'Relics': missed opportunity?

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by LMFAOschwarz, Dec 28, 2013.

  1. Armored Saint

    Armored Saint Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    When I saw the episode for the first time, I only knew Spock's parents by TOS movies, so for me it was "Fine, the old man took a younger wife", which was absolutely not original. For me, Sarek and Amanda were both old. When I finally saw Journey to Babel with a relatively young Sarek and an already aging Amanda, it was immediately more interesting.
     
  2. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    IIRC, no age of that Dyson Sphere was mentioned, so I presume it was very, very old and built long before the star was dying.

    Unfortunately, such amazing discoveries mostly served as a backdrop for the story. You all remember Picard's awe in "The Chase"?

    PICARD: I never thought I would see a Kurlan naiskos. Fifth Dynasty? Well, the overall configuration is certainly Fifth Dynasty. The surface ornamentation. Green polychrome over the eyes, and the eyes themselves are closed. This is third Dynasty. From the workshop of the Master of Tarquin Hill.
    PICARD: Will, the Master of Tarquin Hill designed ceramic objects that were three hundred years ahead of their time. All we know of him is the work. His name has never been discovered. This object is over twelve thousand years old.
    RIKER: The planet Kurl? It's a hell of a long way outside Federation territory.
    PICARD: Indeed. I thought your study of Kurlan artefacts was done long ago.
    GALEN: I happened to be in the neighbourhood last summer. I couldn't resist. Go ahead.
    PICARD: You mean it's complete?
    (Picard raises the top half of the pot to reveal a cluster of little pots inside it)
    PICARD: Will, the Kurlan civilisation believed that an individual was a community of individuals. Inside us are many voices, each with its own desires, its own style, its own view of the world. The Kurlan civilisation died out thousands of years ago. It is extraordinarily rare to find a figurine intact. Professor, this is an incredible find.

    Well, what happened to this priceless you-could-probably-buy-a-planet-with-it relic?

    http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/generationshd/generationshd2130.jpg

    Picard just left it behind in the wreckage of the Enterprise... :wtf: :eek: :brickwall:

    Bob
     
  3. 2takesfrakes

    2takesfrakes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Imagine that! Personally, I don't see how that could've happened. O'Brien was the Brit in the Engine Room ... that was it. What Scotty would've busied himself with, I haven't the remotest idea. Thank Providence for unanswered prayers, I say! But still, I felt bad for Jimmy Doohan, because he did seem to be held back in his career more than most of the TOS Second Bananas.
     
  4. Robert Comsol

    Robert Comsol Commodore Commodore

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    Frankly, I think Scotty's participation in "Relics" hadn't been entirely thought through.

    In the holodeck scene Picard tried to connect to Scotty. Well, his Stargazer was a ship design Scotty had probably mostly seen blueprints of in the 23rd Century, so it might have been interesting for Scotty to learn how the actual ship performed.

    But it's the end of the episode I really didn't find convincing. Already during the course of the episode it had been made clear how alone he felt in the 24th Century.

    So what's the solution? Give the man a shuttlecraft, get him off the ship and let him handle the ultimate loneliness he will surely encounter boxed into a small shuttle among the stars. :rolleyes:

    Bob
     
  5. USS Triumphant

    USS Triumphant Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, this. I know the in-story idea was to give him something nice and a ride to the retirement colony, and the meta idea was to imply that Scotty is still out there doing his thing... but it did feel rather more like a burial at sea with the recipient still alive, didn't it?
     
  6. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    I sort of liked the ending to the episode but I agree on scrutiny it doesn't make much sense. Would it have been that much more difficult for the Enterprise to take Scotty to a Starbase or the nearest Federation planet?

    It's also set-up odd. Scotty tells Geordi, "Well I thought you were going to buy me a drink in 10-Forward?"

    Geordi says, "Actually, I have a better idea..."

    And then they go into the shuttlebay and kick Scotty off the ship.
     
  7. 2takesfrakes

    2takesfrakes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Even in Humanity's Progressive, Enlightened Future, old people still get no respect ... the young(er) ones make their token Good Will gesture, so they can sleep at night, but at the end of the day, yeah ... just get rid of the boring old fart! What use is he?
     
  8. Frontier

    Frontier Vice Admiral Admiral

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    They could have done something like Mr. Kyle or Kevin Riley without much uproar. Riley hadn't been seen since TOS, Kyle was last seen in TWOK. It's not the same as a core or even regular guest character. Could have been done. But I'm not surprised it wasn't. The obligatory throw-away no-name character death is typical.

    Likewise I doubt Scotty would have been near as upset, visibly wise, over such as compared to his nephew who died a bloody and horrible death in TWOK.
     
  9. USS Excelsior

    USS Excelsior Commodore Commodore

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    Flashback at least came up with an inventive way to bring old characters back without some contrived time travel plot or even the holodeck.

    Too bad Guinan couldn't make the episode, Scotty could have told her that he was drinking Scotch 100 years before she was born!
     
  10. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    "Flashback" was terrible.

    Not likely since Guinan was alive and on Earth in the late-19th century ("Time's Arrow").
     
  11. USS Triumphant

    USS Triumphant Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Somewhat, yes. But he didn't say it was a good *episode*, he said it was a good way of bringing an old cast member back. And he's right, and if the episode had been well done *aside* from that, it could have been awesome.
    Ah, but Scotty wouldn't have known that until she straightened him out on them matter, and that could have been amusing. :)
     
  12. GalaxyX

    GalaxyX Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Arghhhh!! This is criminal!!!!! It's not the first time TNG does this. They did the same thing with the TKON Empire and the Iconians!!!! :klingon:

    Awesome epic stories to be explored simply brushed aside as archeological "footnotes" to show the captain likes archeology :rolleyes:

    Same here. I found it strange. I would have liked the Enterprise to go there directly and at least drop him off.

    I'm at least glad they didn't kill him off in some clique heroic way.

    I'm glad someone else caught this. I too found it strange.

    It's like: "I thought you were buying me a drink in 10 Forward?"
    "Actually, I have a better idea, how about we kick you off the ship and we can all get back to our lives before you showed up?"

    That's how I took it.