Star Trek: The Next Generation 5.14, 6.20, 6.25, 7.15, 2.18
The mister and I went on a little TNG bender last night. It’s fun having the entire series up on Netflix. It makes it very easy to just go through and pick episodes at random, like what you’d run into if you were watching in syndication. I got a little hankering during dinner and started scrolling through descriptions. I decided to go with season 5’s Conundrum. Also known as “Ro Bangs Riker”.
The dress that Ro was wearing when Riker discovered her lounging in his quarters (stalker!) was the exact same design, different color, as my all-time favorite civilian dress of the entire franchise. Jadzia wears it in the DS9 season 3 episode “Fascination”.
Obviously it’s a little dark in Will’s bedroom, it is a seduction scene after all, but look! It’s totally the same dress! So is that because of the continuing awesomeness of Bajoran fashion? I mean, clearly they have the best clothes of any Trek aliens. And Jadzia could have totally bought her dress from the same department store chain in [Major Bajoran Fashion Capitol] that Ro got hers from. (In all seriousness though: where did the costumer get that dress pattern and can I have it too please?)
Anyway, besides the dress discussion, I really like the mystery of this episode. It’s fun having MacDuff show up and the viewers are all who-the-hell-is-this-guy. He doesn’t seem too moustache twirly until he tries to get Worf to help him mutiny. And I loved how Worf took over when they first lost their memories! Totally hilarious and totally plausible, too. But ultimately, his honor rules him, even when he doesn’t know. So of course he apologizes to Picard for his behavior and of course he doesn’t help MacDuff commit genocide.
Mr. b picked the next one. He went with season 6’s The Chase. Also known as ”Hey, isn’t that the female shapeshifter”?
I think Patrick Stewart gives a helluva performance. Picard’s reaction to seeing the whatchamacallit on the boardroom table is amazing. Genuine surprise, disbelief, and pure joy at being in the presence of such an important and ancient relic. He gets even better during his interactions with his former mentor, reviewing past decisions and the disappointment he caused someone so close to him at one point in his life. A really great display of acting.
This one has another good mystery. I genuinely enjoy the way they piece together the various DNA fragments and extrapolate where they came from. We joked about how Crusher wasn’t doing the program herself. She sent the report specs to the onboard reporting and analysis department where they had to write up the code to hit the database and produce the results. HA! Everything turns into workplace comedy. I love the Klingon captain hanging out with Worf. We don’t see them actually speak to each other until the end, where they’re fighting with Romulans and Cardassians, but they’re totally standing next to each other in all scenes. And the end, where the Romulan commander calls Picard to say “’sup” is great. Too bad about that bad movie that ruined Romulans. Let’s pretend that’s another one of Riker’s bad holodeck fan-fiction programs like that horrible one where Trip got killed. Stupid Riker. Why did he write that fanfic? He got tons of negative feedback when he posted that one. Obviously Trip lived happily ever after. Everybody knows that. Riker’s a bad fangirl.
Next we intentionally picked something that we couldn’t remember based on either the title or the description. That way it would be even more like Random Syndicated Episode. So that ended up being season 6’s Timescape. It didn’t take too long for us to realize it was ”Picard Draws a Smiley Face in the Explosion”.
Again, another really fun mystery. This one wasn’t quite as character-based as the previous one but it was neat to see that particular combination of characters together. We had a blast riffing on the set-up, too. That the deadline for the conference registration was coming so they were all scrambling to figure out what break-out sessions to register for. Then Picard offered to drive (that was totally the Captain’s Yacht, right? Not just some standard issue runabout, right? Because there was a frickin’ boardroom in the back!) and they all got squirrely on the road trip and had too much to drink at the evening networking event. See? Everything turns into workplace comedy!
There was a nice nod to series continuity that I don’t think I’d ever noticed before. Deana did that plexing thing - tapping her fingers below her ear - she taught to Reg in an earlier episode. Oh and Lyta Alexander was the other not-Romulan! I love when she shows up in her one-liner stuntwoman roles.
Even though it was late, I wanted to watch another one so we moved on to pick something from season 7. I gave Mr. b a choice between “Worf’s Russian Brother” and “Junior Officers, the Bajoran Girl Dies”. He went with Lower Decks.
We were snarking on how the main cast got the week off for this one but that’s not really the case. They had just as much on-screen time but it was as the background players instead of as the main focus. It’s an interesting trick and I’m generally a fan of this particular trope in any series. The stand-out is, of course, Ensign Sito. She’s adorable and I just love the mentorship with Worf. He’s such a good guy when he’s not being a complete dick. Which means, of course, she has to die. But she went into her mission with the respect of her captain and it was her own decision. And once again, the Bajorans have the best clothes. I seriously love their knitwear.
Was the same actress in the Red Squad episode that Picard was yelling at her about? I’ll have to rewatch that one, too. I know Not!Tom Paris is in it for sure. More series continuity at any rate.
By this point it was far too late, and I had far too many cuba libres for a school night, but I wanted to go for one more. We wrapped back around to the beginning but skipped the horrible first season, straight to my favorite most maligned episode ever: season 2’s Up the Long Ladder. Which is, of course, better known as “The Super Racist Irish One”.
I honestly don’t know why it’s so hated. It’s high camp! Picard himself gives in to the absurd and just laughs at the insanity of having a cargo hold full of stereotypes and their farm animals. The dude playing the drunk leader is clearly having a great time hamming it up. And then there’s Riker. I don’t know why James T. gets such a bad reputation for being a womanizer. He’s not actually macking his way across the galaxy. Kirk only kisses the girls if a) he’s in love, b) he’s under alien influence, or c) it’s a ruse for something else. Those are legit! Whereas William Riker is a horndog. Plain and simple. He likes the ladies. He likes gettin’ with the ladies. He got in trouble with Ro and Troi because he was totally making a play for both of them when their memories were wiped out. And Will Riker goes for the Irish lass. Because she’s hot and in a petticoat in front of him.
Then we switch to the clone colony. First of all, I adore Pulaski. But besides that, I just love her interactions with Worf. I know she gets shit for “being mean” to Data but she’s the only one that respects Worf’s beliefs. She totally lies for him when he’s got the chicken pox because she doesn’t want him to catch crap for having a little kid disease! Yes, she’s supposed to be a female Bones but that works for me. I like her revulsion at seeing her clone and she doesn’t hesitate to shoot it when Riker hands her his phaser. I do think it’s a bit abrupt how they ultimately fobbed the “primitive” colony off on the “advanced” colony, dealing with neither and leaving them to fend for themselves. And yet it also has nice symmetry. In the end, I think this episode is fun and funny and just plain enjoyable television. Especially when drunk.
The dress that Ro was wearing when Riker discovered her lounging in his quarters (stalker!) was the exact same design, different color, as my all-time favorite civilian dress of the entire franchise. Jadzia wears it in the DS9 season 3 episode “Fascination”.
Obviously it’s a little dark in Will’s bedroom, it is a seduction scene after all, but look! It’s totally the same dress! So is that because of the continuing awesomeness of Bajoran fashion? I mean, clearly they have the best clothes of any Trek aliens. And Jadzia could have totally bought her dress from the same department store chain in [Major Bajoran Fashion Capitol] that Ro got hers from. (In all seriousness though: where did the costumer get that dress pattern and can I have it too please?)
Anyway, besides the dress discussion, I really like the mystery of this episode. It’s fun having MacDuff show up and the viewers are all who-the-hell-is-this-guy. He doesn’t seem too moustache twirly until he tries to get Worf to help him mutiny. And I loved how Worf took over when they first lost their memories! Totally hilarious and totally plausible, too. But ultimately, his honor rules him, even when he doesn’t know. So of course he apologizes to Picard for his behavior and of course he doesn’t help MacDuff commit genocide.
Mr. b picked the next one. He went with season 6’s The Chase. Also known as ”Hey, isn’t that the female shapeshifter”?
I think Patrick Stewart gives a helluva performance. Picard’s reaction to seeing the whatchamacallit on the boardroom table is amazing. Genuine surprise, disbelief, and pure joy at being in the presence of such an important and ancient relic. He gets even better during his interactions with his former mentor, reviewing past decisions and the disappointment he caused someone so close to him at one point in his life. A really great display of acting.
This one has another good mystery. I genuinely enjoy the way they piece together the various DNA fragments and extrapolate where they came from. We joked about how Crusher wasn’t doing the program herself. She sent the report specs to the onboard reporting and analysis department where they had to write up the code to hit the database and produce the results. HA! Everything turns into workplace comedy. I love the Klingon captain hanging out with Worf. We don’t see them actually speak to each other until the end, where they’re fighting with Romulans and Cardassians, but they’re totally standing next to each other in all scenes. And the end, where the Romulan commander calls Picard to say “’sup” is great. Too bad about that bad movie that ruined Romulans. Let’s pretend that’s another one of Riker’s bad holodeck fan-fiction programs like that horrible one where Trip got killed. Stupid Riker. Why did he write that fanfic? He got tons of negative feedback when he posted that one. Obviously Trip lived happily ever after. Everybody knows that. Riker’s a bad fangirl.
Next we intentionally picked something that we couldn’t remember based on either the title or the description. That way it would be even more like Random Syndicated Episode. So that ended up being season 6’s Timescape. It didn’t take too long for us to realize it was ”Picard Draws a Smiley Face in the Explosion”.
Again, another really fun mystery. This one wasn’t quite as character-based as the previous one but it was neat to see that particular combination of characters together. We had a blast riffing on the set-up, too. That the deadline for the conference registration was coming so they were all scrambling to figure out what break-out sessions to register for. Then Picard offered to drive (that was totally the Captain’s Yacht, right? Not just some standard issue runabout, right? Because there was a frickin’ boardroom in the back!) and they all got squirrely on the road trip and had too much to drink at the evening networking event. See? Everything turns into workplace comedy!
There was a nice nod to series continuity that I don’t think I’d ever noticed before. Deana did that plexing thing - tapping her fingers below her ear - she taught to Reg in an earlier episode. Oh and Lyta Alexander was the other not-Romulan! I love when she shows up in her one-liner stuntwoman roles.
Even though it was late, I wanted to watch another one so we moved on to pick something from season 7. I gave Mr. b a choice between “Worf’s Russian Brother” and “Junior Officers, the Bajoran Girl Dies”. He went with Lower Decks.
We were snarking on how the main cast got the week off for this one but that’s not really the case. They had just as much on-screen time but it was as the background players instead of as the main focus. It’s an interesting trick and I’m generally a fan of this particular trope in any series. The stand-out is, of course, Ensign Sito. She’s adorable and I just love the mentorship with Worf. He’s such a good guy when he’s not being a complete dick. Which means, of course, she has to die. But she went into her mission with the respect of her captain and it was her own decision. And once again, the Bajorans have the best clothes. I seriously love their knitwear.
Was the same actress in the Red Squad episode that Picard was yelling at her about? I’ll have to rewatch that one, too. I know Not!Tom Paris is in it for sure. More series continuity at any rate.
By this point it was far too late, and I had far too many cuba libres for a school night, but I wanted to go for one more. We wrapped back around to the beginning but skipped the horrible first season, straight to my favorite most maligned episode ever: season 2’s Up the Long Ladder. Which is, of course, better known as “The Super Racist Irish One”.
I honestly don’t know why it’s so hated. It’s high camp! Picard himself gives in to the absurd and just laughs at the insanity of having a cargo hold full of stereotypes and their farm animals. The dude playing the drunk leader is clearly having a great time hamming it up. And then there’s Riker. I don’t know why James T. gets such a bad reputation for being a womanizer. He’s not actually macking his way across the galaxy. Kirk only kisses the girls if a) he’s in love, b) he’s under alien influence, or c) it’s a ruse for something else. Those are legit! Whereas William Riker is a horndog. Plain and simple. He likes the ladies. He likes gettin’ with the ladies. He got in trouble with Ro and Troi because he was totally making a play for both of them when their memories were wiped out. And Will Riker goes for the Irish lass. Because she’s hot and in a petticoat in front of him.
Then we switch to the clone colony. First of all, I adore Pulaski. But besides that, I just love her interactions with Worf. I know she gets shit for “being mean” to Data but she’s the only one that respects Worf’s beliefs. She totally lies for him when he’s got the chicken pox because she doesn’t want him to catch crap for having a little kid disease! Yes, she’s supposed to be a female Bones but that works for me. I like her revulsion at seeing her clone and she doesn’t hesitate to shoot it when Riker hands her his phaser. I do think it’s a bit abrupt how they ultimately fobbed the “primitive” colony off on the “advanced” colony, dealing with neither and leaving them to fend for themselves. And yet it also has nice symmetry. In the end, I think this episode is fun and funny and just plain enjoyable television. Especially when drunk.