Current Events > Star trek watchthrough. Ongoing spoilers.

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It was an assignment day (went alright, for the most part) and I'm mildly sleep deprived, so, this is far later and possibly far more rambly than usual.

Episode 13: Time Squared

Time travel episodes are usually fun and this was no exception.

Stewart is afforded a greater opportunity than usual to stretch his acting chops. Plays Picard as a man haunted by the sight of his other self brilliantly. The little unsmile he gives when he asks for Troi's comments betrays that he is racked with doubt, even before time travel is given as an explanation. His anxiety only grows worse as he learns more about the situation and finds it increasingly harder to recognise his other self as him.

Stewart's contortions and twitches does amazing work at showing the confusion and agony the other Picard is going through. Even when he's recovered, there still remains a distracted air about him.

Riker likes to cook and we learn that he was raised by a single father who may not have been the best parent ever. Quite defensive over the reaction to his food. Fairly gentle with suggesting that maybe Picard needs to reign his natural instincts in.

La Forge finds the food dubious even before he starts eating. Very perplexed and annoyed at the counter intuitive way of powering the shuttle.

Worf can't get enough of eggs. Can't believe for a second that Picard would ever abandon ship, so, he gets points for faith.

Troi is visibly agitated when they discover that the Enterprise will be destroyed. I think she oversells other Picard's emotional state a little bit. Doesn't fully believe her own defence of Picard's mental state, judging from the inability to look Pulaski in the eye.

Data finds the whole experience of cooking distasteful. Spiner's expressions are great, especially when he's exploring the shuttle.

Wesley is already a square, so, this may have been a wise miss.

Pulaski likes booze, which tracks, honestly. Bit concerned about Picard's cavalier treatment of his other self. Does a good job at arguing her point with Troi.

O'Brien puts in an obligatory appearance.

Still loving the drama free cold opens. Great way to explore characters who otherwise would have little to do all episode. The score works wonders in selling just how haunting the very presence of future Picard is. That it mostly only chimes in when our Picard is consciously thinking of his other self is tremendous. Once again, they use visual and audio artefacting to develop the horror of the logs. The vortex is beautiful. Reminds me of the Janus vortices from Shattered Universe.

It's difficult to talk about the themes without bringing up the production fact that Q was supposed to be behind all this. It seems like this would've been Encounter at Farpoint Q, where the aim is to antagonise for the sake of teaching a lesson. And it seems like the lesson is to consider other thought processes. La Forge and Data set this up with the blatantly impossible (in universe) manner of setting up the shuttlecraft, but it's Picard who really needs to learn it. Riker outright explains to him that he needs to curb his natural instincts and not run on automatic. Because, even with the foreknowledge that some seemingly correct decision, isn't, Picard nevertheless goes through the typical motions upon encountering the vortex and gets zapped for his trouble. He's singled out because the vortex is intelligent and is specifically trying to teach him that seeing the universe through a myopic view (where, somewhat, ironically, every problem is of a universal type with a universal set of solutions) ultimately leads to an endless repetition of the same motions through life, even if you are apparently exploring.

Its only after he makes the counter intuitive decision to plunge into the heart of the beast (a solution he automatically dismissed as obviously wrong) that the day is saved. Other Picard can't learn this lesson. Even when he's looked at his failure in the face, he plugs on in a confused stupor, unable to fully see the world around him and insisting he needs to leave the Enterprise to save it. Specific details (like whether it's Riker or another Picard who sees him off) may change, but he will always be doing the same thing endlessly. Even if the vortex never emerged, this Picard would still see the universe through the same view and be the same man, forever. And it's why he needs to die by our Picard's hands. The only way forward is to kill your own past self before he becomes a permanent, repetitive future and, so, actually change. Job finished, vortex/Q buggers off. Even though he succeeds, its not perfectly happy, though. The price of becoming someone new is having to confront who you really are right now and Picard is having difficulty accepting just how limited he used to be.

Maybe it's just in comparison to the previous confusions, but I actually found this to be pretty great.

The Icarus Factor, tomorrow.

Not fully recovered on sleep and, frankly, this episode isn't something I particularly want to type much on.

Episode 14: The Icarus Factor

Well, that was an elegant setup, wasn't it? Discuss Riker's dad in one episode and he shows up in the next. Should've stayed away.

Picard points out that he was a bit of a git at the start of the show and gives Riker some overdue genuine praise. Very proud of his friend for his promotion. Continues his interest in language.

Riker is unsure about actually following through with his often stated ambition. Frakes is good at playing aloof and standoffish. Noticed that he strokes his beard when thinking. Good show of maturity to apologise to Pulaski (even if throws it back in his face with the emotional baggage remark). I have no idea why he would tolerate his pitiful excuse for a father at the end.

I don't quite buy La Forge's egotism and lack of interest in Worf. He's a bit out of character.

Troi has a great scene of pointing out how much of a dick Kyle is to his face. Some barely restrained contempt, there. Her breakdown in Riker's arms was far too sudden to be workable.

Dorn is great at shouting and screaming. Worf is not very happy at all for much of the episode, but he gets to pass his ritual. It's clear that he would dearly miss Riker if he were to leave, which is quite sweet.

Data is treating Worf as a science experiment. His bland attempt at getting him to open up is pretty funny. Imitating Picard's shrug is great, too.

Wesley is a bit too overeager to engage Worf in conversation. I don't blame Worf for barking at him. At least he's thoughtful enough to look into why Worf's in a mood. Only slightly annoying here.

I don't like Pulaski being with Kyle. I'm not opposed to her having a sex/love life, but this is some truly transparent drama mining and the shilling for him is gross.

O'Brien has some good sarcasm in him. Actually quite a morbid man, isn't he? Seems to be the only one who actually gets the Klingon ritual.

Kyle is a miserable slug. A truly wretched excuse for a human being who feels threatened by 12 year olds, makes excuses for his emotional cowardice, downplays his own son's feelings and never once apologises for treating his son like crap. Riker reconciling with him is less catharsis and more entrapment in a cycle of abuse. I cannot understand how and why they expect me to like this selfish sexust weasel.

The ultimate evolution in martial arts is a pathetically sad little bit of Power Rangers cosplay. Many characters are in name only (Picard almost seems disappointed that his friend has elected to remain, Pulaski and Troi have an intolerably sexist conversation and everyone treats Worf as though he's a bit of a nuisance) depending on the scene. And the script goes out of its way to shill for our guest star instead of allowing him to actually demonstrate his apparent better qualities.

It actually offends me that an episode supposedly focusing on the relationship between two characters, completely shits on one of the parties. Riker is portrayed as unreasonable for wanting nothing to do with a dad who abandoned him at the age of 13. I don't even want to discuss this much further, except to say that reconciling with an abusive parent is rarely an effective method for attaining peace. Sometimes burning the bridge completely is the only way to move on.

Far more interesting is Worf, who proves himself to be far more of a man, in both human and Klingon cultures, than Kyle could ever hope to be. The idea of admitting to your inner most emotions, even when in agony, is meant to contrast with Kyle's cowardice. But even this nicer theme doesn't work because the episode seems to agree with Kyle's excuses. Plus, there's a sense that being a part of an important function for Worf is something of a chore for some of his supposed friends, so, even if I do like it slightly more, I don't much want to talk about this either. (Seriously, though, some of the characters are downright nasty here. Don't even get me started on Troi and Pulaski managing to be sexist to both men and women in one conversation).

You'd think ambition would play more of a role, given the title invoking Icarus, Kyle's obsession with his career and Riker being offered a captaincy, but there's nothing really here. I did not like this episode at all.

One of the few reviews I've actually procrastinated. Almost makes me long for Angel One.

Pen Pals sounds like a Wesley episode, so, I may need to temper my optimism.

I like the episodes in which Wesley has a girlfriend or romantic interest. I think that the Wesley actor Wil Wheaton did a good job with romance

Episode 15: Pen Pals

Well, I was right, but we also have Data and the episode is actually alright.

Picard likes horseriding, but doesn't like pets. I find his "oops" towards Data a little bit of an understated reaction, given his character. Has unerring faith in the prime directive, until he actually hears the cry for help. Then, empathy takes over and he risks his professional life to do the right thing. In that regard, this is a slightly better repeat of his arc in Symbiosis. His gestures to Riker are utterly hilarious.

Riker is quite encouraging towards Wesley. An absolute flirt who doesn't miss a beat, even when a snotty kid is accidentally cockblocking him.

La Forge shares the moral argument that leaving the Dremans to die is wrong.

Worf does not like mess. Shares Picard's view on the prime directive.

Troi offers an interesting idea in empathising too much with animals. I can believe Lwaxana and a cat becoming mortal enemies.

Data is getting a rebellious streak in him. There's a clear irony to his character, in that by uncomplicatedly wanting to help Sarjenka, even breaking the law to do so, he proves himself more moral, empathetic and straight up human, than actual humans. Its easy to regard his relationship with Sarjenka as stemming from a shared innocence, but, considering his willingness to keep his actions a secret until the last possible moment, I think he's far more astute and shrewd than he's given credit for. Instead, I think it comes from his uncomplicated nature. It's natural for him to treat the girl as just another person, instead of the patronising manner Troi tries on her.

Wesley goes through another standard "believe in yourself" stock plot. It's harmless and Wheaton is entertaining enough, but it's not particularly interesting.

Pulaski talks a lot of sense. This is really the first time she's properly worked as a female McCoy, since she provides the more moral, empathic side to the Prime Directive argument. Except, she arguably works a little better, as McCoy was often a victim of being saddled with the losing side in TOS, whereas there's no real doubt that Pulaski is in the right here.

O'Brien is wonderfully snarky. His napping conversation is a highlight.

Not much to say about the guest stars, except that Sarjenka is adorable and that Davies' actor must be suffering whiplash from the 180 from smarmy shit stirrer to completely reasonable.

The script is pretty much on fire here. The debate over the prime directive is a fantastic scene, but all the other stuff, like Picard and Riker's comedy bits are all kind of great, too. Even the advice to Wesley, standard, though it is, is conveyed in a completely confident manner. After a few episodes that suffered from rewrites and the writers' strike, its nice to have a well made, if somewhat simple, episode.

The prime directive is kind of a moral abomination, isn't it? I mean, this is the ultimate litmus test for whether you have a sound ethical philosophy: are you prohibited from helping a desperate child? Fortunately, after empathy and common sense win out, the crew have no real problem with performing a blatantly illegal rescue. (Which is a strange phrase when you think about it). Picard himself can't seem to decide between brushing off the apparent conflict as a bit of a joke ("oops" and his hand signs) or being irritated as fuck that he's even in this situation. I don't have much further to add, except to repeat the same thing I always mention in these prime directive stories: there is a vast gulf of difference between helping out a people in need and completely dominating their culture with your own.

The Wesley plot is harmless and the Data plot is pretty great. Overall, a good episode.

I've been looking forward to this one. Even outside of this topic, I've heard that Q Who is a fantastic episode.

Picard likes horseriding

you shall see Picard ride a horse again

Fun fact, Sarjenka is played by a very young Nikki Cox.

Will you just stop everything you are doing and go and watch Q Who this very second. You have watched the movies in one sitting so this is one time I highly recommend you do a double header.

I have just re-watched Q Who myself.

splodeymissile posted...

The prime directive is kind of a moral abomination, isn't it?

I tend to dislike most "prime directive" situations for precisely this. Granted the moral of the story does usually end up being "ignoring a problem in the name of the letter of the law is bad" but the fact that these seemingly reasonable and moral people have to work so hard to get to that point is frustrating to watch lol

Episode 16: Q Who

Q and the Borg. Finally. Completely lived up to the hype.

Picard is obviously annoyed by the whole hot chocolate incident, but he restrains himself a little and comes off as only mildly stern. Still refuses to take Q seriously, but, of course, this time, it bites him in the arse. In fact, he is downright arrogant in the way he rebuffs him. I mentioned this in the very first episode, but his attitude towards godlike beings makes Kirk seem like a devout worshipper at times. There comes a point when defiance becomes foolishness and the scene in the bar has Picard dance past that point with an ignorant smirk. He even ignores Guinan's advice and falls back on his familiar toolset, assuming he can inevitably win. In the end, though, he proves he's not too proud to beg when it becomes so obvious that he has no clue what to do.

Riker follows Picard right into smugness. In typical Frakes fashion, Riker enjoys (or at least, tolerates) Q's presence more than anyone else, but it's only by a little.

La Forge is a bit exasperated at his new charge. Seeing Burton cringe in the background as Gomez tries to navigate a conversation is a brilliant start to the episode. Picks up on Guinan being tense.

Worf goes straight for the aggressive solution and sadly gives truth to the micro brain insult, a little.

Troi's powers help to discover that Picard has been abducted. Also, figures out about the collective hivemind.

Data is visibly confused by the homogenous design of the cube. Finds the Borg ignoring them a bit rude.

Wesley gets into a bit of a flap over Picard's disappearance.

Guinan senses things and really just helps the very wrong mood along. Has a history with Q, apparently and also maybe some vague powers of her own. Snorts in disgust at Q's attempt to join the crew. Panics when he flings the Enterprise away. It helps sell the dread of the Borg, that even a possible reality warper is scared almost into numbness by them. Finds the idea of reasoning with them laughable.

O'Brien shows up and even he can't joke about this.

Gomez is a panicky little motormouth. Cute, but there's not much else. I actually expected her to die, the way this episode is set up.

Q is back to his usual trollish tricks, but, even at the start, he brings a very sinister air to him. Correctly identifies many of Picard's flaws. Seems to concede the point that he's untrustworthy and registers that as a valid reason for rejection, but is actually very patient with Picard's attitude, even as he picks up on the mockery, until Picard turns his insufferable smugness up to eleven. Then, it's clear that Q is legitimately angry. Has an air of unusual severity when he describes the Borg.

As soon as Q shows up, you can feel the change in mood. Lighting is completely different, half of the man's face is often in shadow and the music takes on a sinister tone of dread. Even after the opening, it just repeats the same bars over and over again and we linger on a shot of Guinan, just to let the mood build. It's like he's cancelled a normal episode and replaced it with a horror show. Even the allstop lingers on the powering down of the engines. TNG has consistently used lighting and audio to great effect and its fantastic here, especially. Q likes to manifest his powers in jump cuts, which are quite effective.

Q's anger and decision to chuck the Enterprise has a similarly brilliant score to it. Its tempting to deeply analyse every scene because the audio design is just that good. Speaking of design, the cube is an effortless example of what should not be. No aerodynamicism or any obvious properties of locomotion at all. It just floats there, almost as an eldritch horror in itself. The personal shields and even the drill into the saucer section continue this perfect, yet completely wrong, geometry. The claymation effect of repair adds to this. They are behold even the aesthetic themes of the show. The Borg themselves are introduced as surreal horror monsters, warping in from a out of focus area of the shot and when we cut, we focus on a twitchy implement on their arm. They're humanoid and yet they defy description. The interior of the cube is a sterile, gigeresqe nightmarescape. Even the cries of their infants blend into the groaning of pipes.

It's tempting to discuss what the Borg actually represent, but the problem is that they don't clearly represent anything definite. I was surprised to not hear the familiar catchphrases about assimilation and resistance, so, comparisons to the Federation don't really work. The satire on either communism or capitalism isn't obviously developed either way (even Q's comment about the ultimate user doesn't really help). They just stand for an unknowable thing. There are lose similarities to humanity, but in such an uncanny manner, that the faint resemblance makes them more obscene. This is, of course, the obvious point: Picard's arrogant faith in his usual, heavily diplomatic toolset fails him, despite there being enough indications that it should work. They are just horror for horror's sake. Utterly implacable, completely incomprehensible and absolutely unbeatable.

But it's not really even their story. It's Q's redemption tale. The main expression of Picard's arrogance isn't what he says to Q, but how he says it. There's a mocking contempt for him. Q may have been teaching a lesson in Encounter at Farpoint, but he presented as a villain to be outsmarted. Hide and Q had him in a more standard antagonistic relationship to the crew. But his first appearance had Picard haughtily disregard him any chance he could and his second had him blubbing like Trelane when the rest of the continuum came knocking. A godlike being has been defeated twice, humiliated twice and one of these was in the first episode. How could you treat him seriously after that? And if literal omnipotence can be taken down as easily as that, why should any other problem be remotely severe? Even with the offer to join Starfleet, Picard is far more interested in treating Q as just another galactic bestiary entry. Picard is looking down his nose at someone he believes is an almighty idiot.

And Q takes the opportunity to make himself a credible threat again, whilst simultaneously giving a lesson in humility and a fair warning about a real imminent horror. This is Q at his most sinister and he's using the Borg as a vehicle for his real message, which is that "not only is there a race out there that renders you so irrelevant that it's people wouldn't even notice you if you infiltrated their ship, your only worth is in what they can thoughtlessly take from you, but that I am so much beyond them that I can effortlessly end the conflict with a snap of my fingers." Picard has already beaten God twice with words and cleverness, why should just another alien race be any different? He had to be shook out of his arrogant complacency. This is why linking Time Squared with the episode was such an obviously good idea. Both are about the limitations of seemingly correct modes of thought. Neither the Borg nor the vortex could be beaten by the usual intuitive ideas. In one fell swoop, Q held his lesson, restored his fear factor and he did it by barely lifting a finger, instead sending the apparent ultimate adapters into meeting someone who could do it better.

One of those episodes that makes me want to watch it all over again. I could have gone on with this review for a great many posts more.

Part of the reason I usually insist on only doing one installment a day, is so that no episode has to suffer from the previous being a tough act to follow. That said, Samaritan Snare is in a difficult position after this.

splodeymissile posted...

Gomez is a panicky little motormouth. Cute, but there's not much else. I actually expected her to die, the way this episode is set up.

That discrepancy is because Gomez was meant to be a recurring character that'd become a love interest for Geordi. The issue is that she was kind of a bumbling annoyance and neither she nor Burton were told about these plans, so they didn't play it romantic at all.

And if SFDebris is to be believed, in that scene where Q is in the meeting room with Picard and Riker, the script called for Q to make an over the top threat when Riker talked shit to him. De Lancie was the one who went with just quietly going, "Oh, please."

It's tempting to discuss what the Borg actually represent, but the problem is that they don't clearly represent anything definite

The word Borg is short for "cyborg." A cyborg is a human augmented with technology inside his body. The Borg are a race that seek perfection through technology. The Borg were conceived as an enemy that is almost unstoppable with the Federation's current ships and technology

There are people on planet Earth, in the real word right now, that have tried to augment their bodies with computer technology. The first wave of cyborgs

Well I see you have been introduced to the greatest villains in Star Trek.

Did you know that Q Who was nominated for 3 Emmy Awards winning 2 of them.

Q Who frequently appears in "Greatest episodes" lists of Star Trek episodes.

hexa posted...

The word Borg is short for "cyborg." A cyborg is a human augmented with technology inside his body. The Borg are a race that seek perfection through technology. The Borg were conceived as an enemy that is almost unstoppable with the Federation's current ships and technology

There are people on planet Earth, in the real word right now, that have tried to augment their bodies with computer technology. The first wave of cyborgs

I mean, yeah, but the seeking of perfection isn't explicit in this particular episode and there's little discussion of any fears over advancing technology. Which is why my point was that they faintly resemble humans and the logical endpoint of human concerns just enough to be more uncanny than if they were purely alien.

In other words, while they may become to advancing technology and assimilation of cultures, what the Ferengi are to capitalism, they are not there yet. In this particular episode, they are just stand ins for the unknowable and implacable and any similarity to something explicable by either the crew or the audience is meant to be a red herring that sets up the theme of complacent arrogance. If there is enough commonality to humans, maybe we can treat them as humans. Its worked for every other race and they've all got dodgy foreheads and otherwise look far more different. Why shouldn't it work for the Borg? Because they are completely alien in mind and any similarities are coincidental and meaningless.

Episode 17: Samaritan Snare

Not even a tough act to follow. This episode would have been problematic even if it came earlier.

Being an episodic show, there is an expectation that the characters will settle into certain standard modes. Put on any random episode, in any random order, and you shouldn't be too lost. Yet, they've flirted with continuity and arcs before, so, while Picard's pride is a little on brand, coming after Q Who is a very strange place for this episode to be. We do get a good peak into Picard's cocky backstory. I quite like his discussion about warmth and other strange sensations after being stabbed. Adds an extra human touch to the whole thing.

Riker is in idiot mode here. His stupidity and dismissiveness of the Pakleds helps with the theme of pride, but he still veers into out of character territory. Liked his exaggerated manner when speaking in code, though.

La Forge tries to put on Burton's teaching hat when dealing with the Pakleds. Doesn't help his exasperation. Has some fun with his own exaggeration when tricking the aliens.

Worf has a brain and rightly asks why the chief engineer has to make the trip. There's some fun in his own overacting in the coded message.

Troi also has a brain and announces that the Pakleds are up to no good. She gets snottily dismissed for her trouble.

Data provides some decent encouragement to Data and has the most seamless time of lying to the Pakleds.

Wesley isn't awful, here, but I did find some of his questions and statements to Picard a bit too probing and awkward (and im not sure that all of the awkwardness was intentional). He veered into annoyance on a few occasions, but was mostly alright. The scene between them when Picard describes his injury is honestly great. It's remarkable that I have to praise an episode for not falling into this trap, but I was dreading the possibility that Wesley might be pulled out of his exams to perform Picard's surgery. He's already highlighted as more special than most, so, it seemed like a real possibility.

Pulaski continues to magnificently clash with Picard's personality, which is made all the better by the fact that she's in the right. Having her be the one to perform the surgery is marginally better than what I was dreading, but it's still one of those lazy contrivances.

Gomez has a pretty good line of listing all of Picard's interests. Otherwise, there's not much. Like every character, she had potential, but I'm kind of glad she doesn't recur again. Depending on how you count Guinan and O'Brien, we could have as many as ten main characters here. That's a pretty bloated main cast, already.

The doctors hovering over Picard are stock tropes and technobabble machines. The Pakleds are an unfortunate race. The idea of an unintelligent species that possesses a base cunning they can use to steal tech is interesting, but attaching stilted language and facial expressions (oh, and they're mildly fat, too) makes them read as a mockery of a fascinatingly broad range of mental disorders and disabilities. Having Riker sneer at them does not help at all. And when the resolution boils down to outsmarting an idiot, it just feels like mean spirited punching down.

I have little to say about the production that wasnt already discussed with the characters. The Pakled ship interior has a dullness that is mildly interesting at first in comparison to the Enterprise. The shuttle scenes do a decent job of conveying awkwardness. The doctors' technobabble extravaganza is a masterpiece of blatant padding and lazy contrivance. And what the fuck are they wearing? Capella iv must be in fashion, apparently. But we did get one cool shot of La Forge being beamed out of the screen onto the bridge.

There's a lesson to be learned in swallowing pride. A lesson that was communicated far better and with far more other ideas attached in the last episode. Nothing goes much deeper than Picard and Riker learning a lesson they shouldn't need to. Wesley gets an stock plot of exams aren't everything and lived experience is at least just as valuable. It's one of the better clichs, but there's still not much to discuss.

Could have slotted this episode anywhere and I wouldn't have cared much for it. But after Q Who? We're plummeting.

Going Up the Long Ladder, tomorrow.

splodeymissile posted...

Going Up the Long Ladder, tomorrow.

Oh this is gonna be a fun one >_>

I see you have watched the episode with the ship that was Captained by Donald Trump.

"Let me guess their rubber band broke right"? Brilliant put down by Geordie.

I see you are about to watch Up The Long Ladder. Oh boy! Oh Boy!

I always found the Pakled weirdly endearing. Among all these advanced species, youve got the alien equivalent of Patrick Star just trying to make their way the best they can.

Episode 18: Up the Long Ladder

Sometimes you just have to bow to the absurd. Fucking hell, what a mess.

Picard is still trying to encourage history. There was fun in watching him get increasingly annoyed by O'Dell's incessant waffling. Breaking down in laughter at the antics of the Irish space amish was a great moment.

Riker isn't much of a smooth operator any more. The love music doesn't make his staring at Brenna any less creepy. I understand wanting enough bodily autonomy to not have to donate DNA, but the actual argument of uniqueness doesn't hold for me and slaughtering the clones is, frankly, evil.

La Forge is apparently a living lie detector. Manages to make that power far less useful than it should be.

Worf has the flu. Until he suddenly doesn't. His interactions with Pulaski are one of the few genuine highlights in this rubbish. The tea drinking ceremony is great.

Troi helpfully informs us that a shifty guy might be shifty. I don't quite buy her final remarks about emotional maturity.

Data does his usual nonsense of reciting an article in full. Just going through the motions, really.

Wesley and cloning sounds like a horror story, so, he was wisely kept at a distance.

It's a nice gesture for Pulaski to lie for Worf, but I'm not convinced that a fasting misadventure is any less embarrassing. Got a bit flirty during the tea ceremony. I wouldn't be completely opposed to these two shacking up. I've noticed that her bigotry, both towards Data and Klingon culture, has vanished. Probably for the best, even if it isn't the most graceful character development. Sharp enough to figure out about the cloning.

O'Brien had fun working around the clowns. I imagine Meaney didn't enjoy this one much.

O'Dell is a blatantly offensive stereotype, but he has some entertaining moments. Brenna isn't much better, but taking charge of everything endears her a little. Making her a gold digger at the end doesn't sit right with me. Nothing to say about the clones.

This is clearly two episodes spliced together. The comedy amish completely disappear once we start exploring the clone world. Well, I call it comedy. Its a very banal and broad sort of humour and there's a sense that the script is going through a standard checklist. Picard is annoyed, Riker flirts (except hes never been this awkward) and Data has an overly literal moment. The utter insanity does elicit some giggles, but you're laughing at the episode, not with it. Worf and Pulaski's scenes, great though they are, amount to nothing. Scene transitions start to get sloppy as we go, with La Forge waiting until everyone is back on the ship to inform about the lying. Then, they effortlessly beam into the lab without resistance. Padding is everywhere. The VFX for the system are great, though, and they're finding more exciting angles for the transporter effect.

They're trying to stick their fingers in many thematic pies and nothing quite works. The space amish versus the clones is standard technophobic Luddite nonsense, with a completely inelegantly arrived at solution. (Seriously, the sudden smile on Picard's face). There's an attempt to link anticloning to pro choice, but, aside from stealing the DNA in the first place, which is obviously wrong, there's nothing in the way of bodily autonomy being violated, so, it comes off as condoning arbitrary murder. (In other words, it's literally doing what anti abortion lunatics rant about). Shutting down monogamous marriage is sound practice for making a viable gene pool, and it could be empowering for women, but it's ruined by portraying Brenna as a workaholic shrew who needs to be married off and then they make her a gold digger at the end. I believe there's good intentions, but it's ruined by everything being a complete mess.

So bad it's good is probably the best description. It's like Spock's Brain, where you recognise its shit, but you can still have fun with it.

Going on a Manhunt, tomorrow.

splodeymissile posted...

O'Brien had fun working around the clowns. I imagine Meaney didn't enjoy this one much.

I'm betting not. There was an episode of DS9 in which they planned for a leprechaun to be part of the story. Meaney had enough pull by that point that he told them he was absolutely not going to do that.

This was probably the best bit in that shit episode Up The Long Ladder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L31S2frVnOc

This was a bad episode, but occasionally drifts into so bad its good territory, but more in that youre laughing at how awful it is.

Or in the words of Bill Cipher, Its funny how dumb you (the episode) are.

Season 2 is so bad that it occasionally loops back to awesome, and this is one of those times.

Episode 19: Manhunt

Lwaxana is back. She's not quite as good as before.

Picard has another fun time of barely holding back his contempt and frustration through politeness. I quite liked that, during the date, he gradually rose in confidence and shifted the power dynamic through making Data bore Lwaxana to death. Enjoyed seeing his passion for detective fiction come back. The immersiveness of the holodeck must be somewhat terrifying if the fact that he'll rant about history to his date is any indication.

Riker has a lot of fun at Picard's expense. Is both scared and intrigued by Betazoid sex drives. Similar reaction to Lwaxana's marriage proposal. Doesn't care in the slightest to get changed for the holodeck.

La Forge was hiding.

Worf has an appreciation for different species. Rightly calls out Wesley on his bigotry.

Troi's initial horror at sensing her mother is fantastic. Actually, a rising sense of generally being horrified describes her quite well. I would have liked to see more of substance from her, though.

Data is happy to share his interests with whoever will listen. I love that he gets changed for the holodeck just for the hell of it.

Wesley is tactless at best and outright racist at worst. It seems he was here just to pass judgement on another species' appearance.

I'm loving the friendship between Troi and Pulaski. The little teasing about Picard and Lwaxana getting together is great. Now that her own bigotry has been jettisoned, I wouldn't have minded if she stuck around past this season.

O'Brien shows up and has the odd sarky facial expression.

Homn is his usual, silent alcoholic self.

I like Lwaxana a lot as a character and I think Barret's performance as a vamping diva is as excellent as usual, but there's something very wrong with how the character is approached here. A significant part of the comedy in Haven revolved around how Lwaxana acted like a vacuous idiot, but was actually far more knowledgeable and astute than she appeared. She flatly doesn't care about social mores or politeness and rather than being incidentally annoying is instead deliberately going for that effect because it amuses her. This came to a head when the ending showed that the whole affair was so she could play cosmic matchmaker.

Here, though, while much of the performance remains, she's reduced to a sex joke. I have no objection to middle aged people having a sex life, nor do I object to discussing it openly (in fact, a bit more openess towards sex of various kinds would only be beneficial to society), but the point seems to be she's little more than a repulsive, horny cougar and that is never going to sit right with me. I mean, I want Wesley to actually pretend to be a teenager, but having a beloved guest star get up to some mild pedophilia is not remotely what I had in mind. It's just uncomfortable (as is his confused reaction, as though the very idea of sex is completely alien to him. Even the driest of biology textbooks would provide enough info to know what's going on). The nadir comes when she chats up a fictional character, as though her dream man is a bland, stock archetype. Naturally, everyone waits until all the laughs are exhausted before telling her.

Even aside from sex, there's something not quite right. Great though it is, having Picard slowly steal her thunder during the dinner, until she's the one forced to be begrudgingly polite is like the exact opposite of where her character should be. She does get a small moment of redemption when she effortlessly foils an assassination plot at the end, but she's a lot like Q in Hide and Q: The nuts and bolts of the performance are there from the respective actors, but there's something unmistakably out of character.

Aside from that, while mostly enjoyable, the episode is trying to be a poor man's Haven. Familiar jokes are repeated, more in the name of nostalgia than an actual attempt to take them further. The holodeck stuff is fun, but it reaks of another splice job between at least two scripts. The ambassadors are treated interestingly, though. In most stories of this nature, the actual politics take one hell of a backseat to character work. Frankly, the actual diplomats amount to the bare minimum amount of world building necessary for the story to make some sense in universe. So, the aliens are shoved into storage as soon as they arrive and even the climax has them go from one box to another. They're the least interesting part of every story they show up in, this script knows it and treats them accordingly. And, paradoxically, that makes them surprisingly worthy of mention.

The holodeck might be half baked, but there is a strand of meta fictional discussion to be had. The incessant attempts to force a plot on Picard when he just wants to enjoy the world are amusing enough, but I find it fascinating that his instructions for more ambience, less substance produce increasingly contextless excuses for some sort of violence. Given that the contents of a standard Chandler esqe book (and much fiction in that genre) can probably be distilled into pure violence if you go far enough and that the lurid thrills tend to be the attraction in the first place, then, the irony becomes that Picard got precisely the mood he was asking for.

Some mild enjoyment to be had, but not a particularly great follow-up to one of my favourites from last season.

Onto The Emissary.

Episode 20: The Emissary

I wasn't expecting a Klingon episode, but I'll take it.

Picard maintains his strong moral compass by insisting on alternative solutions. The blunt "no" is surprisingly powerful. I also got a kick out of him ordering Worf to relax.

Riker continues to host poker night. Little bit of teasing over Worf's first command.

La Forge is getting some sarcasm in him.

Worf falls into clear discomfort and petulance when his ex rocks up. It's good that they portray his reluctance to look at her as being as immature as it is. Speaking of immaturity, seeing Worf get a little entitled after a night of boinking wasn't a great look. It's slightly more understandable for him, due to his Klingon fundamentalism and slight remove from his culture, but it's hard to be as sympathetic as the episode wants me to be. I mean, he's obviously treated as wrong, but there's still a sense that we should be more forgiving than I'm willing to be. His bluff was a pretty great plan and he does, in fact, suit command. Dorn's delivery makes "comfortable chair" a far funnier line than it has any right to be.

Troi bonds with K'Ehleyr on their similar mixed heritage and does some actual work by suggesting exercise.

Data continues to be overly literal at times. Hovers around as the most blatant of third wheels during the Klingons' argument. Gets a funny line towards the end.

Wesley has been replaced by some nameless navigator. She makes a surprising impression for such a bit part.

Judging by the poker game, Pulaski and Worf are firm friends now.

O'Brien gets protective of his transporter controls.

I don't know if I prefer her as a Klingon or a Vulcan, but Plakson returns and is proper great as K'Ehleyr. A massive contrast to Worf's stuffiness, she has a slight irreverent streak to her, mountains of confidence and some proper nice clothes. I love that you can feel the venom with which she spits some lines during her and Worf's argument. Her liberal attitude towards sex is another great contrast with Worf, to the point that she's in disbelief he would even suggest the oath. All in all, fantastic.

Apart from the always impeccable Klingon designs and one hell of a nice transition from K'Ehleyr discussing her options with Worf to discussing them at the briefing, I also quite liked the old style Klingon uniforms. They even klink as Worf moves about to help convey how antiquated they are. The discussion about the probe's specifics is blatant padding, but it's a far more tolerable version than we've had recently. On the subject of padding, it's become clear to me that the looks into daily life aboard the Enterprise we're having are probably an attempt to fill out the scripts. If so, its a solution that would actually work great even without the problem. Checking out the characters', well, character on occasion should be standard operating procedure. I'm hoping that season 3 (which seems to be more stable, production wise, from what I've read), continues this trend in some form. It's honestly something that I wish TOS did far more often.

A clash of cultures is the clear point to this exercise, with modern Klingon society being met with a historical relic encapsulated in the difference between Worf and K'Ehleyr's viewpoints. The necessity of change and flexibility is shown with Worf, the man who doesn't bluff, doing just that in the climax and accepting K'Ehleyr's decision without too much argument. Simple, effective, but there's not too much to say.

A pretty good episode with a fantastic guest star.

Let's hope the next episode is at Peak Performance.

A subtheme to 90s Trek is that the Klingon Empire is in a "moral decay". There's Klingons who super-fundies, others who are IDGAF about the "old ways", and then there's Worf.
Worf can, at times, be a really bad "finding your roots" allegory.

Imo Worf is ultimately the best developed TNG character in the franchise

Doe posted...

Imo Worf is ultimately the best developed TNG character in the franchise

Only if you include his DS9 appearances.

"Then die in ignorance. I can waste no more time on you." is my favorite quote in the franchise. Suzie Plakson is amazing, and i love the solution to the problem.

This episode is very very high on my favorites list, and probably #2 on my most underrated list.

Doe posted...

Imo Worf is ultimately the best developed TNG character in the franchise

Oh, for sure. TNG is great, but the characters don't develop all that much.

pegusus123456 posted...

Oh, for sure. TNG is great, but the characters don't develop all that much.

Well, O'Brien, which makes it all the more interesting that Obrien and Worf were the ones carried over to DS9

Questionmarktarius posted...

Well, O'Brien, which makes it all the more interesting that Obrien and Worf were the ones carried over to DS9

True but Worf does at least get some development on TNG. I almost consider O'Brien more of a DS9 character than a TNG one, he's just a background character there.

Episode 21: Peak Performance

War game episode and all from the Borg? Interesting.

Interesting statement from Picard about Starfleet not being a military organisation. That's some impressive optimism he has in his employers. Liked seeing his mounting frustration with Kolrami's bullying until he finally snapped and chewed him out. The line about mistakes to Data is fantastic. A couple of sweet grins shared with Riker to highlight their friendship.

Riker has a great attitude towards games and an even greater one towards La Forge's questions. Playing on Worf's psychology was a smooth move. Didn't take him long to warm up to Wesley's cheating. Continues to be a little irreverent even when the Ferengi show up.

La Forge is basically a miserable naysayer. Gets shit done, but does not like a moment of it.

Worf doesn't believe in war games. Still, he gets to do some great tactical work and Dorn's comedy chops are as fine as ever. The barely restrained anger when he breaks his model ship is a treat.

Troi tries to do some counselling work on Data, but it doesn't really take. Sure, she keeps him from an infinite loop of analysing Riker, but I think she's the only member of this ensemble who's poorly served by the episode.

Data goes through a crisis of confidence after losing the game. But he learns another valuable lesson about being human. Like Dorn, Spiner's comedy chops and sense of timing are on fire. Being perplexed by Pulaski mouthing was especially grand.

Wesley sneaking his experiment aboard almost feels Kirkian in how it rewrites the rules of the game. Would not have expected it from him. There's still an uncomfortable smugness in parts, but this is a better showing for him than his own focus episodes.

Absolutely love Pulaski in this. Despising Kolrami on principle already had me hooked, but she had so many moments like silently pleading with Data and lightly waving her arms in excitement when he agrees. Their friendship might be a subtle retcon, but I don't mind in the slightest, especially since she's basically playing mother to him now. Frankly, she's adorable.

Burke sticks out for being completely disinterested in whatever bollocks Wesley is on about.

Kolrami is certainly something. Smug, smarmy, catty and more than a bit camp, the way he runs onscreen in the first scene tells you everything about him. Entertainingly unpleasant.

The Ferengi are back as a serious villain. They're not quite as good as The Battle, but better than The Last Outpost.

The Hathaway is a beautiful ship. Much more angular and blocky than the curvy Enterprise. Even the dilapidated bridge has a functional look to its design that is great to look at. I loved hearing the old whistle, too.

Gaming archetypes seem to be today's theme. Even with being first hand witnesses to the Borg, neither Picard nor Riker finds the war game a particularly serious exercise and they treat it accordingly. Picard straight up teasing with his first move is honestly kind of cute. Compare this to Kolrami disliking Riker precisely because he enjoys himself and it's clear that he's a "stop having fun!" guy, though, to his credit, he quite likes the sensor scheme. This plays into Stratagema, too, which is blatantly an incomprehensible Atari game. Kolrami's drive to win and smugness when it inevitably happens is a neat contrast with Riker not minding his loss at all and just wanting to play for its own sake. Data, of course, loses self esteem over his loss, partly because Kolrami's attitude amounts to bullying, but is able to genuinely enjoy himself in the rematch by basically fucking around and finding out. Kolrami, naturally, rage quits against such a "cheap" strategy. Even Wesley's cheating is quickly appreciated because it lends to a more interesting game, without being an instant win condition. Finally, the Ferengi, in a nice redress of their capitalist nature, are opportunistic griefers. They spoil the game outright and get chased off by the other competitors.

Not a bad episode, at all.

Later today (maybe), we close with Shades of Gray.

No and I am deadly serious about this for fucks sake DO NOT WATCH THAT STINKING PILE OF SHIT in Shades Of Gray.

Forget it exists. Just get to Season 3.

Why they even bothered to make Shades Of Grey is a mystery no one can fathom.

Shades of Gray is definitely the nadir of TNG

I remember really disliking Riker (and Picard to a lesser extent) in this episode. The two senior officers on the ship just openly dismissing the idea that they need to practice military exercises when they've already encountered multiple situations in which they might need those exercises.

Pulaski, on the other hand, was probably at her best in this episode.

Unlike every other episode CassandraCroft told you to skip, no one would blame you for skipping Shades of Grey. It's just garbage. Possibly the worst episode of Star Trek. It offers nothing other than the experience of having said you've seen the worst episode.

pegusus123456 posted...

I remember really disliking Riker (and Picard to a lesser extent) in this episode. The two senior officers on the ship just openly dismissing the idea that they need to practice military exercises when they've already encountered multiple situations in which they might need those exercises.

Pulaski, on the other hand, was probably at her best in this episode.

Unlike every other episode CassandraCroft told you to skip, no one would blame you for skipping Shades of Grey. It's just garbage. Possibly the worst episode of Star Trek. It offers nothing other than the experience of having said you've seen the worst episode.

I disagree with that.

I think the TNG episodes Code Of Honor, Angel One, Night Terrors, The Masterpiece Society and Sub Rosa are worse than Shades Of Grey.

If we are talking about the entire franchise I would be here all night giving you episodes of TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise that are in my opinion worse than Shades Of Grey.

CassandraCroft posted...

I disagree with that.

Yeah, we know, shut the fuck up.

Episode 22: Shades of Gray

So, that's why I was warned. It's a clip show. Well, it's bad and probably wins the worst episode award by virtue of not really being an episode at all, but it's bad in a very understandable and possibly, slightly excusable way. How the fuck do I even review it, though?

It's almost pointless discussing the characters since the new material is obviously very scarce. I will say that Sirtis is doing her best to try to make it possibly good (and this is still a better use for her than some episodes manage), but I'm convinced Frakes has checked out. Since this is her last appearance, giving Pulaski a main role is a decent decision, though it would have been nice if she did more than technobabble between dream sequences. I don't really have anything else to say about them.

Even without following the production drama, it would have been clear that season 2 had some behind the scenes issues. And in some sense, this is the nadir of that. Budget cuts and a lack of writers basically made it so that it was either a clip show or nothing at all.

I will say that I was moderately intrigued by the opening, before we got to the memories. (In other words, when i believed it might have been a normal episode). Its just about competent enough for a premise. The jungle set does it's job, although I'm hearing a lot of insects for an animal free planet. As soon as the flashbacks start, the whole thing becomes very painful. Riker is probably the worst character for this, short of Yar or Guinan, since his beard alone defies cohesion. The transitions to the new content are incredibly rote and standard. Even when they start to be grouped by emotional theme, there's still a sloppy lack of order and no attempt to actually create a sub story with them, to say nothing of the arbitrary selection. It's just random vignettes in a random order. Even by the standards of its own dubious "genre" it doesn't even reach mediocre.

I was pleasantly surprised by the willingness to include Yar and Crusher in the flashbacks, although I wonder how many audience members were confused by this. Likewise, including scenes from some of the less favourable episodes shows a mark of pride in one's work that seems somewhat better than if they just took the easy route and only pilfered from the obvious favourites. The rapid sequence of Riker's memories (especially concerning explosions) almost bleeding into each other at the end almost threatened to be interesting and could maybe work as a fever dream analogue.

And that's it, really. I will admit that, having read about how bad it is, I was expecting much worse than what I got. But I'm not going to pretend that it even manages to be an actual episode.

I understand why it exists, but it's a thoughtless execution desperate to fill the episode order. I procrastinated sending this because I wanted to add more, but there's nothing.

Tomorrow, the rankings.

splodeymissile posted...

Episode 22: Shades of Gray

So, that's why I was warned. It's a clip show. Well, it's bad and probably wins the worst episode award by virtue of not really being an episode at all, but it's bad in a very understandable and possibly, slightly excusable way. How the fuck do I even review it, though?

Not so black and white, eh? Lol

So you actually watched that utter piece of cretinous crap miserable excuse of an episode despite all our warnings! Next time listen to us when we all say an epispode is not worth watching.

You do not need to watch every single episode. I have not seen every episode of TNG myself as there is one season 7 episode I thought sounded so crap after reading a synopsis of it I didn't bother with it.

There are many episodes of Deep Space 9 and Voyager I have never watched because they sounded so crap.

The only series I have watched in their entirety are The Original Series and Enterprise.

This is why I wish it was possible to ban specific posters from threads you create.

McMarbles posted...

This is why I wish it was possible to ban specific posters from threads you create.

There is. TC would have to block him.

pegusus123456 posted...

There is. TC would have to block him.

Looks like they were so desperate for validation that these episodes are bad that they went and made a topic of their own lol.

End of season 2

Top 5:

Elementary, Dear Data (I was a little harsh, I feel. Damn good meta plot with a great villain)

A Matter of Honor (fantastic Riker episode that does wonders to make the Klingons feel like people)

The Measure of a Man (takes what should otherwise be an already answered question about Data's humanity into a surprisingly deeper direction. Another one I may have been a bit harsh on)

Time Squared (possibly the most controversial inclusion, but I love weird time travel plots and there's something incredibly haunting about this particular time loop)

Q Who (scarcely needs an explanation. Sets up one new threat, whilst redeeming an existant one, all in a neat near cosmic horror themed package)

Bottom 5:

Unnatural Selection (a poor retread of TOS that seems to hate its focus character)

The Dauphin (a lazy stock plot that pushed an already mostly unlikeable character into near irredeemable territory)

The Icarus Factor (a truly disgusting defence of shit fathers)

Samaritan Snare (the Pakleds alone make this utterly unpleasant)

Manhunt (reduces one of the previous season's best guest stars into an unfunny sex joke)

Miscellaneous thoughts:

The Child (almost made the bottom 5 due to the inexcusable Troi plot. Having the only Wesley story to actually work and a production design that suits a premiere just about saves it)

Where Silence Has Lease (almost made the top 5 on the back of its atmosphere alone)

Contagion (could have made the top 5 if I felt it had something more coherent to say)

The Royale (the hotel aesthetic is sticking in my mind more than I expected. I may have been slightly harsh. Average is still the best its reaching, though)

Up the Long Ladder (almost made the bottom 5, but being so bad, it's good just saves it)

Shades of Gray (it doesn't feel right to rank this at all. Its badness is evident, but has more excuses than any other episode and its unfair to compare it to a full piece of new material. I do wish they could've been more imaginative with how they approached the clip show idea. I don't think there are any bad ideas, only bad executions.)

Overall, this season is closer to its reputation than the last, but I still enjoyed it more than not. The writer's strike makes the unevenness a bit excusable, which is why my bottom 5 tends towards episodes whose content offends me, more than actual production issues (though, they often go hand in hand, anyway)

The captains keep banging on about it, so, I'm going to explore The Final Frontier before season 3.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Considering the amount of godlike aliens roaming about, a religious extremist looking for the true god is possibly overdue.

Maybe it's because the TNG crew have sort of displaced them as the main characters, but everyone feels at once a little off and, sort of generic, here. Kirk is considerably more irreverent than I remember and his militant attitude towards shooting Sybok seems flatly out of character. I did like his musing on dying alone and how faith in his friends is how he knew the rock climbing failure wouldn't kill him. And he brings a trace of his familiar charm with the "what does God need with a starship?" bit.

Spock is back to his usual stoic self. He's very much fallen back into standard mode, almost the generic model for his character. Nimoy does give some haunted gazes and subtle hesitations to convey that he knows more about Sybok than he's letting on.

McCoy has also fallen into his usual form, which means some of his bitching at Spock threatens to make him unlikeable. I do like that Spock's resurrection has become another weapon for his insults, but the character development both characters got in the previous four films does seem to have flown off (though, in fairness, Spock did have a few resets already). That scene of him confronting his father's death is actually pretty alright, though. The shilling of the big three does get a little too much when Spock and McCoy are able to shrug off the same brainwashing that got everyone else.

Scotty just grumbles about getting the new Enterprise barely functional. No longer a miracle worker, apparently. Are he and Uhura meant to be something of an item? Walking into a bit of the ship is just stupid and more evidence of the weirdly wacky tone they're going for.

Sulu gets lost, which is mildly ironic for the helmsman and navigator team. He's always been the most normal of the bunch, which, unfortunately, means there's little to say.

Uhura's fan dance has to be one of the most undignified moments of an already historically poorly treated character. Having her true emotions consist of pining for Scotty feels very retrograde. Not everything in TOS is worth referencing or repeating.

I don't know if it's genuinely worse or if I need to get used to it again after TNG, but Chekov's accent is painful. He has a couple of badass moments, like the warp escape, and it's long overdue for him to play captain.

The only guest star who makes an impact is Sybok whose actor manages to convey a more than decent sense of the mad zeal and genuine belief in personal righteousness that makes such extremists especially terrifying. Even his manner of "helping" people with their pain is given a suitably predatory edge. Even "God" is a bit standard.

The opening was actually quite promising and it's a decent choice to dress the army of light in desert iconography, considering the origins of the big monotheistic religions. Then, Sybok starts laughing and we have one of the most jarring shot transitions I have seen in a film. Shatner has a pretty good eye for lighting and angles and certain scenes, like Spock brooding alone after first discovering Sybok, has an aesthetic that actually coheres vaguely well with TNG. But the execs seemed to desperately want to inject comedy in every moment and the fact that everyone is a caricature of themselves and that the transitions are not particularly graceful, makes what should be a relatively more serious plot into a wacky, confusing joke. Everything involving the rocket boots is dreadful. The campfire scene has a couple of good moments from Kirk (naturally), but it's mostly a bizarre exercise in cringe. The dilapidated Enterprise feels like an especially mean spirited jab after how much pomp and circumstance its unveiling had in the last film. The scenes on Nimbus owe a lot to Star Wars (I'm seeing a bit of Mad Max, too), but the wretched hive aesthetic, on the planet of peace, no less, combines with all this to give a very nasty vibe over the proceedings. Nothing is so horrendous as to be unwatchable, but I kind of knew early on that I probably wouldn't like this much.

Even the Klingons are played as stereotypes, which is incomprehensible after TNG spend several episodes developing a culture for them, although at least they sort of save the day. Also, were there meant to be subtitles? Maybe it's just the stream I found, but there's nothing to be read. Sure, the basic gist of the conversations is easy to follow, we know they're frustrated when the Enterprise escapes, but they go on far too long for what is ultimately utter gobbledegook.

The VFXs are much cheaper than in TNG, although the barrier and everything involving "God" is decently trippy. The film does get better as it goes on, with some shots, like the slow zoom into the Klingon warning whilst everyone admires the planet being quite brilliant actually. Once the plot gets to Sha Ka Ree, the tone becomes more appropriately serious and the gradual build towards a more horror themed style of directing, especially with the darkening of the world before "God" appears and the harsh saturation when Kirk is alone, suggests that Shatner wrested a bit more control over his film by the end. Overall, though, regardless of whos to blame, Nimoy's first effort was much greater than his co star's.

The deliberately retrograde approach to certain tropes, like the more simplistic Klingons and the unfortunate return of awful sexism (I, sadly, caught the human consul getting with the Romulan one. Incidentally, she's the best of a bad bunch, but that's not saying much), and the clear joy in deserts, national parks, camping and slightly more subtle fare like the random wheel and the unfortunate myth about Columbus, to say nothing of the godlike alien to end all godlike aliens, speaks to a general celebration of Star Trek and, especially, its roots as the western frontier in space. Sadly, Star Trek in general, but particularly the previous films, has long since moved on from this stuff, so, what could have been a pseudo nostalgia tour, feels like an ignorant step backwards.

I'm probably coming off as harsher than I intend. There's enough good stuff that I'm ultimately glad I watched it, but I wanted to like it more than I did and it is the weakest of the films I've seen. In many ways, a TOS episode blown up to feature length with almost nothing else added.

I may have liked it more if I, like some people recommend, watched it after The Voyage Home. But then, doesn't that make you question the logic of releasing it midway through season 2 of TNG?

Speaking of TNG, I genuinely liked the first two seasons, overall. Yet apparently it doesn't get good until season 3. So, I'm quite curious to see how accurate a title Evolution is.

"What does God need with a Starship"

Cant believe you watched that. The only decent thing about that Godawful movie is the end credits music especially the Klingon theme.

Did you know that STV won THREE RAZZIE (Golden Raspberry) awards. They were for:

Worst picture
Worst actor - William Shatner
Worst director - William Shatner.

Cant believe that people still complain that you intend to watch every episode and movies

The fact that The Child isn't in your bottom 5 shows the depth of the lows of season 2

But now we're off to season 3!

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3

Episode 1: Evolution

Sort of a repeat of the "new form of life" plot, but when you're reintroducing characters and setting up the new standard, something familiar doesn't exactly go amiss.

Picard gets more than a little uncomfortable actually trying to discuss who Wesley is. His deadpan "hmm" when Stubbs starts threatening him is great way of showing how politely unimpressed he is. Lightly mocks Troi for stating the obvious. Losing his temper at the loud music is hilarious.

Riker has fun trolling Wesley, with a shit eating grin.

La Forge just does his job.

Looks like Worf has had a change in hair style. Naturally, leans towards the more violent solution.

Crusher is back like she never left and its good that the first thing she does is flag up how weird Wesley, in general, and her relationship with him is. McFadden's acting is on point, as she fondles her clothes when trying to broach the subject with Picard. Possibly some of their mutual attraction there, too. Gets a good comedy beat at the end.

Troi tries to do some counselling work on Stubbs, but he resists. Loved seeing her utter annoyance when Stubbs tried flirting with her. And, to be fair, her analysis of him is far deeper than the usual fare of "that liar lies."

Data acts as the literal voice for machine empathy. Spiner gets some decent confusion in when possessed by the nanites.

Panning over Wesley having a kip is an elegant way of quickly establishing who this episode focuses on. Wheaton is allowed some mild subtlety in his facial expressions when the camera focuses on him during La Forge's explanation. The bitter way he says he always gets an A is one of the best moments this character has ever had. Technobabble about the nanites went on a bit, though, but it's only a mild annoyance. His outburst at Crusher could work just as well as a rant against the producers and the audience, since he's played the role precisely as wanted and received only hate for it.

Pulaski is absent without fanfare. Kind of shit, to be honest, even Crusher got a ghost of a reason.

Guinan pulls a similar trick on Wesley she's pulled on Picard: pretending shes taken their value system to heart to demonstrate how flawed it is. In this case, how Wesley's obsession with good grades leaves him with no life. Could do without Frankenstein.

Stubbs takes to Wesley as a kindred spirit pretty quickly. Interesting that he is the first to bring up how strange Wesley is, whilst also encouraging him to basically carry on. We get some good obsessive madness in the way he describes both the stars and his own life. Joins Picard in shutting down Troi's tendency to state the obvious. They take a surprisingly deep dive into his character, with the mental recitation of a baseball game being the absolute nadir of how much of a loser he is. Even his hobby is drowned in numbers and pretentiousness. They spend a decent chunk of time delving into how a very fragile self image, based on recognition, is all he ultimately is and the little ticks by the actor to demonstrate his madness make him a very effective guest star.

The glorious use of shadows and lighting in the first VFX shot, along with the beautiful opening panning shot (with a cheeky "stand by" on the screen) demonstrate utter confidence on the production team from the word go. There following on from the best practices of the last season by spending ample time on letting the characters breathe. Hopefully, the new uniforms are less painful. Unfortunately, the much hyped stellar explosion is quite anemic.

Stubbs is obviously meant to be a cautionary tale on how foisting expectations upon a child can cripple them well into adulthood. Interestingly enough, he's self aware enough to know how unhealthy his life is, yet continues to go through with it anyways because he's just that fragile. The obvious comparison to a potential older Wesley hardly needs mentioning. They take the idea quite far and I liked that it's no longer about the joy of discovery for him, but about having his name attached to something. A new form of life is irrelevant. All that matters is getting a good grade in the history books. Not much else to add.

I already knew that season 3 onwards has a greater focus on character work, but I was surprised that Wesley was the first experiment of this run. It's brave, to say the least, but it works. This is the first Wesley story that I can say, without any reservation, manages to actually work. Mainly, because it dares to allow him to be a halfway decent facsimile of a teenager. I still question what poor lass would consider him a catch, but ending with him being vaguely normal and hinging a lot of discussion on how he hasn't really worked is as fine a mission statement as any.

Pretty decent opener. Let's hope the rest follows suit.

Will explore The Ensigns of Command, later