Current Events > Star trek watchthrough. Ongoing spoilers.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Doe posted...

pretty sure that is universally considered the worst TNG two-parter.

Er not it isn't.

So are you honestly trying to tell me that Descent is worse than the utter crap that was Times Arrow and Gambit?

Er I don't think so.

Times Arrow & Gambit are fun. Descent is neither fun nor is it compelling character development for Data or Lore.

Oof. Some Star Trek pearl clutching going on after that last review. Lol

Episode 13: Angel One

Matriarchal societies are one of those types of stories that are extraordinarily difficult to do well and, unfortunately, they didn't manage it.

Picard really does seem to suffer a lot. Getting pelted by a snowball and then catching an inexplicable virus. Still, it's fun to watch Stewart act even more frustrated and cantankerous than usual. Quite a workaholic.

Definitely seeing Riker as the intended real main character now. Liked his face palm of despair at Data making a prat of himself. Clearly excited and pleased with himself at the prospect of fucking Beata. Actually seemed shocked that his ending speech didn't immediately win people over. (Mind you, I was shocked that they seriously considered it after a pause). Don't agree with him insisting on evacuating the prisoners. There are good reasons for violating the prime directive and this isn't one of them.

La Forge initially liked his new command a bit too much. Eventually got a bit stressed by it.

I think Crosby missed her cue by a second when she was supposed to laugh at Riker's outfit. Felt her frustration with Ramsey's idiocy.

Worf literally has the flu. Dorn tries his best, but Klingon sneezes (as the subtitles themselves call them) aren't that funny after the first time. Feeling a little nostalgic for his home, which is mildly interesting.

Crusher is stressed to fuck. Still can't praise McFadden's acting enough. She's utterly brilliant.

Troi gets a nice moment of laughing in the background over Data's antics. Considering its such a minor part, Sirtis does a damn fine job of selling Troi's anticipation, amused because she knows exactly what's about to happen.

Data gets the aforementioned perfume disaster, which is probably one of the few good moments in this mess. Explaining himself as only resembling the male form reminded me of one of my favourite conversations in Futurama.

I would've honestly rather followed Wesley's skiing adventure than much of what actually followed. He's not completely off the hook, though, since he's still one of the most unbelievably innocent teens I've ever seen.

Ramsey is an absolute moron and pretty bland besides. I can appreciate trying to change a society when you're forced to live in it, but if someone offers you and yours a perfect way out, why would you linger to await your execution? It's not like you're being shunted into a ghetto. Perhaps if he adequately explained why he liked the planet so much, I'd be more sympathetic.

I sort of almost like Beata and I have no idea why. I recognise that she's a complete stock character and about as sexist as everything else, but there's something happening there. Or maybe i was just grasping for something positive. Her manservant is a freaky little weed, though. I'd sooner have Gollum tending to my whims.

Didn't notice much of interest production wise, except the half decent transition from Riker's fun to Ramsey's fire. I'm normally tolerant of early episodes in a show not quite having the rules fully established, but it's been a significant plot point in previous ones both that most diseases are a thing of the past and that stuff from the holodeck can't typically leave it. So, having a blatant filler plot to serve a ticking clock/need to have the whole main cast doing something becomes even worse when you have such a stupid reason behind it. The Romulan nonsense is absolutely nothing.

What an appallingly sexist piece of dreck. From the start, with Picard's "unusual" comment, it's clear that this episode was going to have a misguided view of gender at best, but it charges headfirst into patronising attitudes towards feminism in a way that echoes the worst of TOS. The matriarchal society is a basic role reversal where the men wear perfume and dress in revealing outfits, while the womenfolk titter and giggle at how silly they look. Both of the female natives who actually matter immediately melt in the presence of our manly men who do manly things. (And it cannot be understated just how boring Ramsey is) It's Riker, rather than Yar or Troi, who gives a patronising speech and sort of saves the day. There's an implication that Beata only considers changing because she had a good lay and her final speech about resisting "evolution" is the ultimate in strawmen. Perhaps the reason I want to like her is because I knew exactly how badly women as a whole were going to be treated here. Also, maybe it's just my complete lack of sympathy for them, but this is one of the few times I'm in favour of adhering to the prime directive and leaving the society to its own devices.

Makes a token effort to be better than TOS's equivalents, but it was an outdated idea even then. Frankly awful.

I was tempted to make a cute statement in binary, but that'd be tedious. 11001001.

splodeymissile posted...

Matriarchal societies are one of those types of stories that are extraordinarily difficult to do well and, unfortunately, they didn't manage it.

Orville did it great, or at least bungled upwards.

The Orville is definitely on my list of shows to check out, but it's behind quite a few others.

After I've finished Star Trek, my next show is probably going to be Saphire and Steel.

Take a break after TNG to marathon Orville.
Seth MacFarlane basically wrote a loveletter to TNG, and even uses a few Trek actors to do it.

Frakes even directed a couple episodes.

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.

splodeymissile posted...

It occurs to me that Riker (much like Kirk) is a jerk

My opinion of Riker is that he's the kinda guy you'd love to have a beer with if you don't mind that he treats the waitress like a dog.

Riker (and pretty much everyone else) take two whole seasons to finally settle in.
Season 3 on finally has its shit together.

splodeymissile posted...

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,

Oh both of these themes are explored in later episodes.

Episode 15: Too Short a Season

We return to unhinged superiors taking over the ship, along with musings on aging.

Because of the focus on Jameson, most of the main cast have very little worth mentioning, despite almost all being present and correct.

Picard is clearly bristling at having to follow Jameson's orders. He's appropriately suspicious of the various red flags that Jameson throws up. The scene where the truth behind the first negotiation comes out is actually great. He definitely seems to struggle with his unwavering adherence to rules and regulations. Loved that, after the complete failure of the away mission, you can see Stewart's face visibly twitching in anger.

Unfortunately, didn't feel much from Riker (or most of the main cast, to be honest). He just does his job. Again, not as much of a problem here as in TOS since there's a clear commitment to giving all the main characters a decent amount of time to shine and hes had more than enough focus episodes already.

La Forge ain't doing much, either. Still, his little nod to Data at the end is sweet.

Yar gets to demonstrate competent marksmanship and otherwise lurk in the background.

Worf has a cute moment of helping Jameson with the computer and gets to save his life.

Crusher has more to do than most, but she's mostly just exposition.

Sirtis gets to show Troi's reaction to people's emotions through her suspicious glances, which is almost certainly a better use for her character than just stating things. She has some acting chops, but only a few episodes have allowed us to see it. Makes the right choice in suggesting that Anne has a right to know about her husband's condition.

Data states the obvious. Spiner is trying to keep Data somewhat uncanny through the odd facial expression, but he hasn't got much to work with.

Wesley presumably had another skiing lesson.

Jameson is less a guest star and more the real main character of this piece. His particular brand of madness is a desire to not just relive the past, but to somehow correct it. He was obviously mentally alert enough to potentially solve the crisis without his youth, but his obsession and guilt require him to "try again", in a sense. I've never found old age makeup and/or prosthetics particularly convincing, nor have I ever felt I was actually meant to. The stuff on his face isn't the best example I've seen, but it does the job. The actor's old age portrayal boils down to a heavily projected raspy voice, with a bit of frustration and cantankerousness thrown in. I actually quite like how the voice sounds, but it is a little one-note. As a young man, he's better able to show off the arrogance, regret and pain of his character. It's a good concept to build an episode around, but I can't help real that the actor's reach is slightly exceeding his grasp.

Karnas has many different levels to his rage, including a peak of tranquil fury that makes him more interesting than a bit part usually manages. Didn't care for Anne. She's just there.

There's a weird air to this episode, especially in the first half, that's difficult to quite put my finger on. Something just felt subtly off. I think it's the focus on a guest character to the near complete exclusion of the main cast, but I'm not sure that's completely it. (Anyone else feel the same? Im racking my brain, but i lack the ability to articulate what i didnt like here). At any rate, the episode is quite well put together, despite my odd feeling, beyond the padded nature of the convincing Karnas scene. I particularly want to point out the clear fun the director is having in often framing Jameson's face in shadow to convey his dark secrets. TNG in general is really good with its lighting so far.

Jameson is the anti-Kirk. Well, sort of. Like Kirk, he's a maverick who bends rules to a degree and prefers actual space work to vegetating behind a desk. And, like Kirk did in A Private Little War, he arms a faction or two to equal levels in order to preserve a balance of power. The reason I say he's only sort of the anti Kirk is because Kirk's own fundamental morals were subject to change depending on who was writing him (in fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that Kirk did not have a fully consistent character until the films, only the illusion of one thanks to Shatner's underrated performance just about holding things together). Once Kirk's character was solidified, though, he was clearly the sort of man who would have handled a lot of the Vietnam war episodes quite a bit differently. Yet, his prior decisions are canonical, even if they wisely go unmentioned, and a decent chunk of the audience would remember them. With TNG portraying itself as a more enlightened world, it becomes a bit difficult to reconcile the reactionary politics of TOS with it, even with the benefit of an in universe century passing by. At the same time, we can't really hold Kirk to account because he's not that man anymore, newer audiences would never imagine he could have ever been that man based on the films and it would unfairly tar him in later installments.

So, Jameson (who's last name is remarkably similar to Kirk's first name) is created. Effectively film Kirk if he had the exact opposite recharacterisation. Someone who is allowed to acknowledge his reactionary past and how it doesn't really gel with the world he lives in. But his existence doesn't exorcise the lingering spectre of impossible continuity alone. So, his pursuit of youth isn't just an attempt to relive the glory days, its an obsession with retconing the past, with correcting the early mistakes. Of course, this is a futile effort. People will still remember. So, despite his clear guilt, there's also an equally clear sense of arrogance and self righteousness. He's even appallingly sexist to his own wife, outright molesting her on a couple of occasions. He hasn't corrected his fatal flaws at all, merely redirected them to his best pretense of enlightenment.

This brings us to Karnas, who is actually quite remarkable in a way. For a man who kept a civil war going for over 40 years, he's, apart from the nameless extras and vaguely referred to offscreen casualties, all of whom we're not actually expected to care much about, the closest person (apart from Anne who's own pain sadly gets ignored more than it should) to a victim in this story. The episode does go to great lengths to not valorise or justify his actions, with Picard stating, more than once, that he shares a lot of the blame for the lengthy war, but there's also an admission that he does have a legitimate grievance. As such, Jameson has to die from his own doomed attempts and as soon as this ghost from a less than ideal past is destroyed, Karnas immediately calms down and becomes cooperative.

There are two problems, though. The first is that the TNG cast get marginalised in their own show and the second is that this is an incredibly viscous and cynical theme. I don't mind admitting that it took me longer to see what this episode was doing than it did with most others (obviously my interpretation isn't absolute fact, though), but I wonder if some imperceptible subtlety in the production is what resulted in that indescribably off feeling I had.

I think its mostly well made and I agree with its themes. But I think I respect it more than I actually like it.

Tomorrow, When the Bough Breaks.

Episode 16: When the Bough Breaks

Did not like this one at all. Stealing the children is a perfectly fine story conceit, Torchwood did wonders with it, but this is just horrid.

Luckily, our main character comes up smelling of roses. Aside from knowing Riker well enough to understand that mythical planets are something that he'd want to be present for, which is sweet, his outrage at the stealing of children is fantastic. Stewart sells it brilliantly, by having his anger build gradually but measurably with every syllable. Having to diplomatically restrain himself is fun, too. Even though I have little sympathy for them, helping the Aldeans at the end is the right thing to do. Get some character development with his willingness to hug a child.

Riker likes his myths and can barely contain his excitement. I love that he doesn't even pretend to consider giving up the children. Normally, I wouldn't praise such bare minimum decency, but considering how they've tolerated a few dodgy societies already, it's actually worth mentioning.

La Forge does his job. I feel like Burton is trying to inject some life into his performances, but it's a bit of an uphill battle when you have little material.

Yar gets to be educated on mythology, but there's not much to her, either.

Going by production trivia, Worf was apparently a last minute addition to the cast. Its a fair excuse, but it doesn't change the fact that he is being poorly served this season.

I feel like McFadden has checked out, a bit. The concern and anguish for Wesley just doesn't feel like it's fully there. I know she's a better actor than this, so, I'm concluding that she didn't reckon much to the story either.

Having Troi convey her emotion sensing through expressions rather than exposition is still an obviously better use for her than how she was in the first few episodes. Unfortunately, I think she's out of character. Her comment about humans having an unusual attachment to children does not track with her main gimmicks of being a super empath and half human. Then there's her utterly appalling statement that the Aldeans will make great parents.

Data has a fun moment of taking a while to understand that Picard is lying. Seems we can always count on him to provide comic relief.

This should be Wesley's time to shine and, in fairness, he's not annoying. But he is sort of bland and the episode basically wastes him. The problem is his relative passivity and helplessness. Sure, he gets control over the computer and sneaks out to briefly use it (a plot point that gets much less payoff than it should and which is stolen from him), but the literal passive resistance is just so pathetic and he ultimately contributes little to the resolution. Not particularly subtle with his scans, either.

It's a commonly occurring bugbear of mine of bad child characters and, fucking hell, this episode irritates me. From the start, with Henry whinging about calculus (absolutely nothing wrong with calculus or teaching it to children), it was clear that this was going to be a very banal sort of children. None of the kids are allowed any real agency in a story ostensibly about them, nor do they behave in anything approaching an understandable way to being suddenly wrested from their parents, except for a token and very mechanical single scene of sad music making. A scene whose emotions are all but forgotten when the kids next show up. The parents fair little better, since all they get is some generic, useless hysteria and an "I was too hard on him" line. This is the level of characterisation I expect from extras in a schlocky disaster movie. I have nothing interesting, much less positive, to say about the Aldeans.

It's an interesting choice to start without a captain's log, though I'm not sure why they did. There's a lot of useless setup and wheel spinning (Data accomplishes almost nothing throughout the episode). As cool as getting flicked halfway across the galaxy is, the passage of three days doesn't even pretend to make itself felt. The time frame is so ambiguous and meaningless, it might as well as taken them seconds to get back. One good thing, though, the power source room is straight up beautiful and continues TNG's trend of intimately understanding the uses of lighting.

There's an unfortunate type of thinking some people fall prey to, which involves simultaneously valuing children and rejecting any sense of their own interiority and individualism. The "think of the children" moral guardians are of this type, railing against any remote sense of darkness in media (or, sometimes, in real life) under the pretense of projecting the young, but without any consideration for what the young themselves may think. It is the "children are highly impressionable" idea taken to a grotesque limit which removes any sense of agency from the kids and, as anyone who has worked with kids or raised kids knows, it does not reflect reality in any sense. Oh, sure, kids can absorb ideas easily and are often eager to please adults they respect and love, but they can reject them just as capably and individual personalities determine how they act.

I bring this up because the biggest moral abomination in this work isn't the Aldeans' treatment of children as glorified accessories to themselves (although that is thoroughly evil and an all too common problem with some truly terrible real parents), it's the writers' own treatment of children. Putting aside Wesley, who's status as a main cast member means he can't help but have a personality, even if it's a bad one, the only bits of character we get are Henry disliking calculus (generic "maths is hard" shit), worry over his argument (actually potentially alright, but not by itself) and Alexandra generally being quite twee (which makes her more of a prop than anything). Once abducted, the kids fall into their new "homes" as though nothing interesting happened and have little reaction to being handled by complete strangers because, in the writer's eyes, they have no personality worth exploring. They just perfectly absorb whatever situation they are in with the minimum of fuss. Even the passive resistance bit, as crap as it is, only happens because Wesley has become the current figure to impress upon them. Everyone, barring the token cuteness from Alexandra, falls in line perfectly.

Henry is actually worse than the rest because he seems to seriously mull over the possibility of staying because he might get out of school work. Like the sad music making, his guilt over the argument is forgotten as soon as its no longer convenient. The possibility that he might want to get home because he loves his dad isn't given any real consideration. Worse yet, he thanks his blatantly abusive kidnapper for showing him a good time. And Troi praises these monsters as good parents.

In the hands of a writer who doesn't hold children in complete contempt, not only would some sense of life shine through, but the passive resistance would likely be replaced with the sort of anarchic nirvana that only kids can make. Willful temper tantrums, breaking of valuable stuff and general mayhem. Even if they didn't believe that no harm would come to them, there would still be much more animated displays of fear. Of course, the point is academic because the adults steal the resolution anyway.

Except, if we put together everything we've seen: the empty children, the passive rebellion, the adults saving the day and Troi's endorsement, with the final scene of Henry bowing before his dad's insistence on studying calculus (not a bad call by itself), we find a writer who subscribes to a profoundly awful, Victorian view of children. One where unquestioning obedience to adults is the highest virtue a child can aspire to. And one that I firmly reject.

I've been angered by episodes before, but, until now, I've never been utterly disgusted by one.

Let's hope Home Soil is better.

splodeymissile posted...

I've been angered by episodes before, but, until now, I've never been utterly disgusted by one.

What I found most offensive about this episode was that somehow the Aldeans were advanced enough to be a super civilization that had visited the whole galaxy and retained at least some connection to their technology after "retiring", but at the same time were too stupid to notice flaws easily discovered by a 24th century Earth vessel.

This sort of plot works when a primitive civilization has regressed completely and is being watched by a machine intelligence like Landru or Vaal, but it doesn't work here. These folks know all about technology and retained control of it, and any one of them could at any moment decide to start re-learning their lost science with the help of the planet's computer. At some point before "let's solve our issues by kidnapping people from passing ships", someone (probably several someones) would have been bothered enough by what was going on to break from the status quo and rediscover science. They are self-absorbed and pompous, not stupid.

Episode 17: Home Soil

Back to a mostly good episode. Halfway decent mystery involving a new form of life.

Picard has some wonderful moments, like suggesting that the real question to be asked is "why?" and bowing before the scientific method. Wears his diplomat hat and is quite understanding of Mandl's mistake.

Riker gets to be friendly and flirty. Definitely new Kirk. He's back in audience surrogate mode, so, that the principles of terraforming can be explained. Like most characters, he's enamored with the beauty of the lifeform and seems tearfully reluctant to let it go.

La Forge has a gorgeous moment of likening the creature's flashing to music, which is all the more brilliant coming from a blind man. Burton seems to have settled into the role to such a point that, like Frakes, it looks like he's just happy to be here.

Yar takes charge of her security role as expected. During the conversation in the observation lounge, Crosby gives a few decent expressions to convey anger at the neglect the scientists were showing.

Worf makes for a good source of sarcasm and its nice to see him play an active role in events.

Crusher approaches her work with a determined zeal in her eyes. It's sort of nice to see her apply the scientific method.

Troi is back to her old tricks of exposition people's emotions, although Sirtis is getting better at acting her own subtle reactions alongside it. I truly do admire how the show treats it as obviously self evident that the lifeform is beautiful and Troi is probably the best person to communicate that. Gives a slightly viscous insult to Riker at one point.

Data is clearly mulling over the possibilities of life when he's inspecting the drill. I did expect more of a deeper role from him, considering inorganic life if the prime concept.

Wesley hangs around like a bad smell. I almost didn't register his presence until he was given a token line.

The terraformers don't inspire much thought, despite Mandl's attempts at injecting some nuance into the role. Bensen is the worst of the bunch. I'm not convinced his actor is even trying to earn his pay.

Giving the silicon entity a sentence to itself just so I can gush at how great a line "ugly bags of mostly water" is.

The terraforming building is a great design and has something of a gloomy edge to it. For something that spends most of its screen time as a point of light, the silicon lifeform has a surprising beauty to it and I liked that it's appearance subtly evolved after every division. Directing was mostly great, with one brilliant example being Picard's group in the lab observing the creature on the screen, only for Worf to hove into view and reveal that the bridge group are looking at the same thing.

Some problems, though. Pacing is, frankly, weird. Aside from spinning their wheels in a mostly obvious mystery, there are bizarre moments like the entity trying to communicate, the crew retiring to the observation lounge to discuss the attempt and, then, only trying to listen to it. Another one is, after it's clear that the entity has control over the computers, La Forge still tries to use them, only to obviously fail.

The biggest bit of tedium comes from the relentless exposition. It's not even awful exposition, since it comes from reasonably accurate scientific thought, but it does drag and nobody is able to invest a great amount of emotion in it. I always feel slightly weird saying this, since I'm currently a physics student, but I've never been too bothered about my Sci-fi, even hard Sci-fi, being scientifically accurate. I'd rather have decent character work, thematic development or good old emotional stirring than painstaking world building. Supporting the scientific method is something I'm all for, but the absolute fealty shown to it in this episode gets in the way of telling the story and betrays that there isn't much plot to begin with. It's telling that almost nobody seriously doubts that the creature is alive. Instead, they spend most of the runtime trying to make a silicon based lifeform that vaguely resembles brain cells seem plausible. Consider the season started with a snotty man child god and shape-shifting space jellyfish, it seems counterintuitive to start working for believability now.

I've always seen Sci-fi as more of an aesthetic flavour that can highlight specific points other genres can't, but which is ultimately derived from a more universal sort of story telling. So, willing suspension of disbelief has never been a big issue for me. The fact that I'm playing at being critical here (even if my reach may well be exceeding my grasp) shows that I'm under no illusions that this is a viable alternate universe in its own right, but rather a vehicle (both metaphorically and literally, given the Enterprise) for telling stories. Less a meticulously maintained canon with deep lore and more a pseudo mythology that tells mostly disconnected stories with a familiar set of characters. (Incidentally, this is why I will probably wind up liking Wesley before the show is over, since it's been made clear to me that he does improve. I recognise that Wesley is not a real person with his own consistent timeline, but a sequence of interpretations stemming from an ever changing production team. As such, I can forgive a character a bad episode or even a run of bad episodes, so long as they do get a good one somewhere).

The actual theme is, of course, the same as The Devil in the Dark and I don't have too much to add from my review of that, except that this is something of a natural evolution from that episode, since the silicon entity is, at first glance, less obviously alive than the Horta.

An enjoyable, but slightly mediocre, episode with a great point. Absolute godsend after yesterday, though.

Tomorrow is the Coming of Age.

So you quite enjoyed that you ugly giant bag of mostly water.

That was what the micro entity calls Humans in Home Soil incase anyone has forgot.

Episode 18: Coming of Age

Half Wesley focused, half snotty outside bothers the regulars. Rumblings of a plot arc, too.

Picard, like all good main characters, does not appreciate getting his toes stepped on. Far better at dealing with kids, now. His final scene with Wesley is honestly fantastic and Stewart strikes a perfect balance of simultaneously stern, but vulnerable. Not particularly thrilled with having Remmick transfer. Love that he stands by saving Wesley. Also, does his shirt not fit? He keeps adjusting it.

Riker has little patience for Remmick, too. Nice to see him completely lose his temper. Watching his face gradually drop when he realises that Picard isn't accepting promotion is a treat. Weird way to sit down.

La Forge doesn't fair particularly well under pressure. Got to see his face drop, too.

No one's under any illusion that anyone out of the main cast is going to prove problematic. Instead, this sort of plot is used to provide everyone with a nice character moment. Which makes it quite frustrating that Yar gets bugger all.

Worf, however, gets more here than he has before. His scene with Wesley shows that there is a wisdom and vulnerability to him and the strained way he adds "sir" to every line he has with Remmick is great.

Crusher has a hug with Wesley which is the most I've felt from their relationship. Gets a nerve struck by Remmick and the mirthless laughter is brilliant.

Troi handles her interrogation better than most, not that it helps much. You can see her stewing in frustration at one point.

Data is too literal minded to be caught out, so, its nice that he gets to shut down the questioning easily.

This might technically be Wesley's story, but I found literally everything else to be better. It's a bit of a rote plot, typical of completely unambitious children's shows. His greatest fear being indecisiveness is a far better answer than most of the usual suspects, but linking it to his dad, although it makes some sense, doesn't quite work, mainly because his dad hasn't been a consistent enough factor in his development so far. Fair play, it is an already established part of his backstory, but, at the same time, it feels like it came out of nowhere.

Most of the guest cast don't really stick in the mind (Wesley's crowd are an especially generic bunch, although Mordock has a cool design and it amuses me to imagine Mirren as being more sarcastic than she actually is). Remmick is the exception, being a delightfully miserable presence, with enough moments of genuine humanity that I probably wouldn't have minded if he did become a member of the main cast.

Similar to Encounter at Farpoint, it feels like we have at least two episodes in one and not just because of the clear a/b plot structure. While both plots take a stock premise, Wesley's adventure into academia feels quite uninspired. His new best friends are about as interesting here as they are in every other show they infect. In fact, I'm convinced that Mirren got halfway forgotten about midway through because the "romance" doesn't even pretend to properly exist. I'm normally quite pernickety about getting character names correct, but I was honestly more invested in whether I was using the word pernickety correctly than I was in reminding myself of the Vulcan's name. The "secret" psych test could not be more obvious and its a little insulting that were supposed to pretend Wesley cant see through it. The investigation, however, stands far above what was expected of it and we get some amazing cuts during the rapid interrogation scenes. There's some pretty tight pacing and scriptwriting, too, as the points where the plots intersect feel quite natural. One half of the episode is trying a hell of a lot harder than the other and it almost saves the whole thing.

The coming of age obviously refers to Wesley's first brush with real maturity (though there is something dubious there which I'll get to in a minute), but also to the show itself. From what I'm to understand, while the pace wasn't quite a breakneck as the 60s often were, they still didn't have the full production of a season finished before the first episode airs. So, we got things like the Ferengi being the overall villain until they suddenly weren't and Q being slotted into the first episode at the last minute. Apparently, Lore will be reappearing before too long, too. So, we have some plot arcs set up, but I don't exactly need spoilers to know that there's something accidental and timorous (in the Ferengi's case, straight up abortive) about these attempts. Here, though, we have an episode that is running on a staggering amount of confidence in itself, most of which is justified. Our three recurring antagonists could theoretically do just as well as one or two hit wonders, since their episodes were mostly self contained affairs, but we have a truly unfinished plot here and there's a deliberate tease for more. The fact that Remmick brings up a bunch of past adventures clearly shows they're starting to feel comfortable in the world they're building. I'm already aware that many believe season 3 is when the show truly grows up, but this episode seems to be when TNG itself thinks it's properly matured and, not yet knowing any better because I've only got vague, at best, ideas about what's coming next, I don't completely disagree.

Which brings us to Wesley, who, despite being the apparent centre of this theme, is still incredibly juvenile. Not just in his literal character, but in how he's treated. Even in a utopian society, he is far too naive to be believably nearly 16. He's canonically older than even my most generous guess. The closest thing to a spark he has is standing up to a bully who wasn't really a bully to begin with. Even though it did lead to a great scene with Picard, his failure was an utterly cowardly move. He can't maintain his role as the unfairly ignored teen genius if he becomes an actual ensign who, presumably, stands as an equal with the others and shoving him off to the academy was about as likely as doing the same to Picard. The difference is that no one is under any illusion that any one of their colleagues could be a bad egg or that Picard would actually take the job (therefore, neither is the audience) and the real point to the b plot concerns the setup for the series arc. With Wesley, even though the audience also knows better here, it's treated as more plausible that he might evolve as a character. The fact that he doesn't is played as him learning a lesson, but in practice his character is stagnating whilst the rest of the show, in almost every other respect, has climbed higher.

Another issue with Wesley, and this is perhaps my biggest issue with treating him as a convincing teenager, concerns sex or rather, how he is the most asexual teenager I have ever encountered in otherwise competent fiction. The show doesn't shy away from sex, since it's Riker's favourite topic of conversation, but Wesley is kept conspicuously removed from the issue. I should clarify that I neither expect nor want to suddenly see him having many conquests, since that is obviously creepy given his age (im confidant the actor is underage, too), but there are ways of exploring teenage love lives without being morally dubious or, going the other extreme, having such a puritanical romance, like with Mirren (when it bothers to exist anyway), that you inadvertently create a kid who seems to have something deeply wrong with him. Having him play ball whilst inexplicably on the sex planet in Justice is another way that the issue of sex becomes all the weirder around him because of its complete absence.

Wesley let's it down, but it's mostly brilliant.

On to Heart of Glory.

Wesley shall have a girlfriend someday

Here is one for everyone. I got this from tvtropes. This was originally meant to be the theme for TNG:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzpeulsbv8o

In my opinion it is freaking awful. it sounds more like it should be in Star Wars than Star Trek.

It was written by Dennis McCarthy who did a lot of other music on Star Trek.

Thank goodness nobody liked it and they chose The Motion Picture theme for TNG.

CassandraCroft posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzpeulsbv8o

Bruhh and it was going just fine lol. It's not that this one reminds me of Star Wars, it's just lacking a certain punch or spark due to the instruments chosen

Reminiscent of the 1996 Doctor Who theme.
Recognizable, but just off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGch8BsduiI

If anything, it sounds like the Orville theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyBbcw19UpU

splodeymissile posted...

Also, does his shirt not fit? He keeps adjusting it.

It did not. No one's did. Roddenberry insisted the uniforms be made out of spandex and extremely tight so it'd look more futuristic. The end result being that they stank and gave Patrick Stewart back problems.

Even after they fix the issue, Stewart keeps adjusting his shirt. Apparently it would be uncomfortable if you sat down in it. He does it so frequently that fans call it the Picard Maneuver.

It is quite overly bombastic, but it lacks a sense of movement, I feel. Hard to imagine it playing over a shot of the Enterprise moving.

Episode 19: Heart of Glory

First Klingon and Worf focused episode. Get some backstory insight.

Picard quite enjoys seeing as La Forge does. Bit of an easily distracted man. Doesn't buy the Klingons' story for a second. Actually, he's a bit bigoted here. Compared to how he still had unwavering faith in Data when his brother showed up, he's quick to seriously consider that Worf might betray them. When the Klingon captain offered help, Picard didn't seem particularly thrilled with him, either.

Riker has little patience for Picard's gushing, but he leads the away team decently enough.

La Forge, however, has a lot of patience. In fact, he was a little gleeful at getting to educate someone. Quite like that the visor is controlled like any other sense. I wonder if the permanent halo around Data was in some way an impetus for their friendship.

Yar gets to do something for once. It's a bit of a shame that her first real character moments in a while consist of her asking pretty basic questions and being completely tactless in front of Worf, but I suppose it's something.

Worf is the big focus here. Get some meaty backstory with him being raised by humans and the only Klingon in Starfleet. Handles himself well whilst being insulted. Death howls (and similar) in fiction have a tendency of falling into camp, but the ones here manage to be quite decent. It's nice to see Dorn finally be able to sink his teeth into a role and he does not disappoint. Several layers of confusion and restrained anger are conveyed perfectly. I really liked his plea to give the criminals a decent death.

I do think some of the (occasionally literal) back and forth over his loyalties is a little overblown. I do really admire the decision to have him be the Klingon who seems to most understand the actual philosophy behind their culture. Its far better than flat out angstily rejecting the whole thing.

Crusher is decent enough to ask about Klingon death practices.

Troi sits this one out, which is perhaps wise, as a bunch of perpetually angry people would probably not be pleasent for a super empath.

I'm convinced Data answered the same question twice without comment. Hes usually quick to mention repeating himself.

A single pep talk doesn't always cut it, so, I choose to believe that Wesley is still drowning in tears of failure.

A lot of effort is spent on making the Klingons feel like a real culture and Korris gets the best of this. Although he's a villain, he has a lot of decent moments like showing genuine care and understanding for Worf once his backstory is revealed and not objecting to him joining the death howl. His attempts to recruit Worf do veer into the obviously slimy at points, but there's a coherent, if misguided, motive to his actions and hes genuinely hurt when it doesn't work. K'Nera is pretty decent as a more enlightened Klingon. He arguably comes across as better than Picard.

Still loving the many ship designs and other VFX work, even if some of it is recycled. Similar to the Federation conspiracy, I'm assuming, based on the names of future episodes, that the mystery of the Romulans is something of a plot arc. Did not care for the mean spirited jab at the Ferengi. Sure, they flopped a bit, but have some pride in your prior work. The deliberately oversaturated and low quality visor feed is far more beautiful than it has any right to be. Shot like a horror movie, which is fun to see. The sets of the broken ship are great and I love the use of silhouette when the away team are shot from the back.

Apart from Worf finally getting something, the two main themes are understanding of other perspectives and the true shape of Klingon culture. The first is setup by Picard literally seeing through La Forge's eyes at the beginning and includes him and the rest learning about Klingon culture and, by extension, Worf himself. Enough lines are devoted to how much someone does or doesn't understand/recognise someone else to make this a bit obvious. Even Korris gets in on the fun, as he gets fairly sweet, for a Klingon, once he hears Worf's story. His downfall comes from a lack of understanding of the self and its place in his culture, since his motivation stems from an inability to reconcile his emotions with the relatively peaceful world he lives in. Worf, on the other hand, ultimately was in no doubt about who he is and, while he concedes to feeling the same way, has found a means to live quite well in a culture that should otherwise be a complete hell to him. K'Nera outright states it, when he, completely sincerely, suggests that both cultures could learn from each other.

Which brings us to what Klingon culture actually is and how its interpreted, ad another one of Korris' problems is that he has a far too literal view of warrior culture. He's too nuanced to be a caricature, which is to the episode's credit, but his belief seems to be a mindless indulgence of aggressive emotions. He wishes to cause mayhem across the galaxy, but with no clear purpose or end beyond repetitive violence for its own sake and he eventually gets himself and his friends killed in a pretty ignoble misadventure. It's almost a farce and a self defeating ideology. Even K'Nera, much as he sympathises with Worf's plea, finds his own hands tied by a literal reading of this culture. However, Worf himself, perhaps due to his outside perspective, has taken Klingon beliefs to heart and turned the warrior drive into a tool of deep introspection. The way he internalises it makes it akin to a personal spirituality that has continuous self improvement and understanding as its goal. His apparent rejection of Klingonhood is merely a rejection of Korris' well meant, but ultimately doomed, version. The end result being the revelation that Worf is perhaps more comfortable in himself than either he or his closest friends quite comprehended before.

Worth the wait. I can see why Worf holds the record for most episodes.

Will check out The Arsenal of Freedom, next.

you're going to see a lot more of Worf and the Klingons

splodeymissile posted...

I do really admire the decision to have him be the Klingon who seems to most understand the actual philosophy behind their culture. Its far better than flat out angstily rejecting the whole thing.

You're quite good at analysis. The first major Worf episode and you've picked up the core pillar of his character. He is, in many ways, the ideal Klingon because he grew up only learning stories about his culture. It's like a human only learning about Superman and Captain America, then thinking that's how all humans act.

Episode 20: The Arsenal of Freedom

Pretty great ensemble piece involving planet of the arms dealers.

Picard gets to join the away team for once. Caught him rubbing the back of his head out of stress. His demeanour completely changes when he's one on one with someone. The teasing of his and Crusher's relationship is probably the prime reason for this story, but from how he acts with other characters when alone in previous episodes, I'm wondering if he's more of an introvert than necessarily just socially awkward. He's sweetly deferential when tending to Crusher's wounds and "buying" the damn weapon is a fine solution.

Riker's relaxed energy when he first encounters Rice is delightful. Doesn't take him long to figure things out, but he has great fun in tormenting him with stupid answers. What can't have been fun is standing still for several scenes.

La Forge gets command for most of the episode and he is utterly amazing. There's a relaxed air about his leadership that echoes Kirk in some ways, but he's more than capable of putting his foot down. Burton is clearly relying on his background in working with children because there is such an encouraging vibe about him that never once manages to fall into patronising, despite the fact that he's doing this to adults. Even knowing that there's an invisible enemy smacking the ship, I'd still want to serve under him and I'm incredibly dubious of the military at the best of times.

Yar's is another fantastic showing. She gets to make several intelligent decisions throughout, even showing up Riker a bit at one point (though he gets some revenge towards the end). She has, unfortunately, been mostly ignored after the first few episodes, so having her sharing banter with the rest and generally acting like a main character is a treat. Her ability to act a certain, slightly exaggerated, anxiety over her whole body is another welcome return.

Worf is probably the most ignored, but we can't be too greedy after last episode. Still, Dorn gets to bark out a lot of anger and passion during the space battles and its great that Worf effortlessly follows along with La Forge's plans.

Crusher gets a bit of backstory and her more substantial role frees up McFadden to return to her sublime acting style from the first few episodes. Her eyes alone are able to convey a surprising number of layes of longing, understanding and restraint. According to production trivia, the initial drafts of her and Picard's conversations had an overblown declaration of love. Melodrama is as viable a storytelling tool as any other, but it would have been a poor fit for this, so, good shout on continuing to keep their relationship relatively understated.

Troi is given a fascinating use. While it's a damn sight better than giving flat exposition, the many funny looks that she offers people are just as obvious at demonstrating to the audience that there are hidden thoughts about. Since we're naturally going to be suspicious of new characters, we don't learn anything from her that we hadn't already suspected, but this typically doesn't bother me because any excuse to allow Sirtis to actually act is a good excuse. What's interesting here, is that these looks are directed at La Forge, who's already trusted. With his new command, the implication is that the pressure is getting to him and that he'll have to learn a lesson of sorts, even if it's just to believe in himself more. Obviously, this doesn't happen. Instead, (and there's some knowing cheek to how this is done) La Forge admits to his fear, but denies he's unable to handle it and actually gets a little angry at the idea that he couldn't. Troi agrees with him and further sings his praises, which instantly turns her ambiguous glances of "there's something here, so pay attention audience" from concern about a weakness, to utter awe about how deep his inner strength really goes. It's some of the best mutual character shilling I've ever seen and both actors are on fire. One minor complaint is about her insistence on supporting the bridge crew. Because I feel that he was already doing that and didn't really prompting.

Balancing a plot around 8 characters is bloody difficult, so, Data sadly joins Worf in being a bit out of focus. Still, Spiner can be relied upon to bring some amusement just through his facial expressions, so, I got a smirk out of his reaction to Riker's lies.

Wesley must be studying hard for his resit.

Logan is a smarmy shit. Had quite a haughty look on his face when it seemed like he might get command. We've been through a fair few chief engineers and I can't imagine he'll be retained long with that attitude. The two other crewmen are decent enough. More effort into the acting than the role probably merits. If it weren't for the fact that we've already got nine main characters, I reckon they could do worse that have them join the regular cast.

The hologram is a fun bit of slime. Combines the twin abhorrent excesses of arms dealership and runaway capitalism into a remarkably pathetic ball of a used car salesman.

The planet sets are mostly great, though the skies are still a little jarring in comparison to everything else. The drones have a design that reminds me, and I have no idea why, of old preschool television. There's something uncanny about their appearance that evokes these memories for some reason.

Speaking of inexplicable feelings, there are certain points in a show when you can feel a sense of confidence in the production. It's rarely down to any one (or even a set of) specific thing(s). Best I can explain it is as though the individual members of the team aren't just being excellent, they're completely on the same wavelength as each other. What follows in an episode that typically has an amazing pace, whilst simultaneously successfully juggling several different ideas. Even that description doesn't quite fully hit the mark for me, though. The most palpable sense of this feeling I've had is from the season 5 opening of The Walking Dead. At any rate, I got the same experience from this episode. A significant reason, though far from the only one, is that they were able to have three plotlines running at once and never feel bloated or confused. It's honestly great all around.

Even before the answer is revealed (though it wasn't exactly a hard guess), there's something darkly comedic about how the people of Minos' fate is treated. The a.i. is the most clear example, continuing to run adverts and shill for products, with no ability to comprehend that his employers/creators are all dead. La Forge even briefly gets in on the fun, as he muses that a dissatisfied customer might be responsible for the extinction. Plus, there's something deeply pathetic and hilarious that a sleazy product demonstration was responsible for a planet dying. Yet, its also the natural evolution of playing both sides in a war. All factions will want weapons and if you're interested in a greater profit you'll insist on continually developing new ones to sell. Inevitably, there'll be at least two factions, who utterly hate each other, possessing enough firepower to kill everyone everywhere. Having it be a product demonstration gone awry just hammers home the point that arms dealers will likely be the cause of their death. Just because your original conflict had a farcical ending, doesn't mean that your weapons can't easily lead to a tragedy for someone else. So, taking a bleak joke to its limit creates a very serious post apocalyptic hellscape for everyone else.

Advertisement wouldn't do it justice. This product is quality.

Be in Symbiosis, shortly.

See I told you The Arsenal Of Freedom was one of the best episodes of Season 1.

I would loved to have seen Rikers adventures aboard The Lollipop. I heard it was a good ship.

Episode 21: Symbiosis

A very special episode. Couldn't quite gleam the message, but felicium sure seems fun and safe.

Picard's frustrating attempts to save the crew are comedy gold. Like an average day in tech support. Get his first face palm (that I've noticed). Seriously, though, Stewart must have been having fun portraying someone talking to idiots. I fundamentally disagree with his interpretation of the prime directive, but I admire that they clearly show how straining it is for him and allow him to somewhat resolve the problem, whilst still being true to his beliefs.

Riker shares in everyone else's frustration. Frakes is playing statues again. Compared to his banter in the last episode, his and Yar's discussion felt very wooden.

La Forge gets to end the episode on a high note by embracing the adventurer's spirit.

Yar gets to deliver one of the two morals in this story and Crosby does well with the material. The problem is, its crap material. Still, while I don't think for a second its planned, her shakiness in times of stress can now be read as really craving whatever future drug she was hooked on. I actually missed Crosby's wave to the camera, but apparently this is her last filmed scene. Already knew that Yar wasn't around for long, so, I guess her departure is imminent. Don't yet know the details, but I've heard its not the most graceful exit. It's a shame because I truly think there was potential to this character.

I think Worf put in an appearance, but I'm not recalling much of value.

Firmly on Crusher's side in this debate. Absolutely loved her righteous anger, and how she stewed in it a bit before blowing up at Picard, once she figured out what the medicine really was. She's treated far more decently than I was dreading, but there's still something patronising about how the episode sides with Picard.

Troi shares some amusing reaction shots to the Sanction's crew's incompetence. Sort of states the obvious, otherwise.

Data has a bemused response to being kicked out of his and Wesley's conversation.

Wesley is back and worse than ever. I'd rather he be insufferably smug than this. Whereas Riker's first appearances had him be the good kind of audience surrogate, who gets introduced to the world (including concepts he should be intimately familiar with) alongside us, Wesley is the bad kind. Riker introduces us to the boundless potential of the show, whereas Wesley (and the, presumably child, audience) is a blank slate to be dictated at. His reactions to his panel getting fucked with are almost as cringey as the after school special.

I recognise some of the alien actors, but I felt nothing for their characters. Apparently, one of the actors was an addict himself. Even so, the desperation (and maybe my hatred of this sort of story is blinding me a bit) seemed very overplayed and the drug runners were just generic.

I actually liked this story for the first half. A part of me would rather they continue investigating the star, but I did enjoy the fiasco of trying to rescue the crew. There's a competent mystery here, but, and maybe I've just been spoiled by Doctor Who stories, I would have preferred almost any answer than what I got. The answer I was thinking of, based off the title, was that the felicium was suppressing a natural part of their life cycle. An ordinarily symbiotic creature was being forced into something else, under the pretense of it being healthy (which isnt too far from a Pertwee era story).

As soon as Crusher mentioned the word "narcotic" I was dreading where the rest was going and I was right to. I'll give some credit, they make a token effort at looking at the actual causes of drug addiction, such as poverty, and they are clear that addiction itself is the issue, but the "solution" is to simply not do drugs. Sure, it's potentially sound advice, but it's also incredibly simplistic and doesn't even pretend to address issues like poverty despite outright flagging it up. The effect is that they're thoughtlessly saying that one should be acutely aware of their suffering with no recourse to ease or solve it.

A lack of subtlety has never been a problem with me, but I'm against grinding things to a halt for the sake of teaching kids. Aside from the idea of insisting that every story have a moral being a bit weird, are kids really watching this in the first place? While I personally believe kids should be taught about sex and relationships from as early as they can comprehend it, that is a controversial point and I don't really think a mainstream American production is going to agree with me. Yet sex has been a topic in a couple of episodes now. So, its hard to imagine that kids are the target audience for this. Yet the episode turns Wesley into an attentive audience member for the antidrugs message. I've mentioned before that sex, especially around Wesley, is treated a bit weirdly, but it's really just the most obvious example of how the show seems confused about its own audience. The message isn't just clunky and cringey and incomplete, it's confused about who its being directed to. Suggesting that adults are meant to identify with Wesley, especially here, is even weirder.

The second moral concerns the prime directive and Picard gives his glowing defense of this philosophy. And it's complete rubbish. Most of the episodes in TOS that concerned the prime directive involved Kirk eventually breaking it for what he thought to be the greater good. I didn't always agree with his reasons (justice for Vaal), but the clear theme was that an absolutist reading was ridiculous and often led to greater moral harm than intruding would. Picard, meanwhile, actually agrees with Crusher's point, but insists on being bound by the law anyway. She offers a viable solution and it's dismissed. There's a vast gulf of difference between imposing yourself to the point that you extinguish a culture and engaging with them to find solutions to problems. This isn't even about cultural values. One of the peoples is straight up being lied to. It is, in fact, exploitation without any nuanced qualifiers. And if the episode were clearly a tragedy about how the prime directive is flawed, I'd tolerate it more. But Picard literally halts the lift and the plot at the end to smugly insist that it's a very correct viewpoint. So, what could have been a decent tragedy is instead a noble, but difficult, adherence to principles. Which only works if the principles aren't thoroughly repugnant. Besides, surely saving them from atmospheric breakup is interference in its own right.

A double whammy of cringey, self satisfied PSAs that say far less than they think they do.

I'll get a feel for Skin of Evil, next.

"drugs are bad, m'kay"

Episode 22: Skin of Evil

The embodiment of evil, apparently. And we say goodbye to Yar. Far more abruptly than I expected.

Picard (or maybe Stewart himself) is a little annoyed by Lynch's insistence on using his full name. Even with the emergency, arguing with the (latest) chief engineer seems unwise. There's quite some power in his little taps to get the meeting to order. His flat defiance of Armus is one of the few points of joy in this. Don't really care for his musings on true evil, but it is nice, if weirdly sadistic for him, to twist the knife before he leaves.

Riker is not having a great time of it lately. Got some desperation out of him being dragged into Armus. I think they missed a trick by not having Armus possess him.

La Forge makes an intelligent suggestion to use his visor and we got a few good shots of him "eyeing" up the creature. Shame little comes of it.

I knew Yar was dying soon, but her and Worf's discussion, sweet as it is (I especially like her loving smile to him after he sings her praises), might as well as suggested she was three days from retirement for all the subtlety it has. Her defiance was nice to see. Crosby's performance during the funeral scene was great, but it doesn't exactly say great things that some of her character's best material comes posthumously. Plus, it would be better if we could've seen more of her developing relationships with these guys.

Worf was a little nervous over Yar's flirty look. Get some maturity out of the proud warrior electing to man his station rather than beam down. I honestly wish his and Yar's friendship were developed more, because this was some good stuff.

Crusher attempts to resurrect Yar with a kind of desperate determination. Can read a subtle fear in her eyes in her reactions to Armus.

Troi gets some good work here. Using her empathy powers against Armus affords their conversations an interesting power dynamic where she is able to portray genuine fear whilst also gradually undercutting his menace. Crying during the funeral is such a simple thing, but it works surprisingly well.

I quite like how Data is far too innocent for Armus to accomplish much with him. Only pauses for a brief second to register what was said before he tries to help La Forge. Effortlessly shutting down the guilt trip almost had me cheering. So few shows flag up this obvious response. And, of course, he gets the final word during the funeral. It's pretty alright.

Wesley puts in a few appearances, but mostly just does his job. Inoffensive, I guess.

Armus works semi decently for what he is. The cgi in long shots hasn't aged particularly well. He looks like a dodgy paint effect. I do try to take into account the time period these shows were made in, but it is truly difficult for certain effects to age well. In close ups, we get some good churning and bubbling. Didn't mind his humanoid form. The voice starts out fairly menacing and disgusting, befitting an evil oil spillage, but as more is learned about him, he gradually shifts into the pathetic, leading up to being abandoned once again. I don't mind him as a villain.

There is a lot of padding to this. The sequence with the dilithium crystals wasn't doing enough to justify the time spent on it. Crusher's attempt to resurrect Yar was equally pointless. If her death is meant to be sudden, having an extended scene of her failed revival kind of ruins the purpose. Much of the plot involves Armus toying with the group, but it comes across as being just as needlessly indulgent as Plato's Stepchildren, but instead of uncomfortable, it's closer to boring. Seeing Riker's face in the oil is a nice horrifying image, but it's the scariest Armus manages to be after whacking Yar. Most of his sadism, especially mocking La Forge's blindness, boils down to a kind of petty bullying that's only a few degrees above The Practical Joker. You could argue that the wimpiness is the point, but the episode seems quite confused on how it wants to treat Armus.

Yar's death is the elephant in the room and what an insult it is. There's a decent argument to be made that having a sudden, ignoble death is just as valid as a drawn out, more focused one. However a character dies, though, the death needs meaning and, unfortunately, Yar gets surprisingly ignored in her final episode. It feels like there's only token mentions of her fate, apart from the obviously tacked on coda that is her funeral. Frankly, the lighting and tense atmosphere of the observation room meeting makes for a better reflection on her death than anything else. My biggest problem, though, is the utter cynicism of it. True, the character only successfully worked a precious few times and it was apparently Crosby herself who wanted to leave the role, but slapping her out of existence and then moving on as quickly as you can get away with reeks of a lack of care. Instead of faffing with BP's latest disaster, the abruptness of her departure and the apparent message its sending about space exploration being a dangerous business should be what the real focus is. This is blatant attempt at sweeping a mess under the carpet and hoping a hologram message will be enough to distract from the conspicuous lump.

The theme the episode is actually trying to be about: the nature of evil, isn't particularly well done either. Armus is an incoherent creature. At once an irredeemable entity and also a pitiable figure longing for company. The episode goes to great pains to have Troi and Picard sympathise with it, whilst using Data's innocence as justification for destroying/abandoning it because if Data says its bad, you know its bad.

The idea of there being a fundamentally evil creature doesn't quite track with Star Trek's ethos (neither does Yar's shitty death). Not only that, but the idea of a supposedly evil entity ultimately being a sympathetic creature with wants and needs was done far better in The Enemy Within and that one of the more mediocre TOS episodes. So, I'm left not fully understanding what Armus is supposed to be, thematically, because neither of the possibilities quite gel with the episode as presented.

There's a smattering of good stuff, but Yar's dreadful death hangs over the episode far more than the writers clearly wanted it to.

Yar might be gone, but We'll Always Have Paris.

Denise Crosby herself wanted to leave the show

As time passed from Skin of Evil, Denise Crosby changed her mind, and she comes back later as a guest star for a single episode. She doesn't play Tasha Yar. She plays a new character

After that, Denise Crosby made a documentary film named Trekkies, in which she says that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave the show so early as Skin of Evil

You don't realize how weird Season 1 is until you realize how natural it is for Worf to be security officer. or how unnatural it is for Will Riker to be beardless

how about both of you stop talking about episodes TC hasn't seen yet?

Denise Crosby got out when TNG was floundering, so we can't blame her at all.

Gates McFadden noped out of season 2, for pretty much the same reason.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Denise Crosby got out when TNG was floundering, so we can't blame her at all.

Gates McFadden noped out of season 2, for pretty much the same reason.

I heard that Gates was fired from TNG after she rejected the sexual advances of then showrunner Maurice Hurley.

After he left after season 2 Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner persuaded her to come back.

CassandraCroft posted...

I heard that Gates was fired from TNG after she rejected the sexual advances of then showrunner Maurice Hurley.

source?

Questionmarktarius posted...

source?

I got it from somewhere but I cant remember where.

There has been lots of rumours and speculations over the years on why McFadden was fired but one thing is certain Maurice Hurley really hated her guts.

CassandraCroft posted...

There has been lots of rumours and speculations over the years on why McFadden was fired but one thing is certain Maurice Hurley really hated her guts.

...and that contributed to TNG being a mess until season 3.

Questionmarktarius posted...

...and that contributed to TNG being a mess until season 3.

I just found this out but Hurley wanted to fire THE ENTIRE CAST at the end of season 1.

https://redshirtsalwaysdie.com/2021/06/06/maurice-hurley-suggested-firing-entire-tng-cast/

damn

Questionmarktarius posted...

source?

@Questionmarktarius

Look what I just found on tvtropes.com

Things got a bit better for the second season where Maurice Hurley took over the writing staff, but since a lot of TV writers chose to sit out the whole 1988-89 season after the 1988 WGA strike it left no more than about four or five writers (two of whom worked as a team) working on the show at any one point. It didn't help that, according to Tracy Torme at least, Hurley didn't get along with anybody and only differed from Roddenberry's lawyer in that he actually had writing experience. There were also rumors that Hurley had a big crush on Gates McFadden and expressed it like any four-year-old would: he had her written out of the second season (replacing her with Dr. Pulaski) when she brushed him off. It wasn't until the third season, when Roddenberry's health wouldn't allow him to even work, which allowed Rick Berman and Michael Piller to gently steal control of the production and the show started to balance out, although even then there were a few bumps along the way, including Piller managing to provoke the entire writing staff he inherited from Hurley into quitting after circulating an insensitively-worded "tips on writing for TV" memo, and Roddenberry still occasionally vetoing story ideas and throwing in bizarre suggestions.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/StarTrekTheNextGeneration

It is under "troubled production" in that list.

I had heard that for a while that Hurley fancied McFadden and that was the reason she was fired when she brushed him off.

Episode 23: We'll Always Have Paris

Time based shenanigans always get me excited. We also have a focus episode on Picard and many Casablanca references.

So, we'll talk about him first. Fencing is a fine hobby and it's nice to open on a character's downtime. Stewart plays his repressed emotions brilliantly, with the irritable towel slapping being a highlight. Angrily shutting down the holodeck therapy was quite a real moment. I find it quite brave for the show to admit that it's main character is a vain coward. Throwing away love for the sake of puffing up your image is a very common problem, but it's not particularly heroic, so, props for allowing Picard to have an uncommon flaw.

Riker mostly just shares exposition duty with Data. Shares some interesting looks, too, as Picard's love life is gradually revealed.

La Forge didn't seem too thrilled at beaming Data down to the lab.

I doubt the writers actually cared, but I like to think that the quest for shore leave is due to Yar's death. Last time she gets her own paragraph.

The delay in rescuing Worf from the transporter incident briefly made me wonder if he might have a greater role to play.

Crusher's sucking lemons when she sees Jenice. Her half bemused, half irritated look when she figures out why Troi is paying a house call is great.

Speaking of Troi, the poor lass just wants to do her job and keeps getting brushed off. At least she gets to escort Jenice to the holodeck date.

Data gets along well with his other selves. Thinking so little of himself as to believe he's replaceable comes close to breaking my heart. A rare passionate outburst at the end with his other two.

Wesley is still in mourning. Don't blame him.

Jenice is one of the two leads in this romantic runabout and, while she's played brilliantly, I don't think there's all that much to her character. She falls into generic lost love territory and her chemistry with Stewart only squeaks out in occasional exchanges. Manheim doesn't do much for me, either.

Some pretty inspired directing. Setting the camera inside Picard's locker and using opening and closing for shot cuts is fun. Having the camera aimed at Picard's back, with his arms folded, whilst Jenice is at the other end of the room is a fine metaphor for being emotionally closed off. The cafe is a beautiful set. I didn't mention it in the last episode, but the music for both that and this is fantastic. Mystery and tension are done perfectly. The score had become utterly brilliant. I don't understand why middle Data is apparently the correct one. Given who the camera has been following, surely it should be future most Data.

The time distortions are a pretty obvious metaphor for memories. They're representing Picard (and possibly Jenice) running the same scenarios in their head over and over again, looking for all the ways it could have gone better. Picard finally setting up the holodeck so he can say goodbye is then his moment of catharsis: a way to deal with his emotions and stop feeling bitter. There's an additional kernel of interesting thought, where its suggested that fear and pride are what are ultimately responsible for us losing and wasting time in the first time.

Unfortunately, the theme only works with Picard due to this catharsis. Manheim's obsession with conquering time also stems from vanity a bit and he admits to neglecting his relationship with Jenice. Yet come the end and he's ready to get back at it with a token promise of it being better this time. Jenice can barely muster any resistance and just follows along like a dutiful wife and she doesn't have enough character for actually loving him to seem like a valid reason. If anything, it's like a sunk cost fallacy, making the one character who should be above everyone else's flaws into the biggest example of it. This story is meant to be a tragedy on the part of Picard, so, why is he the only one who seems to have his act together? I'm aware that this episode was a victim of the writers' strike, so, there's a good reason for it, and it's an overall pretty good piece, but the ending isn't just abrupt and unfinished (I mean, all this set up for the holodeck date and Jenice has one swig of booze before fucking off) its thematically unfinished. Even an early draft usually has a better idea of what it's main point is. Even by the standards of an episodic show, it feels like little was accomplished here.

The guest star does her best, but an otherwise fine tale is let down by a nothing of a main character and even less of an ending.

Smells like plot arc time. Conspiracy is afoot.

Quite a clusterfuck of a production, it looks like. It's a wonder any episodes were made at all.

Man, this is one episode I don't remember at all.

Episode 24: Conspiracy

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Mind parasites are a pretty creepy concept.

I quite like that Picard values friendship over regulations. I've noticed he's a bit of a stickler for rules, so, its actually quite nice coming from him. Thank fuck that he figures people out quickly. Far too many shows would have made him an idiot. I enjoyed his blunt "no" and grabbing Riker's arm when he move to follow Quinn. It's a very weird moment to highlight, but it's one of those little character bits that always stick in my mind. The panic and disgust on Stewart's face during the dinner scene is palpable.

Can see Riker's face drop as soon as the code 47 comes in. He's suffering a lot in recent episodes. As soon as we cut away from him spooking Crusher, I knew he was going to bluff them. It helps that Frakes has a subtle but knowing smirk on his face the entire time. Tolerates his meal for longer than I expected. I caught a look of hesitation when they went to shoot Remmick, which is cool contrast from Picard's utter determination.

La Forge is still trying to teach comedy. Gets beaten up, but at least he makes a chill joke about it.

Not sure how I feel about Worf's dislike of baths. Feels like they're treating him like an animal. I understand why the Worf effect has its name.

Shame Crusher doesn't get to meet Keel. She was quite excited for that. Got a good look of tranquil fury when she shot Quinn.

Troi doesn't get to much, but it is sweet that Picard trusts her the most out of the crew.

Data is great. Spiner is magnificent with his fake laughter and his joy at talking to himself. Brilliant choice that even the computer wants him to shut up.

A more unnatural Wesley should not be inflicted on anyone, so, maybe it's a blessing that he's not in this.

Everyone with a parasite commands an immense amount of presence through creep factor alone. Quinn, in particular, has gone from someone I didn't care much for, to an absolute highlight. The point where he grabs Riker's arm onwards elevates him to a surprising level of terror. Suddenly and casually admitting to what they are and than having a disgusting dinner is a brilliant scene. I take it Remmick was always infected. Being so apparently gracious in his death honestly just makes him freakier.

Dytallix B is a fantastic planet. The slightly edgy design, especially the always underrated lighting, and the mostly fixed camera angles give me a feeling that I've only realky experienced in 90s video games. Adventure games and rpgs like King's Quest and Planescape. The script is tight throughout, but that scene is particularly interesting because Keel himself comes across as almost trying to recruit Picard into his own conspiracy. There's a lot of tension conveyed through frequent transitions between ponderous scenes. Shifting from Data using the computer to Picard informing Riker and back again is one example. This tension continues to ratchet up until we get to the dinner scene, where all pretense is dropped and the parasites very quickly begin to revel in how disgusting they are. The moving parasites are clearly stop motion, but I think the unrealistic movement helps with the uncanny effect. Remmick steals the show at the end. Swallowing the parasite, having his throat bulge out like a toad, even the remarkably gory way he dies puts him at the height of lurid, freaky excess. There's an argument that this effect is beyond where the show should go, but considering the buildup of the many horror styles the parasites are coded in, I think this is actually a very natural, very appropriate bloody conclusion.

As frequently mentioned, I'm following along with the production history as I go (I'm not looking ahead, just in case there's any confusion) and it seems the original draft would have had the conspiracy be engineered by actual humans. What could have been an interesting thematic ride through military corruption is instead a significantly more sedate look at how vulnerable the structures of power are to infiltration. The irony being that Roddenberry's attempts to protect the virtue of the Federation made it instead seem thoroughly incompetent, but never mind that. More concerning is that the treatment of the parasites borders on the xenophobic. What if the other got into government? Even I'm not exempt, since I've frequently described them as disgusting, but that is the language that the episode wants us to frame them in. They are a visceral nastiness. I'm not holding it against the episode because I am sympathetic to production woes and this was a genuinely brilliant episode. Plus, it's almost certainly accidental.

Another production tidbit I've picked up is that these creatures were supposed to belong to the Borg. I've seen them in Voyager before, plus they're a cultural artefact in their own right, so, that's not a spoiler for me. The ominous ending with Remmick's final message (another part that works really well even though I know its not going anywhere) obviously shows they had more plans, but I can't help but wonder if we were going to have a Battlestar Galactica style plot where we had to guess if someone (even just a recurring guest star) might be a Borg agent, with the "gill" being obscured by camera trickery or kept as a background detail noticed only by obsessives. Might even get to follow a known agent and see how they try to keep their cover, like how a few Cylons were revealed to the audience before the other characters learned about it. It's just that a lot of attention is payed to that thing and, really, you can use any technobabble to diagnose Quinn. Riker's bluff can still potentially work. So, its weirdly unnecessary unless they had specific plans.

The plot arc might have closed earlier than liked, but it's still a tremendous ending.

The season and, presumably, the Romulan mystery close with The Neutral Zone.

Did you know that the BBC in Britain cut the bit where Remmick had his brains blown off by Picard and Riker.

Cant really blame them as it was being shown a 18:00 in the evening.

"We mean you no harm. We seek peaceful coexistence"! Picard and Riker stuff that for a game of soldiers.

Stupid question time, Do you think Remmick was dead by the end of it?

splodeymissile posted...

Another production tidbit I've picked up is that these creatures were supposed to belong to the Borg

I think this is probably because the Borg were initially conceived to be an insectoid race, but the budget you'd need for that would be astronomical. You can see the idea carried though though, as the Borg still possess a lot of hive-like characteristics.

Remmick's just hiding.

Episode 25: The Neutral Zone

The return of the Romulans. Except they're not really the focus.

I truly admire Picard's belief in diplomacy. Even as his own crew are advocating violence, he's resolute in trying for a better solution. Love the barely restrained contempt when dealing with Offenhouse and how he immediately softens when Raymond starts crying. Found his speeche to quite good, too.

Don't quite get Riker lacking any curiosity over the derelict. Has quite a bemused reaction to the defrostees. Actually argues with Picard over the violent option. Its done well enough to not seem out of character, but it's still a weird turn for him.

La Forge has another episode of not doing much, but Burton is still investing his lines with energy. Absolute delight to watch.

Worf has some justified trauma in dealing with Romulans. Actually seemed hurt when Raymond fainted at the sight of him.

Hearing about the problems she had on the set, I'm not convinced McFadden was just acting here. Really uncomfortable to watch.

Troi gets to actually be a counsellor and help Raymond deal with the future. It's nice to see mental health work be treated so positively.

Data demonstrates he's more human than most humans through almost instinctively moving to save the frozen folk. Gets on surprisingly well with Clemonds.

The Romulans aren't really that important, except as a tease to future plot developments. Sort of just there and they certainly don't have any of the thematic weight as mirrors to the Federation that the TOS versions have. Still, they're back and said return is suitably ominous.

The three defrostees are clearly meant to embody the worst traits of modern humanity. Offenhouse is an arrogant, entitled shitstain, Clemonds is an irresponsible hedonist and Raymond is a passive waste of matter. Its hard to feel any sympathy for their struggle to acclimatise to 24th century (is this the first explicit year we've had?) life due to not just seeming unpleasant, but outright stupid as well. Offenhouse has the worst of it, genuinely believing that the world will have barely changed in nearly 400 years and trying to ignorantly dominate a system he's too closed minded to understand. Raymond is a trophy wife who was treated as a possession to preserve by her husband and isn't much stronger in the new world. Clemonds is mostly unfazed, which does give him the easiest adjustment out of the bunch, but it also makes him vulnerable to falling into the same nihilism that killed him in the first place. Given a second chance at life, his first thought is to hassle (in more ways than one) Crusher for a new fix. His particular brand of stereotype is also bloody irritating to listen to.

Yet there is a sense of hope about them. Offenhouse offers a genuine moment of insight about Romulan behaviour and seems willing to give Picard's words some genuine thought. Raymond might be dominated by thoughts of the family she left (and fairs fair, this is the only reasonable objection to the future anyone provides), but she accepts care and begins looking towards meeting new people. Clemonds immediately begins integrating new technologies into his art through replicating the guitar and has no trouble accepting Data as a friend. In other words, while the people are not blameless, it's the society that is really being attacked.

Still can't praise ship designs enough. The derelict is a nicely realised modern looking satellite and the Bird of Prey is a fantastically immense design. We had a nice pan over the cryo tubes. Liked seeing the warp effect through the observation windows. The writer's strike has clearly plagued this episode, too. While Riker gets the worst of it, a lot of characters have a moment of seeming a bit off, like Picard being less than concerned that a trio of humans could've died without their help. There's also the matter of the Romulans being a bit tacked on. I think it's a better episode than circumstances would imply, but it is a bit rough.

I had already heard of this episode by reputation as another example of the enlightened crew preaching at people and as a poor season finale in general. First of all, while there have been some insufferable moments in a few of the worst episodes, I think the season has overall been quite graceful in stating its points. Second of all, I fundamentally agree with the point they're making here, about how much of modern society's values are toxic and juvenile. Third of all, now that we're are in the 80s, an era where season finales are treated far more importantly than they were in the 60s, there's an expectation for the final episode to be something of a conclusion of the season's overall point. Since Encounter at Farpoint began with Q demanding that Picard and crew defend their journey (and, metaphorically, the show's right to exist), having Picard state the problems of modern society and how their world provides a better life, seems less like preachy moralising and more like a succinct summary of why the show should go on.

It's notable that Offenhouse's main criticism of the future (and its one of the most frequent argument shared by defenders of capitalism) is that, in a land of plenty, there's no challenge. Aside from the fact that simply surviving should not be a struggle, Picard gives a genuinely great rebuttal: The drive to better oneself should be motivation enough. I've mentioned it in at least one review already, but I'm presently studying physics part time. Whenever I tell this to someone at my work, two of the first questions I'm inevitably asked is "what job can you get with that?" and "how much can you make?" While I do have an occupation in mind for when I complete my degree, the point behind doing it isn't just to be materially richer. The act of understanding and of being at the place where my reach exceeds my grasp, in the hopes that one day i may be able to stretch further, is the point. There is no guarantee I will succeed in my ambitions, but even if I fail, so long as I comprehend more at the end than I did at the beginning, it would be very difficult to call the overall affair a waste, even with the monetary cost for my education seemingly going nowhere. The drive to be more and to experience and understand more, not to have more, is the motivation.

The point behind this ramble is that if you commodify everything, you find yourself in a valueless world where everything, including human experience, is irrelevant in the face of abstract numbers going up or down. Every drive, every ambition, every want can only be significant if there's some money attached to it. I think this is what the show is criticising about capitalistic society. Raymond is the most obvious example, since she isn't even allowed agency over her life or death. Someone could just pay to revive her at an arbitrary date. As for smugness, Offenhouse is the biggest culprit. A successful man, who's desperate to resist change and growth, desiring to prevent even death from intruding on his power. Centuries pass and he honestly expects to neatly slot into his old life, even believing he can bully Picard because of his connections. Clemonds, being an artist, is slightly removed from this problem, but his drug abuse is clearly an innoculant against a society ill suited to him. The hastily written script muddies the issue, but the cryogenics fad is distinguished from better future healthcare because only one is available to all. Frankly, it is brave for such a mainstream show to take such a radical stance. (Character limits really do force me to truncate my thoughts sometimes).

A far more solid finale than I expected.

Rankings, next.