Ram, what program do you use to grade/chart your DVDs? How is it, is it free-ware? Does it track "estimated value"/cost of the collection?
Revisiting ST-TNG...
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
Well, I'm one episode short of mid-season and I'm sensing much the same. There are good stories in 3rd season, but is it possible to be too polished? I could actually nitpick some of the dialogue the characters spout. And we're beginning to see familiar reams of technobabble (though at this point it's still light handed).
What I'm finding is that 3rd season doesn't have the same vitality (and, yes, spirit of adventure) as 2nd season. I'm beginning to see the characters settling into the forms that will be so familiar from here onward.
At this point I've hit only a couple of what I felt were disappointing or uninteresting episodes yet I also haven't hit any 5-stars that really made me sit up and say, YES!
I'm also aware that perception and context has an influence here. Firstly I'm already somewhat familiar with this materiel even if I haven't watched it in fifteen to twenty years. Secondly I've seen all manner of new materiel (Trek and otherwise) since. And unlike back in the day it's no longer the only game in town. So the question is for me: how well does it hold up after all this time?
"Deja Q" *
Q is stripped of his powers while the Enterprise tries to divert a moon in a decaying orbit.
Q has overstayed his welcome in my book. I liked him in only one episode, but then...not so much. This episode was dumb as hell and a waste of an hour. Well, okay, a waste of forty-five minutes. Q is annoying as hell when his character is portrayed as it is in this episode, and the rest of it is pretty much just a tech-tech-tech yarn.
Q is stripped of his powers while the Enterprise tries to divert a moon in a decaying orbit.
Q has overstayed his welcome in my book. I liked him in only one episode, but then...not so much. This episode was dumb as hell and a waste of an hour. Well, okay, a waste of forty-five minutes. Q is annoying as hell when his character is portrayed as it is in this episode, and the rest of it is pretty much just a tech-tech-tech yarn.
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To back-track a bit I want to touch on something in "Loud as a Whisper."
As Data researches a "gestural language" in order to talk to Reva Worf remarks on how such a thing would prove useful in combat.
Wait! What?!
Starfleet doesn't teach some sort of crude gestural language as part of combat operations? Are us puny, backwards, and savage 20/21st century humans better at this with our SWAT teams and such?! How does Starfleet not have a basic "gestural language" to use in such situations? For that matter why isn't a "gestural language" taught to officers? Certainly there's species out there without a means of vocal communication where such a thing would be needed?
Why is a "gestural language" such an amazing thing to them? Why does Picard almost seem confused by this thing or unfamiliar with it? (Data! He seems to be using some sort of... gestural language. Find out which one and learn it!)
As Data researches a "gestural language" in order to talk to Reva Worf remarks on how such a thing would prove useful in combat.
Wait! What?!
Starfleet doesn't teach some sort of crude gestural language as part of combat operations? Are us puny, backwards, and savage 20/21st century humans better at this with our SWAT teams and such?! How does Starfleet not have a basic "gestural language" to use in such situations? For that matter why isn't a "gestural language" taught to officers? Certainly there's species out there without a means of vocal communication where such a thing would be needed?
Why is a "gestural language" such an amazing thing to them? Why does Picard almost seem confused by this thing or unfamiliar with it? (Data! He seems to be using some sort of... gestural language. Find out which one and learn it!)
This essentially sums up my feelings at this mid-season point. Even as the show has gotten more polished in execution something almost intangible has gone missing.
At this point it's an average of 3.07 rating per episode with 76% of the episodes being of fair to good, but no excellent efforts IMO---nothing yet that's batting it out of the park. That said I know there are still some highly regarded episodes yet to come this season and I'll see of any of them still impress me as they once did.
http://download.cnet.com/CATVids/3000-2130_4-10029039.html
It gives the price of the video. I only use it for TV Shows I use a separate database for movies. I love it, I add all the photos for the episodes myself.
RAMA
Interesting, the episode earned a lot of critical acclaim, and is probably the best Q episode along with Q Who.
RAMA
Yeah, I never cared much for this episode either, although I still like it more than later Q dullfests like "Tapestry" or "True Q." The best Q episodes, for me, remain "Farpoint," "Q Who?" and DS9's "Q Less."
"A Matter Of Perspective" *
Riker is accused of murdering a research scientist.
Another tech-tech-tech story with a murder inquiry mixed in. Previously there had been only three episodes in Star Trek involving a Starfleet officer being accused of murder: TOS' "Court Martial," "A Wolf In The Fold" and TAS' "Albatross." Each one of them was a far better and more interesting work than TNG's effort. From the beginning and even more so as the episode progressed this felt very predictable.
The one mildly interesting element was that of using the holodeck to recreate witness testimony. Otherwise I found this blah.
Oh, there were some rather nice shots of the Enterprise in orbit.
Riker is accused of murdering a research scientist.
Another tech-tech-tech story with a murder inquiry mixed in. Previously there had been only three episodes in Star Trek involving a Starfleet officer being accused of murder: TOS' "Court Martial," "A Wolf In The Fold" and TAS' "Albatross." Each one of them was a far better and more interesting work than TNG's effort. From the beginning and even more so as the episode progressed this felt very predictable.
The one mildly interesting element was that of using the holodeck to recreate witness testimony. Otherwise I found this blah.
Oh, there were some rather nice shots of the Enterprise in orbit.
Now, see, this a case where the viewer isn't supposed to care about the techo-babble as it's not part of the story. The story is Q, him dealing with humanity and his self-sacrifice. I think rating this 1-star is a bit harsh personally. Same with Matter of Perspective, you're focusing on the tech-nonsense in the background in stead of focusing on the primary story. Mainly that people can different perspectives on a series of events.
Stop focusing on the technobabble nonsense unless that's what the real crisis is about, which doesn't happen too often in TNG. Look through all of that and see the themes and what the characters are going through.
As I said, in Deja-Q the bs with the falling moon isn't the story, Q's grappling with humanity -and learning about it through Data- is.
^^ Maybe if Q was a sympathetic character, which in this he's not.
"Yesterday's Enterprise" *****
The timeline is altered when the Enterprise-C emerges twenty-two years in the future.
Ah, finally a five-star episode. I like most everything about this one. I particularly like the subtle changes in the main characters---they're familiar yet also just a touch different. Indeed I particularly like Picard, a little harder, edgier and animated. He's actually more like he was in the 1st and 2nd seasons. He's also more like he was portrayed in the early TNG novels. I also liked the characters of Captain Garrettt and Lt. Castillo.
Two things I would like to have seen different. Firstly, I don't care for the Ambassador-class design E-C, it looks clunky. I would have preferred Andrew Probert's original concept for the ship. Secondly, the external battle scenes looked silly. The ships are supposed to be hundreds of kilometers apart yet we see them as practically on top of each other. I think this was rather poorly done.
But the rest was first-rate.
"Yesterday's Enterprise" *****
The timeline is altered when the Enterprise-C emerges twenty-two years in the future.
Ah, finally a five-star episode. I like most everything about this one. I particularly like the subtle changes in the main characters---they're familiar yet also just a touch different. Indeed I particularly like Picard, a little harder, edgier and animated. He's actually more like he was in the 1st and 2nd seasons. He's also more like he was portrayed in the early TNG novels. I also liked the characters of Captain Garrettt and Lt. Castillo.
Two things I would like to have seen different. Firstly, I don't care for the Ambassador-class design E-C, it looks clunky. I would have preferred Andrew Probert's original concept for the ship. Secondly, the external battle scenes looked silly. The ships are supposed to be hundreds of kilometers apart yet we see them as practically on top of each other. I think this was rather poorly done.
But the rest was first-rate.
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Accepted. But when that's the main story it seems unfair to rant about the technobabble blah-blah-blah. Yeah it's there but it's not what the story is about. So if you don't like the Q story, or didn't like the Riker murder story fine but don't knock on the episode because of the "technobabble" when the technobabble isn't what the story was about and was rather just the sci-fi backdrop for everything going on.
It doesn't matter why the moon was falling out of orbit or how they wanted to fix it, all that mattered was Q's involvement in the solution and how he has a hard time dealing with working in a group and how he committed a "selfless act" at the end.
Fuck the moon and the tractor-beam bullshit it wasn't the story.
^^ If you can't feel sympathy for the character in his plight then you won't care about what's happening to him. Then all that's left is the falling moon story, and you won't care much about that because you know they're going to use some tech explanation to save the day...or they would have if Q hadn't done it for them in the end.
Actually they should have done away with the falling moon plot line altogether, focusing more on Q and try to make him more sympathetic. Then it might have worked better.
It is possible to do a sympathetic story involving an omnipotent being. I never liked VOY, but it had one episode where a Q wanted to be mortal and have the right to die. It actually wasn't bad. It was certainly better than "Deja Q."
Previously we saw glimpses of other dimensions to Q's character, but that's absent here. A little more dimension other than just an arrogant and self-absorbed jackass could have gone a long way.
Actually they should have done away with the falling moon plot line altogether, focusing more on Q and try to make him more sympathetic. Then it might have worked better.
It is possible to do a sympathetic story involving an omnipotent being. I never liked VOY, but it had one episode where a Q wanted to be mortal and have the right to die. It actually wasn't bad. It was certainly better than "Deja Q."
Previously we saw glimpses of other dimensions to Q's character, but that's absent here. A little more dimension other than just an arrogant and self-absorbed jackass could have gone a long way.
See, to me, that's like watching "City on the Edge of Forever" and saying you don't care about the Kirk/Spock nonsense in trying to find McCoy and save the future and then grading the episode on that some ditzy starry-eyed woman oblivious to the cold realities of the world in front of her whose actions pretty much have the power to cause the end of the world.
Don't like Q? I'll go with that but to then grade the show on the "B-Plot" or to even give it more of a passing mention when it's story isn't instrumental to the main plot at all strikes me as unfair.
(And I do not mean to say that CotEoF and Deja-Q are even in the same league as one another.)
I think you're missing the essential point of my assessment of the episode. Both plot lines fail to interest me. They don't really have much to do with each other, and neither offers sufficient diversion to salvage the episode as a whole.
Yes, the Q plot line is the main one, but it fails to engage me because Q isn't played as a sympathetic character. Unfortunately the falling moon plot line isn't sufficient to interest me either. So you have two plot lines that disappoint. They don't fail because of the other, they fail all on their own.
Yes, the Q plot line is the main one, but it fails to engage me because Q isn't played as a sympathetic character. Unfortunately the falling moon plot line isn't sufficient to interest me either. So you have two plot lines that disappoint. They don't fail because of the other, they fail all on their own.
Actually he's at his most vulnerable and its rich for dramatic possibilities which they explore. The simple fact that he starts out overbearing and getting used to his new plight and then finally becomes humble is a winning part of the episode. This is also one of STNG's genuinely most funny episodes. Definitely ***** all the way.
Defector is also brilliant. It rivals Balance of Terror as my favorite Romulan story. Its the epitome of a "Star Trek" type plot I think they should be telling. James Sloyan is excellent and the script is solid throughout. Even the FX are moving to less static shots. I have an even higher opinion of this episode now than I did when I saw it. It really aged well. Another *****
High Ground and Hunted...again demonstrating a penchant for telling relevant stories within the framework of an advanced human society. When ST's analogies hit home as to make a point clearer, strip it down to its basics, its almost a wonder. High Ground is particularly thought provoking, because most Americans had a simple feeling about terrorism even before 9/11, it really is important to see what our own actions mean even when we're not directly involved in a conflict. Even with it's serious theme the episode was more action packed than normal and was just an all-around good production. Both episodes to be proud of.
I don't find this to be a valid criticism...you can either expect one of two things...an accurate portrayal where the two ships will never be close to each other and will have to be shown individually, or as little white dots in the background, OR close enough so they will fit close together on a TV screen to offer an establishing shot for audiences. Most editors/FX people/producers will choose shots showing both ships together. You have to accept this as part television/moviemaking as a suspension of disbelief or not at all.
They really missed all of the dramatic possibilities of this episode, plus Corbin Bernsen is just aggravating as 'Q2' . I agree with Warped9's '*' rating all the way.
Q is a LOT less annoying than Trelane, and at least STNG gave Q the chance to devolop a character.
Wow, I'm stunned. Deja Q and Tapestry are so far beyond Q-Less and EAF in my opinion they're barely worth comparing.
RAMA
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They really missed all of the dramatic possibilities of this episode, plus Corbin Bernsen is just aggravating as 'Q2' . I agree with Warped9's '*' rating all the way.
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