Jammersreviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Jammer's Reviews of the Complete Third Season
 
For episodes airing from 9/25/1989 to 6/18/1990
Series created by Gene Roddenberry
Executive producers: Gene Roddenberry and Rick Berman
 
Reviews by Jamahl Epsicokhan
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"Evolution" -- Air date: 9/25/1989. Teleplay by Michael Piller. Story by
Michael Piller & Michael Wagner. Directed by Winrich Kolbe.
 
An obsessed scientist on a deadline. A science project by Wesley Crusher run
awry. The Enterprise computer on the fritz. An alien influence
misunderstood. A crisis in which the Enterprise is potentially threatened.
And a solution that embraces humanism and cooperation and never cynicism or
brute aggression.
 
Yes, all the pieces are here for a restrained season opener that utilizes
every typical element that embodies the TNG story ethic. It's routine almost
to a fault, but if you can't respect this episode for what it is, then you
probably can't respect TNG for what it stands for.
 
Wesley finds that his science project -- in which he combined two types of
nanites (microscopic robots) to improve their functionality, resulting in an
unintended AI evolution -- may be the cause of a series of computer
malfunctions not unlike the ones seen in "Contagion." The malfunctions are
threatening (in addition to the Enterprise, ultimately) the life work of Dr.
Stubbs (Ken Jenkins), who is supposed to observe a stellar phenomenon that
happens only once every two centuries.
 
The story is reminiscent of first season's "Home Soil" in its interest in
studying, documenting, and communicating with a new inorganic life form. The
nanites are a neat idea, although I have a problem with the notion of such
dangerous AI technology being so readily available to anyone, let alone a
teenager. There's also the issue of how quickly and easily computer hardware
here becomes a sentient civilization, and whether this story revelation
represents a can of worms. (I'm reminded of the "mimetic symbiont" used to
clone Trip in Enterprise's "Similitude.")
 
The show also has time for some palatable character touches. Dr. Crusher has
returned, and finds that she doesn't quite know who her son has become as a
17-year-old. Also, Stubbs is depicted not simply as an obsessed scientist
but a man whose life meaning is on the line. During his downtime, he plays
entire baseball seasons in his head. He has a nice little speech about how
the death of baseball came at the hands of a society that no longer had the
patience for it. Given this episode and Sisko in DS9, you conclude that
Michael Piller must've been a baseball fan.
 
Rating: ***
 

"The Ensigns of Command" -- Air date: 10/2/1989. Written by Melinda M.
Snodgrass. Directed by Cliff Bole.
 
The Sheliak, who consider humans to be beneath them, order the removal of a
human colony from a planet that, in accordance with the Federation/Sheliak
treaty, they own. The colony of 15,000 was unknown to the Federation, and is
made up of the descendants of a Federation vessel that crashed there more
than a century ago. The Sheliak intend to colonize the planet in four days;
they will likely eradicate the population if the Enterprise does not remove
it.
 
One of the appeals of "Ensigns" is its two-tiered plot structure, in which
both storylines document the problem-solving methods in an uphill climb to
fix a mess of a situation before the ticking clock expires. Picard must
figure out how to negotiate more time from the hopelessly obstinate Sheliak,
while Data must figure out how to convince the prideful (and perhaps equally
hopelessly obstinate) colonists to give up their homes and leave.
 
The results are mixed. This is a competent TNG story, but it has some
evident problems in execution. Most notable is the depiction of the
colonists in their extended dealings with Data. While Data's assignment
gives him a new challenge (figuring out how to improvise while working a
problem that requires extensive knowledge of human nature), a lot of these
scenes simply don't work because of the belabored drama. The talky
grandstanding of this kind of TNG effort requires actors that can rise to
the challenge. Grainger Hines as Gosheven, the wrongheaded leader of the
colony, is a wooden actor that sinks many of these scenes. In fact, a lot of
the guest performances in these scenes are misfires. Data's interactions
with Ard'rian (Eileen Seeley) are merely adequate.
 
Faring slightly better are Picard's dealings with the extremely inflexible
Sheliak (whose homeworld is appropriately dubbed "Sheliak Corporate"); they
continuously hang up on Picard when he tries to talk to them. Picard's
bureaucratic solution to the bureaucratic problem makes for a truly funny
and satisfying payoff.
 
Meanwhile, the scenes on the colony build to an effective demonstration of
action by Data, but the ending only underlines (1) the obvious lack of
communication up to that point and (2) the apparent stupidity of Gosheven
and the colonists. Simply put, if the colonists know what a starship is (and
they do), they should understand what kind of threat is looming without Data
having to prove it.
 
Rating: **1/2
 

"The Survivors" -- Air date: 10/9/1989. Written by Michael Wagner. Directed
by Les Landau.
 
"The Survivors" is one of TNG's most unsung gems -- a slowly building sci-fi
mystery that thinks big while all the time going to painstaking efforts to
keep the drama small and intimate. It starts as the mystery of two people
and slowly and implacably marches toward a revelation that's haunting and
universe-shaking in its exceptionally quiet way.
 
The Enterprise races to answer a distress call from the colony at Rana IV;
when they arrive, they find the world has been completely destroyed by an
unknown alien attack. There are no survivors ... except for Kevin and Rishon
Uxbridge (John Anderson and Anne Haney), whose house and a few acres of land
have survived the complete scorching of the rest of the planet's surface.
Why has this elderly couple survived while the rest of the 11,000 colonists
perished?
 
This story belongs to a subgenre that might best be called "Twilight Zone
Trek." Strange things are afoot. The Uxbridges say they do not know why they
were spared, but Kevin is obviously hiding something. He's adamant that
Picard and the Federation simply leave them alone. An unknown, heavily
armed, and mean-looking alien vessel appears and attacks the Enterprise. Its
actions are erratic. Troi begins hearing a repeating song in her mind that
gets louder and louder and will not go away. Her disturbed mental state
starts off as a small, percolating problem, but like the rest of the
episode, it slowly and steadily builds until her mental anguish pushes her
to insanity.
 
This story is pitch-perfect in tone. The behavior and method of the attacks
from the alien vessel hint that its real goal is simply to coax the
Enterprise away from Rana. The clues lead us to the inevitable truth that
all of this has to do with Kevin and his pacifist stance when the aliens
attacked the colony. Why didn't he fight when the rest of the colony was
trying to defend itself? All the answers lie in a revelation that is truly
one of TNG's more unsettling concepts: Kevin is actually a superbeing called
a Douwd, capable of boundless power, but assuming human identity to live
with his human wife Rishon. He put the music in Troi's head to keep her from
learning the truth: Great power requires great restraint, which Kevin
exercised until Rishon was killed in the attack, at which point he lashed
out and killed the Husnock -- not just the attackers, but the entire race of
50 billion. Kevin's confession is a stunning revelation of frightening
power, profound individual guilt, and audacious sci-fi imagination. If you
stop and think about a being with cosmic power like that, humanity seems but
a speck of insignificance.
 
For once, there's no humanistic preaching that Picard can possibly make.
Concerning a being of such limitless power, Picard simply concludes, "We are
not qualified to be your judge." The episode ends with one of Picard's most
memorable voice-over logs: "We leave behind a being of extraordinary power
and conscience. I'm not sure whether he should be praised or condemned --
only that he should be left alone."
 
Rating: ****
 

"Who Watches the Watchers" -- Air date: 10/16/1989. Written by Richard
Manning & Hans Beimler. Directed by Robert Wiemer.
 
An anthropological research station overlooking a primitive society called
the Mintakans suffers a catastrophic malfunction that allows the
holographically shrouded station to become visible to its Mintakan subjects.
A Mintakan named Liko (Ray Wise) witnesses the Enterprise's ensuing rescue
mission and is critically injured in a fall. Rather than letting him die,
Crusher beams him aboard, repairs his injuries, and erases his short-term
memory. The memory wipe doesn't take, and Liko tells the story of what he
witnessed aboard the Enterprise to his fellow Mintakans. He believes "the
Picard" is a god who gave him back his life.
 
As an episode that dramatizes the purpose of the Prime Directive and the
dangers of cultural contamination, "Who Watches the Watchers" is perhaps
definitive. The question of whether you can study something without running
the risk of affecting the results is answered here by a series of accidents
that ultimately suggests an entire religion could eventually be formed
around "the Picard" as based on Liko's experience.
 
But this episode is also definitive as an example of short-changing a
concept by way of extreme microcosm. An entire planet's culture (and this
has frequently been one of my complaints about Trek) is represented based
solely on a dozen villagers who seem more like isolated nomads than part of
a real, larger society. Meanwhile, characters in this story make sweeping
assumptions that are almost absurd in their broadness. The idea that Liko's
experience will "inevitably" lead to a religion worshipping Picard strikes
me as an unlikely conclusion given what we know about the Mintakans. Surely
there must be other societal factors in play in order for a religion to take
hold and flourish. One man speaking secondhand nonsense cannot change the
world.
 
For that matter, this episode's take on religion seems awfully simplistic.
While it would be against the Prime Directive to allow Picard to be seen as
a god, Picard has a speech here that seems to be against religion at all.
The Mintakans left behind their supernatural beliefs generations ago, and
Picard sees that as an achievement from the "dark ages" which he does not
intend to allow they return to. Of course, there's no mention of the status
of human religion. (I suppose the 20th century was still the "dark ages"
because of all the silly human religious beliefs that persisted?)
 
In the latter acts, Picard tries to convince Nuria (Kathryn Leigh Scott)
that he is not a god but simply part of a society that has more knowledge.
This concept seems to arise from a what-if premise: What if you could show a
person from 2,000 years ago what the world looks like today? The story does
its best to create a sense of wonder in this, but never quite reaches
takeoff velocity.
 
Rating: **1/2
 

"The Bonding" -- Air date: 10/23/1989. Written by Ronald D. Moore. Directed
by Winrich Kolbe.
 
During a routine archeological mission commanded by Worf, Lt. Aster (Susan
Powell) is killed by a land mine from a long-forgotten war. She leaves
behind a 12-year-old son on the Enterprise, Jeremy (Gabriel Damon), whose
father is also dead. The command staff must break the news to Jeremy and
deal with the aftermath.
 
"The Bonding" is the episode that Ronald D. Moore famously sold as a spec
script, which ultimately led to him being hired as a writer on TNG. It's got
some of the hallmarks of Moore in it (real-world military issues, Klingon
customs), but it's also got a number of Trek cliches (fantasy versus
reality, aliens with remarkable powers). As these things go, the episode is
on the upper end of mediocrity.
 
The show is best when it confronts head-on the fact that a starship can be a
dangerous place where people die. It also confronts the issue of children
being on board the ship. At one point, Picard says flat-out that he has
always had his doubts about it. The best scenes involve Worf, who must deal
with the fact that someone has died under his command. His scene at the end
with Jeremy, where they undergo the Klingon bonding ritual, has a mildly
intriguing resonance. Other reasonable scenes feature the inclusion of
Wesley in Jeremy's grieving process; Wesley approaches the situation from
personal experience.
 
But the show is worst when it's (too frequently) documenting the mysterious
alien presence, which appears to Jeremy as his mother and supplies him with
a fantasy that re-creates a pleasant memory. You can feel the air going out
of the story when Jeremy's dead mother suddenly returns, as if she were a
ghost. (Aliens as dead people = silly and boring. Susan Powell's performance
= wooden and ineffective.) Fortunately, this premise is somewhat redeemed by
its dialog. When it comes to exploring the human condition via long-winded
philosophy, no one does it better than Picard, who has a decent speech about
facing the realities that life deals us. But it's not enough to elevate a
frequently lackluster hour.
 
Rating: **
 

"Booby Trap" -- Air date: 10/30/1989.Teleplay by Ron Roman and Michael
Piller & Richard Danus. Story by Michael Wagner & Ron Roman. Directed by
Gabrielle Beaumont.
 
The Enterprise finds a 1,000-year-old relic adrift in an ancient debris
field. Picard -- intrigued from a historical point of view -- eagerly leads
an away team to tour the relic. He likens the ship to a ship in a bottle,
which prompts an amusing dialog exchange. Picard: "Didn't anyone play with
ships in bottles when they were boys?" Worf: "I did not play with toys."
Data: "I was never a boy."
 
Once inside the debris field, however, the Enterprise is ensnared in an
ancient booby trap that sucks power from its victims' ships and then uses
that same power against them in the form of lethal radiation. An away team
discovers that the crew of the relic suffered exactly that fate. Geordi must
now race against the clock to find a way to escape the debris field before
the crew is exposed to lethal radiation. He does this in the holodeck with a
computerized composite of one of the ship's key designers, Dr. Leah Brahms
(Susan Gibney).
 
"Booby Trap" is a good, geeky, technobabble episode. In classic TNG fashion,
it is *about* working a problem and very little more. The technical jargon
goes on and on; you sort of have to take it on faith that it has meaning.
Actually, writing good technobabble takes a certain level of skill, because
in between the meaningless terms a writer must insert a certain amount of
tech that actually comes from the real world and is not arbitrary. The
writers of this episode know that, because the technobabble manages to
maintain a certain level of credibility.
 
The episode is also about Geordi facing romantic difficulties. He has
trouble relating to women and tries too hard to impress them. Yeah, sounds
like a nerd problem. Still, I've always found something slightly pathetic
about this story's subtle message that the perfect woman for Geordi might be
a holodeck character. Or perhaps it's just saying that nerds should date
other nerds in their field. Funny -- you'd think a place like the
Enterprise's engineering deck would be teeming with them. In that case,
maybe it's a workplace sexual harassment issue.
 
Rating: ***
 

"The Enemy" -- Air date: 11/6/1989.Written by David Kemper and Michael
Piller. Directed by David Carson.
 
An Enterprise away team investigates the crash of a Romulan vessel just
inside Federation territory along the Neutral Zone. They discover an injured
survivor (Steven Rankin) from the crash on the surface of the hellhole
planet. A mishap causes Geordi to go missing on the mission, and the
Enterprise is unable to locate him due to the violent electromagnetic
storms. The heat is turned up under the entire situation when a Romulan
Warbird commanded by Tomalak (Andreas Katsulas in what would become a
semi-recurring role) ventures into the Neutral Zone and demands that Picard
return the injured Romulan prisoner.
 
"The Enemy" is a perfect combination of multiple plot lines that come
together to form a single coherent story. There are three interesting
threads, which give the ensemble plenty to do, and all of which forward the
overall plot. On the planet surface we've got Geordi stranded in a survival
situation, which forces him to be innovative; there's a refreshingly
dialog-free scene where Geordi must escape a pit by cleverly creating
climbing spikes out of metallic ore fragments. Later, when Geordi is taken
prisoner by Bochra (John Snyder), another Romulan crash survivor, their
conversations provide a window into the Romulan mind. Ultimately, they must
work together to survive and escape the planet surface -- a TNG solution, to
be sure. Their method of escape involves typical TNG tech made interesting
by the uneasy symbiotic relationship that Geordi and Bochra find themselves
in.
 
Meanwhile, Riker gets refreshingly riled up over the mission going bad, and
he doesn't want to take crap from the Romulans. Worf finds himself in a
position where he is the only possible donor who can save the injured
Romulan's life. The dilemma shows how bitter hatred can persist for
generations, and I especially like how the story doesn't go all sentimental
and give Worf a last-second change of heart. His refusal adds an interesting
wrinkle to an already delicate situation. Picard stops short of ordering
Worf to cooperate, which is an intriguing choice. Picard lets the cards fall
where they may, and the Romulan dies.
 
With the diplomatic situation quickly deteriorating (including some
effective tough-talk by Picard), Tomalak enters Federation space. The
showdown between Picard and Tomalak generates true suspense; "The Enemy"
deals with the issue of cold-war-style brinkmanship better than any TNG
story I can immediately recall. Picard's risky gesture of trust to defuse
the situation is a memorable one. The final solution is perhaps a bit pat,
but the story earns its peaceful payoff by bringing together all the plot
threads with commendable precision.
 
Rating: ***1/2
 

"The Price" -- Air date: 11/13/1989. Written by Hannah Louise Shearer.
Directed by Robert Scheerer.
 
The Enterprise hosts the negotiations for acquiring the custody rights of
the only stable wormhole known to exist (prior to the discovery of the
Bajoran wormhole in DS9, of course), discovered by the Barzan, whose
representative (Elizabeth Hoffman) wants to sell it to whomever offers them
the best benefits. The Federation sends their negotiator (Castulo Guerra) to
the table while Geordi and Data venture into the wormhole to run tests and
confirm its value.
 
Also at the negotiation table are the Ferengi (always annoying), and the
Chrysalians, who are represented by Devinoni Ral (Matt McCoy), whose
reputation as a brilliant negotiator precedes him. Ral and Troi fall in love
at first sight, in swift romantic scenes that are earnest but less than
believable (to say this relationship moves fast would be understatement of
the year). Their connection might be explained by the fact that he is
one-quarter Betazoid and has empathic abilities similar to hers, which might
explain some of his success as a negotiator.
 
"The Price" is a passable episode because it strikes a workable balance
between the Ral/Troi romance and the negotiations, and even ties the two
together thematically. There's a good dinner-table dialog scene where Troi
calls Ral out for unethically hiding the fact that he's a Betazoid, and Ral
counter-challenges by calling Troi's own conduct into question. Meanwhile,
Riker finds himself pushed into the negotiations when the Federation's
negotiator is poisoned; an ensuing scene between him and Ral discusses the
matter of Troi and ends in a way that sheds light on the way both Riker and
Ral think.
 
Unfortunately, the presence of the Ferengi threaten to turn the whole thing
into a farce. The Ferengi are too obnoxious to be entertaining, and too rude
to be taken seriously as negotiators. That Picard allows them in the game at
all is a testament to his acceptance of inappropriate behavior. When two of
the Ferengi get stranded on the wrong side of the wormhole (which turns out
*not* to be stable and thus, ironically, worthless), we're glad because that
means there's two less Ferengi we have to see in the episode. Bringing such
broad caricatures into an otherwise workable story is nothing short of
sabotage.
 
Rating: **1/2
 

"The Vengeance Factor" -- Air date: 11/20/1989. Written by Sam Rolfe.
Directed by Timothy Bond.
 
The Enterprise is pulled into mediating an agreement involving the
Acamarians and their renegade subculture of "Gatherers" (a better word would
be "pirates"), who broke off from mainstream Acamarian society a century ago
and now live as criminal exiles. Acamarian leader Marouk (Nancy Parsons)
reluctantly agrees to try to bring the Gatherers back into her society now
that Acamarian life has given up its warlike ways.
 
Picard attempts to get everyone to sit down together at the negotiation
table, but it won't be easy. The Gatherers open fire at the first sight of
anyone that comes near their camp. The leader of this particular clan of
Gatherers is Brull (Joey Aresco), who agrees to the negotiations. But
there's also a murderer going around killing very specific Gatherer
individuals, taking revenge (we eventually learn) in a long-ago blood feud.
The killer, unbeknownst to everyone but us, is Yuta (Lisa Wilcox), who is
Marouk's personal servant and also a young woman that Riker attempts to
romance.
 
"The Vengeance Factor" is a borderline incoherent mess, with a plot that --
okay, it *does* hold together, but it's a really rough road to get there.
There are too many characters and not enough investment in any of them.
There is no clear line of drama, making it very difficult to become involved
in the story. We get dull negotiation scenes, then lackluster romantic
scenes, then halfhearted character scenes. The story initially makes much of
Brull, an obnoxious vulgarian who is at first menacing and then kind of
likable, and then he becomes irrelevant to the story and disappears. The
"romantic" scenes between Riker and Yuta are awkward and ineffective. They
serve only to set up the final act, in which Riker is tragically forced to
kill Yuta to stop her from carrying out the story's titular vengeance
factor. The story's message is acceptable. Its execution is not.
 
Rating: **
 

"The Defector" -- Air date: 1/1/1990. Written by Ronald D. Moore. Directed
by Robert Scheerer.
 
A Romulan scout ship, under attack from a pursuing Romulan Warbird, comes
charging across the Neutral Zone. Its sole occupant, Setal (James Sloyan),
desperately requests asylum, which the Enterprise grants. Setal claims that
a secret Romulan base along the Neutral Zone is the site of a massive
Romulan fleet poised for an invasion.
 
Ron Moore's second TNG script is a marked improvement over his first.
"Defector" documents -- with high stakes and no shortage of fascinating
twists and turns -- a consistently interesting battle of wits between the
Romulans and Federation. In its third season, TNG has turned the Romulan
Empire into a worthy nemesis that is as sneaky and cunning as it is
aggressive and threatening.
 
The central question of this story is whether Setal is actually telling the
truth, or if he is a Romulan spy trying to lure the Enterprise with false
intelligence into illegally entering the Neutral Zone and starting a war.
Setal is perfectly played by James Sloyan, who conveys the urgent sincerity
of a man trying to prevent a war while at the same time playing a man who is
still every bit Romulan at heart, from his love for his homeland to his
hatred of the Klingons (he curses Worf in an early scene) to his acerbic,
superior attitude. He's here because he wants to stop what he believes is a
misguided offensive that will destroy his homeland, not because he wants to
betray it. The plot thickens when Setal is revealed to actually be Admiral
Jarok, a high-ranking official responsible for infamous attacks on the
Federation.
 
Picard's dilemma is that he has no evidence of a Romulan invasion plot other
than Jarok's word. Indeed, evidence suggests that the Romulans' pursuit of
Jarok might have been staged entirely for the Enterprise's benefit. In a
startlingly terrific scene, Picard pointedly gives Jarok a wake-up call,
telling him that he's already a traitor to his people, no matter how much he
may think he's trying to be a patriot, and that he should follow through on
his intentions and give the Enterprise the information they need to
investigate the allegation properly.
 
It all leads to a dangerous venture into the Neutral Zone, which leads to
another interesting showdown with Tomalak. The Romulans' willingness to use
Jarok as a patsy in this plan is diabolically devious -- one might say cruel
-- and makes Jarok the tragic figure in a heartless chess game. Just when
the Enterprise looks outmatched and outgunned, Picard has one last trick up
his sleeve. The writers had cleverly sneaked in the crucial clue (about the
cloaked Klingon escorts) just under the radar. This chess game ends in a
stalemate that keeps war at bay.
 
Rating: ****
 

"The Hunted" -- Air date: 1/8/1990. Written by Robin Bernheim. Directed by
Cliff Bole.
 
The Angosians, applying for Federation membership, invite the Enterprise
crew to their world. The visit is cut short, however, when a dangerous
prisoner escapes a high-security prison and attempts to flee the planet.
After much effort (the prisoner is innovative and unyielding) the Enterprise
stops the man, named Danar (Jeff McCarthy), and holds him in the brig. Danar
says the Angosian government engineered him (and all the prisoners) to be
perfect soldiers. With wartime over, they were all deemed dangerous and cast
into these prisons to safeguard the rest of the population.
 
"The Hunted" has philosophical intentions. It asks questions like: Is it
wrong to engineer people to be perfect killing machines to fight your wars,
while hiding key facts from them? Is it wrong for the government to wash its
hands of them after they are no longer needed to fight? Is imprisonment
still imprisonment even if the facilities are comfortable? These are not
particularly challenging questions, I'll grant. That's the problem; "The
Hunted" is a little obvious.
 
The rest of the time, there's routine action on a TNG budget. Danar runs
around the Enterprise causing hand phasers to overload and eluding Worf's
security teams. Maybe Danar's really smart and strong, or maybe Worf's
security teams are less than competent. You decide. I also did not
understand how Danar escaped a transporter beam by causing an explosion from
within it (without killing himself).
 
The episode ends with the typical TNG moralizing, where Picard gives a
long-winded speech that is reasonable, yes, but talks down to the Angosians
and, thus, us. The head of the government is played by James Cromwell as a
bureaucrat who wants to close his eyes and pretend an obvious problem does
not exist rather than trying to deal with it. There's a certain satisfaction
in watching Picard wash his hands of a situation where the genie has been
uncorked and now the Angosians must deal with the consequences. Frankly,
they had it coming. But when you're reduced to laughing at a society for
their wrongheaded mistakes, the story has become too simplistic.
 
Rating: **1/2
 

"The High Ground" -- Air date: 1/29/1990. Written by Melinda M. Snodgrass.
Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont.
 
While on a mission of mercy delivering medical supplies to a war-torn world,
Crusher is taken hostage into underground tunnels by Finn (Richard Cox), the
leader of a terrorist group that commits frequent violence against the
planet's functioning government and its civilians. With the kidnapping, Finn
hopes to get the attention of the Federation and shine a spotlight on his
cause, which he feels has long been ignored. Finn's methods start with
kidnapping Crusher, and then he raises the stakes with an attempt to destroy
the Enterprise by using untraceable (and fatal to its users, when used
repeatedly) transporter technology to get aboard the ship and plant a bomb.
When that fails, Finn kidnaps Picard.
 
"The High Ground" takes a surprisingly candid and surprisingly balanced look
at the issue of terrorism from multiple points of view. Finn, while clearly
taking violence to extremes that prove counter-productive even to his own
cause, is not a cardboard madman. He wants his grievances heard; violence is
merely his currency. At the same time, the episode does not condone or make
excuses for his actions.
 
The episode also takes a hard look at those who attempt to fight terrorism
-- what they do and why. One key point of view is from the head of the
counterterrorism force, Alexana Devos (Kerrie Keane), who has had to deal
with Finn's daily violence for years. She's become a hardliner, and her
stance is understandable; she's trying to minimize violence in a war zone
where civilians have become routine terrorist targets. But, for that matter,
the civilians have also become routine targets for arrest for being
sympathetic to the separatists; one shot shows a 12-year-old kid being
hauled away as a suspected terrorist. This is a police-state society.
 
Caught in the middle is the Enterprise. Finn has an attention-getting speech
about the Federation's willingness to supply the government with medical
supplies while turning a blind eye to the separatists. Is he right? Not
really, but it demonstrates how appearing to choose sides gets the
Federation pulled into an otherwise obscure struggle that does not concern
them.
 
This is one of those rare episodes of TNG where, by the end, essentially
nothing has been solved. Sure, Crusher and Picard have been rescued, but the
cycle of violence will continue, and the episode doesn't pretend that the
situation can be fixed simply because the Enterprise was here or Picard came
in and made a pithy speech.
 
Rating: ***
 

"Dejà Q" -- Air date: 2/5/1990. Written by Richard Danus. Directed by Les
Landau.
 
As the Enterprise attempts to correct the decaying orbit of a moon before it
crashes into the populated planet below, Q appears, having been stripped of
all his powers by the Q Continuum and made into a mortal human being. Having
the choice of where to be banished, Q picked the Enterprise because of "all
the fun we had in the past." Q now finds himself among a crew that doesn't
like him, experiencing the very non-omnipotent lifestyle of a normal,
limited human.
 
"Deja Q" is one of the rare attempts by TNG to do sustained comedy, and it
might also be the most successful. Q as a fish out of water is a gimmick, to
be sure, but it's a good one. John de Lancie has natural comic timing, and
the story wisely pairs Q with Data for much of the show, which is an
inspired choice. Not only is Data the perfect, endlessly patient straight
man for Q's nonstop chatter, it allows the story to provide a running
commentary on the human condition from the perspective of outsiders.
 
A successful comedy must also have sharp, funny dialog, which "Deja Q" has.
In addition to all of Q's ongoing struggles with human banalities like
sleeping and eating ("I'll have 10 chocolate sundaes"), we have the running
joke that this formerly omnipotent being still takes omnipotence for
granted. (His solution to the decaying moon orbit: "Change the gravitational
constant of the universe." And he isn't kidding; he means it.) Q proves to
be an insufferable man. We have scene after scene of Q's arrogance, boredom,
and sarcasm. The secret to this working is that because of the way de Lancie
plays him, Q is likable despite being a constant pain in the ass. (Q on not
being able to get along with others: "It's hard to work well in groups when
you're omnipotent.")
 
Even the peril -- and no TNG plot would be satisfied without peril -- is
made amusing. (When Q is attacked by the Calamarain and Data saves him, Data
lands on his side, like an object rather than a person, which is a likably
goofy gag.) But what ultimately makes this episode work as well as it does
is that it's actually about something -- Q and Data and their similar
plights of trying to figure out what it means to be human while approaching
that question from completely different points of view: Data as someone who
wants to be human, and Q as someone who definitely does not.
 
Rating: ***1/2
 

"A Matter of Perspective" -- Air date: 2/12/1990. Written by Ed Zuckerman.
Directed by Cliff Bole.
 
"You're a dead man, Apgar! A dead man!" Ah, how I remember and cherish that
line from when I first heard it 17 years ago. It sums up this episode
perfectly, in which a comedy of errors (actually a tragedy, but it plays
like a comedy, hence Data being an art critic for Picard's painting in the
opening teaser) is remembered by those involved in the way they want to
remember it. In what must've been a brilliant high-concept pitch by writer
Ed Zuckerman, this episode is "'Rashomon' in the holodeck."
 
As Riker beams back from a space station after discussing the progress of a
new technology ("Krieger waves," not to be confused with "Kegel exercises")
being developed by scientist Dr. Apgar (Mark Margolis), the station
explodes, killing Apgar. Riker is accused of murder by the local authorities
(Craig Richard Nelson), and the extradition hearing is held on the holodeck,
where witness depositions and the facts of the case are viewed like scenes
from a play. This is a clever twist on the courtroom show, and the holodeck
is, I must admit, the perfect venue for dramatizing this kind of
fact-finding mission. The facts mostly surround a perceived attraction
between Riker and Apgar's wife Manua (Gina Hecht), which in varying versions
of testimony has Riker flirting with Manua or vice versa.
 
The "Rashomon" effect eventually plays like humor, where Apgar, in three
different versions (1) takes a swing at Riker and misses and falls down, (2)
receives two punches in the gut from a real bastard version of Riker, and
(3) kicks Riker's ass (in the most unlikely of scenarios). This third
version leads to the hilariously over-the-top "You're a dead man, Apgar!"
line. Riker watches the simulation and buries his face in his hand.
 
Who really killed Apgar, and why? That's answered in a final act that nearly
drowns in its excess. A lengthy scene of exposition threatens to collapse
under its own weight. The technical role of the Krieger wave converter (and
its implausibly perfect replication in the holodeck, such that it *actually
functions*) is ridiculous, and requires pages of explanation dialog. But the
plot is exceptionally tidy, tying up all loose ends, assuming you buy into
the technobabble. I don't, really -- but, dammit, I like this episode
anyway. It follows the facts from beginning to end in the true, verbose
spirit of TNG.
 
Rating: ***
 

"Yesterday's Enterprise" -- Air date: 2/19/1990. Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr
& Richard Manning & Hans Beimler & Ronald D. Moore. Story by Trent
Christopher Ganino & Eric A. Stillwell. Directed by David Carson.
 
There aren't many episodes that announce themselves as instant classics, but
"Yesterday's Enterprise" was one of them. It was an instant classic when it
aired, and in the years since it has become an enduring one. It's one of the
franchise's very best time-travel stories. (Every Trek series has had at
least one that vied for similar thematic territory, whether it was TOS's
"City on the Edge of Forever," DS9's "Children of Time," Voyager's
"Timeless," or Enterprise's "E2.")
 
A rift in space and time allows the Enterprise's predecessor, the 1701-C
under Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O'Neil), to emerge in an alternate
version of the future and come face-to-face with the 1701-D. In this much
different timeline, Starfleet has been at war with the Klingons for 20
years. The Enterprise-C's passage through time allowed it to escape a deadly
battle with the Romulans after the Enterprise-C had come to the aid of a
besieged Klingon outpost.
 
When the writers' were making their decisions in creating this story,
perhaps the most crucial was their use of Guinan, who has a perception that
transcends the timeline. She *knows*, with every fiber of her being, that
the timeline is *not right* and that the Enterprise-C must go back, even if
that means certain death for its crew at the hands of the Romulans. Because
even their deaths could change history, as a gesture seen by the Klingons
that could ultimately pave the way to peace rather than war.
 
What this does for the story is turn it into a moral quagmire with massive
implications, where the characters must make impossible decisions. What
we're really talking about here is playing God. More than 40 billion people
have died in the Klingon/Federation war, and returning the Enterprise-C's to
the past could prevent all of it. Picard, as one man, holds the power to
make the decision. In a compelling exchange, Picard flat-out asks Guinan
who's to say whether one timeline is more "proper" than the other? Her
reply: "I suppose I am." To frame this as a 20th-century question: What if
you could go back in time and kill Hitler? History would be, in Picard's
words, irrevocably changed, but that would also mean undoing everything else
that has happened since. Who knows whether you're alive or dead in the other
timeline, and what implications that has on everything else unrelated to the
variables you intend to change? (Of course, dramatic license means that this
alternate timeline parallels the real one more closely than it ever possibly
could; I myself subscribe to the chaos-theory/butterfly-effect school of
thought.)
 
The question is of particular poignancy to Yar, who is alive in this version
of the timeline and learns from Guinan that she died a meaningless death in
the other one. This, along with her newfound camaraderie with Enterprise-C's
Lt. Castillo (Christopher McDonald), prompts her to go back with the
Enterprise-C and die a death that serves a purpose. It's impressive how much
ground this episode seems to cover in a single hour. In addition to the
moral and cosmic questions, it provides an interesting Trek history lesson
that fills in gaps about one of the Enterprise's mysterious predecessors,
and it manages to somewhat mitigate the effect of the ignominious death that
befell Yar in the first season.
 
As an exercise in tone, the episode is remarkable, featuring a stark
contrast to the other timeline. The lighting, uniforms, and performances all
indicate a darker military existence. Picard, in particular, is notably more
grim and intense; Patrick Stewart conveys a different and powerful urgency
but never goes overboard. The last act, in which the Enterprise-D must
protect the Enterprise-C from Klingon attack as it returns through the rift,
is one of TNG's most intense and memorable battle scenes. As the Enterprise
takes a pounding, it becomes clear that they cannot survive. Only by
sacrificing the Enterprise-D does the Enterprise-C have a chance to rewrite
history. Picard's announcement to the crew says it all: "Let's make sure
that history never forgets the name ... Enterprise."
 
Rating: ****
 

"The Offspring" -- Air date: 3/12/1990. Written by Rene Echevarria. Directed
by Jonathan Frakes.
 
After undertaking a project of unusual secrecy, Data stuns the crew by
revealing that he has created another android, Lal (Hallie Todd), which he
introduces as his child. Lal is activated and interacts with Data and the
crew in a series of lessons designed to aid in the development of her
sentience, cognitive abilities, and social understanding. Picard is somewhat
taken aback at the revelation of Data's child, having not been consulted
about the creation of a new artificial life on board his ship. He's
unsettled by what Starfleet might do when it finds out about Lal.
 
Picard's fears turn out to be founded. Starfleet wants Lal sent to a
starbase for further study, arguing that Data does not have the required
expertise to ensure Lal's proper development. Picard argues back and forth
with Starfleet, and refuses to separate Data from his daughter, until
Starfleet sends out Admiral Haftel (Nicholas Coster) to make a determination
of Lal's situation and whether her development would be best served
remaining on the Enterprise.
 
I've always found the much-adored "Offspring" to be a solid, intriguing, but
somewhat overrated TNG episode. It isn't without its problems. For one, the
whole notion of Lal choosing her species seems to me like an idea that is
little ado about nothing. The scene where Lal narrows down her choices in
the holodeck seems awkward and truncated, and it arises from a point I find
confusing: If Data's mission has been to study and become more human, why
would his daughter be anything else? It's not like Data has spent his life
trying to understand the Klingon or Andorian condition. But that's a minor
point. A more significant one is the fact that Starfleet's position
regarding Lal's development (they intend to separate her from Data) feels
like an excessively forced point of conflict. Haftel is written as far too
arbitrarily obstinate. His stance against Picard acts as if "The Measure of
a Man" never happened (events of which Picard explicitly mentions).
 
Still, "The Offspring" has its heart in the right place and represents an
interesting (albeit brief) journey. The fact that the story is about Data's
rights and experiences as a parent at least centers everything on human
issues rather than technological ones. And there's some fascination in
watching Data and Lal grappling with basic human questions of learning and
love (although I found some of these individual scenes to be a bit too
"cute" at times). The building friction between Picard and Haftel is not
resolved (which is ultimately a bit unsatisfying), but instead rendered moot
when Lal begins experiencing unanticipated emotions, malfunctions, and
ultimately death (described by Data as "total system failure"). Data's
inability to feel emotion over the death of his daughter is simultaneously a
blessing and a tragedy, and yet he was still able to derive an unparalleled
enrichment to his life through Lal's existence.
 
One thing is certain about season three: It saw TNG introduced to what would
become much of the core staff of writer-producers on Trek for years to come:
Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr, Ronald D. Moore, and now Rene Echevarria.
"The Offspring" is also Jonathan Frakes' directorial debut.
 
Rating: ***
 

"Sins of the Father" -- Air date: 3/19/1990. Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore &
W. Reed Moran. Story by Drew Deighan. Directed by Les Landau.
 
One notably important aspect of TNG's third season was the way it expanded
the canvas of the Trek mythos. TOS and the first two seasons of TNG felt
more like a western in space (uncharted frontiers, etc.), but with this
season, the Trek universe began reinventing itself as a place containing
sprawling civilizations and a political landscape that was tangible in a way
that we had not perceived before.
 
"The Enemy" and "The Defector" demonstrated that via the Romulans, and now
"Sins of the Father" demonstrates it by providing a look at Klingons not
simply in isolated obscurity, but as a society with cultures and (corrupt)
politics. Kurn (Tony Todd) boards the Enterprise in the exchange program as
payback for Riker's visit to the Klingon ship in "A Matter of Honor." At
first the episode looks like "A Matter of Honor" in reverse, but Kurn soon
reveals that he is Worf's brother, separated from the family before their
parents were killed by the Romulan attack on Khitomer over 20 years ago. The
Klingon High Council is planning to scapegoat the Khitomer massacre on their
father, Mogh, alleging he betrayed the Klingons by supplying the Romulans
with intelligence. Only by standing before the council and proving his
father innocent can Worf restore his family's honor (at risk of death to
himself, if his father is deemed guilty).
 
The episode does not play out predictably, which is one of its pleasures. It
defies brief synopsis. Suffice it to say that through a series of twists,
turns, attempted killings, and political cover-ups, Worf finds that he must
accept discommendation for the crimes falsely pinned on his father. It's the
only solution that will protect both him and his brother from execution
while keeping the High Council from collapsing into a civil war over the
uncovering of the true traitor -- the father of Duras (Patrick Massett),
whose family has too much power to be openly accused. Picard's personal
involvement in this affair works because it allows us to enter these
proceedings through a relative outsider's perspective and gain a better
understanding.
 
"Sins of the Father" offers a lot to sink your teeth into and reveals more
complexity to the Trek universe. It begins a storytelling tradition of
Worf's responses to Klingon political corruption that would rear its head
frequently all the way up to DS9's "Tacking into the Wind." (The method of
this episode also would influence the intrigue-based storytelling that
fueled many early Bajoran-themed stories on DS9.) It reveals Worf as a
Klingon whose selfless pledge to protect the Klingon Empire is admirable,
particularly seeing as the Empire sees little reason to return the favor.
 
Rating: ***1/2
 

"Allegiance" -- Air date: 3/26/1990. Written by Richard Manning & Hans
Beimler. Directed by Winrich Kolbe.
 
Picard is beamed off the ship by an unknown force and put in a holding cell
with three other prisoners exhibiting widely varying personalities.
Meanwhile, a perfect doppelganger of Picard is put aboard the Enterprise in
his place and impersonates the captain. The false Picard alters the
Enterprise's course and takes it on an extended detour away from its
scheduled rendezvous. The real Picard attempts to maintain control of an
uneasy room where the tension between the prisoners continues to escalate as
they try, and fail, to find a way to escape.
 
"Allegiance" is about observing behavior, and to be sure, there's some
interesting behavior to observe here, particularly involving the faux
Picard. He goes about his role as captain, and everything is just slightly
off, but faux-Picard's explanations and reassurances to the crew are so
pleasantly convincing that it's not obvious to the crew for a long time that
there's something truly wrong here. The oddest of the behavior involves
Picard's dinner with Crusher in his quarters (and she's at a loss to explain
what happens there), and especially when Picard buys a round of drinks for
everyone in Ten-Forward. The most entertaining moments in the show are
watching the crew's confused reactions to the faux-Picard's slowly (but
surely) increasingly odd behavior.
 
Of considerably less interest are the scenes in the mysterious holding cell,
which document too little progress and quickly grow repetitive. We've got an
annoying bully monster-alien in the room who threatens everybody (Reiner
Schone), an annoying pacifist alien who acts like a smug wimp (Stephen
Markel), and a Bolian Starfleet cadet (Joycelyn O'Brien) who remains mostly
neutral. Picard must maintain a balance and keep the peace in this room. The
clue that leads him to his discovery of the truth is pretty lame.
 
The whole episode has a palpable what-the-hell-is-going-on-here vibe to it,
but it's a very slow burn that takes a long time (too long) to reach its
climax, which is less than satisfying. The problem with the episode is that
the conclusion (which is actually the story's underlying premise) in
retrospect cannot support what happens in the episode. If the aliens
responsible are simply trying to study the concept of leadership, how can
they be so good at faking competent leadership with their copy of Picard? In
fact, how can they be so good at copying Picard at all? I don't buy it.
 
Rating: **
 

"Captain's Holiday" -- Air date: 4/2/1990. Written by Ira Steven Behr.
Directed by Chip Chalmers.
 
The crew of the Enterprise badgers an overworked Captain Picard until he
grudgingly agrees to take a week of vacation on tropical resort planet Risa.
Once there, he finds himself in the middle of a ludicrous
sci-fi/archaeological/time-travel plot, a hopelessly cliched romance with
Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), and run-ins with an exceptionally annoying Ferengi
named Sovak (Max Grodenchik in full moron mode, clearly in an early audition
for Rom). I say Picard's time would've been better spent playing Dixon Hill
in the holodeck.
 
Ira Steven Behr, in his first solo TNG script, plays the Ferengi card. If
Ron Moore's future as "the Klingon guy" was sealed after his first script,
then perhaps Behr's fate as "the Ferengi guy" is sealed here. Behr's
obsession with Ferenginar is well documented, and would continue for the
rest of the decade, especially on DS9.
 
The weak and boring "Captain's Holiday" can't release itself from its sci-fi
machinations long enough to be a fun romp. Meanwhile, the sci-fi
machinations are too perfunctory (and absurd) to be taken the least bit
seriously on their own. The result is a constant compromise where nothing
has any conviction, least of all the by-the-numbers romance between Picard
and Vash (who is not without her appeal). It's a wasted opportunity. We want
to enjoy seeing the lighter side of Picard, but not when he's buried in an
idiotic plot with such stolid execution. Everyone's chasing the "Tox Uthat"
(which can stop nuclear fusion in a star, no less), including a couple of
time-traveling Vogons from the 27th century. For much of the episode, Picard
takes the Vogons at their word -- probably a bad idea involving any
invention that can kill a solar system. If this sounds like a lame "Indiana
Jones" wannabe, that's because it is.
 
Rating: *1/2
 

"Tin Man" -- Air date: 4/23/1990. Written by Dennis Putman Bailey & David
Bischoff. Directed by Robert Scheerer.
 
Starfleet has observed a mysterious space object -- believed to be a "living
starship" and dubbed "Tin Man" -- orbiting a star that's about to go nova,
and sends the Enterprise to investigate and make contact with it. But the
mission is a race: The Enterprise must reach and contact Tin Man before the
Romulans do. Starfleet assigns a mission specialist to the Enterprise, Tam
Elbrun (Harry Groener), a man with extraordinary telepathic skills, even for
a Betazoid.
 
"Tin Man" exemplifies the balanced TNG episode. It's good, not great. It
puts emphasis, in nearly equal measure, on its central character crisis
(Tam's), the seeking out of Strange New Life (Tin Man), and a showdown with
a familiar foe (the Romulans). Tam is an intriguing, flawed individual with
unique problems -- a loner who tries to push everybody away, and is
borderline unstable. Troi knows him from the past (he was a patient) and his
psychological torment is understandable; he hears every thought of every
person on the ship, constantly. Put yourself in his shoes and you'd probably
be hard-pressed to consider sanity as a likely outcome. Tam is in contact
with Tin Man, which has even more powerful abilities for telepathy. Tin Man
is in the TNG spirit of ancient, wondrous, and powerful forms of previously
unknown life. Starfleet is curious of such things.
 
On the other hand, the Romulans would dissect Tin Man given the chance.
After the terrific "Defector," in which the Romulans were both smart and
ruthless, it's kind of a shame to see the Romulans reduced to such bland
thuggery. I guess someone's gotta do it. When Tin Man destroys a Romulan
ship while protecting itself, a second ship announces its right to claim
vengeance on Tin Man. I don't understand what makes them think they could
possibly be successful, but given that intention, I couldn't figure out why
the Romulans then just sit there while Tam and Data beam over to make direct
contact with Tin Man. Why don't the Romulans attempt to board Tin Man?
 
The episode's solutions are tidy in the sense that the story has a certain
number of pieces (two, really) and they are destined to fit together. Tin
Man once had a crew, but the crew died. It has since roamed the galaxy alone
and now wants to die, hence it being parked in orbit of a star about to
explode. Tam and Tin Man provide each other a symbiosis that was meant to
be. Tin Man will no longer be alone, and Tam will have just one voice to
contend with rather than hundreds. The episode is the first to be scored by
Jay Chattaway, who in season four would eventually replace Ron Jones and go
on to write music for Trek for the next 15 years.
 
Rating: ***
 

"Hollow Pursuits" -- Air date: 4/30/1990. Written by Sally Caves. Directed
by Cliff Bole.
 
At long last, here's welcome evidence that there are screw-ups in Starfleet.
Given how the Enterprise is so often a testament to the hopelessly elite,
it's refreshing to get a story about lowly Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight
Schultz), a guy who's always late, awkward in groups, inexplicable to his
shipmates, unable to fit in, and addicted to his fantasies in the holodeck.
 
Geordi is fed up and frankly doesn't want to deal with him anymore. Picard's
approach is more proof of his Picard-ness: Rather than abandon this officer
and transfer him out, he asks Geordi to make more of an effort to reach out
and get to know the guy. It's not an easy task. Barclay's shyness reaches a
level of social paralysis, and it makes him ineffective as a communicator in
a workplace setting. Meanwhile, he spends all his free time in the holodeck.
 
The episode is probably best remembered for its amusing holodeck sequences
featuring Barclay's overactive imagination and depictions of real crew
members -- including a uniquely hilarious opening scene where Barclay's
overconfident alter ego (and it's a *complete* alter ego) struts into
Ten-Forward and pushes Geordi and Riker around. Later, there's swordplay,
which features a version of Riker that Barclay has digitally shortened. Troi
finds it all to be amusing and therapeutic -- until she sees the digital
version of herself that Barclay has created (the "Goddess of Empathy").
 
But the heart of the episode is in deconstructing a man who doesn't fit in
or feel comfortable. Guinan's sympathy for Barclay's situation is
commendable. And Geordi makes a real effort to break down his defenses. Of
course, the hilarious moment when Picard slips and calls him "Broccoli" is a
classic, comic worst-case scenario. After all of Geordi's efforts, the
captain accidentally sets everything back a step.
 
Does the episode need its overplayed jeopardy premise involving the
malfunction that causes the Enterprise to race out of control? And does the
jeopardy have to come down to terse, last-minute warnings from the computer
that the ship is about to be destroyed? No and no. But I do like the way the
engineering team swiftly deconstructs the problem with simple logic to find
the solution. These are smart people working a problem intelligently. The
episode's closing joke is Barclay's goodbye scene -- to the holographic
crew. Barclay is a welcome rough pebble among all the Enterprise's polished
pearls.
 
Rating: ***
 

"The Most Toys" -- Air date: 5/7/1990. Written by Shari Goodhartz. Directed
by Tim Bond.
 
In a hasty negotiation reached with a merchant, the Enterprise acquires a
rare chemical substance needed to treat a contaminated water supply on a
nearby colony. Data is transporting the substance via shuttlecraft when his
shuttle suddenly explodes, resulting in his apparent death to the Enterprise
crew. In reality, he has been kidnapped by the crew of the merchant ship.
The merchant, Fajo (Saul Rubinek), is the owner of an impressive collection
of some of the galaxy's rarest items (most of them stolen), and he intends
Data to become the crown jewel of that collection. Fajo even has a chair
that he expects Data to sit in when he shows Data off to his peers.
 
This is a simple plot, no doubt about it. What makes it come alive is the
characters' dialog and behavior. Fajo initially seems like a character that
hints at a comic performance, but as the episode continues and reveals the
depths of Fajo's immorality, you realize there's nothing comic about the
character or the way Saul Rubinek plays him. This is a man with a boundless
ego, used to getting what he wants, and with no scruples whatsoever. He
wants Data to obey, and when Data does not, it quietly becomes a war of
wills with escalating consequences.
 
What I find most enjoyable about this episode is how Data's war is a war of
manners. Data is just so damned polite, even when confronted by a smug
egomaniac like Fajo. Data's response to being kidnapped is to ask
straightforward, sincere questions. When Fajo makes the terms of Data's
custody clear, Data's response is to explain in straightforward, honest
terms why Fajo's plan is immoral and why he won't cooperate. Because he's
incapable of anger, Data's resistance is usually passive, calm, and logical.
(Imagine Riker or Worf in this situation and you see the uniqueness of
Data's approach.) In a way, Data's rock-solid logic and unflappable
temperament almost makes it more maddening for Fajo. Fajo can't anger Data,
but that makes it no easier for Fajo to control him. It becomes a stalemate.
The episode's wild card is Varria (Jane Daly), a woman who has been
gradually Stockholm syndromed into Fajo's clutches (she helped kidnap Data),
but clearly does not like where she is. Data represents a possible new
opportunity for her escape.
 
The final act, in which Fajo kills Varria for betraying him, is a somewhat
shocking turn of events. Data's response poses one of those intriguing
questions that the story asks the audience to decide for themselves: Did
Data intend to shoot and kill Fajo before he was beamed out? I believe he
did, simply because the logic of the situation would permit him to take
deadly action, and, in Data's words, he "cannot allow this to continue." But
then why would Data lie about having pulled the trigger?
 
Rating: ***
 

"Sarek" -- Air date: 5/14/1990. Teleplay by Peter S. Beagle. Story by Marc
Cushman & Jake Jacobs. Directed by Les Landau.
 
Famed Vulcan Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard) comes aboard the Enterprise to
conduct delicate negotiations with the Legarans, an alien species that Sarek
has single-handedly been able to open relations with on behalf of the
Federation. Sarek intends to seal the talks as the crowning achievement in
his storied career. While en route to meet the Legarans, however, odd
occurrences of flaring tempers begins to affect members of the crew, with
escalating urgency. Meanwhile, it becomes evident that Sarek himself may be
having problems controlling his emotions; Picard sees a tear in the Vulcan's
eye during a concert in Ten-Forward.
 
The flaring tempers begin ominously but harmlessly, as Wesley and Geordi get
into a shouting match over who's more hopeless when it comes to women (ah, a
perfectly appropriate nerd fight!), and slowly escalates: Crusher slaps her
son in the face for no good reason, and ultimately an entire bar brawl
breaks out in Ten-Forward -- a visual that proves as amusing as it does odd.
What's going on here? Crusher believes that it's a case of a rare Vulcan
mental illness that results in a loss of emotional control. The side effects
are unintentionally inflicted upon others, caused by Sarek's telepathic
abilities randomly projecting emotions, and thus havoc, on members of the
crew. Picard runs into resistance with Sarek's staff and wife Perrin (Joanna
Miles) when he recommends that they delay the negotiations. A delay would
derail the talks completely, and Sarek will not hear of it.
 
In addition to being a rare, direct, fan-welcome bridging of TNG and TOS,
"Sarek" is an obvious example of the "actor's episode." Some Trek outings
highlight action or visual effects as their main selling points; this one
highlights performances. It's a good, solid story that's elevated by two
critical acting scenes. One is where Picard confronts Sarek, and Sarek
attempts to prove his competence while his emotional control is not being
held together by his aide Sakkath (Rocco Sisto). Sarek's gradual
deterioration as depicted by Mark Lenard in this scene is an explosive (and
heartbreaking) sight to behold. The other big scene comes when Picard offers
to accept a mind meld that temporarily allows Sarek to regain control of his
emotions long enough to finish the negotiations. In the meantime, Picard's
mind must host Sarek's savagely intense and unfiltered Vulc
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