When I first saw this story some 30,000 years ago, I wasn't impressed. Oh look, Trek characters in a silly remake in a silly setting reenacting some book to save on cost and to reuse sets! Though I liked the spinning doors' lighting effect at the start...
I grew to like this story over the years. Rewatching on blu-ray has only elevated my enjoyment of a story doing a one-time format change to flex its muscles. A "fish out of water" tale in terms of in-universe characters and plot device, yet those human nature Trek themes still are there.
Indeed, when they find the diary and Riker reads it - that is exactly the sort of mindset many aliens would likely espouse, to varying extents, if meeting a bunch of unknown beings in outer space: Complex beings with no way to properly communicate, misunderstanding over situation or posture (of ship and/or crew), guilt, recompense, literal interpretation of the written book found being a literal example of the culture itself. The latter being referenced in "First Contact" (Season 4, not the movie), there's a bit more weight to the revelation in this story - though both are in my list of favorites and "First Contact" is in the typical format of TNG instead of being experimental.
Oddly enough, Data does not count the cards- in later episodes he rattles off mathematical probability, but writer Tracy Torme pretty much keeps Data in character with a simple but effective line about card consistently. It ranks up there with "the cards are sufficiently randomized" in a later episode where he deals out playing cards.
Even more odd, did the Royale novel have pictures so the aliens could be so detailed with building and clothing structure for all of those background characters?
Troi gets a brief moment, getting to do a little something that only she can do. She's a bridge - like in "Farpoint" where she could sense the alien, only this time she's able to relay crew emotions and circumvent Picard and the rest guessing if they're in dire danger or not. It's not much but it's nice - she easily could have not been included for that week or, worse, getting the usual rote material of "he's hiding something, Captain".
The denouement is rather lovely - they repeat the sequence of the events as means of escape. I'm not sure how the NASA astronaut didn't think of, or where the astronaut go if the same conclusion was attempted.
A couple double entendres were amusing... The story largely maintains a balance of seriousness, but the "fish out of water" style jokes were nicely handled.
Of course, how did the aliens power this big safe zone? And other real life issues? They pretty much gloss over it where possible, which is for the best. There's more fun and depth in the adventure than having too much technobabble or technobabble that doesn't reasonably satisfy story gaps. The setup is basic but that scene with Riker reading the book solves the mystery with aplomb.
It's another example of intelligent Star Trek, focusing on a slant of the human condition not often told.
8/10
I grew to like this story over the years. Rewatching on blu-ray has only elevated my enjoyment of a story doing a one-time format change to flex its muscles. A "fish out of water" tale in terms of in-universe characters and plot device, yet those human nature Trek themes still are there.
Indeed, when they find the diary and Riker reads it - that is exactly the sort of mindset many aliens would likely espouse, to varying extents, if meeting a bunch of unknown beings in outer space: Complex beings with no way to properly communicate, misunderstanding over situation or posture (of ship and/or crew), guilt, recompense, literal interpretation of the written book found being a literal example of the culture itself. The latter being referenced in "First Contact" (Season 4, not the movie), there's a bit more weight to the revelation in this story - though both are in my list of favorites and "First Contact" is in the typical format of TNG instead of being experimental.
Oddly enough, Data does not count the cards- in later episodes he rattles off mathematical probability, but writer Tracy Torme pretty much keeps Data in character with a simple but effective line about card consistently. It ranks up there with "the cards are sufficiently randomized" in a later episode where he deals out playing cards.
Even more odd, did the Royale novel have pictures so the aliens could be so detailed with building and clothing structure for all of those background characters?
Troi gets a brief moment, getting to do a little something that only she can do. She's a bridge - like in "Farpoint" where she could sense the alien, only this time she's able to relay crew emotions and circumvent Picard and the rest guessing if they're in dire danger or not. It's not much but it's nice - she easily could have not been included for that week or, worse, getting the usual rote material of "he's hiding something, Captain".
The denouement is rather lovely - they repeat the sequence of the events as means of escape. I'm not sure how the NASA astronaut didn't think of, or where the astronaut go if the same conclusion was attempted.
A couple double entendres were amusing... The story largely maintains a balance of seriousness, but the "fish out of water" style jokes were nicely handled.
Of course, how did the aliens power this big safe zone? And other real life issues? They pretty much gloss over it where possible, which is for the best. There's more fun and depth in the adventure than having too much technobabble or technobabble that doesn't reasonably satisfy story gaps. The setup is basic but that scene with Riker reading the book solves the mystery with aplomb.
It's another example of intelligent Star Trek, focusing on a slant of the human condition not often told.
8/10
