Star Trek TNG: Season 7
All good things... truly must come to an end. As of yesterday, I have successfully watched every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation though I am still left with the 4 movies which will finish off the series for good. My quick review of the movies will be forthcoming in a separate entry. I will also give my final thoughts on this series as a whole, especially after graduating from The Original Series. I thought this was a pretty good season though some bad writing from the previous two season reared its ugly head now and again. I didn't like the resolution of certain characters (more on that in the review) and felt that they deserved better. For now, here is my review of Season 7.
"Interface": We get to see Geordi La Forge's parents for the first time in this episode. Data, Crusher, and La Forge are testing an interface which allows La Forge to use the VISOR-compatible circuitry in his brain, along with a virtual reality suit to control a probe by remote control. This way La Forge can use the probe to go into areas that would be too dangerous for crew members to enter. After testing, La Forge is informed that the ship his mother commanded has disappeared, and all aboard are presumed dead. Starfleet can find no trace of the ship and has called off the search. La Forge uses the interface to remotely control the probe and look for survivors on a ship that is trapped in a gas giant's atmosphere. He finds that there is no one left alive on the ship, but believes that he encountered his mother on the ship. Continued use of the probe soon exposes La Forge to unhealthy levels of neural stimulation. La Forge is convinced that his mother was on board the ship, and wants to use the probe to communicate with his mother but Crusher and Picard refuse to allow him to use the interface suit again. La Forge decides to use the suit anyway with help from Data - both disobeying Picard's orders! While in contact with the probe, he encounters the being who appears to be his mother again, but learns that she is actually a lifeform native to the gas giant. This being talks La Forge into taking the ship closer to the planet, so that she and others like her trapped on the ship can go home. Once the ordeal is over, Picard tells La Forge that he will write in his permanent record of his defying orders and will deal with Data later. La Forge accepts the consequence but admits to Picard and concludes that his mother is in fact dead, and that it had all seemed so real he had thought he had a chance to say goodbye to her.
"Gambit, Part I & II": In a bar Riker, Worf, Troi, and Crusher investigate the whereabouts of Picard as he is missing, describing him as a "smooth-headed" human. They find a criminal who knows something; he says that Picard had been asking a group about some artifacts when a fight broke out and Picard was "vaporized". Many of the crew members accept this as true, but Riker insists on finding out who killed Picard. Riker takes command of the Enterprise and the crew begin by retracing Picard's steps. This leads them to a planet housing one of the most ancient archaeological sites in the galaxy. However, the artifacts have been stolen by a group of mercenaries. While Riker, Worf, La Forge, and a few ensigns are exploring, a variety of humanoids beam down and attack the away team. They kill one ensign and capture Riker. Riker is taken on board the mercenary ship, which is commanded by Arctus Baran (who looks like an alien drag queen LOL!). Riker finds that a device has been implanted on his neck which allows Baran to inflict pain on him (didn't Madred do that to Picard in "Chain of Command" last season?). Everyone on the ship has similar devices implanted on their necks, which is how Baran controls his crew. Riker soon discovers that Picard is alive and in the company of these criminals. Apparently, he is doing business with them. His name is Galen (the name of his mentor who was shown in last season's episode "The Chase"). Picard tells the crew that Riker is an officer with a history of insubordination who was once even relieved of duty. Picard secretly manufactures a warp drive malfunction, giving Riker a chance to prove himself to Baran. Later, Picard visits Riker in his quarters. He reveals that he went to study an archaeological site but found that it had been ransacked. Tracing those responsible to the bar they were at earlier, Picard confronted them, but was captured and taken prisoner. He then revealed that the criminals had configured some of their weapons so that if they shot someone or something with one of these modified weapons it would instead activate the transporter and beam away the target - which is why the people in the bar thought he'd been vaporized when shot. Picard managed to convince the crew that he was an archaeologist and reveals that they are looking for specific ancient artifacts of Romulan origin, and that Baran is having Picard search through the relics they've stolen for these specific artifacts. Picard asks Riker to help him infiltrate the crew of the mercenary ship. As Picard and Baran had never gotten along very well, Picard asks Riker to befriend Baran to help learn more about his plans. Picard also asks Riker to play into the role of a less than perfect, insubordinate Starfleet officer who is ready to betray the Federation. Eventually Picard is able to find the two specific artifacts, which are actually ancient Vulcan artifacts. These artifacts are part of an ancient Vulcan telepathic weapon, the Stone of Gol, which a Vulcan isolationist movement hopes to use to force Vulcan to leave the United Federation of Planets. Tallera, a Vulcan among Baran's crew, is a part of that movement. After raiding the Enterprise to claim a piece of the artifact from a Klingon they were supposed to rendezvous with, Baran is killed by his own device that he used on the crew. Tallera eventually outs Picard to the crew as Picard has long figured out Tallera treachery. Picard, Tallera, and two crew members beam down to Vulcan. Once the weapon is assembled and Tallera uses it to kill two of the crew members, Picard realizes the true nature of it: it was once a powerful weapon, but utterly useless against people who don't bear aggressive thoughts. He also realizes this is why the Vulcans had found it ineffectual since their civilization definitively adapted to peace 2,000 years ago, and so the useless weapon fell into oblivion. Using this knowledge, Picard manages to defeat the isolationists, and the Vulcan government assures Picard that all three pieces of the weapon would be destroyed. Back aboard the Enterprise, Data, although relieved to see Picard and Riker alive, points out that Riker is guilty of defection and that Picard is still, technically, dead, so Picard jokingly suggests to Data to throw Riker in the brig while he goes and gets some much needed rest. Data innocently complies, escorting Riker to the brig, as Riker tries to convince Data that Picard was only joking. I would have laughed if Riker screamed "DATAAAAAA!" as the episode came to its end LOL!
"Dark Page": After her absence from Season 6, Lwaxana Troi finally returns. There is much less comedy from her this time and much more emotion. She is a teacher of an alien race learning to speak. Their native form of communication is telepathy, but they want to learn spoken language in order to interact with other races. Lwaxana comes aboard with Maques and his young daughter, Hedril (played by a young Kristen Dunst), who is Lwaxana's star pupil. The crew begins to notice that Lwaxana doesn't seem to be her normal flamboyant self. She's quiet and almost reserved. Deanna tries to figure out what's going on, and even has her mother examined in sick bay. Crusher determines that the neurotransmitter used for telepathy is sapped so Lwaxana must refrain from telepathy until it can regenerate. Deanna volunteers to help Maques and Hedril, but it's clear that Lwaxana is better for the task. She still uses her telepathy occasionally but soon falls into a coma. Crusher cannot figure out what is causing it, as the telepathy-chemical depletion would not cause a coma. Deanna, with Maques' help, decides to go into her mother's brain telepathically in an attempt to help her. Once inside her mother's thoughts, she has to fight Lwaxana's desire to keep a secret. Deanna makes her way through several obstacles, including a delay tactic in the form of her own deceased father. Finally, after she jumps off into illusionary space, she finds her mother and learns that she once had a sister named Kestra, her mother's "precious one". Kestra had died in a drowning accident and Lwaxana blamed herself. Hedril's appearance reminded Lwaxana of Kestra and brought back the painful memories of her death. After confessing to Deanna, Lwaxana awakens from her coma. Mother and daughter have a heartfelt talk about Kestra. Another very sad episode.
"Force of Nature": La Forge gives Data an excellent suggestion - use a phaser set to "stun" on Spot! I keep wondering how hilarious that would look like. That'll train him! Damn cat! LOL!
"Inheritance": Another really great episode on Data's background. On the planet of Altrea IV, the magma core is cooling and solidifying. Pran and Juliana Tainer, scientists from the planet, inform the Enterprise crew about the problem. La Forge and Data suggest injecting plasma. In a surprise twist, Juliana claims to be the former wife of Data's creator and "father", Dr. Soong, making her Data's "mother". Data can only find one Juliana in his memory, a Juliana O'Donnell and he is quite suspicious of this woman. When talking about her background, Juliana explains about her marriage to Dr. Soong. She explains that protests from her mother caused them to elope. They married where a Kingon and a Carvalan Freighter captain served as witnesses. She also explains that Data's early memories were wiped and replaced with memories of the colonists of Omicron Theta. He was about to be reactivated when the Crystalline Entity attacked. As they begin the plasma infusion, Juliana tells Data and La Forge an embrrassing story about Data's trouble with learning to keep his clothes on. Data takes her to his quarters, where he plays music. She offers to play with him and uses a viola. She spots his paintings, and sees one of a portrait of a young woman. Data tells her that it his daughter, Lal (from the Season 3 episode "The Offspring"), and that it meant Juliana was a grandmother - even though Lal was no longer alive. Juliana becomes upset. She then reveals she was against Data being created due to the problems with Lore. She was afraid that Data would become like him, which was the reason why he was abandoned. Seeing what he has now become, she felt guilty (strangely, Data doesn't tell her of all the trouble Lore has caused him and that he had to deactivate Lore!). Data observes something amiss about Juliana, and asks Crusher to examine her medical records when Riker calls. One of the pockets has collapsed and Data is needed to transport. The infusion unit was knocked down, so Juliana and Data go down to effect repairs. They complete their task and return to the transport point, but find the pattern enhancers have fallen down a cliff. They must jump to safety. When Data jumps, he takes Juliana over the cliff with him. Data lands safely, but Juliana is knocked unconscious and her arm becomes detached from her torso. Data observes a network of circuitry and it becomes apparent that Juliana is a gynoid! In Juliana's positronic brain, La Forge finds a chip with a holographic interface. Data activates the chip in the holodeck and sees his father, Dr. Soong, who created the interactive holo-program to answer questions about the Juliana android. Soong explains that his wife once was a real human, but was mortally wounded as a result of the Crystalline Entity's attack. He created a new android and used synaptic scanning to place Juliana's memories into it. After the real Juliana died, Soong activated the android and she awoke believing she was human. She later chose to leave Soong and he let her go (after installing the chip), sadly admitting that the real Juliana would have left him too. Soong pleads with Data to let her have her humanity and that telling her the truth would deactivate her. Consulting with the crew, Data explains the moral dilemma he is faced with. Crusher and Troi give their opinions and Picard comforts Data that they will support any decision he decides on. Data returns to Sickbay and replaces the chip. When he closes Juliana's head, she awakens. He tells her that she fell from the cliff and broke her arm, but Dr. Crusher has repaired it, and everything is fine. As Juliana prepares to leave the ship, Data tells her "My father told me that he had only one great love in his life. And that he regretted never telling her how much he cared for her. I am certain he was referring to you." Juliana bids farewell to her son.
"Parallels": I thought it was a pretty good episode. I found out that it inspired the second timeline arc in the 2009 Star Trek film. Because of the different parallel universes, everything that happened in Enterprise, The Original Series, The Next Generation, etc. still actually happened but only in it's first timeline.
"The Pegasus": I'm glad they didn't emphasize "Captain Picard Day" at the beginning and Picard's comeback to Riker on wanting to designate a "Commander Riker Day" to piss him off LOL! Picard is contacted by Starfleet and is ordered on a priority mission to collect Admiral Eric Pressman, former Captain of the USS Pegasus where Riker first served after graduating from the Academy. Pressman informs Picard and Riker that intelligence has located the Pegasus in the Devolin system near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Though presumed destroyed, Pressman orders the crew to either recover the ship's remains or destroy them to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Romulans. In private, Riker attempts to discuss the events aboard the Pegasus's last mission and questions Pressman's intentions, but Pressman instructed Riker to remain silent until the current mission is completed. Later, Picard summons Riker to his quarters to ask him about a discovery he has just made concerning the Pegasus. Prior to the assumed destruction of the vessel, there was a mutiny - an event Riker has never mentioned and Picard views as serious. Picard further remarks that obtaining the report was no small feat, considering it had been classified by Starfleet Intelligence. Riker offers his version of the events: that when the Pegasus warp core overloaded, several officers took up arms against Pressman, fearful that the Captain was out of control. The inexperienced Riker, pulled his own weapon in the Captain's defense, but they were overwhelmed and barely managed to escape the ship. Shortly after ejecting from the crippled ship, the explosion occurred. Picard listens to Riker's account, then reads a second portion of the Judge Advocate General's report where he suggests that he believes that the surviving officers and crew are involved in a cover-up, and that further investigation is warranted. Picard informs Riker that the aforementioned investigation never happened, and that the report was made and quietly buried by Starfleet Intelligence. He presses Riker for the truth though Riker suggests that he speak to Pressman about the matter. Picard loses his patience and barks that he is taking up the matter with him, not Pressman. Riker tells Picard that he is under Pressman's orders not to discuss the matter. Picard then acknowledges that he cannot force Riker to disobey orders from a superior officer, so he will simply have to trust Riker's confidence in Pressman - adding that if he finds that trust to be misguided, then he will be "re-evaluating the command structure" of the Enterprise. In the Devlin system, the crew encounters a Romulan Warbird, clearly searching for the Pegasus as well. Picard and Sirol, the Romulan captain, acknowledge the others' presence, and lie to each other on the nature of their mission as nothing more than scanning and researching. The Enterprise sensors locate the Pegasus buried in a large fissure in an asteroid and Picard orders them to move on to lure the Romulans away. With the Romulans distracted, the Enterprise returns, enters the fissure in the asteroid, and finds that the Peagsus is partially fused with the asteroid. Pressman and Riker transport to the Pegasus, and recover an experimental device that the ship was equipped with which Riker thought was destroyed. Pressman is elated to find it, but Riker is less than enthusiastic. He finally informs Pressman that he won't allow him to restart the experiments that led to both the mutiny and the Pegasus' current state. When Pressman remarks that he's not the same Riker who took up arms to defend him 12 years ago, Riker agrees, adding that he's had time to think about it, and that were it his to do all over again, Pressman might find himself on the business end of Riker's phaser. Pressman ends the argument by reminding Riker that he's still under the Admiral's orders not to tell Picard anything. They quickly return to the Enterprise when they learn the Romulans have closed the fissure, trapping them inside. Sirol refuses to open the fissure, and instead gives Picard and his crew the option of taking asylum aboard the Warbird. It would allow both Federation ships be captured by the Romulans. Riker proposes a solution using the device they took from the Pegasus: a phase-shifting Federation cloaking device that would allow them to travel through the solid matter of the asteroid and escape. Pressman is furious at the breaking of Riker's silence, but Picard reprimands Pressman, pointing out that the development of a cloaking device by the Federation is a violation of the Treaty of Algeron (which made the "Neutral Zone" and Starfleet agreeing NOT to develop and use cloaking technology hence, why you don't see the technology standard on Federation ships in the Star Trek series). Pressman attempts to take command of the Enterprise, but the crew refuses to obey his orders. Picard directs the cloaking device to be installed and used to escape the asteroid. The cloak is then dropped in full view of the Warbird against Pressman's protestations, and Picard informs Sirol that the Federation will be contacting the Romulan government with regard to the entire incident. Picard orders Pressman to be arrested for having violated the Treaty. As he goes, Pressman threatens that he has allies in Starfleet, but Picard is unmoved. Riker insists that he be arrested as well and Picard agrees. Visiting Riker in the brig, Picard informs him that Pressman and four other high-ranking officers in Starfleet Intelligence have all been arrested pending a court-martial, and that his own role in the affair will be scrutinized closely. He also notes that Riker's record will be affected by this incident but that his having come clean at last will help. Picard tells him he still is proud to have him as a First Officer and releases him.
"Homeward": We get to meet Worf's human brother in this episode and I found out that the part of the plot is also used in Star Trek: Insurrection. The Enterprise receives an emergency distress call from Rozhenko, currently posted to Boraal II which is in the process of suffering an atmospheric catastrophe. In an effort to determine Rozhenko’s fate, and aware that advanced shield technology is not indigenous to the planet, Picard decides to send Worf to investigate as Worf is concerned about his brother, Nikolai. He is surgically altered to pass as a Boraalan so as to prevent any possible contamination of the planet's culture. Worf transports to the planet and discovers that his brother set up the shield to protect the local villagers he had been assigned to observe. While relieved that Nikolai is safe, Worf is concerned by what his brother has done and tells him that he has only postponed the deaths of the villagers. Rozhenko meets with the ship’s senior officers in the observation lounge and describes his plan to save one village of the doomed planet by setting up a concealed artificial biosphere. Picard replies that there is nothing the Enterprise can do as regrettably the Prime Directive prohibits any interference with the natural development of the Boraalan civilization; it is not for them to decide that one group shall survive while the rest of the planet perishes. The crew is puzzled by an unexpected power drain, the origin of which Worf tracks to the Holodeck. Going to investigate the cause, he finds that his brother has transported the population of the Boraalan village aboard the ship in direct contravention of the Prime Directive and Captain Picard’s wishes. Rozhenko has used the Holodeck to replicate caverns identical to those on the planet, misleading the villagers into thinking they are still on Boraal II. Rozhenko tells Worf and Picard that he believes offering the Boraalan culture a chance of survival is more important than following the abstract concepts of the Prime Directive. He champions his updated plan of transporting the Boraalans to a new home on a different habitable planet without their knowledge, where their civilization can hopefully grow and thrive. Realizing that Rozhenko has given him no other choice, Picard reluctantly authorizes the plan and orders Crusher and Data to find a new home planet for the Boraalans. They choose Vacca VI as a potential new home world, but it is almost two days away at maximum warp. La Forge tells Picard and Rozhenko that the Holodeck program may not run that long as the Holodeck and several of the ship's other systems were adversely effected by exposure to Plasmonic wave radiation generated by the atmospheric dissipation. Rozhenko volunteers to return to the Boraalans and help rationalize and account for any anomalies in the program which the villagers might witness. A mistrustful Picard orders Worf to accompany him, which Worf finds difficult as he is disgusted by his brother’s actions and wants no more to do with him. Returning to the Holodeck, Nikolai and Worf tell the Boraalans that they will lead them through the caverns to a new home far away from the old one. As they travel, La Forge gradually alters the program so that the terrain more closely resembles the slightly different environment of the new Boraalan home world. Several program errors do eventually occur, but the two brothers cooperate to explain them all away. Worf and Rozhenko have a further falling out and nearly come to blows when Worf learns that his brother has impregnated one of the villagers, and Nikolai tells Worf that he intends to remain with the Boraalans. Adding to an already complicated situation, Vorin, the village chronicler, manages to find his way out of the Holodeck and suffers severe culture shock at the reality of the world outside. Picard and Troi try to help him adjust, offering him the choice of returning to his people or staying and making a new life with them on the ship. Vorin tells them he wishes to return to his people, but doesn’t think he can live the rest of his life knowing and keeping the secrets he has learned, however he also realizes that his people will think him a liar or insane if he tells them the truth. Inside the Holodeck, Rozhenko is devastated by the possibility that Vorin might return and inform the other villagers of the reality of their situation, which would invalidate all the work he and Worf have done and destroy everything the villagers believe in. Ultimately Vorin can’t live with what he has discovered and commits a form of ritual suicide. The Enterprise finally arrives at the new Boraalan home, and ignorant of the fact that they have ever left their original planet, the Boraalans are beamed down to the eventual site of their new village. Worf and Nikolai finally make peace when Worf accepts and admits that the Boraalan race would not have survived if not for his brother’s unconventional methods. Nikolai further assuages Worf by telling him that he is going to finally take responsibility by staying with his intended wife and the villagers and make his home with them as the new village chronicler. Worf replies that he will explain Nikolai’s choice to their parents and convinces Nikolai to let him retain part of the chronicle as a souvenir. Picard muses with Crusher that while their plan for the Boraalans worked out well, he is disappointed and saddened that Vorin wasn’t able to bridge the gap between their two cultures.
"Lower Decks": It surprised me that this was a continuation of the Season 5 episode "The First Duty". Sito Jaxa returns after serving her punishment though there is no mention of Wesley Crusher. It was nice that she managed to redeem herself before she was killed in the end.
"Thine Own Self": The small subplot in this episode has Troi becoming a bridge officer. She easily passes all of the required examinations except one - a holodeck simulation, supervised by Riker and meant to test her command abilities. After several failed attempts to save a badly damaged Enterprise without putting anyone at risk, Riker gives her a subtle hint on how to succeed - that her first duty is to the ship. Troi goes back to the holodeck simulation on her own. During the simulation, she realizes that she may not be able to avoid sacrificing some of the crew. She orders the simulated La Forge to perform repairs in a hazardous area that quickly kills him. Riker, who knew Troi would attempt this, announces she passed the test and earns a promotion to Commander.
Data is sent to recover radioactive remains of a deep-space probe that crashed on a planet of people who live in a pre-Industrial age. However, Data is injured during the recovery, and without memory of who he is or his mission, walks into a village carrying the case of radioactive parts. Garvin, the village magistrate, and his daughter Gia, take Data to their healer, Talur, who determines he must be an "ice man". As Data cannot remember his name, Gia gives him the name "Jayden". Garvin discovers the probe's fragments, unaware of their hazard, and attempts to sell them to make a profit with Jayden's consent. As the village folk begin to wear the fragments as jewelry, they start to succumb to radiation poisoning. Talur is unfamiliar with the symptoms. Jayden uses his own, more scientific methods and concludes that the metal fragments are causing the illnesses. With Talur's help, they attempt to urge the villagers to get rid of them. Instead, the villagers attack Jayden, believing him to be the cause for the illness. At Garvin's home, a scuffle with two villagers (the blacksmith above is damn cute! WOOF!) causes Jayden to have his mechanical innards to be exposed. When Gia eventually sees this, she is alarmed, but then realizes that Jayden is trying to help them. Jayden is able to prepare an antidote for the poisoning, administering it to Garvin and Gia. For the entire village, he puts the rest of the antidote in the village's well when no one is around. The villagers, still angry and catch him, attack Jayden, apparently killing him after he dumps the antidote into the well. Riker and Crusher arrive sometime later, disguised as villagers and meet Gia. They ask Gia about Data - describing him and giving his real name. She replies with sadness that she and her father buried Data where they stand and the metal fragments were buried in the forest outside of town. After she leaves, Data's body and the metal fragments are beamed to the Enterprise. Data's functions are restored, but he has no memory of his life as "Jayden". He recalls that his positronic brain must have been overloaded from a power surge from the probe as he recovered the fragments, leading to his memory loss. Troi lets Data know that she can be referred to as "Sir!" from now on.
"Journey's End": Wow! We don't see Wesley Crusher for a long time and... is an asshole. A long-disputed treaty with the Cardassians has the Federation agreeing to return several planets to Cardassian control. Colonists on those planets will need to be relocated by Starfleet. One such planet, Dorvan V, is inhabited by Indian settlers, who had left Earth to preserve their heritage on a new home. They had spent two hundred years searching for a world, having finally chosen Dorvan V twenty years before, and are unwilling to leave. Picard believes they are right, but pleads with them to leave, saying that the Cardassians insist on the removal of all inhabitants. During one debate the leader of the Tribal council, Anthwara, tells Picard that according to their research Picard's ancestor had been involved in a massacre related to the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico in 1680. They believe Picard's involvement in their case is thus a form of kismet (fate). Wesley has returned from the Academy for a vacation. He's not himself though, being snappish and depressed which really worries his mother. Even in Engineering, he's rude to La Forge. Dr. Crusher tries to talk to her son, but initially gets nowhere. At a reception on the Enterprise, Wesley comes in contact with Lakanta, an Indian holy man of sorts. He guides Wesley on a journey of self-discovery, in which he talks to his long-dead father, who tells Wesley that he is destined to go down a path different from his own. A group of Cardassians arrives on the planet to scout buildings and equipment being left behind, and raises tensions among the settlers further. Picard realizes he has no choice but to force the Indians to leave. He plans to secretly beam them up to the ship, but Wesley finds out and warns the people. When Picard criticizes his actions, Wesley quits Starfleet (...the fuck???). Soon the Indians capture some of the Cardassians on the planet, and a fight breaks out. The Cardassian gul is willing to send reinforcements to attack the Indians, but Picard warns him that, as the Indians are Federation citizens, he would be required to stop the Cardassians - which could lead to more violence between the two groups. Gul Evek reluctantly agrees, and beams up the Cardassians from the planet to prevent more violence. Eventually Wesley's spirit guide reveals himself as the Traveler (from the Season 1 episode "Where No One Has Gone Before"), with whom Wesley had contact years ago. Wesley decides to leave Starfleet and explore the universe with him. Wesley tells his mother this and reveals that he feared disappointing others. Beverly reassures him that she's still proud of him, no matter what he decides to do with his life, which finally breaks through to Wesley. Both mother and son end up crying in each other's arms. The Indians, still insistent on staying on the planet, decide to forgo their Federation citizenship and remain on the planet under the Cardassians' control. The Cardassians agree to leave them alone. I'm kind of disappointed that Wesley was written off this way and quits Starfleet after everything he's been through.
"Firstborn": The last Klingon-based episode (sniff...) and last we see of Alexander in the series. Worf is concerned that Alexander isn't pursuing his Klingon heritage and is appalled to learn that he has no intention to. Alexander has reached the age at which he should declare his desire to become a Klingon warrior as soon, he will reach the age of "Ascension". While awaiting a rendezvous with the USS Kearsarge near the Vodrey Nebula, Picard suggests that Worf should expose Alexander to more of his heritage after being confided about Worf's situation. The Enterprise stops at Maranga IV so the father and son can go to a Klingon festival. The exposure to Klingon culture goes well for a time. However, while there, the two are confronted by a trio of Klingon thugs. Before the assailants can mount an attack, a Klingon named K'mtar arrives and fights them off. K'mtar reveals that he is a distant relative who has come to protect Alexander. K'mtar accompanies Worf and Alexander back to the ship, where the two quickly bond. K'mtar is fully committed to getting Alexander to train as a warrior after learning of the situation. But when his initial attempts at teaching yields little results, he recommends to Worf that Alexander be sent away for training at a Klingon military academy. When Worf expresses reluctance at pursuing this course, K'mtar threatens to invoke Klingon law and take custody of Alexander away from Worf. They both bicker until Alexander reminds them tartly that he is part-human on his mother's side. Both Worf and K'mtar quickly rebuff his statement, insisting that Alexander fully embrace the Klingon way of life. However, they cannot agree on who should finish raising Alexander while Worf becomes furious when K'mtar implies that he is a bad father and angrily fires back that K'mtar is a meddler. As all this is going on, the crew is attempting to find out who attacked Worf and Alexander back on Maranga IV. With a lead given by the Ferengi, Quark, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (who makes his only appearance in TNG) and a dagger left behind had a mark from the House of Duras, Riker and the crew locate the Duras sisters (the sisters from the Season 4 finale and Season 5 opening episodes "Redemption Parts I & II") and accuse them of trying to assassinate Worf, which they deny vehemently. When the dagger is presented as evidence, the sisters make a disturbing discovery - several markings on the knife denote family members, including one for Lursa's son, even though Lursa herself only recently learned she was pregnant! Worf returns to his quarters and discovers K'mtar in Alexander's room, preparing to kill Alexander. He attacks K'mtar and immobilizes him. K'mtar confesses that he was behind the earlier assassination, which he used to gain their trust. Furthermore, he reveals that he is in fact Alexander - from the future - and he has come back in time to try to prevent Worf's murder (Holy Shit!!! Never saw that one!). This future Alexander had blamed himself for having allowed Worf to die, regretting he never chosen the life of a Klingon warrior and instead, became a failed peacemaker. Worf immediately realizes that K'mtar is telling the truth and truly is his adult son. Worf tells him that he can only die happy if he knows he allowed Alexander to chart his own course. They share a hug and admit their love for each other as father and son before K'mtar then returns to his own time (er, why can't we see how K'mtar travels through time?). Seeing Alexander in the holodeck for training, Worf determines to approach his young son with a new attitude in the future. I'm not a fan of this outcome for Alexander. I would have liked it if Alexander overheard K'mtar being his future self and at the end of the episode, admit to Worf that he overheard and agree to embrace being a Klingon warrior so he can one day protect his father and comrades. He could add that he will only fight when necessary but in general, he would always be himself. Now that would be an ending I could live with!
"Bloodlines": The disgraced Ferengi, Bok, from the Season one episode "The Battle" returns to exact revenge on Picard by threatening to kill Picard's supposed "son". Picard killed Bok's son at a time before he commanded the Enterprise.
"The Emergence": Kind of a strange episode that felt like something out of The Original Series. The highlight for me was the cute train conductor (kind of a fetish of mine) played by David Huddleston - WOOF!
"Preemptive Strike": It was great to see Ro Laren again. The Enterprise is en route to a briefing concerning a situation along the border of the Cardassian-Federation demilitarized zone. The newly promoted Lieutenant Ro arrives to attend a welcome back party after recently graduating from Starfleet Advanced Tactical Training class. The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Cardassian warship under attack by the Maquis, a paramilitary organization of Federation citizens who have taken up arms against the Cardassians. The Enterprise manages to separate the Cardassian and Maquis ships, causing them to break off their attack and withdraw. Picard has his rendezvous with Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev and she expresses Starfleet's concern about the Maquis, who are jeopardizing the Federation-Cardassian peace treaty. She advises Picard that Starfleet has decided to infiltrate the Maquis using Ro. Ro finds her way to a bar where she is contacted by members of the Maquis. After verifying her cover story, they quickly accept her into their ranks. She forms a bond with Macias, who Ro sees as a father figure. Alarmed by this news that the Cardassians are arming their citizens with biogenic weapons, the Maquis plan a preemptive strike, however, Macias points out they are critically short of medical supplies. Ro offers to steal the needed supplies from the Enterprise, which she manages with some covert help from the crew. Returning to the Enterprise for a debriefing, Ro tells Picard of the Maquis strategy and Picard plots to manipulate the militants' paranoia in order to set a trap for them, hopefully eliminating, or at least crippling, their organization. Although Ro is troubled by this, she returns to the planet and is able to convince the Maquis leadership to plan an attack on the convoy supposedly carrying the components for the biogenic weapon. However, disguised Cardassian militiamen attack the community which the Maquis cell is part of, and Macias is killed. As he dies, he tells Ro his death is not important since other Maquis like her will step forward to carry on the fight in his place. Shortly thereafter a very unsettled Ro meets with Picard because she’s having second thoughts about the mission, asking him to call it off, saying that the Maquis cell she belongs to isn’t all that militant and may not even rise to the bait of the decoy convoy. Picard decides to send Riker back to the Maquis with her (under the guise as a relative) to keep an eye on her and assure nothing interferes with the mission. The day for the operation against the convoy arrives and as the Maquis fighters close in on it, Ro decides she can’t go through with the operation. She fires a low intensity particle beam into a Nebula, exposing the Federation attack force, and the Maquis ships break off their attack, frustrating the Starfleet plan. With great regret, Ro asks Riker to apologize on her behalf to Picard and beams to another Maquis ship. Back on the Enterprise, Riker files his report to Picard, adding that Ro seemed very sure of her decision and her only regret was that she had let Picard down. Riker leaves as we see Picard looking forlorn at the betrayal of Ro. I'm disappointed that this is the last we see of Ro in the series and that this was the way to write her off. Picard's expression at the very end almost mirrored my own and was kind of saddened that, like Wesley, there will be nothing more of her. Why couldn't she have left the series with some dignity and continued in Starfleet? Sniff...
"All Good Things...": We have arrived at the end of the TV series before we get to the 4 movies. This episode combines the length of two episodes into one though in syndication, they may break it down into two. Picard inexplicably finds his mind jumping between the present and the past just prior to the Enterprise-D's first mission seven years earlier at Farpoint Station and twenty-five years into the future, where an aged Picard has retired to the family vineyard in Labarre, France. He meets La Forge who no longer wears his VISOR, is married, and has 3 children. Because of Picard's time jumping and seeing crazy people taunting him, he urges La Forge that they both see Data - who is a professor at Cambridge and lives in the same room that Sir Issac Newton once lived in. The time jumps occur without warning, and the resulting discontinuity in Picard's behavior frequently leaves him and those around him confused, also believing that he suffering from a disease that is affecting his mind. In the present, Picard is ordered to take the Enterprise to the edge of the Neutral Zone to investigate a spatial anomaly. In the future, he gains passage on the USS Pasteur, which is under the command of Dr. Beverly Picard - his ex-wife, whom he convinces to find the anomaly. In the past, despite having the Enterprise's mission to Farpoint Station cancelled by Starfleet to investigate the anomaly, Picard insists on continuing, believing the impending encounter with Q to be more important. After reaching the place where he had first encountered the Q in the form of a net near Farpoint Station and finding nothing there, Picard enters his ready room, only to find himself once again in Q's courtroom (dressed in the same garb too!). Q reveals that the trial started seven years ago never concluded, and the current situation is humanity's last chance to prove themselves to the Q Continuum, but secretly reveals that he himself is the cause of Picard's time jumping. Q challenges Picard to solve the mystery of the anomaly - then cryptically stating that Picard is the one who will destroy humanity. As Picard arrives at the anomaly in all three time periods, he discovers that the anomaly is much larger in the past, but does not exist at all in the future. As the past and present Enterprises scan the anomaly with tachyon beams, the Pasteur is attacked by Klingon ships because in the future, the Klingons conquered the Romulan Star Empire and is turning away from the Federation. The crew is saved due to the timely arrival of the future (and heavily decked out!) Enterprise-D under the command of Admiral Riker (WOOF!). He fires on several of the attacking Klingon warships, which causes them to flee the neutral zone. It is revealed that Riker and Worf are in a feud over the late counselor Troi, with whom both had a serious relationship. Q once again appears to Picard and takes him to billions of years in the past on Earth, where the anomaly, growing larger as it moves backwards in time, has taken over the whole of the Alpha Quadrant and has prevented the formation of life on Earth. When Picard returns to the future, he discovers the anomaly has appeared, created as a result of his orders, and the tachyon pulses from the three eras are sustaining it. Data and La Forge determine that they can stop the anomaly by having all three Enterprises fly into the center of it and create static warp shells. Picard relays the orders to each Enterprise and as he jumps through time, lets the crew know. Each ship suffers warp core breaches, with Q telling the future Picard that "all good things must come to an end" just before the future Enterprise explodes. Picard finds himself facing Q in the courtroom as before. Q congratulates Picard for being able to think in multiple timelines simultaneously to solve the puzzle, which is proof that humanity can still evolve, much to the surprise of the Continuum. Q admits to helping Picard to solve it with the time jumping since he was the one that put them in this situation, and then goes on to explain that the anomaly never actually existed and that his past and present have been restored. He then withdraws from the courtroom and bids farewell to Picard by saying "See you ... out there". Picard then returns to the Enterprise of the present and no longer jumping through time. The final scene has Picard, for the first time ever, deciding to join the crew's regular poker game, stating regret he had not done so before, saying "...and the sky's the limit," suggesting more adventures lay ahead for the crew (cue: four movies!).
I thought the final episode was all right. I said to myself before watching the episode: "wouldn't it be nice to have Tasha Yar, Doctor Pulaski, and other past crew members come back for fan service?" Well, we got Tasha Yar which was nice but she was kind of downplayed. I thought it was awesome that they brought back the sets from the first season and tried to make all the characters look 7 years younger, both their facial features and uniforms. Was also nice to see them age too. Riker and Picard look great as older bears! But personally, I wished the plot involved the entire crew (including Yar) time travelling and having an action-packed episode that saves humanity and all three of the timelines. The timelines are separate while only the present would be canon and continue into the forthcoming movies.
Sometime later this month, my quick look at Star Trek VII-X (yes, I know they stopped numbering them...) will be uploaded and will complete my look at The Next Generation. I might even do a separate review of Star Trek Into Darkness when I watch it next month in theaters. I'm excited!
"Interface": We get to see Geordi La Forge's parents for the first time in this episode. Data, Crusher, and La Forge are testing an interface which allows La Forge to use the VISOR-compatible circuitry in his brain, along with a virtual reality suit to control a probe by remote control. This way La Forge can use the probe to go into areas that would be too dangerous for crew members to enter. After testing, La Forge is informed that the ship his mother commanded has disappeared, and all aboard are presumed dead. Starfleet can find no trace of the ship and has called off the search. La Forge uses the interface to remotely control the probe and look for survivors on a ship that is trapped in a gas giant's atmosphere. He finds that there is no one left alive on the ship, but believes that he encountered his mother on the ship. Continued use of the probe soon exposes La Forge to unhealthy levels of neural stimulation. La Forge is convinced that his mother was on board the ship, and wants to use the probe to communicate with his mother but Crusher and Picard refuse to allow him to use the interface suit again. La Forge decides to use the suit anyway with help from Data - both disobeying Picard's orders! While in contact with the probe, he encounters the being who appears to be his mother again, but learns that she is actually a lifeform native to the gas giant. This being talks La Forge into taking the ship closer to the planet, so that she and others like her trapped on the ship can go home. Once the ordeal is over, Picard tells La Forge that he will write in his permanent record of his defying orders and will deal with Data later. La Forge accepts the consequence but admits to Picard and concludes that his mother is in fact dead, and that it had all seemed so real he had thought he had a chance to say goodbye to her.
"Gambit, Part I & II": In a bar Riker, Worf, Troi, and Crusher investigate the whereabouts of Picard as he is missing, describing him as a "smooth-headed" human. They find a criminal who knows something; he says that Picard had been asking a group about some artifacts when a fight broke out and Picard was "vaporized". Many of the crew members accept this as true, but Riker insists on finding out who killed Picard. Riker takes command of the Enterprise and the crew begin by retracing Picard's steps. This leads them to a planet housing one of the most ancient archaeological sites in the galaxy. However, the artifacts have been stolen by a group of mercenaries. While Riker, Worf, La Forge, and a few ensigns are exploring, a variety of humanoids beam down and attack the away team. They kill one ensign and capture Riker. Riker is taken on board the mercenary ship, which is commanded by Arctus Baran (who looks like an alien drag queen LOL!). Riker finds that a device has been implanted on his neck which allows Baran to inflict pain on him (didn't Madred do that to Picard in "Chain of Command" last season?). Everyone on the ship has similar devices implanted on their necks, which is how Baran controls his crew. Riker soon discovers that Picard is alive and in the company of these criminals. Apparently, he is doing business with them. His name is Galen (the name of his mentor who was shown in last season's episode "The Chase"). Picard tells the crew that Riker is an officer with a history of insubordination who was once even relieved of duty. Picard secretly manufactures a warp drive malfunction, giving Riker a chance to prove himself to Baran. Later, Picard visits Riker in his quarters. He reveals that he went to study an archaeological site but found that it had been ransacked. Tracing those responsible to the bar they were at earlier, Picard confronted them, but was captured and taken prisoner. He then revealed that the criminals had configured some of their weapons so that if they shot someone or something with one of these modified weapons it would instead activate the transporter and beam away the target - which is why the people in the bar thought he'd been vaporized when shot. Picard managed to convince the crew that he was an archaeologist and reveals that they are looking for specific ancient artifacts of Romulan origin, and that Baran is having Picard search through the relics they've stolen for these specific artifacts. Picard asks Riker to help him infiltrate the crew of the mercenary ship. As Picard and Baran had never gotten along very well, Picard asks Riker to befriend Baran to help learn more about his plans. Picard also asks Riker to play into the role of a less than perfect, insubordinate Starfleet officer who is ready to betray the Federation. Eventually Picard is able to find the two specific artifacts, which are actually ancient Vulcan artifacts. These artifacts are part of an ancient Vulcan telepathic weapon, the Stone of Gol, which a Vulcan isolationist movement hopes to use to force Vulcan to leave the United Federation of Planets. Tallera, a Vulcan among Baran's crew, is a part of that movement. After raiding the Enterprise to claim a piece of the artifact from a Klingon they were supposed to rendezvous with, Baran is killed by his own device that he used on the crew. Tallera eventually outs Picard to the crew as Picard has long figured out Tallera treachery. Picard, Tallera, and two crew members beam down to Vulcan. Once the weapon is assembled and Tallera uses it to kill two of the crew members, Picard realizes the true nature of it: it was once a powerful weapon, but utterly useless against people who don't bear aggressive thoughts. He also realizes this is why the Vulcans had found it ineffectual since their civilization definitively adapted to peace 2,000 years ago, and so the useless weapon fell into oblivion. Using this knowledge, Picard manages to defeat the isolationists, and the Vulcan government assures Picard that all three pieces of the weapon would be destroyed. Back aboard the Enterprise, Data, although relieved to see Picard and Riker alive, points out that Riker is guilty of defection and that Picard is still, technically, dead, so Picard jokingly suggests to Data to throw Riker in the brig while he goes and gets some much needed rest. Data innocently complies, escorting Riker to the brig, as Riker tries to convince Data that Picard was only joking. I would have laughed if Riker screamed "DATAAAAAA!" as the episode came to its end LOL!
"Dark Page": After her absence from Season 6, Lwaxana Troi finally returns. There is much less comedy from her this time and much more emotion. She is a teacher of an alien race learning to speak. Their native form of communication is telepathy, but they want to learn spoken language in order to interact with other races. Lwaxana comes aboard with Maques and his young daughter, Hedril (played by a young Kristen Dunst), who is Lwaxana's star pupil. The crew begins to notice that Lwaxana doesn't seem to be her normal flamboyant self. She's quiet and almost reserved. Deanna tries to figure out what's going on, and even has her mother examined in sick bay. Crusher determines that the neurotransmitter used for telepathy is sapped so Lwaxana must refrain from telepathy until it can regenerate. Deanna volunteers to help Maques and Hedril, but it's clear that Lwaxana is better for the task. She still uses her telepathy occasionally but soon falls into a coma. Crusher cannot figure out what is causing it, as the telepathy-chemical depletion would not cause a coma. Deanna, with Maques' help, decides to go into her mother's brain telepathically in an attempt to help her. Once inside her mother's thoughts, she has to fight Lwaxana's desire to keep a secret. Deanna makes her way through several obstacles, including a delay tactic in the form of her own deceased father. Finally, after she jumps off into illusionary space, she finds her mother and learns that she once had a sister named Kestra, her mother's "precious one". Kestra had died in a drowning accident and Lwaxana blamed herself. Hedril's appearance reminded Lwaxana of Kestra and brought back the painful memories of her death. After confessing to Deanna, Lwaxana awakens from her coma. Mother and daughter have a heartfelt talk about Kestra. Another very sad episode.
"Force of Nature": La Forge gives Data an excellent suggestion - use a phaser set to "stun" on Spot! I keep wondering how hilarious that would look like. That'll train him! Damn cat! LOL!
"Inheritance": Another really great episode on Data's background. On the planet of Altrea IV, the magma core is cooling and solidifying. Pran and Juliana Tainer, scientists from the planet, inform the Enterprise crew about the problem. La Forge and Data suggest injecting plasma. In a surprise twist, Juliana claims to be the former wife of Data's creator and "father", Dr. Soong, making her Data's "mother". Data can only find one Juliana in his memory, a Juliana O'Donnell and he is quite suspicious of this woman. When talking about her background, Juliana explains about her marriage to Dr. Soong. She explains that protests from her mother caused them to elope. They married where a Kingon and a Carvalan Freighter captain served as witnesses. She also explains that Data's early memories were wiped and replaced with memories of the colonists of Omicron Theta. He was about to be reactivated when the Crystalline Entity attacked. As they begin the plasma infusion, Juliana tells Data and La Forge an embrrassing story about Data's trouble with learning to keep his clothes on. Data takes her to his quarters, where he plays music. She offers to play with him and uses a viola. She spots his paintings, and sees one of a portrait of a young woman. Data tells her that it his daughter, Lal (from the Season 3 episode "The Offspring"), and that it meant Juliana was a grandmother - even though Lal was no longer alive. Juliana becomes upset. She then reveals she was against Data being created due to the problems with Lore. She was afraid that Data would become like him, which was the reason why he was abandoned. Seeing what he has now become, she felt guilty (strangely, Data doesn't tell her of all the trouble Lore has caused him and that he had to deactivate Lore!). Data observes something amiss about Juliana, and asks Crusher to examine her medical records when Riker calls. One of the pockets has collapsed and Data is needed to transport. The infusion unit was knocked down, so Juliana and Data go down to effect repairs. They complete their task and return to the transport point, but find the pattern enhancers have fallen down a cliff. They must jump to safety. When Data jumps, he takes Juliana over the cliff with him. Data lands safely, but Juliana is knocked unconscious and her arm becomes detached from her torso. Data observes a network of circuitry and it becomes apparent that Juliana is a gynoid! In Juliana's positronic brain, La Forge finds a chip with a holographic interface. Data activates the chip in the holodeck and sees his father, Dr. Soong, who created the interactive holo-program to answer questions about the Juliana android. Soong explains that his wife once was a real human, but was mortally wounded as a result of the Crystalline Entity's attack. He created a new android and used synaptic scanning to place Juliana's memories into it. After the real Juliana died, Soong activated the android and she awoke believing she was human. She later chose to leave Soong and he let her go (after installing the chip), sadly admitting that the real Juliana would have left him too. Soong pleads with Data to let her have her humanity and that telling her the truth would deactivate her. Consulting with the crew, Data explains the moral dilemma he is faced with. Crusher and Troi give their opinions and Picard comforts Data that they will support any decision he decides on. Data returns to Sickbay and replaces the chip. When he closes Juliana's head, she awakens. He tells her that she fell from the cliff and broke her arm, but Dr. Crusher has repaired it, and everything is fine. As Juliana prepares to leave the ship, Data tells her "My father told me that he had only one great love in his life. And that he regretted never telling her how much he cared for her. I am certain he was referring to you." Juliana bids farewell to her son.
"Parallels": I thought it was a pretty good episode. I found out that it inspired the second timeline arc in the 2009 Star Trek film. Because of the different parallel universes, everything that happened in Enterprise, The Original Series, The Next Generation, etc. still actually happened but only in it's first timeline.
"The Pegasus": I'm glad they didn't emphasize "Captain Picard Day" at the beginning and Picard's comeback to Riker on wanting to designate a "Commander Riker Day" to piss him off LOL! Picard is contacted by Starfleet and is ordered on a priority mission to collect Admiral Eric Pressman, former Captain of the USS Pegasus where Riker first served after graduating from the Academy. Pressman informs Picard and Riker that intelligence has located the Pegasus in the Devolin system near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Though presumed destroyed, Pressman orders the crew to either recover the ship's remains or destroy them to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Romulans. In private, Riker attempts to discuss the events aboard the Pegasus's last mission and questions Pressman's intentions, but Pressman instructed Riker to remain silent until the current mission is completed. Later, Picard summons Riker to his quarters to ask him about a discovery he has just made concerning the Pegasus. Prior to the assumed destruction of the vessel, there was a mutiny - an event Riker has never mentioned and Picard views as serious. Picard further remarks that obtaining the report was no small feat, considering it had been classified by Starfleet Intelligence. Riker offers his version of the events: that when the Pegasus warp core overloaded, several officers took up arms against Pressman, fearful that the Captain was out of control. The inexperienced Riker, pulled his own weapon in the Captain's defense, but they were overwhelmed and barely managed to escape the ship. Shortly after ejecting from the crippled ship, the explosion occurred. Picard listens to Riker's account, then reads a second portion of the Judge Advocate General's report where he suggests that he believes that the surviving officers and crew are involved in a cover-up, and that further investigation is warranted. Picard informs Riker that the aforementioned investigation never happened, and that the report was made and quietly buried by Starfleet Intelligence. He presses Riker for the truth though Riker suggests that he speak to Pressman about the matter. Picard loses his patience and barks that he is taking up the matter with him, not Pressman. Riker tells Picard that he is under Pressman's orders not to discuss the matter. Picard then acknowledges that he cannot force Riker to disobey orders from a superior officer, so he will simply have to trust Riker's confidence in Pressman - adding that if he finds that trust to be misguided, then he will be "re-evaluating the command structure" of the Enterprise. In the Devlin system, the crew encounters a Romulan Warbird, clearly searching for the Pegasus as well. Picard and Sirol, the Romulan captain, acknowledge the others' presence, and lie to each other on the nature of their mission as nothing more than scanning and researching. The Enterprise sensors locate the Pegasus buried in a large fissure in an asteroid and Picard orders them to move on to lure the Romulans away. With the Romulans distracted, the Enterprise returns, enters the fissure in the asteroid, and finds that the Peagsus is partially fused with the asteroid. Pressman and Riker transport to the Pegasus, and recover an experimental device that the ship was equipped with which Riker thought was destroyed. Pressman is elated to find it, but Riker is less than enthusiastic. He finally informs Pressman that he won't allow him to restart the experiments that led to both the mutiny and the Pegasus' current state. When Pressman remarks that he's not the same Riker who took up arms to defend him 12 years ago, Riker agrees, adding that he's had time to think about it, and that were it his to do all over again, Pressman might find himself on the business end of Riker's phaser. Pressman ends the argument by reminding Riker that he's still under the Admiral's orders not to tell Picard anything. They quickly return to the Enterprise when they learn the Romulans have closed the fissure, trapping them inside. Sirol refuses to open the fissure, and instead gives Picard and his crew the option of taking asylum aboard the Warbird. It would allow both Federation ships be captured by the Romulans. Riker proposes a solution using the device they took from the Pegasus: a phase-shifting Federation cloaking device that would allow them to travel through the solid matter of the asteroid and escape. Pressman is furious at the breaking of Riker's silence, but Picard reprimands Pressman, pointing out that the development of a cloaking device by the Federation is a violation of the Treaty of Algeron (which made the "Neutral Zone" and Starfleet agreeing NOT to develop and use cloaking technology hence, why you don't see the technology standard on Federation ships in the Star Trek series). Pressman attempts to take command of the Enterprise, but the crew refuses to obey his orders. Picard directs the cloaking device to be installed and used to escape the asteroid. The cloak is then dropped in full view of the Warbird against Pressman's protestations, and Picard informs Sirol that the Federation will be contacting the Romulan government with regard to the entire incident. Picard orders Pressman to be arrested for having violated the Treaty. As he goes, Pressman threatens that he has allies in Starfleet, but Picard is unmoved. Riker insists that he be arrested as well and Picard agrees. Visiting Riker in the brig, Picard informs him that Pressman and four other high-ranking officers in Starfleet Intelligence have all been arrested pending a court-martial, and that his own role in the affair will be scrutinized closely. He also notes that Riker's record will be affected by this incident but that his having come clean at last will help. Picard tells him he still is proud to have him as a First Officer and releases him.
"Homeward": We get to meet Worf's human brother in this episode and I found out that the part of the plot is also used in Star Trek: Insurrection. The Enterprise receives an emergency distress call from Rozhenko, currently posted to Boraal II which is in the process of suffering an atmospheric catastrophe. In an effort to determine Rozhenko’s fate, and aware that advanced shield technology is not indigenous to the planet, Picard decides to send Worf to investigate as Worf is concerned about his brother, Nikolai. He is surgically altered to pass as a Boraalan so as to prevent any possible contamination of the planet's culture. Worf transports to the planet and discovers that his brother set up the shield to protect the local villagers he had been assigned to observe. While relieved that Nikolai is safe, Worf is concerned by what his brother has done and tells him that he has only postponed the deaths of the villagers. Rozhenko meets with the ship’s senior officers in the observation lounge and describes his plan to save one village of the doomed planet by setting up a concealed artificial biosphere. Picard replies that there is nothing the Enterprise can do as regrettably the Prime Directive prohibits any interference with the natural development of the Boraalan civilization; it is not for them to decide that one group shall survive while the rest of the planet perishes. The crew is puzzled by an unexpected power drain, the origin of which Worf tracks to the Holodeck. Going to investigate the cause, he finds that his brother has transported the population of the Boraalan village aboard the ship in direct contravention of the Prime Directive and Captain Picard’s wishes. Rozhenko has used the Holodeck to replicate caverns identical to those on the planet, misleading the villagers into thinking they are still on Boraal II. Rozhenko tells Worf and Picard that he believes offering the Boraalan culture a chance of survival is more important than following the abstract concepts of the Prime Directive. He champions his updated plan of transporting the Boraalans to a new home on a different habitable planet without their knowledge, where their civilization can hopefully grow and thrive. Realizing that Rozhenko has given him no other choice, Picard reluctantly authorizes the plan and orders Crusher and Data to find a new home planet for the Boraalans. They choose Vacca VI as a potential new home world, but it is almost two days away at maximum warp. La Forge tells Picard and Rozhenko that the Holodeck program may not run that long as the Holodeck and several of the ship's other systems were adversely effected by exposure to Plasmonic wave radiation generated by the atmospheric dissipation. Rozhenko volunteers to return to the Boraalans and help rationalize and account for any anomalies in the program which the villagers might witness. A mistrustful Picard orders Worf to accompany him, which Worf finds difficult as he is disgusted by his brother’s actions and wants no more to do with him. Returning to the Holodeck, Nikolai and Worf tell the Boraalans that they will lead them through the caverns to a new home far away from the old one. As they travel, La Forge gradually alters the program so that the terrain more closely resembles the slightly different environment of the new Boraalan home world. Several program errors do eventually occur, but the two brothers cooperate to explain them all away. Worf and Rozhenko have a further falling out and nearly come to blows when Worf learns that his brother has impregnated one of the villagers, and Nikolai tells Worf that he intends to remain with the Boraalans. Adding to an already complicated situation, Vorin, the village chronicler, manages to find his way out of the Holodeck and suffers severe culture shock at the reality of the world outside. Picard and Troi try to help him adjust, offering him the choice of returning to his people or staying and making a new life with them on the ship. Vorin tells them he wishes to return to his people, but doesn’t think he can live the rest of his life knowing and keeping the secrets he has learned, however he also realizes that his people will think him a liar or insane if he tells them the truth. Inside the Holodeck, Rozhenko is devastated by the possibility that Vorin might return and inform the other villagers of the reality of their situation, which would invalidate all the work he and Worf have done and destroy everything the villagers believe in. Ultimately Vorin can’t live with what he has discovered and commits a form of ritual suicide. The Enterprise finally arrives at the new Boraalan home, and ignorant of the fact that they have ever left their original planet, the Boraalans are beamed down to the eventual site of their new village. Worf and Nikolai finally make peace when Worf accepts and admits that the Boraalan race would not have survived if not for his brother’s unconventional methods. Nikolai further assuages Worf by telling him that he is going to finally take responsibility by staying with his intended wife and the villagers and make his home with them as the new village chronicler. Worf replies that he will explain Nikolai’s choice to their parents and convinces Nikolai to let him retain part of the chronicle as a souvenir. Picard muses with Crusher that while their plan for the Boraalans worked out well, he is disappointed and saddened that Vorin wasn’t able to bridge the gap between their two cultures.
"Lower Decks": It surprised me that this was a continuation of the Season 5 episode "The First Duty". Sito Jaxa returns after serving her punishment though there is no mention of Wesley Crusher. It was nice that she managed to redeem herself before she was killed in the end.
"Thine Own Self": The small subplot in this episode has Troi becoming a bridge officer. She easily passes all of the required examinations except one - a holodeck simulation, supervised by Riker and meant to test her command abilities. After several failed attempts to save a badly damaged Enterprise without putting anyone at risk, Riker gives her a subtle hint on how to succeed - that her first duty is to the ship. Troi goes back to the holodeck simulation on her own. During the simulation, she realizes that she may not be able to avoid sacrificing some of the crew. She orders the simulated La Forge to perform repairs in a hazardous area that quickly kills him. Riker, who knew Troi would attempt this, announces she passed the test and earns a promotion to Commander.
Data is sent to recover radioactive remains of a deep-space probe that crashed on a planet of people who live in a pre-Industrial age. However, Data is injured during the recovery, and without memory of who he is or his mission, walks into a village carrying the case of radioactive parts. Garvin, the village magistrate, and his daughter Gia, take Data to their healer, Talur, who determines he must be an "ice man". As Data cannot remember his name, Gia gives him the name "Jayden". Garvin discovers the probe's fragments, unaware of their hazard, and attempts to sell them to make a profit with Jayden's consent. As the village folk begin to wear the fragments as jewelry, they start to succumb to radiation poisoning. Talur is unfamiliar with the symptoms. Jayden uses his own, more scientific methods and concludes that the metal fragments are causing the illnesses. With Talur's help, they attempt to urge the villagers to get rid of them. Instead, the villagers attack Jayden, believing him to be the cause for the illness. At Garvin's home, a scuffle with two villagers (the blacksmith above is damn cute! WOOF!) causes Jayden to have his mechanical innards to be exposed. When Gia eventually sees this, she is alarmed, but then realizes that Jayden is trying to help them. Jayden is able to prepare an antidote for the poisoning, administering it to Garvin and Gia. For the entire village, he puts the rest of the antidote in the village's well when no one is around. The villagers, still angry and catch him, attack Jayden, apparently killing him after he dumps the antidote into the well. Riker and Crusher arrive sometime later, disguised as villagers and meet Gia. They ask Gia about Data - describing him and giving his real name. She replies with sadness that she and her father buried Data where they stand and the metal fragments were buried in the forest outside of town. After she leaves, Data's body and the metal fragments are beamed to the Enterprise. Data's functions are restored, but he has no memory of his life as "Jayden". He recalls that his positronic brain must have been overloaded from a power surge from the probe as he recovered the fragments, leading to his memory loss. Troi lets Data know that she can be referred to as "Sir!" from now on.
"Journey's End": Wow! We don't see Wesley Crusher for a long time and... is an asshole. A long-disputed treaty with the Cardassians has the Federation agreeing to return several planets to Cardassian control. Colonists on those planets will need to be relocated by Starfleet. One such planet, Dorvan V, is inhabited by Indian settlers, who had left Earth to preserve their heritage on a new home. They had spent two hundred years searching for a world, having finally chosen Dorvan V twenty years before, and are unwilling to leave. Picard believes they are right, but pleads with them to leave, saying that the Cardassians insist on the removal of all inhabitants. During one debate the leader of the Tribal council, Anthwara, tells Picard that according to their research Picard's ancestor had been involved in a massacre related to the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico in 1680. They believe Picard's involvement in their case is thus a form of kismet (fate). Wesley has returned from the Academy for a vacation. He's not himself though, being snappish and depressed which really worries his mother. Even in Engineering, he's rude to La Forge. Dr. Crusher tries to talk to her son, but initially gets nowhere. At a reception on the Enterprise, Wesley comes in contact with Lakanta, an Indian holy man of sorts. He guides Wesley on a journey of self-discovery, in which he talks to his long-dead father, who tells Wesley that he is destined to go down a path different from his own. A group of Cardassians arrives on the planet to scout buildings and equipment being left behind, and raises tensions among the settlers further. Picard realizes he has no choice but to force the Indians to leave. He plans to secretly beam them up to the ship, but Wesley finds out and warns the people. When Picard criticizes his actions, Wesley quits Starfleet (...the fuck???). Soon the Indians capture some of the Cardassians on the planet, and a fight breaks out. The Cardassian gul is willing to send reinforcements to attack the Indians, but Picard warns him that, as the Indians are Federation citizens, he would be required to stop the Cardassians - which could lead to more violence between the two groups. Gul Evek reluctantly agrees, and beams up the Cardassians from the planet to prevent more violence. Eventually Wesley's spirit guide reveals himself as the Traveler (from the Season 1 episode "Where No One Has Gone Before"), with whom Wesley had contact years ago. Wesley decides to leave Starfleet and explore the universe with him. Wesley tells his mother this and reveals that he feared disappointing others. Beverly reassures him that she's still proud of him, no matter what he decides to do with his life, which finally breaks through to Wesley. Both mother and son end up crying in each other's arms. The Indians, still insistent on staying on the planet, decide to forgo their Federation citizenship and remain on the planet under the Cardassians' control. The Cardassians agree to leave them alone. I'm kind of disappointed that Wesley was written off this way and quits Starfleet after everything he's been through.
"Firstborn": The last Klingon-based episode (sniff...) and last we see of Alexander in the series. Worf is concerned that Alexander isn't pursuing his Klingon heritage and is appalled to learn that he has no intention to. Alexander has reached the age at which he should declare his desire to become a Klingon warrior as soon, he will reach the age of "Ascension". While awaiting a rendezvous with the USS Kearsarge near the Vodrey Nebula, Picard suggests that Worf should expose Alexander to more of his heritage after being confided about Worf's situation. The Enterprise stops at Maranga IV so the father and son can go to a Klingon festival. The exposure to Klingon culture goes well for a time. However, while there, the two are confronted by a trio of Klingon thugs. Before the assailants can mount an attack, a Klingon named K'mtar arrives and fights them off. K'mtar reveals that he is a distant relative who has come to protect Alexander. K'mtar accompanies Worf and Alexander back to the ship, where the two quickly bond. K'mtar is fully committed to getting Alexander to train as a warrior after learning of the situation. But when his initial attempts at teaching yields little results, he recommends to Worf that Alexander be sent away for training at a Klingon military academy. When Worf expresses reluctance at pursuing this course, K'mtar threatens to invoke Klingon law and take custody of Alexander away from Worf. They both bicker until Alexander reminds them tartly that he is part-human on his mother's side. Both Worf and K'mtar quickly rebuff his statement, insisting that Alexander fully embrace the Klingon way of life. However, they cannot agree on who should finish raising Alexander while Worf becomes furious when K'mtar implies that he is a bad father and angrily fires back that K'mtar is a meddler. As all this is going on, the crew is attempting to find out who attacked Worf and Alexander back on Maranga IV. With a lead given by the Ferengi, Quark, from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (who makes his only appearance in TNG) and a dagger left behind had a mark from the House of Duras, Riker and the crew locate the Duras sisters (the sisters from the Season 4 finale and Season 5 opening episodes "Redemption Parts I & II") and accuse them of trying to assassinate Worf, which they deny vehemently. When the dagger is presented as evidence, the sisters make a disturbing discovery - several markings on the knife denote family members, including one for Lursa's son, even though Lursa herself only recently learned she was pregnant! Worf returns to his quarters and discovers K'mtar in Alexander's room, preparing to kill Alexander. He attacks K'mtar and immobilizes him. K'mtar confesses that he was behind the earlier assassination, which he used to gain their trust. Furthermore, he reveals that he is in fact Alexander - from the future - and he has come back in time to try to prevent Worf's murder (Holy Shit!!! Never saw that one!). This future Alexander had blamed himself for having allowed Worf to die, regretting he never chosen the life of a Klingon warrior and instead, became a failed peacemaker. Worf immediately realizes that K'mtar is telling the truth and truly is his adult son. Worf tells him that he can only die happy if he knows he allowed Alexander to chart his own course. They share a hug and admit their love for each other as father and son before K'mtar then returns to his own time (er, why can't we see how K'mtar travels through time?). Seeing Alexander in the holodeck for training, Worf determines to approach his young son with a new attitude in the future. I'm not a fan of this outcome for Alexander. I would have liked it if Alexander overheard K'mtar being his future self and at the end of the episode, admit to Worf that he overheard and agree to embrace being a Klingon warrior so he can one day protect his father and comrades. He could add that he will only fight when necessary but in general, he would always be himself. Now that would be an ending I could live with!
"Bloodlines": The disgraced Ferengi, Bok, from the Season one episode "The Battle" returns to exact revenge on Picard by threatening to kill Picard's supposed "son". Picard killed Bok's son at a time before he commanded the Enterprise.
"The Emergence": Kind of a strange episode that felt like something out of The Original Series. The highlight for me was the cute train conductor (kind of a fetish of mine) played by David Huddleston - WOOF!
"Preemptive Strike": It was great to see Ro Laren again. The Enterprise is en route to a briefing concerning a situation along the border of the Cardassian-Federation demilitarized zone. The newly promoted Lieutenant Ro arrives to attend a welcome back party after recently graduating from Starfleet Advanced Tactical Training class. The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Cardassian warship under attack by the Maquis, a paramilitary organization of Federation citizens who have taken up arms against the Cardassians. The Enterprise manages to separate the Cardassian and Maquis ships, causing them to break off their attack and withdraw. Picard has his rendezvous with Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev and she expresses Starfleet's concern about the Maquis, who are jeopardizing the Federation-Cardassian peace treaty. She advises Picard that Starfleet has decided to infiltrate the Maquis using Ro. Ro finds her way to a bar where she is contacted by members of the Maquis. After verifying her cover story, they quickly accept her into their ranks. She forms a bond with Macias, who Ro sees as a father figure. Alarmed by this news that the Cardassians are arming their citizens with biogenic weapons, the Maquis plan a preemptive strike, however, Macias points out they are critically short of medical supplies. Ro offers to steal the needed supplies from the Enterprise, which she manages with some covert help from the crew. Returning to the Enterprise for a debriefing, Ro tells Picard of the Maquis strategy and Picard plots to manipulate the militants' paranoia in order to set a trap for them, hopefully eliminating, or at least crippling, their organization. Although Ro is troubled by this, she returns to the planet and is able to convince the Maquis leadership to plan an attack on the convoy supposedly carrying the components for the biogenic weapon. However, disguised Cardassian militiamen attack the community which the Maquis cell is part of, and Macias is killed. As he dies, he tells Ro his death is not important since other Maquis like her will step forward to carry on the fight in his place. Shortly thereafter a very unsettled Ro meets with Picard because she’s having second thoughts about the mission, asking him to call it off, saying that the Maquis cell she belongs to isn’t all that militant and may not even rise to the bait of the decoy convoy. Picard decides to send Riker back to the Maquis with her (under the guise as a relative) to keep an eye on her and assure nothing interferes with the mission. The day for the operation against the convoy arrives and as the Maquis fighters close in on it, Ro decides she can’t go through with the operation. She fires a low intensity particle beam into a Nebula, exposing the Federation attack force, and the Maquis ships break off their attack, frustrating the Starfleet plan. With great regret, Ro asks Riker to apologize on her behalf to Picard and beams to another Maquis ship. Back on the Enterprise, Riker files his report to Picard, adding that Ro seemed very sure of her decision and her only regret was that she had let Picard down. Riker leaves as we see Picard looking forlorn at the betrayal of Ro. I'm disappointed that this is the last we see of Ro in the series and that this was the way to write her off. Picard's expression at the very end almost mirrored my own and was kind of saddened that, like Wesley, there will be nothing more of her. Why couldn't she have left the series with some dignity and continued in Starfleet? Sniff...
"All Good Things...": We have arrived at the end of the TV series before we get to the 4 movies. This episode combines the length of two episodes into one though in syndication, they may break it down into two. Picard inexplicably finds his mind jumping between the present and the past just prior to the Enterprise-D's first mission seven years earlier at Farpoint Station and twenty-five years into the future, where an aged Picard has retired to the family vineyard in Labarre, France. He meets La Forge who no longer wears his VISOR, is married, and has 3 children. Because of Picard's time jumping and seeing crazy people taunting him, he urges La Forge that they both see Data - who is a professor at Cambridge and lives in the same room that Sir Issac Newton once lived in. The time jumps occur without warning, and the resulting discontinuity in Picard's behavior frequently leaves him and those around him confused, also believing that he suffering from a disease that is affecting his mind. In the present, Picard is ordered to take the Enterprise to the edge of the Neutral Zone to investigate a spatial anomaly. In the future, he gains passage on the USS Pasteur, which is under the command of Dr. Beverly Picard - his ex-wife, whom he convinces to find the anomaly. In the past, despite having the Enterprise's mission to Farpoint Station cancelled by Starfleet to investigate the anomaly, Picard insists on continuing, believing the impending encounter with Q to be more important. After reaching the place where he had first encountered the Q in the form of a net near Farpoint Station and finding nothing there, Picard enters his ready room, only to find himself once again in Q's courtroom (dressed in the same garb too!). Q reveals that the trial started seven years ago never concluded, and the current situation is humanity's last chance to prove themselves to the Q Continuum, but secretly reveals that he himself is the cause of Picard's time jumping. Q challenges Picard to solve the mystery of the anomaly - then cryptically stating that Picard is the one who will destroy humanity. As Picard arrives at the anomaly in all three time periods, he discovers that the anomaly is much larger in the past, but does not exist at all in the future. As the past and present Enterprises scan the anomaly with tachyon beams, the Pasteur is attacked by Klingon ships because in the future, the Klingons conquered the Romulan Star Empire and is turning away from the Federation. The crew is saved due to the timely arrival of the future (and heavily decked out!) Enterprise-D under the command of Admiral Riker (WOOF!). He fires on several of the attacking Klingon warships, which causes them to flee the neutral zone. It is revealed that Riker and Worf are in a feud over the late counselor Troi, with whom both had a serious relationship. Q once again appears to Picard and takes him to billions of years in the past on Earth, where the anomaly, growing larger as it moves backwards in time, has taken over the whole of the Alpha Quadrant and has prevented the formation of life on Earth. When Picard returns to the future, he discovers the anomaly has appeared, created as a result of his orders, and the tachyon pulses from the three eras are sustaining it. Data and La Forge determine that they can stop the anomaly by having all three Enterprises fly into the center of it and create static warp shells. Picard relays the orders to each Enterprise and as he jumps through time, lets the crew know. Each ship suffers warp core breaches, with Q telling the future Picard that "all good things must come to an end" just before the future Enterprise explodes. Picard finds himself facing Q in the courtroom as before. Q congratulates Picard for being able to think in multiple timelines simultaneously to solve the puzzle, which is proof that humanity can still evolve, much to the surprise of the Continuum. Q admits to helping Picard to solve it with the time jumping since he was the one that put them in this situation, and then goes on to explain that the anomaly never actually existed and that his past and present have been restored. He then withdraws from the courtroom and bids farewell to Picard by saying "See you ... out there". Picard then returns to the Enterprise of the present and no longer jumping through time. The final scene has Picard, for the first time ever, deciding to join the crew's regular poker game, stating regret he had not done so before, saying "...and the sky's the limit," suggesting more adventures lay ahead for the crew (cue: four movies!).
I thought the final episode was all right. I said to myself before watching the episode: "wouldn't it be nice to have Tasha Yar, Doctor Pulaski, and other past crew members come back for fan service?" Well, we got Tasha Yar which was nice but she was kind of downplayed. I thought it was awesome that they brought back the sets from the first season and tried to make all the characters look 7 years younger, both their facial features and uniforms. Was also nice to see them age too. Riker and Picard look great as older bears! But personally, I wished the plot involved the entire crew (including Yar) time travelling and having an action-packed episode that saves humanity and all three of the timelines. The timelines are separate while only the present would be canon and continue into the forthcoming movies.
Sometime later this month, my quick look at Star Trek VII-X (yes, I know they stopped numbering them...) will be uploaded and will complete my look at The Next Generation. I might even do a separate review of Star Trek Into Darkness when I watch it next month in theaters. I'm excited!