The_MOW Blog

Under discussion:

Star Trek: The Next Generation 103: Ensign Ro  (1991)

"Ensign Ro Laren" (Michelle Forbes) was jailed for four years for disobeying orders which lead to eight deaths. Now, she has been released, and assigned to the USS Enterprise to aid in finding a "Bajoran" terrorist.

The crew of the Enterprise does not want her there, and she doesn't want to be there. But "Enisign Ro," who comes from a species who puts their last name first and first name last, may turn out to be the most valuable member on the mission.

This is one of the best acted episodes by the main cast and main guest stars up to this point of the series. Whoopie Goldberg ("Guinan"), Jonathan Frakes ("Commander Riker) and Patrick Stewart ("Capt. Picard") stand out from the main cast members.

Another outstanding performance is by Forbes, who turned down reprising this role twice on other series of the Star Trek franchise. You actually believe that she does not want to be there as soon as she appears on-camera for the first time.

Actors in lesser speaking roles, who are there just to advance the storyline, also do fine performances for the time they are on-screen.

A problem with this story is the many plot holes. It makes the viewer asks why the "Federation" is involved and not the "Cardasians," who have a more direct link with the terrorist attacks that brings Enterprise very close to their border with the "Federation".

This story however has good political intrigue which may be more relevant in the post-9/11 Era than it did in 1991 when it was first broadcast on television. But, this is not an episode to introduce new viewers to the series.

Under discussion:

Star Trek: The Next Generation 52: Who Watches The Watchers?  (1989)

"Who Watches the Watchers" sees the crew of the "Enterprise" rushing to aid a hidden cultural outpost on "Mintakan III" when it experiences a massive electrical failure shorts out the holographic generator which hides them from the "Mintakans," an apparent "Vulcan" off-shoot who are in their world's Iron Age.

As an Away Team beams down to aid the outpost, a male "Mintakan" named "Liko" (Ray Wise) and his daughter, "Oji" (Pamela Segall) see the holographic illusion which disguises the window of the outpost, which is built into a cliff, malfunction. "Liko" then climbs up to investigate, and sees a medic beam up with an injured man. "Liko" touches an electrified part of the window and falls a great distant. "Dr. Crusher" (Gates McFadden) rushes to his aid against orders and beams him to the "Enterprise". Her action is a direct violation of the "Federation's" "Prime Directive".

On board the Starship, "Liko" wakes and sees "Captain Picard" (Patrick Stewart) in a waking haze.

After a surgery to wipe "Liko's" memory clean of his experiences on board the Starship, he is sent back to the planet. It is there where "Riker" (Jonathan Frakes) and "Concelor Troi" (Marina Sirtis), disguised as "Mintakans" in search of a missing outpost crew member, discovers the procedure did not work.

"Liko" tries to convince the others in his community that he has seen the afterlife, as well as the fabled "Overseer," whom he believes is "Picard".

"Picard" then decides to break the already violated "Prime Directive" to help prove to the "Mintakans" that he is not a supernatural being.

This episode is a pretty good story which focuses mostly on "Picard". And it has pretty good performances from all involved.

The alien performers, especially Wise and Kathryn Leigh Scott (who plays "Nuria"), do a wonderful job as people who are evolving into a god-fearing species. Stewart stands out from the rest of the regular cast in this episode.

The scenes within the "Mintakan" village are visually bland. And the shots outside the buildings of said community are quite cramped, but that is mostly due to the geography of the land used for the production.

The episode is a pretty good look into what the "Prime Directive" is all about.

Under discussion:

Star Trek: The Next Generation 102: Darmok  (1991)

"Darmok" features "Captain Jean-Luc Picard" (Patrick Stewart) and guest star Paul Winfield (as "Darthon") in an interesting episode which has the only appearance of an alien race that only speaks in a language made up entirely of metaphors that not even the "Universal Translator" completely understands.

The "Enterprise" meets up with a race called the "Chidren of Tama," which has no history of violence. An attempt is made between "Picard" and the captain of the alien ship to communicate, but the "Universal Translator" onboard the "Enterprise" can not decipher the metaphorical language of the aliens.

As they try to communicate, the alien commander transports himself and "Picard" onto the apparently uninhabited planet where the alien tries to teach "Picard" their language, something happens that forces "Picard" into finally understanding his companion.

This episode is more actor driven than script. The two principal actors, Stewart and Winfeild, both put forth excellent performances. Each show the frustration of their characters quite nicely. They also make their relationship with one another quite convincing as the story progresses.

The supporting cast, which mainly consists of the main cast, and occasional appearances from the other performers playing the aliens, do just as well as the two "captains". However, they don't seem to get as frustrated with their problems as "Picard" does with his in my opinion.

The visuals are so-so in this episode. There aren't any spectacular computer animations on board the "Enterprise". There is one on the "planet" that is fairly well done, but it is too much like one seen in the "Predator" movies to my liking.

I also was not impressed with the "planet" that "Picard" and the alien captain are transported to via the alien transporter device. To me, it looks as if the special effects crew didn't do anything to make it not look like a wooded area on Earth.

If you like stories with strong performances by the main actors, I suggest you check this one out.