Date: February 23, 2020
Season 1, Episodes 2 and 3
Setting the Stage: I watched “The Naked Now” on Friday and “Code of Honor” on Saturday still watching on Netflix. Loki, the most skittish and least likely to hang out for Trek, sat on my lap for the entire first episode! I was soooooo happy, maybe we’ll make a Trekkie cat out of him yet. Honestly I’d settle for some affection at least once a week or month even, that’s how infrequent it is. Today was another 5-load laundry day. How on Earth do two adults have so many dirty clothes in one week? Today’s writing music is The Dark Knight soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer.
Favorite Quote from “The Naked Now”:
Riker: Data, I need help in locating some library computer information.
Data: Specifics, sir?
Riker: All I have is a vague memory of reading somewhere about someone taking a shower in his or her clothing.
Data: Ah. The body Geordi discovered.
Riker: I believe it may have happened before.
Data: To someone, somewhere.
Riker: This ought to be easy for someone written up in bio-mechanical texts.
Riker pandering to Data’s earlier comment
The description of “The Naked Now” sounds exactly like an Original Series episode, “The Naked Time“. Turns out, it is aaaaand it isn’t. The Enterprise is in communication with the Tsiolkovsky until someone pulls the escape hatch and it’s quiet. The away team beams aboard and it’s still interesting to see Riker going instead of Picard. When they get back to the ship, everyone checks out fine except for La Forge… seriously when will everyone learn OSHA is not to be trifled with? Wear your gloves kids! Dr. Crusher confines him to sickbay, leaves the room to take some notes, and he inexplicibly takes off his communicator/badge thing and LEAVES SICKBAY. I told you the communicator thing would come into play, just didn’t expect that so soon. Also, let me pause right here. WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING? If someone is confined to sick bay, then the CMO should call in security or, I dunno, confine them to sickbay. Also, are we too early for red shirts to get owned? Have I missed their deaths without realizing it? Okay, back to the episode.
La Forge runs into Yar and touches her face, then she breaks into Troi’s quarters to find something pretty, touching Troi in the process. This continues until most of the ship has been infected and… my goodness (fans herself), there is waaaaaay more overt sexual contact than was in The Original Series. I mean there was innuendo a plenty, but Data and Yar very obviously go to have sex, another yay for the 80’s?! Riker remembers something about someone, and Data, of course, finds the records of “The Naked Time” but the solution doesn’t work and, of course, Wesley has locked himself in engineering. The star collapses and “drunk” Data is our only hope for putting all of the chips back in the right place. Dr. Crusher figures out the inoculation and away we go.
Considering this was pulled as a plot for Season 1 of TOS, I really liked how this episode was done to set it apart. You give the nod to TOS by having Data pull the records, but of course it’s never as simple as rinse and repeat, there’s always something different. What I didn’t like was how childish, churlish, high-schoolish (pick your favorite) almost the entire crew was acting. Wesley I get, he is actually a child, but everyone else was just not right and I can’t put my finger on it. For a remake, or is it a reboot, it was okay but there wasn’t anything to write home about (I may have watched “WNOHGB” today, heh) so this episode is another 5ive.
Favorite Quote from “Code of Honor”:
Picard: Wesley?
Wesley: I haven’t stepped one foot on your bridge, Captain.
Riker: It’s all right, sir, I’ll see that he leaves immediately.
Picard: No.
Riker: No?
Picard: Why don’t you sit at Ops next to Lieutenant La Forge.
Wesley: Sir?
La Forge: Sir?
Picard: Is the whole ship deaf?! Sit down over there, young man. Temporarily.
Picard with the sass and everyone else making sure they heard correctly.
“Code of Honor” begins with negotiations to get a vaccine from Ligon II and we get to see the cargo transporter, nifty. A red carpet is set down for Lutan, the leader, and the visitors are totally confused about Yar being in charge of security because she’s a, gasp, woman! Picard is very diplomatic and they exchange pleasantries, but Lutan wants Yar to show him through a holodeck, but I think he has more sinister intentions. Yar shows them a martial arts simulation and, as the two men go to return to their planet, they snag Yar at the last moment and beam back down with her. Picard asks everyone for their opinion and decides to wait as it is likely the custom of the Ligonians.
Dr. Crusher cannot replicate the vaccine but it does work and is badly needed. Data figures out that Picard needs to politely ask for her back and at the banquet prepared in his honor, he needs to publically ask for Yar, which he does. However Lutan wants to keep Yar and make her his first one, which the current first one, Yareena, is absolutely NOT okay with and challenges Yar to a fight with these weird claw-like weapons. Yar hits a striking blow and then beams up with Yareena. Once Yareena was “dead”, Dr. Crusher revitalized her and Yareena was free to choose a new first one. Since the women on Ligon II are the ones who own all of the land and such, she decides to choose Hagon as her first one and offers Lutan the position of second one, fascinating.
It is nice to see the exploration of different cultures. Picard tries really hard to make sure he is abiding by their culture, as he is a visitor and needs them to cooperate, while also doing everything in his power to save his security chief. It’s also interesting to see the women saving the day (Crusher, Yareena, and Yar) and making their own decisions. I was a little disappointed that, aside from the drama of the men absconding with Yar at the beginning and the first look at the fighting ring, there was no surprise or mystery. It was your typical “bad guy of the week” episode, and I was hoping for something stronger or more meaningful. I know first seasons aren’t always the best, you’re still getting your footing and such, but this didn’t really do much to tell us about any of the crew – aside from Yar being totally suited for the position of security chief and what I’m sure is going to be the first of many “WHY ARE THERE WOMEN IN CHARGE?” lines, which is going to get real old, real fast. This episode earns a threeve, a combination of three and five, from another popular Stewart. If you’ve never seen this SNL skit, here’s your chance:
I’ve now heard about the prime directive in every episode now, maybe it’s important? It’s also interesting to hear Riker leave a log more often than any of the non-Kirk characters did in TOS. Though every time Riker is called “Number One” I think of Austin Powers (and yes, I know, technically he’s Number 2 and it’s not the actor that always plays him, but Rob Lowe, man!).
TA Out!
To Boldly Go Where Everyone Has Gone Before 