Why did we never get a sequel to one of the best DS9 episodes ever that paid homage to James Bond? Read more here!
Every now and then, Star Trek times a storyline clearly meant to capitalize on a major movie coming out. A good example is how The Next Generation's "QPid," where Q has Picard and the crew as Robin Hood and his Merry Men aired in 1991 just as the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was coming out.
In 1995, buzz was building over Goldeneye, the first new James Bond movie in six years, with Pierce Brosnan making his debut as 007. With Bond fervor at a fever pitch, Deep Space Nine got into the act with one of the most inventive episodes ever, "Our Man Bashir."
Why Our Man Bashir shines
The story is a simple enough setup as Garak finds Bashir on the holodeck, playing out a 1960s spy fantasy obviously based on James Bond. From the start, it's clear Alexander Siddig is having a ball with this performance. It allows the already dashing Bashir to channel it into a smooth and savvy spy and play out every one of the Bondian tropes. Garak, meanwhile, is more bemused at the whole thing. He then joins in while uttering the line you never, ever should say in a Star Trek episode: "What could possibly go wrong?"
Here's what: A shuttle accident renders Sisko, Dax, Kira, O'Brien, and Worf unconscious while somehow linking their consciousness to the holodeck. When he finds Kira as a Russian lover/spy, Bashir at first thinks she's taking part in this, but then he realizes she really believes she's the character.
Communicating with ops, Bashir realizes the crewmembers are now linked to the holodeck, and if he leaves and ends the program, it could kill them. Thus, he and Garak play through it as we see O'Brien and Worf as bad guys, Dax as a scientist, and Sisko as the villain planning to flood the Earth, which allows Avery Brooks a too-rare opportunity to chew the scenery with relish.
The Bond motifs are all over the place with some references to the movies, the setting, the music, the action, complete with Sisko doing a big monologue on his plans before putting Bashir and Garak into a complex death trap. It's clear the writers enjoyed this as much as the cast to put a Star Trek spin on the property.
The Bashir/Garak banter is wonderful with the genius touch that Garak at first mocks Bashir's spy fantasies with his real experience. However, Garak is trying to be a real spy, not a romantic Bond one, and thus is taken aback by things like Bashir making out with Dax to slip a key. ("Kiss the girl, get the key, they never taught that in the Obsidian Order.”)
That builds to the big moment of Garak ready to leave the holodeck, even if it could kill the others, making a speech on how "you're a man who dreams of being a hero because you know, deep down, that you're not. I'm no hero either, but I do know how to make a choice, and I'm choosing to save myself."
At which point, Bashir gives Garak a bullet grazing his neck to get him to agree to help. When Garak asks, "What if you've killed me?" Bashir replies, "What makes you think I wasn't trying?" and Garak smirks. "There's hope for you yet." These two are brilliant together and better how Bashir uses Garak's very words to solve the program problems.
The day is saved in its own way, and it ends with Garak and Bashir talking it over and Bashir stating, "Agent Bashir will return." So why didn't it happen?
How come we never got a spy Bashir sequel?
The episode is a popular one with fans thanks to how the cast gets to play much different roles than usual and the wonderful spy motifs. One would expect a sequel to it with Bashir getting into a wild new adventure, so why didn't it happen?
The most obvious reason was that this episode was a strain on the budget. Replicating a 1960s spy world isn't cheap, as the episode took over a week to film and involved a lot of stunt work. That ate up a lot of the weekly budget which was already high.
Probably the bigger reason, however, was that while this meant as a homage, the Bond producers weren't fans of it. The Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion book revealed that MGM sent Paramount a letter that boiled down to "imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery." That, more than anything, is probably the real reason a true sequel to this episode never came about.
As it happens, we did get a bit more of Bashir as a spy, with the later seasons playing on his experiences with Section 31. Looking back, the episode can also be seen as hints to the revelation of Garak being genetically engineered (see how easily he manages to just nick Garak when he supposedly has no experience with firearms) and the sort of moral quandaries Bashir would face later in the show.
It's a shame we never got a full sequel, as this episode remains one of the best delights of DS9. It's not just a wonderful Bond homage but good character-building for Bashir and Garak, and too bad MGM couldn't allow Agent Bashir to try and save the world again.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine streaming on Paramount+.