7-25, 7-26. All Good Things...

Picard is jumping back and forth through time...

THE PLOT

Jean-Luc Picard has become unstuck in time.

He is jumping between three time periods: The present; the past, at the very point when he first took command of theEnterprise; and more than 25 years in the future, when he is an old man who has been diagnosed with Irumodic Syndrome, a degenerative neurological disorder. The time jumps happen at seemingly random intervals; and after a moment of disorientation, Picard feels completely of that time period, with all the memories and characteristics that suit him in that time and place.

In both past and present, a large spatial anomaly has appeared, with the Enterprise sent to investigate. Convinced that the same anomaly must exist in the future, Picard convinces his old shipmates to join him in traveling to the Devron System - a region of space that, in this future, is controlled by a now-hostile Klingon Empire.

That's when Q appears, returning Picard to the Trial of Humanity that was their first meeting, and informing the captain that humanity has been found guilty. [I]"You are to be denied existence. Humanity's fate has been sealed. You will be destroyed." He adds that it is not the Q who will cause humanity's destruction.

The human race will end because of one man: Jean-Luc Picard!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: This story's Picard isn't "present" Picard transported to other time periods; as is spelled out early on, we are jumping between three Picards: the Picard of the present; the younger, less experienced pre-series Picard; and an elderly and infirm Picard. Stewart's performance differentiates these three incarnations. Past Picard was already a seasoned officer, so differences between him and "our" Picard are small and subtle, but there isn't quite the same sense of confidence to him. Future Picard is noticeably different, and it's here that Patrick Stewart gets his most memorable moments. He has the knowledge from the other two time periods, but his mind struggles through the fog of age and illness to make the connections. He sometimes stammers while trying to force out some kind of clear explanation, and he can't quite keep his temper when he sees the others doubting him. It is a great performance, equal to Family and The Inner Light as Stewart's very best.

Riker: The Riker of the future has risen to the rank of Commodore. He first seen dismissing the elderly Picard's pleas to investigate the Devron System. By initial appearances, he's become the "pompous bureaucrat" figure. When he re-enters the story in the second half, however, we get a fuller picture. He has made the Enterprise his flagship, saving the old ship from being decommissioned because of his great fondness for it. He may have appeared to have dismissed Picard, but he did investigate - He just didn't want to make public knowledge of a crossing into Klingon territory. He carries bitterness over a feud with Worf, an argument based around the bizarre triangle their present-day counterparts have formed with Troi, but it's clear that he is very ready to make peace with his old friend. Jonathan Frakes is very good in these "future" scenes, reminding us for the first time since The Pegasus how good he can be when given strong material.

Geordi: The "future plot" is kicked off when Geordi visits the elderly Picard. Their banter reveals that Geordi ended up marrying Leah Brahms, and we can see that his visor has been replaced by implants in his eyes, presumably allowing him more normal vision. Even after connecting with Data and Dr. Crusher, Geordi continues to feature prominently throughout the "future" scenes, which goes a long way toward making up for the sparse material he's been afforded the past two seasons (this season especially).

Dr./Capt. Crusher: The future timeline that we see is one in which Picard and Crusher married... and then divorced. Beverly continues to have fondness for her ex-husband, though, keeping the Picard name and agreeing to transport him to the restricted sector. When Geordi admits to her that he's not certain this isn't just a delusion, a result of Picard's neurological disease, she replies that it doesn't really matter. "He's Jean-Luc Picard. And if he wants to go on one more mission, that's what we're going to do."

Tasha: The "past" Enterprise timeline is immediately pre-series, which means Tasha is the Security Chief. With no Riker or Geordi, and with Data still in his early, overly literal stage, this leaves her effectively acting as Picard's First Officer. Denise Crosby gives a much better performance here than was her average, showing her concern over Picard's increasingly strange orders without overplaying it. The moment in which she finally questions Picard, insisting that while they have followed his every order no matter how strange, they need something more from him before putting the ship at risk, is one of the best moments given to a character who got far too few such moments back when she was a regular.

Q: First appears much as he had in Encounter at Farpoint, sitting in scarlet robes on a throne that hovers in the air, mocking Picard while pronouncing judgment against humanity. Unlike in the series' premiere, this is an act he's putting on, keeping up appearances for the Q Continuum. Q is strictly an ally in this episode. He only appears a handful of times; but every time he shows up, he gives Picard some vital clue to push him toward the solution. It's his intervention that allows Picard awareness of the time jumps, giving him a fighting chance to put all the pieces of this temporally fragmented puzzle together. Q reappears at the end, giving Picard congratulations as well as a mix of warning and promise: That the challenge to prove that humanity deserves its place is a "trial (that) never ends." Which is as much a statement of the franchise's own philosophy as a question of this one episode's plot.


THOUGHTS

Coming up with a suitable finale to Star Trek: The Next Generation had to have been a daunting task. By the end of its run, TNG had already become an iconic series - at the time, even overshadowing the original Star Trek (an imbalance that would slowly correct itself in the following decades). It was a rare genre show whose appeal had extended into the mainstream. Even if its final season had fallen short of the quality that viewers had come to expect, its final bow was not just a television show; it was an Event.

Writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga turned to literature for inspiration: To Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut's best-known science fiction novel. In that novel, Billy Pilgrim is a World War II soldier who becomes "unstuck in time" after being taken prisoner by the Germans and transported to a labor camp in Dresden. Throughout the novel, Billy jumps forward and backward between various points in his life, including his own death. There is even a central cataclysmic event: The infamous bombing of Dresden.

The form may be borrowed from Vonnegut, but the spirit is uniquely TNG. Whereas Billy Pilgrim is a very passive protagonist, doing little to affect his situation, Picard insists on acting on his bizarre predicament - with the actions he takes actually creating the very problem he's trying to solve! A common interpretation of Billy's time-jumps is that he's suffering from PTSD and not time-jumping at all.  Picard's time jumps are definitely real, with Dr. Crusher medically verifying his story early in the episode, and we learn exactly what (or who) is causing them.  It's all part of a puzzle to be solved, with everything made clear once the pieces are put together. 

The time jumps allow the finale to look backward at the series' origins while simultaneously giving viewers a look at one possible future for the characters. The series opened with Picard having only recently taken command of the Enterprise before being captured and put on trial by Q. This episode's "past" plot flashes back to immediately before that, with Tasha giving the new captain his first look at the vessel he will come to call home. The present plot shows a crew that trusts Picard without question. The future plot shows a crew that desperately wants to trust him, and at the very least indulges him because of the man he used to be. Meanwhile, the crew of the past isn't quite sure what to make of him, his bizarre orders leaving them quietly wondering if they are now in the care of a madman.

The ending sees Picard finally joining the crew's regular poker game. His presence makes things awkward for a moment. But everyone quickly relaxes as he takes his seat and begins dealing, observing that he should have joined them in this a long time ago even as Troi replies, "You were always welcome." The camera rotates as it pulls back from the poker game, showing the captain and his crew gathered at a round table, like a futuristic court of Camelot. The rotation of the camera move transitions perfectly into the pull-back from the Enterprise itself, making the final fade to black almost cinematic.

A perfectly-judged ending to an ideal series finale.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Preemptive Strike

Season Seven Overview

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

7-21. Firstborn.

Klingon warrior K'Mtar (James Sloyan)
challenges Worf about Alexander's future.

THE PLOT

7-19. Genesis.

Picard discovers Troi, transformed into an amphibian!

THE PLOT

When a test of Worf's new weapons guidance system results in one of the torpedoes swerving off course, Picard and Data take a shuttlecraft to intercept and disable it. While they are away, crew begins exhibiting strange behavior. Troi complains about the environment controls, finding the ship too dry and too cold. Worf becomes hyper-aggressive. Barclay becomes just plain hyper, working around the clock at full-tilt speed with no sign of fatigue. Riker finds it increasingly hard to concentrate, or even to remember the ship's current assignment. Too late, Dr. Crusher and Nurse Ogawa realize that a disease is spreading through the ship... one that is slowly affecting every member of the crew!

Picard and Data return to find the Enterprise adrift in space with no power. They discover that the entire crew have transformed in various ways; Troi is an amphibian; Riker is a proto-human; Barclay is halfway to becoming a spider; Worf is some strange Klingon creature with an armored hide and an aggressive mating instinct.

They are able to determine that amniotic fluid is the key to curing the virus, and go in search of the conveniently pregnant Nurse Ogawa. But they have only a limited time to find a cure. The disease is airborne - and Picard is already showing signs of infection!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: When Picard begins to "de-evolve," he develops a heightened sense of fear. Patrick Stewart gives Picard a slightly higher pitch to his voice and makes him a little less still and a little more fidgety. Because the process never gets past its initial stages in Picard, we see the man we know struggling to maintain control. When the transformed Worf is battering his way into sickbay, Picard can see that Data - who is working on a cure - is indispensable and that he is expendable in this situation. So he creates a distraction to lead Worf away, despite his terror.

Data: As Picard's faculties start to be affected, Data takes the lead in their investigation. He observes that Spot's newborn kittens were not infected, which provides the vital clue to the cure. He argues against Picard's dangerous plan to lead Worf away from sickbay, but does provide Picard with what he needs to execute that plan. And, as the one crew member immune to the virus, he is in a unique position to save the day. Again.

Worf: Continues to inch toward a relationship with Troi. It seems a bit odd that they would have a dinner date when all their relationship progress occurred in either parallel dimensions or hallucinations. Then again, both Worf and Troi have glimpsed the potential relationship in non-realities, so perhaps by now they have compared notes and decided to give it a try in the real world. Though he ultimately is not "Patient Zero," Worf is the first crew member to be visibly affected. Michael Dorn does a good job of showing Worf's decline. At first, he just seems excessively stressed, then he becomes ridiculously short-tempered and aggressive. When he attacks Troi, he stops, appalled at what he's done... but that is the last time he is able to stop himself. The next time he moves, his mind is basically gone.

Barclay: The opening scene presents Barclay as a hypochondriac, with Dr. Crusher all but treating him like a child while treating him. The fact that she manages to identify a mild illness by the end of that scene in no way stops her from treating him like an idiot. Even after the events of the episode trace the virus back to Crusher being careless with a treatment, the tag scene sees her and Troi basically exchanging eye-rolls over how neurotic Reg is. Why exactly doesn't he want to transfer off this ship? The episode makes less use of Barclay than most previous appearances by him, but Dwight Schultz remains engaging. His scenes both as hyper Barclay and as spider-Barclay are a great deal of fun, largely because of the actor's enthusiasm.


THOUGHTS

"Captain, I believe the crew is de-evolving!"
-Data makes an earnest pronouncement, and actor Brent Spiner somehow manages to keep a straight face.

Genesis is surely one of the silliest episodes of TNG's run. Brannon Braga's script is a dumb premise that exists solely to allow the cast to act in weird ways, all of which is given only the flimsiest justification. It's "science" is straight out of a 1950's "B" movie: De-evolution of humans into amphibians and spiders(!)? The episode might as well have a crew member turn into a crocodile and snap at Picard's heels!

It also spends far too long on setup, with fully half the episode passing before the crew has firm awareness that there even is a ship-wide problem. It should have been restructured in one of two ways: With Picard and Data on the ship throughout, working to stop the infection as it spreads; or with Picard and Data returning to the ship much earlier, with the bulk of the episode focusing on their efforts to resolve the situation. As presented, there is no real mystery, because we spend half the episode watching the disease spread. Picard and Data are able to solve the problem a bit too quickly and easily, because no time is left in the episode for their efforts to encounter serious complications.

Gates McFadden, in her directorial debut, may have gotten lumbered with a ludicrous script, but she makes a good stab at bringing it to life. The dark corridors of the drifting Enterprise of the second half are eerie, the noises of the transformed crew members adding to the atmosphere. Spider-Barclay's abrupt entrance, banging against the glass through which Picard is peering, is a "jump scare" that works, and the makeup job on Dwight Schultz is highly effective (if slightly comical). The chase at the climax, in which the transformed Worf pursues Picard into first the turbolift, then a Jeffries tube, takes care to keep Worf in the shadows to avoid the budget limitations of his costume from ruining the effect. This has the bonus of keeping the focus on Patrick Stewart, acting the heck out of the increasing terror the infected Picard can barely keep in check. I'd love to see another episode directed by McFadden - preferably one with an actual good script.

In a way, this episode feels like the flip-side to Masks. That episode featured Data behaving strangely while the ship transformed around the crew. This episode features everyone except Data behaving strangely, while the crew transforms around the ship. Unlike Masks, there's no sense of anything interesting is struggling to get out. Much of it plays like Braga's first draft for Voyager's infamous Threshold, like he needed a warm-up to figure out what works so that he could be sure to remove those elements from his next try.

In short, it's all dizzyingly dumb... but it's also very watchable.


Overall Rating: 4/10.

Previous Episode: Eye of the Beholder
Next Episode: Journey's End


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

7-16. Thine Own Self.

Data investigates a village's mysterious illness.

THE PLOT

Data is sent to the planet Barkon IV to retrieve a crashed probe carrying radioactive materials. His mission is to recover the radioactive metal while avoiding any contact with the pre-industrial population. An accident leaves him without memory. He doesn't know who he is or why he is carrying a case full of metal, nor does he remember that the metal is in any way harmful.

It is in this state that he arrives at a Barkonian village, where the kindly Garvin (Michael Rothhaar) takes him in. Garvin advises him that he will need money, so Data agrees to allow him to sell the strange metal. Soon, Garvin grows ill. As the illness spreads, the villagers settle on someone to blame: Data!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Barely present, to allow Patrick Stewart to do a one-man stage version of A Christmas Carol in London. Pops up briefly in the tag scene to justify his name on the credits (which, given that other regulars have sat out episodes, really wasn't necessary in any case).

Riker: The episode is burdened with another of the franchise's lamentable "B" plots, this one focusing on Counselor Troi taking a test to become a Bridge Officer. It's a very bad subplot, but it does at least provide Riker with some good scenes. Other episodes have shown him behaving sternly with junior officers. Now he gets to show this side to Troi, because as First Officer it is up to him to assess her suitability. He tells her frankly that he is "a pretty tough judge," later adding: "My first duty is to the ship. I cannot let any Bridge Officer serve who's not qualified."

Data: Brent Spiner is excellent, as usual. This episode strips Data of his memory. He does not even know he is an android, and accepts teacher/scientist Talur (Ronnie Claire Edwards)'s identification of him as "an iceman" at face value. His nature as an analytical being asserts itself quickly. An early scene shows him arguing with Talur over her beliefs about all matter including fire and water, which lays groundwork for his later investigations into the mysterious illness. As ever, Spiner manages to convey a character we care about and relationships between that character and others, without betraying the concept of Data as an emotionless being. His performance is the episode's single greatest asset, keeping the "A" plot highly watchable even as the "B" plot founders.

Troi: Speaking of that "B" plot, if it was intended to strengthen Troi as a character, it backfires badly. When she discusses taking the bridge officer's test, Riker warns her that as First Officer, he will have to judge her as harshly as any other candidate. She agrees... only to promptly become petulant when he insists on actually honoring his word and treating her the same as any other candidate. This amounts to her throwing snits at him for daring to do his job - Not exactly the best way to make her seem strong or even likable.


THOUGHTS

The concept of Thine Own Self is fairly hackneyed: a crew member has amnesia in a primitive village, and despite befriending some villagers, becomes feared as an outsider. TOS did variations on this theme more than once, never mind TNG... Fortunately, Ronald D. Moore's script gets some big things right. One is that Data may solve the radiation sickness in the village - but he also causes the problem by bringing the radioactive metal there in the first place. I liked the way the episode spent some time showing the various villagers handling the metal, letting us absorb what they were doing and what it meant while they (and Data) are completely oblivious. This allows a threat to be introduced early, while allowing the characters to be completely relaxed so that Data can get to know the village and its people.

Trek budgeting means that we only really meet a few villagers, but there's only one straw man in the form of Skoran (Michael G. Hagerty), a grasping brute who appears to have no redeeming qualities. Talur is haughty and self-important, but she doesn't outright reject Data's findings when they conflict with her beliefs. She wants more detail, but seems to find his reasoning persuasive. Garvin (Michael Rothhaar) and Gia (Kimberly Cullum) are the stock decent, likable villagers, but both are well enough acted to feel like full characters, and Gia's friendship with Data is convincing and enjoyable.

The "B" plot is much weaker, however.  Counselor Troi's pursuit of promotion doesn't play out in a convincing way. Riker is Troi's ex-lover and current friend; I do not for one instant believe that he would be allowed to administer the test. Nor do I believe that the process of becoming a bridge officer is so simple that it can be achieved, start to finish, within a few days. If dialogue had established that she had actually been working toward this goal ever since her command experience in Disaster and that the test was the last thing left for her to finish, then it might have been less ridiculous. Instead, she's merely been thinking about it since Disaster, and now is when she decides to act. The tag, which reinforces that after taking one test she now officially outranks Data (a command officer of many years' experience), just adds insult to injury.

Ah, well. Bad "B" plots are a regular feature of latter-day Star Trek, and this is far from the most insufferable "B" plot in the series. The "A" plot is engaging, even if it covers very familiar ground, and the show entertains. A solid piece of workmanlike television, this isn't one to get excited about by any means, but it also isn't one to avoid.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

Previous Episode: Lower Decks
Next Episode: Masks


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

7-15. Lower Decks.

Worf champions Ensign Sito (Shannon Fill).

THE PLOT

The Enterprise's senior officers are doing reviews of the junior staff... Making this a very nervous time for the ship's young ensigns. Gossip leaks to Ensigns Sam Lavelle (Dan Gauthier) and Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) that they are both contenders for the same promotion. Each feels the other is more likely to actually get the nod: Lavelle believes Riker dislikes him, and his attempts to ingratiate himself only make that situation worse; Sito knows that Picard hasn't forgotten her role in the cover-up of an Academy cadet's death, and fears that her spotless record since that incident isn't enough to make up for it.

Even as they fret over their future career paths, they are intrigued and puzzled by the ship's new heading. The Enterprise has taken up a position on the border of Cardassian space, and the senior officers are conferring privately. Geordi snaps at a Taurik (Alexander Enberg), a young Vulcan ensign, for running a routine scan to identify a lifeform on a ship they're rescuing: "No one told you to do that!" When that lifeform is beamed to sickbay, all staff are cleared out save for senior officers and a security officer is stationed outside.

Something clandestine is occurring - and that something is about to come very close to home for one of the junior officers, who will soon have much more immediate concerns than a mere promotion!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Calls Sito into his ready room in order to give her a dressing-down, laying into her lack of character during the Academy incident and telling her that he doesn't know how she ended up on his ship. Patrick Stewart is terrific in this scene, which is written just enough within Picard's normal character that I believed his anger was genuine - making the revelation that it was actually an act all the more effective for tricking me as much as it did Sito. His disclosure that she ended up on the Enterprise on his specific request, to make sure that she got a fair chance to prove herself, says a lot about his own character (and reminds us that he also was involved in something scandalous at the Academy).

Riker: It's no wonder Lavell feels like Riker doesn't like him. The commander shows irritation or outright disapproval in their every interaction. This is consistent with what we've seen in previous episodes, notably in Hollow Pursuits and Ensign Ro. He may be easygoing with those high in the command structure, but he's quite firm with subordinates, particularly ones he finds fault with. In this episode, he's finally called on this, when Troi tells him that Lavell is very like he was when he was younger, and that he's not giving the young man a fair chance.

Worf: Acts as a mentor to Sito. He thinks highly of her work as a security officer, and he believes she is capable of being more. After Picard chews her out, Worf refuses to allow her to meekly accept that situation. He stages an impromptu challenge, putting her into a position where she can only lose and barking his disapproval when she does - all to push her to protest that his challenge is unfair. When she does so, Worf agrees and tells her:"Perhaps next time you are judged unfairly, it will not take so many bruises for you to protest." Odd that his paternal attitude toward her seems so much more authentic than his relationship with Alexander - but then, this episode is well-written, while most Alexander episodes... were not.

Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: Shannon Fill returns as Sito. In The First Duty, her role was relatively minor. She was onscreen a lot, but was really just a background part of Locarno's entourage. Here, she gets the most prominent role. Sito comes across as sympathetic, while remaining individual enough to avoid the "Mary Sue" trap that can ensnare guest characters who take center-stage. Her final scenes are quite strong, with her Bajoran background used to good effect. 


THOUGHTS

Lower Decks is a clever idea: Take the characters who are usually little more than extras and show events from their point of view. Rene Echevarria, a writer whose strength lies in character interactions, is a good choice for this piece. He is up to the challenge of taking one-shot characters and making them feel authentic and relatable.

Too relatable, sometimes. There is something decidedly uncomfortable in watching Lavell's attempts to ingratiate himself to Riker. When his friend Ben (Bruce Beatty) urges him to go up to Riker in Ten-Forward and strike up a conversation, my every instinct screamed: "Don't!" Riker may not go to the bar to be treated like the First Officer, but he also isn't there to enjoy the spectacle of junior officers jumping about like eager puppy dogs. The subsequent "conversation" is painful, in part because most viewers will at one time or another be able to relate to Lavell's awkwardness (some will be able to relate to how awkward that conversation would be for both men).

Scenes such as this, or Sito's dressing-down by Picard and Worf's unique way of getting her to stand up for herself, would have made for a perfectly fine minor episode. But the ambition here goes a bit further, with the point-of-view switch given to a story that would still have been interesting without that. This gives a dramatic structure to the character material in the first half. We can see that something is occurring that isn't routine, but the information is denied to us just as it is to them. 

This acts as an effective hook for the first half, and it allows the story to transition from being purely a character piece to being a strong narrative in a way that feels absolutely seamless. As the episode goes along, we get more and more clues to the mission unfolding, unseen, around us. At the midpoint, we get a key revelation when Alyssa Ogawa (Patti Yasutake) is let in on the identity of their guest in sickbay - which fuels even more good character material, as she must then keep that secret from friends Lavell and Sito even as they continue speculating.

Ultimately, it's a good episode. Almost all of the individual pieces work, and the script's careful structure and strong handling of both character and plot material keeps it feeling unified throughout. One of Season Seven's better stories, and exactly the recovery the series needed after the idiocy of Sub Rosa.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Sub Rosa
Next Episode: Thine Own Self


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

7-12. The Pegasus.

Riker is less than happy to be reunited
with his former C. O. (Terry O'Quinn)

THE PLOT

The Enterprise receives orders to pick up a Starfleet intelligence operative: Admiral Erik Pressman (Terry O'Quinn), who was Riker's first commanding officer. Riker served as his helmsman aboard The Pegasus, a prototype vessel lost near the border of Romulan space twelve years earlier. The ship was assumed destroyed - but now intelligence has leaked that debris has been located in an asteroid field in the Devolin system. It is urgent the the Enterprise find the lost ship before the Romulans do and either recover it or destroy it.

But a secret lies within the engineering section of the Pegasus, one which led to a shipwide mutiny and which has left Riker plagued with guilt ever since. If those secrets are discovered, Riker will have to make a choice - one which may lead to the end of his Starfleet career!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: In a scene that lends new context to the very first Picard/Riker scene in Encounter at Farpoint, he reveals that the reason he chose Riker as First Officer was the very thing he seemed angry about in that episode: Riker's insistence on blocking his previous captain from leading a dangerous Away mission. "I wanted someone who would stand up to me, someone who was more concerned with the safety of the ship and accomplishing the mission than with how something looked on his record. To me, that's one of the marks of a good officer." That statement echoes later, when Riker refuses to share information with Picard, using "orders" as his excuse. He makes it clear that if Riker is concealing anything that endangers the Enterprise, then he will "re-evaluate this ship's command structure."

Riker: The "Captain Picard Day" teaser may seem irrelevant, but it performs an important function: It establishes the norm for Riker's relationship with Picard. We see Riker completely relaxed, bantering humorously with his friend and captain... which makes his reaction to Pressman's entrance all the stronger by contrast. It's very clear that Riker hoped never to see his former C. O. again, and he's strained in every interaction. He does his job at all points, but he does not want them to find The Pegasus, and offers up the "destroy the ship" option at the very first opportunity. Jonathan Frakes plays Riker's anxiety and internal struggle well, delivering one of his best performances in the series.

Pompous Space Bureucrat of the Week: Admiral Pressman (Terry O'Quinn) has a complete opposite view to Picard of a good officer: "I've always felt it was more important for an officer to trust his captain's judgment. In a crisis, there's no time for explanations. Orders have to be obeyed without question or lives may be lost... (Sense of duty and loyalty) say more about a man than the rank on his collar or the uniform he wears. They define him."

Those words echo another character in a Ronald D. Moore Starfleet script - Locarno in The First Duty, who prized loyalty to the team above Starfleet honor codes. Like Locarno, Pressman comes across as an intelligent man who believes in what he is saying, which grants him a certain integrity, even though he is clearly the villain of the piece. Terry O'Quinn is excellent, and it's not hard to see why he went on to greater success after this role.

Romulans: More a plot device than anything, though the friction between the Romulans and Starfleet is the story's inciting incident - The secret Pressman and Riker are protecting simply would not exist without them. Beyond that, they wring a little extra tension out of the search for the Pegasus, introducing a "ticking clock" into the episode.


THOUGHTS

The Pegasus is a Ronald D. Moore script, which is almost always good news in itself. Moore is willing to play within the Trek rules, but he does like to push those boundaries a bit. Starfleet may itself be honest and above-board, but Moore knows human nature too well to accept that everyone within it is the same. Just as his Klingon episodes showed the corruption beneath the pretense of honor, his Starfleet episodes show some of Starfleet's most praised breaking rules and jeopardizing others to advance themselves.

The script for The Pegasus brims with tension in every strand. Riker has two internal struggles: his feelings of guilt over his actions from twelve years earlier and his desire to tell Picard what's going on despite his orders not to tell. This internal conflict also drives Riker's external conflicts with both Pressman and Picard. Pressman dresses him down for wanting to destroy The Pegasus rather than recover it. Picard later confronts Riker with evidence of a mutiny on the ship twelve years earlier. His grave disappointment when Riker tells him he is under orders not to discuss the issue hits Riker far harder than Pressman's chewing out had done.

Though the story could have been carried just through these conflicts among Riker, Picard, and Pressman, the external threat of the Romulans does not feel tacked-on. Instead, it enhances the episode, infusing the search for the lost ship with more suspense. There's a clever bit in which the Enterprise finds the Pegasus' location but can't go straight to it lest the Romulans notice. Instead, they emit an ion pulse to mask the ship's signature and move on before the Romulans get within sensor range. Then there's a wonderful pause with our characters just watching the screen, waiting to see whether the Romulan ship stops or moves on itself. It's just characters staring at a screen, but it is extremely suspenseful.

All in all, another excellent episode following right on the heels of the previous, excellent episode. Dare I hope that Season Seven may recover from its rather dismal opening set of shows?


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Parallels
Next Episode: Homeward 


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

7-11. Parallels.

First Officer Worf and Troi: Man and Wife.

THE PLOT

It is Worf's birthday when he returns from a bat'leth tournament, in which he won Champion standing. He returns to a greeting from Commander Riker, who quickly briefs him on their next mission. The Argus Array, a subspace telescope, has stopped transmitting for the third time that year. At this point, Riker tells him, Starfleet no longer believes this is a simple mechanical breakdown.

But first Worf must endure an unwelcome surprise birthday party. Capt. Picard is unable to attend, and it's clear from Worf's expression that he wished he was unable to as well. The chocolate cake is cut... Only to become a yellow cake, as Capt. Picard asks from his seat how old Worf now is. Worf is confused, but assumes he simply mistook the cake's flavor and that Picard must have come in unnoticed.

He resumes normal duties, analyzing the image files from the array and determining that it's been reprogrammed, probably by the Cardassians, to spy on the Federation. Then Worf has a dizzy spell, and when he comes to he learns that he only placed ninth in the bat'leth tournament, and that there is no image file from the array that indicates Cardassian involvement.

As these changes continue, it becomes obvious that Worf is jumping from one parallel reality to another - and with each jump, the parallels get more and more different from the life he knows!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Enjoys needling Worf at his surprise party. He also shows the other extreme, responding with clear disappointment when Worf fails to raise the shields in time to protect the ship from a Cardassian attack (the shield settings in this reality being configured too differently for Worf to figure out in time). He clearly sees that something is wrong with Worf, however; instead of upbraiding him, he simply accepts Worf's request to be relieved of duty.

Capt. Riker: We spend more than a third of the episode in a parallel reality in which Picard died during the Borg invasion, meaning that Riker is now ship's captain. That he's a good captain is no surprise, not after seeing him assume the role so often from Best of Both Worlds on. He is more directly approachable than Picard, with less separation evident between himself and the rest of the crew, but he clearly learned his lessons from Picard. He listens to his officers' input, then makes his decisions based on all the available information. He also responds to the sight of an alternate Picard on his viewscreen with evident pleasure, taking a moment to tell him how good it is to see him again.

Worf: When little things start to change, he reacts as most of us would: He assumes he made a mistake or failed to observe something and moves on with his job and his life. This method of coping works until the shifts create major discrepancies, but when his trophy changes from ninth place to first, or when Data checks on the status of a task he has no memory of having been assigned, this becomes an impossible situation. He asks to be relieved from duty after an incident shows that he is no longer familiar enough with the ship to do his job. Then he tries to work through the problem, wisely accepting help when it is offered. Michael Dorn is terrific throughout, keeping Worf grounded and believable in a way that makes it very easy to follow him down this particular rabbit hole.

Troi: Her rapport with Worf's son, Alexander, is such that Worf asks her to act as a family member, to promise to take in Alexander in the event that anything happens to him. She agrees readily, though she does have some fun at Worf's expense by pointing out that this makes her mother part of Worf's "family" as well. As the shifts continue, Worf finds himself in a reality in which he and Troi are married. They are surprisingly compatible, and Troi actually listens to Worf's story and prompts him to enlist help from others to find out what is prompting the shifts.

Wesley: Returns, but only in the parallel reality that saw Picard die. In this variant, Wesley apparently continued on as a full Enterpise officer under Riker. This is a nice touch, allowing for the possibility that without Picard giving him a final push, Wesley would likely not have left the ship for the Academy. It's also interesting to see this alternate Wesley behave with a maturity and professionalism that the prime universe Wesley has often lacked - perhaps indicating that Picard's death brought an end to the remnants of his childhood.


THOUGHTS

Brannon Braga returns to the writer's desk for another reality-bending episode. A good one, too - Parallels is Braga's best script since Cause and Effect. Directed with visual polish by Robert Wiemer, this is easily the best episode Season Seven has seen thus far. In a year that's been characterized by dull, mediocre bits of glob, this is a gem that shines all the brighter.

Parallels is a showcase for Braga's writing strengths. It's very fast-paced, never allowing the audience a chance to grow restless. Every scene provides some new wrinkle. It's also clever, with a sci-fi high concept that's easy to grasp quickly but interesting enough to be fun. The structure is well thought-out, with the shifts moving from minor points of divergence to increasingly major ones. We never shift into a universe that's completely unrecognizable, however (though we do get a glimpse of one through the viewscreen). Even the final, most changed variant Worf inhabits is largely different for Picard's death, with all the characters and the universe itself remaining largely recognizable.

It's not just a "concept" episode, either. Worf and Troi get some excellent character material. Lest their relationship in other shifts come out of nowhere, we start with a scene in a very close parallel showing the strength of their friendship. This is echoed when Worf returns to his universe, with Troi being the only one waiting for him (showing that even the initial return to the Enterprise - which we and Worf assumed to be the "prime" one - was itself a parallel). The early Worf/Troi scene also shows his commitment to Alexander, setting groundwork for a later shift in which he learns that Alexander now never existed. Michael Dorn plays Worf's reaction to this realization wonderfully.  Marina Sirtis is equally good in her reactions, showing pain and worry at the thought that "her" Worf may very well not return even if "our" Worf is successful.

This being a top-drawer Brannon Braga episode, we have to get at least one moment in which the whole thing goes completely nuts. That happens near the end, when all the parallels begin coming together. In a small sector of space, one parallel Enterpise after another pops into being. We see the Enterpises appearing on the viewscreen behind Data as he turns to Worf and Riker to explain what's happening. Then we cut back from commercial to see still more ships popping into being in the establishing shot. It's a moment of pure, sublime insanity, and exactly what an episode like this needs to hit its full potential.


Overall Rating: 9/10. Terrific.

Previous Episode: Inheritance
Next Episode: The Pegasus 


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: The Next Generation

Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On Twitter:

Follow @RandomMusings09

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads