Season 3...at this point, the series starts becoming something greater than the sum of its episodes. Entering this season, even when I wasn't enthusiastic about revisiting a particular episode, once the DVD was spinning, the series that I loved so much when it originally aired began to envelop me like a warm blanket.
"Evolution"--A decent story, most noteworthy for being the Season 3 premiere, with its new uniforms and the return of Dr. Crusher--I distinctly remember cheering at the sight of her name in the credits when this originally aired.
As for me, when I caught an episode of
Scrubs, my reaction was, "Hey! Wasn't that guy on Trek? Now who did he play...?"
I always took the reference to the last all-systems malfunction on a starship having occured 79 years previously to be a nod to the malfunctions that the Ent-A had experienced in STV, which had just been out the summer before this episode aired. For some reason, this is lost on Okuda, who speculates a connection to the Excelsior in his Chronology, despite the fact that according to that very Chronology, STV takes place the same year. Of course, he felt it necessary to put a disclaimer on the inclusion of STV, based on Roddenberry's opinion that it shouldn't be considered canon, so maybe he just didn't want to cross-promote a movie that he considered apocryphal.
"The Ensigns of Command"--I remember being enthusiastic for Data's relationship with the girl when this first aired. I do think that he was trying to tell them what the Sheliak would do in his previous arguments, but it was the demonstration of force that was needed to sell the argument.
Ah, the Sheliak...they make a good case for remastering this beloved series. Any sense of menace that they might have evoked was completely deflated when they showed up in the freighter from STIII....
By and far the most memorable part of this episode...Picard hanging up on the Sheliak. Absolutely priceless, right down to Riker's shit-eating grin.
"The Survivors"--A less enthusiastic viewing, though it has its good bits, especially Worf's interactions with the Uxbridges...from his complementing Kevin on his guile, to the classic, "Good tea. Nice house." I generally liked the Uxbridges, but found some of his delivery problematic. In particular, "I've taken the music from her mind" always bugged me. And the overall plot is pretty methodical.
Yes, Troi was painful. But ya gotta wonder what was going through that one blueshirt's head when she pleaded that she'd do anything he wanted if he'd make it stop...!
"Who Watches the Watchers?"--As with the clone thing in "Up the Long Ladder", I had to admire TNG for making its view on certain subjects perfectly clear, despite the possibility of alienating some viewers. A good exploration of why the Prime Directive is necessary, though it ultimately boils down to coming completely clean with the Mintakans.
One small problem I noticed with the episode this time around--Picard comments that the peaceful and rational nature of the Mintakans is hardly surprising, considering how their development parallels that of the Vulcans. Um...somebody didn't do their homework. The Vulcans were noted for having been savage and warlike in their early days. Their strict emotional control was considered a necessary suppression of their fundamentally aggressive nature.
"The Bonding"--Yes, this episode has problematic elements...most notably the child actor. I'm usually generous to child actors, but I remember reading that this one was difficult to work with, and it shows in his performance. However, I approached this episode with a new perspective this time around. When the episodes originally aired, I didn't know one Trek writer from another...and for the most part, I still don't. But this time I kept an eye on the fact that this was Ronald D. Moore's first script for the series. It definitely shows. Before the requisite sci fi dilemma shows up in the form of the fake mom, this episode presents an unusually throughtful approach to the subject of death. Back when we were on Season 1, I speculated that perhaps Tasha's death could have been better handled in the style of "The Bonding"--lose the tar baby, keep the actual event offscreen, and instead focus the episode on how the crew reacts to losing a valued comrade. I now feel all the more strongly that this would have been the correct approach, had Ron Moore been around to do it then. If one thing was lacking in the crew's reactions to Marla Aster's death, it was the fact that she was a character whom we'd never met. Imagine the resonance if it had been Tasha...!
"Booby Trap"--A fun episode, noteworthy for beginning the recurring story element of Geordi's lack of success with women. Levar Burton now implies that this may have been racially motivated, but I think it makes the character more identifiable with the audience.
This time around, watching with a critical eye, I found Geordi's basic purpose for going through the trouble of creating a holodeck simulation of the ship design facility to be lacking. He wants to see a cross-section model of the warp core, and what he finds in the simulation is a very flat, two-dimensional diagram that could just as easily have been displayed on a computer screen. It would have been much more impressive if they'd had an actual three-dimensional cutaway model...that I could see Geordi going to the holodeck for.
My favorite bit in this episode is Picard's rant about building ships in bottles.
Picard: "Oh, good lord. Didn't anybody here build ships in bottles when they were boys?"
Worf: "I did not play with toys."
Data: "I was never a boy."
Then O'Brien says that he did, and Riker reacts like he's kissing up!
That's it...you guys have caught up with me. I'll probably be lagging behind from here on.
The opening scene is interesting, with the discussion of excessive honesty and Data's reaction when Picard has to leave. Also, this is the first episode where Data gets kissed! That scene was pretty cute (especially when he gave the girl a kiss at the end of the episode.) And I kinda liked the solution, too.
) making is presence felt.
So for this one: B+
