From: harris@sdd.hp.com (John Harris)
Subject: Re: 3 in 1 Opinionated Comments (1st season episodes)
Reply-To: harris@sdd.hp.com (John Harris)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, San Diego Division
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 19:28:21 GMT

In article <1992Apr7.212105.18779@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU>, kanamori@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Atsushi Kanamori) writes:
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|> This post contains reviews for the episodes:
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|>         ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT
|>         THE NAKED NOW
|>         CODE OF HONOR
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|> ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT
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[comments about effects/music deleted] 
 
|> The character bits are okay for a crew who's just getting to know each
|> other. I especially liked the part where Picard tested Riker. A quick
|> rundown on the characters:
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|>    Picard: Hmm... he doesn't seem to have changed much over the years.
|>      At least, he didn't strike me as fundamentally different from season 5.
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|>    Riker: Again, I didn't detect much difference -- other than that he's
|>      visually unrecognizable without the beard :-)
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|>    Worf: Geez, has he been breathing helium or something? I guess Dorn
|>      hasn't gotten into the role yet (of course, he has less to do in
|>      this outing than any other character.)
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|>    Data: A bit more expressive than usual, and I suspect those 
|>      "word: synonym1,synonym2,synonym3..." recitals are going to get
|>      mighty tiresome in the near future.
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|>    Tasha: Is Crosby just a bad actress or is she's supposed to act
|>      spazzed-out? Chill out, lady.

She is just a bad actress.

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|>    Geordi: As often, I have nothing to say about this character.
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|>    Beverly: Her head is redder, but I don't detect anything fundamentally
|>      different.
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|>    Troi: Ehhh... definitely not the SuperTroi we've been seeing lately.
|>      First, she seems to state the patently obvious ("He's frozen!").
|>      Second, her very ROLE in this episode is to TELL us (and tell the
|>      crew) about the emotions and motivations of Q and the jellyfish.
|>      So much for subtlely acted character drama where the fascination
|>      comes from trying to figure out the true feelings and motivations
|>      of the player. Finally, that *outfit*! Geez, guys, can we manage to 
|>      be a LITTLE more obvious about her "hot babe" role on the show? 
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|>    Wesley: Precocious 14 year old -- yep, I can see why people hated
|>      this character. He's fun as a foil for annoying the other characters,
|>      but TFD-style Cadet Crusher he is not.

I got sick of the garbage about Wesley being on the bridge.
 
[portion of review deleted]
 
 
|> GRADE SHEET FOR "ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT"
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|>    Premise:    D  (the "superbeing tests humanity" is old stuff, and the
|>                    "Farpoint mystery" is rather lightweight.)
|>    Execution:  B  (the character bits are fine and the show is technically
|>                    proficient, but the Farpoint investigation gets a tad
|>                    tedious.)
|>    Characters: C  (okay for a first time outing)
|>    Acting:     B- (Dorn and Crosby are a little green, the rest are standard.)
|>    Music:      C+ (noticeable but random; still, it has a few nice segments.)
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|>    Overall:    C  (not great, but a decent start.)

I think a "C" is about right.  This and QPID were the only Q episodes I
didn't really enjoy. I like Q because he toys with the crew who came across
to me as being extremely arrogant (especially in earlier seasons).  I like
to see them get knocked down to size once and awhile.
  
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|> THE NAKED NOW
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|> I don't know if TNN was intended as a character development story or as
|> a parody of TNT. Either way, it fails utterly.
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|> First, the plot larceny. I assume Mr. Bingham never copied an assignment
|> in school because if he'd had, anyone with one eye could have caught him.
|> They not only stole the basic premise, but major plot elements too.
|> Insidious water molecules, frozen people, crewman takes over Engineering,
|> must recover control to save the ship. At least, they included the original 
|> writer in the original credits but heavens, this showed a lot of gall.

This didn't bother me as much because they referenced the original TOS 
incident.  I was surprised that McCoy's remedy didn't work.  I have to
admit, however, that my first reaction to the similar plotline was not
favorable.

|> Second, the characterizations. In a word, blechhh. In the original, the
|> infection at least showed something INTERESTING about Kirk and Spock. Each
|> one had to do with an inner struggle betwen conflicting demands. It was
|> a believable struggle and one that *challenged* the characters and gave
|> them something to work towards. In TNN, what we get is highly superficial. 
|> Geordi wants normal vision. Aww. Such a problem invites a technological
|> solution, not a character-growth solution. All this does is make LaForge
|> look like a whiner. Data wants to be human. Okay, this is a tad better but
|> it's still a yearning, not a conflict. If he succeeds, he wins. If no,
|> he's no worse off. Nothing's at stake but himself. 

Agreed.  This is further evidence to me that TOS had better character
development than TNG (No TOS vs TNG flame war please).  

|> The portrayal of the women is atrocious. It can be summed up in three words:
|> sex, sex and sex. Instead of building Troi, Beverly and Tasha, this episode
|> trivializes them to the worst of TV stereotypes. 
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|> Finally, we get to Wesley. In words of one syllable...
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|>  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
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|> Thank you. NOW I know why everyone hated him so. There is nothing even
|> *remotely* believable, interesting or likable about this Mr. Crusher. 
|> A 14 year old kid can build a mini-tractor beam and forge the Captain's
|> voice in his spare time? He can rewire a starship's tractor beam 
|> by working the plans out in his head??? Okay, I know it's possible --
|> but it's BORING and trite. Furthermore, what we learn about him from
|> the infection is as superficial and poorly developed as what we learn about 
|> Geordi and Data. He dreams of being a starship captain. U.S.S. 
|> Enterprise-D -- ship full of whiners, sexpots and dreamers. 

Wesley is the reason this episode gets an F from me.  In fact, his lousy 
characterization ruins many of TNG's early episodes.  I think that
Wheaton is a decent actor (unlike the actress who plays Yar), but the
character handling of Wes was terrible (until recently).
 
|> Third, the heavy-handed comparison of the infection to alcohol
|> and open lecturing about its evil effects. Spare us the public-service
|> messages, please.
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|> THE NAKED NOW was a naked ripoff. It was larcenous and the characterizations
|> were superficial, self-centered and poorly developed. I'm hard pressed to 
|> think of anything good to say about it. Well okay, maybe one: composer 
|> Ron Jones does a pretty mean Fred Steiner imitation. Had me fooled. :-)
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|> THE NAKED NOW:
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|>    Premise:    F  (stealing not just the premise but half the damned script!)
|>    Execution:  F  (did Roddenberry have *anything* on his mind other than
|>                    sex? A ship full of trained officers and a 14 year old
|>                    saves the damn kazoo?)
|>    Characters: F  (wonderful: we have not one but *three* Ensign Ro's)
|>    Acting:     B+ (I *hate* rewarding acting of this kind but I must admit,
|>                    they were supposed to look like idiots and they did.)
|>    Music:      C  (Ron Jones does Fred Steiner and fools me -- if a "C"
|>                    was good enough for TOS music, it's good enough for this.)
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|>    Overall:    F  (unbelievable gall)
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Agreed, it was lousy.  I cringe everytime I think of Wesley saving the ship. 
 
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|> CODE OF HONOR
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|> Yeah, and...?
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|> I'm still trying to figure out what the POINT of this show was. It
|> didn't seem to have anything new to say or do. The episode gets off
|> to a hokey start from the beginning when the "aliens" turn out to be
|> tribal primitives lifted straight out of Africa. Real imaginative, guys. We 
|> move from there to a routine action-adventure story that goes through all 
|> the motions but does nothing even remotely interesting or original in the 
|> process.
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|> The script is pedantic in the extreme. The characters openly lecture
|> each other about issues like male superiority, cultural tolerance, 
|> humanity and honor, and how savage we poor 20th century people are compared
|> to the peace-loving and enlightened (I might add "stuck up" and "didactic")
|> 24th century. That Picard all but acknowledges this at one point makes
|> it no less irritating. The Ligonian characters are a cliche among 
|> cliches -- everyone who hasn't seen these characters on your generic
|> episode of TARZAN raise your hand. Except for a few lines here and there,
|> the characters are walking speech-makers; they're not even *remotely*
|> believable.
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|> The ending is confusing -- how is it that Yareena (Yar vs. Yareena -- how
|> clever) can suddenly take a husband and declare Lutan as her second? Also,
|> the fate of the vaccine is left dangling -- who exactly carries the
|> authority on the planet and why? Perhaps I missed something here -- but
|> I don't feel like rewatching the show to find out.

I think that because Yareena officially "died," her marraige was void and
she was able to choose another.  She and her new husband had the authority.
This is from memory and no, I don't want to rewatch it either.
 
|> There were a few amusing lines here and there: the above mentioned
|> Picard bit about rambling on about what everyone knows, and Hagon's
|> repartee about how the Enterprise crew is advanced technologically but
|> not in civilized behavior. Oh yeah -- Fred Steiner's music added something
|> too. 
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|> That's about it, though. I really have nothing much to say about CoH.
|> I've seen worse episodes on TNG, but none so forgettable.
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I considered it a raving success because we didn't see much of Wes :).
Of course, having much of the story center on Yar wasn't much better.

|> GRADE SHEET FOR "CODE OF HONOR"
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|>   Premise:     D  (I can't recall a story that was so... *routine*)
|>   Execution:   D- (*very* pedantic script -- a few amusing bits here and
|>                    there but that's about all.)
|>   Characters:  D  (Troi is mighty annoying the way she keeps TELLING us
|>                    about the Ligonian characters -- the Ligonians themselves
|>                    are cardboard cutouts.)
|>   Acting:      B  (Not much acting was called for here -- anyway, I didn't
|>                    notice it.)
|>   Music:       C  (That's what Fred was worth on TOS, and that's what he's
|>                    worth here.)
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|>   Overall:     D  (Eminently forgettable.)
|> 
 
Fortunately, TNG hasn't been as consistently bad as these first episodes.
I actually quit watching it for awhile in the first season. 

Good reviews. Normally I am in the middle ground between you and Tim
but I agree with you here (I didn't see Tim's review of these 3).

John Harris


 
|> . .        .       .                .        
|> : : : :. : :  :....: : .  ::.: .  ..: :    ..     : :    .
|> ::::::::::.: :::::::.:::::::::::.:::::: :?.:::::..::::.:.:
|> ------------ -------------------------- --------------------------
|> TNG Lifelines: From "Yesterday's Enterprise" To "Cause & Effect" --
|>   "Captain, we are getting unusual readings 20,000 km off the
|>    starboard bow." -- Worf, Worf, Worf and Ensign Ro.