The Outcast

DVD, TNG S5 (The Outcast)

The most important detail of this episode is Troi's casual reference to the date the Federation was founded: 2161. And the other is that, for whatever reason, perhaps as simple as he forgot to shave, Geordi has a beard. The rest of it feels like an extended PSHE (personal, social and health education) lesson at school! Whether it's Soren asking about the intricacies of human reproduction or the contrived love story that appears between her and Riker, it all feels dull. The J'naii don't help matters - their very nature being androgynous means that they are all generic with none of the differences gender would provide, so their clothing, voices and restrained mannerisms make them seem utterly uninteresting. Like Vulcans, but with all the coolness and history stripped away.

It's no wonder Soren was intrigued by and attracted to the idea of two different genders. That wasn't enough to convince me of the possibility of Riker and her/it becoming so incredibly attached that he'd risk his career to rescue her. Though it was the series at a low ebb I still found some scenes to enjoy among the regulars - Riker and Troi speak openly to each other for once after recent episodes have seen them both 'compromised' in the eyes of the other. Worf is an especially good friend after the events of the last episode, volunteering to help Riker in his crisis, and Picard's tactful handling of Riker at the end all spread a warm glow into a colourless episode. The J'naii seemed to all be played by women, a bit like the Talosians in 'TOS' and perhaps if they'd had their voices altered as those aliens did they might have been more believable entities. Saying that, Megan Cole (who would later appear in 'DS9' as Romulan Senator Cretak), made a very good androgynous person, though I'm not sure that's much of a compliment!

The unfortunately monikered Soren (since the name brings to mind 'Kirk-killer' Soran), got her moment of glory, though I suspect Will had introduced her to Shakespeare, specifically 'The Merchant of Venice' which includes a very similar speech to the one she makes. The concept of a genderless race was vaguely interesting, but I'd have liked to have found out more about the culture and how such a society existed, especially as they claimed to have 'evolved' out of the need for gender which was rather far-fetched, instead of going into a vague mire of individual rights. The J'naii appeared to have some degree of space travel so you'd think they would have realised their lack of gender was an anomaly rather than the norm in the galaxy at large! 'Enterprise' attempted a similar story with a species that had three genders, and that was equally dull so it could be a running theme with these kinds of episodes.

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