From: kanamori@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Atsushi Kanamori)
Subject: Re: 3 more reviews (JUSTICE ... HIDE & Q)
Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University.
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 16:20:55 GMT

In article <1992Apr15.154206.8369@cco.caltech.edu> tlynch@cco.caltech.edu (Timothy W. Lynch) writes:
>kanamori@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Atsushi Kanamori) writes:

>
>>JUSTICE
>>-------
>
>>Ugh.
>
>>  Overall:    F- (If NEW GROUND was wiped out of existence, this would
>>                  be the worst of the series.)
>
>Oh, no.  I've got several that fall below this, "Qpid" and "The Royale" being
>the top (bottom? :-) ) of the list.  This is easily in the bottom 10, though,
>and probably the bottom five.  

I'd say QPID and ROYALE are at worst, side-by-side to, rather than below 
JUSTICE and NG. The latter two had good intentions but executed it abysmally, 
while the former two were bad ideas to start with and thus, we couldn't 
enjoy either of their accomplishments. It's pretty hard to say which is worse.




>>THE BATTLE:
>>-----------
>
>>Flawed, fascinating, and frustrating.
>
>To a fault, but mostly the middle of the three, IMO.  I still think this is
>the only *good* Ferengi episode ever made.
>
>>This is another episode that's tough to rate. The *premise* was 
>>fascinating, probably more so than any of the 1st season eps to this date. 
>
>With the *possible* exception, I think, of "Where No One...", but it's a 
>tough call.  

Aye -- WN1HGB was an exploration of outer space, while THE BATTLE explored
inner space. It's a taste call here, methinks. Like I said, I've been
itching for a good story of the latter class for several weeks now, so
this scratch came at a good time :-)


>>The episode absolutely OOZED a sense of approaching cataclysm and
>>a lot of seemingly innocent events are shot in a way that enhanced
>>the feeling of unreality and loss of control (e.g. on the Stargazer bridge --
>>the power suddenly goes on with no apparent reason; it's only a second
>>later that LaForge walks on and reveals himself to be the poltergeist;
>>the Ready Room door opens quietly in the background and it's almost a full 
>>second before anyone walks through it). Ah... I just checked the Guide:
>>Rob Bowman. Why am I not surprised? 
>
>Heh.  He's really the only *superb* director the show had this season as far
>as I can remember.  Where *is* he now?  I don't remember anything by him since
>"Brothers".

Me neither. Grrr. I can't believe they passed him over in the recent
"director's issue" of the ST:TNG mag.


>>Doesn't anyone wonder why the Ferengi continue to hang around like vultures
>>while all this is happening?
>
>'Cos Bok hasn't mentioned his "mutual problem" yet.  :-)  Seriously, if I'm
>remembering right, they were trying to start negotiating for peace; surely
>there's more to that process than the one meeting they saw.  Perhaps the 
>E's diplomatic staff (er...it does have some, right?  :-) ) was busy working 
>on the sidelines.

It wasn't explicitly said as I recall (it looked like the exchange of
the Stargazer was the primary function of the meeting.) But it's a reasonable
extrapolation.


>>And it's 40 minutes into the episode before anyone realizes it's the
>>Ferengi that's causing Picard's madness (and it's Rainbow Kid that
>>has to point this out to them?)
>
>They may have gotten the same impression after the events of "The Last
>Outpost" that we did; "oh, come on, these guys couldn't blow their nose and
>make it dangerous!".  First impressions can be tough to refute.

Good point. The feeling I got from the crew on that front was "cockiness", 
as if the Ferengi really weren't worth serious attention.


>>To sum up, I liked the ideas in this episode and the episode packed
>>a powerful suspense and emotional impact. It won't stand up for
>>repeated viewings, unfortunately, since much of the impact comes
>>from not knowing what's going to happen next. 
>
>Perhaps for you.  I've watched this one quite a few times without much lessen-
>ing of impact.

It definitely lost something on the second viewing for me: on the first,
I was thinking to myself halfway through "Now THIS is a good episode! 
Taking the logic flaws into account, this could be an easy B+."
Somehow the impact wasn't there on the second run. Perhaps the ending
was anticlimatic?


>>HIDE AND Q
>>----------
>
>>Eh.
>
>Uh-oh.  :-)
>
>>This one had some interesting ideas but wasted much of it. 
>
>To some extent.  It's probably the weakest of the Q-centered stories beyond
>"Qpid", but I don't understand the loathing many people have for it, honestly.
>I thought it was rather mundane in bits, but not bad.

It wasn't quite a "loather", no... but it was a let-down from THE BATTLE
which may explain some of those feelings. The production just didn't
seem to have its heart in this.


>>The theme
>>of power corruption is reminiscent of THE NTH DEGREE. 
>
>Er...I think you've got that backwards.   This did it first.

Didn't mean to imply otherwise. 


>>plot degenerates into a pointless sitcom reminiscient of THE SQUIRE OF
>>GOTHOS. This was definitely the "F" part for me -- the only enjoyable
>>part being seeing Wesley get shiskebobed (I wonder how loud the cheering
>>was when this first aired? :-) 
>
>That didn't do much for me, though an awful lot of people were pleased.  The
>one bit in the first half that *really* stood out for me, for whatever reason,
>was Q's sudden apperance in Data-makeup planetside.  That one stunned the hell
>out of me at the time.

Yeah, that was a startler.


>>Much of this stems from the lackluster performance
>>of the regulars. Frakes looks convincingly smug and arrogant as SuperRiker
>>but everyone else sleepwalked through their roles. 
>
>I'd differ with that on Stewart and, to some extent, Spiner, but other than
>that it was rather straightforward.  

Stewart had some good bits here and there, but he seemed to be taking the
whole business too calmly (especially when the Q curtain blocked the Enterprise
the first time around.) I didn't really notice Spiner -- he was peripheral
except for the "gift of humanity" bit.


>>we get little sense of what it's like to be suddenly more powerful
>>than anyone around you. 
>
>Agreed here, mostly.
>
>>The idea of exploring the Q-continuum is, in itself,
>>a fascinating one but like Nick Locarno in TFD, Q lacks the basic
>>character and three-dimensionality to make this a defensible option.
>
>That I disagree with.  I think a story finally showing the Qontinuum in 
>some fashion and *dealing* with exactly how Q sits in relation to his 
>fellows might well be a good one, if executed properly.

Different topic, though. I meant "fascinating to Riker", but I don't
think any properly trained Starfleet officer could justify abandoning his
ship and captain to go along with Q.

As for the Q-continuum being "fascinating to the viewers" -- I'll just
have to wait and see on this one. I can't think of a motivating hook in
it as of now (as in "well, here are some threads that I really think need
developing/resolving") but that doesn't mean they can't come up with anything
interesting.



. .        .       .                .        
: : : :. : :  :....: : .  ::.: .  ..: :    ..     : :    .:
::::::::::.: :::::::.:::::::::::.:::::: :?.:::::..::::.:.::
------------ -------------------------- --------------------------
TNG Lifelines: From "Yesterday's Enterprise" To "The First Duty" --
  "Prior to Starfleet Academy commencement ceremonies, an in-flight
   accident destroys five ships, including the one carrying Wesley
   Crusher" -- TV Guide: Mar. 28 - Apr. 3