Revisiting ST-TNG...

[Warped9]

"True Q" *

A young woman develops powers of the Q.

Q returns to annoy us once again. And a science contest winner (or whatever) gets to visit the Enterprise. A lot of this is played like light comedy and often I wondered if I wasn't watching a contemporary version of Bewitched rather than Star Trek. There is a kernel of a story here, but how they decide to tell it is patently boring.

At this point I flat out hate seeing Q return because he's just a jackass for John Q. DeLancie to ham it up. Watching this I couldn't help compare it with TOS' "Charlie X" except I thought that was decently done.

The beginning of this season is terribly disappointing.

 

[Tomalak]

It's also kind of stupid because they basically did this story with Riker in season one.

 

[Trekker4747]

"True Q" *

A young woman develops powers of the Q.

Q returns to annoy us once again. And a science contest winner (or whatever) gets to visit the Enterprise. A lot of this is played like light comedy and often I wondered if I wasn't watching a contemporary version of Bewitched rather than Star Trek. There is a kernel of a story here, but how they decide to tell it is patently boring.

At this point I flat out hate seeing Q return because he's just a jackass for John Q. DeLancie to ham it up. Watching this I couldn't help compare it with TOS' "Charlie X" except I thought that was decently done.

The beginning of this season is terribly disappointing.

The Charlie X episode is good comparison but, yeah, as the Q episodes go this one is by far one of the worst. But I think Q more than makes up for things in "Tapestry."

 

[Warped9]

"Rascals" *

An energy field reverts Picard, Ro, Guinan and Keiko O'Brien into children's bodies while the Enterprise is hijacked by Ferengi.

Really??? How damned stupid can this show get? Who could possibly have thought this was worth doing? This entire thing is an exercise in This episode makes TAS look like real live-action space adventure drama.

 

[JB2005]

Trouble with True Q, as has been said before, is that it isn't a TNG show. It's an Amanda Rogers show, where the TNG cast become incidental. It could just as easy have happened on DS9, Voyager or Enterprise with minimal differences.

 

[Warped9]

"A Fistful Of Datas" *

Worf, Alexander and Troi are stuck on the holodeck where every character comes to resemble Data.

Ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer. Yes, TNG can get more stupid or at least repeat a previous level of stupidity. I don't recall first season episodes being as bad as these last two most recent ones. It really is embarrassing. As soon as you see Worf wearing the cowboy hat you know what you're in for...and it's downhill from there.

At this point TNG comes across as a show that has simply run out of ideas.

 

[JB2005]

I think it would be interesting if we looked at your ratings and compared them to who was the writer/director to see if it was TNG as a whole or something else...

 

[Ubik]

"A Fistful Of Datas" *

Worf, Alexander and Troi are stuck on the holodeck where every character comes to resemble Data.

Ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer. Yes, TNG can get more stupid or at least repeat a previous level of stupidity. I don't recall first season episodes being as bad as these last two most recent ones. It really is embarrassing. As soon as you see Worf wearing the cowboy hat you know what you're in for...and it's downhill from there.

At this point TNG comes across as a show that has simply run out of ideas.

To be fair, how is it any more stupid than, say, A Piece of the Action? Maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but putting Star Trek characters in silly period costumes is clearly a tried-and-true method of making a Star Trek episode. Do you believe these episodes are bad by definition? Or is it just the way this particular episode handled it?

Anyway, at least the awful streak of the season is done now. The rest of the season hits far more often than it misses.

 

[Warped9]

Putting the characters in absurd situations can be amusing if it's done right. Although I didn't care for Picard and crew as Robin Hood and his Merry Men it did have the occasional smirk to it. Seeing Data as Sherlock Holmes is absurd and yet somehow they made it work. But Worf and Troi and Alexander in the Old West with yet another "stuck on the holodeck" shtick just came across as stupid and without one smirk worthy moment throughout it.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

That, and Data as a bar wench is pure unleaded nightmare fuel.

 

[Warped9]

Looking ahead over the remaining 43 episodes I spot about 11 that I recall somewhat positively. That's just under 25% (assuming I still like them all) compared with about 30-35% over the first four seasons.

So far to this point the biggest difference today compared to when I first watched the series is that the percentage of episodes I view favourably is up about five percent, particularly over the first four seasons. But currently I'm finding that my recollection of drifting away from the series during Season 5 and not being drawn back by what I saw periodically in Seasons 6 and 7 is being reaffirmed.

But there's still more than a season and a half to go and so we'll see if anything changes.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

I thought "Rascals" was hilarious! I use that as brainless entertainment after too much studying.

 

[Trekker4747]

"Fistful of Datas" is a decent episode, for me but its ruined by it being (another) episode for Spiner to show off his OTT hammy acting skills (seriously, he could teach Shatner a thing or two about chomping on the scenery), the "stuck in the holodeck" trope being used, and Spiner in drag at the end giving Worf a peck. Oh man, just thinking about it makes me projectile vomit.

It wouldn't have been bad if it was just a normal Old West adventure on the holodeck. Would that have been so bad? Do the characters' lives have to be in "real jeopardy" for the story to work? Could it just have been Worf learning to bond better with his son in the "Ancient West" program? Why even have the rest of the crew there? Have the cast be "characters" in Alexander's program that he's modeled after members of the crew? Troi could still be the mysterious stranger, Data could've been the lead villain, Picard could've been the kindly, helpful, bartender, Riker could've been the shady character you get information form, Crusher could've been a frontier doctor, and Geordi could've been a brilliant blacksmith who makes Worf a "unique weapon" like an old-west constructed version of the bat'leth Worf wants to use in the duel.

I mean doesn't that sound a bit more interesting than another holodeck-gone-wrong story with some Data-gone-wrong bullshit mixed in?

 

[Warped9]

^^ Your idea could have been made to work rather than going back to the same old well. They could have had fun with it.

I'm thinking of some JAG episodes where they used the familiar cast in different roles to tell some historical story. Something along those lines could have worked.

 

[Warped9]

"The Quality Of Life" ***

Data strives to prove that a new form of industrial tool has evolved into a lifeform.

Technobabble galore in this episode. So much so it almost gave me a headache. That aside there were some interesting ideas in this story: using a particle stream for mining as well as automated tools that can adapt on their own to changing conditions. There's also the idea that as computers become evermore sophisticated is it possible for them to attain a level of self awareness? There is the thought our form is part of what enabled our evolving intelligence because we were taking in so much sensory input as well as being able to manipulate our environment. In this episode the exocomps are able to do much the same yet on a simpler level, yet they were already programmed with a rudimentary intelligence. Note, too, that today small robots have been built with something called "fuzzy logic" that enables them to learn as they go rather than being being fully programmed and adapt to changing conditions. The exocomps are essentially an extrapolation of that idea.

For me the saving grace of this episode is perhaps the last five to ten minutes. But prior to that it's a plodding slog to get there. I liked the ideas in this story, but I didn't much care for most of how the story was told.

 

[Tomalak]

I actually enjoyed Fistful of Datas. It's incredibly daft, but I'm charitably disposed towards it. It's nowhere near as bad as the abject Vash "Rabin Herd" episode.

 

[Holdfast]

"Rascals" *
"A Fistful Of Datas" *

No argument on these. Fistful is marginally better than Rascals. Rascals is one of a very small handful of TNG eps that I cannot bear to rewatch. It feels like a bad Saturday morning cartoon.

"Realm Of Fear" *
"Man Of The People" *
"True Q" *
"Schisms" ***
"The Quality Of Life" ***

On the other hand I feel these are a lot better than you did.

Realm of Fear has an intriguing concept, and is a neat exploration of Barclay's phobia. His ability to rise above it at the end shows he has more potential than he realises, something echoed by The Nth Degree. I'd probably give it 4* on your scale. It's an episode I appreciate more on rewatching than when I first saw it, though, when I'd have probably given it 2-3*.

Man of the People isn't particularly stellar, but a solid 2-3*. Quality of Life is very rewatchable; 4* for me.

Schisms is one of my top ten episodes of TNG. I loved the core concept of an alien abduction, almost X-Files, type of story in the 24th century, and feel it's a great example of Trek blending sci-fi with horror. The holodeck scene is super-creepy, with all the clicking. Perhaps the last 5-10 minutes don't quite live up to the slow, tense build-up, but I still found them satisfying. 5* for me, without a doubt.

 

[Ubik]

"Rascals" *
"A Fistful Of Datas" *

No argument on these. Fistful is marginally better than Rascals. Rascals is one of a very small handful of TNG eps that I cannot bear to rewatch. It feels like a bad Saturday morning cartoon.

"Realm Of Fear" *
"Man Of The People" *
"True Q" *
"Schisms" ***
"The Quality Of Life" ***

On the other hand I feel these are a lot better than you did.

Realm of Fear has an intriguing concept, and is a neat exploration of Barclay's phobia. His ability to rise above it at the end shows he has more potential than he realises, something echoed by The Nth Degree. I'd probably give it 4* on your scale. It's an episode I appreciate more on rewatching than when I first saw it, though, when I'd have probably given it 2-3*.

Man of the People isn't particularly stellar, but a solid 2-3*. Quality of Life is very rewatchable; 4* for me.

Schisms is one of my top ten episodes of TNG. I loved the core concept of an alien abduction, almost X-Files, type of story in the 24th century, and feel it's a great example of Trek blending sci-fi with horror. The holodeck scene is super-creepy, with all the clicking. Perhaps the last 5-10 minutes don't quite live up to the slow, tense build-up, but I still found them satisfying. 5* for me, without a doubt.

You're right that both Schisms and Quality of Life are better than Warped9 has given them credit for. He seems to be getting a bit grumpy the last few episodes (something that having to watch Rascals can, admittedly, always do to someone).

 

[startrekwatcher]

I think S4 is the best of the series myself. I also seem to enjoy S5 more than everyone else--consistently entertaining from week to week--just try watching tv these days and then you'll really appreciate how consistent S5 and TNG was as a whole. I criticize often standalone stories on contemporary shows to the point where you would think I want arcs only but I constantly point back to TNG one-offs as to how you correctly pull them off and make them entertaining.

Silicon Avatar is an underrated episode--an exciting teaser act. How can anyone not be moved by Kila Marr and the relationship between Data and she with that devastating final scene.

Disaster a fun disaster story with interesting character pairings, loved seeing Troi in charge and butting heads with Ro or Picard handling the kids. And while purely superficial I have always liked the shots of the E-D with all the lights off.

The Game was exciting as the whole thing unfoldedand the final act was pulse pounding seeing Wes trying to stay one step ahead of the crew--it provided some nice action as I was yelling at the screen for Wes to watch out Worf is going to get you.

Hero Worship was a nice little character story and was very comfortable entertainment. I got a kick out of Timothy emulating Data--I have to admit I had a Data crush too back then and tried slicking my hair back too.

Violations was a nice thriller. the morgue scene unnerving and loved Troi fighting back. I didn't mind the episode tipped its hand with revealing Jev as the bad guy right from the start. This episode also did a good job with Riker/Troi I really liked the scene of him by her bedside.

Conundrum was a clever high concept show. When I first watched it I though MacDuff was legit.

Power Play is really one of the best possession stories out there with a great atmosphere. Trek tried doing it many times after this in episodes like the DS9 Keiko episode or ENT's The Crossing or VOY's Warlord and on countless sci fi shows these days but this to me is one of the most effective. I liked the idea of them being disembodied prisoners and again a lot of suspense and action in this one as the trio takeover Ten Forward or Ro/Geordi attempting to stun them.

Ethics was a great character piece for Worf and Beverly that also effectively explored the subject matter with some nice callbacks to losses of Yar and Marla Aster. I never minded Alexander and I liked how Troi was put to use. This episode really made you stop and think and fairly covered both perspectives I thought. And call me naive but I thought Worf had actually died.

Cause and Effect is a great Brannon Braga story wholly original well executed with plenty of exciting big moments(the destruction of the E-D was shocking and fun especially when you remind yourself action and visual spectacles were rare and not the dime a dozen they are these days) and wonderfully done. I loved the use of the "3" motif and how it played into the resolution. The first time I watched it I thought my local cable channel had relooped the tv feed. It is such a bold daring idea and the best of the copy cats of SG1, TXF, Supernatural's "Mystery Spot".

"I, Borg" is not as good as BoBW--I mean how could it be since BoBW was a full on epic get the most out of a Borg invasion as you can ever get but I liked seeing the Borg back--I just figured that they were never going to be on the show ever again. The Borg were still scary and I liked the idea of returning Hugh back with a sense of individuality. I also thought it was interesting to see cool calm wise hugh-minded Guinan not be so "with it" when it came to hugh.

The Next Phase was fun too with a nicely entertaining and suspenseful jeopardy plot. Enjoyed the Ro/Geordi interaction, liked the sci-fi plot of being cloaked to see Ro struggle with her personal view of an afterlife, the Data New Orleans inspired memorial was inspired.

Also count me in as one of those who didn't find Inner Light originally that interesting but as I have gotten old and more life experience I appreciate it more but I still don't think it is a brilliant masterpiece like a lot of fans do. I feel the same way about "Family"--good not great. I tend to think they overblow their greatness in my opinion.

The only episodes I wasn't crazy about were Cost of Living but I can't entirely bash it since it has a few nice moments with Lwaxana especially her scene with Alxander that was more Majel than Lwaxana on losing loved ones, Masterpiece Society, Matter of Time and The Perfect Mate. And even these aren't awful--just average--if you want awful watch DS9 or VOY or a random episode of most tv shows these days.

S6 does start off slow. I thought Times Arrow II was disappointing I wasn't happy that they didn't take more advantage of the crew being back in time and the whole thing was wrapped up too quickly and was too plodding. It would have benefitted from another episode or so. Realm of Fear was just boring. I actually did enjoy Man of the People though--I was a fan of Friday the 13th the series and this reminded me of that type of story--I guess your interest varies depending on how much you buy into Troi's dilemma and the jeopardy--I was invested in it and so I liked it.

I was already a big Brannon Braga fan but Schisms cemented it for me. Ode to Spot, creepy aliens, creepy notions like Riker's arm cut off and reattached, the methodical reconstruction scene on the holodeck(what I also liked about this scene was that it wasn't 100% accurate things were off from the actual alien lab but a lot of shows would have made them match identically) and once again this episode shows you how to do a big exciting suspenseful jeopardy filled final act.

Relics was a pitch perfect TOS tribute. The best scene is on the holodeck on the recreated bridge with som very nice moments with Picard and Scotty that makes me wistful and nostalgic even more as I have gotten older.

True Q was boring. I didn't like the way the TNG cast took a backseat to Amanda, the pollution B plot was stale and I just wasn't into it. I tried rewatching it over the years but I just can't sit through it.

Once again I have to disagree with those that criticize Rascals--I love it. I enjoyed the character pairings again. I enjoyed the Ferengi takeover of the ship and the way the "kids" retook the ship.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

Once again I have to disagree with those that criticize Rascals--I love it. I enjoyed the character pairings again. I enjoyed the Ferengi takeover of the ship and the way the "kids" retook the ship.

I am with you. I enjoyed "Rascals" so much. I thought it was entertaining to hear that kid speak with such a funny accent, who was supposed to be Picard, and doing such a bad job! He reminded me nothing of how Stewart played Picard, but he looked so "cute as a button" in a Starfleet uniform. The ways kid-Picard captures the Ferengi are ingenious! They are like how children would act, but they have a much bigger combined plan in mind.