Monday, March 13, 2017

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 74 (The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.
 
For those that don’t know, the Borg are cybernetic organisms that assimilate entire worlds to make more drones and add to their technology. In the Best of Both Worlds, the Borg come after the Federation. The plan is to abduct Picard and use his knowledge (and face) to assimilate the Federation. Here’s the plot in a nutshell:

The Borg were encountered in a previous episode and are pretty much unbeatable. They have an incredible ability to adapt and since they have assimilated so many other cultures, their technology is already very advanced. The Federation has had time to try and develop some sort of defense, but it’s not anywhere near where they’d need it.

Lt. Cmdr. Shelby comes on board the Enterprise as a Borg Tactical Specialist. (But she really wants Riker’s job.) She and Data work together to develop a weapon. There’s no guarantee that it will be ready or that it will work.

Picard knows that there’s a dark cloud hanging over him and it’s in the shape of a Borg cube. The Borg assimilate several colonies and destroy several ships during the episode, but when they encounter the Enterprise, they are only interested in assimilating Picard. The theory is that the Enterprise can escort the cube back to Earth; the sight of this should scare the Federation into surrendering. They finally succeed in capturing and assimilating him. Riker has to make a choice and he decides to destroy the Borg cube knowing full well that it will kill Picard. The last scene is of Riker giving the order.

Now, here are the problems that I had with the episode:

First, why would the Borg send only one ship to assimilate the Federation? Are they really so arrogant that they think that one ship is enough? Even if they do succeed, they’ll probably want a few more ships to help assimilate everyone unless they plan on building a few here.

Secondly, why do the Borg really stop at Picard? Given the chance, why not grab as many officers as possible? Wouldn’t that have had a more dramatic effect on the Federation? I’d think it would be more of a blow to the Federation to flat out lose its flagship.

Ok. Enough of the complaining. I’ll admit that I haven’t thought of a better way to handle it, but those things bugged me. We get to see the main characters deal with a crisis and fans were left with the first of many season-ending cliffhangers. If you do rent or buy this, you’ll have to make sure you get the next episode as well.)

I’ll be reviewing the second part separately, so be on the lookout for that. 


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