Revisiting ST-TNG...

[Warped9]

"Remember Me" **

Beverly Crusher is trapped within an ever shrinking universe.

Yeesh! I didn't care for this at all. For one thing it soon becomes apparent what is happening and all too obvious Crusher will get out of it. It's also very much a technobabble type episode where I felt no real sense of urgency or jeopardy. It was also tedious watching Crusher go through her mental gymnastics to figure out what is going on and how she'll escape.

After a good beginning this season is presently hobbling along.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

And, "Family" simply isn't Star Trek to me. It stinks.

And I've always felt Family was VERY Star Trek. Picard was raped, and Family is him dealing with that. Sure, it's not the rape you or I know of, but that's what makes it good science fiction, it's a very well written story dealing with a very heavy topic in a science fiction way.

That's Star Trek.

If they had a shot of Picard on the bridge at the beginning of the episode, I'm not sure how that automatically makes it better (per your comment, though I'm sure you don't REALLY believe not having the bridge on the show is what defines a poor episode)

 

[Warped9]

^^ The Picard stuff in the episode is good, but the rest is "meh."


"Legacy" ***

The Enterprise crew encounter Tasha Yar's sister while trying to rescue crewman trapped on a failed colony.

This wasn't bad, but it was just okay. Ishara Yar looks like very much like a Linda Hamilton type. I also didn't find her the least bit convincing in regard to her changing perspective. Too bad for the awful '80s hairstyle, but then all the colonists had odd '80s style hair. (-: I found the idea of a failed Federation colony somewhat interesting even if they don't really explain it much.

 

[GNDN]

How time flies...

Warped9 allow me to add my voice to those who are really enjoying reading your perspective on all things TNG. Having read your posts over the years and your pronounced preference for TOS, it is both refreshing and enlightening to follow your revisit of Next Gen.

As others have remarked, you are also watching the episodes at quite a pace! I was doing my best at following along and rewatching eps thru about season 2 in concert with your reviews, but life has forced me to follow along in spirit without ample time to sit and watch with you as you reached Season 3.

All that said, I just felt I would make note of the well-known fact that having reached Legacy, you have also reached the point at which TNG surpassed TOS (numerically) and thought it would be interesting to reflect for a moment, what opinions would be today if TNG had ended at this point (for whatever reason), and how these 80 episodes would stack up against the vaunted 79 of TOS.

If and when you get around to re-reviewing TOS in the same fashion it would be interesting to see how your take on each series ranks statistically alongside TNG as a whole, but also to this point alone, at the moment that each series was equal (and arguably close to the moment where TNG had peaked creatively) I wouldn't give up any of the remaining 2 1/2 seasons of TNG, but most may agree that quality did begin to wane, and the start of "franchise fatigue" was being witnessed as early as TNG Season 5. How would the rest of post TNG Trek have been affected (if it were to exist at all) if TNG had ended with 80-100 episodes instead of the 7 seasons we ended up with?

Just some random thoughts, now back to the reviews!!

 

[Holdfast]

"Remember Me" **

This is one of my favourite episodes, though given your preferred type of episode, I can see why you dislike it. But I find it tremendously rewatchable, with fun central problem, with probably the most wonderfully amusing single line in all of Star Trek.

"Legacy" ***

By contrast, I feel this is a very generous score... the storyline is easily telegraphed from very near the start, and it isn't even that interesting in the first place. The core concept is fine, but they did nothing good with it.

 

[Warped9]

^^ It does happen that periodically I reconsider a score, but in all fairness I don't go back and regrade it. I was iffy about "Legacy" and opted to grade it a touch higher than part of me was inclined to. But the grade is fair I think because as I said it isn't bad, but it's also nothing memorable. I guess I could say it's inoffensive.


I'll hazard to say that if TNG had ended after the first three seasons, or shortly thereafter, it would have been lamented because it would have ended on a high note with only the last handful of episodes being somewhat disappointing. At that point the fatigue hadn't really set in yet. And as such there would have been a lot of speculation about "what could have been" much as there has been about TOS if it had continued.

Much is said about TOS' third season, but I don't think its struggles were due to series fatigue, but rather to inconsistent focus and execution. Oddly you could say that TNG's first season somewhat echoed TOS' third as if the franchise was trying to get back on track. Of course, that's just a vague perception because they were two different creative teams separated by seventeen years and different circumstances.

I do plan to revisit TOS when I'm done with TNG because I haven't watched the show with any regularity for quite some time. Out of some curiosity I'm toying with the idea of watching the TOS-R versions so to review that as a whole over the whole series. Presently I don't own those versions and I question whether I really want to bother spending the money for them, but then again SPACE is presently rerunning the TOS-R episodes daily so I could simply record them and catch them one a day.


"Reunion" ****

Picard must mediate the challenges for leadership of the Klingon Empire while Worf faces familial issues.

Klingon soap opera, Klingon politics and Worf's turn to deal with personal troubles. This is a decent story that's marred (in my view) only by over-the-top comic opera behaviour of the Klingons. They are so exaggerated and postured. And some of their dialogue sounds so forced. I know this depiction of Klingons actually started with Christopher Lloyd and company in the films, but what was once a one-shot turn has quickly become tiresome when served regularly.

Still, I like Kampek and I was glad to see Duras get what he deserved.

 

[Warped9]

If and when you get around to re-reviewing TOS in the same fashion it would be interesting to see how your take on each series ranks statistically alongside TNG as a whole...

Of course this something I plan to do even though cold numbers don't always reflect overall perceptions.

 

[Ubik]

Well, you're right to like Reunion, but I think you're wrong about Remember Me - I've always found it one of the most purely enjoyable of the TNG Twilight Zone-type episodes (you know, episodes like Clues and such.) Crusher is at her best in these WTF episodes, and the way she tries to systematically and logically deal with a completely illogical and wacky situation is great character work. Also, it has some of the most memorable lines in the entire series, including Picard's "We've never needed a crew before."

These Twilight Zone type episodes that TNG occasionally did are all about atmosphere, and I find the atmosphere of this episode compelling.

Oh, and also, you're right - Suddenly Human sucks, and so does Legacy.

 

[Warped9]

^^ The real flaw with "Remember Me" is that we clue in to what is really going on too soon. By showing us what was happening outside of the warp bubble they sap all sense of tension and jeopardy out of the story. We know Crusher isn't losing her mind because they openly tell us what's going on.



"Future Imperfect" ****

Riker awakens as Captain of the Enterprise and learns he has a family.

Of course from the beginning we know this is some sort of setup and it unfolds like something of a mystery story. And we clue in totally the same instant Riker does. And we soon begin to suspect the Romulans aren't behind the whole charade either. How the charade is dressed up has some interesting bits of detail to it. The biggest clue in the beginning isn't how so much has changed, but rather how little other things haven't changed such as all the familiar characters that are still in place aboard ship after so many years. Of course we as the audience pick up on that right off, but Riker doesn't seem to get that at all and accepts it all without reservation. For me that's the real tip-off after a supposed sixteen years.

Still it's not badly done overall.


"Final Mission" ***

Picard is injured after he and Wesley Crusher crash on a desert planetoid.

Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The execution is just okay. It's up to Wesley to save the day one last time. Meanwhile the Enterprise dealing with a radioactive derelict freighter was nonsense---a case of the writers trying to make something seem worse and more problematical then it would actually be. They seem to have forgotten that space is three dimensional so why couldn't the Enterprise just tow the freighter around the asteroid field and then dump it into the sun?

Picard tells Wesley he'll be missed. Well...no, not so much.

 

[Holdfast]

"Future Imperfect" ****

Future Imperfect is another little gem. Good story, good execution, fun little twist towards the end. One of my five-star eps.

... all the familiar characters that are still in place aboard ship after so many years. Of course we as the audience pick up on that right off, but Riker doesn't seem to get that at all and accepts it all without reservation. For me that's the real tip-off after a supposed sixteen years.

TNG more or less managed that in its story universe anyway, if you include the movies!

"Final Mission" ***

I thought this was a pretty good send-off for Wesley, when all's said and done. I wouldn't actually rate it higher than you did, but I certainly feel warmer towards it.

 

[Warped9]

"The Loss" ***

Troi loses her empathic abilities when the Enterprise is caught in an unusual energy field.

A surprise. This being a Troi centric episode I rather expected to wholly dislike it. That said I won't get carried away because it's still not anything more than just okay. This is an obvious analogy of someone learning to adapt to a disability, but it's ultimately a shallow one because Troi doesn't remain disabled regaining her abilities when the ship escapes its dilemma.

To bad really because I'd much rather have had Guinan as Counselor.


"Data's Day" *

Data prepares for a shipboard wedding while the ship transports a Vulcan ambassador to a rendezvous in the Romulan Neutral Zone.

This was pure fluff and boring as hell. I fought to stay focused on what was unfolding. Didn't help that the Vulcan Tpel had the nuance and screen presence of a plank of wood. She was also wearing a ridiculous looking outfit like she had strayed from some sword-and-sorcery film shoot and onto the wrong set. This was carrying character trivia to an extreme and a bad judgment call on the part of whoever green lighted production of this episode.

Note, too, that Data should have immediately reported Tpel's attempt to access classified information.

 

[Trekker4747]

Given your irrational hate for Troi I'm surprised you rated "The Loss" so high. She acts like a complete bitch the entire episode towards all of her friends/coworkers all because of her "disability." I mean wow! She even acts like a cunt to her own damn patient! But, okay. Also a bit surprised you rated "Data's Day" so low as I found it to be an interesting little piece on what, more or less, goes on in our beloved little android's head. It's got a couple of corny moments and it's certainly not a very actiony episode but I've always thought it was a nice little piece. As for him not reporting T'Pel's trying to access classified information, as I recall she had the correct security clearance to do it and, thus, was entitled to the information but could only get it only if someone even higher up gave the okay, when she found this out she backed out of the request feigning that she was testing Data's security competency.

So, basically, there was nothing suspicious to report. She asked for access to information she was entitled to, Data held up the validation of her code and told her he'd need to now get clearance from Picard and then she said she didn't want to go any further and was just seeing how tight the security was on the ship. Shouldn't have raised in suspicion on Data's part.

 

[Warped9]

^^ Except that I got the impression that Data did experience a measure of suspicion only he dismissed it because he couldn't rationalize it with cold fact as you just explained.

Yes, I don't like the Troi character and that's why I was surprised that I found the episode tolerable. Yes, she was most certainly a bitch to everyone around her which was somehow a bit amusing to watch.


"The Wounded" ***

A rogue Starfleet Captain threatens to destabilize the Federation/Cardassian peace treaty.

Another surprise, only this time I remember liking this more than I do now. I suppose this would be a 3-1/2 if I were grading with half points. It's hard to pin down exactly why it disappoints me except that perhaps it feels a little paint-by-number. Perhaps also that none of the guest characters, namely Maxwell or Gul Macet, don't really project much in the way of screen presence. They hit all the right cues but...nothing really there. The result is the whole exercise comes off rather low-key.

Interesting to note that up till now we had no idea the Federation was at war with anyone beyond their encounters with the Borg. Yet here we learn there has been a prolonged war between the Federation and the Cardassians for some years. I also thought the new Starfleet design looked rather ungainly and slapped together.

 

[Warped9]

"Devil's Due" ***

A woman with remarkable powers lays claim to an entire world in accordance with the terms of an ancient agreement.

There's something about this that felt more like it was a first or second season episode. Perhaps it's in the way that Picard tries to refer a con artist in such an over obvious way as would have been done earlier in the series. It really doesn't work since we already know the future has scammers and con artists. Anyone remember Harcourt Fenton Mudd?

It's not bad and it's a little amusing at times, but not so much as I remember it. In some respects Ardra is behaving like Q only without John Q. DeLancie's screen presence. It's interesting to note that this story was originally intended for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II series. I admit it's interesting to speculate how this would have played out with Kirk instead of Picard or even as a TOS episode.



At this point I'm halfway through Season 4 and I can make some generalized assessments.

This feels distinctly different than the previous seasons. It doesn't have much of a sense of adventure to it as previous seasons. It feels more character oriented, more small scale and less exploratory. In a general way it feels more familial, more like a sci-fi soap opera. The characters come off as somewhat more bland than they did before.

At this point the episodes feel more paint-by-number and lacking a sense of vitality. There are still some interesting ideas here, but it feels more routine and going-by-the-numbers. Whereas Seasons 2 and 3 started strongly and gave one a sense of working towards improvement Season 4 is stumbling along and in something of a holding pattern. It doesn't feel as creative.

 

[Ubik]

"Devil's Due" ***

A woman with remarkable powers lays claim to an entire world in accordance with the terms of an ancient agreement.

There's something about this that felt more like it was a first or second season episode. Perhaps it's in the way that Picard tries to refer a con artist in such an over obvious way as would have been done earlier in the series. It really doesn't work since we already know the future has scammers and con artists. Anyone remember Harcourt Fenton Mudd?

It's not bad and it's a little amusing at times, but not so much as I remember it. In some respects Ardra is behaving like Q only without John Q. DeLancie's screen presence. It's interesting to note that this story was originally intended for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II series. I admit it's interesting to speculate how this would have played out with Kirk instead of Picard or even as a TOS episode.



At this point I'm halfway through Season 4 and I can make some generalized assessments.

This feels distinctly different than the previous seasons. It doesn't have much of a sense of adventure to it as previous seasons. It feels more character oriented, more small scale and less exploratory. In a general way it feels more familial, more like a sci-fi soap opera. The characters come off as somewhat more bland than they did before.

At this point the episodes feel more paint-by-number and lacking a sense of vitality. There are still some interesting ideas here, but it feels more routine and going-by-the-numbers. Whereas Seasons 2 and 3 started strongly and gave one a sense of working towards improvement Season 4 is stumbling along and in something of a holding pattern. It doesn't feel as creative.

Here's where you start losing me. Devil's Due is clearly awful, while Data's Day is a fantastic character study of a fascinating character. Of course, Devil's Due feels more like a classic TOS episode, while Data's Day is something only TNG would do, so your views of these episodes reflect very clearly your TOS sensibilities.

 

[Warped9]

...so your views of these episodes reflect very clearly your TOS sensibilities.

Of which I make no apologies. TOS is Star Trek, it established its identity. It set something of a pattern for what I like in space adventure SF. That isn't to say I can't enjoy something that deviates from it, particularly if it's non Trek, but with the Star Trek name attached to the series then there will be some expectations. It's one thing to do an occasional episode off-the-beaten-track so to speak, but when a season starts to feel off course then I'll call it as I see it.

I found "Data's Day" small scale and indulging in something that I don't recognize as Star Trek. "Remember Me" could have been Twilight Zone like except they went and did the reveal too early and spoiled it. I didn't find "Devil's Due" awful, but I found it wanting.

I know there are still some decent episodes to come, but for now I find the show lagging. Presently I feel the show peaked with the "Best Of Both Worlds" two-parter and now it's adrift. Season 3 was generally quite respectable, but so far Season 4 isn't following suit and living up to it. So far it's barely just okay overall.

 

[Anwar]

It all matters in what you perceive Trek to be. To me, Trek wasn't about the exploration, that was just a framing device. Trek is about using whatever they encounter to explore the characters and ask questions about human nature, etc. So I don't have a problem with a shift from "Out there" exploring to more internal based stuff since I never considered "Out there" exploring to be something that Trek HAD to be.

 

[BillJ]

...so your views of these episodes reflect very clearly your TOS sensibilities.

Of which I make no apologies. TOS is Star Trek, it established its identity. It set something of a pattern for what I like in space adventure SF. That isn't to say I can't enjoy something that deviates from it, particularly if it's non Trek, but with the Star Trek name attached to the series then there will be some expectations. It's one thing to do an occasional episode off-the-beaten-track so to speak, but when a season starts to feel off course then I'll call it as I see it.

I found "Data's Day" small scale and indulging in something that I don't recognize as Star Trek. "Remember Me" could have been Twilight Zone like except they went and did the reveal too early and spoiled it. I didn't find "Devil's Due" awful, but I found it wanting.

I know there are still some decent episodes to come, but for now I find the show lagging. Presently I feel the show peaked with the "Best Of Both Worlds" two-parter and now it's adrift. Season 3 was generally quite respectable, but so far Season 4 isn't following suit and living up to it. So far it's barely just okay overall.

I think we start seeing something in Star Trek: The Next Generation season four that we see in lots of long running shows: the actors no longer want to be part of the story, they want to be the story. Which has ruined many TV series.

We may have seen this in Star Trek as well if it had been on the air as long.

 

[Warped9]

I think we start seeing something in Star Trek: The Next Generation season four that we see in lots of long running shows: the actors no longer want to be part of the story, they want to be the story. Which has ruined many TV series.

We may have seen this in Star Trek as well if it had been on the air as long.

Well doing character stuff is easier than coming up with a strange new something every week. Exploring character has its place in SF, but I prefer it to be within the context of something bigger and not the primary focus.

Space exploration is a framing device for Star Trek to allow for stories that introduce and address interestng ideas. But if they want to do soap opera and character introspection as the focal point of the stories then they'll drive me away because in my book that's not Star Trek as defined by the series that established it.

And again I make no apologies for that perception.

 

[BillJ]

I think we start seeing something in Star Trek: The Next Generation season four that we see in lots of long running shows: the actors no longer want to be part of the story, they want to be the story. Which has ruined many TV series.

We may have seen this in Star Trek as well if it had been on the air as long.

Well doing character stuff is easier than coming up with a strange new something every week. Exploring character has its place in SF, but I prefer it to be within the context of something bigger and not the primary focus.

Oh... I agree whole-heartedly.