Welcome, gentle reader, to the last in a series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 20 years ago (or of films released more recently!).
Hey, what no Guinan?! Perhaps they spent the whole year's Whoopi Goldberg budget getting her into Star Trek: Generations, I don't know. But still, her absence from this season is noticeable and just a bit miffing.
In terms of quality Season 7 is pretty much on a level with Season 6, but the writers continue to try to turn TNG into a grim, realistic show about hardarse military officers making difficult choices with some character stuff as window dressing, when really I get the feeling the character stuff was originally supposed to be the core of the show and the military stuff was the window dressing. Season 7 doesn't exactly feel like TNG taking one more victory lap - it feels a lot more like the series is consciously winding down.
"Descent, Part II"
Plays out pretty much as the first part would suggest. TNG can and should be better than this.
"Liaisons"
The one in which Larry, Curly and Moe try to learn about human emotions from the Enterprise crew. Picard's "Misery in space" experience is a particular lowlight.
"Interface"
The one in which Geordi La Forge's mother goes missing, never to be mentioned again. The business of Geordi remote controlling a probe is generally well handled. The story strikes me as two separate ideas that the writers couldn't spin into full episodes on their own, and I don't think they really gel into a cohesive whole.
"Gambit, Part I" & "Gambit, Part II"
A sort of heist story with the Goblin King from Labyrinth leading a crew of bandits on a quest for an ancient Vulcan weapon. Not at all bad, largely thanks to the second episode.
"Phantasms"
This is the "Data's dream" episode I remember. Lots of nice weird imagery, including a couple of suggestive bits. (So Dr Crusher is sucking Riker's brains out? Ooooookaaaaay. Worf enjoying his slice of Troi cake is easier to factor away in light of later developments.) Data stabbing Troi in the shoulder (because making Data look like a psychopath is important to the current writing team) is an awkward moment, but overall this is a great episode. Bonus points for making Sigmund Freud a figure of fun.
"Dark Page"
The rather unexpected Lwaxana Troi "tears of a clown" episode. See, this is what I mean about TNG's writers in this season - let's take Lwaxana Troi of all characters and give her repressed memories of having had a previous child who drowned. Gah.
"Attached"
In which it turns out that - gasps! - Picard and Dr Crusher secretly fancy each other! Which must have come as a complete surprise to anyone who hadn't previously seen Season 1. The rest of the episode is wasted to set this up, and it wasn't worth the effort.
"Force of Nature"
The big climate change allegory. Considering how significant a warp speed restriction (even in limited areas of space) would be, it's surprising how little reference is made to this after this episode. I previously remembered the lack of follow-up more clearly than anything in the episode itself.
"Inheritance"
The one with Data's mother. Dr Soong's biography is getting increasingly cluttered and harder to make sense of - just how much of his cutting edge cybernetic equipment was he able to flee Omicron Theta with, anyway, and exactly how many "unique" androids did he make? (Don't under any circumstances) see Star Trek: Nemesis for further muddying of these waters.
"Parallels"
Colourful SF mayhem as Worf finds himself slipping between alternate realities. I suppose the main point of this episode is to underline the possibility of Worf and Troi having a relationship, building on several broad hints over the last season or so. Several nice incidental touches help to lift the episode.
"The Pegasus"
The one with Captain Picard Day! Oh yes, and the illegal Federation cloaking device. A good political drama.
"Homeward"
The one with Worf's foster brother, you know, the one we've never heard of before. His solution to his adopted culture's problem may run against the Prime Directive, but it's brilliant; I'm not sure why the Enterprise crew would prefer to sit and watch an entire planet die from the comfort of their bridge.
"Sub Rosa"
Dr Crusher's spooky Mills & Boon story. The mock Scottish setting is a risk, but the episode manages to restrict itself to only one really over-the-top cliché Scots character, so it's less offensive than the Irish parodying in "Up the Long Ladder". A strong showing for Gates McFadden, and it's always nice to see TNG playing around in other genres, but still, not a great episode.
"Lower Decks"
An episode that really digs into the characters of some of the junior crewmembers, as well as those of their supervising officers. The strong implication that Picard knew full well that Wesley Crusher's old Academy buddy wouldn't come back from her secret mission is more than a little uncomfortable. But outside of that, this is a lovely episode.
"Thine Own Self"
The one where Data loses his memory and gives an alien village radiation poisoning. Also the one in which Troi becomes a command officer, which looks more like it was surplus material carried over from the previous episode. The whole business of Proper Real Officers having to order crewmembers to their deaths certainly plays into it retrospectively.
"Masks"
A bit like a cross between "The Inner Light" (alien probe co-opts an Enterprise crewmember in order to pass on the details of the culture that created it) and "Darmok" (the crew must work to decipher an alien mode of communication). I really like this one.
"Eye of the Beholder"
The one with the haunted plasma conduit. A good middling episode, but forgettable; even having just watched it, I have to remind myself which one it was.
"Genesis"
No, I'm not exactly sure what happened here either. Something something de-evolution something.
"Journey's End"
The one where Wesley Crusher drops out. Also makes questionable use of Native American characters - as the script itself is keen to point out, there are some unfortunate parallels here with the way Native Americans have been disenfranchised in the past, and this story doesn't really offer a positive response to that. Probably most notable as the episode that sets the scene for the appearance of the Maquis in "Preemptive Strike", and so really the first hint of groundwork being laid for Voyager.
"Firstborn"
The one with Future Alexander. Alexander's story here is actually pretty ridiculous, and it's a long-winded way of getting Worf to be a less pushy parent.
"Bloodlines"
Unexpected sequel to Season 1's "The Battle". I can't see that it adds anything much to that story or to this season.
"Emergence"
In a series where fictional characters on the holodeck and Wesley Crusher's science project can achieve sentience, it's about time we had an episode where the Enterprise itself becomes sentient. I really wanted to like this episode more than I actually did - somehow the execution of the ideas falls a little short for me. But it is a good idea, and there's some nice weird imagery here.
"Preemptive Strike"
Oh yeah, Ro Laren, she used to be a character on this show, didn't she? This episode is fine in and of itself, but kind of depressing. It's a shame that Picard can't seem to find a way around the ethical minefield the Federation has created with the Maquis, and essentially ends up driving Ro away. TNG's days as a whimsical series about wonder and self-exploration really are up.
"All Good Things..."
A high note on which to finish (and, lest I forget to mention it, the other TNG episode to win a Hugo Award). The cast are all giving their best in three distinct time periods, Q is well used, and although the story has an air of "It was all a dream", it hangs together well. Q's final message, that the real voyage of discovery is an inner one that never ends, resonates with several of my favourite (and therefore, the best ;) ) TNG episodes.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Masks"
"Lower Decks"
"All Good Things..."
"Phantasms"
"Parallels"
"Emergence"
"The Pegasus"
"Force of Nature"
"Preemptive Strike"
"Homeward"
"Journey's End"
"Eye of the Beholder"
"Interface"
"Sub Rosa"
"Inheritance"
"Gambit"
"Bloodlines"
"Firstborn"
"Dark Page"
"Thine Own Self"
"Attached"
"Liaisons"
"Descent, Part II"
"Genesis"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 4 ("Phantasms", "Force of Nature", "Masks", "All Good Things...")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Masks", "Lower Decks" and "All Good Things..." are in the top rank. I'd place "Phantasms" on the borderline, and "Parallels", "Emergence" and "The Pegasus" in the second rank.
So now I can skim back through the other 6 posts and compile an overall Top 15 TNG Episodes list:
"Masks"
"Lower Decks"
"All Good Things..."
"Tapestry"
"Ship in a Bottle"
"Darmok"
"Cause and Effect"
"The Inner Light"
"Hero Worship"
"Data's Day"
"The Wounded"
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
"The Bonding"
"The Measure of a Man"
"Loud as a Whisper"
Just pulling the titles out of the blog posts here - it'd be tricky to actually arrange them in descending order of preference. How would I rank the seasons overall? Probably 5, 7, 6, 4, 2, 3, 1. Not that that means very much, but there it is anyway.
The later seasons are undeniably better television than the earlier seasons, or at least better made - there's a clear progression in quality across the series, and Seasons 5, 6 and 7 are all very strong. And yet Season 1 has a charm that Season 7 lacks. The earlier seasons - with Roddenberry's hand still on the tiller, and the concomitant caveat around some of his lingering pre-'70s tendencies - are far more clearly about the thirst for exploration (both outward and inward) and joyful diversity of humanity than the later seasons, which are far more about the SF adventures of an increasingly rigidly defined crew. The Enterprise in Season 1 is essentially a venue in which a broad and rich family/community (I think New Zealanders would say hapū rather than whānau in this context) can be formed; in Season 7 it's essentially a military starship with all the crew's family on board and a remit to chart the galaxy, and some of the stories are about how close the crew are to their military buddies.
I realise that I'm generalising there. There are still plenty of individual episodes in those later seasons that fit in with the expectations of TNG that Season 1 gave me, it's just that by that time they seem to happen more in spite of the writers' efforts than because of them. Watching the behind-the-scenes material on the DVDs, I was struck by just how widely Ronald D Moore's vision of TNG differed from the TNG I thought I'd been watching. Knowing that this would be the creative mentality going in from the start, I'm less keen than I previously would have been to attempt a marathon of Deep Space Nine or Voyager.
As a final bit of frivolity, let's touch on the TNG films, which I have no intention of ranking alongside the TV series. By cracky, they're a mixed bag.
Star Trek: Generations
So here's the thing: the old Enterprise crew have continued to appear in TOS films while TNG was on TV. So now, even though TNG has spent 7 years climbing out of TOS' shadow and establishing itself as the current brand of Star Trek, it has to prove itself and stake its claim all over again in the cinema. Appropriately, it doesn't spend a lot of time waiting to be handed the torch by its forefathers but steps right in with a story about not giving in to the insidious lure of nostalgia. I actually think this film is the closest to my newly formed concept of what TNG ought to be, and therefore my favourite of the quartet.
Star Trek: First Contact
A shameless riff on things the creative team think they got right on the TV series: ooh, the Borg; ooh, time paradox shenanigans; ooh, Data being morally ambiguous. They also seem to be testing the limits of their vision of Picard as a slambang action hero. Nice cameo appearance of the holographic Doctor. This is a perfectly watchable film, but it's not All That.
Star Trek: Insurrection
Yeah, screw that Prime Directive. If any of the films deserves to be described as "just a double length TV episode", I think it's this one. And it would have been a pretty good TV episode, too. It's a bit hum-ho as a film. Starting to get that feeling of diminishing returns.
Star Trek: Nemesis
Incredibly, on a cinematic budget and with a decade of previous experience, it's still possible for the Star Trek creative team to turn out a narrative car crash. The wedding scene at the start says it all: we've run out of new ideas and we're going to turn back the clock to somewhere around Season 3, when Riker and Troi were still a potential item and Wesley Crusher was still wearing a Starfleet uniform. And of all the worn-out should-have-burned-the-tapes-forever ideas to dredge up again, they had to go with a Deanna Troi mind rape story. Wankers. What an utterly tragic note to end on.
Showing posts with label Star Trek TNG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star Trek TNG. Show all posts
Thursday, September 03, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 6
Welcome, gentle reader, to the sixth of a projected series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast25 20 years ago.
So here we get not one but two mid-season two-parters. In both cases, the episodes feel sufficiently contained and different from one another that I think it's worth handling them separately rather than as complete stories.
The trend of the writers towards grittiness continues. Picard gets at least one full-on action hero episode this season, as well as one that glorifies his reckless Academy days when he used to get into fights and womanise, just like the Junior Kirk one suspects some of the creative team would have preferred. The season finale is the peak to date of all their worst tendencies, and it all looks a bit grim heading into Season 7.
Also, Season 6 is the one that puts Deanna Troi in a proper official uniform with a military rank and everything - I'm really not sure if this is a good thing or not. Yes, fine, she's a part of the militaristic heirarchy on board the Enterprise, but at the same time she's always seemed kind of outside it in her rôle as ship's counsellor, and her previous wardrobe freedom seemed to fit with that. I imagine that if the Season 6 creative team had been in charge for Season 1, they'd have dropped the whole counsellor angle and made her a Lieutenant Commander Chaplain or something, which would have been appalling.
My overall impression: Season 6 is to Season 5 as Season 3 was to Season 2. The level of quality is more consistent - and it's a higher level of quality now than it was three seasons ago - but Season 5 has the lion's share of stand-out episodes.
"Time's Arrow, Part II"
Yes, that'll do nicely. This episode's basically all runaround, apart from the scenes where it uses Clemens' cynicism to restate TNG's uncynical intentions. I might mention here that doing a backstory for a fundamentally mysterious character like Guinan is always a risky move, but the writers were smart enough not to spoil her by blurting out too much information.
"Realm of Fear"
The one with flying worm monsters living inside the transporter beam. Howlin' Mad Reg Barclay is a hero now, so hooray for that. Average.
"Man of the People"
TNG does The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oh look, Deanna Troi is mentally assaulted and demeaned by a predatory male, again. Didn't we get all this out of our systems in Season 3 and Season 5?
"Relics"
The one with Scotty. We're obviously invited to draw parallels between him and the Dyson Sphere, but given the size of James Doohan here, that's rather cruel on the part of the writers. Starts out by putting some distance between TNG and (as represented by Scotty) TOS, but ends up reconciling the two. I imagine card-carrying Trek fans probably rate it highly.
"Schisms"
The one where several crewmembers unearth repressed memories of having visited the dentist. TNG has already done at least one "alien abduction" episode, but here it goes into full-on X Files mode. The mysterious set-up is a lot more interesting than the resolution. Notable for featuring Data's poetry recital.
"True Q"
The one with Olivia d'Abo. I don't have much more to say about this one. Given a brief of "there's a Q adopted by humans on board the Enterprise", this episode turns out pretty much exactly as I would expect. We're falling back on our baseline of mere competence again.
"Rascals"
The one where four crewmembers are youthed by a magic explosion, or something. Shush, science. TNG has been lucky so far with its child actors, for the most part, but it's a very risky move to ask a bunch of child actors to stand in for some of the regulars. I think they just about get away with it. The choice of Keiko O'Brien, Guinan and Ro Laren offers the opportunity for some interesting character work that is barely touched on before it's completely shelved in favour of an action runaround. Hilarious scenes between little Picard and "Daddy" Riker. A lot of fun, but it was looking a lot more interesting before those Ferengi showed up.
"A Fistful of Datas"
The TNG Western episode, but far more importantly, the start of the very short-lived Geordi's Beard Arc. Alexander inviting Troi in on the Worfs' family time makes it look suspiciously as if he's trying to set her up with his father - watch this space. Another fun episode. Very cheeky last shot with the Enterprise moseying off towards the setting sun.
"The Quality of Life"
The one with Exocomps. A bit like Season 1's "Home Soil" - mining outpost, machinery with a mind of its own, unconventional form of intelligence - but with the resources of Season 6 behind it. Some unfortunate wirework on the Exocomps, but hey, it was the early Nineties.
"Chain of Command, Part I"
Another one of those episodes that shows why the series is what it is by showing how wrong it would have been if it had been done differently. Captain "1400 Hours" Jellicoe is the sort of over-aggressive by-the-book captain that I can imagine some viewers might have expected to see in command of the Enterprise, but he clearly shows by contrast that cuddly man-of-the-world Picard is the right captain for TNG.
"Chain of Command, Part II"
The one with four lights. The Captain Jellicoe material carries through into this episode, but the real focus here is on Patrick Stewart and his gargantuan acting skills. Also very nice to see genre favourite David Warner. A small-scale but powerful episode.
"Ship in a Bottle"
The other one with Holographic Professor Moriarty. I was expecting this to reprise a lot of "Elementary, Dear Data", but it builds on it quite nicely. That Moriarty has been forgotten for four years (notwithstanding real-world problems with the Conan Doyle estate) and has to fight for his rights is very much on the nose. The resolution that apparently leaves everybody happy is actually a bit of a bum note. We're still a couple of years away from properly autonomous holograms in Star Trek.
"Aquiel"
Murder mystery on a relay station. Once it becomes clear that this episode's main inspiration is The Thing, it isn't hard to see what the next twist is going to be. Unremarkable stuff.
"Face of the Enemy"
The one with Deanna Troi posing (against her will) as a Romulan. Again, unremarkable. The whole resolution is very pat. Still, interesting to see this side to Troi.
"Tapestry"
The one where Picard apparently dies and meets Q in the afterlife. A well-constructed story about accepting one's past mistakes, another nice showcase for Patrick Stewart and possibly the best Q episode.
"Birthright, Part I"
The rather modest crossover with Deep Space Nine. Also the one where Data first dreams. Lots of nice off-kilter imagery around that. It's a shame there wasn't enough of this to sustain a whole episode in itself, because the material that sets up the next episode is pretty dull.
"Birthright, Part II"
The one with the lost colony of Klingons and Romulans peacefully cohabiting. This could have been the setup for a much more optimistic episode, but instead the writers present it as a social prison based on lies that Worf must undermine with his authentic warrior ways. I'd like to have seen the more optimistic episode.
"Starship Mine"
Die Hard on the Enterprise. The scenes of Data first observing Commander Hutchinson and then practising his small talk on him are priceless, but - as seems to be the way with Season 6 - this material is dropped cold once the action plot kicks in. Hutchinson disappears completely after he's been shot (stunned? killed?) and is never even mentioned again. Still, it is a very good action plot, even though the John McClane stuff feels out of character for Picard.
"Lessons"
The one about Picard's doomed love affair. This is a really nice episode up until it flubs it by suggesting that Picard, almost uniquely among his crew, is apparently unable to form a meaningful romance with a fellow officer because reasons.
"The Chase"
The one that explains why the galaxy is full of humanoids. I imagine that to some fans this question may have seemed important enough to spend an episode answering it. (Actually, I'm pretty sure TOS already did. Maybe there's one of these for every Star Trek series?) Biggest point of interest: spotting Maurice Roëves out of Doctor Who story "The Caves of Androzani" as a Romulan.
"Frame of Mind"
Kafkaesque shenanigans with a lot of nice surreal visuals. I particularly like the scene where various TNG regulars stand in for aspects of Riker's subconscious. This one would probably reward repeated viewing just from the standpoint of trying to spot clues in earlier scenes that I might have missed.
"Suspicions"
The one where Dr Crusher turns detective. Actually develops her character meaningfully by showing her first taste of mission command. I'm pretty sure it's the first TNG episode to tell a significant part of its story in flashback with voiceover narration - a choice that feels a bit odd. I think I'd place this one somewhere on the border between the top and second rank for this season.
"Rightful Heir"
He's not the Klingon messiah, he's a very naughty boy! Better than a number of other Worf-centric stories so far, with an unusual and interesting focus on Klingon religion. I like that, even though this story inevitably has to give the mystical premise a science fictional debunking, it refuses to invalidate Worf's own spiritual experience.
"Second Chances"
The one with two Rikers. So, like "Tapestry", another story about regrets and paths not taken - is there something the writers would like to tell us? It's a neat idea, but what really caught my eye is the way debut director LeVar Burton gives background extras the centre stage in the first couple of scenes.
"Timescape"
Another one of those episodes that fools around with time, so naturally I expected to like this one. There's a fun moment when Picard draws a smiley face on a frozen billow of smoke coming out of the warp core, but by and large this story just didn't grab me. And it's all over far too suddenly, with the Romulan ship just magically disappearing.
"Descent"
The other big team-up season finale. This year, it's the Borg and Data's evil twin! Feels as if TNG has been assimilated by a different series - possibly one of the unpleasant "gritty" alternate versions hinted at in a few earlier episodes. Data's first emotion is anger and he turns out to be a closet psychopath, which is the worst kind of teenage angsty fanfic guff. Honestly, who needs Data's evil twin when you're making Data himself evil? Rotten pulpy dialogue all over the script, too.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Tapestry"
"Ship in a Bottle"
"Starship Mine"
"Chain of Command, Part II"
"Rascals"
"Rightful Heir"
"Time's Arrow, Part II"
"A Fistful of Datas"
"Frame of Mind"
"Lessons"
"Suspicions"
"Timescape"
"Chain of Command, Part I"
"Second Chances"
"Relics"
"Birthright, Part I"
"Schisms"
"The Quality of Life"
"The Chase"
"Realm of Fear"
"True Q"
"Aquiel"
"Birthright, Part II"
"Face of the Enemy"
"Descent"
"Man of the People"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 6 ("Relics", "Rascals", "Chain of Command, Part II", "Ship in a Bottle", "Tapestry", "The Chase")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Tapestry" and "Ship in a Bottle", certainly. I'd probably rank "Starship Mine", "Chain of Command, Part II" and "Rascals" in a sort of mezzanine tier between the top and second rank - close borderline stuff. Perhaps another half dozen or so episodes below that in the second tier.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast
So here we get not one but two mid-season two-parters. In both cases, the episodes feel sufficiently contained and different from one another that I think it's worth handling them separately rather than as complete stories.
The trend of the writers towards grittiness continues. Picard gets at least one full-on action hero episode this season, as well as one that glorifies his reckless Academy days when he used to get into fights and womanise, just like the Junior Kirk one suspects some of the creative team would have preferred. The season finale is the peak to date of all their worst tendencies, and it all looks a bit grim heading into Season 7.
Also, Season 6 is the one that puts Deanna Troi in a proper official uniform with a military rank and everything - I'm really not sure if this is a good thing or not. Yes, fine, she's a part of the militaristic heirarchy on board the Enterprise, but at the same time she's always seemed kind of outside it in her rôle as ship's counsellor, and her previous wardrobe freedom seemed to fit with that. I imagine that if the Season 6 creative team had been in charge for Season 1, they'd have dropped the whole counsellor angle and made her a Lieutenant Commander Chaplain or something, which would have been appalling.
My overall impression: Season 6 is to Season 5 as Season 3 was to Season 2. The level of quality is more consistent - and it's a higher level of quality now than it was three seasons ago - but Season 5 has the lion's share of stand-out episodes.
"Time's Arrow, Part II"
Yes, that'll do nicely. This episode's basically all runaround, apart from the scenes where it uses Clemens' cynicism to restate TNG's uncynical intentions. I might mention here that doing a backstory for a fundamentally mysterious character like Guinan is always a risky move, but the writers were smart enough not to spoil her by blurting out too much information.
"Realm of Fear"
The one with flying worm monsters living inside the transporter beam. Howlin' Mad Reg Barclay is a hero now, so hooray for that. Average.
"Man of the People"
TNG does The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oh look, Deanna Troi is mentally assaulted and demeaned by a predatory male, again. Didn't we get all this out of our systems in Season 3 and Season 5?
"Relics"
The one with Scotty. We're obviously invited to draw parallels between him and the Dyson Sphere, but given the size of James Doohan here, that's rather cruel on the part of the writers. Starts out by putting some distance between TNG and (as represented by Scotty) TOS, but ends up reconciling the two. I imagine card-carrying Trek fans probably rate it highly.
"Schisms"
The one where several crewmembers unearth repressed memories of having visited the dentist. TNG has already done at least one "alien abduction" episode, but here it goes into full-on X Files mode. The mysterious set-up is a lot more interesting than the resolution. Notable for featuring Data's poetry recital.
"True Q"
The one with Olivia d'Abo. I don't have much more to say about this one. Given a brief of "there's a Q adopted by humans on board the Enterprise", this episode turns out pretty much exactly as I would expect. We're falling back on our baseline of mere competence again.
"Rascals"
The one where four crewmembers are youthed by a magic explosion, or something. Shush, science. TNG has been lucky so far with its child actors, for the most part, but it's a very risky move to ask a bunch of child actors to stand in for some of the regulars. I think they just about get away with it. The choice of Keiko O'Brien, Guinan and Ro Laren offers the opportunity for some interesting character work that is barely touched on before it's completely shelved in favour of an action runaround. Hilarious scenes between little Picard and "Daddy" Riker. A lot of fun, but it was looking a lot more interesting before those Ferengi showed up.
"A Fistful of Datas"
The TNG Western episode, but far more importantly, the start of the very short-lived Geordi's Beard Arc. Alexander inviting Troi in on the Worfs' family time makes it look suspiciously as if he's trying to set her up with his father - watch this space. Another fun episode. Very cheeky last shot with the Enterprise moseying off towards the setting sun.
"The Quality of Life"
The one with Exocomps. A bit like Season 1's "Home Soil" - mining outpost, machinery with a mind of its own, unconventional form of intelligence - but with the resources of Season 6 behind it. Some unfortunate wirework on the Exocomps, but hey, it was the early Nineties.
"Chain of Command, Part I"
Another one of those episodes that shows why the series is what it is by showing how wrong it would have been if it had been done differently. Captain "1400 Hours" Jellicoe is the sort of over-aggressive by-the-book captain that I can imagine some viewers might have expected to see in command of the Enterprise, but he clearly shows by contrast that cuddly man-of-the-world Picard is the right captain for TNG.
"Chain of Command, Part II"
The one with four lights. The Captain Jellicoe material carries through into this episode, but the real focus here is on Patrick Stewart and his gargantuan acting skills. Also very nice to see genre favourite David Warner. A small-scale but powerful episode.
"Ship in a Bottle"
The other one with Holographic Professor Moriarty. I was expecting this to reprise a lot of "Elementary, Dear Data", but it builds on it quite nicely. That Moriarty has been forgotten for four years (notwithstanding real-world problems with the Conan Doyle estate) and has to fight for his rights is very much on the nose. The resolution that apparently leaves everybody happy is actually a bit of a bum note. We're still a couple of years away from properly autonomous holograms in Star Trek.
"Aquiel"
Murder mystery on a relay station. Once it becomes clear that this episode's main inspiration is The Thing, it isn't hard to see what the next twist is going to be. Unremarkable stuff.
"Face of the Enemy"
The one with Deanna Troi posing (against her will) as a Romulan. Again, unremarkable. The whole resolution is very pat. Still, interesting to see this side to Troi.
"Tapestry"
The one where Picard apparently dies and meets Q in the afterlife. A well-constructed story about accepting one's past mistakes, another nice showcase for Patrick Stewart and possibly the best Q episode.
"Birthright, Part I"
The rather modest crossover with Deep Space Nine. Also the one where Data first dreams. Lots of nice off-kilter imagery around that. It's a shame there wasn't enough of this to sustain a whole episode in itself, because the material that sets up the next episode is pretty dull.
"Birthright, Part II"
The one with the lost colony of Klingons and Romulans peacefully cohabiting. This could have been the setup for a much more optimistic episode, but instead the writers present it as a social prison based on lies that Worf must undermine with his authentic warrior ways. I'd like to have seen the more optimistic episode.
"Starship Mine"
Die Hard on the Enterprise. The scenes of Data first observing Commander Hutchinson and then practising his small talk on him are priceless, but - as seems to be the way with Season 6 - this material is dropped cold once the action plot kicks in. Hutchinson disappears completely after he's been shot (stunned? killed?) and is never even mentioned again. Still, it is a very good action plot, even though the John McClane stuff feels out of character for Picard.
"Lessons"
The one about Picard's doomed love affair. This is a really nice episode up until it flubs it by suggesting that Picard, almost uniquely among his crew, is apparently unable to form a meaningful romance with a fellow officer because reasons.
"The Chase"
The one that explains why the galaxy is full of humanoids. I imagine that to some fans this question may have seemed important enough to spend an episode answering it. (Actually, I'm pretty sure TOS already did. Maybe there's one of these for every Star Trek series?) Biggest point of interest: spotting Maurice Roëves out of Doctor Who story "The Caves of Androzani" as a Romulan.
"Frame of Mind"
Kafkaesque shenanigans with a lot of nice surreal visuals. I particularly like the scene where various TNG regulars stand in for aspects of Riker's subconscious. This one would probably reward repeated viewing just from the standpoint of trying to spot clues in earlier scenes that I might have missed.
"Suspicions"
The one where Dr Crusher turns detective. Actually develops her character meaningfully by showing her first taste of mission command. I'm pretty sure it's the first TNG episode to tell a significant part of its story in flashback with voiceover narration - a choice that feels a bit odd. I think I'd place this one somewhere on the border between the top and second rank for this season.
"Rightful Heir"
He's not the Klingon messiah, he's a very naughty boy! Better than a number of other Worf-centric stories so far, with an unusual and interesting focus on Klingon religion. I like that, even though this story inevitably has to give the mystical premise a science fictional debunking, it refuses to invalidate Worf's own spiritual experience.
"Second Chances"
The one with two Rikers. So, like "Tapestry", another story about regrets and paths not taken - is there something the writers would like to tell us? It's a neat idea, but what really caught my eye is the way debut director LeVar Burton gives background extras the centre stage in the first couple of scenes.
"Timescape"
Another one of those episodes that fools around with time, so naturally I expected to like this one. There's a fun moment when Picard draws a smiley face on a frozen billow of smoke coming out of the warp core, but by and large this story just didn't grab me. And it's all over far too suddenly, with the Romulan ship just magically disappearing.
"Descent"
The other big team-up season finale. This year, it's the Borg and Data's evil twin! Feels as if TNG has been assimilated by a different series - possibly one of the unpleasant "gritty" alternate versions hinted at in a few earlier episodes. Data's first emotion is anger and he turns out to be a closet psychopath, which is the worst kind of teenage angsty fanfic guff. Honestly, who needs Data's evil twin when you're making Data himself evil? Rotten pulpy dialogue all over the script, too.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Tapestry"
"Ship in a Bottle"
"Starship Mine"
"Chain of Command, Part II"
"Rascals"
"Rightful Heir"
"Time's Arrow, Part II"
"A Fistful of Datas"
"Frame of Mind"
"Lessons"
"Suspicions"
"Timescape"
"Chain of Command, Part I"
"Second Chances"
"Relics"
"Birthright, Part I"
"Schisms"
"The Quality of Life"
"The Chase"
"Realm of Fear"
"True Q"
"Aquiel"
"Birthright, Part II"
"Face of the Enemy"
"Descent"
"Man of the People"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 6 ("Relics", "Rascals", "Chain of Command, Part II", "Ship in a Bottle", "Tapestry", "The Chase")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Tapestry" and "Ship in a Bottle", certainly. I'd probably rank "Starship Mine", "Chain of Command, Part II" and "Rascals" in a sort of mezzanine tier between the top and second rank - close borderline stuff. Perhaps another half dozen or so episodes below that in the second tier.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 5
Welcome, gentle reader, to the fifth of a projected series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
The year of the shiny, shiny logo.
It's also the first season to include a two-part story mid-season. I don't intend to be consistent about how I approach these mid-season two-parters - I think this season's works best if considered as a single story, but next season we'll get two that really work better as discrete episodes.
I can't not mention the appearance of Picard's new "smart casual" look, with his grey shirt under an open-fronted jacket. Strangely, no one else on the Enterprise seems to be wearing a uniform in this style.
Ignoring the season-straddling cliffhangers for a minute, this season is bookended by very strong episodes, and I think (sneaking a look ahead to the remaining two seasons) it might be my overall favourite season of TNG. It is, however, notable that it contains three stories ("Silicon Avatar", "I, Borg" and "Time's Arrow") that raise the idea of killing off an entire species or unique life form because nobody (on the Enterprise or on the writing team) can think of an alternative way of supplying their feeding habits. Late period TNG's writing team seem to want to take the series into darker, grittier territory, and I can't say that it's a direction I want to see this series go in.
"Redemption II"
Federation starships for everyone! The best thing about this episode is the way Data pressures Picard into giving him one of the temporary commands on offer; the Hornblowerish adventure of Captain Data and his prejudiced first officer offers a lot of dramatic potential, but sadly no time is spent on the aftermath of that adventure. Meanwhile blah blah Klingon Empire blah.
"Darmok"
I'm amazed it took this long for someone to point out the flaw in the "universal translator" idea - it's all very well presenting a word-for-word translation of a foreign language, but it won't mean much if you don't know the context. If only every "first contact" story could be as good as this.
"Ensign Ro"
The one that introduces the Bajorans. Some of the regular characters are a bit off (when did Guinan become so pushy?), but it's hard to say whether Ro is off here, where she's cartoonishly insubordinate, or in every other story she appears in, where she behaves more or less like any other Starfleet officer. The story of underhanded dealings within the Starfleet admiralty is nothing we haven't seen before, but plays out well.
"Silicon Avatar"
A pretty good episode. Of this season's three "kill 'em all!" stories, this is the hardest one to judge because it's so unclear whether or not the Crystalline Entity is acting maliciously and whether Picard might actually have been able to talk it into finding a way of feeding that doesn't involve destroying entire inhabited planets.
"Disaster"
The one with Captain Picard trapped in a lift with three kids. A compelling 45 minutes of peril for several characters in a variety of situations across a crippled Enterprise. Notably sees Troi stepping up to act as Captain on an isolated bridge with (count 'em!) three crewmembers under her.
"The Game"
Oh yeah, the '90s was the time when people really started panicking about the possibility that computer games might be damaging and addictive, wasn't it? Exploring that idea in a Body Snatchers plot starring Wesley Crusher does not make for my favourite episode ever. Icky. Also, the whole business of "Robin's Laws" is just too twee, like some kind of off-the-shelf manufactured character quirk.
"Unification I" & "Unification II"
The one with the dedication to Gene Roddenberry on the front. Probably the first notable crossover of a major TOS character - McCoy only had a blink-and-you'll-miss-him (I certainly did) cameo in "Encounter at Farpoint", and even though Sarek got a whole episode named after him I wouldn't have said he was a major character in that sense. I'm pleased to note the script isn't too fawning around Spock, with its cheeky references to "cowboy diplomacy" (as if TNG hasn't indulged in that itself once or twice). Probably the best bit is the random levity in the second episode with the 4-armed club pianist.
"A Matter of Time"
The one with Matt Frewer. It's largely thanks to his performance that this episode punches above its weight.
"New Ground"
The one about Worf's parenting issues. Eminently missable.
"Hero Worship"
The one about the little orphan boy who imprints on Data. Nice metaphorical mirroring of his coping/denial in the business of turbulence outside the Enterprise being made worse by the Enterprise's own defences.
"Violations"
Oh dear, another supernatural rape for Deanna Troi. I mean, all the telepathic attacks are explicitly described as a form of rape, but only Troi's is overtly presented in a rapey way. I'm sure this episode was well intentioned, but it's horrible viewing.
"The Masterpiece Society"
By numbers stuff with a colony built on eugenics. The dilemma for the colonists and the Enterprise crew is explored well, but I just don't care enough about the guest characters and their society. Deanna Troi's romance with the colony leader feels contrived, and why she would want to holiday there is a mystery.
"Conundrum"
Even though there's very little character work or thematic depth to this episode, I am a complete sucker for stories that suddenly introduce a mystery character into the line-up of a SF series like this. (See also the Torchwood episode "Adam", or the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)
"Power Play"
Well, I suppose it's been a while since we had a possession story. Narratively more routine than other examples of the type, but the performances and the production are pretty darned good.
"Ethics"
The one about Worf's spinal injury. Covers some similar ground to "Half a Life" but takes almost the exact opposite position, with Riker and Dr Crusher refusing outright to make concessions to Worf's request for euthanasia. It's particularly astonishing that Riker of all people, who's spent more time in closer contact with Klingon culture than any other character barring (possibly, and only arguably) Picard, should be so vehement. I mean, it would have been a huge shame to lose Worf, but even so.
"The Outcast"
Not only do I remember previously seeing this episode, I remember the British press getting excited about it beforehand because it supposedly had something to say about homosexuality and was therefore tremendously newsworthy in some way or other. A bit like Season 4's "The Host", this episode has two distinct messages. The one conveyed by the big set-piece monologue, by the whole legislative aspect of the story and by the writers to the press is about homophobia, but the one conveyed overtly by the episode itself is about the unrelated subject of transgenderism. Actually, it seems odd that a species with no gender distinctions would have a concept of gender strong enough for them to experience it and legislate against it, but that's just one of this episode's many problems. It's a muddle of garbled messages and flubbed opportunities.
"Cause and Effect"
A hugely popular episode back in the day, for the simple reason that you get to see the Enterprise blow up several times. (In fact, it's possible I only watched repeat broadcasts of "Time Squared" and "A Matter of Time" because the titles led me to suppose that they might have been this episode.) A hugely popular episode for me now, too. All this SF mystery goodness, and some lovely character scenes too, hooray.
"The First Duty"
The one in which Wesley Crusher is exposed as a great big fibber. It's nice to see Starfleet Academy on scenic old Earth, and it's nice to see Picard chatting with the oft-mentioned groundskeeper, and the story itself is done well - it just isn't a story I was tremendously interested in seeing.
"Cost of Living"
The one where the Enterprise starts turning to jam. Meanwhile Lwaxana Troi takes Worf's son Alexander on a holodeck tour of the Planet of the Mudbathing Clowns. None of this is particularly inspirational.
"The Perfect Mate"
Sweet Jesus, what have we done to deserve this sexist nonsense in the fifth year of this series?!
"Imaginary Friend"
The "imposter human" and "creepy child" tropes play out pretty much as expected. Nothing startling here.
"I, Borg"
Ends with the nice thought that introducing the Borg to concepts of individuality and friendship might be a more effective way of defending against them than committing genocide. Unfortunately we go through the whole genocide conversation first to get there. Picard and Guinan are won over eventually, but not before they've spent half an hour speaking in terms of total war and looking like uncharacteristic bastards.
"The Next Phase"
The one where Geordi La Forge and Ro Laren attend their own funeral. A competent middler, but I don't really have much to say about it. One niggling question: how come Geordi and Laren don't pass through the floor?
"The Inner Light"
The first TNG episode to win a Hugo Award, and quite right too. Like "Darmok", an unusual and engaging story of contact with another culture. Also like "Darmok", it focuses heavily on Picard to the detriment of other regulars, but not much can be done about that.
"Time's Arrow"
The one with Samuel L Clemens. A nice SF mystery and some juicy character work in the first half as everyone comes to terms with Data's mortality, leading into a solid runaround for the remaining half episode. I think (sneaking a peek ahead to the end of Season 6) that this might be my favourite of the TNG season cliffhanger episodes. It's got a touch of Doctor Who about it, which probably helps.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Darmok"
"Cause and Effect"
"The Inner Light"
"Time's Arrow"
"Hero Worship"
"Conundrum"
"Disaster"
"A Matter of Time"
"I, Borg"
"Silicon Avatar"
"The Next Phase"
"The First Duty"
"Ensign Ro"
"Unification"
"Power Play"
"Redemption II"
"The Outcast"
"Ethics"
"The Masterpiece Society"
"Imaginary Friend"
"The Game"
"Cost of Living"
"Violations"
"New Ground"
"The Perfect Mate"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 7 ("Darmok", "Ensign Ro", "Silicon Avatar" - three episodes in a row? must have been broadcast during a school holiday in the UK - "A Matter of Time", "The Outcast", "Cause and Effect", "The Inner Light").
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Darmok", "Cause and Effect" and "The Inner Light" are very fine episodes; to those I'd add "Time's Arrow", "Hero Worship" and "Conundrum". Perhaps another half dozen or more episodes below those that I'd rank in the second tier. It's a very strong season.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
The year of the shiny, shiny logo.
It's also the first season to include a two-part story mid-season. I don't intend to be consistent about how I approach these mid-season two-parters - I think this season's works best if considered as a single story, but next season we'll get two that really work better as discrete episodes.
I can't not mention the appearance of Picard's new "smart casual" look, with his grey shirt under an open-fronted jacket. Strangely, no one else on the Enterprise seems to be wearing a uniform in this style.
Ignoring the season-straddling cliffhangers for a minute, this season is bookended by very strong episodes, and I think (sneaking a look ahead to the remaining two seasons) it might be my overall favourite season of TNG. It is, however, notable that it contains three stories ("Silicon Avatar", "I, Borg" and "Time's Arrow") that raise the idea of killing off an entire species or unique life form because nobody (on the Enterprise or on the writing team) can think of an alternative way of supplying their feeding habits. Late period TNG's writing team seem to want to take the series into darker, grittier territory, and I can't say that it's a direction I want to see this series go in.
"Redemption II"
Federation starships for everyone! The best thing about this episode is the way Data pressures Picard into giving him one of the temporary commands on offer; the Hornblowerish adventure of Captain Data and his prejudiced first officer offers a lot of dramatic potential, but sadly no time is spent on the aftermath of that adventure. Meanwhile blah blah Klingon Empire blah.
"Darmok"
I'm amazed it took this long for someone to point out the flaw in the "universal translator" idea - it's all very well presenting a word-for-word translation of a foreign language, but it won't mean much if you don't know the context. If only every "first contact" story could be as good as this.
"Ensign Ro"
The one that introduces the Bajorans. Some of the regular characters are a bit off (when did Guinan become so pushy?), but it's hard to say whether Ro is off here, where she's cartoonishly insubordinate, or in every other story she appears in, where she behaves more or less like any other Starfleet officer. The story of underhanded dealings within the Starfleet admiralty is nothing we haven't seen before, but plays out well.
"Silicon Avatar"
A pretty good episode. Of this season's three "kill 'em all!" stories, this is the hardest one to judge because it's so unclear whether or not the Crystalline Entity is acting maliciously and whether Picard might actually have been able to talk it into finding a way of feeding that doesn't involve destroying entire inhabited planets.
"Disaster"
The one with Captain Picard trapped in a lift with three kids. A compelling 45 minutes of peril for several characters in a variety of situations across a crippled Enterprise. Notably sees Troi stepping up to act as Captain on an isolated bridge with (count 'em!) three crewmembers under her.
"The Game"
Oh yeah, the '90s was the time when people really started panicking about the possibility that computer games might be damaging and addictive, wasn't it? Exploring that idea in a Body Snatchers plot starring Wesley Crusher does not make for my favourite episode ever. Icky. Also, the whole business of "Robin's Laws" is just too twee, like some kind of off-the-shelf manufactured character quirk.
"Unification I" & "Unification II"
The one with the dedication to Gene Roddenberry on the front. Probably the first notable crossover of a major TOS character - McCoy only had a blink-and-you'll-miss-him (I certainly did) cameo in "Encounter at Farpoint", and even though Sarek got a whole episode named after him I wouldn't have said he was a major character in that sense. I'm pleased to note the script isn't too fawning around Spock, with its cheeky references to "cowboy diplomacy" (as if TNG hasn't indulged in that itself once or twice). Probably the best bit is the random levity in the second episode with the 4-armed club pianist.
"A Matter of Time"
The one with Matt Frewer. It's largely thanks to his performance that this episode punches above its weight.
"New Ground"
The one about Worf's parenting issues. Eminently missable.
"Hero Worship"
The one about the little orphan boy who imprints on Data. Nice metaphorical mirroring of his coping/denial in the business of turbulence outside the Enterprise being made worse by the Enterprise's own defences.
"Violations"
Oh dear, another supernatural rape for Deanna Troi. I mean, all the telepathic attacks are explicitly described as a form of rape, but only Troi's is overtly presented in a rapey way. I'm sure this episode was well intentioned, but it's horrible viewing.
"The Masterpiece Society"
By numbers stuff with a colony built on eugenics. The dilemma for the colonists and the Enterprise crew is explored well, but I just don't care enough about the guest characters and their society. Deanna Troi's romance with the colony leader feels contrived, and why she would want to holiday there is a mystery.
"Conundrum"
Even though there's very little character work or thematic depth to this episode, I am a complete sucker for stories that suddenly introduce a mystery character into the line-up of a SF series like this. (See also the Torchwood episode "Adam", or the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)
"Power Play"
Well, I suppose it's been a while since we had a possession story. Narratively more routine than other examples of the type, but the performances and the production are pretty darned good.
"Ethics"
The one about Worf's spinal injury. Covers some similar ground to "Half a Life" but takes almost the exact opposite position, with Riker and Dr Crusher refusing outright to make concessions to Worf's request for euthanasia. It's particularly astonishing that Riker of all people, who's spent more time in closer contact with Klingon culture than any other character barring (possibly, and only arguably) Picard, should be so vehement. I mean, it would have been a huge shame to lose Worf, but even so.
"The Outcast"
Not only do I remember previously seeing this episode, I remember the British press getting excited about it beforehand because it supposedly had something to say about homosexuality and was therefore tremendously newsworthy in some way or other. A bit like Season 4's "The Host", this episode has two distinct messages. The one conveyed by the big set-piece monologue, by the whole legislative aspect of the story and by the writers to the press is about homophobia, but the one conveyed overtly by the episode itself is about the unrelated subject of transgenderism. Actually, it seems odd that a species with no gender distinctions would have a concept of gender strong enough for them to experience it and legislate against it, but that's just one of this episode's many problems. It's a muddle of garbled messages and flubbed opportunities.
"Cause and Effect"
A hugely popular episode back in the day, for the simple reason that you get to see the Enterprise blow up several times. (In fact, it's possible I only watched repeat broadcasts of "Time Squared" and "A Matter of Time" because the titles led me to suppose that they might have been this episode.) A hugely popular episode for me now, too. All this SF mystery goodness, and some lovely character scenes too, hooray.
"The First Duty"
The one in which Wesley Crusher is exposed as a great big fibber. It's nice to see Starfleet Academy on scenic old Earth, and it's nice to see Picard chatting with the oft-mentioned groundskeeper, and the story itself is done well - it just isn't a story I was tremendously interested in seeing.
"Cost of Living"
The one where the Enterprise starts turning to jam. Meanwhile Lwaxana Troi takes Worf's son Alexander on a holodeck tour of the Planet of the Mudbathing Clowns. None of this is particularly inspirational.
"The Perfect Mate"
Sweet Jesus, what have we done to deserve this sexist nonsense in the fifth year of this series?!
"Imaginary Friend"
The "imposter human" and "creepy child" tropes play out pretty much as expected. Nothing startling here.
"I, Borg"
Ends with the nice thought that introducing the Borg to concepts of individuality and friendship might be a more effective way of defending against them than committing genocide. Unfortunately we go through the whole genocide conversation first to get there. Picard and Guinan are won over eventually, but not before they've spent half an hour speaking in terms of total war and looking like uncharacteristic bastards.
"The Next Phase"
The one where Geordi La Forge and Ro Laren attend their own funeral. A competent middler, but I don't really have much to say about it. One niggling question: how come Geordi and Laren don't pass through the floor?
"The Inner Light"
The first TNG episode to win a Hugo Award, and quite right too. Like "Darmok", an unusual and engaging story of contact with another culture. Also like "Darmok", it focuses heavily on Picard to the detriment of other regulars, but not much can be done about that.
"Time's Arrow"
The one with Samuel L Clemens. A nice SF mystery and some juicy character work in the first half as everyone comes to terms with Data's mortality, leading into a solid runaround for the remaining half episode. I think (sneaking a peek ahead to the end of Season 6) that this might be my favourite of the TNG season cliffhanger episodes. It's got a touch of Doctor Who about it, which probably helps.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Darmok"
"Cause and Effect"
"The Inner Light"
"Time's Arrow"
"Hero Worship"
"Conundrum"
"Disaster"
"A Matter of Time"
"I, Borg"
"Silicon Avatar"
"The Next Phase"
"The First Duty"
"Ensign Ro"
"Unification"
"Power Play"
"Redemption II"
"The Outcast"
"Ethics"
"The Masterpiece Society"
"Imaginary Friend"
"The Game"
"Cost of Living"
"Violations"
"New Ground"
"The Perfect Mate"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 7 ("Darmok", "Ensign Ro", "Silicon Avatar" - three episodes in a row? must have been broadcast during a school holiday in the UK - "A Matter of Time", "The Outcast", "Cause and Effect", "The Inner Light").
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Darmok", "Cause and Effect" and "The Inner Light" are very fine episodes; to those I'd add "Time's Arrow", "Hero Worship" and "Conundrum". Perhaps another half dozen or more episodes below those that I'd rank in the second tier. It's a very strong season.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 4
Welcome, gentle reader, to the fourth of a projected series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
All right, now I'm confused - the opening theme reverts to its original shorter version after Wesley Crusher is dropped from the credits mid-season, and as far as I can tell it stays that way for the rest of the series. Now I have no idea why I should remember more of the later seasons of TNG than of the earlier, yet associate them with the longer version of the theme.
A spot of online research suggests Deep Space Nine didn't start airing until after the next season, but it looks as if the groundwork is being laid here - both the Cardassians and the Trill are introduced in TNG Season 4, and I confidently recall that they're hugely important to DS9 in a way that they don't seem to be so much to TNG.
My overall impression of Season 4 is that it's a big step up in quality after Seasons 2 and 3. The writers seem to have worked out how to build on Season 3's steady baseline while simultaneously reaching for the occasional stand-outs of Season 2.
"The Best of Both Worlds: Part II"
Can TNG stick the landing? Yes, apparently it can. A convincing and exciting resolution to the story.
I still say having Riker as Captain and Shelby as First Officer would have made for an interesting alternative Season 4.
"Family"
A necessary bit of recuperation after the previous two episodes, which also nicely carries on with the idea that Picard might still leave the Enterprise. It's obviously just a feint at this point, but it is very well done. A lovely character-driven episode. Of the two parts of "The Best of Both Worlds", I think the third might be my favourite.
"Brothers"
The one that puts Data, Lore and Dr Soong in the same room together. I'm not entirely sure what merit this episode has, apart from moving a couple of the pieces in the longer-term Data story arc and allowing Brent Spiner to play multiple parts. Nice script, though.
"Suddenly Human"
The one with the human boy raised by warlike aliens. I can't help feeling Picard et al could have approached this whole matter more diplomatically and with the starting assumption that just maybe the kid did belong with the aliens like he said, and it still could have made for an engaging TNG episode. Not exactly a bad episode, but off-key.
"Remember Me"
The one where everyone except Dr Crusher starts to disappear from existence. A nice science fiction puzzle episode, but short on character work - most of the episode is focussed on Dr Crusher, and what have I learned about her at the end that I didn't know before? Also picks up the suggestion from Season 1 that Wesley might one day metamorphose into some kind of science god - as with "Brothers", this looks like a bit of story arc movement without any organic character development, a bit like watching stage hands redress a set without then watching the actors play on it.
"Legacy"
The one set on Tasha Yar's home planet. We get to meet Tasha's sister, who looks and acts nothing like her, and everybody says how much she reminds them of Tasha. Very little happens, and it's hard to believe based on his performance in the previous three seasons that Data could possibly have needed the "moral of the week" he gets at the end. And my word, those street gangs all have very clean, very Eighties hair.
"Reunion"
The one that fridges Worf's female equivalent from Season 2's "The Emissary" and introduces his half-Klingon son. Also notably introduces Gowron and his mad, staring eyes - the Bug-Eyed Earl of Klingons. (I think this is also the first appearance of Background Crewmember With Androgynous Eighties Hairdo, who becomes increasingly noticeable in successive seasons to the point where she's in the front row at Data's poetry reading two seasons from now.)
Plays out a lot like Season 3's "Sins of the Father", and like that episode it's an OK but not stellar instalment in the Worf Saga. A damn shame to have written K'Ehleyr out like that, though. I'm not even sure there was any need or good reason to use the character here except to overegg Worf's revenge story.
(One further small, niggling thought occurs: from all the carrying on about it, I didn't think Worf and K'Ehleyr were supposed to have had sex before "The Emissary" - just how old is Alexander supposed to be?)
"Future Imperfect"
The "Captain Riker" fake-out episode. The set-up is more interesting than the resolution - I almost wish this had been a straight-up time travel story. Why, knowing in hindsight what they ended up doing with Voyager's Doctor, they might even have gotten away with giving Future Captain Riker a holographic wife.
"Final Mission"
The one that strands Wesley Crusher on a desert moon with Picard, just before he's due to leave for Starfleet Academy. "You'll be missed," Picard tells Wesley - bahahahahaha, haaahahahahaa! In fairness, he has been less annoying recently than he was in the first couple of seasons. Still, away with him.
"The Loss"
The one in which Deanna Troi temporarily loses her empathic abilities. As a story about coping and denial, it feels like it's walking a fine line between meaningfulness and clunkiness. Some of the characters seem to be having a bad week too - the portrayal of Riker is particularly off-key. On the other hand, Guinan's scene is predictably great. Perhaps the episode works better as a more literal comment on the importance of empathy.
"Data's Day"
A lovely slice-of-life episode filtered through the character of Data. The framing device of Data corresponding with the cyberneticist who tried to commandeer him for research in Season 2 is also a nice touch.
"The Wounded"
The one that deals with the aftermath of the previous year's war with the Cardassians, about which we have previously heard nothing. (Perhaps it's a consequence of the historical shenanigans in "Yesterday's Enterprise"?) The business of chasing after the rogue Federation ship is great, the contrast between diplomatic Captain Picard's response and hawkish Captain Maxwell's response to the Cardassian situation is great, the scene between the two captains is great... Basically, it's great.
"Devil's Due"
What's a TOS throwback like this doing in TNG's fourth season? And yet, quite well handled. My impression is that the baseline for "average" TNG has risen over the past three years to the point that even the below average stuff like this works. On a note barely related to the main story, the idea of Data using a kind of reverse method acting to study emotions is a nice one.
"Clues"
A nice SF mystery story. It's more mechanistic and less character driven than I'd like, but it works well.
"First Contact"
The one where Riker is held in an alien hospital and propositioned by a UFO nut. Probably a better first contact story than "Who Watches the Watchers" - at least here nobody's hiding behind a duck blind. Also very obviously taps into the UFO conspiracy tropes that were all the rage in the '90s, so it's somewhat of its time.
"Galaxy's Child"
The one about how you shouldn't meet your heroes. Actually, as regards Geordi's holodeck activities, I'm with Dr Leah Brahms - what he did with her likeness and personal data isn't very far removed from what Barclay was doing back in "Hollow Pursuits". Basically he's her stalker. This episode is strangely reluctant to acknowledge and deal with that side of the story.
"Night Terrors"
A high middling episode - one of those SF mysteries that TNG is getting good at. Gets extra points for noting the interesting overlap between the effects of sleep deprivation and the tropes of ghost stories.
"Identity Crisis"
The one where Geordi La Forge mutates into an alien creature that glows under UV light. All the better to stand out at the alien mutant disco, I suppose. Like "Devil's Due", weak yet competently made.
"The Nth Degree"
Charly rewritten with Reg "holodeck perve" Barclay. Another example of how Season 4 has raised the standard of "average" TNG.
"Qpid"
Oh, please, remind us about the episode "Captain's Holiday", said no one ever. So, a fitting sequel, then. I'm sure the cast had a ball doing a Robin Hood episode, but... feh.
"The Drumhead"
"Coming of Age" reworked for Season 4 and done with more flair. I particularly like the way that Worf, with the accusation of his father collaborating with Romulans still hanging over him, throws his lot in with the inquisitors like he needs to prove something.
"Half a Life"
An episode that deals extremely well with questions of culture clash and personal ethics in cross-cultural relationships. The return appearance of Lwaxana Troi didn't bode well, but this episode reins in her worst excesses and adds surprising depth to her character. Nice guest turn from That David Ogden Stiers Off Of M*A*S*H, too.
"The Host"
This episode appears to want to convey one message, but ends with a ham-fisted monologue that suggests the writers had a different message in mind. On the positive side, both messages are applicable to the episode and both are perfectly sound. The writers' message is that love should be about the essential character of the people involved and not about their physical appearance. (It could be read specifically as Dr Crusher being unwilling to accept her love interest changing sex, but she's not exactly thrilled about the symbiont temporarily wearing Riker's body either.) The episode's own message, and the one that I think is more applicable, is that in this situation, the people involved are entitled to disclosure in advance. I mean, the Trill guy actually deliberately hides the fact that he's a symbiont wearing a host body (could have volunteered an explanation whenever the transporter was mentioned, but ohhh no), and then implies Dr Crusher's in the wrong when she discovers he's not who/what he led her to believe he was. Not in the top rank, but an interesting episode.
"The Mind's Eye"
The Manchurian Engineer. Less interesting than it should have been.
"In Theory"
The one where Data gets "a passionate kiss in the torpedo bay" (I've never heard it called that before, nudge nudge, etc etc). "Data experiments with romance" is an arguably interesting premise but horrible in practice - the scene in which he acts out a string of sitcom clichés is particularly foul. Stomp on that Lieutenant's heart, stomp on it! A watchable middling episode if you can refrain from caring about the characters at all.
"Redemption"
First of the "team-up" cliffhangers. This year, it's the Romulans and Evil Tasha Yar against the Klingons, building on groundwork laid down in "The Mind's Eye". Also featuring the Duras sisters and their absurd boob-windows. If the truth be known, I'm starting to get Klingon story arc fatigue; I wouldn't mind so much if this two-parter were to be the end of it, but I suspect it won't be.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Data's Day"
"The Wounded"
"Family"
"The Best of Both Worlds: Part II"
"Half a Life"
"The Drumhead"
"Future Imperfect"
"Night Terrors"
"Clues"
"Suddenly Human"
"First Contact"
"Redemption"
"The Host"
"The Nth Degree"
"The Mind's Eye"
"In Theory"
"Galaxy's Child"
"The Loss"
"Reunion"
"Brothers"
"Remember Me"
"Final Mission"
"Identity Crisis"
"Devil's Due"
"Qpid"
"Legacy"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 3 ("The Best of Both Worlds: Part II", "Night Terrors", "In Theory")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Data's Day", "The Wounded", and "Family" as part of a three-part story including "The Best of Both Worlds". "Half a Life" and "The Drumhead" would also be likely choices. I'd rank a few episodes below those as stuff that I'd be happy to watch but wouldn't personally reach for.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
All right, now I'm confused - the opening theme reverts to its original shorter version after Wesley Crusher is dropped from the credits mid-season, and as far as I can tell it stays that way for the rest of the series. Now I have no idea why I should remember more of the later seasons of TNG than of the earlier, yet associate them with the longer version of the theme.
A spot of online research suggests Deep Space Nine didn't start airing until after the next season, but it looks as if the groundwork is being laid here - both the Cardassians and the Trill are introduced in TNG Season 4, and I confidently recall that they're hugely important to DS9 in a way that they don't seem to be so much to TNG.
My overall impression of Season 4 is that it's a big step up in quality after Seasons 2 and 3. The writers seem to have worked out how to build on Season 3's steady baseline while simultaneously reaching for the occasional stand-outs of Season 2.
"The Best of Both Worlds: Part II"
Can TNG stick the landing? Yes, apparently it can. A convincing and exciting resolution to the story.
I still say having Riker as Captain and Shelby as First Officer would have made for an interesting alternative Season 4.
"Family"
A necessary bit of recuperation after the previous two episodes, which also nicely carries on with the idea that Picard might still leave the Enterprise. It's obviously just a feint at this point, but it is very well done. A lovely character-driven episode. Of the two parts of "The Best of Both Worlds", I think the third might be my favourite.
"Brothers"
The one that puts Data, Lore and Dr Soong in the same room together. I'm not entirely sure what merit this episode has, apart from moving a couple of the pieces in the longer-term Data story arc and allowing Brent Spiner to play multiple parts. Nice script, though.
"Suddenly Human"
The one with the human boy raised by warlike aliens. I can't help feeling Picard et al could have approached this whole matter more diplomatically and with the starting assumption that just maybe the kid did belong with the aliens like he said, and it still could have made for an engaging TNG episode. Not exactly a bad episode, but off-key.
"Remember Me"
The one where everyone except Dr Crusher starts to disappear from existence. A nice science fiction puzzle episode, but short on character work - most of the episode is focussed on Dr Crusher, and what have I learned about her at the end that I didn't know before? Also picks up the suggestion from Season 1 that Wesley might one day metamorphose into some kind of science god - as with "Brothers", this looks like a bit of story arc movement without any organic character development, a bit like watching stage hands redress a set without then watching the actors play on it.
"Legacy"
The one set on Tasha Yar's home planet. We get to meet Tasha's sister, who looks and acts nothing like her, and everybody says how much she reminds them of Tasha. Very little happens, and it's hard to believe based on his performance in the previous three seasons that Data could possibly have needed the "moral of the week" he gets at the end. And my word, those street gangs all have very clean, very Eighties hair.
"Reunion"
The one that fridges Worf's female equivalent from Season 2's "The Emissary" and introduces his half-Klingon son. Also notably introduces Gowron and his mad, staring eyes - the Bug-Eyed Earl of Klingons. (I think this is also the first appearance of Background Crewmember With Androgynous Eighties Hairdo, who becomes increasingly noticeable in successive seasons to the point where she's in the front row at Data's poetry reading two seasons from now.)
Plays out a lot like Season 3's "Sins of the Father", and like that episode it's an OK but not stellar instalment in the Worf Saga. A damn shame to have written K'Ehleyr out like that, though. I'm not even sure there was any need or good reason to use the character here except to overegg Worf's revenge story.
(One further small, niggling thought occurs: from all the carrying on about it, I didn't think Worf and K'Ehleyr were supposed to have had sex before "The Emissary" - just how old is Alexander supposed to be?)
"Future Imperfect"
The "Captain Riker" fake-out episode. The set-up is more interesting than the resolution - I almost wish this had been a straight-up time travel story. Why, knowing in hindsight what they ended up doing with Voyager's Doctor, they might even have gotten away with giving Future Captain Riker a holographic wife.
"Final Mission"
The one that strands Wesley Crusher on a desert moon with Picard, just before he's due to leave for Starfleet Academy. "You'll be missed," Picard tells Wesley - bahahahahaha, haaahahahahaa! In fairness, he has been less annoying recently than he was in the first couple of seasons. Still, away with him.
"The Loss"
The one in which Deanna Troi temporarily loses her empathic abilities. As a story about coping and denial, it feels like it's walking a fine line between meaningfulness and clunkiness. Some of the characters seem to be having a bad week too - the portrayal of Riker is particularly off-key. On the other hand, Guinan's scene is predictably great. Perhaps the episode works better as a more literal comment on the importance of empathy.
"Data's Day"
A lovely slice-of-life episode filtered through the character of Data. The framing device of Data corresponding with the cyberneticist who tried to commandeer him for research in Season 2 is also a nice touch.
"The Wounded"
The one that deals with the aftermath of the previous year's war with the Cardassians, about which we have previously heard nothing. (Perhaps it's a consequence of the historical shenanigans in "Yesterday's Enterprise"?) The business of chasing after the rogue Federation ship is great, the contrast between diplomatic Captain Picard's response and hawkish Captain Maxwell's response to the Cardassian situation is great, the scene between the two captains is great... Basically, it's great.
"Devil's Due"
What's a TOS throwback like this doing in TNG's fourth season? And yet, quite well handled. My impression is that the baseline for "average" TNG has risen over the past three years to the point that even the below average stuff like this works. On a note barely related to the main story, the idea of Data using a kind of reverse method acting to study emotions is a nice one.
"Clues"
A nice SF mystery story. It's more mechanistic and less character driven than I'd like, but it works well.
"First Contact"
The one where Riker is held in an alien hospital and propositioned by a UFO nut. Probably a better first contact story than "Who Watches the Watchers" - at least here nobody's hiding behind a duck blind. Also very obviously taps into the UFO conspiracy tropes that were all the rage in the '90s, so it's somewhat of its time.
"Galaxy's Child"
The one about how you shouldn't meet your heroes. Actually, as regards Geordi's holodeck activities, I'm with Dr Leah Brahms - what he did with her likeness and personal data isn't very far removed from what Barclay was doing back in "Hollow Pursuits". Basically he's her stalker. This episode is strangely reluctant to acknowledge and deal with that side of the story.
"Night Terrors"
A high middling episode - one of those SF mysteries that TNG is getting good at. Gets extra points for noting the interesting overlap between the effects of sleep deprivation and the tropes of ghost stories.
"Identity Crisis"
The one where Geordi La Forge mutates into an alien creature that glows under UV light. All the better to stand out at the alien mutant disco, I suppose. Like "Devil's Due", weak yet competently made.
"The Nth Degree"
Charly rewritten with Reg "holodeck perve" Barclay. Another example of how Season 4 has raised the standard of "average" TNG.
"Qpid"
Oh, please, remind us about the episode "Captain's Holiday", said no one ever. So, a fitting sequel, then. I'm sure the cast had a ball doing a Robin Hood episode, but... feh.
"The Drumhead"
"Coming of Age" reworked for Season 4 and done with more flair. I particularly like the way that Worf, with the accusation of his father collaborating with Romulans still hanging over him, throws his lot in with the inquisitors like he needs to prove something.
"Half a Life"
An episode that deals extremely well with questions of culture clash and personal ethics in cross-cultural relationships. The return appearance of Lwaxana Troi didn't bode well, but this episode reins in her worst excesses and adds surprising depth to her character. Nice guest turn from That David Ogden Stiers Off Of M*A*S*H, too.
"The Host"
This episode appears to want to convey one message, but ends with a ham-fisted monologue that suggests the writers had a different message in mind. On the positive side, both messages are applicable to the episode and both are perfectly sound. The writers' message is that love should be about the essential character of the people involved and not about their physical appearance. (It could be read specifically as Dr Crusher being unwilling to accept her love interest changing sex, but she's not exactly thrilled about the symbiont temporarily wearing Riker's body either.) The episode's own message, and the one that I think is more applicable, is that in this situation, the people involved are entitled to disclosure in advance. I mean, the Trill guy actually deliberately hides the fact that he's a symbiont wearing a host body (could have volunteered an explanation whenever the transporter was mentioned, but ohhh no), and then implies Dr Crusher's in the wrong when she discovers he's not who/what he led her to believe he was. Not in the top rank, but an interesting episode.
"The Mind's Eye"
The Manchurian Engineer. Less interesting than it should have been.
"In Theory"
The one where Data gets "a passionate kiss in the torpedo bay" (I've never heard it called that before, nudge nudge, etc etc). "Data experiments with romance" is an arguably interesting premise but horrible in practice - the scene in which he acts out a string of sitcom clichés is particularly foul. Stomp on that Lieutenant's heart, stomp on it! A watchable middling episode if you can refrain from caring about the characters at all.
"Redemption"
First of the "team-up" cliffhangers. This year, it's the Romulans and Evil Tasha Yar against the Klingons, building on groundwork laid down in "The Mind's Eye". Also featuring the Duras sisters and their absurd boob-windows. If the truth be known, I'm starting to get Klingon story arc fatigue; I wouldn't mind so much if this two-parter were to be the end of it, but I suspect it won't be.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Data's Day"
"The Wounded"
"Family"
"The Best of Both Worlds: Part II"
"Half a Life"
"The Drumhead"
"Future Imperfect"
"Night Terrors"
"Clues"
"Suddenly Human"
"First Contact"
"Redemption"
"The Host"
"The Nth Degree"
"The Mind's Eye"
"In Theory"
"Galaxy's Child"
"The Loss"
"Reunion"
"Brothers"
"Remember Me"
"Final Mission"
"Identity Crisis"
"Devil's Due"
"Qpid"
"Legacy"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 3 ("The Best of Both Worlds: Part II", "Night Terrors", "In Theory")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Data's Day", "The Wounded", and "Family" as part of a three-part story including "The Best of Both Worlds". "Half a Life" and "The Drumhead" would also be likely choices. I'd rank a few episodes below those as stuff that I'd be happy to watch but wouldn't personally reach for.
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 3
Welcome, gentle reader, to the third of a projected series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
Ooh, a new title sequence. This one feels more familiar to me, but I think I prefer the other one, with its journey out of the Solar System.
Still loving Ron Jones' musical stylings. Also, welcome Jay Chattaway who debuts with some interesting sounds in "Tin Man". Every time I notice interesting incidental music in an episode, I smile and imagine Rick Berman shaking his fist in thwarted fury.
My feeling about Season 3 after watching it all is that it has a higher number of passably good episodes than Season 2, but fewer standouts. It's as if both seasons started with the same total volume of quality, and Season 3 spread it around more - but more thinly - than Season 2, which concentrated it in some episodes at the expense of others.
"Evolution"
The one in which Wesley Fricking Crusher's science project achieves sentience and is granted its own planet. Honestly, that child needs supervision. A fair season opener, but not a dazzling one.
"The Ensigns of Command"
In which Data has to persuade a colony to evacuate a contested planet, while Picard buys time by picking loopholes in a treaty. This kind of feels like the sort of story Star Trek ought to do, but it also kind of feels like the writers and the characters are just going through the motions. Which is no less true of the next couple of episodes, but somehow this one has left less of an impression on me.
"The Survivors"
An old-fashioned episode, but well handled. It actually has a bit of the feel of an old Twilight Zone story about it. It's Kevin's revelations at the end that save this episode from sinking into blandness.
"Who Watches the Watchers"
Presented as a dilemma-tastic Prime Directive episode, except that nobody really seems to have much trouble with throwing the Prime Directive out the window. Plays better as a story of first contact, none too surprising but somewhat charming. I enjoyed it.
"The Bonding"
A welcome left turn, examining how the crew of a utopian 24th century exploratory starship manage a child's bereavement. A really good handling of difficult subject matter.
"Booby Trap"
Geordi and the Enterprise on Holodeck 3, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. As a story about how poor old Geordi La Forge can't get a date, awkward. As a story about the alchemical marriage between the Chief Engineer and his ship, better.
"The Enemy"
Enemy Mine rewritten with Geordi and a Romulan. Pretty good.
"The Price"
The one where Troi is pressured into bed by the sort of manipulative weasel I wouldn't have expected to find working as a diplomat in the 24th century. And yes, I dare say this was intended and I dare say that everyone was happy with the result - so a slow handclap there, production team - I just don't believe it should have been made as an episode of TNG. Uncomfortable viewing. And Troi (certainly in the opening scene) seems strangely out of character to me. This whole episode looks like it was written by an intern.
"The Vengeance Factor"
Reconciliation between alien factions, blood feud, etc etc. This feels like rote Star Trek storytelling - a so-so episode. And theSnake Plissken Cosplay Society Gatherers are far too '80s to be taken seriously.
"The Defector"
As episodes about the Neutral Zone go, a good one. Including the "king in disguise" scene from Henry V is a good move on several levels: that it establishes the "eve of war" mood of the episode is fine, that it prefigures later revelations in the episode is a bit more subtle, but that it should feature Patrick Stewart - the Enterprise's own king - in disguise as one of the holographic soldiers is downright brilliant.
"The Hunted"
The one about the rehabilitation of war veterans. Well-constructed in narrative terms, but unsubtle and didactic.
"The High Ground"
The one where Dr Crusher gets abducted by terrorists. Unlike the previous episode, this one presents the issues for the viewer's own consideration and doesn't pull its punches as often, so TNG is to be commended for that. But it's a bit too gritty for me to want to watch it again. Let's get back to the wacky cosmic shenanigans, shall we?
"Déjà Q"
As a comedy episode, it feels quite mean spirited in places, but the script is a lot wittier than almost any other TNG comedy episode I can think of. Almost witty enough for me to forgive the excessively cheesy ending. A couple of nice reflective moments in here too.
"A Matter of Perspective"
The one where Riker is tried for murder on the Enterprise's holodeck. Hinges on the rather odd and dubious premise that the holodeck's set dressing can somehow interact with scientific apparatus outside the ship in exactly the same way as the real - and apparently experimental - bit of apparatus it's imitating. Still, a pretty good episode.
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
Not just a good old time travel/parallel timeline story, but a way to reaffirm the joyous voyage of discovery TNG wants to be (and sometimes is) by contrasting it with the grim militaristic adventure it so easily could have been (and that Deep Space Nine would end up becoming). War with the Klingons? That's not what this series is about. Probably my favourite of Season 3.
"The Offspring"
Feels a lot like the poor cousin of "The Measure of a Man". Captain Picard's behaviour here runs completely counter to his position in the earlier episode, which makes for uncomfortable viewing. And too much of Lal's screen time is given over either to "amusing" antics or to sledgehammer sentiment. Like a number of other episodes in this season, it's well made but just not what I came looking for.
"Sins of the Father"
The one where Worf accepts public dishonour for the sake of political expediency. I can see that this episode is deliberately setting Worf up for further development later on, so can make allowances for the downbeat ending. Perhaps not as strong as other Worf episodes to date, but Michael Dorn hasn't had a bad one yet.
"Allegiance"
The one with the alien abductions and fake Picard. Unremarkable stuff.
"Captain's Holiday"
In which Captain Picard takes shore leave on Risa, the planet of the sex tourists. Cue a lot of lingering bikini shots and gags about "the women", lest there be any doubt as to the target audience being pandered to. The story itself is a so-so Indiana Jones runaround.
"Tin Man"
The one with the neurotic telepath and the living spaceship. I didn't find this one a knockout episode, but I did find it quite charming - somewhere just short of the top rank of the season.
"Hollow Pursuits"
The first one to feature Howlin' Mad Murdoch as Reg Barclay. Here we have the same problem as with Ensign Gomez in last season's "Q Who", namely that a qualified Starfleet officer - I mean, somehow he's made it to the rank of Lieutenant - could possibly be such an incompetent klutz. Still, it's a pretty good episode for Guinan.
(And speaking of Ensign Gomez, that's the last time I can remember seeing a female crewmember in Engineering. They've started to reappear in Season 4, which only emphasises Season 3's shortcomings vis-à-vis female characters.)
"The Most Toys"
The one where Artie from Warehouse 13 kidnaps Data for his collection. A great guest performance from Saul Rubinek. The story itself... another one of those Season 3 also-rans. And having Data possibly attempting to kill the collector sullies his character unnecessarily - having him throw that "only an android" remark back in the guy's face at the end and leaving it at that would have been ample payoff.
"Sarek"
So TNG is visited by part of TOS, and within 20 minutes there's a full-on old-fashioned brawl happening in the bar. I think this one falls within the top third of the season, but let's face it, it's largely carried by (and possibly, for all I know, built around) that scene of Patrick Stewart showcasing his theatrical skills.
"Ménage à Troi"
The one with the Ferengi sex pest. Naturally I'm not keen on seeing another Lwaxana Troi episode - the "predatory older woman" stuff has been dialled back a bit, but the "overbearing mother" stuff has been dialled up to compensate.
"Transfigurations"
Oh, that old business about evolution being a teleological progression towards non-corporeality. A good-enough story about finding potential within ourselves, but a decidedly ordinary TNG episode.
"The Best of Both Worlds"
At last, TNG figures out how to do season finales! Introducing an obvious replacement for Riker and dropping hints about Riker's own imminent promotion to Captain makes for a good feint - it really does feel as though the resolution to the cliffhanger in Season 4 could go either way. I'm prepared to make allowances for the fact that this episode is all set-up for next season's opener - there's a lot of running on the spot to get us to the big "Locutus of Borg" moment. But I think this episode's strength is not in its plot, but in the friction between Riker and Shelby - it could have made for some very interesting character development in Season 4.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
"The Bonding"
"Déjà Q"
"Sins of the Father"
"The Best of Both Worlds"
"Who Watches the Watchers"
"Tin Man"
"Sarek"
"The Defector"
"The High Ground"
"The Offspring"
"The Most Toys"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"The Enemy"
"Booby Trap"
"Evolution"
"The Survivors"
"Transfigurations"
"Allegiance"
"The Hunted"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"Ménàge a Troi"
"Captain's Holiday"
"The Price"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 3 ("The Enemy", "The Offspring", "The Best of Both Worlds")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Yesterday's Enterprise" has the richness of content and themes to support a rewatch. I think that's the only real standout for me this season; maybe "The Bonding", at a stretch. But as I said before, there are a lot of episodes here that I would describe as passably good - more or less on the level with Season 2's second tier episodes. Probably the entire first half of the list above would fall into that category.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
Ooh, a new title sequence. This one feels more familiar to me, but I think I prefer the other one, with its journey out of the Solar System.
Still loving Ron Jones' musical stylings. Also, welcome Jay Chattaway who debuts with some interesting sounds in "Tin Man". Every time I notice interesting incidental music in an episode, I smile and imagine Rick Berman shaking his fist in thwarted fury.
My feeling about Season 3 after watching it all is that it has a higher number of passably good episodes than Season 2, but fewer standouts. It's as if both seasons started with the same total volume of quality, and Season 3 spread it around more - but more thinly - than Season 2, which concentrated it in some episodes at the expense of others.
"Evolution"
The one in which Wesley Fricking Crusher's science project achieves sentience and is granted its own planet. Honestly, that child needs supervision. A fair season opener, but not a dazzling one.
"The Ensigns of Command"
In which Data has to persuade a colony to evacuate a contested planet, while Picard buys time by picking loopholes in a treaty. This kind of feels like the sort of story Star Trek ought to do, but it also kind of feels like the writers and the characters are just going through the motions. Which is no less true of the next couple of episodes, but somehow this one has left less of an impression on me.
"The Survivors"
An old-fashioned episode, but well handled. It actually has a bit of the feel of an old Twilight Zone story about it. It's Kevin's revelations at the end that save this episode from sinking into blandness.
"Who Watches the Watchers"
Presented as a dilemma-tastic Prime Directive episode, except that nobody really seems to have much trouble with throwing the Prime Directive out the window. Plays better as a story of first contact, none too surprising but somewhat charming. I enjoyed it.
"The Bonding"
A welcome left turn, examining how the crew of a utopian 24th century exploratory starship manage a child's bereavement. A really good handling of difficult subject matter.
"Booby Trap"
Geordi and the Enterprise on Holodeck 3, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. As a story about how poor old Geordi La Forge can't get a date, awkward. As a story about the alchemical marriage between the Chief Engineer and his ship, better.
"The Enemy"
Enemy Mine rewritten with Geordi and a Romulan. Pretty good.
"The Price"
The one where Troi is pressured into bed by the sort of manipulative weasel I wouldn't have expected to find working as a diplomat in the 24th century. And yes, I dare say this was intended and I dare say that everyone was happy with the result - so a slow handclap there, production team - I just don't believe it should have been made as an episode of TNG. Uncomfortable viewing. And Troi (certainly in the opening scene) seems strangely out of character to me. This whole episode looks like it was written by an intern.
"The Vengeance Factor"
Reconciliation between alien factions, blood feud, etc etc. This feels like rote Star Trek storytelling - a so-so episode. And the
"The Defector"
As episodes about the Neutral Zone go, a good one. Including the "king in disguise" scene from Henry V is a good move on several levels: that it establishes the "eve of war" mood of the episode is fine, that it prefigures later revelations in the episode is a bit more subtle, but that it should feature Patrick Stewart - the Enterprise's own king - in disguise as one of the holographic soldiers is downright brilliant.
"The Hunted"
The one about the rehabilitation of war veterans. Well-constructed in narrative terms, but unsubtle and didactic.
"The High Ground"
The one where Dr Crusher gets abducted by terrorists. Unlike the previous episode, this one presents the issues for the viewer's own consideration and doesn't pull its punches as often, so TNG is to be commended for that. But it's a bit too gritty for me to want to watch it again. Let's get back to the wacky cosmic shenanigans, shall we?
"Déjà Q"
As a comedy episode, it feels quite mean spirited in places, but the script is a lot wittier than almost any other TNG comedy episode I can think of. Almost witty enough for me to forgive the excessively cheesy ending. A couple of nice reflective moments in here too.
"A Matter of Perspective"
The one where Riker is tried for murder on the Enterprise's holodeck. Hinges on the rather odd and dubious premise that the holodeck's set dressing can somehow interact with scientific apparatus outside the ship in exactly the same way as the real - and apparently experimental - bit of apparatus it's imitating. Still, a pretty good episode.
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
Not just a good old time travel/parallel timeline story, but a way to reaffirm the joyous voyage of discovery TNG wants to be (and sometimes is) by contrasting it with the grim militaristic adventure it so easily could have been (and that Deep Space Nine would end up becoming). War with the Klingons? That's not what this series is about. Probably my favourite of Season 3.
"The Offspring"
Feels a lot like the poor cousin of "The Measure of a Man". Captain Picard's behaviour here runs completely counter to his position in the earlier episode, which makes for uncomfortable viewing. And too much of Lal's screen time is given over either to "amusing" antics or to sledgehammer sentiment. Like a number of other episodes in this season, it's well made but just not what I came looking for.
"Sins of the Father"
The one where Worf accepts public dishonour for the sake of political expediency. I can see that this episode is deliberately setting Worf up for further development later on, so can make allowances for the downbeat ending. Perhaps not as strong as other Worf episodes to date, but Michael Dorn hasn't had a bad one yet.
"Allegiance"
The one with the alien abductions and fake Picard. Unremarkable stuff.
"Captain's Holiday"
In which Captain Picard takes shore leave on Risa, the planet of the sex tourists. Cue a lot of lingering bikini shots and gags about "the women", lest there be any doubt as to the target audience being pandered to. The story itself is a so-so Indiana Jones runaround.
"Tin Man"
The one with the neurotic telepath and the living spaceship. I didn't find this one a knockout episode, but I did find it quite charming - somewhere just short of the top rank of the season.
"Hollow Pursuits"
The first one to feature Howlin' Mad Murdoch as Reg Barclay. Here we have the same problem as with Ensign Gomez in last season's "Q Who", namely that a qualified Starfleet officer - I mean, somehow he's made it to the rank of Lieutenant - could possibly be such an incompetent klutz. Still, it's a pretty good episode for Guinan.
(And speaking of Ensign Gomez, that's the last time I can remember seeing a female crewmember in Engineering. They've started to reappear in Season 4, which only emphasises Season 3's shortcomings vis-à-vis female characters.)
"The Most Toys"
The one where Artie from Warehouse 13 kidnaps Data for his collection. A great guest performance from Saul Rubinek. The story itself... another one of those Season 3 also-rans. And having Data possibly attempting to kill the collector sullies his character unnecessarily - having him throw that "only an android" remark back in the guy's face at the end and leaving it at that would have been ample payoff.
"Sarek"
So TNG is visited by part of TOS, and within 20 minutes there's a full-on old-fashioned brawl happening in the bar. I think this one falls within the top third of the season, but let's face it, it's largely carried by (and possibly, for all I know, built around) that scene of Patrick Stewart showcasing his theatrical skills.
"Ménage à Troi"
The one with the Ferengi sex pest. Naturally I'm not keen on seeing another Lwaxana Troi episode - the "predatory older woman" stuff has been dialled back a bit, but the "overbearing mother" stuff has been dialled up to compensate.
"Transfigurations"
Oh, that old business about evolution being a teleological progression towards non-corporeality. A good-enough story about finding potential within ourselves, but a decidedly ordinary TNG episode.
"The Best of Both Worlds"
At last, TNG figures out how to do season finales! Introducing an obvious replacement for Riker and dropping hints about Riker's own imminent promotion to Captain makes for a good feint - it really does feel as though the resolution to the cliffhanger in Season 4 could go either way. I'm prepared to make allowances for the fact that this episode is all set-up for next season's opener - there's a lot of running on the spot to get us to the big "Locutus of Borg" moment. But I think this episode's strength is not in its plot, but in the friction between Riker and Shelby - it could have made for some very interesting character development in Season 4.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Yesterday's Enterprise"
"The Bonding"
"Déjà Q"
"Sins of the Father"
"The Best of Both Worlds"
"Who Watches the Watchers"
"Tin Man"
"Sarek"
"The Defector"
"The High Ground"
"The Offspring"
"The Most Toys"
"A Matter of Perspective"
"The Enemy"
"Booby Trap"
"Evolution"
"The Survivors"
"Transfigurations"
"Allegiance"
"The Hunted"
"The Ensigns of Command"
"The Vengeance Factor"
"Hollow Pursuits"
"Ménàge a Troi"
"Captain's Holiday"
"The Price"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 3 ("The Enemy", "The Offspring", "The Best of Both Worlds")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: "Yesterday's Enterprise" has the richness of content and themes to support a rewatch. I think that's the only real standout for me this season; maybe "The Bonding", at a stretch. But as I said before, there are a lot of episodes here that I would describe as passably good - more or less on the level with Season 2's second tier episodes. Probably the entire first half of the list above would fall into that category.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 2
Welcome, gentle reader, to the second of a projected series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
A surprising number of things have changed in the interval between seasons - this year's opening episode almost amounts to a "soft reboot". Riker's grown his familiar beard at last. Troi's got a better hairdo. Geordi's been relocated from the bridge to the engine room. Miles O'Brien is a semi-regular character and actually has a name now (having appeared as "Battle Bridge Conn" in the pilot). Worf's original sash, which looked as if it was fashioned out of wicker, has been replaced with a chunky metal one. Dr Crusher is ignominiously written out, although tragically she didn't take Wesley with her. In comes the new Medical Officer Dr Pulaski, who doesn't really have the same chemistry with the rest of the crew but who does at least get a small amount of interesting development in her attitude towards Data. The opening theme is now the slightly longer version I was expecting. The effects team have put together a new "warp speed" effect for use in Ten Forward which is just lovely.
And of course, Whoopi Goldberg starts turning up as Guinan, possibly the TNG character I remember liking the most. She arguably treads on Troi's toes somewhat as a counsellor-figure for the main crew, but she's a lot more fun.
"The Child"
The first occasion on which Deanna Troi is supernaturally raped - but not, sadly, the last. (Yes, I've seen Star Trek: Nemesis and wish I could unsee it.) That this is presented as a wonderful, magical form of alien contact that Troi should embrace by having her rape baby only makes it worse. A bad episode, but still - strictly in terms of its production - better than a lot of Season 1.
"Where Silence Has Lease"
A bit like "Skin of Evil", with a capricious blob killing a bridge officer and threatening to kill off other crewmembers for its own amusement. (I'll bet poor old Ensign Haskell didn't get a nice funeral in the holodeck, either!) Car crash stuff.
"Elementary, Dear Data"
A nice bait-and-switch, as a story about Data proving he's sentient becomes a story about Professor Moriarty, Data's holodeck plaything, proving that he's sentient, too. Anticipates the "equal rights for holograms" material that I recall Voyager playing with at length.
"The Outrageous Okona"
Heavens preserve us from "lovable rogue" stories. A middling example of the type. Also notable as the episode in which Data attempts stand-up comedy. Like "The Child", it just about skims over the surface of Lake Car Crash.
"Loud as a Whisper"
A great episode about communication. The deaf mediator's telepathic "Chorus" is a brilliant idea, and unusually inventive for a series that typically ignores the whole notion of alternative forms of communication. (Yes, I'm looking at you, universal translator!) Finally, an essential TNG episode.
"The Schizoid Man"
The one where an unpleasant old git cheats death by invading Data's body. Cue scenes of Creepy Data stalking the man's female lab assistant. Grist to Brent Spiner's mill, of course, but not great viewing. Most notable for the apparently unrelated opening scene in which Data wears a beard - now what the hell's going on there?
"Unnatural Selection"
The one in which Dr Pulaski rapidly ages, but it's all right because that can be undone by science-magic. A mildly interesting cautionary tale against second-guessing nature, but more obviously a showcase for Diana Muldaur's acting skills.
"A Matter of Honor"
The one where Riker gets a work placement on a Klingon ship. An excellent window on Klingon culture, building on last season's "Heart of Glory". I remembered this one pretty clearly, and no wonder.
"The Measure of a Man"
Perhaps this should have been a flashback episode - the whole question of Data's right to determine his own fate surely should have been cleared up when he first became a Starfleet officer. But then we wouldn't have had the great scene of Guinan playing devil's advocate to Picard in a quiet bar, which really opens up the episode thematically and elevates this story to the level of top-tier TV SF.
"The Dauphin"
Wesley Crusher in love, yikes. Cue a lot of awkward nonsense from various characters about What Women Are Like And How To Win Them, although the fact a lot of it is played for laughs does at least demonstrate how ridiculous it is.
"Contagion"
The one where the Enterprise contracts a computer virus. Captain Picard really should have scanned the Yamato's log before he opened it, tsk tsk. Notably, the first instance of "tea, Earl Grey, hot", although only as a pretext for showing the replicator malfunctioning. Overall, a pretty good episode.
"The Royale"
As Quentin Tarantino might say, a Royale with cheese. Some interesting surreal potential early on gives way to what is, by the script's own admission, the plot of a crappy novel. Tra la.
"Time Squared"
The one where time becomes a loop. Where time becomes a loop. Where time becomes a loop. And yet not really a story about time travel or second chances or any of that stuff. Alt-Picard is really an externalisation of Picard's own doubts, which in itself makes Picard more interesting as too many other episodes present him as the perfect decisive hero. An interesting way of fleshing out a character.
"The Icarus Factor"
The one about Riker's daddy issues. Not helped by a scene of Pulaski and Troi spouting a lot of toot about how Generalised Women Just Gotta Love Generalised Manchildren. A bit of a '60s throwback, this one.
"Pen Pals"
The one in which the Prime Directive supposedly forbids the Enterprise crew from talking to the inhabitants of an alien world, but doesn't prevent them from saving those aliens by forcibly halting all tectonic activity on the planet. Blimey. Pleasant but forgettable.
"Q Who"
The first appearance of the greatest threat the Federation has ever faced - Ensign Gomez, who spends her first day in Engineering spilling hot chocolate over Captain Picard. I mean, look, it's bad enough to see TNG falling back on the "ditzy woman" stereotype for comic relief, but she's supposed to be a qualified Federation engineer. The undermining of a new character's potential is strong in this one. Oh yeah, and Q and Guinan and the Borg and all that good stuff. It's a bit of a non-plot, but a solid middling episode.
"Samaritan Snare"
Unpleasant in its depiction of an entire alien species as "a bit slow". I really can't think of anything else to say about this one.
"Up the Long Ladder"
The one with the comedy Oirish. Another '60s throwback episode, and a rotten one. And yet, tacked on the front and completely unrelated to the rest of the episode is the fantastic business of Worf apparently romancing Dr Pulaski with his tea ceremony after she agrees to keep quiet about his measles.
You know, I think if we could just snip out some of the high quality unrelated opening scenes from some of the low quality episodes of TNG, we'd be able to stitch together an entire new episode. It wouldn't make a lot of sense, but it'd be very entertaining.
"Manhunt"
Basically a replay of "Haven", with Troi's mother doing her "embarrassing predatory older woman" schtick and chasing after Picard. Now with added bigotry towards piscine aliens, yaaaaay.
"The Emissary"
And suddenly the quality bounces back! This episode does a sturdy job of examining Worf's situation of being stuck between two cultures, first by pairing him with a similarly conflicted character and second by having him pose as the captain of a Klingon/Federation fusion Enterprise when dealing with the captain of the time-slipped Klingon ship.
"Peak Performance"
A good ensemble episode, and even though the guest alien is being played for comedy, he manages not to be irritating. When even Wesley Crusher gets some good character work and it's not even an episode specifically about him, I think we can call the episode a success.
"Shades of Grey"
Really, TNG, you're making your season finale a clips show? I'd be against a clips show anyway just on the grounds that it shows the writers have run out of ideas, but more than that, it's not as if this has been earned after just two seasons, and doing it as the finale is just begging for a kicking. And what is the title supposed to mean here anyway?
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"The Measure of a Man"
"Loud as a Whisper"
"The Emissary"
"A Matter of Honor"
"Peak Performance"
"Time Squared"
"Elementary, Dear Data"
"Contagion"
"Q Who"
"Unnatural Selection"
"Pen Pals"
"The Dauphin"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Royale"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Manhunt"
"Samaritan Snare"
"The Child"
"Where Silence Has Lease"
"Up the Long Ladder"
"Shades of Grey"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 3 ("A Matter of Honor", "Time Squared", "Q Who")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: Certainly "The Measure of a Man" and "Loud as a Whisper", probably also "The Emissary". And it'd be no hardship to watch "A Matter of Honor", "Peak Performance" or "Time Squared" again. The overall quality of this season is a clear improvement on Season 1.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
A surprising number of things have changed in the interval between seasons - this year's opening episode almost amounts to a "soft reboot". Riker's grown his familiar beard at last. Troi's got a better hairdo. Geordi's been relocated from the bridge to the engine room. Miles O'Brien is a semi-regular character and actually has a name now (having appeared as "Battle Bridge Conn" in the pilot). Worf's original sash, which looked as if it was fashioned out of wicker, has been replaced with a chunky metal one. Dr Crusher is ignominiously written out, although tragically she didn't take Wesley with her. In comes the new Medical Officer Dr Pulaski, who doesn't really have the same chemistry with the rest of the crew but who does at least get a small amount of interesting development in her attitude towards Data. The opening theme is now the slightly longer version I was expecting. The effects team have put together a new "warp speed" effect for use in Ten Forward which is just lovely.
And of course, Whoopi Goldberg starts turning up as Guinan, possibly the TNG character I remember liking the most. She arguably treads on Troi's toes somewhat as a counsellor-figure for the main crew, but she's a lot more fun.
"The Child"
The first occasion on which Deanna Troi is supernaturally raped - but not, sadly, the last. (Yes, I've seen Star Trek: Nemesis and wish I could unsee it.) That this is presented as a wonderful, magical form of alien contact that Troi should embrace by having her rape baby only makes it worse. A bad episode, but still - strictly in terms of its production - better than a lot of Season 1.
"Where Silence Has Lease"
A bit like "Skin of Evil", with a capricious blob killing a bridge officer and threatening to kill off other crewmembers for its own amusement. (I'll bet poor old Ensign Haskell didn't get a nice funeral in the holodeck, either!) Car crash stuff.
"Elementary, Dear Data"
A nice bait-and-switch, as a story about Data proving he's sentient becomes a story about Professor Moriarty, Data's holodeck plaything, proving that he's sentient, too. Anticipates the "equal rights for holograms" material that I recall Voyager playing with at length.
"The Outrageous Okona"
Heavens preserve us from "lovable rogue" stories. A middling example of the type. Also notable as the episode in which Data attempts stand-up comedy. Like "The Child", it just about skims over the surface of Lake Car Crash.
"Loud as a Whisper"
A great episode about communication. The deaf mediator's telepathic "Chorus" is a brilliant idea, and unusually inventive for a series that typically ignores the whole notion of alternative forms of communication. (Yes, I'm looking at you, universal translator!) Finally, an essential TNG episode.
"The Schizoid Man"
The one where an unpleasant old git cheats death by invading Data's body. Cue scenes of Creepy Data stalking the man's female lab assistant. Grist to Brent Spiner's mill, of course, but not great viewing. Most notable for the apparently unrelated opening scene in which Data wears a beard - now what the hell's going on there?
"Unnatural Selection"
The one in which Dr Pulaski rapidly ages, but it's all right because that can be undone by science-magic. A mildly interesting cautionary tale against second-guessing nature, but more obviously a showcase for Diana Muldaur's acting skills.
"A Matter of Honor"
The one where Riker gets a work placement on a Klingon ship. An excellent window on Klingon culture, building on last season's "Heart of Glory". I remembered this one pretty clearly, and no wonder.
"The Measure of a Man"
Perhaps this should have been a flashback episode - the whole question of Data's right to determine his own fate surely should have been cleared up when he first became a Starfleet officer. But then we wouldn't have had the great scene of Guinan playing devil's advocate to Picard in a quiet bar, which really opens up the episode thematically and elevates this story to the level of top-tier TV SF.
"The Dauphin"
Wesley Crusher in love, yikes. Cue a lot of awkward nonsense from various characters about What Women Are Like And How To Win Them, although the fact a lot of it is played for laughs does at least demonstrate how ridiculous it is.
"Contagion"
The one where the Enterprise contracts a computer virus. Captain Picard really should have scanned the Yamato's log before he opened it, tsk tsk. Notably, the first instance of "tea, Earl Grey, hot", although only as a pretext for showing the replicator malfunctioning. Overall, a pretty good episode.
"The Royale"
As Quentin Tarantino might say, a Royale with cheese. Some interesting surreal potential early on gives way to what is, by the script's own admission, the plot of a crappy novel. Tra la.
"Time Squared"
The one where time becomes a loop. Where time becomes a loop. Where time becomes a loop. And yet not really a story about time travel or second chances or any of that stuff. Alt-Picard is really an externalisation of Picard's own doubts, which in itself makes Picard more interesting as too many other episodes present him as the perfect decisive hero. An interesting way of fleshing out a character.
"The Icarus Factor"
The one about Riker's daddy issues. Not helped by a scene of Pulaski and Troi spouting a lot of toot about how Generalised Women Just Gotta Love Generalised Manchildren. A bit of a '60s throwback, this one.
"Pen Pals"
The one in which the Prime Directive supposedly forbids the Enterprise crew from talking to the inhabitants of an alien world, but doesn't prevent them from saving those aliens by forcibly halting all tectonic activity on the planet. Blimey. Pleasant but forgettable.
"Q Who"
The first appearance of the greatest threat the Federation has ever faced - Ensign Gomez, who spends her first day in Engineering spilling hot chocolate over Captain Picard. I mean, look, it's bad enough to see TNG falling back on the "ditzy woman" stereotype for comic relief, but she's supposed to be a qualified Federation engineer. The undermining of a new character's potential is strong in this one. Oh yeah, and Q and Guinan and the Borg and all that good stuff. It's a bit of a non-plot, but a solid middling episode.
"Samaritan Snare"
Unpleasant in its depiction of an entire alien species as "a bit slow". I really can't think of anything else to say about this one.
"Up the Long Ladder"
The one with the comedy Oirish. Another '60s throwback episode, and a rotten one. And yet, tacked on the front and completely unrelated to the rest of the episode is the fantastic business of Worf apparently romancing Dr Pulaski with his tea ceremony after she agrees to keep quiet about his measles.
You know, I think if we could just snip out some of the high quality unrelated opening scenes from some of the low quality episodes of TNG, we'd be able to stitch together an entire new episode. It wouldn't make a lot of sense, but it'd be very entertaining.
"Manhunt"
Basically a replay of "Haven", with Troi's mother doing her "embarrassing predatory older woman" schtick and chasing after Picard. Now with added bigotry towards piscine aliens, yaaaaay.
"The Emissary"
And suddenly the quality bounces back! This episode does a sturdy job of examining Worf's situation of being stuck between two cultures, first by pairing him with a similarly conflicted character and second by having him pose as the captain of a Klingon/Federation fusion Enterprise when dealing with the captain of the time-slipped Klingon ship.
"Peak Performance"
A good ensemble episode, and even though the guest alien is being played for comedy, he manages not to be irritating. When even Wesley Crusher gets some good character work and it's not even an episode specifically about him, I think we can call the episode a success.
"Shades of Grey"
Really, TNG, you're making your season finale a clips show? I'd be against a clips show anyway just on the grounds that it shows the writers have run out of ideas, but more than that, it's not as if this has been earned after just two seasons, and doing it as the finale is just begging for a kicking. And what is the title supposed to mean here anyway?
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"The Measure of a Man"
"Loud as a Whisper"
"The Emissary"
"A Matter of Honor"
"Peak Performance"
"Time Squared"
"Elementary, Dear Data"
"Contagion"
"Q Who"
"Unnatural Selection"
"Pen Pals"
"The Dauphin"
"The Schizoid Man"
"The Royale"
"The Outrageous Okona"
"The Icarus Factor"
"Manhunt"
"Samaritan Snare"
"The Child"
"Where Silence Has Lease"
"Up the Long Ladder"
"Shades of Grey"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 3 ("A Matter of Honor", "Time Squared", "Q Who")
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: Certainly "The Measure of a Man" and "Loud as a Whisper", probably also "The Emissary". And it'd be no hardship to watch "A Matter of Honor", "Peak Performance" or "Time Squared" again. The overall quality of this season is a clear improvement on Season 1.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1
Welcome, gentle reader, to the first of a projected series of 7 blog posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
With some time on my hands, I've decided to undertake a marathon viewing of TNG in order to fill a gap in my fannish awareness. I've never seen this series all the way through - or any of the various Star Trek series, for that matter - having only ever caught individual episodes here and there depending on what the BBC was showing on a given idle evening. My best guess, based on what visual moments and plot elements I can remember (and allowing that any number of other episodes may have slipped my memory in the intervening years), is that I've probably seen less than a sixth of TNG, not counting the films - roughly two dozen stories I can confidently recall out of 168 (178 episodes, including 10 two-part or double-length stories). The figures are probably similar for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, but it seemed sensible to start with this series rather than with either of those.
(Marathoning TOS isn't a priority, as I think I'm more familiar with more of that series already, and while I know there are some good episodes in there, I know there's a lot of outdated gunk too.)
The plan is to write up my thoughts on TNG one season at a time, partly to keep my hand in at blogging and partly as an aide-memoire for myself if I should decide to come back to this series again at a later date. Posts are likely to appear weekly, but if I suddenly land a day job, that'll change. On, then, with Season 1.
First impressions: the Enterprise interior feels a lot more softly lit and more homely than in TOS. Obviously I'm going to prefer the characters overall, simply because TNG is 20 years closer to my own social attitudes today than TOS. In narrative terms, it's nice to see TNG fall back on space battles and fight scenes far less than TOS, and try to resolve its plots in a way one might actually expect from a utopian interstellar Federation. Still, the stories are patchy as hell in this first year - more detail on that below.
It seems trivial to mention that the Enterprise's female crewmembers are not routinely put in skirts as was the case in TOS (although some do wear skirts), but I can't help but notice that a few crowd scenes in the earlier episodes of Season 1 include a male crewmember in a skirt. An interesting and subtle hint that the utopian future of 1987 defines gender more broadly than the utopian future of 1966. Non-binary behaviour is even hinted at in some of the regular characters, most notably Tasha Yar. My memory of the later episodes I can recall suggests that TNG will become a lot more precious and openly didactic about gender issues - it'll be interesting to see if the covert non-binary elements are confined to Season 1 or pop up again in later seasons.
Musically, Season 1 is a lot more interesting than I remember TNG and its successor series being. According to the little research I've done since watching this season, it's Rick Berman's fault that Star Trek's incidental music became so dull later on. Composers in Season 1 were encouraged to produce melodic and thematic incidental music - which is the kind I like - but Berman was more of a "sonic wallpaper" man, and when he took over as the executive producer of all things Star Trek he started to clamp down on the kind of music that might stand out and get itself noticed. The chief casualty of this decision was Ron Jones, who eventually got the boot during Season 4, and naturally it's his work that I've enjoyed the most while watching Season 1. Every time I've felt the need to check the end credits to see who composed that rich, creamy music, blow me if it hasn't been Ron Jones again.
Anyway, on with the episode-by-episode breakdown.
"Encounter at Farpoint"
I could have sworn this one started with Riker being introduced to the ship and crew. More likely, I've probably only seen the second part of a two-part re-edit before. Interesting to see how the character of Data hasn't been nailed down yet, while Wesley Crusher is already the infuriating gimboid he will be remembered as.
"The Naked Now"
Car crash! And compounding the problem, it's a blatant half-arsed rip-off of a TOS episode that even I can spot - not a good look for the shiny new series.
"Code of Honor"
Car crash! That is all, except to note what a damn shame it is that the first two episodes after the pilot are such howlers.
"The Last Outpost"
The one that introduces the Ferengi. More or less as I'd remembered, which is to say, shrugworthy.
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
Hooray, a better-than-average episode! Lovely visuals. Admittedly the story is a coatstand on which to hang the visuals, as well as providing the excuse for shoehorning Wesley Fricking Crusher into the bridge crew. Still, like a stream of bat's piss, it shines out like a shaft of gold when all around is dark.
"Lonely Among Us"
The first one to do alien possession of the crew. The alien diplomat plot, which might have seemed important to the casual viewer, is completely dropped at the end despite the fact that one of the mutually antagonistic ambassadorial parties hoping to join the Federation has just eaten a member of the other party. Like it won't be awkward for Picard to explain that when the Enterprise arrives at the space summit. Ah well, turn it into a throwaway joke for Riker, no one will care. A mediocre episode with some nice alien make-up.
"Justice"
The one where the crew get shore leave on a planet where people dress skimpily and have sex a lot. Must have sounded like yuk-a-minute gold to the writing team! Oh, wait, we'd better have a plot... um... Wesley Crusher gets sentenced to death for trampling some flowers. Yeah, that'll do. Oh, wait, we'd better resolve the plot... So Captain Picard shrugs and ignores the Prime Directive, and the problem magically vanishes. Shit by anyone's standards, surely.
"The Battle"
Already an improvement in the portrayal of the Ferengi. If only the Enterprise crew had included a Fictional Tropes Officer, they'd have noticed what was going on somewhere around ten minutes in. Still, an upturn in quality.
"Hide and Q"
The one where Q gives Riker godlike powers. Surprisingly superficial, given the potential of the premise. Heigh-ho.
"Haven"
The one that introduces Troi's mother. Oh, and Troi is expected to give it all up for an arranged marriage, except that the other party goes off instead with an alien he's never met on the strength of some handwavily explained dream-visions. Better than it has any right to be, but still not actually good.
"The Big Goodbye"
In which Picard has apparently never been on a holodeck before, despite the fact it's been seen and referenced several times already. But a welcome first stab at playing across genres, with the bridge crew crashing a noir detective story. Passably fun, with the promise of more where that came from.
"Datalore"
The one that infodumps Data's backstory and introduces his evil twin. Clunky as hell in several places. Brent Spiner's good, though. Odd to see the Crystalline Entity, which I definitely remember from another episode, but had no idea it wasn't just a one-off thing.
"Angel One"
Car crash! Honestly, didn't Gene Roddenberry write this in the '70s? I'll swear this was one of his misbegotten Genesis II pilots.
"11001001"
A little peculiar, but highly enjoyable. Lovely visuals again. The Binars' excuse for the entire plot is daft, yet makes a kind of sense for binary thinkers. (It's tempting for me to make another comment about TNG being non-binary here, but to be honest I don't think there's enough material in this episode to support an analysis on that front.)
"Too Short a Season"
A high watermark of the series to date. Good drama, good characters (acceptable acting). With a dodgy gun-running Admiral using Captain Pike's old wheelchair, this episode's wide open to interpretation as a critique of TOS, which is no bad thing.
"When the Bough Breaks"
This one certainly has a TOS feel to it. The build-up paints the writers into a corner, and consequently the resolution feels pat. For all that, it's a passable episode.
"Home Soil"
A solid bit of old-style SF detective work on an isolated base. I could imagine this being rewritten as a Doctor Who script circa 1968 without much difficulty. The terraforming stuff all adds nicely to the series' depiction of the Federation. Not bad.
"Coming of Age"
Interesting as a sort of mid-season evaluation of everything that's gone before, as an unpleasant "political officer" type character quizzes everyone on decisions made in previous episodes. Probably more interesting in hindsight as a prelude to the next-but-five episode, "Conspiracy". Also notable for focussing heavily on Wesley Fricking Crusher and not making him insufferable.
"Heart of Glory"
The one that openly contrasts and replaces the old "blood and thunder" variety of Klingon honour with the new "inner struggle" variety. It's a good week to be Michael Dorn. The Geordi POV material is lovely too. Nice episode.
"The Arsenal of Freedom"
Relatively light (and light-hearted) anti-militarist stuff. The plot is dropped pretty quickly once the away team manage to switch off the automated sales machine. Forgettable, but some nice individual lines of dialogue - "Peace, through superior firepower!"
"Symbiosis"
The one with the heavy handed drug addiction message. In spite of which, it's a pretty good episode. The ending, in which the Prime Directive forces Picard to not resolve the problem, is questionable, odd, but also at least complex and realistic.
"Skin of Evil"
In which a cartoonishly evil tar creature kills Tasha Yar very, very abruptly. It's not a great character exit - no real plot, no real meaning. The funeral scene at the end of the episode is kind of nice but also kind of schmaltzy, and certainly can't carry the rest of the episode. The last of the Season 1 car crashes.
"We'll Always Have Paris"
Casts its prominent female guest star in a very '60s role and treats her in a very '60s way. I'm not sure whether the time experiment shenanigans are good enough to smooth over this and carry the episode. I'm fairly sure this episode will be more interesting as a footnote to the Time War episodes I know are coming in later franchise series than it is in its own right.
"Conspiracy"
Possibly the least exciting political thriller ever. Attempts some bold visual effects, but the technology and/or the budget just isn't there to do them justice. And with the gruesome death of just one character, the entire threat of the Federation being infiltrated is handwaved away, tra la.
"The Neutral Zone"
Possibly the least exciting space opera ever. One scene of Picard and some Romulans nodding at each other is cushioned within a whole episode of 21st century castaways gently adjusting to the 24th century. The mystery of who's been destroying everyone's starbases is left hanging, but there's no effort made to suggest that it'll be picked up again or to ensure that the viewer will remember about it after the credits roll. Hum-ho stuff.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Heart of Glory"
"Too Short a Season"
"Home Soil"
"Coming of Age"
"Encounter at Farpoint"
"The Battle"
"The Arsenal of Freedom"
"Symbiosis"
"11001001"
"The Big Goodbye"
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
"Lonely Among Us"
"The Last Outpost"
"Hide and Q"
"Haven"
"Datalore"
"When the Bough Breaks"
"We'll Always Have Paris"
"The Neutral Zone"
"Conspiracy"
"The Naked Now"
"Justice"
"Code of Honor"
"Skin of Evil"
"Angel One"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 2 ("Encounter at Farpoint" and "The Last Outpost".)
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: in this season, probably none of them. It's early days, and with the benefit of hindsight I know TNG will improve, but quite honestly I don't think I'd have bothered to tune in for Season 2 if I'd watched Season 1 when it was first transmitted. Still, some moments of interest here and there.
For convenience, I'll be using the standard fan abbreviations to refer to Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the original series (TOS). Also, probably best to assume that a Spoiler Alert remains in effect at all times, just on general principle. I'm not precious about giving away details of a TV series broadcast 25 years ago.
With some time on my hands, I've decided to undertake a marathon viewing of TNG in order to fill a gap in my fannish awareness. I've never seen this series all the way through - or any of the various Star Trek series, for that matter - having only ever caught individual episodes here and there depending on what the BBC was showing on a given idle evening. My best guess, based on what visual moments and plot elements I can remember (and allowing that any number of other episodes may have slipped my memory in the intervening years), is that I've probably seen less than a sixth of TNG, not counting the films - roughly two dozen stories I can confidently recall out of 168 (178 episodes, including 10 two-part or double-length stories). The figures are probably similar for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, but it seemed sensible to start with this series rather than with either of those.
(Marathoning TOS isn't a priority, as I think I'm more familiar with more of that series already, and while I know there are some good episodes in there, I know there's a lot of outdated gunk too.)
The plan is to write up my thoughts on TNG one season at a time, partly to keep my hand in at blogging and partly as an aide-memoire for myself if I should decide to come back to this series again at a later date. Posts are likely to appear weekly, but if I suddenly land a day job, that'll change. On, then, with Season 1.
First impressions: the Enterprise interior feels a lot more softly lit and more homely than in TOS. Obviously I'm going to prefer the characters overall, simply because TNG is 20 years closer to my own social attitudes today than TOS. In narrative terms, it's nice to see TNG fall back on space battles and fight scenes far less than TOS, and try to resolve its plots in a way one might actually expect from a utopian interstellar Federation. Still, the stories are patchy as hell in this first year - more detail on that below.
It seems trivial to mention that the Enterprise's female crewmembers are not routinely put in skirts as was the case in TOS (although some do wear skirts), but I can't help but notice that a few crowd scenes in the earlier episodes of Season 1 include a male crewmember in a skirt. An interesting and subtle hint that the utopian future of 1987 defines gender more broadly than the utopian future of 1966. Non-binary behaviour is even hinted at in some of the regular characters, most notably Tasha Yar. My memory of the later episodes I can recall suggests that TNG will become a lot more precious and openly didactic about gender issues - it'll be interesting to see if the covert non-binary elements are confined to Season 1 or pop up again in later seasons.
Musically, Season 1 is a lot more interesting than I remember TNG and its successor series being. According to the little research I've done since watching this season, it's Rick Berman's fault that Star Trek's incidental music became so dull later on. Composers in Season 1 were encouraged to produce melodic and thematic incidental music - which is the kind I like - but Berman was more of a "sonic wallpaper" man, and when he took over as the executive producer of all things Star Trek he started to clamp down on the kind of music that might stand out and get itself noticed. The chief casualty of this decision was Ron Jones, who eventually got the boot during Season 4, and naturally it's his work that I've enjoyed the most while watching Season 1. Every time I've felt the need to check the end credits to see who composed that rich, creamy music, blow me if it hasn't been Ron Jones again.
Anyway, on with the episode-by-episode breakdown.
"Encounter at Farpoint"
I could have sworn this one started with Riker being introduced to the ship and crew. More likely, I've probably only seen the second part of a two-part re-edit before. Interesting to see how the character of Data hasn't been nailed down yet, while Wesley Crusher is already the infuriating gimboid he will be remembered as.
"The Naked Now"
Car crash! And compounding the problem, it's a blatant half-arsed rip-off of a TOS episode that even I can spot - not a good look for the shiny new series.
"Code of Honor"
Car crash! That is all, except to note what a damn shame it is that the first two episodes after the pilot are such howlers.
"The Last Outpost"
The one that introduces the Ferengi. More or less as I'd remembered, which is to say, shrugworthy.
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
Hooray, a better-than-average episode! Lovely visuals. Admittedly the story is a coatstand on which to hang the visuals, as well as providing the excuse for shoehorning Wesley Fricking Crusher into the bridge crew. Still, like a stream of bat's piss, it shines out like a shaft of gold when all around is dark.
"Lonely Among Us"
The first one to do alien possession of the crew. The alien diplomat plot, which might have seemed important to the casual viewer, is completely dropped at the end despite the fact that one of the mutually antagonistic ambassadorial parties hoping to join the Federation has just eaten a member of the other party. Like it won't be awkward for Picard to explain that when the Enterprise arrives at the space summit. Ah well, turn it into a throwaway joke for Riker, no one will care. A mediocre episode with some nice alien make-up.
"Justice"
The one where the crew get shore leave on a planet where people dress skimpily and have sex a lot. Must have sounded like yuk-a-minute gold to the writing team! Oh, wait, we'd better have a plot... um... Wesley Crusher gets sentenced to death for trampling some flowers. Yeah, that'll do. Oh, wait, we'd better resolve the plot... So Captain Picard shrugs and ignores the Prime Directive, and the problem magically vanishes. Shit by anyone's standards, surely.
"The Battle"
Already an improvement in the portrayal of the Ferengi. If only the Enterprise crew had included a Fictional Tropes Officer, they'd have noticed what was going on somewhere around ten minutes in. Still, an upturn in quality.
"Hide and Q"
The one where Q gives Riker godlike powers. Surprisingly superficial, given the potential of the premise. Heigh-ho.
"Haven"
The one that introduces Troi's mother. Oh, and Troi is expected to give it all up for an arranged marriage, except that the other party goes off instead with an alien he's never met on the strength of some handwavily explained dream-visions. Better than it has any right to be, but still not actually good.
"The Big Goodbye"
In which Picard has apparently never been on a holodeck before, despite the fact it's been seen and referenced several times already. But a welcome first stab at playing across genres, with the bridge crew crashing a noir detective story. Passably fun, with the promise of more where that came from.
"Datalore"
The one that infodumps Data's backstory and introduces his evil twin. Clunky as hell in several places. Brent Spiner's good, though. Odd to see the Crystalline Entity, which I definitely remember from another episode, but had no idea it wasn't just a one-off thing.
"Angel One"
Car crash! Honestly, didn't Gene Roddenberry write this in the '70s? I'll swear this was one of his misbegotten Genesis II pilots.
"11001001"
A little peculiar, but highly enjoyable. Lovely visuals again. The Binars' excuse for the entire plot is daft, yet makes a kind of sense for binary thinkers. (It's tempting for me to make another comment about TNG being non-binary here, but to be honest I don't think there's enough material in this episode to support an analysis on that front.)
"Too Short a Season"
A high watermark of the series to date. Good drama, good characters (acceptable acting). With a dodgy gun-running Admiral using Captain Pike's old wheelchair, this episode's wide open to interpretation as a critique of TOS, which is no bad thing.
"When the Bough Breaks"
This one certainly has a TOS feel to it. The build-up paints the writers into a corner, and consequently the resolution feels pat. For all that, it's a passable episode.
"Home Soil"
A solid bit of old-style SF detective work on an isolated base. I could imagine this being rewritten as a Doctor Who script circa 1968 without much difficulty. The terraforming stuff all adds nicely to the series' depiction of the Federation. Not bad.
"Coming of Age"
Interesting as a sort of mid-season evaluation of everything that's gone before, as an unpleasant "political officer" type character quizzes everyone on decisions made in previous episodes. Probably more interesting in hindsight as a prelude to the next-but-five episode, "Conspiracy". Also notable for focussing heavily on Wesley Fricking Crusher and not making him insufferable.
"Heart of Glory"
The one that openly contrasts and replaces the old "blood and thunder" variety of Klingon honour with the new "inner struggle" variety. It's a good week to be Michael Dorn. The Geordi POV material is lovely too. Nice episode.
"The Arsenal of Freedom"
Relatively light (and light-hearted) anti-militarist stuff. The plot is dropped pretty quickly once the away team manage to switch off the automated sales machine. Forgettable, but some nice individual lines of dialogue - "Peace, through superior firepower!"
"Symbiosis"
The one with the heavy handed drug addiction message. In spite of which, it's a pretty good episode. The ending, in which the Prime Directive forces Picard to not resolve the problem, is questionable, odd, but also at least complex and realistic.
"Skin of Evil"
In which a cartoonishly evil tar creature kills Tasha Yar very, very abruptly. It's not a great character exit - no real plot, no real meaning. The funeral scene at the end of the episode is kind of nice but also kind of schmaltzy, and certainly can't carry the rest of the episode. The last of the Season 1 car crashes.
"We'll Always Have Paris"
Casts its prominent female guest star in a very '60s role and treats her in a very '60s way. I'm not sure whether the time experiment shenanigans are good enough to smooth over this and carry the episode. I'm fairly sure this episode will be more interesting as a footnote to the Time War episodes I know are coming in later franchise series than it is in its own right.
"Conspiracy"
Possibly the least exciting political thriller ever. Attempts some bold visual effects, but the technology and/or the budget just isn't there to do them justice. And with the gruesome death of just one character, the entire threat of the Federation being infiltrated is handwaved away, tra la.
"The Neutral Zone"
Possibly the least exciting space opera ever. One scene of Picard and some Romulans nodding at each other is cushioned within a whole episode of 21st century castaways gently adjusting to the 24th century. The mystery of who's been destroying everyone's starbases is left hanging, but there's no effort made to suggest that it'll be picked up again or to ensure that the viewer will remember about it after the credits roll. Hum-ho stuff.
Rankings, from favourite to least favourite:
"Heart of Glory"
"Too Short a Season"
"Home Soil"
"Coming of Age"
"Encounter at Farpoint"
"The Battle"
"The Arsenal of Freedom"
"Symbiosis"
"11001001"
"The Big Goodbye"
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
"Lonely Among Us"
"The Last Outpost"
"Hide and Q"
"Haven"
"Datalore"
"When the Bough Breaks"
"We'll Always Have Paris"
"The Neutral Zone"
"Conspiracy"
"The Naked Now"
"Justice"
"Code of Honor"
"Skin of Evil"
"Angel One"
Episodes that I remembered seeing before: 2 ("Encounter at Farpoint" and "The Last Outpost".)
Episodes that I would make a point of watching again: in this season, probably none of them. It's early days, and with the benefit of hindsight I know TNG will improve, but quite honestly I don't think I'd have bothered to tune in for Season 2 if I'd watched Season 1 when it was first transmitted. Still, some moments of interest here and there.
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