Voyager 5x21 "Juggernaut"

rating: **

the story: B'Elanna tries to control her anger while dealing with repair work on a Malon ship.

what it's all about: The Malon, in the fifth season, became the second-most unlikely recurring aliens of the series (the sixth season had the "Potato Heads").  Debuting in "Night," the season premiere, they were basically galactic polluters.  Yet in "Juggernaut," it's not really polluting that defines them so much as their generally disagreeable nature.  Enter: B'Elanna.

And duck for cover!  The episode is basically an excuse to illustrate her poor temper, and how she tries to get it under control.  There are plenty of episodes that explain why she has a poor temper, but this isn't one of them; instead, we just get to see her angry for the sake of being angry, and it's actually a refreshing change of pace.  Maybe those who can't fathom having such a bad attitude won't get it, but seeing someone grapple with this as the whole point of an episode...it's cathartic. 

And, as you'll see under the guest-stars listing, there are plenty of otherwise familiar faces hiding beneath the lumpy Malon makeup, so that's certainly one of the episode's pleasures, too.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Casual fans might be baffled by the Malon phenomenon.
• series - But it's nice continuity all the same.
• character - B'Elanna Torres is one of the most fascinating characters in the whole franchise.  Here's an episode that doesn't even try to prove why, and she's still fascinating.
• essential - Sure it doesn't try to resolve anything, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching.

notable guest-stars:
Ron Canada
Lee Arenberg
Alexander Enberg

Deep Space Nine 4x18 "Rules of Engagement"

rating: *

the story: Worf stands trial for being in command during a mission in which innocent civilians died.

what it's all about: Court drama is such a familiar Star Trek trope that if attempted, it had better have something interesting to say.  Unfortunately, "Rules of Engagement" really doesn't.

It's one of the few episodes of the season to have something, even tangentially, to say about the Klingon war, but it's also an episode that could've been told regardless of it, in an earlier era of the franchise.  It's almost like Enterprise's revisiting of the period where the Federation and the Klingon Empire were definitely rivals, which was a running theme of the original series as well as their six films.  Even with the war going on, it seems it would've been more a Deep Space Nine story, or even a franchise story in general (think "Balance of Terror") if there had been an episode this season that tried to demonstrate that war couldn't really shake the bonds of friendship that had been forged in the more recent past.

And it's one of those curious episodes (like the later "Change of Heart") that the series inexplicably did, whose only real effect was to call into serious question Worf's command ability.  Why was this such an easy thing for the series to do with the character?  I don't know if anything else Worf ever did really justifies such storytelling.

And yet, "Rules" still has some things to say, the general alienation Worf will continue to experience among his people until he finally bonds with Martok later, and the uses of propaganda and show trials in wartime (and election seasons).  It becomes clear that the whole point of the trial is to discredit the Federation.  But the effectiveness of Founder manipulation is better represented, among Klingons, in the fifth season premiere, "Apocalypse Rising," in which this particular war reaches its conclusion.

So this is definitely one of the season's misfires.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The best reason to watch this episode is a general look at continued Klingon/Federation differences.
• series - It doesn't really have that much to say about the Klingon war happening around it.
• character - Or anything particularly useful to say about Worf.
• essential - Pretty much the opposite of what a Deep Space Nine episode should be.

notable guest-stars:
Ron Canada

The Next Generation 5x13 "The Masterpiece Society"

rating: ****

the story: A colony is reluctant to receive help for a potential disaster, as contact with the crew could pollute its society.

similar to: "Meridian" (Deep Space Nine), "Dear Doctor," "A Night in Sickbay" (Enterprise)

my thoughts: "Masterpiece Society" has always been tricky to contemplate, as it threatens to dissolve into the milquetoast reputation of Next Generation, something that seems bland in comparison to some of the more exciting elements of the franchise, or entertainment in general.  In short, it's a think piece.  And, perhaps, a perfect Star Trek think piece.

The franchise is no stranger to examining cultures that its crews find hard to interact with, for any number of reasons, most of them unflattering to those cultures.  In the most reductive analysis, Star Trek can be seen as a remnant of the age of exploration, when various leading states went blundering into native cultures and pronounced them primitive throwbacks to an earlier time, easy to judge and exploit.  Now, clearly the franchise has always preached that exploitation is out of the question.  But what about all the judgment inherent in these adventures, from a supposedly enlightened people?  Sometimes, if you think about it, it's just a tough thing to reconcile. 

Then an episode like "Masterpiece Society" comes along, and forces you to think about why this tends to happen.  It's one thing when, say, "Darmok" explores a language gap, but a culture gap can be all the more astounding.  What happens when Starfleet comes across a world that wishes to isolate itself, with reasons that don't seem clear until it's too late?  It's a matter of the Prime Directive, not merely a matter of protecting inhabitants at a different development platform, but cultures that are so different, they're difficult to comprehend, so that in doing anything at all will affect them. 

In "Meridian" (Deep Space Nine), there's a planet that necessarily experiences a different relationship with our plain of existence.  In "Dear Doctor" (Enterprise), it's a culture with two competing species you'd have to play god to consider helping during an epidemic at all.  In "A Night in Sickbay" (also Enterprise), it's about failing to comprehend what's important to them (better than as portrayed in Next Generation's own "Justice").

And in "Masterpiece Society," it's a culture where every member has been specifically assigned a task, and that's what they do for the duration of their lives.  Yet when Picard's crew comes along, some of the members realize there's a true alternative for the first time.  (See also: Insurrection.)  It's the rare episode that dares suggest the good guys are in fact the bad guys, not because of anything they do, but for what they fail to understand.  It's an episode, like "Ensign Ro," that suggests the perfect future really isn't so perfect after all.

It's also a minor Geordi spotlight, pointing out how in some cultures his blindness would have resulted in an abortion, his imperfection intolerable.  It's a thorny topic we still debate today, and "Masterpiece" may be worth viewing to meditate on that alone.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential (all criteria met)

notable guest-stars:
Ron Canada