How 'Pen Pals' sucks - let me count the ways...

[Danoz]

I think you're being a little hard on the writing. Remember that while Data's primary duty IS to Starfleet, he DOES break the prime directive where he sees an ethical imperative on more than just one occasion (especially in the later seasons and movies). I thought this episode showed an interesting part of Data's personality and programming-- he may be a machine, but he's not an infallible Federation puppet.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Splatter said:
One of the five worst? Not by a long shot in my opinion. I can think of five from the first season alone that are worse than this one. While it wasn't that great, it also wasn't nearly bad enough to be in the five worst list.

Just my two cents.

Likewise. I rather like the tone of this episode, even if I find the particulars stupid. I thought it was among a handful of season two epsodes that showed promise--almost all of the first season is much worse.

 

[Nebusj]

Danoz said:
I thought this episode showed an interesting part of Data's personality and programming-- he may be a machine, but he's not an infallible Federation puppet.

I think it's tied to the earliest notions for Data, that he was an imitation of humanity as perfect as could be in mind and body, but was still unavoidably not human (and not passionate). But that was largely shaved down into a much easier-to-write story of seeking to become human and starting from a point of understanding less and less of it. (I don't fault them for that, not exactly anyway, as ``where does humor come from?'' is a question much easier to write to than ``at what point does a simulation become reality?'', particularly when you need the storyline to make sense to people who are not science fiction fanboys.)

 

[GeorgeKirk]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the even-worse B-story, where Wesley commands the survey team. What a slap in the face for a bunch of commissioned officers to be made subservient to a 17-year-old, just because he's the CMO's son and the Captain's pet.

 

[jimbtnp2]

GeorgeKirk said:
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the even-worse B-story, where Wesley commands the survey team. What a slap in the face for a bunch of commissioned officers to be made subservient to a 17-year-old, just because he's the CMO's son and the Captain's pet.

true that

and even worse then that is the use of a b-story to begin with, just bad writing in general

 

[Nebusj]

jimbtnp2 said:

GeorgeKirk said:
I'm surprised no one's mentioned the even-worse B-story, where Wesley commands the survey team. What a slap in the face for a bunch of commissioned officers to be made subservient to a 17-year-old, just because he's the CMO's son and the Captain's pet.

true that

and even worse then that is the use of a b-story to begin with, just bad writing in general

Yeah! Wesley's subplot adds absolutely nothing to the story, well, apart from his team finding out just what the problem with the planet is, and how the Enterprise might have the ability to cure its unsightly dilithium buildups, thereby setting up the moral quandary of do they help people who can't ask for the help when there is a fair chance making the attempt to help will wipe them out. It's just like that stupid cat story in the episode where warp drive is considered harmful.

And it is, really, outrageous to suppose that a bunch of Academy graduates would ever regard it as within their responsibilities to let a cadet or cadet-in-all-but-name gain experience in team management when he's very clearly a cadet and not their superior officer. That would be as unthinkable and insulting as, oh, a bunch of officers with dozens of years of experience each serving as the crew that happens to be around for a cadet taking a test.

 

[siskokid888]

Getting a little OT here, but how has no one mentioned "Rascals" as one of the worst eps? I think it is one of the worst in all of Trekdom, not just TNG

 

[Smiley]

"Rascals" is a show that's all about fun and rediscovering your inner child. It has its share of implausibilities, but everything else works so well that they are forgivable. Young Ro and Guinan are the standouts of the episode.

 

[Spider]

Frowny said:
"Rascals" is a show that's all about fun and rediscovering your inner child. It has its share of implausibilities, but everything else works so well that they are forgivable. Young Ro and Guinan are the standouts of the episode.

I agree. I've seen Rascals several times, and each time I still enjoy it.

 

[The Borg Queen]

So... they're a pre-warp civilisation yet a little girl can build her own subspace transmitter and all the houses have magic dematerialising doors?

 

[Nebusj]

The Borg Queen said:
So... they're a pre-warp civilisation yet a little girl can build her own subspace transmitter and all the houses have magic dematerialising doors?

Is it established that they were subspace transmission? Anyway, the planet is lousy with dilithium; assuming there's a connection between dilithium and subspace (which seems hard to dispute) that's not by itself outrageous.

Also, is it established that they're a pre-warp civilization? The don't know of the existence of other inhabited worlds, but that's a different question.

Whether they have dematerializing doors seems to depend on their level of replicator or transporter technology. I don't believe we have evidence that the technology path leading to one affects the other.

 

[Trekker4747]

The Borg Queen said:
So... they're a pre-warp civilisation yet a little girl can build her own subspace transmitter and all the houses have magic dematerialising doors?

Just because they're deficent in one area dosen't mean they're sufficent in others. There's no reason at all they'd have to follow an Earth-like sucsession of thechological development.

 

[Forbin]

The Mayan civilization could work gold into beautiful pieces of art and jewelry, but developing harder metals never occured to them - they never got out of the stone age in terms of tools and weapons.