Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch (oh god no)

[mothman]

I would love to see this episode made again but in 2 parts and by Adam Curtis, "What Picard realised was that Starfleet had become corrupted by paranoia and he believed he could deal with it, what he did next was revolutionary" etc etc etc

DATA: *turns around in his chair at the Ops console* But this was a fantasy-
PICARD: Shut up, Data!

Mothy's Log, supplemental: That's two posts in a row I've had to edit to insert a quote to give it context, after I ended up at the top of a new page...

[elliszeroed]

Watching "The Drumhead" as an early teen on Sky One, this episode seemed revalationary, one of the best episodes of TV I had ever seen. Watching it again as an adult. it still feels scary but still fairly one-dimensional concerning it's ethics.

[Wonderful Butternut]

Satie is a caricature alright, and her flipping out at the end isn't that plausible for a real human being, but I think that works ok for the story. I read it as showing that people like her, once you scratch beneath the surface, have little other than screeching about how other people are bad - because of who they are, where they're from, or because they're not patriotic and loyal enough - in their locker.

As for the story flow, whilst Air Crash Investigations Starfleet Division sort out the warp core accident, there is still the possibility that J'Dan got help to sneak info to the Romulans. And Picard does accept this as sufficient basis to continue investigating the crew. He doesn't really try to put the brakes on it until Sabin starts making shit up[nb]Nitpick: Surely Riker knows that there's no evidence of sabotage to the dilithium chamber and should intervene?[/nb] in the inquiry to force Tarses to confess to involvement in the Kennedy Assassination, or whatever.

Is this a ridiculous thing for Satie and Sabin to do if they're looking for the truth rather than just trying to find a 'guilty' party to hold up? Maybe. But Satie admits she's basically invested her entire life and self-worth in this sort of stuff, it's not out of the question that at some point she subconsciously became more interested in 'winning' and continuing to prove her worth (to both Starfleet and herself) than getting to the truth of what's going on.

Maybe it's something that would've been better as a 2 parter, so we could've fleshed Satie out and made her more relatable, and spent more time dealing with Worf being drawn in, but the episode is ok as is, imo.

And of course in the real world, the alt-right co-opted Picard's speech as meaning that people should be allowed say whatever racist shit they like and if they're stopped or deplatformed everyone's freeze peach is irrevocably damaged. Because of course they did.

[The Culture Bunker]

I did wonder if all the times Worf was denied the chance to blow up spaceships led to him being so gung-ho in this episode, when given the opportunity to really fuck up somebody's day.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Don't forget that Worf has personal beef with the Romulans given that a) they killed his family b) at this point in the series, as far as anybody knows he's accepted discommendation from the Klingon Empire because his father was a Romulan traitor. He's already good and pissed off with J'Dan (goes so far as to deliver him a nice beating IIRC), it's not so unbelievable that he'd see a guy who lied about having a Romulan grandfather as doing so maliciously, rather than to avoid, uhm, the very thing that's happening to him.

[Lemming]

S4E22 - Half a Life

Lwaxana falls in love with a man who will soon be killed as part of a ritual.

- Yessss it's Lwaxana. Picard tries to shake her off but she manages to insert herself into a big important meeting regardless.

- A scientist called Timicin beams aboard as a representative from some weird new aliens, who we know jack shit about because they're reclusive. Lwaxana strides directly over to him and asks him out to dinner. Because Timicin has excellent taste in romantic partners, he (sort of) agrees.

- The sun that heats Timicin's planet is fading. Timicin has theories on how to revive it, but will require the tech of a starship, which is why they've reached out to the Federation.

-
PLEASE MADAM THAT IS A TORPEDO LAUNCH INITIATOR

- Two massive laughs in a row - first the above, and then Lwaxana walking right past Troi to greet Timicin.

-

RIKER: Mrs Troi, I have to ask you to clear the bridge, please.
LWAXANA: I don't see why. There are lots of other people here.

Best character in TNG by a country mile.

- MR HOMN and Lwaxana come to Engineering to destroy Geordi's hard work and serve everyone lunch on a glittery pink tablecloth.

- Lwaxana keeps throwing herself at Timicin, and learns more about him and his planet in the process. Timicin is way into it, but suddenly becomes serious and sadly declines when Lwaxana invites him into her quarters.

- Troi hovers around being an absolute killjoy while Lwaxana cycles through her wardrobe to design the ultimate COCK-HUNTER OUTFIT. Meanwhile, on the bridge, the crew prepare to test Timicin's theory by firing shielded torpedoes into a test sun's core. It works too well and the sun explodes.

- Timicin's upset by his theory being a mega-flop and goes to Ten Forward to drink sadly. Lwaxana swoops in to cheer him up by chattering at length. Timicin regrets that he and Lwaxana didn't meet years ago, as when Timicin reaches his home planet, he'll die.

- Picard and Riker speak to a planetary representative who's polite but shady and evasive, and demands that Timicin be returned ASAP. Lwaxana comes in and tells them the truth - Timicin is to be killed because he is 60 years old, and that's the way things are done on this planet. This execution will take the form of a big party where all his pals and family show up and celebrate his life, then kill him.

- Lwaxana asks for help, Picard invokes the Prime Directive. Lwaxana says the Prime Directive sucks shit and that she'll find a way to stop Timicin's death on her own. O'Brien subsequently gets an earful.

- Lwaxana goes to Timicin's quarters and tells him she thinks the death-ritual is horrific. It goes well and everything turns romantic. Afterwards, Timicin tries to explain the rationale behind the Resolution, which is what the ritual is called. It's ancient, about 20 centuries old, and came about because the aging population, with no one to care for them, ended up in "deathwatch facilities" where they would spend their last years in loneliness. According to the values of this society, in Timicin's words, "they had meant something, and they were forced to live beyond that, into a time of meaning nothing". This was seen as cruel, and the Resolution is considered progressive.

- Timicin's explanation doesn't land with Lwaxana, who calls the Resolution a form of murder, and a poor excuse for not having a proper healthcare system. Timicin's response is that such a system would put an unfair burden on the younger generations, and that no parent should expect to be cared for by their children.

- This whole scene is extremely impressive and a fairly rare example of an issue in TNG not being presented as black and white (nice antidote to The Drumhead IMO) so here's some of it quoted verbatim:

LWAXANA: Why 60? Why not 62, or 58?
TIMICIN: A reasonable age had to be set.
LWAXANA: But it's not reasonable. Certainly not in your case. You're as vital and healthy a man as I've ever known.
TIMICIN: That is why I wish to say goodbye to my family and colleagues while I am this way, in complete command of my faculties, knowing they will always remember me as a strong and vigorous man.
LWAXANA: But it makes no sense. Some of your people could still be active at 70 or 80, and others might be seriously ill at 50. How cruel of you to make them wait so long to commit suicide.
TIMICIN: Setting a standard age for the Resolution makes it uniform for everybody. To ask individual families to decide when their elders are to die, that would be heartless.
LWAXANA: I agree. Why not let everybody die when they die?

- Lwaxana argues that customs/traditions have no value on their own, and should be re-examined and overthrown, citing the example of a Betazoid woman who refused to wear strange wigs with living animals in them that all Betazoid women were expected to wear. The custom collapsed quickly.

- Love Lwaxana's finishing line, after Timicin says that his "time has come": "Well, if that's the case, I don't know why anyone's bothering to try and save your planet at all. If it's time has come, let it die." LWAXANA OWNS TIMICIN WITH FACTS AND LOGIC

- Later, Timicin works with Geordi and Data to figure out what went wrong with his theory. He's getting closer, but there's no time because it's DEATH DAY. He goes to Picard to ask for asylum.

- Shady Planetary Ambassador Guy is furious with Timicin, who says that the Resolution ought to be re-examined. In response, they send crap warships to threaten the Enterprise. They also cut off all contact with Timicin and refuse to download his updated theories. Timicin decides to go kill himself just to avoid the ball-ache.

- Timicin's daughter, Dara, played by PRE-LAREN MICHELLE FORBES, has come aboard. She begs Timicin to come and enjoy his death party. Lwaxana says that the Resolution is a load of shit and Dara tells her to fuck off. She goes on to explain how upsetting Timicin's decision is:

DARA: Where will you go?
TIMICIN: I don't know.
DARA: And where will you die? I cannot bear the thought of you being laid to rest on some other world. That you will not lie beside my mother. That I will not be able to lie beside you when my Resolution comes. I'm sorry. I don't know how you can go on with your life knowing that each day you live is an insult to everything we believe in. Father, I love you. But I am ashamed.

- Later, Timicin comes to tell Lwaxana that he's going back to commit the resolution.

LWAXANA: You're going back.
TIMICIN: Do you believe I love you? I do, you know. But finally, if that is my only reason to stay alive...
LWAXANA: It's not enough.
TIMICIN: Almost. Almost... but not quite. I can't be that selfish, Lwaxana. I am not the person to lead the revolt.

HEART-RENDING

- Lwaxana is given permission to go down and join the DEATH DAY PARTY.

This is excellent, but first let's get the episode's big mis-step out of the way. It's only a short scene, but it undermines the episode quite a bit. The planet's response to Timicin's refusal to participate in the ritual is to send warships in an attack posture and refuse to even acknowledge his new research. This response makes the planet seem like a death cult who will respond with violence if you, uh, refuse to be killed. This is damaging to the overall message and theme of the plot, later reaffirmed with the Michelle Forbes scene, which requires the resolution to be a deeply-held belief system based on logical principles and values, not something that's enforced through the threat of force.

If you ignore that, this is one of the all-time best episodes of TNG in my view, in no small part due to an absolute bollock-shattering performance by the always vastly underrated Majel Barrett. It opens as a typical Lwaxana comedy episode and packs some pretty good jokes into a short space of time, and then we move into the main plot, which requires Barrett to convincingly portray vulnerability, fear, conviction, love, etc, and she proves to be more than equal to the task.

What's really refreshing about this though is - if you ignore the planet's stupidly zealous response to Timicin's decision to leave - it's not really a black and white situation and, in what I'd argue is a rarity for TNG, it doesn't try to tell you what you ought to think. You might agree with Lwaxana, you might agree with Timicin and his ultimate decision, you might take Picard's stance of "I refuse to have a stance on this", and the episode works fantastically wherever you stand. We've got a situation here that's murky and that you can't totally bring your own morals to because there's practical considerations beyond your (and Lwaxana's) likely initial response of "this ritual is murder".

While there's a big ethical issue to think about here, that's not all the episode offers, because the whole debate is propelled by the Lwaxana and Timicin romance, which is incredibly effective and takes an already great plot up to the next level.

9/10, would be my first 10/10 if the planet's response was just portrayed a bit more reasonably to keep things as totally ambiguous and messy as they need to be.



^ That's 9 Daras out of 10 in this case, I suppose.

[daf]

095 | "Half A Life"



A Dying Son

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Highlights :
• The Handshake Sketch
• Mr Homn's Pink Hanky Spread
• "Please, Madame! That is a torpedo launch initiator, and, it is Worf, Madame, not Woof."
• Complimentary Pity-Shag
• The Betazoid Wig-Bird Sketch
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Bits :
• The Double-Gorbachev
• Split-level Shirt
• Torpedo Sun-BLAMM-O!!
• Death Begins at 60
• The Lunatics are talking over the Asylum
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Score :

[The Culture Bunker]

I'd forgotten soon-to-be-dead lad in this was played by Major Winchester from MASH.

[Mr Trumpet]

Every now and then the show likes to remind us how trivial it is to blow up a star, and then they just leave it out there and never worry too much about the implications.

[Blumf]

Kinda fails on the 'hard' sci-fi level too. Being that it takes centuries for stuff happening in a stellar core to reach the surface. Your not going to see any result in a lifetime, with our without the 'Resolution'

[MojoJojo]

Yup, it's a good episode. Nice to have guest characters who don't just chew the scenery. The Dara scene could easily have been pointless padding but it's played effectively.

^^^ the accelerated star kablooie is a pretty acceptable thing for a 45 minute show. If they had more continuity maybe they could have come back next season to take more measurements and realised it had all gone wrong then. What I think is a bit harder is Timicin and Lwaxana falling in love 10 minutes. I sort of think a lot of tng episodes make more sense if you assume they are spread out over a couple of weeks, it's a shame they never make the timescale more explicit.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Kinda fails on the 'hard' sci-fi level too.

Come on now. Faster than light travel is possible and everything works because of [TECH], and we all agree to accept that because the reality of space travel is boring and very limited.

[Lemming]

S4E23 - The Host

Bev falls in love with an alien who's mind transfers between bodies.

- Here come the Trill. DS9 changed the rules a bit, so it's interesting to see how weird and ambiguous a lot of the symbiont stuff is here.

- Bev is engaged in romance with Odan, a guy with 80s romance novel cover art hair. Data's accidental cockblocking techniques are off the charts.

-

ODAN: Do you know, when I first met the formidable Doctor Beverly - what, ten days ago - I thought to myself, 'this woman is ice through to her bones'. Who would have ever guessed that instead of ice, there is fire.

I recognise neither of these as a description of Beverly Crusher. She's more like a stagnant puddle of water.

-

ODAN: Then you may go, Doctor Beverly.
CRUSHER: It's just Beverly.
ODAN: Not just Beverly. It's Beverly's smile, it's her kindness, her beauty, within and without. So much more than just Beverly.

Howled at this, absolutely outstanding. After the genuinely real and moving romance we got between Lwaxana and Timicin in the previous episode, we're now back to the standard type of romance - lines that most fanfiction writers would discard as too cringey.

- "The situation is growing progressively worse," the Federation ambassador says grimly. The camera then pans to show Riker grinning like a maniac. I think he's meant to be mocking Bev for coming into the meeting late, but the time between the word "worse" and the full shot of Riker being all giddy is about one second.

- And then a few seconds later he follows Odan with this weird suspicious look!

- The planet needs help because it's got two inhabited moons - Alpha Moon and Beta Moon - who are constantly feuding. Alpha Moon is causing GLOBAL WARMING on Beta Moon, forcing Beta Moon to prepare for war, so it's time for the Federation to get its dick stuck in.

- Odan insists on taking the shuttle and outright refuses to beam down, despite the apparent threat of anti-air fire against the shuttle. Troi thinks something's up with that.

- Troi and Bev head to the barbers to get their nails painted (multi-purpose place!). At least it's not the gymnastics hall of mirrors this time. There's a Bolean running it, but it's not Mot! Troi tells Bev about the Weird Feelings she's getting off Odan.

- Picard endures the agony of Odan talking about how hot and cool Bev is right in front of him.

- "Commander Riker's asked to pilot you himself, Ambassador!" Uh oh.

- In the resultant shuttle disaster, Odan is seriously injured. In sickbay, the medical readings turn out to be totally bananas, and Bev diagnoses him with a parasite. But of course, as we already know but audiences in 1991 didn't, he's a Trill!

- "This body is just a host. I am that parasite." The episode confirms that when you get symbiont'd, you literally become the symbiont, so it works differently from DS9 I guess. But what became of the person in the body the Odan symbiont occupied? He refers to it only as "the host body", and a "replacement" can be sent by the Trill government. How are these people sourced?! Do they volunteer? Is it considered an honour to die in order to sustain a symbiont?

- The symbiont is fucked without a host. Riker heroically volunteers to carry the symbiont until a Trill replacement is sent, even though it's never been tried before and he might end up with his knob stuck to his head or something if it goes wrong.

- After the surgery, Riker's consciousness has now been replaced by Odan's. I wonder where Riker's mind, or "soul", is during this? Can he like, see what's happening but not move his own body?

- Odan, in Riker's body, will now be able to carry out the peace talks. He's slightly dizzy, though, indicating that something is horrifically wrong. Bev comes to check on him and he commences the romance talk. Bev freaks out for a bit while Odan tries to reassure her that he is the same person she was in love with, even though he's now in the body of Starfleet's top officer.

- Troi comes to Ten Forward for a drink and winds up in one of her trademark impromptu therapy sessions. Bev says it's impossible to continue her relationship with Odan because he's now got the flabby body of Will Riker. Bev tells Troi about the first boy she ever loved, and Troi responds that the first man she ever loved was her own father. Um

- Everything's going horribly wrong because a symbiont was never meant to be in a human body. Odan succeeds at the first round of talks regardless.

- Later, Bev visits Odan's quarters and they wind up kissing passionately. Just me or does this seem very disrespectful to Riker? Riker selflessly agrees to save Odan's life, and in return Odan uses his body for Romantic Purposes, while Bev goes along with it (earlier acknowledging the weirdness of the whole situation since she views Riker "like a brother"). Made even worse by the fact that Riker's body is decaying from symbiont-induced illness while all this happens. Obviously a kiss isn't a big deal, but there's many more implications if you take the kiss-and-fade-to-black as an implication of shagging, as it traditionally is in TV.

- The next day, Odan's been properly fucked, and not just potentially by Bev - the illness is worse. Odan insists that, if it comes down to it, he be removed in order to save Riker's life. The negotiations are a success and peace is assured, but Riker's body is now totally fried.

- Bev removes Odan and places him in stasis, where he is visibly breathing heavily. Either I don't know what "stasis" means, or the props department don't, probably the former. Anyway, the new Trill host arrives and Bev is surprised to see that this person is a woman. What happens to her?! Why did she agree to this?! Her mind will be gone!

- Riker is saved, and Odan is successfully planted into the new host. Odan waltzes into Bev's office to put the moves on her once again, but Bev finally realises that she's not up to the challenge of being in a relationship with a weird slug who flips between many different bodies, and so she is forced to reject Odan.

Interesting concept in the Trill, but the Odan-Beverly romance doesn't really work. It's more interesting on a theoretical level than an emotional level - the weirdness of Bev's new boyfriend suddenly becoming Riker and then becoming a stranger of the opposite sex is fascinating and sort of darkly funny, but with the episode not quite succeeding at putting any real emotion behind it, a cool idea is all it really is.

Maybe other people will find it emotionally affecting, who knows, but for me Odan was a total bore, Bev is as much of a nonentity as ever, and there wasn't any chemistry between them and so the romance had no real punch to it. It's nice to get a Bev episode since she typically gets fuck-all to do, but I can't help but wonder if another character might have worked better in the main role of this one.

Mentioned it throughout but the dynamic of Odan just using up hosts with no real care for them is really interesting to me. We never even learn the first guy's name, Odan just calls him "the host body" and talks about aquiring a "replacement" like it's no big deal. He offers to sacrifice himself to save Riker, but he doesn't seem to give a shit about the two Trill hosts, nor does the host at the end seem to give a shit about the fact she's about to, for all intents and purposes, die. As if all this is normalised, and Odan thinks it's fine to go through host bodies at the rate some people go through underwear, and the hosts themselves agree and are happy for the opportunity. I can't remember in what ways DS9 expanded on this - other than making it so that you don't get erased, but rather merge with the slug's memories - but that'd be a hell of an interesting concept, a society where sacrificing yourself to save a big slug thing is considered a great honour and something to be aspired towards. 5/10

[Wonderful Butternut]

In DS9 being selected for joining is a massive honour and you go through shitloads of testing to see are you compatible for joining.[nb]Of course this all revealed to be partly a sham because in actuality nearly 50% of Trill can be joined successfully, rather than the small percentage that they let on[/nb] It's presented as pretty much the pinnacle of their society and something most of them would love. Although that should be caveated by noting that we see this through the eyes of Jadzia, who wanted to joined.

As you say the consciousness of the host and the symbiont are joined, rather than the symbiont taking over. The host is less important than the symbiont, though: When Dax could die because of the murderer's memories resurfacing, they go to disconnect it[nb]? What gender is a symbiont?[/nb] from Jadzia, even though that'll result in Jadzia's death. Although I don't think there's quite the same suggestion in DS9 that the host is a completely unimportant, disposable commodity that we see here.

You could do some handwaving if you really wanted to: Maybe Odan the symbiont is a bit of a dick about his hosts, or just doesn't have the time to explain the complexities of it because he's dying, and the reason Odan completely subsumes Riker's personality is because Riker is a human rather than a Trill. Of course the real reason is they had to flesh the idea out a lot more for a full time character vs. a once off.

[MojoJojo]

Isn't it half the point of the symbionts, which is consistent between TNG and DS9, that they're genderless? Possibly sexless, although I don't think where new symbionts come from is ever covered, and on earth asexual reproduction is limited to simpler organisms.

but that'd be a hell of an interesting concept, a society where sacrificing yourself to save a big slug thing is considered a great honour and something to be aspired towards.

You just know all the positions of power would be held by slugs.

[Mr_Simnock]

Isn't it half the point of the symbionts, which is consistent between TNG and DS9, that they're genderless? Possibly sexless, although I don't think where new symbionts come from is ever covered, and on earth asexual reproduction is limited to simpler organisms.
You just know all the positions of power would be held by slugs.

Lol that's just it isn't it, they would have lives long enough to know all the systems of power and manipulation very well. It would be quite a corrupt society but like here with enough folk to go along with it and maintain it.

[daf]

096 | "The Host"



I can see by the look on your face that you've got Ringworm

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Highlights :
• The Lift-Snog Sketch
• Fairy Liquid Finger-Dip
• Blue-Bonce Background Barber
• Bejewelled Belly-Weevil
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Bits :
• Picard's Awkward Robo-Hug
• Trill Riker
• Ill Riker
• Lady-Host Lesbiombshell
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Score :

[Mr Trumpet]

You just know all the positions of power would be held by slugs.

I think there's a rule that they can't hold political office. I might be making that up though.

[Blumf]

How come all the Federation's negotiators are pains in the arses that can't be replaced? This Odan slug, and that aggressively dull mute guy with the three people who speak for him, come to mind. Even in TOS they seemed like a bunch of cunts, like that one who was a complete arsehole dealing with that planet that was simulating attacks (A Taste of Armageddon)

As a group, they seem like bigger cunts than Star Fleet admirals.

Anyway, Bev confirmed TERF?

[daf]

This raised an eyebrow :

"Perhaps it is a human failing, but we are not accustomed to these kinds of changes."

Bev speaking for ALL humans there, apparently!

The show's rejection of the idea of same-sex couple seems very dated these days, never mind the 24th sodding century! Even more puzzling, as I would have thought Gene 'Hugh Hefner' Roddenberry would be well up for it - the dirty old goat!

[Wonderful Butternut]

Two words, daf.

Rick

Berman

[Lemming]

To offer an alternative take on the ending, I thought it was a clear attempt at being progressive that sort of went a bit weird and got confused with itself. Bev's dialogue doesn't really mention that Odan (or his host body, you know what I mean) has changed sex, only that in her view humans weren't meant to deal with this level of upheaval and uncertainty:

BEV: Perhaps it is a human failing, but we are not accustomed to these kinds of changes. I can't keep up. How long will you have this host? What would the next one be? I can't live with that kind of uncertainty. Perhaps, someday, our ability to love won't be so limited.
ODAN: I understand.

Of course, it's so mealy-mouthed that it's not clear what the metaphor actually is, so it can come across as if she's saying "humans were never meant to be gay/bi" but then she hits us with the fridge magnet worthy quote of "someday our ability to love won't be so limited", so presumably it's trying to say something vaguely progressive but it's hard to tell what.

But people across the internet labelling the ending or Bev as homophobic confuse me, because she's ostensibly heterosexual*, so naturally the relationship will start to disintegrate if her partner has suddenly switched sex. Like if Riker (who again, I'm presuming is meant to be completely straight) had a girlfriend-of-the-week who was suddenly transferred into the body of, to quote Blackadder, "a huge Yorkshireman with a beard like a rhododendron bush", it'd be tough/impossible to continue the relationship.

*although maybe not, given her reasons for dumping Odan at the end don't include it. Plus, there's no heterosexual explanation for that crazy gymnastics-in-a-hall-of-mirrors scene she had with Troi

There is something to be said in how Berman-era Star Trek only ever dared to approach the topic of homosexuality by hiding behind crazy sci-fi concepts, though - I remember a really good episode of DS9 where Jadzia's former lover returns in a female body and they try to rekindle things, and Enterprise has the accidental comedy masterpiece of the T'Pol AIDS episode. It's always treated as an unusual concept or an issue to be explored through metaphor, whereas heterosexual relationships are just taken for granted. Of course, just having one of the bridge crew simply not be heterosexual would have had a thousand times more impact than any number of "here are some aliens who can be read as a bit gay and our crew are going to say 'well there's nothing wrong with that' then fly off" type episodes.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Yeah I don't see Crusher as homophobic here. Many, many people prefer one gender over the others. But the episode was written by people in the 1990s and the show was run by someone who wasn't having any of that gay stuff in case moms got upset and wrote nasty letters, at least according to him.

On Trill society in general, I can't believe I never thought of this before, but since the symbiont transfers all its memories to the new host (or at least makes them accessible to the new host), isn't it possible the symbionts are responsible in part for this idea that "oh being joined is a Great Honour"? Do we know how long the Trill have existed as a symbiotic species? Because if it stretches back to pre-technological days then those symbionts were definitely slithering up the hosts' assholes, possibly without so much as a by your leave. It's why they all swim around in a pond now and there's only 500 a year available for joining. "Thank fuck they finally invented surgery, no more crawling up dirty ringpieces".

[Chollis]

Trill symbionts just remind me of the baddies in Animorphs. Horrible little slugs

[Wonderful Butternut]

Yeah I don't see Crusher as homophobic here. Many, many people prefer one gender over the others. But the episode was written by people in the 1990s and the show was run by someone who wasn't having any of that gay stuff in case moms got upset and wrote nasty letters, at least according to him.

On Trill society in general, I can't believe I never thought of this before, but since the symbiont transfers all its memories to the new host (or at least makes them accessible to the new host), isn't it possible the symbionts are responsible in part for this idea that "oh being joined is a Great Honour"? Do we know how long the Trill have existed as a symbiotic species? Because if it stretches back to pre-technological days then those symbionts were definitely slithering up the hosts' assholes, possibly without so much as a by your leave. It's why they all swim around in a pond now and there's only 500 a year available for joining. "Thank fuck they finally invented surgery, no more crawling up dirty ringpieces".

Trills have joined since at least the 1100s apparently, so a less than consensual process is plausible at some point. But going through either the arse or the mouth would at some point involve puncturing through a critical part of the digestive system to get into the current location in the abdominal cavity, so unless the symbionts could do something to the host's metabolism to make them heal up really quickly, the may have had another method of ingress.

Plus any time they go into the history of a non-human species in Star Trek, the implication on most is that they developed faster than light travel, and therefore presumably the prerequisite industrial and technological revolutions, earlier than humans did, and humans have advanced at an abnormally quick rate since First Contact to catch up. Vulcans for example are said to have been in space since something like the 15th century[nb]Although slower societal advancement for them makes sense since they live to be 200[/nb], and the Bajoran solar sailing ships were being used in the 16th.

Then again, I'm probably just overanalysing Sci Fi here.

[mothman]

The notion of human beings eventually moving beyond gender as the basis of sexual attraction, to become a truly pansexual species, is a common utopian SF trope especially in the free-loving 60s and 70s. It's one possible end-state but not necessarily the most likely however much people might want it to happen. So it's that likelihood, and the time it'll take if it does happen, which plays a large part in how Bev's decision is judged.

I mean, say you've been with someone, of whichever gender you prefer your sexual partner to be, a long time and they decide to transition. Could you say with absolute certainty that you'd be OK with it? That you'd still love them the same as before? I'll be honest, personally I don't know if I could. That may make me old-fashioned, unreconstructed, a cryptoTERF, whatever. I genuinely don't know how I'd feel or react. I'd like to think I'd do the right thing. But I can't say for sure.

I'm probably diverging wildly from the point I'm trying to make. Bev might have had an experimental youth and decide when all the dust settled that she prefers men. Or perhaps the way the Trill are portrayed (in this episode anyway) played a large part. Odan treats whatever body he happens to be occupying as a meat puppet. That has to be a bit of a turn-off, but then again it didn't give Bev pause when the meat puppet was Riker-flavour!

[Lemming]

Yeah, some people are just naturally/innately heterosexual or homosexual, I thought. I don't follow a lot of the discourse or research around this and I'm bisexual (which I feel is probably innate - definitely can't think of any environmental factor that would have caused it) so I don't personally have the experience of not being attracted to someone on orientation grounds, but I don't see how a future where everyone's into everyone is possible given how many people report experiencing exclusively hetero- or homo-sexual attraction IRL. It's definitely an interesting idea to explore in sci-fi, though, and having said all that, apparently our closest animal relative - the bonobo - shag like maniacs without regard to physical characteristics as a form of greeting, a form of farewell, even as a celebration upon finding food, so maybe that's where we're headed one day. Warp drive activates the bonobo genes, is my fan theory.

I do like that Bev doesn't actually mention her orientation, and leaves it ambiguous by talking instead about how it's just too much of a challenge to keep up with someone who changes into totally new physical forms at unpredictable times, potentially at the cost of the life/mind of the host. There's a lot of cool things you can read into Bev's avoidance of the elephant in the room - maybe she's genuinely not bothered and would be open to/has already had a relationship with a woman, maybe sexual orientation isn't really a thing (or is somehow looked upon negatively by wider human society) in the 24th century, etc.

[Lemming]

S04E24 - The Mind's Eye

Romulans kidnap Geordi and program him to subconsciously respond to commands in a plot to turn him into an unwilling assassin.

- Geordi harasses the Enterprise computer by asking it to generate a ridiculously specific piece of music to match his absurdly narrow taste profile. The fun is ruined when a Romulan ship hovers ominously in front of the shuttle and whisks Geordi away by transporter.

- The Enterprise welcomes a Klingon ambassador, Kell, aboard. A Klingon colony is rebelling and fighting for independence, and the governor has accused the Federation of aiding and supplying the rebels. Kell has asked for Picard personally. Picard prepares to be dragged into yet another round of nightmarish Klingon internal politics.

- Geordi's put in the PAIN CHAIR aboard the Romulan ship. (gasp) Who's this strangely-familiar-sounding Romulan whose face we never see??? We'll have to tune in next season to find out!!!

- A Romulan agent who has been made to appear identical to Geordi goes to Risa, while the real Geordi is tortured with scary shit being projected into his retinas by the AGONY MACHINE.

- The Romulans take Geordi, who is now well out of it, into a holodeck recreation of Ten Forward where holo-O'Brien is sitting. Geordi is ordered to kill him, and mindlessly agrees. How do the Romulans have knowledge of O'Brien enough to make an accurate holographic recreation of him?! Taken from Geordi's mind, I guess.

- Geordi returns to the Enterprise and believes he's been on Risa the whole time. Troi senses something weird but chalks it up to Geordi having too much fun on his weird Berman-approved sex holiday.

- The governor presents evidence of Federation interference - hundreds of phaser rifles. It goes so badly that Picard is called a TAAAAH-KECK.

- Geordi walks into Ten Forward and sees O'Brien at a desk. The Manchurian Candidate shit kicks in and he waltez over and dumps a drink on him. Outstanding getting-a-drink-poured-on-him acting from Colm.

- Data and Geordi check out one of the captured phaser rifles and find out that it's way better than the usual janky shitty Federation rifles. A "random computer search" will reveal who's been messing about with the rifles, but there's no need, because Geordi reckons it's the Romulans.

- The governor is coming round to the idea, but then Geordi goes weird again and teleports weapons to the surface, ensuring that the governor will detect them. He does, and sends Birds of Prey up to scare the Enterprise.

- Geordi, who has no memory of being Manchurian'd, starts investigating his own transporter fuckery. Kell has calmed the governor for now, and wants to transport down to the planet in person to continue.

- Geordi enters Kell's quarters in Manchurian Mode. Kell is behind it all, and gives Geordi the instruction to assassinate the governor during a big meeting tomorrow.

- That night, he can't sleep, and Bev diagnoses him with potential VISOR FUCKUP SYNDROME. Later, Kell, the governor, and a group of VIPs come aboard and head to the cargo bay for a meeting.

- Data's spent the whole episode looking into weird E-band transmissions, and redoubles his efforts under Riker's instructions. He begins to piece together what's happening as Geordi gets a phaser and heads for the Big Importnat Meeting.

- Geordi's already glaring at the governor. Data finally gets it and tells Worf to arrest Geordi immediately. Worf calls out and warns Picard, who manages to wrench Geordi's arm away just as he opens fire. Fucking excellent work from the CGI department on that phaser beam! It tracks with the prop perfectly!

- Data explains everything to Picard and the governor and clears Geordi's name. Picard and Data suggest that all parties agree to a search for hidden E-band transmitters. Kell refuses:

KELL: I am a Klingon, an emissary of the High Council. I will not be submit to being searched by you or anyone else on this ship.
GOVERNOR: I am forced to agree, captain. We will take the ambassador with us... and search him ourselves.
KELL: ...Captain. I believe it to be in all our best interests if I remain on board. I formally request asylum.
PICARD: I will certainly grant you asylum... when you have been absolved of this crime.

Jesus! He just sent him to his death! Though I suppose it would have been politically impossible to grant Kell asylum when the Klingons wanted to investigate him themselves.

- Geordi goes for an emergency dimly-lit Troi session to sort through his fake memories of Risa. Felt so bad for him, LeVar Burton plays stressed/upset so well.

Pretty good, there's not much to it but it's a reasonably tense thriller kind of thing. Nothing really to say about it, beyond the fact that it works. It is literally just The Manchurian Candidate concept-wise, but everyone's allowed to do a homage episode once in a while.

I forgot Selar was in this until her voice suddenly popped up!

7/10

[The Culture Bunker]

Sure there's a scene after the weapons have been 'mysteriously' beamed down to the planet, and Worf asks who had the skillset to do this, and it's Geordi, Data, O'Brien and some other bod from engineering. Worf asks where everyone was during the transport: O'Brien was with his wife, Data on the bridge (or somewhere like that), engineering guy was on shift with numerous alibis, Geordi "in my quarters, on my own". Worf - HEAD OF SECURITY - shrugs that it must have been someone else.

[Mr Trumpet]

This is one of those occasions where it stretches credulity that a character is allowed to just carry on in his post as though nothing has happened. See also Picard's assimilation, any time Data goes haywire etc. Geordi should have been shipped right back to Earth for a low security clearance desk job and lots of observation.