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Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “The Most Toys”

– August 1, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

“The Most Toys”
Written by Shari Goodhartz
Directed by Timothy Bond

Season 3, Episode 22
Original air date: May 7, 1990
Star date: 43872.2

Mission summary

There’s a tricyanate contamination on Beta Agni II, and the only cure is ~~more cowbell~~ hytritium, a rare and volatile element that only one man in the universe seems to have: Kivas Fajo, a space trader. On the last transport to the Enterprise, Data uses his thumbprint to confirm the transaction and the datapad zaps him. Fajo’s men (and woman) plant fake Data elements on the transport, launch it out of the shuttle bay, and blow it up. Stunned, the Enterprise crew believe that Data’s been destroyed, but have to high-tail it to Beta Agni II if they want to decontaminate that water supply in time to save the planet.

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Tags: androids, emotional women, geordi has a really bad day, handwaving mumblemumble, mysteries, shakespeare, slavery, space shylock, transporter malfunction, were they drunk when they threw this one together?, why did this have to happen to our beloved legacy

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Hollow Pursuits”

Eugene Myers

– July 25, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

“Hollow Pursuits”
Written by Sally Caves
Directed by Cliff Bole

Season 3, Episode 21
Original air date: April 30, 1990
Star date: 43807.4

Mission summary

A lieutenant engineer we’ve never seen before, Barclay, is drinking in Ten Forward when La Forge reminds him that he’s on duty. Barclay blows off his superior, then wrestles even Commander Riker into submission and sends the two of them packing, while Counselor Troi looks on avidly. Just as she’s throwing herself at him, he’s ordered to report to one of the cargo bays. Guess they’ll have to pick this up later, which it turns out will be easy as easy as saying “Save program,” because he’s been playing out a fantasy on the holodeck.

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Tags: barclay surprises people, holodeck, holodreck, illusions, lack of holodeck privacy, loneliness, mysteries, not everyone loves riker, sexism, transporter malfunction, troi is useless, Wesley is a smartypants

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Tin Man”

Torie Atkinson

– July 18, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

Tin Man “Tin Man”
Written by Dennis Putman Bailey & David Bischoff
Directed by Robert Sheerer

Season 3, Episode 20
Original air date: April 23, 1990
Star date: 43779.3

Mission summary

The Enterprise has an unexpected run-in with Captain DeSoto, who interrupts a really boring charting mission with top secret, ix-nay on the Omulan-Ray implications. He sends over a passenger, a Betazed named Tam Elbrun–“of the Ghorusda disaster,” whatever that means–who is to be the mission specialist of the week. He and Troi have already met, however, back at Betazed University, where she was studying basic visual cues and he was a patient. The mission? Approach a star about to go supernova, currently orbited by what appears to be a living ship that Elbrun has dubbed the “tin man.” Not only that, but they have to get there before the Romulans do, or else.

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Tags: being different, belonging, emotion, first contact, living ship, loneliness, mindreading is awful, one day data will be a real boy, pain, romulans, troi is useful

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Captain’s Holiday”

Eugene Myers

– June 27, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

captainsholiday101 “Captain’s Holiday”
Written by Ira Steven Behr
Directed by Chip Chalmers

Season 3, Episode 19
Original air date: April 2, 1990
Star date: 43745.2

Mission summary

Two overdressed aliens transport to the paradise planet Risa… If this sounds like the opening to a joke, you aren’t far off. Unlike most of the people on holiday there, these aliens aren’t looking for a relaxing getaway on a suns-lit beach; they’re only after one thing: Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who wouldn’t be caught dead at a resort like that. When they’re informed that he isn’t there and has no vacation plans on the schedule, they confidently state: “He will come.” Spoilers!

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Tags: action hero, archaeology, ferengi, handwaving mumblemumble, picard gets in a punch, picard is a chuck norris joke, picard's love life, risa, rocks, sexism, sexual harassment, shore leave, time travel, transporters solve everything, wibbly wobbly timey-wimey

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Allegiance”

Torie Atkinson

– June 20, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

“Allegiance”
Written by Richard Manning & Hans Beimler
Directed by Winrich Kolbe

Season 3, Episode 18
Original air date: March 26, 1990
Star date: 43714.1

Mission summary

Picard’s chillaxin’ in his quarters, reading a book (or rather, sleeping with one) when a probe enters his room, scans him, and beams him away. When Picard awakes, he finds himself in a locked room with two others: a Bolian Starfleet cadet named Mitena Haro, and a milquetoast Mizarian named Kova Tholl.

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Tags: alien probes, date night, drinking songs, existentialism, illusions, not everyone loves riker, Picard acts weird, picard moralizing, the tao of picard

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Sins of the Father”

Eugene Myers

– June 13, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

sinsofthefather113 “Sins of the Father”
Written by Ronald D. Moore & W. Reed Moran (story by Drew Deighan)
Directed by Les Landau

Season 3, Episode 17
Original air date: March 19, 1990
Star date: 43685.2

Mission summary

The Enterprise crew welcomes a new Klingon officer, Commander Kurn, who will be filling in for Commander Riker temporarily as part of the Federation-Klingon Exchange Program. Kern has no sooner beamed aboard than he requests to begin his duties, and he ingratiates himself to the Bridge crew by demanding that they actually perform their jobs with efficiency and professionalism. The crew is stunned to have such a competent disciplinarian serving as first officer.

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Tags: angry klingons, brothers, civil war, different cultures have different food, diplomacy, family, forgotten relatives, khitomer, klingons, not everyone loves riker, romulans, the duras family sucks, traitors

Star Trek Into Dimness

Torie Atkinson

– June 10, 2013 10:00 amPosted in: Movies

Star Trek Into Darkness After several busy weeks I finally got around to seeing the new AbramsTrek. I didn’t like the first one because it felt like a lame action movie with a Trek skin grafted over it. This is much, much worse. Warning: this will be a spoiler post, so do not proceed if you have not seen the movie and wish to remain unspoiled.

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Tags: angry klingons, diplomacy, emotional Spock, fully clothed man-wrestling, handwaving mumblemumble, kirk is a jerk, loyalty, mind meld, sexism, were they drunk when they threw this one together?, why did this have to happen to our beloved legacy

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “The Offspring”

Torie Atkinson

– April 25, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

“The Offspring”
Written by René Echevarria
Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Season 3, Episode 16
Original air date: March 12, 1990
Star date: 43657.0

Mission summary

Data summons Wesley, La Forge, and Troi to his lab for some Really Big News. After a drumroll, he unveils… a thing! They’re not really sure what it is–it seems to be a Soong-type android in beta–until it calls Data “father” and Data explains that this is his child, Lal.

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Tags: android rights, androids, breeding, civil rights, everyone loves riker, fascism, immortality sucks, loneliness, parenting, Starfleet is stupid

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “Yesterday’s Enterprise”

Eugene Myers

– April 11, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

yent111 “Yesterday’s Enterprise”
Written by Ira Steven Behr, Richard Manning, Hans Beimler, & Ronald D. Moore (story by Trent Christopher Ganino & Eric A. Stillwell)
Directed by David Carson

Season 3, Episode 15
Original air date: February 19, 1990
Star date: 43625.2

Mission summary

The Enterprise-D runs across an anomaly that may or may not be there. While they try to sort through their confusing, contradictory sensor readings, something emerges… As another ship crosses the threshold, everything and everyone shifts on the Enterprise-D: Their uniforms now have high collars, belts with phasers, and black cuffs. Nothing gets by Guinan; in the suddenly bustling Ten Forward, the wise and cryptic bartender notes, “This isn’t right. It’s changed.” The mystery deepens: On the now thematically darker Bridge, Worf has been replaced at tactical by an old face, Lt. Tasha Yar, who reports that the other vessel is a Federation starship, registry NCC-1701… C: U.S.S. Enterprise.

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Tags: a good way to die, alternate history, angry klingons, history lessons, horrible deaths, parallel universe, romulans, time travel, war, wibbly wobbly timey-wimey

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: “A Matter of Perspective”

Torie Atkinson

– April 4, 2013 8:00 amPosted in: TNG Re-Watch

“A Matter of Perspective”
Written by Ed Zuckerman
Directed by Cliff Bole

Season 3, Episode 14
Original air date: February 12, 1990
Star date: 43610.4

Mission summary

Data interrupts Picard’s art class to tell him that they’ve arrived at Tenuga IV and also that Picard couldn’t paint his way out of a Rothko. It seems Riker and La Forge conducted a survey of Dr. Apgar’s work on Krieger waves, which they hope will become a new energy source. La Forge says in so many words that Riker surveyed someone just a little too intimately and is in a rush to return. But as he beams back, Dr. Apgar’s science station explodes, and Riker barely makes it home intact.

But his luck isn’t meant to last, because an Inspector Krag beams aboard and arrests Riker… for murder.

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Tags: emotional women, fully clothed man-wrestling, handwaving mumblemumble, holodeck, holodreck, mysteries, not everyone loves riker, science!, troi is useless