Star Trek: The Next Generation Seasons 4-7
Deep Space Nine Seasons 1-2
The Final Frontier
The Undiscovered Country
Note: These are from brief, unedited comments posted on Facebook. Some of the grammar may be a little clunky – I hadn’t intended on archiving these anywhere, but I’ve popped them here as some people enjoyed them!
Episode 200: QPid
Loads of excellent humour here – everyone is on form. “I am NOT a merry man”. Also, with the franchise overall just over 800-episodes, this is roughly the quarter mark. Woo!
Episode 201: The Drumhead
TNG really does do its courtroom dramas well, doesn’t it? I adore this one. Very out of character in some ways, as it shows the fraying edges of Roddenberry’s perfect future humans. Some fabulous performances by all.
Episode 202: Half a Life
Mixed feelings here. It’s a deep story with some cool themes to explore. Ogden Stiers and Barrett are absolutely on form, with the latter giving her finest performance in Trek. It’s a bit of a whiplash-inducing character switch for her to fall in love instead of just being constantly horny for everyone, which makes this a bit hard to swallow especially when binge watching. But in isolation, fabulous. Good ending too.
Episode 203: The Host
Nice to give Beverly a love story. Shame given non-serialised nature it sorta comes out of nowhere, hitting us in the cold-open, but I’ll forgive it that. Love the concept of the Trills here even if they’re changed for something different but equally interesting later. The message at the end is interesting and thought-provoking. Performances great all round.
Episode 204: The Mind’s Eye
Ah one of my favourites. Levar is fabulous as an unwitting agent, seeing one of our heroes brainwashed is pretty scary, and the mysteries the episode sets up are great. Intriguing threads to leave open!
Episode 205: In Theory
Another favourite. Scarabelli and Spiner are fantastic and very watchable. Slightly hard to believe someone would fall in love with Data like that, but just let the mental stretch wash over you and enjoy some entertaining scenes. The b-plot is unnecessary, although I really like it and it should have had an episode to itself – unfortunately here it just comes off as a distraction.
Episode 206: Redemption
Episode 207: Redemption II
Action packed couple of hours right here. The stuff with Sela is great (lovely cliffhanger – just as shocking as BOBW but more ‘intriguing’ than ‘shit, how are they going to survive this?!’) while Lursa and B’etor are very watchable and should have come back more often. The scenes on the Sutherland in the second half are excellent – Data’s struggles are fabulous to watch, with particular credit to Timothy Carhart.
Episode 208: Darmok
I still don’t really get the linguistic likelihood of this episode. But it’s kinda necessary since the universal translator would have solved the problem, and the words are much more poetic for two fine actors to perform than grunts and gurgles would be. Ultimately it’s a wonderfully theatrical episode for Patrick, with Paul Winfield going opposite him amazingly. A real favourite, and one of those episodes that’s highly quotable even outside TNG fandom.
Episode 209: Ensign Ro
Sets up DS9 well, creating an intriguing culture and background. Ensign Ro herself is a good idea for a character but sadly sidelined quite quickly. Having her onboard the Ent is really proto-Voyager, and then Voyager makes the same mistake of getting bored of all that too soon. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Episode 210: Silicon Avatar
Never sure how I feel about this. The Crystalline Entity stuff is kinda meh, and could have been better. The mad old woman is fabulous though and there’s a handful of outstanding moments in an otherwise ok episode.
Episode 211: Disaster
LOVE LOVE LOVE. I watched this dozens of times in the 90s. So many funny moments. “I shall appoint you my Executive Officer in charge of radishes”. “You may now give birth”. etc etc. And finally a good Troi episode!
Episode 212: The Game
Basic fun action adventure hijinks, elevated by the pleasure of seeing the crew all act a little out of sorts, and brilliant seeing Wesley back. His characters grown so much, it’s a shame we didn’t actually see it happen, but lovely to imagine. Lefler is cute and I genuinely don’t find her laws annoying although I’m sure others do.
Episode 213: Unification I
Episode 214: Unification II
This is the first time for me that TNG really manages to make a ‘movie’ from a 2-parter. BOBW and Redemption suffered from ‘throw balls in the air, catch them later’ syndrome, which in both cases lead to action packed but storyline-light second halves which felt like extended epilogues to the first parts. This 90 minute story is excquisite. So many great elements of comedy and drama. Sarek’s death is moving, and the bits with Riker and Troi investigating the mystery is very entertaining indeed.
Episode 215: A Matter of Time
Love it! Matt Frewer plays Matt Frewer so well (hard to imagine Robin Williams in the role). Really neat twist that completely caught me off guard when I first saw it.
‘Episode’ 216: The Undiscovered Country
Fantastic movie. Probably my favourite of the TOS ones. This has everything – epic space adventure, thought provoking morals, wonderful moments of humour. And of course, because of budget stretching, the whole thing looks massively slick at the expense of half the Ent-A looking suspiciously like the Ent-D. Brilliant send-off for the original series cast. This was also the first one I saw at the cinema. We had a power cut just after the ‘mind-meld rape’ towards the end, and got free tickets to come back and see it again having already known ‘whodunnit’. Happy memories.
Episode 217: New Ground
Urgh. Potential, but wasted. Great setup for good stuff for Dorn, but then Alexander turns up half a dozen more times, sometimes as “generic kid” who doesn’t even have to be Worf. Add to that the horrific dumping of Alexander onto Worf in the first place, and the extreme coldness of the teacher when they first meet – no wonder Alexander acts up. Plus as typical for “family” type stories, a complete non-story for the B-plot.
Episode 218: Hero Worship
A much better “father figure” type story. The kid in this puts in a brilliant performance, and it’s all very believable and moving. Also great to see two episodes in a row where Troi is actually doing her job – I forget sometimes what a long way she’s come since she just used to stand next to Picard saying “he’s hiding something”.
Episode 219: Violations
For fear of tripping community standards I won’t mention the r word again as an obvious parallel here, although it does handle the concept chillingly well. The double twist is kinda obvious – yeah, the nice guy who offered to probe Troi’s mind to find out who the criminal was responsible all along. But still, good one.
Episode 220: The Masterpiece Society
A quiet thoughtful episode. When I was younger I found this too slow-paced to be enjoyable. Today I still find it could do with a BIT of “oomph” but it’s certainly enjoyable enough and Snyder and Sirtis are both fab.
Episode 221: Conundrum
Brilliant. The mystery isn’t very mysterious, as Macduff is right there in front of us the whole time, but its really enjoyable watching the crew try and figure everything out. Gotta say though, Ro takes one helluva gamble that her closeness to Riker isn’t because they’re brother and sister and they’re going to have one icky discussion later.
Episode 222: Power Play
Another really enjoyable one and great opportunities for three regulars to play against type (even Spiner manages to play evil very differently to when he’s Lore).
Episode 223: Ethics
*deep breath*. Tough one to watch. Especially Riker really laying into Worf, which at first seems like absolutely the wrong way to deal with it… but actually with friends this close, and one of them a Klingon, it just works. The Deux ex Machina ending really bothers me though – it’s something we’ve already seen a couple of times with Spock – “ah, life seemed doomed but here’s something about the physiology of one of the Federation’s allies that we somehow never knew about”, made even MORE dumb by the fact that the doctors performing experimental surgery on Worf didn’t even know that. Seriously, you’re about to perform an untested procedure, the first thing you do is read the SHIT out of books about Klingon biology.
Episode 224: The Outcast
Another tough one to watch. First though I gotta ask – is this “the gay episode” (as clearly intended at the time) or is it “the trans episode”? With all the references to gender mixed up with that of sexual preference I’m honestly not sure. Either way this is a solid one that’s only failings are (a) it doesn’t go far enough, especially in casting a woman as Riker’s love and (b) the nature of episodic storytelling meant that Riker’s evolution here rattled along too fast. We should have seen this love build over several episodes. Despite the rush, that final close up on Frakes’ face is goddamn heartbreaking.
Episode 225: Cause and Effect
TNG’s answer to Python’s “It’s the Mind”. Deja Vu, the curious feeling that we’ve been here… before…? Look, I love this one. It’s one of my 2 or 3 absolute go-tos. Ironic that despite essentially watching the same episode half a dozen times in 44 minutes, I’ve probably also seen the episode more than any other TNGs. It’s just a great creepy one to pop on when I’m not sure what else to watch. It’s gripping when Data sends the message to himself, the audience don’t know what the message is, and then that final loop starts throwing up all the threes – that whole final act, despite us having already seen most of the plot, is just fascinating.
Episode 226: The First Duty
Brilliant. Love seeing a deeper side to Wes. Robert Duncan McNeill is very watchable too, and this makes a great audition piece for Voyager. Also yay to go back to the water treatment plant in LA, beautiful place. Just one question: Where’s Troi? Her first-season “Captain, he’s hiding something!” would have been perfect here, if plot-spoiling.
Episode 227: Cost of Living
Another sweet turn for Lwaxanna. Great stuff for Alexander/Worf, really wish they visited that a bit more often. As always with the good personal episodes, a dumb uninteresting sci-fi b-plot for box-ticking only.
Episode 228: The Perfect Mate
Every time I watch this episode it hits me harder. It’s tough and complex, and I think barely scratches the surface of the topic in the 45 minutes its allowed. Really moving and thought provoking.
Episode 229: Imaginary Friend
A fun one. Could be such a dumb idea but both the little girls are great, and absolutely sell this.
Episode 230: I, Borg
BIG moral quandary episode, we’ve not had one of these for a while. Even Goldberg gets in on the act as the usually all-knowing Guinan has her prejudices questioned. Great new twist on the Borg and excellent acting opportunities for Whoopie and Patrick.
Episode 231: The Next Phase
So much fun. Action, comedy, great Ro stuff. Cool effects. Lovely budget-failing “bottle” show.
Episode 232: The Inner Light
As a kid I found this tedious and boring and didn’t get the fuss. I felt the same about TMP. Both have grown on me a lot with age. Totally worth the hype – magical stuff here.
Episode 233: Time’s Arrow
Episode 234: Time’s Arrow, Part II
One of my favourites of the TNG two parters. Jerry Hardin is fantastic – as indeed is all the guest cast. When I first saw it I didn’t see the Data’s head twist coming and I still love it for that. Damn smart episodes, and rare for a multi-parter not to focus on an existing big villain.
Episode 235: Realm of Fear
Always great to see Barclay back. Developing my own irrational fears as life goes on, I relate to this episode more, and once again appreciate the believable performance. Solid.
Overall it’s been a couple of days of really good episodes in a row. I do hope there’s not a shit Troi one round the corner…
Episode 236: Man of the People
Urgh. Thought we were long past the point of shit Troi episodes. No, this one just does nothing for me. Poor Sirtis, she deserves better.
Episode 237: Relics
Ah, wonderful, magical. Doohan’s best performance in Trek. Fun plotline, but it’s really all about the Scotty/LaForge relationship, which is very watchable.
Episode 238: Schisms
One of my all time favourites. I just LOVE the scene on the holodeck – and everything else hangs around it so well. Its up there with Cause and Effect as one I can just watch again and again.
Episode 239: True Q
Meh. Nice idea but I struggle to care. Not sure why, it just misses the mark a bit. Q’s a bit darker than he has been for a while, which is nice, but I’m just not that fussed about the fate of the girl.
Episode 240: Rascals
Really fun concept, many laughs (highlight to Frakes’ uncomfortable smiles at Young Picard’s cuddles) and some serious moments (Colm gets some brief but fabulous stuff, and the final scene is moving). The kids are meh, but tbh where do you find a young teenager that has the gravitas of Patrick Stewart?
Episode 241: A Fistful of Datas
I usually can’t stand Western episodes of shows. I make an exception here. Spiner makes everything come to life, but Dorn and Sirtis are wonderful too. “You’re as handy with a shootin’ iron as y’are with a woman’s heart.” 😀
Episode 242: The Quality of Life
Great idea, bit of a low-key execution. No real issues with this episode, just feels like a bit of a filler when it could be more.
Episode 243: Chain of Command, Part I
Yay! Marvellous start to a two-parter. Ridiculous that Picard would be sent on the mission, but obviously necessary for what’s coming up. Ronny Cox shines, and gets Troi into a proper uniform at LAST.
Episode 244: Chain of Command, Part II
Tour de force performances by Stewart and David Warner. Not much more to be said really – just an extremely well-crafted script played out by some awesome guys. THERE. ARE. FOUR. LIGHTS!
Episode 245: Emissary (DS9)
At this point we start alternating shows for 7 years 🙂 In another milestone, this is the first standard def material I’ve watched in my current marathon 🙁
This is mostly a very classy pilot. Visually beautiful, nicely paced (takes it time but never really ‘slow’) and most importantly introduces the cast and situation confidently. Historically I was always very down on this one because of the linear time bullshit in the second half. I still find that all very tedious with clunky dialogue, but it’s actually only a small part of the whole, so I can forgive it all that. Also Avery Brooks is bloody awful – he’s the only actor here who seems woefully out of place. He gets better with time but right now he’s more wooden than the sets.
As an aside, here’s my experience of DS9: I’d just become a ‘proper’ fan of Trek in 1993, so this was the first show I started with some foreknowledge and excitement. I liked the first season because it was “safe” and balanced the cool idea of a static location with a lot of “strange new worlds” stories that wouldn’t have been out of place in TOS/TNG. By the time we got to mid-s3 I lost my access to watch the series ‘live’ in the UK, so I basically just saw Way of the Warrior, Trials and Tribble-ations, and What We Leave Behind courtesty commercial VHSs that I bought, and that was about it. Then the DVDs came out early 00s and I binged the lot over a seven month period. I was a little uncertain about the more serialised war story stuff which didn’t feel like “my Trek” (ie no strange new worlds), but then I did it again a few years later (sometime before 2010 I think) and liked it a bit more. I’m intrigued to see how I found it now, especially as the likes of Lower Decks and even the Abrams movies have widened my scope of what “proper Trek” is.
Episode 246: Past Prologue (DS9)
Nicely solidifies the fact that we’re not leaving the setting of the pilot by continuing a focus on Bajor, while including two characters from TNG who don’t have to be there at all, except for linking to that world. All round neat, and Garak is immediately awesome.
Episode 247: A Man Alone (DS9)
The twist got me at the time, and I still enjoy it now. Plus great to see some early focus on Odo and the prejudice against him.
Episode 248: Babel (DS9)
I liked this episode back in the day as it felt quite TNGey (although still has some links back to Bajoran terrorism and all). It’s not aged well for me, but it’s not bad. The virus being completely inconsistently handled has always been a minor irritation too – do those affected know they’re speaking rubbish?
Episode 249: Ship in a Bottle (TNG)
Yay, long overdue sequel to E,DD. I’m glad it took that long though so they didn’t rush into something – this episode is beautifully crafted. Confusing and yet makes perfect sense when you walk through it carefully. Stephanie Beecham is adorable too.
Episode 250: Captive Pursuit (DS9)
Fun episode, and another “safely TNGish” one, with some good moral wrangling in it. Finally venturing into what’s on the other side of the wormhole…
Episode 251: Aquiel (TNG)
Oh good grief. Just. Bad.
Episode 252: Q-Less (DS9)
Yay, a great Q episode after the lacklustre True Q. And Vash too! How exciting. DS9 obviously pulling out some TNG elements in these early days but I can’t complain!
Episode 253: Face of the Enemy (TNG)
Great opportunity for Sirtis here, and always lovely seeing Carolyn Seymour chewing scenery. One of my favourites this year and probably the best teaser in TNG since Cause and Effect.
Episode 254: Dax (DS9)
DS9 tries doing the ‘courtroom drama’ thing. A good twist on it, as we explore the complex ethics of Trills – unfortunately we never actually get to the bottom of it, and Avery Brooks is utterly unengaging in the attourney-type role.
Episode 255: Tapestry (TNG)
Flipping fabulous! So many funny moments, and a great message (albeit one I’m surprised Picard has to learn). “Flowers! Is there a John Luck Pickerd here?”
Episode 256: The Passenger (DS9)
Nice idea, and good to see extra Federation/Bajoran tension in the new Security officer. All undone by the fact that Siddig El Fadil plays the villain in a very hammy way (and then does some very uncomfortable overdubbing, which still isn’t enough to disguise his voice). Shame, as he’s had some great moments so far when he’s not been centre-stage.
Episode 247: Birthright, Part I (TNG)
Yay, DS9 in HD! The Data plot is a nice new device, and although Bashir is only there for cross-promotion, it’s all very watchable. The Worf stuff is intriguing and sets up Part II well.
Episode 258: Birthright, Part II (TNG)
Really off-balance two-parter, as we now just focus on a single thread from the first. Weird. But good – interesting concepts, great material for Dorn, and some excellent guest stars. Particular kudos to the guy playing Toq, who we see turn into a “real” Klingon through Worf’s teachings.
Episode 259: Move Along Home (DS9)
A lot of people shit on this episode but I really like it. It’s totally S2 TNG, but it’s entertaining and colourful. Although the highlight for me is unintentional – everyone sounding so shifty, embarrassed and off-key singing the Alamaraine song, except Avery Brooks who actually sings it properly 🙂
Episode 260: Starship Mine (TNG)
I think this is meant to be an action hero movie, but I always remember it for the comic moments. Data’s attempts at small talk, and Riker’s distraction of the guard, are classics.
Episode 261: The Nagus (DS9)
First high quality comedy episode for this young show. Everyone’s great in this, including of course Wallace Shawn who is always comedy gold. Also props to Avery – after I was down on him in the pilot, he shows here that when given a small amount of very human material, he’s capable of being perfectly natural.
Episode 262: Lessons (TNG)
Hot and cold with this one. I like the idea but it really shows up the non-serialised plotting. Should have built over several episodes rather than expecting us to believe Picard would have fallen in love so quickly, and then everything’s over so quickly. With that in mind, though, sweet story and nicely explains why it’s not a good idea for a Captain to go around bonking his crew *cough*Kirk*cough*
Episode 263: Vortex (DS9)
Some great early arc stuff for Odo. Genuinely unsure where this one is going, right to the end, and Cliff DeYoung is always good value.
Episode 264: Battle Lines (DS9)
One of those ones I always drift a bit during, as I did tonight. Not bad, just not engaging enough and I’m not sure I care much about Opaka.
Episode 265: The Chase (TNG)
Ah, the fanwank episode we never knew we needed. I really like this one, even if it’s all just one big explanation for something that never really mattered anyway.
Episode 266: The Storyteller (DS9)
Marvellous intro to Bashir/O’Brien. Instant hit for me just for that. The actual story about O’Brien accidentally becoming a sort-of religious leader is pretty cool, and the effects are great. The Nog story is a little icky these days – boys falling in “love” because a girl is cute just doesn’t sit right, but the young woman’s actual plot is interesting enough to pull it off.
Episode 267: Frame of Mind (TNG)
The first of a block of four that, for unimportant reasons, were the last four TNGs I saw. So it had a lot riding on it. And it delivered. Frakes is on form and for once we have a plot where we’re genuinely unsure through a lot of it what’s going on.
Episode 268: Progress (DS9)
Good growth story for Kira, nice location work, and a great guest performance. The Jake/Nog trading story is also really fun – would have happily let that breathe as an a-plot.
Episode 269: Suspicions (TNG)
The second of my “final four”. Probably the weakest of them, but still an outstanding episode. Rare moment for Crusher to take centre stage and a puzzling mystery.
Episode 270: If Wishes Were Horses (DS9)
A TOS episode through and through, right down to Sex Kitten Dax, and I love it for it! Loads of fun and silliness here.
Episode 271: Rightful Heir (TNG)
I’m not a fan of Klingon episodes, although there’s some good stuff for Worf here to internally battle with. Good to see Gowron back too, and the ending is a surprise.
Episode 272: The Forsaken (DS9)
Getting a bit bored of Lwaxana going around getting the horn for everyone now. This is quite a good episode for Odo but overall not one I can muster much enthusiasm for.
Episode 273: Second Chances (TNG)
The final episode of TNG I saw “new”, as I followed them all through home video from Timescape onwards until I caught up with gaps in s6 on TV. And a great one to go out on! Frakes gets some interesting material here that he makes the most of, and it’s a solid one for Sirtis too.
Episode 274: Dramatis Personae (DS9)
“Crew act out of character” trope again, although there’s something about this one I find gripping. I think the fact that it builds slowly with everyone checking each other’s loyalties first. Nice.
Episode 275: Timescape (TNG)
Classic. Creepy, funny, exciting, visually gorgeous. Ticks so many boxes. And it’s also really quite hypnotic…
Episode 276: Duet (DS9)
Absolutely outstanding performances by Visitor and Harris Yulin. Brilliant twists. Can’t put it more plainly than that. This is really where DS9 steps up a notch, and it’s not a show that TOS or TNG could ever have done.
Episode 277: In the Hands of the Prophets (DS9)
Good introduction to Vedek Winn, who immediately lights up the screen as an all-time classic villain. It’s also a really interesting topic with a lot of unclear edges (again, not something TNG was often brave enough to do), and left me thinking way after the episode finished.
Episode 278: Descent (TNG)
Episode 279: Descent, Part II (TNG)
The first Trek 2-parter I had to wait a significant period between episodes, as I watched them ‘live’ via home VHS. I love them both. So much cool stuff in them – the return of Hugh, Brent Spiner playing ‘evil Data’ significantly differently to Lore, great location work, a gorgeous new Borg ship. It’s totally action-packed if not one of the more ‘cerebral’ Treks.
Episode 280: The Homecoming (DS9)
Episode 282: The Circle (DS9)
Episode 284: The Siege (DS9)
A fabulous three-parter that feels more like a movie than any of the TNG 2-parters ever did. Neatly planned out and paced, beautifully shot, actioned-packed and also with some great quiet duologues. Yes yes yes, all very good stuff. Once again Louise Fletcher shines, as Frank Langella is awesome too. DS9 is definitely striking out on its own here, picking up on some of the big themes (Bajor, terrorism, religion) and the more popular smaller ones (relationships between Jake/Ben, Quark/Odo and Quark/Nog) from the first season and doubling down, along with having the confidence to run the first three-parter (almost a four-parter, with ItHotP providing a bit of a prelude). Bravo.
(as always, watching in airing order with the below episodes slotted between, just summarised for the reviwe)
Episode 281: Liaisons (TNG)
Hilarious plot on the Enterprise with Worf getting slowly antagonised and Troi forced to endure dessert. Rather humdrum story on the planet for Picard.
Episode 283: Interface (TNG)
Meh. Nice idea from a geeky techy perspective. Actual story doesn’t interest me. Just way too much technobabble and a little bit of Geordi worrying that’s brushed aside as often as possible. Fail.
Episode 285: Gambit, Part I (TNG)
Episode 287: Gambit, Part II (TNG)
Like last year’s Starship Mine, a real departure from what TNG normally is. I expect its quite polarising but I really like it – action packed, tense, and it does return to ‘normal’ TNG briefly for that beautiful scene between Data and Worf with both worrying they’ve damaged their friendship. For that matter, Data as Captain is just great all round.
Episode 286: Invasive Procedures (DS9)
Interesting exploration into the Trill culture. Predictable that everything will work out OK in the end but it still hurts to see Bashir forced to help.
Episode 288: Cardassians (DS9)
Yay, Garak is clearly going to be recurring! And he’s even better than his first time out – they’ve totally latched onto the campness this time around, what joy! All against the background of a serious and troubling plot point. This feels like some of the more adult episodes of TNG to be honest, but it’s OK for DS9 to pull back and do some more standard Treks after that opening three-parter.
Episode 289: Phantasms (TNG)
Hilarious episode – so many great moments. Some cool explorations of nightmare imagery but with lines like “Ah! Impotence on top of everything!” and Worf mumbling “with mint frosting”, who cares?
Episode 290: Melora (DS9)
Beautiful love story, Grace Holloway flying around is a highlight, realistic portrayal of a disabled person (or at least I imagine it is). Don’t care much about the Quark b-plot.
Episode 291: Dark Page (TNG)
Twisty turny, and then THAT ending. Majel gives the performance of her lifetime – it twisted like a knife even before I was a father. Even moreso now. God it’s tough viewing.
Episode 292: Rules of Acquisition (DS9)
Yay, return of Zek, and a marvellously comic Shakesperean “girl dresses as boy, romantic confusion and hijinks ensue” plot. Oooh, and who is this Dominion? Sounds fascinating… 🙂
(As a reminder, yes I’ve seen DS9 before!)
Episode 293: Attached (TNG)
Strong episode in isolation. Love the stuff they do with Picard and Crusher. I just hate that it’s not been touched on in years and then not really again after this. It feels like they knew this was the last season and were tickboxing some open threads.
Episode 294: Necessary Evil (DS9)
Well directed, tightly plotted, and great to see some proper prior history with the DS9 characters. It’s the sort of thing we rarely get in TNG except in the occasional bit of Riker/Troi or Picard/Crusher. Also love the sequence of Odo interrogating Nog – comic highlight!
Episode 295: Force of Nature (TNG)
Complete misfire on every level. Even Stewart struggles at the end with delivering the momentous “warp five!” line, which in itself already includes the get out clause that, well, if things are a bit bad they can always go faster. I think there’s one more time when they say “Starfleet has approved us for Warp 9” or something and then the whole mess is forgotten. Bless ‘em for trying – the environment is hugely important, but this episode doesn’t manage to tackle it.
Episode 296: Second Sight (DS9)
Another solid DS9 episode. I’d always given Avery Brooks shit for his acting but I think it’s actually just limited to the first half of season 1 where you can tell he’s out of his depth doing a sci-fi. He’s on form here, and it’s a lovely mystery.
Episode 297: Inheritance (TNG)
A touching little story here, always love a Data plot. Not sure how many more undiscovered “relatives” we can manage though before we stretch credulity. *cough*B4*cough*
Episode 298: Sanctuary (DS9)
Last time I saw this I didn’t really understand any of the refugee crises happening in the real world. The last few years the whole thing has angered me a lot more, so this episode hits home well. Great performances from guest and star actors alike. The universal translator science is well shonky though.
Episode 299: Parallels (TNG)
Utter fankwank. Utterly brilliant. I remember seeing photos of this months before I actually saw the episode, and it absolutely lived up to expectations. Don’t worry about the plot or anything else, just enjoy watching out for the changing scenery, costumes and characters. THE BORG ARE EVERYWHERE!