Season 1 Episode 17: When the Bough Breaks
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: Well written episode, that has a couple interesting angles.
Favorite Line: "Things are only impossible until they're not."
Following a trail of strange sensor readings, the Enterprise finds a planet that has been cloaked for centuries. The crew realizes that they have found a civilization that was thought to be only a legend. The technology of the planet is much more advanced than the Enterprise and the people live in relative comfort. Of course, there is one problem. They can't have children, so they abduct some from the Enterprise.
Some Spoilers Below - Not that big in my opinion, but does give away the ending...
Overall, the episode is a rather heavy-handed moral parable about using technology wisely and not taking it for granted. And to that effect, it works fairly well. When Wesley is introduced to the computer that runs the entire planet, he asks several questions about how it works. The woman showing him responds by saying equivalent of "It just works." Surprise, surprise, it's the computer that has been killing off their race the whole time.
That plot line is interesting on it's own, but there is another thread that I found interesting. The children are sorted into "units" which appear to represent different trades. One of the boys is made to join a group of sculptors, even though he has no apparent interest in sculpture. At one point, Wesley asks why they are making the boy into a sculptor. The reply, predictably, is that he already is a sculptor. We see this effect pan out at the end of the episode, when the boy asks his dad if can be a sculptor.
I'm not really sure what it is about that aspect of the episode that strikes me. Perhaps it is that, despite how much they are in the wrong, the civilization does have something to offer. Or perhaps it is the idea that what we ultimately do in life comes from unexpected places. Given that the main plot is decent, I would probably give this episode a Extra Credit. Since it has a couple other thoughtful pieces like the one above, I gave it a Recommended.
Side Notes
(1) Why do they only kidnap five children? That's not enough to recreate a civilization! Apparently they forgot how genetics work...
(2) A humorous detail that bookends the episode is the kid that complains about having to go to Calculus. I don't know if his age is ever stated in the episode, but he seems to be at most ten years old. That seems really young to be learning Calculus. I wonder if the writers are positing that in the future we will be learning advanced concepts at earlier and earlier ages.
It certainly explains why everyone seems to know a lot about everything. I am continually surprised that the Command officers, for example, seem to know to fix the warp engines. It is like the CEO of Amazon, walking into their data centers and fixing the servers.
Showing posts with label Recommended. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommended. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
S1E15 11001001
Season 1 Episode 15: 11001001
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: The best written dialogue this season so far.
Notables: Watch out of Minuet, she'll come up again later.
I think this episode is the first one that has really surprised me. When I watched it as a kid, I don't remember it being notable at all. And while it has no over-arching message, I think it is the best written episode I've seen so far during these recaps.
When I watch each episode, I usually take notes. Sometimes I write down lines from the episode if I think that I might reference them later. Typically, there are only one or two quotations per episode. For this episode, almost everything I wrote down was a line of dialogue. Everything from Wesley commenting on a society where information is at your fingertips (*cough* *cough* smartphones...) to Picard making generalizations about love to Worf cracking a joke.
With these moments, we start see a little of the personalities of these characters; Worf as the deadpan comic, the mentor/friend relationship between Picard and Riker, Riker's love of jazz. I feel like all these are hints of what fans remember about these characters. Until this episode (and probably for a little while), I feel like the characters have been pretty flat. It's surprising to me that we get so much of it in a single episode. Hopefully, I haven't oversold it, since I definitely Recommend it.
Side Note: Watching this episode, it occurred to me to try to figure out if the title "11001001" had any significant meaning. Of course, being a computer science guy, I knew that it represents "C9" in hex or "201" in decimal. This didn't immediately produce a satisfactory answer, so I tried to figure out if it somehow connected to a "minuet" or had some significance in Jazz. All of my efforts came up empty. It wasn't until a day or so later, looking on Wikipedia, that I saw an explanation. Apparently, the number 201 can be seen on computer displays and other places repeatedly. This fact was was something I haven't heard of before. I'll have to look out for it in the future.
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: The best written dialogue this season so far.
Notables: Watch out of Minuet, she'll come up again later.
I think this episode is the first one that has really surprised me. When I watched it as a kid, I don't remember it being notable at all. And while it has no over-arching message, I think it is the best written episode I've seen so far during these recaps.
When I watch each episode, I usually take notes. Sometimes I write down lines from the episode if I think that I might reference them later. Typically, there are only one or two quotations per episode. For this episode, almost everything I wrote down was a line of dialogue. Everything from Wesley commenting on a society where information is at your fingertips (*cough* *cough* smartphones...) to Picard making generalizations about love to Worf cracking a joke.
With these moments, we start see a little of the personalities of these characters; Worf as the deadpan comic, the mentor/friend relationship between Picard and Riker, Riker's love of jazz. I feel like all these are hints of what fans remember about these characters. Until this episode (and probably for a little while), I feel like the characters have been pretty flat. It's surprising to me that we get so much of it in a single episode. Hopefully, I haven't oversold it, since I definitely Recommend it.
Side Note: Watching this episode, it occurred to me to try to figure out if the title "11001001" had any significant meaning. Of course, being a computer science guy, I knew that it represents "C9" in hex or "201" in decimal. This didn't immediately produce a satisfactory answer, so I tried to figure out if it somehow connected to a "minuet" or had some significance in Jazz. All of my efforts came up empty. It wasn't until a day or so later, looking on Wikipedia, that I saw an explanation. Apparently, the number 201 can be seen on computer displays and other places repeatedly. This fact was was something I haven't heard of before. I'll have to look out for it in the future.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
S1E13 Datalore
Season 1 Episode 13: Datalore
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: Starts one of the best character arcs of the show that carries over to the movies.
Notables: Introduction of Lore. "Shut-up Wesley" internet meme.
As I have said before, TNG existed in an era of television before there were sweeping plot arcs. Most episodes are fairly self-contained and in large part can be watched in any order. That being said, there are a couple character arcs that run throughout the series. This episode begins one of the more involved story arcs and it is one of my favorites. Unlike a lot of other story lines, it reappears in season finales and it is even present in the TNG movies.
This particular episode delves into Data's backstory. Until this episode, I feel like Data is mainly a reboot of the Spock character from TOS. In every iteration of Star Trek, there seems to be a character that plays to the same story beats as Spock.
In TOS, Spock's character played the role of an outsider; an alien that questioned the strange tendencies of humans. Sometimes it was used for comedic value, but it was often used to examine what makes humanity unique or special (or at least as the writers saw it). That plot device was so successful it has become a de-facto part of Star Trek. Every show since the original series has a character that serves the same purpose (ex. Data, Odo, Seven of Nine, T'Pol).
Depending on the series, the attempt to recreate the Spock character has varying degrees of success. With Data's character, I think they do that successfully and even manage to build on it. Data has his own unique story lines. Some of them we won't see until later, but this episode marks the beginning of moving Data away from just a Spock clone. For that reason, and because it sets up stories and characters to come, I definitely recommend it.
Side Note: The scene where both Picard and Dr. Crusher tell Wesley Crusher to "Shut-up" has become an internet meme. You can see many clips of it on YouTube, and even a Tumblr or two, but if you want a T-Shirt, they have those too.
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: Starts one of the best character arcs of the show that carries over to the movies.
Notables: Introduction of Lore. "Shut-up Wesley" internet meme.
As I have said before, TNG existed in an era of television before there were sweeping plot arcs. Most episodes are fairly self-contained and in large part can be watched in any order. That being said, there are a couple character arcs that run throughout the series. This episode begins one of the more involved story arcs and it is one of my favorites. Unlike a lot of other story lines, it reappears in season finales and it is even present in the TNG movies.
This particular episode delves into Data's backstory. Until this episode, I feel like Data is mainly a reboot of the Spock character from TOS. In every iteration of Star Trek, there seems to be a character that plays to the same story beats as Spock.
In TOS, Spock's character played the role of an outsider; an alien that questioned the strange tendencies of humans. Sometimes it was used for comedic value, but it was often used to examine what makes humanity unique or special (or at least as the writers saw it). That plot device was so successful it has become a de-facto part of Star Trek. Every show since the original series has a character that serves the same purpose (ex. Data, Odo, Seven of Nine, T'Pol).
Depending on the series, the attempt to recreate the Spock character has varying degrees of success. With Data's character, I think they do that successfully and even manage to build on it. Data has his own unique story lines. Some of them we won't see until later, but this episode marks the beginning of moving Data away from just a Spock clone. For that reason, and because it sets up stories and characters to come, I definitely recommend it.
Side Note: The scene where both Picard and Dr. Crusher tell Wesley Crusher to "Shut-up" has become an internet meme. You can see many clips of it on YouTube, and even a Tumblr or two, but if you want a T-Shirt, they have those too.
Friday, December 21, 2012
S1E09 The Battle
Season 1 Episode 9: The Battle
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: The plot is a little cheesy, but provides a reason to tell some good backstory on Captain Picard.
Notables: Origin of the "Picard Maneuver".
The plot of the episode leads a lot to be desired. Once again, the "scary" Ferengi are up to no good. They've found the Stargazer, a ship that Picard commanded during one of the first encounters with the Ferengi. During that encounter, the ship was severely damaged and Picard, through an act of desperation, invented the "Picard Maneuver" and destroyed the Ferengi ship (Side Note: the motion where Patrick Stewart adjusts the top part of his uniform is often referred to by fans as the "Picard Maneuver"). The ship was lost at some point, and the Ferengi have graciously offered to return it. Meanwhile the Ferengi are using some device to force Picard to relive those events and subtly alter his memory of them.
While I am not too keen on the plot, I do recommend this one because of Picard's backstory. The Stargazer is important to his character in a number of ways. At the time of TNG, Picard is presented as a seasoned veteran of Starfleet. The Stargazer on the other hand was his first command. I'm not sure if it comes up in this episode or another one, but he earned that command prematurely. Through the plot of the episode, Picard begins to doubt that he acted correctly in the battle that he relives over and over. While that comes from the use of a "technology" plot device, I think it emphasizes a very human trait.
Picard questions those events because, like most people, he doubts his memory of the past. Even though he has established himself as a captain (enough that he is in command of the most powerful ship in the Federation), his memories of that time we as a young and inexperienced captain. Even though Starfleet and his experience may tell him that what he did was rational and necessary, he still questions his actions.
This self analysis is a character trait that is very distinctive to me about Picard. In TOS, Kirk was a much more action-oriented character. Picard on the other hand is very reflective. In many episodes, he makes a point of asking others opinions. He even goes so far as to take people aside and encourage them to speak their mind. He doesn't settle on a course of action until he has heard many different opinions on it. Like the events of this episode, Picard never trusts one single viewpoint, even if it is his own. It's something I've always admired about his character and one of the reasons I recommend this episode.
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: The plot is a little cheesy, but provides a reason to tell some good backstory on Captain Picard.
Notables: Origin of the "Picard Maneuver".
The plot of the episode leads a lot to be desired. Once again, the "scary" Ferengi are up to no good. They've found the Stargazer, a ship that Picard commanded during one of the first encounters with the Ferengi. During that encounter, the ship was severely damaged and Picard, through an act of desperation, invented the "Picard Maneuver" and destroyed the Ferengi ship (Side Note: the motion where Patrick Stewart adjusts the top part of his uniform is often referred to by fans as the "Picard Maneuver"). The ship was lost at some point, and the Ferengi have graciously offered to return it. Meanwhile the Ferengi are using some device to force Picard to relive those events and subtly alter his memory of them.
While I am not too keen on the plot, I do recommend this one because of Picard's backstory. The Stargazer is important to his character in a number of ways. At the time of TNG, Picard is presented as a seasoned veteran of Starfleet. The Stargazer on the other hand was his first command. I'm not sure if it comes up in this episode or another one, but he earned that command prematurely. Through the plot of the episode, Picard begins to doubt that he acted correctly in the battle that he relives over and over. While that comes from the use of a "technology" plot device, I think it emphasizes a very human trait.
Picard questions those events because, like most people, he doubts his memory of the past. Even though he has established himself as a captain (enough that he is in command of the most powerful ship in the Federation), his memories of that time we as a young and inexperienced captain. Even though Starfleet and his experience may tell him that what he did was rational and necessary, he still questions his actions.
This self analysis is a character trait that is very distinctive to me about Picard. In TOS, Kirk was a much more action-oriented character. Picard on the other hand is very reflective. In many episodes, he makes a point of asking others opinions. He even goes so far as to take people aside and encourage them to speak their mind. He doesn't settle on a course of action until he has heard many different opinions on it. Like the events of this episode, Picard never trusts one single viewpoint, even if it is his own. It's something I've always admired about his character and one of the reasons I recommend this episode.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
S1E08 Justice
Season 1 Episode 8: Justice
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: A bit campy at times, but it the first allegory episode that is a hallmark of the series.
Notables: Prime Directive. Wesley episode.
This episode is a fairly heavy handed allegory for the death penalty. And while it is a bit preachy, I like that it takes an idea and follows it to an extreme. This technique is something that reoccurs often in TNG. It's also one of my favorite uses of science fiction. Sometimes it can be hyperbolic, or reductionist, but I always like to think of it as an experimentation of sorts. In my imagination, the writers start out with an idea and just start writing and see where the story takes them. To bring it outside of Star Trek, the season of The Wire that explores legalization reminds me a lot of this kind of storytelling.
This next part is a bit spoiler-y for the episode if you haven't seen it.
It is also the second time that we see the Prime Directive. Having seen the show almost front to back and having seen many episodes literally dozens of times, there are constants of the Star Trek universe burned into my mind. One of these is the Prime Directive. It is something I remember as being almost universally upheld in the Star Trek universe.
This episode presents a plot that is fairly typical of the episodes that feature the Prime Directive. Wesley has broken the law of this less advanced civilizations and the penalty is death. Everyone seems to agree that the situation was unfair, but the leaders of the planet maintain that the law is the law. Picard is presented with either violating the Prime Directive, or letting Wesley die.
The end of the episode has Picard basically saying "Your laws are stupid" and leaving by force with Wesley. I was a bit shocked by that ending, given my recollection of the show, but I suppose it feeds into the overarching theme of the episode. The point was that all laws are imperfect and cannot allow for every possibility. Picard's violation of the Prime Directive just solidifies that point. The laws of the Federation are in some ways flawed in the same way as the planet in this episode.
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: A bit campy at times, but it the first allegory episode that is a hallmark of the series.
Notables: Prime Directive. Wesley episode.
This episode is a fairly heavy handed allegory for the death penalty. And while it is a bit preachy, I like that it takes an idea and follows it to an extreme. This technique is something that reoccurs often in TNG. It's also one of my favorite uses of science fiction. Sometimes it can be hyperbolic, or reductionist, but I always like to think of it as an experimentation of sorts. In my imagination, the writers start out with an idea and just start writing and see where the story takes them. To bring it outside of Star Trek, the season of The Wire that explores legalization reminds me a lot of this kind of storytelling.
This next part is a bit spoiler-y for the episode if you haven't seen it.
It is also the second time that we see the Prime Directive. Having seen the show almost front to back and having seen many episodes literally dozens of times, there are constants of the Star Trek universe burned into my mind. One of these is the Prime Directive. It is something I remember as being almost universally upheld in the Star Trek universe.
This episode presents a plot that is fairly typical of the episodes that feature the Prime Directive. Wesley has broken the law of this less advanced civilizations and the penalty is death. Everyone seems to agree that the situation was unfair, but the leaders of the planet maintain that the law is the law. Picard is presented with either violating the Prime Directive, or letting Wesley die.
The end of the episode has Picard basically saying "Your laws are stupid" and leaving by force with Wesley. I was a bit shocked by that ending, given my recollection of the show, but I suppose it feeds into the overarching theme of the episode. The point was that all laws are imperfect and cannot allow for every possibility. Picard's violation of the Prime Directive just solidifies that point. The laws of the Federation are in some ways flawed in the same way as the planet in this episode.
S1E05 The Last Outpost
Season 1 Episode 5: The Last Outpost
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: A good episode that introduces an often used alien race.
Notables: This is the first appearance of the Ferengi. But more notably, the first appearance of Armin Shimerman, who is more famous for his role on DS9.
This episode is the first in the season that has a lot going for it. For one, it introduces the Ferengi. At the time, they were supposed to be the big bad of the show. In fact, when you watch this episode, you can see a lot of similarities to how the Klingons were portrayed in TOS. I am not sure what changed, but later in the show the Ferengi became much more comedic and less threatening.
I also feel like there are a lot of allusions to the Cold War. The Chinese finger trap is a great example. It is symbolic, not only of the plot of the episode itself, but of confrontation and compromise. In addition, the characters reference the writings of Sun Tzu at several points in the episode. These "history lessons" seem to be a common element throughout the series.
At times they are trite, but the idea of present day actors portraying how people in the future view our past is give the show writers an interesting way to comment on the present as history. There are a lot of references to China in this episode. I feel that the Ferengi represent the 1980s view of China (in relation to America) in the same way that the Klingons are a reflection of a 1960s view of Russia.
If you take that to its conclusion, there are some unfortunate aspects of how these races are portrayed (and perhaps that is a topic for a separate blog post), but the main take away is that the question of the episode seems to be "How do you trust someone you have no reason to trust?" Like the finger trap analogy that permeates the episode, I think the take away is that there points where the only option to survive to blindly trust.
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: A good episode that introduces an often used alien race.
Notables: This is the first appearance of the Ferengi. But more notably, the first appearance of Armin Shimerman, who is more famous for his role on DS9.
This episode is the first in the season that has a lot going for it. For one, it introduces the Ferengi. At the time, they were supposed to be the big bad of the show. In fact, when you watch this episode, you can see a lot of similarities to how the Klingons were portrayed in TOS. I am not sure what changed, but later in the show the Ferengi became much more comedic and less threatening.
I also feel like there are a lot of allusions to the Cold War. The Chinese finger trap is a great example. It is symbolic, not only of the plot of the episode itself, but of confrontation and compromise. In addition, the characters reference the writings of Sun Tzu at several points in the episode. These "history lessons" seem to be a common element throughout the series.
At times they are trite, but the idea of present day actors portraying how people in the future view our past is give the show writers an interesting way to comment on the present as history. There are a lot of references to China in this episode. I feel that the Ferengi represent the 1980s view of China (in relation to America) in the same way that the Klingons are a reflection of a 1960s view of Russia.
If you take that to its conclusion, there are some unfortunate aspects of how these races are portrayed (and perhaps that is a topic for a separate blog post), but the main take away is that the question of the episode seems to be "How do you trust someone you have no reason to trust?" Like the finger trap analogy that permeates the episode, I think the take away is that there points where the only option to survive to blindly trust.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
S1E1&2 Encounter at Farpoint
Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2: Encounter at Farpoint
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: It's the pilot, it would be hard to tell you not to watch it.
Notables: Introduction of the character 'Q'.
I got into TNG after it had been on for a couple of years, so I didn't watch Encounter at Farpoint until I had already become a fan. I remember this episode as being entirely cringe worthy. I still think it is not that great, but it does serve to introduce a lot of concepts of the show. As campy as it is, the character of Q and his test of humanity is a reoccurring theme through-out the show.
At the time I started watching TNG, I had been reading a lot of "Golden Age" SciFi authors (at least by today's standards: Asimov, Clarke, Pohl, etc). In most of those novels (and a lot of current SciFi television), the view of the future is a very gritty pessimistic "realism". While that aspect of SciFi does a lot to explore the "human condition", TNG was fascinating to me because it took the opposite tack. Gene Roddenberry's vision for the show was very firmly rooted in showing the best of humanity and what we can achieve.
The main thrust of this episode is Q's supposition that humanity is guilty for the "sins of the past". In this episode, we see examples of some of the fictional atrocities that happen after present day and before the start of the Star Trek franchise. At lot of it is really campy, but there are a couple of things I like about it. Mainly, I like how it gives Picard the ability to say that humanity learns from its mistakes. To paraphrase, he asks Q to "test us as we are, not as we were."
That notion is interesting to me, in the context of the show it is referencing very fictional history, but it also can be seen as talking about our actual recent history. Where we are today, is informed by the past (World Wars I/II, slavery, the Cold War, or whatever else), but we live in a very different world that would not be the same without that history. And still, what the show says is that we are constantly growing, possibly becoming the best versions of ourselves.
So I would say that this episode is definitely worth watching. It's a little rough around the edges, but it does frame the entire series nicely.
Watchability: Recommended
Short Answer: It's the pilot, it would be hard to tell you not to watch it.
Notables: Introduction of the character 'Q'.
I got into TNG after it had been on for a couple of years, so I didn't watch Encounter at Farpoint until I had already become a fan. I remember this episode as being entirely cringe worthy. I still think it is not that great, but it does serve to introduce a lot of concepts of the show. As campy as it is, the character of Q and his test of humanity is a reoccurring theme through-out the show.
At the time I started watching TNG, I had been reading a lot of "Golden Age" SciFi authors (at least by today's standards: Asimov, Clarke, Pohl, etc). In most of those novels (and a lot of current SciFi television), the view of the future is a very gritty pessimistic "realism". While that aspect of SciFi does a lot to explore the "human condition", TNG was fascinating to me because it took the opposite tack. Gene Roddenberry's vision for the show was very firmly rooted in showing the best of humanity and what we can achieve.
The main thrust of this episode is Q's supposition that humanity is guilty for the "sins of the past". In this episode, we see examples of some of the fictional atrocities that happen after present day and before the start of the Star Trek franchise. At lot of it is really campy, but there are a couple of things I like about it. Mainly, I like how it gives Picard the ability to say that humanity learns from its mistakes. To paraphrase, he asks Q to "test us as we are, not as we were."
That notion is interesting to me, in the context of the show it is referencing very fictional history, but it also can be seen as talking about our actual recent history. Where we are today, is informed by the past (World Wars I/II, slavery, the Cold War, or whatever else), but we live in a very different world that would not be the same without that history. And still, what the show says is that we are constantly growing, possibly becoming the best versions of ourselves.
So I would say that this episode is definitely worth watching. It's a little rough around the edges, but it does frame the entire series nicely.
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