Episode #96: "Half a Life"

[J. Allen]

I just watched this episode on Netflix. I have to say, I love this episode, and I feel that Star Trek was at it's best when it tackled strong, universal themes such as the value of life and what it's truly worth, what it means to each person.

Wikipedia wrote:

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The U.S.S. Enterprise takes aboard Troi's eccentric mother Lwaxana and Dr. Timicin of Kaelon II. Timicin has been brought aboard to conduct an experiment which he hopes will save his threatened home planet. The lives of the people of Kaelon II are in jeopardy as the sun their planet orbits is in a state of near-collapse. The Federation has enlisted the Enterprise to take Timicin to a sun in a similar state of decay to conduct experiments which may yield a method for saving the Kaelon system from destruction, a peril which will certainly occur if its sun fails.


Upon arrival at their destination, the crew assists Timicin in modifying a photon torpedo to be fired into the proxy sun in the hopes that it will repair the damaged star and prove that the technique can be safely applied to the Kaelon sun. The torpedo is fired and, although the experiment seems initially to rectify the damage, the effect is short-lived and the experiment is declared a failure. The Enterprise returns to Kaelon II and Timicin is crushed. After some questioning by Lwaxana, Timicin reveals that experiment's failure is not the only fact troubling him. Indeed, Timicin is about to turn 60, and on Kaelon II, everyone who reaches the age of 60 kills him or herself in what is known to their people as "the Resolution," a means of ridding their culture of the need to care for the elderly. Lwaxana is outraged by this fact, and when Picard makes it clear that he will not interfere in the planet's local affairs, Lwaxana tries to beam herself down to the planet to halt the process. When she is thwarted, she goes into hysterics until Deanna comforts her.


After Lwaxana and Timicin end up spending an evening together, he tries to explain the custom of the Resolution to her, stating that they should never expect to be repaid for the care they show their children, and a fixed age had to be selected because just randomly choosing a time to die would be heartless. However, she still considers the custom barbaric, and refuses to accept their tradition, listing an example in Betazed history of a woman who went against the tradition of wearing a ridiculous wig and changed their civilization for the better. When Timicin's analysis of the failed test turns up some promising options, he suddenly realizes that no one else has the knowledge to carry on his work to save his world, and requests asylum on the Enterprise.


B'Tardat, the Science Minister on Kaelon II, is outraged, and sends up two warships to ensure that the Enterprise does not leave the system with Timicin on board. As Picard orders the bridge crew to analyze the offensive capabilities of the Kaelonian ships, Timicin realizes that his situation is not as simple as he had hoped, for the planet below will not accept any further reports from him. Indeed, he's informed that even if he finds a solution they will not accept it. The final straw comes when his daughter Dara (Michelle Forbes) beams on board to insist that he return. She cannot bear the thought, she says, of him being laid to rest anywhere but next to her mother and, although she loves him, she is ashamed of him.


Timicin realizes that he is not the man to forge a cultural revolution, and agrees to return to Kaelon II. Lwaxana, despite her disagreement, realizes that Timicin's decision is his to make and, as it is the custom for loved ones to be present at the Resolution, beams down with him to be at his side as he dies.

I also have to say that David Ogden Stiers put in a magnificent performance, and that while I love her character anyway, Majel put in what I feel is her best performance here. Your mileage may vary, but I do believe overall it was an excellent episode.

Your thoughts?

[BlueStuff]

I must admit that I went into this episode with some trepidation, not being especially fond of Lwaxana storylines, but it was much better than I was expecting. It raised an interesting dilemma and Lwaxana didn't bother me at all. In fact, I'd say she was a very good character in this episode.

[J. Allen]

BlueStuff wrote:

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I must admit that I went into this episode with some trepidation, not being especially fond of Lwaxana storylines, but it was much better than I was expecting. It raised an interesting dilemma and Lwaxana didn't bother me at all. In fact, I'd say she was a very good character in this episode.

I think the contrast between Lwxanna's culture and the culture of Timicin's people, with Timicin in the middle, made for excellent storytelling, and for me, even though I'm staunchly in favor of life (and the quality thereof), it made me think back and forth, examining the roots of both sides of the story. I still side with Lwxanna, but I can understand why it's so important to Timicin and all he cares about.

[Mojochi]

Probably the only Lwaxanna episode I enjoy. She's a fun character, but best in small doses, & not one I enjoy seeing episodes revolve around... except for this one. Here we have an episode that does a few things well. Firstly, the parts are written & acted well. Plus, instead of her free spirit philosophy being treated as its usual personal immaturity/denial issue, it's treated with more regard, as something of a cultural issue, placed in opposition to a contrary type of culture, and... neither of them are humans.

It's always good to see non-human races interacting realistically, and playing off of the stereotypical attributes that Trek places on their alien races. It's one of the things that makes DS9 great, but TNG didn't have as diverse a group of regular aliens to draw upon in that regard, but once in a while they managed to pull it off anyhow, like in this episode

This was the episode that made me see Lwaxanna in a different light. It actually made me finally think about her character, and I now knew what it was that Deanna's Starfleet father has seen in her, such that he would pretty well worship her. She & perhaps many Betazoid women were like one of the Trek universe's most alluring and disarming of women. They can make you appreciate life more

I think all in all, of her 6 appearances on TNG, only two of them really did anything to develop the character in any meaningful way, this episode, & Dark Page. Cost of Living touched a bit on her denial issues, but just stands as a rather annoying episode, all around

[ThankQ]

And now I shall retire the swamp to where I might listen to Debussy in peace. Gentlemhen...

[HaventGotALife]

This is a good episode and Majel Barrett is great in it. But I think Dark Page is probably her best performance as Lwaxana. Either that or the DS9 episode in the turbolift with Odo. They deepened her character later on.

[Alrik]

I would have to agree with those who have stated that Half a Life and Dark Page are the two strongest Lwaxana eps. But I'm a big Majel fan, so I liked all of them.

[J. Allen]

Yeah, as a Majel fan, I love her in just about anything, though Lwaxanna can come on very strong to the point of annoyance. Now, as a character, that's fine, but if the audience gets annoyed, that's different, and I felt they pushed her too strongly at times, but it's episodes like these (and yes, Dark Page) where Majel really got to shine, and show how wonderful an actress she really was.

[Xelo]

Alrik wrote:

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I would have to agree with those who have stated that Half a Life and Dark Page are the two strongest Lwaxana eps. But I'm a big Majel fan, so I liked all of them.

Agreed!

[HaventGotALife]

Xelo wrote:

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Agreed!

She was a terrific actress beyond loving her, I can understand why Gene put her in as much as possible (Number one, Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana, Computer voice, etc).

[J. Allen]

True. Majel was just a wonderful person all around. She is sorely missed by the fan community.