Episode of the Week: 4x04 "Suddenly Human"

[JD5000]

That was my take on it too, Jeyl. Especially so soon after Best of Both Worlds.

 

[MikeS]

Good spot. I hadn't noticed that. But then that would have meant the dreaded "C" word...

 

[MakeshiftPython]

Oh, geez. I just thought of something. These aliens murdered this child's parents and essentially "assimilated" him into their culture without his consent. That detail alone could have made for some interesting comparisons for Picard being assimilated by the Borg, not to mention giving him some genuine motivation in wanting to take part in this. Both the aliens and the Borg captured a life form through brutal force and made it one of them without their consent (Picard through choice and Jeremiah through inability). After what Picard experienced with the Borg, wouldn't he be more hostile towards Aliens who do this sort of thing and committed to bringing Jeremiah back to his own race?

Not sure that would make a good comparison, given that not only was Picard turned into a Borg, but that the Borg used his very knowledge and insight for destruction on his own people, and the boy's assimilation was of a different nature. Now that I think of it, this story would have been a lot better if it were done on VOY with Seven of Nine, with her taking the initiative because she would understand exactly what the boy went through as she was assimilated at a young age and that she grew up as a Borg. With Picard, it really is awkward, and the only connection they would make is being abducted at one point, but that's about it.

 

[Jeyl]

With Picard, it really is awkward, and the only connection they would make is being abducted at one point, but that's about it.

At least that would be something to work off of rather than just "You're the captain and you're male. Suck it up and do it!". And any other comparisons that aren't that well connected could easily be used as a means of Picard to come to the same resolution. He starts out believing that it's the same thing, but realizing that they're not.

 

[Armored Saint]

Oh, geez. I just thought of something. These aliens murdered this child's parents and essentially "assimilated" him into their culture without his consent.

I thought about this grey area where a space viking decides to save a child during his own raid and I realized me too that was Borgish.

 

[T'Cal]

So much cringe in this one, but it borders on "so bad it's good" territory. I get some chuckles out of it.

What bothers me is that the only reason this gender issue exists was to make "Suddenly Human" a Picard episode. Jeremaiah doesn't learn to tolerate the female gender at the end, because that's not the point of the story. It's about the moral implications of taking a child, even though he was abducted, away from a family that raised him and for all intents and purposes love him.

It's also about the opportunity to take Picard out of his comfort zone by forcing him to deal with children, as is also the case (more humorously) in "Disaster".

The only child actor who I felt did a great job was the kid who played Ethan/"Jean-Luc" in Future Imperfect.

What about the actor who played Rene and "Rascals" Picard?

I always thought it would've made Nemesis better if this actor played Shinzon as a young man and then mature to the point that Sir Patrick would take over the role near the end.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I always thought it would've made Nemesis better if this actor played Shinzon as a young man and then mature to the point that Sir Patrick would take over the role near the end.

Neat idea, but I'm sure some would have been inclined to think it was too similar to the Spock situation in Star Trek III.

On the other hand, it wouldn't have been (for me, anyway) like Superman: The Movie, when Christopher Reeve finally shows up, and I'd be thinking I liked the guy who played young Clark Kent more!

Oh, and I'm not normally one to criticize something without at least some observations as to why...but in this case I'll just say that I'd watch Shades of Gray over Suddenly Human any day.

 

[les.kelly]

look at the deleted scenes in nemesis, adding some of those back would have made the movie a lot better, they made sense. also remove the stupid crap with troi's "mental rape", and i really wanted to see the scimitar battle the starfleet task force instead of those dumb looking new romulan ships!