Hard Time
- Episode aired Apr 15, 1996
- TV-PG
- 45m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
O'Brien tries to re-integrate to life on the station after serving 20 years in a virtual prison.O'Brien tries to re-integrate to life on the station after serving 20 years in a virtual prison.O'Brien tries to re-integrate to life on the station after serving 20 years in a virtual prison.
Patrick Barnitt
- Argrathi Guard
- (uncredited)
Tory Christopher
- Argrathi
- (uncredited)
Peggy Donaldson
- SF Cmd Lieutenant jg
- (uncredited)
Judi M. Durand
- Cardassian Computer
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBashir makes reference to TNG: "The Wounded", as well as DS9: "Whispers" and "Tribunal". Obviously, this is another 'O'Brien Must Suffer' episode. Ira Steven Behr sums up the rationale for these episodes: "Every year, we like to drive O'Brien totally mad."
- GoofsDr. Bashir says it's impossible to erase only select incidents from O'Brien's memory without erasing his entire memory. There are previous Star Trek episodes where a person's recent memories or selective memories were erased with a device by a doctor, such as done for Tom Paris in VOY: "Ex Post Facto", and done by Dr. Crusher on TNG more than once. Also a Vulcan could have been brought in to erase that portion of O'Brien's memory with a mind-meld technique, as that had been done by Vulcans in the past, such as Spock did for Captain Kirk in TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome", intoning "Forget".
- Quotes
Chief Miles Edward O'Brien: When we were growing up, they used to tell us, humanity had evolved. That mankind had outgrown hate and rage. But when it came down to it, when I had the chance to show that no matter what anyone did to me, I was still an evolved human being... I failed. I repaid kindness with blood. I was no better than an animal.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Inglorious Treksperts: Wolfe in the Fold: Remembering DS9 (2019)
- SoundtracksStar Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Title
(uncredited)
Written by Dennis McCarthy
Performed by Dennis McCarthy
Featured review
typical 90s "mental health" episode
Rich with a creative sci-fi plot element, but showcases the worst in traditionalist mental health models. No one on the ship (not even the "counselor") is able to help a traumatized person recover from torture. Maybe it was meant to be a cautionary tale, but we see the victim's allies fail to offer real support, and instead just offer varying flavors of tough love and mounting levels of even more punishment. Lots of missed opportunities to address punitive vs restorative justice systems and post-traumatic stress disorder recovery tools.
helpful•1725
- ashleybmeyer
- Sep 16, 2017
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content