LogFAQs > #969591414

Episode 14: 11001001

Nice to have a more relaxed episode. Given how Luddite TOS could be, i like seeing a technologically interlinked race be portrayal relatively positively.

Picard has obviously settled into his role as captain and is getting better at expressing his pride in his crew. He even treats Wesley decently. Still love his appreciation for books. Appropriately awkward when he barges in on Riker's fantasy. Considering the way he acts when he's flying the ship, it seems the writers are confident enough now to allow Stewart to have some fun with his character.

It occurs to me that Riker (much like Kirk) is a jerk. He's a little dismissive of the Bynars even before they act remotely suspicious. He's also straight up rude to La Forge and Data. Luckily, Frakes has more than enough charm that he comes across as a bit of a lad, rather than an outright dick. He's also a complete satyrmaniac. I did like how, during the conversations with Minuet, he and Picard kept showing jealous looks, only to visibly consider how ridiculous that is. Also, Frakes gets to show off playing the trombone.

Still love La Forge's friendship with Data. I am curious as to how he actually sees the painting, though. Presumably, the visor allows him to view different spectra as an approximation of colours.

Yar is a keen sports player, which makes sense. Pretty sweet to Data.

Worf apparently tried his hand at comedy. He has a point about keeping score.

Crusher is excited about meeting her hero and returns to her distracted manner from the first few episodes.

Troi seems to have started her holiday early.

Data's artwork isn't even that bad. He's pretty good in command. I felt that everyone's response to his guilt didn't go far enough. It would be better if they mentioned that relaxation is as much a right as it is a need. Just stating that it would've probably happened anyway isn't quite enough.

Wesley couldn't be less subtle if he tried. To be honest, though, there's practically nothing annoying here. Wheaton is playing him as significantly more human than before.

Minuet is charming enough. Has enough chemistry with the rest that her implied deletion actually feels like a tragedy. Her "replacement" sells the blank smile of an NPC brilliantly. Felt nothing from Quinteros.

The Bynars are a fine alien. I love their simultaneous male and female speech and how they finish each other's sentences. Decent designs and the very idea of a race that thinks in computer terms is fascinating.

The VFX are simply beautiful. Some of it is obviously recycled from The Search for Spock, but showing these modified scenes along with the remix of The Motion Picture theme gave me a surprising wave of nostalgia. The jazz bar is a great set and I can't get enough of seeing how out of place the holodeck exit is in these worlds. Riker's initial exploration of the holodeck is blatant padding, but considering the laid back atmosphere of this piece, it isn't really a problem.

The idea of binary is the obvious theme. Even without the aliens, the characters are mostly split into groups of two and the more awkward or uncomfortable scenes, Picard intruding in the club and Wesley gawping at the workers, mostly involve an odd number of participants. Then theres the obvious, but sweet idea of Picard and Riker being mostly on the same page as far as command decisions are concerned, which matches with how the Bynars communicate. It's mostly aesthetic flavour, and I would've liked a deeper look at computer logic and philosophies involving it, but it's cool, nonetheless. There's also an acknowledgement of how the holodeck could be quite damaging if you don't restrain your fantasies. Although the holodeck "characters" have seemed borderline self aware at worst and outright alive at best, so, its a little weird to me to treat Minuet's fate with such a cavalier attitude. Sure, Riker's upset and stresses that he won't forget her easily, but shes still more dehumanised than the entities in The Big Goodbye. It's also great to have an episode with no real villain. It's a holiday story that manages to actually feel like a holiday, whilst still having a plot.

A nice, laid back tale.

As a fan of British shows, Too Short a Season hits a little close to home.