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| Klingon warrior K'Mtar (James Sloyan) challenges Worf about Alexander's future. |
Showing posts with label Brian Bonsall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Bonsall. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2014
7-21. Firstborn.
When Alexander says he doesn't want to become a Klingon warrior, Worf decides to expose him to Klingon culture by taking him to a Klingon outpost celebrating the Kot'baval Festival, a commemoration of Kahless' defeat of an ancient tyrant. This seems promising: Alexander throws himself into a re-enactment of the battle, and enjoys playing with other Klingon children.
That night, Worf and Alexander are attacked. Worf is able to fight off the assailants with help from a stranger: K'mtar (James Sloyan), who introduces himself as an advisor to The House of Mogh, sent by Worf's brother to protect him from an assassination attempt by the Duras Sisters, Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh). The Enterprise crew goes to work tracking down the Duras Sisters, still in hiding from the Klingon government.
Meanwhile, K'mtar begins pressing Worf about Alexander's future. When Worf balks at the idea of sending the boy to a Klingon academy, the other man threatens to challenge his right to raise his son, insisting the boy should be taken to the Klingon homeworld!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Takes seriously Worf's concerns about his son, ordering a deviation in the ship's course so that Worf can expose Alexander more directly to Klingon culture. Spends the rest of the episode on vacation, leaving Riker in command.
Riker: With Picard off the ship, it is left to Riker to coordinate the search for the Duras Sisters... after he gets K'Mtar to explain why Worf was attacked, that is. When the Klingon evades that it's "a Klingon matter," Riker snaps back that it becomes his concern when one of his officers is attacked, and looks ready to physically battle K'Mtar if that's what's needed. I suppose it bears remembering that Riker spent some time on a Klingon ship himself. He also gets a chance to show his roguish side when sparring with Quark, making a deal for information. Jonathan Frakes is in fine form throughout, and every one of his scenes is a good one.
Worf: He genuinely wants to honor K'Ehleyr's memory by allowing Alexander to choose his own path. He just cannot understand how a path other than that of a Klingon warrior could be appealing or fulfilling. He does seem to at least subconsciously recognize that his son isn't suited to a warrior life. He admits to K'Mtar that Alexander's fighting skills are years behind those of most Klingons his age; when K'Mtar pushes him to send Alexander to a Klingon school so that he can catch up, however, he resists. Later, he cuts short the other Klingon's scolding of Alexander for not killing a holo-opponent. Both would be the right way to deal with a young Klingon warrior, but Worf already knows that this isn't the right way to deal with his son. It just takes a hard push for him to consciously acknowledge as much.
Quark: Has an amusing cameo, in which he provides Riker with information about the whereabouts of the Duras sisters. It's only a few minutes' screen time, but it's fun watching Quark and Riker try to outmaneuver each other. Quark voiding Riker's vouchers for his bar even as they negotiate, already knowing what the tradeoff for the information will be, is a golden touch.
Alexander: The final TNG appearance of Alexander is one of his more tolerable outings. Alexander wants to please his father, but also isn't certain that he really wants to be a Klingon warrior. He does enjoy the Renaissance Festival-like performance of a famous Klingon battle, and he is clearly stirred by K'Mtar's appeals to learn to protect both himself and his father - but in a battle simulation, the Klingon blood lust just isn't there. It takes the events of the episode to get Worf to admit what's already clear enough: That Alexander will need to find a different path.
THOUGHTS
After a string of very weak episodes, Firstborn comes as a relief. It isn't top-tier TNG by any means. Its story isn't the most compelling to start with, and it peters out in the last ten minutes. But it is a competent and enjoyable piece, from a writer who has a strong grasp of who the characters are. After the last four episodes, that much feels like an accomplishment.
For about three-quarters of the episode's running time, writer Rene Echevarria does a solid job of balancing the Worf/Alexander thread against the Klingon intrigue. Both plots are kept alive, and both are kept moving at a good pace. A terrific guest performance by James Sloyan adds energy to both threads. Sloyan also has genuinely good screen rapport with Brian Bonsall, which draws a far better performance from the young actor than has generally been the case.
Then, about ten minutes short of the episode's ending, the momentum screeches to a halt with a nonsensical Third Act twist.
A visit to the Memory Alpha wiki reveals that this twist was actually the starting point for the episode. But it isn't integrated into the story. I think the problem is that the story picks the wrong viewpoint character. Had the episode followed K'Mtar, opening with his mission and why he is on it, then the final scene between him and Worf would carry some weight. Instead, the revelation comes across as an arbitrary plot twist that the narrative simply hasn't laid any ground work to justify.
Until the final ten minutes, I was leaning toward a "6" for this enjoyable, albeit unmemorable, outing. But the episode collapses under the weight of its finale, leading me to deduct a point... Which still has me rating this above any of the preceding four episodes!
Overall Rating: 5/10.
Previous Episode: Journey's End
Next Episode: Bloodlines
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Sunday, November 4, 2012
6-8. A Fistful of Datas.
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| Worf and Troi vs. Data in the Old West. |
The Enterprise has 48 hours of downtime, a welcome opportunity for the members of the crew to indulge in their own pursuits. Welcome for most, that is. But Worf's son, Alexander (Brian Bonsall), prods his father into taking him to the holodeck for an Old West-themed program. Worf is the sheriff and Alexander his deputy. Troi joins them as a mysterious stranger Worf deputizes to assist.
The first part of the program goes according to routine. Worf arrests the murderous Eli Hollander (John Pyper-Ferguson), and then must hold him until the U. S. marshal arrives to take him to trial. But Eli's father, the ruthless Frank Hollander, will soon be coming to get his boy out of jail, doubtless leaving a pile of bodies in his wake.
Back on the ship, Data and Geordi are experimenting with an interface that will patch ship's systems through Data in case of emergency. A power fluctuation causes elements of Data's memory to emerge throughout the ship, however. This influence extends into the holodeck. Soon, Worf, Alexander, and Troi are no longer facing down generic western thugs. Instead, they are battling Data - multiple Datas, in the role of every villain in the program!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: One of the burdens of command is apparently an inability to get any real time to oneself. The teaser shows Picard attempting to relax with a music program, only to face one interruption after another. The comedy in this scene is labored at best, but Patrick Stewart does an excellent job of showing Picard's steadily mounting frustration.
Worf: Though initially reluctant to participate in Alexander's holodeck program, as soon as he gets embroiled in a good old-fashioned fistfight, he confesses to seeing the appeal. He largely goes along with the game, until he meets Frank Hollander/Data, and recognizes that something has gone wrong with the program. There's a nice character beat at the end, when he has Frank at his mercy. Worf clearly wants to shoot, and probably would shoot if he and Frank were the only two people there. But he casts a glance at the watching Alexander and stays his hand, not wanting his son to watch him execute an unarmed man, even in a holodeck program.
Troi: Her father raised her on western stories, so Alexander's program sparks her enthusiasm. She throws herself into the role of the mysterious stranger, complete with western drawl and idiom. She (mostly) drops that tendency once it becomes clear that things have turned serious, and is a genuine aid to Worf in planning out a way to resolve the program and get them all out safely. Marina Sirtis seems to be having a particularly good time in this episode. The western look suits her, and her performance is relaxed and even funny. I usually cringe when Troi has a large presence in an episode, but Sirtis turns out to be one of the best things about this hour.
Data: Acts more as plot device than character in this episode, with the script allowing Brent Spiner to indulge his hammier tendencies by playing multiple western villains. He is quite good as Frank Hollander, the main baddie, and the episode's best scenes are the ones in which Frank and Worf face off. The notion of western villains with the speed, accuracy, and abilities of Data is an enjoyable one, and it's an amusing departure for Spiner, which goes a long way toward keeping this episode entertaining.
THOUGHTS
Though I question the wisdom of scheduling two light-hearted episodes back-to-back, I have to admit that I enjoyed A Fistful of Datas. That's largely a matter of personal taste, I suspect. I always enjoyed the classic westerns of the 1950's and 1960's, and this does an entertaining job of playing with those conventions. It's a standard western plot, with an outlaw family threatening an honest town marshall - and that sort of thin, linear story allows plenty of time for the script to have some fun thrusting Worf and Troi into the setting.
Unfortunately, this episode suffers from a need to give everybody something to do. The scenes on the main ship should only take up the minimum time needed to justify Data infecting the holodeck program. Instead, a solid quarter of this episode is given over to scenes with Geordi and Data studying Technobabble, with a full subplot about the western program affecting Data in his regular duties. None of this is anywhere near as fun to watch as the "A" plot, and the episode would have been far better-served had most of it been jettisoned.
What makes the episode work, for me at least, is the western story. Worf is an engagingly grumpy hero, Brent Spiner an enjoyably ruthless villain, and the actors all seem to be having a good time. The ending showdown, with a virtual army of Datas preparing to ambush Worf, is particularly amusing, and the way Worf turns the tables neatly recalls the very spaghetti western given a nod by this episode's title.
I strongly suspect one's tolerance for the episode depends heavily on one's enjoyment of old westerns. For me, it was a fun departure. For others, I suspect it would be an exercise in tedium.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Rascals
Next Episode: The Quality of Life
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Friday, April 13, 2012
5-20. Cost of Living
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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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Sunday, January 8, 2012
5-10. New Ground
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| Worf must deal with his troubled son. |
THE PLOT
Worf's human mother (Georgia Brown) visits the Enterprise, bringing Worf's son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) with her. Worf believes this is just a short visit, but his mother has other news for him: She has brought Alexander to stay. "Alexander has been having difficulties," she explains to Worf. She and Worf's father are too old to keep up with the boy and his needs. "He needs his father," she adds - and with that, she is gone, leaving Worf with the son he barely knows.
It's a major adjustment for Worf, made more difficult by Alexander's issues. As his mother warned, the boy lies frequently. He takes things that belong to others and behaves like a bully in class, starting fights and then blaming others for his misbehavior. Worf reacts badly to this rebellious behavior, insisting that he will enroll the boy in a Klingon school - but his feelings for his son come to the fore when the boy wanders into the wrong part of the ship during a dangerous mission, putting his own life in danger!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Recognizes Worf's difficulty in balancing his duties with being a new parent and gives Worf leeway to take care of his son. When Alexander is in jeopardy at the end, the one and only good part of the ensuing scene is this: While Picard will give Worf and Riker as much time as possible to rescue the boy, he will ultimately fire the ship's photon torpedoes and condemn Alexander (and possibly his two officers) to death if necessary.
Worf: In his own way, he is as bad at dealing with emotions as Data is. He has a strict code of honor, and believes that it should provide the answer to every problem. He tries applying this to his own son's petty thievery and lying. Honestly, his initial speech about the importance of honor isn't bad, and would have a reasonable chance of working with a young adult. But children don't respond to reason the same way adults do, and Alexander's acting on emotion frustrates Worf even as his pride stops him from seeking help. In an episode that is, at best, flawed, Michael Dorn's performance anchors the character material for Worf, giving these predictable proceedings more value than they actually deserve.
THOUGHTS
"Alexander has been having difficulties."
As soon as I heard that one sentence, I cringed. I remember finding the Alexander episodes interminable when watching the show with my father back in the 1990's, and I find that I'm rarely enthralled by the purely "interpersonal" episodes of TNG even now.
That said, the first 30 minutes or so of New Ground isn't that bad. It's trite, to be sure, particularly when Counsellor Troi starts babbling cliches about Worf and his son exploring their feelings... together (I actually started laughing a bit at that point). But Michael Dorn does a reasonably good job at showing Worf out of his depth in a situation in which simple physical courage isn't necessarily enough. At the 30-minute mark, the episode was at least on track to receive a "4" - not exactly good, but far from horrible.
Then the ending happened.
You can see from a mile away that, when things go wrong with Dr. Latex-Mask's science project, Alexander will end up being in danger and Worf will have to save him. That's not a surprise, and it's not necessarily even a problem. But the way in which it plays out is so hackneyed and downright silly, it just becomes impossible to keep a straight face.
Alexander is pinned beneath some cheap-looking "wreckage" props that are too heavy for Worf to move. Then the boy pipes up something about how his leg hurts, and Worf suddenly eats his spinach, develops Popeye muscles, and moves the wreckage prop with ease... and, apparently, no harm to himself afterward. Just when things can't get any sillier, Alexander (despite an injured leg and smoke inhalation) makes Riker rescue a cage with some bad finger puppets inside because "They'll die!" The final shot has Riker clutching the two finger puppets while Worf holds Alexander and dramatic music swells.
A tag scene, in which Worf rescinds his prior edict to send Alexander to a Klingon school and instead allows the boy to stay with him, just adds one more eyeroll to the mix. The good news is that Alexander can now disappear into the "irritating characters" drawer again, with no need to even mention him until the next time Worf needs to deal with his annoying son's issues.
Overall Rating: 3/10.
A tag scene, in which Worf rescinds his prior edict to send Alexander to a Klingon school and instead allows the boy to stay with him, just adds one more eyeroll to the mix. The good news is that Alexander can now disappear into the "irritating characters" drawer again, with no need to even mention him until the next time Worf needs to deal with his annoying son's issues.
Overall Rating: 3/10.
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