DVD, Smallville S6 (Arrow)
For once I'm actually liking where this is going, I almost can't believe it! It's far too early to suggest this direction is going to save the series in my eyes, but the Green Arrow and Clark Kent's connection through Lois and their powers was compelling and the other strands of the story were approaching that same level of interest, which is a turnaround from many of the episodes. It helps that the Green Arrow really is a cool customer, and we get to see him doing his thing, robbing the rich to help the poor, a latter-day Robin Hood. Clark's disagreement over the belief that the ends always justify the means makes for an interesting tautness between the two characters, both pulling for good, but with different ideologies. It suggests a promising arc if the writing can keep up the standards demonstrated here. Of course I'm not going to rave too much about it as I've been disappointed so many times watching this series, but at least there's finally some hope.
I feel sorry for Lois. Once again she puts her foot in it, once again she gets her act together, this time her journalistic passion flares up for a winning story, but once again she's left out of the real action and the invisible world that we see every episode passes her by. Chloe wasn't used so much, but her scenes were effective. First she's trying not to be upset by Lois' competition, then her own line of enquiry with Clark comes to a premature end, and this time it's Clark who's holding the wall up and asking her not to pry. He should remember he did that before, and that asking Chloe not to uncover something is a springboard into her ferreting out the truth. Even if she was willing to accept this, (and she was being a bit coy at the time so we don't actually know if she'll do what he asks), her natural instincts will always come to the surface - she can't help but lift every stone!
More worrying than Chloe's case of serious knowledge withdrawal is Lana beginning to take on the characteristics of Lex. She meets with Lionel to help Lex, and we find out that she thinks she can keep him from destroying himself, but really she's just another pawn in his big game. The most telling moment is in her threatening Dr. Croll, the man tasked with uncovering the secrets of the alien weapon. It's only late in the episode, when we see Lex and Lionel meeting to discuss her that we realise just how much of a test all this was, about whether he could really trust her. Is Lionel acting the part in his friendship with the Kents? Even Clark seems to accept what he says these days because he has proved himself so often and hasn't given away the big secret. Or has he? We just don't know, but I'm going to go with the notion he hasn't told Lex and won't, even if he is out for himself, primarily because it's an advantage over his son and he doesn't give away advantages unless that in itself is advantageous. I'm beginning to sound like a Luthor myself, and there's a danger your mind can go round in circles with these people so perhaps it's best not to think too hard.
The best thing that happens is Clark meeting the Green Arrow, once he's worked out his secret identity. But even when he meets him without that knowledge it's a great moment. The guy has some lovely gadgets from gas arrows to crystal, light refracting variations, to zip-wires and his high-tech folding bow looks so sleek and efficient. Gadgets haven't been something 'Smallville' has concentrated on in the past, it's usually Kryptonite-based power or some other fantasy, but this guy is just like Bruce Wayne with his penthouse and 'Batcave' hidden in the clock face, and a rich lifestyle that hides his true persona. And I love it all! It made me wonder if it would ever be possible to have Bruce Wayne visit since they're both DC creations, but it was never going to happen because of the films that came out in the years these later seasons were made. Sad, but if the Green Arrow continues his battle against injustices it could be just as good.
I could have done with a little more action to compliment the ideas and the character stuff, but it was a good episode anyway. Clark actually has three important, life-changing meetings with the Green Arrow: he meets Oliver Stone for the first time, he meets the Arrow as an enemy, and finally he meets him knowing the two are one. They could have dragged these things out over several episodes, but they decided to pack it all into one, so I hope they haven't run that river dry before it got going. Stone's last talk with Clark was the most exciting as two heroes man to man discuss the finer points of helping people and that they may work together someday. Let's hope that day is not delayed too long.
***
Monday, 22 August 2011
Horizon
DVD, Enterprise S2 (Horizon)
One of the best of the season, we finally get a proper Travis Mayweather story. The sad part is realising that this is pretty much the only fully Travis-focused episode of the entire series, and as Anthony Montgomery shows, he deserved more development like this to grow the character. A lot of ground is covered very quickly. For a start we get to see the return of the gravity sweet spot that was a fun gimmick in the pilot, but its appearance here points up its absence from the rest of the series, another example of the many threads and unique nuances that were forgotten or not bothered with. That private place that Travis goes to could have been something special for his character, a place to show him being himself rather than the helm robot he can often come across as. It was a brilliant idea yet it's only used twice as far as I remember, and that's not good enough.
This episode is about showing the series could pull off family-oriented tales as well as the other Trek's, and in that regard it succeeds. Similar to the first season's 'Fortunate Son,' which was also about life aboard a freighter being bullied by aliens, the ECS Horizon has the personal connection of being Travis' home ship, the place he grew up on, even linking back to Zefram Cochrane who built it, according to Trip. In some ways this freighting life is even more interesting than the exploratory mission of Starfleet because of their lack of technology, having to live on wits alone, far from any help. We already know how dangerous space, or at least, many of the inhabitants are, through Enterprise's adventures, so to think this crew have to deal with the same kinds of problems with less resources gives their work a lot of respect.
Although Paul, Travis' brother, has a streak of jealousy and all the usual brotherly rivalry you'd expect, his Mother's confidence in him, and the fact that he could bend when he chose to, leaves us with the impression he'll make a good captain once he's got more experience of command under his belt. When Travis steps into the airlock, his new, exciting life with Starfleet is locked off behind him and he steps back into the life he's known before, and it takes a little adjusting. I wish they'd made more of the snobbery between the freighters and Starfleet - they're proud of what they achieve with so much less, but at the same time they have a grudging respect for the pioneers. They also feel their lifestyle is under threat to some degree because the best people are joining Starfleet. The situation was compelling enough for me to speculate on a series charting the progress of some of these kinds of vessels. I think it would be a real fascination to see the day to day life and trials these people went through, a bit like 'DS9,' where they were interacting with aliens in a hostile environment, but obviously, on the move. It was obvious they were simply redressing NX-01 sets for the Horizon, with similar readouts and such, but it makes sense that even an old freighter would be kitted out with upgraded equipment closer to the Enterprise.
There's a fun little tip of the hat to 'TNG' when Travis suggests Starfleet should include families aboard ships in the future. Reed follows it up by saying in that case they'd need a psychologist too, so Deanna's practically referenced there! I think the amount of amusement is actually something that stops the episode from achieving classic status in my eyes. The B-story of Trip and Archer trying to get T'Pol to go along to a showing of 'Frankenstein' on film night was at odds with the more serious main story of Travis finding things weren't quite perfect on the Horizon. Going from Paul getting angry at his brother, to T'Pol trying to come up with a reason to get out of going to a horror film, or Phlox annoying everyone by talking through it (urgh! I hate people doing that - talk about what you've watched afterwards!), took some of the momentum away. I also didn't buy the reason Enterprise was visiting the planet and its light show. Perhaps if that had been the core of the story it might have had more weight.
Despite minor flaws it's a very solid episode, showcasing Travis, giving him some real feelings to show, enhancing his friendship with Archer, especially in the revelation that his Dad had recommended him for the helm, and giving us some more insight into the other human 'explorers' out there on the final frontier. They may not have a personal chef, film night and phaser cannons, but they've got guts and a job to do, and I personally wanted to see them again. Sadly, in a common theme for the series, it was one of many things passed by. Sometimes they needed to keep stock of what worked and get those human elements into the episodes - if there were more scenes such as the ones between Travis and Archer the series could have competed with the best of the other Trek's, but so often action took precedence.
That's not to say there wasn't action here - the mini space battle is about as close as you were going to get to a proper skirmish on the series, and it looked good. But the trivial things interested me too: learning it's been eighteen months the NX-01's been going, and in that time they've visited twenty-two homeworlds. The Orions also have an early mention (best not to get mixed up with them!), and on an obscure note, I noticed one of the desk microphones from 'Star Trek VI' (also on Wesley's desk in 'The First Duty') cropping up again in Travis' room.
***
One of the best of the season, we finally get a proper Travis Mayweather story. The sad part is realising that this is pretty much the only fully Travis-focused episode of the entire series, and as Anthony Montgomery shows, he deserved more development like this to grow the character. A lot of ground is covered very quickly. For a start we get to see the return of the gravity sweet spot that was a fun gimmick in the pilot, but its appearance here points up its absence from the rest of the series, another example of the many threads and unique nuances that were forgotten or not bothered with. That private place that Travis goes to could have been something special for his character, a place to show him being himself rather than the helm robot he can often come across as. It was a brilliant idea yet it's only used twice as far as I remember, and that's not good enough.
This episode is about showing the series could pull off family-oriented tales as well as the other Trek's, and in that regard it succeeds. Similar to the first season's 'Fortunate Son,' which was also about life aboard a freighter being bullied by aliens, the ECS Horizon has the personal connection of being Travis' home ship, the place he grew up on, even linking back to Zefram Cochrane who built it, according to Trip. In some ways this freighting life is even more interesting than the exploratory mission of Starfleet because of their lack of technology, having to live on wits alone, far from any help. We already know how dangerous space, or at least, many of the inhabitants are, through Enterprise's adventures, so to think this crew have to deal with the same kinds of problems with less resources gives their work a lot of respect.
Although Paul, Travis' brother, has a streak of jealousy and all the usual brotherly rivalry you'd expect, his Mother's confidence in him, and the fact that he could bend when he chose to, leaves us with the impression he'll make a good captain once he's got more experience of command under his belt. When Travis steps into the airlock, his new, exciting life with Starfleet is locked off behind him and he steps back into the life he's known before, and it takes a little adjusting. I wish they'd made more of the snobbery between the freighters and Starfleet - they're proud of what they achieve with so much less, but at the same time they have a grudging respect for the pioneers. They also feel their lifestyle is under threat to some degree because the best people are joining Starfleet. The situation was compelling enough for me to speculate on a series charting the progress of some of these kinds of vessels. I think it would be a real fascination to see the day to day life and trials these people went through, a bit like 'DS9,' where they were interacting with aliens in a hostile environment, but obviously, on the move. It was obvious they were simply redressing NX-01 sets for the Horizon, with similar readouts and such, but it makes sense that even an old freighter would be kitted out with upgraded equipment closer to the Enterprise.
There's a fun little tip of the hat to 'TNG' when Travis suggests Starfleet should include families aboard ships in the future. Reed follows it up by saying in that case they'd need a psychologist too, so Deanna's practically referenced there! I think the amount of amusement is actually something that stops the episode from achieving classic status in my eyes. The B-story of Trip and Archer trying to get T'Pol to go along to a showing of 'Frankenstein' on film night was at odds with the more serious main story of Travis finding things weren't quite perfect on the Horizon. Going from Paul getting angry at his brother, to T'Pol trying to come up with a reason to get out of going to a horror film, or Phlox annoying everyone by talking through it (urgh! I hate people doing that - talk about what you've watched afterwards!), took some of the momentum away. I also didn't buy the reason Enterprise was visiting the planet and its light show. Perhaps if that had been the core of the story it might have had more weight.
Despite minor flaws it's a very solid episode, showcasing Travis, giving him some real feelings to show, enhancing his friendship with Archer, especially in the revelation that his Dad had recommended him for the helm, and giving us some more insight into the other human 'explorers' out there on the final frontier. They may not have a personal chef, film night and phaser cannons, but they've got guts and a job to do, and I personally wanted to see them again. Sadly, in a common theme for the series, it was one of many things passed by. Sometimes they needed to keep stock of what worked and get those human elements into the episodes - if there were more scenes such as the ones between Travis and Archer the series could have competed with the best of the other Trek's, but so often action took precedence.
That's not to say there wasn't action here - the mini space battle is about as close as you were going to get to a proper skirmish on the series, and it looked good. But the trivial things interested me too: learning it's been eighteen months the NX-01's been going, and in that time they've visited twenty-two homeworlds. The Orions also have an early mention (best not to get mixed up with them!), and on an obscure note, I noticed one of the desk microphones from 'Star Trek VI' (also on Wesley's desk in 'The First Duty') cropping up again in Travis' room.
***
Time's Arrow
DVD, TNG S5 (Time's Arrow)
The stakes couldn't be much higher than Data's life, and once we've established the disembodied head is not Lore's, Data's life becomes of prime concern. The head in question sadly doesn't match the scale of the episode not having a realistic enough texture to the skin. They've obviously tried, but I think the way to go was either use Brent Spiner to act as the head as was done in 'Disaster,' or to cover it in dirt so the features are only just distinguishable - it was in the ground for five hundred years, after all.
Data's head isn't as important as what he means to the crew of the Enterprise. His thoughts on death are most interesting and provide a new perspective on the way the android sees death. Knowing that he will be transported back in time to die at some unspecified point gives him a sense of impermanence that is at odds with the unending lifespan he had so far anticipated and says far more about his importance to his friends than 'Nemesis' managed. That film did at least get the disembodied Data head off to a fine art though!
The story is somehow more low-key than could be expected from a season-ending cliffhanger. Certainly it doesn't have the action or import of the previous two season's finales. The Borg were going to be almost impossible to top, and the Klingon saga made a good stab at it, but this is much quieter in some ways. Rather than speeding around, getting involved with other ships or races the Enterprise is mostly stationary (after being recalled home to Earth and then zipping off to Devidia II). Most of the time is taken up with the crew's feelings about Data's death and then Data's experiences on 19th Century Earth. The outdoor sequences look very nice indeed and give a sense of the period and the colour - talking of which, it seems unlikely Guinan would be accepted so easily. As Captain Sisko found out in the 20th Century, things weren't so good for black people. Perhaps she's seen as a wealthy and exotic foreigner because of her fine clothing, or perhaps there were some women that had successful businessmen husbands?
The set-up for Picard's first meeting with Guinan is enigmatic, but at the same time blatant: she tells him he needs to go, but not why, which is vintage Guinan. It was good to see her doing some actual bartender research, experimenting with a complex beverage, as often it's her presence rather than her actions that dictate a scene. That we don't see the meeting adds anticipation for part two. Guinan does meet Data for the first time, though it wasn't quite the great moment it could have been. It's funny rather than momentous, but it is great to see a Guinan from so long ago, even before the events of 'Star Trek: Generations.' Somehow she does seem younger - more open and sociable than mysterious. She tantalisingly assumes Data has been sent by her Father and begins to tell him she hasn't finished listening, presumably to the inhabitants of Earth.
The noted author Samuel Clemens overhears all the talk of starships and the 24th Century, another thread left hanging for the sequel. Jerry Hardin had played a less memorable role in Season 1 ('When The Bough Breaks'), and would be in 'Voyager' (as an alien doctor in 'Emanations'), but this time he gets something more substantial, though the best must surely be in the second part. Jack London, writer of 'Call of The Wild' is also cleverly included without the reveal of who he is, and the Devidians with their distasteful feeding adds a touch of horror to proceedings. The half-seen, ghost-like images of the featureless heads ingesting what we learn is the life force of real people is really quite unpleasant (in a good way), assisted by the harsh blue light it's filmed in. The throbbing of the central pillar and the lights playing across it all speak of more advanced technology, although the snake they carry makes it a bit 'Stargate'!
Seeing this now doesn't have the same impact as my previous viewing, perhaps it isn't as impressive compared to the last two season-enders, and coming hot on the heels of a couple of classics it loses out a little. Still, Data's exploits are fun as he tries to fit in, disguising his superior strength when he realises he shouldn't be able to carry the anvil with one hand, and in his poker-playing skills finding a practical use. Marc Alaimo looks suitably untrustworthy as a card shark (his human face seen for the first time on Trek), but Data isn't a man to be trifled with.
In keeping with the low-key style the ending is rather abrupt, seeing Picard and some of the crew walking through a glowing doorway. It has little of the impact of Sela's stepping into the light at close of 'Redemption,' so perhaps this season saw 'TNG' reach its peak and begin the very slow descent down the other side. The word descent is a bit ironic there, but that was for a whole other season. Certainly Season 5 stands tall in the 'TNG' history, with perhaps only Season 4 to match it. It's been strange to have a lot less O'Brien, but that was going to become increasingly apparent when he left for 'DS9,' and the characters have become ever more rounded, growing with the series.
***
The stakes couldn't be much higher than Data's life, and once we've established the disembodied head is not Lore's, Data's life becomes of prime concern. The head in question sadly doesn't match the scale of the episode not having a realistic enough texture to the skin. They've obviously tried, but I think the way to go was either use Brent Spiner to act as the head as was done in 'Disaster,' or to cover it in dirt so the features are only just distinguishable - it was in the ground for five hundred years, after all.
Data's head isn't as important as what he means to the crew of the Enterprise. His thoughts on death are most interesting and provide a new perspective on the way the android sees death. Knowing that he will be transported back in time to die at some unspecified point gives him a sense of impermanence that is at odds with the unending lifespan he had so far anticipated and says far more about his importance to his friends than 'Nemesis' managed. That film did at least get the disembodied Data head off to a fine art though!
The story is somehow more low-key than could be expected from a season-ending cliffhanger. Certainly it doesn't have the action or import of the previous two season's finales. The Borg were going to be almost impossible to top, and the Klingon saga made a good stab at it, but this is much quieter in some ways. Rather than speeding around, getting involved with other ships or races the Enterprise is mostly stationary (after being recalled home to Earth and then zipping off to Devidia II). Most of the time is taken up with the crew's feelings about Data's death and then Data's experiences on 19th Century Earth. The outdoor sequences look very nice indeed and give a sense of the period and the colour - talking of which, it seems unlikely Guinan would be accepted so easily. As Captain Sisko found out in the 20th Century, things weren't so good for black people. Perhaps she's seen as a wealthy and exotic foreigner because of her fine clothing, or perhaps there were some women that had successful businessmen husbands?
The set-up for Picard's first meeting with Guinan is enigmatic, but at the same time blatant: she tells him he needs to go, but not why, which is vintage Guinan. It was good to see her doing some actual bartender research, experimenting with a complex beverage, as often it's her presence rather than her actions that dictate a scene. That we don't see the meeting adds anticipation for part two. Guinan does meet Data for the first time, though it wasn't quite the great moment it could have been. It's funny rather than momentous, but it is great to see a Guinan from so long ago, even before the events of 'Star Trek: Generations.' Somehow she does seem younger - more open and sociable than mysterious. She tantalisingly assumes Data has been sent by her Father and begins to tell him she hasn't finished listening, presumably to the inhabitants of Earth.
The noted author Samuel Clemens overhears all the talk of starships and the 24th Century, another thread left hanging for the sequel. Jerry Hardin had played a less memorable role in Season 1 ('When The Bough Breaks'), and would be in 'Voyager' (as an alien doctor in 'Emanations'), but this time he gets something more substantial, though the best must surely be in the second part. Jack London, writer of 'Call of The Wild' is also cleverly included without the reveal of who he is, and the Devidians with their distasteful feeding adds a touch of horror to proceedings. The half-seen, ghost-like images of the featureless heads ingesting what we learn is the life force of real people is really quite unpleasant (in a good way), assisted by the harsh blue light it's filmed in. The throbbing of the central pillar and the lights playing across it all speak of more advanced technology, although the snake they carry makes it a bit 'Stargate'!
Seeing this now doesn't have the same impact as my previous viewing, perhaps it isn't as impressive compared to the last two season-enders, and coming hot on the heels of a couple of classics it loses out a little. Still, Data's exploits are fun as he tries to fit in, disguising his superior strength when he realises he shouldn't be able to carry the anvil with one hand, and in his poker-playing skills finding a practical use. Marc Alaimo looks suitably untrustworthy as a card shark (his human face seen for the first time on Trek), but Data isn't a man to be trifled with.
In keeping with the low-key style the ending is rather abrupt, seeing Picard and some of the crew walking through a glowing doorway. It has little of the impact of Sela's stepping into the light at close of 'Redemption,' so perhaps this season saw 'TNG' reach its peak and begin the very slow descent down the other side. The word descent is a bit ironic there, but that was for a whole other season. Certainly Season 5 stands tall in the 'TNG' history, with perhaps only Season 4 to match it. It's been strange to have a lot less O'Brien, but that was going to become increasingly apparent when he left for 'DS9,' and the characters have become ever more rounded, growing with the series.
***
Entity
DVD, Stargate SG-1 S4 (Entity)
It could be called a fairly standard episode, and uses a standard sci-fi trope, probably as a money-saving measure, since it's all set in the base, with only some onscreen computer game graphics to show an alien world. They've dialled up one of the numbers in the Ancient's phone book, just to, you know, check it out. That's what they do. Although the opening is, that word again: standard, the mood in the control centre is adventurous. The team could be blase about another world, another gate connection, and another MALP being sent out, but they treat the experience with curiosity and that stops us, the audience, from being bored, or for the Stargate to be treated as routine technology. It helps when we see the MALP suddenly flying off, but the joy of the scene is rooted in the verbal tics and tocks back and forth between the characters, O'Neill especially on form and in a good mood this episode.
Once the MALP is no longer able to transmit visuals all the equipment goes haywire and the team have a new problem, that of a program or entity which takes over the base, or would have if it had had a chance to, but emergency power comes on and it's only later they discover the MALP room has become a 'nest' for the intelligence. Although the team are only creeping around in one of the base's warehouses rather than an alien planet, it's still got something about it because we know that something was being built in there. Up to that point I felt the story was quite refreshing as I was expecting people to be taken over from the title. It's been done before, it'll be done again, but this time they had avoided the obvious by using technology as the carrier, in a 'Matrix' sort of way - all hanging cables and screens with little keyboards in front.
I wouldn't say I was disappointed when the inevitable happened - Sam gets to be the one whose consciousness is invaded, and the story continues along in a nice way, referring to how much Sam means to Jack especially, and the hard decision of having to turn off her life support, the sensitive music adding a lot to these scenes. Using a synthesised voice worked well for the character of the entity, providing some otherworldliness and harshness to its persona. It also spoke of the smallness and captivity in the way it came out, so there could be some sympathy, even though it was just something sent to defend its planet.
It turns out that they had assumed Earth was attacking because radio waves were damaging to them, and Earth would have been in big trouble if it wasn't halted prematurely. It was aggressive, but only trying to preserve its planet, and ultimately makes a selfless act by releasing Sam's consciousness into the mainframe before Jack shoots her inhabited body. All so they wouldn't fulfil the threat to send more probes. This linchpin of the story could have been spelled out better - that the entity was sacrificing itself, and why it didn't just agree to leave Sam's body so Jack wouldn't have had to shoot to kill in the first place, but that would have meant less sad scenes. The script was a bit ill-thought out in places. However, it dealt with a more alien world in a suitable way and without breaking the budget, while also touching on the connection between O'Neill and Carter, using the standard plot pieces in a fairly good way and making for an above average episode. Sergeant Siler and Dr. Fraiser are more involved, naturally, as it was set on the base, and even Walter, the gate technician gets blown off his seat! I've only just noticed: when did Teal'c lose the tiny beard?!
***
It could be called a fairly standard episode, and uses a standard sci-fi trope, probably as a money-saving measure, since it's all set in the base, with only some onscreen computer game graphics to show an alien world. They've dialled up one of the numbers in the Ancient's phone book, just to, you know, check it out. That's what they do. Although the opening is, that word again: standard, the mood in the control centre is adventurous. The team could be blase about another world, another gate connection, and another MALP being sent out, but they treat the experience with curiosity and that stops us, the audience, from being bored, or for the Stargate to be treated as routine technology. It helps when we see the MALP suddenly flying off, but the joy of the scene is rooted in the verbal tics and tocks back and forth between the characters, O'Neill especially on form and in a good mood this episode.
Once the MALP is no longer able to transmit visuals all the equipment goes haywire and the team have a new problem, that of a program or entity which takes over the base, or would have if it had had a chance to, but emergency power comes on and it's only later they discover the MALP room has become a 'nest' for the intelligence. Although the team are only creeping around in one of the base's warehouses rather than an alien planet, it's still got something about it because we know that something was being built in there. Up to that point I felt the story was quite refreshing as I was expecting people to be taken over from the title. It's been done before, it'll be done again, but this time they had avoided the obvious by using technology as the carrier, in a 'Matrix' sort of way - all hanging cables and screens with little keyboards in front.
I wouldn't say I was disappointed when the inevitable happened - Sam gets to be the one whose consciousness is invaded, and the story continues along in a nice way, referring to how much Sam means to Jack especially, and the hard decision of having to turn off her life support, the sensitive music adding a lot to these scenes. Using a synthesised voice worked well for the character of the entity, providing some otherworldliness and harshness to its persona. It also spoke of the smallness and captivity in the way it came out, so there could be some sympathy, even though it was just something sent to defend its planet.
It turns out that they had assumed Earth was attacking because radio waves were damaging to them, and Earth would have been in big trouble if it wasn't halted prematurely. It was aggressive, but only trying to preserve its planet, and ultimately makes a selfless act by releasing Sam's consciousness into the mainframe before Jack shoots her inhabited body. All so they wouldn't fulfil the threat to send more probes. This linchpin of the story could have been spelled out better - that the entity was sacrificing itself, and why it didn't just agree to leave Sam's body so Jack wouldn't have had to shoot to kill in the first place, but that would have meant less sad scenes. The script was a bit ill-thought out in places. However, it dealt with a more alien world in a suitable way and without breaking the budget, while also touching on the connection between O'Neill and Carter, using the standard plot pieces in a fairly good way and making for an above average episode. Sergeant Siler and Dr. Fraiser are more involved, naturally, as it was set on the base, and even Walter, the gate technician gets blown off his seat! I've only just noticed: when did Teal'c lose the tiny beard?!
***
The Inner Light
DVD, TNG S5 (The Inner Light)
For a well-regarded classic this takes a long time to get going, but at the other end of the story I was gratified they took the time for a proper, dignified ending - none of this 'have a laugh about what happened and speed off to the next adventure,' but a personal ending for Picard in keeping with the gravity of what he experienced. Having recently watched 'Star Trek: Generations' I noticed some parallels in concept: the Nexus is very much like this other life that Picard lives, with a wife and children, far away from captaining a starship, but also for the fact that it must end and he must leave. He even says a line that appears in the film about appreciating the moment because it will never come again. The magic and joy of both situations works so well in their stories making both stand out from the crowd.
There's not a lot for the other characters to do (I don't think Troi is there at all, which is convenient as she might have detected what was going on), their only reason for being in the episode at all is for timely cuts away from Picard's life on Kataan, so that when we return he's aged by years, otherwise it would be a very long episode indeed! I would have thought Dr. Crusher could have overruled Riker about breaking contact with the probe, but she never pulls rank. The idea of living an entire life which to everyone else was only a few minutes long, was later used in 'Voyager,' an episode called 'Blink of an Eye' in which the Doctor spends time on a planet that travels much faster than normal time. Another link to that series is the Administrator, who also played the USS Voyager's ill-fated Doctor in the pilot - in both he plays a similar figure of authority that has a slight nastiness to him. In that, he didn't like Tom Paris, and in this he's not willing to take Picard/Kamin's research seriously. Richard Riehle is another familiar face to that series as he played one of the Irish holograms in the Irish village holoprogram, and went on to play a friend of Doctor Phlox in 'Enterprise.' He looks considerably younger here!
It takes a while for Picard to adjust to being Kamin, having a wife and living a simpler life on a pre-warp planet, even though his village, Ressik, is quite beautiful, like the white-walled city of Gondor in 'The Lord of The Rings' when seen from a distance, but each time we see him he is more settled. His hair grows longer, the sapling that was planted at the beginning becomes a larger tree (another Gondorian link!), his flute-playing goes from simple blowing to a real understanding of the instrument, and his ripped musculature becomes more and more disguised by longer, looser garments. His voice becomes deeper, the wrinkles get more pronounced until he's really an old man, and you could almost believe it's Dr. Soong back from the dead!
The casting was good, as the children, when adults, looked very much like their parents - the girl definitely had the same kind of face as her Mother, and the boy gave us a glimpse of what a young Jean-Luc Picard might have looked like, mainly because he was played by Daniel, Patrick Stewart's son. I thought I recognised something about Margot Rose, who played Kamin's wife Eline, and I was right as she was also an Argrathi (in heavy makeup) in 'Hard Time' a Fourth Season 'DS9' episode, which has similar themes: O'Brien lives years in a few minutes, but this is an implanted prison sentence.
The general rule for episodes just before the end of the season, is that they are heavily budget-conscious and often forgettable, in readiness for the big closing performance of the season, but now and again an episode in that slot becomes a classic. The most obvious that springs to mind is 'Duet' from 'DS9' Season 1, and this is another to buck the trend. It may have been more sparing with the money, we don't see much of the village beyond the square or Kamin's house (I admired the artistic doors and their push-button opening system), but it was what happened between the characters that mattered most. When Batai, looking as young as he had been years previously, appears at the end near the ancient Kamin, the chills creep up the neck as the characters that have reenacted the lives of Kataan gather around their messenger to the outside galaxy, stepping out of the scenario to explain what has happened. It's a touching moment as all they want is for Picard to remember their extinct civilisation so that someone does. I thought the probe was a permanent marker that would relay its story to anyone that passed, but it's more poignant for being a one off chance. Who knows who might have come along to receive the message. Their probe chose well.
****
For a well-regarded classic this takes a long time to get going, but at the other end of the story I was gratified they took the time for a proper, dignified ending - none of this 'have a laugh about what happened and speed off to the next adventure,' but a personal ending for Picard in keeping with the gravity of what he experienced. Having recently watched 'Star Trek: Generations' I noticed some parallels in concept: the Nexus is very much like this other life that Picard lives, with a wife and children, far away from captaining a starship, but also for the fact that it must end and he must leave. He even says a line that appears in the film about appreciating the moment because it will never come again. The magic and joy of both situations works so well in their stories making both stand out from the crowd.
There's not a lot for the other characters to do (I don't think Troi is there at all, which is convenient as she might have detected what was going on), their only reason for being in the episode at all is for timely cuts away from Picard's life on Kataan, so that when we return he's aged by years, otherwise it would be a very long episode indeed! I would have thought Dr. Crusher could have overruled Riker about breaking contact with the probe, but she never pulls rank. The idea of living an entire life which to everyone else was only a few minutes long, was later used in 'Voyager,' an episode called 'Blink of an Eye' in which the Doctor spends time on a planet that travels much faster than normal time. Another link to that series is the Administrator, who also played the USS Voyager's ill-fated Doctor in the pilot - in both he plays a similar figure of authority that has a slight nastiness to him. In that, he didn't like Tom Paris, and in this he's not willing to take Picard/Kamin's research seriously. Richard Riehle is another familiar face to that series as he played one of the Irish holograms in the Irish village holoprogram, and went on to play a friend of Doctor Phlox in 'Enterprise.' He looks considerably younger here!
It takes a while for Picard to adjust to being Kamin, having a wife and living a simpler life on a pre-warp planet, even though his village, Ressik, is quite beautiful, like the white-walled city of Gondor in 'The Lord of The Rings' when seen from a distance, but each time we see him he is more settled. His hair grows longer, the sapling that was planted at the beginning becomes a larger tree (another Gondorian link!), his flute-playing goes from simple blowing to a real understanding of the instrument, and his ripped musculature becomes more and more disguised by longer, looser garments. His voice becomes deeper, the wrinkles get more pronounced until he's really an old man, and you could almost believe it's Dr. Soong back from the dead!
The casting was good, as the children, when adults, looked very much like their parents - the girl definitely had the same kind of face as her Mother, and the boy gave us a glimpse of what a young Jean-Luc Picard might have looked like, mainly because he was played by Daniel, Patrick Stewart's son. I thought I recognised something about Margot Rose, who played Kamin's wife Eline, and I was right as she was also an Argrathi (in heavy makeup) in 'Hard Time' a Fourth Season 'DS9' episode, which has similar themes: O'Brien lives years in a few minutes, but this is an implanted prison sentence.
The general rule for episodes just before the end of the season, is that they are heavily budget-conscious and often forgettable, in readiness for the big closing performance of the season, but now and again an episode in that slot becomes a classic. The most obvious that springs to mind is 'Duet' from 'DS9' Season 1, and this is another to buck the trend. It may have been more sparing with the money, we don't see much of the village beyond the square or Kamin's house (I admired the artistic doors and their push-button opening system), but it was what happened between the characters that mattered most. When Batai, looking as young as he had been years previously, appears at the end near the ancient Kamin, the chills creep up the neck as the characters that have reenacted the lives of Kataan gather around their messenger to the outside galaxy, stepping out of the scenario to explain what has happened. It's a touching moment as all they want is for Picard to remember their extinct civilisation so that someone does. I thought the probe was a permanent marker that would relay its story to anyone that passed, but it's more poignant for being a one off chance. Who knows who might have come along to receive the message. Their probe chose well.
****
Star Trek: Generations (3)
DVD, Star Trek: Generations (1994) film, In-Depth Review Part III
One special thing about the film is the Nexus. Constraint breeds innovation, and the writers didn't want to do a standard time travel story, either backwards or forwards, so they came up with the novel solution of holding Kirk in this phenomenon for all those years, yet without any time passing for him, a bit like Scotty in 'Relics,' but more elegant. The connection is the long-lived race of El Aurians, of which Guinan is a member, and Soran, the villain, intelligently tying Guinan into the story from both ends and providing a credible source of information for Picard. Soran is one of the three best Trek film villains, and I don't say that lightly. He has the menace of a stereotypical bad guy, but intelligence and irony, a world-weariness towards compassion that probably makes him a psycho as he doesn't seem to care about anyone and can commit brutal acts at any moment, such as when he knocks Geordi unconscious with one surprise blow.
Soran is confident in himself and his abilities, both mental and physical - I love the way he has no regard for the Klingons at all, showing himself far above them by his unconcerned manner, where a normal person would be cowed by their enormous size and belligerence. They don't quite know what to make of this intrusive ally on their ship, their mistresses, the Duras sisters obviously need him, meaning they can't damage him without provocation, such as when he smacks B'Etor in the mouth for being careless. Even when bundled by all these Klingons he doesn't show any alarm because he knows they need him for the weapons they're after. He also seems to be a trained fighter, one of the many skills a person would pick up if they lived for hundreds of years, which makes Picard's job that bit harder. McDowell's piercing eyes and stark shock of white, spiky hair with a long, black coat gives him a very memorable visual role, and his good man turned bitter through the death of his family and homeworld was strong enough to be used again for Nero in 'Star Trek XI' and Annorax in 'Voyager.'
The Away Team to the Observatory is one aspect that I can understand might give people cause to say the film is like an episode because it is so reminiscent of those scenes in which they would go aboard some abandoned ship or facility, but it's lit so well, and references the Breen, a race which was almost a legend: they were mentioned here and there over the years, but it wasn't until 'DS9' they were seen, and not until the end they played a significant part, so that just one of many links on the path to becoming a defined race. Almost as mysterious remained the Romulans, the dead one with a mashed up face and suitably green blood being the only example to show up in the first three 'TNG' films, and the first with a V-shaped forehead in all the films.
Shortly after Soran shows up with the detail of his scar from the time of the Enterprise-B's rescue mission, the only sign of the years he's lived through. Again, I love the lighting from the Amargosa star in Ten Forward and the moment played with Picard that speaks so precisely to his recent experiences is expertly written. Guinan and Soran not quite making eye contact, the scene is heavy with foreboding. The disparate pieces out of time are slowly coming together. When Soran shows his true colours he does it in style. Energy weapons in Trek usually have a long barrel - the Klingon Disruptor a prime example, but Soran carries a very different kind. It has a long handle, but a very short barrel which can arc up to a firing position. It also looks like a weighty piece, thanks to the shiny metal build quality and fires a real blast that knocks holes in the scenery and makes the phaser beam seem quite tame. This is another thing JJ Abrams may have taken from this film for 'Star Trek XI' as the 'phasers' in that act like Soran's weapon, sending out fast and powerful bolts of energy.
Some may see Data's cowering on the Observatory as an insult to the character, but I see it as part of his arc in the film. He realises he has a need for emotion to continue his growth, he finds problems with the means to achieve that, and by the end he has learned to accept it as part of himself, leaving the question hanging for how he will develop in the next film. The visuals of his head almost bursting when the chip malfunctions is much like the Kazon that blows himself up in 'Basics,' a 'Voyager' episode that came later. Brent Spiner's face can seem so extreme, like a mannikin gone crazy, when Data emotes and there's an element of horror about the scene as he gets more and more hysterical. I would have enjoyed the line about a joke he'd just got from seven years ago even more if it had been referring to a real moment in an episode, but at least the heritage of the pilot is mentioned. The script is very well written, full of funny lines and pulls off this change in mood admirably.
The scene where the Klingon Bird of Prey decloaks, to rescue Soran just before the Amargosa star is destroyed (another thing we see in 'Star Trek XI'!), Riker and Worf are on a tight time limit to rescue Data and Geordi, and the situation is tense. Geordi's kidnapped, the others escape to the Enterprise and just at the last second the Enterprise warps away as the Observatory is ripped apart! Thrilling! Last second escapes have always been a favourite action trope for me, so this was a fantastic moment.
A clever piece of retconning is that the Borg were responsible for the El Aurians becoming refugees, as we had already learned as early as human first contact with the fearsome cyborgs in 'Q Who,' but they are never mentioned in the 23rd Century part of the tale as presumably the El Aurians didn't know who they were at that time, but by the time of the 24th Century they do. This all cleverly ties into Annika Hansen's family going off in a ship to chase rumours long before Starfleet had any knowledge of the Borg. The throwaway reference to them was a neat connection to the next film, but also makes you wonder how many lives have been affected by their assimilation if this one El Aurian scientist can cause so much trouble.
The Stellar Cartography scene is one that could have been boring and slow as it's mainly for exposition, but by adding in Data's guilt and Picard's wise encouragement it is broken up a little. It helps that the set is a magnificent work of construction, and the graphics become almost three-dimensional, played out on the curved surface of the massive screen. It's simple, it lays out exactly what is going to happen and gives us the giant-size view of events that can be lacking in the TV episodes sometimes.
Then begins the most visually astounding sequence in the film. Using Geordi as a secret camera to discover the shield modulation of the Enterprise, much like Kirk did in 'Star Trek II,' the tension mounts, and that's just the Klingons, whose bemused frustration at Geordi's slow return to duty is hilarious. Then boom! Like the Reliant firing on the original Enterprise, the Bird of Prey suddenly lets rip catching the crew unawares, torpedoes bursting through the shields in a beautiful, but deadly display. Never had two ships fighting looked so good until this point! The scene from 'Star Trek VI' when Chang's Bird of Prey is targeted and a lone torpedo streaks through space, is borrowed for this film, as is the actual footage of the ship exploding in an eruption of fire, but it's directed just as effectively as Nick Meyer's version, with the camera zooming in on Lursa and B'Etor individually as they realise the end is upon them.
I always loved it whenever an engineering section had to be sealed off, and the damage to the D is too heavy to repair in time, leading to La Forge's evacuation of engineering with seconds to spare, and a hero roll under the descending door! Everyone gets their moments in this film, just like the series, which wasn't the case in the other films. If anyone thought everything would be alright for the D in the end, seeing the saucer separate (even this is done with more resolution and scale than ever seen before, with lots of tiny debris drifting out), and the drive section obliterated in a warp core breach made it very clear this was the last flight of the D.
Unlike the original Enterprise's demise in 'Star Trek III' there's no time for sadness as the action's just beginning. Incredible shot follows incredible shot as the saucer lights up, burning through the atmosphere and levelling out, thanks to Deanna on helm control, seen from the ground, streaking out of the sky. You wonder how it could be possible for them to land in one piece, but somehow they go down in a more level stretch than, say, the mountains all around, all thanks to Deanna. The joke of Troi being a typical 'woman driver' as her one time in the driver's seat crashes the ship (reiterated in 'Nemesis'), but actually it has nothing to do with her, and it's her piloting skills that make for a relatively smooth landing, with few casualties. A touch I love in this scene is a show of Data's superior strength to keep Deanna in her seat while everyone else is being chucked around, the bulkheads rattling and screaming in shocked dismay, like the ship itself is crying out. Even Data can't keep his feet when the ship finally comes to rest after taking out a swathe of jungle and every chair and person lunges forward. An incredible, breathtaking sequence that still looks amazing even today.
The horror of seeing the D utterly vanquished (though it does bring them home safely as Admiral McCoy once said), is not over. When Soran succeeds, the ribbon arrives to whip him and Picard away just before the planet is annihilated, meaning everyone on the D is obliterated. So much for the 'TNG' film series then, unless Picard can hook up with a new crew! Yet again, seeing a full-sized planet totally destroyed was something they used in XI, but this is actually done better in this film because in XI the planet folds in on itself, whereas this version shows the surface entirely burned off, then the internal, dusty core breaks apart in a shattering explosion. It was like nothing else I'd ever seen and is another example of the vast cinematic scale of the film. It also features my favourite visual: Soran standing atop his highest metal tower, arms stretched up to embrace the ribbon, becoming a silhouette in the vast pink and white intensity of its light. A tiny figure embracing the great unknown which is known to him - it's a powerful, beautiful image that lives long in the memory.
'Hokey' might be the way to describe the Nexus, and perhaps this is one part of the film that those who prefer the scientific side of Trek, despise. But they are forgetting that there has always been more than purely science in it, particularly the film series, with Spock's death and rejuvenation, and the mythical Sha Ka Ree which Sybok sought, not to mention the mysticism of the Vulcans, Klingons, Bajorans and others. For once there's a nice Christian leaning to the magical scenes, with a traditional Christmas being represented. Some might question why Picard would want children, and so many, but in the later years of the series he mellowed greatly towards them, helped by Wesley's influence and then absence, and by this point he's got to thinking about his old age and the loneliness without his crew, something later to be touched on in 'Nemesis,' even more so with his recent loss and the end of the Picard family line. Once again, the unexpected is so well delivered, with Picard blindfolded and the world seeming to spin. A fun trivia note is that Director David Carson's wife played the role of Picard's wife, and since she was in an episode ('The Loss') as a different character with an American accent it makes me wonder whether she was actually English (like her husband), or doing an accent back then.
The joyful, mysterious, though somehow sad music of wonder permeates the scene, creating an atmosphere in which everything seems perfect. It's also a good use of Guinan to have her there as an echo left behind from her Nexus encounter. In my mind it left an obvious way in which Kirk could have returned from the dead, or at least appear again, since although he died his echo would live on forever inside the Nexus - though it could never leave, someone could visit. I'd love them to have the Nexus appear in a new Trek film so that Chris Pine could meet William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy could meet him one last time, because to the Nexus, time has no meaning so it could cross into any reality. It's like a crossroads in time itself since you can go anywhere from it, but my question is, how does anyone know they've really left the Nexus? If you wanted to leave then the Nexus could create that fantasy for you. I suppose when bad things happened in Picard's life (like the Borg for example) he'd know it wasn't what he wanted, so he couldn't still be in the Nexus, but it's a thought...
At last we come to what everyone had been waiting for - the historic meeting between Picard and Kirk. Again, the unexpected rules the story, so rather than Kirk immediately accepting what Picard says, he's caught up in the moment and the desire to do things right this time, to play out 'A Christmas Carol' and avoid an empty house. Seeing the two together is funny, it's legendary, it's iconic, and if nothing else made the film special, this makes it all worthwhile. Picard has the distinction of being the only captain to share scenes with all the other main captains (bar Archer), and though he'd already met Sisko, this was the biggie. Kirk has no need to listen to Picard though he does spare him a few words in sympathy, which perhaps is the genesis of the bond between them. Both actors loved horses so it was fitting that both should get to ride in the same film. The green hills and tree-lined ridges of this part of Kirk's fantasy contrast as much with the arid, red rock and sheer blue sky of Veridian III as the difference between the space scene on the B, and the naval scenes on the water at the start - just one more attractive environment to wash over our eyes!
When Kirk makes the realisation of his situation and that he has no purpose in a purposeless place, it's one of the best moments, Picard and Kirk seeing eye to eye, with Picard still a little unbalanced by this legend with a twinkle in his eye. Kirk as he always would, chooses to take the risk and make a difference once again. I wonder if he thought about what he'd do if they succeeded and the life he might have had? Maybe the thought never had a chance to cross his mind. And why didn't Picard tell him he'd met Spock to help convince him? Whatever the case they ride off into the sparkling rays of the dying fantasy to do something worthwhile in the real world, perhaps a message to the audience not to live in your fantasy, no matter how appealing it is, because ultimately it is meaningless, but to come out now and again and do something that makes a difference to the real world.
Seeing the original version on the DVD extras was tinged with both fascination and relief, and made me so grateful that they went the extra mile (and extra $5million) - Kirk shot in the back because of a mistake Picard made? It made the team of the two best-known captains seem weak and uninspiring. Even as it stands some people still moan that Kirk's death wasn't heroic enough and I do have a glimmer of understanding for their position as on the face of it it's merely the legendary captain jumping across a broken bridge then sliding down the mountainside to be crushed at the bottom. But what's really going on here? It's Kirk, and Picard needs him to decloak the launcher to stop a probe that will shortly rush off into the Veridian star destroying the system and taking a pre-warp civilisation of 230,000,000 people with it, not to mention the crew of the D! Perhaps they should have shown the civilisation they were saving, but I for one was satisfied with the way it was shot - going off and spending money on this other planet would have taken money away from important parts of the film. The numbers themselves were enough.
We've seen it happen once, but this time when Picard meets Soran on the bridge he's not Picard, he's Kirk. Soran has met his match when Picard blocks his exit and is on the back foot from there on. Picard saves Kirk's life, how great is that! Kirk risks all to get to the device, knowing he may not survive, but that the odds are against him. That heroic leap over a ravine was no small matter for Kirk - to us he may have already sealed his death, but to him he had so much to live for, but was risking it anyway. The extreme environment adds more harshness to his death, but it's Picard's being there at the end that really makes it special, and the teamwork between them.
Kirk always knew he would die alone, a portentous vision, but one he knew was likely because he was always going to take risks even as he grew older, and one time he would slip up and that would be the time for him to die. That's how I read that line from 'Star Trek V.' He would be alone, and how much more alone could he be than a century beyond his own time when all his friends have given him up for dead, on an alien world. Yes, he had Picard with him, and technically he didn't die alone, but he wasn't making a prophecy that had to be fulfilled, it was a judgement of intuition. Spock and McCoy were not there to save him, but Picard and we were permitted to see his last breath and there's a poetry in that and a resonance that means Captain Kirk died well, simply and befitting a legend. That's without considering the fact that he actually did die alone: in the deflector room of the Enterprise-B, to all intents and purposes he was dead to his own time, dissolved into space without a trace of remains to leave behind.
And so we come to the conclusion of the film, after so many dramatic moments that had changed the Star Trek world in so many ways. Seeing the saucer section with the crew (ILM crew in fact!), walking about on its surface with the sad music playing over the scene which also has a sense of inevitability in keeping with the theme that time relentlessly takes us all. The interplay at the end between Riker and Picard that closes out the film, is beautiful and fitting, nostalgic and rueful, yet wry and plants the seeds of the future in our minds - "I doubt this will be the last ship to bear the name Enterprise." I couldn't have wished for a more appropriate ending. Even the scene some people hate, with Data finding his beloved cat Spot, is affecting to me. I've heard criticism that Data and the rest of the crew sort of fall out of the story after the crash, and while that's true, it was with good reason that everything should be reduced to the elements of Kirk, Picard and Soran - two generations defeating evil. The film, on the whole, is very well balanced indeed, with every character having moments that made their presence worthwhile, something which can't be said for all the films in the series.
Why should it be that this film stands out so much for me? To be fair, I rate most of the Trek films quite closely, and this, along with 'First Contact' is just that edge in front, just has those little extra bits, while the big bits are all right for me. In all the films I find flaws, but for some reason, the themes of ending and sadness and joy, woven through the story just call out to me more than some of the other films. Often they can be action adventures, but with Star Trek I feel it's at its best when sprinkling the icing of depth to the action cake, with an extra order of character. Adding that to such ingredients as events which leave lasting ramifications through Trek continuity, bind the two most important Trek centuries together, and weave so many connections to what's gone before, it makes for a very satisfying instalment. When Kirk dies, William Shatner ad-libbed the words "Oh my…" as if seeing something beyond his natural vision, something greater and more wondrous than even the great Captain Kirk had ever seen. He'd witnessed something greater than he'd ever encountered before, and that mysteriousness, a link to our own future, represents the intentions of the whole film. They had a shopping list of items that had to be included, but all that had to be natural and turned into a great story. And this was achieved. Watch this film again, and you'll probably find that you enjoy it more than you thought.
Even in this in-depth analysis of the film I haven't had the space or time to include every nuance that makes it special for me, but hopefully I've brought the broad strokes and many of the small pieces that make it up, into focus to explain why they're so special to me. To comment on every detail I'd probably need to write a book, but then what would be the point of watching the film? It's possible to over-analyse entertainment, and forget that at its heart it's supposed to be enjoyable. For me, this film is one of my top five films of all time, and although I've seen it so many times, I still enjoy it, and that is the paramount reason for my recommendation.
*****
One special thing about the film is the Nexus. Constraint breeds innovation, and the writers didn't want to do a standard time travel story, either backwards or forwards, so they came up with the novel solution of holding Kirk in this phenomenon for all those years, yet without any time passing for him, a bit like Scotty in 'Relics,' but more elegant. The connection is the long-lived race of El Aurians, of which Guinan is a member, and Soran, the villain, intelligently tying Guinan into the story from both ends and providing a credible source of information for Picard. Soran is one of the three best Trek film villains, and I don't say that lightly. He has the menace of a stereotypical bad guy, but intelligence and irony, a world-weariness towards compassion that probably makes him a psycho as he doesn't seem to care about anyone and can commit brutal acts at any moment, such as when he knocks Geordi unconscious with one surprise blow.
Soran is confident in himself and his abilities, both mental and physical - I love the way he has no regard for the Klingons at all, showing himself far above them by his unconcerned manner, where a normal person would be cowed by their enormous size and belligerence. They don't quite know what to make of this intrusive ally on their ship, their mistresses, the Duras sisters obviously need him, meaning they can't damage him without provocation, such as when he smacks B'Etor in the mouth for being careless. Even when bundled by all these Klingons he doesn't show any alarm because he knows they need him for the weapons they're after. He also seems to be a trained fighter, one of the many skills a person would pick up if they lived for hundreds of years, which makes Picard's job that bit harder. McDowell's piercing eyes and stark shock of white, spiky hair with a long, black coat gives him a very memorable visual role, and his good man turned bitter through the death of his family and homeworld was strong enough to be used again for Nero in 'Star Trek XI' and Annorax in 'Voyager.'
The Away Team to the Observatory is one aspect that I can understand might give people cause to say the film is like an episode because it is so reminiscent of those scenes in which they would go aboard some abandoned ship or facility, but it's lit so well, and references the Breen, a race which was almost a legend: they were mentioned here and there over the years, but it wasn't until 'DS9' they were seen, and not until the end they played a significant part, so that just one of many links on the path to becoming a defined race. Almost as mysterious remained the Romulans, the dead one with a mashed up face and suitably green blood being the only example to show up in the first three 'TNG' films, and the first with a V-shaped forehead in all the films.
Shortly after Soran shows up with the detail of his scar from the time of the Enterprise-B's rescue mission, the only sign of the years he's lived through. Again, I love the lighting from the Amargosa star in Ten Forward and the moment played with Picard that speaks so precisely to his recent experiences is expertly written. Guinan and Soran not quite making eye contact, the scene is heavy with foreboding. The disparate pieces out of time are slowly coming together. When Soran shows his true colours he does it in style. Energy weapons in Trek usually have a long barrel - the Klingon Disruptor a prime example, but Soran carries a very different kind. It has a long handle, but a very short barrel which can arc up to a firing position. It also looks like a weighty piece, thanks to the shiny metal build quality and fires a real blast that knocks holes in the scenery and makes the phaser beam seem quite tame. This is another thing JJ Abrams may have taken from this film for 'Star Trek XI' as the 'phasers' in that act like Soran's weapon, sending out fast and powerful bolts of energy.
Some may see Data's cowering on the Observatory as an insult to the character, but I see it as part of his arc in the film. He realises he has a need for emotion to continue his growth, he finds problems with the means to achieve that, and by the end he has learned to accept it as part of himself, leaving the question hanging for how he will develop in the next film. The visuals of his head almost bursting when the chip malfunctions is much like the Kazon that blows himself up in 'Basics,' a 'Voyager' episode that came later. Brent Spiner's face can seem so extreme, like a mannikin gone crazy, when Data emotes and there's an element of horror about the scene as he gets more and more hysterical. I would have enjoyed the line about a joke he'd just got from seven years ago even more if it had been referring to a real moment in an episode, but at least the heritage of the pilot is mentioned. The script is very well written, full of funny lines and pulls off this change in mood admirably.
The scene where the Klingon Bird of Prey decloaks, to rescue Soran just before the Amargosa star is destroyed (another thing we see in 'Star Trek XI'!), Riker and Worf are on a tight time limit to rescue Data and Geordi, and the situation is tense. Geordi's kidnapped, the others escape to the Enterprise and just at the last second the Enterprise warps away as the Observatory is ripped apart! Thrilling! Last second escapes have always been a favourite action trope for me, so this was a fantastic moment.
A clever piece of retconning is that the Borg were responsible for the El Aurians becoming refugees, as we had already learned as early as human first contact with the fearsome cyborgs in 'Q Who,' but they are never mentioned in the 23rd Century part of the tale as presumably the El Aurians didn't know who they were at that time, but by the time of the 24th Century they do. This all cleverly ties into Annika Hansen's family going off in a ship to chase rumours long before Starfleet had any knowledge of the Borg. The throwaway reference to them was a neat connection to the next film, but also makes you wonder how many lives have been affected by their assimilation if this one El Aurian scientist can cause so much trouble.
The Stellar Cartography scene is one that could have been boring and slow as it's mainly for exposition, but by adding in Data's guilt and Picard's wise encouragement it is broken up a little. It helps that the set is a magnificent work of construction, and the graphics become almost three-dimensional, played out on the curved surface of the massive screen. It's simple, it lays out exactly what is going to happen and gives us the giant-size view of events that can be lacking in the TV episodes sometimes.
Then begins the most visually astounding sequence in the film. Using Geordi as a secret camera to discover the shield modulation of the Enterprise, much like Kirk did in 'Star Trek II,' the tension mounts, and that's just the Klingons, whose bemused frustration at Geordi's slow return to duty is hilarious. Then boom! Like the Reliant firing on the original Enterprise, the Bird of Prey suddenly lets rip catching the crew unawares, torpedoes bursting through the shields in a beautiful, but deadly display. Never had two ships fighting looked so good until this point! The scene from 'Star Trek VI' when Chang's Bird of Prey is targeted and a lone torpedo streaks through space, is borrowed for this film, as is the actual footage of the ship exploding in an eruption of fire, but it's directed just as effectively as Nick Meyer's version, with the camera zooming in on Lursa and B'Etor individually as they realise the end is upon them.
I always loved it whenever an engineering section had to be sealed off, and the damage to the D is too heavy to repair in time, leading to La Forge's evacuation of engineering with seconds to spare, and a hero roll under the descending door! Everyone gets their moments in this film, just like the series, which wasn't the case in the other films. If anyone thought everything would be alright for the D in the end, seeing the saucer separate (even this is done with more resolution and scale than ever seen before, with lots of tiny debris drifting out), and the drive section obliterated in a warp core breach made it very clear this was the last flight of the D.
Unlike the original Enterprise's demise in 'Star Trek III' there's no time for sadness as the action's just beginning. Incredible shot follows incredible shot as the saucer lights up, burning through the atmosphere and levelling out, thanks to Deanna on helm control, seen from the ground, streaking out of the sky. You wonder how it could be possible for them to land in one piece, but somehow they go down in a more level stretch than, say, the mountains all around, all thanks to Deanna. The joke of Troi being a typical 'woman driver' as her one time in the driver's seat crashes the ship (reiterated in 'Nemesis'), but actually it has nothing to do with her, and it's her piloting skills that make for a relatively smooth landing, with few casualties. A touch I love in this scene is a show of Data's superior strength to keep Deanna in her seat while everyone else is being chucked around, the bulkheads rattling and screaming in shocked dismay, like the ship itself is crying out. Even Data can't keep his feet when the ship finally comes to rest after taking out a swathe of jungle and every chair and person lunges forward. An incredible, breathtaking sequence that still looks amazing even today.
The horror of seeing the D utterly vanquished (though it does bring them home safely as Admiral McCoy once said), is not over. When Soran succeeds, the ribbon arrives to whip him and Picard away just before the planet is annihilated, meaning everyone on the D is obliterated. So much for the 'TNG' film series then, unless Picard can hook up with a new crew! Yet again, seeing a full-sized planet totally destroyed was something they used in XI, but this is actually done better in this film because in XI the planet folds in on itself, whereas this version shows the surface entirely burned off, then the internal, dusty core breaks apart in a shattering explosion. It was like nothing else I'd ever seen and is another example of the vast cinematic scale of the film. It also features my favourite visual: Soran standing atop his highest metal tower, arms stretched up to embrace the ribbon, becoming a silhouette in the vast pink and white intensity of its light. A tiny figure embracing the great unknown which is known to him - it's a powerful, beautiful image that lives long in the memory.
'Hokey' might be the way to describe the Nexus, and perhaps this is one part of the film that those who prefer the scientific side of Trek, despise. But they are forgetting that there has always been more than purely science in it, particularly the film series, with Spock's death and rejuvenation, and the mythical Sha Ka Ree which Sybok sought, not to mention the mysticism of the Vulcans, Klingons, Bajorans and others. For once there's a nice Christian leaning to the magical scenes, with a traditional Christmas being represented. Some might question why Picard would want children, and so many, but in the later years of the series he mellowed greatly towards them, helped by Wesley's influence and then absence, and by this point he's got to thinking about his old age and the loneliness without his crew, something later to be touched on in 'Nemesis,' even more so with his recent loss and the end of the Picard family line. Once again, the unexpected is so well delivered, with Picard blindfolded and the world seeming to spin. A fun trivia note is that Director David Carson's wife played the role of Picard's wife, and since she was in an episode ('The Loss') as a different character with an American accent it makes me wonder whether she was actually English (like her husband), or doing an accent back then.
The joyful, mysterious, though somehow sad music of wonder permeates the scene, creating an atmosphere in which everything seems perfect. It's also a good use of Guinan to have her there as an echo left behind from her Nexus encounter. In my mind it left an obvious way in which Kirk could have returned from the dead, or at least appear again, since although he died his echo would live on forever inside the Nexus - though it could never leave, someone could visit. I'd love them to have the Nexus appear in a new Trek film so that Chris Pine could meet William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy could meet him one last time, because to the Nexus, time has no meaning so it could cross into any reality. It's like a crossroads in time itself since you can go anywhere from it, but my question is, how does anyone know they've really left the Nexus? If you wanted to leave then the Nexus could create that fantasy for you. I suppose when bad things happened in Picard's life (like the Borg for example) he'd know it wasn't what he wanted, so he couldn't still be in the Nexus, but it's a thought...
At last we come to what everyone had been waiting for - the historic meeting between Picard and Kirk. Again, the unexpected rules the story, so rather than Kirk immediately accepting what Picard says, he's caught up in the moment and the desire to do things right this time, to play out 'A Christmas Carol' and avoid an empty house. Seeing the two together is funny, it's legendary, it's iconic, and if nothing else made the film special, this makes it all worthwhile. Picard has the distinction of being the only captain to share scenes with all the other main captains (bar Archer), and though he'd already met Sisko, this was the biggie. Kirk has no need to listen to Picard though he does spare him a few words in sympathy, which perhaps is the genesis of the bond between them. Both actors loved horses so it was fitting that both should get to ride in the same film. The green hills and tree-lined ridges of this part of Kirk's fantasy contrast as much with the arid, red rock and sheer blue sky of Veridian III as the difference between the space scene on the B, and the naval scenes on the water at the start - just one more attractive environment to wash over our eyes!
When Kirk makes the realisation of his situation and that he has no purpose in a purposeless place, it's one of the best moments, Picard and Kirk seeing eye to eye, with Picard still a little unbalanced by this legend with a twinkle in his eye. Kirk as he always would, chooses to take the risk and make a difference once again. I wonder if he thought about what he'd do if they succeeded and the life he might have had? Maybe the thought never had a chance to cross his mind. And why didn't Picard tell him he'd met Spock to help convince him? Whatever the case they ride off into the sparkling rays of the dying fantasy to do something worthwhile in the real world, perhaps a message to the audience not to live in your fantasy, no matter how appealing it is, because ultimately it is meaningless, but to come out now and again and do something that makes a difference to the real world.
Seeing the original version on the DVD extras was tinged with both fascination and relief, and made me so grateful that they went the extra mile (and extra $5million) - Kirk shot in the back because of a mistake Picard made? It made the team of the two best-known captains seem weak and uninspiring. Even as it stands some people still moan that Kirk's death wasn't heroic enough and I do have a glimmer of understanding for their position as on the face of it it's merely the legendary captain jumping across a broken bridge then sliding down the mountainside to be crushed at the bottom. But what's really going on here? It's Kirk, and Picard needs him to decloak the launcher to stop a probe that will shortly rush off into the Veridian star destroying the system and taking a pre-warp civilisation of 230,000,000 people with it, not to mention the crew of the D! Perhaps they should have shown the civilisation they were saving, but I for one was satisfied with the way it was shot - going off and spending money on this other planet would have taken money away from important parts of the film. The numbers themselves were enough.
We've seen it happen once, but this time when Picard meets Soran on the bridge he's not Picard, he's Kirk. Soran has met his match when Picard blocks his exit and is on the back foot from there on. Picard saves Kirk's life, how great is that! Kirk risks all to get to the device, knowing he may not survive, but that the odds are against him. That heroic leap over a ravine was no small matter for Kirk - to us he may have already sealed his death, but to him he had so much to live for, but was risking it anyway. The extreme environment adds more harshness to his death, but it's Picard's being there at the end that really makes it special, and the teamwork between them.
Kirk always knew he would die alone, a portentous vision, but one he knew was likely because he was always going to take risks even as he grew older, and one time he would slip up and that would be the time for him to die. That's how I read that line from 'Star Trek V.' He would be alone, and how much more alone could he be than a century beyond his own time when all his friends have given him up for dead, on an alien world. Yes, he had Picard with him, and technically he didn't die alone, but he wasn't making a prophecy that had to be fulfilled, it was a judgement of intuition. Spock and McCoy were not there to save him, but Picard and we were permitted to see his last breath and there's a poetry in that and a resonance that means Captain Kirk died well, simply and befitting a legend. That's without considering the fact that he actually did die alone: in the deflector room of the Enterprise-B, to all intents and purposes he was dead to his own time, dissolved into space without a trace of remains to leave behind.
And so we come to the conclusion of the film, after so many dramatic moments that had changed the Star Trek world in so many ways. Seeing the saucer section with the crew (ILM crew in fact!), walking about on its surface with the sad music playing over the scene which also has a sense of inevitability in keeping with the theme that time relentlessly takes us all. The interplay at the end between Riker and Picard that closes out the film, is beautiful and fitting, nostalgic and rueful, yet wry and plants the seeds of the future in our minds - "I doubt this will be the last ship to bear the name Enterprise." I couldn't have wished for a more appropriate ending. Even the scene some people hate, with Data finding his beloved cat Spot, is affecting to me. I've heard criticism that Data and the rest of the crew sort of fall out of the story after the crash, and while that's true, it was with good reason that everything should be reduced to the elements of Kirk, Picard and Soran - two generations defeating evil. The film, on the whole, is very well balanced indeed, with every character having moments that made their presence worthwhile, something which can't be said for all the films in the series.
Why should it be that this film stands out so much for me? To be fair, I rate most of the Trek films quite closely, and this, along with 'First Contact' is just that edge in front, just has those little extra bits, while the big bits are all right for me. In all the films I find flaws, but for some reason, the themes of ending and sadness and joy, woven through the story just call out to me more than some of the other films. Often they can be action adventures, but with Star Trek I feel it's at its best when sprinkling the icing of depth to the action cake, with an extra order of character. Adding that to such ingredients as events which leave lasting ramifications through Trek continuity, bind the two most important Trek centuries together, and weave so many connections to what's gone before, it makes for a very satisfying instalment. When Kirk dies, William Shatner ad-libbed the words "Oh my…" as if seeing something beyond his natural vision, something greater and more wondrous than even the great Captain Kirk had ever seen. He'd witnessed something greater than he'd ever encountered before, and that mysteriousness, a link to our own future, represents the intentions of the whole film. They had a shopping list of items that had to be included, but all that had to be natural and turned into a great story. And this was achieved. Watch this film again, and you'll probably find that you enjoy it more than you thought.
Even in this in-depth analysis of the film I haven't had the space or time to include every nuance that makes it special for me, but hopefully I've brought the broad strokes and many of the small pieces that make it up, into focus to explain why they're so special to me. To comment on every detail I'd probably need to write a book, but then what would be the point of watching the film? It's possible to over-analyse entertainment, and forget that at its heart it's supposed to be enjoyable. For me, this film is one of my top five films of all time, and although I've seen it so many times, I still enjoy it, and that is the paramount reason for my recommendation.
*****
Star Trek: Generations (2)
DVD, Star Trek: Generations (1994) film, In-Depth Review Part II
I can't imagine a better title for this film. Apt and fitting, combining a similar sound to the title of the series it sprang from, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' it says everything it needs to about the core of this film: family and the passing of time. It's about Picard's family line ending, the Enterprise-D family splitting up when their home for so many years is destroyed, the 'TOS' family losing their most important member, Soran doing everything he can to get a piece of his family back, even though it isn't real, and the different generations that have made up 'Star Trek' as a viewing experience coming together in the forms of Kirk and Picard to save millions of unsuspecting families on an unknown world.
Themes are an important part of the makeup of Trek, so a film without a strong theme becomes less true to the style that permeates all real Trek, I think. There are several strong themes in this film, from the passing of the baton to a new generation, in film terms, to the passing of time and the reminder to cherish life while you have it, which speaks to both the characters as their lives are changed, and the audience who have grown up with Kirk and the Enterprise-D, and are now there to see the ending of their stories.
The beginning seems an appropriate place to start. That ethereal music with the mysterious bottle floating through space is the best opening to any of the films because it's unexpected, builds anticipation and makes people that see it for the first time wonder. Wonderment is important to this film, as without it the Nexus may as well be a holodeck or a parallel world. The music builds to a climax that reveals the bulkhead of the Enterprise-B, rather than going for an all-out action opening as in James Bond teasers or 'Star Trek XI,' which work well, but aren't necessary for a great opening, one of the different choices of direction they made for this film.
They went as far as filming an impressive orbital sky-diving sequence to open the film, but the vision of the film pulled through and honed the entire piece almost to perfection, meaning such moments as this were extraneous. This is easiest to see if you read the novelisation which has all the deleted scenes and more, but also contains dialogue which hadn't been fully sculptured as it is in the final film so you both appreciate the extra material a book can provide, but also see how much went into crafting the lines for maximum impact in the finished film. I should say at this point that I have nothing negative to say about the film except for Data swearing (which was not big, and not clever, but childish and unnecessary to get a laugh), but one thing I noticed was how fast the names flash up on the screen. This was because there were more names than usual, so it was a necessity, but didn't fit in as well with the slow music.
To see the Enterprise-B was a joy. Some may complain that it's only the Excelsior refitted to save money instead of a new design, but it has its uniqueness, not least how it was lit by the Nexus, and there's a thrill inherent in the fact that it's Excelsior-class - Sulu's command has fathered a class of its own. That's not the only thing he's fathered, as Demora Sulu, his daughter, continues the tradition of a Sulu at the helm. After the smooth, strange opening the style becomes much more contemporary, with quick cuts and a flurry of reporters babbling questions as three legends come aboard. This whole scene is filled with nostalgia, yet also new hope for the future as another generation takes over. A negative for some is Captain Harriman who in the actor's own words (or similar) was played as an idiot.
Alan Ruck apparently came up with his own backstory to justify such a seemingly inexperienced fool taking over from Kirk, as a man who had an influential Father in Starfleet who got him the command, his nervousness coming from a desire to make his Dad proud and live up to the impossibly high expectations of being the next Kirk, made even tougher by the real Kirk's presence on his maiden voyage. One nitpick I can identify with is the B turning out to be the only ship in range of the transport ships caught in the energy ribbon. This happened again in the eleventh film, where you'd think the Solar System and Earth, the centre of the Federation, would be crawling with ships in better shape to take on a rescue mission than the unfinished Enterprise. I would suggest that there were probably lots of ships, but no heavyweight starships as big and tough as the B that could get there as quickly or do the job, and that's how I get around it in my own mind.
One of the things I love most about the scenes on the B is how Kirk and his friends are treated with a certain amount of awe, and are like living statues come down among mortals, yet the audience is allowed in on their private conversations as they poke fun at each other and laugh about the way they're treated. We're privileged to know them personally, much closer to them than the nervous, young crew who look up to them, but are ready to go out and make their own names. The interplay between all the characters is a pleasure and highlights one of the undeniable strengths of the film: the writing. It shouldn't be a surprise that Braga and Moore would get the 'TNG' cast down perfectly since they'd just finished writing the series finale, but they also manage the feat of making the voices of the older characters sound natural and true to their personas.
One thing I like most, and what I see as the most heroic choice Kirk makes in the entire film, even more than risking his life for 230 million people, is fighting himself. We see the way he wants to take control and let his experience take over, but he knows he mustn't undermine the Captain in front of his crew. The most poignant moment is when Harriman realises Kirk is the one to turn to and formally asks for his help, giving Kirk the chance he's been waiting for: to once again sit in the captain's chair. At that moment, just as Harriman is about to leave, he's halted by Kirk who realises his place is not the captain on the bridge any more, he shouldn't take from Harriman what he holds dear himself no matter how much he wants to. It is no longer his place to be in command of the ship and after a brief moment of temptation as he sits in the big chair once again, he pulls himself away from the reverie, much like he does from the Nexus, later in the film. It's one of the best moments and the strongest connection between the captain's of the Enterprise-A and -B.
It makes you wonder how history might have panned out if Harriman had been the one to end up in the Nexus. Would Picard have called on him to help against Soran? I don't imagine the good Captain would be a lot of use against the devious intelligence and vicious fighting skill of Dr. Soran, but I'm sure he would have done his best. What would his Nexus have been? A place where he was a confident, experienced captain, congratulated by his Father (who I imagine like Tom Paris' Father on 'Voyager')? The way everyone works together under Kirk, Scotty and Chekov shows that they could become the next big crew. Whether the B is the flagship of the Federation as the D later is, isn't mentioned, but the Enterprise name is always important.
One link that was not quite to be was Tuvok serving aboard her. Actor Tim Russ had already had a couple of roles as a terrorist and a Klingon in 'TNG' and 'DS9,' and would shortly go on to play the full-Vulcan Tuvok on 'Voyager,' so while he's only playing a human here, there's a thrill that he's the one interacting with Scotty and Kirk - a further connection to the generational theme. We know Tuvok was alive in that time period, since he was serving on the Excelsior, so it would have been really clever had they pre-empted his appearance on 'Voyager' here, but possibly too convoluted for the average audience and again, it would have taken attention away from the story. Chekov's connection with Guinan is another glorious bridging of the time gap, comforting her after her trauma. This scene introduced Soran very well, with the camera shaking and the distraught scientist desperately pleading and shouting to go back. It's interesting that the B wasn't rescuing the El Aurians, as they thought, but taking them away from paradise. Perhaps those on the other ship (the Robert Fox, named for an ambassador or official in 'TOS') didn't die, but were pulled in?
It's great to see Kirk jogging through the bowels of the ship, smoke pushing him back, the occasional jolt from the ribbon knocking him about, with that heroic, warrior-like fanfare playing behind it all. Kirk makes a heroic decision and takes the fall, but the saddest part is not so much his death as the fact his friends will never know what really happened. Those that survived into very old age in the 24th Century may have been told by Picard, but then again he may have kept Kirk's last stand quiet so that history would remain unamended after so long, perhaps it was right to allow Kirk the dignity of his legacy from the first act rather than colouring it with knowledge of his ultimate fate, which was almost a personal thing between him and Picard. I don't believe we ever hear anyone else refer to Kirk's real death in the 24th Century, so maybe Picard really didn't pass on the full account?
Just as I don't think there could have been a better choice of writers to write the characters they knew so well, I don't think they could have chosen a better Director for this film than David Carson; a Trek Director of good repute after such a spectacular pilot for 'DS9' and such memorable episodes of 'TNG' as 'Yesterday's Enterprise' and 'Redemption.' His sensibilities to 'Star Trek' were strong, yet he was also directing his first feature film and no doubt had plenty of ideas he wanted to try. Unlike Stuart Baird, the other English Director, he knew the subject matter so well, and it shows. A shot that stands out to me is Kirk's face lit by the criss-crossed illumination as he gives the bridge a green light to go, and then the terrible scene of Harriman with Scotty, when Chekov unknowingly charges in and asks if anyone was in there. Scotty's simple "Aye" is almost as poignant as his bag-pipe playing at Spock's funeral.
From this shocking and downbeat beginning we go 78 years into the future, where the film proper begins. But again, it's not what we expect: a sailing ship out on the ocean, calm blue waters under a cloudless sky provide a strong contrast with the previous scenes of space and technology, but there is a bridge linking the two parts, and that is nostalgia. The opening scenes were steeped in it, and now we see the 'TNG' crew revelling in a nostalgic reenactment of an even earlier age. It's such a wonderful touch for them to be on the first ever Enterprise, matching 'First Contact's' return to the dawn of warp travel, and giving us a breath of lightness and an excellent introduction to these characters appearing on film for the first time. The crew have not given up Starfleet for a career on the high seas of Earth, as much as it may appear that way, and the more astute will no doubt have guessed on their first viewing that this is a Holodeck recreation rather than the real thing, but it's a whimsical and charming way to introduce the characters to a film audience.
The cast have never looked better, especially in all their naval finery, but beyond the chance for good-humoured fun there is a purpose: to promote Worf to Lieutenant Commander. The whole sequence is strong, the humour comes through and Worf is a positive role model for Klingons in a film which mostly paints them as rowdy, brainless louts. Which many of them are, to be fair. Carson's directing keeps an epic story in scope, but, like Peter Jackson after him, he goes into the little details too, such as the close-up of Worf's feet edging along the plank, or later, in the Christmas tree ornaments or Picard skimming pebbles at Soran's forcefield. This style of incorporating fine detail into the bigger picture gives the those scenes more context and opens the film up to a higher level of care and reality. After reading up on the trivia of the film I noticed Worf's red knee for the first time, seen as he climbs back aboard after his unwanted dip. It was due to the ship's paint not having dried, apparently! And Troi gets to hand over the wheel to the real captain of the vessel, which is a nice touch.
Even amidst all this jollity, and the strong sense of this crew as a family, the news which knocks the air out of Picard injects a thorn of sadness to puncture the happy atmosphere, though fittingly only Troi, with her empathic abilities, notices. Another excellent detail is seen when Picard calls for the arch while crew-mates work beyond it, obviously holographic people, and the captain talks to them as he goes, continuing the illusion of the fantasy. This all stops as soon as he reads the message from Earth, and when he leaves abruptly we can see two perspectives - the ship's deck and the real Enterprise's corridors and real people walking past. It's all a show of strength, explaining how advanced this technology is, and playing tricks with the audience, much like Carson did in 'Emissary' where we first meet the Sisko's sitting by a lake which vanishes at the end of the scene since it, too, was a holoprogram.
Picard's tiredness and grief may have been easier to portray for Patrick Stewart at the time because it was the end of seven long years of work, then straight into making the film without a break. It's no wonder some of the cast look tired. The intense lighting shows every line and crack in sharp relief, most apparent in Brent Spiner's face. The scene in which Troi visits the captain and he falls apart, confiding in her the terrible news of the death of his brother and nephew in a fire is such a strong performance, without making him look weak. Indeed, he seems even stronger in the way he puts his grief aside professionally to deal with the Amargosa problem, even if he has become very abrupt and short-tempered. It reminded me of the episode 'Sarek' in which he suffers loss of emotional control after mind-melding with Spock's Dad. It's not quite as strong as that, but close.
This allowance for Picard's humanity to show through would be gradually stripped away through each film, so that he became more of a standard action hero. Some cite the fact that this film was merely a longer 'TNG' episode as a reason for disliking it, but they could never have achieved the incredible events on a TV budget, and even now to get all these things into a TV series would be a real stretch. What's the point of having a film based on a TV series if you aren't true to that style? The format has changed, sure, and the scope has become epic, but it needs to be true to itself, and that may be one reason why 'Nemesis' didn't do so well. By any measure this film was a box-office success, playing up to its format with more, and bigger sets, full-on action sequences that you want in a film for, but also the heart of 'TNG' and a host of references and ties that connect it so much more to the series than the other films did. If you think that's a mistake then maybe you should have checked your expectations: You want 'TNG' or not? If not, go and watch one of the 'Star Wars' films or a generic sci-fi/space film, because this is 'TNG' through and through, presented as a satisfying widescreen story.
I can't imagine a better title for this film. Apt and fitting, combining a similar sound to the title of the series it sprang from, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' it says everything it needs to about the core of this film: family and the passing of time. It's about Picard's family line ending, the Enterprise-D family splitting up when their home for so many years is destroyed, the 'TOS' family losing their most important member, Soran doing everything he can to get a piece of his family back, even though it isn't real, and the different generations that have made up 'Star Trek' as a viewing experience coming together in the forms of Kirk and Picard to save millions of unsuspecting families on an unknown world.
Themes are an important part of the makeup of Trek, so a film without a strong theme becomes less true to the style that permeates all real Trek, I think. There are several strong themes in this film, from the passing of the baton to a new generation, in film terms, to the passing of time and the reminder to cherish life while you have it, which speaks to both the characters as their lives are changed, and the audience who have grown up with Kirk and the Enterprise-D, and are now there to see the ending of their stories.
The beginning seems an appropriate place to start. That ethereal music with the mysterious bottle floating through space is the best opening to any of the films because it's unexpected, builds anticipation and makes people that see it for the first time wonder. Wonderment is important to this film, as without it the Nexus may as well be a holodeck or a parallel world. The music builds to a climax that reveals the bulkhead of the Enterprise-B, rather than going for an all-out action opening as in James Bond teasers or 'Star Trek XI,' which work well, but aren't necessary for a great opening, one of the different choices of direction they made for this film.
They went as far as filming an impressive orbital sky-diving sequence to open the film, but the vision of the film pulled through and honed the entire piece almost to perfection, meaning such moments as this were extraneous. This is easiest to see if you read the novelisation which has all the deleted scenes and more, but also contains dialogue which hadn't been fully sculptured as it is in the final film so you both appreciate the extra material a book can provide, but also see how much went into crafting the lines for maximum impact in the finished film. I should say at this point that I have nothing negative to say about the film except for Data swearing (which was not big, and not clever, but childish and unnecessary to get a laugh), but one thing I noticed was how fast the names flash up on the screen. This was because there were more names than usual, so it was a necessity, but didn't fit in as well with the slow music.
To see the Enterprise-B was a joy. Some may complain that it's only the Excelsior refitted to save money instead of a new design, but it has its uniqueness, not least how it was lit by the Nexus, and there's a thrill inherent in the fact that it's Excelsior-class - Sulu's command has fathered a class of its own. That's not the only thing he's fathered, as Demora Sulu, his daughter, continues the tradition of a Sulu at the helm. After the smooth, strange opening the style becomes much more contemporary, with quick cuts and a flurry of reporters babbling questions as three legends come aboard. This whole scene is filled with nostalgia, yet also new hope for the future as another generation takes over. A negative for some is Captain Harriman who in the actor's own words (or similar) was played as an idiot.
Alan Ruck apparently came up with his own backstory to justify such a seemingly inexperienced fool taking over from Kirk, as a man who had an influential Father in Starfleet who got him the command, his nervousness coming from a desire to make his Dad proud and live up to the impossibly high expectations of being the next Kirk, made even tougher by the real Kirk's presence on his maiden voyage. One nitpick I can identify with is the B turning out to be the only ship in range of the transport ships caught in the energy ribbon. This happened again in the eleventh film, where you'd think the Solar System and Earth, the centre of the Federation, would be crawling with ships in better shape to take on a rescue mission than the unfinished Enterprise. I would suggest that there were probably lots of ships, but no heavyweight starships as big and tough as the B that could get there as quickly or do the job, and that's how I get around it in my own mind.
One of the things I love most about the scenes on the B is how Kirk and his friends are treated with a certain amount of awe, and are like living statues come down among mortals, yet the audience is allowed in on their private conversations as they poke fun at each other and laugh about the way they're treated. We're privileged to know them personally, much closer to them than the nervous, young crew who look up to them, but are ready to go out and make their own names. The interplay between all the characters is a pleasure and highlights one of the undeniable strengths of the film: the writing. It shouldn't be a surprise that Braga and Moore would get the 'TNG' cast down perfectly since they'd just finished writing the series finale, but they also manage the feat of making the voices of the older characters sound natural and true to their personas.
One thing I like most, and what I see as the most heroic choice Kirk makes in the entire film, even more than risking his life for 230 million people, is fighting himself. We see the way he wants to take control and let his experience take over, but he knows he mustn't undermine the Captain in front of his crew. The most poignant moment is when Harriman realises Kirk is the one to turn to and formally asks for his help, giving Kirk the chance he's been waiting for: to once again sit in the captain's chair. At that moment, just as Harriman is about to leave, he's halted by Kirk who realises his place is not the captain on the bridge any more, he shouldn't take from Harriman what he holds dear himself no matter how much he wants to. It is no longer his place to be in command of the ship and after a brief moment of temptation as he sits in the big chair once again, he pulls himself away from the reverie, much like he does from the Nexus, later in the film. It's one of the best moments and the strongest connection between the captain's of the Enterprise-A and -B.
It makes you wonder how history might have panned out if Harriman had been the one to end up in the Nexus. Would Picard have called on him to help against Soran? I don't imagine the good Captain would be a lot of use against the devious intelligence and vicious fighting skill of Dr. Soran, but I'm sure he would have done his best. What would his Nexus have been? A place where he was a confident, experienced captain, congratulated by his Father (who I imagine like Tom Paris' Father on 'Voyager')? The way everyone works together under Kirk, Scotty and Chekov shows that they could become the next big crew. Whether the B is the flagship of the Federation as the D later is, isn't mentioned, but the Enterprise name is always important.
One link that was not quite to be was Tuvok serving aboard her. Actor Tim Russ had already had a couple of roles as a terrorist and a Klingon in 'TNG' and 'DS9,' and would shortly go on to play the full-Vulcan Tuvok on 'Voyager,' so while he's only playing a human here, there's a thrill that he's the one interacting with Scotty and Kirk - a further connection to the generational theme. We know Tuvok was alive in that time period, since he was serving on the Excelsior, so it would have been really clever had they pre-empted his appearance on 'Voyager' here, but possibly too convoluted for the average audience and again, it would have taken attention away from the story. Chekov's connection with Guinan is another glorious bridging of the time gap, comforting her after her trauma. This scene introduced Soran very well, with the camera shaking and the distraught scientist desperately pleading and shouting to go back. It's interesting that the B wasn't rescuing the El Aurians, as they thought, but taking them away from paradise. Perhaps those on the other ship (the Robert Fox, named for an ambassador or official in 'TOS') didn't die, but were pulled in?
It's great to see Kirk jogging through the bowels of the ship, smoke pushing him back, the occasional jolt from the ribbon knocking him about, with that heroic, warrior-like fanfare playing behind it all. Kirk makes a heroic decision and takes the fall, but the saddest part is not so much his death as the fact his friends will never know what really happened. Those that survived into very old age in the 24th Century may have been told by Picard, but then again he may have kept Kirk's last stand quiet so that history would remain unamended after so long, perhaps it was right to allow Kirk the dignity of his legacy from the first act rather than colouring it with knowledge of his ultimate fate, which was almost a personal thing between him and Picard. I don't believe we ever hear anyone else refer to Kirk's real death in the 24th Century, so maybe Picard really didn't pass on the full account?
Just as I don't think there could have been a better choice of writers to write the characters they knew so well, I don't think they could have chosen a better Director for this film than David Carson; a Trek Director of good repute after such a spectacular pilot for 'DS9' and such memorable episodes of 'TNG' as 'Yesterday's Enterprise' and 'Redemption.' His sensibilities to 'Star Trek' were strong, yet he was also directing his first feature film and no doubt had plenty of ideas he wanted to try. Unlike Stuart Baird, the other English Director, he knew the subject matter so well, and it shows. A shot that stands out to me is Kirk's face lit by the criss-crossed illumination as he gives the bridge a green light to go, and then the terrible scene of Harriman with Scotty, when Chekov unknowingly charges in and asks if anyone was in there. Scotty's simple "Aye" is almost as poignant as his bag-pipe playing at Spock's funeral.
From this shocking and downbeat beginning we go 78 years into the future, where the film proper begins. But again, it's not what we expect: a sailing ship out on the ocean, calm blue waters under a cloudless sky provide a strong contrast with the previous scenes of space and technology, but there is a bridge linking the two parts, and that is nostalgia. The opening scenes were steeped in it, and now we see the 'TNG' crew revelling in a nostalgic reenactment of an even earlier age. It's such a wonderful touch for them to be on the first ever Enterprise, matching 'First Contact's' return to the dawn of warp travel, and giving us a breath of lightness and an excellent introduction to these characters appearing on film for the first time. The crew have not given up Starfleet for a career on the high seas of Earth, as much as it may appear that way, and the more astute will no doubt have guessed on their first viewing that this is a Holodeck recreation rather than the real thing, but it's a whimsical and charming way to introduce the characters to a film audience.
The cast have never looked better, especially in all their naval finery, but beyond the chance for good-humoured fun there is a purpose: to promote Worf to Lieutenant Commander. The whole sequence is strong, the humour comes through and Worf is a positive role model for Klingons in a film which mostly paints them as rowdy, brainless louts. Which many of them are, to be fair. Carson's directing keeps an epic story in scope, but, like Peter Jackson after him, he goes into the little details too, such as the close-up of Worf's feet edging along the plank, or later, in the Christmas tree ornaments or Picard skimming pebbles at Soran's forcefield. This style of incorporating fine detail into the bigger picture gives the those scenes more context and opens the film up to a higher level of care and reality. After reading up on the trivia of the film I noticed Worf's red knee for the first time, seen as he climbs back aboard after his unwanted dip. It was due to the ship's paint not having dried, apparently! And Troi gets to hand over the wheel to the real captain of the vessel, which is a nice touch.
Even amidst all this jollity, and the strong sense of this crew as a family, the news which knocks the air out of Picard injects a thorn of sadness to puncture the happy atmosphere, though fittingly only Troi, with her empathic abilities, notices. Another excellent detail is seen when Picard calls for the arch while crew-mates work beyond it, obviously holographic people, and the captain talks to them as he goes, continuing the illusion of the fantasy. This all stops as soon as he reads the message from Earth, and when he leaves abruptly we can see two perspectives - the ship's deck and the real Enterprise's corridors and real people walking past. It's all a show of strength, explaining how advanced this technology is, and playing tricks with the audience, much like Carson did in 'Emissary' where we first meet the Sisko's sitting by a lake which vanishes at the end of the scene since it, too, was a holoprogram.
Picard's tiredness and grief may have been easier to portray for Patrick Stewart at the time because it was the end of seven long years of work, then straight into making the film without a break. It's no wonder some of the cast look tired. The intense lighting shows every line and crack in sharp relief, most apparent in Brent Spiner's face. The scene in which Troi visits the captain and he falls apart, confiding in her the terrible news of the death of his brother and nephew in a fire is such a strong performance, without making him look weak. Indeed, he seems even stronger in the way he puts his grief aside professionally to deal with the Amargosa problem, even if he has become very abrupt and short-tempered. It reminded me of the episode 'Sarek' in which he suffers loss of emotional control after mind-melding with Spock's Dad. It's not quite as strong as that, but close.
This allowance for Picard's humanity to show through would be gradually stripped away through each film, so that he became more of a standard action hero. Some cite the fact that this film was merely a longer 'TNG' episode as a reason for disliking it, but they could never have achieved the incredible events on a TV budget, and even now to get all these things into a TV series would be a real stretch. What's the point of having a film based on a TV series if you aren't true to that style? The format has changed, sure, and the scope has become epic, but it needs to be true to itself, and that may be one reason why 'Nemesis' didn't do so well. By any measure this film was a box-office success, playing up to its format with more, and bigger sets, full-on action sequences that you want in a film for, but also the heart of 'TNG' and a host of references and ties that connect it so much more to the series than the other films did. If you think that's a mistake then maybe you should have checked your expectations: You want 'TNG' or not? If not, go and watch one of the 'Star Wars' films or a generic sci-fi/space film, because this is 'TNG' through and through, presented as a satisfying widescreen story.
Star Trek: Generations
DVD, Star Trek: Generations (1994) film, In-Depth Review
'Star Trek: Generations' is the best 'Star Trek' film of them all. That isn't a statement you hear very often. It's not a statement that popular opinion would agree with. And it's not a statement that can pass without justification. But it is what I think, and I want to explain why, in detail.
For me there's a heavy nostalgic hand over this film which adds to the experience immensely, but it's not the nostalgia of seeing the film in the cinema, it's the nostalgia of that era of 'Star Trek,' when it had become so popular that there was a buzz about where it could go, what it could achieve. The film came out on the cusp of its creative rise to power, the crossroads of a year in which 'TNG' had triumphantly gone before its time (perhaps), 'DS9' had begun to stride out alone for its ground-breaking third season, and 'Voyager' was a matter of months away from debuting. Three generations, all meeting in the multimedia world before flashing off at warp speed in their own directions. But this film also brought back the previous generation, 'TOS,' represented by the launch of the Enterprise-B, the only ship in the line not to have been explored until that point, with Scotty, Chekov, and the most important captain of them all, James T. Kirk.
They could easily have decided to focus purely on the 'TNG' cast, to boldly put them up on the big screen and not look back. If the series had ended earlier and the film had been produced at that time, then perhaps that would have been the course taken, but the reality was that 'TNG' had become more successful than 'TOS' and had learned to embrace the races and universe the first series invented - it had proved itself and was big enough to connect with 'TOS' on a more precise level. It had nothing to prove and all to gain from tipping its warp nacelles at its predecessor, and had already done so several times in the series. 'Star Trek VI' is often viewed as one of the best films in the series, and rightly so, for it gave those original characters the send-off they deserved, poignantly making a difference, tying the two generations together with the ramifications of peace with the Klingons, first established in 'TNG,' and leaving them to ride off into the sunset as a family of officers one last time.
Originally, the whole cast had been written into the script for 'Generations,' but because most felt VI had been a stronger send-off for their character, only Scotty and Chekov came to be in it. I actually think that worked a lot better than if it had been the Big Three, with Spock and McCoy joining the party. If so, the attention would have been drawn far more towards the 'TOS' characters, unbalancing the film, perhaps distracting viewers who might wonder what adventures those three may have had and if they were still alive after being seen in 'TNG.' This was a film to launch the new characters onto the big screen, the 23rd Century was only supposed to be an inventive and satisfying leaping off point which could leave story threads that would be intelligently picked up in the 24th Century.
I first saw this film in early 1996, on a friend's video. At that point I wasn't totally savvy about 'Star Trek' - I'd seen 'TOS' in repeats during 1992-1993 or so, a few 'TNG' episodes and some of 'DS9' as well as most of the films, but it was all jumbled up in my mind, very loosely connected. I was also young enough to accept whatever happened in a film as if that was the only way it could be. Not that I believed films were real, but it didn't occur to me that someone wrote it, someone directed it, and that it could have been written in a different way or directed in another style. In later years, once I'd seen so many films I understood the mechanics of film-making, I began to question the creative choices that had been made in what I watched, so that by the time 'Nemesis' rolled around I knew what I liked and didn't like, and could see what was wrong or right. Watching films such as 'Generations' or the original 'Star Wars' films, perhaps because I saw them when I was young enough to accept everything, and because I repeatedly saw them in successive years, or maybe because they really were simply pushing those buttons that appealed to my imagination, I still see them as almost without flaw and find it difficult to accept that other people dislike this film or hate some of the choices that were made.
I should say for starters that it was only in the last three years that I saw this film in the way it was meant to be seen: widescreen, full-colour, sharp on a big screen with headphones for best quality sound. Previously I'd seen it on TV or video and had loved it then, but now I appreciate the visual side of it even more, and how much of an epic scope it achieves, beyond what was possible on the TV series, and matched only by later films and 'DS9' - how I wish that series could be modified into widescreen! The colour is so strong, the landscapes so defined, the contrast between the blackness of space and the brilliance of the uniform colours, or the crackling Nexus, or the natural, planetary environments.
Lighting the sets was an experienced Director of Photography (John Alonzo) who was apparently an expensive option, but worth the money, as shown in the beauty and incredible golden glow of scenes set around the Amargosa star. The shadows become so expressive and the light sharpens every detail. This is very apparent in the scenes set in Picard's ready room when Riker reports in, his quarters when Troi visits and Ten Forward when he encounters Soran for the first time. Everything is lit up like a Christmas tree, which is a suitable analogy because this film is the one that feels most like Christmas - such things are even spoken about in Guinan's description of the Nexus as being wrapped in joy. It's the same indefinable element that Harve Bennett and William Shatner strove for in the earlier films and talk about in the DVD commentaries for them, and its glow is felt throughout this film.
There is a fallacy which I used to go along with because it was the standard view, but which, upon viewing all the films as an adult I have come to realise is subjective and became the generally accepted position only because it was easier than really examining and analysing it: the rule that odd is bad, even is good. Films I, III, V, VII and IX tend to be slower, more introspective, perhaps more character-focused, according to this rule and weren't as successful either financially or creatively as II, IV, VI, VIII and… er, X. Most people probably abandoned the theory after 'Star Trek: Nemesis,' the tenth film, turned out to be a relative failure, and 'Star Trek XI' became the most financially successful film of all. The theory went that the even-numbered films were more action-oriented, would appeal to a mainstream audience and had the best stories, but it's really not the case in my eyes. That theory worked for the first two films only and from then on odd or even didn't necessarily follow a pattern.
Having watched all the films recently I have to say that as much as I love 'Star Trek II' for so many reasons, I enjoyed III a tiny bit more. IV, the most successful of the films until recently, is one of my least favourite because it's less 'Star Trek' for me, and I felt the characters were too often made to look silly. V continued that, but to a much lesser degree as it was about serious subjects and was so atmospheric that for me, it comes out just a little above the pack, just ahead of VI, which ends the original series so well, but can feel a little claustrophobic with its close corridors and underground caves. 'Generations' was far more expansive and managed to tick so many boxes that were thrown at it, was rushed through to completion in an incredibly tight time limit (JJ Abrams should take note - his twelfth film keeps being pushed back after more than two years of waiting), yet was still presented a vision that spanned tiny minutiae up to the suitably epic, that cinema cries out for.
To complete the set, 'First Contact' is the second best, just a nick under VII, while 'Insurrection' seemed the best when I first saw it, but over time has been relegated below the first two 'TNG' films, and then 'Nemesis' which was impressive at the cinema (the first Trek film I saw in that setting), was a missed opportunity in so many ways. XI felt much the same from the opposite direction (X was too visually depressing, needed more action, but had some nice character stuff and continuity, while XI was nice and bright, bold and brassy, but the characters were lost or not true, in a story full of gaping holes). One criticism levelled at VII is its apparent plot holes, which can be explained away, and look more like flea bites compared to the craters liberally scattered throughout XI, but I'll get to the perceived problems later.
I haven't really explained the individual pieces that make the experience of this my favourite film of the series because there are so many details and so many choices that work so well. If you'd like to understand my point of view please read the second part of this review.
'Star Trek: Generations' is the best 'Star Trek' film of them all. That isn't a statement you hear very often. It's not a statement that popular opinion would agree with. And it's not a statement that can pass without justification. But it is what I think, and I want to explain why, in detail.
For me there's a heavy nostalgic hand over this film which adds to the experience immensely, but it's not the nostalgia of seeing the film in the cinema, it's the nostalgia of that era of 'Star Trek,' when it had become so popular that there was a buzz about where it could go, what it could achieve. The film came out on the cusp of its creative rise to power, the crossroads of a year in which 'TNG' had triumphantly gone before its time (perhaps), 'DS9' had begun to stride out alone for its ground-breaking third season, and 'Voyager' was a matter of months away from debuting. Three generations, all meeting in the multimedia world before flashing off at warp speed in their own directions. But this film also brought back the previous generation, 'TOS,' represented by the launch of the Enterprise-B, the only ship in the line not to have been explored until that point, with Scotty, Chekov, and the most important captain of them all, James T. Kirk.
They could easily have decided to focus purely on the 'TNG' cast, to boldly put them up on the big screen and not look back. If the series had ended earlier and the film had been produced at that time, then perhaps that would have been the course taken, but the reality was that 'TNG' had become more successful than 'TOS' and had learned to embrace the races and universe the first series invented - it had proved itself and was big enough to connect with 'TOS' on a more precise level. It had nothing to prove and all to gain from tipping its warp nacelles at its predecessor, and had already done so several times in the series. 'Star Trek VI' is often viewed as one of the best films in the series, and rightly so, for it gave those original characters the send-off they deserved, poignantly making a difference, tying the two generations together with the ramifications of peace with the Klingons, first established in 'TNG,' and leaving them to ride off into the sunset as a family of officers one last time.
Originally, the whole cast had been written into the script for 'Generations,' but because most felt VI had been a stronger send-off for their character, only Scotty and Chekov came to be in it. I actually think that worked a lot better than if it had been the Big Three, with Spock and McCoy joining the party. If so, the attention would have been drawn far more towards the 'TOS' characters, unbalancing the film, perhaps distracting viewers who might wonder what adventures those three may have had and if they were still alive after being seen in 'TNG.' This was a film to launch the new characters onto the big screen, the 23rd Century was only supposed to be an inventive and satisfying leaping off point which could leave story threads that would be intelligently picked up in the 24th Century.
I first saw this film in early 1996, on a friend's video. At that point I wasn't totally savvy about 'Star Trek' - I'd seen 'TOS' in repeats during 1992-1993 or so, a few 'TNG' episodes and some of 'DS9' as well as most of the films, but it was all jumbled up in my mind, very loosely connected. I was also young enough to accept whatever happened in a film as if that was the only way it could be. Not that I believed films were real, but it didn't occur to me that someone wrote it, someone directed it, and that it could have been written in a different way or directed in another style. In later years, once I'd seen so many films I understood the mechanics of film-making, I began to question the creative choices that had been made in what I watched, so that by the time 'Nemesis' rolled around I knew what I liked and didn't like, and could see what was wrong or right. Watching films such as 'Generations' or the original 'Star Wars' films, perhaps because I saw them when I was young enough to accept everything, and because I repeatedly saw them in successive years, or maybe because they really were simply pushing those buttons that appealed to my imagination, I still see them as almost without flaw and find it difficult to accept that other people dislike this film or hate some of the choices that were made.
I should say for starters that it was only in the last three years that I saw this film in the way it was meant to be seen: widescreen, full-colour, sharp on a big screen with headphones for best quality sound. Previously I'd seen it on TV or video and had loved it then, but now I appreciate the visual side of it even more, and how much of an epic scope it achieves, beyond what was possible on the TV series, and matched only by later films and 'DS9' - how I wish that series could be modified into widescreen! The colour is so strong, the landscapes so defined, the contrast between the blackness of space and the brilliance of the uniform colours, or the crackling Nexus, or the natural, planetary environments.
Lighting the sets was an experienced Director of Photography (John Alonzo) who was apparently an expensive option, but worth the money, as shown in the beauty and incredible golden glow of scenes set around the Amargosa star. The shadows become so expressive and the light sharpens every detail. This is very apparent in the scenes set in Picard's ready room when Riker reports in, his quarters when Troi visits and Ten Forward when he encounters Soran for the first time. Everything is lit up like a Christmas tree, which is a suitable analogy because this film is the one that feels most like Christmas - such things are even spoken about in Guinan's description of the Nexus as being wrapped in joy. It's the same indefinable element that Harve Bennett and William Shatner strove for in the earlier films and talk about in the DVD commentaries for them, and its glow is felt throughout this film.
There is a fallacy which I used to go along with because it was the standard view, but which, upon viewing all the films as an adult I have come to realise is subjective and became the generally accepted position only because it was easier than really examining and analysing it: the rule that odd is bad, even is good. Films I, III, V, VII and IX tend to be slower, more introspective, perhaps more character-focused, according to this rule and weren't as successful either financially or creatively as II, IV, VI, VIII and… er, X. Most people probably abandoned the theory after 'Star Trek: Nemesis,' the tenth film, turned out to be a relative failure, and 'Star Trek XI' became the most financially successful film of all. The theory went that the even-numbered films were more action-oriented, would appeal to a mainstream audience and had the best stories, but it's really not the case in my eyes. That theory worked for the first two films only and from then on odd or even didn't necessarily follow a pattern.
Having watched all the films recently I have to say that as much as I love 'Star Trek II' for so many reasons, I enjoyed III a tiny bit more. IV, the most successful of the films until recently, is one of my least favourite because it's less 'Star Trek' for me, and I felt the characters were too often made to look silly. V continued that, but to a much lesser degree as it was about serious subjects and was so atmospheric that for me, it comes out just a little above the pack, just ahead of VI, which ends the original series so well, but can feel a little claustrophobic with its close corridors and underground caves. 'Generations' was far more expansive and managed to tick so many boxes that were thrown at it, was rushed through to completion in an incredibly tight time limit (JJ Abrams should take note - his twelfth film keeps being pushed back after more than two years of waiting), yet was still presented a vision that spanned tiny minutiae up to the suitably epic, that cinema cries out for.
To complete the set, 'First Contact' is the second best, just a nick under VII, while 'Insurrection' seemed the best when I first saw it, but over time has been relegated below the first two 'TNG' films, and then 'Nemesis' which was impressive at the cinema (the first Trek film I saw in that setting), was a missed opportunity in so many ways. XI felt much the same from the opposite direction (X was too visually depressing, needed more action, but had some nice character stuff and continuity, while XI was nice and bright, bold and brassy, but the characters were lost or not true, in a story full of gaping holes). One criticism levelled at VII is its apparent plot holes, which can be explained away, and look more like flea bites compared to the craters liberally scattered throughout XI, but I'll get to the perceived problems later.
I haven't really explained the individual pieces that make the experience of this my favourite film of the series because there are so many details and so many choices that work so well. If you'd like to understand my point of view please read the second part of this review.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Wither
DVD, Smallville S6 (Wither)
This one becomes a bit of a Valentine's Day for several characters, namely Chloe and Jimmy Olsen, Lois and Oliver Queen and Lex and Lana, while Clark does a 'cooler king' impression sat in the barn at the end bouncing a ball against the wall. But I got more of a sense of pensiveness from him rather than loneliness or jealousy. Like Lana in the previous episode he has the inevitable meeting with Lex, this time in the Luthor greenhouse just over Lone Pine ridge apparently. Amazing that of all the Luthor estate Lex should happen to be in there at the one time Clark makes a visit, just so he can tell him to get out. I mean what was he doing in there, he certainly wasn't dressed for gardening! The days of Clark entering his house unannounced really are long gone.
Clark paying a visit to Lex on the suspicion he or LuthorCorp's experiments are behind a spate of killings or weirdness is a throwback to the past, and most of the episode is nostalgically reminiscent of the series as it used to be, which, for the most part appealed to me. I wasn't crazy about all the 'romantic' stuff, but I never have been, and I did like the way they had the costume ball with slow-motion shots and the repeat of a trick they've done: having a 'live' band sing and play, presumably one that's famous, but I wouldn't know! Scenes like that were sensitively played and I appreciated dipping into a style that isn't seen so much on the series, with contemporary music suitable for the situation, a return to the horror roots of the series, while neatly tying in to Clark's recent troubles with the Phantom Zone. At the end of the first episode we were shown that he had unwittingly freed some nasties from the Zone, and now we meet one of them, the unassumingly named 'Gloria,' an alien plant that wants to spread her 'beauty,' or seeds, to be more precise.
Jimmy Olsen was quite a fun character, and now we know where Chloe knew him from as they served together as interns on one of her holiday breaks a while back. We may have been given that information before, but if not, it's there. Oliver Queen was a bit more interesting than in his first appearance, seeming to be a bit of a spoilt rich kid to begin with in the way he reacts to Lois' apology - once again she's put her foot in it and looks like a fool, but at least she has more chance of seeing more of Queen since he's likely to be a recurring character, as opposed to other weirdoes/lunatics/superdudes she's fallen for previously. Though Aquaman might just be making a comeback this season, I reckon. The banter between her and Queen works well and we get one of those excellent endings in which a character secretly does something special, but only the audience are let in on it: Lois will only allow him a kiss if he shoots a tin can off a dumpster. He fires just over the top of it, and she goes off smugly, then the camera travels along to the tip of the arrow embedded in the wall, the ring pull still spinning round the shaft!
For those that knew all about the Green Arrow, I'm sure they got plenty of kicks out of this episode, as he dresses up in a Robin Hood costume, which I imagine is an early version of the superhero's design, since he explains it was handed down to him from his parents when they died, and it works on two levels as it's also for the fancy dress ball. Lex is another person to show his character in his costume, wearing Alexander the Great armour (I assume), and the two 'old friends' meet for the first time on the series. Lana's get-up as Cleopatra suits her well (maybe she should go for that Egyptian eyeliner look all the time!), as she makes her choice and decides to live with Lex for real. Uh-oh.
Martha's storyline as a senator continues, seeking support from Queen, and she also has a nice scene early on when she and Clark discuss whether he's changed since losing so many people that were dear to him. He doesn't think so, but Martha says all these things have made him the person he is today, and will help shape who he will become tomorrow - certainly an exciting, tingle at the back of the neck moment.
Sometimes the CGI of the vines which Gloria, the fake ranger, uses to kill people or hold them in place, doesn't look real at all, and the interaction when they go in for the smother can be a bit weak. On the whole however, the use of vines to strangle out all light was a strong visual image, the hospital room in the Smallville Medical Centre being an obvious success, and sometimes the CGI did work. I didn't get how Clark could be pierced through his heart by a thick vine, yet he was fine afterwards. I know it's not Kryptonite, but if it can puncture his thick hide then it must have done some damage. It was also a little disappointing how simple the solution was to defeat the plants and the fight in Lex' greenhouse was over before it had a chance to get going, Gloria the Evil Plant Monster killed off in no time!
It was also very hard to believe the moment when Chloe runs through the woods looking for Clark, turns one way and can't see him, then the camera pans round and she looks the other way to see this massive branch sculpture, with Clark impaled in its midst. She would have easily seen that tall structure from quite a way away. What I did appreciate were the nods back to Chloe's past of sneaking through the dark woods looking for whatever freak-of-the-week had done their dastardly deeds that day. It was quite different from the huge, impersonal scale the series has taken on in recent seasons, and went back to small-town Smallville again - the woods, the Luthor grounds, the Talon, and Lana noting how long ago it seemed that she'd lived there. Less of the global domination and more of this, please…
***
This one becomes a bit of a Valentine's Day for several characters, namely Chloe and Jimmy Olsen, Lois and Oliver Queen and Lex and Lana, while Clark does a 'cooler king' impression sat in the barn at the end bouncing a ball against the wall. But I got more of a sense of pensiveness from him rather than loneliness or jealousy. Like Lana in the previous episode he has the inevitable meeting with Lex, this time in the Luthor greenhouse just over Lone Pine ridge apparently. Amazing that of all the Luthor estate Lex should happen to be in there at the one time Clark makes a visit, just so he can tell him to get out. I mean what was he doing in there, he certainly wasn't dressed for gardening! The days of Clark entering his house unannounced really are long gone.
Clark paying a visit to Lex on the suspicion he or LuthorCorp's experiments are behind a spate of killings or weirdness is a throwback to the past, and most of the episode is nostalgically reminiscent of the series as it used to be, which, for the most part appealed to me. I wasn't crazy about all the 'romantic' stuff, but I never have been, and I did like the way they had the costume ball with slow-motion shots and the repeat of a trick they've done: having a 'live' band sing and play, presumably one that's famous, but I wouldn't know! Scenes like that were sensitively played and I appreciated dipping into a style that isn't seen so much on the series, with contemporary music suitable for the situation, a return to the horror roots of the series, while neatly tying in to Clark's recent troubles with the Phantom Zone. At the end of the first episode we were shown that he had unwittingly freed some nasties from the Zone, and now we meet one of them, the unassumingly named 'Gloria,' an alien plant that wants to spread her 'beauty,' or seeds, to be more precise.
Jimmy Olsen was quite a fun character, and now we know where Chloe knew him from as they served together as interns on one of her holiday breaks a while back. We may have been given that information before, but if not, it's there. Oliver Queen was a bit more interesting than in his first appearance, seeming to be a bit of a spoilt rich kid to begin with in the way he reacts to Lois' apology - once again she's put her foot in it and looks like a fool, but at least she has more chance of seeing more of Queen since he's likely to be a recurring character, as opposed to other weirdoes/lunatics/superdudes she's fallen for previously. Though Aquaman might just be making a comeback this season, I reckon. The banter between her and Queen works well and we get one of those excellent endings in which a character secretly does something special, but only the audience are let in on it: Lois will only allow him a kiss if he shoots a tin can off a dumpster. He fires just over the top of it, and she goes off smugly, then the camera travels along to the tip of the arrow embedded in the wall, the ring pull still spinning round the shaft!
For those that knew all about the Green Arrow, I'm sure they got plenty of kicks out of this episode, as he dresses up in a Robin Hood costume, which I imagine is an early version of the superhero's design, since he explains it was handed down to him from his parents when they died, and it works on two levels as it's also for the fancy dress ball. Lex is another person to show his character in his costume, wearing Alexander the Great armour (I assume), and the two 'old friends' meet for the first time on the series. Lana's get-up as Cleopatra suits her well (maybe she should go for that Egyptian eyeliner look all the time!), as she makes her choice and decides to live with Lex for real. Uh-oh.
Martha's storyline as a senator continues, seeking support from Queen, and she also has a nice scene early on when she and Clark discuss whether he's changed since losing so many people that were dear to him. He doesn't think so, but Martha says all these things have made him the person he is today, and will help shape who he will become tomorrow - certainly an exciting, tingle at the back of the neck moment.
Sometimes the CGI of the vines which Gloria, the fake ranger, uses to kill people or hold them in place, doesn't look real at all, and the interaction when they go in for the smother can be a bit weak. On the whole however, the use of vines to strangle out all light was a strong visual image, the hospital room in the Smallville Medical Centre being an obvious success, and sometimes the CGI did work. I didn't get how Clark could be pierced through his heart by a thick vine, yet he was fine afterwards. I know it's not Kryptonite, but if it can puncture his thick hide then it must have done some damage. It was also a little disappointing how simple the solution was to defeat the plants and the fight in Lex' greenhouse was over before it had a chance to get going, Gloria the Evil Plant Monster killed off in no time!
It was also very hard to believe the moment when Chloe runs through the woods looking for Clark, turns one way and can't see him, then the camera pans round and she looks the other way to see this massive branch sculpture, with Clark impaled in its midst. She would have easily seen that tall structure from quite a way away. What I did appreciate were the nods back to Chloe's past of sneaking through the dark woods looking for whatever freak-of-the-week had done their dastardly deeds that day. It was quite different from the huge, impersonal scale the series has taken on in recent seasons, and went back to small-town Smallville again - the woods, the Luthor grounds, the Talon, and Lana noting how long ago it seemed that she'd lived there. Less of the global domination and more of this, please…
***
The Next Phase
DVD, TNG S5 (The Next Phase)
Could this be the beginning of the Romulans solid-gold run? I'm talking about the fact that in 'DS9' and 'Voyager' you can be almost guaranteed that if they appear you're in for a great ride, but in the early seasons of 'TNG' their contribution was, shall we say, mixed. With this episode they were shown to be as devious as ever, introducing a new technology, the interphase device, one that even Starfleet would consider putting into action for its benefits could be almost as important as warp travel or the transporter: the ability to travel through any physical object. See 'The Pegasus' for more…
Geordi and Ro was a new and untried pairing and created a good counterpoint of belief and deduction, showing both as valid. I love the final scene between them as Ro admits she is now giving serious thought to the afterlife where before she was a sceptic. It's not too heavy on such facets, although it showed the path 'DS9' would travel when it finally arrived the following season, but more importantly it closes out the episode with a good joke and a friendly laugh between the two.
There is much to enjoy, but right away I should point out that if Chief O'Brien had been manning the Transporter instead of that old woman (whom I felt I recognised), he wouldn't have let it happen. I can only assume Meaney was off making films at this point, otherwise he surely would have been in a lot more episodes in readiness for his impending promotion to 'Main Character in a Star Trek Series.' In the early scenes on the Romulan vessel my eyes were wide open, drinking in every detail I could about the crew and the environment - it's so rare to have the opportunity to see the inside of one of their ships. It wasn't the best view, being all burnt up and strewn with debris, but the import of the danger, and what could happen if the core blew, was very well played.
It's quite surreal to see the Borg Queen and Kira's Dad in the same scenes together, both playing Romulans and otherwise known as Susanna Thompson and Thomas Kopache. Their scorpion-like nature was clear, even after the Enterprise had saved them they were duplicitous enough to allow it to be destroyed - it was in their nature, as Chakotay might have observed. I thought at first the Romulans might be more suspicious of the accident, assuming Starfleet wanted the device and that was the reason for leaving with part of it, but they knew they didn't know, if you know what I mean and the Enterprise crew were quick to help them in every way they could, so it wasn't an issue.
The brilliance of the episode is in the remarkable effects work that hold up to this day - the brilliant chase through the Enterprise's crew quarters as a Romulan goes after Ro. He looked the way all members of his race should: shifty, but smart, and angular in his bearing, radiating intelligent malice especially when we don't know he's phased like them. A good thing then, that none of his colleagues sat in the chair as he was so moodily frowning into camera, or his dignity and his cover would have been compromised most severely!
The excellence of the visuals; people running through walls, or, in the best scene, an actual fight happening in the midst of a couple's quiet dinner together, performed the necessary sleight of hand so that attention wasn't drawn to the inconsistencies that abounded: the phased people can pass through matter, yet walk on the deck without falling through. Their hands pass through everything unless it's necessary for the story. So Ensign Ro touches her former chair and console lovingly, if lightly, and the Romulan sits in one on the bridge. When the Romulan's phased phaser (a mind-boggling concept!), is overloaded Ro and Geordi run for cover and dive behind a table, but we've already seen the beam go through Riker's head and other things, so there would be no protection except in distance from the flashpoint. But as I said, you forgive those things because the story is so good.
Perhaps the feeling of imminent danger could have been increased. What I mean is that once we see the unfortunate Romulan falling out of the ship and spinning away for a terrible and lonely death from starvation, I imagine, we know that the boundary of the edge of the ship means death if crossed. It would have been good to see one of them almost fall out and make it clear in dialogue that if the Enterprise speeds off they'll be left behind, or if there had been a scene of almost falling down a turbolift shaft it would have been even better.
The episode works so well because it goes beyond the stunts. However spectacular effects are they are enhanced by good performances and by a connection with the persons involved. We care what happens to Geordi and Ro, enjoying their freedom to listen in on private conversations about them, and experiencing their joy at the sentiments their friends express. The shot in the turbolift when Picard and Riker are on the way to the memorial service is a strong visual example, David Carson showing his credentials as a good director once again - no wonder he was chosen to direct their first film. The scene features Picard talking about the first time he met Geordi, while the man himself stands in the background, then it flips to Riker while Ro listens in on that side. We never did get to hear what Riker was going to say, but you could see her death hit him harder than we might have expected. At least we had the pleasure of hearing the famous Riker trombone in action again!
I wonder if Ro was the best character to choose? It only struck me that while she was having all this exposure, the main female characters don't have a lot to do. I suppose they wanted the religious culture aspect of the Bajorans, but I might have preferred another of the main cast, partly because Ro can seem a little too cheeky for a Starfleet officer. I'd love to see what they could do with an episode like this in a new series or film. I imagine the effects work would be comparative child's play and they could come up with all kinds of dramatic angles and intricate action set-pieces. For its time it was an impressive display that got the important things right: friendship is never stronger than in near-death situations, and the novelty of learning what would happen after the event would fascinate anyone. Thankfully Data's celebratory memorial service made Geordi very happy. Some moments reminded me of other episodes: Kirk phasing in and out of space in 'The Tholian Web' and Captain Janeway's apparent death in 'Coda.'
****
Could this be the beginning of the Romulans solid-gold run? I'm talking about the fact that in 'DS9' and 'Voyager' you can be almost guaranteed that if they appear you're in for a great ride, but in the early seasons of 'TNG' their contribution was, shall we say, mixed. With this episode they were shown to be as devious as ever, introducing a new technology, the interphase device, one that even Starfleet would consider putting into action for its benefits could be almost as important as warp travel or the transporter: the ability to travel through any physical object. See 'The Pegasus' for more…
Geordi and Ro was a new and untried pairing and created a good counterpoint of belief and deduction, showing both as valid. I love the final scene between them as Ro admits she is now giving serious thought to the afterlife where before she was a sceptic. It's not too heavy on such facets, although it showed the path 'DS9' would travel when it finally arrived the following season, but more importantly it closes out the episode with a good joke and a friendly laugh between the two.
There is much to enjoy, but right away I should point out that if Chief O'Brien had been manning the Transporter instead of that old woman (whom I felt I recognised), he wouldn't have let it happen. I can only assume Meaney was off making films at this point, otherwise he surely would have been in a lot more episodes in readiness for his impending promotion to 'Main Character in a Star Trek Series.' In the early scenes on the Romulan vessel my eyes were wide open, drinking in every detail I could about the crew and the environment - it's so rare to have the opportunity to see the inside of one of their ships. It wasn't the best view, being all burnt up and strewn with debris, but the import of the danger, and what could happen if the core blew, was very well played.
It's quite surreal to see the Borg Queen and Kira's Dad in the same scenes together, both playing Romulans and otherwise known as Susanna Thompson and Thomas Kopache. Their scorpion-like nature was clear, even after the Enterprise had saved them they were duplicitous enough to allow it to be destroyed - it was in their nature, as Chakotay might have observed. I thought at first the Romulans might be more suspicious of the accident, assuming Starfleet wanted the device and that was the reason for leaving with part of it, but they knew they didn't know, if you know what I mean and the Enterprise crew were quick to help them in every way they could, so it wasn't an issue.
The brilliance of the episode is in the remarkable effects work that hold up to this day - the brilliant chase through the Enterprise's crew quarters as a Romulan goes after Ro. He looked the way all members of his race should: shifty, but smart, and angular in his bearing, radiating intelligent malice especially when we don't know he's phased like them. A good thing then, that none of his colleagues sat in the chair as he was so moodily frowning into camera, or his dignity and his cover would have been compromised most severely!
The excellence of the visuals; people running through walls, or, in the best scene, an actual fight happening in the midst of a couple's quiet dinner together, performed the necessary sleight of hand so that attention wasn't drawn to the inconsistencies that abounded: the phased people can pass through matter, yet walk on the deck without falling through. Their hands pass through everything unless it's necessary for the story. So Ensign Ro touches her former chair and console lovingly, if lightly, and the Romulan sits in one on the bridge. When the Romulan's phased phaser (a mind-boggling concept!), is overloaded Ro and Geordi run for cover and dive behind a table, but we've already seen the beam go through Riker's head and other things, so there would be no protection except in distance from the flashpoint. But as I said, you forgive those things because the story is so good.
Perhaps the feeling of imminent danger could have been increased. What I mean is that once we see the unfortunate Romulan falling out of the ship and spinning away for a terrible and lonely death from starvation, I imagine, we know that the boundary of the edge of the ship means death if crossed. It would have been good to see one of them almost fall out and make it clear in dialogue that if the Enterprise speeds off they'll be left behind, or if there had been a scene of almost falling down a turbolift shaft it would have been even better.
The episode works so well because it goes beyond the stunts. However spectacular effects are they are enhanced by good performances and by a connection with the persons involved. We care what happens to Geordi and Ro, enjoying their freedom to listen in on private conversations about them, and experiencing their joy at the sentiments their friends express. The shot in the turbolift when Picard and Riker are on the way to the memorial service is a strong visual example, David Carson showing his credentials as a good director once again - no wonder he was chosen to direct their first film. The scene features Picard talking about the first time he met Geordi, while the man himself stands in the background, then it flips to Riker while Ro listens in on that side. We never did get to hear what Riker was going to say, but you could see her death hit him harder than we might have expected. At least we had the pleasure of hearing the famous Riker trombone in action again!
I wonder if Ro was the best character to choose? It only struck me that while she was having all this exposure, the main female characters don't have a lot to do. I suppose they wanted the religious culture aspect of the Bajorans, but I might have preferred another of the main cast, partly because Ro can seem a little too cheeky for a Starfleet officer. I'd love to see what they could do with an episode like this in a new series or film. I imagine the effects work would be comparative child's play and they could come up with all kinds of dramatic angles and intricate action set-pieces. For its time it was an impressive display that got the important things right: friendship is never stronger than in near-death situations, and the novelty of learning what would happen after the event would fascinate anyone. Thankfully Data's celebratory memorial service made Geordi very happy. Some moments reminded me of other episodes: Kirk phasing in and out of space in 'The Tholian Web' and Captain Janeway's apparent death in 'Coda.'
****
I, Borg
DVD, TNG S5 (I, Borg)
iBorg? Is that the next Apple product to shake up the market? No, it's the long-awaited follow-up to the epic two-parter 'The Best of Both Worlds' long thought of as the best story of the series. For me it was 'I, Bored' as I always had reservations about this episode. In 'Star Trek' the optimism and positive morality that exudes from the stories and characters always means that a race is never judged by a few representatives. Given enough episodes a race will always feature someone or a group of people that are good, even if the race is generally the enemy, be they Romulan, Klingon, or many others that have set themselves up against the Federation. With one exception: the Borg.
Their very name sends shudders through those that have encountered them… and survived. They were the ultimate enemy, devastating the fleet, killing thousands, and even worse, assimilating many more into their collective. They had no morals, they were unstoppable, they were the destroyers of civilisations. They were the Borg. Until we came to this episode and the same parameters were applied to this race as all the others. By showing a single, confused individual that shows that with the Borg consciousness removed, they were real people, trapped inside the hive mind and essentially innocent of the heinous crimes of the collective. From then on they could no longer be wholeheartedly annihilated without concern because the foot-soldiers of the greater mind of the collective were just as much captives acting against their will as they were enemies.
They made the Borg cute, and for such a formidable foe I felt it was wrong to treat them in the same way as all the other races. They should have been the one exception to the rule, and my mind was set against any attempt to change them. Of course, the long history that followed 'TNG' explored the Borg in increasing depth so that we even got to the stage where those who had been assimilated could be rescued and rehabilitated as if they had escaped a mind-altering cult, the best analogy I can think of. Third of Five paved the way for Seven of Nine and understanding the Borg became as much a joy as the gradual development of the other major races. What had become a super-villain, grew into something more. They could still be as tough as Targ snouts, but there was more to them than was at first realised.
The history I'm relating does have a bearing on this episode, because, like Geordi, then Guinan and finally, Picard, I realised that this is a better episode than I gave it credit for and the first in a long line of stories that would push the envelope regarding the Borg. I empathised with Hugh through Jonathan Del Arco's defenceless and vulnerable performance as a boy who has woken into a new world in which everything he knew is wrong and questioned for the first time. At first, Picard, still haunted by his experiences as a Borg refuses to see them for anything more than they appeared to be: destructive machines intent on killing or absorbing the human race. If he had spent time with his conscience testing whether the plan to infect the Borg and hopefully cause them to self-destruct as a race was right, he would have seen much earlier that it didn't sit well with his Starfleet ideals, but he has a wall up right away, knowing personally that if his conscience is the only thing between dealing with the greatest threat to his people, or destruction, he will sacrifice that. It's not as obvious that he believes this as much as Sisko does in 'In The Pale Moonlight,' or Janeway in 'Equinox,' but the hardness in his eyes speaks it eloquently.
Guinan is the factor that changes his mind, or at least, begins to chip at his wall. She has just as much reason to hate and fear the Borg as the Captain, since her entire race was hounded into becoming refugees and her homeworld lost to them. It's somehow comforting to see that even Guinan, a character that is always so sure of herself, has centuries of wisdom behind those big eyes, the one who is always in the know, is flawed and susceptible to bigotry and race hate. Yet she overcomes her preconceptions and everything she knows, to speak to Hugh and learn that he is no longer what he was. Whoopi Goldberg gets possibly her most featured role on the series to that point. She has several scenes of giving advice, or taking it, where she usually only has one or two. I admit I totally forgot she actually has a fencing scene with Picard, but whatever she's doing she continues to have such presence it's a joy she agreed to be such a big part of the series.
As much as the episode is about the realisation that the right to inflict genocide on even evil races is wrong, it is also about being better than your enemy and fighting fairly even at the cost of victory. Hugh indirectly teaches the crew all these things, and learns the basics in being an individual. Most importantly he chooses to sacrifice himself to rejoin the collective to save Geordi and the others from assimilation. When you think about it, a selfless Borg isn't an anomaly as they are all technically selfless through not having the choice of will. The special thing about Hugh is that he makes a choice to lose all that he has gained because by gaining it he has learned that to let his friends be at risk would be to as if he had never understood individuality at all. The ramifications of that decision would be far-reaching. It might have given the story a more interesting angle if Hugh had been someone Picard knew or recognised, someone that had been assimilated under his leadership as Locutus, but that might have confused the matter, making us even more sympathetic towards Hugh without the benefit of the journey, and that would have been a disservice to the writer's intentions of our coming round to accept him even though he was so alien. A Wolf 359 survivor would have been a shortcut, and in any case it was a subject that would be mined sufficiently in future stories.
***
iBorg? Is that the next Apple product to shake up the market? No, it's the long-awaited follow-up to the epic two-parter 'The Best of Both Worlds' long thought of as the best story of the series. For me it was 'I, Bored' as I always had reservations about this episode. In 'Star Trek' the optimism and positive morality that exudes from the stories and characters always means that a race is never judged by a few representatives. Given enough episodes a race will always feature someone or a group of people that are good, even if the race is generally the enemy, be they Romulan, Klingon, or many others that have set themselves up against the Federation. With one exception: the Borg.
Their very name sends shudders through those that have encountered them… and survived. They were the ultimate enemy, devastating the fleet, killing thousands, and even worse, assimilating many more into their collective. They had no morals, they were unstoppable, they were the destroyers of civilisations. They were the Borg. Until we came to this episode and the same parameters were applied to this race as all the others. By showing a single, confused individual that shows that with the Borg consciousness removed, they were real people, trapped inside the hive mind and essentially innocent of the heinous crimes of the collective. From then on they could no longer be wholeheartedly annihilated without concern because the foot-soldiers of the greater mind of the collective were just as much captives acting against their will as they were enemies.
They made the Borg cute, and for such a formidable foe I felt it was wrong to treat them in the same way as all the other races. They should have been the one exception to the rule, and my mind was set against any attempt to change them. Of course, the long history that followed 'TNG' explored the Borg in increasing depth so that we even got to the stage where those who had been assimilated could be rescued and rehabilitated as if they had escaped a mind-altering cult, the best analogy I can think of. Third of Five paved the way for Seven of Nine and understanding the Borg became as much a joy as the gradual development of the other major races. What had become a super-villain, grew into something more. They could still be as tough as Targ snouts, but there was more to them than was at first realised.
The history I'm relating does have a bearing on this episode, because, like Geordi, then Guinan and finally, Picard, I realised that this is a better episode than I gave it credit for and the first in a long line of stories that would push the envelope regarding the Borg. I empathised with Hugh through Jonathan Del Arco's defenceless and vulnerable performance as a boy who has woken into a new world in which everything he knew is wrong and questioned for the first time. At first, Picard, still haunted by his experiences as a Borg refuses to see them for anything more than they appeared to be: destructive machines intent on killing or absorbing the human race. If he had spent time with his conscience testing whether the plan to infect the Borg and hopefully cause them to self-destruct as a race was right, he would have seen much earlier that it didn't sit well with his Starfleet ideals, but he has a wall up right away, knowing personally that if his conscience is the only thing between dealing with the greatest threat to his people, or destruction, he will sacrifice that. It's not as obvious that he believes this as much as Sisko does in 'In The Pale Moonlight,' or Janeway in 'Equinox,' but the hardness in his eyes speaks it eloquently.
Guinan is the factor that changes his mind, or at least, begins to chip at his wall. She has just as much reason to hate and fear the Borg as the Captain, since her entire race was hounded into becoming refugees and her homeworld lost to them. It's somehow comforting to see that even Guinan, a character that is always so sure of herself, has centuries of wisdom behind those big eyes, the one who is always in the know, is flawed and susceptible to bigotry and race hate. Yet she overcomes her preconceptions and everything she knows, to speak to Hugh and learn that he is no longer what he was. Whoopi Goldberg gets possibly her most featured role on the series to that point. She has several scenes of giving advice, or taking it, where she usually only has one or two. I admit I totally forgot she actually has a fencing scene with Picard, but whatever she's doing she continues to have such presence it's a joy she agreed to be such a big part of the series.
As much as the episode is about the realisation that the right to inflict genocide on even evil races is wrong, it is also about being better than your enemy and fighting fairly even at the cost of victory. Hugh indirectly teaches the crew all these things, and learns the basics in being an individual. Most importantly he chooses to sacrifice himself to rejoin the collective to save Geordi and the others from assimilation. When you think about it, a selfless Borg isn't an anomaly as they are all technically selfless through not having the choice of will. The special thing about Hugh is that he makes a choice to lose all that he has gained because by gaining it he has learned that to let his friends be at risk would be to as if he had never understood individuality at all. The ramifications of that decision would be far-reaching. It might have given the story a more interesting angle if Hugh had been someone Picard knew or recognised, someone that had been assimilated under his leadership as Locutus, but that might have confused the matter, making us even more sympathetic towards Hugh without the benefit of the journey, and that would have been a disservice to the writer's intentions of our coming round to accept him even though he was so alien. A Wolf 359 survivor would have been a shortcut, and in any case it was a subject that would be mined sufficiently in future stories.
***
Prodigy
DVD, Stargate SG-1 S4 (Prodigy)
From the first few minutes until almost halfway I thought this was a money-saving episode. Little happened, there were two separate stories seemingly to give the characters something to do, and everything was as slow and pointless as Cadet Jennifer Hayley found her training for the Airforce. Thankfully, like Hayley's future, things became a whole lot brighter, beginning with Carter taking an active interest in this prodigy, first sticking up for her so she isn't expelled for decking another Cadet (though through all the scenes in General Kerrigan's office I was too busy trying to see if the model in the background was the Enterprise-E or not!), then as she gives her a goal to aim for: the Stargate programme itself.
When she walks in and sees the Stargate for the first time, this epic gateway to the universe beyond her imaginings, it has the same kind of draw as when someone sees the Enterprise for the first time or walks into the TARDIS to discover it's bigger on the inside. It may be because we don't often see the wonder of the technology, it's taken for granted somewhat, and usually it's only peasant aliens that are cowed and impressed by it, so when a genius human student feels the magic you know it's something special. I love the shot of Carter and Hayley walking towards the 'gate seen from the other side of the event horizon in a rippling effect. Effects were very well done in the episode, the light creatures looked real and the featured moon has a planet dominating the sky and seen at different times of day sinking below the horizon with long shadows.
The other story features O'Neill and Teal'c taking over on a mundane science mission to this verdant moon. The teaser with Jack becoming tongue-tied in front of his hero General Ryan, Chief of Staff, is funny, but in the opening credits it says the General is playing himself so was that the real Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time? I imagine they'd like to reward the programme for it's generating of interest in young people for the service and the positive way the organisation is portrayed, and I'd love to hear the story of that. After that the mission appears as dull as O'Neill's expectations, until these little light creatures start buzzing around.
It becomes a science versus military story, which makes Daniel's absence from the episode seem stranger, but gives some momentum to the story. These scientists, they're so happy to meddle with other lifeforms, then as soon as things turn ugly they come crying for O'Neill to protect them! The apparent harmlessness of the creatures made their ability to cut through any material more devastating and horrible. I saw it coming as soon as they were first spotted zipping through tree trunks, but it was still a terrible moment when one of the scientists gets attacked by a swarm slicing through his body. Reminded me of 'Jurassic Park' and those little compys. By the time it became a base under siege scenario I had forgiven the slow start, though I couldn't quite see the episode as a whole as a strong one, because of that.
I like the way they band together to come up with a last-second plan to electrify the walls, then O'Neill does the heroic thing and allows Teal'c to electrify him with a Zat gun, eventually relying on him to back him up when he tries to activate the 'gate. I wondered why they didn't all get 'Zat-ed,' but the scientist would have been stuck as he couldn't take another blast. Sensibly they didn't have Cadet Hayley be the one to solve the problem and save their skins, as experience is just as important as a high IQ (as Jack would be glad to know!), but I would have appreciated more than the throwaway comments between her and Carter in the last moments to see how she thinks she's going to cope with going back to her mundane training when she knows what's out there. I suppose that was the point, that she now had something to aim for that would test her skills to the max.
***
From the first few minutes until almost halfway I thought this was a money-saving episode. Little happened, there were two separate stories seemingly to give the characters something to do, and everything was as slow and pointless as Cadet Jennifer Hayley found her training for the Airforce. Thankfully, like Hayley's future, things became a whole lot brighter, beginning with Carter taking an active interest in this prodigy, first sticking up for her so she isn't expelled for decking another Cadet (though through all the scenes in General Kerrigan's office I was too busy trying to see if the model in the background was the Enterprise-E or not!), then as she gives her a goal to aim for: the Stargate programme itself.
When she walks in and sees the Stargate for the first time, this epic gateway to the universe beyond her imaginings, it has the same kind of draw as when someone sees the Enterprise for the first time or walks into the TARDIS to discover it's bigger on the inside. It may be because we don't often see the wonder of the technology, it's taken for granted somewhat, and usually it's only peasant aliens that are cowed and impressed by it, so when a genius human student feels the magic you know it's something special. I love the shot of Carter and Hayley walking towards the 'gate seen from the other side of the event horizon in a rippling effect. Effects were very well done in the episode, the light creatures looked real and the featured moon has a planet dominating the sky and seen at different times of day sinking below the horizon with long shadows.
The other story features O'Neill and Teal'c taking over on a mundane science mission to this verdant moon. The teaser with Jack becoming tongue-tied in front of his hero General Ryan, Chief of Staff, is funny, but in the opening credits it says the General is playing himself so was that the real Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time? I imagine they'd like to reward the programme for it's generating of interest in young people for the service and the positive way the organisation is portrayed, and I'd love to hear the story of that. After that the mission appears as dull as O'Neill's expectations, until these little light creatures start buzzing around.
It becomes a science versus military story, which makes Daniel's absence from the episode seem stranger, but gives some momentum to the story. These scientists, they're so happy to meddle with other lifeforms, then as soon as things turn ugly they come crying for O'Neill to protect them! The apparent harmlessness of the creatures made their ability to cut through any material more devastating and horrible. I saw it coming as soon as they were first spotted zipping through tree trunks, but it was still a terrible moment when one of the scientists gets attacked by a swarm slicing through his body. Reminded me of 'Jurassic Park' and those little compys. By the time it became a base under siege scenario I had forgiven the slow start, though I couldn't quite see the episode as a whole as a strong one, because of that.
I like the way they band together to come up with a last-second plan to electrify the walls, then O'Neill does the heroic thing and allows Teal'c to electrify him with a Zat gun, eventually relying on him to back him up when he tries to activate the 'gate. I wondered why they didn't all get 'Zat-ed,' but the scientist would have been stuck as he couldn't take another blast. Sensibly they didn't have Cadet Hayley be the one to solve the problem and save their skins, as experience is just as important as a high IQ (as Jack would be glad to know!), but I would have appreciated more than the throwaway comments between her and Carter in the last moments to see how she thinks she's going to cope with going back to her mundane training when she knows what's out there. I suppose that was the point, that she now had something to aim for that would test her skills to the max.
***
Sneeze
DVD, Smallville S6 (Sneeze)
Superman's ability to sneeze with as much force as his other powers comes to the fore late in the series, and I can see why they waited so long before addressing it as it's one of those things about the character that's hard to take as seriously as super speed or super strength, becoming more like super spoof, even though it does make sense. Yet it is part of him so they had to address it, and at first it seemed like it was going to be a good episode, a rare comedy-themed episode. This might seem strange after the comparatively weighty events of the season opener, but as I thought about it, it made perfect sense. After last season's descent into (even more) darkness, continued in the opener, it was the right time to lighten things up and have some fun again. That is, right up until Lex gets abducted and held captive by the kind of rubbish, generic baddie we've seen all too often on the series.
The guy's a bully, waves a gun around, rants a bit, tries his best to seem sinister and hard, but is actually just a pawn of someone higher up. What happened to guest characters we can become interested in? The comedy doesn't extend much further than Lois, who looks increasingly like a bumbling idiot that she can't put two and two together. A barn door almost kills her falling out of the sky. It's Clark's barn door. Clark has a cold when he's never had one before. It's not just Lois that doesn't see what's right in front of her eyes - the Daily Planet staff remain oblivious to Clark's visits, that's taken as read, but I wouldn't be so keen to be talking secret stuff with Chloe in a room full of reporters and newspaper staff! It seems crazy, but the flaw drew attention to itself by the way Clark sneezes so that dresses fly up, papers go all over the place and… the inhabitants just look around bewildered for a couple of seconds, not noticing the six-foot guy in red from which this unexpected and unexplained air blast came from!
Maybe that's why Chloe and Clark feel free to talk about anything in their presence: the basement of the Daily Planet must be where all the total idiots work, not having reached a level of journalistic intelligence to notice what's in front of their faces. It doesn't reflect well on Lois either, the way she comes up with some bizarre story and through writing it changes her whole outlook on the journalism profession. Now she wants a career with the Inquisitor! Let's hope she's a better writer than a journalist, or her career could be short-lived. I appreciate the writers wanting to get the character on the path of her known destiny, but to do it in this offhand way in one episode does the character (and the writing) a disservice, forcing pieces into place that would have come naturally with great writing. Even more when she's been so disparaging about the profession in her previous comments.
The storyline of Lex fearing surveillance also began well, a vehicle following him while Lana obliviously accepts an invite to stay at the mansion, and turns into something that is likely to play out further, what I assume is the arc for this third of the season. It centres around an old boarding school enemy of Lex, Oliver Queen, of Queen Industries, obviously a rival company to LuthorCorp judging by the way Lionel threatens the guy. He has a nice rooftop apartment with the rear face of a large clock making for a different set piece, and seems like a bit of a rogue, proving to be the very mastermind behind Lex' capture, but it is suggested he might not be altogether evil since he's against Lex for one thing, which at this stage is not necessarily a bad thing, and didn't want violence used on his captive. He's also a skilled archer, which brings to mind Robin Hood - maybe he's an outlaw, but with a good heart. Maybe. I'm beating about the bush here because, while I don't know the comics, I do know he's the Green Arrow, from seeing the odd episode, and as far as I know, is a hero in the Justice League. So the fact his henchman tells him there was somebody else at the hideout who had special powers doesn't worry me. The back of the DVD suggests they're all going to be buddies anyway.
The generic, ring-fence, dismal, black/blue location Lex is held at was as repetitious a theme as the guy who captured him, but the ending helped to improve my view of the episode, with a nicely done bit of scuffling between Lex, Lana and their adversaries, but even more so when Clark secretly saves them by using his newfound super-breath to blow out the fire that threatened their lives. Good old Clark! I wonder why he never discovered this super-breath when he was younger - when Chloe wants him to huff and puff and blow the door down in a snooping session, he even mentions that it's not a birthday cake, so he's certainly blown the candles out on a cake. The only explanation is, like his heat vision it developed from this particular set of circumstances and time in his life. The superbly whimsical scene in which he blows the clouds away to let the sun beam through at the end felt like the series used to at the close of an episode, all optimism and brightness. Too bad we don't see that more often.
When thinking of the negative mood of the series the name Lana is the biggest thing to come to mind. I thought her discovery of Lex' secret cameras filming her room might drag on into other episodes, creating a rift between them as such stories so often did with Clark, but pleasingly it was resolved within the episode, with Lex promising to remove the one in her room even if he can't take all his surveillance down since that's how he lives. Unless he still keeps a secret one in there… It's a marked contrast between the way Lana and Clark came to be unable to accept any little thing that came up between them. We get the inevitable meeting of Clark and Lana with bad feelings so thick in the air. Even in that brief conversation she questions him and he deflects her probing of a secret, so nothing's changed. Again, it's in strong contrast with the way he and Chloe talk so openly all the time. As ever, only Lois goes around without a clue that all these things are going on around her. It's a simple life for her.
**
Superman's ability to sneeze with as much force as his other powers comes to the fore late in the series, and I can see why they waited so long before addressing it as it's one of those things about the character that's hard to take as seriously as super speed or super strength, becoming more like super spoof, even though it does make sense. Yet it is part of him so they had to address it, and at first it seemed like it was going to be a good episode, a rare comedy-themed episode. This might seem strange after the comparatively weighty events of the season opener, but as I thought about it, it made perfect sense. After last season's descent into (even more) darkness, continued in the opener, it was the right time to lighten things up and have some fun again. That is, right up until Lex gets abducted and held captive by the kind of rubbish, generic baddie we've seen all too often on the series.
The guy's a bully, waves a gun around, rants a bit, tries his best to seem sinister and hard, but is actually just a pawn of someone higher up. What happened to guest characters we can become interested in? The comedy doesn't extend much further than Lois, who looks increasingly like a bumbling idiot that she can't put two and two together. A barn door almost kills her falling out of the sky. It's Clark's barn door. Clark has a cold when he's never had one before. It's not just Lois that doesn't see what's right in front of her eyes - the Daily Planet staff remain oblivious to Clark's visits, that's taken as read, but I wouldn't be so keen to be talking secret stuff with Chloe in a room full of reporters and newspaper staff! It seems crazy, but the flaw drew attention to itself by the way Clark sneezes so that dresses fly up, papers go all over the place and… the inhabitants just look around bewildered for a couple of seconds, not noticing the six-foot guy in red from which this unexpected and unexplained air blast came from!
Maybe that's why Chloe and Clark feel free to talk about anything in their presence: the basement of the Daily Planet must be where all the total idiots work, not having reached a level of journalistic intelligence to notice what's in front of their faces. It doesn't reflect well on Lois either, the way she comes up with some bizarre story and through writing it changes her whole outlook on the journalism profession. Now she wants a career with the Inquisitor! Let's hope she's a better writer than a journalist, or her career could be short-lived. I appreciate the writers wanting to get the character on the path of her known destiny, but to do it in this offhand way in one episode does the character (and the writing) a disservice, forcing pieces into place that would have come naturally with great writing. Even more when she's been so disparaging about the profession in her previous comments.
The storyline of Lex fearing surveillance also began well, a vehicle following him while Lana obliviously accepts an invite to stay at the mansion, and turns into something that is likely to play out further, what I assume is the arc for this third of the season. It centres around an old boarding school enemy of Lex, Oliver Queen, of Queen Industries, obviously a rival company to LuthorCorp judging by the way Lionel threatens the guy. He has a nice rooftop apartment with the rear face of a large clock making for a different set piece, and seems like a bit of a rogue, proving to be the very mastermind behind Lex' capture, but it is suggested he might not be altogether evil since he's against Lex for one thing, which at this stage is not necessarily a bad thing, and didn't want violence used on his captive. He's also a skilled archer, which brings to mind Robin Hood - maybe he's an outlaw, but with a good heart. Maybe. I'm beating about the bush here because, while I don't know the comics, I do know he's the Green Arrow, from seeing the odd episode, and as far as I know, is a hero in the Justice League. So the fact his henchman tells him there was somebody else at the hideout who had special powers doesn't worry me. The back of the DVD suggests they're all going to be buddies anyway.
The generic, ring-fence, dismal, black/blue location Lex is held at was as repetitious a theme as the guy who captured him, but the ending helped to improve my view of the episode, with a nicely done bit of scuffling between Lex, Lana and their adversaries, but even more so when Clark secretly saves them by using his newfound super-breath to blow out the fire that threatened their lives. Good old Clark! I wonder why he never discovered this super-breath when he was younger - when Chloe wants him to huff and puff and blow the door down in a snooping session, he even mentions that it's not a birthday cake, so he's certainly blown the candles out on a cake. The only explanation is, like his heat vision it developed from this particular set of circumstances and time in his life. The superbly whimsical scene in which he blows the clouds away to let the sun beam through at the end felt like the series used to at the close of an episode, all optimism and brightness. Too bad we don't see that more often.
When thinking of the negative mood of the series the name Lana is the biggest thing to come to mind. I thought her discovery of Lex' secret cameras filming her room might drag on into other episodes, creating a rift between them as such stories so often did with Clark, but pleasingly it was resolved within the episode, with Lex promising to remove the one in her room even if he can't take all his surveillance down since that's how he lives. Unless he still keeps a secret one in there… It's a marked contrast between the way Lana and Clark came to be unable to accept any little thing that came up between them. We get the inevitable meeting of Clark and Lana with bad feelings so thick in the air. Even in that brief conversation she questions him and he deflects her probing of a secret, so nothing's changed. Again, it's in strong contrast with the way he and Chloe talk so openly all the time. As ever, only Lois goes around without a clue that all these things are going on around her. It's a simple life for her.
**
Judgment
DVD, Enterprise S2 (Judgment)
The important thing to keep in mind when creating a story is the story, as well as the characters and the journey they go on, not seeing how many names and references can be squeezed in that would be familiar to the viewer. When I first watched this I felt it was merely a collection of stuff, and my already high expectations at JG Hertzler returning to Trek, and the fact it was a Klingon episode, were dashed. It's not fair to compare the film series to the TV versions, the budget was far lower, yet the nature of the story, its reliance on the Klingon legal system, taken from 'Star Trek VI' make such comparisons inevitable.
Seeing this years later, my expectations severely lowered, I noticed things that made edged the episode up in my estimation. Before, I found Kolos the Klingon advocate played by Hertzler, a far weaker character than his best role as Martok on 'DS9,' but this time round I wasn't comparing the roles, instead admiring the detailed makeup and revelling in the fact that he was so different. Scenes in which he talks of the way things used to be, when honour was more important, justice more achievable, made him a sympathetic character, even more so when he chooses to take his punishment like a Klingon, serve a year in Rura Penthe, planning to return to try and change things as a vindicated man. His comment asking if Archer thought all Klingons were soldiers is directed just as much at the audience. There have been vague suggestions of other castes in the Klingon society, but so rarely do we hear of them that the warriors became the default view of the Klingon. Indeed, Klingon Warrior sounds more appropriate than stating 'Klingon' because we're so used to that side of them, so it's fascinating to hear him talk a little about the other sides.
I think I remember reading they were thinking of bringing Kolos back in future episodes, perhaps in a year's time, but for good or ill, with the advent of the new direction of Season 3, the growing brushes with the Empire were halted, one of the few parts of the series that deserved to be continually explored. Don't misunderstand me, this isn't on a par with the earlier Klingon story this season, 'Marauders', and I had hopes that more of Archer's history with the race would be dug up at his tribunal. As it stands there was a thrill to hear them refer back to the pilot, and the way Archer saved their society. It would have been useful if they had addressed the first contact, which we know was supposed to have set off years of animosity, yet seemed to have little bearing on the way the race reacted to humanity - as Kolos notes, they were pretty much without honour, bullies and loose of moral code at that time.
The episode could never be accused of holding back in the mythology stakes. Along with the major visits to both the Klingon court with all the trimmings therein, and the hostile penal planet Rura Penthe (both created for 'Star Trek VI'), we get Captain Duras, a no-good Klingon who commanded the Bortas, is apparently the son of one Toral (if I heard correctly), and worked in the Ty'Gokor system. They really spilled their continuity/reference guts out all over this episode! There's little doubt that this Duras is an ancestor of the despicable traitor of the same name in 'TNG' and that his demotion will be a sore point he'll hold against Archer. There are also painstiks and Targ meat, a reference to some Charter of Koloth, long before the famed 'TOS'/'DS9' Klingon of that name was born, and probably even more.
The outside of Rura Penthe looked great, as did the D5 Battlecruiser Duras commanded in the confrontation with the NX-01. The crew's absence from most of the episode is noticeable, although T'Pol shows her great loyalty for Archer by suggesting she may have to personally 'encourage' one of her Klingon contacts to enable all channels of helping her Captain - quite a sacrifice if she'd have had to go through with such a thing, though it seems she didn't have to. The inside of the penal colony wasn't as realistic, mainly because my eye tends to get drawn to the background aliens who aren't laying in to their pickaxing enough to sell it. It also seems far too easy for Reed to just walk off and find Archer and makes the place seem tiny compared with the version seen in the film. Oops, I shouldn't mention the film!
John Vickery was another recognisable name from several other Trek roles, and judging from the eyes I would guess he played Prosecutor Orok, a suitably toothy and sneering individual. The arc of a man who is past it, being inspired to stand up and be counted again after years of living in inaction, is a good one, but it had been done before. There was a similar plot in the Cardassian trial episode 'Tribunal' ('DS9'), which was better through having more character and connection to what was happening. The advocate in that was very different, long being cowed into complete submission so that he actually enjoyed his work, but that shows how terrible times were on Cardassia. As bad as things in the Klingon Empire are in the 22nd Century, they still aren't the police state of that time and place.
***
The important thing to keep in mind when creating a story is the story, as well as the characters and the journey they go on, not seeing how many names and references can be squeezed in that would be familiar to the viewer. When I first watched this I felt it was merely a collection of stuff, and my already high expectations at JG Hertzler returning to Trek, and the fact it was a Klingon episode, were dashed. It's not fair to compare the film series to the TV versions, the budget was far lower, yet the nature of the story, its reliance on the Klingon legal system, taken from 'Star Trek VI' make such comparisons inevitable.
Seeing this years later, my expectations severely lowered, I noticed things that made edged the episode up in my estimation. Before, I found Kolos the Klingon advocate played by Hertzler, a far weaker character than his best role as Martok on 'DS9,' but this time round I wasn't comparing the roles, instead admiring the detailed makeup and revelling in the fact that he was so different. Scenes in which he talks of the way things used to be, when honour was more important, justice more achievable, made him a sympathetic character, even more so when he chooses to take his punishment like a Klingon, serve a year in Rura Penthe, planning to return to try and change things as a vindicated man. His comment asking if Archer thought all Klingons were soldiers is directed just as much at the audience. There have been vague suggestions of other castes in the Klingon society, but so rarely do we hear of them that the warriors became the default view of the Klingon. Indeed, Klingon Warrior sounds more appropriate than stating 'Klingon' because we're so used to that side of them, so it's fascinating to hear him talk a little about the other sides.
I think I remember reading they were thinking of bringing Kolos back in future episodes, perhaps in a year's time, but for good or ill, with the advent of the new direction of Season 3, the growing brushes with the Empire were halted, one of the few parts of the series that deserved to be continually explored. Don't misunderstand me, this isn't on a par with the earlier Klingon story this season, 'Marauders', and I had hopes that more of Archer's history with the race would be dug up at his tribunal. As it stands there was a thrill to hear them refer back to the pilot, and the way Archer saved their society. It would have been useful if they had addressed the first contact, which we know was supposed to have set off years of animosity, yet seemed to have little bearing on the way the race reacted to humanity - as Kolos notes, they were pretty much without honour, bullies and loose of moral code at that time.
The episode could never be accused of holding back in the mythology stakes. Along with the major visits to both the Klingon court with all the trimmings therein, and the hostile penal planet Rura Penthe (both created for 'Star Trek VI'), we get Captain Duras, a no-good Klingon who commanded the Bortas, is apparently the son of one Toral (if I heard correctly), and worked in the Ty'Gokor system. They really spilled their continuity/reference guts out all over this episode! There's little doubt that this Duras is an ancestor of the despicable traitor of the same name in 'TNG' and that his demotion will be a sore point he'll hold against Archer. There are also painstiks and Targ meat, a reference to some Charter of Koloth, long before the famed 'TOS'/'DS9' Klingon of that name was born, and probably even more.
The outside of Rura Penthe looked great, as did the D5 Battlecruiser Duras commanded in the confrontation with the NX-01. The crew's absence from most of the episode is noticeable, although T'Pol shows her great loyalty for Archer by suggesting she may have to personally 'encourage' one of her Klingon contacts to enable all channels of helping her Captain - quite a sacrifice if she'd have had to go through with such a thing, though it seems she didn't have to. The inside of the penal colony wasn't as realistic, mainly because my eye tends to get drawn to the background aliens who aren't laying in to their pickaxing enough to sell it. It also seems far too easy for Reed to just walk off and find Archer and makes the place seem tiny compared with the version seen in the film. Oops, I shouldn't mention the film!
John Vickery was another recognisable name from several other Trek roles, and judging from the eyes I would guess he played Prosecutor Orok, a suitably toothy and sneering individual. The arc of a man who is past it, being inspired to stand up and be counted again after years of living in inaction, is a good one, but it had been done before. There was a similar plot in the Cardassian trial episode 'Tribunal' ('DS9'), which was better through having more character and connection to what was happening. The advocate in that was very different, long being cowed into complete submission so that he actually enjoyed his work, but that shows how terrible times were on Cardassia. As bad as things in the Klingon Empire are in the 22nd Century, they still aren't the police state of that time and place.
***
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