Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 12:22:19 PM

Login with username, password and session length

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

Started by Lemming, May 11, 2021, 02:05:41 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Lemming

S05E06 - The Game

Riker becomes addicted to the world's shittest game, and is eager to show his friends.

- Riker's on Risa, having a raunchy time with a woman who has an arse for a forehead. Extended shot of them both gurning on a bed because the episode was running a minute or so under time, I suppose.

- ArseHead puts some kind of augmented reality headset on Riker, which reveals to him a CGI videogame in which the player thrillingly puts a disc inside a cone. When you do it, you get some kind of cool injection into your brain and proceed to the next level.

- Riker rejoins the ship, which is on its way to uncharted space (near Risa?!). To make matters even stranger, a shuttle with Wesley on it has arrived from the academy. Where the fuck are we?!

- Riker meets ROBIN LEFLER, who's so shit-hot at Engineering that Geordi's invented the rank of "specialist" just for her. Riker roams the ship trying to make people play the shitty cone game. He finds Troi mainlining chocolate to ward off the crushing dread she feels daily that her life's ended up like it has. Riker looks on blankly as Troi creepily explains her special technique for eating chocolate really slowly.

- Wesley arrives to discover a surprise party waiting for him, where everyone touches his face. Picard speaks Latin to him to test him. Latin?! In the 24th century? Come on.

- Troi is now a cone game addict like Riker, and takes Bev back to her quarters to show her it. Meanwhile, Wesley and Data bond over how hard they both got bullied at the academy. Lol @ their hilariously 1950s school experiences.

- Wesley meets Lefler as a result of loudly verbally complaining that the computer is broken. Lefler is really trying to make "Lefler's Laws" stick as a thing. Data goes to see Bev, who is now a CONE GAME FIEND, and she knocks him out with his off switch. The Game Bastards (Riker, Bev, Troi) converge in sickbay to to evil things to Data.

- While this disaster unfolds, a worse disaster unfolds in Picard's quarters, where he's invited Wesley for tea. Picard tells Wesley about his dull waste of a childhood, and the whirlwind romance he had with someone identified only as A.F.

- Geordi is assigned to investigate what's happened to Data, and instantly gets Game'd. Wesley discovers that everyone at the academy gossips about what a twat he is, and arranges a date with Lefler.

- Bev's got a headset for Wesley, but he's such a loser that he doesn't want to have fun with the evil-drugs-cone-game, and would rather go on a date with a rambling fool. Picking out his shittest jumper and brushing his hair in the worst possible way, he heads to Ten Forward and meets Lefler. They start talking about the game and agree that something's off about the fact that it turns you into a zombie as long as you have it on, and decide to investigate.

- The special virtual brain computer thing reveals that the game directly stimulates the brain and raises serotonin levels, and disrupts reasoning. Wesley decides to report this to Picard, but Picard is ALREADY GAME'D. Either that or he just puts the nearest headset on one second after being warned not to do it.

- First person perspective O'Brien mode! The greatest scene in Star Trek history!

- Lefler and Wesley are (probably) the only people left aboard who aren't addicted to CONE GAME. They realise how odd it is that Data - who would be immune from the game - was KO'd right as this all started happening. Wesley's deep knowledge of Soong-type androids lets him diagnose the problem in about three seconds, which Geordi couldn't do.

- The Enterprise rendezvous with another ship, and Picard gives the order to replicate tons of game headsets to convert everyone. Bev and Worf go to force Wesley and Lefler to play CONE GAME, but they're tricked when the kids just pretend to be CONE FIENDS. They spring their plan to save the ship.

- Picard reports to ArseHead, who is on the other ship. She gives the crew orders to spread the headsets to literally everyone everywhere. Nurse Ogawa is at level 47 in CONE GAME and is absolutely out of her mind.

- Lefler's fucked, she's been GAME'd. Everyone else emerges and Wes does some next-level parkour to escape the CONE FIENDS. Now Wesley's doing a TRUNK SLAMCHEST ROGA DANAR and evading security as he races through the ship using all his cool tricks and gadgets.

- Wesley's just too good and outwits security at every turn, and also almost traps Worf's head in a door. He's eventually caught and taken to the bridge, where he's held down and Clockwork Orange'd into playing CONE GAME. Data walks onto the bridge with one of those cheap strobe lights you can get for a quid at Bonny Street Market in Blackpool and cures everyone of game addiction. Under Data's instructions, the confused crew traps the alien ship in a tractor beam.

- With the day saved by Data Ex Machina, Wesley's going back to the academy, but not before sharing a kiss with Lefler.

This is about the most boring idea ever for a plot, but the episode kind of works despite it. Seeing Wesley again is an odd novelty considering how low-key the episode is, and his team-up with Lefler is more or less enough fun to carry the episode. The game isn't really as creepy or threatening as it needs to be for the episode to work, you only really get a proper sense of danger right at the end when Wesley gets ambushed in Engineering and then held down on the bridge.

It gets worse the more you think about it - Wesley literally shows up out of nowhere, saves the ship all by himself* as he often did in the past, then fucks off again. Had it not been for his freak arrival, everyone would have been game zombie'd.

*couldn't Lefler have somehow escaped (faked addiction, I guess?) and reactivated Data? That would make his abrupt arrival at the end less stupid, and offer a nice twist in that this time Wesley nearly got fucked and it was the other genius kid who saved the day.

The lack of a sense of creeping danger isn't helped by the fact that most of the addictions take place off screen. Who got Picard to try it? How did they hook it up to Geordi's VISOR? Who made Worf, of all people, try the game? How laughably convenient is it that Wes and Lefler were just miraculously the last people not to try the game, before they even suspected anything was up with it? Maybe if we saw the crew fall one by one and the ambushes to forcefully make people play the game happened a bit earlier on (to Picard and Worf, probably) then there'd be a bit more momentum to the plot before Wesley's big dramatic run near the end.

4/10, not a strong episode but could have been worse.


daf

Quote from: Lemming on November 23, 2021, 03:58:02 AM*couldn't Lefler have somehow escaped (faked addiction, I guess?) and reactivated Data?

I assumed that this is what actually happened : Lefler was faking her addiction at the end (either in collaboration with Wesley, or she spotted that Worf and Riker were about to make an arrest, so "Plan B" went into action)

Plan B : So while everyone is focused on re-capturing Wesley, she can slip off to re-activate Data. When he's captured, Picard says something like "You led us on quite a chase" - which is what made me think that this was a ruse - he was deliberately leading them away so Lefler could do the Data rebooting.

Hang on, I'll have a quick re-watch of the end . . .

. . . well, on reflection, she probably is really addicted at that point . . . however, she's not shown on screen at all during the chase, so there's nothing to suggest my initial reading is impossible . . . just slightly improbable.

My version is most likely wrong - as they would have re-capped the plan a bit during their final scene together to make it obvious this is what was going on - but I think it still just about works, if you want it to.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse on November 22, 2021, 10:56:13 AMI can answer this - Data's heavy. He weighs about 100kg, assuming I read that somewhere and didn't hallucinate it. Take his head off and you've still got +90kg of what's now dead weight. Riker'd have to shove/drag it and get dangerously close to the field in the process. Then both Riker and most of Data are fried and Data's just a head sitting there while the ship explodes.
There's an episode where Worf is able to sling a non-functioning Data over his shoulder without too much trouble - Riker is a big lad, surely Klingon's aren't that much stronger than humans?

Wonderful Butternut

Quote from: The Culture Bunker on November 23, 2021, 08:41:02 AMThere's an episode where Worf is able to sling a non-functioning Data over his shoulder without too much trouble - Riker is a big lad, surely Klingon's aren't that much stronger than humans?

They're meant to be quite a lot stronger than humans.

Although the actual strength they demonstrate on screen varies on a plot convenience basis. The boarding scene in Way of the Warrior is a good example of piss weak Klingons.

daf

105 | "The Game"



Ooh, I Could Crusher's Mate

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Highlights :
• Riker Sex-Face (groooo!)
• Fudge-o-phile Troi's Ace Rimming
• The Birthmark Sketch
• Lefler's Long Laws List
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Bits :
• Data Deception Discussion
• The Groundskeeper Boothby Sketch . . . Update!!
• 3D chess #9 : Blurry background space-filler
• Palm Torch #7 : Data The Flasher
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Score :

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: Wonderful Butternut on November 23, 2021, 09:18:49 AMThey're meant to be quite a lot stronger than humans.

Although the actual strength they demonstrate on screen varies on a plot convenience basis. The boarding scene in Way of the Warrior is a good example of piss weak Klingons.
Could be why I thought they weren't all that - aggressive, yes, but I presumably saw enough Klingons getting duffed up to conclude they weren't all that more durable/stronger than humans. For example, in the episode where Riker serves as first officer on a Klingon ship, he's able to give one cheeky upstart a right good doing over. Manages to easily block a punch and everything!

Wonderful Butternut

In that case the violent act seems like a ritual to prove who's in charge, almost as a matter of procedure, rather than a genuine contest of combat ability (as with Dax chucking a Klingon out "her" chair in the mess hall when she serves aboard the Rotarran, which the Klingon meekly accepts rather than even attempting to fight back.) It's enough for Klag that Riker has the guts to 'be a Klingon' and hit him, even though Klag could likely snap his neck, to demonstrate his authority. It only gets serious when they start telling each other they're dishonourable Targs who are unfit to command.

It's worth noting Riker has to go to sickbay after Kargan, the Captain, whacks him at the end of the episode, whereas Klag is basically uninjured from Riker hitting him at the start.

mothman

Robin Lefler is one of those fan favourite characters despite only appearing, what, twice? She then became one of the regulars in the "New Frontier" book series with a story arc I won't bother to summarise but it can be looked up on Memory Beta.

If PIC or LDS brought her back I suspect that backstory would be ignored, so general Trek fans would be happy but NF fans would be furious.

kalowski


Mr Trumpet

I remember finding The Game really horrible and disturbing as a kid. The idea that you can't trust the people closest to you, that everyone with any power is working against you and there's nobody you can appeal to... still really unpleasant things to think about.

MojoJojo

Everyone's very blasé about Data falling into an unexplained coma. It's almost as if they know he's a main character so will be fine by the end of the episode.

I think the game works best when it's an opium metaphor, but it just feels a bit weird when they start deactivating their friends and handing the ship over to aliens. Maybe having the headset speaking to them while in a trance would connect the two? Might be a bit cheesey.

One of the ones I remember first watching, mainly because the closeup of Lefler panting while pretending to use the game created some exciting new feelings in teenager me.

Riker's getting an easy ride for falling for a spies trick and almost getting the federation taken over.

JaDanketies


mothman

Quote from: Mr Trumpet on November 23, 2021, 10:17:58 PMI remember finding The Game really horrible and disturbing as a kid. The idea that you can't trust the people closest to you, that everyone with any power is working against you and there's nobody you can appeal to... still really unpleasant things to think about.

I got this feeling from watching the DS9 episode "Whispers." Everyone is acting so creepy throughout.
And then...
I rewatched the episode almost immediately - a rarity for me. And once you know the twist, you see that everyone is behaving normally - apart from knowing, and acting in the way you'd expect if you knew that's not the real O'Brien!
[close]

Lemming

S05E07 - Unification Part 1

When Spock takes an unauthorised trip to Romulus, Picard is deployed to investigate.

- In memory of Gene Roddenberry. Apparently a twat by all accounts, RIP anyway.

- It's another secret meeting with an admiral! Picard's been selected for an important mission - Spock has gone AWOL and been spotted on Romulus, and Starfleet fears that he's defected. They haven't been this angry with him since that time he went AWOL and ran off to Talos IV and nearly invoked the death penalty (lol).

- Sarek is too ill to meet with Picard, so Not-Amanda is sent instead, who arrives wearing another one of her trademark sick-as-fuck headbands. Turns out Spock's relationship with Sarek somehow got even worse since Journey to Babel, and they haven't spoken in years.

- Sarek's condition is worse and now he lies around all day going "ooogh" and "uurrrgh". He snaps out of it for a bit when Picard arrives and tells Picard to find Pardek, a Romulan senator with whom Spock has maintained a good relationship for some time.

- Picard equips his jacket and flies off to Qo'noS to ask Gowron for help. Worf says that Gowron's started a revisionist movement that erases the Federation from the story of his rise to power. Picard ends up yelling at some underpaid clerk who works for the High Council, and harasses Gowron into giving him a cloaked ship.

- Bev decks Picard and Data out with stupid ear prosthetics and hairpieces. They go to Romulus aboard the Klingon ship, while ACTING CAPTAIN RIKER goes off on some boring mission to discover what's going on with the wreckage of a Vulcan ship. One minute into the mission and he gets frustrated with an obstructive junkyard owner and delegates the entire mission to Troi.

- Because Troi is a HANDSOME WOMAN, the guy agrees to help. He takes command of the ship and gets the helmsman to lay in some coordinates while Captain Riker is reduced to giving stupid confirmatory hand signals.


- Riker pretends to be abandoned trash. Meanwhile, Picard tries to sleep on a shelf while Data looms behind him.

- Klingon ships seem to have lights in the floor, rather than ceiling. Maybe to make you look scarier. Sarek's dead, by the way.

- Riker gets into a fight with a smuggler. Worf does his signature "I was ordered to fire a gentle phaser to disable their weapons but somehow I fucked it up and they've all been killed in a massive explosion" maneuver.

- Picard and Data giddily put their awful Romulan makeup on. Now looking utterly laughable, they head down to Romulus to try some street food. They're apprehended by security forces after about four minutes, and taken to Paramount's standard styrofoam cave set.

- But they weren't Bad Security Forces, they were Pardek's Secret Good Security Forces! He's brought Picard here to see Spock.

Here's the real question. You know how Spock's always wearing purple eyeshadow? Is that meant to just be his weird alien skin, or does he actively choose to apply eyeshadow? I remember Kirk and Sulu wear it at times too, maybe Bones also. Maybe it was some wild 2260s fashion trend. Kirk has a makeup table with concealer on it in his quarters in "The Enemy Within", so I guess everyone was out to look fucking fantastic back in those days, hence the beehive haridos and such.

As with most Star Trek two-parters, this sort of feels to me like a solid (but not great) story has been padded to stretch out the runtime. But luckily, with Jeri Taylor and Michael Piller working on the script, there's at least a bit of comedy and some nice characterisation to keep things going. Picard trying to sleep while Data glares into the back of his head is an episode highlight, and the Zakdorn junkyard guy is a bit of fun.

So, not bad. It feels padded but it doesn't drag, if that makes sense, which it doesn't.

I can't really remember the second part, except for it having Sela, so it'll be a surprise! 6/10


daf

106 | "Unification I"



Woke up this morning and my Spocky was gone
Oooh Wee, Slurpy-Slurpy Soup-Soup

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Highlights :
• Baggy-Cheeked Junkyard Prick
• Data's Picard Piquing Standing Sleep-Stare
• The Romulan 'Two Soups' Sketch
• Squee Me Up Spocky!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Bits :
• Melty Metal Mystery
• The Vulcan Mint Sketch
• Sarek's Sloping Stonebed
• Klingon Hitch-Hike
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Score :

Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

"Don't you two look sweet? Be careful, android. Some Romulan beauty may take a liking to you. *sssllllsssss* Lick that paint right off your ears."

"I am sorry if I was disturbing you, sir. I will not look in your direction." (turns body, then head)

Wonderful Butternut

You think Data would've thought to break line of sight of Picard by going around the corner and then turning his unnecessary breathing programme off (unless he needs it for cooling or something).

Also Sarek's dementia scene hits right in the feels.

MojoJojo

Quote from: Lemming on November 25, 2021, 02:04:12 AMS05E07 - Unification Part 1


As with most Star Trek two-parters, this sort of feels to me like a solid (but not great) story has been padded to stretch out the runtime. But luckily, with Jeri Taylor and Michael Piller working on the script, there's at least a bit of comedy and some nice characterisation to keep things going. Picard trying to sleep while Data glares into the back of his head is an episode highlight, and the Zakdorn junkyard guy is a bit of fun.

So, not bad. It feels padded but it doesn't drag, if that makes sense, which it doesn't.

Yeah, I agree with that. Not much happens really, but it lets the actors have fun making fun scenes. I was going to say it shows they've built the universe up well, but really it's a shame they didn't learn how to setup things like this. For example, there's a really entertaining Gowron envisioned in this episode, but we never got to see them.

My main issue with this one is that Nimmoy is supposed to be a big deal, but when I was young I didn't know who he was enough to care and now it's just a point in his career.

mothman

Given how much fanfare they made of having Nimoy and Doohan appear in episodes, it amuses me that Kelley appeared in the actual pilot episode and hardly anything was made of it.

Lemming

S05E08 - Unification Part 2

Picard learns more about Spock's mission to Romulus, and reveals a (completely nonsensical) plot.

- Spock tells Picard to fuck off and that Starfleet shouldn't be messing with his personal mission. Picard brings the conversation to a screeching halt by informing Spock of Sarek's death.

- Spock explains that he's here to help a growing movement on Romulus of people who want to learn more about Vulcan philosophy. This could apparently lead to reunification between the two worlds. He also talks incessantly about Kirk, since every interesting thing in his life revolved around Kirk in some way and they were also in love.

- Picard starts following Spock around like a lapdog, and meets some more of his allies. Meanwhile, Riker enters a SPACE BAR and befriends a woman with four arms, who was married to the smuggler who Worf accidentally blew up last episode. She's delighted by this and lets Riker play some shitty tunes on her piano, and tells him to watch out for a fat Ferengi who'll be coming in a few days.

- Pardek brings Spock to meet PROCONSUL NERAL, who says he's really excited about reunification, and that the Romulan senate is collapsing due to its mishandling of literally everything that's ever happened. But it's a TRICK and he's actually working with Sela, who was symbolically trapped in a closet for the whole scene.

- Picard yells at the rest of the underground movement in a cave and loses all his popularity points. Spock tells Picard to stop acting like Sarek, which leads to a mini-argument.

- While Data and Spock hack into the ROMULAN CENTRAL NET or whatever it's called while chatting about their car-crash lives, Picard goes to take off his terrible disguise.

- Worf's honour levels are recharged when the bar singer delivers a heroic performance of a Klingon opera. The Ferengi they were warned about arrives, and Riker strangles him for a bit and ruins everyone's good time. He tells them where to go next on their meaningless quest to find out more about the Vulcan ship. Troi finally asks what the point of this whole subplot is.

- Sela answers that question by showing up in the Secret Rebel Cave and holding everyone at gunpoint. Turns out Pardek is a traitor who has given everyone away. Sela says that she's planning the Romulan conquest of Vulcan (lol) and forces Picard, Data and Spock up to the Interrogation Office. She details her entire devious plan to the gathered protagonists.

- Spock refuses to comply and it turns out he didn't have to anyway because Sela has made a PROGRAMMABLE HOLOSPOCK. I like how this is said to have taken some time and effort, and yet it's notably worse than something you could rig up in the holodeck in four seconds using voice commands.

- Sela goes out for a piss or something and returns to find that the PROGRAMMABLE SPOCK has turned into a PROGRAMMABLE RIKER. Spock and Picard emerge from HOLOWALLS to knock out the guards and force Sela's surrender. PROGRAMMABLE SPOCK's message has also been edited to warn Riker of the Romulan invasion force. It turns out Data can do the Vulcan nerve pinch.

- A warbird shows up and kills all 2000 soldiers in the invasion force, rather than let them be captured. Shit!

- The underground Romulan movement pledge to continue their tradition of ineptness and not getting anything done. Spock decides to stay with them so he can lead them into more traps. Before leaving, Picard and Spock do a mind meld, presumably resulting in Picard receiving Spock's ultra-classified, beyond-top-secret memories of standing on the hull of the Enterprise with explosions and pew-pew lasers going on all around him while his sister Michael Burnham flew a special angel suit into a timewarp thing.

Spock is good to watch and I like the oddly un-Trek-like SPACE BAR, but the rest of the episode is ridiculous. Sela is planning an invasion of Vulcan? Like, just Vulcan? She's invading one planet in Federation space? The pointlessness of this is even pointed out and then quickly brushed aside. Sela is just incompetent and easily vanquished by a fucking holo-projector. The entire plot is completely stupid and, unlike the first part, it really dragged for me. 4/10, just for some of the Spock stuff.


daf

107 | "Unification II"



Rebel rebel, Square shoulder Pads
Rebel rebel, You look like your Dad
Rebel rebel, How could they know?
Spock Tricked! Mind Meld? . . . Go!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Highlights :
• Cornish Pasty-faced Pianist
• Riker's Smooth Jazz Tinkle
• Worf's Hideous Klingon Opera Racket : MAYLOTAAAAAAARRGH!!!
• Blonde Bob Yar's Cupboard Surprise
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Bits :
• Five-handed Andorian Blues
• Android Neck Pinch
• Fat Ferengi Fish Fracas
• The Riker Holo-Hair Sketch
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Score :

Blumf

Any episode that has Klingon opera gets a 10/10 from me.

Shame Yar spawn's plan was dumb.

Wonderful Butternut

Sela's plan is inexplicably dumb and the Romulan invasion couldn't possibly hold Vulcan for more than a few days:

Spoiler alert
Best case scenario is that 2000 troops get 'dug in' in an urban settlement, set up shields and transport inhibitors so they can't just be beamed off, and use the civilian population of said settlement as hostages so they can't be torpedoed from orbit. But they're still right in the middle of the Federation with no hope for backup. The Federation's capital is less than 20 light years away and Andor is only around the corner. Even if there isn't a permanent military presence on Vulcan, there's going to be 100,000 troops landed on the planet within about 2 days. Not to mention a planet with a population of 6 billion (I think that's the figure given in the Abrams film) who would resist because that's the logical thing to do.

2000 vs. 6 billion. Hmm...

Even if they somehow got control of the power grid to hold the entire population hostage, I'm sure Starfleet Corps of Engineers would tech a way around it in a week.
[close]

But while it is fun to nitpick, as I've done above, how much does it really impact the episode? At the end of the day there's a plan and Picard, Data and Spock foil it. Would the episode be fundementally different if Sela's plan was something that could actually work in real life?

Part II probably does drag a a bit, but I tend to view two-parters as one episode and I like Unification. There's nothing groundbreaking about it, but everything in it works for me. Having Spock back is cool, his interactions with Data and Picard are cool, if a little predictable, Riker roughing up a Ferengi is entertaining as is the Klingon captain.

Quote from: Blumf on November 28, 2021, 11:36:57 PMAny episode that has Klingon opera gets a 10/10 from me.

Pity they gave Amarie the shittiest midi keyboard ever. I'd like to think that if Klingons were real and you attempted to play their opera using a few layered piss weak harpsicord patches they'd cut your head off.

Also the little bleeps it makes when you change patches would be an annoyance in an actual gig if you had to swap patches mid-song.

Mr Trumpet

Senator Pardek was played by Malachi Throne, possibly the best name i've ever heard.

The 2000-strong Romulan invasion force seems ridiculous on the face of it. The only rationalisations i've heard are 1. They're expecting a pro-Romulan, pro-unification movement on Vulcan to rise up and support them, or 2. It's not a conventional military force but essentially a load of infiltration operatives who'll inveigle themselves into Vulcan government en masse. Neither of which are very convincing.

Lemming

#1434
S05E09 - A Matter of Time

A time traveller arrives on the Enterprise, claiming to be a historian from the 26th century.

- There's a SPACE TIME DISTORTION. From it emerges a weird ship, and a guy called Rasmussen beams over to the Enterprise's bridge. He claims to be from the 26th century, and that everyone in the 26th century is a big fan of the Enterprise-D's adventures.

- Rasmussen tells Picard that he's been chosen as the subject of historical study, but he can't tell him more due to some kind of temporal prime directive thing. He also indicates that something exciting will happen in the coming days.

- Everyone gets together in the briefing room to discuss this new turn of events. Riker, to his credit, is the first person to suggest the possibility that Rasmussen might just be some guy, and not actually a future historian. But after considering this point, Picard says "Mr Worf, I do appreciate your caution!" But it was Riker's point! Riker makes a good point for once and it's misattributed to Worf! Presumably the shock of Riker saying something on-the-mark for once was so intense that Picard's mind couldn't accept it.

- We're at Penthara Four, where an asteroid has devastated the environment and could kill the entire planetary population. This would be a great opportunity to sit and watch and pat ourselves on the back if these people were pre-warp, but sadly, it's a Federation colony so we have to do something to help.

- Rasmussen joins Riker, Bev and Worf at Ten Forward and again indicates that something mega is going to happen soon. Riker, who is absolutely on FIRE today, asks Rasmussen why there aren't any other examples of future historians coming back to witness past events.

- Rasmussen starts stealing shit! A scary musical cue lets you know to be concerned about that. Meanwhile, Geordi works on the planet's surface with the unfortunately-named Doctor Moseley to coordinate attempts to fix the environment. Rasmussen is allowed to walk around unattended and just stroll onto the bridge whenever he wants, by the way.

- I like this guy who looks a little like Dexter Holland who's just silently getting his leg fixed by Bev during a conversation that he's not part of. Imagine your agent calls you and is like "you're gonna be in Star Trek! You'll be a human prop!"

- Troi thinks Rasmussen is kind of dodgy, but Bev really really likes him for some reason. The dynamic between them becomes FLIRTATIOUS, while Dex Holland lies in the background with his fucked up leg.

- Massive earthquake on the surface! Volcanoes and shit! Turns out it's all Picard's fault for shooting at these CO2 pockets earlier. Genuine belly laugh at Picard's "we came here to help these people... and look what we've done," followed immediately by a CGI shot of the planet fucking exploding.

- Data's got a groovy plan to save the planet, but there's a chance it will obliterate the entire world, lol. Picard calls Rasmussen to the ready room to ask for help.
QuoteRASMUSSEN: You're not suggesting I tell you the outcome of your efforts?
PICARD: Oh no, I'm not. Everything that Starfleet stands for, everything that I have ever believed in, tells me I cannot ask you that. But at the same time, there are twenty million lives down there, and you know what happened to them. What will happen to them.
RASMUSSEN: So, it seems you have another dilemma. One that questions your convictions.
PICARD: Well, I've never been afraid of reevaluating my convictions, Professor, and now, I have twenty million reasons to do so.
RASMUSSEN: And why did you ask to see me?
PICARD: Because your presence gives me potential access to a kind of information that I've never had available to me before, and if I am to re-examine my beliefs, then I must take advantage of every possible asset. It would be irresponsible of me not to ask you here.
RASMUSSEN: However you come to terms with your beliefs, Captain, I must tell you that I'm quite comfortable with mine.
PICARD: How can you be? How can you be comfortable watching people die?
Just me or does anyone else think this is incredibly rich talk coming from Picard?

- This is actually a really good scene and Picard's right throughout, but it's impossible to ignore how insanely deeply hypocritical he is, if you take this episode in the context of the wider show! They do try to take the edge off by having him specifically mention that he's chosen to discard the Prime Directive at times, but he still basically comes off like he's getting pissy because, for once, he's on the receiving end of the very thing he loves dishing out to other people.

- Picard's closing point is that the temporal prime directive sucks because, even if Rasmussen is from the future, it's only a possible future and its existence ought not to influence Picard's actions in the present. I really like this idea and the only other time I can think of Star Trek really addressing it is "Future's End" in Voyager, but in that episode, we're meant to take Starling, the guy who wants to bring 24th century medical tech to the 20th century, as being a bad guy. Which he is, cartoonishly so, but is the core of his point wrong? Would it be ok for him to change history (and potentially erase the existing 24th century) in order to save lives? In that episode, it's revealed that the microchip was stolen future tech which provided great boons to Earth in the late 20th century.

I always found this fascinating because Starling is sort of right - if a peasant from the 13th century came to the 21st century somehow, and tried to steal medical knowledge and technology to take back to her people, would she be in the wrong? Could we morally stop her from saving countless lives in her own time (and throughout the rest of history), even if her actions might erase us from existence? What if the timeline she creates is a much better one, where events like the two great wars were avoided? Her actions could destroy our present, but at the same time, preserving our present requires us to condemn her (and people for many centuries afterwards) to suffer and die. Why should our lives in the present take priority over theirs in their present? To turn the tables, if we right now could procure a cure for cancer from the 28th century, would we really give a shit about changing their future to save innumerable lives in our present? Cool sci-fi idea.

- On a similar note, I do find it interesting that Picard's logic here and Starling's logic in Future's End are virtually the same - that the integrity of the future doesn't matter if it comes at the expense of people in the present - only Starling is presented as the villain while Picard is presented as the hero:
QuotePICARD: Now you ask me to believe that if I make a choice other than the one found in your history books, then your past will be irrevocably altered. Well, you know, Professor, perhaps I don't give a damn about your past, because your past is my future and as far as I'm concerned, it hasn't been written yet.
vs
QuoteJANEWAY: You don't care about the future, you don't care about the present. Does anything matter to you, Mr Starling?
STARLING: The betterment of mankind.
JANEWAY: It doesn't look like that.
STARLING: Why do you think I want to go to the future, a vacation?
JANEWAY: To get more technology. That's why you're launching the timeship.
STARLING: I've cannibalised the ship itself as much as I can. There's nothing left to base a commercial product on.
JANEWAY: And the future is just waiting to be exploited.
STARLING: You just don't get it, do you? I created the microcomputer revolution.
JANEWAY: Using technology you never should have had.
STARLING: Irrelevant. My products benefit the entire world. Without me there would be no laptops, no internet, no barcode readers. What's good for CronoWerx is good for everybody. I can't stop now. One trip to the 29th century and I can bring back enough technology to start the next ten computer revolutions.
Obviously Picard's methods are less objectionable than Starling's, but I'm struck that the logic is near-identical. For what it's worth, I think I half-agree with both of them. Gonna be a temporal prime directive fence-sitter.

- By the way, good acting from the Rasmussen guy - when Picard says "now of course, you know of the Prime Directive," Rasmussen looks around in a sort of like "oh shit" way, because of course, if you know the twist, he would never have heard of the PD. Luckily for him, Picard's off on one and doesn't stop to quiz him.

- Picard decides to try the solution that has a chance of frying everyone on the planet. The entire planet burns away, and Geordi is brutally killed. Just kidding, it works perfectly and everyone is saved.

- Rasmussen decides to leave, having witnessed this bit of excitement. The crew block him from getting back in his timeship because they caught on to his thefts.

- AND NOW, THE TWIST: Rasmussen is from the 22nd century! The timeship is a real 26th century design, but Rasmussen stole it and now flies around grabbing cool things from the future. He's forced out of the timeship, which zaps away without him, leaving him stuck in the 24th century. Picard's really smug about this.

This is pretty good. Not a big fan of the ending though, Rasmussen is simultaneously too annoying to be much fun to watch, and too inoffensive to make it feel as though he deserves his fate*. His sudden confession that he murdered (or at least, stranded) the timeship's previous owner feels like a crap last-minute attempt to turn you against him. It'd be more fun if he actually got away with it, but I suppose that would radically alter the timeline and fuck everything, so it was never going to happen.

I like the revelation that he's a con artist, and when you rewatch the episode knowing that, it makes it a lot more interesting. The ready room scene with Picard is particularly good because it goes from being an engaging debate on first watch to being borderline comedy on second watch, where Rasmussen manages to avoid ever actually saying anything because he knows he has no clue what the fuck's going on or what he should do.

Reminds me a little bit of The Squire of Gothos in terms of structure, where the episode is fairly tense and dramatic if you don't know the twist, and then hilarious on subsequent watches when you realise the reality was signposted the whole time.

*though I guess his fate is to be trapped in the commie utopia. Maybe not that bad, unless he really liked how it was in the 22nd century?

6/10


MojoJojo

It's a weird one. Both plots are incredible simple. The Rasmussen ending is really forced, with the crew standing around looking really smug for catching out the guy who they just let wander round the ship for some reason. And his time machine was on a timer to disappear for some reason.

With the discussion about the Prime Directive and the planetary disaster going on, this does feel like a direct rebuttal to Pen Pals. One problem with that is that the convention with time travel in sci fi is that if you're not supposed to mess with the past, it's because it will cause a universe destroying paradox. It's not some high minded principal. That's not what is presented in the episode, to be fair, but for me that concept that messing with the past causes galaxy destroying paradox is embedded enough that it undermines the Picard/Rasmussen debate.

Minor quibble - it annoys me that taking technology back to the past is always presented as just case of grabbing an item, and then you'll be able to reverse engineer it. As if you could derive a silicon fabrication plant from a pocket calculator.

Overall, the episode does work, but I find it difficult to say why. If Rasmussen was more entertaining it would be tempting to say it was down to him, but he's basically fine rather than amazing. I suspect we've just got to point where the characters are established enough that it's just pleasant to watch them do anything - thats sort of what the first part of Reunification is like to, with all the padding.

daf

108 | "A Matter Of Time"



Max Dead Soon

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Highlights :
• Punchable Time Prick
• Worf : "I hate questionaires"
• The Classical Cacophony Sketch
• Troi less than Impressida
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other Bits :
• Gullible Granny Crusher
• Ten or FEWER, Data, you digital dunce! *
• Planned Hole Boring on Whole Planet Boring
• Blue Wind Sucker
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Score :

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
*
QuoteData: "Actually, I am capable of distinguishing over one hundred and fifty simultaneous compositions, but in order to analyse the aesthetics, I try to keep it to ten or less."

mothman

On balance I think I'm quite pleased Robin Williams didn't play Rasmussen. I don't think even he'd have elevated the material and it would have been a waste of his talents. Of course it'd have been a completely straight role with little to no comedic elements and while there's no doubt he COULD excel at those, it would still feel like stunt casting.

Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

Quote from: Lemming on November 30, 2021, 04:43:15 AMI always found this fascinating because Starling is sort of right - if a peasant from the 13th century came to the 21st century somehow, and tried to steal medical knowledge and technology to take back to her people, would she be in the wrong? Could we morally stop her from saving countless lives in her own time (and throughout the rest of history), even if her actions might erase us from existence? What if the timeline she creates is a much better one, where events like the two great wars were avoided? Her actions could destroy our present, but at the same time, preserving our present requires us to condemn her (and people for many centuries afterwards) to suffer and die. Why should our lives in the present take priority over theirs in their present? To turn the tables, if we right now could procure a cure for cancer from the 28th century, would we really give a shit about changing their future to save innumerable lives in our present? Cool sci-fi idea.
I would love to see Picard season 2 do something like this. Like, the 21st century they go to is our 21st century. No Eugenics Wars, World War III not even on the radar, but catastrophic climate change looming while a global pandemic rages amid end stage capitalism. Which is worse? Should most of us die in a nuclear holocaust if it means bringing about Luxury Space Communism? Or is there a third alternative? (Preferably one that isn't Q saying lol I was just messing with you, this is just like that time I turned you into a nobody).

Mr Trumpet

A minor point of interest in this episode is the first ever reference to the Temporal Prime Directive. Interesting because it's named as a hypothetical concept by Picard, whereas subsequent mentions reinforce that it's definitely a real thing that 24th century Starfleet knows about. It's like later writers remembered the term being used but forgot the context.