Trekking Out: More TNG 6

“The Chains of Command” is a fantastic, dramatic two-parter. Ronny Cox delivers a great performance as the abrasive Captain Jellico while David Warner returns to the Trek universe as the Cardassian who tortures Picard. Written in consultation with Amnesty International, the ordeal for Picard is far worse than when he experienced with the Borg.

“Ship in the Bottle” is an excellent contrast to the previous dark story, and is example of a Holodeck story done well. Daniel Davis returns as Prof. Moriarty and we get some Barclay to boot in this sequel to season two’s “Elementary, Dear Data.”

“Acquiel” is a mystery-style episode that never quite works for me. It’s meant to be a Geordi-centric episode, but only in that he falls for one of the guest characters, a young woman who may be a murderer.

“Face of the Enemy” has a few holes in the plot if you examine it too deeply but it’s a lot of fun to watch Deanna Troi forced to go undercover as a Romulan helping Spock with his underground movement.

“Tapestry” is yet again proof that the Q character doesn’t have to become stale. This time around he helps Picard revisit his past and change the course of his personal history.

“Birthright” is a two-parter I couldn’t be bothered to watch again. The scenes is part one where Data’s dream program is activated with the help of Deep Space Nine’s Dr. Bashir, but the second half with Worf is rather dry.Technorati Tags: star trek, ST:TNG, tv, dvd

Trekking Out: The Quality of Life

I only watched one episode last night. “The Quality of Life” is a pretty standard episode the explores a frequently-used science fiction theme: A what point can a machine be considered alive? In a sense, this is a sequel to season two’s “Measure of Man” where Picard must defend Data’s rights as an individual. This time around, Data is advocating for the rights of small worker computers that are evolving. A solid effort overall. And Geordi has a beard.

Trekking Out: TNG Season 6

Last night I watched five episodes of TNG Season Six starting with “Relics”.

First off, I’ve never been happy with picture quality of season six – the colours are muddy and dull for some reason; I’m not sure if it’s a lighting issue or the style of the director of photography or what. This phenomenon started the year before and improves a little in season seven.

“Relics” is all about the appearance of James Doohan as Scotty. A ratings stunt to be sure, but his resurrection is clever and appropriate for his engineering talents. What I like about this episode is that there is real conflict between him and Geordi, something TNG usually shied away from within the circle of regular characters. However, while the Dyson Sphere is a neat way to create peril, it’s also a letdown that the Enterprise crew doesn’t actually explore the sphere. Finally, they let Scotty have his own shuttlecraft to fly off in. Where does he go to the loo?

“Schisms” is a clever bottle show with a hint of X-Files. Brannon Braga is good at writing these mystery shows that involve weird phenomenon affecting the ship and crew. His main fault is his reliance on technobabble to tell the story, but the humorous touches such as Data’s poetry balance that out.

“True Q” is an excellent example of how the writers kept the Q character fresh. John de Lancie and Patrick Stewart get to verbally spar while Crusher gets to use her parental skills for the first time since Wesley departed. The only disappointment is we never do see the young Q Amanda ever again.

“Rascals” is something the series can be allowed to get away with after six years. A transporter accident that turns four characters into children is a real hoot, particularly when Picard tries to command the ship although nothing has changed. The young actress playing Ro was great too. I find it hard to believe that Ferengi mercenaries could take over the Enterprise so easily, even with the element of surprise, but I can suspend disbelief for the most part, especialy once Riker starts explaining how the main computer works to the clueless Morta.

“Fistful of Datas” is a second light-hearted romp in a row, this time thanks to a holodeck malfunction, which you can expect at least once a season. The execution is fantastic, Worf’s son isn’t too annoying and Brent Spiner channels his southern accent from his Night Court appearances years ago.

Overall, a good batch of episodes, although none of the feature any real high drama.

Today’s Trekking Out: Star Trek The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is still the highest grossing Star Trek film of all time, but depending who you talk, it’s the weakest next to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

I don’t think TMP is a bad film; its main fault is that it’s too cerebral and preoccupied with showing off state-of-the-art special effects. It also lacks the action and the humour of the original series.

Despite these flaws, the special edition on DVD is decent film. Footage that was added in the VHS edition is cut out again, and overall the pacing is much better. There are also some updated special effects shots that improve the presentation of story, especially once V-Ger reaches Earth.

Other pros: A magnificent score by Jerry Goldsmith, remixed for the DVD; although the story is reminiscent of the original series “The Changeling”, it embodies the strange new worlds and seek out new life themes; and, it feels like a big screen event.

Other cons: The lack of the colour overall – too much drab grey and blue with the occasional browns; the uniforms look like pyjamas; the secondary cast get little to do.

Ultimately I was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching it after all these years.

Tonight I’ll likely watch a few TNG episodes starting with “Relics” which features James Doohan as Scotty.

Trekking Out

In effort to kickstart my blog and force me in the habit of writing something that isn’t work related, I’m starting what I expect to be a near daily feature called Trekking Out.

Last spring I purchased the box set of all 10 Star Trek films and finally got around to watching first six last weekend. Now I’m watching Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Six with Seven to follow.

I was a big fan of Trek through high school and followed the spin-off series as far as Voyager. With all of the talk of JJ Abrams’ upcoming film and my lack of access to cable, I’m overdue to revisit my love of Trek and see if it holds up.

Set phasers on geek.