Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 120 (Cost of Living)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

The start of this episode is somewhat confusing. All we see is the Enterprise destroying an asteroid just in time to save a planet. That’s it. After the theme, Worf and Alexander are in Counselor Deanna Troi’s office. The Klingon father and son are still arguing. Alexander is finally following Worf’s instructions, but is trying to get around them by arguing the letter of the instructions. Troi advises them to come up with a contract about what is expected by each from the other.

This scene is a set-up for the arrival of Deanna Troi’s mother, Lwaxana Troi. Lwaxana Troi, an ambassador from Betazed, tends to be the opposite of her daughter. She’s very free where Deanna tends to be disciplined. In other words Lwaxana and Alexander become fast friends leaving Deanna and Worf to try and rein them in. It turns out that the Enterprise is escorting Lwaxana to marry her future husband, who she has never even met and knows nothing about outside of a personality profile.

Soon, the Enterprise starts experiencing trouble. First, it’s the replicators. (When Lwaxana Troi asks for tea, she gets a cup filled with sausage.) Then, other systems start to fail. The crew traces the problems back to a parasite that apparently came from the asteroid that they destroyed. The parasite is feeding on a metal that is common to many of the ship’s components.

That basically sums up the three story lines that are present in the show: the conflict between Worf and Alexander, Lwaxana’s marriage and the problem with the parasites. The parasites are given a new home in an asteroid belt that has more than enough of the compound that they like. Lwaxana ends up not marrying the man that she had intended to, mostly due to personality differences that weren’t captured in the profile. As for Worf and Alexander, they go on to have other differences of opinion. However, the Enterprise is safe from trouble.

This is another one of those episodes where you have to have watched the show to fully understand. For instance, Lwaxana Troi is a force to be reckoned with. She usually knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to say so or simply go after it. Also, it seems that Worf and Alexander are always arguing. It isn’t until much later (after Worf transfers to Deep Space Nine) that they start to agree on anything. You’d really have to have seen a lot of the series to understand the entire history between Worf and Alexander and between Deanna and Lwaxana.

There are two things that I found odd about the episode. First, there’s a scene where Data opens the turbolift doors. The turbolift is the Enterprise’s elevator system. Most elevators have two sets of doors. One is the interior set, which is attached to the elevator carriage. The other set is the exterior set, which is attached to the walls that border the shaft and the hallway or room where the elevator exits. Data really should have had to open two sets of doors, but it looks like he only opens one.

The other odd thing had to do with the parasites. Why is it that getting rid of the parasites seemed to return all systems to normal? Granted, it was stated that repairs had to be made, but the lights shouldn’t have gone from flickering to full power. Maybe it’s just me.

Both of these points are minor and easy to overlook. I wouldn’t recommend this episode to someone who’s new to the series, but it’s definitely something to look forward to if you intend on watching the entire series. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 96 (Half a Life)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

Lwaxana Troi can be a bit grating.  She likes to live to the fullest and often imposes herself on others, particularly Captain Picard.  I’ve often wondered if the character was meant to appear just once, in Manhunt.  However, she has appeared in several Next Generation and Deep Space Nine episodes.  The character did seem to grow over her appearances.  In Half a Life, the character’s fourth appearance, she gets passage on the Enterprise and meets Dr. Timicin.

Tinicin is trying to save his planet, or rather the dying star which his planet orbits.  His race is rather reclusive, meaning little is known about them, but Lwaxana takes a liking to him, which he politely refuses at first.  Eventually, he admits to liking her, as well.  There’s just one catch:  His people commit suicide at the age of 60 and he’s just four days shy.  This is done to prevent children from having the burden of taking care of deteriorating parents.

Lwaxana doesn’t understand.  He’s in perfect health.  In fact, he may even save his entire race.  And why 60?  It’s conceivable to live to be 80 without problem or to get some horrible disease at 50.  (Timicin points out that it would be more cruel to make the family decide the age.)  He eventually seeks asylum on the Enterprise, but reconsiders when he realizes that his planet stops answering his hails.  Even if he does find a solution for his planet, it won’t matter.  Eventually, Lwaxana realizes that she won’t be able to change anything and accepts his decision.

This is one of those episodes that changes with time.  When the episode first aired, I was 15.  I had never really had to deal with the issue.  However, I’ve come to realize that having to take care of a dying relative isn’t easy.  If there is more than one family member taking care of a dying parent, it rarely ever seems like it’s fair.  That’s not even mentioning the cost of medical care or having to put them in a nursing home.

On the other hand, it is arbitrary to have a set cutoff.  Tinicin has a grandson that won’t have any meaningful recollection of him.  It will take time for another scientist to take over his work.  It seems rather rigid not to allow an exception.  It also seems equally as horrible to know that your loved one will die on a particular day.  Even if it were culturally engrained, I don’t know that I’d want to deal with knowing I’ll die on my sixtieth birthday.

Given the situation, there is no easy answer.  Tinicin comments that things might have been different if they had met years earlier, but would it have been?  He still would have had to deal with his “Resolution,” as it’s called.  There’s no mention when people normally retire on his planet.  (Yes, Tinicin is working days before his Resolution, but he is trying to save a planet.)

This is one of those episodes where it would be interesting to have some change occur and revisit the planet a hundred years down the line.  There’s a reason that the Federation isn’t allowed to interfere in the development of other worlds. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 72 (Ménage à Troi)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

The Ferengi were written into Star Trek: The Next Generation as a potential adversary, but came off as comic relief.  They were just too odd and funny to be taken seriously.  Still, they managed to come back throughout the series.  Then, there was Lwaxana Troi, mother of ship’s counselor Deanna Troi.  When I first watched The Next Generation, Lwaxana Troi came off as somewhat annoying.  I wondered if the character was being played for comic effect.  It wasn’t until years later (actually, during the run of Deep Space Nine) that I began to realize that there was more to the character.  Going back through some of the episodes, I’m beginning to see them in a different light.

One of those episodes was Ménage à Troi.  The Enterprise is orbiting Betazed, home to both Deanna and Lwaxana Troi, where a conference is wrapping up.  Lwaxana is on board, prodding her only child into thinking about giving her grandchildren one day.  Deanna and Commander William Riker had a thing once.  They’re able to work together, but that doesn’t stop Lwaxana from trying to drop a few hints.

Also on board is a Ferengi Daimon Tog, who is interested in Lwaxana and is none too shy about approaching her.  There’s also the whole telepathic angle.  Tog realizes that having a telepath around provide a nice advantage.  Lwaxana bluntly tells Tog that she’s not interested.  He eventually leaves.

Deanna and Riker are granted shore leave on Betazed, as they won’t be needed for their immediate mission.  Lwaxana manages to ‘run into’ them with a picnic.  As if that weren’t enough, Tog returns, rather insistent that Lwaxana come with him, and he won’t take no for an answer.  Really.  He has both Trois and Riker beamed to his ship and held in a cell.

His aide, Dr. Farek, wants to experiment directly, but Tog is so taken with Lwaxana that he holds off.  It isn’t until she tries to get access codes that he agrees to let Farek do his experiments.  Fortunately, Commander Riker is able to get a message out and Wesley Crusher manages to save the day.  The Enterprise is able to find Tog’s ship.  Lwaxana offers to submit if Tog releases Deanna and Riker, which to agrees to.  With Lwaxana being the only one still captive, it’s up to Captain Picard to save her, which he reluctantly agrees to do.

This is one of those episodes where the casual viewer will be lost.  You’d know all the major players and would probably catch a few of the jokes, but you’d need to know about the Ferengi and Lwaxana Troi to get a lot of it.  (For instance, you probably wouldn’t understand why Picard would be reluctant to help Lwaxana.)  In fact, there are a lot of things that I caught having seen the rest of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.  I’m not sure if any of this was planned or if it just worked out that way.

I have to admit that the title is a bit much.  I’m not sure I’d want to have to explain the meaning to a small child.  I’m also not sure that I want to think of Troi’s mother that way.  This was one of those odd titles where I’m not sure how it slipped past everyone.  You’d think that between the staff of the show, the network and everybody else, someone would have requested a new title.

Oddly, though, both Lwaxana and the Ferengi have been toned down.  I think that the writers realized that maybe the audience couldn’t handle both full throttle.  I also think that after a few years, someone figured that they may try to make Lwaxana a sympathetic character.  We begin to learn here that Lwaxana does want her daughter to be happy.  (It isn’t until much later that we find out why.)

I don’t recall particularly liking this episode.  The only thing that stood out over the years was the name.  I still can’t figure out why they named it that or, as I said, how they got away with it.  For those that follow Internet memes, I believe that this is the episode where the Picard WTF meme comes from.  It’s towards the end of the episode where Picard is trying to get Lwaxana back.  I don’t know if everyone will want to sit through the episode to watch it, but it is worth noting. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 45 (Manhunt)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account. 

It seemed like ever time Lwaxana Troi came onboard the Enterprise, Captain Picard was running from her. For some reason, Lwaxana (mother of ship’s counselor Deanna Troi) felt that Picard was attracted to her, despite the fact that it was obvious to the audience that he had no romantic feelings towards her.

“Manhunt” gets its name from the fact that Lwaxana is going through a mid-life crisis of sorts where her sex drive is quadrupled. When Picard learns of this, he makes himself unavailable in the holodeck, letting Commander Riker claim that the captain is on official ship’s business. Lwaxana ends up going through many of the other male bridge officers looking for a mate, including Riker. She eventually settles on Riker, announcing to everyone that they intend to marry. (Actually, only she intends to marry; it’s as much a surprise to Riker as anyone else.)

The b-plot involves to Antidean dignitaries that are going to the same conference as Lwaxana is. They’re fish-like in appearance and spend most of the trip in stasis, waking only as they approach their destination. As everyone is getting ready to beam down, Lwaxana tells Picard that the two Antidean ‘delegates’ are actually assassins, who are going to blow up the conference. She leaves without a mate, but at least the conference is safe.

There’s very little surprise what’s going to happen with the Lwaxana plot. It’s more the usual plot with Lwaxana being overbearing and most of the crew putting up with it. Since she carries the title of ambassador, she’s afforded a great deal of respect; Deanna is the only one in a position to really say anything about it. While in his ready room (and well out of earshot of Lwaxana) Picard comments that for a telepath, she’s way off mark. This is true of Lwaxana throughout the series, but it’s even more pronounced in this episode. Her assistant, Mr. Homm, has taken to drinking any alcoholic beverage he can get his hands on. (When Picard brings a bottle of something to dinner with Lwaxana, Mr. Homm opens it and drinks the entire thing in one shot.)

As for the Antidean plot, it’s underused. The two delegates are in stasis throughout most of the episode, leaving the other characters to simply comment on them. Dr. Pulaski monitors them, which is the most interaction that any character has with them until the end. You’d never guess it, but Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac fame) plays one of the delegates. It’s impossible to tell with all of the makeup and everything.

I can’t really recommend buying this episode on VHS. For those that have never seen the series, there would be very little explaining to do. However, even as a fan, I wasn’t particularly impressed with it. The trouble is that Lwaxana Troi can be somewhat annoying. It’s not the acting so much as it is the role. Ambassador Troi is the kind of person that wants everyone to be impressed with her and thinks that everyone is actually in awe of her. It wasn’t until the end of the series and the beginning of Deep Space Nine that the character finally broke out of this.

I’d give the episode two stars. You could very easily skip this episode and not notice it in later episodes.


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