Captain Picard Day 2021!

 I haven’t been very good at acknowledging Captain Picard Day (which is basically Star Trek Day) in the past…like at all (unlike First Contact Day!), but I marked it my calendar an’ everything this year, and social media reminded me, and so here I am!

Ironically, we first learned about this in a Riker episode (“The Pegasus”), but in case you’re not familiar, here’s the gist:

The Enterprise of course is a ship with families aboard. The children are encouraged to create artwork to help celebrate Picard as captain of the ship.

(Which is all the more ironic, as Picard frequently professed his dislike of children.)

Anyway, this is as good an excuse to celebrate Picard in the real world as any. At its height Next Generation was able push Picard as a cultural icon. There was an actual business book called Make It So that encouraged taking leadership lessons from him. 

Star Trek fans still find it hard to let Picard compete with Kirk as best captain, but Patrick Stewart has been beyond reproach as favorite actor in the franchise. He never really parlayed that into a significant movie career, but he had plenty of TV projects for years keeping him busy, a lot of them drawing from classic literature and/or Shakespeare.

And of course he has since gone on to star in the to date only Star Trek series to serve as a direct spinoff and namesake for a single character.

Star Trek Arcs VIII: The Maquis

Arguably the most ambitious arc of the franchise was envisioned to help launch Voyager, and yet it continued down fascinating roads even from that point: the creation of the Federation rebels the Maquis.

The Maquis were Federation citizens who lived on worlds affected by treaty stipulations with the Cardassians, most famous for their Occupation of Bajor, a concept introduced in The Next Generation but played out most dramatically in Deep Space Nine. Eventually it wasn’t just those directly affected, colonists living on those worlds, but Starfleet officers who renounced their commissions to stand up for what they believed in.

The first appearance of the Maquis was in the eponymous two-part episode during the second season of Deep Space Nine. In it, Sisko and an old Starfleet friend confront the problem together until Sisko realizes his friend has actually already defected.

The same basic premise plays out in “Preemptive Strike,” Next Generation, airing about little more than a week later (if you were watching at the time, it was nearly three straight weeks of Maquis intrigue across Star Trek programming, with a few weeks’ gap; if it had happened later no doubt there would have been an actual crossover, which still has yet to happen in the franchise, and probably even the debuts of some of the actual Voyager characters). 

“Preemptive Strike” resonates more with fans than “The Maquis, Parts 1 & 2” thanks to pivoting around a known character rather than someone introduced in the story. That character of course is Ro Laren, the Bajoran who had been a recurring character in Next Generation for years, who was even originally considered to continue on in Deep Space Nine (and subsequently replaced by the new character Major Kira).

By the end of the episode, Ro feels conflicted by her decision to join the Maquis because she feels she’s betraying Picard directly. In that way, we end the initial experiences with the Maquis with the ability to view them in a positive manner.

When Voyager begins, “Caretaker” of course sees Starfleet and Maquis ships stranded in the Delta Quadrant and deciding to function as a single crew to find their way home again. A lot of fans expected the series to be an endless sequence of the competing ideologies in conflict, and never really forgave it for making a different creative choice. Though, to be fair, the Maquis were former Federation and in most cases even former Starfleet; the biggest hurdle was reintegrating into rigid Starfleet procedures (played out in the episode “Learning Curve”).

The Maquis story instead picks back up in Deep Space Nine, third season, “Defiant,” in which Riker’s transporter duplicate Thomas (“Second Chances”) is the third major defector we see play out, although the fourth and final one, in the fourth season’s “For the Cause,” ends up being by far the most dramatic one. 

At first Sisko believes it’s his girlfriend Kasidy Yates, which would certainly be bad enough, but it turns out to be straight arrow security officer Michael Eddington, a reliable recurring presence since the previous season.

We find out how powerfully Sisko feels this betrayal in the fifth season. “For the Uniform” is arguably the pinnacle of the pre-Dominion War period for the series. Sisko swears to bring Eddington in, but this proves incredibly difficult.

However, once accomplished it becomes a definitive turning point for the Maquis. When the Cardassians join the Dominion, they enact a scorched earth policy against the Maquis, and Eddington finds himself imagining a heroic last stand in “Blaze of Glory.”

The fate of the Maquis is transmitted to Janeway’s crew in Voyager, and in “Extreme Risk” we see how powerfully it affects B’Elanna Torres, the hotheaded half Klingon, half human engineer.

Finally, in “Repression,” a sleeper suggestion is awakened among the former Maquis members of the crew, implanted by a zealous Bajoran years earlier, thereby somewhat bringing the whole arc full circle.

Star Trek Arcs VII: Worf/Empire

If Gene Roddenberry had had his way, this one would never have happened, and modern Star Trek (and I suppose, Battlestar Galactica) would be a different story.

You see, when The Next Generation was being developed, he didn’t want to use any of the familiar aliens from the original series. That’s why there are so few Vulcans in the series. It’s also why we got the Ferengi, and even the Borg. But then Worf, who of course is Klingon, became a part of the regular cast of characters, although even at first he had a relatively minor role, no clearly defined post (Yar, after all, but the chief security officer).

As the first and second seasons developed, things changed again, and we even met Worf’s former lover, K’Ehleyr, in “The Emissary,” which indirectly started out the arc that would come to define him.

But it wasn’t until a jealous and manipulative rival named Duras attempted to lie his way to power in “Sins of the Father” that the high drama of Klingon politics finally became a thing. Worf ends up losing honor among his people, a rare unhappy ending for a Star Trek episode, but only the beginning of the story. We also meet his brother Kurn in the episode, by the way.

“Reunion” is the episode where everything really changes. We meet Gowron, who goes on to be chancellor of the Klingon Empire (and idol of bug-eyed aliens everywhere), K’Ehleyr returns, Duras attempts one last great plot, and...Alexander. That’s a whole arc, in a manner of speaking, as is how Gowron eventually loses power, which involves Worf’s relationship with another Klingon, Martok, but I’m limiting myself to the strict causality of events, so I won’t get into all of those details.

Anyway, Duras kills K'Ehleyr, Worf kills Duras, Gowron becomes chancellor.

This leads to the two-part “Redemption,” which itself involves another quasi-arc involving Yar and her Romulan daughter Sela (won’t get into that, either), in which the Klingons experience a civil war, exactly what the events of “Sins of the Father” were supposed to avoid. Clearly that didn’t work out so well.

The story picks up in Deep Space Nine, in the two-part “Way of the Warrior,” in which Worf, having sacrificed so much already, finds himself caught once more between the Empire and the Federation, as Gowron, who unbeknownst to him is being manipulated by the Dominion, declares war against the Federation, and asks Worf to stand by his side, which of course he refuses to do, compounding all his previous problems.

Finally, in “Sons of Mogh,” Kurn has had enough and wants his misery, at always being the victim to Worf’s choices, to end. But this is Star Trek, so every time suicide seems to be the answer, another one must be presented, and his memory is completely replaced instead. Worf gets to continue his journey alone. Until Martok. Long story short, they bond, and the increasingly dishonorable Gowron forces Worf to kill him near the end of the Dominion War, in “Tacking into the Wind,” which leads Martok to become the new chancellor.

Without all this, the idea of serialized storytelling, in Star Trek and genre television in general, might have taken longer to standardize. It’s the first time Star Trek made a concerted effort to tell a continuing story, especially one with so gosh darn many unhappy developments. Ronald Moore tends to get a lot of credit for it, which gave him enough of a reputation that he found himself in the position to totally reimagine Battlestar Galactica as a modern, grim, heavily serialized drama, in which the robotic Cylons are basically a lot of Duras fans. 

Star Trek Arcs VI: Picard versus the Borg

Arguably the biggest Star Trek arc ever was conceived in the least likely season of Star Trek ever (just like the last one). I’m talking, of course, about the Borg.

In the first season finale of The Next Generation, “The Neutral Zone,” the Romulans are reacting to the emerging threat of the Borg. That’s the whole point! 

But we don’t actually meet the Borg until the second season, in a Q episode, of all things, “Q Who?,” the unlikeliest thing ever, perhaps. In a lot of ways, that was an episode that redefined Q, took him seriously for the first time, and arguably too seriously! Every subsequent appearance (except maybe “Death Wish” in Voyager) veers far from the darkness of Q literally showing Picard how little he really understands about the dangers of space.

But it at least shows Picard as the one who needs to understand the threat of the Borg, because that becomes the big story.

At the end of the third season, “The Best of Both Worlds” makes franchise history as Picard finds himself assimilated into the Borg Collective, ending the episode on one of the most important (serialized) cliffhangers in television history. The fourth season premiere concludes the story, and of course Picard is rescued. But the fallout lingers for decades.

The first follow-up is the next episode of that season, “Family,” during which Picard deals with the emotional impact of his assimilation. He later encounters the Collective again in “I, Borg,” in which he’s forced to admit that even something seemingly as simple as how he should feel about this is actually quite complicated.

Then of course First Contact, in which he’s run through the ringer again. It remains my personal favorite Picard memory, especially the ready room scene where he admits how obsessed he remains, uncontrollably so.

The arc technically concludes in “The Impossible Box,” from Picard, in which he steps foot aboard a Borg cube again for the first time since his assimilation. 

Enterprise features a tie-in with all this in the episode “Regeneration,” in which we learn the time-traveling Borg from First Contact are in fact responsible for sending the signal that eventually brings the Collective on a collision course with humanity.

Finally, in the pilot of Deep Space Nine, “Emissary,” we meet Sisko, who lost his wife in the big battle from “The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2,” and he still blames Picard, regardless of his assimilated state at the time. It’s the rare moment in franchise lore we see a significant separate story set during a more famous one.

Star Trek Arcs V: Data/Lore

This arc is the first one to play out deliberately within a single Star Trek series (and beyond).

It’s all the more incredible, since the first season of The Next Generation is seldom considered to be the origin point of a lot of good things, other than the second act of the franchise itself. 

In “Datalore,” we get the secret origin of Data himself, as well as the fact that he has an “evil twin,” Lore, created just before him by Noonien Soong. Lore, it seems, was too mischievous, too unpredictable, so Data himself was conceived as a more innocent being.

This had the unintended effect of causing Lore, once discovered, to double up on his mischief, and for Data ever to yearn for more. In “Brothers,” the dying Soong intends to bequeath Data with a component that would help him achieve that goal, an emotion chip, but like Jacob and Esau, Lore tricks Soong into giving the chip to him instead.

In the two-part “Descent,” Lore uses the chip to manipulate Data, who’s unable to process emotions and so becomes easily controlled, for a time, but by the end he’s permanently deactivated Lore. For an android who has had to fight for his own right to exist, and that of his “daughter,” even, this is a surprisingly little-considered decision.

In Generations he finally installs the emotion chip into his positronic net, and again he exhibits great difficulty reconciling his new abilities. Eventually he figures them out, and in later movies even has the ability to switch them off or have the chip easily removed.

In Nemesis we meet a third Soong android of the same appearance, B-4, a prototype that predates Lore, less sophisticated than either previously encountered. Data again chooses to deactivate a troublesome sibling, although since he himself dies at the end of the movie, B-4 is subsequently reactivated, left to wrestle with the downloaded experiences of his brother.

In Picard we meet Dahj and Soji, who are so sophisticated they aren’t even aware they’re androids, much less directly associated with Data. The dilemma Lore forces Data into in “Descent” plays out a little differently between these sisters, who find themselves as the unlikely heart of a dark controversy. 

He Was a Particularly Troubled Romulan: Star Trek Post-9/11

"He was a particularly troubled Romulan."

That's what Spock says of Nero in Star Trek (2009).  The line always stuck out for me, but I never quite understood why until recently.  Spock, of course, is Vulcan, and Nero is Romulan, an offshoot of the Vulcans.  Further characterizing the Romulans was always a little difficult.  In the original TV series, they were presented as another Cold War analogy, like the Klingons, who had fought the Federation in the past but had retreated into reclusiveness.  In fact, the fact that Romulans descended from Vulcans wasn't even generally known until they emerged again, and they went back into isolation until The Next Generation, where they became a recurring threat, until the events of Star Trek Nemesis, in which a clone of Picard named Shinzon attempted another full-scale war against the Federation, but ended up suffering the loss of their home planet in the backstory of Star Trek. 

Characterizing Nero as "particularly troubled" is a telling detail.  Nero's response to the destruction of Romulus is to blame Spock, the older one still alive in Picard's day, and all of the Federation, and to once again declare open war.  He sets about a plan to what is in his mind equitable retaliatory action, affecting the destruction of the Vulcan home world and then the rest of the leading Federation worlds, starting with Earth.

And it made me wonder what exactly Nero represented.  Longtime fans tend to look down on the new films, claiming they lack the spirit of the franchise by putting too much focus on flashy special effects.  But that's simply not the case.

Since 9/11, Star Trek has had terrorism on the brain.  Star Trek: Enterprise famously launched within weeks of 9/11.  By the end of its second season, Enterprise launched a major story arc in direct response, an act of terrorism against Earth that led to a preventive mission against the aliens responsible. 

As you read above, the franchise was responsive to its times from the very beginning.  The Klingons and the Romulans were both reflective of the Soviet Union, an idea that culminated in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country with its breakup.  The Next Generation continued the tradition; the Troubles in Ireland were often reflected in its storytelling.  Deep Space Nine echoed the collapse of the imperial age with the end of the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, reflecting back to the days of WWII but often evoking present times, if not the Troubles then the ongoing conflict in Israel.

Which brings us back to Star Trek.  What if Nero was a Palestinian analogy?  Or Islamic terrorists such as those who struck on 9/11?  I find it likely.  And then Star Trek Into Darkness doubled down on the idea. 
                                                                                                                                                                          

 

You'll recall the above promotional poster, meant to evoke Khan's early terrorism in the movie.  Khan himself might as well have depicted the perception that America's response to 9/11 ended up being excessive or misguided, to put it mildly.

 

Things worth considering.



The Next Generation 5x2 "Darmok"

rating: ****

the story: Picard must learn to communicate with an alien who seems to speak in gibberish.

similar to: "Arena" (original series), "The Enemy" (Next Generation) "A Night in Sickbay," "Dawn" (Enterprise)

my thoughts: Being marooned on a planet with someone who appears to be an enemy and being forced to help each other survive...Yeah, that's a Star Trek as well as sci-fi in general (Enemy Mine)trope, from the debut of the Gorn in "Arena" to Geordi bunking down with a Romulan in "The Enemy."  Yet it's "Darmok" that's the undisputable classic.

It's not so hard to see why.  Unlike the divisive "Night in Sickbay" from Enterprise (though another classic), "Darmok" is actually the story of Starfleet finally making a breakthrough with an alien culture that previously proved too difficult to penetrate, and as such serves as another feather in the cap of Picard and his crew, surely the most intellectual from throughout the whole franchise.  This is arguably the best example of that, as the strange language of the Tamarians is deciphered, simultaneously, both in researching their culture through databases and by the experiences Picard has with his counterpart.

It's the rare opportunity to see a situation explained to have no ill-will, no matter how the circumstances look, and while it would certainly have looked better for all involved if there had been no trickery involved, for the Tamarians this was a last-ditch effort, a desperation play, and it's only Picard with his infinite patience and powers of comprehension who can make the breakthrough.

It's a textbook Next Generation episode, perhaps the one to show anyone skeptical about it, whether original series partisans or those who have never watched Star Trek at all.  You don't need to know anything about the series itself to enjoy it, and as such is also an excellent argument for the episodic nature the franchise was once allowed to embrace, because this really is about as good as it gets.

It's also worth singling out Paul Winfield's performance as the alien captain.  Previously featured in Wrath of Khan, Winfield boldly appeared completely unrecognizable, speaking lines that hardly flatter an actor's natural instincts.  And is a large part of why the episode works so well.

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

notable guest-stars:
Paul Winfield
Ashley Judd (Robin Lefler)
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)

The Next Generation 4x25 "In Theory"

rating: **

the story: Data attempts to have a romantic relationship.

similar to: "Family," "Data's Day"

my thoughts: I've had something of a conflicted relationship with this episode over the years.  On the one hand, it's a valuable experience of what it's like to interact with Data on an intimate basis, and on the other, it really doesn't give him enough credit.

"In Theory" joins a suite of episodes from the fourth season that take a slice-of-life approach to the series, including "Family" at the start of it and "Data's Day" near the middle.  "Theory" is the most simple of them, and therefore the easiest to take for granted.  Yet it may be the most valuable.  It's one thing to accept Data as a member of the crew, and another to accept that the crew accepts him.  Often enough, we're remembered that other people haven't always been as accepting, but "Theory" presents what it's like to actually accept him, warts and all, including all the idiosyncrasies that are so easy to take for granted.

Fans hate it when they're introduced to characters who are relevant for one episode, but are otherwise represented as relevant on a continued basis to the ones we otherwise have followed all along.  As with the rest of the season, "Theory" is interested in someone for their unique perspective, and so use them as a catapult to help the story along.  The woman who falls in love with Data, however, is kind f beside the point.  Unlike O'Brien in "The Wounded" or Barclay in "The Nth Degree," it wouldn't have benefited anyway (say, Nurse Ogawa) to have been used, from the available pool, and so let's just move on to Data himself.

The most telling scene is when Data explains everything he was processing at a given moment, and it's the rare moment where we're allowed to view him as the complex mechanism he really is.  His girlfriend is pretty annoyed that she's just a part of his thought process, but it's exactly what Data should be doing.  It's painful when he programs himself for love (Voyager's Doctor had better examples of such attempts, such as "Real Life" or "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy"), but again, that just goes to show he inexperienced he really is, despite his many years of service with humans.

"Theory" is hardly to the caliber or significance of "Measure of a Man," but it's still a valuable insight into Data and his greater role in the society of the crew.  And besides, just as Wesley discovered before him, it's dangerous but incredibly amusing to ask crewmates about love!

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
Rosalind Chao (Keiko)
Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)

The Next Generation 4x24 "The Mind's Eye"

rating: *

the story: Geordi is programmed by the Romulans to become an unwitting assassin.

similar to: "Babel One," "United," "The Aenar" (Enterprise)

my thoughts: This is such a roundabout way to lead into "Redemption" that it's almost not even worth commenting on in that regard, but it's probably the best way to talk about it at all.

And by the way, this is also the introduction of Sela, the Romulan daughter of the Tasha Yar from "Yesterday's Enterprise," and even in that it's kind of a needless tease for how little mileage the character ends up getting.  Denise Crosby famously exited the series in its first season because she didn't think she got enough to do.  These are the episodes where she gets to prove whether or not it was a horrible mistake on her part, because they're by far her most important.  Yet she never quite breaks the mold of being an actor who was arguably better suited to play Deanna Troi, as originally cast (Marina Sirtis makes a far better argument about deserving a shot at Yar in episodes like "Power Play" and "Face of the Enemy").

But since she's hardly in it, and not even officially so, let's not spend this review talking about Sela.  It's not even worth talking about Geordi, which makes this another episode featuring a character but not really using them as bedeviled the midpoint of the season.  Until the closing moments of the episode, in which Troi helps Geordi realize what's happened to him, he literally has nothing interesting to do except walk around on autopilot.  Based on the classic movie(s) The Manchurian Candidate, I'd say "Mind's Eye" was a horrible misfire in that regard, far more so than the Deep Space Nine episode evoking Casablanca, "Profit and Loss."

Anyway, again, this whole story is really just an excuse to set up "Redemption" two episodes later as a season finale.  It doesn't feature Worf, for whatever reason, but does have Romulans and Klingons awkwardly clashing.  It's important in a very minor way, almost like the series realized such a moment was necessary, but had no better way to provide it.  It's a place-filler of an episode.

Besides, the whole thing was done better in a three-part Enterprise episode concerning Romulans manipulating events behind the scenes.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Denise Crosby (Sela)
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
John Fleck

The Next Generation Rewind: "Allegiance" as a prelude to "All Good Things..."

For longtime fans, it's always fun rewatching Star Trek to see if you'll catch anything new.  BBC America broadcasts Next Generation on a routine basis, and so of course I've been availing myself.  And wouldn't you know it?  I made a discovery about a seemingly trivial episode: "Allegiance."

Near the end of the third season, "Allegiance" tells the story of aliens who seek to study methods of leadership by capturing various individuals and replacing them with duplicates who behave in atypical ways.  The relevant individual in this case is Picard, whose replacement behaves oddly enough to provoke mutiny in the crew.

And how exactly does he behave?  In a lot of ways that are relevant later in the series finale, "All Good Things...," actually.

Don't believe me?  Consider this: 1) he asks the crew to go along with questionable orders without explaining them, 2) he romances Crusher, 3) he joins the poker party, and 4) he is unusually concerned with how the crew feels about him.

So let's go over these beat by beat. 

1) He asks the crew to go along with questionable orders without explaining them.  In "All Good Things..." this would be in the "Encounter at Farpoint" era sequence where he can't adequately explain why he's doing what he's doing in part because everyone is still new to each other. 

2) He romances Crusher.  This one isn't totally unusual, because multiple episodes tease this.  The difference is that in "Allegiance" they turn a decidedly romantic leaf in their otherwise platonic relationship.  In "All Good Things..." they've been married and divorced by the time of the future era, the only other time they can talk about such a situation frankly.

3) He joins the poker party.  Pointedly, for the duration of the series he's otherwise absent from these games.  In "All Good Things..." the big emotional climax is Picard finally joining them as Troi says, "You were always welcome."  In "Allegiance," it's Data who says, "You are always welcome."  If you're at all skeptical about my analysis, I think this one similarity is the most telling.

4) He is unusually concerned with how the crew feels about him.  This stands for all three eras represented in "All Good Things..."  In the past, that one is pretty obvious, as is the future.  In the present, his new diagnosis of impending dementia causes him to begin questioning his standing.  Otherwise in the series, he's about as confident as you can get, unafraid to express his mind or to appear aloof (the latter especially in the early seasons, which was the big change in the later ones that helped make the whole thing work so well).  To witness a version of Picard who does care, who is concerned that he might be coming off wrong (as expressed to Troi, at least) is one of the big tipoffs that he's not really Picard.

Pretty weird, huh?  Otherwise, "Allegiance" is a pretty minor episode.  But as a precursor to the final episode, it becomes pretty significant.  In my original analysis (here), I thought it was best seen as a minor Picard character study.  Now it seems something a bit more.

What do you think?

The Next Generation 4x23 "The Host"

rating: ****

the story: Crusher finds herself in an unusual romantic situation in the franchise debut of the Trill.

similar to: "Sarek" (Next Generation), "Life Support," "Rejoined" (Deep Space Nine)

my thoughts: It's rare that a species that essentially is set up to try and prove a point ends up becoming a major element in the wider franchise, but that's exactly what happens to the Trill once Jadzia Dax debuts in Deep Space Nine.

This is a very, very tricky episode, and its immediate impact comes most directly from its closing moments, when the symbiont that has previously been residing in Crusher's lover and then Riker ends up in the body of a woman.  This is the first franchise statement on sexual orientation.  It's not a matter of how you interpret it so much as that it's addressed at all, not as the entire point of the story but rather how it ends, and that's really quite remarkable.

Crusher was routinely a tough nut to crack as a character.  She was famously excised from the series entirely following the first season, only to make further franchise history by returning in the third.  She's the main cast member with the least to do in the movies.  And every time she's got a moral quandary, she comes off as being shrill.

So here's Crusher in her biggest test.  How does she do?  That's the big question, isn't it?

That she somehow remains the main draw even after "The Host" twists into one of Riker's more unusual romances is a good start.  What the episode ultimately proves is that everyone has a point where they're no longer willing to play along.  That's in fact arguably the character's whole legacy.  From her backstory and entangled relationship with Picard to other weaker versions of this same plot ("Ethics," one of her worst moments), Crusher was always defined by this trait.

It's not a judgment, then, on her part, when she declines to continue the romance.  It's a statement the franchise is making about sexuality with or without her: that gender is more fluid than it seems, when a whole species can exist that plays host to a continuing personality who can easily step from male to female, and only pesky outsiders will fail to completely understand.

Isn't that how it always is?  Deep Space Nine itself later revisited this topic in "Rejoined," ostensibly the episode where sexual orientation was the subject matter.  It was for viewers, anyway, and in point of fact, I know it engendered the conversation because in my own family it was the breaking point in viewership for some of us.  I ended up being the last one to continue watching it regularly because of creative decisions like that.

And beyond that, "The Host" joins a rich Star Trek tradition of the irreplaceable negotiator whose presence is predictably compromised, from Next Generation's own "Loud as a Whisper" and "Sarek" to Deep Space Nine's wrenching "Life Support."

So there's a lot of really good reasons to watch this one.  And to name it a classic.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Patti Yasutake (Ogawa)

The Next Generation 4x22 "Half a Life"

rating: ****

the story: Lwaxana Troi serves as the voice of reason as she argues for an elderly man's right to live.

similar to: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

my thoughts: Just as "The Nth Degree" a few episodes earlier used Barclay, "Half a Life" ingeniously uses Lwaxana Troi in strict contradiction to her established character diameters.  Previously known at best as a comedic presence and at worst a pest, Lwaxana would not have been considered worth taking seriously at any rate.  (For another such instance, witness Deep Space Nine's "The Forsaken.")

Just as Kirk felt old and pointless in the first and second movies, this episode tackles the matter of what aging members of society can still contribute.  As is usual for the franchise, it presents an extreme example, literally an alien culture that condemns the elderly to death (a few years ahead of the Jack Kevorkian debate in the real world), and is one of the best examples of topical subject matter in the franchise, one of the more positive tropes and frequently the source of its best material.

And for a change, the voice of the opposition, the poor man at the center of the story's own daughter, doesn't come off as stilted, possibly because it's Michelle Forbes' first franchise appearance.  She'd inhabit the more familiar guise of Ro Laren next season.

But it's really Lwaxana's moment to shine, and it's so unexpected and it works so unexpectedly well, that it's easy to take for granted, but it deserves to be remembered as a classic. 

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

notable guest-stars:
Majel Roddenberry (Lwaxana)
Michelle Forbes
David Ogden Stiers
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn)

The Next Generation 4x21 "The Drumhead"

rating: ****

the story: The ship is investigated in relation to an elaborate conspiracy.

similar to: "Court Martial" (original series), "Rules of Engagement" (Deep Space Nine)

my thoughts: One of the truly exceptional and unique episodes in franchise lore, despite ostensibly participating in one of its more frequent tropes, the courtroom drama.

Except as it takes a look at further parts of how the ship runs on a routine basis (see "Family," "Data's Day," and "In Theory" elsewhere this season), it provides an expansive view that neatly complements another intimate look at Picard (see "Family" and "Qpid") and specifically how his assimilation by the Borg has affected his reputation but not his moral conviction (see the other great series courtroom classic, "The Measure of a Man").

This is about as sophisticated and intricate as Star Trek storytelling can get, aside from the more bombastic elements featuring the nasty Federation judge hell-bent on her witch hunt (until she becomes the recipient of Picard's greatest intellectual takedown), so unlikely and powerful a source of emotional catharsis that it continues to stand alone in execution and tone in franchise lore, a rare opportunity for the bad guy to get what's coming to them and the audience be entirely onboard with no manipulation or need to just assume the good guy is right because the whole thing is spelled out so brilliantly.

Do you end up caring for that poor half-Romulan crewman?  Absolutely.  You've never seen him before, and you'll never see him again, but his part is essential to how the whole thing unfolds.  This is emblematic of how the series had begun to realize how important it is to develop every aspect of the story, and why it elevated the whole franchise to levels fans found hard to see in later series (even though Deep Space Nine, from "Duet" onward, took it still further).

In the end there's very little to say but to let this one work its own magic.  It's the least flashy of all Star Trek classics, but absolutely deserves it placement with them.

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

The Next Generation 4x20 "Qpid"

rating: ****

the story: Q uses Vash and the tale of Robin Hood to teach Picard a lesson.

similar to: "A Piece of the Action" (original series), "Our Man Bashir" (Deep Space Nine), "Bride of Chaotica!" (Voyager)

my thoughts: "Captain's Holiday" guest character Vash makes the second of three appearances (the third occurs in Deep Space Nine's "Q-Less"), entangling herself in the affairs of Q in the process.  She thusly becomes a sort of next generation Harry Mudd, a character fans hopefully identify with the series even if her overall impact is less than other familiar faces end up being.

Airing the same year as Kevin Costner's blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, "Qpid" could very easily have come off as a bad gimmick, but the contributions of Vash and Q, as well as how the proceedings help distinguish the dynamics of the crew (notably, Worf's immortal line, "Captain, I must protest, I am not a merry man!") elevates it to a classic very easily.

Picard's near-romance with Vash is exceptional enough, and this return engagement of its very possibility helps flesh out Picard, how he interacts with the crew (Crusher is always at her best playing off of him).  The only person who seems more hapless at finding love than Geordi is Picard, and this is a fun way of exploring that status.

Even better?  His increasing chemistry with Q.  The more flippant Q becomes, the more regular his appearances, the better he is, and this is one of his best.  The more exasperated Picard becomes, the more he has to break from his most comfortable bearings.  It's not even Q, but the whole Robin Hood scenario that further reveals how even in action mode he differs from Kirk.  The frequent allusions to how in his youth Picard was considerably more carefree make it all the more rewarding when we see glimpses of what exactly that might have looked like, or what it looks like now, given an opportunity to stretch a little.  When he climbs into Vash's chambers, for instance, he's not looking to storm the premises, but make it as quick and painless as possible (never mind what Vash does to him in return!), so that even carefree doesn't mean careless for him.  (Which is not to say Kirk was careless, but certainly, reckless.)

And to fit in his archeology hobby, too seldom in the spotlight, and how he fits in to the greater galactic community outside of his role in Starfleet, and his feelings on that...This episode is just firing on all cylinders.  It's the season, and the series, once again completely owning its own potential.

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

notable guest-stars:
John de Lancie (Q)
Jennifer Hetrick (Vash)

The Next Generation 4x19 "The Nth Degree"

rating: ****

the story: Barclay develops exceptional intelligence.

similar to: "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (original series)

my thoughts: This one's really quite remarkable, at once snapping the season's dry spell while drawing on some of its more common instincts and bringing back a familiar guest-star.

Last seen in his debut appearance, "Hollow Pursuits," Barclay has a wonderful opportunity to counterpoint his own known characteristics as he inexplicably becomes the smartest man in the room.  This could easily have degenerated into nonsense, and at face value it's strange that a guest character experiences this at all, but this was a whole season of exploring the limits of the show's characters, wisely branching out in the process to begin shaping the supporting cast (it's no wonder that the next season introduces Ro, easily in her first appearance the best-developed character in the series). 

It's the series once again affirming that it has a firm grasp of its own potential, and it's a nod to the second pilot of the original series at the very same time.

Really?  Yeah, really.  "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the story of Kirk's old buddy Gary Mitchell develops god-like abilities.  That in itself set off a whole subset of Star Trek tropes, which Next Generation had already answered in the character of Q.  For one episode, "Hide and Q," the series even played with the idea of Q bestowing his abilities on one of the main cast members (arguably the weakest Q episode, alas), the closest the theme had come to merging back with the franchise's origins.

Barclay is about as far away from Gary Mitchell as you can get.  "Hollow Pursuits" featured him as one of the most marginalized Starfleet officers ever, crippled by his own neuroses.  Yet he was a capable officer, perhaps even a brilliant one.  So it's interesting that in his next appearance, he accidently becomes the best one ever, surpassing even Data's abilities.

It's a fascinating concept executed perfectly because of Barclay's established personality.  It would have felt stiff and awkward shoehorned into a main cast member's character.  And it's the rare instant where a perfect solution was realized.  It's a situation that works to everyone's advantage, a crisis that pushes everyone to their limits, with something as simple as trying to figure out what the heck's going on with Barclay.

(In Voyager, Barclay gets to have an achievement all his own when he's the one who locates the wayward crew, so it's nice that Star Trek finally let him get a bona fide win.)

That the whole thing is actually a plot by some aliens to explore the galaxy in ways very different from Starfleet's, harkens back to moments like "Clues," which features another left-turn ending, or "Future Imperfect," where we learn late in the episode what Riker was really experiencing.  It's a culmination of a particular creative itch from the writing staff, and it works perfectly.

The fact that Barclay doesn't progress as a character, at least for the duration of this series?  Don't let it bother you.

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

notable guest-stars:
Dwight Schultz (Barclay)

The Next Generation 4x18 "Identity Crisis"

rating: *

the story: Geordi is transformed into an alien.

similar to: "Ashes to Ashes" (Voyager)

my thoughts: This is a Geordi episode that works less well than the earlier "Galaxy's Child."  It attempts to flesh out more of his backstory by drawing on his earlier career (the series loved doing this, almost to an obsessive degree: "Clues," also just a few episodes earlier; "The Wounded," also just a few episodes earlier; and "The Pegasus," from the final season, which was further expounded on in the controversial Enterprise finale, "These Are the Voyages...").

The problem with "Identity Crisis" is that Geordi gets together with a friend with no dramatic heft, and nothing to say about Geordi's past.  The whole thing becomes far more about a random sci-fi story (which itself is pretty interesting; that's the main reason why I'll give it franchise credentials, because, as fans seem to forget, Star Trek is above all things kind of a random sci-fi story vehicle in the best Twilight Zone tradition).  The later "Ashes to Ashes" explores a similar tale of someone being somewhat forcibly drafted into an alien species.

When the episode can literally be about anyone but goes to the trouble of being about someone, that's a problem.

But as I said, it's not without its merits.  For example, there's one of those neat holodeck recreation scenes (such as also featured in "Schisms") that's a wonderful working example of how these people in the future use their fancy technology in ways that are easy for people like us to understand (in other words, not what's commonly known as "technobabble). 

All that being said, if you want to watch this just for having the spotlight on Geordi, then it's all good.  He was apparently a tough character to write for, outside of his purely functional roles, so it's always a treat to watch him in one of his own episodes. 

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Patti Yasutake (Ogawa)
Dennis Madalone

The Next Generation 4x17 "Night Terrors"

rating: (no stars)

the story: Troi attempts to figure out why no one can achieve REM sleep.

similar to: We'll skip this one.

my thoughts: When talk about bad episodes, they normally focus on concepts that just didn't work for them, such as someone stealing "Spock's Brain," or Next Generation characters appearing in Enterprise's final episode ("These Are the Voyages...").  They rarely bring up clunkers like "Night Terrors."  I have no idea why.

This is the kind of episode that can be summed up in one sequence: Troi floating in space, crying "Where aaaaare youuuuu?"

And I will let that set in for a moment.

Apparently it was a nightmare to shoot.  When the nightmare in shooting completely translates to the screen, you know there's a problem.  Those same fans often bring up Star Trek V: The Final Frontier as the worst film in part because they have little faith in it creatively (William Shatner directs, is plague by the perennial Star Trek movie problem of not having enough time to finish his vision; see also: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, another favorite among chatter about the worst of the franchise).  Yet to actually watch Final Frontier, you can quibble about special effects not being impressive enough or creative choices, but nothing you see on the screen is nearly as bad as the image described above from "Night Terrors."

So to me, that's what defines bad Star Trek.

The episode in general is horribly uninspired, the franchise on autopilot, as riddled with tropes and devoid of real character content as you can get.  I don't pin this on the character of Troi, but Next Generation's habit of forgetting that, generally, it did characters far better than the original series.  No, I'm not talking the affinity and familiarity of Kirk, Bones, or Spock.  But about depth of characterization.  And there's just no depth here at all.  Poor Miles and Keiko O'Brien are so soon reduced to story fodder it's like the episode was trying to take a huge step back for the series.  Worf contemplating suicide?  For any other time he was feeling low, this is just a mockery of his character.

It's that bad.  And worse, it doesn't even try to play along with established character traits.  Troi is half-Betazed.  The guy who technically leads her to the terrible sequence is a full Betazed.  Yet he spends the entire time comatose, and the best way he can communicate is enigmatically?  It's just bad storytelling.

Next Generation unquestionably features a certain level of quality storytelling over all.  And yet, sometimes it was far too comfortable in taking it easy.  Fans bellowed that later series (Voyager, Enterprise) coasted on good will (and sputtered because they both used it up quickly), but that very level of quality was evident well before they ever made the air.  And the second season of this series at its creative peak (generally agreed to have begun in the third season) releasing material of this poor caliber is just insulting.

Yet the fans...You get the point.  "Night Terrors" is kind of like the barometer of bad in Star Trek.  If you can somehow stomach it, if you find it easy to gloss over, then your ability to judge the franchise objectively is completely compromised.  It's the kind of episode you would rather the uninitiated not sample as their first taste of Star Trek.  Because it will forever bias them, too, unquestionably.

If you want to know what kind of fan I am, just read this review.  Typically, I don't react to episodes like this.  There are some fans who made it a habit to react to whole series this way.  That's just ridiculous.  But there are episodes truly deserving that ire.  Such as this one.

(For those wondering if the season as a whole completely degenerates, it doesn't.  There are some really good episodes coming up!)

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
Rosalind Chao (Keiko)
Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)

The Next Generation 4x16 "Galaxy's Child"

rating: **

the story: Geordi meets the real Leah Brahms

similar to: "Hollow Pursuits" (Next Generation), Star Trek: First Contact, "Author, Author" (Voyager)

my thoughts: A sort of sequel to "Booby Trap," the episode where Geordi interacts with a holographic version of Dr. Brahms, "Galaxy's Child" is one of those episodes where you can squarely ignore the sci-fi crisis elsewhere happening, if you so choose, and instead focus on the character development happening along the way.

Geordi is one of the more hapless romantics in Star Trek lore, not because of his VISOR, but because of the basic problem of not really knowing what to do around the opposite sex.  Ironically enough, this duo of episodes encompasses the experiences of another engineer in the crew, the infamous Barclay as introduced and featured in "Hollow Pursuits," who is far more comfortable interacting with people in the holodeck than in real life.

(No, these are not episodes based on the Internet age.)

That Geordi somewhat duplicates that in these episodes is a little ironic, because no one would otherwise associate him with Barclay's rich psychoses.  Yet that's kind of what happens with Dr. Brahms, whom he first meets in deceptive holographic form.  This episode is all about learning what the real person is like.  Suffice to say, she's almost the complete opposite of everything Geordi previously thought he knew about her.  Only O'Brien has worse luck, in general.

That makes for a pretty fun episode.  Not only can you discard the rest of it, you really wouldn't be missing much.  This is a rare opportunity in the series to just watch a single character squirm from very human circumstances.  Unlike Scotty, Geordi was not known as a miracle worker.  He wasn't even known as an engineer originally.  Yes, he's hugely capable in that regard, but he becomes more and more useful as one of the more relatable people in the crew, and this is probably the episode to see why. 

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Susan Gibney (Brahms)
Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)

The Next Generation 4x15 "First Contact"

rating: *

the story: Riker finds himself compromised on an alien world that has yet to find out they're not alone in the universe.

similar to: "The Communicator" (Enterprise), "Who Watches the Watchers" (Next Generation)

my thoughts: This is an episode that feels like it breaks new ground, but then you realize, the series itself had just done most of this episode already only a season earlier ("Who Watches the Watchers") with proto-Romulans instead of...whoever the alien race is this time. 

Yes, the approach is different, but the gist the same: alien species finds out Starfleet exists and puts our crew in a hairy situation.  Here you might consider it a Riker episode, but I'm hesitant to give "First Contact" too much credit.  It really could have featured anyone, and as a Riker episode, it's about as generic as you can get, in that he has a quasi-romance that's so convoluted and impossible (even for him!) that it's just not worth considering in that way.  Riker in peril, in short, is really it amounts to, and again, it could have been anyone.

It's a Prime Directive episode first and foremost, an exploration of something that's about as basic a Star Trek trope as you can get, so I'll recommend it for that basis alone.  Enterprise later goes a little deeper with the same basic premise ("The Communicator"), with the advantage of being able to add something to the mythos.

It's not a bad episode, it's just, in the grand scheme, not as memorable as you might originally think.  Enjoy it for what it is, but there are better episodes out there.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Bebe Neuwirth
Michael Ensign

The Next Generation 4x14 "Clues"

rating: **

the story: The crew begins to suspect something's wrong with Data when things don't add up and he looks increasingly guilty.

similar to: "The Menagerie" (Original Series), "The Omega Directive" (Voyager)

my thoughts: For most of the episode, "Clues" feels like a fairly generic mystery, with the crew trying to figure out why they seem to have lost time.  I prefer to think about it less in terms of the way most of the episode unfolds, and more about its ultimate implications.  It's best considered as a Data episode.

Just as Spock made himself look bad (in "The Menagerie") and Janeway had to withhold information from her crew (in "The Omega Directive"), what might have been an ultimately hackneyed story about Data being controlled by aliens (it's a Star Trek trope with spotty history, believe me) instead turns into another exploration of what sets the android apart.  I think ultimately the way the story approached limited its impact, actually.  A more straightforward story would have been more useful in that regard.  To salvage "Clues," you can of have to ignore most of it.

The series routinely attempted to feature Data in circumstances that exploited his unique nature as a nonhumanoid.  Most of the time it did so from oblique angles (Voyager was far less bashful with the Doctor, and even Enterprise with Phlox), as if making Data stand out too much would, well, make him stand out too much.  His ability to experience the alien culture mostly teased in the episode, and then have to lie about it, could have been far more interesting (would he really be incapable of tying up all the loose ends in the effort?). 

But, the episode is poised as a mystery, so you must accept that Data inevitably has his own limitations.  So to watch him try is as much as you'll get, and it's at least worth it just for that.  Theoretically he would experience moments like this all the time, maybe not to such a dramatic extent, but at least things he can't properly convey, or moments that he can't properly share, like how Geordi sees everything differently because of his VISOR, or Worf because he is a Klingon.  Which makes this a somewhat clumsy but still fascinating way to explore another aspect of what sets him apart and yet still a welcome member of the crew.

In the end, then, "Clues" is a better riddle about Data himself than the aliens he's attempted to help shield from the outside world.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan)
Patti Yasutake (Ogawa)