10.26.2009

TNG - "Where No One Has Gone Before"

Here's where TNG starts picking up steam. We've got a decent sci-fi plot, nice world- and character-building, nobody's acting stupidly out-of-character, and everything just works.

Here we've got Kosinski, apparently Starfleet's most arrogant and most useless scientist of all time, who is convinced that his mathematical tuning equations—which don't actually do anything—are somehow enabling ridiculous levels of warp speed. In reality, it's his weird-looking assistant, who we later discover is called only "the Traveler," that is enabling this warp velocity, using the power of his mind to increase the ship's speed.

There's some wonky science here, as we discover that apparently the concepts of space, time, and thought are all more closely linked than modern scientists realize. This is simultaneously a questionable and fascinating idea. In one sense, it's ridiculous, since thought is essentially just electric impulses in the brain and nothing more. However, if, as this story suggests, there is more to thought, then perhaps there's some kind of greater level of reality (what's commonly thought of as the spiritual realm?) that has not yet been charted by science.

What's more interesting about all this is that the Traveler claims that Wesley is to science what Mozart is to music, a prodigy with unimaginable intuitive ability. The fact that he only tells Picard this creates a very interesting dynamic. Now Picard is tasked with encouraging Wesley's growth, for reasons only he and the Traveler knows.

One of the greatest things about this episode is that, unlike previous episodes, this really feels like what Star Trek should be. It's an epic science fiction story involving humanity having to face the greater unknowns of the universe. It's not a perfect episode, and it's not exactly jaw-dropping, but it's the first real good episode we've gotten so far.

10.19.2009

TNG - "The Last Outpost"

Here we first meet the Ferengi. It's been said many times that the Ferengi were meant to be the new great threat of the TNG era, but they're really just odd here. They're kind of a threat, but they're also somewhat comedic, like stupid 80s cartoon villains.

If there's one redeeming quality to the Ferengi's stupidity, it's that the show is very aware of it. The fight scene with the Ferengi is so hilariously awkward that it's enjoyable. Even the actors (and the characters) seem to be having fun with it. Still, though, it's not that great.

Every character seems, well, out of character. When the Enterprise is fired upon and then disabled, the crew's reaction is way too calm. They simply sit there and calmly talk about the situation. Heck, talking is all they do for a good 80% of the episode. We're told a lot about what's going on, but shown very little.

The acting is just odd, and some of the characters don't even seem to be acting normal in the slightest. Geordi gives the weirdest and most unnerving "WOO-EEE!" I've ever heard. Oh well. At least Riker is a badass.
The climax of the story, in which the big sci-fi plot is finally revealed, comes off like a preachy message about societal evils. Heck, it is a preachy message about societal evils. The Ferengi are said to quite literally represent the greatest evils of capitalism, while the Federation has "moved beyond" such greed and closed-mindedness. But the problem here is that, as with many episodes this season, the message comes at the expense of story logic, realism, character depth, and every other good quality you'd want from the show.

10.12.2009

TNG - "Code of Honor"


I swear, it's like the TNG writers were TRYING to get this show cancelled. Everything here, from the seeming racism to the very forced feminism message to the horribly-fake-looking fight scenes is just terrible. Seriously, had anyone on the crew ever seen anyone fight before? It was the 80s! The peak of ultra-violent action films! Surely they could have done better than this?

Everyone on the planet-of-the-week—which is established as being highly corrupt and sexist—is played by an African. While it might not be literally racist, it's definitely disturbing.

This episode is just one of many examples of the writers trying to push Tasha as a strong feminist character, but it flops. Everything about Tasha—her unusually short haircut; her no-nonsense attitude; her ability to physically beat down any opponent at every opportunity—makes her seem like the creative minds behind TNG are trying too hard. It's not that Tasha herself is a problem; it's the kind of things she's given to do in stories thus far. Denise Crosby actually does a great job, for the most part, with what she's given in the show. But when all you've got to do is get into horribly-choreographed fight scenes or get drunk and bang an android, that's not much. Tasha, at this point, only exists at two extremes: hyper-feminist-brawler Tasha and creepy let's-bang-Data Tasha.

This episode was likely intended to be a "let's combat sexism" episode. What it turned out to be was a racist story that shoved awkward feminism down the audience's throat.

10.05.2009

TNG - "The Naked Now"


This is just embarrassing.
It's a rehash of "The Naked Time" from TOS, and it's a terribly stupid episode. This is the first episode after the Enterprise-D crew's introduction, and it couldn't be a worse time to show the characters acting like drunken idiots.

We actually do learn a lot about the characters here. We learn that Geordi truly wants normal human vision, we see Tasha acting feminine (in an extremely creepy way), and we see a very clear attraction between Picard and Beverly. The problem is that it all comes across in a very off-putting way.

Tasha's character moments, in particular, are very odd. A quirk of this episode (and much of early TNG) is the awkward way in which it approaches sexuality. It's as if the show is being written and acted by an entire crew of twelve-year-olds who know nothing about romance or sex beyond... well, watching Star Trek. It's just uncomfortable, and not in the least bit genuine. At the same time, this episode gets closer to truly dealing with sex than any prior Trek story. Tasha straight-up bangs Data (Data? Really? Why not go for Riker, or hell, even Worf?), and we very nearly get a penis joke. But still, it all comes off stiff and weird.

Wesley's subplot actually comes to a somewhat clever conclusion, which is nice. It's one of the few bright spots in this episode.

Overall, though, this definitely goes down in the books as one of the worst episodes of Star Trek, period.