Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 174 (Bloodlines)

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

One of the problems with continuity is that it’s sometimes a stretch. In the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, we learned that Captain Picard had commanded a ship called the Stargazer long before taking command of the Enterprise and while commanding the Stargazer, Captain Picard ordered the destruction a Ferengi ship. Picard claims it was in self-defense, but the destroyed ship’s daimon (the Ferengi equivalent of a captain) had a father (also a daimon) who wanted revenge. After a failed attempt to get his revenge, he was stripped of his command own command and sent to prison.

That brings us to this episode. Apparently, Bok bought his way out of prison and is trying once again to get revenge. He’s using a holographic representation of himself to tell Picard that he knows about Picard’s son. Picard is somewhat mystified since he has no children. After some thinking, Picard realizes that the child that Bok referred to might be the result of a relationship he had with a woman about 28 years ago. She did have a child, Jason Vigo, who is about 27 now. Picard tracks him down and has him beamed aboard the Enterprise. Unfortunately, the mother died a few years ago and only told Jason that his father was in Starfleet.

Dr. Crusher performs a test, which reveals that the two really are father and son. Picard has to figure out how to protect someone that seems resistant to that help. Mostly, Jason is resistant to Picard. He grew up not knowing his father and seems to resent the intrusion now. He doesn’t want to be held on the Enterprise and doesn’t like having security guards follow him everywhere. Then, there’s the issue of how Bok is performing his tricks. He can seem to appear and disappear at will. Obviously, this presents a very big hole in security.

In the end, it turns out that Bok had actually manipulated Jason’s DNA to make it look like he was Picard’s son. It was all an attempt to make Picard feel the pain of losing a son. It’s obvious that Jason’s mother had another relationship. (Whether or not he was in Starfleet is up for debate.) I had to wonder if Picard was mistaken about the timeline or if Jason’s mother had two relationships within a few months of each other. The exact dates were never mentioned.

This was one of the better episodes. One of the major issues that comes up throughout the series is the balance between family and career. A lot of the episode deals with Picard getting to know a son he never knew he had. It’s not easy to meet your father and find out that someone’s out to kill you at the same time. I think what I like best is that it didn’t really rely too much on Bok. Another character could have just as easily been used. However, there are those that don’t give up.

I think that this episode was well placed near the end of the series. With the show nearing its end, I don’t think the writers could have a story that looked to the future. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 159 (Dark Page)

WARNING:  I’m going to give away major details about the episode including the ending.  If you haven’t seen the episode, you may want to hold off before reading this.


Some episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation were great.  Others were horrible.  There aren’t too many people on the other side.  Sure, Inner Light may have some detractors, but the vast majority of viewers would give the episode high marks.  There were a few episodes that were debatable.  They had good aspects and bad.   Some people might have an overall favorable opinion while others had an unfavorable one and it was hard to say who was right.

Dark Page was just such an episode.  It starts off with Lwaxana Troi, mother of the Enterprise’s Deanna Troi, coming back from helping a telepathic species learn speech.  The Cairn normally communicate with each other telepathically, but might want to join the Federation later on.  The problem is that they can only communicate with other telepaths; a non-telepathic brain just isn’t developed enough.

Many Cairn are on board with Lwaxana, including Maques and his daughter, Hedril.  Lwaxana even tries to hook Maques, a widower, up with Deanna.  It’s awkward, to say the least, but they get over it.  Maques does mention that Lwaxana seemed to have a “dark” part of her mind.  Deanna chalks it up to privacy, a concept that the Cairn are entirely unfamiliar with.  Maques eventually comes to realize that it’s more than this.

As Maques is new to verbal communication, he tells Deanna telepathically.  She comes to realize that there’s something seriously wrong.  The magnitude of the problem doesn’t really become evident until Lwaxana collapses and goes into a coma.  Captain Picard and Troi can find very little information except for a seven-year gap in Lwaxana’s journal.

Maques is able to act as a bridge for Lwaxana and Deanna so that Deanna can help her mother.  At first, Lwaxana calls for help, but then sets up barriers like wolves.  Lwaxana even uses the image of Deanna’s dead father as a stalling tactic.  After a few tries, Deanna is able to figure out what happened:  Lwaxana had another child before Deanna named Kestra who died when Deanna was a baby.  Kestra’s similarity to Hedril seemed to trigger the problems.  The episode ends with Lwaxana and Troi waking up.

Here’s where I tend to question the episode’s likeability.  The mere mention of Lwaxana Troi might cause some long-time viewers to turn and run.  She’s always been presented as the overbearing mother, wanting her only child to get married and provide lots of grandchildren.  It’s understandable, even if it’s overstated.  Here, Lwaxana is a little subdued and we do get a good explanation as to why Lwaxana is the way she is.

The problem is that it’s not a particularly great episode.  It’s mostly buildup with a heavy bonding moment at the end.  The entire diplomatic mission with the Cairn basically acts as a McGuffin for Lwaxana’s problem.  It’s also another episode where we don’t have any follow-up.  I don’t think Kestra or the Cairn were ever mentioned again.

One thing that struck me as odd was that the Cairn had mouths.   Alien races tend to appear human as human actors will be playing them.  The thing I’d like to know is why a telepathic race would develop mouths that look like ours.  There are all sorts of ways to absorb nutrients.  You don’t need to ingest it through an opening in your head.

If you happened to miss the episode, it wouldn’t affect your ability to watch subsequent episodes or the other series.  It’s one of those episodes that I can’t recommend not watching it, but I can’t recommend rushing out to see, it either.  If you’re watching the episodes in order, I don’t think watching this one will detract from the series.  If you’re looking for key episodes, though, this isn’t going to be one of them.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 141 (Tapestry)

We all have moments in life that we wish we could do over.  Maybe you regret not asking someone out.  Maybe you botched an interview for a job you really wanted.  Usually, we get past it.  We come to realize that other opportunities came along or that we may have actually made the correct decision.  In the second-season episode, Samaritan Snare, Captain Picard has a malfunctioning artificial heart.  He tells Wesley Crusher that the replacement is due to a fight with several Nausicaans on a starbase.

This sets up the story for Tapestry.  While on a planet, Picard is struck by a weapon, causing the artificial heart to fail.  While on the operating table, he goes toward the light and is greeted by the omnipotent Q.  Q informs Picard that he’s dead.  Rather than show Picard around, Q gives him a choice.  If Picard wants, he can go back and fix a mistake.  Picard is ultimately taken back two days before the fateful fight.  If Picard can avoid the stabbing, he’ll be returned to the present with a real heart.  If not, he’ll die on the operating table.

This gives Picard a few days to talk to Q and explain what happened.  He was on the station shortly after graduating Starfleet Academy with two of his friends, also recent graduates.  One friend, Corey, was playing Star Trek’s version of pool when a Nausicaan challenges him to a game.  This leads to Corey losing and subsequently realizing that his opponent was cheating.  In the original timeline, a successful rematch causes the Nausicaan and his friends to start a fight.  Basically, Nausicaans are Trek’s version of Wookies.  You let them win for pretty much the same reason.

Picard is able to alter the timeline and is returned to his present.  The problem is that he’s now a lieutenant junior grade in astrophysics.  As per a promise Q made, almost everything else is the same.  Riker is still first officer.  La Forge is still chief engineer.  The only difference is that Thomas Halloway is now the captain of the Enterprise.  Picard calls out to Q.  He gets it.  The fight was an important event in his life.  It led him to take chances.  Nearly dying caused him to realize how short his existence could be.  He’d take dying as the man he was over living as the man he would have been.

So, Q lets Picard put things right.  Picard wakes up on the operating table with his fake heart.  In the final scene, Picard admits to Riker that it could all have been a dream.  Of course, most near-death experiences aren’t that involved.  If it was Q, though, that’s significant.  It would mean that Q actually did something meaningful for Picard, which would seem a little out of character for him.

This was an episode that I mostly understood when it first aired.  I got the basic message that what might seem like the wrong decision could have a positive impact on your life.  Picard was lucky to be close to a medical facility that was equipped to save his life.  I wondered why he’d take risks if it meant possibly dying again.  I got the whole life-is-short thing, but I think if I was stabbed like that, I might play it a little safer.

In a way, that’s sort of it. It wasn’t so much about not taking risks, but rather considering the consequences more carefully.  In watching the episode again, I’ve come to realize that it’s a false dichotomy.  You don’t have to go in guns blazing to win.  It’s not so much that standing up to the Nausicaans was a bad idea.  It’s more that doing it with fists was the wrong way to go about it.  It wasn’t that it taught him to take risks, but rather to temper his emotions.

My only issue is that it might have been possible to check to see what happened.  Some of the events were left altered, meaning that Picard could have asked one of his two friends what happened during those days.  Then again, Picard did manage to alienate both of them.  It’s possible that the conversation would have been too awkward, assuming they were still alive.

Also, it’s interesting to note that there was one small issue with what Q said about Picard not being that important.  In Time’s Arrow, Guinan mentions that he had to go on the mission at the end of Part I.  The events of Part II were, in fact, important enough that it could unravel history.  It’s possible that Picard is holding out because of this.  Q would have it in his power to rearrange history to have Captain Halloway be the important element on that mission, instead.  (I’d imagine that Q’s promise not to allow the rest of history to fall apart is because of nits like this.)

This was one of those episodes that hit it out of the park.  If you’re watching Star Trek: The Next Generation for the first time and are thinking of quitting, this is one of the episodes that will make it worth watching.  In fact, if you do give up, this is one of the episodes you should skip to and just watch.  That’s how good of an episode it is.  I would even say it’s on par with Inner Light.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 137 (Chain of Command: Part 2)

As you might have guessed from the episode title, Chain of Command, Part II is the second of a two-part story.  In the first, Captain Picard is sent to a planet with Dr. Crusher and Lieutenant Worf to find and destroy some nasty weapons.  The entire plot is convoluted, but it’s used to set up this episode.  At the end of the last episode, Captain Picard is captured by the Cardassians.

This episode begins with the Cardassians interrogating Picard for information on a particular sector of space.  Even under the influence of some heavy drugs, Picard says that he doesn’t know.  That’s not good enough.  The Cardassian interrogating him, Gul Madred, keeps at it.  He even tries to get Picard to say that there are five overhead lights when there are only four.  If the Captain doesn’t say five, Madred pushes a button and Picard is given excruciating pain.

Meanwhile, Captain Jellico is still in command of the Enterprise.  Commander Riker meets Worf and Crusher to bring them back to the Enterprise.  Riker wants to rescue Picard, but Jellico won’t let him.  Their mission is negotiating with the Cardassians.

It doesn’t take long before they admit to having Picard, which puts Jellico in a tough spot.  If they admit that Picard was operating under orders, Picard gets certain protections.  Otherwise, he’s a terrorist.  The Cardassians present an offer:  If the Federation gives up certain sectors, Picard will be released.  Jellico isn’t about to do that.

Things finally come to a head between Jellico and Riker with the result being that Riker is relieved of duty, making Lieutenant Commander Data the first officer, albeit temporarily.  Riker is reinstated when Jellico is made aware of Riker being the best shuttle pilot available.  His skills are needed to place mines around a Cardassian fleet, thus giving Jellico the edge he needs to get Picard back.  Once Picard is safely back on the Enterprise, all goes back to normal.  The only notable exception is that Counselor Troi (or Lieutenant Commander Trou, if you prefer) wears the standard uniform throughout the rest of the series.

This is one of the few cases where the second part was better than the first.  Most of the first episode was meant to set up this one.  This episode deals primarily with Picard being interrogated.  Gul Madred uses a variety of means to break Picard, including dehydration and humiliation.  One thing I didn’t realize upon first watching the episode was that Madred’s insistence that there were five lights when there were really four was meant to break Picard’s will.  Once he gave into that, it would be easier to manipulate him.

As I pointed out in m review of the previous episode, needing Picard seemed a bit contrived.  There had to be easier ways to get the information.  It seems unlikely that Picard would have full battle plans in case of a specific conflict.  I don’t know if the Cardassians tried hacking into Starfleet of if Starfleet even had that information, themselves.  I’d think that there would have been easier ways to come by it.

The episode was well acted.  The scenes between Madred and Picard are believable.  We also learn a little about Cardassian society.  (Not coincidentally, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would premier not long after this episode aired.)  Some of my complaints about the previous episode carry over.  Jellico was still an arrogant captain.  I admit that the character’s traits were necessary for the episode, but I have to wonder what kind of captain he is normally.  Did his style work normally?

It seems like this episode could have been used to shake things up a little more.  Instead, it seemed like things mostly went back to normal for the Enterprise.  Jellico’s influence was a one-off deal.  It was interesting to see Jellico and Riker speak frankly.  Both are correct in their assessments of the other.  However, neither seems to learn from that.  (To be fair, Jellico is never seen or heard from again.)  It was a memorable episode, but it could have been better.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 127 (Time's Arrow: Part 2)

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

I should warn you that I’m going to reveal details in this review that will probably ruin the story of both this episode and the one before it. If you choose to proceed, don’t blame me for ruining the surprise.

Since the end of the third season, Star Trek: The Next Generation has been doing cliffhangers where the end of one season was the first part and the beginning of the next season was the second part. Time’s Arrow II opens the sixth season of The Next Generation, picking up where part one left off. To recap, Data’s head was found beneath San Francisco, despite the fact that an intact Data was alive and well in the 24th century. He was sent back by a freak accident, which the mysterious Guinan seems to know something about. This is because Data was able to locate Guinan in the19th century. Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, Dr. Crusher and Chief Engineer La Forge go back to the 19th century to find him.

And so the new season begins. Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher and La Forge have a room, but apparently can’t afford to pay rent. (They all seem to have clothes, even though the entered the era in their uniforms. For some unexplained reason, Riker has a policeman’s uniform.) Crusher has discovered that the aliens are using a cholera epidemic as cover for their attempts to steal human neural energy. The aliens feed off the neural energy and apparently can’t find a substitute for it.

The rescue team (Picard and company) manages to chase off the two aliens, which attracts Data’s attention. A police officer delays the rescue team long enough for Data to get there and join up with them. From there, it’s a matter of figuring out how to use the aliens’ device to get home. When they do accidentally activate the device, it splits Data into two pieces. His head remains in the cave in the 19th century and the rest of his body is sent back to the 24th century. Riker, Troi, La Forge and Crusher go back to the 24th century; Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) follows them; once back on Devidia II, they beam back up to the Enterprise and try to fix Data. Picard stays with Guinan in San Francisco.

While La Forge puts Data back together and attempts to get him working again, Riker tries to figure out a way to get Picard home. He’s given a way to get there, but only one person will be able to return. Clemens offers a solution. Since he’s supposed to be in the 19th century anyway, he’ll go back so that Picard can return home. We’re given another last-minute save here. Picard gets back to Devidia II just as modified weapons destroy the aliens’ lair permanently. Clemens helps an injured Guinan, but leaves a gun, his watch and Data’s head in the cave beneath San Francisco.

It’s an interesting episode that reminds me of “City on the Edge of Forever” from The Original Series, in which Kirk and Spock have to go after Dr. McCoy. The trouble is that Part I had a nice setup, but Part II was a letdown. We had all of this mystery about Data’s head and about Guinan. This episode was just kind of like, “Ok. Here’s what happened” and doesn’t really do much beyond that. There are some funny moments, like learning that the bellboy at Data’s hotel is actually Jack London and that Twain’s breaking into Data’s room allows Twain the opportunity to tell London to become a writer. We also get to see that Guinan is over 500 years old and also that from this episode on, Data’s head will have 500 years on the rest of his body.

There was a lot of explanation missing. For instance, how did the rescue party get clothing? As I said, they didn’t take it from the Enterprise. I’d be very interested to find out how Riker got a policeman’s uniform. Also, although no exact time frame is stated, they’ve apparently been there for several days. Do they have several sets of clothing? If not, how do they wash their clothes? They also managed to come across several copies of Shakespeare’s plays, yet paying rent is difficult. Data at least had the poker money.

On a similar note, after returning to the Enterprise with Twain, Troi escorts him around the ship. She beams back up with her 19th-century clothes, but at some point changes into her regular clothes. There was no mention of her stopping in her quarters to change.

While in the cave in the 19th century, Picard manages to enter a code into Data’s head that will (hopefully) allow Data to warn Commander Riker not to use unmodified photon torpedoes. How does Picard know where or how to enter the message?

I know that I beat up on a lot of the episodes, but this one had its share of bad moments. Alone, I’d have to give this episode three stars. The only reason that I do recommend it is that I recommended the first episode. It’s too bad that you can’t buy both episodes on one tape. You really can’t buy one and not buy the other and as I said in the review of Part I, you can’t get them as part of the same season set. You might be able to find a deal on eBay or half.com if you’re lucky, but I wouldn’t recommend buying this episode without the other.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 126 (Time's Arrow: Part 1)

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

The Enterprise is called back to Earth. Captain Picard and Data are called down to an archaeological site, where they're shown several artifacts, including a watch. Picard knows that these things can't possible warrant calling Starfleet's flagship all the way back to Earth. That's when they're shown something utterly amazing: Data's head. It had apparently been sitting there for 500 years, despite the fact that it's still attached to the rest of Data. At some point, presumably in the near future, Data will go back in time and be 'killed' in such a way that his head is left below San Francisco in the 1890s. From this point on, everyone is conscious of Data's presence, abruptly ending conversations when he appears.

Chief Engineer La Forge is able to find a microbe that can be traced back to a planet called Devidia II. The ship goes there to find a cave; upon beaming down, Counselor Troi, an empath, senses a great many people and they're all afraid. There also seem to be aliens who are out of phase with normal time, meaning that they can't be seen, even if the phase shift is only by a few seconds. Captain Picard is reluctant to send Data down for fear that this will be what sends him back in time, but Data's presence is necessary to be able to see the aliens. He's able to phase himself so that he's in sync with the aliens. Using a delay mechanism, Data is able to communicate with the ship and the rest of the landing party, but loses contact after a minute or two. Data finds himself on the streets of San Francisco and the landing party is left to assume what happened.

Data manages to find his way to a hotel, but doesn't have the money to pay rent. Data gets lucky when he finds out that there's a poker game going on. He sells his badge, which has gold in it, for three dollars and cleans out the rest of the players. (If one of the other players sounds familiar, imagine him as a Cardassian. The one doing most of the talking is Gul Dukat.) Data is able to set himself up in one of the rooms so that he can try to figure out how to get back.

Back on the Enterprise, Guinan seems to know what's going on. She had overheard Data before the accident and seemed to know what was going to happen. (Her connection is revealed when Data sees Guinan's picture in a newspaper.) Guinan tells Picard that he has to join the away team; history depends on it. Picard joins the away team. The episode ends with Picard, Dr. Crusher, Commander Riker, La Forge and Troi entering a temporal rift to go after Data.

It was a great episode overall. There were only two problems that I had with it. First, no one seems to notice Data just appearing on the street. The street was somewhat crowded and while not certain, I'd say that it's probable that someone would see him materialize. The second point is that Data has to lie several times during the episode. First, he tells someone that he's a Frenchman. He later tells someone that he's an inventor. Granted, he can't tell someone what he really is or why he's there, but I thought Data wasn't supposed to be able lie. It looks like the writers had to conveniently forget about this for the episode.

Overall, it's a four-star episode. The acting was good and we got to see Jerry Hardin return to the series, this time as Samuel Clemens. (He had appeared in the first-season episode, "When The Bough Breaks".) It's also interesting to see Guinan in the 19th-century setting. Her relationship with Picard has always been a little mysterious, although the two characters won't interact with each other in the 19th century until the next episode.

The only trouble is that you'll have to buy a separate DVD set to watch the conclusion if you're not using streaming.  This will be the last episode of the fifth season with the next episode being the first one of the sixth-season set. I'd recommend the episode, but I though it fair to include this information in the review.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 114 (Conundrum)

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

The episode starts with the Enterprise encountering a strange ship. Everyone on the Enterprise loses their memories shortly after the mystery ship scans them. All of a sudden, there’s also this new guy that wasn’t there a moment ago -- and he's wearing a Starfleet uniform. The crew tries to look in the Enterprise’s computer for answers, but finds that the ship has been damaged and any information is irretrievable at the moment.

When they do get the computers up and running, the first thing they do is retrieve personnel records. The new guy is Commander Keiran MacDuff. (Long-time viewers know that Commander William Riker is the first officer, but the records have been altered to make it look like Riker is really the second officer.)

From what the bridge crew can gather, they’re on a mission to destroy the central command of a race that they’ve been at war with for the past few years. They know that there’s wreckage from the aforementioned mystery ship, which they assume to be a failed attempt to stop them.

On the way, the crew of the Enterprise begins to suspect that something is up. They encounter a ship sent to stop them, but it’s too easy to destroy them. Also, when they get to the enemy’s central command, the technology is a century behind what the Enterprise has at its disposal. Plus, MacDuff keeps goading them on. When MacDuff tries to take over the ship, several people fire phasers on him and reveal him as an imposter.

I have to admit that loss of memory is more creative than a hijacking. Having one guy to push the crew in the ‘right’ direction is a lot better than a few crazed lunatics with guns. However, if one guy with one small ship could infiltrate the Enterprise that easily, wouldn’t it have been better to use this technology to infiltrate the enemy’s central command? Granted, they would have had a harder time getting through defenses and it would have been on a larger scale, but it might have worked. (Then again, maybe they tried and it didn’t work.)
 
After watching the episode, I went to TV tome, which I sometimes do first so I can catch the errors they point out. The only note that they had was that Commander Riker played part of the Battlestar Gallactica theme in the episode. Fortunately, I had recorded the episode to watch later, so I had the opportunity to go back. It does sound similar to the first part, but I’m not sure that the Battlestar Gallactica theme was what that had in mind.

The episode was very original. The episode was very well acted, also. Very little of it seemed weak. It was interesting to see the characters put into an unusual and difficult situation. The idea of wiping memory to use an advanced ship was definitely creative. This was a four-star episode. Those that haven’t seen the series up to this point won’t be lost and those that are fans of the show will enjoy it all the more to see how the characters react to each other having had their memories wiped. 

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Star Trek The Next Generation - Episode 108 (Unification I)

Note:  I’m following production order with the reviews of individual episodes.  Since Part II started production before Part I, it has a lower episode number.


In the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, one episode featured an aging Ambassador Sarek.  Here was the father of Spock, going on one last diplomat mission for The Federation.  He was suffering a degenerative disease known as Bendii Syndrome.  Fast forward a few years and now he’s all but lost control of his mind.  Bendii Syndrome seems to present much like Alzheimer’s in humans, which can be humiliating for a logical Vulcan.  It’s with bad news that Captain Picard has to visit him; his son, Spock, has seemingly defected to Romulus.

For what reason, no one knows, but it’s Picard’s hope that Sarek might have some answers.  Alas, Sarek is too far gone to be of much help other than giving one name:  Pardek, a Romulan senator.  Picard will have to make do with what little information he has.  First, he has to get a cloaked (Klingon) ship to go into Romulan space.  It takes a little diplomacy and a not-so-subtle hit, but Picard gets his cloaked ship, taking Data with him to Romulas and leaving Commander Riker to deal with the mysterious wreckage of a Ferengi ship.

The episode does moderately well for setup.  We go through a brief bit of family issues with Spock and Sarek.  They didn’t seem to get along well in the original series and The Next Generation continues that with Spock leaving Vulcan without saying goodbye to Sarek.  We get the impression that Spock and Sarek still didn’t see eye to eye.  Before Picard and Data reach Vulcan, Sarek dies, ending any chance Spock to reconcile.

As you might expect, Spock doesn’t show up until the end of the episode.  A lot of time is spent getting to Romulus and looking around.  The name of the episode comes from the fact that Spock is looking to reunify Romulus and Vulcan; Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry.  When Vulcans became the logical lot that they are, Romulans left the planet and settles on Romulus to continue their warlike ways.

You will have to know a bit about the history of Star Trek to watch this episode.  Certain things will go over your head if you’re not familiar with the Trek universe. Also, the big draw here is going to be Spock and Sarek.  It’s also worth noting that these two episodes aired shortly before Star Trek VI was released.  There was the aspect of a small amount of promotion.

I did learn something from this episode.  Picard and Data had to wait for Pardek outside an intercessor’s office.  I’ve never seen the term used outside of this episode.  It refers to someone who intervenes on behalf of another.  From what I can tell, it has a religious connotation.  It’s usually meant to refer to someone who prays on behalf of another.  I’m not sure if it’s meant to have a nonreligious connotation here or if it’s meant to imply that Romulans are religious.  (I’ve always wondered what an intercessor was.  It wasn’t until a week or two ago that I looked it up.)

Many questions are answered in Part II.  What’s the deal with the wreckage?  What is Spock really up to?  A few more will be raised.  (Many along the lines of what were the writers thinking?)  I remember enjoying the episodes when they first aired, although there were certain things I missed.  I’ll save those for the next episode.

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Star Trek The Next Generation - Episode 103 (Ensign Ro)

There are some problems that no one wants to really acknowledge, even in the Star Trek universe.  The Bajorans, for instance, were displaced when the Cardassians annexed Bajor.  When a Federation colony is attacked and the attackers claim to be Bajoran, the U.S.S. Enterprise is sent in to Get Orta, who seems to be the guy responsible.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal.  You go in, this Orta guy and hope he agrees to go back to a settlement camp.  Picard is authorized to use any diplomatic tool at his disposal.  The bridge crew takes exception to the fact that an Ensign Ro is being transferred to the Enterprise, as per Admiral Kennelly’s orders. 

What’s the big deal, you might ask?  It turns out that Ensign Ro was ostensibly responsible for an incident on the U.S.S. Wellington.  Eight people died and she didn’t contest responsibility at her court martial.  Thus, she was sent to prison; Kennelly got her out and reinstated her for this mission, as having a Bajoran along would seem like a good idea.  Ro isn’t that keen on being there, herself, but her alternative was staying in prison.

Ro butts heads with the rest of the crew.  The good news is that she befriends the ship’s bartender, Guinan.  The bad news is that she beams down to a planet without running it through the ship’s chain of command first.  This gets her confined to quarters, at least until Guinan comes to her aid.

Guinan is very good when it comes to judging people.  She can tell that Ro is in the middle of a personal crisis.  You see,  Ro did have authorization to go down…from Admiral Kennelly.  She wasn’t circumventing chain of command at all.  What she was doing was offering to supply Orta.  At least, that’s what her mission was.  She never made the offer as Orta looks suspiciously innocent in all of this.  There’s no way any of his ships could have reached the Federation colony.  So, what’s really going on here and who can Ro trust?

Some episodes of Star Trek were subtle.  You had to work out the meaning, but it was there.  Some were more obvious.  Here, we have the Bajorans representing displaced cultures.  There seem to be two main theories on how to deal with the issue.  The United Federation of Planets officially keeps the Bajorans at arms length.  Some have been admitted to Starfleet, but it’s not really any of their business.  Whatever happens is between the Cardassians and the Bajorans.

Unofficially, there are those in Starfleet that would have no problem arming one side under the table.  This is part of what conflicts Ro.  She had to watch her people suffer at the hands of the Cardassians.  Who wouldn’t want to help get weapons into their hands?  Then again, she knows that what she’s doing is less than morally or legally right if she has to go sneaking around to do it.

On the other hand, if Ro is the unwilling puppet of Kennelly, then Kennelly is the unwitting puppet of the Cardassians.  They staged the whole thing to get the Federation involved and he fell for it.  He knew it was wrong.  He even pulled someone out of prison who had the right history rather than go with another Bajoran who hadn’t been court-martialed.  Both Kennelly and Ro were the perfect people to have their strings pulled.

This episode would go on to serve as the basis for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  Some of the facts would change, but Michelle Forbes was approached to reprise her role and become the stations executive officer.  She turned the role down, claiming she didn’t want to commit to a television role at the time.  A few years later, she joined the cast of Homicide: Life on the Street.  I found it odd at the time, but it’s possible that the timing wasn’t right.

One thing I noticed in this episode is that all of the men in this episode seem to be against Ro.  Only Dr. Crusher, Troi and Guinan, all women, seem to be willing to approach her.  All of the male officers go on about how she has no right to wear the uniform. Coincidence?  Maybe.  It was just something that I noticed.



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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 91 (Night Terrors)

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


There are some episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation where I wonder if someone lost a bet.  I’m not saying that the episode was horrible.  I’m also not saying that each of the 178 episodes has to be great.  It’s just that you know at some point, they were falling behind and desperately needed a script.  Night Terrors should not have ever seen the light of day.

The story begins with the Enterprise finding the USS Brittain.  (Yes, that’s how it’s spelled.)  It’s been missing for about a month.  When an away team beams over, they find most of the 34 on board dead.  There’s one survivor:  a science advisor named Andrus Hagan.  He’s catatonic and not saying much.  Interestingly, he’s a Betazoid.  The Enterprise’s counselor is half Betazoid.  Coincidence?  Probably, but it will be important later on in the story.

From what the good Doctor Crusher can tell, the other 33 people killed each other or committed suicide.  There are no apparent reasons, like disease or poisoning.  Everyone just suddenly went crazy.  The mystery of the Brittain is so interesting that no one notices that everyone’s not getting any sleep.  Well, almost everyone.  Data is unaffected, being an android that doesn’t need sleep.  Troi, on the other hand, is sleeping.

Not only is Troi sleeping, she’s having nightmares.  She’s floating towards two points of light.  A mysterious, disembodied voice is going on about a moon and two eyes in the dark.  She tries to ask what the blazes they’re talking about, but she can’t get an answer out of them.  They just keep going on about a moon in the dark.

By the time anyone realizes that there might be a danger in most of the crew not getting any sleep, it’s too late.  The ship is caught in what they call a Tyken’s rift, which drains power from the ship.  It was named for a captain that figured out that a large-enough explosion would get the ship out of the rift.  The thing is no one ever talked about sleep deprivation, hallucinations or nightmares associated with a Tyken’s rift.  This is something else entirely.

When Hagen finally does start talking, he mentions something about eyes and moons and orbits and stuff.  Troi realizes that there must be another ship caught in the rift.  They must somehow be sending out a telepathic message that’s received by Betazoids, but interfering with the sleep cycles of any other humanoid that sleeps.

The two eyes must be the binary stars they’re close to.  But what’s this crap about one moon orbiting?  It takes some work, but Troi and Data realize that it might be hydrogen, the most common (and volatile) element in the universe.  Since it’s a distress call, it would stand to reason that they’re asking for hydrogen to be released, which the Enterprise does.  It takes a moment, but the aliens hold up their end of the bargain and a large explosion frees both ships.  We’re left to assume that someone will be back for the Brittain.

I didn’t particularly care for the episode when it first aired.  Now that I know more, I’m better equipped to pick apart the episode.  First off, isn’t it odd that each of the Federation ships had exactly one person on board that could receive the telepathic transmission?  You’d think that there would be a few more Betazoids on board.  Add to this that most of the rest of the crew can’t sleep because they’re on a different brainwave set.  Data is immune purely by luck of not needing sleep.  All other people on board started going crazy after ten days.  Interesting.

Oh, and did the aliens know that Betazoids used that frequency?  I suppose it could be something common to telepaths.  I suppose the aliens may have simply assumed that all humanoids operated on that REM frequency.  I have to wonder if the aliens were monitoring the Enterprise or if it was some sort of automated transmission.  If not, it would have been cruel to continuing transmitting knowing the effect it was having on most of the people.  (An automated transmission kind of makes sense.  The Brittain was there for a month and the aliens would have been there longer.  It’s possible that they went into suspended animation to conserve life support and food.)

Speaking of the transmission, the only reason I can think of for using riddles is to draw out the episode.  It would have been way too easy to have the aliens just say what they needed the Enterprise to do.  (“Smithers, release the hydrogen.”)  Instead, they go with this one-moon thing.  Don’t say, well they didn’t know if we knew what hydrogen was.  Any race capable of space travel should know what hydrogen is.  We used hydrogen and oxygen as rocket fuel.  If a science advisor didn’t pick up on it, what hope does Troi have?

In the end, everyone just goes their separate ways.  We don’t hear what happens to the aliens.  No one from the Enterprise asks the aliens about their method of communication.  It isn’t even shown if the Brittain was destroyed in the explosion.  The episode has no replay value.  Don’t buy this on VHS.  Even if you get the DVD set, you may want to consider skipping this episode unless you’re set on watching all the episodes. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 88 (Clues)

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

WARNING:  I’m going to give away major details including the ending.  This will probably ruin the episode if you haven’t seen it, but it wasn’t a particularly good episode to begin with.  Read at your own risk.


When you have a TV show that spans 7 seasons and 178 episodes, you’re going to have a few good episodes that stand up to the test of time.  Everything comes together to make something that’s memorable and can be watched over and over again.  Sadly, this isn’t one of those episodes.

The Enterprise is going about its business when it comes across a nice looking planet.  While the crew is investigating it, a wormhole appears and sucks the ship through, depositing it about a day’s journey in a few seconds.  Most of the crew is knocked out.  The only exception is Lt. Cmdr. Data, an android.  He tells the crew that they were out for thirty seconds.  At his insistence, a probe is launched.  (The original suggestion is to go back, but Data doesn’t seem to want that to happen.)

Over the course of the next day or two, people begin to notice strange things.  Lt. Worf’s arm is broken.  Dr. Crusher’s Dromedian scarlet moss has grown an entire day over those missing 30 seconds.  The probe sends back a totally different planet than the one initially observed.  Data tries to tell lie and fails miserably at it.  The more Data is pressed on the issue, the clearer it becomes that he’s holding something back and that he’s not going to tell.

Eventually, the ship goes back to investigate despite Data’s protests.  However, without any explanations, Capt. Picard has no alternative.  He needs answers which Data isn’t giving.  When they arrive, they find the planet that they initially came in contact as well as a race of aliens that are extremely xenophobic.  They call themselves the Paxans.

Usually, they stun any approaching crew and move the ship far enough off that no one returns.  Data presents a problem as his positronic brain wasn’t affected.  He revives the crew before the ship can be moved, necessitating the revelation of the aliens, who reluctantly agree to wipe the memories of the crew and continue with their plan, trusting that Data will take their secret to his eventual grave.  Picard tells the aliens that they made mistakes and that this should count as a practice run.  The aliens agree to try again, this time successfully.

The reason this episode has limited replay value is that once you know the secret, there’s little point in watching it again.  I only watched it to see if I didn’t remember anything.  I spent the entire 45 minutes knowing how it was going to end.  The first time around, there is some mystery as to why Data’s acting so peculiar.  Once you know, it’s just a matter of the story playing out.

There were a few things I wondered.  Part of the problem in passing off the cover story was 24 hours passing in 30 seconds.  I’d imagine that the imaginary wormhole was supposed to deposit the crew a day later, but this was never clearly explained.  There were a few lines about synching the ship’s clocks.  This problem would have been greater since the crew had to do it twice.  A day passed for the original encounter, a day or two for everyone to figure out what had happened and another day for them to do it all again.  This would mean that the crew lost three or four days.  Wouldn’t anyone find it odd that they lost so much time?

Also, I get the impression that this isn’t the first ship that the Paxans have encountered.  You can’t tell me that their little ruse has worked every single time they’ve encountered an alien race.  It should have taken them several tries to get it right.  Even then, there would probably be the occasional mishap or new brain pattern.  (“Oops.  Looks like we lobotomized that one.  Sorry.”)  It seems like the ruse always works, but they made enough mistakes this time that the crew came back.  Yes, it was because Data screwed everything up.  It’s possible that they have some alternative (like blowing the ship up) when they fail, but Picard mentions that destroying the Enterprise will bring other Federation ships.  I’m amazed that the Paxans have remained hidden for so long. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 82 (Future Imperfect)

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

There are some movies that keep you in suspense.  You wonder if they’re going to pull something off or if someone will live or die.  TV shows are a little different.  There are certain things you assume, like all of the regular cast will be back next week.  Yes, Star Trek: The Next Generation did mix up the cast on several occasions.  In fact, Wesley Crusher will leave the series as a regular in the very next episode.  However, you can usually tell if a big change is real or is hinting to a big lie.

In “Future Imperfect”, Commander Riker is celebrating his birthday.  Before Picard and Data can join him, the ship’s sensors pick up an energy reading on a nearby planet.  Since it’s near the Romulan Neutral Zone, it warrants investigation.  Riker beams down with La Forge and Worf, only to find increasing levels of toxic gasses, so they signal to beam out.  They can’t due to interference.  Riker passes out, only to wake up in sickbay…16 years later.

Things have changed.  Riker is now in charge of the Enterprise.  Picard has been promoted to Admiral, taking Troi with him.  Data is his first officer and La Forge no longer has his signature VISOR.  Klingons other than Worf are serving on the Enterprise and there’s a Ferengi piloting the ship.  Oh, and Riker’s on the verge of finishing a peace treaty with the Romulans.  The ambassador is Tomalak, who once threatened to take the Enterprise’s broken hull back to Romulus to be hung as a trophy for all to see.  My, how times have changed.

This is where Riker’s BSometer starts going off.  Tomalak starts asking about a secret base.  As luck would have it, this is where the treaty is to be signed.  (Just tell us where it is.)  Oh, and Riker has a son, named for his former captain.  The big tipoff comes when Riker looks up footage of his deceased wife, Minuet Riker and realizes that she was the hologram the Bynars created for her in the episode 11001001.  He goes up to the bridge and calls shenanigans on everyone, even telling Picard to shut his mouth.

Tomalak walks over and admits the ruse.  The holographic image fades, revealing Tomalak and Riker to be in a Romulan facility.  (I find it odd that whenever a holographic image is about to fade, several people have to walk into position.  They can never just end the simulation from wherever they are.)  Tomalak says that they were trying to extract the information from them, but their mind-reading machines are calibrated for Romulans and don’t work so well on humans.

Tomalak throws Riker in with the boy used for the image of Jean-Luc Riker.  At first, the kid is afraid, but he eventually opens up and tells Riker that there’s a secret compartment that the Romulans don’t know about.  The kid, now going by Ethan, says that he was only caught because he had to come out for food.  The Romulans can’t scan the area.  Once again, Riker picks up on the ruse when Ethan refers to Tomalak as Ambassador.  Ethan should only know Tomalak as a captain.

Ethan admits everything.  He’s actually an alien that was left on the planet by his mother.  His home planet was attacked and the mother left the child there to protect him.  She set him up with this nice holodeck that will provide for his every need.  (I can only assume that this includes food.)  Since she knew she’d be hunted, she left him to sacrifice herself.  All he really wanted was an actual, live playmate.  Riker understands, but is eager to get back to his ship.  He tells the alien that he can come, although it’s not specified what, exactly, will happen.  Since we never hear of the alien again, we don’t know.

There are a few things that bother me about this episode.  Some things are understandable while others aren’t.  First, I’ve seen complaints that Commander Riker refers to his fake wife as Mrs. William Riker.  Yes, her name was mentioned, but it was in passing and it’s understandable if he didn’t pick up on it or wasn’t sure of the exact pronunciation.  What got me was that Jean-Luc/Ethan/throwaway alien of the week did the same thing.  Doesn’t he know the full name of his own mother?

Speaking of throwaway alien of the week, the true form of said alien isn’t shown until the actual last minute of the episode.  The costume was horrible.  I understand that Star Trek was known for occasionally having to work within a budget, but this is uncalled for.  We’re talking something you might find at a dollar-store post-Halloween clearance sale.  It’s almost worth watching the episode just to see how bad it is.

The one thing I remember about this episode was liking the fact that the title made a play on the name of a verb tense.  I don’t know what it was.  Maybe it was that the episode aired while I was just starting high school, so that sort of stuff was still fresh in my memory.  That was the only thing I can remember liking about the episode.  It’s one of those throw-away episodes that are heavy on the fluff and light on the meaning.  What are we supposed to take away from this?  Is this supposed to teach us that it sucks to be an orphan, even if were left in this really cool automated daycare?

And that’s another thing.  We have this really nice fancy holodeck.  There’s no mention of anyone going down to figure out how it works.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have a mind-reading holodeck?  I get that it doesn’t work on humans as is, but it could be modified.  It could also be used as the interrogation technique that the fake Tomalak wanted to use it as.

All things considered, it’s a skipable episode.  The only thing I liked about it was basically the flash.  I liked the new commbadges, but that was about it.  If you’re watching the episodes in order, I can’t blame you for sitting through it.  It’s not a horrible episode.  It’s just that I wouldn’t recommend rushing out to watch it. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 78 (Family)

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

I tend to like continuity in a TV series.  I like that I can watch something that builds on previous episodes.  Star Trek: The Next Generation was good at that.  The episode Family was the perfect example.  All three stories draw on previous stories.  One story has Captain Picard visiting his brother and sister-in law in France.  On board, Worf’s adoptive parents visit him.  A third story, which is kind of minor, has Doctor Crusher debating whether or not to show her son a recording that his late father made for him when he was young.

The production number, as you can tell, was number 78, but aired right after episode 75, Best of Both Worlds II.  (If you’re watching the series, you may want to watch it in order they aired.  If you’re watching through Netflix, you don’t have to worry.)  In Best of Both Worlds, Captain Picard is assimilated by a race called the Borg and forced to help them attack the Federation.  He comes back and basically gets in a fight with his brother, who was always a little jealous of him.  Picard has to decide if he wants to leave Starfleet and return to Earth.

Worf is worried that his parents won’t understand a recent discommendation from the Klingon Empire, which happened in last season’s Sins of the Father.  Worf feels that no human could understand this aspect of Klingon heritage, but they’re his parents, even if they’re his adoptive parents.  This does lead to some humorous moments, though, since Worf’s father was a chief petty officer on the Intrepid.  (He has all the specs for the Galaxy-Class starships at home.)

Wesley gets to see his father.  It’s not a well-developed aspect of the episode, but it does draw on a lot of others.  Wesley’s father died when he was young.  He’s had to come to terms with this, which is not easy for anyone.  Now, Doctor Crusher has one of what was supposed to be many recordings for Wesley.  Does she show it to him knowing the effect it may have on him?  She comes to realize that he’s old enough.

As you might imagine, you’ll probably be a little lost if you haven’t seen the series.  You could probably follow it and would get most of it, but if you started with this episode, then went back and watched the previous episodes, you’d look at this one differently.

One thing that I’ve always found odd was that the show never deals with aftermath.  The Enterprise often leaves a planet and we have to imagine what might happen.  Here, we get to see the effects of several decisions.  We get to see Picard as being more human rather than this distant captain, mostly because of his assimilation.  Worf wants to deal with the aftermath of his discommendation alone, but realizes that he doesn’t have to.

I do find it odd that TV series will often have theme episodes like this, where all three stories have the same theme.  It works here because if you’re visiting Earth and the ship is being repaired, you’d think that people would want to visit family.  The only one that seemed maybe a little forced was Wesley’s story.  The recording was among items that Dr. Crusher had in storage.  Having the items sent up reminded her that she had the recording.

It’s episodes like this that make watching a series worth it.  I do remember much of the episode and I do recall thinking of it fondly.  It’s something that helped the show (and the characters) progress.  I know it seems that there are a few Trek episodes I didn’t like, especially with Voyager, but the shows did have their moments. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 71 (Sarek)

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

There was a duality about Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  On the one hand, Gene Roddenberry didn’t want to use any of the alien races from the original series, hoping not to rely on the original series too much.  Yes, we had Leonard McCoy as a passenger on the first episode and the second episode was essentially a recycled episode from the original series, but I think the hope was to have a show that looked new.  We had all new characters and a new ship going out to see new worlds and meet new civilizations.

Then again, you had this entire universe to draw upon.  The show was set 70 years after the original series, but it wasn’t unusual for a human to live to be 100 there were some long-lived species.  In “Sarek“, Mark Lenard reprises his role as Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan.  He has one last mission as ambassador before retiring.  He’s to negotiate with Legarans.  The Legarans are sticklers for details.  It took three months just to set a schedule for this conference.  They insist that it’s Sarek conducting the negotiations or no one.  You’d hope that nothing would go wrong.

Sarek is 202 years old.  Vulcans do have emotions, but are normally in very tight control of them.  This is why it’s unusual to see Sarek cry at a concert.  Add to this the random fights breaking out around the ship.  At first, it’s just two people having an argument.  It quickly escalates to a bar fight in Ten Forward.  This all started roughly the time that Sarek came on board.  It’s possible that he has Bendii syndrome.  At first, his aides, Mendrossen and Sakkath, deny that anything is wrong.  The reason that he doesn’t come out of his quarters much is that he’s an old man that needs his rest for one last, great diplomatic mission.

Sakkath eventually admits that he’s bolstering Sarek’s mental state telepathically.  The conference is causing Sarek so much stress that Sakkath can’t handle it all; the overflow is causing the fights.  What saves the day is Sarek performing a mind meld with Captain Picard.  This gets Sarek through the meeting and everything goes back to normal.

When I first saw the episode, I was a little confused.  I actually still have a few questions.  The most obvious is why the anger.  Everyone’s fighting.  It’s said that Vulcans have the same emotions that other species do.  Why don’t you see someone laugh uncontrollably?  There might be some random officer sobbing about something trivial.   Maybe two people would be overcome with lust and be caught making out behind some barrels or something.  (Okay…Maybe that last one wouldn’t make it past the censors.)

I also wonder why Picard was used for the mind meld.  It’s something that’s very intimate and maybe even too powerful for a human to withstand.  I could see Sarek not wanting to risk his wife’s life and he may not want to be that intimate with one of his two aides.  I’d think that there would be at least one Vulcan on the ship that could fill in.

Don’t get me wrong.  Patrick Stewart does a great job conveying the range of emotions that Sarek feels for those around him and past events.  I’m just wondering why a Vulcan wasn’t used.  On that note, Mark Lenard does a great job showing a Vulcan robbed of the one thing he values most:  emotional control.  This would be difficult enough for a human.  It was a little scary the first time watching Picard serve as an anchor for Sarek.  (When the episode first aired, I was a little confused as to exactly what was going on.)

This is an excellent episode.  I’m not sure it will have the same emotional impact for those that haven’t seen the original series.  This was one of the better Next Generation episodes.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 65 (Sins of the Father)

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

Star Trek:  The Next Generation had a few of what the Starburst ads would call contradictions.  There was a android trying to be more human.  You had a blind man piloting a starship, even though that didn’t last very long.  (He was eventually promoted to chief engineer.)  Another notable contradiction was a Klingon serving in Starfleet.  Worf was believed to be the only survivor of an attack on Khitomer by the Romulans.  There are no other Klingons in Starfleet, but there is an exchange program which Commander Riker participated.  Now, it’s Commander Kurn’s turn to serve aboard the Enterprise.

Things aren’t that good for the crew.  Kurn has a surprise inspection of engineering while they’re doing maintenance.   Young Wesley Crusher can’t seem to do anything right.  The only one that has it easy is Worf.  In fact, Kurn is being condescending towards Worf.  Well, Worf has enough and confronts his new commander only to find out that Kurn is actually his younger brother.  Worf had believed he was an only child.  Kurn was left with a family friend, who raised him upon news of his parents’ death.  Much later, he found out the truth.

Why the ruse?  Partly, it was to see what kind of Klingon Worf was.  There’s also some news that was probably better delivered in person:  Mogh, their father, is posthumously being accused of aiding and abetting the enemy.  Specifically, Mogh is being accused of supplying access codes to the Romulans so that they could attack Khitomer.  As the oldest (and presumed only) child of Mogh, it’s Worf’s right and responsibility to challenge the accusation.  Funny that no one on the Klingon High Council mentioned it to him.

When Worf and Kurn go to the Klingon home world, Worf has Kurn say nothing of their relationship, but allows Kurn to be his second.  (Worf won’t be allowed to actually fight.)  After the initial announcement of Worf’s intent to challenge the accusation, Chancellor K’mpec calls a recess and pulls Worf aside.  He tells Worf that everyone knows that Mogh didn’t do it.  They need a fall guy and they figured that Worf, being comfortable in Starfleet, wouldn’t challenge.  He can walk away and they’ll forget all about it.

Worf insists that he’s still a Klingon and still cares about honor.  He’ll challenge, even if it means that he’ll be executed.  Kurn is called away and attacked and nearly killed with a ceremonial blade.  He lives only to tell Worf that he’s as good as dead anyway, being the son of Mogh.  It’s curious, though.  Someone supplied the access codes and there’s supposedly proof supplied by a captured Romulan ship, but it doesn’t add up.  So, Captain Picard, now Worf’s new second, finds another survivor of the Khitomer attack:  Khalest, Worf’s nurse.  She’s hesitant at first, but agrees to accompany Picard back to the hearing after he fends off some Klingons.

Once back, we find out that it was actually Duras’s father that was the traitor.  Duras is too powerful and well connected.  If it came out that his father was the traitor, it would divide the Empire.  So, Worf agrees to be the fall guy, accepting discommendation and insisting that Kurn keep his identity hidden.  One day, it may be necessary to have an inside guy.

When I first watched the episode, it was just an episode where Worf is kicked out of Klingon society.  He has to do the wrong thing for the right reason, even though everyone knows what’s going on.  After rewatching the episode and reading about it, people pointed out how several Klingons (including the Chancellor) acted dishonorably.  Not only did they knowingly place blame on the wrong guy, but they weren’t even going to say anything about it.  They were going to quietly place blame on Mogh and assume that Worf was going to sit there and take it.

At first, it seemed kind of ironic.  Then, I realized that even Klingons have political motives.  Just as we assume that all Vulcans are motivated by logic and that all Ferengi are motivated by profit, we assume that all Klingons are motivated by honor.  This adds a certain depth to the race.  It kind of makes sense, too.  The Chancellor has to make a decision for the good of the Empire.  Does he tell the truth and act honorably or does he try to cover it up and protect the greater good?  His only mistake was underestimating Worf.  It takes a while, but Worf eventually comes to realize that protecting the Empire may mean living a lie.

Star Trek: The Next Generation was very episodic.  (It wasn’t until Deep Space Nine’s final season that we’d have something that was heavily serialized.)  This is one of a few episodes that you’d have to view in order.  Those coming into the series with this episode will probably understand what’s going on, but may wonder what becomes of Worf’s honor.  This is something he’s going to have to live with for the rest of this and all of the next season. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 61 (Déjà Q)

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


Q isn’t very well liked among the bridge crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. You see, he’s this omnipotent being that put humanity on trial and used the bridge crew specifically to answer for the crimes of their species. Now, all of a sudden, Q drops in and claims that he’s lost his powers. Because of all the trouble that he’s caused humanity, he’s been kicked out of the Q Continuum. He chose to be human and deposited on the Enterprise.

Normally, it would have been funny. However, the Enterprise is in the middle of an important mission. The orbit of a moon has destabilized and it’s going to crash into the planet that it normally orbits. When that happens, we’re talking mass extinction. Considering that Q has caused the Enterprise so much trouble, it looks like Q destabilized the moon and dropped in to watch everyone squirm.

All becomes clear when the Calamarains arrive. They’re another race that Q apparently toyed with; now, they want revenge. Q was apparently hoping for protection. The Enterprise tries its best, but ultimately can’t fend off the Calamarains. Q eventually realizes that he can’t stay; if he does, the Enterprise will be destroyed.

Those that haven’t seen the series up to this point aren’t going to understand the animosity that the bridge crew feels for Q. The Enterprise is basically forced to protect one of its enemies. Plus, the problem with being omnipotent, it’s hard to prove that you’re no longer all-powerful. How does Q prove that he’s really human?

Data, the android observer of humanity, gets to play teacher about all that he’s learned about humanity with Q as his reluctant student. It’s kind of ironic since Data really doesn’t fully understand humanity, himself. This is also something that someone might not fully appreciate if they haven’t seen the series.

During the run of The Next Generation, I always liked the Q episodes. The only drawback was that the names were difficult to remember. With the exception of “Encounter at Farpoint” and “All Good Things…”, all of the episodes that feature Q have Q in the title. For instance, this one is called Deja Q.

I can’t say that I’d recommend this episode to everyone, but I could see buying this episode if I was looking to start a collection. Normally, Q is brought in to basically toy with the crew of the Enterprise. Q is forced to grow a little in this episode, even if there is some question as to whether or not he’s really integrated that grown into his character.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 51 (The Survivors)

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

WARNING:  I’m going to give away major details of the plot.  If you don’t like spoilers, now’s the time to stop reading.

Star Trek: The Next Generation had 178 episodes.  That’s a solid five and a half days with the commercials removed.  I remember most of the episodes, having seen them during the original run from 1987-1994.  There are a few that I don’t remember as well as others.  One of those was Episode 51, “Survivors“.

The episode gets its name from the fact that only two people survived an attack on a colony of approximately 11,000.  What’s particularly odd is that their entire property remains intact, despite the rest of the planet being stripped bare.  This one plot is the only place to have any trees, grass or buildings.  The two survivors, Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge, claim to have no idea why they were spared.  They did nothing to aid the enemy.  Kevin Uxbridge says that he refused to fight the aliens.  He points out that as the aliens never beamed down, there’s no reason to assume that they’d know that he didn‘t fight.  Meanwhile, the empathic Counselor Deanna Troi starts hearing music from a music box on the planet surface.  (She’s in her quarters, so doesn’t realize where it’s coming from.)

The away team offers them a chance to pack their belongings, but the Uxbridges refuse.  This is their home and they’re staying, regardless of the fact that nothing is left.  (Even the ground water is contaminated.)  This seems odd.  However, a mystery ship arrives and leads the Enterprise away.  When the Enterprise returns, the Uxbridges are surprised to see the away team, but the couple still refuses to leave.  So, the mystery ship returns and chases the Enterprise away.

The couple is again surprised to see an away team beam down.  Captain Picard tells the couple that the only way he’s leaving is if the Uxbridges are dead.  So, the mystery ship comes back and destroys the Uxbridges’ home.  When the Enterprise attacks the ship, it’s easily destroyed, leaving the crew of the Enterprise to assume that there’s nothing left to protect.

The thing is that Captain Picard was on to them the entire time.  He takes the ship out a little bit and waits a few hours.  Wouldn’t you know it?  The house reappears.  Picard has the couple beamed to the bridge where he calls shenanigans on Kevin Uxbridge.  He admits to everything.  The planet was destroyed, along with Rishon, by a race called the Husnock.  Kevin is a member of a race called the Douwd.  He took human form and fell in love with Rishon.  His race believes in nonviolence, but he destroyed the attacking race in a fit of rage -- all of 50 billion them.  Not really knowing how to punish him, Picard leaves Kevin Uxbridge to live out his days with the memory of Rishon.

Now, here’s why I had to reveal the entire plot to go in to the episode.  I get why he brought back Rishon.  He loved the woman and wants to be with her.  However, why not bring back more of the colony?  Ok.  I get that it may take a lot of energy to create the house, but you’d think it would get a little boring.  You’d want some neighbors to keep you company.  I also don’t think they’d want to look out on land stripped of everything an be reminded of what happened.  If he can create an entire ship to deal with the Enterprise, he could do a little better than just one plot.

Also, I get that he’s a pacifist, but you’d think he could have done a little more to chase off the Husnock.  He had no problem creating a ship to fire on the Enterprise.  Couldn’t he have done the same to the attacking ship?  I find it hard to believe he did nothing to protect himself, his wife or the 11,000 other people on the planet.

The one thing that I find just a little strange is that Captain Picard is so willing to leave Kevin on the planet after he admits to essentially committing genocide.  Kevin Uxbridge is explicit in stating that he killed all 50 billion Husnock everywhere.  All of them.  Yes, I feel sorry for the guy.  He lost his wife of 53 years.  Yes, I realize that there’s probably not much Picard can do.  How do you explain to a judge that this guy just reached out and snuffed 50 billion living beings with his mind?

This is one of those episodes I don’t remember liking or even disliking when it first came on.  We’re introduced to two species that are never mentioned again.  We’re introduced to two characters that are never mentioned again.  The only reason I even remembered Kevin Uxbridge’s name was that the character was used for the Star Trek collectible card game.

Since I’m technically reviewing the VHS tape, I’m going to recommend against buying this episode.  It’s not really worth buying separately, even if you have a VCR and can get it cheap.  Instead, I’d recommend saving your money for the season-three DVD set.  (I was able to watch this streaming on Netflix, so that’s also an option.) 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 43 (Samaritan Snare)

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

“Samaritan Snare” was probably one of my favorite episodes, not because it was good but because it was so unforgettable. There are two stories. In one, Captain Picard and Wesley Crusher have to go to a starbase. Wesley has to take some tests for Starfleet Academy. Picard has to have an artificial heart replaced. In the other story, which is the main plot, the Enterprise responds to a distress call, which is actually a setup for a trap.

The Enterprise encounters a race called the Pakleds. The Packleds are what make the episode so memorable in a funny sort of way. They don’t seem too bright and thus give the impression of being harmless. Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge beams over to help them. While he’s over there, Counselor Deanna Troi rushes to the bridge and warns Commander Riker that he’s in grave danger. Riker dismisses it, thinking that the Pakleds aren’t capable of inflicting harm. The truth is that they steal technology and end up holding La Forge hostage in hopes of getting Federation technology. La Forge gets out of it by playing along with a ruse, which the dimwitted Pakleds fall for.

As for Picard and Wesley, the two of them have some time to bond. Picard has never been comfortable around children and Wesley is no exception. Picard shares how he got an artificial heart in the first place. He took on several Nausicans, which are very big, very strong aliens. (Imagine picking a fight with Mike Tyson.) One of the Nausicans stabbed Picard in the chest, injuring his heart. Had he not been on a starbase, he would have died. (This set up the later episode, “Tapestry”.)

The acting is above average, especially from Patrick Stewart and Wil Wheaton, who play Picard and Wesley, respectively. The story is average. What I liked about it was the Pakleds, who were funny at best. They are remembered by fans for often saying, “We look for things…Things that make us go.” The Pakleds were never featured in another episode, but they were mentioned at least once and if you look closely, you can see a few in later episodes of The Next Generation and during Deep Space Nine’s run.

This is a three-star episode. It’s good on many levels, but not extraordinary. While it’s not worth purchasing on VHS, it’s definitely worth watching if you get the DVD set. (This is why I’m giving it “not recommended”, since I am technically reviewing the VHS release of this episode.) I think you’ll find this episode to be as ‘memorable’ as I did.


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