TNG - "When the Bough Breaks"

The Enterprise discovers Aldea, the space equivalent of Atlantis, where people have become infertile and resorted to cloning. Now, however, the DNA source for the cloning is breaking down. The Aldeans kidnap the Enterprise's children and plan to use them to create new DNA for the cloning machines to use, thus preserving the Aldean race. The children, however, led by Wesley, passively resist the Aldeans' attempts to make them cooperate, while the Enterprise finds a way to break in and save them. In the end, Beverly manages to make the Aldeans fertile again, and the Enterprise leaves with its kids.

Well, this was kind of a middling episode if there ever was one. Part of the problem is that there's no real "threat" here. The kids aren't in any real danger, exactly, they're just forced to stay in a new (nice) home, but separated from their parents. The Aldeans aren't malevolent, just misguided. This would be fine if we got anything in the way of depth here, but we don't. The Aldeans are mostly two-dimensional characters at best, acting more like plot devices than real people.

Wesley actually shines a little here, showing maturity as he leads the kids in passive resistance. It's definitely behavior befitting of a Starfleet officer.

There just isn't anything here that's memorable. It's an interesting story concept, but there just isn't enough suspense or anything else to keep it interesting.

TNG - "Too Short A Season"

When the Enterprise is sent on a mission to negotiate for the release of hostages on the planet Mordan, they are also host to an elderly Admiral, Mark Jamison, who negotiated the release of hostages on Mordan 45 years ago. Jamison then secretly begins taking an experimental anti-aging medication, quickly and painfully reverting to a young man. It is eventually revealed that Jamison's success came at a terrible cost which plunged the planet into civil war for decades. The current hostage crisis is in reality an attempt to get Jamison back to the planet, where he can pay for his crimes. Eventually, Jamison dies due to the medication, and the hostages' captor releases the hostages, satisfied.

This episode could have been a very good one, if not for (ironically) the character of Mark Jamison. He was terribly-acted and covered in terrible aging makeup for the majority of the episode. Additionally, his entire "quest for youth" storyline seemed to be unnecessary. Either the hostage crisis or the youth potion storyline would have been fine episodes on their own, but together they seem to come into conflict.

This just isn't a very entertaining episode. It centers on a character we don't care about, then forces us to watch as this character does more and more stupid things, all the while badly acted and covered in muddy-looking makeup.

TNG - "11001001"

Four computer-like aliens the hijack the Enterprise in order to use its computer to save their world. Meanwhile, Riker falls for a hologram woman.

First of all, this episode easily has the most beautiful intro of any Trek episode thus far. We're lucky if we ever get anything beyond seeing the Enterprise-D with stock footage at all the normal angles, but here we see a ton of brand-new stuff, including the Enterprise (at a gorgeously unconventional angle) entering and docking with a starbase (which also looks amazing). The music here is also very good; definitely above what we normally hear in TNG at this point.

The crew seems to have grown a bit here. They're marginally less stiff and ridiculous than before; Worf is even developing a sense of humor.

In a surprising turn, this episode gives us perhaps the best dramatic moment in the series yet when the Enterprise is seemingly in danger of being destroyed. Finally, we see characters reacting naturally to an urgent situation. Data is still rather emotionless, but not at all calm. He acts quickly and urgently, portraying all the command authority that the Second Officer of the Enterprise should have. He also deals with his own version of guilt, questioning himself over whether or not he should have been on the bridge to deal with the situation. After all, he notes, he does not need sleep or rest, and can spend an endless amount of time on active duty. This kind of examination of personal responsibility is great to see, especially from Data.

In another shining moment of characters not being stupid, Picard and Riker act perfectly intelligently and boldly when they realize what's happened. They even take into account some of the important elements of the Trek universe that are often ignored, such as the fact that transporters take several seconds to rematerialize individuals.

In one of the weirdest (and yet also most sensical) subplots yet, Riker explores the possibilities of a relationship with a holographic character, the mysterious Minuet. Interestingly, it's not approached from a "this is a bad thing" standpoint, but rather a "it's sad that she doesn't stick around, because this relationship had room for exploration" view. Apparently the 24th century is VERY open when it comes to who and what you have relations relationships with.


The ultimate threat in this episode is less significant than threats in prior episodes, but the fact that this one has such realistic dramatic emphasis anyway only serves to show just how well-done this story truly is. Everything here, from the Bynars to the crew's recreational activities could have come off as silly, but they're handled rather expertly. For the first time, the crew really seem like real people going about their lives, not actors trying to deal with ridiculous dialogue and situations.