Is it weird that The Royale is one of my favourite episodes?

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by PTRACER, Nov 22, 2012.

  1. DeepSpaceWine

    DeepSpaceWine Commander Red Shirt

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    I think a lot of the hate is due to the episode's backstory and those who don't like cheesiness. I actually like it too. Season 2 has so many weaker or horrendous episodes (like The Outrageous Okona, The Dauphin). It does have a different feel and the elements are quite interesting (the casino on an icy uninhabited world, the astronaut from centuries ago). Twilight Zone-like does explain it (where's the one-armed bandit coming at Riker saying "Riker! Riker!" with a raspy, jangly voice? Though it seems more like "A Nice Place to Visit"). I found the idea of being trapped inside a recreation of a bad novel kind of a hilarious idea. It feels very different. It's far better than most holodeck episodes, I'll say that and seems to be on the better half of Season 2. It's no "Q Who?" but I'll take it over many other Season 2 episodes.

    It seems whenever a dessicated or decayed corpse is found in bed, you know it's going to be a cheesy, campy episode. Was the case in "The Royale", so it was in "Favorite Son" too (Harry Kim being given the O'Brien treatment. A planet of babes, one even from Babylon 5, and they all want you Harry. Only catch- it's a one night stand because the sex kills. He's the Bad Luck Brian of Star Trek. Not as adventurous as Tom Paris yet he's the one who picks up the space STD ["The Disease"] or he makes contact with someone interesting and Tuvok bogarts her from him ("Alter Ego"). He gets back to Earth more than anyone else but the guilt constantly gets him ["Non Sequitur", "Timeless"]. He finally gets his own command, but it's a ship with a lot of issues and an episode that overlaps with 2 of the worst airdates in the 2000-01 season ["Nightingale"] or it's the smallest ship in the fleet [USS Rhode Island in "Endgame"]. He & Naomi Wildman are the only real/original crewmembers yet that doesn't give him any more clout ["Deadlock"]. Oh, and he gets tormented more than anyone else by a monochrome clown).
     
  2. zarkon

    zarkon Captain Captain

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    I love this episode. From the beginning with the mysterious revolving door, to the end with them breezing out as the out of town investors, it was a ton of fun.
     
  3. Minuet

    Minuet Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I don't mind "The Royale." There are worse season two episodes (ahem...), but "The Royale" was kind of weird enough to be at worst merely amusing, kind of like a Twilight Zone episode like aforementioned.

    If you want embarrassing, I rewatched "Sub Rosa" the other day and found myself enjoying it more than I had expected, especially some of the performances. Yeah, I just said something nice about "Sub Rosa," I know... :rofl:
     
  4. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I should do that. Rewatch episodes that I know I hate & see if after enough time away I can find anything enjoyable about them
     
  5. LOKAI of CHERON

    LOKAI of CHERON Commodore Commodore

    Not an episode, but in all seriousness, I have attempted this exercise on several occasions with Nemesis. Although I don't hate it, I find it extremely difficult to connect with the film in any meaningful way.
     
  6. Ro_Laren

    Ro_Laren Commodore Commodore

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    I can't say that I share your view, but whatever floats your boat! I sometimes feel like I'm the only one on this board that likes Jadzia Dax!
     
  7. Minuet

    Minuet Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I completely agree with you about Nemesis. I have tried. And I can see what they were trying to do, and I see the potential in the ideas, and really, I think the director was at fault, coupled with the fact that the final rewrites of the script completely neutered it. I've heard that the original script was much better.

    I really want to feel emotion about Data's death, but I honestly felt like his character had no reason to die. They've botched Data so much over the course of the films that I just ceased to care about his character. As far as I'm concerned, TNG ends with "All Good Things..."
     
  8. Trekker82

    Trekker82 Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I must have somehow skipped this episode when watching the DVDs. I'll have to re-watch it.
     
  9. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I've always enjoyed The Royale. I never understood the hate. I even like Up the Long Ladder.

    The only season 2 episodes I can't stand are The Child, Okona, Pen Pals, and Shades of Gray.
     
  10. bbailey861

    bbailey861 Admiral Admiral

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    I didn't mind this episode as much as many appear to dislike it. When I first saw it, the first thing that came to mind was that I was watching sets from a stage play, and I would have liked to have seen that episode done live on stage.
     
  11. Trek Survivor

    Trek Survivor Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I love this episode, and most of season 2.
     
  12. Joe_Atari

    Joe_Atari Commander Red Shirt

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    Not weird at all. I personally enjoy this episode as yet another example of Roddenberry (who probably rewrote the episode in spite of Maurice Hurley taking the rap, and to Torme's chagrin) recalling his '70s work in TNG. Here it was the scene with Data and the dice, almost a direct lift from a casino scene in The Questor Tapes. It's fun to watch both scenes back-to-back (if you can even find Questor that is). The Questor character was pretty much always acknowledged as the inspiration for Data in general (Roddenberry's S1 & S2 Data anyway, as opposed to Michael Piller's "emotion-free except when he has his emotion chip version" from S3 on), but the comparison is not usually so direct.

    These carryovers from Roddenberry's '70s oeuvre always fascinate me, from the well-known (TMP Decker & Ilia / TNG Riker & Troi, etc.) to the less well-known (the matriarchal societies in Planet Earth / TNG Angel One, etc.). Not sure if it shows a lack of creativity on Roddenberry's part or his love for certain themes in his work. The Royale -- along with most of S1 and S2 -- reminds me of Roddenberry's vision of Trek post-TOS.