The high point for me is the musical score by Fred Steiner, the most prolific composer for the original series and the only TOS composer to work on a subsequent Trek TV series. His score for “Code of Honor” isn’t on a par with his best TOS work, but it’s still good, and it’s awesome that a TOS composer got to do a new TOS-style episode score 20 years later. It’s too bad Berman decided to take the music in a more “modern” direction and didn’t bring back Steiner or any other classic Trek composers. Though the story really is a throwback to antiquated racial and gender attitudes. And not just the ones people expect. As scripted, the Ligonians were based on samurai culture with references to Ming-Dynasty China and Native Americans, and their costumes wouldn't have been out of place in a production of The King and I. Apparently it was the choice of the casting department and the director to go for African-American actors, and I guess it was the director’s choice to have them use faux-African accents. (The director was reportedly fired midway through production for racist treatment of the guest actors.) Ironically, at the time, I felt the casting was rather progressive, since until then, you almost never encountered a humanoid-alien culture in sci-fi that wasn’t Caucasian. In retrospect, though, it was definitely a bad idea to cast that way for a culture that was such a hodgepodge of antiquated Orientalist and tribalist stereotypes. Katharyn Powers did have a tendency to write anthropologically iffy alien-culture episodes -- infamously including Stargate SG-1's “Emancipation,” which is a serious case of Did Not Do the Research. (Women in horse-nomad cultures like the Mongols were actually far more equal than in sedentary cultures, and didn’t wear veils or live in purdah. And in cultures where women are veiled and sequestered, they don’t simultaneously wear plunging necklines!!!) It’s interesting that this early Picard apologized for his speechifying, considering how much he embraced highfalutin rhetoric later on. It shows how differently the characters were initially conceived — and how much they were trying to distance TNG from TOS, since it seemed like a conscious effort to differentiate Picard from Kirk, who was known for his big moralizing speeches.
The scores so far have been excellent, the work on "Farpoint" is well known, but Steiner's work here is still very good. I can't remember if it was in this thread or I'd read elsewhere that Berman didn't like the scores to overpower the drama on screen and so TNG Season 1 was the only season to features stand-out music. While there is an argument to be made here, one has to just go to the work that Murray Gold did on Doctor Who between 2005 and 2017 to see how his music helps highten the drama and many of his scores are memorable after nearly twenty years. Thankfully, we have the Star Trek movie soundtracks, with James Horner's work in The Search for Spock being a standout soundtrack to me.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1x11 [105]) Stardates 41294.5-41294.6 (2364) Teleplay by Tracy Tormé Story by Tracy Tormé and Lan O'Kun First aired: November 30, 1987 Rewatched: March 18, 2024 Summary The Enterprise heads towards the planet Haven, a planet which is believed to have mystical healing powers, for some well-deserved shore leave. Shortly after arriving in orbit, Counselor Deanna Troi is summoned to the transporter room and is confronted by a Betazoid betrothal box that informs her that the joyous day has finally arrived, her wedding to Wyatt Miller (Rob Knepper). Deanna and Wyatt were betrothed to each other when they were very young, their parents having once been the very closest of friends. However, the years since the death of Troi's father has seen everyone drift apart. As a result, Wyatt is shocked to discover that the woman he has dreamt about since he was a teenager is not in fact his betrothed. As Deanna and the Enterprise crew began involved in the preparations for the wedding, holding a pre-dinner banquet and witnessing the petty bickering between Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) and Victoria Miller (Nan Martin) and the emotional impact on Will Riker as he confronts his imzadi betrothed to another man, a larger threat arrived at Haven in the form of a Tarellian vessel. Decades earlier, the Tarellians created a dreadful plague which practically wiped out their entire civilization. This vessel commanded by Wrenn (Raye Birk) has heard the myths about Haven's healing powers and just simply wishes for his crew to find a deserted island on Haven's surface and die in peace. However, this objective changes when it is discovered that Wyatt's dream woman is in fact Wrenn's daughter, Ariana (Danitza Kingsley). Ariana too has dreamt of Wyatt every night since she was a child and as their eyes meet over the viewscreen of the Enterprise, it seems that its fate that these two be together. Knowing that exposure to the plague would mean he can never return, Wyatt bids farewell to Deanna and his parents before transporting over to the Tarellian vessel. With that done, the Tarellians depart Haven. Thoughts After the Yar-centric episode in "Code of Honor" it was good to see that an episode focused on Troi was the next story. Thus far, Troi has been an under-utilised and bizarrely written character. In her first appearance in "Encounter at Farpoint", Troi was depicted as a highly-emotional character, even before she had the empathic stress of her contact with the space entities. Much work has been done to repair the character over the following episodes, with the "space cheerlader" replaced by the controlled professional. In this episode, we are not only introduced to Troi's overbearing mother, Majel Barrett's wonderful Lwaxana Troi, but we also have an overdue examination of Troi's relationship with Will Riker. Both of these elements are stalwarts of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which in itself is a strong indicator that they were both introduced well. The reason for the break-up for the relationship is finally given as Riker being devoted to his career and dream to be a starship captain, which is heartbreaking in itself. The chemistry between Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis is electric and it is no surprise that their relationship becomes one of the backbones of the series, though we have a very long way to go to reach a satisfying conclusion to this plot thread. Lwaxana Troi. What a wonderful addition to the lore of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Until now, the characters had been rather stuffy and self-important, besides the small moments of humour relating to Data. However, within seconds of Lwaxana beaming aboard we kick into a farce as she faces the wrong way in the transporter, makes Picard carry her extremely heavy case to her quarters, bickers with Victoria Miller and makes insinuations with regards to Picard's thoughts about her. Behind the bombast and the face, the Barrett also injects Lwaxana with a sympathetic side, the scenes with her and Troi show genuine love and chemistry between the two, and her advice to Wyatt was a catalyst for him departing the Enterprise. Lwaxana Troi is a love or hate character, and I love her. Overall, "Haven" is a good episode. The script is a rather run-of-the-mill cliche wedding plot seen across any television series when a previously unseen beau arrived to marry a lead character, but either dies or is otherwise dispatched of by the episode's end. Where this episode excels is in the performances and the characters on the screen. "Haven" is certainly the best episode on the journey so far. Next Destination "Where No One Has Gone Before"
"Haven" was actually episode 11 (counting "Farpoint" as two). I never understood why they moved it up six weeks in airdate order. I found this a reasonably entertaining episode, largely because of Dennis McCarthy’s musical score. This was before Rick Berman had trained the composers to conform to his preference for subdued, non-melodic scores, so McCarthy was free to do the lush, romantic melodies that are one of his greatest strengths. It’s a lovely score that elevates the romantic portions of the episode, despite their shortcomings. Aside from that, it’s a fun episode overall, livelier than a lot of early TNG. I didn't care for the mysticism of the idea of a destined love across time and space, though. It was also kind of weird to make such a big deal out of the planet Haven and then not actually go down to it. This episode spawned a major blooper in one of the earliest TNG roleplaying game tie-ins, FASA’s ST:TNG Officer’s Manual supplement from 1988. Because Lwaxana arrived on the Enterprise while it was orbiting Haven, the authors of the manual were convinced that Haven was the Betazoids’ home planet, and there were pages of material based on that assumption.
The movement later in the season is a baffling one and actually creates a continuity issue with "Hide And Q" (which was filmed after). In this, Deanna hasn't seen her mother in a while, yet in "Hide And Q" she's took some leave to go and visit her mother. Little issues like that is why I'm generally viewing the episodes in production order to avoid little errors like that, although stardate or narrative reasons to keep the episodes in release order will always trump this. The whole mysticism of both Haven and the relationship with Wyatt and Ariana is a bizarre element that really has no explanation at all. Even a line about the Terellian's having telepathic abilities would go some way to explaining the fact they've been in contact for years. Haven's magical healing abilities are easily acceptable to me though, having been to a fair few healing wells and springs in Wales, you can't beat the power of a good story and it certainly helps with the tourism. As you said, a shame we never make it to Haven, like many other paradise planets the Enterprise visits. I suppose there's only so much you can do on "Planet Hell".
Continuity Corner: The Legend of Bill Riker It's a well known continuity issue that during the first quarter of Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season that Commander William Riker was called "Bill" exclusively by Dennna Troi. Of course, this only becomes a retroactive continuity issue given that Riker is better known as "Will" Riker for the next 30+ years. The change in name was obviously one of those ideas that look good on paper, but after filming "The Naked Now" and "Haven" it was decided to make the switch and the rest is history, no explanation given in-universe. However, John Gregory Betancourt offered an explanation in Double Helix: Infection (released in 1999). In this novel, Data asks Riker why Deanna refers to him as Bill and he goes on to explain that he used to go by that name at Starfleet Academy, when he first met Deanna. However, he changed the name when he began dating a woman named Bili Becker to avoid confusion. Coupled with that fact that some of his Academy classmates began calling him "Billy the Kid" Riker and he decided he liked being called Will an awful lot better. He later went on to say to Data that he hadn't found the opportunity to update Deanna given the awkwardness of the early episodes.
Oh! I got it backward -- I thought it was made later and aired earlier. Silly of me to forget that. Yes, production order is always preferable unless episodes are intentionally produced out of story order (like "Unification Part 2" being filmed before Part 1 due to Leonard Nimoy's schedule).
"Where No One Has Gone Before" Star Trek: The Next Generation (1x06 [106]) Date: Stardates 41263.1-41263.4 Written by Diane Duane and Michael Reaves Teleplay by Maurice Hurley (uncredited) Original air date: October 26, 1987 Rewatched: March 19, 2024 Summary The Enterprise is one of several starships chosen by Starfleet to have upgrades performed on its warp engines by Kosinski and his assistant. Commander Riker and Chief Engineer Argyle are sceptical as to whether Kosinski will be able to make any significant improvements to the Enterprise's brand new engines, an opinion not helped by Kosinski's arrogant and overbearing attitude, but eventully decide to allow him and his assistant to perform the tests necessary. As the tests begin though, the Enterprise is sent hurtling at speeds exceeding warp 10 and arrives in the distant Galaxy M33. After a further attempt to return home sends the starship into a realm where reality and fantasy are interimingled, it becomes evident that the extreme distances travelled are down to Kosinski's assistant, a strange traveller from Tau Alpha C. With all of the Enterprise crew giving this Traveller their thoughts and prayers, he successfully returns the starship home before vanishing entirely. Before departing, however, the Traveller spoke to Captain Picard about the young Wesley Crusher, who had befriended the alien. The Traveller spoke of the incredible potential inside of Wesley and encouraged Picard to nurture Wesley's talent. As a result, Picard officially promotes Wesley to the rank of acting ensign and prepares the young man for his eventual admittance into Starfleet Academy. Thoughts "Where No One Has Gone Before" is loosely based on the Star Trek: The Original Series novel, The Wounded Sky, by Diane Duane. Duane teamed up with Michael Reaves to put together the initial draft for this episode, then entitled "Where None Have Gone Before". However, further rewrites were conducted by Maurice Hurley, with only two scenes remaining from the first draft: Picard having a conversation with his imaginary mother; and Picard stepping out of the turbolift into the illusion of empty space. It is quite ironic that the two most memorable scenes from this episode were from the initial draft of this episode, the scene with Picard's mother is truly quite an emotional moment, acted perfectly by Patrick Stewart and Herta Ware and sold with Ron Jones's incredible score. It is indeed such an incredible moment that it was deserving of a call back on season 2 of Star Trek: Picard. Beyond that though, there is plenty to like about this episode. It was good to see Commander Riker take on more of a leading role and developing the ongoing character trait that the welfare of the ship and crew was his absolute priority. His barely restrained annoyance as Kosinski struts around at the start of the episode and acceptance that he shouldn't ignored Wesley's warnings about the Traveller show some wonderful character traits being established that shine through the rest of the series. Kosinski is delightfully arrogant and harkens back to the blustering Starfleet officials that was a staple of Star Trek: The Original Series. You can't not take an instant and strong dislike to the character, but unlike many of his predecessors, he does go on a bit of an arc throughout the episode. Once he discovers that his equations are a complete crock and the work was being done by the Traveller, he actually shows humility and remorse for his previous bluster. Overall, "Where No One Has Gone Before" is the strongest episode of the season so far, a great "villain" in the form of Kosinski, an intriguing mystery and some great character moments. The jury's still out on the development of Wesley Crusher, but at least with him being granted access to the bridge on an official basis, we can avoid those awkward scenes. Continuity Corner Chief Engineer Michael Argle has his first appearance of several appearances in this marathon. He appears in the novelization of Encounter at Farpoint and was previously referenced in "Meet With Triumph and Disaster". The Traveller also makes his first appearance. He would go in to feature in two more episodes and several other short stories and novels, but those are some time away yet. Next Destination "The Last Outpost"
I stand corrected, sir. I must have misinterpreted a comment when I was reading up on the background information for this episode. Thank you for the correction, I'll edit the original post.
"The Last Outpost" Star Trek: The Next Generation (1x05 [107]) Stardates 41386.4-41386.5 (2364) Teleplay by Herbert Wright Story by Richard Krzemien Original broadcast: October 19, 1987 Rewatched: March 31, 2024 Summary The Enterprise is persuing a Ferengi starship which is reported to have stolen a T9 energy converter from the Federation outpost on Gamma Tauri IV. As both ships enter the Delphi Ardu system, they both slow to impulse in orbit of Delphi Ardu IV, a previously uncharted planet. As the Enterprise begins to experience a power drain, Picard and his crew can only conclude its an unknown weapon of Ferengi design and that his only bloodless option is to offer an unconditional surrender. When the Ferengi DaiMon Tarr refuses Picard's terms, believing that he is ordering the Ferengi to surrender, they both determine that it is the planet that is affecting both starships and they agree to send a joint away team to the surface of the planet to investigate and stop the energy drain. Riker leads the away team to the surface and, because the transporter beam was refracted, all team members arrive in different locations. While several members of the team quickly reassemble, the Ferengi use this opportunity to attack the Starfleeters and render them unconscious using their energy whips. The timely arrival of Lieutenant Yar wielding a phaser is enough to get the Ferengi to stand down, yet they are soon faced with a greater problem in the form of Portal 63. Portal 63 is the last guardian of the Tkon Empire, a civilization that ruled this section of the galaxy 600,000 years ago, and unfortunately, Portal "slept" through the supernova that wiped his empire out and believes that Starfleet and the Ferengi are petitioning for entry into Tkon space. Despite attempts by the Ferengi that Starfleet are the savages and to destroy them and free their own starship, Riker is able to convince Portal of Starfleet's intentions not to fight by evoking the work of Sun Tzu. Portal frees the Enterprise and on Riker's insistence, frees the Ferengi so that they can learn from the experience. Thoughts After a few references throughout the season so far, we finally get our look at Star Trek: The Next Generation's first "Big Bad", the Ferengi Alliance. Developed by Gene Roddenberry and Herb Wright, the idea was to hold up a mirror to 20th century Humanity and portray them as the worst form of Capitalists or "Yankee Traders" that validate the phrase "caveat emptor" ("let the buyer beware"). The concept of the Ferengi is an excellent idea, as an allegory it's certainy timely as the late 1980s was an era of unchecked capitalism and commercialism, or as a Brit we might say the "age of the Yuppee". It was certainly a unique idea for Star Trek at the time, after all the Klingons and the Romulans were developed in the more traditional model and used as allegories for the Soviet Union and China, respectively. However, the world had moved on as the Cold War was slowly thawing out and a new villain for a new era was needed. Unfortunately, the introduction of the Ferengi in "The Last Outpost" had been described as "uneven" at best, and "disastrous" at the worse. While Andy Probert's design for the D'Kora class marauder is absolutely beautiful, and the design for make-up and prosthetics for the Ferengi are a unique and interesting look, the performances of the three Ferengi actors on the surface, led by Armin Shimmerman, leaves much to be desired. It's unfair to throw this criticism at Shimmerman and his fellow actors though, Shimmerman has stated that it was on the notes of director Richard Colla that they were told "jump up and down like crazed gerbils", and it really ruins the Ferengi as a contentious threat when they appear to be a group of eight year olds being caught being up to no good by their parents. Away from the Ferengi though, there's a lot more to like about this episode. The Tkon Empire and the introduction of Portal 63 is TNG's first use of the ancient race trope that was used so often during Star Trek: The Original Series, and indeed this episode reminds me of both "Arena" and "That Which Survives" from that show's first and third seasons. The trope is used quite effectively here though, the Tkon have an intriguing air of mystery around them and one can't help but feel empathy for Portal who has slept for millennia while his Empire fell. As for the regulars, Jonathan Frakes really gets an opportunity to shine as Riker takes charge and has negotiations with both the Ferengi and Portal. There's some wonderful interactions as the friendship continues to develop between Geordi and Data, whispering at the front of the bridge and the whole Chinese finger trap gag; Worf gets to finally take part in an away team and have a fight with the Ferengi; and Yar gets to make a fantastic entrance, phaser in hand as thunder rumbles around her as she saves her colleagues from the Ferengi. On the whole, another strong episode from TNG's first season. The stiffness and formality of those early episodes are starting to fall away we have our first real conference scene where Picard gives all of his senior staff the opportunity to speak up, and we see the relationships that go on to define this series, begin to form and take flight. My only criticism, beyond the introduction to the Ferengi, is the plot thread of the power drains effect upon the Enterprise. We go from a scene with Picard, Beverly and Troi tending to the crew as temperatures begin to drop aboard ship, to a scene where they're all passed out on the bridge, seeminly seconds from death. It really feels like there's a scene missing here, and I would take a scene of Picard reacting as his crew begin to drop, over some silliness with the Ferengi. Overall, I can't complain too much, a much stronger outing than I first remembered. Continuity Corner Following references in "Encounter at Farpoint" and Double Helix #1: Infection, the Ferengi make their first appearance. While this is the first "official" first contact between the Federation and the Ferengi Alliance, Picard unknowingly encountered a Ferengi vessel during his final mission on the Stargazer. Humans had also previously encountered Ferengi in 2151 (in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode, "Acquisition"), although the name of the Ferengi wasn't heard by the crew of the Enterprise NX-01. Armin Shimmerman makes his second appearance in this marathon, having previously played the Betazoid gift box in "Haven". Shimmerman would later go on to play the role of the Ferengi bartender Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He later commented that he wanted to redeem the Ferengi following his turn in "The Last Outpost". Next Destination "Growing Pains"
"Growing Pains" Star Trek: The Next Generation (Q and False and Other Stories) Stardate Unknown (2364; three months after "Encounter at Farpoint") Written by Peter Holmstrom Originallly published: September 20, 2022 (Star Trek Explorer #4) Read: April 1st, 2024 Summary Lieutenant (j.g.) Geordi La Forge awakes aboard the Enterprise in pain. Geordi has awoken in pain every morning since he got his first VISOR as a child. He reflects on his arrival aboard the ship three months earlier with hope that the renowned Doctor Beverly Crusher would be able to remove the pain from his life and the disappointment that she had no options that wouldn't adversely effect his life in other ways. Still the pain endures. Several hours later, La Forge joins an away team to the planet Ruan IV where they are to discuss a trade with the Ruan IV inhabitants. During a trek visiting an ancient religious site on the planet, Geordi observes some strange behaviour being exhibited by some of the local flora. The Minister of Ruan IV allows the away team to take sample back to the Enterprise, where Geordi volunteers to perform the testing of these plants, reminding Commander Riker that his background was an engineering and that his parents are scientists. Geordi works with Lieutenant Soaf-ie, a Selkie scientist assigned to the Enterprise's Cetacean Ops, to study the plants. After days of intensive study, Geordi decides to subject the plants to antimatter radiation to stimulate growth. His experiment is successful. Too successful, in that the growth is so accelerated that the plant outgrows its containment and penetrates into the Ceteacean tank occupied by Soaf-ie, subjecting the Selkie to toxic excretions. Calling upon his engineering knowledge, Geordi devises a solution to reverse the growth and dives into the tank to bring Soaf-ie to safety. In the aftermath, Captain Picard is furious at Geordi for risking the safety of himself and Lieutenant Soaf-ie, but refuses to accept Geordi's resignation, telling the young man to learn from this experience. As Geordi leaves the ready room, he requests the opportunity to complete his engineering training as he feels his calling is to fix problems rather than identifying them. Thoughts This is my first experience of the short stories being published in Titan's Star Trek Explorer, and if this is an indicator of the fiction within the magazine, them I'm very pleased. What we have with "Growing Pains" is a good character study of Geordi La Forge, picking up on the threads from "Encounter at Farpoint" and "The Naked Now" about the pain that his VISOR causes him and his wishes to have an end to his pain and "normal" sight. Beyond that, it also lays the groundwork for the eventual development of the character as he becomes the Enterprise's chief engineer by Season Two. Continuity Corner As Geordi wakes up, he reflects on his childhood in Mogadishu, Somalia. His home town was established in Losing the Peace. He also relates to both of his parents being scientists; Edward M. La Forge and Silva La Forge were both introduced in Season Seven's "Interface". Lieutenant Soaf-ie is a Selkie. The Selkie are an amphibious humanoid species native to Pacifica and were introduced in the Star Trek: Titan novel, Taking Wing and developed throughout that series. Tasha Yar is taking time out to practice her anbo-jytsu. The sport first appeared on screen in the second season episode, "The Icarus Factor". Next Destination "Lonely Among Us"
I didn't see it that way. I liked the idea of giving them a stylized, alien body language. SF film/TV usually depicts alienness through makeup and sometimes language, but aliens usually move and act just like humans. It's rare to see aliens given a distinctive way of expressing themselves through movement -- I think the Drac in Enemy Mine are an example, and the Taelons in Earth: Final Conflict generally had a certain slow-moving grace. I think there was an alien creature in a Blake's 7 episode that I remember having a distinctive body language. But it's an uncommon practice and I thought it was a clever idea in principle. Though I can see why it would've been difficult to sustain on an ongoing basis with the need to cast numerous different guest actors who might not all be skilled at mime or dance. In a movie, you can train your actors with the physical skills they need, but on a TV schedule, it would be prohibitive to give movement coaching to numerous guest stars of the week. Although I suppose in that case the casting people would've favored performers who already had suitable skills. Although Picard's total unfamiliarity with the Tkon is hard to reconcile with his later characterization as an expert archaeologist.
"Lonely Among Us" Star Trek: The Next Generation (1x07 [108]) Stardate 41249.3-41249.4 (2364) Story by Michael Halperin Teleplay by D.C. Fontana Original air date: November 2, 1987 Rewatched: April 1, 2024 Summary The Enterprise is assigned to transport delegates from the rival Selay and Anticans species to the neutral planet of Parliament in the hopes that the peace makers there can bring their long conflict to an end. En route to Parliament, the starship passes through the trailing edge of a strange nebula and some energies from that unknowingly enters the ship's circuitry. Soon after, the ship is beset by mechanical problems and Lieutenant Worf and Doctor Crusher report having "temporary mental aberrations" where they have gaps in their memories. Picard sets his crew to investigate, with Data envoking the spirit of Sherlock Holmes and Troi using hypnosis on Worf and Crusher to see what happened during their "aberration". However, the situation escalates when Worf discovers that Assistant Chief Engineer Singh has been murdered in Engineering and Captain Picard himself begins to act strangely. Picard has been "joined" by the energies from within the nebula, and both elements have a desire to return to the nebula via the transporter with Picard's energy joining them. Riker and the rest of the crew are unable to prevent the transport and Picard is considered gone. However, his energy survived and was able to enter the ship's circuitry, allowing the crew to reassemble him using the transporter pattern. Meanwhile, the crew have had to contend with the Selay and Anticans constantly going after each other, with hunts around various areas of the ship, and the ship's cooks being asked to prepare a large meal. As Picard is restored, Lieutenant Yar reports that one of the Antican delegates has gone missing, and the captain leaves Commander Riker to resolve the situation. Thoughts "Lonely Among Us" is a bizarre beast indeed. With the teleplay being written by D.C. Fontana, she borrows elements from one of her best works from Star Trek: The Original Series, "Journey to Babel", as the Enterprise carries a group of delegates to some negotiations. While this serves as a B plot in both that episode and this, it was taken more seriously in the original and made out to be nothing more than comic relief in this episode, with the final scene highlighting the death of the Antican delegate being a joke to cap the episode off. The episodes A plot, that of the strange energies making its way through the ship's crew and taking down its systems so it can return home could have been effectively done, however, there was no mystery for us the audience. Yes, the crew became absored in the mystery of it all, Data donning the personality of the great Sherlock Holmes is a highlight, but we the audience can't become absorbed in the mystery as we knew about the energies entering the ship. The saying that an audience should never something that the main characters don't, definitely applies in this situation. Looking toward the positives to this episode, I must praise Patrick Stewart for his uncanny valley performance of being a possessed Picard, it was just a little bit off and a little bit creepy. Wonderful. It was also good to see Data finally find a hook that will form part of his personality throughout the rest of the series in the form of Sherlock Holmes. Spiner inhabiting history's greatest consulting detective and interviewing his colleagues, pipe in hand, was definitely a great comedic highlight to the episode. Overall, "Lonely Among Us" is another mixed bag episode. While the overall quality of the episodes are improving as we go through, this episode struggles at the fundamental level, but there are some great moments there to carry us through. Next Destination "Justice"
That's an overstatement. A lot of stories depend on the audience knowing something secret to the main characters, as a source of suspense or dramatic irony. Columbo depends on the audience knowing the identity of the murderer that Columbo is trying to identify; Columbo often suspects the killer early on and the bulk of the story is about his efforts to prove it, but there are cases where the murderer genuinely fools Columbo for much of the story until he hits upon that One More Thing. (Although arguably the true protagonist of a Columbo story is the killer, and Columbo is the antagonist standing in their way; that was the format of the original play, where Columbo was a supporting character.) As with anything else in fiction, it's not a blanket absolute, but a matter of what's needed in a particular situation. Sometimes the impact of a scene depends on the audience knowing more than the characters -- e.g. knowing before Marion Crane does that someone is sneaking up on her in the shower, or knowing before Dutch Schaefer's commandos do that they're being stalked by a cloaked alien with thermographic vision. But sometimes the impact of a scene depends on the audience being surprised along with the characters -- e.g. not knowing in advance who Norman Bates's mother really is or what the Predator's true purpose is. In horror/suspense stories, you're often going for a balance of the two -- you want the audience to know that something is stalking the characters unaware or lurking ominously behind the scenes, but you don't want the audience to understand its nature and purpose too soon. I think "Lonely Among Us" does that, if not as skillfully as my examples. We know an alien intrusion is behind the weirdness, but we don't know its nature or intentions.
You make some very good points, it was an overstatement on my part on what is actually personal preference. Columbo is the prime example of the reverse of my statement being true, as you suggested, with the thrill to the audience in that situation seeing how Columbo can decipher the case and trick the murderer into revealing himself by making a stupid mistake. While, I've seen several episodes of the series and, while initially non-plussed on the format, I did actually enjoy the episode and can see the merits of this format. I initially had similar thoughts to the reality show, The Traitors, where the titular traitors are recruited and their machinatations shown to the audience, and the enjoyment comes from watching them. However, I've come to recognise that the format of the show works best this way, and the ratings for the show and how it's taken off in the UK and around the world is a testament to this. I suppose I'm just a sucker for the whodunnit?
"Justice" Star Trek: The Next Generation (1x08 [109]) Stardate 41255.6-41255.9 (2364) Story by John D.F. Black (credited as Ralph Wills) & Worley Thorne Teleplay by Worley Thorne Original air date: November 9, 1987 Rewatched: April 2, 2024 Summary Wesley Crusher breaks an idyllic world's trivial law by accidentally stepping on flowers and faces a death sentence. Thoughts Can I just say that I love the brief summary given on TNG Season 1's wikipedia entry for this episode. As with many of the episodes that we've had throughout this season so far, we've got stories which could have easily been made for Star Trek: The Original Series but given a bit of a 1980s twist. At the heart of "Justice" is an examination of crime and punishment and its application within societies, both within the society applying the rules and how visitors must adhere to these rules and the implications thereof. This episode sees Captain Picard face his first big test of the Prime Directive and examine if he should let Wesley Crusher be put to death for a simple transgression of the law's of the Edo people. While this can create strong drama in itself, the addition of the mysterious Edo god serves as an interesting B plot straight out of TOS. The scenes with Rivan aboard the Enterprise as Picard asks her to come aboard and identify her god are actually quite tense as the god advances on the starship for having the audacity to interfere with "his people". From this point on, it's no longer Picard vs. the Edo, but their god as they prevent the Enterprise from simply beaming Wesley away and making off. This does create a much needed boost to the drama of the situation as the Edo just aren't strong enough as an alien of the week to create sufficient drama. Onto the Edo and I have to say that Gene Roddenberry's finger prints must be all over this. A race that embraces their sexuality and has no trouble expressing it, is not a bad thing to portray especially against the so-far very buttoned up members of Starfleet, but their some of the opening scenes are borderline softcore pornography. Unfortunately, when the drama intensifies after Wesley's heinous criminal act, the Edo characters have to switch from being carefree sensualists to angry and concerned authority figures. I don't think any character in a little white strappy number can give anyone a serious ticking off. Another negative has to be aimed at Tasha Yar for this whole situation. She was asked to review all of the laws and regulations applied by the Edo, which would surely have made mention to the creation of these punishment zones, yet when she couldn't find any reference to the punishments, she signed off on it and recommended that away teams could be sent to the planet for shore leave. Hmm. In summary, I liked "Justice" as an episode. Captain Picard's grappling with the Prime Directive and its ramifications, Beverly's care for his son, our first discussion scene with Picard and Data and the whole Edo god situation are all highlights of the episode. However, as with many episodes at this early stage, there's just something not quite right, that maybe another draft would have caught. Next Destination Ghost Ship