Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 118 (Cause and Effect)

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

“Cause and Effect” starts with a severely damaged Enterprise colliding with another ship and subsequently exploding. Then, it goes to the main theme. The next scene in the episode has Commander Riker, Lieutenant Commander Data, Dr. Crusher and Chief of Security Worf playing poker. Riker bluffs, but Crusher calls it. Before it can go any further, the doctor is called to sickbay; Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge is having problems with his VISOR, a device that allows him to see. Dr. Crusher is sure that she’s treated him for the same problem before, but his medical records indicate otherwise. Eventually, the Enterprise encounters the situation seen in the beginning of the episode and, as the original scene would indicate, the ship explodes.

Then, we go to what had originally been a commercial break. Watching the episode on VHS (or DVD) allows us the benefit of seeing the same scene we saw after the opening credits. The Enterprise is entering the same area of space and Riker, Data, Crusher and Worf are playing the same game. Similar events unfold, but the crew has a higher awareness of it and a feeling of deja vu. However, the ship explodes again and everyone is back to where they started. Finally, La Forge gets the idea to have Data send a message to himself in the next loop.

The message works; Data causes the number three to appear all over the ship. (For instance, when dealing cards in the poker game, he deals everyone a three then three of a kind. I’d imagine that it was important to have four people at the game for this reason.) Data eventually realizes what the message was supposed to mean and takes the appropriate action to save the day. The other ship is the U.S.S. Bozeman who set out around 80 years prior; to them, it only seems like three weeks prior. The anomaly sent them ahead eight decades.

It’s an interesting, if unoriginal, idea. Those that have seen “Groundhog Day” will recognize the concept of repeating days. (In this episode, they’re called causality loops.) The trouble with causality loops is that they call for a lot of precision. For instance, during the poker game, Data says that the cards are “sufficiently randomized.” How is it that with the exception of the final hand, Data says deals identical hands? If Data is correct, he should have dealt a different hand each time. (Also, it seems that La Forge enters sickbay at different times. I guess I can’t have it both ways.)

Speaking of Data, he correctly uses the expression, “Too rich for my blood.” Normally, I’d complain that he’s not supposed to be able to do this correctly. (At least, it’s always been one of the running gags in the show.) I can see it in this case, seeing that Data regularly plays poker. However, in the final loop, he states that the number three appears “an inordinate number of times.” (That’s the sort of error he normally makes when trying to use an expression.) He goes on to say that they’ve appeared 2085 times. (Coincidentally, 2085 is divisible by three, but the odds of that happening are only 2-1 against.)

When I first saw this episode advertised in the coming attractions, I expected a bigger role for Kelsey Grammer, who played the captain of the Bozeman. However, he has a very small role, appearing only at the end. (I’ll admit that I’m not the only one to say this.) If you are watching this episode just to see his performance, you can skip most of the episode.

This is a three-star episode. The acting is good and the story is well executed. However, the story is difficult to do. The constraints of having to work in a 48-minute timeframe limits the number of loops you can do and still have time left to tell some sort of story. Trying to pace it with the commercial breaks makes it even more difficult. Even with this in mind, I don’t feel that they did a terrific job with it. It wasn’t horrible, either. It’s worth watching if you can catch it on TV or if you get the DVD set, but I can’t say that I recommend buying the tape. 

IMDb page

Beyond Suspicion/Appointment for a Killing (1993)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.  A few modifications have been made.

When you say that a movie was made for TV, it‘s not usually meant to boost people’s expectations about it.  I’m not saying that it’s fair, but it’s often right.  Take Appointment for a Murder, a.k.a. Beyond Suspicion.  The movie is about a dentist, Stan, who has a thing for killing people for money.  Shortly after divorcing his wife, Joyce, he admits to killing someone, but in such a vague manner that she can’t really pin anything on him.  The next morning, Stan threatens that if she tells anyone, he’ll kill her or arrange to have her killed.

She does go to the police, but they don’t take her seriously.  Stan didn’t give out any details like names, locations or motives.  She does catch the attention of a Federal Agent Ron McNally, who thinks that he can link Stan to several murders.  What really makes Stan  a suspect and makes the whole operation possible is that Stan killed someone that he owed money to, which looked very suspicious.  (There was no proof, of course, but it was very convenient for Stan.)   Joyce agrees to have her house bugged so that the authorities can hopefully get some evidence.

Of course, it’s not that easy.  Stan is a cold, calculating person and would never admit to doing anything so quickly.  Yes, Stan does go over to Joyce’s new place a lot, but he’s not the kind of person that usually makes mistakes.  Plus, you’ve got Joyce’s meddling cat, who starts playing with one of the microphones, drawing Stan’s attention.  (I’ve always thought that this sort of thing is cliché and used only to add some drama, but I digress.)  Joyce does eventually get Stan to confess to murder on tape, thus sending Stan to jail for a long time.

Now, in this case, the movie does reek of being made for TV.  First, you’ve got those fadeouts every fifteen or twenty minutes.  Second, the video quality looks like it was made for the small screen.  Add to that the fact that there’s not much of a detailed story or character development.  (It’s based on a true story.)  There are three big names involved in the movie:  Corbin Bernsen as Stan, Markie Post as Joyce and Kelsey Grammer as Agent McNally.  (Don Swayze is the only other person I recognized.)

The movie takes place in St. Louis.  There are a few establishing shots of St. Louis, like the Gateway Arch, but the rest of the film could have been filmed anywhere.  The houses look like any other houses in any suburban area.  The streets look like they could be anywhere.  I guess one of the advantages of it being so far inland is that you don’t have to worry about coastlines.  (I guess it is kind of hard to put that sort of stuff in inconspicuously.)

I got this as part of a two-pack of movies a long, long time ago with the intention of writing reviews.  (The other movie was To Love, Honor And Deceive.)  Both movies were decent, but I really think I should have skipped these.  I don’t even remember how much I paid for them, but I think it was too much.  If you’re going to watch this movie, I’d recommend waiting for it to come on TV again.

IMDb page