Star Trek: Picard -- Season 1 Episode 7 (Nepenthe)

One thing that bothered me about transporters in Star Trek was that the operator always knew who to beam up.  Riker would call to beam up three people out of a room full of people and they would always beam up the correct three people.  This was probably done for the sake of the narrative.  It would get tedious to have to name everyone that was leaving.

This is why I find it odd that when Picard and Soji visit Nepenthe, they’re put down in the back yard of the people they’re visiting.  They could easily have found themselves on the opposite side of the planet, given how far they were traveling.  It’s amazing that they weren’t transported to a spot a mile above the planet.  Still, I guess we need to consider the narrative.

Speaking of the narrative, who is it that Picard and Soji are visiting?  William Riker and Deanna Troi, of course, as promised in the series trailer.  I supposed Picard could have taken Soji anywhere, but it’s nice to see Riker and Troi again.  It’s especially nice to see that they’re still a happy couple, despite a tragedy.

Meanwhile, Hugh and Elnor fight the Romulans on the Borg cube.  Things don’t end well for Hugh, which is a shame.  Elnor is a great fighter and is an interesting character.  It has become increasingly obvious that he’s in over his head.  I’m assuming that he’s never been outside the sisterhood’s compound.  He would appear to be a fast learner, though.

On La Sirena, Jurati has to come to terms with the fact that she’s the mole.  In fact, we get to see the rest of her conversation with Commodore Oh.  It looks like there’s more than either character was letting on.  Her only option seems to be to inject herself with a compound.  It’s not clear if this is meant as suicide or not, but it does seem to disrupt the tracking capabilities of a homing device Jurati was made to swallow.  (At least it was chewable.)

Picard doesn’t seem to be the diplomat he once was.  Maybe it’s the irumodic syndrome talking.  I don’t know, but he answers Soji’s concerns with sarcasm and he’s rightfully rebuked.  Troi and Riker call him on it, but it’s not the first time he’s done something like this.

Soji is very suspicious of everyone now.  She’s been betrayed by the one person she trusted the most and wonders if all of this is another act.  It’s entirely reasonable of her.  (On a side note, Troi can’t sense Soji.  Troi could sense Data with his emotion chip, but Soji is different.  Exactly what those differences are remains to be seen.)

We get a few of the obligatory throwbacks, like a mention of Picard’s artificial heart.  There’s also a mention of a Tyken’s rift and Kestra, from Night Terrors and Dark Page, respectively.  I’m not sure if multiple references in each episode was intended, but it’s not unwelcome.  It doesn’t set this up as an eighth season of The Next Generation, but it does allow for some nice continuity.  I’m curious to see what the subsequent episodes bring.

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Star Trek: Picard -- Season 1 Episode 6 (The Impossible Box)

So, it’s time for Picard to finally meet Soji.  There’s just one problem standing in their way and it would seem to be a minor one.  Picard has to get permission to be on the Borg cube.  It technically belongs to the Romulans.  Fortunately, Raffi is still on the ship and she has a connection at Starfleet which gets them in.

The catch is that Picard has to go alone.  He’s not looking forward to it, as he was assimilated many years ago, but that’s the price of admission.  The Romulans are pretty strict about security, so they have him beam over to a remote location.  Maybe they’re paranoid about him being around sensitive information.  Maybe they just want to make him wait or feel isolated.  Either way, he has a panic attack before the director of the Reclamation Project shows up.

The director happens to be a former drone Picard helped many years ago: Hugh.  (Of course, we already knew this from previous episodes.)  Hugh is the first person in this new series who seems happy to see Picard.  He’s more than happy to help Picard find Soji.

Unfortunately, she’s not in her quarters nor is she showing up on scans.  Fortunately, she finds Picard.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to have the same instinct to trust Picard.  (Soji takes a little convincing.)  Fortunately, Hugh has a way for Picard and Soji to escape.

It’s not clear why they couldn’t transport off the cube directly.  I assume that was the plan, as Picard didn’t know about the Sikarian Trajector technology.  It does allow for a nice reference to Star Trek: Voyager.  (I am kind of wondering how Sikarians reacted do being assimilated.  It’s a good thing Voyager didn’t stick around.)

However, it took Picard only half the season to meet up with Soji, who is only starting to come to terms with what she is.  Narek was right to hold off, though.  Trying to kill Soji did activate her, which probably wouldn’t have ended well if he was still trying to get information out of her.

The series seems to be moving along pretty well.  I’ve come to use 24 as the show by which I judge other serialized shows.  24 could be a little jerky in that every episode ended with an overly dramatic cliffhanger.  Star Trek: Picard doesn’t do that.  There is a sense of a chapter being completed, but it seems more natural.  By this episode, we’re getting a much smoother experience.

There are a few questions, such as why Elnor didn’t go with Picard.  Elnor is sworn to protect Picard.  Separating serves no obvious purpose.  It’s also not clear in this episode exactly where Picard is going or why, but at least that will be revealed in the next episode.

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Star Trek: Picard -- Season 1 Episode 3 (The End Is the Beginning)

It would appear that the third episode is a turning point in the series.  We’re still getting information about the past, such as Picard’s actual resignation from Starfleet.  At the same time, we’re seeing the pieces fall into place for Picard’s new crew.

Picard can’t get a ship and crew from Starfleet, so he’ll have to go through his old friend and colleague, Raffi.  She has an unregistered ship, which could prove useful.  Unfortunately, Picard seems to have burned a few bridges in the past 14 years.  Raffi isn’t willing to help at first.

However, she sets Picard up with Rios, a former XO on a ship that no longer officially exists.  Rios is a little hesitant, considering that Picard doesn’t actually have a game plan.  He’s looking for Soji and the only lead he has is Bruce Maddox.  Since Picard doesn’t know where either is, he’s all dressed up with nowhere to go.

The one person willing to help is Dr. Agnes Jurati of the Daystrom Institute.  She gathers that Picard might need help when she’s questioned by the head of Starfleet Security.  It’s not clear what she can do, but she might prove useful.  She is an expert in AI and she worked with Maddox.

The episode does answer a few questions, but does raise a few more.  Exactly why was Raffi fired from Starfleet after Picard quit?  Was Picard protecting her for some reason?  Was it retaliation?  It’s not clear what Raffi was to Picard at the time.

Also, Rios has at least two holograms.  It’s possible that holograms were spared the fate of androids.  However, it’s worth noting that Rios’s EMH isn’t that good and that both are modeled after Rios.  It’s possible that they’re bootleg holograms.  If Raffi has an unregistered ship, it would stand to reason that there are unregistered holograms.  We still don’t know what happened to Voyager’s EMH.

The stakes are pretty high, though.  Picard is attacked by a Romulan goon squad similar to the one in the first episode.  As they say, you’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you.  The episode ends with Picard and crew on a ship leaving Earth.  I hope Picard knows where he’s going.

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Star Trek The: Next Generation - Episode 153 (Descent: Part II)

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

Before you get started with this episode, you should realize that while it is the first episode of the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it’s the second part of a two-part series. It begins right where the season six finale left off. Please read my review of part one before you read this review. To recap:

Rogue Borg attacked a Starfleet installation to get the Enterprise’s attention. The drones showed signs of individuality and were also interested in Data. Data killed one out of anger and actually enjoyed it. Later, a drone is captured and convinces Data to go to the rogue Borg’s colony. The Enterprise follows them and a search party finds Data, Lore and several dozen drones in a building.

Part II picks up with Lore and Data looking down on the search party; several dozen drones are surrounding the search party and there’s a dampening field. Basically, all possible exits are blocked. Lore has been using the drones to manipulate Data into coming. Data seems to have totally bought into Lore’s philosophy, telling Picard that he’s no longer the Federation’s puppet. (Or words to that effect.) Lore has been leading the rogue Borg who were so influenced by Hugh’s individuality that they were unable to pilot their own ship. (Hugh is the name given to the drone that the Enterprise released back into the Borg collective, hoping that his individuality would have an effect.) Lore has become a cult leader of sorts, promising the drones the perfection of a totally artificial body.

Lore has been doing experiments on drones, but none of the drones have made it through intact. (Some have died and some have survived in a debilitated state.) Now, he has three humans to experiment. Lore takes Chief Engineer La Forge’s VISOR under the pretense of wanting to do experiments, but La Forge points out that he can see the carrier wave that Lore is using to manipulate Data. (The VISOR is a device that allows La Forge to see. Without the VISOR, La Forge is totally blind. If I recall, VISOR is an acronym, hence the caps.)

Lore orders Data to do experiments on La Forge. The plan is to use La Forge to see if an artificial neural network can be established, thus eliminating the need for an organic brain. There’s a 40% chance of success, but with three humans, odds are that at least one will survive. It’s up to Picard, Troi and La Forge to find a way to get Data to come around to his senses.

Dr. Crusher is in charge of the Enterprise. Despite being given orders to return to Federation space, she stays near the planet and sends a probe containing the ship’s logs through the transwarp conduit. She’s determined to get as many of the search teams as she can off the planet. She manages to get almost all of the teams off, essentially leaving Picard’s team and a few other people. She’s actually able to destroy the Borg ship, thus giving her plenty of time to help those on the planet. She knows where Picard, Troi and La Forge are, but is unable to beam them out because of the dampening field.

Commander Riker leads another search party, which is captured by several of the renegade drones. Fortunately, this is not the same group that’s led by Lore. Instead, Riker and his search party are taken to Hugh, the Borg drone that I had mentioned earlier. He explains to Riker what’s been going on. He isn’t happy to see Starfleet officers, since it was Starfleet officers that caused so many drones to become individuals. He shows Riker some drones that survived Lore’s experiments, but were left severely impaired by them. Hugh shows Riker the way to the compound that Lore is in, but refuses to go with them. In the end, it all works out. Data’s conscience starts to reemerge, Riker leads a successful raid with a little help from Hugh and Dr. Crusher is there waiting in orbit with the Enterprise.

I was able to see both episodes together on Spike TV. (It’s a cable station. They’ve acquired the rights to show Next Generation and Deep Space Nine episodes.) I’ve noticed that there’s a bit of bait and switch here. The first part focuses on Data and how the ‘negative’ emotions are affecting him. In this part, it’s more about Lore and his diabolical plans. When I first saw the episode, it wasn’t as noticeable since I had to wait three months after Part I aired to see Part II.

Apparently, the individuality affected just Hugh’s ship. Hugh talks of not being able to go back to the collective. At first, I assumed that this meant that they couldn’t return to a collective state, but the Borg did make several appearances in Star Trek: Voyager, and it was the collective version. (The Borg would also play a central role in the movie, First Contact.) There’s no appearance of Hugh or the renegade drones after this episode. I had hoped to find out what happened to them. (It might have been interesting to have a few of them stop by Deep Space Nine or something.)

One point that all of the nitpickers seem to point out is that in Part I, Troi tells Data that there are no positive or negative emotions. (It’s the resulting actions that are positive or negative.) Early in the episode, La Forge says something to Data about his negative emotions; Data responds by quoting Troi. Later in the episode, though, Troi makes a comment about Data’s negative emotions. What gives?

Despite the dissimilarity to the first part, it’s still a good episode. Once again, Brent Spiner gets to shine in two roles. Before, the two roles were polar opposites. You have the emotionless Data and the self-interested Lore. Here, Data switches to the Dark Side, even if it is just for the one episode. The shame of it is that both episodes aren’t available together. You either have to buy two separate tapes or buy them as part of two separate boxed sets since the series is sold on DVD by season.

If you’re going to buy the episode, I’d recommend that you do so as part of the seventh season. There were so many other great episodes in that season.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 123 (I, Borg)

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

Think of the one person in this world that you hate the most. Think of the person that you despise beyond any other person on the planet. What would you do if you were driving down the street one day and you saw them just laying there dying? Would you take them to the hospital or would you just leave them there?

When scouting for planets to colonize, the Enterprise comes across a Borg drone. The Borg are a ‘race’ of cybernetic beings that assimilate entire cultures. Guinan, the ship’s bartender, lost most of her people to the Borg. Those that remain are scattered among the galaxy. Captain Picard was himself assimilated and used to fight against the Federation. Both of these people have very strong objections to taking the drone aboard. Picard would just as well leave the drone to die. However, Dr. Crusher can’t bring herself to just run off without doing something.

Against his better judgment, Picard allows the drone to be brought to a holding cell for treatment. Guinan isn’t too happy about it when she finds out. It’s a very dangerous call. Both Picard and Guinan know full well what he’s capable of. The one drone could very easily assimilate (or at least cause the assimilation of) everyone on the ship. However, Picard is a man with a plan. He realizes that once brought back to the collective, the drone could be used as a Trojan horse that would introduce a virus that would spread throughout the Borg’s collective consciousness and cause their ultimate destruction.

The problem comes down to being able to see the forest for the trees in a very literal sense. The Borg don’t see individuals. One drone is the same as any other; any drone is simply part of the collective mind. To use a drone to introduce a virus is like taking a cell out of your body to study and then introduce some disease into your body. However, the drone starts to become self-aware. He goes from having the designation (Third of Five) to having a name (Hugh). Eventually, people start to see Hugh as a person. Even Guinan and Picard are swayed. The drone even goes from referring himself as ‘we’ to referring to himself as ‘I’ in Picard’s presence. Picard allows Hugh the choice of remaining on the Enterprise, but Hugh realizes that the Borg will know that he’s missing. The Enterprise will never be safe as long as Hugh is there. He must return to the Collective.

Choice is a tricky thing. This is the first attempt in the Star Trek universe to actively try to wipe out the Borg in one swoop, although it won’t be the last. Picard is set to destroy the Borg because the Borg are so set on destroying entire civilizations. However, Picard is forced to deal with the ethics when only when he is able to look at Hugh as a person rather than in instrument of the Borg. By trying to wipe out the Borg, we are no worse than they are. Normally, I would have found Dr. Crusher annoying in this episode, but she came across more as someone who was determined to see the drone as a patient. Despite what she may feel about them, Hugh was still a potential patient.

Someone that hasn’t seen the series up to this point won’t really understand much of what’s happened to Picard and Guinan. Not much has been said about Guinan’s race up to this point. We know that she despises the Borg. (The only other race that she holds any ill will towards is the Q, but that’s another set of episodes entirely.) Picard’s assimilation was the subject of the cliffhanger that ended the third season and began the fourth. It was a horrible experience for Picard, who almost didn’t make it back. At the very least, you should watch those two episodes before watching this one.

This won’t be the last time we hear from Hugh. The consequences of the events in this episode will come up again in a later episode titled “Descent”. I had heard that there was supposed to be another episode after that, but that never came to be.

This episode gets four stars. 

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