TNG Rewatch: 6x18 - "Starship Mine"

[Trekker4747]

The Enterprise is docked at the Remmler Array where it set to undergo a "baryon sweep" a process where the ship is decontaminated of radioactive material accumulated during warp-travel. Things are hectic on the ship is everyone prepares for the decon, where there ship has to be vacant because the sweep is harmful to biological material, and to stay planet-side for the duration.

Once off the ship, Picard attends a small reception with the rest of the senior staff with the commander of the array when an off-handed comment is made about a local stable. Picard, excited over the idea of riding in what he feels to be ideal conditions to return to the ship to retrieve his saddle before the sweep begins.

Onboard and with minutes left to go, Picard encounters one of the array's workmen who confronts Picard, Picard makes an excuse for being there and tries to leave but the workman makes an aggressive approach towards Picard who's able to quickly react and take down the workman. He tries to transport off the ship but the ship shuts down just as the transporter warms up, trapping Picard on the ship.

Picard tries questioning the workman but doesn't get much info and soon finds himself captured by other stowaways and taken to Engineering. The group are batch of terrorists/mercenaries collecting a byproduct of the ship's engines, trilithium, that has potential use in weapons. They've set up a shield in engineering to protect themselves from "the sweep" but Picard is able to manage an escape and destroy the divertor.

After collecting some weapons from Worf's quarters (phasers can't operate due to presence of the sweep) Picard makes his way to Sickbay to begin improvising other means of defense. He overhears over a radio that the terrorists intend to transport the trilithium to Ten-Forward where they likely will be beamed off the ship. Picard tries to convince them, to no avail, to not transport the unstable compound through the ship and boasts that he'll be on their escape ship as well.

He manages to get himself recaptured by the two remaining members of the terrorist group as they head for Ten-Forward where Picard has, indeed, set-up a trap which manages to cause a distraction that gives him the advantage in a battle just as the sweep enters the room. One of the remaining terrorists is killed by the sweep and the other one manages to transport off by her ship.

Picard crawls into the structural supports of the Ten-Forward windows and calls for help to the array, which is shut-off just before it reaches Picard. When asked about the recent transport and nearby ship, Picard says that they won't get far as he removed a safety device from the canister. He watches as the escape ship explodes outside the Ten-Forward windows.

As all of this is happening, the rest of the senior staff (minus Worf who was able to get himself excused from the reception) inadvertently make the planet-side terrorists nervous enough to start their end of the plan too early. During a scuffle, Geordi is injured but Beverly is able to modify his VISOR in order to cause a distraction that incapacitates everyone in the room, allowing Data to figure out what is happening and to receive Picard's message and stop the sweep.

Reunited on the ship everyone is happy and safe and Picard is reunited with his saddle.

----

Die Hard on a starship.

Usually what I think of when it comes to this episode and it's the start of "battle-ass Picard" that we see more of in the movies. Here it mostly works as we see Picard handle himself quite well in hand-to-hand combat with the various terrorists and to improvise ways to make his escape and survival possible.

Kudos to the show for making the lead terrorists females and they're not stereotypical "female badguys" as we see the lead terrorist being fairly cold and indifferent to the deaths of her comrades through the episode.

Oddly, a touch out of character and out of 24th-century-humanity Picard is also fairly indifferent about the deaths he "causes" through the episode. Sure, he had no other choice but he seemed to to easily leave people behind where they'd surely be killed by the sweep. We get a brief moment of shock on him when the guy in the Jeffery's Tube is killed but that's about it.

Along with the "Die Hard on a.." trope Picard manages to get his hands on a communications device. Rather than this being like every other communications device we see in all of Trek where it's strictly person-to-person this one seems to operate closer to present day radio communications where someone can listen in on a channel, though apparently having two or three channel operation allowing for over-talking and for one to listen to a conversation while speaking/pressing the "talk" button.

An minor B-Plot deals with Data's most recent exploration in humanity is him doing "small talk" where he engages people in trivial, anecdotal, conversation to fills gaps in more important talk. He does to the annoyance of some of his co-workers but manages to take-off with it with Commander Hutchinson on the planet, a man who's said to be an expert at making small talk (and annoying others with it.) It's actually one of the few aspects of humanity we see Data try and emulate in the series that he actually seems to master quite well.

Unfortunately for "Hutch" he got a literal red-shirt kill in this episode.

It's lucky that Worf managed to excuse himself out of the reception as he likely would have made for a more formidable presence in the planet-side encounter. Fortunate for our heroes, but unfortunate for him, Geordi was not able to excuse him from the reception leading to him being shot but his VISOR plays an important role in saving the day.

I find it very hard to believe that at no point Picard could have stopped the ship's shutdown.

During the opening segment of the show we see everyone buzzing around and its implying the deboarding is taking longer than usual and is quite hectic. While setting up diverters for certain areas and such likely would slow things down, I would think a quick evacuation procedure from the ship would be a nailed-down plan. Hell, the ship was easily and quickly evacuated in minutes when they thought it was going to explode in 01101100.

But, it's a good episode. One that I can enjoy watching, it is nice seeing Picard in a more action-hero esque sort of position while alone on the ship.

And, well, you have to like the joke at the end.

Picard when talking about finding his saddle: "I only wish I got to use it on a horse."
Worf: "Of course."

 

[Mojochi]

And, well, you have to like the joke at the end.

Picard when talking about finding his saddle: "I only wish I got to use it on a horse."
Worf: "Of course."

Actually, that's the only thing I don't like about this episode... & follow me on this

Picard spends his entire time at Hutch's reception using his staff as human shields from the pedantic social banter, until he gets a glint of an out when Hutch mentions horseback riding

Basically, the horseback riding thing was all done just to get him out of that awkward social engagement, with someone he found annoying. They all found him annoying & were heartily vocal about that.

Then the guy effing DIES, in the line of duty, a noted fellow officer.

So how do we round this little arc out? In the end, Riker, Troi & Bev use Worf's genuine ignorance to poke fun at Picard over his use OF the saddle & horseback riding to get away from the guy they all thought was annoying

So basically, we all have a little chuckle at the end about remembering that dead guy who was so annoying Picard planned to ride out into the middle of nowhere to be rid of him

It came in handy, but not on the horse I wanted to ride away from the annoying guy! Oh how droll. A story worthy of telling Commander Hutch- Oh wait... he's effing dead. Let's keep chuckling, instead of feeling bad for him

They're basically joking at Hutch's expense at the end

 

[Trekker4747]

Eh, I didn't take it quite that deep. I agree Hutch's death is glossed over a bit too much (but this is a flaw Trek ran into many times) but I don't think the joke over the saddle was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.

 

[Mojochi]

Well, it's clear they just wanted to cap the episode off with a neat little remark, & ultimately didn't think it through very well. That's my one real criticism of the episode. It seemed rather hastily put together. Not a whole lot of substance to it. Still fun to watch though

 

[jimbotron]

Annoying factual error in this episode if you're an equestrian. You don't just carry around a treed saddle to use on any old horse. A treed saddle like that is specific to the horse it is fitted to. You risk injury to the horse and yourself with the bad fit.

 

[Mojochi]

^Yeah, good point

 

[Timo]

We might actually wonder whether Hutchkinson died at all... After all, he was hit by the same type of weapon that only stunned LaForge, and at a greater range. Perhaps he didn't suffocate despite being covered by that curtain, and later made a full recovery, just like LaForge?

The high point of the episode for me is when Picard discovers the villains are working for profit. I mean, that was the hook of Die Hard, too, but it's doubly effective from Picard's point of view atop that high horse he usually mounts... Indeed, it must sound downright perverse to the good Captain, a bit like McClane suddenly discovering that Hans Gruber is raiding the office tower in order to have sex with sheep.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Trekker4747]

Annoying factual error in this episode if you're an equestrian. You don't just carry around a treed saddle to use on any old horse. A treed saddle like that is specific to the horse it is fitted to. You risk injury to the horse and yourself with the bad fit.

Well, that may be true today. But how does a 24th century saddle, usually fitted to holographic horses, work?

We might actually wonder whether Hutchkinson died at all... After all, he was hit by the same type of weapon that only stunned LaForge, and at a greater range. Perhaps he didn't suffocate despite being covered by that curtain, and later made a full recovery, just like LaForge?

Hutch clearly died, the "blanket covering the entire body" is pretty much movie/TV talk for "dead dude" sure he and LaForge were hit by the same type of weapon but from different shooters. One may have been on a lower, less lethal, setting than the one that was fired at Hutch. Hutch may also have had a medical condition that made him more vulnerable to the attack or was hit in a more crucial spot.

 

[Mojochi]

Hutch may also have had a medical condition that made him more vulnerable to the attack

Yeah, he was 15-20 years older than Geordi

Anyway, yeah, Hutch is dead. If there were any chance he was alive, they wouldn't just leave him like a lump on the floor. The Doc would be seeing to him as well, in some capacity

 

[Timo]

sure he and LaForge were hit by the same type of weapon but from different shooters

...But both grabbed a gun from their secret stash at random. It doesn't make much sense that they would be on different settings.

Hutch succumbing to a heart attack is a distinct possibility, as we do know that stun sometimes kills. But perhaps he just needed time to recuperate under the blanket? And Crusher would certainly be doing triage, taking care of LaForge first and foremost either because Hutchinson was fine already, or dead already, no real telling which. (Or she was cunningly pretending that the Commander was dead, so that the villains would pay no further attention to him, and a "resurrection" would catch them by surprise. )

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mojochi]

You gotta be kidding right? If someone is recuperating, there is no useful reason for them to be left wrapped in a blanket in a distant part of the room, on the floor. Clearly, they were allowing her to see to the wounded, and a doctor wouldn't do that to a person they were looking after. She doesn't even look at or mention his condition once. That guy is no longer a medical concern, and the notion that it was because he's fine doesn't hold much water, when the scene treatment refers to him as only a footnote, a literal note at everyone's feet, not even worth mentioning

The fact is Geordi got a warning blast & Hutch stepped up to challenge, and got made the example. You hurt the challenger more than the random guy, to send a message that you are dangerously serious, and heroes get got.

 

[Timo]

Well, yes, I'm kidding - but it's worth pointing out that the fault here is a double one, a case where two wrongs might well make a right...

As for medical concerns, when the poor historian in "The Big Goodbye" goes down, he isn't really attended to by Crusher. Just about the only difference between Whalen and Hutchinson is that Crusher kept saying "this man is dying" and didn't cover his face.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mojochi]

lol Yeah, well she kept an eye on him at least, & didn't leave him in a bundled up lump on the floor. Not a whole heck of a lot of doctoring going on, but at least he was addressed.

 

[Trekker4747]

Showing someone lying prone on the floor with a blanket covering their head is pretty strong TV/movie code for "dude is dead."

 

[jimbotron]

We might actually wonder whether Hutchkinson died at all... After all, he was hit by the same type of weapon that only stunned LaForge, and at a greater range. Perhaps he didn't suffocate despite being covered by that curtain, and later made a full recovery, just like LaForge?

That's just some good old-fashioned castmember immortality. Just like in The High Ground with Worf being the only survivor of the Ansata weapons.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I liked this episode - as it is. There is one small thing I would have added if I was a producer: extras.

We really needed extras to fill that reception room. That way, when Riker is whispering discretely, we might buy the fact that the terrorists wouldn't notice. Usually, extras are a luxury and are the first expense to be slashed at production meetings (yet DS9 constantly left room for many in their budgets) but I think they are necessary to make the planetside plot believable.

 

[trekshark]

Hutch may also have had a medical condition that made him more vulnerable to the attack

"first time guest appearance"-itis


overall I always enjoy this episode, but it has some issues. They don't do a life sign check before the final power off and start of the sweep? The captain can't override the shutdown? They didn't put it on hold when he beamed back with instructions to not resume until he checked back in on the planet?

 

[Marsden]

I apologize for remarking from memory, but wasn't there some indication Hutch was shot right in the forehead and there was some stain indicating a wound under the sheet.

I certainly think it's plausible that one guy has his blaster set to kill and the other doesn't. Yes, I called it a blaster.


From the OP, I really don't think Picard would care much about the intruders lives because of what they are doing. They must be stopped and aren't willing to negotiate, they are completely unreasonable, at least I'm assuming Picard feels that way. They want to steal something to sell it, a something for WMDs, I'm thinking Picard doesn't like that.

 

[Trekker4747]

I apologize for remarking from memory, but wasn't there some indication Hutch was shot right in the forehead and there was some stain indicating a wound under the sheet.

I certainly think it's plausible that one guy has his blaster set to kill and the other doesn't. Yes, I called it a blaster.

Both Hutch and Geordi were shot in the chest from a distance. You could quibble Hutch was shot in a more critical area (Geordi looked to be hit in the sternum, arguably a hardier place to be struck then somewhere in the rib cage) but it's probably just "better" to assume Hutch's attacker had his weapon on a higher setting for whatever reason.

From the OP, I really don't think Picard would care much about the intruders lives because of what they are doing. They must be stopped and aren't willing to negotiate, they are completely unreasonable, at least I'm assuming Picard feels that way. They want to steal something to sell it, a something for WMDs, I'm thinking Picard doesn't like that.

Thing is, as a 24th century human, Picard is supposed to care about all life at all costs. This is a man who nearly wept over the killing of the space-creature in "Galaxy's Child" when it posed as a serious threat to the ship. He rejected the notion of killing the Crystalline Entity, arguing that it was simply nothing more than a creature "feeding" unaware it was harming sentient/sapient beings. Even though the creature was responsible for the loss of many, many lives and destruction of planets.

So I'd think he'd be a bit more cautious about leading people to their horrific deaths by the sweep. Granted, he was exactly filled with options on what to do with them, but he seems to shrug off their deaths a bit too easily.

 

[Marsden]

So I'd think he'd be a bit more cautious about leading people to their horrific deaths by the sweep. Granted, he was exactly filled with options on what to do with them, but he seems to shrug off their deaths a bit too easily.

But, just for discussion's sake, that for Picard that meeting and communicating with the space monsters could somehow be increasing Human knowledge, while keeping these criminals around doesn't. So by meeting and communicating with those creatures might make some sense, plus if the creature really isn't aware of the damage it's doing, I can see Picard forgiving that, but these terrorist types seem to be by nature fully aware of what they are doing and don't care that it's wrong, thereby not earning Picard's concern for their lives.

He really can't tell them, let's go to the conference room and discuss this so we can come to an agreement, and it's not because of a barrier of communication, but a lack of will on the other party, they intend not to be amenable. The space monsters just might have been convinced not to kill to eat people and find other source of nutrition. For these invaders there is no equivalent, they know that they are selling WMDs and those only have one use, killing on a large scale.