Date: May 5, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 23 and 23

Musical Accompaniment: The Princess Bride soundtrack

Interstellar News: Today was better.

Favorite Quote from “Imaginary Friend”:

Data’s Not Really An Android: “Given the selections, I prefer FGC-47.”

“Imaginary Friend” begins with a session Troi is having with Clara, a new child on the ship, who has an imaginary friend named Isabella. The Enterprise is surveying a cluster when a beam of light begins to travel through the ship (a la “The Child“), goes through Clara’s head, and makes Isabella come to life. Isabella is super creepy and is able to hide from adults, though there’s an interesting run-in with Worf outside of engineering that makes me think he has a softer spot for children now that he’s a father.

Troi is concerned that Clara is doing inappropriate things and blaming Isabella, when in reality it really is Isabella that’s doing them. Troi takes Clara to a ceramics class and Isabella gets mad she was left behind, so she is mean to Alexander. La Forge is trying to figure out what is going on in the nebula and Isabella tells Clara that others like her are coming and everyone on the ship is going to die. Troi tried to help Clara go to sleep and is attacked by Isabella, and suddenly the ship is being drained. Isabella and Picard have a chat and Isabella stops her friends from continuing to attack the ship.

So Clara is adorable, that’s a plus. Isabella is creepy and then all of a sudden changes her murderous tune because Picard hugged a child, please give me a break. There are some cute little scenes like when Data tells La Forge and Sutter they aren’t the naming geniuses they think they are, or Guinan and Clara at the bar. Even the Crusher/Ogawa scene was cute, but ultimately nothing comes of any of these things because there are glowing balls of energy beings attacking the ship and that’s kind of boring. This episode was just blah, 4 blahs from me… blah, blah, blah, blah!

Favorite Quote from “I, Borg”:

Borg: You will be assimilated.

La Forge: Yes, but before that happens, could we ask you a few questions?

The snark-o-meter just spiked there, La Forge.

“I, Borg” has the Enterprise surveying a cluster to see if it is a good place for a colony when they encounter a distress beacon on one of the moons. Dr. Crusher, Riker, and Worf beam down and fine four dead and one mostly dead Borg, who Picard finally allows aboard but only in containment. Troi tries to get Picard to talk to him but he puts on a brave face. Picard gets this really far away look on his face and thinks about infecting the entire Borg collective, we’re talking about eradicating the race, and I am concerned. Dr. Crusher is the only voice of reason, I mean it’s really like using the boy as terrorists do with child bombers.

Picard and Guinan fence and she is NOT happy about the Borg being on board. La Forge and Worf go in to allow the Borg to power up and find his designation is “Third of Five”, but they nickname him “Hugh” and give him some tests. Hugh asks very perceptive questions and now La Forge has second thoughts about infecting the Borg. La Forge gives Guinan some sass and I am all for it, especially when she goes to talk to Hugh and he is not like she expected. La Forge gives Hugh a pronoun lesson and helps explain why humanoids are different. La Forge and Data create the “total systems failure” infection and Picard is cold as ice when La Forge explains his second guessing of the mission. Guinan comes to see Picard to make sure Picard is absolutely sure and she brings up good points, including telling him to talk to Hugh if he’s going to use the boy.

Hugh addresses Picard as Locutus and Picard decides to play the interaction as Locutus and finds that Hugh is not as Borg as he used to be. Now that the “kill all the Borg” plan is borked, they need another plan and maybe, just maybe, the notion of individuality would spread. They give Hugh a choice and although Hugh wants to stay with La Forge, he ultimately decides going back to the crash site is the only way to not cause any issues, so La Forge accompanies him and sends him off just in time for the other Borg to bring him home. 

I absolutely side with Crusher, what in the universe was everyone else thinking? Did Picard even ask Starfleet, or did he just decide to get rid of a whole race on his own? Why was Troi all like “down with the Borg”, she’s supposed to be the ship’s counselor… she’s supposed to realize this is totally Picard’s PTSD talking. I do love how everyone on the ship was prejudiced against the Borg at first and slowly started to come around. Crusher only saw “Hugh” as a patient in need and possibly an innocent bystander, but she never sugarcoats the fact that Picard’s plan is genocide. When you think about how the Borg assimilate civilizations that means all of the current Borg were once people and, as we find out, can maybe revert back to themselves after a time away from the collective. Picard did it, even though he was only plugged in for a short time.

La Forge is the one to make the deepest connection because he’s the lovable engineering nerd guy who can’t help but be sarcastic and caring. Guinan eventually comes around too, and her hatred is so much deeper, which is why it is so impactful to Picard. Picard’s turn around to compassion is the craziest because he sells the PTSD from the first mention of a Borg survivor, to the look he gets when he’s devising the plan, to his decision to interrogate Hugh as Locutus, to the softened look he gets when Hugh refuses to participate in assimilation. It’s a believable arch in each character that appearances can be deceiving and you should never judge a Borg by its prosthetic eye, or something like that. 9 cheers for Hugh!

TA Out!

Date: May 4, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 20 and 21

Musical Accompaniment: A YouTube mix of Rhiannon Giddens

Interstellar News: Today was not a good day, I apologize in advance for this post as it will not be filled with my usual gusto.

Favorite Quote from “Cost of Living”:

Lwaxana: Now, if we’re to be real friends, we’ve got to share only the truth.

Alexander: Why?

Lwaxana: Well, for one thing, it’s easier. When you tell the truth, you never have to remember later what you lied about. But mostly, a true friend is a person you can always tell the truth to without worrying about it.

Listen to Auntie Lwaxana, kids. Lying is bad.

Worf’s One-Two Punch: “I do… I do not yell.”

“Cost of Living” begins with the Enterprise trying to stop an asteroid from colliding with a planet, which they do after a try or two. Unfortunately some shiny dust settles on the ship, like glitter – the herpes of crafts. Worf and Alexander are in a family therapy session with Troi, who is very good at her job by the way, when Lwaxana comes aboard and announces she’s getting married.

Lwaxana hasn’t actually met the man she’s set to married but she takes an instant liking to Alexander, calling him her little warrior, and takes him to the holodeck. The replicators begin malfunctioning and La Forge and Data find the pink slime. Lwaxana is not going to be naked at her wedding but she admits to Alexander that she’s lonely, which is the true reason she’s making all of the compromises to find a companion. Lwaxana finally meets Campio and not only is he awful, but he brought along a Protocol Master. The ship is breaking down left and right so Data is left to execute the plan and saves the ship, of course. Lwaxana Troi shows up naked to her own wedding, shocking the Campio, so he leaves. The episode ends with Lwaxana, Alexander, Troi, and Worf enjoying a mudbath.

This was a cute episode for the stuff relating to the people, but the ship breaking down didn’t feel as dire because people are just more interesting. There also wasn’t a lot of time spent on the ship breaking down and there was never a real moment of panic… not like in “Disaster” where the ship really could have exploded at any time and that threat of complete shutdown was always there lurking around the edge. It was an interesting problem but then the solution was “Oh Data is an android and we’re all going to pass out while he saves us, again (looking at you, “Night Terrors“)”.

I did enjoy Majel Barrett talking to herself when she was Lwaxana interacting with the computer, it was quite fun. Lwaxana makes a great Grandmother in so many different ways than Helena and it’s clear that Deanna is the light of her life. I also loved when Troi pulls out all of Lwaxana’s titles, clearly chastising her mother, it was very well played. I’m starting to like Troi a little more now that I get to see her actually do the damn counseling that she’s getting paid for… well, you know. I needed more disaster and less protocol in this episode, but what else do you expect from the 5th House of Betazed?

Favorite Quote from “The Perfect Mate”:

Picard: Don’t do this, this, this thing you do with men.

Kamala: I’m afraid my premature emergence from stasis has left me a little vulnerable to the desires I sense from men. Nevertheless, this is who I am, Captain. You might as well ask a Vulcan to forgo logic, or a Klingon to be nonviolent. I cannot change, and I don’t want to until the time has come for me to bond with my permanent mate. Why does it bother you?

Picard: Frankly, it’s difficult for me, for many of us, to easily accept that a sentient being can live only to be what someone else wants them to be.

Kamala: But that’s what gives a metamorph pleasure.

We cannot be anything other than we are.

“The Perfect Mate” has the Enterprise playing host to a treaty between Krios and Valt Minor, after picking up some stranded miners and two Ferengi that is. Ambassador Briam of Krios brought aboard a priceless and irreplaceable gift, that of course the Ferengi try to steal, and totally turns out to be a female matamorph named Kamala who had been in stasis as a gift to Alrik of Valt. She is also instantly attracted to Picard and self identifies herself as a mutant, okay Jean Grey.

Kamala makes out with Riker on the way to her quarters but soon meets with Picard again at the urging of Dr. Crusher, and as a compromise is allowed out of her quarters as long as Data chaperones her. This proves to be an awful experiment, but there is a great moment when she growls at Worf and he growls back and then thinks better of himself. The Ferengi try to bribe Briam but wind up hurting him, so they get shipped off to be reprimanded and Picard now has to step in and finish negotiations. He and Kamala spend a lot of time together and it’s clear Picard is becoming smitten despite himself. Alrik beams aboard and is more interested in trade than Kamala, which makes it all the worse when Kamala tells Picard she’s chosen him to bond with but will go off with Alrik because she now knows how important duty is.

So this is totally the fault of the Ferengi, but maybe also security because it’s just plain awful on the Enterprise… get it together, Worf! Kamala’s wedding dress is beautiful and it’s wonderful to see how Picard’s face softens when he starts to spend more time with her. I’m absolutely devastated at the end because Picard totally wanted to cry, so I cried for him… also because I’m going through some stuff and this episode just really hit home.

Once I get past how I’m currently feeling, I’m kind of pissed that we are robbed of her bonding with Alrik. This was her whole purpose and it was taken away from her, it’s a very human thing that Star Trek usually tries to avoid. I also would have loved to see Kamala point her mojo at Guinan or Crusher just for funsies. I would have been happier with an ending like “The Outcast“, so that only Picard had to have his feelings and the other culture would be preserved. Also, where on the Enterprise is Troi, ya know the other damn empath on the ship?! However, it was a lot of fun to picture the X-Men and now I want to watch them all! I’m super torn about this episode and not sure I can be objective about it, so you can make up your own rating. I will, however, ask the question: what’s more important to you — your heart or your sense of duty? What wins when those are at odds?

TA Out!

Date: May 3, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 18 and 19

Musical Accompaniment: More randomness from my iTunes, mostly movie soundtracks (Ironman, Star Wars, and Man of Steel).

Interstellar News: 3 more loads of laundry done today, mostly blankets and such. There is also one less shrubbery in front of my house.

Favorite Quote from “Cause and Effect”:

Riker: Take it. How’d you know I was bluffing?

Crusher: I just had a feeling.

Riker: I guess it’s better to be lucky than good.

Crusher: It’s the way your left eyebrow raises when your bluffing. Just kidding, Commander.

The first go at the poker game, at least the first one that we see.

“Cause and Effect” begins with the Enterprise exploding and I was pretty sure there were at least two more seasons and a few episodes. Apparently this is an episode where the Enterprise is stuck in a time loop. We start with a poker game, then Dr. Crusher getting called away to help with La Forge, Dr. Crusher pruning her plants, breaking a glass, and hearing voices before bed. The next morning there’s a bridge meeting, a temporal anomaly, a ship exiting the cloud, and then all hell breaks loose and we rinse and repeat.

The next few times through, more people start to remember things. Dr. Crusher, Riker, and Worf remember the cards, La Forge begins to remember his trips to sick bay, and Picard keeps reading the same paragraphs over and over again. They decide to give themselves a message, if they can, through Data. It works and instead of engaging the tractor beam they go with Riker’s plan and get to meet the Bozeman, an 80 year old starship who thinks it’s the year 2278. Oh, and they’ve been stuck in the time loop for 17 days… so there’s that.

This is such a great mystery episode. We start off with a catastrophe and then back at the poker game like nothing happened, and then all of the pieces start to fall together. The pattern emerges and more people start to “wake up” as things become familiar. There is a bit of anxiety as you never know when the loop might close, where did the ship come from, and is there one particular thing that causes the collision. When I get my five minutes of Kelsey Grammer as the most suave captain to ever bust through a temporal distortion, I think it’s absolutely nuts they were stuck in a time loop for 80 years, but then I realize they probably busted through from their time. Also, try as they might, the crew members can’t stop what’s happening even when they know what’s going to happen. The glass breaks every time, every damn time. This was such a fun episode, 9 broken glasses for everyone! Oh wait, maybe you should take the not broken one…

Favorite Quote from “The First Duty”:

Picard: You could use a good herbicide instead of pulling the weeds with your bare hands.

Boothby: And you could explore space on a holodeck instead of a starship.

Picard making a good point and Boothby giving it right back to him.

“The First Duty” has the Enterprise heading to Earth so Picard can give the commencement speech when Admiral Brand calls to say there’s been an accident. Wesley’s squad of five is hurt and now down to four students as Cadet Albert has died in the training exercise. Wesley is obviously being coached by Locarno, the squad leader, into not telling the whole truth, especially when during the inquiry there is evidence presented that is a clear contradiction to the squad’s story. Picard, with the help of Data and La Forge, figure out what the squad was up to and gives Wesley an ultimatum: either Wesley tells the Admiral the truth or Picard will. Wesley tells the truth, Locarno is expelled, and the remainder of the squad needs to repeat their year of school.

There are a lot of interesting things in this episode. Door at the academy are old school and don’t have senors, we get to meet Boothby, and we get to see Picard play the “I’m not mad I’m disappointed” card to perfection. I said it in “The Drumhead” and I’ll say it again… never, ever lie under oath or on an application. It will always come back to haunt you. It makes sense that Wesley would succumb to peer pressure, but it’s just a little too convenient that it takes Picard to smack some sense into him. Also, Locarno is an ass… for the record. I hate upperclass students, or really anyone in a position of power, who uses their influence over others. This episode earns 5 incomplete grades from me, try again next time.

TA Out!

Date: May 2, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 16 and 17

Musical Accompaniment: iTunes on shuffle with Hans Zimmer, Minus the Bear, Daft Punk, and El Ten Eleven.

Interstellar News: Completed three loads of laundry, eradicated the last of the weeds and ivy from the backyard, and walked the neighborhood for the first time since Monday.

Favorite Quote from “Ethics”:

Dr. Crusher: The first tenet of good medicine is never make the patient any worse. Right now, Worf is alive and functioning. If he goes into that operation, he could come out a corpse.

Picard: This may not be good medicine, but for Worf, it may be his only choice.

The doctor making her point, but the captain coming in with a good counterpoint.

“Ethics” begins with a devastating injury to Worf where he learns he might never be able to walk again. As Worf is a Klingon, it is his custom to perform the Hegh’bat ceremony (read: ritual suicide) and he asks Riker for his help, playing the friend card. Alexander is upset because Worf doesn’t want him to see his father like that, and I totally understand both sides. Meanwhile, Dr. Crusher beams aboard Dr. Russell, a neuro-specialist, to see if there are any options. Russell talks about 3D printing organs, but Crusher thinks is too risky because it’s never been done before. Russell and Crusher bring a safe option to Worf, who refuses, so Russell dangles the bright, shiny, new experimental procedure in Worf’s face.

Riker brings Worf his dagger*, in a scene very reminiscent to the above from Moonstruck, and lectures Worf, even dragging in that Klingon law demands the oldest son to assist. Worf decides to meet with Alexander, decides to “break” with tradition and try Russell’s surgery option, and asks Troi to raise Alexander if everything goes horribly wrong. Everything goes well, and then horribly wrong, and then the Klingon backup system kicks in and Worf lives enough to go through rehab.

Picard and Riker’s discussion on different cultures is a good one,and it’s that scene that makes me know why he’s captain. That scene as well as the one he has with Dr. Crusher trying to make her see sense. Starfleet may be a mostly human run organization, but it understands that other’s cultures are just as important. This episode bring in elements of physician assisted suicide and the right for the patient to know all possible treatment options. While it may be true that Worf wasn’t in pain or near death, Picard puts it best when he explains that point of view is so human-centric. I’m ecstatic that Worf chose the surgery option, for a Klingon that is MONUMENTAL, but knowing he goes onto DS9 later on made me know there was no way he was going to die by his hand or the doctor’s. I also think it’s wonderful when Worf asks Troi to take care of Alexander, because it not only shows he’s a responsible parent but that he also picked someone who had a mixed heritage like his son.

I have several issues with this episode though. Why did Worf ask Riker instead of Picard? Why did Russell present her surgery option the way she did? She could have been more honest about the risks and danger involved, maybe that happened off camera. Why did Russell just fade away after Crusher was all high and mighty at the end? I understand Crusher’s point of view, but I think she made the wrong impression of Russell and didn’t trust her from the word go. I also missed seeing Data and La Forge in this episode, though I am not quite sure where they would have fit in. The five seconds they were each on screen was just too little time, I have grown quite fond of them. The subject matter could have made for an amazing episode, but instead it was just “meh”. 6 daggers of unknown, unnamed origin for this episode.

*according to my Klingon specialist, the dagger used in this episode has never been named. I feel like someone should remedy that. It’s a ceremonial dagger, it ought to have a fancy shmancy Klingon name with several apostrophes in it, at least.

Favorite Quote from “The Outcast”:

Soren:  What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other?

The only line that matters.

Worf’s One-Two Punch: “A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone.”

“The Outcast” has the Enterprise helping out the androgynous J’naii find a missing shuttle craft when one of their probes disappear, curiouser and curiouser. The running theory is that they’ve encountered some type of null space, so they first have to try to map it. One of the J’naii, named Soren, decides to show off their piloting skills to Riker and they have a discussion about the differences between a gendered and non-gendered society, as well as one about sexual organs and reproduction, oh my husk. Soren is injured at one point and has a very interesting discussion with Dr. Crusher.

Soren admits to Riker that some of the J’naii are born different and that she is prone to femininity and finds him attractive. They find the missing J’naii and all beam back to the Enterprise after some drama, so the J’naii throw a party down on the planet. Riker and Soren kiss while taking a walk, but Soren is discovered for her “treachery”. Riker tries to fall on his sword, Soren speechifies like the best of them, Worf is a good buddy, but they are all too late because Soren has already gone through treatment and Riker returns to duty with a broken heart.

There are a few bright spots in this episode. At first Riker isn’t super flirty and it’s refreshing to see him be a professional. He also tries to blame everything on himself, which is quite noble and shows how much he loves Soren. It’s also quite sad to see that he’s actually fallen in love, so much so he talks to his ex-love about it, and he has his heart broken in the end. There are fun conversations each have to learn about the other culture, and I think that could have been fascinating to explore more. I was so looking forward to a good episode about “coming out of the closet”, but I was unfortunately disappointed.

There is one line about pronouns and then Riker constantly genders the J’naii every chance he gets, ugh! Soren also uses a male pronoun in a story about a friend of hers, but it could be because that’s how they identified at the time… lots of inconsistencies. There is absolutely a difference between biological sex (your anatomy) and gender (a completely made up social construct). Putting that aside, this episode completely fucked up in every way as it enforced every damn stereotype I think it was trying to point out. This could have been a great LGBT-analogous episode and instead it was just awful. Riker wants to run away with Soren, like Anna in Frozen, but as Elsa says you can’t marry someone you just met. Also, La Forge has a beard and it’s the worst. 1 beard shave for La Forge, that’s an order!

A final thought: What’s up with two back-to-back episodes of Riker not being able to handle other people’s cultures?

TA Out!