From: sll28@cc.usu.edu (LORNA_PAYNE)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Re: OPINIONATED COMMENTS (SPOILERS for THE FIRST DUTY)
Date: 6 Apr 92 15:11:30 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

In article <1992Apr02.174334.23461@cs.cmu.edu>, mwgertz+@cs.cmu.edu (Matthew Gertz) writes:
> kanamori@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Atsushi Kanamori) writes:
>>
>>Spoilers below for THE FIRST DUTY.
>>
> 
>>
>>Grrarrrrg. This one's going to be a tough one to review. To its credit, it 
>>was miles above THE GAME, and removed any lingering doubts I had about Mr. 
>>Crusher as a viable character, but it could also have been a lot 
>>better. Like I said, grraarrg.
> 
> Uh, oh, I'm going to agree with this review, I think.  Time to climb under
> your desks, folks... the world is about to end...  8^)
 
I agree with Atsushi on most everything as well!  This is a first.

>>All right folks, everyone who's been complaining about Wesley saving the
>>day and never getting rapped when his experiment screw up, are you
>>satisfied now? Wes screwed up *big* time tonight and he's paying a heavy
>>price for it, no question about it. We knew the writers couldn't throw him 
>>out of the academy (the only logical followup to that would be for him to 
>>return to the Big E as a civilian) but they did *not* cop out in any way.
> 
> As Boothby said (paraphrased), we all screw up on occasion, even the 
> Wunderkind.  Seems like Wesley found his way into the "no-win" scenario,
> eh?  That's what I kept on thinking during this show.
> 
>>They found a logical and satisfying way to punish the kid. He'll have 
>>to endure the guilt of his role in killing Joshua Albert, he'll be a 
>>year behind his peers and have to endure on campus with everyone knowing 
>>what he did
> 
> This last point is definitely the worst for poor Wes... in a tight-knit
> community like a midshipmen academy, ratting on your teammates is a social
> faux pas of the worst kind.  In one day, Wesley has gone from "hero" to
> "rat" on campus, and it's a loooong way back... in a real-life situation
> like this, he'd have to watch his back, and feet that might suddenly trip him
> for no reason, and books "accidently" getting knocked out of his arms...
> 
This has been a season for difficult choices and no-win situations, hasn't it?
Rather nice to see them coping with this--this is territory TOS didn't enter
that often.  That's not a criticism, just an observation on the state of
popular culture in the 60's.


>> and it's GOT to make things awkward between him and the 
>>Enterprise crew the next time he visits (although I haven't bitched 
>>about serialization in a while, I'm going to now: if they don't at least 
>>*acknowledge* this the next the time Wes comes aboard, I am going to be 
>>SUPREMELY pissed. You have been warned :-)
> 
> I agree; they can hardly ignore it.
 
Just watch them.

>>That last item on my list worked so well *precisely* because they personified
>>Wes's relationship with the crew this time -- namely between him and Picard.
> [...]
>>...I was on my feet applauding. He sounded every *bit*
>>like a father whose son had betrayed his most secret principles -- hurt, 
>>shocked, betrayed, indignant and trying his best (barely successfully)
>>to keep his emotions under control. I won't try to describe it any further
>>than that -- this one must be watched. It really *is* a pleasure to
>>see Stewart sizzle again.

***sigh***.  After the rather inconsistent moral stands Picard's been taking
lately, it's nice to see him get back to what we all respect and admire him
for--his integrity and absolute devotion to the best of what Starfleet stands
for. 

[ . . .]
 
>> The other performer that leapt out at me
>>was Richard Fancy (Captain Satelk): leapt out as "incredibly bad actor",
>>that is. He seems to be from the Kim Cattrall school of Vulcan acting,
>>and he was even worse than *she* was. Blech.
> 
> I second the "blech," and raise two "Urrgg"s.

To which I would like to add a "kh-kh-kh"  (sound of choking)

[ . . .}
> 
> The first shot of Bev listening to Picard's report on the accident was
> ghastly.  It looked like her head had expanded to the size of a watermelon.

*This* I have to disagree with.  It was my strong impression that the good
doctor was forcibly restraining herself from getting hysterical and sobbing "I
want to see my baby!".  Which is exactly how I would act in the situation.  Her
son, her only child has been injured in a nearly fatal accident, and she's
doing her best to remain calm, logical, and professional.  Think back to
"Justice" (I know, it's painful) to see how she acted before in a similar
situation.  Here's a prime piece of character continuity for you, Atsushi. 
Beverly Loves Her Baby.  Don't mess with him. 


>>  Overall:    B- (I liked it, I hated it.)
> 
> Yeah, I think a 'B' would be about right... at least I could watch it again
> on reruns, which is more than I can say about some other episodes this
> season...

I might go a little higher--a B+.  The acting and writing were well above par.

       ---------------------------------------------------------
               Lorna Payne
               Certified Math Geek and Grammarian
       ---------------------------------------------------------
         You are not Morg.  You are not Eymorg.  What are you?
       ---------------------------------------------------------

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