Hey Folks,
TNG is one of my favourite shows and I have already seen these episodes countless times. Nevertheless, I have recently begun a rewatch of Season One and have decided to subject you all with my musings and ramblings. Enjoy!
1 - 01-02 "Encounter at Farpoint"
As a child I remember watching episodes of TOS and TNG with my Dad, but I have no recollection of any sort of details or episode titles. The first Star Trek episode I specifically recall paying attention to was "Encounter at Farpoint" when it was broadcast on the newly minted Canadian Space Channel circa 1997. Something was so epic, weird, and strange about the whole encounter, and even though this was over a decade after it was first on the air, the whole thing still felt so fresh, new, and exciting to my twelve year-old mind. Sure, after watching the entire Star Trek canon over the next 18 years "Encounter at Farpoint" seems rather rough around the edges, but this feature-length episode is still imbued with a sense of wonder, danger, and thought-provoking high-brow science-fiction. That said, I think the TNG pilot did an admirable job in introducing its cast of characters, however the whole thing unfortunately just sort of churns and plods along at an unengaging pace. From what I understand, TPTB fused the Farpoint Station story with the Q story in order to get a full 90 minutes of running-time. Q putting Picard and humanity on trial is classic piece of Star Trek history, and especially exciting is how it fills in the gaps between our own time and this fantastical 24th-century future. Simply put, the Q side of "Encounter at Farpoint" is iconic and extremely well-executed, the trial scene and its production values are more reminiscent of something one would see in a motion picture than on a weekly syndicated television series.
Sadly, the Farpoint side of the episode is sorely lacking in quality, and this part really drags the whole pilot down several notches. As Conn Man O'Brien notes, "it sounds like a rather dull place". So true, Chief. The concept of making the station a living creature imprisoned against its will is really quite an intriguing idea rife with potential, however the execution of D.C. Fontana's story seems to have either been totally misguided or poorly directed. Whatever drama that existed within the Farpoint concept is pretty much lost in the shadow of Q, and in the inane antics of Groppler Zorn and his crew. If Farpoint had stood on its own as a story and didn’t require introducing all these characters in a short amount of time, I can see the idea living up to its potential. However as it stands, the mystery of Farpoint is about as exciting as watching bread in a toaster. Sure it's all going to lead to good things, but you can't help but feel that time is being utterly wasted. Also, having Picard activate the saucer separation within the first 20 minutes of the first episode was a rather odd choice. The two sections on their own look like a broken toy, yet together they look like a badass piece of 24th century space-tech. Yes, it's cool that the Enterprise-D has this nifty functionality, but was it really necessary to demonstrate how it disassembles before the crew was even fully introduced? I also want to mention that I think McCoy's cameo was a nice touch, but admittedly he comes off sounding a bit like a caricature of a Jim Crow-era racist, though towards androids and Vulcans. I mean I get it, he's a folksy country doctor from down south who served aboard a starship, but I don't remember him having that much drawl in TOS or in the films. Maybe he was just being old and crotchety?
Along with the excellent Q scenes, this episode is also helped by the strong character introductions we get from Riker and his "firm" away-mission policy, as well as Data and his time whistling on the holodeck. The Riker-Troi Imzadi moment seems to be an interesting point of potential, but there's something about Sirtis' performance that makes it difficult to gauge. The put-on alien accent she uses makes her sound almost like a deaf person, it’s really a strange choice, and it makes her sometimes-wooden/sometimes-histrionic acting style stand out... perhaps even in a unique way. I liked Worf's minor role in the pilot and I am oh-so-glad they were able to find a major and serious role for him throughout the series. The rest of the cast performs quite decently, Geordi is already spitting out technobabble a mile a minute and Crusher sounds like everybody’s Mom. As for Wesley, well he's not as annoying in "Encounter at Farpoint" as one might expect, though I suppose it is interesting to note that even while watching this episode at the age of 12 and wanting to be on the Enterprise-D for real, I never ever once wanted to be Wesley Crusher. I think that really speaks for itself. Overall this episode is entertaining in that it introduces a new era of Star Trek to fans, and that it uses what are now iconic characters in iconic scenes involving an omnipotent being who haphazardly decides the fate of humanity. As a cohesive piece, however, the episode falls flat primarily because the two stories have barely anything to do with each other. The actual Farpoint mission isn't explored with enough thoughtfulness or detail, nor does it have enough depth to make the scenario have any sort of redeemable dramatic payoff. Still, I watch this episode every so often simply because it reminds me of being 12 again, and because the Enterprise still has that new-ship-smell. There truly is a sparkling sense of wonder in this episode that hints at the magic that is yet to come. Quite funny to find out years later that Patrick Stewart and company thought the show would only last a few episodes!
**1/2
TNG is one of my favourite shows and I have already seen these episodes countless times. Nevertheless, I have recently begun a rewatch of Season One and have decided to subject you all with my musings and ramblings. Enjoy!
1 - 01-02 "Encounter at Farpoint"
As a child I remember watching episodes of TOS and TNG with my Dad, but I have no recollection of any sort of details or episode titles. The first Star Trek episode I specifically recall paying attention to was "Encounter at Farpoint" when it was broadcast on the newly minted Canadian Space Channel circa 1997. Something was so epic, weird, and strange about the whole encounter, and even though this was over a decade after it was first on the air, the whole thing still felt so fresh, new, and exciting to my twelve year-old mind. Sure, after watching the entire Star Trek canon over the next 18 years "Encounter at Farpoint" seems rather rough around the edges, but this feature-length episode is still imbued with a sense of wonder, danger, and thought-provoking high-brow science-fiction. That said, I think the TNG pilot did an admirable job in introducing its cast of characters, however the whole thing unfortunately just sort of churns and plods along at an unengaging pace. From what I understand, TPTB fused the Farpoint Station story with the Q story in order to get a full 90 minutes of running-time. Q putting Picard and humanity on trial is classic piece of Star Trek history, and especially exciting is how it fills in the gaps between our own time and this fantastical 24th-century future. Simply put, the Q side of "Encounter at Farpoint" is iconic and extremely well-executed, the trial scene and its production values are more reminiscent of something one would see in a motion picture than on a weekly syndicated television series.
Sadly, the Farpoint side of the episode is sorely lacking in quality, and this part really drags the whole pilot down several notches. As Conn Man O'Brien notes, "it sounds like a rather dull place". So true, Chief. The concept of making the station a living creature imprisoned against its will is really quite an intriguing idea rife with potential, however the execution of D.C. Fontana's story seems to have either been totally misguided or poorly directed. Whatever drama that existed within the Farpoint concept is pretty much lost in the shadow of Q, and in the inane antics of Groppler Zorn and his crew. If Farpoint had stood on its own as a story and didn’t require introducing all these characters in a short amount of time, I can see the idea living up to its potential. However as it stands, the mystery of Farpoint is about as exciting as watching bread in a toaster. Sure it's all going to lead to good things, but you can't help but feel that time is being utterly wasted. Also, having Picard activate the saucer separation within the first 20 minutes of the first episode was a rather odd choice. The two sections on their own look like a broken toy, yet together they look like a badass piece of 24th century space-tech. Yes, it's cool that the Enterprise-D has this nifty functionality, but was it really necessary to demonstrate how it disassembles before the crew was even fully introduced? I also want to mention that I think McCoy's cameo was a nice touch, but admittedly he comes off sounding a bit like a caricature of a Jim Crow-era racist, though towards androids and Vulcans. I mean I get it, he's a folksy country doctor from down south who served aboard a starship, but I don't remember him having that much drawl in TOS or in the films. Maybe he was just being old and crotchety?
Along with the excellent Q scenes, this episode is also helped by the strong character introductions we get from Riker and his "firm" away-mission policy, as well as Data and his time whistling on the holodeck. The Riker-Troi Imzadi moment seems to be an interesting point of potential, but there's something about Sirtis' performance that makes it difficult to gauge. The put-on alien accent she uses makes her sound almost like a deaf person, it’s really a strange choice, and it makes her sometimes-wooden/sometimes-histrionic acting style stand out... perhaps even in a unique way. I liked Worf's minor role in the pilot and I am oh-so-glad they were able to find a major and serious role for him throughout the series. The rest of the cast performs quite decently, Geordi is already spitting out technobabble a mile a minute and Crusher sounds like everybody’s Mom. As for Wesley, well he's not as annoying in "Encounter at Farpoint" as one might expect, though I suppose it is interesting to note that even while watching this episode at the age of 12 and wanting to be on the Enterprise-D for real, I never ever once wanted to be Wesley Crusher. I think that really speaks for itself. Overall this episode is entertaining in that it introduces a new era of Star Trek to fans, and that it uses what are now iconic characters in iconic scenes involving an omnipotent being who haphazardly decides the fate of humanity. As a cohesive piece, however, the episode falls flat primarily because the two stories have barely anything to do with each other. The actual Farpoint mission isn't explored with enough thoughtfulness or detail, nor does it have enough depth to make the scenario have any sort of redeemable dramatic payoff. Still, I watch this episode every so often simply because it reminds me of being 12 again, and because the Enterprise still has that new-ship-smell. There truly is a sparkling sense of wonder in this episode that hints at the magic that is yet to come. Quite funny to find out years later that Patrick Stewart and company thought the show would only last a few episodes!
**1/2
Last edited:
