Half A Life

DVD, TNG S4 (Half A Life)

Lwaxana's on board, for no particular reason, she's just there. And Picard is treading cautiously round his ship. I love the way Mrs. Troi can still bring out the 'old' reserved Picard, that her exuberant personality can still drive the Captain to feats of inexpressiveness and... er, vague... excuses... We later hear she's snagged a lift on the Federation flagship on her way home to Betazed, but she doesn't seem to be there in her Ambassadorial capacity as she isn't quite treated with the same rank as she has been on other episodes. Still, it's always a laugh to have her along for ride. Or is it?

Dr. Timicin comes aboard for a mission to try some kind of healing experiment on a sun so that his own planet's star can be prevented from destroying the homeworld Kaelon II. Lwaxana takes an instant fancy to him (he is, after all, male, and that's the only excuse she's ever needed!) and provides her usual comic moments through lack of respect for the conventions of Starfleet operations - having her manservant Mr. Homn spread the engineering console with a tablecloth to ensure Timicin, Geordi and Data eat up and stay healthy! Initial impressions begin to waver when the story takes a tragic twist and we learn that this is Dr. Timicin's last possible attempt to save his world before his 'Resolution', a ritual suicide which all members of his race practice at the age of sixty so they can die with dignity.

Lwaxana provides the voice of reason against this barbaric custom, as hard to believe as that is, even citing a hilarious Betazoid tradition involving massive wigs with tiny creatures living in the centre, which was uncomfortable for the wearer and cruel to the creature, as an example of something which had to be stopped, and was, when one lady spoke out. The added incentive is that the Dr. has an idea on how to proceed effectively and save his world, but they don't want to know, and when he requests asylum, cut him off completely, while threatening the Enterprise. His daughter (played by a pre-Ensign Ro Michelle Forbes, a year before she took her most famous Trek role), arrives to try and persuade him to stick to tradition as he taught her to do, which is the last straw for Timicin.

It's easy to forget that things don't end happily, with Timicin resigned to his fate, and nothing left to live for (as even Lwaxana's love isn't enough to sway him from his people's ways), he must leave. Lwaxana touchingly goes with him to attend the Resolution, as all his loved ones will. Though there are a few moments of levity, such as Mrs. Troi's overbearing presence forcing herself onto the large, but quiet visitor, while Riker grins heartily, or when Worf shows his great displeasure and finally rises to the bait explaining his name is Worf, not 'Woof', the majority of the episode is quite fraught and may well feature Majel Barrett's best scenes in the role - when she ferociously upbraids poor Chief O'Brien when he can't allow her to beam down to the planet to take out her anguish on Timicin's people; when she turns to her 'little one' Deanna for advice and comfort, and when she throws argument after argument against Timicin's way of thinking, then ultimately tries to accept his decision. If she hadn't done so before, she certainly proves her great worth as a dramatic actress, imbuing the usually fortress-like, unstoppable force that is Madam Troi with fragility and weakness, much as she would do in 'DS9's 'The Forsaken'.

A strong episode, and it's interesting to note the markings that Timicin's people sport on their person. Though they are more solid lines than spots, they are evocative of the Trill species' spots, which is ironic considering the first appearance of a Trill was in the following episode, and he didn't have spots at all!

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