Episode Review - Clues (Next Generation, Season 4)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Picard passed out from the Paxan encounter

Overview – On their way to study a newly discovered M-class planet, the crew finds themselves completely incapacitated, with the sole exception of Data. Upon reviving the crew, Picard orders a probe to be launched to study the planet as they continue along their previous course. It does not take too long before the crew begin to suspect that a great deal more had occurred during the time they were supposedly unconscious. As the clues begin to amass, Picard begins to suspect that Data is hiding something from them.

Troi is surprised by what she sees in the mirror.

Score: 8/10 – This is quite a fun bottle episode that has viewers guessing again and again as to what exactly is happening. We start off with some more casual moments as the crew members spend some down time relaxing. When the crew is revived after their first encounter, they find themselves entangled in a web of mystery. To think that Data is either responsible or connected to this mystery adds intrigue. While Guinan is always a welcome character, her only appearance is in the Dixon Hill scene with Picard. Some may say that it is a trivial appearance, but I argue that nothing about Guinan is trivial, and it creates some great moments. While it would have been nice to have had more of her in the episode, especially since in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” she shows an aptitude of knowing when things aren’t quite right, it is always good to see her.

Gloria...from Clevland

Relevance - 3 points. A point is scored for revealing the first name of “Alyssa” to the nurse that has often been seen in sickbay. Later, in the episode “Cause and Effect”, she is given the last name of Ogawa. We also score a point for the first appearance of Worf’s Mok’bara class that we will see several more times in future episodes. We also score a point for another appearance of Dixon Hill, this time with Guinan as Picard’s special guest.

Geordi has trouble with the idea that Data is lying to them

Continuity - 2 points. Universe continuity is intact. Character continuity works. Of particular note is Data who, even at the risk of his being court martialed and possibly disassembled, strictly keeps the order Picard gave him to never reveal the existence of the Paxans. This fact, however, shows the flaw in the story continuity. Until Picard gives the order to Data, nobody had ever mentioned the name “Paxans”. A bit of a goof up, but enough to cost them this point.

Encountering the Paxons

Character Development – 2 points. I can score points for showing how far Data will go to obey orders, even at the cost of his career. I also give Picard some props for being able to convince the Paxans to spare them a second time. It was also nice to see Picard lighten up a bit on the holodeck at the beginning of the episode.

Yet another clue suggesting something is amiss

Social Commentary – 1 point. As enjoyable as this episode is, it says very little about our society. I guess the closest I can get is “Everybody loves a good mystery, so leave no loose ends when you are covering something up” is as good as a take away lesson here. While that seems a bit of a stretch to me, I’ll take it.

Worf's Mok'bara class

Cool Stuff – 3 points. As I said before, having Guinan with Picard in the Dixon Hill program was great. I particularly liked the end of the scene where, after ducking for cover Guinan asks him about this being fun. Picard shows the excitement of a school boy when he says “That is fun!” I also score a point for how the mystery unfolds. Plus, there is that moment when Troi, after being possessed by the Paxans, breaks Worf’s wrist. Poor Worf. Everyone seemed to beat him up on the Enterprise.

The crew tries to figure out what the Paxans want.

Rank – Captain (19 points). Enjoy this episode. Not much on action, but it will engage you the first time you watch it, and future viewings will have you looking for the clues themselves.

Data is surprised to see the crew incapacitated.

Episode Review – Observer Effect (Enterprise, Season 4)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – Hoshi and Tucker are suffering from a mysterious illness. While the crew work towards finding a cure, different crew members find are possessed by a pair of observers who belong to the race of Organians. The Organians discuss the reaction of the crew as they study humans.

Reed and Mayweather possessed by the Organian observers

Score: 8/10 – There are few episodes in the fourth season of Enterprise that are truly stand-alone episodes, and this is one of them. It takes a familiar theme (aliens possessing the crew) and adds a new dimension to it (observing their actions in a crisis). In a way, it reminds me of “Encounter at Farpoint”, where Q puts Picard and his crew on trial for the crimes of humanity. While the Organians are trying to see if humans are intelligent enough to merit contact, and watching how they react to a silicon-based virus found on an abandoned planet is the test they use. Starting with Reed and Mayweather, two Organians jump from one pair of crewmembers to the next as they discuss the progress of the crew. There are a few instances when it is a surprise that the Organians are in particular crew members. This is a very rare episode in that there are no credited guest stars, so all of the crew get a lot of screen time. No special effects are needed, and almost everything happens on the ship. It is the story that drives the episode, and the story is good. There is even a surprise twist when Hoshi and Trip both die from the illness, putting them in elite company of crew members who have officially died and then returned to life.

Trip and Hoshi waiting in quarantine

Relevance - 2 points. With the Organians being the main aliens, they are definitely a tie-in (or would that be lead-in?) to the episode “Errand of Mercy”, even establishing that the Organians had originally planned to make first contact with the Federation several thousand years later than what actually happened. Another point is scored for the first reference of the Cardassians, who as of Enterprise had not been mentioned.

Archer and Phlox reassure Hoshi that they are working on a cure

Continuity - 2 points. While character continuity easily scores a point, the other two criteria are a little dicier. Some may argue that story continuity should not be counted as the Organians plan on making first contact 5000 years from now, and in the timeline they meet about a century later with Kirk. All things considered, I can let that one slide. They do wipe the crew’s memories of what happened, so in the eyes of Kirk their meeting will be the first contact. Where I will deduct a point is for universe continuity. As a science teacher, I have always enjoyed how science is attempted to be maintained in Star Trek. This episode has a big flaw. In the episode Tucker and Sato are infected by a silicon-based virus. There is no way that humans, being carbon-based life forms, would be affected, let alone threatened, by such a virus.

One of the observers thinks the protocol needs to change

Character Development – 2 points. With all main characters getting some significant screen time, it is a bit of a challenge to identify which characters receive significant development. Malcolm and Travis actually get very little, as most of their performances are when they are possessed by the Organian observers. Hoshi and Trip, on the other hand, have to deal with the prospects of dying. Hoshi shows aptitude with math in breaking out of quarantine, even in a delirious state. She also shows some regret at not being able to say good-bye to her students at the start of Season 1. Trip seems to face his imminent death head on, only showing frustration that the best he can do is wait for other people to find a cure. T’Pol and Phlox work at finding a way to save their crewmates, and Phlox especially gets some good dialogue in with the Organians when he discovers what is actually happening. It is Archer that really gets some good moments here as he addresses the Organians and pleads to their sense of compassion. His passion is full tilt, as always, and he is able to appeal to the Organians to reconsider their “non-interference” protocol. If the future episode “Errand of Mercy” is any indication, Captain Archer leaves a lasting impact on the Organians.

Hoshi and Trip are possessed by the Organians

Social Commentary – 2 points. How do we judge the actions of others? That seems to be the underlying question in this episode. The Organians obviously find something in the humans. As they attempt to see how Archer and his crew treat those that were infected with the silicon virus, they start to question their criteria for worthiness. I particularly liked the line of Archer when he tells the Organians that if they want to understand humans, they should try to be like them and show some compassion. These days trying to see through the eyes of those who are different than us is sage advice indeed.

Archer about to lay Hoshi to rest

Cool Stuff – 1 point. Definitely scores a point for Organians and the Cardassian mention. Aside from that, there is not much else about this episode that is “cool”, but in this case it does not mean that this is by far a bad episode.

Discussing humans over a game of chess

Rank – Captain (17 points). I quite enjoyed this episode, even if it is somewhat predictable. In order to make the story work, a non-corporeal species was needed, and I liked how they tapped into the Organians to do this. They were able to work around the fact that Kirk and the Federation had no prior knowledge of the Organians with the memory-wiping bit, but that’s good for continuity. Definitely an episode that showcases the growth in Enterprise’s fourth and final season.

Hoshi escapes quarantine

Episode Review - Amok Time (Original Series, Season 2)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – Spock is acting erratically, showing emotional outbursts. He requests that the Enterprise return him to his home planet of Vulcan, where he is to be married. Kirk and McCoy soon learn that Spock is entering the pon farr, a time when Vulcans must mate or they could die. Upon arrival at Vulcan, Spock’s betrothed has a surprise for Spock which finds him pitted against his friend and captain in a duel to the death.

Kirk discusses his science officer with the legendary T'Pau

Score: 10/10 – One of the most popular Star Trek episodes of all time, this is an episode that is exciting and sheds some light on the Vulcan people that has so far been lacking in the series. We get to see the planet Vulcan for the first time, which is always nice. Most importantly, we get a great story that really shows the dynamics between the famous Kirk-Spock-McCoy friendship.

McCoy checks out Nurse Chapel's homemade soup.

Relevance - 3 points. One point scored for pon farr, which will be touched on again in the movie Star Trek III as well as on Voyager. A point is scored for the appearance of T’Pau, a legendary figure in Vulcan history who, while making her first appearance in Star Trek, is seen as her younger self in the three-part Enterprise arc starting with the episode “The Forge”. A third point is scored for the first appearance of Pavel Chekov, who would come to be a huge fan favorite in the series. We also see the Vulcan hand salute and the accompanying “Live long and prosper” for the first time, so to say that this episode is highly relevant to Trek lore would be an understatement.

Live long and prosper.

Continuity - 3 points. This story establishes so much about Vulcans and their culture that it is considered by many to be its genesis, so Trek universe continuity is secure. Storyline works, nothing contradictory here. Finally, character continuity works, even with Spock’s emotional rollercoaster ride.

T'Pring has a different idea in mind

Character Development – 3 points. A strong Spock story that also shows McCoy’s quick thinking and Kirk’s loyalty to his Vulcan friend. We would see this devotion of Kirk towards Spock again in the Search for Spock movie. Still, this gives us the most insight into not only Spock but Vulcans in general.

Spock cannot return Christine's feelings.

Social Commentary – 0 points. This is an excellent story with lots going on, but I struggled to find anything that was socially relevant to us. Still, a great story, but that’s not enough to score in this category.

The fight to the death

Cool Stuff – 3 points. Spock, and thereby Vulcans, was one of the most popular aspects of Star Trek. As a result, fans had been eagerly awaiting a trip to Vulcan to see where our favourite alien grew up. We get to see that in this episode. We also get to experience the iconic Star Trek fight music for the first time (if you are not humming it right now, then turn in your Trekkie card). Finally, at the end of the episode where Spock discovers that Kirk is still alive, he drops his Vulcan composure and gives us a huge Vulcan smile. While he quickly regains his composure, it is still a warm and cool moment.

You're dead, Jim.

Rank – Admiral (22 points). Honestly, if you are a fan of Star Trek of any type and have not seen this episode, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! This is about as classic as any episode gets, and is likely on so many people’s Top Ten lists of best episodes from the Original Series that I think the few who don’t place it there say that they do so they don’t look out of touch. And if you still think that Amok Time is not one of the best episodes of Star Trek, then come meet me out back and we can settle it plak tow style. Bring your Lirpa. 

Spock's momentary lapse in control

Episode Review - The Cloud (Voyager, Season 1)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – Low on energy reserves and morale, Janeway orders the ship into what appears to be a nebula rich with energy. She and the crew soon discover that the cloud is more than it appears, and Janeway works towards repairing the damage that they have done.

Score: 7/10 – A nice little bottle episode that takes the familiar space creature concept and uses it as a backdrop to explore the people that make up the crew. This being an episode early in the season, it is important because it helps flesh out these characters that we are just starting to learn about. While there is not too much in the way of action, the revelation of the cloud as being a life form is interesting. Most of all, I like how this really starts to explore Katherine Janeway’s character. While the pacing is a bit off at times, there are some great moments between characters that give us some great dialogue.

Relevance - 3 points. I scored a point for Chez Sandrine, a holodeck program created by Tom Paris and will be the usual social gathering place for the next few years. It was an attempt to give the crew something to bond over, similar to the poker games in TNG, only using pool as the game of choice. A second point is scored for the Doctor’s desire to expand his programming, maybe even creating a family. He does this in Season 3. A third point is scored for the first mentioning of Lewis Zimmerman, creator of the EMH. We will see him a few times, both in Deep Space Nine and Voyager, played by Robert Picardo. If that wasn’t enough, this also marks the beginning of Neelix as Chief Morale Officer, a self-imposed rank that he will carry out throughout his tenure on the ship.

Continuity - 2 points. I had to deduct a point here for story continuity. Chakotay tells Janeway that she is the first person he has shown his medicine bundle to, and yet Torres reveals that she has also gone on the animal guide experience, suggesting that she was familiar with the medicine bundle. Character continuity is solid as everyone acts in a way that we have come to expect. Janeway shows a bit more vulnerability, but it is natural as their journey continues that she does so. Universe continuity is also intact here.

Character Development – 3 points. There are few episodes that really give such great, in depth character development as this one. Janeway is the focus, but practically everybody gets some important attention. Chakotay’s spiritual side is highlighted with the vision quest that he helps guide Janeway on. Tom’s love for nostalgia and holo-programming that will resurface multiple times is brought in. Neelix shows hints of his cautious and protective nature as he is infuriated when the Captain orders the ship to enter the cloud, and it is further more aggravated when he learns that the cloud is a life form and that they are entering it again. When he realizes that he is not going to get his way, he makes the best of himself by self-appointing him as ship’s Morale Officer. Kes, meanwhile, reveals more of her adventure-loving self that is balanced with sense of trust and loyalty towards the crew. The Doctor talks about his desires to expand his programming, and also shares some of his frustration towards Janeway’s desire to explore as they return home. We learn more about Harry, always wanting to please the Captain, but he does start to stand up for himself more. When Tuvok scolds Harry for expressing awe on the bridge, and later Tuvok expresses the same sentiment (albeit in a more Vulcan-like fashion), Harry privately gives his superior a bit of sarcastic chastisement of his own. Torres shows that she was once, too, sent on a spirit guide journey with Chakotay, although it ended badly when she tried to kill her spirit animal. As mentioned above, Tuvok takes to the senior officer role with

Social Commentary – 0 points. As enjoyable as this episode is, I find it hard to identify anything that provides us a lesson or an insight into our own societal issues. Sorry, no points here.

Cool Stuff – 1 point. Janeway discovers that her animal guide is a small lizard. That was actually a surprise as one tends to think that great magnificent animals such as eagles or bears would be the animal of choice for a starship captain. A simple lizard is actually a cool little twist.

Rank – Captain (16 points). If you are wanting to only catch important episodes, I would suggest watching this one as part of your Season 1 experience. It gives you a great look at all of the main characters and helps you understand them all a bit better. It is a fun though not too serious episode that has plenty of entertaining moments.

Episode Review – Force of Nature (Next Generation, Season 7)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Data provides his insight on the Hekaras Corridor

Overview – The Enterprise is sent to find the missing the Fleming, a medical transport ship lost in the Hekaras corridor, an area of space surrounded by dangerous tetryon fields. As they investigate, they discover a sibling pair of Hekaran scientists who are disabling ships in the corridor, fearing that warp drive is damaging the fabric of space in their sector. Before long, and due to drastic measures taken by one of the scientists, the Enterprise is facing the consequences of a technology long thought to be safe.

The Hekaran Scientists have something to say.

Score: 2/10 – When I re-watched this episode I was a bit shocked as to how bad it was. Nothing seemed to work in this. The actors all appeared to be confused by the story, and sometimes it felt like they were just going through the motions so they could finish it and move on to something better. The story is not well constructed, meandering around without purpose or direction. There is even a distinct lack of a coherent B-story as we jump between Data training his cat and Geordi trying to outdo an old Academy rival for engine efficiency. I get that the writers wanted to do an episode that addressed environmental concerns, but this just seemed too forced. The list of things that just didn’t work could take a long time to accumulate, but let me leave it at this: there was a great deal of lost potential. Rumor has it that Geordi’s sister was originally supposed to visit and provide some comfort to the loss of their mother in an earlier episode, but it was dropped because they couldn’t get it to work right. Aside from some humorous moments about Data’s cat, the same solution could have worked for the entire story. I think the biggest issue here is that the writers painted the franchise into a corner with the Warp 5 speed limit solution. Eventually the whole speed limit thing was dropped, a half-hearted explanation about reconfiguring the warp engines was produced, and the idea was entirely forgotten.

Geordi is looking for Spot, thankfully without a phaser

Relevance - 1 point. The cursed speed limit was mentioned in a few other episodes, such as “The Pegasus” and “Eye of the Beholder”. Also, this is used as an explanation for the different design of the warp nacelles used on Voyager.

Spot's training begins.

Continuity - 0 points. Had to dock a point for story continuity in the fact that Data’s cat Spot had an unexpected sex change. I think this was setting us up for the importance of solving the issue in a future episode “Genesis”. I am docking the point for Universe continuity due to the fact that the whole warp speed restriction is largely forgotten by the time the series ends. As for character continuity, while there is some nice moments between Data and Geordi, and everyone does behave as one would expect them to, I found one thing in this episode that seemed out of place character wise. Troi is never on the bridge during the entire episode. Not when they are encountering the Ferengi or the Hekaran ship, not when they are trying to rescue the Fleming, not once. Her chair is empty during the entire episode, and that is very out of place.

Daimon Prak

Character Development – 0 points. There wasn’t much that pushed along any character. Just when they started to move things along with one character, they changed direction and focus. I felt that nobody really got any traction here.

The consequences of warp travel

Social Commentary – 1 point. Save the environment! OK, so that is a very relevant topic in all ages. The environment is important and should be protected. We need to realize that our actions and choices impact the Earth and its health, and its health is intimately interwoven with our own health. I get that, and my low ranking on this should not be in any way interpreted as a knock on environmentalism. The problem is in the delivery. The way the message was presented in this episode is weak, to put it mildly. It seems like the entire episode was written to get us to reduce our pollution or greenhouse gas emissions or something. It is not subtle, forced, and at times a bit over the top. If you want to see Star Trek tackle the environmental message is a very effective way, may I suggest you watch Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Data's training continues

Cool Stuff – 0 points. Nothing was cool about this episode. We didn’t get any great special effects, no intriguing characters, not even a look at the Fleming. Nothing.

What will happen if warp travel doesn't stop

Rank – Crewman (4 points). Well, as I have said before, every great show has its fair share of stinkers. Here’s one of them. Since the warp speed restriction is only touched on in a couple of later episodes, you can skip this one for now. Oh, and turn off the extra lights in your house, buy more efficient devices, and recycle.

 

Arguably the most interesting part of the episode

Episode Review - Business as Usual (Deep Space Nine Season 5)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – Quark, suffering from the Ferengi business ban, is broke and desperate. When his cousin Gaila arrives with a business proposition to use Quark’s holosuites for selling weapons, Quark accepts. While at the start Quark is enjoying his success, he soon finds himself at odds with the respect of friends and his conscience. Meanwhile, O’Brien is trying to find a way to keep his infant son from crying when not being held.

Score: 7/10 – A solid Quark story with some great guest stars. Steven Berkoff is great as Hagath. Josh Pais finally brings to life Cousin Gaila with true Ferengi gusto. As far as the side story with Miles struggling to care for his infant son, it allows the rest of the crew not directly connected to the Quark storyline to have some screen time, yet it is not related to the main plotline in any way. While this is not a bad thing, necessarily, it comes across as little more than entertaining time filler. The one thing that was a little weak was the dream sequence that causes Quark to change his ways. While I have no problem with using the dream motif in a story, this one felt a bit stretched. For one, why would Quark be thinking about O’Brien and his baby? Likely he wouldn’t since Quark hadn’t seen O’Brien the whole episode. It felt more like the writers were trying to push the two stories together. Still, a fun episode that shows some great exploration of Quark’s character.

Relevance - 3 points. We finally meet Cousin Gaila, the man who was able to buy his own moon. We will see him again in the “Magnificient Ferengi”. The effects of Quark’s business ban with the Ferengi is the main reason for the events of this episode. Plus, with the side story of how to keep Yoshi O’Brien to sleep, we will see Worf’s aptitude with looking after the youngest member of the Chief’s family.

Continuity - 2 points. Storyline continuity gets a point as everything fits. Gaila fits the storyline that Quark had previously established. Universe continuity is also good. When Kira reveals that Haggath had sold weapons to the Bajoran resistance during the Occupation, it makes sense. As do the reactions of Sisko and Kira when they inform Odo that charges will not be filed against Quark, showing that while they do not like having to help bail out Quark, they make it perfectly clear that they will not overlook any further discretions. Character continuity was a little tricky for me this time around. As I mentioned earlier, Quark seemed to be bothered by the proposed death toll of a deal he was brokering and had a dream that saw those concerns personified. Unfortunately, among the personifications of those concerns were Jake Sisko and Miles O’Brien. Kira, Jadzia, and even Captain Sisko being in his dream made sense, as did many of his employees. Jake and Miles, however, didn’t have any interactions in this episode with Quark, so it doesn’t make much sense that he would be dreaming of them. So, I think I will have to dock them a point here.

Character Development – 2 points. Definitely a Quark powerhouse episode. Armin Shimmerman has stated that this episode is one that shows Quark as a very three-dimensional character. We see that he has a conscience, reaffirms that he is a people person at heart, but that when things are desperate he will rationalize his choice to deal in weapons. He does make the right choice in the end, but it costs him the repairs to the cargo bay that is damaged as a result of Quark’s plan. The side story gives us some nice Miles moments. As he struggles to care for his son who wails as soon as Miles puts him down, we see him trying to live his regular life. He’s at the bar playing darts and with him on his rounds, eventually getting some time off to care for him while his wife is away. The best is when Worf comes to speak to him and ends up holding Yoshi, resulting in the baby calming down and Miles being able to get some much needed sleep.

Social Commentary – 3 points. Ah, the guilty conscience. The realization that our actions have consequences. So often in our world we see leaders of government and industry make decisions and wash their hands of how those decisions affect the lives of the common man. Gun makers and tobacco dealers say they have no liability for the lives that their products cause. Governments use gambling as a way of increasing revenues while disavowing the costs associated with gambling addictions. Too often we stand and condemn those who make such choices, and yet when we ourselves become the decision makers, do we truly change the system? We sometimes elect leaders for their promise to be different, and we often get more of the same. Quark is in a desperate situation, which makes it easy for him to grab at the chance to get himself back on his feet, but when he starts to get his hands dirty, he finds himself doubting his choice. It does cost him something in the way of friendships (Dax) and respect (Sisko), but ultimately he realizes that his choices cannot excuse the loss of millions of lives. Of course, one can argue that the death toll had to reach the millions before he had the change of heart, but we can also ask ourselves if this is more an issue of determining the cost of one’s soul.

Cool Stuff – 1 point. I am going to give a point here for some of the cool weapon demos we see in the holosuite. Other than that, while this is a fun episode, there was nothing that was wowing me.

Rank – Captain (18 points). Nice to see Quark treated seriously for a change. Quite often his episodes and stories are used more as comic relief. This one shows some great depth to the character and makes a point.