THE PLOT
The Enterprise is given a rather cryptic assignment: to rendezvous with an unnamed envoy, and to cooperate on an unspecified mission. When the rendezvous is made, they retreive Special Emissary K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson), a half-Klingon, half-human Federation official who shares a history with Worf.
K'Ehleyr tells them that the T'Ong, a ship left over from the distant days of the Klingon/Federation wars, is nearing its awakening point. Its crew has been held in cryogenic sleep. When they awaken, they will believe themselves still at war - and will be in striking distance of several Federation outposts. The Enterprise's mission is to intercept the Klingon vessel and attempt to negotiate with them. If negotiations fail, as K'Ehleyr expects they will, then the Enterprise's only alternative will be to destroy them!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: When K'Ehleyr tells him, point blank, that she expects he will have to destroy the T'Ong, Picard refuses to accept that. He insists that there must be another alternative, which helps to encourage Worf to find one.
The Enterprise is given a rather cryptic assignment: to rendezvous with an unnamed envoy, and to cooperate on an unspecified mission. When the rendezvous is made, they retreive Special Emissary K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson), a half-Klingon, half-human Federation official who shares a history with Worf.
K'Ehleyr tells them that the T'Ong, a ship left over from the distant days of the Klingon/Federation wars, is nearing its awakening point. Its crew has been held in cryogenic sleep. When they awaken, they will believe themselves still at war - and will be in striking distance of several Federation outposts. The Enterprise's mission is to intercept the Klingon vessel and attempt to negotiate with them. If negotiations fail, as K'Ehleyr expects they will, then the Enterprise's only alternative will be to destroy them!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: When K'Ehleyr tells him, point blank, that she expects he will have to destroy the T'Ong, Picard refuses to accept that. He insists that there must be another alternative, which helps to encourage Worf to find one.
Worf: Dubbed "The Iceman" for his unemotional approach to playing poker - a nickname Riker tries to extend to Worf's real duties. This makes little sense, unless The Emissary occurs in a parallel universe in which Worf hasn't lost it and had to be yanked back to reality by Riker earlier this very season. Worf is genuinely unsettled at K'Ehleyr's arrival. Their previous relationship left him bitter, because in his view she refused to even try to have a serious relationship. K'Ehleyr is similarly resentful of him. This being television, such acrimony can only mean one thing, of course, and Hot Klingon Monkey Sex will be occurring within the discreet walls of the "Fade to Commercial" before too long.
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) is an interesting creation. Half-Klingon and half-human, she confesses to Troi that she fears she inherited the worst of both races. She has a particular resentment of her Klingon side, which she keeps deeply buried. That resentment extends to Klingons in general, which leads her to a one-dimensional view of the Klingons on the T'Ong. "Of course they'll attack - They're Klingons!" she snaps, resisting Worf's attempts to gather more information about their quarry.
THOUGHTS
The Emissary has its flaws. The romance between Worf and K'Ehleyr appears to have been written to encompass as many "Hollywood romance" cliches as possible, with their constant bickering used as shorthand for unresolved sexual tension. In reality, if two people are constantly bickering, it is more likely to be a sign of mutual dislike than of lust, but - what the heck? It's television!
The more interesting elements of K'Ehleyr's characterization, notably her disdain for all things Klingon, are ignored once the romance between her and Worf gets going. A pity, given the dramatic possibilities inherent in having a self-hating half-Klingon having to deal with war-era Klingon soldiers.
Despite these failings, The Emissary still represents a vast improvement over the last few episodes. It's genuinely entertaining, and takes a stab at reconciling the hostile Klingons of the TOS era with the more multilayered Klingons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. At the same time, the episode fills in some of Worf's background, albeit by replacing a blank canvas with a series of cliches.
Michael Dorn is one of the most consistently reliable members of the cast, and any episode focusing on Worf benefits from his acting. One thing he has really brought out in Worf, from as early as "Nice planet," is Worf's humor. Despite K'Ehleyr's insistence otherwise, Worf has a very rich, understated humor. There's a perfect example of this near the episode's end. After Worf's brief but successful "first command," he is asked what he thought of the experience. He sums it up succinctly: "Comfortable chair." As delivered by Dorn, the line ends up being a highlight.
In the end, a flawed episode, one which could easily be much better than ends up being the case. Still, it's an entertaining piece, netting a solid:
Rating: 6/10.
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) is an interesting creation. Half-Klingon and half-human, she confesses to Troi that she fears she inherited the worst of both races. She has a particular resentment of her Klingon side, which she keeps deeply buried. That resentment extends to Klingons in general, which leads her to a one-dimensional view of the Klingons on the T'Ong. "Of course they'll attack - They're Klingons!" she snaps, resisting Worf's attempts to gather more information about their quarry.
THOUGHTS
The Emissary has its flaws. The romance between Worf and K'Ehleyr appears to have been written to encompass as many "Hollywood romance" cliches as possible, with their constant bickering used as shorthand for unresolved sexual tension. In reality, if two people are constantly bickering, it is more likely to be a sign of mutual dislike than of lust, but - what the heck? It's television!
The more interesting elements of K'Ehleyr's characterization, notably her disdain for all things Klingon, are ignored once the romance between her and Worf gets going. A pity, given the dramatic possibilities inherent in having a self-hating half-Klingon having to deal with war-era Klingon soldiers.
Despite these failings, The Emissary still represents a vast improvement over the last few episodes. It's genuinely entertaining, and takes a stab at reconciling the hostile Klingons of the TOS era with the more multilayered Klingons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. At the same time, the episode fills in some of Worf's background, albeit by replacing a blank canvas with a series of cliches.
Michael Dorn is one of the most consistently reliable members of the cast, and any episode focusing on Worf benefits from his acting. One thing he has really brought out in Worf, from as early as "Nice planet," is Worf's humor. Despite K'Ehleyr's insistence otherwise, Worf has a very rich, understated humor. There's a perfect example of this near the episode's end. After Worf's brief but successful "first command," he is asked what he thought of the experience. He sums it up succinctly: "Comfortable chair." As delivered by Dorn, the line ends up being a highlight.
In the end, a flawed episode, one which could easily be much better than ends up being the case. Still, it's an entertaining piece, netting a solid:
Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Manhunt
Next Episode: Peak Performance
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation
Review Index
To receive new review updates, follow me:
On Twitter:
On Threads:
No comments:
Post a Comment