Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 47 (Peak Performance)

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


Sometimes, it’s not whether you win or lose. It’s how you play the game. Captain Picard doesn’t particularly like war games or war simulations, feeling that Starfleet’s primary function should be exploration. However, the recent encounter of the Borg changed his mind. The Borg are a frightening enemy and determining how one plays the game is important.

Commander Riker is to take command of the Hathaway, which by all measurements is inferior to the Enterprise. Real weapons will be taken offline and replaced with fake weapons that won’t do any real damage, but will allow the computers to track what’s happening. Onboard the Enterprise is Kolrami, a Zakdorn observer sent by the Federation. Riker will have 48 hours to prepare the Hathaway for battle.

Riker has a few tricks up his sleeve, such as Worf’s suggestion that they trick the Enterprise’s computers into thinking that an enemy vessel is approaching. However, shortly after the Enterprise figures out what happened, a real Ferengi ship approaches. Thinking that it’s another trick, Picard ignores it until the Ferengi fire on the Enterprise.

It seems that the Ferengi saw the fake battle and somehow thought that the Hathaway had something of value. It takes a little trickery, but Picard and Riker are able to convince the Ferengi to leave.

The b-plot involves Data. Kolrami is said to be very good at a game called Strategema. I’m not sure how it’s played. However, Kolrami beats Riker easily. Dr. Pulaski puts Data up to challenging Kolrami, thinking that a humanoid is no match for the Android. Data is beaten easily, thus ending up with a bruised ego. Data spends the entire episode doubting himself until he and Kolrami have a rematch. Instead of playing to win, Data plays to not lose. The game goes on for so long that Kolrami quits in protest.

So far as I know, this is the only time that Data doubts himself. He’s faced far greater defeats and never taken it so badly. We also get to see Wesley lie to get something that he needs. So far as I know, Wesley doesn’t get in trouble for this. In fact, I don’t think that much ever comes of this episode. I don’t think that the war games were ever mentioned again. You’d think that they would have tried again. We never even see another Zakdorn again.

It was a good episode, but once again proves how laughable the Ferengi still were in the early seasons of The Next Generation. They were becoming more of a serious race, but were still very one-dimensional. They only wanted profit. When that motive was removed, they just left with their tail between their legs.

I’d give the episode three stars. I really couldn’t recommend buying this episode on VHS. The acting is good, but the story is mediocre. It’s interesting to watch the first time, but it has little replay value.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 46 (The Emissary)

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The Enterprise gets a message to go to a set of coordinates. Nothing is given in the way of explanation or further instructions. Just go to a point in space and wait for someone, who will explain everything. When the ship arrives, they find a probe, or at least the shell of a probe, gutted and fitted with life support. It’s not much to look at, but it’s enough to transport one person. It’s opened to reveal a woman, Klingon in appearance, who identifies herself as K’Ehleyr. She’s actually half Klingon, half Human.

She and Worf (who is 100% Klingon) had an affair several years ago. They broke it off and now Worf doesn’t seem to want much to do with her at first. When he tries to rekindle their relationship, she goes along with it at first. However, she’s not as marriage-minded as Worf is.

K’Ehleyr was sent as an envoy to help the Enterprise with a very important mission. There was an old Klingon ship used as a sleeper vessel. The crew is about to come out of a 75-year stasis. 75 years ago, the Federation and the Klingon Empire were at war and the ship is in Federation space, so there’s a good chance that the Klingons will pick one of several nearby targets and attack. A Klingon ship is on its way, but the Enterprise is the closest ship.

If the Enterprise can get there in time, it’s just a matter of resetting the stasis controls so that the Klingons stay asleep until another Klingons ship can arrive and bring them up to speed. If not, then it may be necessary to destroy the sleeper ship. Fortunately, Worf is able to come up with a solution. Worf decides to stay on the Enterprise while K’Ehleyr beams over to the sleeper ship to wait with them.

I have a few questions, mostly about the sleeper ship. First, what would a warp-capable species need with a sleeper ship? If you can travel from one side of your territory to another in a matter of months, a 75-year stasis is a long time. Romulans, I could understand because Romulans of the era might not have had warp drive. However, Klingons always had warp drive.

Secondly, why did the Klingon government wait so long to do anything about it? In 75 years, no one was able to go to the ship and wake them up a little early? No one stumbled upon the vessel? Either the Klingon Empire lost the ship and was lucky enough to find it in time or they were just lazy about it. I find it hard to believe that it took them 75 years to get around to it.

K’Ehleyr also breaks a glass table. Just as the original series seemed to have a rule about security personnel not coming back from an away mission, The Next Generation had a rule about glass objects not surviving Klingon guest characters. I think in every episode where there was a visiting Klingon, something transparent was shattered.

Worf and K’Ehleyr played well off each other. She tends more toward human values whereas Worf is more of a traditional Klingon. It’s a shame that she was in only one other episode. If you can look past the makeup, you may remember Suzie Plakson as Dr. Selar in “The Schizoid Man”.

I can recommend this episode, but I’m only giving it three stars. Those that aren’t fans of the show may not understand Worf and what his heritage means to him. (Even those that have been watching the series up until now may not fully understand everything.) I don’t think that you’d need to be a fan to understand it, but it might help. It was a good episode, but I don’t usually go out of my way to watch it in reruns.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 44 (Up the Long Ladder)

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The Enterprise is sent to find the source of a distress call. When they arrive, they find a planet endangered by solar flares. There are only about 200 people there, all the descendants of a ship that left Earth hundreds of years ago, but lost in the bureaucracy. Captain Picard is in for a surprise when the colonists insist on bringing their livestock with them. These people seem like stereotypical Irish people. The men seem to like to drink and the women are portrayed as being strong. The real surprise comes when one of the colonists asks what happened to the other group.

The Enterprise finds a nearby planet that’s suitable for life. Since it’s the only one within a short distance, the head there to find the rest of the colonists. When Commander Riker beams down with an away team, he finds a different sort of problem. They’re all clones. Apparently, just before arriving on the planet, the ship suffered a hull breach; only five people survived. Three men and two women weren’t enough for a stable gene pool, so they resorted to cloning. It turns out that after so many years of cloning, the genetic material they have to sample isn’t so good. Within a few generations, they won’t be able to clone any more.

The two groups seem to have different problems. However, Picard decides that they really need each other. The first group needs to be resettled and the second needs fresh genetic material. The two groups agree to help each other out. Each person will have a child by three different people (presumably with a clone pairing off with a non-clone) for three generations. This should provide for a diverse-enough gene pool.

When I first watched this episode, my father asked what would happen if the clones got too old. Wouldn’t the resulting clone be the same age? The truth is that the clones all look the same presumably so that the producers don’t have to hire lots of actors to play clones along varying stages of development; one person can play however many clones are needed.

The clones are the result of five templates. This means that they’re genetic code will have a lot of influence on the population. Also, the clones are admittedly a few steps away from being genetically unfeasible. I would think that this would create a few problems later on. It would be interesting to go back in five hundred years to see how things turned out.

I’d give the episode two stars. This is one of the few two-star episodes that I’d recommend. Part of it was that I felt that the two groups were a bit much. The non-clones were too ridiculous and the clones were too serious. I’m surprised that no one complained about it. My cousin and I would often make fun of the non-clones for a few years after first seeing this episode. I also didn’t get the title. What does “up the long ladder” mean? Being memorable and being great require a different set of skills. “Up the Long Ladder” may not be a great episode, but it was one of the more memorable ones. This one is memorable. 

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

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“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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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 42 (Q Who)

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Sometimes, it’s hard to tell what kind of influence a particular episode will have. If the Ferengi hadn’t flopped as an adversary, the writers for Star Trek: The Next Generation might not have felt compelled to come up with a better enemy. However, the Ferengi didn’t do so well and here we are, at the 42nd episode of The Next Generation. The omnipotent Q finds himself in exile from the Continuum for not leaving humanity alone. Since he can’t think of any place else to go, he decides to pay the Enterprise a visit. Q wants to be a guide for the Enterprise, showing them the galaxy and helping out as needed.

Picard flat out refuses his offer. That’s not a wise thing to do with an omnipotent being. Insulted, Q flings them many thousands of light years away, right into Borg territory. Guinan knows both the Q and the Borg. She warns that the Enterprise had better start heading back as soon as possible. However, Captain Picard decides to stay, not aware of the threat that’s about to find them.

The Enterprise finds a planet that has craters on the surface similar to those found in the first-season finale, “Neutral Zone”. It turns out that the Borg were the ones that made those craters. They don’t just destroy, though. They assimilate. They assimilate entire cultures, as they did with Guinan’s race. What few of her people are left are scattered throughout the galaxy. She’s in no mood to wait around for them.

However, a Borg cube does show up on long-range sensors. When it meets up with the Enterprise, it locks on with its tractor beam and starts pulling it in. The Enterprise is able to destroy 20% of the Borg ship before taking out the tractor beam, but doesn’t run. Instead, Commander Riker takes an away team over to look at the ship. He finds babies and assumes that the Borg reproduce. (It’s an assumption that’s later proven incorrect, but I won’t get into that here.)

When it’s discovered that the Borg ship is regenerating, the Enterprise turns and runs, but the Borg ship is faster. Captain Picard finally swallows his pride and admits that there are things out there that he isn’t ready for. Satisfied, Q takes the Enterprise back to friendly territory. In the final scene, Guinan and Picard are talking; she tells Picard that since the Borg know of the Federation, they’ll be coming.

While this episode formally introduces us to the Borg, I have to take exception with the final scene. In the episode, it’s acknowledged that the Borg destroyed the outposts along the Neutral Zone. I’d assume that a certain amount of information was collected, either by assimilating people or by going through the computers. That means that Q wasn’t the one to introduce us to the Borg. All he did was to make us aware of the threat that they pose.

Guinan says that they’ve been developing for thousands of centuries, assimilating race after race. This truly is the ultimate threat. Not only is the Federation going against a single mind, but it’s also going against the technology of however many countless races they’ve encountered. I could never figure out why the Borg usually sent such a small contingent to destroy the Federation in later episodes. Perhaps it was arrogance. I don’t want to get into that here, though.

This is one of the few four-star episodes in the second season. Whoopi Goldberg does a great job as Guinan. It’s a shame that she usually has small roles in the episodes she’s in. This is one of the few cases where we get to see her for any decent length of time. I’d recommend buying it on VHS if you’re looking to buy a few episodes. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 41 (Pen Pals)

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The Enterprise is exploring a solar system that was originally charted by unmanned probes. There seems to be a lot of geological instability on one of the planets, which is a drastic change from the information that they have. Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher is given his first command, which is to do a survey of the planet. Trouble arises when Data picks up a signal from the planet, which turns out to be a girl calling out for help.

It’s not as simple as simply helping the girl. For starters, fixing geological instability isn’t that easy. Secondly, there’s the Prime Directive, which prohibits interfering with an alien culture. The first problem is solved when Wesley orders a test that uncovers what the problem is. As for the second problem, it’s a slippery slope.

Yes, the Enterprise could fix the problem without anyone on the planet being the wiser. Yes, it’s just a natural phenomenon. Yes, millions would be saved. However, what if they were trying to stop a war? What if they were trying to stop an oppressive dictator? The senior staff debates the problem, but they end up going in circles. When Captain Picard hears the girl’s voice, he realizes that he can’t just leave her.

The Prime Directive isn’t just some rule that Starfleet officers can use to hide behind when it’s convenient. What if this race turns out to be the next Romulan Empire? On the other hand, is it fair to simply leave her to die? Data ends up beaming down to the planet to lead the girl to safety, but ends up beaming back to the Enterprise with her. Picard agrees to save the planet. Before they leave, they have to wipe the girl’s memory.

When I first saw the episode, it was interesting. Now that I’ve seen it again recently, I’m a little confused. The main issue is whether it’s right to go in and save a planet. We can all think that we’d do it, but there are real issues here. The only thing that confused me was having Data beam down. I didn’t think it was really necessary other than to put a face on the problem. The relationship between Data and the girl could have been kept to voice communication. (Also, since the planet is never revisited, we’ll never know if the girl’s memory was actually wiped.)

One good point was that Wesley was given an actual dilemma. Instead of getting to be the boy genius again, he has to ask for advice from Commander Riker and Counselor Troi on the nature of command. He has to give orders to people that are older and more experienced than him. What gives him the right? He can ask for advice, but he has to really figure it out for himself.

I’d give the episode three stars. I wouldn’t really recommend buying the VHS tape. If it comes on TV or if you get the season set, then watch it. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 40 (The Icarus Factor)

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Several times throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, Commander Riker was offered his own command. This episode was the first time that such an offer was made. The offer is sprung on him by Captain Picard, who informs him that a civilian advisor is coming on board to brief him. Riker will then be able to decide. If he does accept the command, Riker will be sent out into deep space to chart new territory and presumably meet new races. It’s exciting, but Riker has to choose between serving on Starfleet’s flagship and leading in obscurity. It’s not an easy decision to have to make.

What Picard doesn’t tell Riker is that the civilian advisor is Kyle Riker, his father. The two haven’t spoken to each other in 15 years. It stems back to the death of his mother, although details aren’t given. All we know is that William Riker holds a great deal of contempt for his father. The two manage to work much of it out before the end of the episode. However, Commander Riker decides not to take the command, deciding instead to remain on the Enterprise. (This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since he remains first officer throughout the series and into the movies.)

The b-plot is about Worf. For some reason, he’s being more irritable than usual. When Wesley first notices it, Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge and Lieutenant Commander Data don’t think much of it. When Data approaches Worf, they realize that something’s up. After doing some research, Wesley realizes that the tenth anniversary of Worf’s Right of Ascension is approaching and, being removed from his fellow Klingons, he has no one to celebrate it with. They organize a surprise ‘party’ for Worf so that he can go through the proper ritual. Having done so, Worf returns to normal.

Neither story is really that great. Worf’s story seemed to be nothing more than a way of showing that Worf has friends on the Enterprise. It also gives Wesley a chance to save the day, not by solving some complex problem, but simply by doing some research. How he knows that it’s been ten years since Worf went through the Right of Ascension, I don’t know. It’s possible that it’s done at a specific age. It’s also possible that it’s not, but might be on record somewhere.

With Riker, the resolution was a bit too much and done too quickly. Prior to this episode, the only mention of Kyle Riker is in the previous episode, when Commander Riker says that he got stuck with most of the cooking because his father didn’t want to do it. We’ve got all of this tension and hatred just dropped on us and within an hour, most of it is gone.

Both stories allow for a little history on one of the main characters, but not much. Riker speaks vaguely of his mother dying, but we don’t know why or how she died. Riker just says to his father, “It should have been you.” What that means, I have no idea.

I’d give this episode two stars, which seems to be on par with most of the season. If you can, I’d recommend skipping this episode.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 39 (Time Squared)

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The Enterprise is going through a region of space that it believes is devoid of any other ships. That’s why it’s strange when sensors pick up a shuttlecraft with one occupant. Even stranger is that there are no other ships within sensor range. Stranger yet is that it’s one of the Enterprise’s shuttlecrafts. When the shuttlecraft is brought onboard and opened, everyone’s in for a bigger surprise: Captain Picard is the sole occupant that sensors picked up. The Picard in the shuttlecraft is unconscious. Commander Riker contacts the bridge to find that Captain Picard is safe on the bridge. What the heck is going on here? Who is this imposter and why is there now a duplicate shuttlecraft?

Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge is able to work with Lieutenant Commander Data to access the logs. They retrieve two video images and an audio recording. One image shows Riker standing in a shuttle bay watching the shuttlecraft departing. The other image shows the Enterprise being it by something and subsequently exploding. The audio recording is Picard saying that he had to watch the destruction of his ship and the deaths of all hands. The shuttlecraft’s clock is six hours ahead of normal time, so whatever’s going to happen is going to happen soon.

There’s some debate, but there’s no way of knowing where it is that they’ll be when the future unfolds itself. Before any conclusion can be reached, the ship gets caught in a vortex – the same one that was seen in the video image. It’s taking everything that the ship has to not get dragged in. The alternate Picard is of no help. He was revived, but he’s out of it. He seems to know who and where he is, but he can’t identify the other Picard. Eventually, he comes around and tells the normal Picard that he has to take the shuttlecraft through the Vortex again. Fortunately, the normal Picard is able to figure out what to do in time.

When I first saw this episode, I wasn’t particularly impressed. Even now, I can’t say that it’s anywhere above average. It was original in terms of time-travel stories, but I don’t get what the point is. Events from previous episodes are mentioned, but this episode doesn’t seem to have any impact on the rest of the series.

I really think that more could have been done with this episode. It was almost too simple in nature. No one thought to put any sort of information, such as mission reports or more log entries, on the shuttle? Why not leave a note saying where not to go? Why exactly six hours? From what I read on TV Tome, more was supposed to have been done. The vortex was supposed to have been the work of the Q, but the idea was dropped. At least that might have given some purpose to the episode.

I’d give it two stars. It’s interesting to watch and see how the Enterprise gets out of this. That’s the only reason I didn’t give away the ending. However, I still can’t recommend it unless it comes on TV. This and a few other season-two episodes seem to be nothing more than an attempt to add to the season’s episode count.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 38 (The Royale)

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I like Star Trek: The Next Generation as a series. I really do. I consider myself a fan. However, the series had a few really bad episodes, particularly during the first and second seasons. A lot of it had to do with writing. Either it was the plot as a whole or particular points in the script. It’s kind of hard to pin it down in “The Royale”.

The Enterprise comes across a planet that has a ring of debris around it. Curious about it, Captain Picard has a piece beamed aboard. Amazingly, that one piece happens to have an American flag and the NASA logo on it. Even more intrigued, Picard sends down an away team. Most of the planet is inhospitable to humanoid life. Commander Riker, Lieutenant Worf and Lieutenant Commander Data beam down to a pocket of breathable atmosphere that, oddly enough, has a revolving door. There’s no building around the door. The only clue to what the door may be is a stylized “R”. The away team decides to go through.

They find themselves in a casino/hotel. They go to the front desk, where the concierge seems to recognize them. He hands them room keys and a few complimentary chips. They don’t get many answers, but they learn that the name of the place is The Royale, hence the name of the episode. The landing party looks around. A few floors up, they find a human corpse and a NASA uniform in the closet. They figure that this must have been one of the crewmen on the wrecked ship.

In the desk, Worf finds a book called “The Royale” and a journal. Data quickly reads the book while Riker looks at the journal’s only entry. It turns out that the man was taken here by unknown aliens, who inadvertently destroyed the ship. The man was the only survivor. He wrote that the aliens used the book to create the hotel and casino so that he might live out the rest of his days.

The landing party finds that they can’t leave the casino. Riker realizes that they have to play out the book’s story by playing the parts of the foreign investors. They have to win enough money to buy the casino. Once they do that, they are free to leave.

The episode is at least somewhat entertaining. However, much of the episode deals with the landing party trying to figure out what’s going on. There are only three characters that they can deal with: The concierge, a gambler from Texas and a rather naive woman. There’s also a bellboy and the mobster, who don’t interact directly with the away team, but do make an appearance. Everyone else is just for show. It’s basically one step above a holodeck malfunction, which The Next Generation already used.

I got the impression that the NASA crewman was just left there by the aliens without any explanation. If it was possible for the away team to leave, then it must have been possible for the NASA crewman to leave the same way. However, the away team had the Enterprise waiting for them. What did the crewman have? Would the aliens have taken him back to Earth? Also, why did the aliens leave The Royale around for other people to find? Don’t you think that the aliens would have at least checked in on the guy once in a while? I’d think that once he was dead, they’d remove the Royale.

Also, in the beginning of the episode, Picard states that Fermat’s Last Theorem is still unsolved in the 24th century. This was supposed to be used as an allusion to The Royale that perhaps some things will never be known. According to TV Tome, Fermat’s Last Theorem was solved a few years after the episode aired. I asked my brother about this and he sent me a link about it. .

I have to give this episode just one star. It’s easily one of the ten worst episodes of the series.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 37 (Contagion)

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Warning: I am going to give out major details about this episode, including the ending. If you were planning on watching the episode and don’t want the ending given away, you might want to hold off on reading this review.



Between the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Empire is the Neutral Zone. This is an area of space that neither government is allowed to enter. To do so might be considered an act of war by the other side. When the U.S.S. Yamato is found to be there, the Enterprise is sent it to help them. They seem to be facing severe system problems that are affecting the entire ship.

Captain Picard wants to know what the Yamato’s captain is doing in the Neutral Zone. Captain Varley says that he may have found the Iconian home world. The Iconians are mythical, perhaps somewhat like Atlantis. If Iconian technology were to fall into the hands of the Romulans, it would give them a big advantage. Unfortunately, the Enterprise is too late to help the Yamato; shortly after they arrive, the Yamato explodes.

Judging by Varley’s log entries, which the Enterprise was able to download, Varley was able to find an Iconian planet. Varley stated that he was going to ask Picard to continue with the mission, but he never got the chance. Picard decides to go further into the Neutral Zone, but soon starts experiencing problems similar to the ones that the Yamato was facing. They eventually find the planet, but after Picard, Worf and Data beam down, a Romulan ship appears. It would seem that they are also affected by the same problem.

The same program that infected all three ships also infects Data. It’s because of this that Geordi La Forge, the chief engineer, is able to figure out how to purge the program from the system. Amazingly, it’s something that any 20th-century computer geek would have thought of. Picard has to destroy what’s left of the Iconian settlement. (It’s a shame that scientists can’t study what was left if the Iconian civilization. I suppose that it’s for the best, though.) The Enterprise shares with the Romulan ship the method of purging the program. Fortunately, everyone leaves alive.

There was something about the episode that was lacking. Actually, there were a few things that were lacking. I just can’t figure out what many of them were. Part of it was the writing. It was an interesting story that probably should have been stretched out a little more. To put the whole thing in one episode left a lot to be desired. It was too much to learn about Iconians, find one of their planets and have to blow up what little there was on the planet in one episode. It probably would have been more meaningful to learn a lot about them in the first season, have clues about the location early in the second season, then finally find the planet and have to deal with it in this episode.

Even though the episode wasn’t great, there was one great scene with Wesley. He asks Picard how Starfleet officers deal with death, especially on the scale of a ship being destroyed. Picard responds that anyone who’s got feelings doesn’t learn to deal with it. Even though Starfleet officers accept the risk, it’s not supposed to be easy.

I’d have to give it two stars. I really think that this story could have been done a lot better.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 36 (The Dauphin)

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

It’s a shame to see an episode like this right after the previous episode. “The Measure of a Man” was such a great episode on all counts. This one, however, was probably one of the worst among a season that I felt was probably the worst out of the seven that The Next Generation ran. “The Dauphin” starts with the Enterprise picking up Salia and Anya on Daled IV. Salia is to be the ruler of a planet in turmoil; two sides are warring and Salia is supposed to bring peace. (Even Salia doesn’t know how this is to happen.) Anya is her caretaker, having raised Salia to the age of 16. Both have lived in isolation, fearing that someone might try to harm Salia.

Shortly after coming aboard the Enterprise, Salia meets Wesley Crusher. Every Next Generation fan knows and loathes this name. He’s another 16-year-old who always manages to save the day if some technical problem is involved. Early on in the series, Wesley Crusher was established as a boy genius. (His mother is Dr. Beverly Crusher, who was the ship’s chief medical officer during the first season. Fortunately, she’d return after the end of the second season and remain throughout the remainder of the series.)

Salia and Wesley are attracted to each other. Salia, not having met anyone outside of Anya, wants to get to know more about him. Wesley, rarely having noticed anything outside of engineering all his life, literally doesn’t know what to do with himself. The entire episode, Salia tries to sneak out from under Anya’s protective eye and Wesley asks for advice from various people on the ship. (The scene with Worf, a Klingon, is rather revealing of Klingon culture.)

Ultimately, both feel trapped, although Salia is trapped more in the literal sense. She is bound by duty to lead her people and Anya isn’t going to let anything happen to her. Salia is trapped both by duty and by physical restraint at one point. (A shield is put up in her room so that she can’t leave.) Wesley knows that this is a woman that he can never have. At one point, he is asked by Captain Picard not to see her.

Eventually, Salia is brought to where she has to be and is beamed down without Wesley. I don’t recall ever hearing of her again in the series, so I don’t know if she ever figured out what she had to do to save her planet. It would have been nice to know how it turned out.

At least we get to see that Wesley isn’t perfect. For once, he has to ask for help. The acting by the central actors was good; you really got the impression that you were dealing with 16-year-olds that were attracted to each other. The only weak point was Diana Muldaur as Dr. Pulaski. She was seen briefly and between her acting and the character, she just doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the show.

Also, the special effects were lacking in this episode. Both Salia and Anya are revealed to be shape shifters; the effect used when they morph is sub par for The Next Generation. Fortunately, the powers that be seemed to use shots that didn’t require the effects every time.

If you’re buying the episodes on tape, I have to agree with the other reviewers on Epinions: Don’t waste your hard-earned money on this one. This episode typifies what I didn’t like about the second season. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 35 (The Measure of a Man)

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

Data always was a little different. Certain things, such as emotion, always eluded him. The episode begins with Riker, Data and a few others playing poker. It ultimately comes down to Riker and Data. It appears that Riker has a good hand, but there’s still one card that Data can’t see. Thinking that Riker has a flush, Data folds, only to find out that Riker’s hand is worthless. Data can’t understand why Riker would play a hand that he couldn’t possibly win. So begins “The Measure of a Man”.

The Enterprise docks at Starbase 173, where Picard meets Captain Phillipa Louvois, whou prosecuted Picard at his Stargazer court marshal. (When Captain Picard lost the Stargazer, a court marshal was held. It’s standard procedure, but apparently, Picard never really got over it.) Later, on the Enterprise, Data is visited by Commander Bruce Maddox, who wants Data to come with him so that Maddox can do research on Data. It involves moving Data’s memories to a computer and disassembling him so that Maddox can see how Data was made.

Data and Picard initially protest, but Maddox has legitimate transfer orders. Data resigns his commission, but Maddox has Data ruled to be the property of Starfleet and thus incapable of resigning. (It also turns out that Maddox was on the review board to admit Data into Starfleet in the first place; he was the sole dissenting voice.)

Data officially files complaint, not wanting to submit to Maddox’s tests. Captain Louvois, being the Judge Advocate General officer, holds a hearing, placing Captain Picard (the highest ranking officer available) as his defense council. Commander Riker (the next highest ranking officer) is put in charge of making the case against Data and in favor of Commander Maddox. Riker doesn’t want to have to argue in favor of the death of his friend, but Louvois tells him that if he doesn’t, Data will automatically lose.

So, the trial goes on with Riker making a very convincing argument that Data is little more than a machine. Picard feels overwhelmed, realizing that Data might very well have to submit to the tests. Upon talking to Guinan, Picard realizes that there’s more at stake than just Data. (Yes, that really is Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan.) Picard comes back with a vengeance and helps Data win his case. He’s officially deemed to not be property.

I wasn’t too fond of the second season. “The Measure of a Man” was one of the few redeeming episodes of the season. (Actually, it’s the only one that comes to mind at the moment.) Some of it has to do with the acting. Brent Spiner has to play the emotionless Data, who walks among those that feel emotion and understand things like bluffing. Then, there’s Jonathan Frakes as Commander Riker, who knows Data and feels for him, but has to put those feelings aside to help Data. (Ironically, he has to help data by trying his best to hurt him.)

I think that the strongest point is the storyline. It’s a very simple premise: Is Data sentient? Data has to wrestle with the nature of his existence throughout the series. This episode, however, attempts to deal with it only in a legal context. Does Data have the right to determine his own future? Of all the second season episodes, I’d have to say that this is the most memorable. It’s definitely five-star material.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 34 (A Matter of Honor)

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

Apparently, exchange programs are still alive in the 24th century. The Enterprise is stopping by a starbase to pick up some new crewmembers. One is Mendon, a Benzite who is participating in an exchange program. That prompts Captain Picard to talk to Commander Riker about a Starfleet exchange program with the Klingon Empire. Riker decides to volunteer for it, simply because it has never been done before.

Things don’t go that well for Mendon, who is very eager to please. Most of his problems have to do with procedure, like observing the chain of command. While Commander Riker is being beamed over, Mendon notices a microorganism growing on the hull of the Klingon ship, but doesn’t report it. (Benzite protocol is to not say anything until the officer has studied the problem all the way through.) The microorganism also appears on the Enterprise and is eating away at the hull, meaning that both ships are at risk unless they can find a solution.

Commander Riker has problems of his own. The Klingon captain wants to know that Riker will be loyal to the ship. The second officer doesn’t trust Riker. Also, the food takes a lot of getting used to. When the Klingon ship noticed the microorganism, they feel that Riker had something to do with it. The Klingon ship’s sensors noticed that the Enterprise was scanning the area. To them, it looks like the Enterprise deliberately put it there.

Since both Riker and the Enterprise go on to see another episode, we know that everything works out. This is one of the few two-plot episodes where both plots work well together. This is due mostly to the microorganism, which serves as a common element. Both ships have their own procedure. In each case, there’s something that disrupts that to differing degrees.

We also get to see a little bit of Klingon culture. I think that this episode had the most extensive variety of Klingon food. The only thing that confused me was when the Klingon second officer said to Riker that a Klingon’s family is nothing. This would contradict other episodes, where Worf has said that to a Klingon, family is everything.

Speaking of the first officer, I don’t know what happened to the Klingon first officer. It’s possible that it just so happened that there was a Klingon ship in need of a first officer and Riker got that one. The Enterprise didn’t get a first officer in return; instead, Lieutenant Commander Data acted in that capacity.

This is a three-star episode. I liked it, but I can’t find anything exceptional about it. I don’t really consider it to be part of the essential Next Generation. If you happen to catch it on TV, watch it, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 33 (Unnatural Selection)

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


Many fans of both Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation noticed that the latter seemed to ‘borrow’ a lot of ideas for episode from the former. This is one of those episodes. The Enterprise comes across a ship that can barely get out a distress signal. By the time the Enterprise gets there, all 26 people onboard are dead. The mysterious part is that the captain was a relatively young man, yet all 26 people have died from old age.

The Enterprise goes back to the other ship’s most recent stop, which is a genetic research center called Darwin Station. Most of the people there are suffering the same fate. The only ones not suffering that fate are genetically engineered children, the oldest of which is twelve. They have some sort of hyper immune system that aggressively protects them against anything. After some investigation, it turns out that the children are the cause. Something about their immune system created an antibody that causes rapid growth in others. It was too late for those on the ship, but those at Darwin Station still have time. It’s a race against the clock to save everyone.

Ok. Once again, I’m going to have to tear apart the writing in this episode. It’s a great concept, but is poorly constructed. The episode basically pits Captain Picard against Dr. Pulaski. Picard is an adamant voice of reason and responsibility while Pulaski wants noting more than to help people. Both come across as a bit of a caricature. Eventually, they find a way to compromise and the day is saved.

That wasn’t my main concern, though. I was really had problems with the technical problems. For instance, the antibody came from the children, but was caused by a disease that someone on the ship was carrying. That means that both groups of people should have been affected simultaneously. Yet, everyone on the ship died first while it doesn’t appear that anyone on the station had died. That would mean that either those on the station were of some race that was more long-lived, such as Vulcan or El-Aurian or that everyone on the station was much younger than those on the ship. I don’t recall either potential explanation being offered.

Also, how is it that the oldest child is 12, yet this is the first time that they’ve ever come in contact with such a problem? Granted, it’s possible that not many people would go to Darwin Station, but this is the first time in 12 years that anyone has brought any disease there? It seems like I can barely go a year without a cold or something.

Speaking of the children, isn’t genetic engineering supposed to be illegal, or at least frowned upon in the 24th century? According to Star Trek history, we had Khan Noonian Singh, who was the result of genetic manipulation of some sort. In Trek’s version of the 1990s, such manipulation was rampant and caused a lot of problems, so it was abandoned. Here, they seem to be doing quite well with it.

One more thing: isn’t Darwin Station a little direct? The main focus of the episode is that science may be pushing us to a point that we’re not ready for yet and that it’s dangerous to do too much at once. In other words, it’s possible to evolve too fast. I guess Darwin is rather ‘appropriate’ here.

I’d have to give the episode three stars. The aging makeup was well done, but that’s noting new. That’s been around since the original series. The acting was also all right. It looks like many of the actors are getting comfortable with their roles and with the new doctor, who is also getting used to her new surroundings. In the end, I can’t recommend it. There are so many other, more-worthy episodes. Unless you get the DVD set, skip it.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 32 (Loud as a Whisper)

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


It seems like there is no shortage of disasters in the Star Trek universe for the Enterprise to have to help out with. In this case, the Enterprise is to deliver a mediator named Riva to a planet that’s been at war for 15 centuries. Both sides are nearly wiped out and willing to try setting up a truce. Riva is well known throughout the Federation as being the best. When the Enterprise arrives to get him, Riva and three other people greet the landing party. It’s then that everyone learns that he is deaf. The three people act as a chorus and speak for Riva.

The Enterprise takes him to the planet where he’s to be negotiating the treaty. Shortly after beaming down, Riva’s chorus is killed, presenting Riva with a problem. Yes, he’s empathic, but it takes a long time to develop that kind of a relationship with someone. Data is able to learn his sign language to help him communicate. Riva tells Picard through Data that he doesn’t want to go back. Without the chorus, there’s nothing that he can do. Eventually, Counselor Troi convinces Riva to try again. Riva decides to teach both sides sign language, thus giving them something in common. Riva beams down and asks to be left there.

The episode tries to send the message that something like deafness or blindness doesn’t make someone less of a person. It doesn’t come across as heavy-handed in that message, either. Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge has been blind since he was a child. He has a VISOR, which When Dr. Pulaski gives him options, La Forge decides against. Even though he’s in constant pain, he likes the way he is.

As for the actual writing, it looks like the series is finally beginning to find its mark. I really can’t find anything wrong with the story. As I said, it could have been a lot worse. The episode was also well acted. I think what makes a great episode is that it doesn’t try to be a great episode. In that respect, this is the point in the series where it finally tries to achieve greatness and almost pulls it off.

I’m going to give this episode four stars. I really liked it and I’ve always watched it when it came on TV. I’d recommend buying the episode.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 31 (The Schizoid Man)

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


When the Starfleet learns that Ira Graves is dying, they send the Enterprise to check on him. Graves is supposed to be the leading expert in cybernetics. It’s felt that he could make a major breakthrough within the next few years. However, his disease is serious. Shortly before arriving at what is simply called Graves’s World, the Enterprise receives a distress call. Dr. Selar, Worf, Troi and Data beam down.

Dr. Selar discovers that Graves has, at best, a week to live. Graves is arrogant and seems to have no use for people unless they’re attractive women. The only one he seems to want to spend time with is Data. Since Graves knew Data’s father, Dr. Noonian Soong, Data is more than happy to spend time with Graves. Graves mentions that he wants to put his intellect into the computer. They get to talking about what it is to be human and how Data can never die when Data mentions that he has an off switch. The little light bulb goes off in Graves’s head.

The Enterprise has come back and wants to beam up the away team. Just then, Data rejoins the rest of the landing party. He announces that Ira Graves is dead. The audience knows that Graves has somehow transferred himself into Data, but it takes a while for the crew to pick up on signs that become increasingly obvious. At first, it seems that Data is mimicking Graves’s mannerisms, but he becomes more defiant, even talking back to Captain Picard. In the end, Graves has to realize that he can’t handle Data’s power. He puts all of his intellect into the Enterprise computer, leaving Data as he was before. Data has no memory of what happened.

There are several things I want to know about this episode. First, it’s assumed that Graves was able to turn off Data, and then turn him back on again. As Picard pointed out, Data’s arrival on the planet was a coincidence. This means that Graves probably wasn’t prepared for him. I have to assume that Data, with his superhuman strength, could overpower a dying old man. How, then, was Graves able to reach Data’s off switch, which is on his back. All Data had to do was put his back to a wall and not move. Furthermore, once Graves was in Data’s body, how did he turn himself back on?

It was also never really discussed how Graves was able to transfer his intellect or his soul from one place to another or what happened to Graves once he ‘left’ Data. The show never really got too deep into the metaphysical aspect of the events. It was more on one person’s attempt to cheat death.

Also, after it is all over, everyone is asking if Data has any memory of the events, which he doesn’t. Riker asks if Data remembers wrestling with a targ. (It’s a large pig-like creature that Klingons keep as pets.) I’d like to know when this happened. I’d also like to know where they even got one. There’s only one Klingon on the ship and I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t have a targ. I can only assume that this is supposed to be some sort of in-joke.

The biggest problem that I had wasn’t a mistake. Why was it that Data had no memory? Graves commented that Data had no understanding of humanity. He’d never experience what humans experience. It’s a shame that Graves couldn’t have left at least something for Data. As it is, Data gained nothing from the experience.

Brent Spiner did a great job in this episode as Data. This was one of a few episodes that gave him a chance to break out of the rigid mannerisms that usually define Data. The scene in the beginning with Data trying on a beard is also very funny. Unfortunately, we never see Data experiment with facial hair again.

I’d give this episode three stars. There are a few good points, but too many bad points. In the end, they cancel each other out. The story was handled very minimally. The writers didn’t really explore the finer points, like what it is that makes Data different. This is why Data’s lack of memory bothers me so much. If he had at least some of Graves’s memories, he’d at least have a point of reference. I’d recommend watching it if it comes on TV, but I don’t think it’s worth the price to buy or rent it.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 30 (The Outrageous Okona)

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


There were a lot of episodes during the first and second seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation that weren’t memorable. There are actually a whole lot of them. “The Outrageous Okona” is one of them. Had it not been for the fact that I decided to review all of them, I probably would have just forgotten about it.

The Enterprise comes across a ship in need of repair. The captain of the ship, Okona, gladly agrees to let the Enterprise fix whatever’s wrong with his ship. Shortly after beaming over, he tries to tell Data a joke. Data, being an android that doesn’t understand humor, doesn’t get it. Data wants to understand humanity and he knows that humor is a big part of being human. This sets Data off on a mission to learn what humor is. He does so by talking to Guinan, who runs the ship’s lounge/bar. She refers him to the holodeck, which can run all sorts of simulations. Data finds one that he likes and runs it.

Meanwhile, Okona is proving to be quite the ladies man, hitting on (and sleeping with) several of the women on the Enterprise. That’s why it’s suspicious when the leader of a nearby planet approaches the Enterprise and demands that they turn over Okona. The man claims that Okona impregnated his daughter and left. He wants Okona so that Okona can marry the daughter. Before Captain Picard can make a decision, another ship approaches. This time, Okona is accused of having stolen a national treasure. They, too, want Okona.

Neither ship poses any credible threat to the Enterprise. Legally, the only thing that Captain Picard can do is simply let Okona go to fend for himself. In the end, both of Okona’s problems end up solving each other. As for Data, he comes to realize that humor isn’t the only thing that humanity has to offer and that you can’t learn to be funny from a holodeck program.

The episode comes across as bland. It seemed like both stories tried too hard. Okona is supposed to be this sort of 24th-century pirate type of character, yet comes across as too much. He seems to be interested in any attractive woman that walks in front of him. As for The Comic, he’s also this composite of 20th-century humor, but comes across as nothing more than a computer program. Because of the fact that Data can assimilate information at a very fast rate, he ends up watching the program in fast forward.

I’d give the episode two stars. It’s worth watching if it comes on TV, but don’t rush out to buy or rent this episode. This is another one of those episodes where I have to wonder why it was even produced. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 29 (Elementary, Dear Data)

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


Every so often, even Starfleet’s flagship has some time to relax. The Enterprise is a few days early for a meeting with the Victory, so Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge calls Data down to engineering. There are two reasons for this. First, he wants to show Data a replica of the HMS Victory that he built for his former captain. The second is to use the holodeck to let Data indulge in a fantasy of his own. La Forge is going to play John Watson and Data is going to play Sherlock Holmes.

La Forge calls up a program, but Data solves the mystery too quickly. La Forge storms out of the holodeck, with Data following him. The two end up in 10-Forward, discussing what Data did wrong. The problem is that Data has all of the Holmes novels memorized. Thus, there’s no challenge for him. Dr. Pulaski can’t help but overhear the two of them and points out that Data’s just an android. Thus, he isn’t capable of deductive reasoning. The three of them decide to create a Holmes-type puzzle that could challenge Data, but that fails because the computer simply uses elements from the various stories, which Data is quick to recognize.

The next step is to remove all known references to the novels, but to keep the characters and setting. La Forge asks for an adversary capable of defeating Data. What they get is a version of Professor Moriarty that’s self-aware and capable of taking over the ship. He abducts Pulaski and wants to talk to Captain Picard. Eventually, La Forge realizes his mistake: He asked for an adversary capable of defeating Data and not Sherlock Holmes. Thus, the computer gave Moriarty self-awareness.

This is such a great premise. Moriarty wants to get out and explore life beyond the holodeck. He was a precursor to the Emergency Medical Hologram on Star Trek: Voyager. (It’s a shame that Moriarty never got to make use of the portable holoemitter that the doctor got.) Unfortunately, in the end, Moriarty just gives up. Picard tells Moriarty that Starfleet’s finest will find a way to let him out of the holodeck and Moriarty, realizing that that’s probably the best that he could ask for, just releases control of the ship. When I look back on this episode, I didn’t feel like Pulaski was in any real danger. She was very calm and was treated well.

Overall, I’d say that it’s a three-star episode. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s worth watching at least once. This was one of the episodes that made the second season bearable. I don’t know if I can recommend buying the episode on VHS. When it comes on TV, I don’t mind rewatching it, but I don’t think that I would ever watch it if I had it on tape. You’d probably be better off renting it or waiting for it to come on TV. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 28 (Where Silence Has Lease)

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


The Enterprise is out in space, apparently with little to do, when they notice some sort of void in space. Apparently, it’s something since they can’t see what’s on the other side. However, sensors pick up nothing in that vicinity. The ship moves in to get a closer look, but that doesn’t help. They launch two probes, but both disappear once they cross the threshold.

As they’re trying to figure out what this thing is or isn’t, it engulfs the Enterprise. Now, the Enterprise is surrounded by blackness. They can’t see any stars. However, they do pick up something on sensors. It turns out to be a cloaked Romulan ship, which they destroy way too easily. The Enterprise also comes across its sister ship, the Yamato. Commander Riker and Lieutenant Worf beam over to find that no one is there. The Enterprise is able to beam them back just before the ship fades away. Something’s going on here, and it doesn’t look good.

Eventually, an entity that refers to itself as Nagilum reveals itself. Again, sensors pick up nothing. Nagilum apparently knows quite a bit about the Enterprise, identifying the bridge crew by name. He says that he wants to study what we refer to as death. He even kills someone just to see him die. Nagilum assures Picard that it won’t cost more than half of the people on the Enterprise. (There are more than a thousand people on the ship.) Picard would rather destroy the ship and kill everyone than let Nagilum kill half of the people, so Nagilum lets the ship go.

I seem to recall something about a writers’ strike during the second season of The Next Generation. It really shows in this episode. After watching “Where Silence Has Lease”, I just have to ask, “What the f___?” Let me get this straight. There’s this entity that sucks the Enterprise into this void and toys with it, but when its new toy doesn’t want to play along, it releases it. However, it would seem that Nagilum can create illusions, so we’ll never really be sure.

Despite not having to pay writers, it looks like they were suffering budget constraints. Since the Yamato is the Enterprise’s sister ship, it looks the same. That means that the show doesn’t need to make new sets; it can just use the ones for the Enterprise. Also, since the Enterprise is in this big void, they don’t even need to generate stars for most of the episode. That just seems cheap.

Also, the effect for Nagilum is just horrible. Nagilum wasn’t even a complete face. He was just two eyes and a mouth. (I don’t think he had a nose, but I could be wrong.) That, set against a void, didn’t look right. The three body parts seemed to float around, which just made it look worse.

It’s just a bad episode all around. There doesn’t seem to be too much to it. There seem to be a few episodes that are nothing more than filler. The producers can’t seem to come up with anything interesting, so they just make an episode to meet their goal for the season. In this case, that was only 20 episodes. I mean, what’s the point of this episode? Why should anyone watch it? Fan and non-fan alike could skip this episode. I’m sorry that I didn’t. 

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 27 (The Child)

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


I know that I complained a lot in my reviews of the first-season episodes. The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation suffered from some bad writing. The second season wasn’t much better. It’s a little more complex and I don’t want to get into it here. (I’ll save it for the review of the entire season.) However, “The Child” does tend to epitomize what went wrong.

This is the first episode of the second season. There are a lot of changes. It starts out with the new chief medical officer, Dr. Kate Pulaski, coming to the Enterprise by shuttlecraft. Dr. Crusher has been promoted to head of Starfleet Medical. Worf is now wearing a yellow uniform and is officially Chief of Security. Geordi La Forge has a yellow uniform of his own and has been promoted to chief of engineering. Riker has also grown a beard. And, uh…oh, yeah! Counselor Troi is pregnant.

Actually, she becomes pregnant in this episode. This mysterious blue dot of energy floats through the ship until it finds Troi. It then works its way up her bed and impregnates her. At first, it’s simply odd. It’s clear that there’s definitely no father, at least in the conventional sense. However, it’s not clear if the child is a threat. So far as anyone can tell, Troi is simply pregnant. There’s no immediate threat to the ship.

Troi makes it clear that she is going to have the child, despite the fact that the pregnancy, which should take ten months, will take just 36 hours. Troi decides to name the boy Ian after her father. Once born, it takes him just one day to age four years. His cognitive skills appear to be normal for a child of his apparent age. He’s aging very rapidly, but no one can explain why.

Of more immediate concern is a batch of various strains of the same plague that the Enterprise is transporting. Each strain is in a container that should hold it, but even the least deadly of the strains will kill everyone on the ship in a matter of hours. Everything has been checked, rechecked and then checked and rechecked by someone else. In theory, nothing should go wrong. However, in the grand tradition of foreshadowing, something goes wrong.

One of the strains starts to grow. The only thing that it’s uniquely susceptible to is a particular form of radiation, but there’s nothing on the Enterprise that would emit it. Just then, Ian tells his mother that he knows that he’s the source of the concern and that he has to leave her. Troi understands this to mean that he is going to die. Alas, there’s nothing that anyone can do. After ‘dying’, Ian reverts to his energy state and conveys to Troi that he was just passing through and wanted to see what life was like for us by living as one of us. It was never his intent to harm anyone. After he leaves, the strain stops growing.

The story was interesting, but did have its problems. There were really three main stories in this episode. I’ve mentioned Troi’s son and the plague strains. Along with that is the issue of whether Wesley Crusher should follow his mother to Starfleet medical. None of the stories had any real emotional pull.

Yes, the plague could have killed everyone, but it didn’t seem like a problem because you knew the writers wouldn’t kill off all of the characters at once. However, the plague samples wouldn’t have been a problem if not for Ian.

Wesley’s dilemma seemed pointless. Why should an officer follow his mother, even if he is under age? No one wanted to see Dr. Crusher gone. I think that a lot of people at the time would have been just as happy to see Wesley go off to Starfleet headquarters. Ultimately, Wesley’s problem is simply something that he has to decide.

I really didn’t like Pulaski. I’ve seen Diana Muldaur in other things and she was fine. She just wasn’t able to pull off Dr. Pulaski. I think a good deal of it for a lot of fans is that they couldn’t understand why Dr. Crusher had to leave. The show was set up with that character in mind. I don’t think that Pulaski ever really fit in. The writers seemed to want to try for another Bones-like character, even trying to have some tension between Pulaski and Data similar to what McCoy had with Spock. The trouble is that her treatment of Data comes off as condescending and mean.

This is the first appearance of Guinan, who is played by Whoopi Goldberg. Her character would appear throughout the rest of the series. Goldberg is able to play the character with a calmness that was perfect. I think that her presence may be the only thing that saves the episode.

This episode is worth only two stars. The writers tried to do something with the episode and it almost worked, but it fell flat. I think that all three of the stories could have been developed more and might have done better if one of them had been removed and given its own episode. However, as it stands, the episode stunk. I can’t recommend this to anyone except the most diehard fan. 

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Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

I remember reading the transcript of an interview about UHF.   Several of the actors were saying how the movie probably wouldn’t get made today, considering some of the content.  Times change.  People change.  What was popular 20 or 30 years ago would probably go over the heads of modern moviegoers.  Things you could get away with back then would never make it into a film today.   Big Trouble in Little China is a product of the same era as UHF.

The movie takes place in San Francisco’s Chinatown.  Jack Burton is a truck driver who has to make a delivery.  He sticks around a while and racks up a large pile of winnings by playing cards.  After all is said and done, he agrees to take his friend, Wang Chi, to the airport to get Wang’s fiancée, Miao Yin.   Miao is kidnapped by members of a local gang.  Wang and Jack go after the gang members to get Miao back.  Instead, they end up in the middle of a gang war.  The Three Storms appear in the middle of the fight, led by Lo Pan.  It turns out that Lo Pan is impervious to being run over by a big rig.  It’s not going to be easy getting Miao back.

The movie comes across as knowing what they could get away with.  It’s like the people writing it and acting in it knew where the line was.  (They may have even crossed it a few times, depending on where you stood.)  There are a lot of clichés, like Lo Pan being a warrior that had a curse placed on him.  There’s a very specific way to break the curse, providing an opportunity once every generation or two.  There’s an epic battle to defeat Lo Pan, who is immortal, but wants to become mortal, even though it may lead to his defeat.  There’s even an unlikely hero.

I had been saving this movie for streaming for a while now.  I think I’ve had it saved for so long that it’s gone through several cycles of availability.  It’s one of those movies I sort of knew about, partly because I keep getting it confused with Chinatown.  Both are classics, though this is more of the cult type.  It has that certain mix of quotability and goofiness that go well together.  It’s not something to be taken seriously.

I am a fan of John Carpenter.  (They Live! should be watched just for the fight scene.)  I’m not a big fan of Kurt Russell.  He’s always played the macho type.  (I’m not a big fan of the macho type.)  He was good in Stargate, since the military macho type was what was called for.  Here, it’s the same thing.  His character needs to be more manly than average.  You can see him channeling his inner John Wayne.

It’s a fun movie to watch, but it’s nothing spectacular.  I don’t know how much of that is judging the movie by modern standards.  Several decades have passed since its release.  It’s possible that the movie was intended for an audience that doesn’t exist any more.  It’s a good way to spend a few hours, but I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone.

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I Am Your Father (2015)

Growing up, I knew that it was James Earl Jones that voiced Darth Vader, but it was another actor that was inside the costume.  It wasn’t until recently that I learned anything about that actor, David Prowse.  Most hardcore fans of Star Wars will probably recognize the name.  I didn’t.  I am Your Father is a documentary that attempts to rectify that.

When Star Wars was first being made, George Lucas needed two tall actors.  One would play Chewbacca and the other would play Darth Vader.  Peter Mayhew, at 7' 3", wanted to play a good guy, so he starred as Chewbacca.  Prowse, at 6' 6", was partial to playing villains, so he donned the black costume.  Prowse had a voice that wasn’t really appropriate for an intimidating villain, so it was assumed that his voice would be modified, if used at all.

The movie focuses Prowse’s involvement with the three original Star Wars films.  Way back when A New Hope was just Star Wars, Prowse was being interviewed and suggested that it would be interesting if Darth Vader was revealed to be Luke’s father.  There were no plans of a sequel at that point, so there was no way that Prowse could have known.  Still, he earned a reputation for leaking spoilers.

Fast forward to the end of Return of the Jedi.  Darth Vader’s final scene is being filmed wherein the mask is taken off to reveal…Sebastian Shaw?  Prowse hadn’t been informed that a different actor was being used for the big scene.  It had apparently been done to keep Prowse from revealing a big spoiler.  The problem is that he found out anyway.  Oh, and it got leaked to the press regardless.  The paper that leaked the information admitted that it wasn’t Prowse’s doing.  This didn’t stop Lucas from keeping Prowse out of any official Star Wars event.

Marcos Cabotá cowrote and codirected the film and also interviewed Prowse.  You get the sense that he doesn’t think Prowse got his due.  George Lucas was the filmmaker behind Star Wars.  As such, he had a right to make the film as he saw fit.  Lucas wanted Shaw because he felt that Prowse didn’t have the right look.  It was a little underhanded to completely exclude Prowse from Darth Vader’s final scene solely because he might spill some details that would have likely been spilled anyway.

The movie is well done.  It was able to hold my attention the entire way through and I didn’t feel bored with it at any point.  There are interviews with Lou Ferrigno as well as people involved behind the scenes in Star Wars  It’s one of those stories that you don’t really think about.  You know that someone was walking around on set as Darth Vader.  (Actually, two were.  Bob Anderson did many of the stunts.)  The same goes for C3-PO and R2-D2.  There were people inside the droids, even if the voices didn’t match.  How many times have you thought about who was under Chewbacca’s fur?

As with Candyman, I get the impression that there’s a lot more to the story.  What’s presented here is Prowse having leaked information that anyone could have leaked and whether Lucas was justified in his reaction.  I doubt Lucas has held a grudge for nearly 40 years because of something that Prowse ended up not even doing.  Either Prowse is less guilty that Lucas would believe or Prowse is more guilty than Cabotá would believe.

I sometimes wonder how many people have done things that are ubiquitous, but don’t have the corresponding fame.  Think about all the things you see and use.  There are probably a hundred names that made contributions, even major contributions, that you’ll never hear of.  Some do eventually make it into the public eye.  How many don’t?

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