From: jal41820@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Smiley)
Subject: Re: Quality of "Quality of Life"
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 14:11:42 GMT

dave@cs.arizona.edu (Dave Schaumann) writes:
:)In article <BxuHxF.LKB@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, kpm44977@uxa (Kevin P. McDonald) writes:
:)> few comments on the latest TNG episode "The Quality of Life", but first...

:)>O.K., now for some unsolicited opinions.
:)>wasn't the core idea of this story already seen in [...] "Home Soil"?

:)IMHO, this is the downfall of this episode.  It doesn't just use a previous
:)idea, it steals wholesale from previous episodes:

This should be fun...   :)

:)  1. Unknown and unsuspected new life form is put in jeopardy by self-
:)     centered and overly ambitious scientist [Home Soil, Evolution].

In Home Soil, the scientists didn't have much of a clue they were dealing
with a life form, and when the Enterprise did, they accepted it immediately;
it was taking in energy to fuel itself, and reproducing. In Evolution, the
crew was pretty convinced the nanites were alive. Here, the CREW can't even
prove it definitely until the very end. The strugle is in this definition,
not the crew overcoming the dificulty. And I think it's a little bit about
helping one another.

:)  2. The rights of machine intellegence is brought up [Measure of a Man,
:)     Evolution, Offspring].  Unlike those, however, no new ground is explored.

This wasn't about the rights of machine intellegence as much as those episodes,
or as much as it was about just rights of life forms.

:)  3. Data shows he is able to take over the ship single-handedly whenever
:)     he takes a mind to [Brothers]

The transporters are the whole ship?

:)  4. Riker performs in a manner that suggests he's /not/ good captain material
:)     [Rascals, Darmok, just to name two that come to mind]

I don't see how Rascals showed that at all. Darmok could have, but that's an
opinion of command style.

:)  5. Characters are put in mortal danger, but everyone (except a walk-on
:)     character) is safe and sound by the time the credits roll.
:)     [virtually every episode ever made (TOS included)]

Well, this isn't a reason the episode is any better or worse than any
other. Yesterday's Enterprise did the same thing, but not many seemed to
complain there. Maybe because, like there, it wasn't the main point. The
point was in having the exocomps showing their willingness to help, and
their self-sacrifice.

:)Additionally, we have Picard and LaForge  put in danger by trechnology

Actually, it was radiation. The fact many experiments that go wrong can
produce harmful radiation seems quite palausible to me.

:)introduced just for the episode, and rescued by trechnology just for the

Well, considering the exocomps were the *point* of the episode, I think
it rather appropriate. Besides, I thought you said above you're tired of
seeing the same things over and over? Did you want an *old* solution?

:)And there's another thing too.  This episode clearly establishes that the
:)Federation now has the ability to create artificially intelligent machines
:)on a wholesale scale.  Any takers on a bet we'll never see or hear of them
:)again?

Well, the lab was wrecked. Maybe the designs were wrecked with them. That
takes care of that problem.

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