and he tells Sisko that he needs like, 11 hours to get it working again, and Sisko tells him “you got 30 minutes”.
But you know what tho, O’Brien always gets the job done, every time, no matter what.
He really needs a union.
They bring this up in a voyager episode , that it’s good to give them deadlines so they work their best but what if it’s actually worse than they originally said it would an issue for a tight deadline like the ship exploding . Probably should just listen to the engineers sometimes
Best stargate moment where Siler just goes “no sir, it will take as long as I said”
@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat For me the best stargate moment is Teal'c witnessing the eyebrow wire on his human actor. With a close second being O'Neill golfing into the gate
O'Brien knew he could do it in 10 minutes, he was just playing for time.
11:40 Can you imagine a US Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class wiping out an encampment of 5,000 soldiers? There's a reason every single Cardassian has heard of him good lord.
It's all fun and games till you start hearing the DOOM music played on a cello.
So a Navy SEAL cool.
For 5,000 Cardassians, it is the biggest day of their life. For the Chief, it's Tuesday.
probably a case of writers cant count or dont know what the size of the different formations are
Or maybe he's just that good
Please dear god make more TNG content, thank you Plague
TNG? Nah nah nah. I'm hoping for that DS9 content!
@@thecatwhisperer2820 For sure, but I'm definitely down for TNG and maybe VOY, when it has those highest highs and lowest lows.
@@thecatwhisperer2820 I would love more ENT content. Despite its rocky start Season 3 is a really excellent show in The Expanse.
I always loved how as you watch the series, there's this subtle, creeping reveal as to just EXACTLY how dangerous Miles really is. They tease here and there about his military career... from having some experience, to being a war hero, to having claimed lives somewhere up in the hundreds or even THOUSANDS. He might not be as good as Worf in melee, but wtf does that matter when he can make an IED out of damn near anything. Turn the whole station into a prison of shields. Rig traps, or sabotage any device, any vehicle. He can handle the long haul of a real War too, we know he loves his MRE's when everyone else hates them. He's a good 20 years older than he should be as well, because of Hard Time. Best episode in the series.
We actually get to see a bit of that in Empok Nor. Goes full Rambo on Garak.
Good ol‘ irish fella heh
28:56 Fun fact, it was supposed to be a leprechaun. But Colm Meaney put his foot down and said, "Fuck that. I have put up with Irish stereotypes bordering on racism my entire career, I'm not doing it! I have played the role of 'Irish Asshole' in almost every film I've been in." So the leprechaun was changed to Rumplestiltskin because I guess that was the closest child-stealing analouge they could think of.
You can imagine what he thought of Up The Long Ladder.
Which is an extremely O'Brien reaction to be honest.
I have relatives from Ireland, Up The Long Ladder is really... something.
It makes a great Irish two-parter with The High Ground lol
One of my favorite ds9 jokes is Keiko introducing Miles as her husband, Kira as her girlfriend, Julian as her husband’s boyfriend, and Garak as her husband’s boyfriend’s boyfriend
*points to Sisko* "Who's that?"
Everyone in unison: "That's our dad."
@@lizstar3630 Kira: "That's my religious icon"
this is correct
@@Thick303 yeah, they had a nice little polycule going.
@@vullord666Skydaddy. 🗿
I should note that while Miles is an enlisted man, he's a Chief Petty Officer. So he is one of the highest possible ranks a man can reach without a commission and is specialized towards a type of command. So while it sounds low in theory, that is a rank that commands a great deal of respect, especially with how decorated he is. As Zach from mikeburnfire said about a Warrant Officer he knew, "no one short of a General was going to tell him 'no' if he suggested something on the base."
Akin to the experienced but underpaid maintenance guy who knows every system, technical or not, inside and out. If he brings something up, everyone listens.
@@MiniMackeroni Yes and no. People tend to look at lists of military ranks and see it linearly where you start at the bottom and work your way up. In a lot of militaries the enlisted very rarely become officers because it's a very different skillset from people trained to fight on the ground. Due to various reasons (which lets be real, a lot of it is just comes down to tradition), officers don't start from the bottom and work their way up. They go to a military academy and come out of it already an officer. They're trained for entirely different roles. Senior enlisted positions often require far more experience and knowledge than entry level officer roles. NCOs and COs serve very different roles and skillsets have different promotion paths; it isn't a matter of linear progression from one to the other.
So while the lowest officer technically outranks the most veteran WO, the reality is due to the experience a WO brings to the field because of how much they have to go through to get to that position, no one short of a general is going to tell them what to do because they know that the WO knows better about their subject. A General is supposed to look at the bigger picture, they're viewing the landscape of the entire war. A high-ranking NCO looks at the on-the-ground situation.
@@SeruraRenge11 What I meant was, technically even an ensign outranks him in Star Trek.
14:41 O’Brien; “Wesley, touch the transporter again and I’ll kill you….or tell your mother, whichever you think is scarier.”
"A language virus makes it impossible for him to communicate"
That's one way of saying he's Irish.
At least he wasn't Welsh. That's terminal.
@@morganrobinson8042at least he's not Scottish. That's a fat worse than death
Guiness19
Guiness19
@@morganrobinson8042 Yes, but it;s not as painful as Brummiegititis.
It just hit me. O'Brien is Space Hank Hill.
"Got dangit Sisko, that station ain't right."
*sips beer* yep
A man who is out of place, but does his best to be a good and kind man.
@Dabednego Hate myself for thinking this was about sex
@@Monikitty24 wait, it isn't?
Don't forget about the time that a "mature" Betazed was leaking psychic horniness vibes all over the station, Miles was having a lover's spar with his wife. That is their kink.
Good video Plague but to be critical, avoid using similar pronouns when referring to different subjects unless you break it up with a proper noun. 09:45 "testing himself against him" can sound confusing, while "testing himself against Miles" fits just as well within the script.
Yup, I think about that a lot. Having to say Miles all the time got to feeling rigid so I started avoiding it.
@@PlagueOfGripes I can see that. I didn't remember if Garak called Miles any name in particular during that episode, Mr O'Brien/Chief/etc. You could say that Garak wanted to test himself against The Hero Of Setlek III, as Garak was particularly obsessed with that version of Miles.
Though i just mentioned it as general critique for script editing. I do a lot of technical writing, describing who did what, where, and with whom. So it is a small nit to pick in a very competent video essay.
@@dandelionv1257I think Garak always called him Chief.
Was that the one where Bashir and Kira wouldn't stop making out, which is funnily the only time those characters showed any affection towards each other despite their actors being married irl?
I recently just started watching TNG for the first time, and I can see why he has become a fan favorite despite his limited screen time.
Though, being a massive It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fan, I can't help but think, "Hey, it's Charlie's dad" every time I see him.
stay tuned for ds9 for more miles o'brien
@@Jalae and his terrible terrible marriage
For me, every time I see that episode of Always Sunny I always think, "Hey, it's Chief O'Briens ancestors."
@@LordVVar that means theres a space charlie
My name is CHIEF MILES EDWARD O'BRIEN!
Born and raised in Ireland, living there during the tail end of the troubles in the 80s and through the 90s. It was CRAZY to see O'Brien on screen every week.
I think Paradise had the implication that the residents (prisoners) of the colony had been indoctrinated to the degree that they refused to leave even after everything was revealed and the opportunity to leave was offered. And we see that the children will be the ones to suffer for the choice their elders have forced on them. I thought it was a good episode with an incredibly tragic conclusion.
Also that hot, flirty and cantankerous Cardassian woman who offered her womb to Miles was great.
I headcanon that after a few more people die of preventable diseases, they say "fuck this noise" and request replicators and medical supplies.
I'd do her
@@VidGamer123 same. after they got the crazy lady off planet, buried the stupid box and set up the replicators. the planet would be nice place to live on.
Looking back, the ending scene sort of has the implication with the kids seeing the MCs transporting off the planet that they become aware technology to take them off the planet EASYILY exists, and if they don't end up brainwashed by their parents (which is likely now that the og tyrant is gone) they're going to leave the planet when they come of age the first chance they get.
Alternatively title: Chief Miles O'Brien: Husband of Star Trek's Kinkiest Lady.
Listening to Plague talk about a favorite character of his is always a good part of the day
10:02 "Tactical Officer" would be a position. Like "Transporter Chief" or "Chief of Operations" Not a rank. In the U.S. Navy there are enlisted who can stand officer's watches. Especially a chief.
Personal story:
As a Second Class Petty Officer I once filled in for a First Class who was one of the only non-chiefs/officers qualified to stand the Information Warfare Commander position on a U.S. carrier. The official Information Warfare Commander is the captain of the ship, but outside of general quarters his role is held by watch standers. So, for roughly 30 minutes, once, I got to hold the position of the O-6 Captain of a U.S. carrier as an E-5 sailor. I hosted a trivia round with the fleet in that time and acknowledged SITREPs. That was about it. But a proud moment to be trusted at that level.
You ever wonder if Starfleet has an E-4 Mafia? I know Nog could technically order O'Brian around, but from every specialist I've talked too it would be unwise for a young ensign to act high and mighty to an NCO that's been serving longer than the ensign's been alive.
Kira is the only woman to make me feel actually hot and bothered through a television screen.
I mean I don't usually go for tiny dancer builds but yeah, I get it.
You just need an eastern European woman. Trust me.
@@RobsonRoverRepairbenis
I really like her. Her crossed eyes always bothers me OCD, but I work past it because the character and actress are just great
I'm on season 4 of DS9 and I keep getting distracted by how Kira manages to have zero sex appeal. Suppose everyone has different types.
I'm more of a Hoshi Sato fan.
The fact that Lower Deck did that fast nod/bit was the most funny and eye opening thing ever. I read their reason and they are right in their perspective. He is the quintessential lower decker and ya he is also the guy of the series.
where did they say their reason?
@@AndDiracisHisProphet I can't remember where they do. There's random articles about it but their nomination of Miles is pretty obvious, from the perspective of Lower Decks. They're all the people doing the menial work, which Miles does in TNG and DS9. Sisko may run the station but Miles kept the lights working.
He's the only one with a clear career and personal life progression you can follow that isn't just "bigger officer." It's also nice to know that an actor kept getting now opportunities simply because he was a pleasure to work with. It seems so rare for being nice to pay off, especially in the entertainment industry.
Never watched an entire Star Trek episode in my life. I'm still so excited to see you discuss another fictional character.
I hope you find the time to watch some. We all could use that early 90's optimism again.
@@VidGamer123 TNG is on my watch list. It's just that list is very long!
@@talljokeTNG and DS9 are some of the best television ever made. Peerless writing. Can't recommend enough
@@talljoke When you get around to it, just keep in mind...it gets better. TNG is one of the original poster children for the "second season glowup" a lot of shows get.
@Rynjinivar Haha, thanks! I've had that warning from a lot of people. I think even this very channel mentioned it in a video once.
Last thing I would've expected for you, but I'm here for it. Two of my favorite shows right here.
0:37 Not one statue of him on Bajor! NOT ONE!
Befriender of Tosk
He does. Unironically O'Brien is the man.
In the middle of a DS9 rewatch, and just finished the Obrien prison episode.
Great timing
That was one of the most in-depth and complete videos I'm seen about O'Brien. Well done!
I’m reminded of Yang Wenli from Legend of the Galactic Heroes and how the journey to pay off school tuition leads unambitious men to the strangest of places.
Great comparison.
Despite being a cartoon parody Lower Decks is the most Star Trek thing we've had in decades
Since DS9
sorry to remind you, but that's a 2 decade gap
I agree. Haven't watched Strange New Worlds. But Discovery and S1 and S2 of Picard where made by people who don't understand Star Trek and don't care about Star Trek. S3 of Picard was made by someone who clearly loved Star Trek.....but does not understand it. Lower Decks is a love letter of someone who understands Star Trek
The last good Star Trek show in recent memory is The Orville.
I can't watch Discovery. I tolerated Picard. SNW is the best of the three, but I feel like the common thread that makes those unlikeable is Akiva Goldsman. Seemingly because he wasn't involved in Lower Decks, it fees untainted. Terry Matalas is the one who loves Star Trek; I feel like he's producing his own interpretation of Star Trek and not necessarily misunderstanding it.
The Rutledge posting and his appearances as a Lt. can be explained by Starfleet having a warrant officer program. Especially during the Cardassian wars.
Also, Starfleet is kind of a hybrid corporate/military structure so the officer/enlisted distinction isn't quite as rigid.
I'm so excited for this. I love Chief Miles O'Brien ❤
18:39 - He doesn't want to hurt a fly, but if you threaten his mom, his wife, or his children, Miles will probably make you wish you were never born.
I was going through some really tough things when I saw “Hard Time” originally
The speech Julian gave to Miles gave me the extra strength I needed to push through it.
I’m now out the other side, but I still think of that episode frequently
Small correction, Kirayoshi* O'brien.
Coming home after a graveyard shift, only to find out there's a 40min vid about DS9. Thank you my man!
Ps: Would be awesome if you did a shorter vid on, why Casidy Yates and Benjamin Sisko long relationship also worked.
It's worth noting that Miles isn't direcly conservative, he's strictly pro-union.
That's not necessarily non-conservative; plenty of blue collar conservatives are union men.
@@leebard9335The definition of conservative nowadays is so wide.
Unions are undeniably left wing politically though. Colm Meany is staunchly on the left irl too. He talks about how he caused trouble at school for distributing Maos little red book lol. And he supports socialist causes to this day. He's a fecking legend.
@@MrSchmeoin1 "fellas is it politically left to want better work conditions" lmao no bud. its the year 2360 we are way past political wings
@@ASlickNamedPimpback>fellas is it politically left to want better working conditions.
More often then not, yeah.
4:53 I always saw replicated food as probably just tasting "off" in a way you can't quite put your finger on if you've never had the real thing. Much like how yes, beyond meat through its chemicals can taste MOSTLY like meat, but if you've had actual meat before you know they're still not quite getting the taste right.
Like eating fast food compared to home cook …..
i think the real limit worst of all would be the lack of variety, if you have a piece of chicken then another they’ll be basically the same, but if you had the exact same piece over and over for years, you are gonna be uncomfortably familiar with it you will know every grain where the softest spot is where the everything is, like when you eat to many microwave dinners cuz your to depressed and drained to cook for months till you just cant eat the same thing again, not that i would know anything about that
Not a good comparison. Plant meat obviously is not meat
@@bobjason7540 yeah but is marketed as "meat enough to fool people into eating plants"
I always imagined it as being "too perfect."
A replicated steak is... uniform. It's perfect. It tastes like steak, but it doesn't have the *_imperfections_* of the real thing. Certain parts of 'natural' steak may have more fat, less fat, an area of more proteins, an enlarged blood vessel or even the tiniest of unpredictable cartilage here and there. Or a stick of replicated celery has the fibers perfectly made, the taste being the perfect example of celery.
But a natural one may have thicker fibers in some places, crunchier or softer, be slightly more sour or sweet depending on the soil type, growth time, temperatures, etc.
My favourite thing about O'Brien is that to be true to canon he just randomly as a Senior NCO put Officer pips on and no one ever called him out on it. Years ago, I worked with some retired CWOs and CPOs - they loved O'Brien.
As someone who knows nothing about star trek i am 100% down to learn.
People forget O'Brien was a warfare expert who had seen and survived more battles than pretty much anyone in Starfleet.
“How long will it take?”
“10 hours sir”
“You have 5.”
“ no sir, that is not how it works. If you want the ship to function, I will see you in about 10 hours.”
It was very Irish in the 50s for familys to fracture as older siblings would go abroad looking for work whislt the youngest inherited the land that was propped up from money sent home. I like how O'Brien echoed that notion by going off to find himself in the Galaxy. It almost felt like that for those left behind back home.
It's not widely known, but Mile O'Brien in fact retired to the early 2000's Norfolk and took a job hosting the sleepytime slot on North Norfolk Digital Radio.
8:33
Well GOLLY GEE
I cant even begin to imagine why someone fitting THAT description would be _Your_ favorite character, Plague.
😏
I remember one time the Jem'hadar beam onto the Defiant bridge and one of them makes a b line to grab O'Brien by the collarbone and no one else
I've never watched star trek in any way or form, but i already know i will watch this once and listen to it 2 more times, you are great, plague
18:43 God, That just unlocked a primal memory of me being kid flipping through channels and seeing this exact scene play out. I remember being confused and uncomfortable but unable to express why i felt like that.
Thanks Plague.
Thanks!
29:52 - If Miles is the everyman, then the DS9 writers must share a similar idea to JRR Tolkien, that despite their many flaws the everyman, due to their simple down to earth desires and aspirations, is also uniquely suited to be resilient in the face of adversity and temptation. Or perhaps in exchange for all his other average character traits they're comfortable giving him resilience as his one extraordinary trait. Because despite all he's put through, even his awful experiences during the Cardassian war, O'Brien doesn't crack either. If Gandalf shows up suddenly in the TNG universe, he's giving the One Ring to O'Brien to throw it into Mt. Doom.
Just finishing up my first watch-thru of DS9 ever. thank you for this Plague
29:21 “noooo why aren’t you aliens teaching OUR theology”
Separation of church and star fleet
Miles reminds us that Starfleet isn't filled with Picards or Worfs but is instead made up primarily of average men and women just trying to do their part to keep the Federation going. He represents what most of us would likely be if we were in the Trek universe and for that we really identify with the man and love him for it.
Also this was a really fun video! I'd love to see more Star Trek break downs like this.
To call a senior enlisted man a "grease monkey" is to completely misunderstand the military. Miles O'Brien is a Master Chief Petty Officer, which, if he were in the Army, would be called a "Sergeant Major." Sure, any ensign could give him an order and he would be legally obligated to carry it out, but no mere ensign could give a Master Chief an order without first having to clear it with a lot of higher ranking officers, as the rank structure would not have a mere ensign in a position where that would even be possible. You see, an enlisted man of such a high rank would generally only be answerable to field grade and flag officers. In other words, Major and above for Army ranks, or Lieutenant Commander and above for naval ranks. Even there, the Master Chief could always speak to the Colonel/Captain ranks and higher if he thought the Major/Lieutenant Commander was getting too uppity, and the higher field grade and flag officers would be more likely to side with the Master Chief than not in such a situation.
I always loved the idea that replicated food was "hinted" to recycled poop. Then of course Discovery had to just ruin the long running secret gag and flat out say it.
Didn’t Voyager already establish tho' that they always had to trade some mineral of some sorts to be able tl use the Replicators? 👀 Wouldn’t be surprised of course if Discovery doesn’t care or ret-conned it. Or it’s a sort of emergency recycling? … I dunno.
No, it was recycled _everything_ right from the beginning, including poop and any other matter. The Technical Manual (expanded and published publicly 1991), which was originally a guide for the writers to understand how all the technology worked, spells it out quite plainly.
How much O’Brien is in this video? Miles.
O'Brian and Garak to me, are some of the most authentic characters in sci-fi. More complicated than most. A huge history. And, changing over time. Growing. For Miles it was towards a great end. For Garak, towards a new, dimmunitive home.
the entirety of DS9 is just our man Miles daydreaming while standing alone and bored in the transporter room on good ole 1701-D
"I have no idea who that is" Same, Plague, same.
Replicated food being "perfect" but also tasting bad makes perfect sense: low fat, low salt, low sugar, etc. It's healthy lite food with perfectly balanced nutrition!
Enlisted men like O’Brien are what’s been missing in the current ‘Kurtzman’ Trek. As a former Army Enlisted man, I always liked O’Brien’s stories on DS9. He represented that we had to actually had to ‘work’ for a living and takes all the risks during our service!
I think professionals in general are what's missing from modern Star Trek. There's a degree of fun and satisfaction watching people who are competent at their jobs.
"dunderheaded male that doesn't spend a lot of time exploring his own emotions or thinking empathetically" an engineer through and through
20:00 the arc of "Let's return her" is always hilarious to me 🤣
38:03 this one surprised me when the Sbfp boys didn’t get this, like of course he runs it because he likes it, he’s an old man and would probably be bored and useless otherwise
O Brien and Scotty were equally my favorite engineers, it was a missed opportunity not having them meet in Relics
I am in the middle of listening to your Lower Decks Art Gripes vid and so I'm here leaving a comment for engagement purposes AND to say I thoroughly enjoyed this vid and hope to see more Trek content from you!
He's Steve Wozniak of ST universum. Mildly recognized, but never enough. And of course the way he looks at machines, is relatable for many of us. And no wonder his dad didn't want him to follow his digital dreams - in the world that everything's machines, it's like "dad, I want to leave home and scrape toilets for the rest of my life!" kind of thing.
Good video. The end part even made me tear up a tad.
It’s a small thing, but the fact that when he’s Chief on Deep Space Nine his sleeves are always pushed up versus the officers like Dax or Sisko.
O’Brien enlisted, he’s a hands-on guy. He’s not going to ask his team to work double shifts if he’s not down on the maintenance tubes himself.
Remember when O'Brien literally fucking died, and got replaced by a version from an alternate timeline three hours into the future?
Kinda wild that the O'Brien we knew from TNG is dead, even if his replacement is functionally the same person.
A few years back I watched DS9, and man they don't stop torturing the poor man. From having ghosts hold his family hostage, to having a daughter be sent in a time loop, to being caught in a time loop and dying, to being falsely imprisoned by aliens and having a tooth pulled, to being falsely imprisoned AGAIN by other aliens who force him to experience a near lifetime of traumatizing prison experiences within a few minutes thus causing him to be alienated from his family. O'Brien is our boi, and they need to give him a freaking break.
I mean, yeah, it's weird that Earth in the Trek universe has so many pockets of people obsessed with reenacting Old Earthling ways. Until you account for the Eugenic Wars, which nearly extinguished humanity, and society had to rebuild itself from the ashes into the Federation we see in the shows.
So yeah these people are basically Living Museums.
I have waited a very long time for a Star Trek vid. This was great, O'Brian is definitely underrated.
Miles is the Sam Gamgee of outer space! The blue collar everyday humble man who is, in fact, the real hero.
In one of the star trek game, both of O'Brien's kids end up on starships themselves, in pretty high ranking positions, with a well known of reputation
"They kept the tooth"
Had me rolling
Been a while since I watched a Plague video essay. Happy to see you’re talking about one of my favorite characters in Star Trek.
O'Brien and Worf both lasted to the end of DS9.
This line from him sums him up well:
I'm no angel, but I try to live every day as the best Human being I know how to be. I need my little girl to wake up in the morning and look up at me and see a man she can respect.
13:02 When you put it like that, The Federation's abysmal performance in the Dominion War makes a ton of sense.
He was a normal guy in a world of futuristic weirdos.
I really hope the actor knows how much people loved his character and acting in the Series
I've got to pushback on the idea the characters are defined by the rejection of capitalist ideals when their universe has explicity moved centuries beyond that idea entirely. That was one of the most truely unique aspects of Gene Roddenberries ideas which I miss.
The adventures of Miles "kill a cardie get as hardy" O'Brien and Keiko the C. . . . lass act (either the avatar for or an embodiment of a ToS style ancient malevolent being, killing the pah-wraith was a mercy versus letting Keiko puppeteer it as an excuse to act-out her bloodthirst openly for a while) could fill it's own series.
They are wonderfully dysfunctional in a way only TV couples can be, most real couples would be storing tidbits of quirks and foibles for years to get into the dumb misunderstandings and petty trades of casual insults that those 2 do.
every time someone calls him chief in the show I say "hey thats a senior chief!"
iykyk
Luv me engineerin'
Luv me starehips
Luv me teleporter'
Ate the Cardassians
Simple as.
The very stability of the galaxy centers around his suffering.
Miles O'Brien is one of those characters that was lifted into relevance by the actor playing him, in this case Colm Meaney. You just can't help but notice that guy.
32:17 so he’s like Harry Kim where the real one got sucked out into space and the parallel universe one stayed in the “canon” dimension
“Julian is a dinkleberry” is the kind of Plaugeism I am here for 😂