S1E19 Coming of Age

Season 1 Episode 19: Coming of Age

Watchability: Skip
Short Answer: A couple interesting points, but nothing you are going to miss.
Notables: Serves as a sort of precursor to "Conspiracy"

There are two main threads running through this episode. The first one is about one of Picard's old friends who is now an admiral. He comes to the Enterprise and investigates Picard's record for reasons unknown. By today's standards has a fairly predictable twist. The more "interesting" part of this plot line is continued in the episode "Conspiracy" later this season, so I won't go into it here. We'll see how I feel when I get to it, but I recall that episode being one of the strangest episodes in the entire series. If you watch this one, definitely watch "Conspiracy". It's not good, but it will probably be good for a laugh.

The second plot line follows Wesley Crusher as he applies to Starfleet. It's interesting for a couple reasons. The one that piqued my interest is that the Starfleet application process is very selective. Of all the children on the Enterprise, Wesley is the only one allowed to take the exam. The plot diverges a bit into the story about another teenager who does not get accepted. I suppose he is intended to be a foil for Wesley, but I have a hard time seeing the purpose. He seems to exist solely to let Picard give him a heart filled pep-talk about trying again.

Having the exam be so selective definitely seems to drive home the point that the Starfleet is "the best and the brightest" (which later plot-lines are happy to contradict). We already saw that it is difficult to even be allowed to take the test. In addition, only one person from the test is accepted. It's understandable that Starfleet wants people of a certain caliber, but having the applicants compete against each other seems a little contrary to the principles of the show. It seems at odds with a world that talks about how there is no unemployment and everyone is able to do what they set out to do. If all the applicants were capable of being a Starfleet officer, I would think that they would accept them.

As per usual, I am probably over analyzing it. This aspect of the plot is probably exists just to facilitate the moral (see Spoiler Section below). If any of the discussion above sounds interesting, go ahead and watch it. Otherwise, it is pretty safe to skip.

Spoilers...
By the end of the exam, it is clear that Wesley and Mordock, another candidate, are neck-and-neck. Wesley takes a moment during one of the tests to help his opponent, which causes him to fail to get accepted into Starfleet. Picard delivers what I assume is the moral of the episode in this statement: "You have to measure your successes and failures within." Written down it's a little bit trite, but it is no worse than the life lessons that other shows of the time dole out (I'm looking at you Full House...).

Side Notes
(1) A few episodes back, I talked about a gesture that Patrick Stewart often makes which is jokingly called "The Picard Maneuver". In this episode, we almost see "The Riker Maneuver" (I think it is called that). As you continue to watch the show, you may notice that Riker often straddles a chair. This action denotes to us, the audience, his laid-back persona. He doesn't quite do it here, but he does swing his leg over the chair like he is going to, but without turning the chair around.

(2) This episode also features the first instance of Riker ALMOST getting to command the Enterprise. Picard tells Riker that he has been offered an admiralty, and you can see the excitement in Riker's face until Picard tells him that he has turned it down. Throughout the show, there are a number of times where Riker seems to waiting for the chance to command the Enterprise. Sometimes he gets to command of the ship for a little while. At other times, he is offered a position somewhere else and turns it down. He just can't seem to catch a break.

S1E17 When the Bough Breaks

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.

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.

S1E06 Where No One Has Gone Before

Season 1 Episode 6: Where No One Has Gone Before

Watchability: Extra Credit
Short Answer: This episode introduces the Traveler, who makes another notable appearance later in the series, but the episode does not have much else going for it.
Notables: Introduction of the Traveler. Classic Wesley saves the day plot.

This episode is the first one that has given me trouble on whether to recommend it or not. Truth be told it is a bit silly, but there are a couple things worth noting.

The first is the introduction of the Traveler. This alien creature is one of the many mostly-omniscient alien races created by the show. He isn't that great of a character, but he does make another appearance as a part of Wesley's "character arc", such as it is (you kind of get allusions to that if you watch the episode). I put this episode as "Extra Credit" mainly for continuity nuts, but I don't think there is anything in the episode that is critical to understanding what happens later.

The second reason to watch this episode is that it is the first of the classic "Wesley Crusher Saves the Day" plots. It's a bit of a reoccurring theme on the show. As is typical of these types of episodes, Wesley has the answer that can save the ship, but no one believes him because he is just a kid. Of course, he is right and the saves the day. It also establishes that he is pretty smart. At one point the Traveler compares Wesley to Mozart.

As a kid, I thought it was really annoying mainly because I thought Wesley was really annoying (as most boys my age did). Watching it again this time, one of the things that struck me was that Riker actually makes a point of admitting that he was wrong for not listening to Wesley. Though it comes off a bit trite, I think that highlights one of the values the show expresses, which is accountability.