The Next Generation 5x10 "New Ground"

rating: **

the story: Worf begins full-time custody of his son Alexander.

similar to: "Collective" (Voyager)

my thoughts: Alexander can be viewed as the Wesley Crusher of the second half of the series.  He's the second youth to be featured regularly.  Apart from Jake Sisko in Deep Space Nine and his regular antics with Nog during that series' early seasons, there's no one quite like Alexander, otherwise, except the Borg kids in Voyager, who debut in "Collective," and are eventually boiled down to just Icheb.

Yet being the youngest of the bunch, Alexander stands the best chance of being considered as irritating as Wesley famously was by fans.  His regular recurring debut in "New Ground" explains it all nicely.  The son of the late K'Ehleyr, whose arc is otherwise irrelevant to him, aside from his similar struggles trying to find a place for himself between the Klingon and human cultures he straddles, Alexander is everything the young Kirk and Spock in Star Trek are not, continually trapped in the role of being a pain in his father's side.  This might be considered shedding light on Worf (having a son paves the way to the relationship with Troi that culminates in "All Good Things..."), but his obvious discomfort in the role of father makes him look weak.  Not imperfect, just weak, because it's a role he doesn't even want, never fully commits to, and routinely fails at.  Maybe it's a judgment on Worf's own discomfort with his duel Klingon/human heritages, but in isolation, when all he has are other humans (or, half-humans, in Troi's case), it presents a lopsided narrative that painfully crescendos in the seventh season episode "Firstborn."

Leaving "New Ground" very hard to justify itself.  If the fourth season was all about finding comfort in family, the fifth is about the discomfort of it, whether in "Ensign Ro" (a Starfleet officer who doesn't fit in) or "The First Duty" (cadets who fail miserably to live up to moral standards, including Wesley).  It's the first Klingon-centric episode since "Redemption," bringing high drama back to low, mundane affairs.  Adding characters like this is a common trope for long-running series.  The one real benefit is that, unlike Wesley before him, Alexander allows the viewer to see more of the family aspect of the ship, which has all along been touted to feature family in abundance.  Except aside from the random appearance here and there, kids are mostly absent. 

If Jake hadn't come along and filled the role better, I might not have as much a problem with Alexander, or "New Ground" specifically, but Jake did come along, and he was instantly a better character.  Alexander wasn't a total loss ("Cost of Living," "Fistful of Datas," the aforementioned "Firstborn"), but he's a huge letdown, at least initially.  That's kind of bad enough.

Maybe you aren't, or won't be, as annoyed by Alexander as I tend to be, just I won't dismiss "New Ground" entirely.  It does have some important things to say, and to show.  But it could easily have been better.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Brian Bonsall (Alexander)

The Next Generation 5x9 "A Matter of Time"

rating: **

the story: A man claiming to be a time traveler visits the ship.

similar to: "Cold Front" (Enterprise)

my thoughts: I just described "Disaster" as the last slice-of-life episode inspired by the run of similar stories from the fourth season, but all in all, that's what "A Matter of Time" is, too.  Aside from the con artist (which is itself a Star Trek trope, covering everything from Harry Mudd to "Devil's Due") aspect, most of the episode is really about a fairly routine rescue operation that we track without it being the main source of the drama, and yet we follow the crew as it goes about its efforts to prevent the catastrophe.  Then again, it's also another in a series of episodes where the most extraordinary member of the crew is kidnapped (covering everything from "Spock's Brain" in the original series to "Think Tank" in Voyager and even "The Most Toys," where it's previously happened to Data) (spoiler alert).

Yet it's also, and first and foremost, a time travel episode, which obviously one of the most popular franchise tropes, and a clever entry at that, featuring someone who claims he's visiting the crew because something historic is about to happen.  That is, in fact, nearly exactly what the Temporal Cold War subplot in Enterprise is all about, as (to my mind) most memorably explored in "Cold Front."

So it's an interesting episode, going over what was already and would become even more familiar territory, and because of its odd mixes of tropes, remains interesting despite ultimately adding very little to any of them.  It's just a fun episode to watch, and let's go ahead and leave it at that.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Matt Frewer

The Next Generation 5x8 "Unification, Part 2"

rating: ****

the story: Sela attempts to sabotage Spock's efforts to reunite Romulus with Vulcan.

similar to: "Balance of Terror" (original series), "Blood Oath" (Deep Space Nine), "Redemption" (Next Generation)

my thoughts: While lightly juxtaposing, as it should have, Spock with his spiritual descendent Data, "Unification" concludes by giving Sela the big moment she needed (in order to be justified at all) and finally defines the character of the Romulans in the franchise in a satisfactory way.

It also features "a fat Ferengi," not so much a milestone moment so much as one that's always amused me.  It's Riker at his most confident!

To speak of Spock's significance is something I already discussed in the first part of the story, even though the franchise icon's role is mostly explored, and featured, in this follow-up.  It's one of the most important moments of the series, concluding the emotional arc begun in "Sarek" and further contrasting Next Generation from the original series.  Yet Next Generation seizes the moment in a most unexpected way, also concluding the story from "Redemption" in explaining what it is that motivates Sela, the Romulan daughter the alternate Tasha Yar from "Yesterday's Enterprise."

In so doing, not only is Spock able to give further character to Vulcan interests, but Sela explains how basic Romulan frustration at the state of galactic affairs is what motivates the whole species.  Though featured in the franchise fairly regularly since their debut in "Balance of Terror," the Romulans had frequently played catch-up with Klingons for overall significance, much less psychological exploration.  While "The Defector" makes it clear that politics are of utmost importance to them, "Unification" makes it perfectly clear, even chilling, making way for the antagonists of Nemesis and Star Trek, Shinzon and Nero respectively, to further expand on their existential neuroses. 

Strangely, although Next Generation had long made a project of the Romulans, it quickly made far greater progress with the upstart Cardassians, who went on to have even greater exploration in Deep Space Nine.  It's in "Unification" where all the work comes together.

All of this makes for essential viewing.

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

notable guest-stars:
Leonard Nimoy (Spock)
Denise Crosby (Sela)
Malachi Throne
Daniel Roebuck
Stephen Root

The Next Generation 5x7 "Unification, Part 1"

rating: ****

the story: The crew goes in search of the missing Spock.

similar to: "Blood Oath" (Deep Space Nine)

my thoughts: "Unification" as a whole is about as important a Next Generation story as there ever was.  At once acknowledging the ongoing significance of the recent "Redemption" crisis, it's the next great serialized chapter of the series, further signaling the approach Deep Space Nine would take and what viewers in general would come to demand of their favorite TV shows, even ones formerly most comfortable in and indeed known for their episodic format like Star Trek.

It's the first great Next Generation Romulan story since "The Defector," and, like another third season episode, bridges the gap between the series and its classic predecessor in a meaningful way.  Speaking of which "Unification, Part 1" features the death of Sarek, who previously appeared in the series in the namesake episode, a moment that had original series fans take Next Generation seriously for the first time, and in an even bigger moment, Spock expanding his presence in the franchise.

Ever since McCoy's cameo in "Encounter at Farpoint," crossover characters became a franchise staple.  Scotty would later appear in "Relics," and of course there's Star Trek Generations, which saw Picard meet Kirk, plus a plethora of others from throughout succeeding series (most controversially, Riker and Troi in Enterprise's final episode, "These Are the Voyages...").  Yet Spock is a seismic member of this club, duplicating his "Unification" impact in Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness as he helps launch a new version of the franchise.

Outside of "Unification," however, only Deep Space Nine's "Blood Oath," in which three actors who portrayed Klingons in the original series return to reprise their roles, features a scenario that feels organic, suitably dramatic, and true to character.

As for the episode itself, besides the Klingon references, there's also Riker investigating a Zackdorn shipyard.  The Zackdorn are a Next Generation alien species previously featured in "Peak Performance."  They fall below the Benzites as early attempts to create distinctive new aliens with any kind of staying power, mostly because "Performance" presents a thoroughly unappealing version of the species.  The effort in "Unification" is better, with a better-defined bureaucratic nature that puts them in unique, distinctive footing.  Even if this is still the Zackdorns' last appearance, it leaves plenty of room for further exploration.

The episode features a cornucopia of notable guest-stars, which I point out in advance of the usual feature, just to give you a head's up.  It's a whopper of an episode, but everything's better in the second part...

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

notable guest-stars:
Leonard Nimoy (Spock)
Mark Lenard (Sarek)
Stephen Root
Erick Avari
Malachi Throne
Daniel Roebuck

The Next Generation 5x6 "The Game"

rating: **

the story: Wesley returns on break from Starfleet Academy to discover something's wrong with the crew.

similar to: "Genesis" (Next Generation)

my thoughts: It's fascinating that Wesley's very first episode back since his departure as a regular in the previous season, is quite possibly the perfect example of everything the series needed to correct about the character and needed to redeem in the first place.  Wes was the typical boy wonder, the kid genius who quickly became annoying to a considerable proportion of fans.  "The Game" is literally about a crisis only he can overcome.

Yet it works, and is arguably one of his best episodes, if not his most memorable episode, not just because Ashley Judd was particularly adorable as his love interest, but because the whole setup is cleverly thought out, so that you don't even need to think of it as an analogy for the rising evils of video games in 1991 America.

By quickly eliminating the need to focus on, well, anyone else but Wes and Judd's Robin Lefler, the viewer is allowed to focus both on how cute they are together, and the mounting dread of the inexplicable conspiracy (better than the actual episode "Conspiracy," arguably) that has sucked everyone else into it.

...But yes, you have to ignore the convenience of everyone, even Picard, falling for the gaming scam.  If you can ignore that, you will enjoy "The Game" a great deal! 

So that leaves Data, and the further convenience of someone being cognizant enough to take him out in order for everything to work.  Really, it's to the level of everyone but Kirk succumbing to Sybok's charms in The Final Frontier.  You don't have to be bothered by such niggling details, but they exist, and how much they bother you will probably color what you think of the rest of it, much like fans don't care how much Kirk bonds with Spock and McCoy around campfires.

But rest assured, it really is possible.

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher)
Ashley Judd
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
Patti Yasutake (Ogawa)

The Next Generation 5x5 "Disaster"

rating: **

the story: Various members of the crew share experiences as they attempt to recover from a ship-wide emergency.

similar to: "Civil Defense" (Deep Space Nine)

my thoughts: Perhaps the last effort from the fourth season push to find more slice-of-life stories to tell ("Data's Day," "Family," "In Theory"), "Disaster" is another fine experience in that sequence (even once again involving a major event for Miles and Keiko O'Brien, as their daughter Molly is born, just as they were originally wed in "Data's Day"), but the episode lacks the overall significance of the finest moments from it (Picard's emotional recovery being the crux of "Family," for instance).

The best, or at least most memorable sequence from the episode involves Picard once again grappling with his unease at spending time with children.  Possibly a nod to Wesley's impending return ("The Game," "The First Duty"), it's also another chance for the series to redeem its frequent, and frequently mediocre, attempts to craft a reasonable episode around kids (seriously, the last such effort, "Rascals" from the sixth season, is possibly the most questionable effort of all).  Yet Picard's interactions with the three kids he's forced to shepherd circumvent the worst aspects of other efforts by presenting everyone in a useful, rather than labored, even endearing, manner.  The scenes become less about the kids and more about how comfortable Patrick Stewart is portraying Picard at this point, regardless of the circumstances. 

Less successful is the first chance Ro has, since her debut in "Ensign Ro," to prove that the series will have further interesting things for her to do.  If fans really want to complain that Voyager blew it with the Maquis members of Janeway's crew, they may want to remember how clumsily Next Generation presented Ro's further exploits.  Clearly unwilling to give her an immediate second spotlight, the series instead plays it far too safe, almost cuddly, in attempting to demonstrate that she still has to work out how to interact with people not named Picard on a favorable basis, in just one of several plot threads, easily forgotten.  Well, anyway, "Conundrum" is a much better use of her potential, and that's nine episodes away...

criteria analysis: franchise - series - character - essential

notable guest-stars:
Michelle Forbes (Ro Laren)
Colm Meaney (O'Brien)
Rosalind Chao (Keiko)

The Next Generation 5x4 "Silicon Avatar"

rating: ****

the story: The Crystalline Entity is back, and somebody is out for revenge against it.

similar to: "The Doomsday Machine" (original series), Star Trek: The Motion Picture

my thoughts: Ever since "Datalore," the first season episode that introduced Data's twin brother Lore, another figure lurked, waiting to return: the Crystalline Entity.  One of the more interesting aspects of Data's backstory is the existence of this incomprehensible being, used by Lore to destroy the colony where Data was created.  And yet, what is there to say about the Entity itself?

Plenty, as it turns out.  Very much like a Next Generation answer to "The Doomsday Machine," but kind of reverse-engineered to feature a far more powerless character tricking their way toward revenge, the mother of a colonist who died, dedicating her life to studying it, until the moment she can finally strike back...

But it's hardly that simple.  The wounded scientist is hardly the best selling point of "Silicon Avatar."  She's presented about as thinly as possible, as contrast to a crew that has, in the last two episodes ("Darmok" and "Ensign Ro"), proven itself to be infinitely capable of figuring things out, making peace with a galaxy that still seems untamed and barely understood (these are the episodes Picard should reference in his final trial with Q, it should be noted).  In all its horror, the final moments of "Avatar" see the crew fail spectacularly to prevent the Entity's demise. 

In so many other episodes, similar beings are revealed to be far more than they seem ("Encounter at Farpoint," "Tin Man," for instance), and yet the Entity, as originally presented, really does look like the menace it appears to be, a little like V'ger in The Motion Picture, plowing its way to Earth (and like the probe, too, in The Voyage Home).  We never get an answer, only a hint that the crew might have found something to replace its destructive feeding habit.

In the end, Data suggests that science that fails to trust itself but rather behaves emotionally is the true enemy, and it's a bold statement.  And "Avatar" is a classic for making it.  At its most reductive, Star Trek can be pretty preachy in its messages, so simplistic it can actually come off as insulting.  In "Avatar," a new bar is set.

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