The Battle

DVD, TNG S1 (The Battle)

A good mystery which uses the Ferengi much better than their debut did, mainly due to the fact they're not creeping around and bobbing up and down like monkeys! The first officer even becomes sympathetic. The story is a little uneven in places however, with odd moments such as Crusher needling Picard that she can give him orders, then later she meekly does what he says "under protest". What happened to her medical authority? And the biggest clunker must be Deanna being able to sense feelings from the Ferengi, yet it is established that Betazoids can't read the species.

The story keeps you interested as Picard gradually loses himself to the device, and as well as introducing us to some history for the Captain and his old ship, there are some effective sequences involving ghostly imaginings of the Stargazer's crew. I'm not sure if Starfleet wouldn't already have come up with a solution to the Picard Manoeuvre, so it seems odd that Data would be called upon to create one. Despite the mistakes there's some good drama and strong work from Patrick Stewart.

***