2-08 A Matter of HonourI really liked
A Matter of Honour, which is probably the first really standout episode of
The Next Generation. We get our first real introduction to the Klingons of this era (the ones in
Heart and Glory were renegades) and while they would be overused in modern Trek, I cannot fault them this early.
However it did establish the pigheadedness which has made me miss the smarter and more cunning Klingons from the original series, like Koloth and Kor. I cannot imagine them being as obstinate as this captain Kargan, who was just itching for an excuse to fight the Enterprise, was here. But that is tempered by the existence of Brian Thompson's Klag, who eventually formed some sort of friendship with exchange officer Riker.
I'm not a big fan of the Riker character, but I must admit that he handled himself perfectly here, with just the right mix of machismo to impress the Klingons and his qualities as a Starfleet officer. I liked the scene in the Klingon mess hall. It established rapport between him and the Klingons as he could give as good as he got, including the attention of the females and the live
gagh. It also added depth to the Klingon concept of honour with Klag's disavowed father.
Riker was actually very clever in the way he resolved the crisis. I also couldn't help smiling at him ordering Picard to surrender. Heh, I guess he knows his French captain all to well by now…
The Benzite exchange officer on the Enterprise was in comparison pretty uninteresting, but I liked that Worf growlingly put him in his place.
I'll give my first grade of
7+ to
A Matter of Honour.
2-09 The Measure of a ManThere is a reason why
The Measure of a Man is considered a classic episode of Star Trek, and it's because it's just that good and raises some important and fundamental questions about the nature of man, sentience and life. Is Data a person in his own right, or is he just a piece of Starfleet property that could be dismantled and examined without his consent?
The episode effectively sets the boundaries for what is considered not just human rights, not just even alien rights, but sentients' rights. A sentient life form, even an artificial one such as an android (and later on, in
Voyager, a hologram) has rights as a person. While such life forms are entirely speculative, I can say that would they ever come to be in the real world, this is the view I would subscribe to. It is Trek morals and philosophy at its best.
The story is very moving as we see the characters struggling with the implications of their friend Data being considered as a mere thing, and that includes Data himself, who takes an understated - as befitting his persona - and yet firm stand to protect himself and his very life.
Picard was very right to come to the conclusion that creating a race of Datas to be used by the Federation would amount to slavery. A bit odd that it took a conversation with Guinan to make him realise what should have been plainly obvious regardless.
I get why the need for adversarial drama made Riker an unwilling prosecutor, but it strains belief that he would be forced into that role, even if he did his job to the best of his abilities. Didn't they have any other ranking officers on that space station? It was a bit eerie to see him smile when he found Data's weak spot, only to seconds later realise what it would mean. And he did feel guilty afterwards, but in a touching final scene, Data did forgive him.
Another thing that bothered me was that the entire premise of the episode didn't ring true. One would have thought that Starfleet and the Federation had already settled this issue when they allowed Data into their ranks. Why let an undefined thinking machine assume the rank and responsibilities as a Starfleet officer if he wasn't considered being alive with personal rights? I can excuse that because it made this great episode possible, but it brings it down a little.
I'll give my first ever grade of
9+ on this show to
The Measure of a Man.
2-10 The DauphinWhat could be less interesting than an episode centred on Wesley Crusher? Why, an episode centred on Wesley Crusher's first romance of course! I suppose
The Dauphin was intended as a sweet story, but it didn't move me. Perhaps I'm just a heartless bastard, but I have little interest in teen romances, especially on Trek.
The revelation that the girl and her guardian were actually shapeshifters was mildly more interesting, but didn't add anything to the basic plot. And could those furry monster costumes have looked any cheesier? On the original series I wouldn't have minded, but by the late 80s they ought to have been able to do more.
Sorry, but a grade of
1+ is all I can muster for
The Dauphin.
2-11 ContagionI'm a bit of a sucker for Romulans, archaeological science fiction and ancient civilizations so
Contagion was right up my ally. Finally we get a story that features the pointy-eared antagonists more prominently, and it could have been more. The ancient Iconians were also intriguing even as extinct species and it made sense to search out their lost technology before the Rommies get a hand on it. Too bad it was in the neutral zone.
Less interesting, but still entertaining, was the computer virus infected Enterprise (and Romulan Warbird). The solution was obvious and it's odd that they didn't figure it out until the, all too rushed, end. As any computer literate person knows, when your hard drive is irreparably infected, you wipe it and reinstall from backups. But perhaps that wasn't so well known back in 1989? Or perhaps computers of the 24th century just are that good? (Yeah, right!)
There was enough action and suspense to keep the story flowing. It was even funny at times, such as when the systems on both ships kept going down and coming back. Riker also had some good lines, like the, by now, classic: "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise."
I wonder what that Iconian station was made of, since even after 200,000 years it looked spotless and the machinery worked perfectly. And why was that particular installation left undamaged when the rest of the planet surface had been completely destroyed? Too bad it had to be destroyed, but we now know where
Stargate SG-1 got its inspiration from.
I'll give
Contagion a grade of
8- on my 10-graded scale.
2-12 The RoyaleWhat could have been an interesting tale about an old 21st century spaceship was thoroughly squandered in
The Royale. Instead we were treated to something akin to a holodeck gone awry where the away team has to finish a "game" from a bad novel set in a fictitious Las Vegas casino. And naturally they have to trust Data's magical proficiency with the dices.
The story was almost as bad as the trashy book, and I couldn't help smiling when Troi, of all people, wondered if people really talked like they do in the novel. Like she and the rest of the Enterprise crew are ones to give that kind of criticism!
The concept of a lost NASA astronaut from the year 2037 deserved a much better story. That is however a dated reference. Considering what little has happened with the space program, it defies belief that by 2037 we would attempt not just the first, but the third, attempt to travel beyond the solar system. Even more dated is the even in the 24th century unsolvable Fermat's Last Theorem, which was actually solved in the mid-90s. Also, the prop makers got lazy when the adorned the old space suit with the mission patch from the very real Apollo17 mission, complete with the visible names of Cernan, Evans and Schmitt.
The Royale gets a grade of
2+ from me.
2-13 Time SquaredTime Squared has the advantage of being the first in a long line of time loop and time travel episodes, so it actually feels rather fresh. The story itself is quite good, with an ominous atmosphere of pending doom that is greatly enhanced by a thrilling score by Dennis McCarthy. It's an intriguing mystery to be solved, and we see the characters, particularly Picard, struggling with it and second-guessing themselves.
I can understand why Picard is so unsettled, and not just by the appearance of a doppelgänger from six hours in the future, but by the fact that that Picard was the only survivor from a destroyed Enterprise. Picard does adhere to the notion that a captain is the last to leave his ship, and that he'll go down with it if need be. Still, even given that, I was a bit surprised that he shot and killed his future self (although it's not clear if he intended to kill). Heh, who knew the cheese-eating surrender captain had it in him!
In the end we're still left with a mystery. What was that apparently sentient energy vortex and why was it out to get Picard? And how did travelling through it solve the crisis?
The Riker as a cook scene was intended to show the growing camaraderie between the crew, but residual memories of Chef Riker from
Enterprise's awful finale made me not enjoy it on this re-watch.
I'll give
Time Squared a grade of
7. My, this season's quality really is one big roller coaster!
2-14 The Icarus FactorNothing much happens in this episode. It doesn't even have a real plot. It might have worked by virtue of the characters, but that's not the case with
The Icarus Factor. What we have is long drawn out father and son clash between Riker and his estranged father. Yawn! I'm not a Riker fan to begin with, so I cannot get invested at all in his daddy issues, especially since they're so clichéd and the resolution a foregone conclusion, albeit with some truly atrocious
Tron-like gear in a faux martial arts fight.
I was also annoyed at Riker for declining the opportunity for a command of his own. That will be the first of many such opportunities, so many in fact that it strains belief. In real life no one stays second-in-command for as long as Riker does before washing out of the service. Any officer with ambition would jump at the chance even if it meant leaving the "flagship of the Federation" (which is a misnomer by the way).
The very nature of a serialised television show precludes one of the main characters from leaving, which also makes Riker's decision to stay another suspense-killing foregone conclusion. That doesn't mitigate my criticism of Riker. It effectively washes away the character's displayed machismo and bravado as being nothing more than an outward shell. Commanding is way out of his comfort zone. He likes it best to play second fiddle. I cannot help that this is what destroys his character in the long run.
The violent Worf Ascension ritual sub-plot was more interesting, and we saw some nice character moments there as well, even including, gasp, Wesley! But it wasn't enough of that to save this episode.
A grade of
2+ is what I can give
The Icarus Factor, and that's only because of the Worf story. Otherwise it's a 1.
2-15 Pen PalsI've made no secret about my intense dislike of the Prime Directive, especially the rigid way it's interpreted in the 24th century, and
Pen Pals is the perfect example of why. Here we have Picard once again pontificating about how they shouldn't interfere even if interference means stopping a planetary civilisation from being destroyed. It's only because Data, of all people, has become a "pen pal" with a little girl, Sarjenka, native to the planet that another solution is even considered.
Any normal compassionate individual wouldn't hesitate to come to the aid of the planet. Anything else would be committing genocide by omission. But Picard seems more upset that Data has started to communicate with Sarjenka, thus eventually forcing him to try and save the planet, than with the immediate threat of a global catastrophe that would wipe out untold billions. And just watch the cold-hearted bastard on the bridge. He refuses even to make eye contact with Sarjenka! At the end, Picard even has the gall to lecture Data that the supposedly emotionless android has learned a lesson in being human. If anything, it's Data who should have taught Picard such a lesson.
The solution was way too neat. After having saved the planet in five seconds, they conveniently wipe Sarjenka's memory of the events, including her friendship with Data. But I have to say that despite how much I despise the immoral arguments for the Prime Directive on display here, it was very moving to see Data and the poor girl here. And I normally don't like kids on Trek. I'll also give kudos to both LaForge and Dr. Pulaski (and admittedly even to Troi) for giving the human and compassionate argument for saving this civilisation.
The sub-plot of Wesley's first command was pretty forgettable. No wonder some of his team tried to challenge him. He's a kid with a field commission, whereas they are trained professionals with years of experience. It would grate on me too to have to take orders from the boy wonder. And Riker's advice to Wesley about "what would Picard do" is extremely ill-advised her when Picard is such a callous and heartless s.o.b.
I cannot grade
Pen Pals very high because of that damn Prime Directive subversion, but I'll give it at least a
3+ because of Data's display of humanity.