UNDERDOG of PERFECTION

Family
Season 4 Episode 2
Original airdate: September 29, 1990

Netflix Synopsis

The crew of the Enterprise returns to Earth for shore leave. Still recovering from his experience with the Borg, Picard meets up with his brother.

My Brief Review

This episode plays a little bit like an episode of Fantasy Island — three separate and, really, totally unrelated stories. The common thread is in the title: family.

The setting: Earth. Enterprise is under repair, and the crew gets some shore leave at home. In the main story, Picard, still suffering from his traumatic assimilation by the Borg, retreats to his family vineyard in France, where his elder brother is not exactly pleased to see him. In the second story, Worf’s human adoptive parents come on board and embarrass him. And in the third, barely developed story (which seems to exist only to pad out the runtime and underscore “family”), Dr. Crusher receives a container of possessions from her late husband Jack, including his Starfleet uniform (the style worn in the Original Series movies of the ’80s) and a holographic message he had recorded for the infant Wesley, shortly before being killed in the line of duty.

The Wes story is fine, but totally throwaway. The Worf story is humorous and… uh… well… humanizes Worf a bit. But Picard’s story is really the essence of the episode and is fairly powerful. How does one recover from a traumatic experience? Will Picard retreat to life back on Earth, hiding from the dangers in space? Or will he find a way to live with what he’s been through and persevere in space? Is his brother just a major dick, or is he trying to teach Jean-Luc a lesson? (Take a guess.)

I have one huge issue with a scientific detail in this episode. An old friend, Louis, is part of a massive project to try to — get this — raise a new subcontinent in the ocean (the project is even called “Atlantis”). It’s run into some technical issues, and could really benefit from a smart and decisive leader like Picard to get things back on track.

But here’s the problem: WATER DISPLACEMENT. This project makes absolutely no sense, because if that amount of land were raised in the middle of the ocean, it would cause a rise in sea level beyond the worst projections of 21st century climate change. The whole project doesn’t even make any sense. What’s the point? It’s purely a literary device in the show, so that the choice Picard faces is not just between staying in space or retreating home, but literally hiding at the bottom of the ocean. I get it. It’s just completely inane.

Memorable Moment

Jean-Luc and his brother Robert mud wrestling in the vineyard.

Crew Rando

OK, he’s not part of the crew, but he is Starfleet (retired)… Worf’s dad, Chief Petty Officer Sergey Rozhenko!

Distance Rating: 3K

IMDb score: 8.4/10

The Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1 and 2
Season 3 Episode 26; original airdate: June 16, 1990
Season 4 Episode 1; original airdate: September 22, 1990

Netflix Synopsis

Part 1
Responding to a distress call on one of the Federation’s outermost colonies, the Enterprise arrives and must face a powerful foe.

Part 2
As acting captain, Commander Riker has no choice but to fire full force on the Borg starship, despite Capt. Picard being on board.

My Brief Review

I didn’t have a chance to write my review last night after watching part 1, but it’s just as well, so I can review the entire story here.

Season 2 ended on as low a note as imaginable, with a dreadful, hackneyed clip show. Dreadful and hackneyed even for a clip show. The producers were determined to do better this time, and ended season 3 with A CLIFFHANGER!!!

And what a cliffhanger! Not only does Picard get captured by the Borg and turned into Locutus of Borg but part 1 ends with Riker in command of Enterprise, and a special doomsday weapon made out of the deflector shield and the warp engine trained on the Borg cube — with Picard Locutus on board.

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The last words we hear: “Mr. Worf, fire!”

TO BE CONTINUED…

And back in 1990 we had to wait all summer to find out what was going to happen. I’m trying to remember what it was like back then, without the Internet, relying just on whatever came out on Entertainment Tonight or in Entertainment Weekly, speculating for three months about what was going to happen. Did we know Patrick Stewart wasn’t leaving the show? Did we know Jonathan Frakes wasn’t leaving, for that matter? After all, the first half really set up the possibility that Commander Shelby might be a permanent addition to the crew.

…three months later…

“Mr. Worf, fire!”

(Voice of Majel Barrett): “And now, the conclusion.”

Of course they didn’t blow Picard Locutus to bits!

On the contrary, after the super weapon utterly fails (because, y’know, the Borg are, like, inside Picard’s brain now), a daring rescue is executed, involving separating the saucer section, “Captain” Riker commanding from the battle bridge, Worf and Data coasting in a powered-down shuttlecraft through the Borg shield, nabbing Picard Locutus, and high-tailing it back outside the shield just in time for O’Brien to beam them to safety moments before the Borg destroy the shuttle! (Of course!)

Oh, by the way, spoilers!

But I’ll stop there. Needless to say, it all works out in the end. As long as you don’t mind the destruction of dozens of Federation ships at the Wolf 359 outpost. (Oops. More spoilers.)

Memorable Moment

Riker with four pips! Enough said.

Crew Rando

A double episode leaves room for plenty of randos, including some who even get named! But I believe I’ll go for our old friend Ensign Russell, who accompanies Worf and Shelby on an away team to the Borg cube near the end of part 2. If any TNG character is going to get “red shirted” you’d think this would be the moment, but no! The away mission is brief and uneventful. (I mean, it’s, like, shockingly uneventful, especially for an away mission to a friggin’ Borg cube!)

Distance Rating: 5K + 5K

IMDb scores: 9.4/10 (part 1); 9.3/10 (part 2)

Transfigurations
Season 3 Episode 25
Original airdate: June 2, 1990

Netfix Synopsis

The Enterprise finds a deserted planet and a downed ship’s lone survivor, who has no memory but possesses extraordinary healing powers.

My Brief Review

Once again I’ve skipped an episode. The one that immediately preceded this, “Menage a Troi” — well, the name tells you pretty much all you need to know — was pretty much the worst possible combination for me… Troi’s mom and a Ferengi. I really don’t think I could have taken it.

This is another episode I remembered from the old days. “John Doe,” the mysterious, amnesiac alien, is undergoing a transformation with a series of energy pulses surging painfully through his body. Yet he can also harness that energy to miraculously heal people — from Geordi’s much needed confidence boost, to O’Brien’s holodeck kayaking injury, to Worf, who he actually brings back to life after a jolt of his energy causes Worf to fall over a railing and break his neck.

A ship from John’s planet arrives and wants to take him back, as a prisoner. But Picard stalls long enough for John to recover his memory. His species is on the verge of an evolutionary transformation into non-corporeal beings of pure energy. Whoa! And he undergoes his metamorphosis right before the crew’s eyes. The final scene is a bit corny; he’s clearly wearing a white bodysuit (think Greendale Human Being) with post-production special effects to give him a yellow glow, but you can see the wrinkles in the suit on the top of his head, and hear his speech muffled by the part covering his mouth.

But never mind that. This episode ended on an inspiring note, one that was not lost on me with tonight being the final night before Donald Trump is no longer president.

Memorable Moment

John turning into a being of glowing bodysuit pure, radiant energy, of course!

Crew Rando

Nurse Temple doesn’t get called by name in the show, but she has several scenes and even some dialogue! Her pips suggest she’s a lieutenant junior-grade, so I guess that’s the difference. Ensign randos don’t get to talk!

Distance Rating: 4K

IMDb score: 7.0/10

Sarek
Season 3 Episode 23
Original airdate: May 12, 1990

Netflix Synopsis

Legendary Federation ambassador Sarek visits the Enterprise to conclude peace talks with a race called the Legarans.

My Brief Review

You had me at Sarek. Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek is one of my favorite Star Trek characters, and he also has the unique distinction of having appeared in the original series, the animated series, and several of the movies. (The actor, Mark Lenard, also played a Klingon captain in the first movie.)

For a long time, Sarek was really the only Vulcan we knew besides Spock himself, and he endeared himself to fans of the show. Or at least to me.

This episode is full of intense acting. Sarek, now aged 202, is being carried by the Enterprise to one final negotiation, for a treaty he has been working 93 years to complete. But Sarek is ill, with an incurable disease that destroys his ability to restrain his intense Vulcan emotions. Will he be able to complete the mission?

Before we can find out, we get to watch chaos break out all over the ship, including an intense row between Wesley and Geordi, a full-on bar brawl in Ten-Forward, and even a heated shouting match between Riker and Picard on the bridge — all caused by Sarek’s loss of emotional control, and his telepathic abilities.

Eventually Picard convinces Sarek to mind-meld with him, transferring Sarek’s emotions to Picard for the duration of the final treaty negotiations. Sarek (calling Riker “Number One”) is able to become himself again, while Picard unleashes a torrent of intense emotions. It’s an acting tour de force for Patrick Stewart.

Memorable Moment

It’s a tie, for me, between the bar brawl (although did it really have to be O’Brien who instigated it?) and the moment during Data’s Mozart concert when Sarek tears up. That image has stuck with me over the years.

Crew Rando

That would have to be the science officer who steals O’Brien’s table in Ten-Forward, precipitating the brawl.

Distance Rating: 5K

IMDb score: 8.2/10

The Most Toys
Season 3 Episode 22
Original airdate: May 5, 1990

Netflix Synopsis

After the crew transports a dangerous material to the Enterprise, a collector carries out an intricate plan to kidnap Data.

My Brief Review

Once again I’ve skipped an episode… specifically, the one that introduces pathologically shy, Holodeck-obsessed Lt. Barclay (“Broccoli”). Barclay plays a fairly significant role later in Voyager but I really do not care for him and I know that episode annoyed the crap out of me even when I was 16, so… no thanks.

This episode, on the other hand, is another great feature for Data. Trader and collector (also thief) Kivas Fajo, played excellently by the great character actor Saul Rubinek, tricks Enterprise into believing Data has been destroyed in a shuttlecraft explosion. In fact, Fajo has kidnapped Data for his collection, which includes, among other things, Dali’s Persistence of Memory, a one-of-a-kind Roger Maris baseball card, and the sole surviving member of an alien species that looks like a cross between a cobra and a cat, with giant compound eyes like a housefly. It’s quite a pet. And Data is the ultimate prize of his collection.

Meanwhile back on Enterprise, Geordi thinks something is up, and won’t give up trying to make sense of what happened to Data, while Worf awkwardly accepts another promotion in the wake of the death of a crew mate.

Data plays dumb for a friend Fajo is trying to impress, then plots an escape with one of Fajo’s lieutenants after she realizes Fajo is willing to kill her just to make Data sit in the chair.

The escape is foiled, Fajo uses his illegal disruptor — well, one of the four he owns — on her, and Data is — gasp! — just beginning to fire the same deadly weapon on Fajo when Enterprise returns and beams him aboard.

Memorable Moment

One scene in the collection room begins with us looking at Data, who is looking up curiously, attempting a strange half smile… then we see what he’s looking at: the original Mona Lisa, another prize of Fajo’s collection.

Crew Rando

Well, that would have to be the ensign who anonymously assumes Worf’s security post after Worf is promoted to ops. How does it feel to Worf to know that it was a big effin’ deal for Picard to decide to promote him to Data’s post, yet he hastily filled Worf’s own post with some nobody?

Distance Rating: 3K

IMDb score: 7.7/10