Date: April 5, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 19, 20, and 21

Musical Accompaniment: Acoustic Guitar Covers

Interstellar News: Braved the outside world for the important things in life today: grated Parmesan and sliced mozzarella.

Favorite Quote from “Captain’s Holiday”:

Picard: From the moment I met you, I knew you were going to be trouble.

Vash: You look like a man who could handle trouble.

I’m pretty sure I’ve had some form of this exact exchange with every man I’ve ever been romantically involved with… fascinating.

“Captain’s Holiday” has the whole crew ganging up on Picard in order to convince him to take a vacation, even having Dr. Crusher pull a Spock, but Picard catches on much faster than Kirk did. Picard relents and goes to Risa based on Riker’s recommendation and request for a certain item, that unfortunately has the “unintended” side effect of women interrupting Picard’s reading time in the sun. A Ferengi named Sovak starts to bother Picard and just as I start to get strong James Bond vibes for this episode, the “Bond girl” named Vash appears. There’s a mystery with an object from the future and Picard and Vash are going to pull an Indiana Jones and go exploring for this item.

Picard and Vash make camp for the night and keep themselves warm with lots of kissing. The next day they find the place where the item is supposed to be and start digging. The time traveling aliens and Sovak both show up, but the item just isn’t there so Sovak has a mental break and is left digging while everyone else leaves. Picard, however, figured out that Vash had already found the item and wanted to sell it so he calls on the Enterprise to destroy is via the transporter and all is back to normal.

This was a fun episode to show off a different side of Picard, but that was about it. It was a little bit James Bond meets Indiana Jones in space, but it doesn’t have all of the character of the Enterprise because no one else was in it! I understand that sometimes the captain needs some alone time, but I truly enjoyed everyone ganging up on Picard more than the rest of the episode. It wasn’t awful, but it lacked what I’ve come to expect from a TNG episode. I also think it’s funny that all Picard wanted to do was read in the sunshine, which is all I ever want to do when I go on vacation, but he had a great time n the hunt for the missing object. I guess the moral of the story is you don’t know what you really want until some mystery woman invites you on a quest for hidden treasure… wait. I’ll rate this 6 “shiver me timbers” and a shoulder parrot who only knows curse words.

Favorite Quote from “Tin Man”:

Tam: The ship and the crew existed symbiotically. They needed one another. When Gomtuu had no one left to care for, it no longer had a reason to exist.

Data: Is that the purpose of existence? To care for someone?

Data asking the good questions and, for once, I have an answer. Yes. We are all here to take care of one another.

“Tin Man” starts off with the Hood inbound at warp speed with orders and  mission specialist named Tam Elbrun who used to be a patient of Troi’s, as he is a special kind of telepath. Elbrun is more of a mind reader than Troi is and keeps interrupting the Captain and everyone else. Elbrun was an indirect cause of a disaster that Riker is salty about, which causes some friction. There will soon be a supernova but there is also an organic creature/starship hybrid and they want to be the first to meet it and before the Romulans can – it’s kind of like the space race of the 1960’s.

Troi does some fine counseling with Tam and gets him to inadvertently admit he’s been in slight contact with the “Tin Man” entity. They arrive and Tam is enamored but a Romulan war bird attacks to get them to delay their first contact. Unfortunately the Romulans cannot interact with “Gomtuu” and intend to destroy it, but Tam sends a message ahead and it sends a destructive wave that destroys the Romulans and severely damages the Enterprise. Gomtuu is there to die as its crew died and it hasn’t seen another of its kind for thousands of years. As the other Romulan vessel wants to destroy Gomtuu, Picard makes the decision to beam over Tam and Data in order to try and assist Gomtuu. Tam decides to stay and be one with Gomtuu and Gomtuu sends a blast to push the Romulans and the Enterprise out of the danger zone just as the star goes supernova. Data explains to Troi what Tam decided to do and Data was also able to gain something valuable from the experience.

The conversations between Tam and Data are awesome and I love that Tam lets Data know that being “different” is okay. Tam is so much like Mrs. Troi, and I hate to say I like the full Betazoids better than Troi’s more reserved nature. I made the link that Tam, and children like him who are born with telepathy, are much like Superman when he’s a child and all alone on Earth. There’s a scene in Man of Steel where Clark locks himself in the closet because he can hear all of his classmates thoughts and his X-ray vision has just come online and he’s only able to get through it because of Martha Kent’s superior mothering technique. All I’m saying is that Tam could have used Martha’s ministrations.

Aside from Tam, though, the Romulans were just being dicks and I felt like they tried to fit too much at once in the last 15 minutes of the episode. Picard lets Tam lay hands on him, never fires on the Romulans, and only has one great line where he lies through his teeth to the second Romulan commander. Troi has a good moment, Data gets a few good ones, but nothing is great. I wanted to like this episode much more than I did, so we’ll be in the 7th circle of hell: violence. Worf will be happy with this rating.

Favorite Quote from “Hollow Pursuits”:

Picard: And yet he chose this way of life. He has made the same commitment to Starfleet that we all have. It’s easy to transfer a problem to someone else. Too easy.

La Forge: Captain, it’s not like I haven’t tried.

Picard: Try harder, Geordi. He’s a member of your team. Try to find some way to help him to make a positive contribution. Get to know the man better. Make him your best friend.

La Forge: With all respect, sir, my best friend? I can barely tolerate being in the same room with the man.

Picard: Then I suggest you put your personal discomfort on one side, Commander. Dismissed.

La Forge: Yes, sir.

Picard being an excellent leader, understanding that someone has got to take responsibility for Barclay and if La Forge wants to be the Chief Engineer, he’s got to work at it. We’re all professionals here at Starfleet.

“Hollow Pursuits” begins in the holodeck with a very timid engineer named Barclay, who is apparently always late to work and doesn’t quite “fit in”. Picard orders La Forge to “make a crewman” out of Barclay anyway, because that’s the Enterprise’s way. Odd things start happening on the ship, malfunctions that just can’t be explained. La Forge interrupts Barclay in the holodeck during a 3 Musketeers like program and refers him to Troi like a good commanding officer should, not knowing he has an intense crush on her.

Barclay has the world’s worst first counseling session and winds up being late for a briefing. Riker gets annoyed so Riker, Troi, and La Forge head to holodeck 2 to find Barclay but instead encounter the musketeers, Riker’s shorter clone, Troi’s empathy goddess, and Dr. Crusher’s french renaissance mother character with Barclay asleep on her lap. All of a sudden the Enterprise picks up speed and is out of control but there’s nothing anyone can do. Engineering is trying to figure it out and they have a round table when Barclay thinks the Corona Virus has hit the Enterprise. He really means something that is highly contagious and hard to detect, but you all know what I mean. They figure out it was one of the canisters from the top of the episode and in true Star Trek fashion figure it out with 30 seconds to spare.

It took me episodes to realize but this is the only place you can call someone “chief” and it’s acceptable. I’m a little disappointed there are no women in engineering, or at least not in the senior staff briefing. I’m also slightly horrified that Barclay uses the holodeck to be intimate with Troi and possibly Dr. Crusher, it’s just so… creepy. It reminds me of the episode in Babylon 5 where one of the customers ordered a sex robot that looked just like Captain Lockley, ick. However, this episode is brilliant in displaying good counseling technique and how to be a good leader. Counseling takes more than one session to be effective. The mark of a good leader is to identify why one person isn’t performing as expected in the environment, rather than just moving them elsewhere and them being someone else’s problem. This was like an episode of House where it took the team to solve the problem and I loved it. Program number 9 gets to stay.

You’ve all been treated to this triple threat post because I have been informed that the Season 3 Finale is a “Part 1” and the Season 4 Premiere is the “Part 2” and I would like to do both of those in the same post. The plan is for tomorrow to be episodes 22 and 23, Tuesday to be episodes 24 and 25, and for Wednesday to finish out Season 3 and begin Season 4. We’ll see if I can stick to the plan!

TA Out!

Date: April 4, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 17 and 18

Musical Accompaniment: Hard Rock music, instrumental of course.

Interstellar News: The weather was glorious. We spent 2 hours cleaning out and organizing the carport closet and had a family walk after dinner.

Favorite Quotes from “Sins of the Father”:

Riker: The Commander certainly appears to have the crew on its toes

La Forge: And then some. No offense, sir.

Kurn: None taken. I never kill anyone at the supper table, Mr. La Forge.

Maybe Klingons are like Italians after all. Grandma would be displeased if you killed someone at dinner.

Picard: Are you prepared to hear her evidence in open council?

K’mpec: Obviously, we would not. Kahlest, you can go now. It is good to see you again.

Kahlest: You are still fat, K’mpec.

Such a nice burn near the end of the episode.

“Sins of the Father” looks like it’s going to be the opposite of “A Matter of Honor” where a Klingon, named Kurn, will now be doing a tour of duty on the Enterprise as the first officer. Kurn is allllllll kinds of Klingon business to everyone but Worf, whom he is really kind to and it’s strange. Worf and Kurn have a discussion and it turns out that Kurn is Worf’s little brother. Apparently the Klingon high council has deemed their father a traitor and Worf needs to clear his name or suffer the consequences. Picard decides the whole of the Enterprise needs to go. Picard, Worf, Riker, and Kurn beam down to the council chambers on Qo’noS. The charge is that Worf’s father sent the access codes that led to the destruction of Khitomer outpost, where Worf was orphaned and the only known survivor.

In between all of the shouting, as apparently Klingons really are Italians, Kurn is attacked in the tunnels but survives. However, this means Worf needs a new cha’DIch and picks Picard. I will admit to the whole wide internet that I teared up a little at the exchange between Worf and Picard in that scene. Anyway, there is more to the story. The Klingons had captured a Romulan ship that shows there was a code sent moments before the shields go down and La Forge finds a discrepancy. There was also a Klingon woman found with Worf, apparently his nurse, who Picard finds and gets her to go back to help shake loose the truth. Turns out it was the father or Duras who was the real traitor, but he’s from such a connected family that the council had to blame someone and they chose Worf thinking that he would never answer the challenge since he was off in Starfleet. Worf accepts discommendation instead, so his brother can have his honor and sometime in the future maybe restore the name of their father.

There was so much yelling in this episode I thought I was home for a holiday dinner with my mother’s side of the family. I was expecting this episode to be a mirror of “A Matter of Honor” and was a little disappointed in some ways I never really got to see Kurn get to do much in the ways of the first officer position. In some ways, it was similar in that neither man got to stay on the ship for much longer than a day because of DRAMA, this time it was family drama. On the other hand it was great for Worf to know he was not alone, only for it to all be taken away from him because of someone else’s treachery. While this was an awesome Worf story, it was also a great Picard story. We get to see him back up one of his officers and kick the ass of at least two Klingon warriors. I’m going for 8 bottles of beer on the wall, but I won’t take one down or pass it around, yet.

Favorite Quote from “Allegiance”:

Random Alien #24: We did not, after all, injure you in any way.

Picard: Imprisonment is an injury, regardless of how you justify.

Picard with the hard truths. This “stay at home” is starting to feel like imprisonment, sigh.

“Allegiance” begins with Picard resting in his quarters after a successful mission when he is suddenly kidnapped and in a room with two others. Worf investigates the disturbance, but Picard is just fine (except it’s really a Picard clone). On the ship the Picard clone starts giving strange orders and is definitely acting out of character. There’s a scene with Dr. Crusher that gets a little hot and heavy and then abruptly ends, and Picard even leads a drinking song on Ten-Forward. The bridge crew is hella concerned.

In captivity Picard naturally assumes the leadership position and he’s in with a Starfleet cadet named Haro, a Mizarian named Tholl, and a being from Chalna named Esoqq. They work together to try to get out but then all assume one of them is actually their captor when they break through the door just to find a solid wall behind it. Turns out it was the cadet who was the alien observer and one of four captors. The aliens, who look a little like Brainiac, decide to take everyone home now that their experiment is over. Picard is beamed back to the Enterprise and his clone reveals himself, but Picard gives “eye orders” to the crew and Worf captures the aliens on the deck in a beam that hurts them a little because they are not built for captivity. He explains you shouldn’t do this without telling people and sends them on their way.

I got a little bit of “The Empath” vibe from this episode, where there are beings observing other beings, and a little bit of “The Cage“. I definitely thought it was Tholl once there was the possibility of a traitor among their midst. Look at that, two episodes back-to-back about traitors, fascinating. As most episodes are split with two plots that later converge, this one is no different. What is different is how I feel about each part. The part where they are in captivity and are trying to figure out the puzzle to escape, it’s a real Trek escape room and is fun to watch how everyone tries to work together to achieve a common goal even though they’ve never met. I truly enjoyed watching that part, but it fell apart at the end when Picard is like “oh yeah, we’re being observed and I’m not gonna anymore” and he’s right… when they’ve sort of been on that thread for a while.

The other half of the episode is Picard giving weird orders and you know from the get-go that they are eventually going to mutiny. This “jovial” Picard is fun but predictable. I know he’s going to flirt with Dr. Crusher and I know he’s going to be the life of the party because he’s purposely doing what Picard would never, or maybe he’s just having fun in the Picard suit he’s wearing. Either way there was no surprise, no intrigue, and I didn’t really like it. That means this episode gets 6 slider buns, but not the good kind – the store brand.

TA Out!

Date: April 3, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 15 and 16

Musical Accompaniment: A random Punk Rock instrumental track I found on YouTube.

Interstellar News: The weather was beautiful again today, but Fred was out of control.

Favorite Quotes from “Yesterday’s Enterprise”:

Picard: Guinan, they will die moments after they return. How can I ask them to sacrifice themselves based solely on your intuition?

Guinan: I don’t know. But I do know that this is a mistake. Every fiber in my being says this is a mistake. I can’t explain it to myself so I can’t explain it to you. I only know that I’m right.

Picard: Who is to say that this history is any less proper than the other?

Guinan: I suppose I am.

Who made you judge, jury, and excecutioner? Uh, I did of course…

Worf’s One-Two Punch: Guinan: “It’s an Earth drink. Prune juice.” Worf: “A warrior’s drink.”

“Yesterday’s Enterprise” opens with a wormhole-like object in space and suddenly everything is different. The long lost Enterprise-C has come through the hole and our ship, the Enterprise-D is now totally different. The Federation is still at war with the Klingon Empire, Yar is still alive, and the colors are more vibrant and harsh. The Enterprise-C was trying to defend a Klingon outpost 22 years in the past, but they were up against and outnumbered by the Romulans. Guinan knows something is wrong and tries to explain to Picard that we’re supposed to be at peace. Damn it Barry!

The crew of Enterprise-D help to repair C’s ship and Yar tries to catch up one of the C’s crew on 22 years of tactical. Picard and Garrett (the other captain) discuss what to do and ultimately the Enterprise-C needs to go back through the wormhole, even if it means certain death for the now greatly reduced crew. The number of times they mention it though, I’m thinking they totally pull it off at the last minute… but what do I know? Honestly, all I know is this comes back in a few seasons because my husband doesn’t have a poker face, but I don’t know any of the specifics. Garrett dies before they can head back and Yar, having been told by Guinan that her death was without purpose, asks to transfer to the C in order to have a meaningful death. The C goes through the wormhole at just the right moment, all is well in the world, the timeline restored, and Guinan asks La Forge about Yar.

Guinan really needs to be on The Flash and knock some sense into Barry Allen. Aside from her jumping to another show, I have a lot to say about this episode. It says a lot when one of my favorite lines is Worf praising prune juice as his constant delivery of perfect one or two word sentences is leaps and bounds over anything Yar did in this episode. I knew what she was going to do as soon as I saw the C pop through that wormhole, but it was still a lot of fun to get there. I’m okay that I knew what was going to happen because it’s all about the journey and the character development. Yes, Yar’s death was so out of left field in “Skin of Evil”, but that’s what happens… we live and we die, and sometimes you don’t get to say goodbye. This was, however, a clever way to bring back a “dead” character because time travel is fun like that.

Picard is amazing because he’s totally still him but just a little different. You can tell he’s tired and the war has taken its toll on him, but he utterly trusts Guinan – he just doesn’t want to admit she’s right. He’s smack dab in the bargaining stage of grief because he’s just out of gumption. Guinan is also amazing because you can tell she’s frustrated… she knows she’s right damn it, just listen and send the damn ship back! I’m so interested to see where this story line leads as they clearly left the door open for Yar to return or at least be memorialized in some way for her heroic death as part of the crew… or maybe not. I’m super happy I’ve avoided a lot of 30+ year old spoilers, but Google is sometimes the enemy. I’ve got to go with 8 steak tacos for this episode because there wasn’t enough Worf and there was too much predictability, but otherwise it was fascinating.

Favorite Quotes from “The Offspring”:

Picard: It’s a life, Data. It can’t be activated and deactivated simply. This is a most stupendous undertaking. Have you any idea what will happen when Starfleet learns about this?

Data: I have followed all of Starfleet regulations to the best of my ability. I expected they would be pleased.

Picard: Well, you have taken on quite a responsibility, Data.

Picard and Data talking about life and the responsibilities of creating a new one.

Lal: Then why do you still try to emulate humans? What purpose does it serve except to remind you that you are incomplete?

Data: I have asked myself that many times as I have struggled to be more human. Until I realized it is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are, Lal. It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards.

“The effort yields its own rewards.” For an android, he really knows more about the human condition than humans do.

Data’s Not Really An Android: Picard: “Data, I would like to have been consulted.” Data: “I have not observed anyone else on board consulting you about their procreation, Captain.”

“The Offspring” begins with Data sending for Troi, La Forge, and Wesley so he can introduce them to Lal, his android daughter. Data is adorable in that he read every parenting book in preparation and Picard is trying to impress upon the severity of doing this. Data allows Lal to choose their sex and appearance, and there’s an interesting short discussion on gender. Ultimately she chooses a human female and then there’s a montage about her learning and it’s super adorable. Data, at one point, does what all father’s wish they could and turns her off as she enters the “why” stage. Wesley suggests sending Lal to school, but unfortunately Lal is unable to “fit in” in school and she learns a lot of life lessons very early, so Data asks Dr. Crusher about successful parenting.

An admiral from Starfleet research is on the way to “assess the situation”. In the meantime Lal uses a contraction while speaking with Guinan, who also passes on the birds and the bees talk to Data. The admiral arrives and is hellbent on and will not be persuaded otherwise as he wants to take Lal away, but Lal wants to stay and then has a “panic attack” in the presence of Troi. Data gives a wonderful speech about what parenting should be all about, the admiral is still being a dick, and Picard takes a stand against him. When Lal malfunctions, the admiral helps and afterward he comes out like the doctor who breaks bad news in a medical drama and he’s actually tearful. Data and Lal have a tearful goodbye and Data transfers her memories into him so he will not forget her.

So I really need to not watch these sad episodes when I’m hormonal, especially because I didn’t see her malfunctioning and I thought (well hoped) it might end differently. It was also more heartbreaking that the crew was able to mourn and Data could not, but then again he just didn’t mourn in the human way, he did so in his own way. One thing that gets me is how Picard is adamant about Lal not being Data’s child until the Admiral wants to take Lal away and he realizes how much it will affect Data, then he’s like a mama bear protecting his cub because one does not simply hurt Data’s feelings (that he doesn’t have).

When Data and Guinan believe Ten-Forward is the best place for Lal to people watch, it reminds me so much of Sweet Home Alabama and it’s even better when the research admiral scoffs at Lal being a “cocktail waitress”. As a former waitress myself, I can tell you it teaches you very valuable life lessons. I truly believe everyone should spend at least six months working in customer service and we’d all be much nicer to each other. Data is absolutely correct though as it should be him who guides her just as Lal is correct that once she has learned everything the starship can teach her, then it would be best for her to move onto great things. It’s the “natural” order like when kids go off to school to learn things beyond the home. Unfortunately Lal suffers a malfunction and cannot be saved, so we do not get to see any more amazing parenting from Data. I really want to give this episode a 10, but there were a few small issues I had so it’s 9 chocolate covered bon bons instead.

TA Out!

Date: April 2, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 13 and 14

Musical Accompaniment: Italian Restaurant Music, as I miss salty Italian meats and cheeses an awful lot right now.

Interstellar News: The weather was beautiful today and Professor Zoom had a teeth cleaning and two baby teeth extracted, so he’s been super clingy all afternoon.

Favorite Quotes from “Deja Q”:

Q: This is getting on my nerves, now that I have them.

A really good line from Q.

Worf’s One-Two Punch: Q: “What must I do to convince you people?” Worf: “Die.”

Data’s Not Really An Android: Q: “Who does he think he is, giving me orders.” Data: “Geordi thinks he is in command here, and he is correct.”

“Deja Q” opens with a grave situation on Bre’el IV as one of their moons is about to crash into the planet, oh and then a naked Q drops onto the bridge – fascinating. Q has apparently been kicked out of the Continuum, stripped of his powers, and is now just a pathetic excuse for a human. Q is taken to the brig and the Enterprise is scanned by the Calmarians who have it out for Q. They attack him twice, the second time damaging Data who tries to save him, Guinan stabs him, and he’s got terrible back pain… so he’s just having a rough go of this whole “human” thing.

The Calmarians are interfering with the mission of trying to move the moon so Q does a strange thing and steals a shuttle craft so the Enterprise can do its thing undeterred. This conjures another Q who was watching our Q and can’t believe our Q would do anything selfless ever, maybe he’s learned his lesson? As such, the other Q reinstates our Q with his powers as long as he behaves. Q dispatches with the Calmarians, reinstates the moon to its orbit, and gives Data the gift of hysterical laughter. We end with Q celebrating with a mariachi band and disappearing as quickly as he arrived.

This was such a FUN episode. There are a few things I don’t get, like why was Q able to steal the shuttle craft so easily and why wasn’t he detected BEFORE he was out. I distinctly remember earlier episodes there are warning when the shuttles are powering on and such. I also don’t get why the Enterprise doesn’t just try to talk to the Calmarians and how Q doesn’t die but Data is super damaged. It all makes for a wonderful plot of Q doing the unthinkable and sacrificing himself, even if he was pulling a “suicide by cop”. Good thing he didn’t come back as a Klingon or Worf would have given him SO MUCH SHIT for trying to die without honor. It’s also the shortest anyone has actually been human and I’m not really sure Q has learned his lesson. The best part was Data, who isn’t actually human, being the best professor of “Muggle Studies” as he tried to help Q who now had everything Data has always wanted. I’ve got to take off two points for the items I listed above, but it was so much fun I’m assigning this episode 9 pickle spears.

Favorite Quote from “A Matter of Perspective”:

Data: Interesting.

Picard: Oh, thank you. In what way?

Data: While suggesting the free treatment of form usually attributed to Fauvism, this quite inappropriately attempts to juxtapose the disparate cubistic styles of Picasso and Leger. In addition, the use of color suggests a haphazard mélange of clashing styles. Furthermore, the unsettling overtones of proto-Vulcan influences…

Picard: Thank you, Mr. Data.

Picard thinking he did an awesome painting and Data ripping it to shreds.

“A Matter of Perspective” has Riker about to beam aboard when there’s a dip in power and the station explodes, though Riker appears in the transporter stream moments later. Dr. Apgar, the only man on the station, was not so lucky and is now dead. Investigator Krag from Tanuga IV beams aboard and wants to arrest Riker for murder! Before Picard will give his answer, they rig one of the holodecks to recreate witness testimony.

Riker’s testimony is first. His version shows him as being all first officer professional but Mrs. Apgar being a total flirt and Dr. Apgar walking in and assuming the worst. Krag reveals he believes Riker shot his phaser before he beamed over, and there’s an indication something came from Riker’s exact position. Mrs. Apgar’s testimony is next. Her version shows Riker to be an aggressive flirt and attempted rapist. The last witness is Dr. Apgar’s assistant who relays hearsay testimony. Even though Picard knows Riker would never, there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial and he’s inclined to hand Riker over.

Throughout the testimony there are strange occurrences of radiation happening throughout the ship. Data and Wesley believe there is a pattern and La Forge puts together a final bit of testimony regarding what really happened. Dr. Apgar tried to kill Riker but the Krieger wave bounced off the transporter beam and hit the reactor, causing the station to blow up. This means it was Dr. Apgar who killed Dr. Apgar, and all because he thought he was going to get caught selling weapons.

The only thing I liked about this episode is that it used the holodeck to do some cool crime scene investigation, and now I want to watch a TV show that is like Star Trek meets NCIS where they have an Abby who makes holodeck crime scene recreations… make it so! Anyway, we’ve a Starfleet officer be accused of a crime before when McCoy was accused of a crime in “Albatross” and when Scotty was accused of murder in “Wolf in the Fold”. Each time the crew of the Enterprise is able to do a better job than the cops and it makes me wonder what type of police academy the 23rd and 24th centuries have. I also liked the Krag seemed to be good at his job and had a sound theory, but also knew when he was beat. However, the whole notion of Riker flirting that outrageously with someone else’s wife doesn’t sit well with me, as every time we see him flirt he’s after clearly single women. Oh well, each season is bound to have a bad episode or two, and this one is one of them. 3 bummers assigned to this episode.

TA Out!

Date: April 1, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 11 and 12

Musical Accompaniment: One hour of Punk Rock Instrumental (2017)

Interstellar News: Have someone read you a bedtime story, it can help just a little.

Favorite Quote from “The Hunted”:

Data: I do not mean to belittle your condition. I understand your dilemma. But I am curious. My program can be altered. Yours cannot?

Roga: The man I was is still inside me, but this conditioning has been imposed. Woven together with my thoughts and my feelings and my responses. How do you separate the program from the man?

Data: Without further analysis of your condition from Counselor Troi or Dr. Crusher, I cannot say. But I believe it is possible.

Data trying to be helpful and Roga asking an important question.

“The Hunted” opens with my favorite dad from Revenge of the Nerds explaining a prisoner has escaped and requests help from the Enterprise, especially since the planet is petitioning for membership to the Federation. The prisoner is a one man fighting machine who reminds me of the Winter Soldier, and his name is Danar Roga. I’m only a little shocked when we find out he was a soldier, genetically and psychologically modified, and then sent off to live in what amounts to captivity after there was no more need for soldiers.

Troi and Data believe he can be helped and rehabilitated, but Picard has no choice and tries to transport him back. Danar is damn good and sets his comrades free and then storms the capital demanding better treatment. Picard leaves them to settle their differences and to apply back when things have calmed down.

This was a great episode to highlight what happens to soldiers when they are no longer needed, because this is unfortunately not a total fictional story. Look at Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, I could go on. We do not do enough for our Veterans. When you are used to a certain way of life it can be hard to adjust to something to different. It’s interesting, though, that I find my veteran undergraduate students to be some of the best despite their many challenges. While they may be older and have families and other responsibilities, they know how to follow orders and deadlines and I appreciate the hell out of that. Regardless of your thoughts on war, it’s important to note that not everyone comes back and if they do, they might not be the person they were before.

Now that you’ve listened to my dissertation on the military, let’s get back to the episode. I think this was a great vehicle for showing what could potentially be done to humans in the future and how a civilization might enhance their military in order to prevail over their enemies. There were some things that were off, but overall I enjoyed it for what it was. A litter of 8 puppies for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “The High Ground”:

Riker: Are you going to tell me that little boy’s a threat?

Alexana: It’s possible. That shuttle bus I told you about? The bomb was set by a teenager. In a world where children blow up children, everyone’s a threat.

Unfortunately still true today.

“The High Ground” begins on a planet that’s having some terrorism problems when a bomb goes off and Dr. Crusher, of course, goes to help. Worf and Data try their best to get her to beam back but she won’t until the local emergency medical team arrives. As everyone else is busy, one of the terrorists makes off with her using some transporter technology no one can trace.

Turns out the resistance needs a doctor because the dimensional transporters are all killing them. Finn, the leader, decides to beam aboard the Enterprise and makes off with Picard as well as some other supplies, but isn’t able to blow it up. With the help of Wesley, the away team and some Ruitan cops beam down to the resistance’s base. Picard and Dr. Crusher are freed but Finn is killed.

This was another strong episode that focused on terrorism. As someone who vividly remembers September 11, 2001, and several events before and after, terrorism is a subject that has been ingrained in my everyday life. This episode pre-dates a lot of modern day terrorism, but gets several things correct that are quite sobering. The other nice touch on this episode is seeing what the “other side” is fighting for. As with the previous episode, the “bad guys” and “good guys” aren’t so binary, it’s not so easy to tell who is really on the side of good. Also, this episode ends the SIXTH episode IN A ROW that started with the word “the”, so I’m totally giving it 6 times the word “the”. Also, I’m sure you would be disappointed if I didn’t point out the obvious Star Wars reference.

TA Out!