I got around to this episode on the Blu-Ray set and it had been a few years. I have to say, I always enjoyed it but I think this one gets better with age. The shear senselessness of Tasha's death makes the impact that much stronger, and I think the actors, particularly Marina, Gates, and Patrick, do an excellent job in this episode. The span of time from when Tasha goes down to the emergency beam up to the ER scene is really powerful, and I love the use of the handheld camera in 1988 when ER would popularize it years later for those type of scenes. The music was top notch too. The only thing that hurts that scene is the ridiculous looking splotch on Tasha's cheek. The funeral scene was corny at some points (she seemed to really stretch for some things to say about some of the crew (i.e., Beverly)), but the slow zoom-in as she talks about Picard as you see his eyes begin to water was great, as was, of course, the very last bit when he and Data talk about "missing the point." "No Data, you got it." Good stuff.
Same here. After recently rewatching it on Blu-Ray myself, it really is a good episode, but I was surprised how much I liked Deanna Troi. I consider her the weakest character in the show overall, and think Face of the Enemy (Where Sirtis isn't even playing Troi but a Romulan) is her best episode, but Skin of Evil, from a pure Troi standpoint, is pretty close. As for everything else you mentioned, yeah that was great stuff too. I don't get why a senseless death is a bad thing, if it is something that is handled well. I find Yar's death better than Dax's death in DS9 mainly because I found Dukat's "It wasn't meant for you" line corny as hell and ruined the entire scene.
I watched this episode a few weeks back for the first time in years and have to say it's one of my favourites. I was crying like a baby, especially at the funeral scene. An all round excellent episode.
the funeral scene is good. Armus is an effective villain, his exchanges with Data are great. Also, the confrontation between him and Picard is classic. The rest of it? Kind of meh.
I thought it was some kind of hematoma from the strike that sent her flying. Since that's what they look like, I suppose it's realistic if ridiculous.
I'm glad "Skin of Evil" is getting some love. It's one of my favorite episodes from season one. Although not perfect, I actually like the character of Tasha Yar and seeing her go in such a gut-wrenching way always gets me. Armus is a great, great villain who you actually feel somewhat sorry for in the end. As someone mentioned upthread, this is also one of the episode where Troi really works as a character. I love the scenes with her talking to Armus in the shuttlecraft. Plus, this episodes has great music by Ron Jones. I particularly like the long suite at Tasha's funeral, but the "action" cues are also very memorable. All in all, "Skin of Evil" is just one of those episode I will probably never get tired of watching.
I know this episode has been criticized over Yar's "pointless death" rather than giving her a hero's death, but I actually thought it was refreshing to see a death scene that wasn't overdone or played up for drama. Real life is like that, where bad things happen to otherwise good people sometimes. I thought her death was more realistic than some others have been, and the aftermath was handled well. The episode was well done overall.
...It would have been fun had this sort of a rescue/resurrection attempt become the TNG standard for any random injured or killed redshirt (now mustardshirt). That is, instead of just going "He's dead, Jean-Luc", Crusher or some token medic would call for a beam-out and/or slap a "medical evacuation transponder" on the victim, and we'd either see the beam-out or, if the VFX were too expensive, hear the sound when the camera moves on. And later on, dialogue would tell whether the poor mustardshirt made it or not. Only with main characters would there be the weekly extra tension of whether the "ambulance beam" arrives in time or not, of course. Extras would typically get the beam without plot complications, but might perish off screen nevertheless. Timo Saloniemi
*record abruptly scratches* My knowing in advance the character was getting whacked softened the intended emotional punch from the scene. It actually felt pretty lame.
To tell you the truth, I have never bought into Tasha's death being "meaningless," or "pointless." She died on a rescue mission, attempting to reach two injured Enterprise crewmembers, one of whom was injured badly. While her efforts were unsuccessful and resulted in her death, they were not without meaning. Tasha died while engage in a purposeful action.