Star Trek TNG on the Big Screen

As part of the marketing effort for the TNG Blu-Ray editions, two episodes from Season Two were broadcast on movie screens across the country last night (Fathom Events). We decided to see what all the fuss was about.

They pushed the whole "HD" transfer from the original masters, and showed before and after stills that looked pretty good. We got some introductions from Denise and Michael Okuda (technical consultants and Trek gurus), a cast reunion, and some bloopers. Then the two episodes ("Q Who" and "The Measure of a Man") were presented.

I have to say I wasn't all that impressed.  Was it clean video? Yes. Did it look high-def? Not so much. Perhaps blowing it up on a huge screen made it a bit blurry, and maybe AMC skimped on projector quality. In any case, it didn't make me want to run out to buy the Blu-Rays, especially at their current absurdly high prices. For now, I'll stick with Netflix. Maybe when the Blu-Ray price drops by half over time--although we might get a holodeck version before that happens...

Star Trek TNG: To the Finish Line!

We've made it to the final four episodes of Next Generation...

• "Emergence" starts with another example of the crew having apparently unlimited free time--in this case, more acting lessons for Data. It's also another chance for the cast to show what great ACTORS they are. In another retread from previous episodes, the holodeck screws up and almost runs a train over Picard and Data. The whole ship is going crazy--warping to another system with no one "making it so", and brand new components showing up in Jeffries Tubes. After some technobablle, a return to the holodeck leads them onto the aforementioned train--"The Orient Express" with additions from other programs. It's clear the holodeck has taken over the Enterprise--which is also becoming sentient. Now Picard is worried about "hurting the emerging lifeform". More metaphorical mumbo-jumbo, a mysterious "brick", and what looks like a glowing art project in a cargo hold follow. In the end, the art project in the cargo hold becomes a new life form and leaves the ship. Picard is very smug about the whole thing.
• Recurring character Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) manages to sneak in one final appearance in "Preemptive Strike". She's back on the ship after "advanced tactical training". Maquis ships ("terrorists" we'll see later in Voyager) attack a Cardassian ship, forcing the Enterprise to intervene. Big brass at Starfleet get involved, and Picard suggests an undercover operative--Laren. She accepts, so she's off to the Cantina--er, an alien bar to infiltrate the Maquis. After some dicey action, she gains their trust. Word comes that the Cardassians are about to arm their people with bio-technobabble, so they decide to move on the proverbial "strike". Laren and a Maquis use a shuttle to "steal" some medical supplies from the Enterprise. She later returns by herself and briefs Picard--he is ready with a Maquis trap. Laren goes through with it, but is clearly torn--one of the Maquis has become a father figure to her. After an "audition scene for young Bajorans", Cardassians attack, killing the elder Maquis. She meets Picard at the bar and tells him she can't go through with it--Picard counters by sending Riker back with her. She doublecrosses him, betraying the Federation hidden position in a nebula, and the Maquis escape. Laren goes off with them--Picard is, to say the least, disappointed. Picard's attitude and actions during the whole episode seemed strange--perhaps this was another script from the slush pile?
• It's time for the two-part finale, "All Good Things...". Worf and Troi discuss whether they should tell Riker about their relationship, then Picard shows up very agitated--he thinks he's moving back and forth in time. Suddenly, he's tending the vineyards in France, with a beard. Geordi arrives with new technobabble eyes replacing his visor. He married Leah Brahms, and has three kids. Picard has a degenerative disease, and is seeing things. Suddenly, he's with Tasha Yar on a shuttle, about to board the Enterprise for the first time--then he's back with Troi. Crusher runs tests and finds evidence he could someday get the disease. To make things worse, there's evidence that Romulans are about to attack, so the Enterprise is set to investigate. Oops--he's back in the vineyard, scaring Geordi with his visions. They go see Data--now a professor at Cambridge, with a shock of grey hair (which he added himself, of course). There's a bunch of cats around (Spot's descendants). Oops--he's back boarding the Enterprise for the first time. Troi's in the short skirt, O'Brien is there as well. He keeps seeing visions of people laughing at him. There's more warnings about the Romulans in this time as well. Back to the present--he explains what he saw, but the others have no memories of it. There's a awkward scene with Worf, Troi, and Riker--he learns about the relationship. Picard and Crusher have a tender moment and they kiss. Oops--back to the future. Picard insists that they have to go to the Romulan neutral zone--but there is no such thing (the Klingons took it over). They call up Admiral Riker (now with grey hair), but he's no help. They go to the USS Pasteur, Captain Crusher-Picard commanding. They also need help from the Klingons--what about Worf? Back to the past--Picard is waiting for Q--this is when they are supposed to meet. Another shift--we're back to the trial from "Encounter at Farpoint"--and Q is there. Picard demands answers, but Q is cagey as always. The trial never ended--until now. Q judges humanity guilty, and will be destroyed--by Picard. Back to the future--they talk to Worf, but he refuses to help, until Picard shames him into it. Back to the past--Troi is concerned about Picard's erratic behavior. There's a shot of Riker sans beard--they cleverly use a stock shot from Season 1 and have him speak off camera. Back to the present--they get the Romulans to agree to allow the Enterprise in the neutral zone and a time anomaly--this also happens in the past. However, it's not in the future? Picard and his ex-wife quarrel. She tells him he might be imagining all of this. Q shows up and taunts him again--then tells him he needs to use his knowledge form time. Back to the present--he tells Data about some technobabble future Data told him. Use of the technobabble starts regenerating Geordi's eyes, and starts repairing other's injuries. Back to the past--Picard continues to use his time knowledge. Back to the future--Klingon ships attack. We noticed that McFadden is talking strangely--maybe the age prosthetics? The Enterprise-E (with three nacelles and a cloak) arrives and takes out the Klingons. They beam off Crusher's ship before her ship blows up. Worf and Riker fight (obviously, something happened to Troi at some point). Picard insists they stay, and Crusher drugs him. Back to the present--Nurse Ogawa lost her baby due to time anomaly. Q's back again--more taunts. He blinks them back to Earth--3.5 billion years ago. The anomaly is there too--it's growing as you go back in time. The anomaly stops the beginnings of life. Picard is switching through times very quickly now. In the future, we learn of Troi's funeral, and the others suggest Riker and Worf bury the hatchet. Picard rushes in--the tachyon beam from the three periods caused the anomaly! Data believes him, and technobabble ensues. Riker agrees, and asks Worf to join them on the bridge. Picard goes back to the present and past, and shuts off the tachyon beam in both cases. No good--it doesn't help. Future Data says they have to go into the anomaly--in all three times. Past Yar demands an explanation, and Picard gives a speech. Present Data figures it out as well. Past, present, and future Enterprises meet. Past Enterprise doesn't survive, then the present ship is out, then--Picard is back at the trial with Q. It worked--humanity is saved. Q did give him a hand--but the trial never ends. Picard is back at the beginning of the episode, and all is well. We end the series at the poker table, and Picard joins them...whew!

That's it for TNG (although we will cover the movies soon). We will move onto Deep Space Nine next time.  Star Trek: The Next Generation (and all the Trek series) is available on Netflix.

Star Trek TNG: In the Homestretch

We’ve got 8 episodes remaining of TNG--

• The Enterprise crew is going through "Genesis". Data's cat Spot is pregnant (why wouldn't a starship cat be spayed or neutered?), so we begin in Sickbay (apparently Dr. Crusher is a veterinarian too). Worf's doing some weapons testing and manages to lose a photon torpedo--wouldn't they just auto-explode after X minutes?--so Picard and Data go in a shuttle to find it. Troi and Worf, now officially a couple, are bickering about the ship's temperature, to the point that Troi is sitting in a hot bath with her uniform on. Worf suddenly has venom sacs, which he uses to attack Crusher (McFadden directed the episode, so this conveniently takes her out of action). Riker and many other crewman are forgetting things. The only one doing well is Barclay, who got a technobabble injection before this all started. Picard and Data return to find the ship adrift. They go onto the ship (with no protection other than phasers?!?) to find a devolved crew. Troi's a lizard, Worf's a snake, Riker's a Cro-Magnon, Barclay's a spider. The make-up crew had their work cut out for them. After more technobabble, and Picard leading Snake-Worf on a merry chase, Data saves the day.
• Ugh--Wesley's back in "Journey's End". He's on vacation (on a starship?) from the Academy--a flimsy excuse to get him back one last time. The Federation has worked out official borders between them and the Cardassians, and the Enterprise is assigned to move a colony of American Indians (message coming in, sir). Meanwhile, Wesley has switched from ugly sweaters to ugly jackets, and dismisses Geordi's engineering work. We get a lot of New Age technobabble from the colonists. Turns out that one of therm saw Wesley in a "vision quest", so he goes on one himself. The colonists figure out that Picard's ancestor was involved in an Indian massacre, which leaves him in a quandary--especially when the Cardassians arrive early. Wesley's sees his father (Doug Wert) during his quest, who tells him not to follow his path, and decides to help the colonists vs. the Feds. Picard is furious, and Wesley resigns from the Academy. He has a final touching scene with Dr. Crusher, then goes down to the planet. A fight breaks out, and the colonist reveals himself as "The Traveler" from Season One. Picard convinces the Cardassians to stand down, and the colonists decide to stay in the Cardassian empire. Wesley stays with them to continue his journey.
• Again with Cousin Oliver/Alexander! In "Firstborn", Worf's prepping him for "Ascension" (more Klingon mumbo-jumbo), and Alexander isn't having it. Picard suggests he get some time with other Klingons, so they use the flagship of the Federation to go to an outpost. The festivities (Klingon opera/fighting) are interrupted by a real attack on Worf, but he's saved by a friend of his family (James Sloyan). It's time for Klingon intrigue! We get a cameo from Quark on DS9, a holodeck fighting simulator, and the wacky Klingon sisters (they're like the Patty and Selma of TNG). Finally, we learn that the "old family friend" is actually Alexander from the future(?!?), there to try to change his life. Of course, his being there changes the future anyway. All in all--meh.
• It seems like they're using scripts from the slush pile to round out the series--or perhaps they got hold of some soap opera scripts. In "Bloodlines", Picard now has a secret son! He had a liaison with a girl early in his career, and an old Ferengi adversary swears vengeance. They track down 24-year old Jason Vigo (Ken Olandt) and beam him up. A quick genetic test later--yep, he's Picard's son. Picard tries to warm up to Jason, but he's not very open. Turns out he's a minor criminal--nothing serious. The Ferengi taunts Picard, then Jason suddenly has seizures. Some technobabble later, we learn that the Ferengi is using a transporter that can travel over several light years--one of these concepts which is conveniently forgotten later. Picard and Jason bond over a holodeck rock climb, even joking about his future hairline--then Jason is beamed off the ship. Picard uses the same method to follow him--then announces Jason is not his son (Crusher figured it out)--it was a scam by the Ferengi. Picard stops the Ferengis, and drops off Jason.

I'm hoping the final four episodes are better than these.  Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix. Happy Halloween!

Star Trek TNG: Even More of Season 7

Engage!

• Junior officers get the spotlight in "Lower Decks". Four crewmen--Bajoran Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill), Vulcan Taurik (Alexander Enberg), human Lavelle (Dan Gauthier), and existing character Nurse Ogawa (Patti Yasutake) are going through simulations on the ship. Ogawa gets relationship advice from Crusher (possibly the worst choice ever), and Lavelle does a lousy job trying to bond with Riker. There's a mysterious survivor from Cardassian space beamed aboard. Picard dresses down Jaxa--she was in the group that covered up the accident at Starfleet Academy in an earlier episode. Taurik tries to figure out why LaForge is making him shoot as a shuttlecraft, and Ogawa assists Crusher in surgery--with a Cardassian. There's cuts between two poker games with the junior and senior officers, and a sensei/student moment between Jaxa and Worf. She then goes to Picard and tells him off--her reward is a secret mission with a Cardassian spy for the Federation. She acts as his prisoner on a shuttle--and is killed in the attempt. A lot of storyline for a single episode.
• Oh Data! In "Thine Own Self", he's off picking up a missing probe on a pre-industrial planet. Unfortunately, he's damaged, loses his memory, and runs into prerequisite little girl Gia (Kimberly Cullum). Meanwhile--Crusher's running the ship? She volunteered--she talks to Troi about being a full commander, and how doing jobs like this allows her to stretch. Troi decides to do the same--remember when she had to run the ship during a disaster?--probably a good idea. Back on the planet--Gia's father Garvin (Michael Rothhaar) tries to figure out what Data is, then takes her to the local healer Talur (Ronnie Claire Edwards). She calls him an "ice man" from the arctic wastes. Now called Jaden, Data saves a villager from an anvil, freaking everyone out. Back on the ship, Troi goes through holodeck simulation tests and doesn't do well at emergency engineering. Troi realizes the only way to pass the test is to order LaForge to die in the simulation in order to save the ship, and is made a full Commander. Jaden/Data starts questioning the villages' science. Garvin gets sick--he was inadvertently exposed to radiation from the probe. The villagers turn on Jaden as they get sick as well. Data starts an investigation and figures out that the "radioactive" metal from the probe is to blame. The villagers attack and Data is literally exposed as an android. Just in time, he comes up with a cure, but is "killed" for his efforts. The Enterprise comes in and exhumes him--thank goodness they had time to give Troi those tests. Picard shows up at the end--it seems he's getting little screen time lately...
• Brent Spiner gets a chance to be an ACTOR in "Masks". There's a rogue comet which deposits statuary in Troi's quarters. Of course, it's not immediately investigated--when will they learn? Data makes a clay mask in pottery class (don't these people have work to do?), and the ship's computer is taken over with unknown symbols. They blast the comet to see what's in the core--it's an ancient spaceship! Statuary starts showing up all over the ship. Data's mind and body is taken over by what sounds like Gollum. He's got an android version of multiple personalities. Picard talks with each of them, finding out that they are in danger. The ship is being transformed into an ancient society with swamps, aqueducts, etc. Picard plays archeologist, reading the symbols. Data puts on his clay mask and goes to the "temple" generated by LaForge. Picard, Troi, and Worf continue to decode the symbols. Picard puts on another mask and plays the role of another alien being to get them to leave. It's truly a silly scene--even the cast said they laughed at each other throughout the production.
• After the histrionics of the last few episodes, we get a more low-key episode in "Eye of the Beholder". A crewman commits suicide by jumping into a technobabble energy stream. This is a rare event in the 24th century, to the point that Picard has never had to deal with it before. Worf and Troi are assigned to investigate what happened. At the same time, Worf is trying to begin a relationship with Troi, at one point trying to talk to Riker, in order to get his permission. Troi's getting weird visions about Utopia Planitia (where the Enterprise was built)--people laughing at her. Out of nowhere, Worf goes to kiss Troi in her quarters, and for no apparent reason, she's happy to reciprocate. We cut to the next morning, and Worf's making breakfast. They both get called for different duties. A body is found in the bulkhead--it's the woman Troi saw in her visions. A crewman that worked at the shipyards is now suspected. Suddenly, Worf is  making time with another crewman, and Troi shoots him. She goes to kill herself, and Worf stops her--it was all a vision caused by the crewman. A quick technobabble session later, all is resolved--no actual dalliance between our heroes--yet.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Justice League Animated: More of Season 2

Sorry for the lack of entries lately--life got in the way for awhile, plus the new TV season began, so time has been limited.  We're at the halfway point of the second season...

• If it's a black diamond, Eclipso can't be far behind. The classic DC villain stars in "Eclipsed". He has the ability to invade minds and take them over.
  • In this case, an army unit finds the diamond, and one of them is quickly taken over. He goes rogue and tries to take over some nukes--then it takes over a general. He's got a lot of power--but the Justice League looks like a better weapon for Eclipso.
  • We get a great Flash Rogue cameo, with Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, and Heat Wave (yeah, I know the names are goofy--it was the Silver Age). However, it's an ad for "Lightspeed Energy Bar"--Flash is cashing in. Brian Doyle Murray plays his agent. He's even got a van (why does the Fastest Man on Earth need a van?). He also makes a Hard-Traveling Heroes reference (GL and Green Arrow did a "discover America" drive in the 70's).
  • We also see Glorious Godfrey (Enrico Colantoni) as a political commentator a la Fox News. Wally gets sucked in, as you would expect. He also has a special guest--Dr. Frederic, the author of "The Innocent Seduced" (Dr. Frederic Wertham was the instigator of Senate hearing on comics books in the 50's, which just about shut down the industry).
  • Classic line from WW: "What's wrong with the way I dress?"
  • Speaking of Diana--she's the first of the team to be Eclipsed, and soon they don't know whom to trust. Unbelievably, Flash saves the day.
  • There's some lovely animation (CGI?) as they jumpstart the Sun.
• Aquaman, Grundy, and Dr. Fate(Oded Fehr)? It's "The Terror Beyond".
  • Fate needs Grundy for an incantation to save Atlantis, and Grundy wants his soul back in return 
  • We also meet Inza, Dr. Fate's wife, played by Jennifer Hale.
  • The League wants answers, but it doesn't go well. Fate sends Grundy and Supes to Egypt, while WW and Aquaman end up on Easter Island, while he fights Hawkgirl. Battles ensue, and they all return to see Fate again.
  • Unfortunately, all this delay has stopped Fate from Cthulhu entering their world
  • We get both Atlantean and Thanagarian history, and then a debate on whether Grundy is competent
  • The whole group (minus Aquaman, who goes to fight for his kingdom) go to the the Cthulhu dimension
  • Grundy gets quite the sympathetic role as joins the heroes, then dies fighting for his soul
• We've got a new "Secret Society" of Super-Villains
  • The new group includes Sinestro (Ted Levine), Giganta (Jennifer Hale), Parasite (Brian George), Shade (Stephen McHattie), Gorilla Grodd (Powers Boothe), Clayface (Ron Perlman), and Killer Frost (Jennifer Hale again)
  • They're training together, as are the League (they both apparently have "Danger Rooms"). Batman balks at training, of course.
  • They end up in a big fight, and the League does a lousy job. The Society is actually quite impressive.
  • The League does a lot of bickering afterwards, and the group disbands! It turns out Grodd's been influencing them.
  • They all end up in another fight in the League's Danger Room, and the Society prevails
  • The Society decides to finish them off at the Super Bowl halftime show, but Martian Manhunter saves the day. We get yet another fight, and apparently the League needed a crowd to win. They all make up and move on.

If you would like to play along, the DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: From Season 6 to Season 7

Let's "make it so"...

• Season 6 ends with another cliffhanger--"Descent". The Borg are back, but now they're not a collective--they are acting alone. Also, Data is exhibiting emotions--in this case, anger. The nexus for both of these events? Lore's back, and running his own Borg army. The situation is desperate enough to put Crusher in the big chair. It's a psychological drama more than a war story, with Data being swayed by the Borg and allying himself with Lore. There was also some audio problems with the episode on Netflix--sounded like a warped record.
• The cliffhanger is completed in the Season 7 premiere. Riker and Worf run into Hugh, the Borg Picard let go in an earlier episode--he's started a resistance movement against Lore. Crusher has her hands full with a Borg ship, and Data (under Lore's control) is about to experiment on LaForge. Of course, it's all resolved in the end, and Data gets the emotion chip--but doesn't want it (at least until we get to the TNG films). The two-parter includes an interesting cameo--Stephen Hawking as a hologram of himself playing poker.
• Picard on a shuttle? That never goes well. In "Liasions", the Enterprise is running an exchange program with an alien race. The shuttle taking Picard to the alien's world crashes, and a mysterious woman (Barbara Williams) saves him. Unfortunately, it turns into the TNG equivalent of "Misery", but ends up being an alien experiment. There's also a wacky B-story about how Troi and Worf handle their exchange partners on the ship. They must have needed a cheaper episode after the two parter--the planet surface is "Planet Hell", a set they rarely used in later seasons since it looks like paper-mache and styrofoam.
• Geordi is experimenting with a teleprescence probe to be used in dangerous situations, and ends up in an "Interface" with his missing mother. Is he seeing her or not? Of course, it ends up being an alien trying to return to their home. Lots of technobabble in this episode. Ben Vereen cameos as Geordi's father.

We'll continue with the final season of TNG next time. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix.

Star Trek TNG: Even More Season 6

Let's go...

• In "Lessons", Picard falls in love with the ship's new stellar cartographer (Wendy Hughes). Most of the episode is "slice of life" until he's forced to put her in danger as part of an away mission. It's strange that we never heard of stellar cartography or who worked there until this episode--and I doubt we'll hear of it (or her) again. "No beach to walk on..."
• Picard's archaeology "hobby" is put to the test in "The Chase". His old professor shows up and is then murdered, so the Enterprise continues his mysterious mission. They find a message from an ancient civilization, including a sci-fi audition scene for young actors.
• In "Frame of Mind", Riker is in a play about being an insane murderer, then he is an insane murderer in an alien asylum, then he's back on the ship. It's like TNG meets Inception. Frakes really gets a chance to do some ACTING in this episode. Doesn't Crusher have some medical stuff to do, instead of directing plays?
• Speaking of Crusher, she gets a chance to lead an episode in "Suspicions". It's all a flashback to a murder mystery that strips her of her medical career--of course, it all turns out OK in the end. There's a lot of voiceover from McFadden in the episode. It seemed like an old fashioned TV drama--not a very modern writing technique.
• More Klingon mumbo-jumbo in "Rightful Heir". Worf has a crisis of faith in Kahless, until he meets him in person. Alan Oppenheimer plays one of the Klingons--his resume goes back to 1961, and has guested on too many series to list. He's also prolific in voiceovers--you know him as Skeletor on He-Man.
• "Because they're Rikers...identical Rikers all the way...". We've made it to the inevitable "twin" episode "Second Chances"--in this case, a transporter technobabble accident creates two Rikers, one of which was trapped on a planet for 8 years. Lt. Riker is still in love with Troi (as if Cmdr. Riker isn't). I love how the producers showed off how the RIkers could interact--no more obvious line in the background.
• Things get what The Doctor would call "timey-wimey" for Picard, LaForge, Data, and Troi in "Timescape". Time freezes, goes backward, slows down, and there's technobabble aplenty. The ship's shuttle appears to be infected by the TARDIS--it's a lot bigger on the inside than the exterior would indicate.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: More Season Six

Onward...

• More holodeck hijinks in "Ship in a Bottle".  Moriarty is back--he leaves holo-London and walks on the ship. Barclay let him out--has anyone in the 24th century ever heard of passwords? The whole episode becomes a matrushka doll of holodecks within holodecks.
• We get a weird film noir / creepy alien hybrid in "Aquiel". There's been a murder on a remote station, and Geordi gets romantically involved with the main suspect (Renee Jones). The actual murderer is a blobby alien that takes the form is whatever it touches. Geordi--will you ever learn?
• Troi is in a tough spot in "Face of the Enemy"--she's been kidnapped, altered to look Romulan, and is acting as an intelligence officer on a Romulan ship. She doesn't know whom to trust. Then the Enterprise gets involved. We learn a bit more about Romulan society in the episode, but it seems to end very abruptly.
• Picard plays Quantum Leap in "Tapestry". He get a chance (via Q) to relive the event that gave him an artificial heart. The critical event surrounds a 24th century bumper pool game--I love how the designers come up with concepts like this. Picard keeps his heart, but is now a lieutenant--he ended up playing it too safe. Q lets him do a reset.
• We complete the Klingon saga with the two-part "Birthright". As always, Klingon stories are very complicated, so I won't go into detail. Basically, Worf learns that his father may be alive on a prison planet and goes there to find out. Blah-blah-blah, honor, duty, family, repeat. The more interesting story involves the first crossover with DS9 (apart from the other show's pilot). Data, Geordi, and Dr. Bashir run an experiment that accidentally causes Data to "dream", so he goes in search of its meaning. It gets really trippy--Spiner get a chance to do some real ACTING. We also get some pretty shots of the Enterprise inside and out during his "dreams'.
• Picard has quite the adventure during otherwise routine maintenance of the ship in "Starship Mine". The Enterprise is evacuated during a radiation sweep, but there's terrorists, and he's on his own. It's very much like a standard action movie--Die Hard with Earl Grey Hot! There's also a great B-story with Data outdoing an annoying official at a reception--Spiner really milks the part. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Season Six Continues

More of TNG Season 6:

• In "Rascals", Picard, Guinan, Ro, and Keiko (brought together using the random character plot device) are turned into children. Fortunately, the Enterprise has a set of kid-sized uniforms on hand for all of them--even Guinan. Speaking of her, the actress playing young Guinan (Isis Carmen Jones) is very good. Not as good are security procedures on the Enterprise--the Ferengis take it over easily. Also. there's a great scene with Riker playing "Dad" to the young Picard.
• Worf and Cousin Oliv--Alexander find a "Fistful of Datas" on an "ancient" west holodeck. The difficulty level on the holodeck is apparently proportional to the amount of haze in the air. Meanwhile, Picard plays with 24th century Garageband. The whole idea of testing Data's ability to run the ship's systems without simulating it first seems incredibly irresponsible. Of course, so does the use of holodecks on the ship--does that ever go well?
• "The Quality of Life" is all about robotics and the limits of artificial life. There's a lot of philosophical discussion in the episode--Ellen Bry plays an over-aggressive engineer. The little robot Exocomps are actually cute--before it's determined the robots are alive. Data puts the lives of Picard and Geordi on the line to save them.
• It's another two-parter!  In "Chain of Command", Picard, Crusher, and Worf go on an undercover mission against the Cardassians. Since when is Dr. Crusher an espionage expert? Meanwhile, a new captain (Ronny Cox) takes over the Enterprise. He's rather brusque--he even tells Troi to wear a standard uniform (hear hear!). The espionage team wander through Papier-mâché caves while the Enterprise forcefully "negotiates" with the Cardassians. Picard is captured (why is Worf so useless?) and "interrogated". David Warner plays his usual role of fey villain--he's been on Trek before (Star Trek VI). Riker is relieved of duty while Picard and his interrogator spar with ACTING! This becomes an issue in the later seasons--episodes sometimes turns into "Audition Scenes for Genre Actors". Of course in the end, Picard is saved, and the temporary captain is gone.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Kicking Off Season Six

Here we are, starting the sixth season of TNG: 

• First, let's finish off "Time's Arrow". Data is in the 19th century with Guinan, and Mark Twain is blabbing to a reporter about it. We cut to Riker and Crusher, now in the 19th century as well (and apparently having stolen period clothing). They determine the "greys" are killing cholera victims and absorbing their death energy for sustenance. The bellman helps Twain break into Data's hotel room. The bellman wants Twain to write his story, but Twain tells him to write it himself. We learn the bellman is Jack London. Data and Guinan arrive and find Twain. In a hospital ward, Crusher runs into the Victorian couple, but they zap out. Our heroes almost get nabbed by the cops when Data arrives in a carriage to whisk them off. There's a goofy scene with a landlady and a fake play. The full away team--along with Twain--make it to cavern where they found Data's head. The Victorian couple appear--there's a struggle--and off goes Data's head. The group runs through another vortex--including Twain but without Picard, Guinan, and one of the Victorian couple. They wind up in the same cavern in the 24th century--with Data's headless body. Back in the older cave, Guinan has been injured. 24th century Guinan refuses to tell Riker what happened back then. Troi accompanies Twain around the ship, explaining how things have changed. They debate whether to destroy the cave, but we've learned that won't work. Gerodi finds an iron filing in Data's head--Picard left it there as a message to the future, so they don't fire until they rephase the torpedos. Twain goes back to save Picard and help Guinan. The cave is blown up and the "greys" are stopped.  Whew! A complicated but silly story.

These entries are getting way too long, so no more plot summaries--just my thoughts and questions.

• Barclay's back in "Realm of Fear". He's got a problem with transporters--he's never been through one. How could he possibly have gotten through Starfleet training without ever doing that? Also, there's a reference in the technobabble to the "Heisenberg Compensator". This is an in-joke used several times on Trek, based on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. At one point, Troi relieves Barclay of his duties because of all the stress he's under--can she do that without Crusher's OK? It's not like she's a doctor. Finally, how does Barclay see the worm creature during transport--he wouldn't have working eyes (or a brain) when he's dematerialized.
• Troi picks the wrong guy (again) in "Man of the People". She gets old age makeup and becomes quite the "cougar". I love the scene with the ensign in her quarters putting on his boots--the universal sign on Trek for an intimate encounter. There's also a scene with an Ensign "Janeway". Finally, when Troi de-ages at the end, her hair immediately turns back to black--how does that work?
• We have another encounter with TOS in "Relics"--Scotty beams in after sitting in a transporter pattern buffer for 75 years. The Enterprise crew seem unimpressed and mostly ignore him--surely someone (Troi?) would be trying to help him acclimate to the new century? There is a nice callback to an alcoholic beverage that's "green". Another nice touch--at one point, Scotty goes onto the old bridge via holodeck. In the end, he's given a shuttle and heads out into space.
• The crew are having problems sleeping in "Schisms". Troi holds a group therapy session with Riker, Worf, Geordi, and an unnamed crewman who is not mentioned again. There's a wacky scene with Data giving a poetry recital that seems like it was written for Season One. The episode turns into an alien abduction story, with Riker "taken" via a poor visual effect.
• Q is back--in this case, "True Q". Olivia d'Abo guest stars as a medical honor student, and as it turns out, a member of the Q Continuum who wants a normal life. Of course, our regular Q shows up as well. I love how Picard has to act "civil" to him in front of her. Crusher gets a big part on this episode. At one point, the two Q's hang out on the outer hull. When the female Q does her tricks, I kept being reminded of Samantha on Bewitched.

 Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come! 

Star Trek TNG: Wrapping Up Season Five

Let's finish this season of TNG:

• Again with the energy beings! Again with the kids! A ball of energy enters the ship,  sees a young girl Clara (Noley Thornton) talking to her "Imaginary Friend", and decides to make her real (Shay Astar). Of course, the adults still can't see Clara's friend. There's also technobabble nebula strand thingies that are slowing down the ship. Guinan has a moment with Clara. Troi tries psychology on the girl (she still thinks Clara is making her up), and attempts to "separate" them. She gets thrown around by the entity for her efforts. There's a whole "Single White Female" thing going on here. Her "friend" says she's going to kill them all--complete with red eyes. More energy beings show up and start draining the shields--Clara's friend is actually a scout for the others. Pciard gives a big speech about how humans care for their children, and the energy beings relent. One other note--I know this is was produced in the 80's, but Troi's hair is out of control. It looks like she has a poodle on her head.
• The Enterprise finds a crashed Borg ship--with a survivor (Jonathan del Arco). Picard (understandably) wants to retreat, but Crusher wants to save it(?!?). Picard has an idea--use this Borg as a virus, sending programming back through the Collective. Crusher is still worried about what is essentially genocide. Was she not here during "The Best of Both Worlds"? Guinan and Picard have a fencing match--both physically and via wordplay. The Borg announces he is "Third of Five", and wants to go home to the Collective. They decide to call him "Hugh" (bad idea). Geordi and Data present their "virus" to Picard (essentially the "figure out the last value of pi" bit). Guinan comes to Picard--she's had a change of heart, but wants Picard to talk her out of it. He talks to Hugh, playing up the Locutus bit. Hugh says "resistance is NOT futile", and refuses to help in assimilation. He gives Hugh the option for asylum or to go back as is (no virus)--he chooses the latter to save them. Their hope is that Hugh's individuality will be a more effective virus.
• A Romulan ship sends out an SOS and during the rescue, Geordi and Ro are apparently lost in mid-transport. But then we see Ro wake up on the Enterprise--no one can see or hear her, and she walks right through objects. Is she dead? She finds Geordi in engineering--he has the same problem. They discuss the afterlife--Ro is accepting it, Geordi not so much. Ro goes to the bridge and says her goodbyes using the Audition Scenes for Young Actors method. Geordi figures out the Romulans "phased" them--they're not dead, just cloaked. It's "The Next Phase". They also learn the Romulans plan to destroy the ship--and one Romulan follows them, walking through a control panel as he does (he's phased as well). Geordi gives Data hints by walking though things, but the phased Romulan finds Ro--he just wants to get re-phased. Ro and the Romulan have a merry chase through bulkheads and people--Geordi pushes him out the ship. Now they have to warn Picard--and they do it at their New Orleans-style wake.
• The Enterprise comes upon an alien probe, which seems to knock out Picard. He awakes to find his wife (?!?) standing over him, calling him "Kamin". He's on an alien planet, and everyone thinks he should be there. They tell him he's been ill, and try to convince him his memories of the Enterprise are just a dream. His wife Eline (Margot Rose) gives him a flute he's been trying to play for years. We cut back to the Enterprise--he's still there and unconscious. All attempt to block the probe's transmission from Picard fail. Back on the planet--it's 5 years later! He's still trying to figure out his "dreams"--his wife wants him to drop it and live his life with her. He agrees--and decides to start a family. A quick check with the Enterprise--and when we return, time has passed again, and his family is there. An attempt to stop the probe almost kills Picard. It's now 25 years since Kamin "arrived". His little girl is now a woman (Jennifer Nash). The planet is dying from drought--their sun is going nova. Eline dies from old age. FInally, a probe is launched--with Kamin's life encoded on it! That's what Picard has experienced--an entire life. Picard awakens back on the bridge--only 20 minutes have elapsed. The last scene is Picard playing the flute they found on the probe. "The Inner Light" is a terrific episode.
• Not so terrific is "Time's Arrow"--the season cliffhanger. A mining crew has found evidence of extraterrestrials on Earth in the 1800's--Data's head! Geordi want to talk to him about it, but Data is philosophical about it. Microbes on the head are only found on a distant planet, so off they go. Data is held back from the away team, and he wonders why--Picard is protecting him. Troi, on the away team, senses hundreds of human lives--just out of phase in time. Data has to go down in order to detect them. He phases out,, and starts seeing what sounds like "greys". There's a temporal distortion--and Data is gone. We wakes up on a 19th century backlot. He makes some money in a poker game, using his communicator as ante, and checks into a hotel. A Victorian couple somehow zap a bum in the street--shades of Doctor Who! Back on the Enterprise, they make plans to find Data and communicate with the "greys". Guinan warns Picard that he has to go with the next away team. Data reads that there's a literary reception--with Guinan's picture. We cut to Mark Twain--of course (Jerry Hardin)--at the reception. Data barges in--Guinan is there, but this is before she knew him. Twain eavesdropped, and heard way too much. Back in the 24th century, the team phases in--and sees the "greys". There's a lot of Spielbergian lights and vortices, one of which they enter.  TO BE CONTINUED!    

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Star Trek TNG: Season Five Continues

More of TNG Season 5:

• There are "Violations" in the next episode. A group of Ullians are on the ship--they are "telepathic historians" that can probe memories of others. They wear bizarre cut up robes as costumes. Troi talks to one of them (Ben Lemon) before they go to their separate quarters, then she has weird memories and feelings--first about Riker, and suddenly about the Ullian. It's like something out of Cinemax After Dark--it puts her in a coma. The same thing then happens to Riker and Crusher--he has to make a life and death decision, and she has memories of her husband dying and Picard (with hair) taking her to see his body. Data and Geordi check out the planets the Ullians visited, and find more cases of coma. Troi wakes up with no memories of what happened, so the Ullians suggest they probe her memories. The younger Ullian frames the older one, but he overplays his hand with Troi. A rather creepy episode.
• It's another planet in peril (this time by a technobablle fragment) in "The Masterpiece Society". This "society" was genetically engineered--they don't want to be evacuated. Troi develops a romantic relationship with their leader played by John Snyder (seems pretty quick after the last episode). Their engineer (Dey Young) works with Geordi--they come up with a plan to save the planet. After a liaison, Troi breaks off the relationship. Engineering teams come to the colony to help set up defenses, and the fragment is deflected just enough enough to save them. The engineer from the colony mocks up a "breach" on the colony because she wants to leave--others want to as well. In the end, having the Enterprise "save" the colony did more harm than good.
• It's quite the "Conundrum"--the Enterprise attempts a first contact with an alien ship, and suddenly no one remembers who they are. They have a basic understanding of their jobs, but that's it. Who's in charge? Worf decides he is, since he has a sash. Data was behind the bar at Ten Forward when all this happened, so he thinks he's the bartender. There's also a new officer on the ship (Erich Anderson). Digging into more ship info, they learn they are at war (?) with an alien race--and have orders to take out their HQ. Everybody gets to play against type--for example, Ro gives Riker a booty call, and he in turn plays with Troi. The new officer pushes Picard to destroy a small ship, and gets Worf on his side. In the end, Picard refuses to attack a helpless vessel, the new officer is actually working for another race, and Crusher presumably figures out how to fix their heads.
• An away team (Riker, Data, and Troi) crash their shuttle on a planet with electromagnetic storms, forcing O"Brien to beam down with a doohickey to save them. Energy-based entities inhabit their bodies (except for Riker, since he had a broken arm) before they beam up, and they quickly take hostages in Ten-Forward.  It's a "Power Play". Picard agrees to take the injured hostage's place, and finds out the entities are from a 200 year old Federation ship--they just want to escape the planet. There's plenty of technobabble, a botched rescue mission, and a hostage walk to a cargo bay. It turns out the entities have nothing to do with the older ship--they are condemned prisoners. Picard forces their hand, and the entities skeedaddle. Mindy and I agree this was a 'meh" episode.
• Worf's back is broken in an accident, and Crusher can't fix it. A specialist is brought on board who has "Ethics" issues. She wants to replace his spine with a replicated one--Crusher won't approve such an untested procedure. Worf asks Riker to help him perform ritual suicide--he refuses--and Picard tells him not to be so terran-centric (?). Troi steps in to take care of Cousin Oliver--er, Alexander. This is the start of the relationship between Troi and Worf. Speaking of the Klingon, he refuses a 60% solution, so the specialist brings up the untested procedure--Crusher is pissed, but Worf wants to try it. Riker tells Worf that Alexander must help with the suicide--that stops him. Now Picard steps in, and convinces Crusher to do the untested procedure. Worf asks Troi to step in as Alexander's mom if things go badly. Of course, after some dramatic moments, the untested procedure works. This is like a Marcus Welby episode--in SPAAACE!

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Two Generations Meet

We begin with a two-parter that brings The Original Series and TNG together...

• "Unification Part 1" begins with a mission for the Enterprise--find out why Ambassador Spock (yes, that Spock) went to the Romulan Empire. Picard visits Sarek to get some info, but he's mentally fading (it's one of Mark Lenard's last performances). Picard gets Gowron to loan them a cloaked ship, so off go Picard and Data to Romulus while the Enterprise investigates the wreckage of a Vulcan ship. There's a lot of wackiness with a ship junkyard and Picard on a Klingon ship--then word comes that Sarek has died. Picard and Data get to Romulus, but are taken to a cave, and we finally run into Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Three more TOS connections: their contact on Romulus is played by Malachi Throne who played a Commodore on the TOS two-parter "The Menagerie", this episode was a kind of sequel to Star Trek VI which hit the box office shortly after, and the most significant--Gene Roddenberry died just before this episode originally aired.
• In the second part of "Unification", Picard tells Spock of Sarek's death. Spock is there to foster a peace initiative between Vulcan and Romulus--there's a movement on the latter world. Riker and Worf have a subplot at a bar, but it's immaterial. There's court intrigue back on Romulus--Sela (Denise Crosby) is sneaking around. Picard is suspicious, while Spock wants to play things out. Spock and Data have an interchange about humanity. Sela captures our heroes--she wants Spock to announce a fake peace mission, and she has a holographic Spock if he won't do it (and he won't of course). They fool her with their own holograms, and they screw around with the Spock hologram as well. In a lovely touch, Data takes her out with the ol' Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Picard and Data manage to escape, but Spock decides to stay behind to help the resistance.
• In "A Matter of Time", the Enterprise is assisting a distressed planet (an ecological catastrophe is causing a nuclear winter) when a visitor (Matt Frewer) arrives on the bridge--he says he's a historian from the 26th century. The crew seems to accept this fairly easily. At one point, the historian hits on Crusher! Meanwhile, the ship's attempts to save the planet make the problem worse. Data and Geordi come up with a new plan--but if the technobabble is just a wee bit off, it will burn off the planet's atmosphere. Picard tries to get the historian to tell him how things turn out--but he can't, since it would change history. Lots of philosophical speeches follow. In the end, Picard chooses to try--and because this is TV, it works. The historian attempts to leave, but Picard notes that items have disappeared (he's been collecting tech all over the ship)), and he demands to see his ship. Only Data is allowed on the ship--it turns out the "historian" is an inventor from the 22nd century that happened to get a hold of a timeship from the 26th century. The ship returns to it's own time without him. 
• Worf has some "New Ground" to cover--his son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) drops by with Worf's "Earthly" mother (Georgia Brown) for a visit. He happens to mention that he's not going back. Mom explains that they are too old to keep up with him, and that he needs to be with Worf. Alexander is a handful--he lies to his teacher. Worf's not the best dad either. There's also a subplot about a new type of propulsion that would mean building a huge facility on every planet--seems impractical. It goes badly, and Geordi has to save the day. This plot seems like "episode helper" to pad out the time. However, it does cause a fire that brings father and son together. In the end, Worf decides to keep Alexander on the Enterprise, making him the "Cousin Oliver" of TNG.
• Again with the kid episodes! In "Hero Worship", a derelict ship is found near a technobabble cluster with a single survivor--a child (Joshua Harris) that Data saves. The kid's parents were on the ship, so now he's alone. He imprints on the emotionless android, adopting his speech patterns and mannerisms. Data helps him through the process. Meanwhile, the ship goes into the cluster to find out what happened. The kid believes that he's the cause of the ship's destruction, but he couldn't have done it. He then helps Data figure out why the ship is being buffeted in the cluster--their shields are being reflected back at them, smashing into the ship. That's what destroyed the other ship. One other point--this episode is the Bermuda Triangle for guest actors. Harris did one other TV gig, then became a minor-league baseball player, and ended up producing. There's an ensign at the Conn position (Sheila Franklin) who played the same role three more times, playing a doctor in an earlier episode, then had one minor movie role, and then left the business.   

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Onto Season Five

Four seasons down, three to go...

• We begin with the resolution of "Redemption" from last season. Picard calls for a blockade so the Romulans can't help the Klingons, using an electronic "net" among the ships. There's not enough experienced crew for all the ships (remember the Borg?), so both Riker and Data and given their own commands. Meanwhile, the Klingons are fighting among themselves (how did they ever achieve spaceflight?). Data is having his own problems--his first officer refuses to work with him. We learn that the mysterious blond Romulan is Tasha's daughter--the one who went to the Enterprise-C in "Yesterday's Enterprise". Worf is kidnapped by Duras's sisters and offered a deal--of course, he refuses. Picard sets a trap, the Romulans pull a counter move, Data figures out how to find them even cloaked, and the Romulans retreat. The Klingon bad guys give up, and Worf returns to the Enterprise. Whew! There's just too many storylines going on here--it's a confusing episode.
• We forced ourselves to watch "Darmok"--an episode about language. An attempt to communicate with a bizarre race ends up with Picard and the alien captain (Paul Winfield) working together to survive on a planet. The race's language is all based on metaphor, which makes it hard for anyone not familiar with the references. The episode also introduces Picard's new uniform (which I have a copy of), a minor change to the show's logo, and a recurring minor character played by a then unknown Ashley Judd.
• The next episode introduces "Ensign Ro", played by Michelle Forbes. The Bajoran / Cardassian conflict is also introduced--it's the Palestine conflict IN SPAAACE. This concept is the basis for the DS9 series and influences Voyager. Ro is "assigned" to the Enterprise by a Starfleet admiral--she has a troubled past that resulted in a court martial--in order to stop Bajoran separatists that attacked a Federation settlement. Guinan ends up befriending her when no one else would. It turns out the admiral sent Ro to give weapons to the separatists. She opens up to Picard, who decides to play out the plan and "see what happens". In the end, Picard convinces Ro to stay on the Enterprise. They do make a big deal about Ro's earring and Starfleet "dress code", despite the fact that Worf wears a sash and Troi wears whatever she likes.
• The Crystalline Entity last seen in "Datalore" returns in "Silicon Avatar". It attacks a planet being colonized, wiping out all life (Riker and an away team survives in a cave). An expert on the entity, Kila Marr (played by Ellen Geer), comes on board--she detests Data, based on what she knows about Lore. Her son died on the same planet Data is from, and has spent her life tracking it down. The story turns into Moby Dick, with Marr as Ahab. In the end, she realizes that Data is nothing like Lore. Data, who has the memories of all his home world's colonists, reads her son's journals to her in his voice. Despite all this (or maybe because of this), she uses a method of communications to destroy the entity. Data, in an uncharacteristic rude moment, tells her his son would be saddened by hat she did.
• The next episode is worthy of Irwin Allen--it's a "Disaster". The ship is hit by some technobabble thingy which takes out ships power and causes lots of injuries. Fortunately, lots of interesting scenarios were set up beforehand. Picard is taking some kids on a tour of the ship, leaving Troi inadvertently in charge when the ship is hit. Crusher and LaForge are in a cargo hold with radioactive stuff. Keiko (who's suddenly very pregnant) and Worf are on Ten Forward. Picard gets the kids and himself out a broken turbolift, Riker and Data move from Ten Forward toward the bridge, but he's forced to take off Data's head to make it. Troi managed command very well, with help from O'Brien and Ro, despite having no clue what to do (She really needs Starfleet training). The doctor and the engineer depressurize the hold to get ride of the bad stuff, and Worf delivers Keiko's baby despite a lousy bedside manner.
• Speaking of disasters, Wesley's back in "The Game". He's on the Enterprise on vacation from the academy, and runs into officer Leffler (Ashley Judd again)--they hit it off. Meanwhile, Riker brought a new electronic game from Risa. It's very popular on the ship--it ties into your neural network and gives you a shot to your pleasure center when you win. It starts taking over the crew--at one point, Crusher takes out Data! It's a whole "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" vibe. Picard brings the Enterprise to meet a strange ship--it's the girl that gave RIker the game on Risa. They plan to send the game across the Federation. Data Ex Machina saves the day with a flashlight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some Angry Birds to play...

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Wrapping Up Season Four

• In "The Drumhead", there's an explosion on board, while secret info on the Enterprise is sent to the Romulans. An admiral (played by the celebrated film actress Jean Simmons) comes out of retirement to lead the investigation. She ends up starting a witch hunt against the Enterprise crew and Picard in particular. Both Mindy and I thought this episode was rather stilted--there's a lot of speech-making rather than dialogue.
• Lwaxana Troi is back in "Half a Life"--which means Picard is jumpy. She invites herself to a meeting with a reclusive alien scientist, played by David Ogden Stiers. Lwaxana has fallen in love with him--unfortunately, his race practices ritual suicide when they reach a certain age. Lwaxana insists Picard stop him, but the Prime Directive is in the way. Lwaxana breaks down in front of Deanna--a rare dramatic performance by Majel Barrett Roddenberry. Lwaxana manages to convince the scientist to live on, but his daughter (Michelle Forbes, in an early TV role--she'll be back as Ensign Ro Laren) comes onboard and reminds him of their way. He returns to his planet, and Lwaxana joins him for the "ceremony".  A much more subtle "message" episode than the previous one.
• Crusher is in love--which means her paramour is doomed.  In this case, she's infatuated with "The Host" (played by Franc Luz) of a symbiote. She only finds this out when he's critically injured. He's needed for delicate alien negotiations--they call for a new host from the same race, but it will take too long to get there, so Riker volunteers. Riker/Symbiote wants to continue their relationship, but she's confused. Troi's also in the mix, since Crusher asks for her advice--she obviously has mixed feelings. Unfortunately, Riker is dying from the treatments to keep the symbiote alive--he gets Crusher to agree to remove him from Riker. In the end, the new host arrives--and it's a woman. Crusher loses again.
• Geordi's on his way to Risa for shore leave after a seminar--in a shuttle. Of course, he gets attacked by Romulans in "The Mind's Eye". They capture him and go all "Clockwork Orange" on him, sending horrible images directly into his neural implants and brainwashing him. They then send him back to the Enterprise, where they are handling a diplomatic crisis with the Klingons. Data's monitoring strange transmissions, figures out that Geordi's visor is the receiver, and stops him from completing an assassination. In the end, the Klingon ambassador (Edward Wiley) turns out to be the turncoat.
• We get another character episode "In Theory". A crewwoman (played by Michele Scarabelli, best known for her work on Alien Nation) is getting out of a relationship while working with Data. She decides that he is so kind and generous that she initiates a romantic relationship. Of course, Data treats this as a scientific experiment, asking his friends what he should do. He makes the leap--or at least he writes a new subroutine for her, drawing from literature on the topic of love. He oscillates from charming to creepy, even starting a "lovers' quarrel" with her. She's clearly delusional--Data told her multiple times that all he can do is simulate his "love" for her. In the end, she cuts off the romance. There's also a technobabble crisis about dark matter and warps in space time, blah blah blah...
• We finish the season with another cliffhanger--this time, it's all about the Klingons. In "Redemption Part 1", Picard completes his duties as Arbiter that he began in "Sins of the Father", officially making Gowron (googly-eyed Robert O'Reilly) leader of the Klingon High Council. Worf is looking for his family's name to be cleared, there's intrigue with sisters of the traitor Duras (who Worf killed earlier), and the Romulans are sneaking around. Gowron initially refuses Worf's plea. but after Worf fights alongside him in a ship battle, he relents. Worf wants to fight in the inevitable civil war, but Picard says that's a conflict of interest as a Starfleet officer--so Worf resigns his commission. There's an impressive scene with the crew lined up in the corrdiors to honor Worf as he leaves the Enterprise. In the end, there's a big reveal--someone who looks a lot like Tasha as a Romulan (even has the Moe haircut) steps out of the shadows. TO BE CONTINUED...  

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Even More Season 4

• We begin this batch of episodes with "First Contact", where we learn how the process actually works. Riker is on a planet incognito doing reconnaissance, and is badly injured. This forces Picard to move up plans for first contact, beaming in next to one of their chief scientists (Carolyn Seymour). She is accepting of the new arrivals, as is their chancellor (George Coe), but other are fearful, including the security minister (Michael Ensign). The episode centers around the new race rather than the regular cast.  It's a fascinating episode.
• We have a returning guest--Dr. Leah Brahms (Susan Gibney). Of course, the last time she was on the ship, it was as a hologram LaForge mocked up to help him. The real Brahms is officious--she wants to know why he has changed engine settings. LaForge overdoes a "date" with her (he always seems to do this), then finds out she's married. A space-based alien shows up and starts draining the ship's energy--Picard is forced to shoot it. The alien was about to give birth, so they help deliver "Galaxy's Child". Unfortunately, now "Junior" is draining the ship. Brahms wants to know more about the engine mods, so LaForge leaves her with his records--she finds the holodeck file and the other Brahms. After a fight, they manage to work together to save the ship--and we get the "sour the milk" reference used on other sci-fi shows.
• In "Night Terrors", the Enterprise comes upon a derelict ship--all aboard are dead except for a catatonic Betazoid. They determine that the ship--and the Enterprise--are stuck in a technobabble loop that drains their energy and stops them from dreaming (except for Troi). People start hallucinating things, and Data takes over the ship. Troi is able to contact the other Betazoid telepathically, and then figures out she can send a message to another ship in the loop. Together, they blow up the loop, and Data orders everyone to bed.
• Levar Burton must have complained he wasn't getting enough screen time--he stars on another episode, "Identity Crisis". Before he was on the Enterprise, LaForge was on an away mission, and now the members of that mission are going AWOL then disappearing. The only other remaining member of that mission (played by Maryann Plunkett) is also on the Enterrpise. A theory that aliens are abducting them is wrong--they are becoming aliens themselves. A parasite is changing their DNA, to the point that they are essentially invisible. The other affected officer tracks down LaForge on the planet using ultraviolet light. The makeup team put in a lot of hours in this episode.
• Barclay's back in "The Nth Degree". We start with Barclay (Dwight Schultz) in Crusher's drama group (do these people ever work?), and he's his normally bumbling self. During a mission, he gets blasted by an alien probe--suddenly, he's hyper-intelligent and hyper-confident. He even saves the ship from the probe. Now they have to fix an antenna array also affected by the probe--he can fix it far faster than they can. He ends up tying into the main computer via the holodeck--becoming one with the computer. Now he's sending them faster than the ship has ever gone. An alien super-intelligence (played by Kay E. Kuter) shows up--they're explorers too, bringing other races to them. Barclay is put back to normal(?).
• Q (John de Lancie) is back, as is Vash (Jennifer Hetrick) in "Qpid". The latter appears in Picard's quarters--there's an awkward moment when Crusher stops by. None of the officers have heard of her (Picard never brought her up). Q then shows up in his ready room--he wants to repay Picard for saving his life--Picard just wants him to leave. Vash and Picard have a spat, and Q realizes how he can repay them: put them in a classic adventure--say Robin Hood, with Vash as Maid Marian. She flips the script and works to save herself. In the end, Vash partners up with Q to explore the universe. It's a very fun episode.    

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: More of Season 4

Two character studies begin the next batch of episodes:

• In "The Loss", Troi's empathic abilities desert her. It turns into a standard medical drama, with Deanna going through the stages of grief like a newly blind person ("I'll be fine"--"get off my back"--what am i going to do?"). Finally, after some speeches from Picard, Riker, and Guinan, she decides to trust her human instincts--and just in time. She saves the ship from two-dimensional beings dragging the ship into a "cosmic string".
• "Data's Day" covers a day on the ship from the android's point of view. It's a rare look into the life of the ship's crew. We see the ship's barber shop, gift shop (what is this--a mall?), and have a dancing lesson with Beverly. The lesson is particularly amusing. Data can immediately pick up Crusher's lessons, although at one point we cut away to to a shot of their feet--Spiner can't keep up with McFadden, since she's a professional dancer in real life. We also meet Data's cat Spot, and a Vulcan ambassador who takes them into the neutral zone--she ends up being a Romulan spy (the Vulcan, not the cat--I could have skipped that part of the storyline). Then, it's the marriage of O'Brien and Keiko (Rosalind Chao, in her first appearance). Data is the "father" of the bride. We end up the day with the birth of a baby boy.
• "The Wounded" introduces the Cardassians, the main bad guys in the later DS9 series. The Cardassian captain is played by Marc Alaimo, who also played the first Romulan seen on TNG, and went onto a recurring role on DS9. O'Brien gets a big role in this episode, as his character has a history with the Cardassians. There's also a showdown with a Starfleet captain (Bob Gunton) who attacked Cardassians with little reason (following the rule that all Starfleet personnel not on the Enterprise are idiots or crazy).
• "Devil's Due" is a rewrite of an unused script from the aborted "Star Trek: Phase II" series, which means it was designed for Kirk, and it shows. A civilization is being threatened by a mythological devil (played by Marta DuBois) who appears to have magical powers. She even visits him in his quarters! Picard is convinced she's a con artist, using a transporter and holographic projection. So, he plays Daniel Webster (with Data's help) and takes her to court. In the end, Picard outcons the "Devil".
• We start "Clues" with the crew enjoying some leisure time--Picard is playing Dixon Hill, this time with Guinan. Both are doing horrible Noo Yawk accents for some reason. A wormhole appears that knocks everyone out (except for Data) for 30 seconds--no one is hurt. As they continue on, a number of minor mysteries keep popping up, indicating that a whole day elapsed while they were out--this makes Data a possible suspect. Picard decides to investigate, going back to the "scene of the crime". Troi goes to Data, sounding like a female Barry White. It turns out that an alien race doesn't want anyone to know about them--the wormhole was a ruse. Because Data wasn’t knocked out, he woke up the crew, and found Troi taken over by the aliens. They announce the ship must be destroyed, but if this happens, other ships will investigate. They come to a compromise--clean up the clues, knock out the crew again, and zapping their memories. Picard orders Data to keep it quiet. A bizarre episode.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Continues

Season 4 rolls on...

• Has Dr. Crusher goes cuckoo? Her old mentor comes on the ship, then mysteriously disappears. Then, more and more crew members are gone--but the remaining members and the ship's computers say everything is fine. It's all because of a warp experiment Wesley is running (stupid Wesley!). Eventually, it's down to Dr. Crusher and Picard--and then he's gone. Beverly figures out she's inside a warp bubble--and it's shrinking to the point the "universe" is smaller than the ship! Meanwhile, in the real universe, Wesley contacts "The Traveler" from an earlier episode, and together they use magic and gobbledygook to create a doorway between the worlds in "Remember Me". Gates McFadden does a great job as paranoid, then fearful, then resolute.
• A Federation ship crashes on Tasha Yar's home planet in "Legacy", so it's the Enterprise to the rescue. The planet is in shambles after a long war. They happen to run into Ishara Yar, Tasha's sister (played by Beth Toussaint). She supposedly wants to help them, but of course she's really working for her old Cadre. She also gets a chance to demo Seven of Nine's catsuit fashion. This episode is significant in that once it aired, TNG surpassed TOS in terms of longevity. There's a reference in the show to "Camus II", which was the planet in the final TOS episode "Turnabout Intruder".
• K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) is back with her--and Worf's--son (Jon Paul Steuer) in "Reunion". She's there to meet with Picard--the Klingons are near civil war, and the current Chancellor (played by Charles Cooper) is hear death. He's been poisoned, and wants Picard to determine who will succeed him--and to find out who killed him. The bad guy Duras (Patrick Massett) is one of the candidates, and the other is the Barney Google-eyed Gowron (Robert O'Reilly). There's the normal Klingon ceremony and an assassination attempt. K'Ehleyr is also snooping around to find out why Worf was officially shunned by the Empire (as seen in a previous episode), since Worf is using that as a reason to refuse to perform the mating ritual with her. For her efforts, she is killed by Duras. Worf retaliates, killing Duras with his bat'leth. With no other candidate, Gowron becomes Chancellor. Worf sends his son to live with his adopted parents.
• In "Future Imperfect", Riker gets pulled away with from a birthday party to lead an away team to a planet's cavern--a possible old Romulan base. The team is quickly overcome with fumes, and Riker awakens to realize that 16 years has passed--he's now the captain. Crusher gives him some medical doubletalk about a weird virus that makes him lose his memory. Admiral Picard shows up and tells him that a Romulan - Federation peace treaty is imminent, with Riker needing to be front and center. He also meets his son (Chris Demetral), playing the trombone. Of course, it's all a ruse--he's on a Romulan holodeck. They wanted to get info on a secret base. Riker figures it out when he sees his old holodeck girlfriend as his now dead wife, and Data uses a contraction. Then he realizes he's in yet another fantasy--by an alien child who just wanted him to stick around. There's a lot of grey hair and different hairstyles in the episode, along with slightly different uniforms.
• It's Wesley's "Final Mission" (YAY!). He's been accepted at the Academy, but first he's going with Picard on a mission. The Enterprise has to go on a rescue mission, so they are forced to use an alien shuttle (why not use an Enterprise shuttle?), which ends up crashing on a desert planet. They make it to a cave, but Picard is injured while saving Wesley from a cave-in caused by bizarre energy. Wesley manages to get the water they need, but not before Stewart and Wheaton give their audition monologues. Also, the planet shots on this episode look particularly cheap--like beach balls.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Begins

We begin with the conclusion of the big cliffhanger...

• "The Best of Both Worlds" begins with Riker's desperate gambit. Unfortunately, it's useless--now that the Borg have Picard (now called Locutus), they know everything Picard knows, so they are ready. The Borg continue toward Earth, Riker is made Captain, Shelby is made First Officer, and the Federation braces for the attack. The last item doesn't go well--the fleet is taken out easily. Riker comes up with a complicated plan that retrieves Locutus (it involves losing a shuttle--they seem to have an unlimited budget for those). Data and Dr. Crusher figure out they can interface with Locutus, and send a signal back to the Collective. Data puts them to sleep just as Riker is about to ram the Borg cube. Picard is extricated from the Borg implants, and all is well--or is it?
• The big crossover is followed by "Family"--a character driven episode (I'm sure they needed an inexpensive episode to counter the SFX budget of the last two). While the ship is repaired, Picard returns to France, Worf is visited by his parents (played by Theodore Bikel and Georgia Brown), and Beverly deals with a recorded message from Jack Crusher to Wesley. Picard is considering leaving Starfleet, and the relationship between Picard and his brother (played by Jeremy Kemp) is strained until they have it out--literally. Picard breaks down about how he couldn't stop the Borg from controlling him. This episode is also significant because a) Brent Spiner does not appear; b) no scene is shot on the bridge; and c) Miles O'Brien is fully named for the first time.
• Now we know why Data wasn't in the last episode, since he gets triple billing in "Brothers". Data suddenly goes nuts, taking over the bridge and sending the ship to a strange planet. It's fascinating how Data outwits Picard and the others. It turns out he was under control of his creator, Dr. Soong, also played by Spiner--it reminded Mindy of The Princess Bride (Good luck storming the castle!). Soong has also accidentally called in Data's brother Lore. Soong has an "emotion chip" to add to Data, which of course Lore gets, and then Soong dies. There's a subplot about two kids on the ship, one of whom needs emergency medical attention. I'm surprised the Federation hasn't rethought the "kids on the ship" policy, especially after the Borg attack.
• We get a so-so episode in "Suddenly Human". A small ship is rescued with some alien boys--and a human (played by Chad Allen). He was "rescued" after a raid by an alien race, and has been assimilated into their society. Of course, he's the grandson of a Federation admiral, so they particularly want him back. The alien captain (played by Sherman Howard) considers the boy to be his son. There's a subplot about child abuse, Picard trying to act as a surrogate parent, and silly flashbacks. There's also some strange blocking at the start of the episode--Troi is hanging onto the bridge railing, and then is in front of the railing facing away from the camera a few seconds later.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Concludes

Season 3 concludes with a cliffhanger that changes the series (and Trek as a whole) forever.

• "Tin Man" is another character study. Guest star Harry Groener plays a Betazed who can communicate with an ancient creature that lives in space. His advanced telepathy makes him a pariah to the galaxy. Groener spends most of time in the theater, but had guest roles on three Trek series, a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was a regular on Dear John.
• "Hollow Pursuits" introduces Reginald Barclay to TNG. He was a needed spot of comedy on the series once Data became a more important character. Barclay is played by Dwight Schultz, who played a very different role as "Howling Mad" Murdock on The A-Team. He spends most of his time doing voice work in cartoons today. Barclay spends less time on his duties than on the holodeck with a virtual Troi. I'm curious how Geordi and Riker walk in on his holodeck fantasy--I thought Barclay would lock the door.
• A rich collector (Saul Rubineck) decides he wants Data in his collection in "The Most Toys". Data uses passive then active resistance against his foe. Rubineck had guest roles on dozens of TV shows including a recurring role on Frasier, and now plays Artie on Warehouse 13.
• Two generations unite as "Sarek" of Vulcan boards the Enterprise-D. Spock's father is leading one more diplomatic mission for the Federation. Unfortunately, a medical condition is robbing him of his emotional control, and it's infecting the crew. There's even a classic barroom fight in Ten-Forward! In the end, Picard offers to mind-meld with Sarek to give him emotional strength. Stewart gives a great performance as he processes the Vulcan's emotions. Mark Lenard reprises his role as Sarek. We'll see him again later in the series. Joanna Miles plays his second wife, Perrin (while Jane Wyatt, who played his first wife Amanda, was still alive at the time, her character would not have been by that time).
• Mix Ferengis and Lwaxana Troi, and you get wackiness. In "Menage a Troi", a Ferengi "diplomat" falls in love with Deanna's mother. Also, having a telepath on your side is a great way to make money. So, her decides to kidnap her AND Deanna AND Riker. Deanna's off duty wardrobe is as inappropriate as her uniform-looks like an 80's version of future fashion. Meanwhile, Wesley is ready to go to Starfleet Academy (yay!), but decides to stay on the ship (boo!), so Picard gives him a field promotion (huh?). At least it's the end of those ugly Wesley sweaters. Majel Barrett Roddenberry reprises the role of Lwaxana, and Ethan Phillips plays one of the Ferengi--he later plays Neelix on Voyager.
• Gates McFadden finally gets a reason to come back to the series--she wasn't getting a lot of screen time. In "Transfigurations", Dr. Crusher treats a mysterious alien with amnesia. Of course, he turns out to be a wanted criminal on his planet--poor Beverly! On the other hand, he appears to be a god-like being that can bring people back to life. Mark La Mura plays "John Doe". He's been on a lot of recent TV--Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, and Damages.
• We've made it to the defining moment of TNG--"The Best of Both Worlds". Considered by many to be the best Trek episode ever (certainly better than all the TNG films combined), it brings the Borg into the ongoing storyline, defines both the Picard and Riker characters, and brings us our first real cliffhanger to end the season. Riker is offered another commission as Captain, while new young officer Shelby (played by Elizabeth Dennehy) is gunning for his old job. The Borg attack, and Picard is kidnapped and turned onto a Borg. A lot of desperate weaponry changes are made, to no avail. In the end, Riker decides to take out the Borg, and....DUMM--DUMM--DUMM--TO BE CONTINUED...

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!