Current Events > Star Trek watchthrough 3. Ongoing spoilers from TNG season 5.

(+) Yeah! (+)

splodeymissile posted...

Beyond that, though, we have the tease of Guinan's backstory

...which ends up being a bit of a mess when Generations gets involved.

splodeymissile posted...

. Its kind of hard for me to tolerate him, especially his voice,

I remember SFDebris describing it as a parody of a parody. I believe he compared it to the pop culture portrayal of Kirk who talks. Like this. When. He's acting. There's a grain of truth there, but you're not actually imitating the real person, you're imitating someone who's imitating them.

Episode 2: Realm of Fear

Seems perfectly safe to me.

Picard evaluates some risks. Still has unwavering trust in his staff.

Almost seems like a dick move for Riker to shove Worf on the transporter first. At least, he goes second. Decent to Barclay.

La Forge gives praise where its due and is getting a bit too familiar with Barclay's anxieties. Encouraging as he can be, even though it's slightly strained. Sees that Barclay has something to get off his chest. Calls Troi to sort it out.

Worf doesn't fully believe Barclay.

Crusher does her job.

I like that Troi, in a small way, confirms Barclay's fears about dematerialising and, then, uses that to try and help. Shocked by his rapid progress. I didn't mention it last episode, but I've noticed Sirtis' tan. Must have been a good honeymoon. Definitely getting frustrated with everyone disregarding her advice. Relieving Barclay of duty almost seems as much out of anger, as for his own good.

Data is astute enough to recognise that Barclay's having a bad time of it.

Been too long since I've seen O'Brien. Continues to be immaculately professional. Delicate with Barclay's anxiety and tries to help through sharing an anecdote of his own. Almost offended by Barclay's list of potential problems a transporter can suffer. Politely sees through Barclay's bullshit, but remains sympathetic to him.

So, Barclay has a fear of transporters. Makes sense. Some fantastic acting as he sweats, pants and generally has a breakdown in the cold open. His development from other episodes has clearly taken, though, since the old Barclay would've probably been too meek to speak out. Schultz is doing amazing work with his acting. Every facial expression and twitch of his body speaks to a man whose not only suffering from his condition, but whose also dying inside from a mixture of anger and embarrassment over it. Somewhat appreciated O'Brien's attempt at help, but might as well be giving an aside glance to the audience when he turns his back. His fear of irrationality keeps him dancing around mentioning the thing he saw and bringing up psychosis clearly sets up his fears of being mentally unwell; a fear that his suddenly glowing arm doesn't help. Begins obsessively checking his body and basically blows up at Troi. Picks up enough confidence to tell Picard that there is something there.

Star system is beautiful, even if it is stock footage. That scene in the cold open with O'Brien meticulously beaming over everyone is brilliant at making such a mundane part of this universe seem downright nasty. Constantly focusing on Barclay's agony helps a lot too. Seeing inside the transporter haze is not only a treat, it proper highlights how uncomfortable the experience must be. Seeing the creature during his return was fairly spooky. When Barclay wanders into ten forward, I fully expected Guinan to show up. The sequence of Barclay hearing all the symptoms and immediately reacting is disturbingly funny. I'm assuming the Cardassians are playing some sort of season arc role because otherwise that's a very weird scene to have.

The transporter is clearly an analogy for flying. The comment about it being the safest way to travel makes that far too obvious to ignore. As someone who recently flew between countries for the first time in nearly 20 years (which is a little sad now that i think about it), I can admit to having had some trepidation about the process, although my issue was less about the aircraft itself and more the security procedures. A sort of "I know I've done no wrong, but what if they think I've done wrong?" along with basic unfamiliarity of the specifics of how an airport functions due to it being a while.

I find it mildly interesting that many of Barclay's objections are pretty close to the usual "very clever" problems that certain audiences find with the technology. While it's probably true that any remotely similar device would be a nightmare in real life, I don't find stating it to be the incredibly intelligent point so many believe it is. The fan theory that almost every main character is dead and that we've been following successive generations of identical clones isn't a deep observation, it's lazy edgelording. I've mentioned before that certain fans of any given work really make me question really make me question what they see in it. Because if your takeaway from transporter technology is not that, in the utopian and idealistic world of this show, they've discovered a means to solve the continuity of consciousness problem, but is instead that the Federation mass executes billions on a daily basis, then, you are clearly not seeing what I am and are almost certainly not seeing what the creators intended. This is not grimdark and if you desperately want it to be grimdark, fine, but try to be more imaginative about how you get there than a lazy unoriginal "zinger".

I may not like his debut much, but Barclay is a fine character who definitely deserves to show up once a season or so and this is both a good showcases for him and a decent look at phobias besides.

Onto Man of the People.

Barclay episodes are always fun.

Episode 3: Man of the People

Painting a portrait.

Picard gives Alkar a funny look when he suggests he has no choice. Frankly, he makes for a better diplomat than the guy supposedly doing the work. Has the right reaction to Alkar's brand of self serving "utilitarianism".

Riker delivers bad news in a funny way and always tries to comfort Troi. Briefly happy when he sees her in that dress. I can't imagine him being all that bothered. Handles the whole thing in a mature, professional way. Notices the obvious, but isn't quite as much above the influence as I'd like. Still, it hurts him how much of a state Troi is in.

La Forge does some work for Crusher.

Worf continues his martial arts lessons. Still not the best security guard.

Crusher doesn't like it, but she cant in good conscience say that there is a threat to the Enterprise. Otherwise, does her job.

Troi senses that somethings up immediately. Quite like the sweet smile she gives the transporter chief. Why does she insist on find ing the worst possible boyfriends? Even if he were decent, hed still be boring. The blonde haired lad is onscreen for less than a minute and hed frankly be a more interesting lay. Rightly unnerved by Maylor. Sirtis is doing brilliantly as someone simultaneously slightly uncomfortable with her body and, yet, horny as fuck. Not my preferred angle for her character, even if its only caused by technobabble, but she's putting the work in. Very defensive over who she fucks and, again, I can't see Riker being that bothered. Quickly becomes an absolute bitch to just about everyone.

Even Data notices that Troi's doing herself up more.

There are a few flashes of smug malevolence written into his face, but i found Alkar really boring. The lack of negative emotions explains this, but it doesn't make him interesting. Turning Troi down did surprise me, though. I'd expect him to use his receptacles whilst theyre young. His arguments for his "noble" cause are appropriately shit.

Maylor begins as an absolute picture of insanity.

They called it the Dorian? Subtle. It was a cool shot going over Worf's lesson. Troi lightly fondling herself in the mirror while mysterious music plays is an obvious clue that her imminently high sex drive isn't normal behaviour. Manages to suck all the eroticism out of the thing, which is probably for the best. Riker walking in and the blonde lad immediately snapping to attention is quite funny. Troi clawing at Riker took me by surprise and that was quite a nasty gash she made. The old age makeup does alright. Alkar, in particular, becomes quite a wretched creature.

It's long since become ridiculous that most Troi episodes have her as a victim of some sort. I considered it distasteful to begin with and its only gotten worse. Its also bothersome that a key component of Troi's madness is having a high sex drive. I was almost willing to excuse it as a continuity reference to Betazoid physiology, but then Troi basically became a clone of Maylor and i realised that ive probably thought about this more than the writers have. Fortunately, it's on the right side of the utilitarianism debate, so, I appreciated Picard's later scenes. Apart from that, it's literally Sci-fi Dorian Gray. Which could be fine, but even the best case scenario probably wouldn't give me much more to talk about.

There are very few bad episodes anymore in the sense of shoddy, incompetent work. Instead, a bad episode at this point is often a decently made wrapper around fairly shitty contents. So, this is the first dud of the season.

Looking at Relics next.

splodeymissile posted...

Looking at Relics next.

Ooooo, that's a good one.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Ooooo, that's a good one.

Aye, laddie, it is.

Episode 4: Relics

Scotty's back!

Picard is a little awestruck by the Dyson sphere. Overjoyed to have Scotty onboard. Good taste in drinks and has a truly beautiful scene with him reminiscing over old starships. I actually quite like that he still longs for the Stargazer. Clever plan to improve Scotty's mood.

Riker snaps to action, as always and seems more than a little confused by today's nonsense. Sympathetic to Scotty's loss. Does a bit of engineering work.

La Forge does some fine technical work. Has a new friend to geek out with, though he rapidly loses his patience. Has absolutely fallen in love with the Dyson sphere. Takes on one hell of a mean, patronising tone with Scotty. He's a little justified in blowing up at him, but I can't help but be more sympathetic to the Scotsman and its a bit nastier than id ever expect from La Forge. Hangovers seem like an alien concept to him. Encouraging to Scotty by the end. Starts sharing his own stories.

Worf doesn't really care for Scotty and doesn't even say bye.

She doesn't say anything, but Crusher bristles a little when she encounters TOS sexism.

Troi sees Scotty off.

Data is helpful to Scotty. Can identify colour, but apparently not much else.

Scotty comes out quite confused by everything. Proper curious about all the advances the future has made. Gets on swimmingly with La Forge. Briefly gives Worf a funny look, but seems to accept him quickly. Old age has made him a bit of a rambler and he hates being coddled. Like a disappointed child when he's told he can't go to engineering. Liked that he compared the Enterprise to a hotel. That ensign was bloody rude. Elaan of Troyius may have been a lesser episode, but I'd have happily listened to Scotty talk about it. Really enjoys comparing things to his day and while he barks up the wrong tree a lot, it is nice seeing him snap back to engineer mode when he foresees a potential problem. Offers sound advice on being a miracle worker. Quite rightly demands quality control in his booze. Without the bite, what's the point?

Drunkenly arguing with the computer is brilliant and pulling himself out of nostalgia is as heartbreaking as it is necessary. Judging by his smirk, he sees right through La Forge's cunning scheme to improve his mood, but appreciates it all the same and quickly gets his groove back. Literally wrote the book on engines. Elects to go on more adventures rather than retire.

The gray, relatively unmarked Dyson sphere has a bit of an uncanny feel to it. Loved hearing the old transporter noise. Scotty is a fine cliffhanger. We fade out to highlight Scotty nearly passing out before he begins shambling down the decks. I share his reaction to the old bridge. Its funny how, despite only recently seeing anything of that series, the original Enterprise does feel like an old home. Must have had a bit of extra budget for this episode, judging by the many shots of the sphere. Quite liked seeing the interior surface. Burning in the upper parts of the star was quite cool, too. Proper loved all the references to previous episodes.

It's blatant nostalgia bait, but I can't deny I loved it. Considering The Undiscovered Country was all about the original characters bowing out gracefully, it sort of makes sense to have an episode that discusses whether they, and by extension the entire era, are obsolete. Most of Scotty's confusions and difficulties stem from marked differences in the lore between the two shows. It's not just the obvious fact that in universe time has progressed, it's that the franchise itself has evolved and solidified itself into a far more coherent state than it ever was in Scotty's more ad hoc time. At the same time, the episode insists on showing due respect to its originators by allowing Scotty to remain the more sympathetic party, even when he's probably objectively in the wrong, giving him an opportunity to save the day in a way only he could possibly manage and affording him the ability to have more adventures in this strange new world he's found himself in. The final takeaway, represented by giving him the Goddard, being that the two shows may be quite different and separate affairs, but they clearly belong to the same universe and deserve mutual respect.

If The Undiscovered Country is the conclusion to TOS, then this is the coda. A tremendously fun nostalgia trip that justifies the first show's continued relevance, even after its time.

Looking into Schisms, next.

Episode 5: Schisms

It was aliens, man.

Picard seems halfway between genuinely pleased with Data's efforts and only plastering a smile on his face to be nice. Makes a lot of good suggestions during the briefing.

Riker has had a fair few shit night's sleep. Frakes is doing brilliantly playing a man whos nearly completely exhausted. Understandably irritable. Not in any fit state to navigate. He and the rest get increasingly unnerved as the holodeck scene unfolds. Like he's dying from a caffeine high when Crusher injects him.

La Forge is bemused by Data's attempts. A truly terrible liar, but at least he cares to protect Data's (lack of) feelings. Gets just as tired as Riker. Still arguing with the computer over his own vague instructions. Gets a little impatient with Shipley.

Worf would rather be anywhere else. Not any happier in the barber's. Gets a bit paranoid. His worry during the holodeck scene is the most palpable. Visibly disappointed that his suggestion is initially turned down.

Crusher is concerned by Riker. Cute that she recalls that recipe Picard gave her. Sweetly guides La Forge around.

Troi seems pleased for Data, but spends most of her time trying to keep Riker up. Sweet idea to have a group therapy session. Violates actual good practice, but the sentiment is there. Nice to see her help the rest make sense of their half memories.

Data might have caught some of Riker's sarcasm, but he's too innocent to register that Riker isn't paying attention. At least, he's a good cat owner. I not seeing much of a problem with his poetry. Maybe I'm a complete philistine when it comes to certain forms. Wants honest feedback, is astute to see through La Forge's bullshit (though Spot himself could probably figure it out) and takes his apparent failure quite well. Very concerned about La Forge's health and even more so about his lack of time keeping.

The pan of everyone's reactions to Data's poetry is amusing. We slowly black out to follow along with Riker falling asleep. A harsh transition after his head hits the pillow is a great way of showing that precisely no useful sleep has been had. The director is giving us quite a treat, which a couple of excellent shots like looking at La Forge from inside the machinery and giving us Riker's perspective as his hand uselessly glides over the navigation console. The holodeck scene is absolutely perfect. The tension and unease builds and builds until, when the clicking starts, it becomes an outright horror movie. Reminds me of my favourite scene from Identity Crisis. Once the cats out of the bag, a lot of shots are done to make the Enterprise seem like a hostile and surreal space. The way the camera navigates around the aliens' lab has the same effect. Not convinced by Riker lazily floating into the subspace portal, though the portal itself is cool. The clicking has a few moments of being really horrifying. The aliens themselves resemble a cross between insects and fish. I expected that nameless randomer who accompanies the group into the holodeck to have more of a role. Briefly thought she might be a villain.

All about alien abductions, this, and it hits on a few interesting points involving that branch of conspiracy theory. Apparently sleepless nights, lost time, intense emotional reactions to seemingly mundane objects and even a slight sudden weirdness in the body, with Riker's arm. The holodeck scene is especially brilliant for basically being a madlibs conspiracy theory session, much like how complete strangers with little in common have found each other due to apparent exposure to this bizarre sub mythology. The camera always feeds into this, by showing the aliens' lab as a sort of hazy dreamscape, despite Riker being quite lucid at that point. Apparently, there was to be a story arc involving these creatures, but it didn't take. To be honest, I think an ambiguous open ending is better. Part of how conspiracy theories work is that they're an endless parade of making connections between otherwise disparate things in an attempt to explain something seemingly inexplicable. As they are founded on a light bit of madness, almost by definition, no conspiracy theory can ever amount to a fully satisfactory explanation. There's always new stimuli with which to build new connections with and in the event some element is outright disproved, unrestrained imagination allows for the seeming contradiction to be just another part of the overall narrative. The Qanon phenomenon is perhaps the nadir of this: where the stupid, the unfettered, the imaginative and the hateful all congregate in the shells of total losers and build a chaotic story that makes the considerably more restrained theorists of yesteryear appear downright rational. Regardless of the specific levels of insanity, however, the point remains that everything, even, hypothetically speaking, outright confirmation from the powers that be, only ever becomes evidence in support of this belief, leading to the inevitability that not only is the truth out there, but it is always out there. The theory will never have an endpoint. Leaving many parts of this mystery unsolved, especially with the unfilled promise of discovering whatever that white probe actually is and might be doing, evokes similar thoughts in me and paradoxically turns a deliberately unsatisfying ending into an immensely gratifying one.

Wonderfully weird and, at times, delightfully horrific. Quite a good episode.

True Q sounds fun.

Episode 6: True Q

Omnipotence probably is less fun than it sounds.

Picard starts the day in good humour. Immediately sours when Q arrives. Struggles to say anything neutral about him. I'm surprised he didn't bother to pick up on the hypocrisy of Q talking about responsibility immediately. Gets in a good speech, eventually.

Riker visibly holds himself back from flirting. Almost suffers an accident at work. Sees immediately that Rogers is (utterly terribly) flirting with him and makes a quick exit. Bit of a dick move to have his date right in front of Rogers. Rejects her with remarkable gentleness and consideration. I initially thought his reason for not getting with her would have something to do with differences in maturity, but that was never actually mentioned, so, now I'm assuming he was already seeing his date and simply sticks to one woman at a time.

La Forge gives a tour and is quite impressed with his guest's knowledge.

Crusher is also impressed and basically takes Rogers under her wing. Has the most interest in making sure she can live her own life and more or less acts like her new mum. To be honest, her first response of not knowing what to do with omnipotence seems the most truthful. Its expected because she's a doctor and she has a dead husband, but the other suggestions just do not track. Full on disappointed mother mode with the botched experiment.

Troi rocks up for a briefing and has a slight disaster of a dinner. I take it she's keeping her hair that way for a bit. On the right side of telling Rogers.

Data solves the need for imagination. I quite like that he projects his voice in a crisis.

Rogers is adorable. Proper excitable geek. Dog person, too. Sort of stands as a vehicle for teenage angst, since she angrily throws Q against a wall and despairingly considers her powers a burden. Sees Q's hedonism as the vacuous nihilism it really is. Wants Riker because at heart, she's only human. Even though it ends in inevitable disaster, it is nice seeing her grow in confidence. Utterly crushed when she ends her fantasy. I probably couldn't resist healing an entire planet, either. Accepts being a Q, even though shes obviously human.

Q is as smarmy as ever. No concern or sympathy for human life, just casually dismisses the effects of a warp core breach. No sense of personal space, either and enjoys menacing Picard with his oh so subtle threat of fire. Not very sex positive. Doesn't enjoy getting knocked on his arse. Creepily seductive with how he tries to entice Rogers. Kind of uncomfortable to watch. I do sort of share his thoughts on facial hair. Turning Crusher into a dog is outrageously offensive. Like, that's fucking evil beyond evil. Tries to evade Picard's questions, but doesn't put much effort into it. Shuts down Picard's speech, but only after he's finished.

The puppies suddenly existing is a pretty elegant way of revealing what Rogers is. There's something perturbing about them evaporating on command. The warp core breach is suitably terrifying. Kind of like Rogers holding it back. Surprised how early they reveal her nature to the rest. Q just arrogantly strolling through the wall is brilliant. Shadow makes for a decent menace. It's a fun bit of whimsy to teleport about the ship. The green screen is a mite too obvious, but it is magical standing on the ship. Rogers' fantasy is clearly fake which is sort of the point, but I still like how the set design says that by itself.

It's bringing up similar ideas to Hide and Q, but doing so in a much better fashion and wedding it to a decent teenage tale of self discovery. The problem with the first season episode wasn't just that Riker (and Q himself, a little) was out of character, it's that the way the temptations were flagged up were a little banal and juvenile, especially as Riker suddenly loses the ability to understand his friends. Here, though, Rogers' great "failure" is that she cannot help but want to help people and giving her near absolute power just makes her want to help more, but she approaches that point as the person she always had been. I've never been a big believer in the edgelordy truism of people being inherently selfish. Frankly, I consider that to be nothing more than projection on the part of whoever is saying it, so, having a god in mortal form who continues to uncomplicatedly care for others is fantastic. Even her big selfish moments only involve wanting to see loved ones or wanting to be in a relationship with someone, which, though she makes a slight, but fortunately rectifiable mistake along the way, ultimately entails genuine consideration for Riker's agency. Amanda Rogers basically stands as a refutation of yet another rather miserable and thoughtlessly repeated truism of absolute power corrupting absolutely. It's telling that, before she makes any decision at all, Q admits that execution isn't really on the cards anymore. The continuum have already conceded that she's no threat at all and I kind of like imagining Q's people as a sort of god police. Really, the only real reason she's spirited away at the end is because she'd solve every episode in a matter of seconds if she stayed in the normal universe. Q, occasionally creepy behaviour aside, behind all the lies, is pretty much just testing Rogers' humanity in much the same way he tested Picard's in the very first episode. Any Qness was always irrelevant. After all, we've gone from being exonerated a few seasons ago to the jury still being out and Picard keeps wondering what his true motives are, to say nothing of how he never argues against Picard's speech about morality. In fact, he basically agrees with it. And bothering to save a planet is a very human thing to do.

Q has some dodgy behaviour, but this is otherwise a pretty fantastic exploration of omnipotence.

For some reason, Rascals doesn't inspire confidence.

splodeymissile posted...

Episode 6: True Q

Omnipotence probably is less fun than it sounds.

Picard starts the day in good humour. Immediately sours when Q arrives. Struggles to say anything neutral about him. I'm surprised he didn't bother to pick up on the hypocrisy of Q talking about responsibility immediately. Gets in a good speech, eventually.

Riker visibly holds himself back from flirting. Almost suffers an accident at work. Sees immediately that Rogers is (utterly terribly) flirting with him and makes a quick exit. Bit of a dick move to have his date right in front of Rogers. Rejects her with remarkable gentleness and consideration. I initially thought his reason for not getting with her would have something to do with differences in maturity, but that was never actually mentioned, so, now I'm assuming he was already seeing his date and simply sticks to one woman at a time.

La Forge gives a tour and is quite impressed with his guest's knowledge.

Crusher is also impressed and basically takes Rogers under her wing. Has the most interest in making sure she can live her own life and more or less acts like her new mum. To be honest, her first response of not knowing what to do with omnipotence seems the most truthful. Its expected because she's a doctor and she has a dead husband, but the other suggestions just do not track. Full on disappointed mother mode with the botched experiment.

Troi rocks up for a briefing and has a slight disaster of a dinner. I take it she's keeping her hair that way for a bit. On the right side of telling Rogers.

Data solves the need for imagination. I quite like that he projects his voice in a crisis.

Rogers is adorable. Proper excitable geek. Dog person, too. Sort of stands as a vehicle for teenage angst, since she angrily throws Q against a wall and despairingly considers her powers a burden. Sees Q's hedonism as the vacuous nihilism it really is. Wants Riker because at heart, she's only human. Even though it ends in inevitable disaster, it is nice seeing her grow in confidence. Utterly crushed when she ends her fantasy. I probably couldn't resist healing an entire planet, either. Accepts being a Q, even though shes obviously human.

Q is as smarmy as ever. No concern or sympathy for human life, just casually dismisses the effects of a warp core breach. No sense of personal space, either and enjoys menacing Picard with his oh so subtle threat of fire. Not very sex positive. Doesn't enjoy getting knocked on his arse. Creepily seductive with how he tries to entice Rogers. Kind of uncomfortable to watch. I do sort of share his thoughts on facial hair. Turning Crusher into a dog is outrageously offensive. Like, that's fucking evil beyond evil. Tries to evade Picard's questions, but doesn't put much effort into it. Shuts down Picard's speech, but only after he's finished.

The puppies suddenly existing is a pretty elegant way of revealing what Rogers is. There's something perturbing about them evaporating on command. The warp core breach is suitably terrifying. Kind of like Rogers holding it back. Surprised how early they reveal her nature to the rest. Q just arrogantly strolling through the wall is brilliant. Shadow makes for a decent menace. It's a fun bit of whimsy to teleport about the ship. The green screen is a mite too obvious, but it is magical standing on the ship. Rogers' fantasy is clearly fake which is sort of the point, but I still like how the set design says that by itself.

It's bringing up similar ideas to Hide and Q, but doing so in a much better fashion and wedding it to a decent teenage tale of self discovery. The problem with the first season episode wasn't just that Riker (and Q himself, a little) was out of character, it's that the way the temptations were flagged up were a little banal and juvenile, especially as Riker suddenly loses the ability to understand his friends. Here, though, Rogers' great "failure" is that she cannot help but want to help people and giving her near absolute power just makes her want to help more, but she approaches that point as the person she always had been. I've never been a big believer in the edgelordy truism of people being inherently selfish. Frankly, I consider that to be nothing more than projection on the part of whoever is saying it, so, having a god in mortal form who continues to uncomplicatedly care for others is fantastic. Even her big selfish moments only involve wanting to see loved ones or wanting to be in a relationship with someone, which, though she makes a slight, but fortunately rectifiable mistake along the way, ultimately entails genuine consideration for Riker's agency. Amanda Rogers basically stands as a refutation of yet another rather miserable and thoughtlessly repeated truism of absolute power corrupting absolutely. It's telling that, before she makes any decision at all, Q admits that execution isn't really on the cards anymore. The continuum have already conceded that she's no threat at all and I kind of like imagining Q's people as a sort of god police. Really, the only real reason she's spirited away at the end is because she'd solve every episode in a matter of seconds if she stayed in the normal universe. Q, occasionally creepy behaviour aside, behind all the lies, is pretty much just testing Rogers' humanity in much the same way he tested Picard's in the very first episode. Any Qness was always irrelevant. After all, we've gone from being exonerated a few seasons ago to the jury still being out and Picard keeps wondering what his true motives are, to say nothing of how he never argues against Picard's speech about morality. In fact, he basically agrees with it. And bothering to save a planet is a very human thing to do.

Q has some dodgy behaviour, but this is otherwise a pretty fantastic exploration of omnipotence.

For some reason, Rascals doesn't inspire confidence.

Just wait lol.

Episode 7: Rascals

For kids, by kids.

Picard finds a literally captive audience for his archeology speech. Mind you, exploring caves is fun. Bit disoriented when he gets back and misses his hair.

Young Picard does not endear himself with that voice. Most English kids get that shit slapped out of them by their classmates unless their families are hideously rich and/or pretensious enough to send them to posh schools. Which might fit Picard, but it doesn't make me like the kid. The actor is going through some of the right motions, like adjusting his shirt, but compared to the other child selves, something doesn't quite fit about it and I find him a bit monotone too. Having a full head of hair probably doesn't help. I appreciate the philosophy of wanting to always move forward with life. Throwing a mock tantrum was quite fun.

Riker gets a bit testy with O'Brien. Strains him to show proper respect to Picard. Sneakily comparing heights in the lift is funny. Admits that he's shit at genetics. Mercifully cottons on to Picard's plan immediately. Continues to be a master of bullshit.

La Forge helps solve the mystery.

Worf does his job, but needs to be prodded, since he's not used to taking orders from kids. Still terrible at security.

Crusher's concerns about the mind are sensible, but it might've been better to wait until he showed obvious signs of degrading before relieving him of command.

Troi suggests ways that Picard can use his new youth to his advantage.

Even Data struggles to take Picard seriously. Hed be the one character id expect to have no issue once the situation was explained to him.

For a listener, Guinan is very sarcastic about Picard's interests. Completely wrong of her to encourage Ro to stay young.

Young Guinan doesn't miss a beat and delights in being a child again. Picard is the only one who feels outright wrong, but young Guinan's actress is probably the best at successfully imitating their older self. That said, she doesn't seem to remotely get Ro's distaste for her childhood.

O'Brien takes one look at those kids and is already exasperated. In one hell of a shit situation and does his best to comfort his wife whilst trying to indicate how off the whole affair is. Sweet of him to forgo all concerns and just embrace her when Molly rejects her.

Keiko gives a sweet "aw, bless" smile at Picard's ramblings.

Young Keiko just tries to get on with her life. Proper adorable with her husband.

Ro tries to make some small talk with Keiko.

Young Ro cant wait to grow up, which sounds completely right. Completely agree with her on childhood not really being all that magical a time. Even if you did have a glorious time of it, why would you give the unparalleled freedom and capability that come with being an adult? That said, she does break and have some fun with it.

Alexander is helpful.

It's a real who's who of the not quite main characters. We're really only missing Barclay and Ogawa. Almost surreal to have Picard travelling with this crew. Energy field looks nice. While I expected some concern, since this is a disturbing phenomenon, everyone's reactions to the kids quickly begins to feel wrong, considering how professional they're meant to be. Only Crusher and especially O'Brien really have an excuse here. There's something a little degrading about having Guinan and Ro jump on the bed. "Are they really so short for stock footage or VFX budgets that they have to contrive a way for Ferengi to be piloting Klingon ships?" was my first thought when i saw that shot, but after a while i realised it was probably deliberate. As soon as the Enterprise proved itself to be hilariously and inexplicably underpowered in that battle I finally knew what sort of episode they were trying to do and I was finally able to shut my brain off. The Ferengi effortlessly taking over the place despite being complete bumblers only confirmed it.

So, its very stupid, yes, but it's a specific kind of deliberately stupid that I sort of admire. It doesn't become properly apparent until the second act, but it's basically what if a kid were playing with their Star Trek toys and we made an episode based off the story in their head? This is why the Ferengi are piloting Klingon ships. The kid in question doesn't have the right toys to actually match the correct ship with the correct species. Its why the Enterprise puts up a shit fight. The technobabble is already arbitrary, but in the hands of a child its even more meaningless and any narrative needs to have the bad guys at least pretend to be a threat. This also explains the ease with which they take the ship and defeat Worf. The official explanation is probably that the disrupter was on stun, but in the story logic of a child, Worf actually died and then was suddenly alive again when the narrative called for him to be sent to the mines. It's why the Ferengi are simultaneously an effective threat and also an easily confused joke. It's how the mad libs of a child's imagination works. Even making the characters kids and the specific characters they choose are all part of this. Aside from allowing for a self insert captain (because why wouldn't you run the ship if it were offered to you?), it also let's the not quite main characters work as a representation for a sudden new young crewmember (because why wouldn't you serve under Picard if it were offered to you?). Guinan let's them pretend to be serious and wise, while sacrificing none of the playfulness, Keiko is for the young romantics out there (O'Brien might not be everyone's first choice for a precocious crush, but as the only official couple, you need to work with what you can get) and Ro is simply cool and badass. Even this particular quartet is a bloody weird collection to go on holiday together, but if they're the toys you have, of course, they'll suddenly become best friends in your story. Even the out of character reactions to a child in command probably stem from a kid's dislike at being treated as less competent than a adult. What baffles me is why they tried to have their cake and eat it too with exploring some of the ramifications of deaging is a vaguely serious manner.

At least that's what i thought it was, but apparently Moore hates it with a passion and intended none of what I saw in it. Oh, well, guess I'll disregard the writer then.

All that said, it is still daft and won't find itself in the top of my rankings at all. But there is some fun to be had, so, its better than most bad episodes.

Looking at A Fistful of Datas, next.

Episode 8: A Fistful of Datas

For a few Datas more.

Nice to see that Picard still loves his flute. Gets increasingly impatience with everyone hassling him. Cheekily calls himself a poor actor. Forces Worf to have time off. Poor man just wants to enjoy music in peace. Cat food seems to break his brain for a moment.

Riker seems to be regretting joining Crusher's acting troupe. At least, he paid some attention to Data's poetry. Just as concerned as everyone else over western Data.

La Forge tries an experiment. Growing his beard again. Obviously sees Data as more than just a machine.

Worf is suddenly a workaholic when his son wants to do something. I shouldn't like it, but I do find it funny. Couldn't be more miserable as a cowboy, but begins to see the appeal once he gets into a good scrap. I pity poor Barclay. Love his slightly urgent confusion over rights in the old west. Doesn't care much for the bartender. Too innocent for the wild west. Begrudgingly goes along with the plot. Disgusted and resigned to cosying up with Data in drag, but gets a last second reprieve. Does the right thing by his boy and gives us a lovely toothy smile.

Crusher entices Picard into joining her play. In absolute despair with her current troupe. Really eager to find that play.

Troi has a wonderfully dreadful accent. About as funny as Data with her western behaviour. Really loves being in character and can't tolerate Worf's frequent breaks. Tries to get him "laid", but there's no helping some people. Rightly spooked by the gradual infestation of Datas.

Data takes part in an experiment. Notices La Forge's occasional beard. Appreciates him recognising his personhood and attempts to return the favour. Adopting western mannerisms is funny as fuck. Good cat dad. Cold as ice when he suggests that Spot may like his meal when hungry.

"Frank"'s appearence alone is worth a chuckle. But "Eli"'s basically everything is freaky as fuck. Its a testament to Spiner's acting that they can simultaneously feel like different characters and also like Data just playing a variety of roles. The best is rightly saved for last, as Data as a plump barmaid had me in stitches.

Alexander appreciates westerns and understands them well. The holodeck must be the perfect playground. Knows exactly what he's doing, guilting his father into a later western simulation.

Opening scene is a perfect bit of comedy. Get some nice Western music when Worf dons his hat. Really, the whole soundtrack is excellent and the cinematography in the simulation is appropriately beautiful, too. Sure, its an overdramatic cliche storm, but its played with such overhyped sincerity that its wonderful. Stewart's getting better at directing. Using Data's latest character as cliffhangers is a brilliant choice. The rapidly repeated card trick is actually quite unnerving. Title doesn't lie, we do get quite a few datas in the end. An unnecessarily beautiful shot at the end as they fly into the sunset.

It exists for no reason other than to do a western because westerns are fun and to showcases Spiner's immaculate acting chops. Dorn and Sirtis get to stretch out a bit, too, beyond their characters' usual pigeonhole. None of this is a problem, though, when it's so much fun all the way through.

Sets out to only be a fun delight and achieves it magnificently.

The Quality of Life is next.

Episode 9: The Quality of Life

Not quite Chumblies, these.

Picard apparently has two days to kill. Willing to consider the possibility of new life. Reluctantly agrees to threaten the Exocomp. Sarcastic as fuck to Data. More understanding of his decision than I ever would be in his position.

Riker approves of beards. Teases Crusher about being a brunette. Couldn't leave the poker table fast enough. Let's Data down as gently as he can. But quite rightly barks at him when he locks the controls. Straining to be vaguely civil in such a way that he looks on the brink of madness.

La Forge is still growing his out. Quite aggressive at the space station. Gets a little irritated by Data and Farallon's conversation. Makes friends with Farallon and guesses about her childhood. Even if it was a simulation, it's a bit cold to suggest threatening the poor thing.

Worf gets roped into the beard bet before he can object. Most scared of all of them to lose. Tries to teach Crusher.

Crusher's got a point about facial hair. Dismissely moves past her dye disaster. Sees immediately that Data has some purpose behind his line of questioning. It apparently helps Data, but her philosophical babble about life is the same tepid, noncommittal nothing that always gets thrown out in stories like these. Understands why this is important to Data. The most willing to consider them alive.

Troi figures out that Farallon protests too much.

Data projects his voice in concern over the power grid. Gets on well with Farallon. Frantic with curiosity after La Forge's joke. Good on him for actually coming to a conclusion on what life is. Disappointed when the exocomp fails and desperately wants to not be alone. Completely misses Picard's sarcasm. Has a brief twitch of shock when it's suggested to make the exocomps suicide bombers. It's amazing how terrifying he can be sometimes. That said, I do not agree with his decision at all and I don't think the explanation quite works. Obviously, the exocomps are alive and shouldn't be needlessly sacrificed or treated as mere tools, but even with the mild identity crisis as to what sort of life he is, I can't see Data as the sort of person who'd potentially sacrifice his friends like that. Even if he considered that the exocomps would come up with a new solution, the fact that he can't see it himself should be the deciding factor on not risking it. Though I still do like this insubordinate streak he keeps occasionally showing, at least in principle.

Farallon is excited to meet Data. Nearly flirting with him. Very much a one track mind with her exocomps. Quite dismissive of them, though, once they're apparently useless. Aggressively argues with Data, but show him some due respect. More smug than the fucking Sun when the exocomp fails. Has the same problem as a lot of her fellow antagonists, where she sort of has a change of heart, but in a very noncommittal way that makes her seem even more insufferable.

Poker night again, which is always fun. Exocomps are adorable. Vaguely like micro pigs. They like showing the characters in the lab from behind that board. We get a little moment of hope in the test when the exocomp moves to leave. They use the same VFX shot of the station a lot. Calling Data's decision the most human thing he's ever done rings a bit hollow for me.

It's fitting that the episode references The Measure of a Man because it's asking a lot of the same questions that it and Home Soil and Evolution, among possible others, asked. Unlike them, it's not really doing anything unique with the premise, so, it feels like a perfectly competent retread. Not only that, but it contrives a scenario to make Data (and to a lesser extent, Picard and Riker) seem like an arse. It is kind of sweet that the exocomps are most concerned with their mortality, but still have the capacity of self sacrifice and a lot of the episode is fairly fun, but I've kind of seen it before.

Probably the first completely standard episode of the season. Little mediocre and a few unpleasant character moments, but it's watchable.

Onto a two parter. Chain of Command is next.

I'm interested to see your opinion on a character in CoC. I think they're kind of divisive.

Episode 10: Chain of Command

Meet the new boss.

Picard obviously doesn't enjoy the bad news, but gracefully goes along with it and tries to help Jellico as best he can. Shuts down the insult to Riker. Stewart wears exhaustion well. Once he becomes aware of Jellico's cowardly fatalism, any respect for him dies. Diplomatic instincts come in handy when negotiating transport. Understandably bricking it when the Cardassians catch him.

Riker appreciates the work dynamic he already had and understandably doesn't like seemingly needless change. Not used to being micromanaged. Despairingly, but professionally gets on with his suddenly shit job. Seems to pick up on the fact that Picard has a secret mission quite quickly. Almost impressed by Jellico's negotiation bullshit.

La Forge muses about the change in management. On the verge of a breakdown over being overworked.

Worf complains about the difficulty. Apparently has a fear of bats. Tries to tease Crusher.

Crusher does not like their new secret mission. McFadden exaggerates the charm like nobody's business when enticing the Ferengi. Beautifully deadpan against Worf.

Troi picks up on Crusher's unease, but cant be too much help. Perfectly reasonable with Jellico and gets politely told to fuck off for her trouble. It's been obvious from the start that (apart from sex appeal), the reason she wears such a relatively more casual and comfy outfit is because it puts her patients at ease. Sees through Jellico's bluster.

Even Data is taken aback by Picard leaving them. Too innocent to be any less than a yes man.

Jellico comes out the gate unlikeable, but only because the audience is immediately inclined to dislike outsiders and replacements. Hes friendly enough at the start, but seems to try too hard and comes across as insincere. Immediately switching things up doesn't endear him much, either. Since im guessing hes who Pegusus was on about, i was willing to try and like him in spite of the episode basically telling me not to, but then he disregards Riker's quite reasonable objections to the change in shift and im immediately reminded of terrible managers out of their depth, but too stupid and stubborn to admit it. Having a weird fidgety body language does him no favours and trying to subtly insult Riker to Picard of all people just screams fragile narcissist.

Intensely paranoid, fatalistic and incapable of connecting with anyone, it's a wonder he didn't plunge the Cairo into a star out of nihilistic ennui. Certainly isn't fit to be an ensign, let alone a captain. Having a kid does precisely nothing to make him more sympathetic. Says some of the right words, but is ultimately disinterested in Troi's advice and making her change into more formal wear is clearly retaliation for accidentally bruising his ego. Lightly lords having the Enterprise over Picard. Appreciates Data, but only because he already expects his staff to be nothing more than machines. Makes a feeble attempt at a power play. Judging by his "meticulous" negotiation plan, he has a child's understanding of how people function. Stealing Lemec's chair is worth respecting, though and he keeps his cool decently when it becomes obvious Picard and crew are in danger. What amazes me is how i, despite putting him through the mire just now, don't actually consider him insufferable. Instead, I love to hate him. He's not particularly sympathetic at all, but he's astonishingly compelling to watch. Props to the actor here, he's great.

Lemec's polite psychopathy is great fun.

Well, that cold open was to the point, wasn't it? I've always found it strangely adorable to have two ships flying side by side. Apparently burglar attire hasn't changed much over the centuries. Brief glimpse of a wretched hive. Sure I've seen that building in The Masterpiece Society. Walking to the far end of the table is a pretty good way of showing Jellico's pettiness. The cave in is a bit stock. The Cardassian room has a bleak, almost bureaucratic feel. It's soulless and reminds me of the ministry of love in 1984. Spinning around as the Cardassian delivers a small lecture on Picard's life is a potent metaphor for knowing every angle of him. Probably the best cliffhanger since Locutus.

Aside from the cold war style realpolitik and spying, it looks like this two parter might be about terrible employment and the disposability of people. As stern as Picard can be, he's actually a bloody good boss and is immediately missed when Jellico takes the helm and not just for reasons of familiarity. Jellico doesn't remotely care for being a good manager (captain, technically and obviously, but this is a very loose military, even with Troi's new uniform, which I actually kind of like), rather hes interested in making the place his and implementing change just so he has some apparent innovation to slap his name on. Changing shifts, setting just about achievable, but insanely difficult targets, redecorating the office, ignoring HR as much as possible (Troi) and only appreciating the one literal machine on staff because he's basically a dogsbody who'd never think to complain. Of course, Picard's own boss, the latest dodgy admiral, is willing to send three excellent workers (one of whom is a highly decorated hero several times over) right into hell on what is basically a snipe hunt. My prediction for part II is that there'll be a mutiny and that it will be somewhat likened to a strike or even a revolution. And, also, that we'll get a peak at Cardassian culture and it'll be totalitarian as fuck.

One of the more energetic part ones, with a truly outstanding guest star. Could be The Best of Both Worlds, again.

I'm watching part II immediately. Can't stop myself.

Can't wait to see what you think of Part II and it's character.

Episode 11: Chain of Command, Part II

2 + 2 = 5

Picard starts near catatonic and defeated. Briefly gets to share his interest in archeology. Naive of him to expect decency from any government. His arms twitching in a near rictus is a brilliant bit of acting from Stewart. Doesn't immediately comprehend the lights question. What a gasp from the pain device. That's a proper deep and hollow noise from Stewart. Can read it in his face the continued confusion of the lights question, followed by dawning comprehension, then a steeled resolve to spite Madred. Has a valid point about how you raise children. "What lights?" is a gorgeously powerful retort. Sings to himself for comfort. Nods with a broken stare when he elects to stay. Beautiful of him for his voice to gradually build in strength as he psychologically wounds Madred's inner child. Even as he subsequently screams and gasps in agony, the endless spiel of defiance made it seem like one of the most epic moments of his career. Hardly needed the confession to Troi to know that his elongated pause was him somehow counting five. Bless him for going to his counsellor. It's the right choice.

Sweet as it is, Riker confirming Picard's mission by asking if he's alright didn't seem wise. Because I'm long past the days of giving the slightest shit about realpolitik interests, fictional or otherwise, when they compromise people's lives, I would have sided with Riker even if Picard were a nameless, faceless stranger. Explosive anger gradually melts into quiet contempt. His assessment of Jellico is spot on. Enjoys having to be asked for his help.

La Forge does his job and doesn't even complain too much, though he has to note the potential problems of this war business. Slightly resistant at first, but connects with Jellico, then slyly uses it to try and get Riker in his good books again.

Worf bounces back quickly.

Crusher's a little traumatised from the experience. Quickly develops contempt for Jellico.

Troi fails to keep the peace.

Data does not look right in red.

Jellico quite rightly gives Riker a disappointed look when he confirms Picard's mission. Starts off more decent than the last episode. Actually handles himself well against Lemec. Then, returns to the cowardly narcissist after Riker suggests they rescue Picard. Has a guilty, horrified look after Riker storms out. Problem solves with La Forge and Data quite well. Tries to connect with his staff. Is honestly brilliant against the Cardassian fleet. No complaints there. Good on him to bring Picard back.

Lemec continues to effortlessly modulate between charming and terrifying.

Madred does the usual things of being vaguely civil start. Its a testament to the actor that he can tell a mostly irrelevant story and keep the whole scene enthralling just by adjusting his cadence. Acts like hes just doing his job, but clearly relishes his position. Completely haunting when he literally strips Picard of his dignity and identity. Luxuriates in basic tasks like pouring himself a drink or fumbling for his PADD to demonstrate his effortless control of the situation. Casually remarking on Picard's obvious thirst is actually kind of funny. As soon as he repeated that he believes Picard, it became obvious that he's O'Brien from 1984 in all but name. Entertaining his daughter makes him more sympathetic than Jellico's paintings do him. Has a nerve struck and protests far too much when waxing about the military dictatorship hes in. Love his conversational tone as he delivers threat after threat. Reveals too much and quickly begins to spiral. Picard's right, though. He is just a vindictive little boy. Broken man when it's clear his little game has failed.

We're spinning to assert Madred's absolute control again. The camera allows him to be in perfect control of every shot, with him slowly walking to Picard from the background accentuating the danger. A brief oversaturated POV shot to demonstrate Picard's first view of light in a while. Maybe foreshadowing. Lots of closeups of Jellico's barely kept poker face and Lemec's more dynamic features to demonstrate the imbalance between them. When restrained, the camera tends to anchor itself to Picard's position and turn to follow its actual subject. Like a visual metaphor for the change in sound levels he'd be experiencing. They take their time with letting Picard get to his feet to drag out the hope spot an uncomfortably long time.

As far as the new management storyline is concerned, they offer Jellico more nuance to his character and unlike the last minute attempts they've done on other Starfleet outsiders, this feels earned and actually succeeds in making him sympathetic. Its pretty telling that its only when he connects with La Forge and is at least honest to and willing to accept honesty from Riker that he gets his best work from them.

The rest is basically 1984, albeit not discussing the exact same themes the book was. There's no compromised memories from what I can see, for example. I have just reread it, though, so, maybe this is merely a case of it being on my mind a lot. There'll be quite some spoilers from that book here. Firstly, the inclusion of of Madred's child and the way Cardassian children are raised to hate slightly nubulous enemies is very similar to the spies from that book, who like to recruit their members from a very young age and encourage a very dangerous sort of nosy vigilance, to the point that, close to the end, Picard's warning comes true and one of Winston's "friends" (for lack of a better turn), who's almost perfect at not just towing, but genuinly believing the party line, gets sold out by his own sprogs for not being completely perfect. Secondly, the backstory of a sequence of disasters leading to a militant overthrow of the planet isn't too dissimilar to the implied (a significant theme is the unreliability of memory, so, its ambiguous what actually happened) backstory, where it seems that a nuclear bomb or at least a particularly heavy set of raids happened to impact Britain during World War 2, leading to the INGSOC party taking over. The rest dabbles in how needlessly dehumanising the prison system is, how torture is a profoundly crap method of both information extraction and rehabilitation and that all it serves to do is allow the fragile and insecure to act out increasingly barbaric fantasies on people who, regardless of any real crimes or their severity, quickly seem like the innocents in that situation. Bringing it back to 1984, the climax involves a similar scenario to this episode, where, after an ambiguously long time of constant torture where Winston resists accepting that 2 + 2 may equal 5, he's finally motivated to betray a far more fundamental aspect of his being after being confronted with his greatest fear: begging them to instead torture the woman he loves and, in effect, throwing said love away. Picard's given the (we know to be empty) threat of having it happen to Crusher instead and scarcely hesitates to sit back down and take his torture on the chin. The final aim of both O'Brien and Madred is to control perception itself, since in doing so, they can control the very soul of humanity itself. In the book, both Winston and Julia mutually sell each other out, are left genuinly loving Big Brother and Winston truly accepts that 2 + 2 = 5. Here, Picard sees five lights (which is a great way of letting us have a mostly happy ending without crassly disregarding the psychological scars such torment leaves), but discovers a strength of soul Winston (who's quite the pitiful protagonist, even without the shitty world he lives in) never could. He refuses to grant Madred the satisfaction and demonstrates that controlling perception is not identical to controlling the self. Keeping hold of idealism even when delving in dark subject matter.

The one time so far part 2 has been better than part one. Completely brilliant.

Ship in a Bottle. Great fun, I hope?

splodeymissile posted...

Episode 11: Chain of Command, Part II

Ship in a Bottle. Great fun, I hope?

O'Brien seemed to think so that one time!

Also, interesting thing Tc. You were only a couple of words away from the 8000 character limit in a single post. Literally could not post my reply until I started deleting the rest of yours lol.

Yeah, Jellico is one a lot of people hate, but I personally put the blame more on Riker. Maybe just because I already kind of disliked him. But even the people who hate him usually thank him for getting Troi onto a uniform instead of her cleavage outfit.

Stewart demanded he do that scene in the actual nude. He was involved with Ammesty International, I believe, and was insistent they not diminish the horror of torture by faking it.

And perhaps the most impressive bit of Madred's acting is that he had no time to prepare. In most of his scenes, he's reading off cue cards. And fun fact, he was also the voice of R'as al Ghul in Batman TAS.

Props to the actors, thats pretty impressive on both counts.

Episode 12: Ship in a Bottle

Knew he was coming back, but I didn't know when.

Picard enters diplomacy mode immediately. At least, his concern over Moriarty's experience of time is genuine. Shocked as everyone when he exists beyond the holodeck. I find it interesting that one of his biggest concerns is whether Moriarty will continue to be a criminal or not. He's right to be hesitant about bringing the countess into existence. Adjusts his language to play the perfect Victorian when talking to the countess. Clever plan of his and can't help having a sly look in his eye when carrying it out.

Riker quickly gets annoyed by Moriarty.

La Forge is still indulging Data's fantasies. Astute enough to notice the problems. Concerned when Barclay mentions Moriarty. His hologram self gets noticeably vacant and just sort of awkwardly loiters when Data spills the beans.

Hologram Worf gets a bit concerned by his panel. Real Worf isn't any happier dealing with forcefields.

Crusher seems to like Moriarty a little. Perhaps Pulaski would be jealous?

Troi finds him somewhat romantic, too. These two reactions were what made me wonder if someone else had created the fantasy.

Data as Holmes is still a fun stereotype. Gets lost in character a bit, since normally he'd notice that sort of discrepancy. Of course, he's lucid enough to figure out the simulation from a few odd details.

Barclay is far calmer these days, whilst still noticeably mild. Handles himself against Moriarty brilliantly, though I suppose brushing him off as a particularly clever program helps. Gives the countess more deference than he should, considering he initially believes her to be completely fictional. That simulation paranoia will probably haunt him forever.

Moriarty hasn't missed a beat. Mostly he's calm, but there are glimpses that four years worth of isolation is only being held back by a tremendous will. Lovely smile to close the cold open. Anger begins to mount as soon as he sees Picard again. Practically spitting some lines. Leaning into a bit of mental mysticism to comprehend and deal with his existence as a fictional character. Almost like he's found a faith of sorts. His joy at learning what sort of ship hes on is beautiful, as is the endless parade of possibilities running through his mind. Shame hes programmed to fixate on one imaginary woman. He does well enough socially that it shouldn't be too difficult to find someone in this new time. His frustrations with Picard didnt take long to return. A lot of this is understandable once we learn he never actually left the holodeck. Not sure what he sees in the countess. She kind of annoys me. Seeing through Picard's plan a little wins her some points, though. Kind of like that in his desire for a perfectly justifiable goal, he basically willingly becomes the villain he claims to have left behind. Wonderfully overjoyed when he thinks he's escaped.

Considering the time between them, I wonder if anyone pegged that this would be a Moriarty story from the Holmes set alone? Moriarty continuing to exist is a brilliant cliffhanger. I noticed the weird scene transitions and around about the briefing scene, that was when I began seriously considering whether this was a simulation or not. The title helped, as well, as did everyone treating Moriarty as an unexplainable miracle, which quickly began to look like a wish fulfillment fantasy. What i was wrong about was who authored it. I assumed that the whole thing was made by the crew to appease Moriarty with a vaguely plausible story of how he could exist independently. The arch suddenly existing in a victorian parlour is quite a wrong image. Nested simulations are a fun concept. Some beautiful shots of the collision, too.

Last time Moriarty appeared, I described him as a more self aware Khan: someone who, in contrast to the vengeful narrative ghoul who set out to destroy all of Star Trek without fully comprehending what he was doing, recognised that his story was destined to either be tragic or unfinished and set himself up as the moral high ground within the show, so, that his plight couldn't possibly be ignored without rendering all of the main characters (but especially Picard) ethically bankrupt. Of course, copyright got in the way and it's not difficult to see Moriarty's digital limbo as a metaphor for this kind of legal purgatory. Flashes of consciousness translated from rigidly controlled media appearences managed from rights holders who have an increasingly tenuous connection to Doyle. Nor is it difficult to read Picard's somewhat weak arguments about scientists trying as being about lawyers getting nowhere fast. So, despite his best efforts, he, like Khan before him, is nursing a bit of a grudge from the story abandoning him over production trivia.

Of course, Moriarty is still a meta villain, so rather than be destructive, he immediately crafts a pretty typical Star Trek story about impossible phenomena, but with himself playing the starring role of a holodeck character who becomes real in the hopes of becoming more real. He acts out his own wonder at the stars, hoping that he may one day experience it for real. He elevates the countess because he has genuinly fallen in love with his prescribed love interest. He leans into the villain role because his actually quite reasonable demands are rendered impossible by the rules of the story he really exists in. In the end, he's only foiled when Picard gets a bit meta, too. Recognising that destruction is the only alternative (and not just in the physical, but also moral sense), Picard writes the happy ending that Moriarty frankly deserves and leaves him in a fairly boundless world built on it. True, in most stories, locking someone in a fake world would be morally suspect, at best, but with the tacit acknowledgement from the episode itself that Star Trek is just as fictional as Sherlock Holmes, these ethical concerns are deftly swept away. If all worlds are equally fake, what's the point in splitting hairs? After all, a simulated holodeck works just as well as the real thing. Rather than being trapped in either copyright limbo and left as an occasionally remembered idea or being forced into endless repeats of the same tales with increasingly restrictive controls, Moriarty gets to make a final evolution and become the main character in his very own Star Trek show. Albeit one we tragically don't get to see.

And Picard, Data Barclay are perhaps the best characters for this. Data has a tendency to get lost in character, first as Sherlock and then as himself. But La Forge pointing out a flaw in the simulation gets him looking for other flaws later and as soon as he identifies one, he stops being Moriarty's character and starts being himself, making the two artificial beings pretty good mirrors for each other. Picard and Barclay get something out of the bargain, too, as a bit of Moriarty's meta nature rubs off on them. Picard gets to reach at the confines of his world and say without explicitly saying that his life is basically just a TV show. Barclay, meanwhile, as the (pseudo) main character who has most changed since his first appearance, perhaps most takes Moriarty's lesson to heart. Is he relieved at the end because he's "confirmed" that his world is real or because he can "feel" the credits coming and is satisfied that fictional doesn't necessarily mean meaningless?

Either way, it was worth the wait. Some spoilers are unavoidable and I'm aware about some (though not all) details of a more recent show, but, for now, I can't think of a better ending for this character's story.

Being yet another proper noun (I think), I haven't a clue what Aquiel is, but it's next.

Episode 13: Aquiel

Someone on this station is a murderer.

Picard won't risk the peace for just anything. Really leaning on that arbiter of succession stuff, isn't he? Still, it's fun to watch him run rings around someone and be nothing but pleasant about it. Stony faced during Uhnari's story.

Riker teases La Forge. Doesn't believe Uhnari, but I can't blame him in his situation. Very aggressive with his questioning. I'm pleasantly surprised how restrained he was with La Forge going to bat for her. He's been a bit of an arse for a while, so, its nice to see some of his old characterisation come back.

La Forge is having another shit day at work. Bit too happy to first see Uhnari's face. Rifles through her things like nobody's business. Snaps to attention when she mentions aggressive Klingons. Passes judgement on her tastes (though he's right about the wig) and seems to be loving a shadow again. Actually does alright when he properly meets her. Handles their drink like a functional human being, even with the unfortunately necessary breach of her privacy. Can hardly believe it himself when she shows some affection to him. All his anger is clearly born out of worry for her. Finally gets some action and doesn't look like a complete creep doing so. Like a moody teenager when Riker arrests her. Glad the relationship continues in some fashion.

Worf's new confidence in himself finally gets tested against an antagonistic Klingon and he dismisses the idiot beautifully.

Crusher does her job. Even when she's not doing much more than experimenting with technobabble, McFadden continues to act the hell out of her coming to and occasionally dismissing conclusions.

Troi doesn't get up to much, but it is nice seeing her in a proper uniform.

Data asks a pertinent question.

Uhnari's nervousness during her story and the convenient memory loss flagged her up as the obvious suspect, though, naturally, I assumed she was a red herring. Her and La Forge's banter is adorable. Completely right of her to feel a bit put off for a bit by La Forge knowing a lot about her, but she handles their drink brilliantly, too. Her breakdown after deleting a letter is painful to watch. Psychic aphrodisiacs are perfectly okay with me. Hope she gets the job.

Bless La Forge for shutting up that racket. Maura is cute. Nice bit of tension with the audio logs. The dream one is like a horror movie. Almost like a locked room mystery, the amount of time La Forge spends on that set. More fun than it sounds to watch La Forge watch home movies. Nice transition to La Forge getting some drinks in. Crusher briefly gets menaced by red Flubber. Hand in the sludge is just nasty. The coalescent is certainly an effect.

It's pretty much just a murder mystery. Literally just Star Trek does Laura (one of the few films in this "Star Trek does x" series I hadnt heard about before) and done decently well. There are a few interesting things to mention, though. Firstly, La Forge is finally a mostly functional human being and has a relationship. Can't complain there. Secondly, Uhnari joins Barclay in the interesting category of Starfleet officers who aren't quite up to snuff, but nevertheless remain sympathetic. Thirdly, my insistence on referring to characters by their family name where applicable and unlikely to cause confusion (Keiko is probably always going to be referred to by her given name) has run into a minor problem, since the title and basically every character prefers what I assume is her given name (wouldn't put it past La Forge to be weirdly formal with that sort of stuff, though). Finally, apparently even the creators don't reckon much to this episode and I can't understand why. Far from a highlight, but it does what it set out to do and does it well.

And that's basically the final word. Fairly solid episode, but not much more.

Looking into Face of the Enemy next.

Episode 14: Face of the Enemy

The Enterprise Incident, Part II.

Picard has an understanding view of traitors. Angry at the apparent deception, but reasonable enough to listen. Intelligent enough to not blow Troi's cover immediately.

Riker's a bit more angry towards them, but hes still able to be decent to them.

La Forge makes an appearance.

Worf's opinion on traitors is to be expected, but he delivers more calmly and lucidly than i would expect. Doesn't trust Deseve's intel. Doing his hair nicely.

Crusher's in a forgiving mood.

Troi's acting like she's the Oh God of hangovers. Also, she's a Romulan and doesn't like the look of that. Disoriented and irritable, as expected, but picks things up quickly. Doesn't enjoy being talked down to. Nervous and near silent when she meets Toreth, but soon begins to project a tremendous level of authority. Unnerved by people fearing her, but goes along with the role. Manages to disguise her ignorance of Romulan affairs through simple guile and the assumptions of others. Its brilliant how Sirtis disguises Troi's very real personal contempt of Toreth behind her disguise's expected contempt of anyone who questions her. Takes the loss of the freighter hard, but still fulfills her role. Calling Toreth a coward is fantastic, especially as you can hear a little exaggeration in the line to show that Troi is acting more aggressive than she normally would be. Starts to adopt some of her act's personality when she bellows, barks and threatens N'Vak to listen to her. Even calls him subcommander to emphasise that she's a little lost in character. Best part happens when she fully relishes the role to get command of the ship, betraying every instinct as an empath by threatening their families. Then, when she transports back, the sweetest smile to indicate that she's still Troi. Turns out when you bother to give Sirtis material, she sings.

Data does his job.

N'Vak is as patient as this scenario let's him be. Nervous as fuck any time Troi is spoken to. Casually kills someone just so Troi has a disguise. Remorselessly throws her under the bus when the freighter plan falls through. Stands by his principles in the end.

Toreth is a stern captain and doesnt appreciate being kept in the dark. Her rant about the Tal Shiar keeps her mounting in anger and steals the scene. Spits the coordinates out with venom and contempt. Initially deals with Troi through smarm and smugness, but once under her skin we see someone nursing one hell of an angry wound due to the crimes of her government. Keeps treating Troi like an idiot barely worth notice, clearly trying to bait an excuse to kill her. Its almost a shame shes more or less humiliated in the end, since finally seeing through the bullshit is a great moment.

Fun to keep Troi in darkness for a bit. The uniform makes it obvious, though. Get a few reaction shots of N'Vak, which might be him sending emotional hints to Troi. The dinner scene is perfect, from acting to script, but especially in the way it lingers on Troi as she navigates Romulan customs, inviting her to make a fuck up that she keeps avoiding. Transitioning from Picard and company leaving the ready room to Troi pacing was cool. Some brilliant tension as the two ships follow each other and we keep cutting from one bridge to the other. Wrong in all the best ways to have Troi appear antagonistically on the view screen.

Troi has had some fantastic moments before, but fucking hell this was spectacular. It really bothers me that Crusher and Troi are so heavily underutilised, so, I was probably going to be somewhat sympathetic to this on principle. But it isn't just a phenomenal showcase for Sirtis and a tense thriller besides, it's a redemption story for the Romulans. TOS Romulans were always played as being morally equivalent, in some cases better, than the Federation, but TNG, although they made some efforts with Unification and a few others, has mainly kept them in moustache twirler mode. Here, though, we have "good" Romulans who have defected, but still have complex moralities, a human who was able to see genuine value in their culture for a time and, of course, Toreth. Aside from making every scene between her and Troi a mesmerising experience, her backstory makes her an incredibly rich character for how short a time she spends here. Loyal to her government, but in disagreement with some of their darker policies, she isn't too far removed from Picard himself and, like The Enterprise Incident, I left the story feeling quite bad that she was returning home a laughing stock. I actually care about this species again, the way I used to.

Stands proud alongside the best Romulan tales of TOS. Truly brilliant.

Onto the next bit of the Tapestry.

Spoiler: It's a good one.

Face of the Enemy made me sad that Troi didn't get to live up to that potential in other episodes. It's her standout episode.

The movie Star Trek: Nemesis is mostly about the Romulans

Episode 15: Tapestry

The difference between living and existing.

Picard doesn't take news of his death well. Laughs it off, initially and finds the idea of Q as god utterly ridiculous. Defiant to that chorus of voices Q summons up. Can read the regret and shame in his face when he sees his younger self's fight. Feebly holds onto maintaining the flow of time, but quickly gives up and tries to correct some mistakes. You can see the moment it dawns on him what an opportunity this is just before he asks for the time. Unfortunately, the years have made him far too mature for this age and he clearly has no real interest in Penny (and probably never really did), despite politely asking about her. Besides, Corlina was clearly the right choice. Holds a massive amount of disdain for how he used to be. Good on him for cheating them back. Has a moment of dawning comprehension when he finally notices Marta's interest in him. Has become quite a stolid, boring man in comparison to how his friends know him. On the verge of tears when Marta rejects him. Some good moments in his other life, like his desperation to immediately advance his career and briefly moving to get up when he hears the call for senior staff. Pleads to go back to his old life and now we know why he laughed after getting stabbed. Finally beginning to see why Q does what he does.

Riker suffers a cut. Quite entranced by stories of Picard's youth. Alt Riker is as nice as he can get without outright lying. Even then, he's straining to find praise.

Worf brings Picard in. Alt Worf is decent and concerned for the confused man on the bridge.

Crusher is wonderfully all business with trying to resuscitate Picard.

Alt Troi is refreshingly blunt about the random ensign's prospects.

Alt Data shows compassion for the apparent amnesiac on the bridge.

Q deliberately leans into the profane with his outfit. Plays up the morbidity of Picard's death. Turned down his smarm considerably and treats the subject matter with far more severity than he usually bothers with. This more sedate Q made it quite clear that he was primarily in teacher mode for this episode. Takes Picard's insults more on the chin. Gets quite irritated when he refuses to play. Being more subdued doesn't stop his jokes from being often brilliant. Still finds time to have fun with the flower delivery bit. Straight up delivers his lesson this time.

Picard's friends are alright. Marta is a more dynamic soul than Corey, who's a bit genetic. In fact, appreciating Picard's rather sudden level of responsibility makes her quite interesting, as does the fact she encourages Picard's dalliances without any bitterness, whilst still obviously wanting him. Both are mature beyond their years, though for different reasons (I feel like I've used this phrase before). Actually, Corey rejecting Picard as a friend is a dick move.

No establishing shot, we're right into the action. White voids are a bit standard, but effective. Effectively, a two man play for a lot of it. Not convinced about the younger self's fight scene, but at least they included the laugh. The slap scene transition was nice. Nice looking bar. So, they combined pool and pinball? Ensign Picard would definitely take some getting used to. Its remarkable how Picard snogging Marta can be both heartwarming and a little off (not quite for reasons of relative age, although it's related to that) at the same time. About the only romance he's had that seems realistic, too. Picard in the science uniform doesn't look right. Quite like the lift opening to the void.

Regrets are a funny thing because they're kind of an unsolvable problem. Regardless of whether you regret doing something or not doing something, it is obviously impossible to go back and create a counterfactual life for yourself to live. But even if you could, what then? While the prime regret for Picard might be getting stabbed, I actually found his "sub-regrets" involving his love life slightly more interesting, in particular, Marta. While the characters may technically be graduates, there is a slight school days feel to the plot, so, they might as well be in high school. And high school, as well as its immediate aftermath, tends to be the time when people start properly exploring their love and sex lives. Perhaps my fixation on this aspect of the episode is because I've got a massive bugbear over things like the incel phenomenon, fedora tippers and, I suppose, freaky freaks in general who not only have no social skills, but have no desire to even develop them. Picard himself doesn't fall into any of these categories since the madlad is setting up multiple dates at once, but him taking the opportunity to try and approach his early love life in a more mature fashion did remind me of conversations I've had of a similar nature with, frankly, far too many people (more of them in real life than anyone would like) who seem to fixate on the (often romantic) failures of their high school years and long for an ability to correct them.

There's a tragic irony to this idea that Picard sort of lives through. If you have substantially changed from who you were, then, like with the bar date, you are liable to become an alien in comparison to how people used to know you and will probably embarrass yourself. The scenario with Marta highlights the opposite problem: what if it works? The creepiness of Picard shagging her doesn't necessarily come from the age differences (although apparently the actress was 17, so, eep!), rather it's from the fact that if she didn't regret it, would 50 odd year old Picard still be hovering around 20 year olds (though I still read them as basically being teenagers in every way that matters) and having relationships with them long past that night? If you could transfer your current consciousness back to your high school life, what exactly could you do that would be remotely worth doing? Even if its just wanting to be popular, to prevent bullying or just do better academically, the very fact of obsessively wanting to "correct" any missteps, rather than walk forward with the wisdom gained, is conclusive proof that you haven't properly learned from the experience. And if you have learned, you'd no longer lament those days.

And it's true that, like getting stabbed during a pointless bar brawl, not every adventure is going to be a success, but the solution is not to be risk averse. This is a bit closer to what the episode is actually intentionally trying to say, but keeping it on the theme of relationships a little longer; why are so many people terrified of making the slightest effort towards having a partner? Careers or otherwise, there is no wisdom in a perfectly safe life and a refusal to let your ego be remotely wounded by rejection, embarrassment or failure is not just pathetic, it accomplishes nothing for you except wasting years in a dull, unmemorable self imposed mediocrity. Even fantasies of counterfactual success are yet another example of self defeating safety since they are just an addictive perfectly controlled indulgence that can occasionally provide the vaguest ghost of achievement and satisfaction without the dangers of having to actually put any effort or risk into life. Think I'd rather die than live like that, too. Definitely a bit of a tangent I went on.

Pretty good exploration of Picard's life, with a fantastic message and probably the definitive statement on who Q is. No regrets watching it.

Another two parter? Must be my Birthright.

Episode 16: Birthright

In hindsight, maybe I should've alternated. But, to be honest, I'd probably annoy myself if I kept ducking between shows.

Picard is not looking forward to meeting with bureaucrats. Not all that enthused by aqueducts, either. Encouraging of Data's new experience and guides him to become even more human.

Riker gets a bit worried by a power drain and by Worf's mood.

La Forge doesn't enjoy his meal and goes off to hassle O'Brien. Worried by Data's odd experience. Not happy by his experiment.

Worf is trying new food. Does not appreciate his dinner being interrupted. His weariness suggests he expected a fight. Understandably gets furious at the possibility of Mogh being alive, but it's obviously guarding a pained hope that it's true. Couldn't make his bad mood more obvious if he tried. Gets partially jolted out of his misery by Data's vision and comes to a wide eyed revelation. Approaches Shrek with a sort of maddened glee, especially when danger is mentioned. Normally disdainful of information sellers. Doesn't get the welcome he expected.

Crusher is treating herself to a day at the spa.

I imagine Troi's irritation at constantly being disregarded has finally boiled over because she's sarcastic as fuck to Worf from the start and doesn't let up on him for a moment.

Data forgets his job for a moment and gets charmed by Bashir. Probably the first time anyone's praised his social skills and he doesn't know how to take it. Appreciates Bashir asking original questions and actually caring about his human nature. Seems disappointed about ordinarily being unable to dream. Must have remembered the last time he bothered Worf in ten forward, since he's a bit hesitant this time. Seems to enter a trance like joy when painting. Visibly confused by his paintings. In near ecstasy when Soong begins "explaining" the dream to him. Has the right attitude to recreational dreaming.

Soong himself is a fine and fun portrait of a slightly mad mentor.

My recollections of DS9 mostly concern the more obviously alien characters (so, Quark and Odo, really), so, this is my first real time encountering Bashir, even though I probably have seen him before. Like most doctors, he's a bit of a maverick. Focuses on his experiments, to the distraction of social cues, but he's apologetic and friendly enough. Had to look at Data's pips to see his rank. The two of them get on like a house on fire. Likes Data's more human qualities over everything else. To the point, that he immediately considers legitimate dreams. Overjoyed at Data's new ability.

Love the DS9 theme. The station itself is gorgeous, moreso with the Enterprise hovering above it. Shrek gets a shot of noticing Worf from the background. Like most inter franchise crossovers, it probably exists purely to drum up interest in the sister show, but it's working on me. As soon as Data moved in front of the machine, it became obvious what was going to happen. Low angle shot and slight wobble to make Data's inner world seem that much more dreamlike. You can tell Worf's having a revelation based on the music and the way the camera focuses on it. Cool shot of the blaring light behind him to indicate how rapidly his own neurons are firing in his madness. Like the painting scene. The paintings themselves are quite beautiful. My favourite is the flock of birds. Get some nice surreal imagery with the forged bird wing, the odd transitions and, of course, Data's flight through space. His journey around the outside of the Enterprise is the highlight. Unless Shrek turns out to be Odo, I'm a little surprised how low key a crossover this first half was.

Data's dreams are framed in a lot of spiritual language, as something to be interpreted. I quite like that, after trying and failing to analyse them through the lens of literally everyone else, it's only through looking into it through his own ideas that he's able to generate anything worthwhile. And he comes out of the experience a richer person than before now that he has a true imagination and the ability to tap into raw creativity. And, of course, its the image of his dad that leads him to this divine revelation. The image of one's father hangs over Worf, as well and takes him on a gauntlet of dark emotions, culminating in him discovering a community where Romulans and Klingons seem to have some sort of civil arrangement. While I feel like Data's story is finished, my prediction for Worf's is that he'll move past his hatred of Romulans a little.

Pretty beautiful start. More partial to Data's story than Worf's, but both are great.

Onto Part II.

Episode 17: Birthright, Part II

Cultural appropriation.

Picard, Riker, La Forge and Data patiently wait. Picard sees through Worf's lie, but understands why it's necessary.

Worf has a confusing start to his day. Has a lot of pride in how he says there is no room for shame. Angry over the severe culture shock he's experiencing. Quite sly, how he treats Ba'el. Rather short with Tokath, but taken aback when he learns about his wife. Bit shit at not acting suspicious. Spares Toq. The Mok'Bara seems to be a means of anger management for Worf. Quite like him as a teacher of his people's culture. Tells the story of Kahless well and has some effortless responses to the inevitable questions, no matter how obnoxious they are. Do not enjoy his bigotry towards Ba'el. Even with his axe to grind against Romulans, that is a step too far for him to be sympathetic. Digs himself deeper trying to explain and comes across as a racist clown. Greatly enjoys Toq spoiling dinner and I kind of don't fully blame him. His honour bollocks really started to grate when he elected to be executed.

Crusher is happy to see Worf.

L'Kor doesn't do much for me. Kind of find him a bit pathetic.

Tokath is a decent sort. Still has that Romulan ruthlessness. Defeats Worf's black and white mentality with no small amount of smugness. Gives L'Kor one hell of a filthy look when he starts singing. Loved that he raised his own weapon when L'Kor stood against him.

Ba'el is a bit too transparent a love interest, but i do like her curiosity into her people's culture. The way she shuts down Worf's bigotry is quite good. Man's a damn fool for refusing her on the basis of her ears. Turned into a TOS stereotype by the end.

Tor is a snotty little greb.

The Romulan Klingon commune is quite beautiful from the outside. Inside, it's a bit dull. Some nice music during the jungle chase. There's some enjoyment to be had in Worf educating an increasingly interested youth in their culture, but the bulk of his stay isnt too interested. Might not like the guy, but Toq slamming a whatever that is on the table is definitely an entrance. The sing along afterwards is quite fun, especially when Ba'el joins in. I'm a bit disappointed that there's no real DS9 elements in this one. I'm especially disappointed that Shrek has no great relevance at all, but if Cromwell's injured I suppose it can't be helped.

I'm in several minds on this one. Firstly, it kind of bothers me that there's very little in the spirituality of part I, with the story and discussion of Kahless being all we get really. Worf's characterisation as a racist was just about understandable up until he threw a fit over Ba'el's ears. Then, the whole thing became a bit difficult to watch and Worf himself came across as a smug idiot. Most of the other characters are a bit bland and there's nothing too interesting production wise, so, I'm left with the intended themes.

And they're a bit confused, really. On the one hand, denying children their cultural heritage is obviously wrong and I think they're trying to paint Tokath as a sort of well intentioned coloniser who's disinterestedly erased a people's history for their "own good". On the other, the man's right: this is a successful union of two races who are usually at each other's throats. And while it looks like the dullest hell ever conceived, this commune does have its own identity which Worf kind of dismisses far too easily. Then there's the problem of Ba'el who, aside from falling into the standard female guest star trap of having glimmers of brilliance mired by thoughtless cliche, is a victim of bigotry from our apparent hero, is told she will suffer further bigotry if she leaves her people and is then left to fester in a literal prison as the only young person in a dwindling society of the elderly. Its just beyond nasty. The theme could potentially be good, but the episode seems slightly confused about what it wants to say and is severely confused about how to say it.

A complete let down after the first part. Out of all two parters so far, this is the biggest drop in quality and it ain't even close.

My next episode is Starship Mine.

Starship Mine is one of my favorites

You made a comment that Doctor Beverly Crusher is underutilized. There are two episodes ahead that focus on Beverly Crusher

The first is about a Ferengi scientist that investigates star science (solar)

The second is when Beverly has a romance with an attractive man

Episode 18: Starship Mine

Bit of horseplay.

Picard's having a stressful day. Growing increasingly impatient with everyone's requests. Weirded out by Data's small talk. Patience finally snaps when La Forge and Worf start being too polite. Not looking forward to the reception. Had to choke out his message. Gotten very attached to the Enterprise. Fondling her like the Doctor does his TARDIS. Can't even muster the energy to properly smile at Hutchinson and drags La Forge and Troi into the conversation. Gets interested as soon as horses are mentioned and seizes the fumbling opportunity to escape. Gets to be quite threatening with Devor. Uses Mot as a cover story, which is an interesting first choice, and acts a bit like a nervous idiot to make it plausible. It's kind of nice seeing him in ruthless survivalist mode.

Riker has a look of utter horror when Hutchinson spies him. Absolutely loves Data's parody of the man. Grows increasingly sarcastic with Hutchinson, then plays matchmaker. Awed by their endless stream of babble.

La Forge tries to duck out of a dreary party, but fails. A little stunned by Picard's crap excuse to escape. Must be a big eater because he's really stuffing his face.

Worf's honesty works in his favour and he gives La Forge a smug look to rub it in.

Crusher wants equipment. Takes her longer to cotton on to what Data's doing, but quickly enjoys herself as much as Riker.

Troi on micromanager duty. Has quite the nonplussed look when Picard makes his excuses, then, snaps to a slightly too bright smile when Hutchinson continues his babble. More horrified than anything at how long small talk can actually go for.

Data tries small talk. Spiner's decided he just wants to mug for the camera today, so, we get some truly amazing shots of Data imitating Hutchinson. Everything's exaggerated. A part of me wants to believe that he's deliberately taking the piss. Definitely a fun comedy act to have him waffle with a waffler. Actually a bit angry when his new best friend gets shot.

Hutchinson is a remarkably sociable bore. Even he seems to grasp that Picard's not perfectly honest about his intentions, though. Falls deeply in love with Data.

None of the villains are particularly worth mentioning.

Its a funny sequence having Picard be accosted by literally all his senior staff. Has to call two lifts. An empty bridge doesn't look right. Data loitering in the background being an absolute clown whilst relatively normal conversations occur is a delight. Quite like the darkness of a powered down Enterprise. Directing is clearly inspired by action movies. Riker discussing his plan whilst Orton and friend just stare dumbly might be a bridge too far, though, even if it still fits the action thriller mold. We have an especially silly ending to a fairly silly episode. Devor looks familiar.

Star Trek does Die Hard. An uncomplicated, well made action romp that leaves me with precious little else to say. I do appreciate that Picard is kept as regretful over the deaths as circumstances allow. I can't help but wonder if the discussions over how vacuous and meaningless Hutchinson's conversations are is meant to be a meta nod at the audience: saying that the rest of the episode is going to be similar, so, you may as well turn your brain off and enjoy yourself. Didn't quite work on me. Openly discussing your plan in full earshot of your enemies is hard to justify, even in daft stories like this. At any rate, that's the closest thing to an interesting observation I've got.

A good, fun runaround and that's perfectly okay every once in a while.

Next, I'll be learning about Lessons.

Episode 19: Lessons

Another attempt at a relationship.

So, Picard can't sleep and also can't tell time. Desperately looking for things to do. Must be truly bored. Has a brief flash of mental emptiness when he learns the library is down. Doesn't lose his patience as much as I would've expected. Has fun lightly trolling Daren. Doesn't take to her drink, but keeps himself polite. It's clearly the fact that she's not intimidated by him that starts everything. Acting like it's his first ever relationship. Proper internalising her interests and blabbing about them to anyone who will listen. Not the best look to be honest. Nice seeing them bond over a shared love of music. Can see the memories briefly come back each time he thinks of Ressik. Not sure how I feel about him being insecure over his playing. Riding a high from their duet when he asks Riker to fence. Being self conscious about the relationship sounds about right and at least he quickly deals with it. I appreciate that he's aware of the need to be ethical as he pursues this relationship. When he tried to get her to avoid doing her job, it started to go a bit downhill for me. The emotional shutdown was well done, even if I disagree with its existence.

Riker just stares blankly when Picard tries to waffle about science. Has to briefly use his boss voice against Daren. Little bewildered by the fencing invitation. A small mercy that they dont take the lazy choice and have him and Picard fall out.

La Forge gets confused by music.

Worf does his job.

Poor Crusher just wants to eat her breakfast in peace. Has a strained, mildly disinterested patience for the bald teenager in front of her. Darkens a bit when she figures out Daren's interest in Picard.

Troi catches wind of Picard's emotions during the concept and throws out a smile from the background. Absolutely beaming when he asks her permission.

Data's still running the night shift. Seems to get that Picard and Daren would probably want to be alone.

Daren has a trace of nervousness when she realises its Picard, but quickly picks herself up. Little mortified that he doesn't like her first choice of drink. Kind of cute how she repeats his earlier comment. Probably should've accepted Riker saying no from the start. The scene in sickbay confirmed that she's basically a bit of a (far more sedate than usual) manic pixie dream girl, but she's a well done version, so, it doesn't bother me too much. Not quite as interesting as i would like, regardless. I do think she needs to stop hassling Riker, though.

No music for Picard's attempts to stave off boredom to highlight the awkwardness. Always like interesting lightings. The concert was nice. The focus on music in general makes this quite a beautiful episode. I particularly enjoyed the Moonlight Sonata and of course The Inner Light duet. Having that play whilst we zoom out of the Jefferies tube is a brilliant shot. The firestorm was kind of cool. The way the music swelled and the camera moved under the table had me terrified that Picard would break the flute. I was under no illusions that Daren would be sticking around, but I still find this sort of relationship tease for the main characters quite cowardly.

It's not really the sort of story I find myself easily invested in. Knowing that the relationship will inevitably fail wouldn't necessarily be a problem (no more than knowing that the main characters are all but guaranteed to survive every episode, anyway), but they have Picard and, to a lesser extent, Riker act more than a bit daft and almost out of character, the love interest, while better than most examples, is too transparently just there for Picard's benefit and the themes they explore are the standard nonsense of being unable to risk each other's lives. I didn't mind the first half that much, but as soon as Picard began losing his sanity over the firestorm plan, it became very paint by numbers. I do like that flag up the ethical concerns of dating in the workplace and come down on the side of it actually being okay, so long as it doesn't compromise your work and that music plays a massive role in the whole affair, but, otherwise there's not much interesting here.

It has some truly beautiful moments and handles its plot with a fair bit more maturity than most shows, but it's still the same dreadful story every episodic series eventually does.

Wonder if I'll be seeing Bradley Walsh. The Chase is next.

Episode 20: The Chase

Von Daniken eat you heart out.

Picard's reverence, both towards his old teacher and his new artefact, is absolutely lovely. His awe continues to build as he comes to understand precisely what and how complete the object is. He even calls Riker Will instead of number one to highlight how removed from work he is in this moment. I appreciate how honest he is with his indecision and that he firmly remains a captain. Pains him to endure Galen's rant. Some of the guilt tripping worked because he's hiding off to the side of the bridge before Troi makes the offer. Noticeable pause whilst he internally debates following Galen's planned route. Blows up at Riker and Troi because despite his protestations, he is wracked with guilt. Takes on quite a defiant edge against the Cardassian captain.

Riker is quite pleased with his surprise and maintains a polite, genuine interest in the archaeological nerdery going on. Makes the right call in questioning Picard's plan.

La Forge does his job.

Worf gets on decently with Nu'Daq.

Crusher is nothing but supportive and helpful to Picard. Shares his awe over this mystery.

Troi catches her captain's feelings and makes an effort to help him with them. Sadly, her efforts are ignored once again.

Got a kick out of Data being completely disinterested in Nu'Daq and just wanting to get on with his work. His expression basically reads "really?"

Galen's got an air of irreverent mischief in how he treats his former pupil, but his clear respect is obvious. Tries seductive mystery to entice his star pupil then blatant, angry guilt tripping. Gets to end on a mostly friendly note.

They really do need to dim the lights on the Enterprise more often. Some nice new (I think) shots of the nebula. There is something sort of grand and epic about a four billion year old conspiracy, especially when half the galaxy shows up at the same planet. For some reason, both the Cardassians and the Klingons having a concept of biscuits really amuses me. Interesting angle to see the transporter room from. Is there a connection (beyond the obvious shared humanoid traits that everyone has) between the precursors and Odo's species?

A single race of precursors somehow being responsible for all the important parts of a franchise's lore is something that I used to find fascinating, but have soured on quite a bit in recent years. Partly, this is because I'm less enthused by the concept of lore in general these days. Having a list of dates and events from before the start point of your series is great if you want to build a wiki page, but wears out it's welcome if it starts closing down more story ideas than it opens. The Time Lords of Doctor Who are at their best early on in the two runs and quickly become miserable the more they're used. Obviously, we don't have that problem here (yet) because we don't know enough about the precursors (yet) for any potential storylines to be closed down, but it is an idea that I've always been dubious about.

Another reason I'm dubious is because almost everything of import in Sci-fi and fantasy can be applicable to a real world concept and ancient precursors are usually a stand in for the idea of ancient aliens creating or at least influencing historical cultures a la Von Daniken. Frankly, this idea really bothers me because it implies that said cultures were incapable of imagination or hard work on their own merits. It's a way of smugly suggesting that our culture is inherently superior to others, not just in matters of morality or technological achievement, which most can't really argue with too much, but also in the basic idea of where this culture comes from, as though only we could be original and only we could accomplish anything remotely impressive.

Luckily, this episode avoids this problem, too, since the precursors, firstly, only created the building blocks for humanoid life, but not their many cultures and, secondly, speak a message of tolerance and cooperation. Keeping on the theme of applicability, the many aliens of most Sci-fi basically are just different human cultures in all the ways that matter, so, this effectively focuses on the many similarities people can have, even if they live in completely separate nations. A good message in its own right, but allowing the Romulans to be the ones who best understand it is a great way to keep up this sort of redemption they're undergoing after being moustache twirlers for too long.

A pretty great adventure that deftly avoids the two biggest issues I have with its main idea. Could find itself fairly high up.

I'm in the right Frame of Mind for another episode.

my roommate in college was named Richard Galen. He graduated with a perfect Grade Point Average

Frame of Mind delivers great acting from Will Riker's actor, Jonathan Frakes

Episode 21: Frame of Mind

Every day I wake up...

Picard's just using Riker to duck out of the play.

Riker's too hard on himself. His go at being an agitated, fidgety and furious mental patient is quite good. Must be fun for Frakes to act as an actor. I imagine that sort of a meta role is a treat for most actors, actually. Going through different modulations of the same speech was quite interesting. Keeps joking about his apparent mission. His looks of paranoid recognition are chilling. I like that he immediately goes to Troi whenever he's unsure of himself. Frakes must have also had fun deliberately exaggerating his performance in Crusher's play. Full of confusion and agitation when he's in the ward. His "no" after being told he killed someone was a bit hammy. As were his blowups at "Suna" and when his quarters becomes the ward, though these latter two cases are a bit more effective. There's some other great bits like his sobbing after the reflection and flinching away when Crusher talks to him. Justifiably angry as he tears apart the stage.

La Forge explains a casualty's condition.

Worf's impatience with Riker is one of the more obvious signs that something is up early on. Even this version is able to experience genuine guilt when he does wrong.

Crusher is quite encouraging and gives good acting advice. Nervous during the performance, but overjoyed when it goes well. Very affectionate with Riker.

Troi continues to give good advice and reassures some of Riker's concerns.

Data's advice is slightly less helpful, but Spiner strikes again and makes the Doctor seem like someone completely different. Gives an ill advised compliment.

Syrus manages to pretend to be a reasonable doctor quite well, but he offers a few sadistic and smug looks as he leaves.

Quite like Bloom, especially as they use her to tease what may be going on.

Mavek is a smug bastard whos still nicer than some orderlies you hear about.

It's clear going in that this is going to be a brain bender. Starting with no establishing shot, with a dishevelled Riker shot like a hostage video and letting us believe its a real scenario for a bit. Funny to see a random crewmember look at him like he's a nutter when hes rehearsing down the corridor. Worf's behaviour and the suddenness of La Forge dragging a dying man in all contribute to an uneasy atmosphere. Syrus showing up everywhere and then replacing Data is quite chilling. Some great horror music when Riker's being guided through the asylum. Many cuts between the two worlds to highlight his deterioration. The reflection sequence is quite anxiety inducing with the projections giving very simple, but frank lines at an increasingly rapid pace. Quite like the shatter effect. And the sudden applause when he figures it out. Clever to use his uniform as a way to show we're in reality.

I don't know nearly enough about the specifics of Jung's work as I would like to, so, while I'm aware of the more surface level details of concepts like shadows, individuation and the like, it wouldn't surprise me if I've missed a few references here and there. It does seem that they're using it mainly for flavour, though, since the main point of the episode is questioning which world, if any, is actually real. The most interesting part for me was the portrayal of the asylum as a sinister place. I've always had conflicted thoughts about asylums. On the one hand, I wouldn't dream of denying the existence of mental illness or the need to help people suffering from them. On the other, there is historical precedent (less so now, but still occasionally occurring) for what exactly counts as a mental illness to be decided somewhat arbitrarily, to say nothing of how abusive the staff at such places can be or the many sociological studies where perfectly sane people have checked themselves in in order to better examine the treatment and "culture" of the patients, only to find getting out quite a difficult process due to not immediately agreeing with the doctor opinions of their alleged condition. I suppose this anxiety, as well as the unnerving nature of insanity in general is why they make for such good horror locales. Riker's play character, the dreariness of nearly catatonic individuals slowly playing with simple toys, a blatantly abusive orderly and the threats of lobotomy are all uncomfortable reminders of how appalling this area can sometimes be.

A pretty good psychological thriller and a wonderful showcase for Frakes.

Suspicions is next.

Episode 22: Suspicions

Got what I wanted, but not the way I wanted it.

Picard's quite civil towards Reyga, considering they're not exactly his favourite species. I find his attempt at comforting Crusher slightly patronising. Got the right if it over the autopsy issue. True, it would be useful and I do find most rituals of this nature daft and unhelpful, but I don't think that this scenario quite justifies violating medical ethics. Especially since nothing of value was learned.

Riker's concern starts off decent enough, but he gets a bit too aggressive. He's right, mind, but I don't like his tone.

Crusher's quite fed up. Nice to see her friendly Reyga. Taking lessons from Picard in diplomacy. Right call to stop testing. It is nice to see McFadden get to sink her teeth a bit more into a role, particularly with her mounting stress over these unsolved mysteries. I don't reckon much to her investigative abilities and, to be perfectly fucking frank, she deserved to be slammed into a wall. Doing the autopsy is a grossly unethical move. I don't blame her for getting annoyed at Guinan. Her attitude towards Riker stinks. Appreciate her gratitude towards Ogawa. Getting in the shuttle seems like a stupid move. At least she gets in a good fight. I wouldn't laugh if I got Guinan a present and she said that to me.

Troi is concerned about Crusher and, judging from how she acts in this episode, i dont blame her.

The rest of the crew do their jobs, with Data getting extra credit.

I don't believe a word Guinan says anymore. She'll find any excuse to get in somebody's business. Must admit, i didnt expect them to outright confirm shes lying, though. We've returned to her usual shtick being annoying and, I have to be honest, I haven't missed her much. Bringing up tennis again, even though it's obviously part of some wise ploy, isn't her finest hour, especially since this is apparently her last appearance.

Ogawa has been a reliable sight in a fair few episodes, but ive never had much to say about her until now. Her loyalty is commendable, i did find her nervousness over a date in a previous episode quite cute and i appreciate her lightly sassing her former boss. Felt she deserved a paragraph of her own for once, especially as shes smelling of roses compared to some other characters in this episode.

Reyga is actually quite friendly and a little self deprecating. Got a mild, but understandable temper on him. I suppose with Quark now existing at this point, it wouldn't do to keep the species as just a capitalist caricature. The other scientists aren't too much interesting, not even Jo'Bril.

We're in flashback city and there's plenty of narration, too. They make sure to give everyone, even Picard an accusatory stare. Nice shot to follow La Forge and then look inside the shuttle. Jo'Bril is a bit too obvious. I didn't notice much more and i think i stopped caring before too long, but the narration idea did quickly overstate its welcome.

I feel a bit hypocritical here. I'm sure I've justified similar actions in similar situations before, but something about this episode (quite possibly the low quality) makes Crusher seem like the bad guy for mucking about with Reyga's corpse. Apart from that, it's a pretty dreadful murder mystery that's only kept just about tolerable by McFadden's acting. Crusher should've definitely lost her job after this.

I want more Crusher episodes. I don't want them to be shit like this.

Rightful Heir comes next.

Episode 23: Rightful Heir

That's the spirit.

Picard's naturally nonplussed by this situation. Both stern and compassionate towards Worf. Nothing but decent as he navigates this nonsense, though he really isn't happy about it.

Riker sarcastically humours Data. Enough faith in Worf to immediately assume somethings wrong. Skeptical, as he should be.

Worf is acting like he has a fever. Depressed over a crisis of faith, but very grateful for his leave. Frustrated over his lack of divine insight. After a pep talk, approaches his meditation with a more maddened and determined zeal. Hits a point of ecstasy when Kahless actually shows up. Thankfully, he's dubious of this nonsense, though it pains him to be doubtful. Just about holding back a breakdown when Data asks about religion. Returns to his zeal when it seems like Kahless is legit and is quite the idealistic fool when debating with Gowron. Gets justifiably spiteful against Kahless when the truth comes out. Offers a wise, if uneasy, solution to the problem. Doesn't help his crisis much.

Data had a fun night. Initially seems like he doesn't fully understand faith, but probably has the most honest expression of it out of everyone. I like that he hovers around the Klingon stuff to try and figure something.

Korath is every religious instructor. Which is to say, an unrepentant fraud.

Kahless is a fun, hammy sort. Basically, the Klingon Jesus and, initially, just as cool as that would suggest. Despondent when he learns what he is, but eventually pulls himself together.

Gowron is acting purely out of political interests, but the stuff he says isn't wrong. Definitely on his side in this mess. Love his glee at both questioning and then defeating Kahless.

That shot of Worf's smoldering quarters is more interesting than most of the last episode. The Klingon monastery is quite nice. A lot of flames and dark lighting for the meditations. Some religious esque iconography. A painting of Kahless to compare with the "real" thing and a table that is quite similar to the last supper.

So, Klingon faith is a slightly more warrior focused (little bit of Norse there) flavour of Christianity, but still ultimately a flavour of Christianity. I don't inherently dislike Christianity anymore than any other religion, apart from that I'm sick of it being a an almost genericised stand in for faith in general and that I'm also sick of Christian parables and references being used in lieu of actual originality or thought. So, I'm slightly disappointed in the look of Klingon culture we get here, but they do redeem themselves slightly. I think I've mentioned before that I consider rabid dogmatism to not be the ultimate expression if faith, so much as its actually the ultimate antithesis of it. Faith, whether on the individual level or communal, has to be an ever evolving thing. It's why I have more respect for older and dead religions that allowed for many different and sometimes contradictory stories involving their characters as opposed to "faiths" with a far more rigid canon. (Its also why bible studies perplex me a little. Once you get past the obvious introduction to your culture, you're either inviting the creation of a new sect, which I would applaud a little, but probably won't go down well with others or you're puzzling over a 2000 year old solved issue). So, Worf flatly regarding Gowron's loitering crew members as fools was a good moment.

More interesting is how characters handle the inherent fakery of faith. Data, the most rational character, chooses to believe he is more than a cluster of machinery, despite that obviously just being the facts of the matter and its treated as a mature philosophy that allows him to live a life and actually grow and change with his experiences. It inspires Worf to come up with a similar idea that involves owning up to their fake messiah whilst simultaneously using him as a means of spiritual enrichment for the Klibgons. It's treated as a somewhat cynical parallel to how the Roman empire, and other states, was basically forced to gradually make Christianity the official religion for reasons of political expediency (a few high ranking folks, including emperors, genuinly believed, too), but I think they're also intentionally invoking Voltaire here, as well as his famous line of the necessity of God. I don't believe God itself is actually necessary, but I do think a decent litmus test for how worthwhile a faith and its instructions are is to consider whether they still would have any personal validity in the event that they were somehow disproved. There's a little bit of this in Worf and Kahless' last conversation, too, where the ideas are said to be more important than any reverence towards the man.

I can't help but be sick of Christian iconography, in this show and others, but it has moments that make it a better exploration of faith than I'd expect and its a perfectly well made episode, besides.

Onto Second Chances.

I don't know that I ever thought about it, but yeah, Klingon religion is just basically Christianity with a warrior focus. They even have a heaven and hell.

As an aside, naming my orc death night after Klingon hell in WoW is probably the nerdiest thing I've ever done.

Episode 24: Second Chances

Two Rikers must be many people's dream.

Picard is, of course, perfectly decent to the Thomas. Tries to get the two Rikers to be friendly.

Riker knows how to throw a party. Couldn't be happier to be saved by Data. Finds the existence of his other self a bit of a confusing and stressful affair, but keeps himself professional. A bit betrayed by Troi going off to talk to Thomas. Interesting that he brushed off Troi to focus on his career. Approaches his double with a healthy amount of awkwardness and trepidation. Actually having a life for the past eight years has made him a more mature individual than the other. Not sure about his aggressively barking orders at him. His anger at him going above his head is perfectly justified. Handles Troi's new relationship maturely and decently and kind of proves himself the better man doing so. Extends an olive branch during the poker game. Is he afraid Thomas might steal his trombone? Gets a bit defensive over his chosen life. At least they part decently.

Thomas is obviously dishevelled, tired and more than a bit traumatised, a bit like the character from Frame of Mind, actually. Has the same humour and happiness as his other self, though. Still quite in love with Troi and very wounded that things have changed. Tries to be a bit avoidant, but still confesses his feelings. Happy to help, but you don't need to be am empath to see his nervousness. No longer used to military discipline. Hasn't had a chance to lose some of the bitterness and ambition his counterpart had. His eagerness to stay borders on the suicidal. That childish love note nonsense is actually a bit creepy and it's when he started to lose my sympathy a bit. Even if he knows her well enough to know its a thing shed probably appreciate, shes made it clear that she isnt really interested. Even if he does need to get his feelings off his chest, all but corralling Troi into listening and only noticing that he might be being a bit unfair towards the end of his rant reeks of a shocking lack of empathy compared to his other self and I'm not sure his isolation quite explains. It does help excuse going above his commander's head, which is a dick move, but an understandable one. He's completely in the wrong, but acting defiant during his chewing out is quite nice to see. Even if she is slightly more receptive, hassling Troi during her exercises isn't a great look, either. More than a bit lost during the poker game. His bitterness towards our Riker is understandable. Of course, he makes the same decision as his other self did. Considering Troi recently poured her heart out about how the first go round hurt her, that's another dick move.

La Forge is just as confused as I am at why Troi's in engineering.

Worf has no patience for Thomas. Having no luck in poker still. Aware of his social awkwardness.

Crusher's feeling the beat. Gives good advice on the potential relationship, ignoring that he's a bit of a creep, and makes herself scarce. She's trying to be decent, but I would've welcomed her continued prescence.

Troi has fun tormenting Riker. Has a frank discussion with his other self about their changed relationship. Gets a bit unfairly guilt tripped during that one sided pity party Thomas might call a date. The man's been dealt a shit hand, sure, but he's acting like an arse. I don't think I like her having regrets about how it ended. I always saw the two of them as having drawn it to a definitive, but ultimately happy close. No hard feelings or lingering emotions. Since that is apparently her character now, I suppose I can almost vaguely understand why she might want to get with a Riker who's basically stagnated for nearly a decade, but he's still weird. That moment of panic when Crusher buggers off is the appropriate reaction. All but calling it off is the right choice.

Data begins to feel a bit awkward during the poker game. Doesn't really get the mutual animosity.

Always an interesting effect to have two of the same actor in one shot. Poker night is a masterclass in tense awkwardness. That bridge scene is a bit too contrived. I'm glad they don't do something completely trite like have him be evil or kill him off at the last second. Apparently, this was Burton's directorial debut. Sadly, I didn't notice much else worth mentioning.

Similar to Tapestry, there's potential to explore regrets and what might have beens here, but I don't feel they actually do it well at all. Picard learns to make peace with his life, but our Riker already did that a few seasons ago. So, we potentially have Troi's regrets, but they basically have to break my prior understanding of her character for that to work and, even then, the fact that Thomas does the exact same shit as Will did makes it look like she's stuck in some sort of loop of emotionally abusive relationships, which isn't a great look for anyone, but especially the two Rikers. Thomas himself is hard to read as a younger, less developed Will because, and this is part of a problem that continues to plague Troi and Crusher's potential relationships, he behaves more like a bitter (somewhat understandable), entitled, maladjusted teenager (not remotely understandable) than he does what I imagine a younger, but still very adult Riker would actually act like. Considering we've seen that our Riker is astonishingly ethical, on the whole (especially by the standards of 80s and 90s tv) in how he pursues his love life, this behaviour doesn't track in the slightest. There is perhaps something to be said in how, given a second chance, most people would inevitably do the same as their first, which Tapestry also looked at, but it honestly seems like this episode is just an excuse for Frakes to be unpleasant to himself.

It gets points for not being completely lazy and killing off the second Riker, but only one of the two is actually all that enjoyable to watch.

Looking into Timescape next.

It is surprising Riker didn't kill Thomas from the start, considering his known feelings/actions about clones.

They initially considered killing off Riker and having his clone replace him in the main cast. Data would have become first officer.

I don't know that I like the idea of killing Riker, but I think it would have better served the character if he'd accepted a captain position off the ship and this would be a way to keep Frakes in the cast. It would have required a lot more setup though, so I understand why it wasn't done.

Yeah, I saw that and I don't really like the idea. It could provide an interesting dynamic with the different job roles and lack of familiarity, but killing off or otherwise getting rid of a familiar character just to replace them with someone basically identical wouldn't inspire much confidence in the production team. It all but erases most the last few seasons just for some very tropish conflict.

It doesn't help that I don't like Thomas all that much, either and much prefer having Will around. As for whether he should have a promotion, I'm honestly kind of ambivalent, except for when it's explicitly part of the plot, like in The Best of Both Worlds.

Episode 25: Timescape

I love time shenanigans.

It is nice seeing Picard relax more around his crew, laugh at silly stories and even get in some light mockery of a complete bore. I always appreciate how everyone implicitly believes everyone else whenever something odd happens. The way he begins to whisper his orders betrays how rattled this time stuff has got him. Losing his mind at the warp core breach is hilarious.

Riker lost a fight to a cat, which is quite relatable. Doesn't much care for the adorable creatures, which isn't. Bit reluctant to even acknowledge the Romulans. Wary of Data's quarters now.

La Forge got a moment of geeking out over a plasma field. Like a child with a new toy. First to notice that Troi's a bit distressed. Appreciate him lightly overruling Picard with better advice. Very jumpy on the Romulan ship.

Worf would rather not mention the Romulans at all and clearly puts it off as long as his job allows him to get away with.

Crusher's in full doctor mode, which means lightly exasperated at everyone's injuries. Has the correct attitude to cats.

Troi's impressions are beautiful. She needs more moments like this where she's just another member of the crew and can feel free to mock idiots with no self awareness. Naturally worried about time shenanigans. I like that she uses her own relaxation techniques. I thought her dizzy spell might have been from suddenly sensing the entire crews of both ships, but apparently time is just a weird thing. I love that she gets to draw on her prior experience and even project some of the authority she got from that.

Data doesn't quite get the banter. Man's too innocent. Keeps trying to be helpful and is genuinely interested in La Forge's story. From the way he leans and stares at the frozen ops station operator, he's quite intrigued by this effect. No idea what to make of Picard's breakdown. It seems he managed to get some info out of that kettle, after all.

It's an interesting collection of crew members to hang out together. One of the better things about Rascals was the unusual quartet, so, seeing them try out new dynamics and spend time just having them interact is proper great. Some very cool cuts with Picard's hand suddenly waving in front of Troi. Having the 47 days not be seen at all is more interesting than literally nothing usually ever would be. Nice foreshadowing with having the rotten bowl of fruit be center frame before Picard notices them. The frozen ships mid battle are pretty cool, too. But grim to have some quick cuts of frozen Romulans menacing the bridge. The screwy time effects, especially the reversing Enterprise explosion are quite fun.

Like Cause and Effect, the time weirdness, apart from being a fun high concept that will never go amiss in my book, is basically an excuse to engage in some fun directing. We also have an interesting and rarely used team dynamic and the continued redemption of Troi, who's doing a bit better than Crusher in that department now, and the Romulans. And the Romulans are used quite intelligently. They're set up as inherently untrustworthy by Riker and Worf's reaction to their existence and, of course, the time freezing seals them in a rather damning snapshot. The actual villains, if you can call them that, are disguised as Romulans, which basically makes the whole species look bad and the cause of the problems is the Romulan's engine. Yet as more is learned, these people are exonerated. Turns out, they're perfectly reasonable and helpful and any problems are due to genuine mistake (shooting Crusher) or misunderstanding. And if they bother to look and remove their biases, the audience doesn't exactly have a difficult time of figuring this out far earlier than the characters. Many background characters are completely unconcerned with their prescence and even Worf, who hates them, is doing his bit to help the wounded.

Another great time story that continues to right the ship on a couple of persistent problems and even makes one of them the central theme of the exercise.

We close with Descent.

Foppe posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/7/AAA_aCAAEYBr.jpg

https://youtu.be/28C6opAeS0U

Episode 26: Descent

Anger is, in fact, sometimes too comfortable.

Picard can't quite believe that individuality in the Borg may be happening. Holds on to his principles and takes on a more traumatised tone when Nechayev reprimands him. Stands to attention with polite contempt. Utterly sick of false reports. Grappling with his orders has left him obsessive, stressed and angry. Falls into similar attitudes and tactics as he did against Hugh, but gives up when it's clear they won't work. His attachment to Data is obvious from how he gives up nearly everything just to try and find him.

Riker's understandably perplexed by these more individualised Borg. Even more concerned by Data. Respectful enough of Worf to worry about offending him. Quite hurt and concerned about his captain's outburst.

I like that La Forge briefly got one of the big chairs. More concerned than happy over Data's new ability. Doesn't seem like the best reaction to his friend hitting a milestone. Of no help in trying to describe emotions. Not wrong about the insanity of Data's idea. It's like trying to stop a friend in the middle of a self destructive meltdown.

Worf gets a bit angry when the gold shirt dies. Not offended by Riker. Annoyed by false alarms.

Crusher gives a bit of a withering look to Picard when he demands she wake up Crosis. She hasnt done anything with it yet, but giving her the captaincy is a brilliant move.

Troi feels quite gratified by Data's new development and offers pretty sound advice on the value of anger. I like seeing her on away teams more.

Data's poker experiment doesn't seem like his most successful affair. Picked up a temper. Clenching his fist as the adrenaline (or whatever he has) begins to wear off. Has a haunted look as he tries to process his new emotion. Quite excited and tries to share it with La Forge. Worried and more than a little guilty over experiencing pleasure. (It occurs to me that attempting to describe Data's emotions and pseudo emotions runs into a similar difficulty with properly using tenses to describe time travel). Obsessed with trying to be angry and disappointed each time it fails. Spiner's absolutely brilliant during the scene with Crosis where he grapples with anger, guilt and morality with increasingly pained, frustrated and addicted expressions. Quite pleased with himself when he stands with Lore.

Speaking of Lore, he's as smug and happy as ever.

Nechayev continues the long tradition of Starfleet admirals being dreadful creatures.

I'm glad Hawking got to indulge himself. Apparently, Jemison appeared in a previous episode, but I unfortunately missed that. Newton and Einstein are their typical caricatures. (Still waiting for Feynman, Planck, Boseman and Bohr). Interesting that the title appears before the intro this time. Very action heavy at the start. That ship looks like a barely cobbled together hodgepodge. We focus on Data's shaking fist to underscore that, after 6 years, this is finally happening. The passage of time and a false report is a great way to approach the tension and paranoia of this scenario. There's something darkly funny about Data going through the motions of the Borg attack whilst La Forge looks on in disbelief. Transwarp is a cool effect. Pretty beautiful planet, especially with the eternal sunset and some nice shots like Troi at the top of a hill. The banners of Lore's group are a little nazi esque.

The Borg having individuality doesn't bother me in the slightest. They're gonna need new angles every once in a while if they're going to be a recurring antagonist and having Lore as the leader is as good excuse as any. What I think they represent this time, though, is a generic sort of terrorism. They launch attacks at seemingly random and unimportant areas, with the express intention of killing people as an end in itself and try to seduce anyone impressionable enough to listen into being willfully and addictively angry, whilst having a myopic sort of camaraderie with their fellow monsters. Now, real terrorists do profess to have actual goals involving political and religious change, and there are, of course, freedom fighters with more noble aspirations, but considering the draconian and fascistic laws the former camp want, any rhetoric is clearly a flimsy justification of hatred for hatred's sake. The World Trade Centre bombing will have still been quite recent by the time of airing, so, while it won't quite have reached the paranoid lows of a post 9/11 world, constant vigilance will likely have been the theme of the day. Unfortunately, encouraging that level of suspicion and anger is a great way to turn good people into somewhat monstrous wrecks, so, whilst Picard wrestles and, with the benefit of his experience and encouragement from Riker, mostly wins against Nechayev's attempts to make him disregard the sanctity of life, Data is seemingly unable to resist Crosis' propaganda for long and apparently finds himself wanting to destroy the Federation for its own sake. The implication being that Lore and Nechayev aren't all that dissimilar and that life in the Federation could very quickly become comparable to life in this more individualised collective. Predictions for the second part, then, are that Hugh will put in an appearance and justify the faith put in him, perhaps by showing his fellow named Borg a better way, Nechayev, if she shows up at all, will inevitably be disregarded and possibly disgraced in a similar manner to Satie, Data will either have been lying from the start or will turn good due to the affection he feels for his friends, possibly reconciling with Lore in some manner, too and these Borg will either die due to the destructive effects of addictive anger or will make some sort of peace with the Federation.

Well, that's what i hope for, anyway. Could be I'm in for a darker time of it, instead.

Yet another great Borg story and another fantastic showcase for Spiner.

It'll be a while till we see the second part, though, since I've got rankings and then season 1 of DS9 first.

You should DEFINITELY watch Part 2 before starting DS9. It doesn't really make sense to wait.

My original plan was to go purely by release date, but i realised that weaving between different shows and movies would probably irritate me. I still want to separate things by production season where possible, though so, that I can catch some of the feeling that a fan at the time would have. Since it's meant to have a few months between parts, anyway and DS9 still had episodes left to air between them, plus I want to fairly compare it to its fellow episodes, im going to do all of season 7 after ive finished DS9 season 1. If nothing else, it lets the cliffhanger actually be a cliffhanger.

End of season 6

Top 7: (we're facing a problem of too many candidates these days, so, a lot of snubs and possibly some arbitrary choices)

Relics (shows proper reverence to the original show and allows it to still be relevant whilst also acknowledging that time has moved on)

A Fistful of Datas (I have a soft spot for funny romps, so, this wins purely because it made me laugh. Plus, i try to include at least one comedy episode in every top 7 for variety's sake)

Chain of Command, Part II (adapts one of 1984's most climactic scenes into a haunting, brilliantly acted two man play that shows proper respect to survivors of torture, but also keeps Star Trek's idealism)

Ship in a Bottle (Moriarty finally gets his ending (for now) and it's as beautifully meta as his first go)

Face of the Enemy (absolute proof of just how badly Troi has been wasted. She needs more like this)

Tapestry (the better of two very good Q episodes that explores two very layered characters to deliver a difficult, but vital message)

Birthright, Part I (a beautiful dive into dreams and spirituality)

Bottom 7: (probably won't be many surprises here, although the overall high quality is poorly serving some occasionally decent episodes)

Man of the People (Troi gets a lot of fantastic stuff this season, but she starts on one hell of a wrong foot)

Rascals (I was quite proud of my little theory of a child's own Star Trek story. Since it's complete bollocks, there's no excuse for this stupidity and the fun i did have cant really save it)

Quality of Life (sort of a story we've already seen before, really. Mostly decent, though)

Birthright, Part II (how to completely shit the bed after a stellar first part)

Lessons (probably the best of this bunch, but it's still thoughtlessly generic apart from a few rare scenes)

Suspicions (wrecks Crusher's character, poorly serves Guinan in her farewell story and the main gimmick is frankly a bit boring)

Second Chances (more adventurous than I'd dare dream with this premise, but Thomas just doesn't feel enough like Riker and Troi isnt really Troi, either)

Miscellaneous thoughts: (because of the overall high quality, almost everything not explicitly mentioned in these lists had a good chance of getting in the top 7. I was deliberately trying for a bit of variety in the type of story for some of the close races)

Chain of Command (I was tempted to include both episodes as one, but if I'm separating Birthright and the like, it's only fair to only pick one)

Frame of Mind (Frakes has done a lot of good work this season, so, while it's not quite good enough for the top 7, I do want to shout out the best of his actor showcases)

It's a pretty magnificent season, overall and I'm glad that they've tried to correct some persistent missteps.

Next up, our Emissary for Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 1

Episode 1: Emissary

Sisko starts as a calm, collected and determined captain. Quite thoughtful when he hears Locutus' message. Barely know him for three minutes and his breakdown at the death of Jennifer still moves me. Gives one hell of a dark look to the cube. Sweet with his boy and quite stoic it seems. Doesn't care for long winded explanations. Perplexed by the old man. Quite a friendly and cheerful sort, though it seems to be an act. More than a bit taken with Kira. Quite wise with his understanding of Ferengi matters. Confronts Picard with pain and venom. The intimidating way he whispers every line at him was when I knew Brooks would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shatner and Stewart. Has a defeatist view of his job, but gets invigorated each time hes with Kira. Puts on a lot of fake, cheesy smiles when telling Quark his plan. Pretty decent flirt, too, even if prior knowledge makes things a bit difficult. Has great fun teasing Dax. Dismissely cool with Dukat. Very excited by the wormhole. Remembers his diplomatic training. Fan of baseball, which is tolerable. Heals a little bit from his experience and ends still hurt, but refreshed.

Odo is a very strict man and won't let rank get in the way of enforcing rules. Has a lot of animosity with Quark and takes great glee in anything thats remotely negative to him. Pretty much likes Sisko purely because he's got a partner in making the Ferengi's life a misery. Gets up to some sabotage. Bit jilted to not be involved, but finally has a chance for some answers. Quite cynical. Cares about people, though.

Bashir is a bit of a nervous man, but still braver than most blokes at asking women out. Ultimate excitable idealist with a hero complex and an occasional lack of thought. Very happy once the wormhole shows up. Able to take charge in medical matters.

Dax is a bit of a dirty old woman, isn't she? It's lovely how familiar she is with Sisko. Has a nostalgic smile when the tear shows her the bonding with her symbiote. Smoothly navigates past Sisko's attitude problems. Has some biting sarcasm when she needs it.

Jake is already nowhere near as bad as Wesley, but his whiny complaints, even if they are valid, aren't endearing him much.

O'Brien is still remarkably polite and patient for how overworked he is. Doesn't much appreciate the absolute shithole he's been left. Hesitant to talk to Picard, but manages to express gratitude without really saying much. Can get aggressive when he needs to be and has quite a temper when technology doesn't work. Exasperated with impossible orders. Has some authority to him.

Quark is a little disappointed in his nephew and tries to be cloyingly diplomatic and charming. The model for the less caricatured Ferengi. A pretty wise, astute and politically savvy man. Has the same defeatist mood as everyone. Politely accusatory when Sisko heads to the bar. Lecherous bugger.

Kira is a shouty, feisty sort and has little patience for basically everything. Nursing one hell of a wound from her freedom fighter days. Not impressed much with Sisko, but quite shocked and almost hopeful when the old man comes to collect him. Does not take Bashir's lack of tact well. Bashing the mug to call for attention is quite a power move. Overjoyed to see Cardassians having problems. Admires forcefulness in others. Bit too used to functional technology, but has a lot of guile.

Picard starts pleasent, but gets reminded of his old wounds when Sisko keeps being angry at him. One of the few optimists out of this bunch. Has great respect for O'Brien and mourns him immediately after he disembarks. Parts amicably.

Opaka is a decent spiritual leader.

Dukat isn't quite as polite as most Cardassians, but he's still civil. Has a grudge over losing his old job. Gives some perfectly pleasant threats. Sees through the heroes' bullshit effortlessly.

Starting with a stark text scroll. A pretty fantastic battle scene that allows us to actually appreciate a lot of the death and destruction that TNG kind of had to gloss over. Some remarkable shots, including the shaky cam during the evacuation, to show that Sisko is barely able to focus on anything, the reflection of the destruction imposed on Sisko's head, emphasising that this is going to hit him for a while and showing many VFX shots through windows and sharing space with the actors, which is beautiful in its own right. Really is a dark dilapidated dungeon, isn't it? Intelligent move for O'Brien to be the first character Sisko meets. Give the audience a bit of familiarity. Teasing a meeting with Picard has a similar effect, but without letting Stewart dominate the new cast. Keeping their meeting terse at best shows a lot of respect for the audience. No character shilling here. Bajor is a beautiful world. The beach scene is proper fun. Quark runs a fun bar. During the sabotage plan, the camera makes sure to focus on various important elements, like the duffel bag, just so we don't miss what's going on. The wormhole is as sudden as it is beautiful and the temple lends itself to some great imagery. Definitely had a fair bit of cash for this pilot. Ends much brighter (literally) than it started.

Like all pilots, it has to juggle introducing characters, writing out the lore and mythos of this little segment of the universe, having a decent adventure in its own right and set up the themes. And beyond the obvious political and religious implications (though they're already doing something interesting with religion), it's very clear that DS9 is a refuge for the hurt, the lost and the weird. Sisko's pain is obvious enough, but everyone else is either wounded, searching for something or simply doesn't traditionally belong. Many of them snipe at each other and would probably rather be anywhere else, but they are all going to gain something vital from being here.

The way the temple works is interesting. Rather than a divine experience leading to healing, Sisko's pain and inability to move past it pollutes the divine. They initially regard him as a threat and part of the reason they cant grasp linear time is because hes too traumatised to comprehend it himself. He keeps returning the gods to his worst memory, which seems a lot like the myopia a fair few religious people treat their own faith with: vengeful, angry, bitter people will insist that theirs is a vengeful god and will endlessly be trapped in the source of their vitriol, without enough self awareness to recognise that God or whatever they believe in has just become a proxy for how a few hang ups have negatively dominated every moment of their lives. Even positive memories are returned to this internal hell. Sisko having self awareness, admitting to his pain and the incapability of him knowing how to get past it is paradoxically the first step towards getting through it and by doing so, he feels compelled and inspired to build up a shitty little outpost into a place deserving of all the attention it's about to receive.

I was considerably more fond of Encounter at Farpoint than most, but even with that, I'd say this is the best pilot in the franchise so far.

Next, we'll see A Man Alone