Revisiting ST-TNG...

[Warped9]

It has to be said that what I look for in TNG is good storytelling: interesting ideas well executed. Unfortunately, for me, there are few characters in TNG that I warm to or feel any sort of emotional connection to.

Frakes was better as Riker in Season 2. He loosened up and seem less self-conscious. He has become a more naturally warm character than before. Worf can sometimes be cool or amusing. Data can certainly be interesting and amusing.

But Picard is the one I gravitate to most. Him I find the most interesting. The rest are okay. I don't dislike them, but I'm really not emotionally invested in them either.

However, Deanna Troi is the character I can't stand. I cannot stand her touchy-feely presence in the least. She is like the proverbial wet blanket. Part of the problem is the actress. The bigger problem is how she's written and utilized as a character. Every time she opens her mouth she's spouting something obvious that any reasonably perceptive person should pick up on without having to be empathic or telepathic. I find her character pure bullshit. Wesley isn't as annoying as this twit.

Season 3 is often touted as being the best of the lot (along with 4), but I'm reserving judgement because even as they are getting into their stride the show will also start establishing conventions and formulas that will eventually get stuffy, plodding and dull in my opinion. The show will also no longer feel fresh. We'll see as I'll start watching the third season episodes this weekend.

 

[BillJ]

Season 3 is often touted as being the best of the lot (along with 4), but I'm reserving judgement because even as they are getting into their stride the show will also start establishing conventions and formulas that will eventually get stuffy, plodding and dull in my opinion. The show will also no longer feel fresh. We'll see as I'll start watching the third season episodes this weekend.

This was my problem with the show, in season 3 they found a comfort zone and never moved away from it. It became stale.

 

[Warped9]

The following are the episodes forthcoming in Season 3 in production order. The emboldened titles are those I remember quite liking and the underlined are those I recall not really caring for for some reason or other. The remaining are remembered in a generally positive light although after all these years it will be interesting to see how they will impress me now.

“The Ensigns Of Command”
“Evolution”
“The Survivors”
“Who Watches The Watchers”
“The Bonding”
“Booby Trap”
“The Enemy”
“The Price”
“The Vengeance Factor”
“The Defector”
“The Hunted”
“The High Ground”
“Deja Q”
“A Matter Of Perspectuve”
“Yesterday’s Enterprise”
“The Offspring”
“Sins Of The Father”
“Allegiance”
“Captain’s Holiday”
“Tin Man”
“Hollow Pursuits”
“The Most Toys”
“Sarek”
“Menage A Troi”
“Transfigurations”
“The Best Of Both Worlds” (Part I)

 

[Holdfast]

"Q Who" *****

Amen to that. One of my all-time TNG favourites.

"Samaritan Snare" **

Everyone rags on Samaritan Snare; I love it. Activate the Crimson Forcefield!

"Up The Long Ladder" ****

4 stars? Man, I hate this ep... but we're all allowed sentimental favourites.

"Manhunt" *

Is this the one where Lwaxana's sex-drive goes into overdrive? Most of it is mediocre but I'd give it an extra star or two just for the scene in Picard's Ready Room. Frakes' expression throughout is pitch-perfect and truly lolworthy, esp. his response to Deanna's "... or more..." line.

That's a scene that would have fallen horribly flat in S1; it needed the extra time/chemistry they'd achieved by S2 for it to work.

"Peak Performance" ***

I'm fond of Peak Performance and would probably give it an extra star for the Zakdorn guest star for painting such a memorable character. The strategema stuff reminded me a little too much of the Bond/Largo stuff in Never Say Never Again though.

What really helps Season 2 overall was polish and a generally better handle on what they were trying to do.

Yup. On balance, it's probably my favourite TNG season for this reason, especially in terms of rewatchability. Good balance between polish and freshness. I also like the later seasons but S2 is probably my fave overall.

 

[Warped9]

Season 3...and so we begin.

This season has a few immediately noticeable changes. Firstly, the return of Beverly Crusher. In one respect I'm a little disappointed because I'd gotten to like Pulaski on some level and enjoyed her dynamic with Picard. It should be noted that they didn't make a big fanfare of Crusher's return. She's just back with little word about it.

The next most obvious change is are the new uniforms. Watching this on my LCD screen I'm seeing detail I never noticed before. The new uniform design doesn't look bad, but it does look more stiff. I'll reserve final judgement until a little later.

"The Ensigns Of Command" ****

Data is charged with persuading a stubborn group of colonists to evacuate or face extinction at the hands of an alien race.

I'm a little of two minds on this. Firstly, it is near flawlessly executed. Secondly, I wasn't all that engaged by it. That said my favourite parts involved Picard dealing with the Sheliak and trying to negotiate a postponement of their colonization.

A decent start to a new season.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

I think Evolution came before Ensigns, didn't it?

Anyway, pretty good episode, solidly executed if not amazing. Patrick Stewart was good.

 

[Warped9]

I think Evolution came before Ensigns, didn't it?

I'm watching these episodes in production order rather than broadcast order.

 

[Trekker4747]

Picard and the Sheliak situation is a highlight of this episode. Well that and Troi's cameltoe.

 

[Warped9]

Picard and the Sheliak situation is a highlight of this episode.

Yes. But on another note that shuttlepod is still an embarrassment.


"Evolution" ***

The Enterprise computer is invaded by nanites with a collective intelligence.

I was under a mistaken impression with the episode. I remembered it as introducing nanotechnology whereas now I see that it's strongly inferred that nanotech already existed, but it's the intelligence factor that was new. As such then kudos to the writers.

Again this is another polished piece of work, but I do have quibbles. Firstly, I sided with Dr. Stubbs in that as soon as it was apparent some form of nanotech was invading the ship I would have just eliminated the little buggers. Of course that doesn't fit with this version of the Star Trek universe. I also thought the depiction of the stellar phenomenon, while crisp and effective, looked too colourful to be convincing. It looked more like cartoon animation.

In regard to the new uniforms it occurs to me that they look more stiff partly because the characters themselves seem more rigid. By that I mean they don't seem to move much and use less body language. It's as if they basically just stand there and say their lines without moving around much. It strikes me as really odd and unreal given that real people are often always moving their hands, their facial expressions, shifting about, gesturing and the like. It's a subtle thing but quite weird.

Ultimately, though, while polished, I just wasn't that engaged by it.


"The Survivors" ****

Two survivors and their home are left intact even after an entire colony is completely destroyed.

This was well done, but I could have done without Troi's musical psychic headache. I just didn't think it was necessary. Still, good performances from all. I like the way Picard followed his intuition and put things together.


"Who Watches The Watchers?" ***

Picard must find a way to minimize the cultural contamination of a primitive people.

On some level this made me think of our own ancient societies and what it might have been like if they had encountered advanced beings from another world. But I have a bit of a problem with how this unfolds. It should have been possible to retrieve Troi and minimize the cultural impact without Picard bringing a primitive aboard ship and revealing all. This is actually a decent story, but it's constrained by its one hour format and having to get the idea across to a mainstream audience. Because one issue completely set aside (as it has often done before in Trek and in SF in the visual medium) is the issue of language. Not one simple reference to some translation device being employed to facilitate communication between the Enterprise crew and the aliens.


"The Bonding" **

A young boy loses his mother on an away mission.

These episodes are unquestionably polished in overall execution, and it will seem I'm giving this a harsh rating, but in the end this episode just doesn't so it for me. Firstly, Troi's going from person to person to get them to talk got on my nerves. Maybe it's a generational thing, but in my world if I want to talk I'll seek someone out, but I won't appreciate someone trying to pry into my feelings uninvited. Mind you Troi is representative of the time when this show was made when this sort of thing was being counseled, and it's still going on today. I rolled my eyes every time she was onscreen.

Yes, the story is dealing with the issue of family aboard ship and the loss children could face, and I credit Picard with questioning the practice of children aboard ship, but I also think they could have dealt with an officer having to deal with the loss of one of their children while aboard. Now that would be one hell of a guilt trip.

I suppose this episode was just too much on the quiet side for me. It dealt with a valid issue, but it was the sole point of the story rather than being part of a larger story. I credit it for being well done, but it did little to engage me.

 

[RAMA]

Picard and the Sheliak situation is a highlight of this episode.

Yes. But on another note that shuttlepod is still an embarrassment.


"Evolution" ***

The Enterprise computer is invaded by nanites with a collective intelligence.

I was under a mistaken impression with the episode. I remembered it as introducing nanotechnology whereas now I see that it's strongly inferred that nanotech already existed, but it's the intelligence factor that was new. As such then kudos to the writers.

Again this is another polished piece of work, but I do have quibbles. Firstly, I sided with Dr. Stubbs in that as soon as it was apparent some form of nanotech was invading the ship I would have just eliminated the little buggers. Of course that doesn't fit with this version of the Star Trek universe. I also thought the depiction of the stellar phenomenon, while crisp and effective, looked too colourful to be convincing. It looked more like cartoon animation.

In regard to the new uniforms it occurs to me that they look more stiff partly because the characters themselves seem more rigid. By that I mean they don't seem to move much and use less body language. It's as if they basically just stand there and say their lines without moving around much. It strikes me as really odd and unreal given that real people are often always moving their hands, their facial expressions, shifting about, gesturing and the like. It's a subtle thing but quite weird.

Ultimately, though, while polished, I just wasn't that engaged by it.


"The Survivors" ****

Two survivors and their home are left intact even after an entire colony is completely destroyed.

This was well done, but I could have done without Troi's musical psychic headache. I just didn't think it was necessary. Still, good performances from all. I like the way Picard followed his intuition and put things together.


"Who Watches The Watchers?" ***

Picard must find a way to minimize the cultural contamination of a primitive people.

On some level this made me think of our own ancient societies and what it might have been like if they had encountered advanced beings from another world. But I have a bit of a problem with how this unfolds. It should have been possible to retrieve Troi and minimize the cultural impact without Picard bringing a primitive aboard ship and revealing all. This is actually a decent story, but it's constrained by its one hour format and having to get the idea across to a mainstream audience. Because one issue completely set aside (as it has often done before in Trek and in SF in the visual medium) is the issue of language. Not one simple reference to some translation device being employed to facilitate communication between the Enterprise crew and the aliens.


"The Bonding" **

A young boy loses his mother on an away mission.

These episodes are unquestionably polished in overall execution, and it will seem I'm giving this a harsh rating, but in the end this episode just doesn't so it for me. Firstly, Troi's going from person to person to get them to talk got on my nerves. Maybe it's a generational thing, but in my world if I want to talk I'll seek someone out, but I won't appreciate someone trying to pry into my feelings uninvited. Mind you Troi is representative of the time when this show was made when this sort of thing was being counseled, and it's still going on today. I rolled my eyes every time she was onscreen.

Yes, the story is dealing with the issue of family aboard ship and the loss children could face, and I credit Picard with questioning the practice of children aboard ship, but I also think they could have dealt with an officer having to deal with the loss of one of their children while aboard. Now that would be one hell of a guilt trip.

I suppose this episode was just too much on the quiet side for me. It dealt with a valid issue, but it was the sole point of the story rather than being part of a larger story. I credit it for being well done, but it did little to engage me.

I enjoyed Evolution through the shared experience between Stubbs and Wesley and was one of the significant ways the writers improved Wes in season 3...of course I happen to love baseball so the analogy of baseball used throughout the episode resonated with me. It was nice to see some pure space exploration and an almost unknown (in 1990) but potentially revolutionary technology used in the episode, and what an improvement over TOS!!! Instead of trying to talk to the computer/AI into suicide, they used the scientific method, discovered, negotiated and finally came up with a wonderful, reasoned solution to the problem. They knocked this episode out of the park!! Awesome!

Survivors is in my top 10 STNG episodes of all time...the wonderfully creative way they used a godlike being here was refreshing compared to Q and the various rgue's gallery they've had since TOS. I enjoyed the "artistic" way Troi's empathic abilites were taken out of the equation. The resolution was somewhat of a surprise to me, but it rang true (actually somewhat related to first season's "Justice" episode's message). There was an improvement over previous STNG season's in the use of locations and matte paintings to create a broader canvas for planets, and this was increased as the show aired.

Who Watches the Watchers was Gene Roddenberry's: "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" of STNG. Firmly establishing his view on "superior beings" for the new show. By this episode the tone of the "new" STNG was self-evident. Not afraid to tackle tough subjects, more confident with production, acting and especially its writing.

The Bonding-The episode about grief. Not one of my favorites but I understand why they did it.

RAMA

 

[Trekker4747]

Evolution through WtW is a good string of episodes with a lot of neat ideas played around with and I agree that "The Bonding" was a bit weak I didn't buy that the kid just completely bought into his mom appearing literally out of no where to rejoin him.

Yeah, the sub-compact shuttlepod still sucks but I guess it's intended to only be a ship-to-ground device so maybe it suits that purpose. (We see Wesley and Picard share a larger more spacious shuttlecraft during the second season during a longer trip.)

 

[Warped9]

I can't quibble with the technical proficiency of this season or even the subject matter for the most part. I suspect this season will be more about whether I'm interested in the story or not and not too much about how they put it across. And for what it's worth I do find myself debating in my mind in regard to rating. It can be a fine line between fair and good. I can appreciate how something is done and yet still feel somewhat unmoved by the end result. Of course the reverse is also true---in the first season there were some episodes that I quite liked even though they weren't as polished as those of the third.

I'm only five episodes in and yet already this season feels different than the 2nd season. This feels more its own thing whereas 2nd season still had some resonance of TOS to it. At least that's the feeling I get from it.


"Booby Trap" ***

While investigating a relic ship the Enterprise is ensnared by an ancient trap.

It's okay, but what let me down was that I didn't real get a sense of jeopardy from it. Of course we know the heroes will survive, but even having Picard instead of more tech save the day just wasn't enough. Some of the music was good.

Worf seems more composed this season, less excitable and far less likely to growl. Laforge on a date is an excruciating thing to watch.


"The Enemy" ****

The Enterprise finds evidence of Romulan presence on the Federation side of the Neutral Zone.

This is a decently told brinksmanship story. I like how Laforge got out of his hole and how he and the Romulan manage to work together. Andreas Katsulas as the Romulan Commander was good. The best part, though, is Worf staying true to his nature and not volunteering his blood to save the dying Romulan. Cool.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Laforge on a date is an excruciating thing to watch.

Kind of a jerk too, wasn't he?

 

[Trekker4747]

Laforge on a date is an excruciating thing to watch.

Kind of a jerk too, wasn't he?

You'd think he'd know to be a bit more subtle on sliding in the girl. Summoning a gypsy violinist and then in a very obvious manner inching towards the young woman for some lovin' is sort of a bad way to go about things.

 

[Warped9]

I suppose he never thought of trying to hold hands first? That's a sure-fire way to get a sense of whether any further advances might be welcome.

 

[Warped9]

"The Price" **

The Enterprise hosts negotiations for the rights to a newly discovered wormhole.

Yessh! A Troi love story, which just about says it all particularly for someone (like me) who can't stand the character. Compounding it is the fact that the love interest, negotiator Devononi Ral, is a smarmy bit of slime. Add stupid Ferengis and this was rather painful to endure. Sadly Ferengis will always be cringe inducing and uninteresting until Quark shows up in DS9, and he'll be the only one since all other Ferengi will continue to be stupidly portrayed.

 

[Trekker4747]

Yeah "The Price" is painful.

 

[Warped9]

"The Vengeance Factor" ****

During negotiations members of of a specific family are being killed off.

This was an interesting story with some clever ideas. The resolution is a nice twist. But there were some things that bugged me about it. Firstly we're beginning to lose the Picard we had in the earlier seasons and for the "postured" Picard. By that I mean that this version of the character isn't as animated as what we saw earlier---this one comes off more like a diplomat rather than a leader and explorer. It's a fine line, yes, but the change is gradually taking place.

Watching Riker being charming and flirtatious is...yuch! And Riker looks like he's starting to get rather...porky.

We're also seeing the new version of the new third season uniforms. The original version of this design seen earlier had two seams in the front and one not so obvious seam in the back. It made the design look more shaped and fitted. The new version has no seams in the front and a quite obvious one in the back. It's a subtle difference yet in my eyes it makes the design look stupid and not at all credible as everyday wear.

Over the past episodes I find myself missing Pulaski. I just found her more distinctive. And it also underlines something that wasn't so obvious in the previous seasons yet is becoming apparent now: these characters really aren't that distinctive from each other. They all seem to hold the same or very similar perspectives. Having the similar basic values yet distinctive perspectives and approaches creates interesting inter-character dynamics (a strong element of TOS). Having everyone look at and approach things in very similar ways saps a lot of energy out of a story and off the screen. I suspect this is part of why I feel so little emotional connection to most of these characters because they don't strike me as being significantly different from each other. In contrast this was a strength of DS9 from the beginning as the major characters were quite distinct from each other and many with their own agendas---that makes for interesting character dynamics to draw you into what's unfolding onscreen.

I suspected I would see something of this as I worked through the episodes, but I didn't expect to notice it until later into the fourth season. I'm a little surprised to find myself noticing it this soon.


"The Defector" ****

A defecting Romulan officer tries to warn Picard of an impending invasion.

This is pretty good and decently done. James Sloyan does a fair job of giving us a Romulan character with some dimension and conflicted feelings. Nice to see Andreas Katsulas return as a Romulan Commander (although it will never match his portrayal of G'Kar from Babylon 5).

One criticism I have that I had already noticed earlier is the way references are made to starships being kilometers or more distance and yet when we see them they're practically nose-to-nose. Not at all convincing.


"The Hunted" ***

The Enterprise must return an escaped soldier ostracized by his own society.

This isn't bad, and it deals with a valid issue, but it didn't really click for me. One thing I had a problem with was the "magic science" so to speak that this soldier can mask his own life signs and even resist being transported---a rather big in my view. The ending was okay, but it felt rather paint-by-number up to that point.


"The High Ground" ***

Beverly Crusher is taken hostage by a political faction fighting for recognition.

Again not bad and again another relevant issue. There are some good scenes in this, but there are things that again don't click for me. TNG feels very white, very caucasian in this story. It's a planet of humanoids (like in "The Hunted") and they don't make any effort to make them seem the least bit alien. TOS had its budgetary limitations in this regard, but what is TNG's excuse? The planetary Security Chief displayed very limited acting ability and came across as a caricature. Wesley is just too wholesome to be believable. The inter-dimensional transporter was an interesting idea.

 

[RAMA]

My season 3 database. Pretty obvious differences between this in the other seasons..

 

[TrekAlliance92]

For me, Season 3 is when the show really begins to lose some of its charm. There's no denying there are many rock solid great episodes--"The Survivors," "Booby Trap," "The Defector," "The Best of Both Worlds," "The High Ground," and "Yesterday's Enterprise," and the season is--on the whole--better than Seasons 5-7, but here's the spirit of adventure is lost a bit, the new uniforms and lighting are less charming, and the music sadly loses the use of the Courage and/or Goldsmith fanfare (i.e. no opening "beauty cue" during the fly-by). The show only decays further from here, although again, its still good, just not as great as Seasons 1 - 3, and especially 1 - 2. Thankfully, at Season 3, the show isn't drowned in stuffy character study episodes half the time just yet.