The Best of Both Worlds

DVD, TNG S3 (The Best of Both Worlds)

"Resistance is futile." I couldn't say it better myself. Though this is fifteen years old, the effects are mostly passable, and we don't see much to impress the modern viewer, this story still has it where it counts, and makes me think on original transmission it must have been incredible, because back then even the visuals would have been breathtaking. They aren't bad, even now, thanks to some dazzling nebula scenes to rival 'Star Trek II', and the Borg vessel, a real construct has so much more weight, presence and menace than the later appearances in most of 'Voyager'. The Borg are untested and unmatched, still the most dangerous foe Starfleet has ever encountered to that point, and while a case can be made that the Dominion was the deadlier enemy, the Borg remain more terrifying, their ideology as much a threat as their almost-human appearance and lack of individuality. I could write about the success of the Borg as a creation all day, but it isn't simply their presence and the shock of losing Picard to them that places this episode beyond reach of any other of the series, in my view.

The characters are as vital to the storytelling as their actions, something 'Enterprise' would fall down on in its Xindi arc, the closest they got to a strong recurring villain. Riker's career and personal problems are as much an underlining of the external events as they are a seemingly bizarre side story. But his personal tensions, with Shelby, with his own future, even with the Captain, feed the latent threat of the Borg. They don't appear until near the end, when the Captain is kidnapped, following the tradition of all great stories in building and building until the audience knows something bad is going to happen. The music, its rising portent signifying the slow, but steady approach of danger, works so well in mirroring Riker's situation, and in many ways this two-parter is so much more about him than Picard. The Captain's experiences would be played out in the succeeding episode 'Family', and in 'Star Trek: First Contact', but it's Riker's show for sure.

Events catch him at a bad time, or perhaps serve to highlight the rut or comfort he's allowed himself to fall into. We remember the brash risk-taker he was in the first season, and in the space of three years he really has matured and grown, and it is this fact that threatens him more than the Borg, because it causes him to doubt himself, or at least, question himself, forgetting that even at his most reckless, he maintained an awareness of others around him and the necessary procedures, which Shelby, being more of a renegade, lacks. She is important in the fight against the Borg, but her ambition outshines all her other qualities making her potentially a weakness. So far her professionalism has mostly contained her impetuousness, but not enough for Riker. The Borg have actually given Riker a jolt out of any perceived complacency he saw in himself and lead him to act in the best interest of the ship, as always.

Guinan was a natural person to shore up Captain Picard's confidence, and it's a shame it wasn't Riker she was speaking to, but she was there when the first encounter with the Borg took place, and she has first hand knowledge of them after they destroyed her homeworld. Her talk with the Captain serves to reassure us, but at the same time hints at what could be lost. There is comfort in the thought that humanity would survive, even if it were only a handful slipping through a net, but it is small comfort all the same. Their discussion of the fall of Rome or the battle of Trafalgar in which Nelson died victoriously speaks to our sense of history - as Picard says, this is but another page, but it is a page that would resonate for years after, haunting many. For the first time it showed that Earth itself could be in danger, brings up the fact that Starfleet will one day pass into history, and that everything known can be swallowed up, and turns even the sure things on their head.

Worf must have been especially disgruntled with his performance as security as he is prevented from protecting the Captain or rescuing him. Geordi does his usual best, as does Data. Beverly gets to be part of the rescue mission and is vocal in her suggestion that Picard should be rescued, though Riker knows the ship is his responsibility more than any other concern. Even Wesley gets to help. The whole team do their best, but it isn't enough to avert catastrophe. How far that the fallout would be was yet to be revealed in the second part. Pity those people in the past that had to wait months, and be thankful for DVD! Season 3 isn't quite the bold change many think it is, and I miss some of the unpredictability and the originality of the first two seasons. The quality definitely boosted to a new level, but it wasn't completely consistent. It certainly showed what the series was capable of and took things on another step, and this episode was the crowning achievement.

*****