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calliecat93 · 3 years

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ST: The Next Generation S3 Watchthrough Episodes 18-21

Allegiance: So we have Picard whisked away while minding his own business and ends up somewhere with three other people while a copy of him is hanging out on the Enterprise. Don’t you just hate when that happens? It was alright. The concept is an interesting one, a race of hive0mind aliens kidnap people to see how they interact in a bubble while they leave a fake on the Enterprise to see if the crew will keep following Picard. Naturally the crew turns on the fake when he gets out of hand and Riker taking a stand was freakin’ badass, so glad that no one’s a mindless officer who will follow blindly. While the aliens don’t hurt anyone, they DID still kidnap and endanger a lot of people, so Picard telling them offat the end is justified. The whole episode hinges on Patrick Stewart’s acting ability as both the real and fake Picard, and to the shock of no one, he knocks it out of the park. They could make him act as a tree and he’d somehow make it into a worthwhile performance. Picard’s certainly not my favorite character, while S3 has had him grow on me the rest of the cast are more appealing to me and as far as overall captians go, TOS Kirk just had a better balance of serious and laid-back for me… he’s topping AOS Kirk though. Also… I know it was witht he fake Picard, but why are we starting the Picard/Crusher ship tease again? They had dropped it since Crusher came back and Picard seems even more married to his job than Kirk was, so… why are we doing this? But ah well. Still, it’s a strong episode for Picard as he shows his natural leadership and Patrick Stewart is having fun as the fake especially when we get to the song number XD It’s a nice episode about authority and when to follow (regular Picard is a reasonable leader who knows how to deal with various individuals to get the job done with the least amount of damage possible) and when to not (when the authority is outright leading you and others to certain death with no regard for those lives). In other words, don’t live in a hive mind. and don’t imprison people no matter if you intend no harm 3/5.

Captain’s Holiday: And speaking of Picard! I guess a requirement for Starfleet Captian is ‘be an utter workaholic who cannot and will not understand the concept of taking a Shore Leave’ and that hasn’t changed since Kirk’s time. Hell, Crusher pulls the same trick Spock did to get Kirk to take one… albeit Picard picks up on it much quicker than Kirk did and he doens’t end up on a planet that causes illusions that involve an annoying classmate, an old crush, and believing that his CMO/best friend got killed via a knight lance… boy Shore Leave was a trip, huh? I love how the entire ship was in on the scheme to get Picard to take the vacation, Riker’s smugness over it is freakin’ amazing. So Picard goes to Risa… and ends up tangled in utter insanity involving a weapon hidden on the planet, the Ferengi, two beings from the future, and a pretty woman adventurer. Guess the other Starfleet Captin requirement is ‘be prepared for your vacation to be derailed even when it doens’t involve Starfleet business because you’re just cursed now, sorry!’ This was fun! I like seeing Picard get to break from his stuffy Captain persona and get to go full-on adventurer and clearly having the time of his life doing so, it fits him really well~! Vash was also really fun and why we haven’t gotten an ST spinoff that would essentially be Indiana Jones in Space after this I’ll never know. It’s kinda nice to just have an episode like this with no complex morality or political/social themes, it’s just a fun adventure to let Picard let loose and the setting is a nice change of pace from the Enterprise. 3/5.

Tin Man: Tam’s inability to stop hearing most everyone’s thoughts which leaves him unhinged gives me major Mao from Code Geass vibes… well, except less sociopathic/stalkerish. I mean imagine being born a telepath/empath with all those senses turned on and being unable to shut them off and thus are overwhelmed by everyone’s thoughts/emotions all around you… yeah I think that the man has every reason to be out of it. I almost wanna say this kinda feels like an allegory for mental illness/schizophrenia, but given that this was in the 90’s when we weren’t that great at understanding that and my own lack of knowledge on those topics, I’m reluctant to say that with certainty. So we have him an an intelligent ship (the tititular Tin Man) drven to despair due to it’s fallen crew and in the end they essentially merge into one being… yeah it’s as wild as it sounds. Oh and they have to deal with Romulans… again. Also not quite sure what happened at the end, but hey it’s an ending. So it was fine. Not really anything else to say on this one. 3/5.

Hollow Pursuits: So we meet Lieutenant Barclay, a nervous, timid man who is constantly late, frustrates his superiors due to his demeanor/insufficiency, isn’t really fitting in, and he vents it out via living out his fantasies on the Holodeck. It’s… oddly relatable. Now mind you I’d probably be as squicked out as Troi was if someone had a hologram of me acting all intimate with them, but hey it’s not like he’s forcing it on the actual Troi. Riker comes off as an asshole though… though him, Troi, and Geordi seeing themselves in the holodeck was funny XD. It’s understandable why Geordi and the others are frustrated with him.. but like Data points out, name-calling behind his back is pretty mean and maybe if they tried to be more understanding and reached out, maybe it would help Barclay. As someone with major social anxiety and poor social skills in general, I could relate to how Barclay felt and it was nice to see an episode focusing on what would otherwise be a nameless nobody in the background. There are more people on the ship than the main group, several of whom they’re the superiors over, so it’s nice to also see Geordi struggling as a superior to a subordinate that he’s having issues with. When Guinan pointed out that maybe Barclay’s late and nervous because everyone acts like they don’t want to be around him or talk to him… damn, that articulates exactly what I felt. Also, you’d think that the Holodeck would… you know, make it so one can’t walk in on someone’s privacy unless it’s an emergency. Just saying. But yeah for an episode in the ’90s, while it doens’t specifically bring up social anxiety or mental illness that one could associate with Barclay and the Holodeck sequences might be more… concerning in a modern light, it does have the message on treating those feeling withdrawn, nervous, and struggling with those kinds of things respectfully and to reach out to them with understanding and openness, not to dismiss or demean them. It’s a lesson I wish that was more clear in the ’90s, it might have helped me with my problems… ah well! 3.5/5.

Alright, we’ve got five episodes of the season left. So here’s how we’re going to go from here. Tomorrow will be 22-25, which I read the title for one and it’s gotten me super excited~! Then we have the finale… which is one part of a two-parter with Part 2 being the beginning of S4. I’ve been thinking of how to deal with this in the watchthrough since I consider parter episodes essentialy the same episode but divided up. What I decided is that on the wtchthrough post I’ll review both parts in one post, give the rating for both as seperate episodes, and then give a rating for them together. When I do the Top 5 Favorite/Least Favorite Episodes of S3 post, it will be counted as one episode if it makes the list and this will be the same for all the other two-part episodes at least for now. After I do the S3 finale/S4 premiere I’m gonna take a break until Monday, and then I hope to go through S4-7 without any stops. So here’s hoping that all goes according to plan.

#st watchthrough

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phantom-le6 · 4 years

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Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 (4 of 6)

This is now the fourth round of Star Trek: The Next Generation episode reviews for the show’s third season, and it kicks off with one of my all-time favourite Trek episodes…

Episode 16: The Offspring

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Data invites Deanna Troi, Wesley Crusher and Geordi La Forge to the Enterprise science lab and surprises them by introducing a featureless humanoid android, whom he created based on his own structural design and recent advances in Federation cybernetics technology, describing it as his child, who he names Lal (Hindi for “beloved”). Captain Picard, being informed about Lal, expresses concern to Data for constructing Lal in secrecy, but Data reminds him that he would not express such concern were two human crewmembers to decide to procreate, to which the captain has little argument. Data encourages Lal to select a gender and appearance. With Troi's assistance and considering many of the on-board species as well as the databanks, Lal narrows down to four possibilities, including a Klingon male, which, as Troi points out, would make it "a friend for Worf", but in the end selects the appearance of a young female human.

Data first aids Lal with cognitive and standard behavioural algorithms, as well as encouraging her to interact with other members of the crew to learn behavioural and social customs. After a failed attempt to place her in school, due to the younger children being intimidated by her and the older children too socially advanced for her, he places her under Guinan's care at Ten Forward. This leads to some awkward moments, such as Lal misunderstanding the concept of flirting and kissing, which she first interpreted as "attacking" until Guinan makes an effort at explaining the practice. Intrigued by this, Lal engages in suddenly dragging and kissing Commander Riker over the bar, leaving him baffled and earning him a fatherly scolding à la "What are your intentions towards my daughter?" when Data walks in on them. Lal nevertheless adapts very quickly, even, to everyone's amazement, surpassing Data as stated by her ability to use verbal contractions, something Data has never achieved.

Meanwhile, Picard, as per general orders, reports to Starfleet, prompting Admiral Haftel to arrive to evaluate Lal. From the outset, Haftel is determined to transfer Lal to a Starfleet science facility. He interviews Lal, where she reveals her desire to remain on the Enterprise with her father, but Haftel is unmoved. Upon leaving the meeting, Lal visits Troi in the counselor's quarters. Lal is clearly confused and distraught, and to Troi's amazement, reveals that she is feeling fear. Experiencing an overload of information and emotions, Lal soon stops speaking and wanders off, eventually returning to Data's lab, something she is programmed to do in the event of a malfunction.

In the meantime, Haftel meets with Data and orders him to release Lal into Starfleet's custody. Though Data moves to comply, Picard orders him to stand fast and reminds him and the Admiral that Data is a sentient life form with defined rights and cannot be ordered to turn what is in essence his child over to the state. But before the discussion can get any more tense, they are interrupted by a call from Troi who explains what has happened to Lal and asks everyone to come to Data's lab at once.

Upon arriving, Data's diagnostics find Lal's emotional outburst is a symptom of a cascade failure in her positronic brain, and they must work fast to stop it. Seeing Data's sincerity, Haftel offers to assist Data, and he accepts. Sometime later, a worn-out Haftel leaves the lab and informs Troi, Wesley, and Geordi that they have failed. Visibly moved at Data's determination to save his child, Haftel explains the failure was irreparable. He is visibly overwhelmed himself, concluding that Lal will not survive for long. Data apologizes to Lal that he could not save her, but Lal thanks Data for her creation. She lets him know she loves him and will feel the emotion for both of them. Data returns to the bridge, and Picard conveys the crew's condolences, but Data reveals that he has downloaded Lal's memories into his own neural net, allowing Lal's memories and experiences to live on.

Review:

This episode stands out from the rest of TNG for many reasons. For one thing, it’s the directorial debut of cast member Jonathan Frakes, sparking off a litany of Trek actors breaking into directing through their respective franchises, some of whom have since gone on to direct other TV shows and feature films. Frakes himself even went on to direct two of TNG’s four feature films when the TV show concluded, though some of his work outside of Trek leaves a little to be desired (a key example being his live-action film incarnation of Thunderbirds).

However, the main reasons for the episode to stand out spring from the story of the episode itself. Data creating a child is a brilliant idea on the surface just for exploring the idea of what it might be like for mechanical life-forms to reproduce. As far as I know, no other sci-fi franchise has really looked into this concept, or if they have, they haven’t necessarily explored it quite the way that TNG does. However, Trek is also about relating aspects of our present-day life and the issues therein to the audience through the metaphor of its future setting. Where Data is concerned, fan interpretation has made him into a metaphor for certain aspects of life as an autistic person, and while that comes through for both him and Lal in this episode, there are other metaphorical representations to be drawn as well.

The incorporation of the Admiral Haftel character and Data’s status as a de facto single parent, combined with his autism-like traits, presents a kind of metaphor for the misapplication of social care intervention. Doubtless at the time of this episode’s production, in our present day and for all the years before, in-between and after, there will be some people who believe that where a child is being raised by a parent who is differently abled, single or both, that child should be removed from the parent and placed in care of some kind. When Picard points out that Haftel is basically ordering a father to hand his child over to the state, this cements Haftel’s principal role as an analogue for the closed-minded social worker who judges the parent not on their actions, but solely for being single and/or differently abled, and who makes his decision on those grounds without any regard to what father or child want or how they’re actually doing.

Now while I acknowledge that not every parent who is single or differently abled could cope with being a parent, the reality is there are also parents who are married and regularly abled and can’t cope with parenthood either. The reality is being a good or bad parent is about doing the best you can to meet your child’s basic needs, and in this regard, it is actions and not labels that define a good parent. Data’s actions throughout the episode are those of someone genuinely trying their best to do the right thing for their child, and Haftel ultimately comes around to acknowledging this when Data has to try and act to save Lal’s life.

It’s also interesting to watch Lal for what little time she gets in the world of TNG, because while Data is the focus of the episode, Lal has some great moments as another autism analogue. The difficulty she has fitting in at school is an apt analogy of how western education fails, back in the early 1990’s and now, to effectively educate the differently abled in general and autistic children in particular. From a social skills standpoint, Lal is well behind for someone who appears to be a young woman, yet academically she is highly intelligent, and cannot fit in with any given age group. In turn, her difficulty understanding concepts of flirting and romantic/sexual attraction emulate how incredibly difficult and horrible it can be for autistic teenagers and adults in real life to navigate the same sort of challenges.

The simple fact is this episode is brilliantly performed, wonderfully multi-faceted and also includes some great moments in terms of accepting being different, taking a gender/sexuality-neutral approach to teaching Lal about love, and for parents of the very young there’s a great little scene where Data has deal with Lal going through an infinite array of ‘why’ questions. This episode is funny, tragic, thought-provoking, and just generally everything Trek should be. The fact it’s a bottle episode born out of a need to balance the show budget after the expense of ‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’ proves two final points. First, TNG learns from the abysmal ‘Shades of Grey’ episode and upped its game for bottle episodes. Two, a great story on a low budget is better than an ok story going over-budget. Score for this one is a clear-cut 10 out of 10.

Episode 17: Sins of the Father

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

As part of an officer exchange program, Klingon Commander Kurn has requested to be placed aboard the Enterprise as first officer. His harsh Klingon command style aggravates the crew, though he takes it easy on fellow Klingon Lieutenant Worf. Worf confronts Kurn about this alone, prompting Kurn to reveal he is Worf's younger brother. When the rest of Worf's family left to the Khitomer colony, he was left with Lorgh, a friend of their father Mogh. Kurn was raised as Lorgh's son, unaware until recently that Worf had survived the Khitomer massacre. Kurn tells Worf that Mogh is being charged posthumously as a traitor in the Kitomer massacre by Duras, the son of Mogh's rival, which will mar the Mogh family name for generations. Worf requests an urgent leave of absence to defend his father's honor. Captain Picard believes that Worf's actions as a Starfleet officer in his father's defence will reflect on the Enterprise and Starfleet, and directs the Enterprise to the Klingon homeworld so they may monitor the events. En route, Kurn volunteers to be Worf's Cha'DIch, a second to stand with Worf during the challenge. Worf agrees, but warns Kurn to not reveal his bloodline just yet.

At the High Council, Duras reveals evidence of Mogh sending Khitomer's defense codes to the Romulans. Worf challenges this, but is told privately by the aging K'mpec, the Klingon Chancellor, to drop the challenge and return to the Federation. Worf discusses this curious request with Picard, who also finds it strange and orders his crew to examine the evidence. Meanwhile, Duras has ambushed Kurn, aware of his true bloodline, and attempts to get him to betray Worf. Kurn refuses and is seriously wounded in the ensuing fight, no longer able to support Worf in front of the Council. Picard accepts Worf's request to take Kurn's place.

The Enterprise crew finds evidence that the Khitomer logs have been modified and soon discover one more survivor of the massacre, Worf's nurse Kahlest. Picard is able to convince Kahlest to help Worf’s challenge; she knows Mogh was loyal to the Klingon Empire but does not know who the true traitor was. Picard brings Kahlest to the High Council and bluffs that she knows who the true traitor was, starting a heated dispute that is sure to end in needless bloodshed. Infuriated and as a means to halt the bickering, K'mpec calls Worf, Picard, Duras, and Kahlest into his private quarters and reveals the truth; the Council is well aware that Duras's father was the Khitomer traitor, but exposure of this, given Duras's high political position and capital, would certainly lead to an unwanted civil war within the already trouble-stricken Empire. The Council only accepted Duras's charge of treason against Mogh believing that Worf would not challenge it due to his Federation citizenship. To prevent further upheaval, K'mpec imparts that the Council will condemn Worf and Kurn, but Picard refuses to let this blatant injustice stand, thus creating a situation that could end the Klingon-Federation alliance. Worf, seeing what restoring his family's honor may cost, steps in and says he understands what he needs to do, that the only course of action for Worf is to accept a discommendation, tantamount to admitting his father's guilt. In exchange, the knowledge of the proceedings, including Kurn's true bloodline, will be undisclosed. Back in the council, all of the assembled Klingons, including a reluctant Kurn, ceremonially turn their back to Worf in disgrace, and he and Picard silently leave the hall.

Review:

This is probably the most influential episode of Next Generation in two key areas. First, a lot of what is now accepted canon regarding the Klingons, including showing their home world and the immortal line “today is a good day to die” are established here. Second, it’s the first episode to end in such a way that a follow-up story was virtually demanded, putting TNG on the path to ending its obsession with isolated one-shot episodes. By extension, it also made the eventual spin-off shows of Deep Space Nine and Voyager possible; neither of those shows could have enjoyed the great season-long/series-long story arcs that made them if TNG hadn’t first opened itself up to that same kind of story arc.

It’s a great Worf episode that nicely compensates for the lack of any issue exploration with how well if fleshes out Worf’s backstory and the Klingon race in general. It’s well-acted, and Tony Todd does a great job playing the role of Worf’s younger brother Kurn for the first time. The only downside is the lack of issue exploration means I’m not getting as much to talk about with this episode, but then I had more than enough to go at there with the previous episode. Overall, I give this episode 9 out of 10.

Episode 18: Allegiance

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Captain Picard, while sleeping in his quarters on the Enterprise after the successful completion of a mission, is abducted by an unknown device. He finds himself in a cell with two other prisoners: Starfleet Academy Cadet Haro from Bolarus IX; and civil servant Kova Tholl from Mizar II. They are later joined by the violent Esoqq from Chalnoth. While they have meager beds and facilities, their only source of nutrition is provided by a tasteless rubbery disk, which Esoqq is unable to eat. He moves toward Tholl as though to eat him, but Picard is able to dissuade Esoqq temporarily. Picard attempts to learn why the four of them have been abducted but can find no connection. Picard organizes Haro and Esoqq to attempt to break the lock on the only door to the cell. Initially foiled by a stun beam when they tamper with the controls, they manage to override the beam and then defeat the door's security, only to find a blank wall behind it.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, a doppelgänger of Picard has taken his place, ordering the ship to delay a scheduled rendezvous with another ship and travel slowly to a nearby pulsar. En route, Picard's double exhibits behaviour that the senior crew begins to question, such as showing romantic interest in Dr Crusher, as well as engaging the crew in singing "Heart of Oak", the official march of the Royal Navy, in Ten Forward. Upon reaching the pulsar, Picard's double orders the ship to be moved closer, potentially exposing the crew to lethal radiation. Commander Riker and the rest of the bridge crew refuse to follow his orders, effectively removing him from command due to his perceived unfitness for duty.

After discovering the false door in the cell, the real Picard deduces that Haro is not who she claims to be, as she knows details of a secret Starfleet mission that are unavailable to Academy cadets. Picard observes that the four different alien captives and the tightly controlled setting are suggestive of some kind of experiment: Tholl, the collaborator who goes along with whoever is in charge; Esoqq, typical for his species, a violent anarchist who rejects any kind of authority; Haro, the cadet, sworn to obey orders without question; and Picard, a leader, trained to command. Haro reveals herself to be not a Bolian, but a member an unidentified alien species. She reverts to her natural form and is joined by a second such alien; the two have been studying the concept of authority and leadership, as their race lacks hierarchical authority structures as humans and other races do. Because the captives' knowledge of the experiment has now made it impossible to continue collecting data on their natural behavior, the aliens return Picard, Tholl, and Esoqq to their respective original locations.

Aboard the Enterprise, Picard's double is also revealed to be of the same alien species, all members of which are in constant telepathic contact, which the aliens remark is far superior to the vocal communication used by the beings aboard the Enterprise. When Picard criticizes them for engaging in kidnapping and assault, the aliens express ignorance of the morality Picard espouses, and indicate that they will need to study this concept further. However, Picard uses a series of nonverbal cues to direct his crew to trap them within a force field, causing the aliens to panic as they are unable to bear captivity. After a few moments, he releases the field and allows them to go free, but warns them not to abduct others again.

Review:

This was apparently a second bottle episode that, in conjunction with ‘The Offspring’, was to off-set the over-spend used on ‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’. It’s also the first in a pair of Picard-centric episodes that go back-to-back but don’t inter-connect beyond who they focus on. According to notes on the Memory Alpha wiki, we’re supposed to getting inside Picard’s head a bit by having the real Picard getting landed in an alien race’s equivalent of a rat maze, while a Picard double conducts his own kind of experiment on the Enterprise, acting on aspects of Picard’s personality we don’t normally get to see. A key example of this is the Picard double acting on the real Picard’s past with, and attraction to, Beverly Crusher in a way the real Picard can’t.

In this sense, the episode is interesting, but falls flat in other areas. Not only do we not get to really learn what the aliens have learned from their study of leadership and authority, but when Picard temporarily imprisons two of them near the end of the episode, he claims imprisonment is an assault regardless of justification. I’m sorry, but the Enterprise has a brig, a ship’s jail, to imprison people who misbehave, and it’s been used twice this season already. Imprisonment is not an assault unless it is mis-used. What Picard should have been objecting to was abduction and being experimented on, not being imprisoned. The former would have made sense and been right, while the latter makes him look like a totally bloody hypocrite. Clearly this aspect of the episode was not well thought through, and as such I give this episode a meagre 6 out of 10.

Episode 19: Captain’s Holiday

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Strongly pressured by the crew of the Enterprise, Captain Picard reluctantly agrees to take a vacation on Risa, a pleasure planet. Shortly after he arrives, he is kissed by a woman he has never met, in her attempt to fend off a Ferengi named Sovak. Sovak accuses Picard of conspiring with the woman, Vash, who has in her possession a data disc that he wants. Picard has no interest in the quarrel and returns to his room to discover two "Vorgons" who identify themselves as time-traveling police agents from the 27th century, searching for a powerful weapon called the Tox Uthat capable of stopping the fusion reactions of a star. The 27th-century scientist who invented it travelled back in time to hide it. According to their historical records, Picard will locate this object on Risa.

Picard confronts Vash about the Tox Uthat. She claims to be the former assistant of an archaeologist who discovered the location of the Uthat, gave her the disc for safekeeping, and died. Picard and Vash use the information on the disc to determine the Uthat's hiding place. When they arrive at the location where the Uthat is buried, the Vorgons appear to witness the discovery of the Uthat. Sovak then arrives with a phaser rifle and has Picard and Vash excavate the site at gunpoint for hours. However, the Uthat is not there. The Vorgons leave, confused because this doesn't line up with their historical record. Sovak, in his obsession, refuses to believe that the Uthat isn't there, throws away the rifle, and starts digging while Vash and Picard return to the resort.

After their arrival, the Enterprise returns to pick up Picard. He catches Vash attempting to sneak away from the resort and surmises that she arrived days earlier, located the Uthat, and devised a ruse to fool Sovak into thinking the Uthat was lost. She reveals the hidden Uthat and the Vorgons reappear, demanding it. When Vash suggests that the Vorgons may have ulterior motives, Picard has the Enterprise use the transporter to destroy it. The disappointed Vorgons reveal that Picard has acted just as their records said by destroying the Uthat, admit defeat, and leave. Vash and Picard have a final intimate exchange before they say goodbye to each other.

Review:

This is the second Picard episode on the trot, and if you can bear with the interminable period between Picard’s arrival on Risa and him teaming up with Vash where he’s being very stiff and stubborn, not to mention guest actor Max Grodénchick’s character of Soval being the typical irksome Ferengi, then it’s a good episode. It’s got an interesting Picard-as-Indiana-Jones vibe to it, and apparently this was born out of Patrick Stewart noting his character had a lack of combat and seduction scenes, something this episode nicely compensates for. Part of this is done through the character of Vash, who makes a great foil for Picard from a romantic, moral and intellectual standpoint, and it’s fun to see the two of them together in this episode. Another part of it is the introduction of the pleasure planet Risa, which Trek returns to a few times in later episodes/series.

According to Memory Alpha, Gene Roddenberry was a major fan of the idea of Risa, and he wanted some same-sex couples in the background of the Risa resort scenes, echoing an idea Whoopi Goldberg had for ‘The Offspring’ regarding Guinan teaching Lal about flirting and romance. However, both times the other show-runners nixed this because back then network censors would never approve anything like that. Doubtless this is why Trek’s first same-sex kiss, and indeed one of the first lesbian kisses on TV ever, didn’t occur until the Deep Space Nine episode ‘Rejoined’, about five-and-a-half years after this episode. Have to say, this is the first time in a while where Roddenberry’s ideas about a TNG episode sound like good ideas to me.

My only real criticism of the episode beyond Picard’s initial scenes on Risa and Sovak’s initial scenes generally, and the network nixing of Roddenberry’s wishes, is the lack of any explanation for what the Risian custom of jamaharon. Throughout this episode and all subsequent uses of Risa in Trek, there is mention of people seeking this by displaying a Risian symbol of sexuality known as a horga'hn, but no one ever explicitly states the meaning of the word. Now granted, explaining anything connected to sexuality in the world of Trek could be seen as something TV just can’t allow, or at least not back when TNG first brought Risa to TV audiences, but I would think given the supposedly enlightened nature of the world of Trek, someone somewhere could have defined the meaning of this term more explicitly somewhere, even if it was just in some sort of tie-in literature. After all, there’s been plenty of other tie-in media, such as publishing the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition. Somehow, I think a tie-in book covering everything about a pleasure planet like Risa, including what jamaharon means, would not be an unreasonable idea. My score for this one is 7 out of 10.

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starship-imzadi · 4 years

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S3 E16 The Offspring

Red alert! 🖖🏻🚨 This is Jonathan Frakes' directorial debut!

"While commander Riker is away in personal leave..." Uh-huh.

When Troi says "you've never been a parent" of course she can say that with experience from "The Child" which was I'm sure was an odd parental experience. (Also, Nepenthe much!! This whole episode is an important set up in the star trek universe for Picard)

Data tries so hard to be human that he seems to forget some people will only see his end product and not his motivations.

This episode is a great follow up to "The Measure of a Man" and it seems to dance around (or circumvent) similar issues. Since we cannot prove or disprove self aware consciousness there's no real point to continuously dwelling on it in the plot. However, it remains as a central and integral part of any argument which involves synthetic life.

"and I am gender neuter. Inadequate"

This statement suggests that someone must have a gender to be "complete".

Data says "access your data bank on sexuality, level two" this immediately brings up an issues of conflating gender and sexuality, or conversely, the potential for interconnection between gender and sexuality. Would it be possible for Lal to choose a body that appeared as one sex, say female, and than "act" as a male gender? If Lal never chose a physical change would people begin to assign a gender to "it".

This brings up an additional issue since Lal is a synthetic life: even though Data is physically modeled after a male physiology Pulaski and Maddox still refered to Data as "it" not on account of his appearance but on account of being unwilling to recognise his life as more than his machinery. If we are without gender do we lose our humanity? And vise versa?

"[gender] is a decision that will affect how people will interrelate with you"

How true this is.

"I chose your sex and appearance" could Lal conceivably choose Deanna's appearance but not her sex?

I'd like to explore an idea of gender as analogous to language. There's a linguistic term "idiolect" which denotes the specific way a single person uses a language; it's the idiosyncrasies of the way a person uses language that no one, not even family members, share. I might speaks English with a specific dialect but at the most individual level my understanding of the words I use, and how I pronounce them, as a whole are part of my idiolect. Gender could be defined in the same way.

My gender, however it is categorised, is a collection of my actions. The gender I choose, (or the gender society acknowledges) is based in my behaviour, my mannerisms, and my interactions with people around me. However, there is a level of individuality within that. Troi's behavior, that is categorised as gender, is that of a woman and yet it is not exactly the same behaviour that Dr. Crusher exhibits. They are both, however, identify as women and fit within societies parameters for what constitutes "femininity". (Even take it a step from there and ask does Troi's gender as a woman manifest like Marina's gender as a woman?)

Lal however can choose not only sex but also species. I don't know what to say about that.

"Why is the sky black?"

Wait, is that another admiral?

I love that even though Picard isn't fond of children, and he doesn't understand exactly how Data sees Lal as a child, but he will still defend Data and Lal at any cost against anyone who might threaten them.

"I can give her attention, Doctor, but I am incapable of giving her love."

Well hello to Patrick's chest. I think this is the first time we see Picard in pyjamas.

It is odd from a practical stand point that Data never managed contractions.

Data clearly has some gaps on the programming he passed on to Lal... you'd think basic body language would be in there.

Poor Riker. He walks in to ten forward sees someone new (the Enterprise typically has just over 1,000 people. That's like a small town.) He opens the conversation for an introduction and this new person pulls him onto the bar and forcibly kisses him without his consent. I've seen a number of people list this amongst Riker's flirtations and I cannot abide that. You can see him push against the bar trying to get away. Of course Riker is the "adult" in the interaction but Lal is significantly strong and clearly has no understanding of social norms. Also, Riker is clearly embarrassed even before he learns Lal is Data's daughter (at which point he becomes more embarrassed and flustered).

It's interesting that Lal says holding hands is a symbolic gesture of affection. I would argue that this is largely untrue. Sure, you might hold someone's hand to signal to her that you care for her, or to the people around you that you care for her. But this doesn't account for the human physiological response to physical contact. One of the purest examples to demonstrate is "kangaroo care". New born babies, especially premies, have better health and a higher survival rate when they have regular skin to skin contact with their care provider, either men or women. The baby is unaware of the gesture and it's not just because they are being held. The benefits specifically come from skin to skin contact, barriers like cloth in between diminish the positive results. Human benefits from having positive physical contact beyond the self awareness of it.

That shot of the conference room looks new; I don't think anything like it has been done at any point in there aeries up until now.

Data doesn't really address his lack of feeling, it's just stated that he doesn't feel. But even human emotions are not really understood. Emotions present meaaurabo as physiological responses: increased heart rate, change in skin temperature, tears, etc. But science has been unable to identify clearly if 1. the emotion is the physiological response, 2. emotion is initiated by the physiological response, or, if in fact, 3. our perception of emotion is the cumulative phycological interpretation of the physiological response. In some respects it a question of where the brain ends and the mind begins.

"there are times, sir, when men of good conscious cannot blindly follow orders."

Geordi, Deanna, and Wes standing outside look like they're waiting at a hospital.

This admiral is the typical Starfleet arrogant asshole but his admiration for Data once he sees him try to save Lal's life is actually really moving.

Geordi comforting Troi is sweet; they don't typically interact that much.

Jonathan's hair looks amazingly normal at the end. i.e. more like Jonathan less like Riker.

Engage.

Jonathan is known as a director for finding the very human and emotionally authentic aspects of a story and this episode, as his first time in the director's chair, is a wonderful start for that reputation.

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