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| Lwaxana Troi befriends Alexander. |
Shortly after destroying an asteroid on a collision course with a populated planet, the Enterprise takes on a visitor. Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) is back again, and she's getting married. She hasn't actually met the man, but he's of "impeccable breeding," and their eHarmoney profiles match so very well.
As Lwaxana prepares for her impending nuptuals and does her best to ignore her daughter's exasperation, she also befriends young Alexander (Brian Bonsall), Worf's son. Seeing that Alexander is having issues (again), she decides to meddle by introducing her own special brand of joy into the young boy's life... much to Worf's consternation. Meanwhile, the destruction of the asteroid freed a nitrium-eating parasite that has glommed onto the Enterprise, and which is now devouring the nitrium in several key systems on board!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Despite his annoyance at his ship being used as a taxi service for Lwaxana's latest marital whim, he grants permission for the Enterprise to host her wedding - if only because "nothing will give (Picard) more pleasure than to give Mrs. Troi away." When the crisis with the parasite escalates, Picard makes a plan with Data. He is left to trust Data to complete the plan, given that by the time the ship reaches its destination, the rest of the crew will likely be unconscious due to the failing life support.
Troi: Marina Sirtis gets some good nonverbal bits. When an annoyed Worf is pestered by a "guardian bubble" in a holodeck program, he finally just reaches out and pops it - much to Troi's amusement. Troi's attempt to negotiate a contract between Worf and Alexander is reasonably well-portrayed, and not far off what child counselors regularly do with troubled children. Unfortunately, the episode's focus is so squarely on Lwaxana, all Troi is left to do for most of the show is to react with exasperation. Just like in every episode involving her mother.
Worf: Spends the episode in "stern" mode, expecting to give his son orders and have them followed without question. Which seems a retrograde step for him after New Ground, but I suppose this script requires Worf to come across as a martinet. At least Michael Dorn's comic timing remains as good as ever. In addition to the bubble popping scene, Dorn milks the most amusement possible out of Worf's final line of the episode, with the expression on his face genuinely priceless.
Lwaxana Troi: Season Four's Half a Life showed a more thoughtful side to Lwaxana, which did wonders for the performance of Majel Barrett. This episode tries to continue that, but at the same time to return to the "wacky Lwaxana" antics of the character's early appearances. We're meant to recognize the wisdom in Lwaxana trying to teach Alexander joy, and I'll admit that Barrett does will with these scenes. Her warmth gives a boost to young Brian Bonsall, making Alexander less annoying here than he was in New Ground (admittedly, no great feat). But the attempts to make Lwaxana thoughtful while at the same time keeping her "wacky" falls flat, the content just not up to supporting the balancing act.
THOUGHTS
Cost of Living might have the seed of an interesting story idea, with Lwaxana taking Alexander under her wing. But the script simply isn't up to making much of the character issues. It's downright cowardly when following up on Alexander's chronic misbehavior, established in New Ground. Instead of presenting a genuinely troubled boy, this episode reduces his issues to the normal, minor misbehaviors of any small child. Perish the thought of there being any controversy over Lwaxana's actions being potentially harmful - then we might have to actually think, and that would be just awful!
With Alexander's problems reduced to practically nothing and Lwaxana's wedding clear sitcom fodder, the story is left with nowhere to go. A character story can't do much if nothing is really at stake. So writer Peter Allen Fields is left to grasp for an external threat to the ship in an effort to provide some excitement. This... actually makes things worse. The parasite subplot is dull, and it has no connection through either plot or theme with the Lwaxana/Alexander material. You could create a 25-minute version of this episode that removed this strand entirely. Not only would you never know anything was missing, the episode that remained would actually be better for the excision.
Thankfully, Majel Barrett really raises her game in the Lwaxana/Alexander scenes. Thinking about it for even a few seconds, I shouldn't find anything Lwaxana is doing here to be charming... but while watching, I do find a lot of their interactions to be exactly that. Mix in a few bits of comedy that actually manage to be funny (particularly some of Worf's reactions), and parts of this episode just about work.
Leaving it below average, but not by as much as it probably should be.
Overall Rating: 4/10.
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