Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season One Review (Spoilers)
Also a review for the latest episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Duel of the Doublecrossers"
I really liked this episode because it seemed like the writers threw a bunch of DC characters at a wall to see what stuck.
Mongul's sister looks familiar. Where have I seen her before?
I especially appreciated that the episode made Jonah Hex somewhat of a jerk. From what I read about him he isn't very pleasant.
Loved him and Lashina riding off into the sunset. Did NOT see that coming.
The episode was funny, unpredictable and cool. ****.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Complete First Season
I don't want to sound like a Voyager or Enterprise apologist as both of those later Star Trek series are rightly considered mostly awful by serious Trekkies; but the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, often labeled the best of the Star Trek series by critics, is without a doubt, easily the WORST season of all 29 seasons of the various Star Trek TV series.
That may sound a bit harsh, but it's true. What I found most fascinating about it is that even the episodes that aren't all that bad tended to have scenes in them that were downright annoying at best (mostly thanks to Wesley Crusher who is one of the most reviled characters in all of science fiction). See Symbiosis which is mostly a good (if slightly unbelievable) sci-fi concept for an example of what I'm talking about.
I think the season is similar in a lot of ways to the first three seasons of The Original Series. But unlike those episodes, the campiness is more painful than fun here and the show rarely had cool Trek-like concepts that The Original Series was famous for. I mean, you could easily argue that TOS' awful dialogue was simply a sign of the times and reflected television at that time. TNG's first season has no such excuse. Even if TV shows in the eighties weren't quite as sophisticated as they were in the nineties and today the good ones, like Cheers and Hill Street Blues, were still pretty darn clever and hardly dated at all.
I point much of the blame of this season's suckiness on Wesley Crusher's shoulders. The deified Gene Roddenberry is one of the most overrated TV producers of all time and I firmly believe that the less he had to do with the various Trek series, the better they got. Only he was delusional enough to believe the audience would not find a character as completely insufferable and goody-goody as Wesley (whom he reportedly based on himself) completely miserable. The fact that the actor who played him (Wil Wheaton) is cool and funny and pokes fun at the role in his blog doesn't change this fact.
Tasha Yar is pretty annoying too when you get down to it. All this talk about "rape-gangs" is just plain NOT in the spirit of the show. And the less said about Deanna Troi's first season, the better. Still, Geodi La Forge (Levar Burton) isn't the butt-monkey here he became later in the series.
I AM a little surprised at how much I love Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher. She was never one of my favorites when I watched this show as it aired but I'm beginning to think she was one of this show's MVPs as I rewatch it as an adult.
Patrick Stewart hadn't quite stepped into his role as Jean-Luc Picard but he (and Micheal Dorn's Worf) were both filled with a lot of promise that they later sunk their teeth into as the series went on. About the only actor who nails their role from the start is Brent Spiner as Data. You could argue he is out of character in Encounter at Farpoint and The Naked Now but after the first two episodes he is the Data we know and love.
The special effects in the first season are simply awful and are MUCH more noticable here than on the original series because TNG's effects improved so much that by the end of it's run they were feature quality. There is not all that much difference in the first few episode's effects with that from TOS.
Best episodes of the season are The Big Goodbye and Conspiracy. Worst episodes? Where to start? How about The Naked Now, Code of Honor, The Last Outpost, Lonely Among Us, Justice, Haven, Hide and Q, Angel One, and Too Short a Season? I know that's a LOT of episodes for a Worst Of list but if any Star Trek season deserves it, it's this one. Season overall: *1/2.
Encounter At Farpoint: I've heard people say that this isn't as bad as you remembered upon a rewatch but that is completely untrue. If anything, it's worse. About the only thing I can recommend about the episode is the too-cool cameo of DeForrest Kelley as Admiral McCoy. Bonus demerits for making one of the series' most fascinating guest stars (John De Lancie as Q) into a regular mustache twirling villain in his first appearance. **.
The Naked Now: I've always described this episode to my friends as Porky's in Space and that assessment still stands. One of the most completely stupid Star Treks of all time. 1/2.
Code of Honor: Inexcusable. This episode is downright racist and ugly. I heard the director has a MAJOR chip on his shoulder when it came to black people and that was the reason it was so awful. It's arguably one of the worst (if not THE worst) episodes of the series. 0.
The Last Outpost: Armin Shimerman (Quark on Deep Space Nine) was rightly ashamed of his first appearance as one of the Ferengi in this episode. The Ferengi shown here are ugly Jewish stereotypes instead of the complex characters Ira Steven Behr developed for DS9. Gene Roddenberry should be ashamed of himself. But of course, he was shameless. 1/2.
Where No One Has Gone Before: Not exactly a bad episode but not a good one either. Making Wesley Crusher into some version of Mozart was inexcusable. **1/2.
Lonely Among Us: Kind of boring. I had completely forgotten about this episode and it's easy to see why: it's forgettable. *1/2.
Justice: This was cringe-inducing. Seeing an entire planet prance around half naked and the crew going along with it was embarrassing. *.
The Battle: Not a great episode but I give it credit for giving us the first somewhat sympathetic Ferengi character in Bok's second in command who relates well with Riker. Not bad. **1/2.
Hide and Q: Outside of some nice John De Lancie mugging this is easily the worst Q episode. And Jonathan Frakes as Riker didn't earn his stripes as a cool character until later in the series. *1/2.
Haven: Technically, this is a bad episode (I DID call it one of the worst episodes of the season in my review) but I still think it's a curiosity for the debut of Lwaxana Troi and Mr. Homm, and the casting of a pre-Prison Break Robert Knepper as a handsome leading man. I still can't get over the fact that that's T-Bag. **.
The Big Goodbye: Not the first great episode of the show, but the first good one. I think I enjoy it because of the loving recreation of the 1940s the ep repilicates and the fact that it took an unusual psychological stance on the nature of holograms (which was further explored in both Voyager and DS9). Plus seeing Gates McFadden all dolled up was great. ****.
Datalore: I might have been tempted to declare this a bad episode if it weren't for the range it allowed Brent Spiner as Data and Lore to go for. Still, it's far from perfect. Shut up, Wesley, indeed. **1/2.
Angel One: Truly awful. And people wonder why I took as long to warm up to Riker as I did. 0.
11001001: I love the Bynars and I've had a crush on Caroline McCormack since her Law and Order days. Fun. ***1/2.
Too Short a Season: This episode sucks (the actor playing Jameson is horrid) but it was STILL neat seeing Ren and Stimpy's George Liquor (Micheal Pataki) in live-action. *.
When the Bough Breaks: Not sure why I like this episode but I do. Probably because it's nice to see early roles for Desperate Housewives' Brenda Strong and The X-Files' Jerry Hardin. Plus, Alexandra is easily the most adorable ragamuffin in Star Trek history. And I don't mean that in a bad way (most Star Trek kid actors are quite obnoxious) by damning her with faint praise. No, the girls who play her are simply too cute for words especially when she hugs Picard at the end and sticks a plushie on his bum. ***.
Home Soil: A rote episode but not a bad one. **1/2.
Coming of Age: This COULD have been an interesting episode (it arguably sets up the only story arc in the series' history besides the Borg and Sela) but the episode spends half it's time wasting time with the Wesley at Starfleet Academy nonsense. **.
Heart of Glory: I started watching TNG in the middle of it's run so when I saw Worf's first spotlight rerun I was somewhat appalled originally. The episode takes one of the most honorable and righteous characters in Star Trek history and tries to make the audience question his loyalty! The nerve! It's only now, that I have a bigger appreciation for the entire franchise as a whole, that I acknowledge that this was the right approach to take for his first featured episode. The viewing audience only knew the Klingons as baddies from the original series at the time this was first broadcast so of COURSE they had trust issues involving a Klingon on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Considering how black and white evil they were on the old show the idea is practically sacrelige! The episode was right to show Worf in a compromising position and then explaining exactly why he was loyal to the Federation and what the Klingons' relationship to them is now. MUCH better than I remembered it. ***1/2.
The Arsenal of Freedom: Not great, but not all that bad either. And I'll watch Vincent Schiavelli in anything. **1/2.
Symbiosis: JUST on the verge of being a good episode. I'd rate it higher but it had some definite problems. One of course, is the annoying Wesley and Tasha lecture on drugs. The other is the fact that there was really no resolution, or rather any resolution that COULD have been solved by the problems the episode posed. I probably prefer DS9 as a series to NextGen simply because problems like those raised in the episode had CONSEQUENCES and would have major repercussions to the characters on that series. Here Picard ponders what MIGHT happen and then we're off to next week's adventure. Considering that what happened at the end of the episode will likely lead to a civil war between the two species that seems like the wrong message to send to the audience. ***.
Skin of Evil: This episode is infamous for having the first of MANY crummy, meaningless death in Star Trek which is too bad. It completely mars what might have otherwise been an interesting episode. Armus is SUCH a creepy villain and the idea of him being the evil skin cast off by a race of Titans is a cool one. Of course, the special effects are awful here but they didn't get good until the third season anyways. **1/2.
We'll Always Have Paris: This romance for Picard always fizzled for me because Patrick Stewart didn't grow into his role as the eighties' most unlikely hottie until later in the series (see Captain's Holiday). Still, the stuff with a time-tripping Data is golden. ***.
Conspiracy: Okay, let's get it out of the way: The special effects here are awful. No question. That doesn't change the fact that in pacing, suspense, music and outright creepiness this episode is the best of the season. Maybe it wouldn't be a great episode by the last five seasons' standards. But as it stands here, it's a good one. I'm just sad that the cool cliffhanger ending was never paid of in this series or any later ones. How cool would it have been for Voyager to run into these bugs on their way to launch a full invasion of Starfleet featuring thousands of mother insects? ****.
The Neutral Zone: I know this episode sets up both the Borg and the Romulans but as a season finale it doesn't compare to the cliffhangers from season three on. Ralph annoyed me too, although I found Sonny's schtick with Data somewhat amusing. This episode is also notable for the first Star Trek role for Marc Alaimo (DS9's Gul Dukat) here playing a Romulan. ***.
Mission Logs:
The Beginning: The first of four featurettes discussing the origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Interesting. ****.
Selected Crew Analysis: I liked this doc too especially since it explored the tight-knit bond between the actors which seemed to be exclusive to this particular Star Trek series. ****.
The Making of a Legend: This doc goes through all of the technical aspects of the series from the music, the make-up, the special effects, the sets, and the designs. Fascinating stuff. ****1/2.
Memorable Missions: This is the cast and crew talking about their favorite scenes of the first season. My favorite story is the first: Jonathan Frakes relating how he had to get submerged in black slime made of Metamucil and printer ink during Skin of Evil, and Levar Burton giving him a pitying look and telling him the producers would never have gotten HIM to do that. ****.
DVD Menus: I love Star Trek DVD menus and these are no exception. I especially like how these particular ones show clips from the episodes in each disc which the DS9 menus never bothered to do. Overall: ****.
Disc 1 Menu: ****1/2.
Disc 2 Menu: *****.
Disc 3 Menu: ***1/2.
Disc 4 Menu: ***1/2.
Disc 5 Menu: ****.
Disc 6 Menu: ****1/2.
Disc 7 Menu: ****1/2.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Duel of the Doublecrossers"
I really liked this episode because it seemed like the writers threw a bunch of DC characters at a wall to see what stuck.
Mongul's sister looks familiar. Where have I seen her before?
I especially appreciated that the episode made Jonah Hex somewhat of a jerk. From what I read about him he isn't very pleasant.
Loved him and Lashina riding off into the sunset. Did NOT see that coming.
The episode was funny, unpredictable and cool. ****.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Complete First Season
I don't want to sound like a Voyager or Enterprise apologist as both of those later Star Trek series are rightly considered mostly awful by serious Trekkies; but the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, often labeled the best of the Star Trek series by critics, is without a doubt, easily the WORST season of all 29 seasons of the various Star Trek TV series.
That may sound a bit harsh, but it's true. What I found most fascinating about it is that even the episodes that aren't all that bad tended to have scenes in them that were downright annoying at best (mostly thanks to Wesley Crusher who is one of the most reviled characters in all of science fiction). See Symbiosis which is mostly a good (if slightly unbelievable) sci-fi concept for an example of what I'm talking about.
I think the season is similar in a lot of ways to the first three seasons of The Original Series. But unlike those episodes, the campiness is more painful than fun here and the show rarely had cool Trek-like concepts that The Original Series was famous for. I mean, you could easily argue that TOS' awful dialogue was simply a sign of the times and reflected television at that time. TNG's first season has no such excuse. Even if TV shows in the eighties weren't quite as sophisticated as they were in the nineties and today the good ones, like Cheers and Hill Street Blues, were still pretty darn clever and hardly dated at all.
I point much of the blame of this season's suckiness on Wesley Crusher's shoulders. The deified Gene Roddenberry is one of the most overrated TV producers of all time and I firmly believe that the less he had to do with the various Trek series, the better they got. Only he was delusional enough to believe the audience would not find a character as completely insufferable and goody-goody as Wesley (whom he reportedly based on himself) completely miserable. The fact that the actor who played him (Wil Wheaton) is cool and funny and pokes fun at the role in his blog doesn't change this fact.
Tasha Yar is pretty annoying too when you get down to it. All this talk about "rape-gangs" is just plain NOT in the spirit of the show. And the less said about Deanna Troi's first season, the better. Still, Geodi La Forge (Levar Burton) isn't the butt-monkey here he became later in the series.
I AM a little surprised at how much I love Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher. She was never one of my favorites when I watched this show as it aired but I'm beginning to think she was one of this show's MVPs as I rewatch it as an adult.
Patrick Stewart hadn't quite stepped into his role as Jean-Luc Picard but he (and Micheal Dorn's Worf) were both filled with a lot of promise that they later sunk their teeth into as the series went on. About the only actor who nails their role from the start is Brent Spiner as Data. You could argue he is out of character in Encounter at Farpoint and The Naked Now but after the first two episodes he is the Data we know and love.
The special effects in the first season are simply awful and are MUCH more noticable here than on the original series because TNG's effects improved so much that by the end of it's run they were feature quality. There is not all that much difference in the first few episode's effects with that from TOS.
Best episodes of the season are The Big Goodbye and Conspiracy. Worst episodes? Where to start? How about The Naked Now, Code of Honor, The Last Outpost, Lonely Among Us, Justice, Haven, Hide and Q, Angel One, and Too Short a Season? I know that's a LOT of episodes for a Worst Of list but if any Star Trek season deserves it, it's this one. Season overall: *1/2.
Encounter At Farpoint: I've heard people say that this isn't as bad as you remembered upon a rewatch but that is completely untrue. If anything, it's worse. About the only thing I can recommend about the episode is the too-cool cameo of DeForrest Kelley as Admiral McCoy. Bonus demerits for making one of the series' most fascinating guest stars (John De Lancie as Q) into a regular mustache twirling villain in his first appearance. **.
The Naked Now: I've always described this episode to my friends as Porky's in Space and that assessment still stands. One of the most completely stupid Star Treks of all time. 1/2.
Code of Honor: Inexcusable. This episode is downright racist and ugly. I heard the director has a MAJOR chip on his shoulder when it came to black people and that was the reason it was so awful. It's arguably one of the worst (if not THE worst) episodes of the series. 0.
The Last Outpost: Armin Shimerman (Quark on Deep Space Nine) was rightly ashamed of his first appearance as one of the Ferengi in this episode. The Ferengi shown here are ugly Jewish stereotypes instead of the complex characters Ira Steven Behr developed for DS9. Gene Roddenberry should be ashamed of himself. But of course, he was shameless. 1/2.
Where No One Has Gone Before: Not exactly a bad episode but not a good one either. Making Wesley Crusher into some version of Mozart was inexcusable. **1/2.
Lonely Among Us: Kind of boring. I had completely forgotten about this episode and it's easy to see why: it's forgettable. *1/2.
Justice: This was cringe-inducing. Seeing an entire planet prance around half naked and the crew going along with it was embarrassing. *.
The Battle: Not a great episode but I give it credit for giving us the first somewhat sympathetic Ferengi character in Bok's second in command who relates well with Riker. Not bad. **1/2.
Hide and Q: Outside of some nice John De Lancie mugging this is easily the worst Q episode. And Jonathan Frakes as Riker didn't earn his stripes as a cool character until later in the series. *1/2.
Haven: Technically, this is a bad episode (I DID call it one of the worst episodes of the season in my review) but I still think it's a curiosity for the debut of Lwaxana Troi and Mr. Homm, and the casting of a pre-Prison Break Robert Knepper as a handsome leading man. I still can't get over the fact that that's T-Bag. **.
The Big Goodbye: Not the first great episode of the show, but the first good one. I think I enjoy it because of the loving recreation of the 1940s the ep repilicates and the fact that it took an unusual psychological stance on the nature of holograms (which was further explored in both Voyager and DS9). Plus seeing Gates McFadden all dolled up was great. ****.
Datalore: I might have been tempted to declare this a bad episode if it weren't for the range it allowed Brent Spiner as Data and Lore to go for. Still, it's far from perfect. Shut up, Wesley, indeed. **1/2.
Angel One: Truly awful. And people wonder why I took as long to warm up to Riker as I did. 0.
11001001: I love the Bynars and I've had a crush on Caroline McCormack since her Law and Order days. Fun. ***1/2.
Too Short a Season: This episode sucks (the actor playing Jameson is horrid) but it was STILL neat seeing Ren and Stimpy's George Liquor (Micheal Pataki) in live-action. *.
When the Bough Breaks: Not sure why I like this episode but I do. Probably because it's nice to see early roles for Desperate Housewives' Brenda Strong and The X-Files' Jerry Hardin. Plus, Alexandra is easily the most adorable ragamuffin in Star Trek history. And I don't mean that in a bad way (most Star Trek kid actors are quite obnoxious) by damning her with faint praise. No, the girls who play her are simply too cute for words especially when she hugs Picard at the end and sticks a plushie on his bum. ***.
Home Soil: A rote episode but not a bad one. **1/2.
Coming of Age: This COULD have been an interesting episode (it arguably sets up the only story arc in the series' history besides the Borg and Sela) but the episode spends half it's time wasting time with the Wesley at Starfleet Academy nonsense. **.
Heart of Glory: I started watching TNG in the middle of it's run so when I saw Worf's first spotlight rerun I was somewhat appalled originally. The episode takes one of the most honorable and righteous characters in Star Trek history and tries to make the audience question his loyalty! The nerve! It's only now, that I have a bigger appreciation for the entire franchise as a whole, that I acknowledge that this was the right approach to take for his first featured episode. The viewing audience only knew the Klingons as baddies from the original series at the time this was first broadcast so of COURSE they had trust issues involving a Klingon on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Considering how black and white evil they were on the old show the idea is practically sacrelige! The episode was right to show Worf in a compromising position and then explaining exactly why he was loyal to the Federation and what the Klingons' relationship to them is now. MUCH better than I remembered it. ***1/2.
The Arsenal of Freedom: Not great, but not all that bad either. And I'll watch Vincent Schiavelli in anything. **1/2.
Symbiosis: JUST on the verge of being a good episode. I'd rate it higher but it had some definite problems. One of course, is the annoying Wesley and Tasha lecture on drugs. The other is the fact that there was really no resolution, or rather any resolution that COULD have been solved by the problems the episode posed. I probably prefer DS9 as a series to NextGen simply because problems like those raised in the episode had CONSEQUENCES and would have major repercussions to the characters on that series. Here Picard ponders what MIGHT happen and then we're off to next week's adventure. Considering that what happened at the end of the episode will likely lead to a civil war between the two species that seems like the wrong message to send to the audience. ***.
Skin of Evil: This episode is infamous for having the first of MANY crummy, meaningless death in Star Trek which is too bad. It completely mars what might have otherwise been an interesting episode. Armus is SUCH a creepy villain and the idea of him being the evil skin cast off by a race of Titans is a cool one. Of course, the special effects are awful here but they didn't get good until the third season anyways. **1/2.
We'll Always Have Paris: This romance for Picard always fizzled for me because Patrick Stewart didn't grow into his role as the eighties' most unlikely hottie until later in the series (see Captain's Holiday). Still, the stuff with a time-tripping Data is golden. ***.
Conspiracy: Okay, let's get it out of the way: The special effects here are awful. No question. That doesn't change the fact that in pacing, suspense, music and outright creepiness this episode is the best of the season. Maybe it wouldn't be a great episode by the last five seasons' standards. But as it stands here, it's a good one. I'm just sad that the cool cliffhanger ending was never paid of in this series or any later ones. How cool would it have been for Voyager to run into these bugs on their way to launch a full invasion of Starfleet featuring thousands of mother insects? ****.
The Neutral Zone: I know this episode sets up both the Borg and the Romulans but as a season finale it doesn't compare to the cliffhangers from season three on. Ralph annoyed me too, although I found Sonny's schtick with Data somewhat amusing. This episode is also notable for the first Star Trek role for Marc Alaimo (DS9's Gul Dukat) here playing a Romulan. ***.
Mission Logs:
The Beginning: The first of four featurettes discussing the origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Interesting. ****.
Selected Crew Analysis: I liked this doc too especially since it explored the tight-knit bond between the actors which seemed to be exclusive to this particular Star Trek series. ****.
The Making of a Legend: This doc goes through all of the technical aspects of the series from the music, the make-up, the special effects, the sets, and the designs. Fascinating stuff. ****1/2.
Memorable Missions: This is the cast and crew talking about their favorite scenes of the first season. My favorite story is the first: Jonathan Frakes relating how he had to get submerged in black slime made of Metamucil and printer ink during Skin of Evil, and Levar Burton giving him a pitying look and telling him the producers would never have gotten HIM to do that. ****.
DVD Menus: I love Star Trek DVD menus and these are no exception. I especially like how these particular ones show clips from the episodes in each disc which the DS9 menus never bothered to do. Overall: ****.
Disc 1 Menu: ****1/2.
Disc 2 Menu: *****.
Disc 3 Menu: ***1/2.
Disc 4 Menu: ***1/2.
Disc 5 Menu: ****.
Disc 6 Menu: ****1/2.
Disc 7 Menu: ****1/2.