Kolrad ranks TNG episodes 1-176

[Kolrad]

This post has been a long time in the making. It all started years ago when I read a post by NKemp3 that ranked every episode of DS9 from worst to best. It made for great reading and inspired me to work on my own ranking for TNG.

To rank the episodes, I used the same system as NKemp3. I started with "Encounter at Farpoint", and compared that to the next episode, "The Naked Now," and decided which I liked better (the former). Then I decided where to add the third episode, "Code of Honor," to the list, and so on, until all 176 episodes were ranked. Basically, in comparing each episode to another, I tried to answer which one I would rather watch on the spur of the moment if I had a choice between the two.

Ranking the episodes turned out to be the easy part, though (even though I can't resist tweaking the order as I look over my list)-- the reason I've taken forever to finish this thing is that I'm a perfectionist, and it's taken a long time to get my thoughts about each episode clear enough to get them down in writing. First I was going to get it done for my 1000th post, then it was going to be for the 20th anniversary of TNG-- well, forget all that! I'm going to get it finished, no matter how long it takes!

So, here goes... I hope this is an enjoyable read for all of you TNG fans out there. Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of my favorite shows growing up, and it remains so today. This list ought to give you a good idea why.

"Make it so!"

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PART 1 of 7: The Worst of TNG

176. Sub Rosa
There were times in the seventh season of TNG when it seemed like the writers were running short on ideas, settling for unoriginal stories that could have been used by pretty much any show looking for filler. As far as I'm concerned, "Sub Rosa" is the worst offender in this category, being a total waste of time. I'm sure part of the reason for my dislike for this episode is that I don't care at all for the supernatural/gothic romance/horror genre (whatever it it's called), but I think that's only the beginning of the problem.

The story is too cheesy and simplistic to create any true suspense. (Will Beverly leave the Enterprise to live happily ever after with her creepy stalker, or does he have some ulterior motive? Gee, what do you think?) On top of that, the writers unwisely chose to play this ridiculous story straight instead of having fun with it, which of course means that we get a generous helping of technobabble, because calling Ronin an "anaphasic energy being" instead of a ghost automatically makes this a sci-fi story. Strike three: the characters are paper-thin. That goes both for the walking cliches known as the guest stars and for the pod people who replace the Enterprise regulars. Worst off is the good doctor herself-- she's either willing to drop her entire career in Starfleet at a moment's notice to follow her hormones, or she's just under mind control to the point that her character is totally lost in the service of this stupid plot.


175. Cost of Living
Trying to do comedy has its perils too, of course. It has a greater potential to backfire. You can at least laugh at a failed drama, but a failed comedy can be one of the most excruciating viewing experiences possible. To my shame, I have to admit that I did find the wacky holodeck sequences in "Cost of Living" amusing... when I was twelve. Now I just shudder at the bad acting and wonder what the writers were thinking when they decided to make a comedic episode centered on the characters of Lwaxana Troi and Alexander Rozhenko. I mean, if you're going to shoot yourself in the foot, why not throw in the Ferengi while you're at it?

Almost nothing in this episode works. Lwaxana's humor comes from her being an exasperating person in general, but the problem is that she ends up annoying me at least as much as she irritates the people around her! Alexander's humor comes from making Worf the butt of every joke, something that TNG did far too often in its later years. It's never a good idea to turn one of your most interesting characters into a laughingstock. And the B-plot about the Enterprise's mission being delayed by corrosive asteroid dust is every bit as exciting as it sounds. There are just a few moments that feel genuine, when for one scene the episode stops trying to be funny and Lwaxana confides to Alexander that she feels lonely.


174. Man of the People
There's just a trace of an interesting idea somewhere inside "Man of the People," about a man who is able to preserve the illusion that he is pure and virtuous by channeling all of the rottenness inside himself into others and letting it destroy them. Unfortunately, it's overwhelmed by the fact that this episode alternates between predictably boring (yet another "alien disease" that is instantly reversable) and exceedingly unpleasant to watch (Sirtis's shrill "emotional waste dump" acting). It's tough to get through this one.


173. Eye of the Beholder
Remember that "running out of ideas" thing with the seventh season? In "Eye of the Beholder," we delve into the exciting world of the lower-level officers who work inside the Enterprise's warp nacelles. Actually, I guess it's the people who used to work there while the ship was still being built. Well, really, it's all inside Troi's mind. Because of an "empathic imprint" in that wall that-- Never mind! To be fair, it's not really the convoluted premise of the episode that kills it, but the fact that it feels like all the characters are sleepwalking. "I know what I have to do." Change the channel before I slip into a coma!


172. The Naked Now
TNG's two weakest seasons by far were its first and its last, which explains why so many episodes from those two years show up early in my list. The interesting thing to me is that they were weak for opposite reasons. Season 1 erred on the side of laughable overexuberance; season 7 tended more toward formulaic tedium. I don't think any other Star Trek series changed as much from beginning to end as TNG. I've already gotten into a couple of my least favorite season 7 entries (all other things being equal, I prefer a ridiculous story to a boring one); time now to explore the other extreme.

I think it was a really bad idea to make the second episode of TNG ever a remake of an original Star Trek episode. If I had been watching the series back then, I would have found it very discouraging that the TNG writing staff seemed not to have enough original ideas to avoid name-dropping Kirk's Enterprise and following a classic episode's script almost scene by scene just two episodes into the show's run. Also, anyone who had seen "The Naked Time" could tell what was going on long before Picard and his crew did, so it wasn't very interesting to watch them blunder around trying to figure it out.

All that aside, "The Naked Now" pales badly in comparison to "The Naked Time." Picard and his crew come off as poorly-defined caricatures compared to Kirk, Spock, and company. I don't know why it took TNG so much longer than the original Star Trek to create identifiable characters you could sympathize with ("The Naked Time" was an early first-season episode too, after all), but it did. The writers and actors should have waited until they knew who Picard and his crew were on a normal day before they tried to show how they would act if stripped of their inhibitions.


171. Angel One
First-season "message Trek." *shudder*

The plot of "Angel One" is horribly clunky. The biggest thing going on on this entire planet is dealing with this one ship of Federation citizens? I have a hard time caring much about it, myself. Some subtlety in the portrayal of a female-led society would go a long way-- there was an episode of Sliders that handled this idea about ten times better. As it is, "Angel One" actually ends up being sexist-- it seems to imply that what the women of Angel One really needed was some manly men like Riker and the marooned Federation crew to help them make their decisions. The episode is so ridiculous that it's hard to see it as insulting, though-- or relevant, or thought-provoking.

Also, the B-plot about everyone on the Enterprise getting sick is one of the lamer attempts to adhere to Gene Roddenberry's early requirement that the ship be placed in danger every week.


170. Justice
This episode starts to develop Picard a little as a deep thinker and skilled debater on issues like the Prime Directive, and as a leader willing to take responsibility for his crew's actions. That's nice. What's messed up is the entire premise of the episode-- if the Prime Directive is so important, then why is the Enterprise just showing up on a primitive planet's doorstep looking for shore leave and a romp with the natives? And how could Lt. Yar be given the task of studying this culture's laws but miss the fact that the penalty for every infraction is death? And no one gives her a hard time about this? And come on-- death for accidentally damaging a cheap flower bed cover? How did the Edo ever survive this long with a justice system so easy to abuse?


169. The Outcast
In the spirit of the original Star Trek, "The Outcast" sets out to use a sci-fi setting to get a message of acceptance across to today's culture, but unfortunately, it does so quite clumsily. Though it's not as bad as in "Angel One," lack of subtlety is again a problem; the message overwrites the characters. We have Worf saying things like "That is a woman's game," which is uncharacteristically sexist for him; indeed, everyone suddenly seems preoccupied with generalizations about male and female behavior. There's also the problem that the episode doesn't end up communicating its intended point very effectively. The J'naii, an androgynous species that condemns attraction to beings with a specific gender, are intended to mirror the condemnation of homosexuality in our society. But at the same time, in all of Riker's discussion with Soren about male and female roles, there isn't any indication that anyone in the Federation is anything but heterosexual. Maybe the writers didn't feel they could go that far, but it undercuts the message all the same.

And looking at the episode apart from its message, it's just bland, between a random technobabble anomaly of the week and a romantic interest of the week.


168. Aquiel
Ladies and gentlemen, I present the most boring episode of TNG ever made. We get to watch Geordi LaForge watching the logs of a dead generic alien woman with a boring job as she blandly recounts what she dreamed about last night. Then it turns out she's not really dead, but she's still boring in person. And then the technobabble about the killer blob mimicking her generic alien dog reaches near-toxic levels. There's not really anything obnoxious about this episode; it's just a chore to sit through because so little happens.


167. Too Short a Season
There's a really interesting story buried inside "Too Short a Season," about a Starfleet admiral trying to find some way to atone for a choice he made decades ago. Jameson did what we've seen many Starfleet officers do-- break the Prime Directive with good intentions. He supplied weapons to a pre-warp society because it was the only way he could see to save the lives of the hostages he was sent to recover. But the result was a forty-year war that claimed countless lives.

Unfortunately, this very interesting idea is hidden by layer upon layer of bad old-age makeup, as the episode instead focuses on a "fountain of youth drug" gimmick that is not anywhere near as thought-provoking.


166. Devil's Due
It helps to know that this episode was a re-worked script from the abandoned Star Trek: Phase II series, because then you can imagine this story with Kirk in Picard's place, Spock (or, if you must, Xon) in Data's, Scott in LaForge's, and Ilia in Troi's. Try it some time; I think it actually works pretty well that way-- I can see Ardra trying to seduce Kirk, and Spock volunteering to serve as judge because, of course, he'll be completely impartial (insert snide remark from McCoy here), and Kirk absolutely relishing the chance to demonstrate in dramatic fashion that Ardra's show is nothing but a scam. This story feels all wrong for Picard's crew, though-- they just aren't themselves in this one.


165. The Host
This episode combines a couple of Trek cliches-- the love interest who sweeps one of the regulars off their feet, but who we know will be gone somehow at the episode's end, plus the critical diplomatic crisis involving bickering aliens that only one person can solve. As a result, most of the episode feels tired. There is some interesting stuff in "The Host" about the nature of love, though-- do we as humans love the physical person we can see, or the mind and soul that make them who they are? And if the answer is "both," how would we decide what to do if the two were separated? Jonathan Frakes also turns in a good performance as Odan after the transplant.


164. Up the Long Ladder
Goofiness abounds in what I can only assume is another TNG attempt at comedy. "Up the Long Ladder" is pretty funny, but only in an MST3K "laughing at you, not with you" way. You have the ridiculously over-the-top stereotypes that populate the colony of Irish farmers, and that priceless bit of dialogue on the genetically engineered colony: "So, is your entire population made up of clones?" "Clones?" "Clones?" "CLONES." (My goodness. I just looked up the script to make sure I got the line right, and I learned that apparently the original title of this episode was "Send in the Clones." *facepalm*)

If there's a point to all this, I can't see it, unless it's what the normally stone-serious Picard tells his first officer when Riker finds him doubled over in laughter: "Sometimes, Number One, you just have to bow to the absurd."


163. Genesis
"Genesis" is basically the TNG version of a SciFi Channel original movie. It's all one "big idea"-- Picard and Data return from a mission to find that the crew has turned into dangerous prehistoric creatures! The episode manages some nice moments of creepy atmosphere as Picard and Data explore the darkened ship trying to figure out what has happened. Of course, there's nothing more to the episode than its "big idea," and the writers really hope you don't notice or care that it doesn't make an ounce of sense. Sorry, but neither evolution nor DNA can possibly work that way. Also, "de-evolve" isn't a word; it's "devolve"!

As nonsensical as the attempted explanation for the disease is, the hardest part of the episode to buy is the ending, where somehow everything goes back to normal in a single scene change. Riker's brain was shrunk to half its former size, but he somehow didn't lose anything important permanently. And even though the crew were all wild animals and presumably mating with and killing and eating each other (like poor Ensign What's-His-Name at the helm), apparently no one's traumatized by the experience except poor Reg Barclay. Oh, well. At least he was entertaining as a spider.


Note: You know your writing is too wordy when you have to split "Part 1" of your post into two parts to get under the maximum post length limit. Sorry!

 

[Kolrad]

162. Code of Honor
"Code of Honor" is another early episode that makes it hard to believe that TNG survived long enough to grow into the great show it became. Immediately after "The Naked Now," we got this episode, which seemed heavily inspired by the fight to the death in the original Star Trek's "Amok Time." So TNG was not looking like a terribly original show. In fact, "Code of Honor" might have seemed dated even if it had been part of the original Star Trek. The struggle to appease Lutan in order to get the precious vaccine and secure the return of Tasha Yar feels like it's from the 1940s, maybe a Flash Gordon serial or something. "Then you shall have NO treaty, NO vaccine, and NO Lieutenant Yar!"

The choice to cast Lutan's people exclusively with black actors gives this episode some potentially very insulting racial undertones, considering that Picard judges Ligonian culture to be primitive and warlike. (If you want my take on it as a viewer, the first time I saw "Code of Honor," I never assumed that all Ligonians were black; merely that those we happened to see were. Certainly we've seen a lot of aliens-of-the-week on TNG portrayed only by white actors. Still, the stereotypes are quite unsettling, and that's another thing that makes the episode feel so impossibly dated.)

On the positive side, this episode does more to flesh out the main characters than "The Naked Now" did. In particular, we get to see Picard's strategic mind and command skills as he takes input from all members of his crew about how best to handle the diplomatic situation. But the main reason why I ranked "Code of Honor" as high as I did is its score by Fred Steiner, who also composed scores for 13 original Star Trek episodes. Steiner is the only composer from the original series to score an episode of one of the spinoffs, and it's a treat to hear him score a Star Trek episode again. There's one moment in particular, an establishing shot of Lutan's court, where Steiner re-uses a classic Star Trek musical flourish, and it gives me a wave of nostalgia every time I hear it.


161. Imaginary Friend
A very dull and forgettable episode. The alien seeking to understand humans by pretending to be one is a common plotline for Star Trek, and the child whose warnings are dismissed as an overactive imagination is a common plotline for TV in general. This episode really doesn't offer anything new on either front, so the result is a story that crawls along predictably as we wait for Picard and Troi to figure out that young Clara is telling the truth. Other negatives are a technobabble-heavy crisis for the ship (plasma filaments?), some bad acting on the part of the creepy alien girl, and way too much speechmaking by everybody at the end. About the only thing that I like in this episode is Data's line about the cloud shapes: "Besides, it is clearly a bunny rabbit."


160. Suspicions
Sometimes well-intentioned attempts to be creative just don't work out. I think that's what happened with "Suspicions," an odd story about Dr. Crusher trying to solve a 24th-century murder mystery. Part of the problem is that the story focuses on an assortment of cliched suspects that aren't very interesting or well-acted. Then there's the fact that the mystery depends on a piece of technology (the solar shuttle shield) that operates as the plot demands, and the biology of an alien-of-the-week (the victim AND killer-- gasp!) that also operates as the plot demands. It's all pretty arbitrary.

As for the well-intentioned attempts to be creative I mentioned earlier-- this episode uses an unusual (for TNG) first-person narrative format, with Beverly telling Guinan about her investigation, and why it landed her in trouble with Starfleet. Maybe they were trying to do film noir. Unfortunately, the way the episode is written, there's no good reason for the narration to be there. Most of the scenes end up going like this:

BEVERLY (v.o.): Captain Picard called me to his ready room, and I could tell he was not pleased.

PICARD: Doctor, I am not pleased with the way you are conducting this investigation. If you cannot abide by Starfleet regulations, I will have no choice but to relieve you of duty. Please don't jeopardize your career.

BEVERLY (v.o.): Suddenly, I realized that continuing my investigation might jeopardize my career in Starfleet!

I don't know if the narration was a last-minute addition, but it's totally unnecessary-- it doesn't end up adding anything to the episode aside from some unintentional comedy. And some of the lines are pretty ridiculous: "I never expected that investigating a murder could be so perilous!" Seriously-- who talks like that?


159. The Outrageous Okona
While we're talking about silly writing, let's move on to "The Outrageous Okona," which is full of attempts at jokes that mostly fall flat. "You're a droid and I'm a noid"? Life's like loading too many canaries on your cargo ship? Then there's the whole goofy story about Captain Okona himself-- he's so outrageous, it says so in the title of this episode! And the annoying thing is that he acts like he knows it, even though there's not really anything aside from the episode title that makes him that outrageous. He just resolves a painfully obvious Romeo and Juliet story reenacted by some bickering aliens.

I don't want to be too hard on this episode, because I can appreciate that it's just trying to have fun. It's just that most of the jokes are of the cringeworthy type; it makes me think that Data should have been able to find someone funnier than Joe Piscopo in the holodeck's memory banks to teach him about comedy. I do have to admit, though, that I always laugh at the part where Data realizes that the holodeck audience is programmed to laugh no matter what he does, so he just starts waving his hands around on stage.


158. Birthright, Part II
The entire "Birthright" two-parter was a mess, but it's only when you get to the incredibly disappointing second part that it becomes clear that "Birthright" was never really supposed to be one two-hour story in the first place. The plot about Data discovering his ability to dream, which was by far the more interesting of the two storylines in part one, is nowhere to be seen in part two, leaving us with the story of Worf and the lost colony of Klingons. The connection between the two plotlines in part one was extremely tenuous anyway. There's no reason why each story couldn't have been given its own episode, but combining them and throwing in a cliffhanger made for more of an "event" with which to promote the new spinoff series, Deep Space Nine (where part one was set).

Sadly, the Worf plotline is painfully dull once you realize there's no Mogh to be rescued from the Romulan prison. We end up with a lot of preaching from Worf about what it means to be Klingon, and that had become tiresome by this point in the series. It didn't help that most of the supporting actors weren't up to the task of making their Klingon characters interesting enough to care much about in the space of one episode. The only part I really liked was the final scene, when Worf tells Picard that "No one survived Khitomer," and the captain gives Worf a knowing look.


157. Attached
Some of my dislike for this episode probably comes from the fact that I am decidedly not a "shipper." But mostly, it's because the story is boring. The main plot, in which Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher find their minds telepathically linked by an alien device, exists only as a reason for them to talk about their long-buried feelings for each other-- but, of course, nothing comes of it in the end. The B-plot is even more superfluous; I really have a hard time caring about yet another group of bickering aliens, especially when they aren't given any depth. They're only there to prevent Riker and company from rescuing Picard and Crusher before they're done talking.

Lest I be too harsh, I think Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden did an excellent job with the material they were given to talk about in this episode; they really come across as old friends, and they manage to make the mind-link concept convincing, too. There are some character moments in "Attached" that I really like. One is when Beverly realizes that Picard didn't really like all of the fancy food she was making for their morning talks-- he came because he liked talking with her, but all he really wanted for breakfast was "coffee and croissant." And another is when Beverly mentions a careless joke she made about a date's appearance a long time ago, and Picard realizes that even though she laughs about it, she still feels bad that she hurt his feelings, even all these years later. Both of those just ring very true to me as portrayals of how the human mind works-- a lot goes unsaid, even among very good friends.


156. The Masterpiece Society
This may be the most forgettable episode of TNG-- no matter how many times I see it, very little of it sticks with me. And that's possibly because "The Masterpiece Society" actually does its job too well. The episode is about an isolationist human colony that has been genetically designed to be perfectly balanced in every respect as a society-- but as a result, it has become stagnant, with no need to overcome obstacles or make progress. I think the episode manages to be more convincing in portraying the colony's stagnation than it does in portraying how nice it was that it was so perfectly balanced. There are a lot of lines telling us about how awesome this colony is, but there isn't much to show us why it's so great.

The best part of the episode is the perspective Geordi brings to their society. They have engineered genetic defects such as blindness out of their culture, yet it is only because of Geordi's work and the technology of his VISOR that the Enterprise is able to save the colony from destruction. I like Geordi's question to the scientist about what right her society has to tell him he has nothing to contribute.

Conversely, I think that Picard's words at the end of the episode ring hollow. Mourning the fact that contact with the Enterprise crew has caused many of the humans to decide to leave the colony, forever runing its balance, Picard remarks that the Enterprise may have been more disruptive to them "than any stellar core fragment." You mean the one that would have killed every last one of them? Uh, I have a hard time feeling bad about you interfering with that, Picard.


155. Bloodlines
The discovery of long-lost family members is a recurring theme in TNG's final season. We meet Troi's sister, Data's mom, and in "Bloodlines," Picard's illegitimate son (or so it appeared at first). I'm not quite sure why that theme developed-- did the writers feel compelled to give every character some planet-shattering revelation from their past so they'd all get to end their run on the show on a significant note? It created the odd feeling that the Star Trek universe itself knew that TNG was about to end, so in order to make things interesting, lost family members of the Enterprise crew started turning up left and right.

Anyway, "Bloodlines" is the weakest of these, even though it's neat to see Daimon Bok again from all the way back in season one (though he's not played by the same actor as in "The Battle"). I also think that Stewart does a nice job in this episode as usual; Picard's reaction to suddenly learning he has a son is credible. Unfortunately, Jason Vigo never comes across convincingly as Picard's son, which may be because (surprise!) he isn't; he's just the victim of a ridiculously convoluted plot by Bok to mess with Picard's mind. The whole episode then becomes something of a waste of time, since we know we'll neither see nor hear from Jason again once the episode is over. I'm glad, at least, that they didn't kill him off.

What is hard to overlook is how utterly silly the premise of this episode is. We're expected to believe that Bok was somehow able to learn about Picard's fling with Jason's mother decades ago (which, conveniently for Bok, must have happened pretty close to the same time as her union with Jason's real father, since Jason's age matched up). Also conveniently, Jason's real parents had both died without him knowing who his father was. Bok was then somehow able to abduct Jason and rewrite his DNA so that he was genetically Picard's son (Daimon Bok being well known for his mastery of biogenetics), all without Jason noticing that he had been abducted or that his DNA had been rewritten (especially tough because in Star Trek, rewriting your DNA usually means you turn into a lizard-man or something). All of this so that Picard could be fooled into thinking he had a son, whom Daimon Bok could then kill. This was apparently the most reasonable way Bok could think of to go about getting his revenge on Picard for the death of his own son, and we're apparently expected to believe that Bok did it all on his own, since the Ferengi consider revenge an unacceptable motive for a Daimon. Yeesh.


154. Journey's End
Some Star Trek fans can't stand Wesley Crusher; I'm not one of them. The character was TNG's most clumsily written in the first season (and that's saying something), but as the show progressed, I found Wesley to be an endearing character. I wanted to see things end up well for him-- and that's probably why I found "Journey's End" to be a very unsatisfying ending to Wesley's story. We learn that since the incident in "The First Duty," Wesley has been failing in his studies at the Academy and has developed into a morose, pouting, unpleasant young man.

Now, to some degree, I can see and even appreciate the message of this episode. It's possible for someone to realize that they've chosen a path in life based on others' expectations, not what truly brings them joy. And in that case, it's better to find a new path, even if it means starting over. But for a couple of reasons, I had trouble buying this story in Wesley's case.

For one thing, everything we'd seen from Wesley before this episode indicated that he really did want to become a Starfleet officer, even in "The First Duty," when that path truly became difficult. Wesley's realization that he was only trying to become a Starfleet officer to live up to others' expectations came to him mostly off-screen before this epsiode, and while it's not hard to imagine ways that might have happened (he may have been ostracized by the other cadets after the truth about his flight squadron came out), it's a bit hard for the episode to pull off such a big character change retroactively on its own.

Even more of a problem is that Wesley's new path-- exploring "higher planes of existence" with the Traveler-- is so vague as to be underwhelming. Let's look at how this whole story started: Way back in "Where No One Has Gone Before," the Traveler pulled Picard aside and told the captain that Wesley was another Mozart, but in the field of warp propulsion. He asked Picard to be a mentor to Wesley, to encourage him to develop his skills. The Traveler told Picard that "the boy will forget me in time, which is as it should be," adding that Picard should never tell Wesley or his mother about this conversation. It wasn't the most subtle of scenes, but with Picard's stated dislike of children, that was pretty much the only believable way he was going to take on the role of mentor to Wesley-- a role that ended up enriching both characters. It was the sort of mysterious introduction that leads one to expect great things.

"Journey's End" spoils all that by having the Traveler show up again and reveal that he apparently didn't mean most of that stuff about Wesley being a gifted warp engineer; that was just the "first step" toward "something greater," but we have no idea what that is. It's not even clear what Wesley's "greater purpose" has to do with the story in this episode about the colony of Native Americans caught between the Federation and the Cardassians, which could have been a decent story on its own. The Traveler throws out some psychobabble about "seeing new possibilities," but that's it. It's also apparent that Wesley never did forget the Traveler, and that Picard did tell Dr. Crusher about what the Traveler told him. So all in all, this episode is pretty effective at rendering that moment in "Where No One Has Gone Before" meaningless. And that's what I find so disappointing about it.


153. Haven
Okay, if all of my reviews are that long, I'll never finish this. Time for some Trek comedies that manage to be funny, but only every once in a while.

"Haven" was written back when TNG was still taking ideas straight from the original Star Trek; in this case, the "surprise! I've been betrothed since I was a kid!" aspect of "Amok Time." Thankfully, aside from the premise, it's more original, though the writing is pretty clunky all around-- especially the eye-rolling story about Wyatt obsessively sketching the woman of his dreams (a bad sign for his marriage to Troi, don't you think?) and of course, that very woman turns up on the alien ship the Enterprise is tracking, with a bunch of sketches of Wyatt! Well, that solves the whole marriage crisis nicely, doesn't it?

Lwaxana Troi's obnoxiousness is actually pretty amusing the first time around, and the episode has its share of funny moments. I've always liked the line "Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing." It also always cracks me up when Wyatt plays Captain Oblivious and barges into Troi and Riker's personal conversation on the holodeck saying something like "Wowee! Isn't this thing incredible?"

Mr. Homn is a weird example of a one-joke character (no one thinks he can talk, but he says "Thank you for the drinks" at the end) who ends up returning for several more episodes after the joke has already been used. Kind of sad, isn't it?


152. A Fistful of Datas
As with "Cost of Living," I used to find this funnier when I was a kid. Now it's a lot more painful to watch Dorn, Sirtis, Brian Bonsall (Alexander), and way too many Brent Spiners trying to be funny while playing ridiculous Western caricatures. The first half of the episode has its share of annoyances, like replaying an entire boring scene from the beginning for the sake of one joke that's not worth it, and the second half has the standard "holodeck gone wrong" story that's just been done too many times.

All of the jokes that actually end up being funny are in the B-plot, like Riker reciting Data's "Ode to Spot" and Data tossing Western phrases like "Ah reckon" into his speech without realizing it. There's also a very nice nod to continuity when we see Picard playing his Ressikan flute from "The Inner Light"; that brought a smile to my face.

 

[Kolrad]

151. Realm of Fear
It pains me to have to include a Lt. Barclay episode in my lowest echelon of TNG episodes, but "Realm of Fear" earns it by being more bogged down in technobabble than any other TNG episode (and that's REALLY saying a lot). The story is far too concerned with the minutae of how an imaginary device (the transporter) operates in the presence of an imaginary spatial phenomenon. I have never been able to understand how the crew members from the science vessel got turned into giant manatee-like things visible only to someone being transported, but I would have been happier if half the episode hadn't been an effort to explain it to me using made-up words.

Fortunately, Dwight Schultz turns in his usual great performance as the easily rattled Reg Barclay. There are several genuinely funny scenes; they're just overwhelmed by the technobabble. Barclay's extremely brief counseling session with Troi is very amusing. "Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth! Yes-- yes, that's much better! I'll try that! Thank you, Counselor!" *running out the door*

And I also love the scene in Barclay's quarters where he manages to work himself up even more just by talking to the computer. Especially this part:
*peaceful beach noises*
"Computer, more birds!"
*birds' screeching instantly jumps to Hitchcock-inspired proportions; Barclay listens for a few seconds before nearly throwing a fit*
"Computer... end stress-reduction program."

The last scene of the episode in Ten Forward is great, too. Chief O'Brien remarks that he doesn't get to see Lt. Barclay much outside of work, and Reg replies, "Well, to be honest, I've always avoided you." Come to think of it, that was probably Colm Meaney's last pre-DS9 scene as O'Brien. I'm a little disappointed that we never got to see his pet spider on Deep Space Nine.

========================

Well, there you have it. I think you can tell I really am a TNG fan when I find so much to like even in episodes this far down my list. Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings; I hope you enjoyed them. I plan on posting these things 25 episodes at a time; we'll see how that goes.

Any comments? Cries of outrage?

Note: I welcome responses, but if you quote me, please just quote a specific part of my post, since this ended up so ridiculously long. Don't worry; this is the last post from me for a while, mods.

 

[mr.peany]

Cough*Shades of Gray*Cough

Otherwise, excellent, I always wanted to do something like this, but I would never have the patience. I look forward to reading more...

 

[historypeats]

Also looking forward to more...

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

I thought some of those were bad even when I was 14 and thought Star Trek could do no wrong. Although I really liked "Haven," "A fistfull of Datas," "Devil's Due" and "Up the long ladder." But some of the others you listed I haven't bothered to watch since their initial airing. Some, unfortunately, I have. "Angel One?" What a ridiculous episode. I never cared for "The Naked Now," either.

 

[Squiggy]

Cough*Shades of Gray*Cough

Otherwise, excellent, I always wanted to do something like this, but I would never have the patience. I look forward to reading more...

Personally, I think Shades of Gray should be delisted from the official list of Trek canon...reduced to the same level as Data/Worf slash fiction.

 

[startrekwatcher]

176. Sub Rosa
There were times in the seventh season of TNG when it seemed like the writers were running short on ideas, settling for unoriginal stories that could have been used by pretty much any show looking for filler.

Agreed. There were plenty of interesting story ideas to be found but the way in which they were executed left a lot to be desired.

When I first caight this episode in 1994 I was extremely bored by it but in subsequent viewings I have found that I enjoy it more than I had remembered. It still isn't more than a decidedly average episode but McFadden's performance, some of th Crusher/Deanna banter and the atmosphere makes it somewhat work. I certainly wouldn't rank it at the bottom of TNG's episodes.

because calling Ronin an "anaphasic energy being" instead of a ghost automatically makes this a sci-fi story.

I was hoping for a more intriguing original explanation for Ronin too.

Strike three: the characters are paper-thin. That goes both for the walking cliches known as the guest stars and for the pod people who replace the Enterprise regulars.

I know many fans have problems with some of the stereotypes Trek episodes like this, Fair Haven/Spirit Folk or Up the Long Ladder employ but that has never really bothered me.

The Cost of Living
Now I just shudder at the bad acting and wonder what the writers were thinking when they decided to make a comedic episode centered on the characters of Lwaxana Troi and Alexander Rozhenko. I mean, if you're going to shoot yourself in the foot, why not throw in the Ferengi while you're at it?

I find this one to be another that has grown on me over the years. Maybe it is just nostalgia or the frame of mind I'm in when it happens to be on but I find this one to be alright. It may have to do with the fact that I like Alexander and Lwaxana.

And the B-plot about the Enterprise's mission being delayed by corrosive asteroid dust is every bit as exciting as it sounds.

Agreed. This was one time where the B-plot didn't work.

There are just a few moments that feel genuine, when for one scene the episode stops trying to be funny and Lwaxana confides to Alexander that she feels lonely.

That is my favorite scene in the episode too mainly because it was more about Majel and her recent loss of Gene. It actually moved me to tears.

174. Man of the People
There's just a trace of an interesting idea somewhere inside "Man of the People," about a man who is able to preserve the illusion that he is pure and virtuous by channeling all of the rottenness inside himself into others and letting it destroy them.

Now this is one I enjoy without any reservations like the other two. It isn't deep but I thought Marina did a good job and I was totally invested in Troi's personal jeopardy.

In "Eye of the Beholder," we delve into the exciting world of the lower-level officers who work inside the Enterprise's warp nacelles. Actually, I guess it's the people who used to work there while the ship was still being built. Well, really, it's all inside Troi's mind. Because of an "empathic imprint" in that wall that-- Never mind!

This was one of those season seven show's that had a solid idea but was mishandled. I liked the idea of the empathic residue and a dark secret in the history of the Enterprise but what hurts it is that I'm invested in the first 50 minutes of the show and everything is reaching a fever-pitch then *bam* it is revealed to be all in Troi's head. It ruined the entire episode. It is such a lazy way of resolving the mystery.

166. Devil's Due

I actually enjoy this one. DuBois just throws herself into the role of Adra and I enjoyed the Picard interplay. And the Feklar[sp] costume was quite impressive.

165. The Host
As a result, most of the episode feels tired. There is some interesting stuff in "The Host" about the nature of love, though-- do we as humans love the physical person we can see, or the mind and soul that make them who they are? And if the answer is "both," how would we decide what to do if the two were separated? Jonathan Frakes also turns in a good performance as Odan after the transplant.

I agree with what you point out as the episode's strengths and that is why I really enjoy it. I also like the ending. Many critics of the show are always pointing to it being inhabited by supposedly perfect 24th century humans yet here we see Beverly showing some human weakness by admitting that she can't continue a relationship with Odan in a woman's body. It isn't a classic but I think it is a solid episode all the same.

163. Genesis
Sorry, but neither evolution nor DNA can possibly work that way. Also, "de-evolve" isn't a word; it's "devolve"!

This is one of my favorite season seven episodes and no surprise it comes from Brannon Braga. By this point in the series he had become a favorite writer of mine.

As for the Fun with DNA, I could honestly care less. It is a science fiction show and the actors delivered the nonsense with such conviction that it was enough to buy it for the purposes of the story.

I also thought the make-up work was outstanding and one of the more unnerving scenes was when Worf sprayed venom into Beverly's face.

 

[Mott the barber]

Excellent posts. I'm looking forward to the rest.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

Cough*Shades of Gray*Cough

Otherwise, excellent, I always wanted to do something like this, but I would never have the patience. I look forward to reading more...

Agreed.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

Cough*Shades of Gray*Cough

Otherwise, excellent, I always wanted to do something like this, but I would never have the patience. I look forward to reading more...

Personally, I think Shades of Gray should be delisted from the official list of Trek canon...reduced to the same level as Data/Worf slash fiction.

Agreed. I think the "Episode" should be purged from all existence and utterly destroyed.

 

[Good Will Riker]

I have to wonder where "Shades of Grey" ranks on his list?

 

[mr.peany]

Just watched "Justice" as part of my TNG "from the beginning" marathon. I found the first half of the episode to be horrid in every sense of the word, but appreciated a greater depth in the 2nd half and believe had they focused more on the God aspect and the greater aspects of the Prime Directive, it would have been a significantly improved episode. However the scantily clad people, chunky dialogue, poor acting and Wesley's truly foul "Im in Starfleet, we don't lie" line cement this as one of my least enjoyed episodes of not only TNG, but Trek in general.

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm also curious as to what merit belongs to Shades of Gray

 

[Locutus of Board]

Rascals belongs here as well.

 

[Keith1701]

Also looking forward to more...

I'm looking to more as well...

 

[jimbtnp2]

Just watched "Justice" as part of my TNG "from the beginning" marathon. I found the first half of the episode to be horrid in every sense of the word, but appreciated a greater depth in the 2nd half and believe had they focused more on the God aspect and the greater aspects of the Prime Directive, it would have been a significantly improved episode. However the scantily clad people, chunky dialogue, poor acting and Wesley's truly foul "Im in Starfleet, we don't lie" line cement this as one of my least enjoyed episodes of not only TNG, but Trek in general.

JUstice is one of my fav episodes

good drama - characterizations and story

 

[Kolrad]

Thanks for taking the time to read my reviews, and thanks for your responses! It's neat to see that even the episodes I don't like very much have their fans. Just wanted to let you know that part 2 has been coming along well. It's actually getting a little harder to rank them now because I'm already through all of the ones that I actively dislike watching.

 

[Kolrad]

PART 2/7: "MEH" TREK


150. New Ground
It's too bad the writers were never quite able to figure out a good way to tell interesting stories about Worf and Alexander (with one exception coming up later), since the eventual result was making Worf into an absent father, something that carried through all the way into late DS9. "New Ground" makes an admirable effort to start a father-son relationship between Worf and Alexander, and I like the idea of exploring how the clashes between Klingon and human values make matters more confusing for them both. It's very much in keeping with Worf's character for him to think that he can just tell Alexander that lying is dishonorable and expect that to be the end of the matter. Of course it's not that simple; unfortunately, it just becomes irritating to watch the two of them argue so much.

The "ship in jeopardy" B-plot about the soliton wave doesn't help matters too much either; it's another impractical experiment gone wrong, with consequences that work as the plot demands. (You'll be killed by radiation from an explosion outside the ship if you stay in this room, but just get out into the hall and you'll be fine?)

One positive aspect of this episode is that it shows Troi being competent in her job as ship's counselor; she has a lot of good advice for Worf.


149. Captain's Holiday

This episode is great for about the first twenty minutes. The scenes of the crew pestering Picard to take a vacation contain some priceless character moments.

"Tell me, Number One. Is the entire crew aware of this conspiracy to send me on vacation?"

"I believe there are... two ensigns on deck 39 who know nothing about it."

And I love the fact that what finally changes Picard's mind is Troi remarking that her mother is likely to pay a visit and she's been looking forward to seeing Picard again.

Then you have Riker asking Picard to pick up a Horga'hn for him as a "gift," and the great moment when Picard realizes he's been tricked by his first officer after having women constantly making passes at him:

"Do you seek Jamaharohn?"

"I don't even know what it means. Nor do I want to. The Horga'hn is for a friend."

"I see! Someone close to you."

"That's right."

"Someone you love."

"I wouldn't go that far."



But then (sigh) Vash shows up. I have to be honest-- I have never cared for Vash. The whole idea of the character seems to be that she's such an extreme contrast to Picard (deceitful, unscrupulous, a rule-breaker) that pairing the two takes the very serious Picard out of his element, and that's supposed to be amusing in and of itself. The problem is that the writers seem to want this to be an "opposites attract" romance story, but they do precious little to explain why Vash and Picard would be interested in each other at all. Mostly they just squabble a lot.

After Vash's entrance, a plot that started as such a promising comedy becomes a dull attempt at an Indiana Jones knockoff, with everybody trying to find the same McGuffin and all of the guest characters turning out to be lying. It's like a totally different episode, from a much less interesting series.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but I think "Captain's Holiday" has a lot to answer for, given that it introduced not only Vash but also Risa and Action Picard, three elements that recur in a lot of bad Trek episodes and movies.


148. Shades of Gray
Nope; I didn't forget about it. I've just never thought that "Shades of Gray" was the worst episode of TNG. Not even close. The question is, can I convince anyone else of this?

Yeah; it's a clip show, and that means a great deal of the episode is stuff we've seen before. It would have been a lot more interesting (not to mention logical) if Riker's memories had been from his entire life and not just from the past two years, but that's the nature of an epsiode created to save money. If this were a series like Stargate SG-1 that did clip shows practically every season, the framing story would need to be a whole lot better than "Riker gets attacked by a venomous plant, and the treatment is forcing his brain to relive memories from past episodes." (Stargate had more interesting ideas for its clip shows, in general.) But in 25 seasons of modern Star Trek, this is the only clip show of the bunch. If they had ever done it again, I imagine I'd be far less charitable. But as it is, it's unique.

Another probable factor is that the first time I saw "Shades of Gray," I was a member of the target audience-- I wasn't familiar enough with TNG to recognize where most of the clips were from. Even now that I do, though, I still find it entertaining enough to be worth watching whenever it comes on. Part of it is that I like the little moments in the framing story-- O'Brien teasing Pulaski about being scared of the transporter, Riker's stoic acceptance of his condition without anger, Troi's tearful concern over the prospect of losing him, and the cute moment where Riker calls Data "Admiral" and the joke goes right over the android's head. It's not anything special in the grand scheme of things, but it's a nice little story that makes me smile. Compare the character interaction in the framing story with some of the clips from early episodes, and "Shades of Gray" actually provides a lot of evidence of how much TNG grew in just two years.

Another thing that helps is the score by Ron Jones, my favorite TNG composer. The music does a good job of wringing excitement from some rather random sequences of clips near the end that are, in all honesty, pretty cheesy. So, while "Shades of Gray" is not a work of art, I'd still rather watch it than any episode that actively annoys me in some way.


147. The Perfect Mate
This episode starts out with a concept that seems cliched at best-- a woman whose personality adjusts to meet the desires of whatever man she's with. I like Phil Farrand's observation about Kamala in his Nitpicker's Guide book: "Do you think a woman or a man came up with this character?" At the beginning, it seems like nothing more than a sexist fantasy.

The setup for the whole plot, a couple of bumbling Ferengi, is painfully contrived too.

But "The Perfect Mate" turns out to be surprisingly thoughtful once you get past the setup. Faced with the task of preparing Kamala for her diplomatic arranged marriage, Picard strives to preserve his and Kamala's honor, but in the end she imprints on him. However, as Picard's "ideal woman," Kamala decides to go ahead with the marriage of her own free will, knowing how important it is to preserve peace between two worlds.

So, as I see it, the story ends up being a parable about how a person's character plays a big role in the things he or she will find lovely in another. (And, at the same time, love ought to build up the character of both people in a relationship.) It's actually a pretty thought-provoking ending.


146. Dark Page
Quite a good Lwaxana Troi episode, actually. It really does a good job of creating a sense of mystery and concern over what trauma in Lwaxana's past could have triggered her sudden collapse. And the revelation about Deanna Troi's older sister who drowned when Deanna was a baby is truly heartbreaking-- I got misty-eyed the first time I saw this episode. The scene where Deanna consoles her mother is still quite powerful.

At the same time, the episode does have some weaknesses, mainly a pretty bland "corridor wandering" sequence meant to represent Lwaxana's mind. It drags way too much, especially when Troi's father starts singing.

Also, I really hate to be hard on Majel Barrett, but there are a few moments when her acting doesn't quite work as well as it should. She does a really good job of portraying Lwaxana's subtle attempts to deny that she's having trouble, but she struggles more when Lwaxana completely breaks down into tears. Still, as I said, the scene manages to be powerful.


145. Violations
Another dark TNG episode that does a competent job-- just not a stand-out one. I'm ranking "Violations" here not so much because it's bad, but because it's unpleasant, as an episode about rape pretty much has to be.

Jev's attacks by twisting the memories of his victims are suitably disturbing, and the plot unfolds sensibly as the crew tries to figure out why people are falling into comas. One thing that keeps the story fairly by-the-numbers is the fact that it's so clear to the audience tat Jev is the villain from the very first scene.


144. Symbiosis
The enduring memory from this episode is the stilted scene in which Lt. Yar explains the dangers of drug addiction to Wesley Crusher in after-school special style. "I still don't think I undstand." "I hope you never do, Wesley." Yeah; that scene's pretty painful.

But overall, I think "Symbiosis" does a good job of getting viewers to listen to its message because it keeps them wondering. The beginning really grabs your attention with the bizarre behavior of the freighter captain as the Enterprise tries to save him and his crew. Why doesn't he know how his own ship works, and why does he behave so nonchalantly about a life-or-death situation?

The mystery keeps building as we wonder why these people consider their cargo more important than the lives of their passengers. Then, once we're told the cargo is medicine for a plague, why are the Brekkian merchants so stingy about letting the Ornarans have the medicine they need? (Picard's concern about the plague contaminating the Enterprise is very sensible as well.)

Once we finally learn the truth-- that everyone on Ornara "is a drug addict!" (to quote Dr. Crusher), we get some honest-to-goodness conflict between two main characters! I remind you, this is first-season TNG. Crusher tries to talk Picard into taking action, but he refuses to breach the principle of non-interference. He won't reveal the truth about the Brekkians' exploitation of the Ornarans, but neither will he give them the means to repair their ship. So the ending as far as Brekkia and Ornara are concerned is fairly ambiguous.

The plot does have some problems-- it doesn't seem like it would work unless the populations of these planets is way smaller than typical. Do they really have just one ship? And if the Prime Directive prohibits interference of any sort, why did they answer the distress call in the first place? Was it because the freighter was in space? The conclusion ends up being a bit too neat, with Picard delivering a "This is why I'm always right, Beverly" speech. Still, this episode has most of the elements that made the original Star Trek a thought-provoking series-- and for a change, the story isn't ripped off from it!

I also have to give "Symbiosis" points for having a really cool ending line. Picard asks LaForge to set any course he wants. Geordi chooses some system and Riker asks him why he chose that one. The answer? "Curiosity, sir. We've never been there." :thumbsup:

(Oh dear, I can see I'm going to go way over the maximum character limit again.)


143. The High Ground
What was just a nondescript episode the first time I saw it looks a bit different to me as a 21st-century American. My country has become a lot more aware of and sensitive about terrorism, for better or for worse. I wonder how this episode would be received if it were made today, given that it presents characters who are considered terrorists in a sympathetic light.

But aside from the fact that "The High Ground" makes me think about how my perspective has changed, well... it's still a pretty nondescript episode! It's yet another diplomatic crisis that the Enterprise has to sort out, with a hostage situation thrown in. The dimensional transporter technology of Finn's people helps to make them more of a threat, particularly when they almost succeed in destroying the Enterprise. I don't find the character of Finn too convincing, though. That's probably because his main purpose is to give exposition about his point of view in the conflict, something that it doesn't make much sense for him to be explaining, especially not to his hostages. The ending of the episode is also a bit too neat of an attempt to wrap up such a difficult issue.


142. Ethics
This episode has some strong character moments-- I especially like Riker's angry response to Worf's request to kill him in ritual Klingon fashion, and Troi dealing with the possibility that she is about to become responsible for Alexander if Worf dies in surgery.

"Ethics" skirts some interesting issues about how people see disabilities, but I think it lacks some punch because it deals with an imaginary Klingon culture. It would be out of character for Worf to be willing to accept that he can have a fulfilling life even if he can't walk, because we know the Klingons are a warrior culture that doesn't tolerate weakness. I'd be strongly opposed to anyone advocating that sort of utiliarian view of the value of human life in the real world (and a story dealing with some of the tough gray areas that arise in the real world could be pretty powerful), but something about the Star Trek world of Klingons and instant miracle cures undercuts the ability of this episode to speak to the real-life issues it wants to.

Speaking of miracle cures, that's what ultimately undercuts the episode even in the Trek world. Having Worf come back to life and be totally healed because of some previously unknown feature of Klingon physiology is one of Star Trek's most egregious reset-button endings; it's right there with Spock's inner eyelid in "Operation... Annihiliate!"


141. Inheritance
The idea that Data has a mother he didn't know about until now may be a bit contrived, but "Inheritance" is still a nice episode, mostly because Fionnula Flanigan is convincing as Data's mom, Juliana. It's sweet to see Data look for advice on how to relate to her, and there are some interesting conversations about Data's "childhood" and Juliana's days working with Dr. Soong.

I like how Data's realization that Juliana is also an android is based on things only he would notice-- her violin playing is too perfect; her pattern of blinking is the same as his own. The rest of the episode then becomes a debate over whether to tell Juliana that she's really an android against Dr. Soong's posthumous wishes, a choice that Data ultimately has to make himself.

"Inheritance" does suffer from some strangely sloppy writing, though. So far as I know, this is the only episode to imply that Data has the ability to age, but the mention of Data's aging program is so casusal that it's easy to miss. Also, when the Soong hologram says that he programmed Juliana to "shut down" in the event the truth was discovered, he makes it sound like she will turn off (permanently?) if someone tries to tell her she's an android. If that's the case, then telling her about her true nature shouldn't even be an option, but Data never considers this. It took me a few rewatchings to realize that Soong was probably just referring to Juliana becoming unconscious when she fell in the cave so she wouldn't notice her arm had broken off. And then there's the confusing matter of the Soong hologram knowing that the Juliana android had left him-- but if that's the case, how was he able to record the message and put it inside her brain if she wasn't around anymore?

Maybe I'm being picky, but I wonder if this episode went to air without getting a final rewrite.


140. Rightful Heir
There's not anything I dislike about "Rightful Heir," but not much of it sticks in my memory aside from the fact that it was a Klingon-heavy episode. So, prepare for some random thoughts:

I have always thought it was interesting that TNG chose to make Kahless a heroic figure after he was introduced in the original Star Trek's "Savage Curtain" as a villain along with Colonel Green and Genghis Khan (and he was apparently well-known for his vocal impressions). The idea seems to be that the 23rd-century view of Kahless was biased by the fact that the Klingons were cold-war enemies, and with the alliance has come a more favorable view of him as a religious leader.

It's also interesting to me how much the prevailing philosophy of TNG changed during its run. Earlier on in the show's run, religion was usually treated as something that the people of the Federation had advanced beyond, but in "Rightful Heir," we have Picard encouraging Worf to pursue a religious experience!

The crisis that Worf undergoes in this episode ends up shaping the worldview that he holds to all the way through DS9-- he believes that having faith is more important than whether the object of that faith is real. Compare his acceptance of the Kahless clone to his comments on DS9 about having "faith in faith" and about how the legend of Davy Crockett (and by extension, Kor) is more important than the man.


139. Emergence
An interesting idea, having the Enterprise become "alive" so that it can give birth to some sort of alien offspring. It was also interesting to create a sort of metaphor for the interaction of the ship's various systems on board the holodeck. I just wish it had been more clear what some of the holodeck characters represented-- most of them didn't do anything besides standing around looking weird, so there's no way to tell how much thought the writers put into that part.

It also annoyed me that the way the crew found out about the Enterprise's self-aware status was that it warped itself away from some undetectable spatial anomaly that would have destroyed the ship had this been any other week. Pretty convenient timing!

It's too bad the story wasn't fleshed out better, but the basic idea intrigued me. Actually, when I first saw the episode, I somehow got the idea that the alien creature that left at the end would grow into a little Enterprise-D!

 

[Kolrad]

138. Home Soil
"UGLY BAGS OF MOSTLY WATER!" Some of TNG's early episodes didn't care about being profound or complex. "Home Soil" is just your stock sci-fi story about a strange, cranky alien life form (that looks like a $10 plastic prop) threatening to take over the ship in order to get revenge on the humans who've been killing its friends unawares (mostly).

It's simple and cheesy. But you know what? That's why I enjoy watching this episode! Somehow those early episodes were able to evoke the feeling of being out in the middle of the unknown in a way that the later, more polished ones can't. Most importantly, "Home Soil" stays true to the spirit of Star Trek because the first goal of our heroes is to find a way to reason with the life form-- not to kill it.


137. Lonely Among Us
Another simple and cheesy stock sci-fi concept brought to us with exuberance by first-season TNG. This time it's the alien energy being that leaps from person to person. My review for "Home Soil" pretty much applies here as well; I enjoy watching both episodes for pretty much the same reasons.

"Lonely Among Us" is a bit less silly than "Home Soil," but it also makes a bit less sense. The crew seems either too slow or too powerless to react when Picard starts quite clearly behaving unlike himself. At some points, the episode seems to suggest that Picard is willingly going along with what the aliens want out of "curiosity," which, if true, would make me not so keen about serving under him. I have no idea how they manage to rescue Picard after he's beamed out into space as energy only, but in the end all is well, and the crew get to share a laugh about the implication that one of the peace delegates they are transporting has cannibalized another.


136. The Price
"The Price" isn't a standout episode, but it still manages to be pretty interesting for a story about territory negotiations and another romance-of-the-week. I think it helps that the prize being fought over, a stable wormhole to the other side of the galaxy, is so obviously of great value to whoever owns it. Even the Ferengi could become a threat with control of a resource like that. It's also intriguing to see the Federation having to make a bid to the owners of the wormhole along with all of the other alien races-- being an huge interstellar utopia that doesn't use money has both advantages and disadvantages in such a situation. And once again, Riker ends up with the job of representing the Federation when the ambassador falls ill.

Devinoni Ral is also somewhat interesting as the 1/4 Betazoid opportunist who tries to take advantage of every opportunity-- and every person-- to gain an edge in the negotiation. I really like the scene where he tries to get under Riker's skin by gloating about how Riker is going to lose Troi to him. Riker responds with "That's the first bad play I've seen you make," then proceeds to calmly explain to Ral that he's happy for anything that brings joy into Deanna's life-- all while making it very clear just what he thinks of Ral. Very well-written scene that adds a lot of depth to Will and Deanna's relationship.

"The Price" ended up being very influential in shaping the modern Star Trek universe. Not only did it introduce the idea of a stable wormhole having great strategic value-- which is a big part of the premise of Deep Space Nine-- but it also introduced the quadrant system that writers used as a framework in every Trek series from that point onward.


135. The Child
Let's start with the weak point of this episode. Sadly, that would be the main plot. It's just too rushed to have the impact it's supposed to. Not that an alien choosing to experience life as a humanoid is a very new idea in the first place. Anyway, if that's the goal of the alien in this episode, why speed through life so fast? Troi's child wasn't going to get a very good idea of what a humanoid life was like that way, even if he hadn't had to cut the experiment short. The tearful "death" scene seems a bit contrived as well. This alien, who in every other way appears to be a normal human-Betazoid hybrid, gives off some sort of radiation that in any other situation would be harmless, but just so happens to be dangerous for the Enterprise's specific mission this week.

So, why'd I rate this episode as high as this? I love the way it begins. I only noticed this when I was rewatching the series on DVD, but the first one-and-a-half acts of "The Child" are a well-crafted showcase of everything that's new about TNG in the second season (this being the season opener), and the whole sequence manages to create an atmosphere of excitement about where the show is going. Let me see if I can recap how it does this:

The episode starts with a shot of the Enterprise alongside the Excelsior-class Repulse. As a triumphant fanfare reaches its crescendo (a really nice touch by composer Dennis McCarthy), we see a shuttle launching from inside the Enterprise's shuttle bay-- a brand new set. Cut to Riker on the bridge communicating with the Repulse, and we see that he has grown a beard. (If you're paying attention, you also see that Worf and Wesley have new uniforms.)

Riker heads to the ready room, where Picard and LaForge are having a discussion. Riker tells the captain that Dr. Pulaski has come on board, and Picard asks Riker to take a look at the disease containment device "our new chief engineer" has designed. Geordi beams, and Riker congratulates him on the promotion.

A little later, Picard says that Dr. Pulaski ought to go through the list of disease specimens the ship will be carrying and realizes that she still hasn't reported in as she was supposed to. He calls sickbay, but she's not there-- he's told she went to Ten Forward (another new addition to the show). This annoys Picard even more, and he storms down to Ten Forward to find Pulaski, who evidently doesn't care much about procedure.

Ten Forward turns out to be quite crowded, so Picard asks the woman behind the bar where to find Dr. Pulaski. We get to meet Guinan for the first time. Finally Picard finds Pulaski at a table with Troi, and the captain prepares to launch into a speech about the doctor ignoring protocol. But she interrupts him, and tells Picard "You'd better listen to this" as the camera pans to Troi.

Which takes us quite smoothly into the main plot for the rest of the episode. Do you see how much new stuff the intro managed to introduce, not to mention what it told us about Dr. Pulaski's personality even before we met her? And it did all this with-- gasp-- subtlety! Quite a change from the writing style of season 1. Even though it still took the writers a while to really get things together, I still love watching that opening sequence; it's a reminder of how much better TNG was about to become.

Other stuff: The main plot of "The Child" is another recycled Star Trek: Phase II script, but this time the characters feel enough like themselves, maybe because all of the other plotlines are completely new. (On the other hand, that may also be why the main story feels so rushed.) Wesley's plotline about deciding whether to join his mother at Starfleet Medical or remain on the Enterprise was a good idea. I especially like the scene in Ten Forward, because it's the first time Guinan shares her wisdom with someone, and it also has that awesome effects shot of what going to warp looks like from inside the ship that we only get to see maybe two other times in the whole run of Star Trek.


134. Homeward
Worf's stepbrother! I knew there was at least one "long-lost family member" episode in season 7 I was forgetting.

Most of the interest in this one comes from controversy over its premise. This is probably the farthest Picard ever goes in placing the principle of the Prime Directive ahead of the preservation of sentient life. When a pre-industrial planet is wiped out by a natural disaster, Picard refuses to rescue whatever people he can from the planet, despite Nikolai Rozshenko's pleas. There have been a lot of interesting discussions on the BBS about Picard's decision early in this episode-- personally, I think it carries the Prime Directive too far. This is one of a very few Star Trek episodes that actually makes me angry with the main characters.

The side story about the Boraalan who escapes from the holodeck and commits suicide because he can't deal with the culture shock seems to be treated by Picard as validation for his point of view-- "He'd have died even if we hadn't interfered." "But he wouldn't have died alone... and afraid." Huh? I think chances are good that he would have been pretty terrified if you'd left him to die on the planet along with everyone else, Picard. The only difference seems to be that this way you feel a bit more responsible since you can't hang back and watch from a comfortable distance.

Of course, later on in the episode, we learn that Nikolai's motives may not have been purely altruistic either-- he chose to save that particular village because he was involved with a woman there and she was about to have his child. There are some good scenes between Worf and Nikolai; somehow they seem convincing as stepbrothers. I think the main weakness in the story is that it makes the Boraalans seem too gullible and stupid. They aren't technologically advanced, but that doesn't mean they all have to be morons.


133. Datalore
Lore eventually becomes one of TNG's most interesting recurring characters, but you wouldn't guess that based on the episode that introduces him. "Datalore" begins strong, creating an eerie atmosphere as the away team explores the destroyed colony where Data was discovered years ago. Also interesting is the way the crew becomes uncomfortable with the prospect of assembling another Data because it forces them to confront the fact that Data is a machine. Picard's reasoning that "we are just a different sort of machine" shows up again later, in "The Measure of a Man."

But once Lore is activated, the writing becomes dreadfully uneven. What is Lore's motivation supposed to be? Jealousy of his brother? Belief that androids are superior to biological life forms? Loose wiring? Much of the time, he just seems to know he's supposed to be a cliched "evil twin"; therefore, he'll try to get the Crystalline Entity to destroy the Enterprise... while he's still on it. This is also the episode that introduces the "Data can't use contractions" idea, which is pretty silly if you take it literally. Not only had Data been using contractions since the beginning of the series, but he says "I'm fine" at the end of this episode!

This episode has one scene that makes me want to pull my hair out-- the famous "Shut up, Wesley" scene. It makes Picard and the rest of the bridge crew look like complete idiots; Picard asks Wesley for a report on Data and Lore, but then everyone refuses to let him say anything. I honestly can't tell if this scene is a misguided attempt to generate sympathy for Wesley (with the ensign's whiny but accurate complaint about being shushed) or a pitiful attempt at comedy (with his mother sticking up for him, then suddenly joining the "Shut up, Wesley" chorus). Whatever it is, it's painful to watch.


132. Power Play
Another alien possession episode. For once, I can't think of a lot to say about this episode, except that I think the choice of characters to be taken over by the villains was interesting. Data isn't surprising, but Troi, and especially O'Brien, who isn't even a main character?

The episode proceeds mostly by the numbers, but there are some especially creepy moments when the being possessing Miles O'Brien interacts with Keiko and Molly. I find it somewhat amusing that after DS9's "The Assignment," being possessed by an evil alien and threatening your spouse is an experience that Miles and Keiko share. Such are the perils of living in the Trek universe, I suppose.


131. A Matter of Perspective
Countless TV shows before and since, dramas and sitcoms alike, have used the whole "people remember the same event differently" device that forms the basis for TNG's "A Matter of Perspective." So it's not exactly treading new ground.

I really like the setup in the teaser, with Riker beaming back from the station and being shocked that it blew up just after he left, and it was a very good choice not to let us see what actually happened on board the station; that allows just a little bit of doubt to creep in as we watch the various attempts to recreate the scenario on the holodeck.

The weakest part of the episode is that the problem is ultimately solved with technobabble. I have some trouble believing that the prosecuting party would be so easily convinced by Geordi's demonstration, since it depends on them accepting that the Enterprise's holodeck can accurately simulate a device as complex as the professor's experiment. Also, wouldn't the fact that Riker's crewmates want him to be acquitted make a demonstration using Enterprise technology suspect?


130. The Bonding
"The Bonding" has one of the best portrayals of the Enterprise crew being shaken by the death of a crewmate. Despite the fact that we never saw Marla Aster before this episode (and I don't think we even see the real Lt. Aster alive in this one), the crew's reactions to losing her manage to convince me that she was someone they cared about and considered a friend. It really adds depth to the show to be reminded that the bridge crew aren't the only people on board the ship-- and that they aren't the only people anyone cares about.

There are a lot of character moments that really ring true. You have Worf's anger and attempt to take the blame for an accident that wasn't his fault, Picard's bearing of the responsibility to take the news to Marla's son, Troi's counseling work with Worf and Picard as well as Jason, Wesley's quiet comment that he remembers when Picard delivered the news about his father's death to him, and Data's puzzlement over why one's closeness to another person should mean that their death affects you more.

At the same time, it's just bizarre that the crew seems to leave the orphaned Jeremy sitting in his room by himself for extended periods of time-- particularly after Picard's great line about how "on the Enterprise, no one is ever alone." It seems to undercut the very relatable human characterization present in the rest of the episode.

This clash of ideas was a mystery to me until I watched an interview with the late Michael Piller on the season 3 DVD collection. Piller explained that the producers had been discussing a story (the first submission by Ronald D. Moore) about a child on the Enterprise dealing with the death of his mother, apparently with a repentant alien trying to assist him in the grieving process, but that Gene Roddenberry told them that people in the 24th century would just choose to see death as another part of life. Piller was taken back, but his response was to take that idea and make something interesting out of it-- after all, TNG is about strange and alien things, and what could be stranger than humans who don't grieve the death of loved ones? That's where the idea came from for Picard to have to convince Jeremy that he needed to accept his mother's death rather than embrace a well-meaning alien's attempt to imitate his mother.

I actually think that the episode ends up affirming that grieving is necessary and human anyway, since that was part of the process Jeremy needed to go through in order to choose reality over fantasy. But learning about what went into the making of this episode really made me appreciate Michael Piller's involvement in the show. Because while this episode is flawed, it held the seeds of better things to come in terms of characterization (not to mention adding a very good writer to the Star Trek fold).


129. Birthright, Part I
It's kind of interesting to see the Enterprise at Deep Space Nine, but there's a strange sense of unreality about not having any of the familiar main characters appear there, as if the crew of the Enterprise-D has merely invaded the DS9 set on a day off. (This phenomenon occurs in reverse in DS9's pilot, when we see Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise but no one else we recognize.) Thankfully, Dr. Bashir apparently doesn't have anything important going on, so he is free to wander around the Enterprise and bug people.

You already know my opinion of this "two-parter" based on my review of the second part, but the first part isn't that bad. Especially strong is the plotline about Data's discovery of his ability to dream. There are a lot of episodes about Data taking tiny steps in his quest to become more human, but here he took a great jump forward. It was a good way to keep the character from becoming stagnant. It would have been better if the show had done more with the idea, which is why I was so disappointed that this plotline vanished in part two, but the moment when Dr. Soong invites Data to dream about flying is one of the most joyful in the run of the series.

At the time, I wondered if the fact that this program was triggered by an accident meant that Data wasn't supposed to gain the ability to dream for a long time-- if so, was that cause for concern? But that was never followed up on.


128. The Hunted
A fairly by-the-numbers episode-- another case of a planet trying to get into the Federation but having a dirty secret to hide. In this case, it's the creation of super-soldiers who make great killing machines but have no place in society now that the war is over.

I can't think of much to say about this one, except that it has a couple of the best corridor chase sequences of the series. Also, Roga Danar's ability to break out of a transporter beam is just plain cool.


127. Legacy
I liked how this episode provided more of a backstory for Lt. Yar by showing us the planet she came from and introducing her sister, Ishara. Maybe it's not terribly surprising that Ishara turns out to be using the crew's fondness for Tasha to get an edge for her faction in the war; she just keeps telling them what they want to hear. They really should have known better than to believe she really wanted to join Starfleet, but that's one of the things that makes her ultimate betrayal more hurtful. I like Data and Riker's discussion at the end of the episode about how every relationship involves the risk of betrayal; it seems pretty clear that Data is affected in a very human way, whether he technically has emotions or not.


126. Half a Life
One of the best Lwaxana Troi episodes, "Half a Life" is a story that's very well suited for the character. Starfleet training has prepared people like Picard to say "I don't agree, but who am I to judge their culture?" about things like Timicin's planet's death ritual for those who reach the age of 60. But Mrs. Troi doesn't care about Starfleet rules or principles; she believes deeply that such a thing is wrong, and she does her best to convince the man she loves to break with tradition. I think this episode contains many of Majel Barrett's best scenes as Lwaxana.

I think the episode provides a fairly good (mostly unspoken) argument about the damage that such a ritual can cause, in that Timicin is working to find a way to repair his planet's sun, and he may have been able to find a solution eventually if he had chosen to live longer. But in the end, he decides that he doesn't want to be the idealist that breaks tradition and chooses to go through with the ritual. I really like Troi's quiet decision in the final scene to go with Timicin to the ceremony and not to cause a disruption-- not because she agrees with him, but because she loves him. An interesting story.