From: raistlin@wixer.cactus.org (Eli Boaz)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Re: REALM OF FEAR -- OPINIONATED COMMENTS
Date: 4 Oct 92 05:35:18 GMT
Organization: Real/Time Communications

In article <1992Oct1.110508.12676@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU> kanamori@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Atsushi Kanamori) writes:
>
>Realm of Spoilers ahead
>

>
>Like 11001001, but more so, "Realm of Fear" points out a need for an
>"S" ("S" for "schizophrenic") rating. Some parts of this were wonderful,
>other parts were just plain awful. Fortunately, most of the former
>can be separated from the latter. The good stuff first.
>
>my mind. Even so, some scenes were pretty shocking: the Kentucky-fried
>crewmember "coming to life" in the sickbay, for one. The 
>"transportee's-eye" view of the beaming process was also nicely done:
>it's what you'd logically expect, yet jarring enough to make you sit
>up and notice. As usual, TNG is often strongest on the horror-mystery
>aspects, and this episode is no exception. 

Agreed on this part.  The transporter effect was nicely done and helped
answered some questions about what exactly happens during a transport.
(Yeah, I know, it's a TV show...)  And I loved the part with the dead
crewmember, too...

>Unfortunately, things like plot and characterization *aren't* TNG's 
>strong points and most of the "human issue" transportaphobia thread failed
>for me. Several factors contributed to this.

Hmmm... While ST:TNG does have a low batting average for plot and
characterization I enjoyed this show.  It had a bit more substance
in the plot and characterization depts. than most other episodes.

>First and foremost, Dwight Schultz was absolutely AWFUL as Barclay. I don't
>understand what happened. When we first saw him in "Hollow Pursuits", he
>was one of the all-too-rare TNG guest characters who could be identified
>with because he was just "a regular guy" -- the unpretentious, vulnerable,
>neighbor-across-the-street kind of character. True, he was eccentric, but 
>the beauty of it was that he was "nutty in a normal way." That's hard to 
>bend your brain around but that's *exactly* what made him so good :-) 
>I still believe that.

I have to disagree here, Schultz plays Barclay fairly well.  He's always
done well on roles where he plays a mentally `disturbed' character.  No
exception here either.

>In contrast, for most of "Realm", Barclay was Mr. Murdock; overdone and
>overacted. Scenes like Barclay curling up on Troi's couch and puckering
>his lips while Majel Barrett (Schultz's acting inspiration for this episode?)
>reads out the symptoms of transporter psychosis were *so* bad, I was trying
>to push him out the door. It's been a while since I rewatched "Pursuits" so
>maybe my tastes have shifted a bit, but I found Schultz's performance *much*
>too burlesque. In both this episode and "TAII", I felt less like I was
>watching characters (even bland characters) and felt more like I was
>watching a bunch of spoiled actors hamming up on the screen. This bodes
>ill for a show who I've generally regarded highly in the acting department.

While I agree that the acting reminded me of Mr. Murdock from the `A-Team',
I disagree that it was overdone and overacted.  Have you ever seen someone
(who was already metally `disturbed') start believing that they have a
serious illness?  I have, and I have to say that this was excellent acting
and he [Shultz] portrayed the situation well.

>On the characterization note, the script strains a tad too obviously to
>marry the Barclay character (whose trademark neurosis was fear of people)
>with transporterphobia. Part this stems from the overacting mentioned above:
>come *on*, guys! Any crewmember who whines and acts *this* childish for
>two seasons straight should have been booted out of Starfleet a long time
>ago.

So Starfleet should kick people out of the organization if they have
some problem that can inhibit them in certain areas?  This doesn't seem
to hold with what they keep repeating like robots over and over again.
(ie: everyone has something to contribute, we let them.)

>Scriptwise, the characterization of Barclay does a nice recovery
>about halfway through when he proactively puts himself through the
>transporter effect again to recreate the worms, and makes useful
>suggestions during the investigation. *This*, at least, represents
>a logical step up from "Hollow Pursuits" and it's done subtlely enough
>so that it didn't feel defensive. That, I approved of wholly.

Agreed here too.

>Characterization "throwaway scenes" ranged all over the scale (I did
>say "schizophrenic.") The O'Brien "spider story" pushed my paranoia button
>because it looked like yet another "let me tell you a story" schtick and
>an long-winded one at that. But it did a nice recovery at the end when
>O'Brien introduced Barclay to his pet spider. Fun wrapup there. 

Well, I did not consider the spider story as a "throwaway scene" since
it did have _somethine_ do with the story (overcoming one's fears).  It
was a bit long-winded. ;)

[more deleted...]

>I think I've said all that's needed. This one jumped all over the quality 
>scale from scene to scene. Graphically, I think the following rating
>describes "Realm of Fear" pretty well:
>...
>GRADE SHEET FOR "REALM OF FEAR"
>-------------------------------
>  Premise:    B+ (creepy trappings and a decent "human issue" story).
>  Execution:  C  (some good directing moments, both excellent and awful
>		  character scenes.)
>  Characters: C+ (started out exactly where "Hollow Pursuits" began, but
>		  a nice turnaround halfway through.)
>  Acting:     D- (this isn't "The A-Team", Schultz.)
>  
>  Overall:    C  (very, *very* uneven. Sigh.)
>

My `grade' for the show it the following: (same order) A-, C+, B-, C.
Overall: B 

Sigh... No, I'm not going to jump into the review race, as I have too
much else to do...  I just had to disagree with him on several issues
of the show...

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