THE PLOT
The Enterprise is hosting an experiment by Dr. Sutton (Ken Jenkins). Sutton's experiment involves firing off an "egg" into an energy phenomenon. But just as his egg is about to be launched, the ship experiences a severe malfunction.
This malfunction is followed by more system failures, with no apparent cause. At least, not until Wesley confesses that the damage was caused when he fell asleep while working on a science experiment involving nanites. The nanites escaped into the ship's systems, and have been rapidly reproducing themselves. They can be removed by a massive dose of gamma radiation. But Picard is reluctant to do so, as the nanites' behavior increasingly indicates that they have evolved into intelligent life!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: When he realizes that Wesley's nanites have evolved into a life form of their own, he resists the idea of killing them. He wants a peaceful solution, and presses Data, Wesley, and Geordi to help provide him with one. When the ship is directly imperiled, he is on the verge of giving the kill order, but he's suitably relieved when Data is able to offer an alternative.
Data: Likely very sympathetic to the idea of artificial life evolving into true, organic life. He is quick to offer himself up as a conduit to communicate with the Nanites. Brent Spiner's acting as the Nanite-possessed Data isn't exactly subtle, but it's effectively varied from his normal performance in both speech and movement.
Dr. Crusher: Evolution sees the return of Gates McFadden's Dr. Beverly Crusher to the Enterprise. She's still pretty... and still pretty bland. After a year away, she is concerned about Wesley. She feels that her reunion with him has been "too polite," and worries to Picard that Wesley isn't getting into enough trouble. She is relieved when she sees Wesley hanging out with a pretty teen girl in the tag scene - and then her protective maternal instincts kick in, and she demands Guinan tell her what she knows about the girl in question.
Annoying Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Dr. Sutton (Ken Jenkins) is a "Wunderkind," and effectively acts as one possible future for Wesley. His obsession with living up to his much-vaunted "potential" through this experiment feels almost like a callback to The Ultimate Computer, though Sutton isn't actively unhinged as Daystrom was. Jenkins gives a strong performance, and develops an effectively paternal style in his scenes opposite Wesley. I found his reaction to Troi to be a refreshing one, as he resists her efforts to "counsel" him and bluntly tells her that he "will share the feelings that (he wishes) to share." Mercifully, though Sutton "reforms," he never repents his words to Troi.
SHUT UP, WESLEY!
Wesley the Wunderkind screws up. That should make his role in this episode less annoying. It doesn't. The scene in which Wesley whines to his mother about how he's "an officer now, with responsibilities" before lashing out at her because she hasn't "even been here" is teeth-gratingly irritating. It's not just that Wesley's being a brat. Wil Wheaton's performance in these scenes is... well, bad. You can see him forcing the lines, and overacting some of the reactions. Annoyance at Wesley is raised by the rest of the episode, which fails to provide any consequences at all, either for his mistake or - more critically, I'd think - for his failure to immediately report it.
THOUGHTS
The eyecatching effects shot which opens the show seems almost like an announcement that the series is moving forward, at least on a technical level. This is reinforced by the noticeably upgraded title sequence. It's as if the show is telling us that the first two seasons were just a warm-up: Now is when the real series begins.
If that's the statement being made, then it is a great shame that it is followed by such a middling episode. Evolution is certainly not bad. But it's not particularly better than the stretch of seriously flawed episodes which ended Season Two. The effects are better, but in storytelling terms it feels very much like "more of the same."
The first half actually works fairly well. The mystery is developed. The "A" plot is tied together with Dr. Crusher's return and her worries about Wesley when we discover that Wesley actually caused the problem. Wesley confesses by the halfway point, leaving the rest of the episode to deal with the now rapdily-evolving threat.
That's when it all starts to fall apart. There are no consequences for Wesley, and in fact Wesley has little additional role in the episode. The situation is actually resolved by Data. Wesley just stands around in the background. Now, it's obvious enough that I don't really care for Wesley as a character. But when a situation is set up around one character, I tend to prefer that character to be involved in the resolution.
The resolution feels weak, and Picard's closing voice over, in which he tells us how everything ended up working out OK, with the Enterprise crew, Dr. Sutton, and the nanites metaphorically sitting around a fire singing Kumbaya, induced me to exercise my eye muscles. By rolling them. A lot.
On the plus side, the effects work in this episode is excellent, and the characterization continues to be treated with the seriousness seen in Season Two. Dr. Crusher's return is surprisingly well-handled, given that Pulaski is not on-hand for a handover.
Neither good nor bad, then. The best I can really say is that it is, at least, better than the previous season opener. Here's hoping for better in the none-too-distant future, though.
Overall Rating: 5/10
The Enterprise is hosting an experiment by Dr. Sutton (Ken Jenkins). Sutton's experiment involves firing off an "egg" into an energy phenomenon. But just as his egg is about to be launched, the ship experiences a severe malfunction.
This malfunction is followed by more system failures, with no apparent cause. At least, not until Wesley confesses that the damage was caused when he fell asleep while working on a science experiment involving nanites. The nanites escaped into the ship's systems, and have been rapidly reproducing themselves. They can be removed by a massive dose of gamma radiation. But Picard is reluctant to do so, as the nanites' behavior increasingly indicates that they have evolved into intelligent life!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: When he realizes that Wesley's nanites have evolved into a life form of their own, he resists the idea of killing them. He wants a peaceful solution, and presses Data, Wesley, and Geordi to help provide him with one. When the ship is directly imperiled, he is on the verge of giving the kill order, but he's suitably relieved when Data is able to offer an alternative.
Data: Likely very sympathetic to the idea of artificial life evolving into true, organic life. He is quick to offer himself up as a conduit to communicate with the Nanites. Brent Spiner's acting as the Nanite-possessed Data isn't exactly subtle, but it's effectively varied from his normal performance in both speech and movement.
Dr. Crusher: Evolution sees the return of Gates McFadden's Dr. Beverly Crusher to the Enterprise. She's still pretty... and still pretty bland. After a year away, she is concerned about Wesley. She feels that her reunion with him has been "too polite," and worries to Picard that Wesley isn't getting into enough trouble. She is relieved when she sees Wesley hanging out with a pretty teen girl in the tag scene - and then her protective maternal instincts kick in, and she demands Guinan tell her what she knows about the girl in question.
Annoying Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Dr. Sutton (Ken Jenkins) is a "Wunderkind," and effectively acts as one possible future for Wesley. His obsession with living up to his much-vaunted "potential" through this experiment feels almost like a callback to The Ultimate Computer, though Sutton isn't actively unhinged as Daystrom was. Jenkins gives a strong performance, and develops an effectively paternal style in his scenes opposite Wesley. I found his reaction to Troi to be a refreshing one, as he resists her efforts to "counsel" him and bluntly tells her that he "will share the feelings that (he wishes) to share." Mercifully, though Sutton "reforms," he never repents his words to Troi.
SHUT UP, WESLEY!
Wesley the Wunderkind screws up. That should make his role in this episode less annoying. It doesn't. The scene in which Wesley whines to his mother about how he's "an officer now, with responsibilities" before lashing out at her because she hasn't "even been here" is teeth-gratingly irritating. It's not just that Wesley's being a brat. Wil Wheaton's performance in these scenes is... well, bad. You can see him forcing the lines, and overacting some of the reactions. Annoyance at Wesley is raised by the rest of the episode, which fails to provide any consequences at all, either for his mistake or - more critically, I'd think - for his failure to immediately report it.
THOUGHTS
The eyecatching effects shot which opens the show seems almost like an announcement that the series is moving forward, at least on a technical level. This is reinforced by the noticeably upgraded title sequence. It's as if the show is telling us that the first two seasons were just a warm-up: Now is when the real series begins.
If that's the statement being made, then it is a great shame that it is followed by such a middling episode. Evolution is certainly not bad. But it's not particularly better than the stretch of seriously flawed episodes which ended Season Two. The effects are better, but in storytelling terms it feels very much like "more of the same."
The first half actually works fairly well. The mystery is developed. The "A" plot is tied together with Dr. Crusher's return and her worries about Wesley when we discover that Wesley actually caused the problem. Wesley confesses by the halfway point, leaving the rest of the episode to deal with the now rapdily-evolving threat.
That's when it all starts to fall apart. There are no consequences for Wesley, and in fact Wesley has little additional role in the episode. The situation is actually resolved by Data. Wesley just stands around in the background. Now, it's obvious enough that I don't really care for Wesley as a character. But when a situation is set up around one character, I tend to prefer that character to be involved in the resolution.
The resolution feels weak, and Picard's closing voice over, in which he tells us how everything ended up working out OK, with the Enterprise crew, Dr. Sutton, and the nanites metaphorically sitting around a fire singing Kumbaya, induced me to exercise my eye muscles. By rolling them. A lot.
On the plus side, the effects work in this episode is excellent, and the characterization continues to be treated with the seriousness seen in Season Two. Dr. Crusher's return is surprisingly well-handled, given that Pulaski is not on-hand for a handover.
Neither good nor bad, then. The best I can really say is that it is, at least, better than the previous season opener. Here's hoping for better in the none-too-distant future, though.
Overall Rating: 5/10
Previous Episode: Shades of Gray
Next Episode: The Ensigns of Command
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