make-it-sonlymanwhocan

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Enjoying a steaming mug of tea (well, coffee) thanks to my new #StarTrek mug, courtesy of @daniel.j.hayden! #data #geordilaforge #levarburton #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #jeanlucpicard #deannatroi #beverlycrusher #riker #worf #StarTrekLowerDecks #StrangeNewWorlds #KatherineJaneway #CaptainJaneway #startrekdiscovery #StarTrekProdigy #MakeItSonlymanwhocan https://instagr.am/p/Cc2V3mVsWPw/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Ep 5x08 (107 of 176) Unification II RATING: 4/5 #StarTrek #MakeItSonlyManWhoCan #GeneRoddenberry passed away shortly before The Game was aired, but the memorial didn’t appear until the episode after. It therefore kinda makes sense for me to use the image here, an episode after it first appeared, at the start of Unification I. Maybe the fates had a design for ‘the Great Bird of the Galaxy,’ because there is perhaps no better episode to commemorate his legacy than this; the show in which #Spock, arguably his most famous creation, shares full scenes with Picard, Data and, uh, Sela, I guess. #LeonardNimoy, as always, brings dignity and gravitas to the proceedings, and the scene in which Spock and Data realise that one has forever tried to dismiss his humanity while the other has spent their entire life trying to become more human is nothing short of magical. Weirdly, the plot itself feels a bit low-key, despite it echoing throughout the franchise for decades to come: it’s the reason Spock appears in the Kelvin timeline, and we finally see a re-unified Vulcan and Romulus in Star Trek: Discovery with the introduction of Ni’Var. I guess it’s because all the action takes place in caves and small offices, both with the same flat, even lighting. It sucks away the tension and stakes, somehow. Regardless, this is still a landmark episode for multiple reasons, not least for proving that old and new Star Trek could co-exist. #data #geordilaforge #levarburton #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #deannatroi #beverlycrusher #riker #worf #StarTrekLowerDecks #lowerdecks #startrekdiscovery #StarTrekProdigy #StrangeNewWorlds https://instagr.am/p/CcSd9Y6MpFe/

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Ep 5x01 (100 of 176) Redemption II RATING: 4/5 #StarTrek #MakeItSonlyManWhoCan Overstuffed with 3 storylines - Worf acclimatising to life in the Klingon Defense Force, Picard setting a trap for Romulans (and meeting Tasha Yar’s daughter Sela in the process) and Data taking his first command - it is unsurprising that not all are completely satisfying. But as each thread contains a couple of memorable scenes the episode manages to be a decent if not spectacular season opener. Having really enjoyed the Klingon politicking in part one, it unfortunately becomes the weakest storyline here. Having ‘jatlh tlhIngan’ (‘talked the talk’ in Klingon, apparently) Worf turns out to be a real wet blanket in practice, moaning to his brother, to Gowron, to anyone who’d listen about how everyone but he is bonkers. If Worf ever went on holiday I bet he wouldn’t leave the hotel, and only eat from the restaurant downstairs. Meanwhile, Denise Crosby gets another chance to shine with a villainous role which also elicits sympathy due to her tale of the alternate Tasha we met in Yesterday’s Enterprise. It’s an inspired ‘cheat’ to bring the actress back, and given that we already know how deceitful Romulans can be it presents a unique and mysterious dilemma for Picard, who wants to believe her but can't let it compromise his plan. The unexpected highlight (as it only tangentially connects to everything else) is Data butting heads with his second in command, who doesn’t believe androids should be running a starship. Racial prejudice is difficult to explore with any nuance in fiction as one side is clearly wrong, but here I think it’s easy to understand why someone would be nervous about an artificial person making life-and-death decisions. Another reason why Star Trek - and science fiction as a whole - is so good at exploring the human condition. #data #geordilaforge #levarburton #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #beverlycrusher #riker #worf #StarTrekLowerDecks #lowerdecks #startrekdiscovery #StarTrekProdigy https://instagr.am/p/Cb5BRcyMGRu/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

F*CK ME #STARTREKPICARD WAS INCREDIBLE. I laughed, I gasped and I got extremely emotional at points. Yes, nostalgia is a hell of a drug, but there are sequences that brought me right back to 90s Trek. All #StarTrek is Star Trek. Every series, old and new, is legitimate. But I grew up on 90s Trek and some images and characters returning was like meeting beloved relatives again. I almost came to tears! #MakeItSonlymanwhocan https://instagr.am/p/CarwRanMnC4/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

I'll be doing some more #startrek reviews shortly. In the meantime check out my new #captainkirk #funkopop which just arrived, complete with the centre seat! #makeitsonlymanwhocan #funko #Starfleeet https://instagr.am/p/CRywwfKsHDL/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Although I find it a little tacky when people post their Christmas present haul I couldn't resist posting the geeky books I got for my birthday. I've already spent hours poring over the Enterprise D's interior and CATS IN STAR TREK UNIFORMS MAKE ME HAPPY, OKAY? Also, 1999 was pretty amazing for movies, wasn't it? #StarTrek #TNG #startrekthenextgeneration #MakeItSonlymanwhocan #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramCommunity #film #1999 #geek #filmhistory https://instagr.am/p/CN9zuieM4_O/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Date night with Frasier and Star Trek #startrek #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #catsofinstagram #tuxedocat #MakeItSonlymanwhocan https://instagr.am/p/CKw-7PClPlU/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

REVIEW: The Fifty-Year Mission Vol. 1 & 2 by Mark A. Altman & Edward Gross RATING: 4/5 I dove into @audible in a big way by devouring 57+ hours of #StarTrek in these two unofficial and unauthorized aural histories. There's lots I didn't know, but even the stuff I did was interesting to hear through the personal accounts of those who where there when it happened. Highly recommended for any Trekkie, as it humanised so many of the key players and unsung heroes that brought this near-religion into being. #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #audiobooks #StarTrekVoyager #StarTrekTNG #TNG #Spock #captainpicard #captainkirk #ds9 #jjabrams #enterprise #1701 #generoddenberry #makeitsonlymanwhocan https://instagr.am/p/CJV_SJyMGXW/

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Ep 2x12 (37 of 176) The Royale RATING 1.5/5 Hey, Harry! It's been a long time since your last TNG review. What gives? Well, random internet person, it's taken a long time to watch this episode! Why's that, you smart and attractive (but not in a taking-selfies-all-the-time-kind-of-way) digital raconteur? BECAUSE THIS EPISODE WAS BORING AS BALLS! Apologies for the above, but The Royale really tested my patience - so much so that I took breaks whilst watching and days to return! In hindsight I really should have stayed the course as there is a twist midway through that slightly improves things, but it STILL felt like it took an age to get there. The opening is intriguing: the Enterprise beams aboard part of a Nasa spaceship (seeing the iconic insignia in this 24th century setting is truly weird and alien) and their investigation takes them to a mysterious void with a 20th century casino inside. This is where things screech to a halt as, like a bad holodeck episode, our heroes become trapped in a cheap-looking period setting and forced to observe tiresome NPCs delivering hammy dialogue. The twist is that this is all on purpose: the casino is generated from a pulp novel owned by a dead astronaut, which Riker describes as "...badly written...., filled with endless clichés and shallow characters." . However, this description could equally apply to TNG's first couple of seasons and as such I hadn't realised that the writing was 'supposed' to be bad - it just felt par for the course. It is less a glass house and more an entirely glass starship that the show is throwing rocks in! There are a couple of fun sections in which Data becomes an ace gambler and Worf struggles to use an elevator from (his) ancient history (christ knows how he copes with stairs) but I feel that I didn't enjoy my time at The Royale and I kinda wish that astronaut had brought a book about anything else. #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #riker #worf https://ift.tt/2W5yJRk

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Ep 2x11 (37 of 176) Contagion RATING: 3.5/5 I really like this type of TNG episode: the #USSEnterprise arrives too late to save a colony or spaceship from being mysteriously destroyed, but before too long the same thing start to happen to our heroes. Thus, the clock starts ticking as the crew try to work out what's happening before they meet the same fate. Sh*t gets really real when the USS Yamato blows up after total system shutdown; as the Enterprise`s sister ship it`s unnerving to see another Galaxy-glass meet its maker (although I must admit it`s a bit of a thrill too - see also the episode `Cause and Effect`). From the moment Picard orders Earl Grey from the replicator and receives a plant instead we know something is up, and it`ts not because we`ve just seen the replicator produce a living organism. Has anyone tried making an animal using the replicator? A baby, even? It`s a chilling thought that never occurred to me until writing this review. All this takes place in the #Romulan Neutral Zone so we get a tense stalemate as one side asks the other what they're doing in forbidden space (whilst both ships suffer from the same technical difficulties), with everyone eventually converging on the ancient homeworld of the Iconians, whose advanced technology allowed them to travel to planets using portals, not starships. I love it when Trek remembers that the universe is infinitely ancient, populated by long-dead civilizations that were far more advanced than Starfleet. The Iconians excite Picard, as I believe this episode introduces his passion for archeology, and it`s a pleasure to see the cast continue to grow into the characters we recognise from later seasons. Data and Geordi is a particular highlight, especially when the former`s matter-of-fact reportage on the latter`s electronic shock. 'Thanks, Data. I noticed,' he says whilst recovering on the floor. More of this, please! #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #riker https://ift.tt/2SbGd2O

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Found this photo of me and John de Lancie (Q from TNG) at Bristol's Nexus '95 convention. Back when you weren't charged for photos with the stars! I'm hoping to go to my first Star Trek convention in years this November. #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #riker #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner #johndelancie https://ift.tt/2UDkToC

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Ep 2x10 (36 of 176) The Dauphin RATING: 4/5 Oh my god I put off watching this episode for so long! An episode focusing on Wesley's love life? That sounded bad enough, but given TNG's track record with relationships I was expecting to cringe myself inside out. To my surprise, this episode feels like a major turning point in the show - for the first time the crew of the Enterprise act like actual people when Wes asks them about wooing a young girl he fancies. You'd think he'd know about the birds and the bees by now. Maybe Beverly home schooled him? The girl in question, destined to be the leader of an entire planet, is also a shape-shifting monster who is guarded by a little old lady that turns into an even bigger monster whenever Wesley tries to pull some moves. It's no surprise that Wes didn't get a girlfriend until he met Ashley Judd in Season Five. It's a pretty simple, low stakes story, but the character stuff is gold. Worf describing #Klingon mating rituals (women roar and throw things, men read poetry and dodge them) is hilarious and Michael Dorn is clearly relishing his expanded presence on the show, whilst Riker and Guinan's lesson in flirting is a pure delight. Whilst not an essential episode, any TNG rewatch would be poorer for not including The Dauphin (French for 'Dolphin,' don't ask me why). #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #riker #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner https://ift.tt/2tHOqma

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Ep 2x09 (35 of 176) The Measure of a Man RATING: 5/5 It was a pleasant surprise to discover that this was to be the first #MakeItSonlymanwhocan since the premier of Star Trek: Picard, as it appears this classic episode may have major ramifications for the new show. Bruce Maddox - this episode's the pseudo-antagonist - even gets a name-drop whilst we visit his HQ (The Daystrom Institute), over 30 years after it was created and seen for the first time on screen. But I digress. The reason I say Maddox is a *pseudo* antagonist is that he presents the PERFECT Star Trek dilemma: he wishes to dissemble Lt Cmdr Data in order make more of him, but the android is not confident that Maddox can do this safely. This kicks off a moral and legal back-and-forth, resulting in a trial in which Riker is forced to prove his friend is the property of Starfleet, whilst Picard must call on the help of Cpt Phillipa Louvois - a Judge Advocate General who had prosecuted Picard in the past. Early TNG is often given a lot of flak but the series was rarely better than it was here. Maddox and Louvois aren't evil - the former wishes o give every starship the same advantage as the Enterprise, the latter is keeping to the letter of the law, even if it displeases our heroes. Whilst this episode is rightly lauded for Patrick Stewart’s powerhouse performance, especially his 'crucible' speech (Google it now), it was the relationship between Picard & Louvois that I really enjoyed during this watch. In fact, every character in this episode respects the other's position and professionalism even if they disagree, which is something which we should all try to do more (myself included). A must-watch episode, and one of the best of the entire franchise. #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #riker #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner https://ift.tt/30UqnfV

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Well that was lovely! However, I shan't be doing reviews of Star Trek: Picard for a while, as I sorta view my #MakeItSonlymanwhocan hashtag for retrospective reviews. I started it in the hope I could watch all of TNG before the new show premiered, but life (and a broken phone) got in the way. Perhaps once I've done all the TNG shows and movies I'll move onto Picard, deal? #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner https://ift.tt/2tLKIb6

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Ep 2x08 (34 of 176) A Matter of Honor RATING: 3.5/5 I randomly picked this episode to watch relatively recently and didn't think much of it. However, viewed as part of TNG's upward trend of quality this is a pretty exciting milestone for the show: an episode featuring a fully realised alien culture which our protagonist wishes to learn from, rather than immediately judge for not holding human values. It helps that these are #Klingons (and not new creations for the franchise) but even though we've had Worf on the bridge we've not properly got under their skin. The best parts of the episode is on the Bird of Prey which #Riker has been transferred to as part of an exchange programme. We get to see how an alien crew deals with the kind of problems that feature in a standard episode of Trek, and I really enjoyed how Number One threw himself into his role as the second in command of the IKS Pagh: eating their food, beating up his subordinates and asking to be breastfed by the only two females on the ship (yes this happens. TNG is still two-steps forward, one step back in Season 2). . The #Klingon chain of command falls apart if you think about it too much (it makes a brutal kind of sense to murder weak leaders, but who takes your place as you climb the career ladder? Is the receptionist's chair at Klingon High Council constantly spinning, covered in blood?), but Riker's adherence to their code wins their respect. When subordinate whom Riker beat up commends him for being a true Klingon I almost welled up! What stops it from being a slam-dunk is the B plot on the Enterprise, in which a #Benzite exchange officer is mistaken for one Wesley met last season (spacism is a bad look, Wes) and hangs around the bridge acting like he owns the place. He eventually fades into the background, as if the writers themselves lost interest in how these exchange programmes contrasted. #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner https://ift.tt/2RLrJp0

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Ep 2x07 (33 of 176) Unnatural Selection RATING: 3.5/5 Seven episodes into Season 2, we get our first proper Pulaski episode. We know this because Picard and Troi have a really weird, almost gossipy conversation about the new(ish) Chief Medical Officer in the captain's ready room. I initially thought Picard was testing the water because he had an embarrassing issue in an embarrassing place, but in reality it's the writers quickly providing us with some back story between the two characters (even if one of the characters in question is off screen). This episode is a *relatively* low stakes one (just a plague that makes you old - in a fortunately more convincing way than Season 1's Admiral Jameson) and I enjoyed the procedural nature of it all. We encounter a Starfleet vessel in which all the crew have died of old age, but having learned their lesson from The N*ked Now they remote-operate the ship to investigate without beaming over. The challenges in this episode all revolved around quarantine and trying to cure the virus with limited information, and I found Pulaski's struggle with the anti-virus (and the dead ends she encounters) more gripping than I expected. Two things took me out of this episode: at one point she claims the only way she could run a test is by taking a subject out of stasis, and I did wonder why she couldn't wear a hazmat suit like they do in the movies. Secondly, there's a scene in which Data and Riker desperately search Pulaski's quarters to find some DNA and I flinched when they started going through her lady draw. I half expected them to pull out what she uses to help her 'boldly go' every night. #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #riker #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner https://ift.tt/2O5RVtJ

[make-it-sonlymanwhocan]

Ep 2x06 (32 out of 176) The Schizoid Man RATING: 4/5 I found a lot to enjoy in this episode, even if the plot was completely barmy. After spending many of these reviews moaning about how vague the show was being about Data's emotional state I get to meet cybernetic specialist Dr Ira Graves in this episode. A contemporary of Data's creator, he asks pointed questions of the android and makes him (and the audience) realise that he can know an emotion but not experience it like humans do. I enjoyed these scenes with two actors philosophising off each other, and it made me feel that it was perhaps a bad idea to have Brent Spiner play his own father in later episodes of TNG. Graves is obsessed with preserving his knowledge, for his brain is almost as large as his ego, so when he learns he can transfer his consciousness to Data he jumps at the chance. However, the doctor is hilariously unsubtle in his body-snatching and Data almost immediately becomes a huge asshole. It is eventually explained that Graves' consciousness took over Data's mind like a virus rather than a straight swap, which kinda explains why he had less control over his personality. But it's still a little odd how far over the line they let Data get before someone connects the dots. The dots being: Asshole Android Expert Dies > Android Starts Acting Just Like Asshole Android Expert. But all this falls under category marked 'if the characters were smarter we'd have no plot,' which is something that doesn't annoy me as much as it does others. It's still a lot of fun to see Data ham it up and I felt genuinely creeped out by the idea of the android's soul being trapped inside his body whilst somebody else uses it, like in Get Out. OH! I almost forgot to do a shout out to Dr Selar! I'd love to be able to appear so f*cking done with everyone under the pretense of being a Vulcan. #makeitsonlymanwhocan #data #geordilaforge #startrek #startrekpicard #picard #startrektng #startrekthenextgeneration #tng #tv #scifi #review #retrospective #jeanlucpicard #captainpicard #deannatroi #katherinepulaski #wesleycrusher #riker #worf #PatrickStewart #BrentSpiner #vulcan https://ift.tt/2sNwE0e