From: alumni106@camins.camosun.bc.ca (Max Sterling)
Subject: Re: Group Dynamics Review:  Time's Arrow, Part II (*SPOILERS*)
Organization: Camosun College
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 10:55:23 GMT

In article <1a5d76INN482@bigboote.WPI.EDU>, jtruss@cauchy.WPI.EDU (Free the Expo 67!) writes:

[spoilers]
































>      Mark Twain was extraneous.  After being an interesting character
> in Part I, he became (depending on which of us you asked) extraneous,
> annoying, unnecessary, a bad plot device, or all of the above in Part
> II.  It's been said before: he was little more than dead weight to
> throw back through the rift so that Picard could be retrieved.

Even as comic relief, I found him quite weak. Bringing him into the 24th 
century was quite cheezy, too. I mean, come on! He just saw a glimpse of 
what technology was like five HUNDRED years later! Certainly, there 
should have been at least SOME culture shock, but instead, like Gillian 
Taylor, Mr. Twain/Clemens/whatever he's calling himself now was taking 
everything for granted. At least you could explain away Gillian's 
encounter away with her concern for the whales which she loved as though 
they were her family, so the technology would (temporarily) take a back 
seat to her emotions. In TAII, there WASN'T any such thing.

> (Actually, he served as the only real time constraint on the crew's
> activities in the 19th century.  I still don't understand why Riker
> and Crusher were in such a godawful hurry, though I think having Worf
> go trigger-happy was the proper response.)

Perhaps after seeing the aliens as they really are (predators on human 
life), they feared for his safety. I liked Worf's response and was also 
surprised that people took him seriously for a change. That was one of 
the few redeeming aspects of the show, IMO. I think they could use more 
conflicts like this instead of watching Picard try to decide "Gee, 
should I have Earl Grey HOT, or Earl Grey COLD?"

>      As for the "destroy them, they must be evil" mentality, it's been
> brought up so much it's not worth going into yet again.  Suffice to
> say that I can't see Picard condoning that activity.  Worf, yes.
> Riker...*maybe*, considering the "loss" of his Captain.  But not
> Picard.

I can't see it either, but I must say it was a refreshing change.

>      Was it just us, or did they not even *try* to look for Data once
> they got back to the 19th century?

Maybe not. Perhaps Guinan's warning to Picard unsettled him so much that 
he only wanted to seek out Guinan and completely forgot about Data. Not 
likely, but it seems plausible considering all the other bullshit they'd 
like us to believe (eg. Picard reprogramming Data with an iron filing).

> Myself...well, I tried not to think about it overmuch, but I thought
> it would have been more appropriate to try activating his head, then
> asking hihich I wo
Actually, I have nothing against Shatner as a director. The problem I 
have with STV isn't the directing, but that the story/characterization 
etc. was pretty much like TAII.

>      The comic relief, for the most part, worked.  It did nothing for
> the plotline whatsoever, but at least it got a cheap laugh or two.

True, it took a while to accept Twain's new behaviour. Is it just me, or 
did he also change his voice (manually, not naturally) between TAI and 
TAII?

>      Data's decapitation scene was well done...one of the few we all
> seemed to like.  Let's face it, sacrificing himself is the kind of
> thing Data does best. :)

I thought they could have done that MUCH better. When it happened, I was 
thinking "Big deal. Well, that's done. Now let's get on with the story." 

>      The Guinan/Picard interaction was good.  At least, what there was
> of it.  Am I the only one who thinks the writers' continuous 'teasing'
> regarding Guinan's past is starting to get a little old?

Yes, that's getting old, "Worf the wuss Klingon" is getting old, 
Picard's "make it so" is getting old, and lots of other stuff which I 
won't go into here.

> Liz......"It bit.  3."
> OVERALL RATING:  Let's call it a 4.0.

Well, you gave it a higher rating than I did. My reaction was about the 
same as Liz's, with a lower rating. I was laughing so hard at some of 
the reviews on here! I think the writers of TAII deserve everything 
they've received from the net so far, and more.

> (Well, at least they took the firetrails off the opening titles...)

Hey, I thought that was the best thing about season V! At least it 
looked like they actually did some work on it. Now we're back to the 
same old lame ass "scroll in from the side" routine. Boring!

> john trussell       :: TNG Quote o' the Week: 
> TNG g.d.r. Compiler ::   "I keep telling you, there *is* no plot!"
> jtruss@wpi.wpi.edu  ::     --Madame Guinan (Time's Arrow, Part II)
                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hmmm... My basic sentiments on TNG in general. I wonder if she somehow 
managed to read my mind? Mata ne.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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