THE PLOT
Responding to a distress call from a Federation colony on Rana IV, the Enterprise arrives to find that the colony has been destroyed, all life wiped out by an alien attack. Only one structure has survived, a house surrounded by plantlife - the one part of the planet left untouched by the attack.
The house is home to Kevin (John Anderson) and Rishon (Anne Haney), an elderly couple who relocated to the colony to revitalize their long marriage. Rishon is horrified to learn that they were the only survivors, and neither is able to explain why the aliens left them alive and their home intact when the rest of the planet was devastated. Both of them resist being taken away from their home, and Kevin is particularly adamant that Picard has no right to take them against their will. Kevin insists that they are in no danger here, and that the Enterprise should leave.
Then the alien comes back. And though it fires on Enterprise, its behavior is erratic, leading Picard gradually to realize the truth...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: This episode is a good showcase for Picard, who demonstrates his skill at solving puzzles. That something is wrong on the planet is obvious to several of the crew early on. As his meetings with Kevin and Rishon continue, and as the alien attacks keep coming back, Picard starts noticing the commonalities in all these strange events. He knows he's playing a hunch - but as Riker once pointed out, Picard's strength is that once he makes a decision, he is able to commit to it entirely.
Worf: When Kevin faces down the Enterprise Away Team with a non-functioning phaser, Worf tells him that showed a lot of gall, then follows up by assuring the man that he respects gall. When asked to share his thoughts about his visit with Kevin and Rishon, Worf gives a typically, and humorously, taciturn response: "Good tea. Nice house." We also see that Worf is extremely thorough as a tactical officer, as he scans every possible area in which a ship could hide for the enemy that laid waste to the colony. When the ship appears anyway, Worf is dumbstruck at his apparent error - but he does not allow that to stop him from continuing to perform his duties.
Troi: Becomes the victim of a telepathic pre-emptive strike, getting the sound from Rishon's music box stuck in her head. At first, she attempts to just ignore it and carry on, but the music becomes louder in her mind. It is always crystal clear and absolutely incessant. By the midpoint of the episode, she has been driven to absolute misery, with Dr. Crusher going so far as to induce a coma to try to protect Troi's mind. Someone should really have just told the attacking force that her telepathic abilities are limited to sensing only the blindingly obvious and saved the poor girl a lot of pain.
THOUGHTS
TNG attempts to do Requiem for Methuselah. Fortunately, by Season Three the writers and producers have learned to make their own episodes. While The Naked Now was practically a point-by-point remake of The Naked Time, this feels influenced by Requiem for Methuselah, but very much has its own plot and character development.
The guest performances are strong, with John Anderson particularly good. The detail of casting two actors in their sixties as people in their eighties seems to reinforce the expectation that, hundreds of years from now, people will have much long lifespans. An entirely reasonable bit of speculation. People are now regularly living into their nineties, after all, something that even a couple decades ago was considered unusual longevity.
The Survivors is an episode that clearly wants to be very good. I have to admit, though, that I feel at a distance while watching it. Almost all of the elements work individually, save for some of the "Troi's headache" scenes being overplayed. But I just didn't find myself terribly involved. Some of the episode feels overstretched. This would probably be a terrific episode for the 25-minute animated series, but at 45 minutes there just isn't quite enough story to fill out the running time.
Overall, it tries, and I respect an episode that tries more than I do a formulaic programmer. With good performances, decent character work, and some intriguing elements, it's certainly not a bad show. But it feels overstretched, and it just fails to involve me in the action the way I want an episode to involve me.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
Responding to a distress call from a Federation colony on Rana IV, the Enterprise arrives to find that the colony has been destroyed, all life wiped out by an alien attack. Only one structure has survived, a house surrounded by plantlife - the one part of the planet left untouched by the attack.
The house is home to Kevin (John Anderson) and Rishon (Anne Haney), an elderly couple who relocated to the colony to revitalize their long marriage. Rishon is horrified to learn that they were the only survivors, and neither is able to explain why the aliens left them alive and their home intact when the rest of the planet was devastated. Both of them resist being taken away from their home, and Kevin is particularly adamant that Picard has no right to take them against their will. Kevin insists that they are in no danger here, and that the Enterprise should leave.
Then the alien comes back. And though it fires on Enterprise, its behavior is erratic, leading Picard gradually to realize the truth...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: This episode is a good showcase for Picard, who demonstrates his skill at solving puzzles. That something is wrong on the planet is obvious to several of the crew early on. As his meetings with Kevin and Rishon continue, and as the alien attacks keep coming back, Picard starts noticing the commonalities in all these strange events. He knows he's playing a hunch - but as Riker once pointed out, Picard's strength is that once he makes a decision, he is able to commit to it entirely.
Worf: When Kevin faces down the Enterprise Away Team with a non-functioning phaser, Worf tells him that showed a lot of gall, then follows up by assuring the man that he respects gall. When asked to share his thoughts about his visit with Kevin and Rishon, Worf gives a typically, and humorously, taciturn response: "Good tea. Nice house." We also see that Worf is extremely thorough as a tactical officer, as he scans every possible area in which a ship could hide for the enemy that laid waste to the colony. When the ship appears anyway, Worf is dumbstruck at his apparent error - but he does not allow that to stop him from continuing to perform his duties.
Troi: Becomes the victim of a telepathic pre-emptive strike, getting the sound from Rishon's music box stuck in her head. At first, she attempts to just ignore it and carry on, but the music becomes louder in her mind. It is always crystal clear and absolutely incessant. By the midpoint of the episode, she has been driven to absolute misery, with Dr. Crusher going so far as to induce a coma to try to protect Troi's mind. Someone should really have just told the attacking force that her telepathic abilities are limited to sensing only the blindingly obvious and saved the poor girl a lot of pain.
THOUGHTS
TNG attempts to do Requiem for Methuselah. Fortunately, by Season Three the writers and producers have learned to make their own episodes. While The Naked Now was practically a point-by-point remake of The Naked Time, this feels influenced by Requiem for Methuselah, but very much has its own plot and character development.
The guest performances are strong, with John Anderson particularly good. The detail of casting two actors in their sixties as people in their eighties seems to reinforce the expectation that, hundreds of years from now, people will have much long lifespans. An entirely reasonable bit of speculation. People are now regularly living into their nineties, after all, something that even a couple decades ago was considered unusual longevity.
The Survivors is an episode that clearly wants to be very good. I have to admit, though, that I feel at a distance while watching it. Almost all of the elements work individually, save for some of the "Troi's headache" scenes being overplayed. But I just didn't find myself terribly involved. Some of the episode feels overstretched. This would probably be a terrific episode for the 25-minute animated series, but at 45 minutes there just isn't quite enough story to fill out the running time.
Overall, it tries, and I respect an episode that tries more than I do a formulaic programmer. With good performances, decent character work, and some intriguing elements, it's certainly not a bad show. But it feels overstretched, and it just fails to involve me in the action the way I want an episode to involve me.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
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One of my favorite episodes. When Kevin says that he killed them all, everywhere I still get shivers.
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