From: krk1@pyuxe.uucp (24228-knights)
Subject: Re: QL: Two-Faced Reviews: Nowhere to Run
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 12:28:38 GMT

In article <1992Oct7.100625.5988@grebyn.com>, billones@grebyn.com (Jeremy Billones) writes:
> 
> Spoilers for the 10/6 episode "Nowhere to Run"
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> So you think the ST-TNG split plot was bad?  Well say hello to the QL
> triple plot.

First of all, as you said later in this post, you were not paying
attention.  Your review of the ep makes this all too obvious.
> 
> 	1) Quadraplegic vet wants to end it all.
> 	2) Paraplegic vet's wife can't handle it; wants a divorce.

I think we've discussed misuse of this term enough.
> 	3) MIA's wife is candy striping.

MIA's SISTER was candy-striping.  Bobby was her brother.
> 
> You know the problem with split plots - you can't do either one justice
> in a half hour.  In this case, with three plots, the 8 minutes of commercials
> really bite into it, leaving really only 15 minutes per plot... Super
> Force had more time to develop a plot.  So the characters bit the
> dust - let's dust off the old cardboard cutouts, guys and gals.

Let's don't and say we did.  Yeah, they didn't have a lot of time.
But no, they didn't come off as cardboard cutouts.  We got quite a
bit of info about Ron's roommate -- how he met his girlfriend, that
he was a football player in high school, etc.
My only objection was Kiki's large-breastedness.  :-)
(Those who don't have, envy.)

> 
> You can also throw in a couple of lame plot devices: "Ziggy can't find
> out anything about the MIA 'cause he was detached to the CIA," and,
> "Oh, gee, I forgot to check his wife's first name."  And don't forget
> the random gratuitous "rubdown interruptus" scene... since she was gonna
> divorce him anyway, what is usually a trite shtick became fluff filler...
> the last thing you need in a triple plot story.

The Rubdown Interruptus was not fluff filler.  It showed us beyond
any doubt that Kiki had an attraction to Ron, and set the stage for
the ending.  If she had simply been a candy-striper doing her job,
she would not have been self-conscious about having been "caught"
by the wife, and would probably have been matter-of-fact about it.
As it was, she acted embarrassed, which implied that she was
thinking things she felt guilty about.  So it wasn't gratuitous at all.
Maybe having Scott's shirt off was gratuitous, but considering he
had his clothes on through all of last week's episode, we'll
forgive it this time.  (And next time, and the time after that . . .) :-)
> 
> Also noticeably absent was most of the heavy-handed moralization you'd
> expect in an episode about disabled vets.  While Al's speech was nice,
> they turned what should have been an explosive confrontation at the bar
> into a spilled coffee cup.  If only they had the time... Of course, if
> they had, I might be complaining about how badly they had handled it.
> But this episode convinced me I'd rather they try & fail than not try
> at all.

You WANTED heavy-handed moralization?  In my mind, this is the WORST
way to deal with this kind of thing.  The subtlety of the encounter
in the bar made it that much more powerful.  And the silent implication
that this guy was probably a war protestor added even more undertones.
What did you want to see?  Sam taking the guy out?  This would have
been quite inappropriate.  And I think it was a beer, not coffee.
In any case, the guy said, "At least let me buy you another beer."
> 
> So what about a grade?  It wasn't a bad episode by any means.  It just
> looked like a reader's digest version of QL.  I'm leaning towards a high
> D, because this could have been typical but wasn't quite.  On the other
> hand, I had three TVs going at once (NLCS on 9, Caps v Leafs on 20) and
> might have missed some key amount of dramatic impact.  Besides, they
> kept continuity about Sam leaping into a disability.  And the
> following Reasonable Doubts wasn't too bad.  And the Caps won.  So I'll
> give them a C; if this is the worst they do this year, I'll survive.

Next time, before you give the review, do us a favor and WATCH the
episode.  Tape it or something.  By your own admission, and by your
review, you missed a heck of a lot.  If, after you've watched it,
you still feel the same way, then that's okay.  

I give it an A for avoiding heavy-handed moralization, for
NOT having a pat ending where the wife gets back together
with the husband, and for letting Ron make his own way with
Kiki rather than having Sam do all the work for him.
My only gripe was the statement that Al sees Sam as Sam.
I have no problem with this if there's an explanation:
like maybe they upgraded the Imaging Chamber.  I have to
assume that they are continually  working on the elements
of the Project, but I'd like to see this discussed on the screen.

BEST QUOTE SO FAR:  "First I ripped of all your clothes, then I
pulled out my bazuki and played wild peasant songs while I
danced naked around the raft."
-----
Katriena Knights
"I don't mind being in touch with reality, as long as I don't 
have to live there."
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.tv,rec.arts.tv