*
There's a kind of morbid curiosity to watching "Too Short a Season," which is like a reverse of the classic "Deadly Years," only it features a new character who never gains the viewer's sympathy.
An aging admiral visits on the way to one last glorious mission, returning to a world he once negotiated peace for, and like a repudiation of the accomplishes of the past (i.e. the original series), he still gets it glaringly wrong, and only our righteous new crew can set things right.
Of course, the reverse "Deadly Years" means that our aging admiral grows younger, like Benjamin Button, because he's taken special medication. Only he's taken too much of it and just keeps getting younger. His wife is horrified. He's perfectly pleased, especially when he gets to leave his special wheelchair and walk again. But he just keeps getting younger. The crew becomes alarmed when it becomes obvious, and even the guy he's preparing to meet scoffs at the development.
The real problem is that the aging makeup is terrible. I mean terrible. It was bad enough on McCoy in "Encounter at Farpoint," but no attempt has been made in the intervening time to improve on it. And the effect is absolutely crucial to the episode.
I don't care if you think "Too Short a Season" makes light of older generations. I don't care if you're perfectly fine with the makeup. The fact is that it's still not a good episode, and is dominated too thoroughly by a character of the week.
Watch it as a morbid curiosity. It's the only one I'll give you from this season. Just remember that I warned you, and that it gets better.
The other thing you might keep in mind about it is that "Season" establishes Next Generation's abysmal relationship with Starfleet admirals. If you want to mark that.
franchise * series * essential * character
Memory Alpha summary.
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Next Generation 1x15 "11001001"
**
The episode with the binary title is a step in the right direction for the young Next Generation, and aside from anything immediately relevant to the story itself features strong character work for Riker.
Like Kirk before him, Picard's first officer was pegged as a ladies man, which grew complicated initially when it was deemed that he'd also serve as a surrogate for Gene Roddenberry's holdover character sketches from The Motion Picture and be paired romantically, at least as a matter of backstory, with Troi.
In "11001001" Riker gets around that by romancing a hologram, the first of many to be more than just a hologram in this series (setting the stage for an even more distinctive hologram in Voyager), thanks to the shenanigans of the aliens both servicing the Enterprise and trying to take advantage of the crew that has vacated it for the occasion (sadly, not the only time that would happen, so you can watch this for precedent if you'd like, even for the similar Enterprise episode "The Catwalk").
But this is another one I don't want to inflate too much. As for the character work, there's also Data's budding career as an artist, which became a much bigger deal in later seasons, which kind of makes this an origin story.
Still, watch it for Riker first and best of all, and for the charming Minuet, one of very few memorable romantic interests from this series.
franchise * series * essential * character
Memory Alpha summary.
The episode with the binary title is a step in the right direction for the young Next Generation, and aside from anything immediately relevant to the story itself features strong character work for Riker.
Like Kirk before him, Picard's first officer was pegged as a ladies man, which grew complicated initially when it was deemed that he'd also serve as a surrogate for Gene Roddenberry's holdover character sketches from The Motion Picture and be paired romantically, at least as a matter of backstory, with Troi.
In "11001001" Riker gets around that by romancing a hologram, the first of many to be more than just a hologram in this series (setting the stage for an even more distinctive hologram in Voyager), thanks to the shenanigans of the aliens both servicing the Enterprise and trying to take advantage of the crew that has vacated it for the occasion (sadly, not the only time that would happen, so you can watch this for precedent if you'd like, even for the similar Enterprise episode "The Catwalk").
But this is another one I don't want to inflate too much. As for the character work, there's also Data's budding career as an artist, which became a much bigger deal in later seasons, which kind of makes this an origin story.
Still, watch it for Riker first and best of all, and for the charming Minuet, one of very few memorable romantic interests from this series.
franchise * series * essential * character
Memory Alpha summary.
The Next Generation 1x14 "Angel One"
While this one breaks some ground for the young series, including a redefinition of the Prime Directive and the first mention of Romulans, "Angel One" you can safely skip.
It's not horrible like the previous episodes from the season that you should skip ("Justice," "Code of Honor,"), but it features another hamfisted society, this time a matriarchal one that has basically turn its male half into metrosexuals, which proves incredibly awkward for the very much male Riker. As if that weren't enough, the crew passes a cold around, which seems mostly an excuse to see Crusher in action, plus get a few characters to do different things, for instance La Forge briefly assuming command. Because it's not as if he has anything better to do just at the moment, not being chief engineer yet.
Yet it's all thoroughly unremarkable, another sign in a long line of them to indicate that Next Generation had not yet achieved its distinctive flavor. In fact, if anything "Angel One" plays like a bad version of an original series episode, not any in particular, just a painfully generic one.
franchise * series * essential * character
Memory Alpha summary.
It's not horrible like the previous episodes from the season that you should skip ("Justice," "Code of Honor,"), but it features another hamfisted society, this time a matriarchal one that has basically turn its male half into metrosexuals, which proves incredibly awkward for the very much male Riker. As if that weren't enough, the crew passes a cold around, which seems mostly an excuse to see Crusher in action, plus get a few characters to do different things, for instance La Forge briefly assuming command. Because it's not as if he has anything better to do just at the moment, not being chief engineer yet.
Yet it's all thoroughly unremarkable, another sign in a long line of them to indicate that Next Generation had not yet achieved its distinctive flavor. In fact, if anything "Angel One" plays like a bad version of an original series episode, not any in particular, just a painfully generic one.
franchise * series * essential * character
Memory Alpha summary.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The Next Generation 1x13 "Datalore"
***
You'd best settle in with "Datalore," since it's the last episode you really need to see from the first season of Next Generation until the last few.
It's a good way to go, though! In case the title doesn't give you any ideas, let me cut it a little short: Lore. Lore, as in Data's evil brother.
Now, in the off chance that you're not at all familiar with Next Generation, Data, or much less Lore, let me just say that if it had only been the one episode, "evil brother" could very well have been an unfortunate gimmick, even if the rest of the episode remains pretty fascinating, because there's more that you need to gleam from "Datalore" besides Lore.
(And I'm not even referring to "Shut up, Wesley!")
The episode also establishes the Crystalline Entity. This is one of the more ambitious and mysterious alien lifeforms ever conceived in Star Trek (and would be seen again to greater effect in "Silicone Avatar"), a faceless being of apparent sheer destruction, perhaps like rogue probes in "Changeling" as well as The Motion Picture and The Voyage Home, and perhaps the best example of what Q was hoping Picard would figure out in Next Generation following the trial begun in the pilot and ended in the finale.
Note to anyone who cares: if you were interested in retelling the story of Data, it would be absolutely essential to include the Crystalline Entity.
There's plenty of Data's story in "Datalore," including his specific origins. The funny thing about Data was that even though there were androids running around the original series, including dubious "followers" of the nefarious Harry Mudd (imagine if they made a movie out of him!), Starfleet treats Data as pretty unique thanks to his intricate programming and abilities. Also because until "Datalore" he's believed to be unique. Turns out there was at least one other model executed by his creator, one that didn't suffer from the same social setbacks and therefore proven very meddlesome (and that's before Lore unleashes the Crystalline Entity that wiped out all life on the colony where Data was later rediscovered).
There's plenty of fascinating material to be found here, but I hesitate to give it the full rating because, well, it's basically a pretty clear offering from the first, imperfect season. Thank the creators that it exists and possibly move along. Yes, Wesley is the only one who seems to notice that Lore tries to replace Data, and hears "Shut up!" twice during the episode for his efforts, which is yet another indication that the writers are either themselves aware that the character has already proven more annoying than they'd intended, or they keep inadvertently feeding the audience the reaction they eventually get.
And yes, it's an "evil twin" episode. Still, by all accounts a quite noteworthy one.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Brent Spiner
Memory Alpha summary.
You'd best settle in with "Datalore," since it's the last episode you really need to see from the first season of Next Generation until the last few.
It's a good way to go, though! In case the title doesn't give you any ideas, let me cut it a little short: Lore. Lore, as in Data's evil brother.
Now, in the off chance that you're not at all familiar with Next Generation, Data, or much less Lore, let me just say that if it had only been the one episode, "evil brother" could very well have been an unfortunate gimmick, even if the rest of the episode remains pretty fascinating, because there's more that you need to gleam from "Datalore" besides Lore.
(And I'm not even referring to "Shut up, Wesley!")
The episode also establishes the Crystalline Entity. This is one of the more ambitious and mysterious alien lifeforms ever conceived in Star Trek (and would be seen again to greater effect in "Silicone Avatar"), a faceless being of apparent sheer destruction, perhaps like rogue probes in "Changeling" as well as The Motion Picture and The Voyage Home, and perhaps the best example of what Q was hoping Picard would figure out in Next Generation following the trial begun in the pilot and ended in the finale.
Note to anyone who cares: if you were interested in retelling the story of Data, it would be absolutely essential to include the Crystalline Entity.
There's plenty of Data's story in "Datalore," including his specific origins. The funny thing about Data was that even though there were androids running around the original series, including dubious "followers" of the nefarious Harry Mudd (imagine if they made a movie out of him!), Starfleet treats Data as pretty unique thanks to his intricate programming and abilities. Also because until "Datalore" he's believed to be unique. Turns out there was at least one other model executed by his creator, one that didn't suffer from the same social setbacks and therefore proven very meddlesome (and that's before Lore unleashes the Crystalline Entity that wiped out all life on the colony where Data was later rediscovered).
There's plenty of fascinating material to be found here, but I hesitate to give it the full rating because, well, it's basically a pretty clear offering from the first, imperfect season. Thank the creators that it exists and possibly move along. Yes, Wesley is the only one who seems to notice that Lore tries to replace Data, and hears "Shut up!" twice during the episode for his efforts, which is yet another indication that the writers are either themselves aware that the character has already proven more annoying than they'd intended, or they keep inadvertently feeding the audience the reaction they eventually get.
And yes, it's an "evil twin" episode. Still, by all accounts a quite noteworthy one.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Brent Spiner
Memory Alpha summary.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Next Generation 1x12 "The Big Goodbye"
****
Like "A Piece of the Action" before it, "The Big Goodbye" is Star Trek doing a completely different genre and coming up gangbusters. Whether or not you hold against it that it's also the source of holodeck-run-amok episodes is up to you.
One of the unlikeliest but most enduring (famously featured in Star Trek: First Contact) features of Picard's character was his fascination with the pulp fiction detective Dixon Hill. On the surface, this is the Dixon Hill episode. It's also the first notable pairing of Picard and Data, who would go on to dominate the Next Generation movies
It's also good fun, and that was extremely rare, both before and after, in this series. Deep Space Nine, which a lot of fans pegged as the darkest Star Trek, had a lot more levity. Aside from visits by Q, Next Generation tended to be pretty sober, taking the lead of Picard, so it's that much more notable that "The Big Goodbye" actually features him in the lead.
Another element worth mentioning is the Federation historian featured in the episode. Although between this and "Space Seed," it may not be the greatest career path in the future.
Sit back and enjoy!
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Lawrence Tierney
Memory Alpha summary.
Like "A Piece of the Action" before it, "The Big Goodbye" is Star Trek doing a completely different genre and coming up gangbusters. Whether or not you hold against it that it's also the source of holodeck-run-amok episodes is up to you.
One of the unlikeliest but most enduring (famously featured in Star Trek: First Contact) features of Picard's character was his fascination with the pulp fiction detective Dixon Hill. On the surface, this is the Dixon Hill episode. It's also the first notable pairing of Picard and Data, who would go on to dominate the Next Generation movies
It's also good fun, and that was extremely rare, both before and after, in this series. Deep Space Nine, which a lot of fans pegged as the darkest Star Trek, had a lot more levity. Aside from visits by Q, Next Generation tended to be pretty sober, taking the lead of Picard, so it's that much more notable that "The Big Goodbye" actually features him in the lead.
Another element worth mentioning is the Federation historian featured in the episode. Although between this and "Space Seed," it may not be the greatest career path in the future.
Sit back and enjoy!
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Lawrence Tierney
Memory Alpha summary.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The Next Generation 1x11 "Haven"
*
"Haven" is the episode Gene Roddenberry was probably waiting for since the start of Next Generation, in which he finally gets to reclaim a subplot from The Motion Picture. Riker and Troi's relationship gets shoved to the front, the element of the series borrowed from Decker and Ilia. Thankfully the second incarnation has a more humanly happy resolution.
If there's an obvious flaw to "Haven" for long-term fans, it's most of what is established about Betazoids in the episode really doesn't end up mattering, other than a few cultural points (and the term "imzadi," which becomes the title of a book by Peter David about Riker and Troi's relationship, popular enough to warrant a rare sequel). The series doesn't really "get" Betazoids until Troi's cloying mum, Lwaxana, begins to dominate later on. Lwaxana does debut here, in the guise of Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett, but if you have any memories of "Haven," perhaps it's of a young Robert Knepper (later to achieve notoriety in Prison Break) or Armin Shimerman making another early franchise appearance as the face on the side of a gift box (seriously!).
Either way, keep your focus on Next Generation's premier on-again-off-again couple (better at it than Picard and Crusher, who do get the series finale as a spotlight consolation prize), Riker and Troi, particularly Troi. "Haven" is a little like "Amok Time" in that it features Knepper as Troi's intended suitor who doesn't end up working out (much like Worf, but that's another reference to the seventh season, which is a long way off, although if Worf were the suitor, or in Troi's line of sight here, you can bet we'd have another memorable fight on our hands).
More importantly, the episode positions Troi as more significant to the series than the first season tends to suggest. She also steals "Skin of Evil" from the death of Tasha Yar, by the way. In that way, it may be another sign that the writers needed to concentrate on things other than what they were bothering with at the time in order to figure itself out. This is ironic, because here it's something Gene Roddenberry wanted. By the third season it's basically other stuff.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Majel Barrett
Robert Knepper
Armin Shimerman
Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn)
Memory Alpha summary.
"Haven" is the episode Gene Roddenberry was probably waiting for since the start of Next Generation, in which he finally gets to reclaim a subplot from The Motion Picture. Riker and Troi's relationship gets shoved to the front, the element of the series borrowed from Decker and Ilia. Thankfully the second incarnation has a more humanly happy resolution.
If there's an obvious flaw to "Haven" for long-term fans, it's most of what is established about Betazoids in the episode really doesn't end up mattering, other than a few cultural points (and the term "imzadi," which becomes the title of a book by Peter David about Riker and Troi's relationship, popular enough to warrant a rare sequel). The series doesn't really "get" Betazoids until Troi's cloying mum, Lwaxana, begins to dominate later on. Lwaxana does debut here, in the guise of Roddenberry's widow Majel Barrett, but if you have any memories of "Haven," perhaps it's of a young Robert Knepper (later to achieve notoriety in Prison Break) or Armin Shimerman making another early franchise appearance as the face on the side of a gift box (seriously!).
Either way, keep your focus on Next Generation's premier on-again-off-again couple (better at it than Picard and Crusher, who do get the series finale as a spotlight consolation prize), Riker and Troi, particularly Troi. "Haven" is a little like "Amok Time" in that it features Knepper as Troi's intended suitor who doesn't end up working out (much like Worf, but that's another reference to the seventh season, which is a long way off, although if Worf were the suitor, or in Troi's line of sight here, you can bet we'd have another memorable fight on our hands).
More importantly, the episode positions Troi as more significant to the series than the first season tends to suggest. She also steals "Skin of Evil" from the death of Tasha Yar, by the way. In that way, it may be another sign that the writers needed to concentrate on things other than what they were bothering with at the time in order to figure itself out. This is ironic, because here it's something Gene Roddenberry wanted. By the third season it's basically other stuff.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
Majel Barrett
Robert Knepper
Armin Shimerman
Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn)
Memory Alpha summary.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The Next Generation 1x10 "Hide and Q"
**
Q returns! It's odd and appropriate for that to have happened so quickly, considering he was an afterthought inclusion for "Encounter at Farpoint," created to fill out Paramount's desire to expand the first episode into two hours. "Hide and Q," then, may represent one of the first moments where The Next Generation started reshaping itself into something better.
I should note, however, that while it does feature Q and by definition is must-see, it's also almost painfully like much of the early episodes of the series, trying to do character development by pointing out what makes the characters unique rather than writing the characters themselves.
Basically, Q comes back to pester Picard (the general synopsis for basically every appearance), but instead ends up choosing Riker to join the Q Continuum, and in a weird sort of way attempts to drag Q into the very original series mold he shattered in his first appearance. From Gary Mitchell to Charlie X, that's what a lot of those characters did when they encountered godlike power, as Riker struggles to retain his humanity while examining the possibilities of his newfound power.
The oddest but most notable instance of Riker doing this is aging Wesley to adulthood, which just goes to show that even the writers knew that the boy wonder was probably annoying as he was.
One of the things I remember best about "Hide and Q" is the awkward moment where Worf refers to a band of alien soldiers Q has just conjured as "vicious animal things." Yet another instance where the supposed enlightenment of Starfleet perhaps not being all that it appears to be.
The best part of Q's visit this time is allowing Picard, and Patrick Stewart, to begin voicing his enthusiasm for Shakespeare, which also helps shape the dynamic between our good captain and his true rival (sorry, Bok).
Other than all that? It's up to you to determine how good this episode actually is. Because pretty much every other appearance by Q, in any series, is better. This one still smacks of the deficiencies inherent to most of Next Generation's first season.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
John de Lancie
Memory Alpha summary.
Q returns! It's odd and appropriate for that to have happened so quickly, considering he was an afterthought inclusion for "Encounter at Farpoint," created to fill out Paramount's desire to expand the first episode into two hours. "Hide and Q," then, may represent one of the first moments where The Next Generation started reshaping itself into something better.
I should note, however, that while it does feature Q and by definition is must-see, it's also almost painfully like much of the early episodes of the series, trying to do character development by pointing out what makes the characters unique rather than writing the characters themselves.
Basically, Q comes back to pester Picard (the general synopsis for basically every appearance), but instead ends up choosing Riker to join the Q Continuum, and in a weird sort of way attempts to drag Q into the very original series mold he shattered in his first appearance. From Gary Mitchell to Charlie X, that's what a lot of those characters did when they encountered godlike power, as Riker struggles to retain his humanity while examining the possibilities of his newfound power.
The oddest but most notable instance of Riker doing this is aging Wesley to adulthood, which just goes to show that even the writers knew that the boy wonder was probably annoying as he was.
One of the things I remember best about "Hide and Q" is the awkward moment where Worf refers to a band of alien soldiers Q has just conjured as "vicious animal things." Yet another instance where the supposed enlightenment of Starfleet perhaps not being all that it appears to be.
The best part of Q's visit this time is allowing Picard, and Patrick Stewart, to begin voicing his enthusiasm for Shakespeare, which also helps shape the dynamic between our good captain and his true rival (sorry, Bok).
Other than all that? It's up to you to determine how good this episode actually is. Because pretty much every other appearance by Q, in any series, is better. This one still smacks of the deficiencies inherent to most of Next Generation's first season.
franchise * series * essential * character
Notable guest-stars:
John de Lancie
Memory Alpha summary.
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