The One With The Counselor And The Commander

Forgive me for taking a little foray back into the world of TNG. I’ve been working on this post for some time, and memorializing the Imzadi relationship has been a goal since day one of this blog.

I’ve been watching Star Trek for as long as I can remember. When the latter seasons of TNG were on the air, my Dad would watch the show on television, and as it was on past my bedtime, we sort of had an unspoken agreement that he would let me watch if I pretended to be asleep. I was still relatively young (TNG ended just a few weeks after my sixth birthday) so my memories of the show are somewhat sparse. However, a few things from my earliest introduction to Star Trek still stick out to me to this day: Worf in a mud bath (Cost of Living), the “scary Data sun episode” (Masks), the one where they turn into animals (Genesis), and Counselor Deanna Troi.

I’ve mentioned before that Troi has some troubling characterization throughout most of the television series. She’s generally presented as a sort of useless eye candy, not even given the dignity of wearing a Star Trek uniform. She was, however, my favorite TNG character as a young girl, and I’ve come to realize now that my earliest memories of Troi are of the Season 6 and 7 Troi who wore a Starfleet uniform and had a place on the bridge. She was one of only two female characters on TNG, and she was certainly the one who spoke to me when I was a child.

My love for Deanna Troi was cemented when she showed up in the movie Star Trek: Insurrection sassy and flirtatious declaring “yuck” when Commander Riker kisses her before getting into a bubble bath with him to shave off that beard. For me, the Imzadi relationship is one of the defining characteristics of my early experience with Star Trek, and on subsequent rewatches, I always eagerly pay attention to the way Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis insert their characters’ relationship into nearly every scene through subtle acting choices.

Anyways, this is really all just a round about way for me to begin a post discussing the Imzadi relationship. I’ve been watching Counselor Deanna Troi and Commander Will Riker interact on screen together for pretty much my entire life, and I’ve been “shipping” them since long before I knew what “shipping” even was. (For those who don’t know, “shipping” is when the fan of a show “ships” two characters and wants them to get together romantically. It is short for relation”ship.”).

They have a lot of chemistry together. This is something I mostly attribute to the fact that the actors portraying the characters are such good friends off screen. Additionally, I tend to think the writers crafted the relationship between these two characters in such a way that it can simmer beneath every scene without needing to be the central focus.

–Me with the “Imzadi love triangle” in 2014.

I’ve identified some of the moments that define the Imzadi relationship for me. This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, and I’m not sure it is even a list of my favorites. But I’d like to think it does encapsulate exactly why these two characters have captured my fascination for the better part of my 28 years on this planet.

The Icarus Factor

By the time The Icarus Factor rolls around in Season 2, the audience already has a pretty good idea of the existence of the Imzadi relationship, but the depth of the current relationship hasn’t really been hashed out. Until this episode, I don’t think we quite understand that the Imzadi relationship isn’t truly in the past for either Troi or Riker. They are not actively in a relationship, of course, but their feelings for each other are not limited to memories of their time together in their youth.

Instead, when faced with Riker’s impending departure from the Enterprise in order to take command of his own ship, we see that they are both reluctant to say goodbye:

Riker: I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.

Troi: I don’t like goodbyes. How about: until next time?

Riker: Until next time.

Troi: it’s been a pleasure serving with you, Commander.

Riker: The feeling is mutual, Counselor.

Troi: I’m supported to know how everyone feels, but I can’t read you right now.

Riker: Perhaps your own feelings are getting in the way.

Troi: My job is to help others sort out their emotions. My own feelings are beside the point.

Riker: Not to me. Our feelings are what make us all human.

Troi: Are you feeling sad?

Riker: Yes, I am.

Troi: Me too.

–Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Icarus Factor

I don’t specifically know what it is about this exchange, but it moves me every time. I think it is probably because Riker doesn’t allow it to turn into a professional encounter. He doesn’t care that she is the counselor. He cares about her feelings. And her admission that her own emotions have clouded her ability to sense emotions from others is beautiful.

The Loss

This episode from Season 4 of TNG is one of the first times the show really treats us to all-too-rare true development and focus on Deanna Troi’s character. In this episode, she loses her empathic abilities, and the sudden loss of a sense (which is the equivalent of one of us losing our vision or hearing) is quite jarring for her. She suffers a crisis of confidence. How can she be a counselor if she doesn’t know how to gauge other people’s emotions?

When Troi attempts to turn in her Starfleet resignation to Captain Picard, it is Riker who comes to her quarters to comfort her and, perhaps, talk some sense into her. His first instinct, of course, is to wrap her into a warm embrace and allow her to cry in his arms. One of my favorite Will Riker lines from the entire series comes when she asks him if this is how he solves all his personnel problem, and he dryly responds, “You’d be surprised how far a hug goes with Geordi, or Worf.”

But it isn’t the hug that demonstrates the depth of their relationship. Instead, as she confides in him that she doesn’t know what she should do, Riker doesn’t let her get away with any sort of self pitying:

Troi: I look around me and all I see are surfaces without depth. Colorless; hollow. Nothing seems real.

Riker: I’m real.

Troi: No you’re not. You’re a projection with no more substances to me than a character on the holodeck.

Riker: I don’t believe that.

Troi: You have no idea how frightening it is to just be here without sending you, without sharing your feelings.

Riker: That’s it isn’t it? We’re on equal footing now.

Troi: What?

Riker: You always had an advantage, a little bit of control of every situation. That must have been a very safe position to be in. To be honest, I’d always thought there was something a little too aristocratic about your Betazoid heritage. As if your human side wasn’t quite good enough for you.

Troi: That isn’t true.

Riker: Isn’t it?

—The Loss, Star Trek: The Next Generation

It’s powerful. He doesn’t sugar coat it. And his tone is just as harsh as his words. Riker refuses to let Troi drown in a self-pitying spiral. He isn’t a counselor using therapeutic techniques to help her through her struggles, but he is someone who loves her and knows her deeply.

Tough love is love, and there is plenty of that here. I adore seeing that this relationship is built on more than just unresolved sexual tension smoldering beneath every scene.

Gambit, Part I*

The “tough love” doesn’t just come in one direction. In the early Season 7 episode Gambit, Part I, the audience is treated to the fact that Troi is not afraid to bring Riker’s pettiness to the forefront. Their relationship is built on the mutual respect that allows each of them to take the lead and challenge the other when necessary.

This episode starts off with a “cliffhanger” that would work much better if it didn’t come early in the final season of the series. Captain Picard is “dead,” but I hardly believe anyone in the audience actually fears for the Captain’s life. You don’t kill off the main character with approximately 20 episodes to go.

The crew of the 1701-D, however, does believe their Captain is dead, and it is time to host a memorial service. Troi comes to Riker’s quarters to tell him about the plans for the service, and she requests that he give the eulogy for the Captain. Riker declines because he has no plans to attend the memorial service:

Troi: A memorial service helps to give everyone a sense of completion. Helps them begin the healing process.

Riker: That’s exactly the point. I don’t want to heal.

Troi: Will.

Riker: I’ve got an open wound right here. It hurts like hell. I don’t want it to get better, and I don’t want to pretend that everything’s alright.

Troi: I know you’re angry.

Riker: You’re damn right! And I intend to stay angry until I find whoever’s responsible for the Captain’s death.

Troi: That’s pretty selfish of you. Do you think you’re the only one in pain? Do you think you have the monopoly on loss? Well, let me tell you something: we’re all hurting, and we’re all angry. And whether you like it or not, you have a responsibility to this care, and you can’t just indulge your personal desire for revenge.

Riker: That is enough, Counselor…. Deanna, I’m sorry. This is not about revenge. This is about justice. The Captain died in a bar fight for nothing. Somebody has to answer for that. Then I can mourn.

–Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gambit, Part I

When Riker selfishly refuses to help his crew handle their grief, Troi calls him out on it. She’s right. It is selfish, and his reaction is proof that she has made her point.

Conundrum

I’m sort of ambivalent on the topic of soul mates, but if soul mates do exist, I’d have to think Troi and Riker would be the perfect example. In Season 5‘s episode Conundrum (Which I wrote about here), we see that Troi and Riker have a deep connection even when they’ve been stripped of their memories and identities.

While in Troi’s quarters, she laments that she doesn’t recognize anything in her room. Although it is filled with effects that should be hers, Troi doesn’t recognize anything. She notes that it feels like it belongs to someone else. The only thing even remotely familiar is Riker:

Troi: You seem familiar. You’re the only thing that does.

Riker: Can you remember anything specific about us?

Troi: I don’t know. It’s more like remembering an emotion. Feelings that you’re somehow associated with.

Riker: I hope their good feelings.

Troi: Yes. They are.

–Star Trek: The Next Generation, Conundrum

She’s an empath, of course. So, there is probably some explanation that she’s able to feel subconscious emotions from Riker. But my soulmate supposition might also explain some of it, as well. Their connection is so strong that it’s almost as if Troi recognizes his soul instead of his person.

We’re also treated to a sweet moment (yes, I’m pointedly ignoring the Ro subplot) about the history of their relationship later in the episode when Troi visits Riker who has been trying to uncover his identity. She discovers a book in his quarters:

Troi: Ode to Psyche, John Keats.

Riker: Open it.

Troi: To: Will; All my love, Deanna.

Riker: That may explain some of the familiar feelings we have.

Troi: I don’t know what to think.

–Star Trek: The Next Generation, Conundrum

My mind runs rampant trying to figure out the backstory regarding her choosing to give him that specific book once upon a time.

The Outcast

In the Season 6 episode The Outcast, the friendship between Troi and Riker is on full display. It isn’t a romantic moment, by any stretch of the imagination; the entire episode is devoted to Riker falling in love with a member of an androgynous species.

However, I tend to believe relationships are a little more evolved in the 24th century, and there is certainly something romantic about a love that means you’re simply happy when the other person is happy:

Troi: Has something happened?

Riker:I meant someone. Someone who is becoming very important to me.

Troi: Soren.

Riker: Yes. You’re my friend. I thought–I don’t know–that I should tell you.

Troi: I’m glad you did.

Riker: Nothing will change between us, will it?

Troi: Of course it will. All relationships are constantly changing. But we’ll still  be friends, maybe better friends. You’re a part of my life, and I’m a part of yours. That much will always be true.

–Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Outcast

The fact that Riker felt he needed to tell Troi about his relationship before doing anything drastic speaks volumes as to what Troi means to him. The mutual respect and affection is clear even if they aren’t actively engaged in a romantic relationship.

Star Trek: Insurrection

I haven’t made it to the movies on The Prolific Trek, yet, but Insurrection is one of my favorite films of all time. As I noted above, it was this film that cemented my love for Deanna Troi. It’s also a wonderful testament to the relationship Troi and Riker built over the years.

This blog has convinced my friend and fellow writer, Ashley, to begin watching TNG. She has been hesitant at times, and who can blame her? Season 1 of TNG isn’t good, and I freely recognize that my love and appreciation for the show is likely not going to be shared by the general public. But I think she’s enjoying her own trek.

It has been Ashley, and her newfound appreciation for my favorite show, that has really drawn my attention to the Imzadi relationship. I’ve lost count of the number of times she has expressed frustration at their development. It’s a fair question. They obviously love each other. They have great chemistry. The moments I’ve selected on this post barely scratch the surface of the wonderful ones littered throughout the seven seasons.

So, why does it take these crazy kids seven seasons and into a third movie to finally get their act together?

I’m not sure I have a great explanation other than the fact that we have two stubborn, intelligent individuals who let life and responsibility get in the way. Because when influenced by the metaphasic radiation on the Baku planet, they set aside their silly hang ups and do the impossible:

Riker: Counselor, do you think it’s possible for two people to go back in time to fix a mistake they made?

Troi: On this ship? Anything is possible.

—Star Trek: Insurrection

I love this moment. So much.

It is proof that they have loved each other for every moment of the series, but they were, perhaps, too afraid to fix their mistakes. So with the metaphasic radiation releasing their inhibitions and making them a little more youthful, they do what they’ve needed to do since Encounter at Farpoint.

**

I could go on and on. The entire series is filled with these subtle Troi and Riker moments. It is one of the reasons I continue to rewatch TNG above all the other series.

But The Prolific Trek demands I continue on with DS9. I’ll return you to your regularly scheduled programming shortly.

(Of course, if you want to talk TNG or Imzadi, I’m still your girl!)

#LLAP

*Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Trek.FM’s The Babel Conference Facebook group. I never would have come up with the scene from Gambit on my own.

The One With Captain Picard Day and TNG Season 6…

Happy Captain Picard Day!

Don’t tell me you forgot. It’s June 16! That means it’s Captain Picard Day!

(I’ll wait while you go get yourself some Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.)

Anyways, I finished Season 6 a couple of days ago, but I’m just now getting around to writing this TNG Season 6 review post. There are plenty of reasons for that, but mostly, I already had two posts this weekend and I wasn’t sure what to write about for this portion of the post.

I have a few ideas for some posts I’d like to get done before I finish TNG (namely, a post about Q and a post about the Imzadi relationship), but I needed something to write about here.

Then, as I’m racking my brain for something (anything) to fill a couple hundred words, Facebook reminds me that today is Captain Picard day!

Picard looking adorably uncomfortable in front of a Captain Picard Day sign.

In the Season 7 episode The Pegasus we learn that Captain Picard Day is an annual holiday where the Enterprise schoolchildren honor the Captain by creating different craft projects. It’s a wonderfully memorable moment because Patrick Stewart plays Picard perfectly. He is genuinely uncomfortable with the attention, and Riker and Troi relish in his discomfort.

Since it’s Captain Picard day, it only seems fitting that I devote a quick post to Captain Picard. As any reader of this blog might have surmised, I’m a pretty big Picard fan, and there’s no doubt I could wax poetic about him for thousands of words. So, instead, I’m going to pick a few of my favorite Picard quotes and talk about what they mean to Starfleet and my love for the Captain.

“If we’re going to be damned, let’s be damned for what we really are.”

–Jean Luc Picard, Encounter at Farpoint

I love this quote from the pilot episode of TNG. Picard, facing a trial for all of humanities misdeeds put on by the omnipotent being Q, does not back down from a challenge. He could easily have decided to act differently knowing he was being watched. Instead, he recognizes the importance of not changing to hopefully appease Q. Picard holds his head high in any situation he encounters, and his ultimate duty is to the truth.

This is a continuing theme for the Captain:

“The first duty of every Starfleet Officer is to the truth,whether it is scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth. It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based!”

–Jean Luc Picard, The First Duty

This is one of the more famous Picard speeches, and it is probably the most commonly cited when trying to describe what Starfleet is. Again, Picard recognizes the importance of truth in all aspects of life. For Picard, truth is more than “not telling a lie.” It is about discovery to understand the universe, history, and himself. It is important not to live in ignorance or to blindly follow teachings without questioning them. Seeking truth, whatever kind, is the only way to truly push humanity forward.

But that doesn’t mean we’re perfect:

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life.”

–Jean Luc Picard, Peak Performance

This is one of those quotes that speaks to me as a Type A perfectionist. Failures happen. Things don’t always go as planned. We can do something perfectly and still encounter a less than desirable outcome. It isn’t about failing, it is about responding to failure. Life is about getting back up and not being defeated by our losses.

I truly believe there is a Picard quote for nearly every situation. He is thoughtful and idealistic, and he gives wonderful speeches. I could probably go on and find a quote from nearly every episode that really speaks to me. Instead, I’ll let Riker summarize Picard’s genius for me:

“I’m sure Captain Picard would have something meaningful and inspirational to say right now. To tell you the truth, I wished he were here because I’d like to hear it, too.”

–William T. Riker, The Best of Both Worlds, Part II

Anyways, on to Season 6…

The Good:

• Relics
• Chain of Command, Parts I & II
• Face of the Enemy
• Tapestry
• Starship Mine
• Lessons
• Second Chances

The Bad:

• Realm of Fear
• Ship in a Bottle
• Birthright, Parts I & II
• Rightful Heir

The Characters:

Season 6 marks some of the best character development in all of Star Trek.

Of course, Captain Picard has grown throughout these seasons, and it’s already pretty clear how I viewed him as a character prior to season 6. But season 6 does provide us with a fantastic glimpse of what Picard could have been. In Tapestry, Q allows Picard to go back when he was a young, brash cadet and make a single change to his life. We get the opportunity to see how that simple change (not engaging in a fight with some Nausicaans) would ultimately shape Picard’s entire life. In this alternate reality, he’s a freaking blue shirt. This episode is one that always sticks out to me because it lets us have insight into how Picard became who he is. He hasn’t always been a stuffy, serious speech giver. He was young and a little too eager once. The Kirk/Picard dichotomy isn’t nearly as strong as many would have you believe.

Troi also finally gets a chance to shine. I’ve often heard the joke made that once Troi puts on a real uniform, the writers realized she had a brain. Unfortunately (and perhaps embarrassingly for Star Trek) this is true. Admiral Jellico comes through in Chain of Command, disrupting nearly everything in his wake, but his lasting impact is forcing Troi into a Starfleet uniform. Like a switch has been flipped, she is now a competent bridge officer and not just a pretty face and pair of boobs. Watching her go toe to toe with some Romulans in Face of the Enemy, is a testament to the character she could have been.

The Troi/Riker relationship is placed center stage in Second Chances. Leading up to this episode, the audience has only been treated to the tiniest of morsels, doled out quite sparingly, about the history of their relationship. Then, like opening up the floodgates, everything comes pouring out in Second Chances. I plan to delve into the Troi/Riker relationship in its own blog post, so I’m not going to belabor the point here. But I love that this episode finally gives the audience a chance to understand why the Imzadi relationship is so complicated.

Bonus: no Wesley Crusher!

Final Thoughts:

According to The Progress, Season 6 was a 6.88. Quite honestly, this has been the most surprising of all of my rankings. TNG has a reputation for building between seasons 3 and 5 and then dropping off as it finishes out its run. I’m sure some of my high scores have to do with the fact that I’ve enjoyed TNG so immensely so far, I’m willing to overlook some of the flaws in the episodes. But I genuinely do believe that Season 6 was mostly high points, and the only real detractor was that Klingons, for some reason, insist on stealing 3 or 4 episodes a season.

That’s all for now. Happy Captain Picard day! May your speeches always be grand, your ship always bear the name Enterprise, and your tea always be Earl Grey. Hot.

#LLAP

The One Where I’ve Finished TNG Season 5 and I Look At What Makes An Episode A Ten.

Around the time I was finishing season 4, I got to talking to one of my Trekkie friends, Matt. I gave Matt an update on my Prolific Trek progress, and he firmly declared, “Season 5 is the best season.” I was a little skeptical. Seasons 3 and 4 were absolutely fantastic, and I know that the latter seasons of TNG do ultimatley diminish in quality from the strong ones in the middle. Thus, it seemed only reasonable to assume that Season 5 simply couldn’t live up to its predecessors.

Boy, was I wrong.

When I started keeping track of my episode rankings for The Progress, I had no idea what most episodes would be rated or what would constitute a particular rating, but I did have one very clear focus in mind. I wasn’t going to give away a “10” rating lightly. I love Star Trek, and if I threw out a “10” every time I had an episode that left me going “wow, I loved that episode,” every fourth or fifth episode would get a “10.” I wanted a 10 to be a special score.

Measure of a Man got a 10, and that score was well deserved. If Measure of a Man is a 10, that means that any episode that seeks to garner such high praise is going to have to live up to that reputation. So, an episode that garners a 10 needs to be special. It needs to be quintessential Star Trek, it needs to be memorable, and it needs to pass the threshold from “good” to “great.”

With all that said, Season 5 managed to have two episodes that warranted the coveted “10” ranking, and they each manage to capture, in different ways, what it is that I love about Star Trek.

Darmok kicks Season 5 off with an episode that is, indisputably, one of Star Trek’s most memorable. Star Trek has always been about expanding horizons and thought processes, and it has always been about exploring new cultures.

Darmok addresses the issues of language and communication in a thought provoking fashion. When Captain Picard is beamed against his will to a desolate planet by an alien race that speaks only in mysterious metaphors, what is the crew supposed to do? Watching Picard and Dathon work together to learn the meanings of phrases like “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” and “Shaka when the walls fell” never ceases to amaze and entertain me.

There are certainly some logical flaws in the development of the language that is at the center of Darmok, but like any good piece of entertainment, the storytelling and development of the episode hide those flaws expertly. I will never get over seeing Picard declare “Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel.” There’s a reason Darmok made it on my Top 10 list.

The other episode that garnered a 10 was a bit more surprising. I, Borg has always been an episode that I consider quite fondly. Going into my Prolific Trek, I knew both The Measure of a Man and Darmok would almost certainly be rated a 10, but I had not really considered that I, Borg might earn such an honor.

It was, however, well deserved.

It’s pretty clear by now that I love the morality plays that Star Trek puts on regularly. Looking at a world that has moved to such an advanced place but still realizing that they struggle with the same basic questions of humanity and what is “right” is fascinating for me, and I, Borg presents such a struggle expertly.

I’m not going to do an entire review of the episode here, but it is a wonderful episode. And I simply love the conversation that the senior staff has regarding the ethics of using Hugh to implant a virus that would wipe out the entire Borg collective:

Doctor Crusher: I just think we should be clear about that. We’re talking about annihilating an entire race.

Picard: Which under most circumstances would be unconscionable. But as I see it, the Borg leave us with little choice.

Riker: I agree. We’re at war.

Dr. Crusher: There’s been no formal declaration of war.

Troi: Not from us, but certainly from them. They’ve attacked us in every encounter.

Picard: They’ve declared war on our way of life. We are to be assimilated.

Dr. Crusher: But even in war there are rules. You don’t kill civilians indiscriminately.

Riker: There are no civilians among the Borg.

Picard: Think of them as a single, collective being. There’s no one Borg who is more an individual than your arm or your leg.

Dr. Crusher: How convenient.

Picard: Your point, Doctor?

Dr. Crusher: When I look at my patient, I don’t see a collective consciousness. I don’t see a hive. I see a living, breathing boy who’s been hurt and who needs our help. And we’re talking about sending him back to his people as an instrument of destruction.

—I, Borg

The question of when it’s okay to commit such an act of destruction will come up again later in DS9, but it is handled so perfectly here. The Borg are the ultimate evil to the Federation, but there has to be a limit. And when the crew begins to realize that “Hugh” is an individual, their entire mindset changes.

All in all, it is a wonderful character exploration and a morality play, and it earned its 10.

So, what else is there to say about a season that earned two 10s along the way?

Well…

The Good:

• Darmok
• Disaster
• Power Play
• The Outcast
• Cause and Effect
• I, Borg
• The Inner Light

The Bad:

• The Cost of Living
• Imaginary Friend

The Characters:

Five seasons in and Star Trek really knows it’s characters at this point. It has been fun watching them develop over the course of several seasons, and now their characterizations really seem to have hit home and established themselves as the characters I recognize.

Picard is, of course, the center point of Season 5, and the season allows us to see many facets of his personality. The diplomat and story teller in Darmok is one of my favorite facets. His devotion to the truth and his duty in The First Duty is similarly iconic. That said, I think the biggest misstep with his character comes in Season 5. The “romance” or whatever it is that he has in The Perfect Mate falls flat, and there is something a little squicky about that relationship. I don’t want to go too far with it, but there seems to be a question of whether consent is even possible in a situation like that.

Riker also gets a chance to shine in a few episodes. His inner playboy really is on display in Conundrum. I adore the implications for his relationship with Troi that come in that episode. There’s something comforting about the fact that, even when they’re lacking their memories, those two always have a deeper connection (even if Riker does manage to screw it up pretty royally). As much as his caddish nature is on display in Conundrum, a much deeper and more evolved Riker shows up in The Outcast. Riker’s evolved opinions of gender and relationships are pretty impressive, and given the current political climate relating to transgenderism and other LGBT issues, I was absolutely floored at how far ahead of its time this episode was.

Wesley Crusher came back in two episodes, and I really didn’t hate him in either. Of course, Ensign Ro Laren has now shown up, and she’s kind of replaced Wesley as the subject of my annoyance. Michelle Forbes does a wonderful job portraying the character, but she always feels really superfluous. However, her character does make me anxious to get to DS9 where I can see a strong Bajoran character in Commander Kira.

Final Thoughts:

I don’t know that I have many final thoughts to say about Season 5 as I’ve addressed my love for the season above. Season 5 ended up being ranked a 7.0. This is the highest I’ve ranked any season, and I’m guessing it’s the highest any season will rank from here on out. So, I guess what I’m saying is: if you’re only going to watch one season (which, why would you do that?) make it Season 5.

#LLAP

The One Where Locutus Is Dead…

I’ve been talking for some time about getting another short story up here on the blog, and I’ve been working on this particular one since I finished season 3.

At these moments, I start to feel a little introspective. I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed my time working on this blog. I feel like I have really begun to grow as a writer, and that makes this entire endeavor feel worthwhile. It’s taken more time than I would have liked to crank out these flash fics, but they are here.

This one is a scene occurring sometime after the end of season 3, taking on the premise that Riker’s order was successful and the Borg Cube with Picard on board was destroyed. (it may ultimately develop into a longer story at some point).

Before I post the story, I need to acknowledge James and Diana. James put a huge amount of work into helping me with the opening transmission; he wrote a wonderful first draft of it for me. Both of these two have encouraged me to finish this story and both have provided feedback. A big thanks to those two and anyone else who has encouraged me along the way.

Now, without further adieu…

UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS

Official Starfleet Transmission

For Immediate Distribution to All Starfleet Bridge Officers

Stardate 43991.3

CLEARANCE LEVEL OMNI
1. SITUATION. ON STARDATE 43989.1, THE USS ENTERPRISE (NCC-1701D) ENCOUNTERED A BORG WARSHIP, OR CUBE. DUE TO PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER ON 42761.3 AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE USS LALO, ENTERPRISE MOVED TO INTERCEPT BORG CUBE. IN COURSE OF ENGAGEMENT, BORG VESSEL SEVERELY DAMAGED ENTERPRISE, THEN BOARDED AND SEIZED HER CAPTAIN, JEAN LUC PICARD. ENTERPRISE IMMEDIATELY ENGAGED USING NEW TACTICAL PROCEDURES AND DESTROYED BORG CUBE AT COORDINATES BRAVO 761, HENCEFORTH TERMED “POINT XAVIER.”

2. DIRECTED SHIP MOVEMENTS.

2A. USS SARATOGA, USS MELBOURNE, AND USS EXCALIBUR ARE TO FORM TASK GROUP 21, THEN PROCEED TO THE PAULSON NEBULA FROM WOLF 359. CO SARATOGA IS TO BE COMMODORE OF GROUP UNTIL ARRIVAL OF DESIGNATED FLAG OFFICER.

2B. ALL OTHER VESSELS AT WOLF 359 ARE TO CONTINUE ASSEMBLING IN PREPARATION OF POTENTIAL FURTHER BORG INCURSIONS INTO FEDERATION SPACE.

2C. USS GHANDI IS TO TRAVEL TO POINT MERIDIAN IN ORDER TO RENDEZVOUS WITH KLINGON BATTLEGROUP 1 (KB 1) THEN PROCEED TO PAULSON NEBULA.

2D. USS ENTERPRISE IS TO PROCEED TO SPACE STATION DELTA FOR REPAIRS AND RESTAFFING UPON ARRIVAL OF FLAG OFFICER AT POINT XAVIER.

2E. ALL OTHER STARFLEET VESSELS ARE TO REMAIN AT WAR CONDITION DELTA AND REMAIN VIGILANT FOR FURTHER BORG INCURSIONS. IF BORG ARE SIGHTED, VESSELS ARE TO IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY STARFLEET, THEN MAINTAIN CONTACT WHILE AVOIDING BECOMING DECISIVELY ENGAGED.

3. PERSONNEL.

3A. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, COMMANDER WILLIAM T. RIKER IS PROMOTED TO CAPTAIN, USS ENTERPRISE.

3B. COMMANDER RIKER IS ALSO HEREBY AWARDED THE CHARLES TUCKER III MEDAL FOR HONOR AND VALOR. AWARD CEREMONY IS TO BE CONDUCTED ABOARD USS ENTERPRISE BY FLAG, TG 21 UPON OFFICER’S ARRIVAL.

[. . .]

ADMIRAL RICHARD K. BERMAN

CINC-STARFLEET

Ex Astris Scientia

The spikes protruding from the back of the lionfish sway almost imperceptibly as he makes another circle in his taken, wholly oblivious to the inner turmoil of his observer. For the man sitting behind the desk, knuckles white from his overly firm grip on his PADD, the movement is at once hypnotic and comforting. The fish’s pattern, a result of centuries of evolution, is a reminder of the persistence and existence of life beyond the Ready Room, Starfleet, and even the Federation. And focusing on the pattern of endless circles gives him just enough of a distraction that he hasn’t thrown his PADD, the deliverer of the message he hadn’t wanted to read, at the glass of the aquarium.

So, Riker does all that he can do. He counts the circles.

Eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety…

He’s on rotation 108 (or is it 7?) when the door chime rings through the room. For the briefest of moments, he considers not acknowledging the door, but that idea is quickly discarded when he recalls that the interloper is unlikely to leave him alone. He fully recognizes that Shelby is far too stubborn, and Deanna… Well, Deanna knows him too well to be deterred by something as simple as him ignoring her.

Without averting his gaze from the fish, he calls, “Come in.”

The door opens and closes before the Counselor’s familiar voice calls out, “Will?”

His only response is to let out a heavy, uneven sigh. Even if she didn’t have the empathic powers that had resulted from her half-Betazoid genes, she knows him well enough that he doesn’t need to speak for her to know his feelings. Likewise, he knows her well enough to know that she is hovering nervously near one of the chairs in front of the desk of the Ready Room, unsure as to whether she should take a seat or approach him.

She doesn’t say anymore, though. It’s probably one of those counseling techniques she had learned at the academy, talk less and your patient will open up, he muses. For others, perhaps, it would be an effective technique, but he’s at a loss for anything to say. So he returns to counting circles.

To her credit, she doesn’t push, and finally, without taking his gaze away from the aquarium, he responds with the only thought he can put into words, “Does the computer feed him automatically?”

“What are you talking about?” The concern in her voice is evident, and he knows she is seriously considering calling Beverly in to determine whether he is mentally unfit.

He breaks his staring contest with the aquarium, a smile coming to his face of its own accord when he sees the look of confusion on her own. He gestures to the lionfish, which is still making its endless circles, and answers, “Livingston. I presume the computer replicates food for him?”

“You aren’t actually worried about the fish right now, are you?” She sinks gracefully into the chair she has been hovering over.

Maybe it’s because her soft tone seems condescending at this very moment or because, empath or not, the presumption that she knows what he’s feeling seems presumptuous, but regardless the reason, he slams the PADD onto the desk with enough force that he hears it crack and snaps, “Actually, it is, Deanna. I killed Captain Picard. Maybe I should try not to kill his fucking fish.”

“You didn’t—”

“Didn’t I?” Riker slams his hands on the arms of the chair, hoisting himself to a standing position, “I let him be captured. I didn’t go on that away mission. I was the one who gave the order. I told Worf to fire on the Borg Cube. I reduced my Captain to nothing but a bunch of fucking space debris.”

He pauses, exhaling an unsteady breath and placing his right palm flat against the wall near the fish tank for support. His left hand clenches and releases a fist in indecision before finally reaching up to press firmly into his eyelids, seeking to stem the moisture that is threatening to pool in the eyes behind them.

“And now, they want to give me a medal!” He gestures toward his desk and the cracked PADD sitting on top of it, “I don’t deserve the Trip Tucker Medal of Honor. I don’t deserve a promotion. I don’t…”

“You don’t what?” Deanna’s voice is soft and understanding, but it isn’t her practiced counselor’s tone. It feels much more intimate than that, and he appreciates it. The concern that tints her voice is a little more genuine because of it.

“I don’t want any of it, Deanna.” He admits softly, just loud enough so that she can hear it. He swallows the lump in his throat, “It should have been me.”

“You shouldn’t’ say things like that” She chides him firmly, but there is no hint of surprise at his admission. He supposes her empathic abilities likely allowed her enough insight into his feelings that she knew exactly what he would say, “It’s not your fault.”

He shakes his head, snapping back more harshly than intended, “It is my duty as First Officer to safeguard the lives on this ship. That includes her Captain.”

“Will!” She snaps back, “You did what you needed to do to safeguard the lives of every single person on this ship. You saved the Enterprise. You saved the Federation.”

“I killed Captain Picard.”

“No, Captain Picard was gone long before you gave that order,” Deanna contradicts, a little more softly, “You did what you needed to do to save every person on this ship. There was nothing you could have done for the Captain.”

She is right, of course. He knows that. But it doesn’t really quell the ache that has been present in his chest since he first saw the Captain’s face, distorted by Borg technology, on the view screen.

He shakes his head, walking slowly over to perch on the edge of the Ready Room desk in front of her, and sighs, finally allowing himself to say the words he has been terrified to acknowledge, “He was my friend, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do without him.”

“Oh, Will, he was my friend, too.”

He isn’t entirely sure who moves first, whether she steps forward for the embrace because he opens his arms or vice versa. But before he knows what is happening, Deanna’s arms are wrapped around his waist and her face is buried in his chest while his arms wrap securely around her. He can feel her tears through the fabric of his uniform, and he squeezes just a little tighter.
“Is this how you handle all of your counseling?” He wonders after several long minutes of silence.

She lets out a low laugh, tilting her head to look up at him with a soft smile, “Sure. You’d be surprised how far a hug goes with Geordi, or Worf.”

He returns her laugh, shaking his head in slight amusement before admitting seriously, “I don’t know what to do.”

“You know how to command a ship.”

“Not like this, Deanna. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror, and I’m getting awards and a promotion out of it.” He shakes his head, slackening his grip around her, and she steps back slightly before he finishes, “If Captain Picard were here, he’d have the perfect advice for this situation, and you know, I’d really like to hear it right now.”

“You have an entire ship full of crew members who are looking to you right now. They need you to be their Captain.”

“It’s not that easy. This isn’t my ship.”

“You didn’t go to Starfleet Academy because it was easy,” Deanna counters, “You once told me that you were going to be the youngest Captain in Starfleet history. You’ve always wanted your own ship. Well, here it is.”

He sighs, “Not like this.”

“Well, you don’t always get to choose how things are going to unfold,” She reminds him, “It’s not going to be easy, and there is a part of you that will always miss Captain Picard. He was important to all of us, but the Will Riker I know isn’t going to shy away from a challenge just because things have gotten a little hard.”

“Thank you.”

She reaches her hand up, her fingers brushing along his cheek and through the neatly trimmed hairs of his beard, “I’m here for you, Will.”

He nods, his lips curling into a teasing smile as he comments, “You know. You were kind of starting to sound like him. Are you sure you aren’t channeling Picard? Maybe you should consider shaving your head, adopting an accent?”

Deanna’s response is simply to roll her eyes as she turns away and heads for the door, “Your crew is waiting for you, Captain Riker.”

The words ring a little hollow in his ears as the doors to the Ready Room slide open and she walks back out onto the bridge. He pushes himself from the desk preparing to follow, and as he walks to the door, he glances back at Livingston, who is still making circles in the tank.

#LLAP

The One With The Best of Both Worlds Trilogy And The TNG Season 4 Review

Things have been a little slow going here at The Prolific Trek, but I’m still enjoying this journey as much as I have all year. It has been two weeks since I blogged, but I have a short story I’ve been working quite diligently on that should be ready soon. I just need to get the right conclusion on it and have a few folks read it over. So, look for that within the next few days.

I had originally intended to devote an entire blog post to The Best of Both Worlds arc. However, since my blogging has been something short of prolific, I think I’ll just stick a few of my thoughts on the arc here.

I’ve already waxed poetic on the cliffhanger that defines this arc. The Borg in the Alpha Quadrant. Picard kidnapped and assimilated. Commander Riker giving the order to fire on the Borg Cube and his Captain. It’s all fantastic.

But the real weight and meat of the Best of Both Worlds arc comes in the initial episodes of season 4. The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2 and Family finish up the story in such a way that gives a wonderful and lasting resonance to our characters, and for once, TNG is actually a little serialized.

After the order to fire on the Borg Cube fails, the Enterprise crew works to outsmart the Borg, and they work to “un-assimilate” (I’m sure there’s a better word for it) Captain Picard. It is an exciting episode, and Riker is in charge of the Enterprise. From these 40 minutes, it is clear why he is constantly being offered his own command.

Even more powerful, however, is the episode Family. I don’t enjoy this episode nearly as much as I do the other two episodes in this arc, but it is still a fantastic episode and a huge emotional one for our characters, especially Picard.

Picard goes back to earth to visit his estranged brother and his family. It’s clear that he is still bothered quite substantially by what he endured at the hands of the Borg, and back in his hometown, many emotional issues seem to be bubbling right below the surface for our beloved captain. However, he attempts desperately to hide all of it away.

Finally, in a wonderful moment with his older brother, Robert, Captain Picard faces his inner turmoil:

Jean Luc Picard: You don’t know, Robert, you don’t know. They took everything I was. They used me to kill and to destroy, and I couldn’t stop them! I should have been able to stop them! I tried. I tried so hard. But I wasn’t strong enough! I wasn’t good enough! I should have been able to stop them. I should, I should.

Robert Picard: So, my brother is a human being after all. This is going to be with you a long time, Jean Luc. A long time.

–Family

Most unfortunately, TNG avoids serializing its episodes for the most part. But this arc, where stories and emotions carry over three episodes, shows how strong and fascinating this show can be when the writers do try to extend things beyond the bounds of 40 minutes.

So, these three episodes are good, what about the rest of season 4?

The Good:

• The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
• Remember Me
• Future Imperfect
• The Loss
• Data’s Day
• Qpid
• The Drumhead

The Bad:

• Identity Crisis
• The Nth Degree

The Characters:

Season 4 devotes quite a bit of time to discovering who Data is as a character. I’ve loved seeing him grow throughout the course of the series, and both Brothers, Data’s Day, and In Theory are wonderful opportunities for him to shine. His attempts at finding humanity are fascinating to watch. I love that Data, as an android who would be deemed “perfect” by nearly any measure, wants nothing more than to be an imperfect human. We see his attempts to understand marriage and his fellow crew members in Data’s Day, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy watching him try to engage in a romance in In Theory.

I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record and all, but Picard is a wonderful character. Patrick Stewart puts on an amazing performance every single episodes. I swear, I’d watch this guy in a 12 hour one man show and never once be bored. Picard’s sense of duty and his strong moral compass are on display more than once. The Drumhead‘s exploration of trials and investigations in the name of safety and security was extremely powerful. Picard has a deft way of making a conflict on the show seem universal and applicable to daily life. I need a W.W.J.L.P.D bracelet (What Would Jean Luc Picard do?)

This season is sorely lacking in Troi and Riker moments. However, Troi gets to put on a wonderful performance in The Loss. And the moment Riker goes to her room to comfort and counsel her is moving.

Wesley Crusher left. Yea!

Final Thoughts:

Yes, I loved Season 4. It was the best by far. I mean, the two episodes listed above under “The Bad” aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. Really, the only weakness of this season really feels like a little too much of a focus on the Klingon culture. However, I think that goes away for the most part from here on out. I hope I’m not the only person who couldn’t care less if the Duras Sisters or Gowron are in power. Just get them off my TV screen.

Rating:

Season 4 was a 6.46 which still managed to be a huge jump up from my season 3 ratings. That should tell you how fantastic this season was.

#LLAP

The One With Locutus Of Borg And My TNG Season 3 Review…

Man. I wish I had been old enough to watch the end of TNG Season 3 when it originally aired. Talk about a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. “Who Shot JR?” has nothing on The Best of Both Worlds, Part I.

The Borg are back. Well, not really back. Up until this point, we’ve only seen the Borg in the Delta Quadrant, light years away.

But now they’re here in the Alpha Quadrant.

The Borg, especially the TNG version of the Borg, are the single most terrifying race in all of Star Trek. They aren’t evil. They aren’t sadistic. They simply wish to assimilate every single life form in order to add to their collective mind.

And when they capture Captain Picard,they speak not as individuals but as a hive mind:

The Borg: Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours.

Picard: Impossible. My culture is based on freedom and self determination.

The Borg: Freedom is irrelevant. Self determination is irrelevant. You must comply.

Picard: We would rather die.

The Borg: Death is irrelevant.

–The Borg and Picard, The Best of Both Worlds, Part I

Who wouldn’t be terrified by that? I mean. This species is simply out to take over. They have no emotions that definite other enemy races. They simply seek improvement of their entire race. It’s terrifying to have an enemy that has such a simple motive.

So, Star Trek has made a good villain, but it’s not simply enough to have a good villain to create a good cliffhanger. Even when a show like Star Trek really makes us think or really makes us question something, we know the result. Picard will come out on the side of right, and all will be well.

But as TNG headed into the summer hiatus, even the producers didn’t know that all would be well. Patrick Stewart’s contract was up, and they were in the process of renegotiating. Thus, when Riker orders Worf to fire on the Borg Cube and Locutus of Borg, there was a very real possibility that Captain Picard was going to die, and the entire show would be shaken up from top to bottom.

The cliffhanger at the end of The Best of Both Worlds, Part I truly works because the writers have created a great villain and because there was so much on the line. A cliffhanger only works if you don’t know how it will end. The writers had to sell it because they weren’t sure they would get the chance to write themselves out of it.

Of course, Picard lives. (Spoilers!) And the rest is history. But damn, if that Borg Cube had been destroyed at Riker’s hand? Well, that’s just asking to be written into a short story…

Anyways, Season 3:

The Good:

• The Enemy
• Yesterday’s Enterprise
• The Offspring
• Hollow Pursuits
• Sarek
• The Best of Both Worlds, Part I

The Bad:

• The Hunted
• Sins of the Father
• Tin Man
• Transfigurations

The Characters:

All of the characters really start getting better as TNG moves on. It’s a credit to the increase in the quality of writing on the series. I’m really starting to feel like a broken record when I say I love everyone except for Wesley Crusher, but it’s true.

Picard has some great moments throughout the season. I love him handling the Prime Directive during Who Watches the Watchers. His emotional breakdown after he mind melds with Sarek in the eponymous episode is wonderful. Perhaps that is more of a testament to Patrick Stewart’s acting than any character moment.

It’s also pretty exciting to have Crusher back. I love that she is the woman who will go toe-to-toe with Picard in so many challenges. When she thinks the health of a patient is being compromised by some Starfleet directive, she isn’t afraid to tell Picard. As she once reminded him, she’s the only person on the ship (as the Chief Medical Officer) who can give him an order. I’ve always considered it a shame that the writers shied away from developing a relationship between those two, but Crusher is certainly the under-the-radar character that stands out most to me.

In that vein, I also love Whoopi Goldberg’s character: Guinan. I’m not going to go look it up, but she probably isn’t in more than 4 episodes over the course of Season 3. However, when she is in an episode, she is definitely worth it. She makes a huge impact by being a character who can deftly prove a point to someone else, and she also gives great speeches. I love that Picard, in any universe, trusts her implicitly. Their deep friendship highlighted in Yesterday’s Enterprise is fantastic.

The Best of Both Worlds, Part I (and Part II, for that matter) gives Riker some great work to do. I love that he consistently turns down his own commands because the Enterprise is where he wants to be. His personality conflicts with Shelby in the finale are wonderful. You can almost see that Shelby is the young whippersnapper commander that he used to be.

Wesley Crusher is still around. He’s still annoying.

Final Thoughts:

It probably isn’t accurate to call those episode lists above “the good” and “the bad.” It would probably be much more accurate to call them “the great” and “the good.” Seriously, no episode up there is terrible, and I probably could have doubled the number of episodes to highlight as the true standouts of the season.

In addition to the powerful cliffhanger I’ve already discussed, Season 3 continues to show what Star Trek can be. When Data builds an android in The Offspring, we’re treated to an emotional episodes that tackles parenthood and the meaning of sentience. In Hollow Pursuits, we meet Reginald Barclay who will play a bigger role in Voyager, and we get to traipse around for some fun on the holodeck. It’s not all fun and games, though. The Romulans feature heavy in this season, and I loved both The Enemy and The Defector.

But that cliffhanger, man. I guess the writers knew how to get us coming back for season 4, even if they weren’t sure they could convince Sir Patrick.

Rating:

The Progress says Season 3 was a 6. Sounds about right. Although these ratings are going to get out of hand if the next few seasons go the way I expect.

#LLAP

The One Where Data Is On Trial…

What is there to say about the best Star Trek episode ever?

When I started this blog, I wasn’t always sure what I was going to write about, but I assuaged those nerves by telling myself, “Well, at least you’ll have a lot to say about The Measure of a Man.” I do have a lot to say about that episode. However, most of what I want to say are really boring and not at all helpful. Things like: “Wow!” and “That was a really good episode!” Those sorts of things simply aren’t helpful when it comes to an episode review. So, I’m going to try to delve in some things that I think make this episode tower above the rest, but I’m sure I won’t do it justice.

The Measure of a Man does a lot of things well. Heck. It does everything well. But for me, there are two things that truly stand out as the best takeaways from the episode. The first is that the episode does what Star Trek does best. It takes a strongly held belief of its audience, and it presents it in such a away that we are forced to question exactly what it is that that belief means. The second aspect of the episode that has always struck me as extremely powerful is its representation of our legal system.

Almost right out of the gate The Measure of a Man forces us to question something most fans have likely taken for granted through the season and a half the show has been on: Does Data have autonomy? That is: Is he sentient?

When Doctor Pulaski comes storming* onto the Enterpruse to kick off season 2, we are immediately poised not to like her. It’s not because viewers were so attached to Doctor Crusher or even that she pisses off Picard initially by being in Ten Forward before sick bay. No. It is unequivocally because she is mean to Data.

In fact, she’s more than mean to Data; she is disrespectful. She calls him “it,” even after being corrected. She belittles Troi’s choice of Data as her labor coach. And she dismisses his correction of the pronounciation of his name:

Dr. Pulaski: What’s the difference?

Data: One is my name. The other is not.

–Doctor Pulaski and Lt. Cmdr. Data, The Child

The rest of the crew sort of bristles at Pulaski’s treatment of Data, and when she challenges Data a little too much in Elementary, Dear Data Geordi takes his defense of Data perhaps a bit too far.

I mention these episodes and this treatment of Data because by the time we reach The Measure of a Man the audience and the rest of the crew have an almost Pavlovian reaction to someone disrespecting Data. It’s pretty much the biggest sin you can commit against a Star Trek character. Data is our Pinnocchio, desperately trying to become human, and we aren’t about to let anyone take that away from him.

So, when we meet Commander Bruce Maddox at the outset of the episode, we pretty much hate him right away. After all, we learn that Maddox protested Data’s admission to Starfleet Academy because he believed Data wasn’t sentient. Furthermore, Maddox pretty clearly just views Data as a “thing.”

Without rehashing the intricacies of the plot, Maddox is a cyberneticist hoping to create a positronic brain similar to Datas. To do so, he’ll need to dismantle Data in order to see his neural pathways. The risk is too great; Data does not believe that Maddox has the requisite skill to perform this procedure without irreparably harming our favorite android.

A bunch of Starfleet procedural things happen, and although Data has Picard on his side, Data must either resign his commission with Starfleet or undergo the testing. Reluctantly, Data resigns his commission. His love of serving in Starfleet is not greater than his desire for self-preservation.

But Maddox now contends that Data is not sentient. Therefore, Starfleet can order him to submit to this medical testing because he does not have the right to decline medical treatment. And so, Captain Phillipa Louvois, the JAG officer for the sector, orders a trial. Picard will defend Data, asserting that the android is sentient and cannot be forced to do anything, and Riker, above his loud protestations, will be forced to prosecute Data.

Louvois cautions Riker that if she even gets an inkling that he is not doing everything he can to prove that Data is not sentient, she will summarily rule against him. Of course, this would never happen in our legal system, but it harkens back to the idea that each side must be adequately represented in order for our legal system to work.

Up until this point, Data’s status as an equal to the rest of the NCC-1701 D crew has been taken for granted. The crew considers Data as one of them, and the audience has been trained to feel the same way.  But, as Star Trek tends to do, though, this episode asks the hard questions. It challenges our preconceived notions, and Picard’s task isn’t as easy as we might first expect it to be. In fact, Riker’s case-in-chief is pretty persuasive.

Riker proves Data is a machine. Photo credit: Memory-Alpha

Though Riker protests that he considers Data a friend, he must do everything he can to prove that Data is nothing more than property. He is somewhat reluctant to begin with, but Riker ultimately takes this task to heart. He does research, and after a particularly rousing examination of Data, he reaches over and turns off the android, declaring:

“Pinocchio is broken; its strings have been cut.”

–Commander William Riker, The Measure of a Man

It’s a powerful scene. Data slumps in his chair, and he is nothing. He has been turned off just as we would turn off his computer. And Riker’s skills as a litigator are impressive. He’s persuasive enough that his side nearly wins; Data is nearly declared a machine because of Riker’s skill. In fact, it’s such a powerful moment that after Riker rests, Picard finds himself questioning whether he can even win this trial.

He heads to Ten Forward for a conversation with the ever-insightful Guinan, and Picard confides that Riker “almost convinced [him].” But this is Guinan he is talking to. So, of course, she sees the situation for more than what it is, and Picard’s exchange with her is powerful:

Guinan: Maddox could get lucky and create a whole army of Datas, all very valuable.

Picard: Oh, yes. No doubt.

Guinan: He’s proved his value to you.

Picard: In ways that I cannot even begin to calculate.

Guinan: And now he’s about to be ruled the property of Starfleet. That should increase his value.

Picard: In what way?

Guinan: Well, consider that in the history of many worlds there have always been disposable creatures. They do the dirty work. They do the work that no one else wants to do because it’s too difficult or too hazardous. And an army of Datas, all disposable, you don’t have to think about their welfare, you don’t think about how they feel. Whole generations of disposable people.

Picard: You’re talking about slavery.

Guinan: I think that’s a little harsh.

Picard: I don’t think that’s a little harsh. I think that’s the truth. But that’s a truth we have obscured behind a comfortable, easy euphemism. Property. But that’s not the issue at all, is it?

–Guinan and Captain Picard, The Measure of a Man

And so now the question has been reframed a bit. Data is a machine. He admits that he is a machine. For all of his desire to be human and our clear love for him and his rights, we cannot escape that he is a machine. But if the goal is to create an entire race of this “machine” then what are we talking about?

I won’t retype all of Picard’s cross examination of Maddox here. I think it would lose much of its impact on the page instead of being viewed with Patrick Stewart’s fine acting abilities, but I strongly recommend watching it. When Picard challenges Maddox to “prove to the Court that [Picard] is sentient,” we know Picard has won. How is Maddox going to meet that challenge?

Picard ultimately gives a rousing closing statement wherein he acknowledges that he knows that Data is a machine, and he does not know whether Data has the requisite “consciousness” to be considered sentient. But Picard also reminds the Court that this decision will be far reaching. And he finishes with a call back to the Enterprise’s mission:

Starfleet was founded to seek out new life. Well, there it sits. Waiting.

–Captain Picard, The Measure of a Man

Data wins. Of course. I suppose, even in the most dramatic moments of the show, we always knew that he would, But it’s still a conflict that is presented in a powerful way. It doesn’t matter that we know that Data will win. It forces us to question our preconceived notions in a way that only Star Trek can.

In addition to forcing the audience to question the meaning of life and the treatment of Data, this episode also does a wonderful job of presenting one of the most important aspects of our judicial system. The American judicial system is built on an adversarial platform. And particularly on the criminal side of things, it is absolutely necessary to have strong representation on both sides.

John Adams famously defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre. He didn’t offer a defense to these soldiers because he necessarily thought they were innocent. He didn’t offer the defense because he was a fan of the Monarchy. He offered a defense to these men because of the most basic truth of our judicial system: every person deserves a right to a fair trial. With that right is a right to counsel.

Later, after Data has won, he finds Riker in the Observation Lounge, obviously feeling guilty for everything he put Data through. Riker took on the task quite unwillingingly, but it’s clear he regrets having to do that to the android he’s come to consider a friend. Their exchange is powerful:

Data: Sir, there is a celebration on the Holodeck.

Riker: I have no right to be there.

Data: Because you failed in your task?

Riker: No. God, no. I came that close to winning, Data.

Data: Yes, sir.

Riker: It almost cost you your life!

Data: Is it not true that had you refused to prosecute, Captain Louvois would have ruled summarily against me?

Riker: Yes.

Data: That action injured you and saved me. I will not forget it.

–Lt. Cmdr. Data and Cmdr. William Riker, The Measure of a Man

I cannot fully put into words how much I love that they made Riker prosecute Data. It would have been quite easy to chose a random guest star to act as the prosecutor, fighting against Picard, but forcing Riker to do the tasks puts a different spin on the issue. Without Riker mounting a convincing case, Data could never have won his own case. And that’s what’s important.

But it’s also important because we get that final scene. We see that Data does not bear any ill will against his commander. He knows that what Riker did was painful for Riker, but he appreciates that sacrifice because it gave him his freedom.

There are a lot of things that The Measure of a Man does well. I don’t take the praise “best Star Trek episode” lightly. I’m sure I could find some detractors to the episode, including the strangely handled relationship between Picard and Louvois. But when people ask my why I love Star Trek, this is the sort of episode that encapsulates that. It makes me think. It challenges my perceptions. And it entertains.

#LLAP

*I fully recognize that I am very overdramatic where Kate Pulaski is concerned. I can’t help it. I find her jarring in comparison to Doctor Crusher, but she probably doesn’t actually “storm” onto the Enterprise.

The One Where Riker Grew a Beard and I finished TNG Season 2

I finished Season 2 of TNG last Saturday the 16th, but because of my blog posts about Dallas (Part 1, Part 2), it took a little bit longer to get this post up than normal. But, hey, I’m more than happy to have too many blog posts. It’s way better than not enough.

Season 2 of TNG is a marked improvement from Season 1. In fact, I’m not sure there is a season to season improvement in all of Star Trek that would match TNG Season 1 to Season 2. I suppose that is directly attributable to the “Growing the Beard” trope.

Among Star Trek fans, I’d guess that statement wouldn’t require any further explanation. It’s pretty well known that Jonathan Frakes, who had a clean shaven baby face in season 1, came back from the summer hiatus sporting a beard. Apparently, although Frakes says he fully planned to shave the beard before productions began, the producers liked how he looked with the beard much better than without it and had him keep it. Good thing, too, because Riker growing a beard really improves the quality of the show.

Okay, so it’s not as if Jonathan Frakes sporting a beard actually made the show better, but the beard sort of acts as a symbol for the difference between Season 1 and TNG from Season 2 onward. Without a beard, Riker is a bit of a cad who will sleep with any female who will have him, and he comes off as a bit juvenile. The show is the same way. Season 1 has some serious missteps and cannot bring itself to grow from the 1960s sci fi that TOS is known for. But when Riker grows a beard, suddenly he’s a Commander who can playfully interact with his crew while still being worthy of his own ship. The show itself grows, too. It takes deep moral issues and considers them seriously, and the writing improves vastly.

 
The beard is quite an improvement…

Lest you think I’m crazy and making this whole thing up, I googled “Beard theory,” and it turns out that there is an entire page at TV Tropes dedicated to Growing the Beard. Of course, the Trope name comes from my beloved show, and another literal example of the phenomenon is also cited there: Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko) growing his beard before season 4 of DS9.

The Good

• Elementary, Dear Data
• A Matter of Honor
• The Measure of a Man
• Q Who?
• The Emissary

The Bad

• The Child
• The Dauphin
• Time Squared
• Shades of Grey

The Characters

Season 2 has the distinction of being the only season of TNG without Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher. She is replaced by Diana Muldaur playing Doctor Kate Pulaski. Pretty much the only think Dr. Pulaski has going for her as a character is that she’s not Wesley. With Pulaski, it’s clear the writers were trying very hard to create a character more akin to Bones and the complete antithesis to Crusher. It simply doesn’t work. Pulaski is afraid of transporters (a quality that made much more sense with Bones), and she spends a big portion of her time making fun of and minimizing Data. However, unlike Bones with Spock, there is no level of respect and joviality with Pulaski. The initial interaction with Data and Pulaski, where they discuss the two different pronounciations of the word Data is pretty indicative of Pulaski’s entire relationship with Data. Of all the characters in the entire Star Trek canon, I’d venture to say Data is the character that Star Trek fans feel the most possessive of and protective over. Making fun of and belittling Data is sure to fall short. I’m glad the producer who got in a fight with Gates was fired before the end of Season 2 and Patrick Stewart was able to convince her to return. TNG would have been awful without her.

It’s not all bad as far as characters are concerned. I’m sure I’ve mentioned enough that Captain Picard is my favorite character in all of Star Trek, and season 2 is where we finally start to see the Captain Picard that I adore. He’s a by-the-books Captain, but it is clear that he loves his ship and his crew. The stand he takes for Data in The Measure of a Man is probably one of the single greatest moments in all of Star Trek.

Season 2 also takes some time to try to develop some deeper back story for some of its characters. Riker really gets a chance to shine in episodes like A Matter of Honor, The Icarus Factor, and The Measure of a Man. In these episodes we see why Riker was so coveted to be the First Officer of the flagship of the federation. Riker is a ladies man, and he’s friends with many of the people on the crew. But he also takes his duties seriously. He is smart, capable, and dedicated. He’s also deeply in love with Deanna Troi, and there are plenty of Imzadi moments in season 2.

Worf, who has now been promoted to security officer after Yar’s death, also gets some time to shine and develop a more rounded character. It had been quite a while since I watched the episodes The Emissary, and I was surprised at how much I enjoy it. Worf and K’Ehleyr, the half-Klingon woman played by Suzie Plakson, have wonderful chemistry, and I love seeing Worf’s struggle with his traditional Klingon nature after they give in to their moment of passion on the holodeck. This episode really works well as a stand alone development of Worf’s character. I just wish it didn’t mean Alexander were going to show up in a few seasons…

Wesley Crusher is as annoying as ever. Nothing new here.

Final Thoughts:

Season 2 of TNG rarely had any “bad” moments, and those four episodes listed above as bad weren’t terrible at all. Even Shades of Grey, an episode widely cited as an example of terrible television, isn’t that bad. Its only real detractor is the fact that it is a clip show, but the scenes surrounding the clip show are actually quite fantastic. Marina Sirtis does some of her best work in the episode.

Otherwise, season 2 is great, and I’m really glad the show decided to grow the beard. We get our first true Klingon episodes in A Matter of Honor and The Emissary, and they both highlight Klingon culture spectacularly. I wish all Klingon episodes would be like those two. Unfortunately, the Klingon culture will be rehashed and taken to such an extreme that I won’t be able to stand most Klingon episodes going forward. But the show certainly started off pretty well with them.

I have a blog post forthcoming about The Measure of a Man which is, without question, the greatest Star Trek episode ever.

So, yeah, I think my final thoughts can be summed up as: Finally. Finally. Finally. I am finally to the Star Trek that I love so much.

Rating:

According to The Progress, Season 2 was a 5.73. This actually seems a little low, but the show only gets better from here.

#LLAP

The One With The 50 Year Mission: Dallas, Part 2… (Saturday and Sunday)

Well, if you’re reading this post, then I probably didn’t scare you off with my crazy ramblings about my experiences about Thursday and Friday of the Star Trek convention in Dallas. So, thanks for coming back.

They don’t release the schedule for the convention until nearly the day before. So, I can’t say that Saturday was the day I was most looking forward to heading into the convention, but once I got a chance to view the schedule, Saturday became the one I was most looking forward to. It contained panels of all the actors I so desperately wanted to meet, and the day was going to finish with a karaoke party.

The Rat Pack performance on Friday night got over a little late, and I was afraid I was going to be dragging in the morning. But it turns out that putting Terry Farrell as the first panel in the morning will get me out of bed no problem.

It seems that at every convention with Star Trek actors, some sort of “prank” occurs during a panel. Maybe an actor will sit in the audience of a panel and heckle or may come out and join a panel halfway through just for the heck of it. There weren’t many of these pranks this weekend, but the best one was when, instead of Terry Farrell walking out onto stage when she was announced for her panel, Michael Dorn came out to thunderous applause.

The grin on Dorn’s face still makes me smile. These guys really know how to have a good time.

 

Dorn and Terry giving us a little Worf/Jadzia fan service.

Dorn played Worf on TNG and DS9, and his character had amazing chemistry with Jadzia. They are certainly one of the most iconic couples in all of Star Trek. So, it’s a lot of fun to see them play up that relationship. It’s also nice that they still seem to get along so well. Plus, Terry affectionately refers to Dorn as “tall, dark, and chocolate.” How can you not love that?

Terry’s panel was wonderful (not that I’m biased or anything), and I loved hearing her grasp on Jadzia. I have to imagine that one of the most difficult species to play would be a Joined Trill. At the start of the show, Jadzia was a 28 year old science officer, but she was also host to a symbiont that was on its 8th host. Terry explained that she had no idea what to do with Jadzia but neither did the writers. So, in Terry’s words, “we kind of found [the character] together.”

Terry also lamented the way the writers depicted her relationship with Major Kira Nerys. It was an interesting point that Kira and Jadzia’s relationship often tended toward nothing more than gossipy females, and Terry recognized it could be so much more.

“She’s a terrorist, and I’m an old man.”

–Terry Farrell on the Kira/Jadzia friendship

Of course these panels were full of questions from audience members, and Terry was very kind during these. It was terribly sweet when someone with an obvious disability came down to ask a question, and Terry went to them to help and give one-on-one attention. She has a kind and generous heart.

On her funniest scene: besides hitting Worf’s Mom, Terry liked the time when she bit Michael Dorn’s lip. On the best part of being on set: Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko) when “he’s all singing and shit.”

Terry’s panel was truly one of my favorites. I loved that she had given such thought and consideration to her character. Again, like listening to the actors who spoke on Fruday, she really made me want to go watch her episodes and see Jadzia in a new light.

I must confess that I skipped a few panels after Terry’s. Not that James Darren (Vic Fontaine) and Chase Masterson (Leeta) would have been interesting, but one of my goals from the weekend was to get the autographs from all the TNG crew on the limited edition artwork from Trektacular. So, since they would all be on stage in the afternoon, I figured slipping to the vendors room was a safe bet.

In a weekend full of highlights and adrenaline rushes, one of the best times was just standing in line for the chance to get a few precious seconds with the TNG actors. I grew up watching these guys on TV and just getting to say hello to them is amazingly surreal.

Most of my interactions with them were pretty short, but I loved my conversation with Marina Sirtis (Troi). It was just a few quick moments, but she was very kind. During autograph signing sessions, the conversations can feel very rote and you just get pushed through without much more than two or three words. But Marina was great. She offered to personalize my picture, which no one else did, and she even chastised the others for failing to do so. It was a nice moment, and I genuinely appreciate Marina reaching out a bit.

Getting to speak with Jonathan Frakes was similarly surreal. I was wearing my Parisses Squares (a physical and dangerous sport in the Star Trek universe), and he loved it. He wanted to read the whole thing, and he assured me that, while he has “seen a lot of Star Trek shirts,” he had never seen the one I was wearing. It’s a pretty cool experience to have a celebrity you idolize love the shirt you’re wearing. It also further solidified how well some of these actors know Star Trek. For him to know what Parisses Squares is and to recognize it on a shirt requires more than a passing knowledge of his own scenes on the show.

My interaction with Frakes led me to purchase a photo op with him. While I’ll always have the memories (and blog posts) of these moments, I really enjoy getting photo ops to really solidify the time. And what better opportunity to get a photo with Jonathan Frakes than after he gushed about my shirt? When I went to the photo op some several hours after our interaction, he recognized me and my shirt immediately. He even made the comment that he had seen my tweet about liking my shirt. That’s just one of those surreal moments of connecting with someone I grew up watching on TV.

 
I had to laugh when I finally got my copy of this photo. My smile is so big. It’s very representative of how much taking this picture meant to me and how much fun I was having.

After getting my autographs, I attended the Star Trek costume contest. I didn’t enter, but I definitely wanted to be there. Man. Trekkies can do some really creative costumes. There literally wasn’t a person who looked amazing, but the ones that really stood out to me were: a woman dressed as Kai Winn from DS9 acting perfectly in character; Amanda (Spock’s mom) with a remote control Horta; two Pakleds; some Klingons; a girl dressed as Kirk from The Trouble With Tribbles complete with a hoop skirt completely covered with Tribbles; and an absolutely perfect Captain Pike inside a moving wheel chair. The Tribble-Kirk and Captain Pike were my favorites.

 
He looks exactly like Captain Pike did in The Menagerie.

The costume contest was a lot of fun, and as it was running long, Max Grodenchik (Rom) and Aron Eisenberg (Nog) in full Ferengi dressed ended up crashing the contest because their panel was after the contest. Speaking of Rom and Nog in full costume, that’s one of the cool things I had previously read about Creation Entertainment doing at their conventions. Quite often, they’ll have guest stars who played significant Klingons or Ferengi and have them come out onto stage in full makeup. Max and Aron certainly took their task to heart and came out on stage (after the costume contest) doing a cornily-written skit about the two Ferengi having landed in Dallas, Texas in the 21st century. It was a true sign of how much fun Star Trek actors can be.

 
Rom and Nog in full costume.

One of the coolest things about the Ferengi panel for me was that Max and Aron told the audience that we could ask questions of them, but they said the questions could be addressed to either Max and Aron or Rom and Nog. It definitely takes a pretty deep understanding of the characters and the show to be able to answer questions generally in character.

In addition to being a very funny and amusing panel, Max and Aron also took some time to be very serious, and Aron gave some of the most emotional moments of the entire convention. He legitimately teared up discussing his favorite moment in all of DS9. He referenced one of the episodes in early DS9 where Captain Sisko is mad that his son is spending time with the “bad influence” Nog, but when Sisko finally catches Jake and Nog together, he sees that Nog is learning to read from Jake. This moment isn’t one I think of when considering the greatest moments of DS9, but after listening to Aron describe the moment from his perspective, it was easy to see why it would be so moving. His discussion of prejudice and not judging people by their appearance was truly impactful. I definitely teared up just listening to him talk about it.

Aron, who received a kidney transplant at the end of 2015, also gave the perfect reminder of why Trekkies are so amazing. His girlfriend had started some sort of a gofundme page to raise money to help with their living expenses during the kidney transplant, and many Trekkies donated. Aron gave truly heartfelt thanks to the crowd. He was truly so emotional he could barely get the words out, and he pretty much acknowledged that he owes his life to Star Trek. As I’ve mentioned quite a bit lately, I think Trekkies are some of the greatest people on the planet, and it’s wonderful to see how the meaningful ideals the show has espoused have really paid off in real life.

Later in the day, the first three TNG panels occurred. Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis; Gates McFadden; and Jonathan Frakes all had panels. I’ve seen Marina and Dorn (or as she calls him, “Dornie”) do a panel together before, but I still enjoyed watching them, too. Now that I had an idea of how abrasive and opinionated Marina can be when she’s on stage, I was able to truly enjoy their panel without being shocked by her nature. They didn’t have a whole lot new to say, but they did spend a few minutes talking about one of my favorite TNG episodes: Parallels. It was great to get to see what they had to say about that, and I’ll have a few little moments to watch for when I get there in a few seasons.

 
Marina and Dornie. These two play off of each other very well. It’s easy to tell that they’re friends outside of their work.

Gates came out dancing for her panel, which was kind of fun to see. She was similarly very interesting, and I really loved that one of the audience members asked her about her experiences choreographing the movie Labyrinth. Gates also spent a significant amount of time discussing the personality conflicts that she encountered during season 1 of TNG, and she also discussed what it meant for her to come back. This was particularly interesting for me. I’m currently slogging through Dr. Pulaski during season 2 of TNG, and it was certainly timely to get some more information on what led Crusher to leave the show temporarily. Gates also lamented that  the Dr. Crusher of season 1 was nowhere to be found when she came back for season 3. She noted that the relationship with Picard had essentially been written out of the show, and so many other strong aspects of her character had been watered down. I’ll be interested to see if her claim that the writers didn’t really find Beverly Crusher again until nearing the seventh season. Gates has long been one of my favorite actresses on TNG, and my experiences meeting her for the first time at Trektacular are probably a lot of why I find cons so fulfilling.

 
I wish I’d gotten a better picture, but here’s the “Dancing Doctor.”

I’ve already written pretty extensively about Frakes in this post, so I won’t belabor much of his panel. He was, predictably, wonderful. The one thing that stood out to me about Frakes was that, every time an audience member came up to ask a question, he would walk to the end of the stage and sit on the edge. This brought him nearly face to face with the audience member, and I thought that was a nice personal touch that really made him feel more human.

 
Me with Connor and Dominic before karaoke. These two guys had pretty obviously started partying ahead of karaoke, and they were having a wonderful time with this photo op.

The night ended with a karaoke party hosted by Dominic Keating and Connir Trineer. Those who were at the convention might not believe this, but I’m not one for karaoke. I mean, I love singing songs, but karaoke isn’t my thing. I’m a bit of an introvert. One of my goals at this convention was to be a little more outgoing and reach out to people. Apparently, it’s really easy to make friends at a Star Trek convention. The rush of adrenaline and shared interests makes forming fast friendships easy. I was also blessed with wonderful people who I had assigned seats next to, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. As part of this goal to be more outgoing, I’d kind of psyched myself up to do the karaoke.

So, aided by some liquid courage, I got up on stage with a group called “Texas Trekkies” and sang Dead or Alive. Sherri, one of the girls who had seats in front of me for the entire convention,  and I then got up on stage and sang Sweet Caroline with Connor Trineer. Let me tell you, there is nothing so surreal as singing karaoke with a celebrity in front of a huge group of people. That’ll be a moment that always sticks with me, and I’m glad I was there for it.

 
Everyone had a good time at karaoke.

Sunday was the final day of the convention, and I couldn’t help but enter it with an air of disappointment. By the time Sunday came around, I’d already had the greatest vacation I could imagine. Thus, Sunday could only mean one thing: the end. Despite my disappointment at my vacation finally coming to an end, Sunday was still another wonderful day at the Con.

Sunday kicked off with the final TNG panel: Levar Burton who plays Geordi. Frankly, this panel was probably the disappointment of all of the panels. I really enjoy the character of Geordi, and I do like Levar. But it felt like he came out with a chip on his shoulder and an axe to grind, and he wasn’t terribly interested in talking about Star Trek. It’s nice to hear him talk about Reading Rainbow and Roots, but I came to hear about Star Trek. He certainly had some really deep thoughts regarding racism and slavery that gave me a little more perspective. But it was perhaps a little heavy and preachy for a panel. Levar did, however, make one of my favorite quips of the weekend. Apparently, Brent Spiner (Data) served as Levar’s best man at his wedding. Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, and Michael Dorn served as groomsmen. According to Levar:

“My wedding photo kicks the hell out of your wedding photo.”

–Levar Burton

Yes it does, Levar. Yes it does.

For the next panel, JG Hertzler and Robert O’Reilly came out onto stage dressed as their characters Martok and Gowron. Except, they really didn’t “come out on stage” instead, while the band played Born to Be Wild, they ran through the audience like rock stars, acting like crazy Klingons, and singing along. They are two great character actors, and it wouldn’t be difficult to believe actual Klingons were going through their motions.

 

The Klingon panel was extremely high energy. They spent a lot of time doing a variety of bits including dueling Shakespeare and their “cock fighting” joke. These two have a very physical brand of entertainment, and they ran across the stage and were extremely loud and boisterous. It was kind of a nice break from some of the more serious moments of a lot of the panels. I spent 90% of it laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants.

Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating had the next panel. After my experiences with these guys on the day before, I was more excited than ever to see their panel. They didn’t disappoint. While neither seems to have a huge connection to Star Trek (which, I suppose, isn’t surprising given the show they were on), they were engaging and funny. Dominic had a running gag throughout the majority of the panel where his answer to any question was that he would have “killed Trip [Connor’s character] sooner.” As if it hadn’t been obvious from the day before, these two are clearly very good friends, and they have an extremely good rapport. Enterprise has always been my least favorite of the Star Trek series, but I can honestly say that, after meeting Connor and Dominic, I’m really looking forward to getting there on the Prolific Trek.

I don’t really know what to say about the next panel. It was a huge score to get Walter Koenig (Chekov) to come to this convention, and I was genuinely excited to see him. If all goes according to plan, I will have met all of the living TOS actors by the end of the year. As we’ve lost so many recently, that’s an accomplishment I’ll be happy to finish. But, honestly, watching Koenig’s panel was the hardest part of the entire weekend.

 

Koenig is now 79 years old, and he’s really struggling to get around. It’s extremely jarring to watch someone I associate as a kid with a haircut straight out of The Monkees to have aged that much. By the end of the panel, Walter had perked up a little bit, and he was able to do a very minimal dance for the audience. I’m so glad Walter came to this convention, but it’s kind of tough to watch someone like that get older.

The entire convention finished with Shatner’s panel. I’ve written before about my experiences seeing Shatner’s one-man-show, and so, I wasn’t just terribly eager to get to see him again. However, Shatner is, if nothing else, quite an entertainer. At 85, he’s sharp as a tack and appears to be in relatively good shape physically. He’s an extremely engaging and fun guy to watch.

 
The Man. The Myth. The Shat.

Shatner also got very serious with the audience for part of his panel. I don’t specifically remember what the question was that had him talking about it, but he really started to discuss the importance of only doing things he wants to do. Basically, his advice was to not waste your life not being completely present and doing things that fulfill you. I got chills when he said, of sitting on stage at a convention, “I am exactly where I want to be right now.”

Shatner has a bit of a checkered past with Star Trek. I know for some time he resented being on the show, but he’s really started to embrace fans and his experiences as Captain Kirk. He’s never going to be my favorite captain, but there’s no Star Trek without Captain Kirk. And seeing him finally be at peace with that role was extremely moving.

I also think the death of Nimoy has impacted Shatner in ways we’ll never understand. He took some time to defend Leonard’s publishing the infamous I Am Not Spock book. According to Shatner, Nimoy never hated the role of Spock. Instead, he struggled with the fact that people only saw him as Spock when Leonard was an amazing artist, photographer, director, and person. And, you know what? I get that. If your life has been drilled down to the point where the entire universe only sees you as one microscopic aspect of your life, that has to be hard.

Finishing the day with Shatner was the way to go. The convention ended with the beginning of Star Trek, and it’s amazing to think this thing has been going on for 50 years. And we are still here today going to conventions and worshipping William Shatner and all of the characters that followed.

After Shatner had finished his panel, we had the opportunity to get autographs from Shatner and the Klingons as part of our ticket package. We then went upstairs to grab food from the hotel bar. As we were sitting there, JG Hertzler and Bob O’Reilly sat down at the table next to us. And then, as I tried desperately not to stare, I overheard part of their conversation. They were talking about Star Trek. Not just about the convention. They were having an honest to goodness conversation about TNG and DS9.

Stars: They’re just like us.

Anyways, I had intended to include a wrap-up and reflection on my weekend at the end of this blogpost, but I’ve far exceeded the number of words I like a blog post to be. So, I’ll be back in a few days with a much shorter post about my feelings on the weekend. I’ve also finished Season 2 of TNG. So I’m due to write a blog post about that, too. Guess it’s better to have too many posts than too few, right?

#LLAP

The One In Which I’ve Finished TNG Season 1 and it’s First Contact Day

Well, on a nondescript Monday night in April, I finished season 1 of TNG behind schedule. Though TNG has felt like my ultimate goal along this journey, Star Trek has taken a backseat the last several weeks. I’m still watching to be sure, and I’m not so far behind that I’m going to scrap this entire idea. But life has been very busy and very stressful lately. Coming home and watching two episodes of any show, even Star Trek, has simply not been a reality most nights.

So, I have found myself asking myself the same question I get whenever I tell anyone about this blog: “Why?”

Why am I doing this? Why am I forcing myself to watch, in order, every single Star Trek episode that has ever been released? Why, when I am a busy young professional who barely has time to eat some days, would I commit myself to such a gargantuan feat? Why would I voluntarily add one more stress to my life?

The answer is simple and has become even more abundantly clear as I’ve slogged through season 1 of TNG. I’m doing this because it’s Star Trek.

I’ve waxed philosophical about this before, but there’s something about the optimism of this show that I just love. Particularly when I’m watching the TNG crew, I feel a little bit at home. I mean, is there a Trekkie out there that doesn’t secretly believe that Star Trek is just a documentary from earth’s future?

Heck, it’s kind of fitting I didn’t get around to finishing this post for a day after finishing this TNG Season 1 post until today: April 5.

You see, today is First Contact Day. In just 47 short years, Zefram Cochrane will pilot the first warp drive ship, the Phoenix, into space, and the Vulcans, seeing that humanity has reached warp-drive potential, will make First Contact with earth. After that, it’s just a hop skip and a jump until the Enterprise is going where no one has gone before and Voyager is getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Seriously, I’m not sure how anyone can hold their excitement in on First Contact day?

What’s that?

It’s just a TV show? Of course it is, but I’m happy to be a little delusional if it means that Star Trek might be real one day.

Just remember:

Don’t try to be a great man. Just be a man and let history make its own judgment.

–Zefram Cochrane, Star Trek: First Contact

Anyways, what have I thought about Season 1 of TNG? As far as episodes go, it’s a bit of high and low and a lot of in between.

The Good:

• Encounter at Farpoint
• Hide and Q
• Haven
• The Big Goodbye
• DataLore

The Bad:

• Code of Honor
• Justice
• Angel One

The Characters:

Writing about my opinions of TNG characters based solely on my Season 1 impressions is difficult. I’ve spent so much time watching these characters far beyond their Season 1 structures that it is hard to separate what they are in Season 1 with what they will become over the next six seasons and four movies. And, truthfully, I don’t know that there would be much to like of my favorite characters if I could only judge them by Season 1.

Season 1 Picard, my favorite character in all of Star Trek, is cold and distant. Picard always keeps a professional barrier between himself and most of the crew, but Season 1 Picard does this to an extent where you barely see his humanity. There are, however, a few moments throughout the season where the real Picard seems to sneak through. His relationship with Dr. Crusher, which is nearly totally ignored through the remaining six seasons, shines through strongly in many episodes, and I’m forced to lament that this is one of the few characterizations that Season 1 really nails and the future seasons totally fail at.

Will Riker and Deanna Troi are shells of the characters they will ultimately grow into. Riker is pretty much just a caricature of Kirk, and Troi is, well, she’s hot and that’s pretty much all the writers ever seemed to realize with her. Tori’s characterization issues hint at deeper issues in the Star Trek writer’s room, so I won’t delve too deeply into them here.

Data is, obviously, one of the stand out characters of Season 1. This makes sense because Data is ultimately one of the standout characters of TNG. He’s stepped into the role of the emotionless science officer struggling with humanity. Unlike our favorite half-Vulcan, though, Data’s struggles are because he desires to be like humanity. In every series, there is a character who struggles with emotions and humanity and who grows throughout the years into one of the deepest characters on the show. For TOS, that character was Spock, and we’ll get to Odo, The Doctor, Seven, and T’Pol as the show goes on. But it’s always been Data who has stood out to me the most. Though there are many similarities in their story arcs, none of these characters really seem like carbon copies of the others. If there is one thing Star Trek writers have consistently been good at, it’s developing and understanding the humanity of a character. Data does have one quality that he alone has: he wants to be human. Each of these other characters seem to have some reluctance or derision towards the humanity that threatens to escape, but Data? Data is genuine and eager. His desire to be human is almost childlike.

And, hey, we finally have our first character that I actively dislike. Oh, lord, I’m not sure there are enough words in the English language to adequately describe my hatred for Wesley Crusher. He’s a wunderkind, and he’s the worst kind of Mary Sue esque character. He’ll go away eventually but not soon enough. Frankly, I can’t blame Dr. Crusher for bolting at the end of season 1: I wouldn’t want to have to live with that sweater-wearing weirdo, either.

The Overview:

According to The Progress, Season 1 of TNG is a 5.04. When compared with the rest of TNG, which showcases some of the most phenomenal episodes to ever have been on television, I suppose this rating doesn’t surprise me. But it did surprise me that it came in behind the average for every single season of TOS. Perhaps I’m just a harsher critic of a show I know can consistently do better. I think this is probably true because when I found myself wanting to rate certain episodes a 7 or an 8, I would stop myself and say “well if this is a 7 then what the heck is Measure of a Man?” Frankly, on a sliding scale, if any season 1 episode is a 7, then Measure of a Man quality episodes might as well be a 50. That doesn’t really work on a scale of 10. So I had to keep the ratings a little lower in order to avoid giving solely 9s and 10s to most episodes to come.

Ultimately, though, I’m just so glad to finally be at TNG. I love this show, this ship, and this crew, and I’m so glad I’m blogging my way through this journey. I should sign off now, though, Dr. Pulaski is just begging to do something that will annoy the crap out of me.

#LLAP