Lara

DVD, Smallville S7 (Lara)

I'll bet they never imagined they would one day show life on Krypton in this TV series! They've really embraced the wider mythology as they've more and more run out of ideas with the Earth-bound storyline, but I did enjoy actually seeing Krypton. At first I thought it was a recreation of the beginning of the first 'Superman' film where we saw Jor-el and Lara sending off baby Kal-el, but it very soon became apparent this was something new: Zor-el saying goodbye to his daughter Kara. He's actually shown in a good light after the negative impression we've been given of him, lovingly wishing his daughter well on her mission to protect Kal-el, not to destroy him as I'd initially thought. But it all goes pear-shaped later, when we see Summerholt-inspired technology, wielded by alien expert Agent Carter, reveal flashbacks to her (and a Clark there to rescue her), showing her Father almost assaulting Lara at the Kent farm, and her illusions about him are shattered.

Lara and Kara at the Kent farm was the best thing about this episode. It's only in flashback, and I'm not sure it makes all that much sense (I can't remember if it'd been said before that the Kents were specifically chosen), but it was great to see. It would have been utterly fantastic if the polaroid had been left in a recognisable picture, that we've seen all through the series, but I don't think the photo of a younger Martha had ever been out before. It can easily be rationalised that it was eventually packed away, then Clark got it out because he was missing his Mother, and it is a lovingly inspired twist that she (and Kara), had both visited the farm, while the Kents were at a 'spiritual ritual, known as… church' back in 1986! The dreamlike soft focus prevents us from making nitpicking observations about how close the set is to how it used to be, and in all it's a special moment. If only we could have seen young Jonathan and Martha walking across the fields on the way home and they have to leave so they don't see them!

The rest of the story was mostly filler. I still can't get used to Clark greeting Lionel warmly, because I still don't trust the elder Luthor. Lex remains oddly un-megalomaniacal, Chloe continues to be a bit put out that Jimmy spends time with Kara, and Lana continues to confound with her secret operations. Now, not only does she keep tabs on the Luthor mansion, she's set up a charity to help those infected by meteors, which of course, impresses and pleases Chloe, herself one of the afflicted. It's a bit odd that we see Lana using secret cameras, then in other places, such as the lab where Kara goes to find the crystal, there's apparently no recording of her or Clark. Unless Agent Carter confiscated all such material. It was also strange that Lex was allowed to come all the way down to this top secret lab, only to say a few accusatory words to Carter, then leaves. You'd think security would inform the guy, then make Lex wait in reception, or wherever! Carter's days are surely numbered (he knows both Kents are aliens), if not already over - it was unclear whether Lionel shot the guy dead, wounded or unconscious.

There are weird evocations of the past when the episode ends with Lionel visiting Lex to advise him not to pursue Clark and co., while noting his secret experiments won't go under his radar, Lex jealous that Lionel looks out for Clark more than him. Then Clark shares a secret with Lana, and a particularly strange one, at that. He's swiped the crystal Kara was searching so desperately for because it contains his Mum's DNA. So what's he going to do, ask Lex to clone her? Kara's hardly going to give up on ever seeing her crystal again, and this is only going to go down badly when he's kept this a secret from her. Even Jimmy's got a pointed comment about Kara being honest with him, as if he knows there's something Chloe won't tell him. It's clear Clark still doesn't entirely trust Lionel, since he lies, saying Kara's from his adoptive Father's side, which must mean Jonathan. But Lionel would know every little detail about the Kent family, so it didn't ring true. It's all setting up for bad feelings in future, and the CG wasn't great either, with Kara whizzing over a plane and such. Flying still doesn't look right, so they were correct not to try and include it before. If only the whole episode had been about the flashbacks and Zor-el's advances on Lara, it could have been a classic, but the convoluted plots of the other characters got in the way.

**

The Bourne Legacy

cinema, The Bourne Legacy (2012) film

What was the Bourne legacy? As a series of films, it gave us a sympathetic, multidimensional action star. It gave us plenty to enjoy. It had its own style, not all of which was for the good - shaky-cam fights and chases meant you couldn't always see what was going on. But with a new Director, a new star, and a new direction away from the character of the title, this fourth film could be just the fresh reinvigoration the series needed if it was to continue the story of government-sanctioned assassin programmes. Not that 'The Bourne Ultimatum' needed much improvement, rather it was the best of the three and to top it would take a whirlwind mix of incredible, never-before-seen action, a story with heart and heart-in-the-mouth twists, and most importantly of all, overcoming the biggest potential stumbling block: creating a worthwhile follow-up to Jason Bourne, a man we cared about and had great sympathy with.

I can see why the Director of the last two films, Paul Greengrass, and star, Matt Damon, didn't want to do another film. I doubt it was because they were holding out for more money. They probably realised that to succeed with a fourth film they'd need to mess with the perfect ending of 'Ultimatum' and come up with something groundbreaking. They probably felt it was a futile effort to try. They were probably right. When I first heard that another Bourne film was to be produced, I was excited. I hadn't seen any of the first three in the cinema, had first cottoned on to the series when I saw a trailer for 'Ultimatum.' The stunt where Bourne leaps from a roof to smash through a window, the camera following all the way, was what piqued my interest. So eventually, and upon recommendation, I bought all three on DVD.

While I prefer the 'Mission: Impossible' films in general, I got a lot of enjoyment from Bourne's trilogy. As time wore on, and it was confirmed that a new actor and character would be at the forefront, I had less excitement at the prospect, but I expected there would still be sufficient thrills generated that it could be good. After seeing 'M:I4' and not really warming to Jeremy Renner, I began to have doubts whether this was a film that would live up to its predecessors, but as the release drew closer I heard that it would be tied into the other film's backstories, particularly 'Ultimatum,' taking place in the same time frame. This really interested me, and with the news that some of the same characters would also be in it, I was ready to see it. Then I read a few preliminary, brief reviews online, mainly with the word 'disappointing' appearing in them, and I began to revert back to my suspicions that this was just going to be a cash-in on the Bourne name.

Nevertheless, I went along to see it, with low expectations, hoping just a little bit that it would at least be better than 'M:I4,' another disappointment to me. I care more about the 'M:I' series so I thought as long as this film gripped me, even if it had a ludicrous plot, I could get over it. From the start I was surprised how slow and talky it was. Very little happened in the first twenty minutes or so, and though I got the reference to 'The Bourne Identity' (and the ending of 'Ultimatum'), I guessed the floating figure was a diver. The old familiar theme, sad and haunting, played over that opening, but there the similarity ended. There was far too much talk about this government organisation and that government organisation. Aaron (can't even remember his surname) had no mystery to him, had no confusion or inner conflict to overcome. Where Bourne had a wildness in his eyes, the fight between his programming and his conscience, Aaron had a jolly glint in his eye a lot of the time, and though he was reacting to an attempt on his life throughout, I never felt he was in danger or being put through the wringer, physically or otherwise. The impression for me was that he was always comfortably in control.

His obligatory female sidekick - this time a doctor, part of the medical facility that patched up and tested the shady assassins, though having no knowledge of who they are, what they do, or why, was so bland compared with the quirkiness of Marie, or Nicki's understated professionalism, and reminded me more of Michelle Monaghan's character from 'M:I3' - there was even a scene reminiscent of that film's ending, when she has to fire a gun, crouching in a corner, trying to do all she can to help her man. The whole scene in her house was one of the better moments (good job she didn't want the place any more!), and actually would have improved the opening if the film had begun with that, then flashed back to explain how they got to that point. It would have greatly sped up the slow start and given us more reason to be interested in the two of them. Another early scene in which I felt some tension was at the hut in the mountains. The guy he meets looks like he could snap and attack him at any moment, and had a bit of mystery to him. What had he done to be sent up to the remote cabin?

Nitpicking quickly began to surface, which shows there was too much time to think: sending drones into that kind of snowstorm wouldn't work. For one thing they wouldn't be able to see to control it, and for another the signal probably wouldn't get through. It also struck me as a bad way to assassinate someone. I know they could track their agents by the metal cylinder implanted under the skin, but if he'd had a cellar or something, he might have survived the missile fired at his hut - it wasn't a clean kill. Although there was little to grasp onto with Aaron, I at least felt Renner fit more in this film than he did 'M:I4,' and he was perfectly likeable, he just didn't have a journey to travel. His 'problem' was needing drugs and the necessity of being weaned off them, which is hardly a compelling reason to care compared to a fractured memory, guided by conscience. But then, that was the writer's problem: how could they follow up such a good trilogy with something equally as good.

Instead, they gave us a fairly generic action film, which emulated the Bourne style, with a point of view that never properly sits still, a cut and slash approach to editing, while also squeezing in occasional environmental beauty shots, but it didn't come across as natural. I wish Doug Liman, Director of the first film, had come back for this one instead of an unknown, but regardless of who was in charge, they were on a hiding to nothing. I can see the pieces in place: man's life on the line, needs drugs, goes to woman's house, rescues her from murderous government types, they go on the run, she helps him get out of his addiction, they run away together, happy ever after. Where could the story go from there? There were loose threads they dropped in right at the end with Pam Landy showing up for all of five seconds, her triumph at the end of 'Ultimatum' turned into defeat, with Noah Vosen, also of that parish, still seemingly able to land her in the dirt.

It was not good to undermine the positive conclusion of 'Ultimatum' just to include Landy. Joan Allen's name was on the poster, a cheat to make you think she was a part of the story, when in reality she only has that fleeting moment at the end. Cheap. It was also disappointing to see a few clips from 'Ultimatum' (such as the journalist being shot), or having Herschel back only to mention he apparently died of a heart attack, though the implication was that he'd been dealt with. There was so little of the story happening in sync with 'Ultimatum,' which is what helped sell the film to me before I saw it, that it may as well have been unconnected, although there was some fun in seeing a film in 2012 taking place in 2007. But it was too long. I don't know how long, taking into account adverts and trailers, but it was definitely longer than the other films, and I felt it. It dragged, and the thrill of seeing a Bourne film in the cinema quickly lost its appeal.

I remember looking at my watch and knowing there was supposed to be an exciting chase sequence still to come, and I couldn't work out how they were going to end it. They copied the first film, but because there had been no journey for the main characters to go on, there was no satisfaction in the end. The agent that chases after them in the bike pursuit came out of nowhere, served his purpose in creating a threat, then drives into a pillar and flips off his bike. He was certainly no Desh. One of the irritants of the film was in the constant revelation that there was another government organisation, or another crooked boss, and oh… we've killed off all our secret agent programmes, but we just happen to have LARX-3, and our man is only two hours away from Aaron's position. Handy, but not believable. The opponent had none of the character of previous Bourne villains, and never even got to fight Aaron, so the worst he had to deal with were security guards. None of this helps to perpetuate the impression of an elite operative.

That sense of the bad guys not really knowing what they were dealing with was another missing piece in the character puzzle. Why take away all the compelling parts of the previous character if you aren't going to replace them with new aspects. Yes, this guy can wrestle wolves, he uses things around him (liked the fire extinguisher 'gun'), and does plenty of running, but he's never on the back foot, he never impressed me with his quick thinking or planning ahead. All these things should have been taken as granted, or replaced with new ideas, but there was nothing that made me sit up and take notice. Even the music didn't have a strong theme - sometimes there was the electric guitar throbbing which worked, but I didn't hear a theme blazing out, and only the rare strains of melancholy, sleepy Bourne music when we see Jason's passport photo, broke through. I don't know if it John Powell was composing again, but I'd be surprised if it was, because it lacked the pulse and vision for its own identity. It felt so wrong for them to use the same 'Extreme Ways' song at the end, even if it may have been remixed, because it's so associated with Bourne. There should have been a similar, but different song, maybe by the same artist, but for this new character.

It shows that they were trying to colour inside the lines, neatly, carefully, just bright enough to be recognisable as a Bourne film without it stepping outside a generic mould, and one that wasn't followed deeply enough. Everything worked together to thoroughly underwhelm, and I wanted to like it, I really did. It wasn't shoddy, or badly put together, it was just bland, like the characters. And when it wasn't bland it was crossing over into something nasty. I felt it in both the scene the doctor is being forced to shoot herself, but mainly in the one in which her colleague calmly locks everyone in the lab and goes round shooting them, before committing suicide. It was too close to reality, we keep hearing about shootings, and it wasn't entertaining to watch, or even full of tension. It was just nasty, and I didn't understand how they'd made him do that.

So it was resolutely average, with no mystery and nowhere for the story to go. It ended abruptly without earning a happy ending, the music was only acceptable, the shaky-cam was worse than ever, and I was allowed to lose interest. The best that can be said is that it didn't go down the cliched romantic route, one expertly avoided in 'Ultimatum,' and it was a relief that there was no hair-cutting scene. But I won't be buying the DVD, and they'll have to do something really special to get me to come back for a fifth one. £9.45 good, it was not. Its true title should have been either 'The Boredom Legacy' or 'The Bourne Betrayal' - I always wished I'd seen a Bourne film at the cinema, and I still wish I had.

**

Journey's End

 DVD, TNG S7 (Journey's End)

A test for Picard in a difficult position, but as usual he puts all his mental powers and diplomacy to work to create an equitable solution. It helped that the Cardassian he was opposing was one of the more thoughtful and aware examples of the race, with more to him than blind obedience to the state or lust for blood and dominance. Gul Evek had his best moments here, from the scattering of appearances he made in 'TNG,' 'DS9' and 'Voyager,' becoming quite a sympathetic character when he reveals he's actually against war if he can help it, thanks to losing two of his three sons. If Picard had had to negotiate with someone like Dukat, for example, or many other hardline soldiers of the empire, things may not have gone so smoothly. But who could resist the way he puts things: "The future is in your hands." He couldn't appeal more to a controlling race than to force them to take the choice that he cannot. It wasn't as bad for Picard as in previous situations, because this time he had Admiral Nechayev actually on his side. The chain of command is explored relatively deeply in that we hear references to who wants what, and that Nechayev is just as much against forced relocation as Picard, but is under orders herself and has pushed her superiors as far as she can.

Seeing her frosty exterior crack even just a little to acknowledge the extra mile Picard had gone to make her welcome aboard the Enterprise was a surprisingly touching moment, and her demeanour from then on remains cordial, whereas in the past she probably wouldn't even have let on about her views being in line with Picard's. Now it just remained for her to be nice to Sisko and the whole Federation would seem like one big, happy family! But it was experiences like these that grated on Picard - not Nechayev and her icy authority, but the faceless bureaucracy of Starfleet and the Federation, who give in to the demands of other races in the act of appeasement. That's not entirely accurate, they weren't appeasing the Cardassians, but it showed that they were willing to make compromises that would affect their own people for the 'greater good.' Something that paved the way for Section 31, and for taking action in such stories as 'Star Trek: Insurrection,' the most clear follow-on to this tale. After so much had happened Picard eventually sees the imperfections of the Federation and takes a stand against it (which is one of the reasons why I think that's a great film!).

I think the closest I ever got to expecting a group hug on Trek was in this episode: at the end when Wesley Crusher is being seen off by his Mother and Fa… I mean Captain, and friend, they're all standing so close and seeming so sad to see him go that I wouldn't have been surprised. Wesley's story was mirroring that of the series, as it wound down it found time to show another member of the family, (as Picard put it), going off on a new path. It wasn't quite the same for the rest of the cast as they'd be straight into films, but this is the 'Star Trek Nemesis' moment for Wesley - his true end. The only regret is that, like one of his previous appearances as a guest, in 'The First Duty,' he isn't afforded a scene in which he apologises and makes up with the friends he's let down: in this case Geordi, Data and Worf. I can imagine him going round saying his goodbyes to each of them, but I'd have loved to see that.

The big thing with this episode is that it carefully began the sowing of the seeds of the series to come: 'Star Trek: Voyager,' the Maquis, and specifically, the character of Chakotay. It would have been absolutely brilliant if they had had Robert Beltran in for a cameo, so we got to know something of him before we meet him in the 'Voyager' pilot, or even if one of the Indians was a relation with the same tattoo which we would later have realised was a direct connection. But in the end, these wasn't Chakotay's people, I believe, and the same result might have occurred as happened with Robert Duncan McNeill's character of Nick Locarno: a similar type, renamed to avoid having to pay the writer of the episode residual payments. It was important enough that the issue of the colonists of the demilitarised zone were introduced as an issue, and at least Evek is there to be the thread that bound the three series' and their Maquis storyline together.

As well as Picard being personally affected, thanks to some previously unknown history of an ancestor being involved in previous Indian troubles in Earth's history, and on top of the groundwork for the Maquis, there is the culmination of Wesley's promise from The Traveller way back in Season 1. It's poetic that he should show up within the first few episodes of the series, then again roughly in the middle, and finally at the end, to let Wes know he was ready. Okay, so there's no explanation of how or why this is the moment Wesley has supposedly grown beyond mere mortals, but that's part of the mystery so I can't look too hard at it, and it can be sort of laid at the door of his being dissatisfied with Starfleet Academy. It could be accused of sending the wrong message - that if you get bored with studying, something's sure to show up and whisk you off on unimaginable adventures, a rather lazy point of view. But Wes has never been lazy, just a savant who needed more stimulation. It's a good twist that the Indian guy turns out to be The Traveller, and they got the same actor to play him and once again invite Wesley on his journey. It would have been a fun moment if they'd both appeared at the wedding in 'Nemesis' (maybe phasing in on a table in the middle of the cake!), as Wes' final onscreen glimpse is fleeting and has no substance except to prove the guy was still alive.

The vision quest stuff turned out to be something cooked up by The Traveller, which suited better than a real, drug-induced vision with Wes smoking a long pipe of something-or-other (that would become too 'Lord of The Rings'!). I did appreciate the effort they went to in bringing back his Father, one final time, again, played by the same actor, in another heart-tugging moment of several from the episode (Nechayev thanks Picard; Beverly tells Wes what she thinks of him; Evek chooses to stand down his troops; Wes leaves the ship). I noticed what appeared a little inconsistency regarding dating the Indians' leaving of Earth. I believe Picard says they left over two hundred years ago, then the old Indian says it was 'almost' two hundred years ago, and Wes says they left before the Federation existed (he may even have said Starfleet as well, but I may be mistaken on that point). The Federation was founded in 2161 so it would definitely have had to have been over two hundred years. Not that such a long time would be very precise, and it's easy to talk in generalisations of the nearest decade or fifty years. Though the old guy said his Dad had been against leaving Earth, so he must be pretty ancient, and his Dad must have been very young. Mind you, humans live longer in the future.

Wesley's trials were nothing compared to one great danger: he stayed up all night sitting cross-legged and didn't get cramps or a blood clot! The freezing time moment, which looks fairly basic by today's standards, is still an impressive and well-integrated moment, so it must have been an incredible effect at the time - almost a 'Matrix' slowing time effect, and Wes and The Traveller really looked like they were standing there. There's even something of a return to form for Wesley, perhaps a tip of the hat to all those awful, old clothes he had to wear as a civilian (or acting Ensign), when he gets out of his neat, tidy Starfleet uniform and opts for some bad wardrobe! I wouldn't say this was one of the best showcases for his character, but it was very satisfying that they dealt with him. They could easily have left him at the Academy and we'd never have known what happened afterwards - it might have been fun to have him around for the 'TNG' film series as a freshly minted Ensign, but some of the main cast members didn't always fare well in those so it was probably for the best that he didn't join the crew.

The deeply worrying nature of the main idea, that of forced relocation is dealt with carefully, with only the ominous future episodes of 'DS9' and 'Voyager' to sound the warning bell that the Cardassians, no matter how many honourable Guls they have (and that generally seems to be a low, low number), the bullies and bigots and hard, uncompromising soldiers are the ones who carry the most weight, and that of the Cardassian Union. But at least Picard could wash his hands of the affair and move on, his conscience clear. If only Sisko had it that easy… I thought it was going to be a case of 'Dorvan V is not Kentanna,' but the solution was to leave the Federation, not the planet. If you can't take the planet out of the Indian, take the Indian out of the Federation.

***

Genesis

DVD, TNG S7 (Genesis)

Why Brannon Braga doesn't get stick for this, yet is lambasted for 'Threshold' on 'Voyager,' I don't know. Maybe this was easier for people to accept, and was maybe more fun, but it does the same thing (just as 'Enterprise' would go on to do with 'Extinction'), of changing some of the characters into inhuman creatures. Not sure what the reasoning behind Spot turning into a lizard, and I have to say, Data is very uncaring for his pet, or more specifically, her kittens - it can't be safe to leave them in a room with a lizard, even if it is their Mother. It might have eaten them, and no amount of gaseous theatrics from Mr. Data's magic computer fix would have de-eaten them! How did he get the main computer online to spread the gas, or is the venting system separate? Perhaps he had help from Mr. Spid-arclay.

Barclay's horror-style shock moment onscreen is what everyone remembers about the episode, so if you've seen it a few times it might not have the impact it used to. Not so for Worf's venom to the face of Beverly, as I'd completely forgotten that. It's a really nasty moment, and Gates sells it for all she's worth. With all the stress of directing her first episode I'll bet it felt good to let loose some screams, and writhe around on the floor for a bit. It may even have been footage of her in a directorial meltdown, captured on camera and used for its theatricality… She makes a good Director, in that she doesn't draw attention to herself, though I prefer it when someone like Jonathan Frakes puts all his creativity into an episode. None of the other cast members succeeded as well as he, but I thought Gates was fine.

I would have liked to see more intermediate stages for the altered crew-members, but I can see how that would have lost the big reveal as Data and Picard go round the haunted house, meeting and dealing with (or running away, scared from), each new genetic aberration. I found the second half of the story with Picard and Data trying to work out what happened less engaging than the build up to it. The episode begins with a comedy teaser - Riker with cactus thorns in his back, Barclay worrying Dr. Crusher with his hypochondria, and Data bringing Spot in to check her progress: so this is a ship which stretches to a counselor, but there's not one vet?

After hearing there are twelve other felines aboard (presumably not counting humanoid feline races such as M'Ress of 'The Animated Series,' or that cat-dancer that jumps on Kirk's back in 'Star Trek V'), I'm surprised it's up to the doctors to deal with pets. I couldn't understand why there would be so many cats aboard, then I remembered it's an old naval tradition to keep down the vermin. I wonder who'd win in a fight between a Cardassian vole and a Terran cat? I'd wager the vole… Another thing Spot's inclusion makes me wonder is, if she could go off and meet a mate, as cats do on our world, are they free to wander the ship and do what cats do? Has Picard ever sat down on his command chair, to find a cat squawking at him, like when Kirk almost sat on a Tribble in 'The Trouble With Tribbles'? If you take the cat freedom to its logical conclusion that means there are spots around where they marked their scent, and may have chosen residency with another person, escaping their 'owner' as cats sometimes do. And what happens in an emergency situation? Do the cats have their own eject pods that they're trained to go to? Is that where Spot's litter tray is kept? Enough cat mind-mapping, I think.

I enjoyed the set up of the episode thanks to the chance to see the crew interacting differently, with Riker unsure of his decisions, and everyone beginning to act strangely (look out for a view of Worf's feet when he's rushing around in his quarters - they don't appear to have the usual Klingon foot ridges. This can be explained away easily because he's already metamorphosing then). Once Picard and Data set about explaining things, its more about the surprise value of seeing people in odd getup, with a lot of technobabble explanation, and a hurriedly sewn up conclusion. It's like the episode thinks it has outstayed its welcome and is obliged to get on with sorting it out, making it rushed and too easy for the situation to be brought under control. They'd had their fun, and now they had to wrap up the ideas, and it's harder to get an inventive narrative when you're relying on technology to sort things out. Once again, Data proves every starship should have an android aboard, immune to biological effects, and able to keep a cool head. I'd have liked to see what other races aboard turned into, but I have to give them credit for being so inclusive with Barclay and Nurse Ogawa. Barclay rattling off thoughts ten to the dozen reminded me of his super-brain persona of 'The Nth Degree.'

I like this episode, but it can't live up to similar tale 'Macrocosm,' one of 'Voyager's finest. In that, Janeway and Neelix at least had a good reason to be off the ship. In this, they resort to an almost ridiculous plot point of an errant torpedo having to be retrieved from an asteroid belt. It gets the Captain off the ship, but it's like some crazy parody or alternate universe version of 'TNG.' The again, it's a very 'TNG' thing to take responsibility for every little thing, but would it really take days to track down? It couldn't have gone far. No, the joy of this episode lies in its mix of fun factor and fear factor (Worf's nasty bite on Deanna's cheek was bad enough, though there's a scene which continues the Worf/Troi association earlier, when they meet for dinner, so Braga was obviously pro their pairing), with more excellence in the makeup department and a good dose of atmosphere, the lighting brought right down (not to 'Impulse' from 'Enterprise' levels, not that low!). I would have liked to see more of the warp core and what web Spid-arclay had left around it, but on the whole it's best enjoyed as a schlocky creep out.

***

Action

DVD, Smallville S7 (Action)

A mixed up episode both in tone and story. From the opening I was expecting something akin to the 'Stargate SG-1' episode 'Wormhole X-Treme!' in which the series was parodied, breaking the fourth wall in a most silly, but enjoyable celebration of what the series was, both in its reality and in the audience's fanatical community. So there are too many negatives about 'Smallville' these days (I'm going to have to start calling it 'Smallvile' instead), with antagonism between this character and that character, loose ends, mysteries and a boggy marsh of continuing plots. That doesn't excuse the unnecessarily gory moments, with Lionel first ripping the skin off his knuckles in an effort to escape a bear trap manacle clamped on his hand, then later bludgeoning his captor repeatedly until she be dead, presumably - we're not given that information, but from the aggravated bodily violence Lionel inflicts I doubt she'd have survived. It's so at odds with the Warrior Angel side of the story that the two halves would appear to be separate episodes. So much for a jolly appreciation of the series, where its come from, and fan love. Instead it becomes a muddy mixed up tale that doesn't go anywhere.

It doesn't even have good things to say about the people that love this kind of series, the guy who likes the superhero most, being the villain (of the film crew story, anyway - Lana's the villain of the other story. Just don't ask…). He's portrayed as being an obsessive fanatic of Warrior Angel which leads him to do some nasty things: trying to kill the actress playing WA's girlfriend, Rachel Davenport, then attempting to murder Lana to set Clark free from his ties so he can go off and accept his destiny and save the world. Trouble is, I'm not clear on what messages are supposed to be coming across. I get the one about not taking fantasy too seriously that it interferes with everyday life, but is there something about people being forced into the good future that they should be, by those that do bad? Or life being shades of grey, not black and white, as Lex says?

I pity poor Michael Rosenbaum. He has to put up with some shoddy dialogue: "I haven't picked up a comic since we were friends, back when I saw life as black and white. …I realised good and evil was grey…" The sentiment I understand, but it's so ponderously, clunkily written and is so unreal. Lex wouldn't say outright that they used to be friends, he never stated anything blankly, except at his most vulnerable. And only recently he's realised life isn't simple? Come on, he never was of that view! His contributions aren't the only implausible moments. The end scene suggests he didn't know about Clark's powers for certain, even now, since he was willing to trade his rarest and most expensive issues of the Warrior Angel comic for confirmation on what happened with the bullet. This becomes a moment of redemption for Ben the former production assistant, reduced to residency of Belle Reve as a mental patient. Instead of telling Lex it was Clark he claims it was all in his head - I think his motives were genuine, even when trying to kill, in his messed up mind it was the greater good of Clark saving the world that made it 'right.' And he couldn't have been all bad as he had a Mr. Freeze action figure (among others), from 'Batman: The Animated Series,' just like me!

Other inconsistencies I couldn't help but notice ranged from little things like the uselessness of the press when they swarm Clark's house, yet fail to even get a snap of Rachel as she partakes of a massage right in line with the front door, only a flimsy little curtain to foil the photographers! Clark inviting a film crew to make a film on his farm? Clark? What happened to preserving his identity and keeping a low profile? He's getting far too sloppy these days, and if he'd had more caution bad Ben might not even have seen him with the bullet in his hand and half the story wouldn't have happened. He really didn't need to hold his hand open and gaze at the squashed projectile like he did! It always annoys me when captives beat down their kidnappers, then instead of grabbing their weapon or tying them up they run headlong into the night to get away, just as Lionel did. And finally, we come to Lana's weak, girliness. This was something dealt with way back in Season 2 when she learned martial arts to gain confidence and have the ability to fight back after all the times she was overpowered. Wimpy, weedy Ben had no trouble in taking her down - she was turned back into the weak version of Lana of those early seasons just to suit the story.

Ah, but I have a bit of a theory about Lana - more and more I think she's a clone, and the real Lana did die at the end of Season 6. Look at the evidence: she doesn't act like Lana in terms of protecting herself with martial arts; she clonks Lionel with a shovel, (and pretends she's been at Aunt Nell's), and is shown to be the mastermind behind his capture, paying mad Marilyn to keep him prisoner. The real Lana wouldn't be doing this crazy stuff. I even considered there could be more than one Lana running around, but she gave away that it was the one living at the farm in her iciness and cool evilness in the face of Lionel's confrontation. But then, for Clark, things have settled down into an idyllic life. Kara's not a bother at the moment, Lana's staying on the farm and accepts him for who he is, and he gets to work on homely chores all day. Something has to go wrong, seriously wrong, but for now he symbolically walks away from his future destiny (in the form of Warrior Angel's red cloak), towards the house and Lana, and everything he knows. Even she admits that one day he may need to abandon her for a greater purpose, and I hope she remembers those unselfish words one day instead of getting all upset. We'll see.

This time Kara and Jimmy are out, and Lois and Lionel are in, but I was wildly disappointed in who it was that picked Lionel up in that first episode. Mad Marilyn was just a token crazy who doesn't survive one episode, and there's no deep mystery to his disappearance, aside from it being Lana who kept him hidden. I know she's got a lot to get angry at the Luthors about, but holding hostages and playing the sweet innocent to Clark makes her into a two-faced split personality, and she's beginning to be a lit-tle scary. The C-plot of Lois after a story about the Luthor land buy up, ties into the B-story of Lionel's incarceration, but Lois' investigations don't really go anywhere. The most fascinating storyline was Lionel trapped in that cabin, but it was the least developed. I suppose I should be thankful it wasn't Lex, and the boy doesn't even get knocked unconscious this time! I couldn't help thinking what a vehicle this could have been to bring back Ryan, the Warrior Angel comics nut of two episodes in Season 1 and 2. If he weren't dead, that is.

No, this was mostly a star vehicle for Christina Milian, whoever she is. Am I supposed to know? They should have got someone actually famous, like Thandie Newton (though it may have broken the budget). She got a Special Guest Star credit and her character didn't come across as the expected jealous, grasping, selfish drama Queen, and thorn in Clark's side, in fact the writers were very nice to her, but her role was quite pointless. I totally agreed with Clark when he hoped she didn't mean it about returning to Smallville for a sequel! As the two old men from 'The Muppets' would say 'Clark saved some people, but it was too late to save the episode.' In other words, a couple of truly heroic moments couldn't enhance a mediocre episode, as good as they were. And they did excite - the car flipping over and Clark catching Rachel as she spins out was one thing, but a 'Matrix Reloaded' sequence in which he leaps off of a building to catch Lana so stop her plummeting to her doom, was the best by far. I still thought the jolt would kill her, but he is, after all, Superma… oh, Clark Kent. I also couldn't help thinking how fortunate it was that Rachel's legs, sticking out the side of Clark as he holds her, didn't get broken by the flying car door. I guess fortune smiles on the rich and famous. So that's the message of the episode!

**

Impulse

DVD, Enterprise S3 (Impulse)

One of the most anticipated episodes of Season 3 for me, which may explain why I was underwhelmed when I first saw it. I still looked forward to seeing it again, and I rate it as one of the best so far, up there with the first two episodes. The reason I was somewhat disappointed on first viewing was because I thought it was going to be a truly great, classic episode, and it turned out to be on a par with other Season 3 episodes. I think it was the haunted house idea, and thinking how great it would be to have a ship full of zombie Vulcans Archer and his Landing Party have to escape. I imagined something like 'Empok Nor,' and there is a similar horror tone with both of them, but there wasn't enough work on the true horror of the story: that of T'Pol becoming one of the infected. They do deal with it, and it remains the most cliffhanging part of the story as we wait for her to turn and become unmanageable, but when it comes to it Archer simply stuns her and can carry her to safety. I needed more than that. I was thinking as I watched, how cool it would be if T'Pol escaped them and ran off to join her Vulcan brethren, leading Archer to have to go back for her as Picard did for Data in 'First Contact.'

There were parallels with that film and this episode, none more so than the rabid Vulcans being most Borg-like in that they shuffle along and attack, though they didn't have the menace of purpose or the immediate danger of assimilation in close proximity. The reason the episode didn't blow me away was because of, as ever, the way Vulcans are portrayed. Now I know anything inconsistent can be laid at the door of Trellium-D which had affected them mentally and physically, but I wanted them to be fully fighting fit, so that T'Pol needed two men to hold her down, or that Archer would be lifted into the air (as we saw in 'Fusion'). At least T'Pol shows some sign of superior physical prowess, both in the moment she shoves Reed away from the engineering console and in the shocking and extremely brief teaser, Jolene Blalock completely off her head, acting her Vulcan socks off. Her cries of 'murderers!' recalled Spock in an out-of-his-head moment, or Bones when he was injected with drugs - a stunning opening and brilliantly done so you go back in time and spend the episode waiting for her to go crazy, like a time bomb!

As I said, though, Archer manages to fend off Vulcans several times with his bare hands, and keeps T'Pol in check. My favourite moments were in the steady decline of her faculties until she's raving like the drugged up Trip in 'Strange New World.' That fantastic Season 1 episode tops this, and was a reverse of the situation, with T'Pol the one least affected and the humans turning paranoid and delusional. I think they needed to play up her association with this Vulcan ship, the Seleya (named for the mount upon which Spock returned to his body in 'Star Trek III'), the closest we get is when she recognises an engineer that's been strapped down. This was one episode when emotional considerations could have come into play because T'Pol was becoming more uncontrolled in that area. I would have liked to see her weep for her former days and comrades aboard this ship, before she turned on Archer. Maybe Blalock wasn't one of the top tier of Trek actresses, but she may well have been able to pull it off.

There's some satisfying, and indeed, most logical continuity involving the Vulcan ship. Turns out, not only was it T'Pol's former posting pre-consulate on Earth, but that it was the vessel the other Vulcan ship was looking for when it got pulled into the Expanse and sent back footage of its crew killing each other. There's another ominous sign that even if you survive entry into this Expanse, you can't get out, setting up the clever conclusion to that problem: if you can't take the ship out of the Expanse… I'd have thought Archer and his men would have been more prepared for the Vulcans: as T'Pol says, we know what happened to that ship, so it may have been wise to take more soldiers. The token MACO looked ripe for an early grave, so it's either to his credit that he survived, or more likely, the style of the series wherein almost nobody dies, ever. Partly I think this was due to a much smaller crew complement than later-set series', but also they may have restricted deaths to make any fatality have more impact. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way and too often the series appeared weak and lacking in tension.

Tension, dramatic or otherwise, was achieved fairly well in this one. Though the Vulcans weren't given the time or attention to creep up, and were used mainly in shock moments, plunging from the ceiling or out of dark recesses, the lighting assisted in this plan, though the flickering may have been overdone. It certainly improved on most previous scare episodes in terms of the relentless pace and the details in both lighting and sets, but as usual, we don't really get a feel for a Vulcan ship on the same level as we do the NX-01. That's because they had the big budget to spend on the main ship of the series, and the Seleya was only a ship of the week, so the lighting helped them get around the lack of detail. Even so, they gave it a suitably three-dimensional feel, with Archer and his team climbing up out of holes, crawling down into others, and in the mightily impressive Bridge of Khazad-Dum sequence from 'The Fellowship of The Ring,' they achieve a sense of scale as Archer and the others cross a deep ravine, gouged out by asteroids, across a narrow plank.

The effects work of this episode were absolutely phenomenal. We've seen asteroid fields as far back as 'TNG,' and even a Runabout dodging about inside one on 'DS9' ('Treachery, Faith and The Great River'), but this was film quality. I almost cheered when Trip's shuttlepod came tearing through the asteroids to blast Archer's free of the ship! The asteroids looked terrific, and the zipping in and out of the shuttlepods was pure 'Star Wars.' It's safe to say I was impressed! The music was a great help, with, at first, a very 'Matrix' style soundtrack, turning into straight horror as the episode progressed. There was even time for a minor B-story for Travis and Trip as they recreate a similar moment from another Season 1 tale ('Breaking The Ice'), by landing a shuttlepod on one of the larger asteroids to collect samples. This may be the only time we see an anomaly affecting something off ship, as it ripples through the walls of the rocky landscape and they have to scarper.

There are fun little links back to the series before it became militaristic, with Trip of all people being the man to crave a return to such delights as film night. It's not that he professes a desire to leave the Xindi in peace and return to exploration, but he's seen how low crew morale is and wants to bolster it. It was such a relief to see the old Trip back before he became so hard-edged in his wish to avenge the death of his sister. Archer isn't quite so easily unfocused, which is why he misses that the crew's spirits are low: a sign the mission has overtaken his natural instincts, despite his later (slightly cliched, but essential to let us know he hasn't yet crossed the line), assertion that he hasn't lost his humanity to save humanity. T'Pol is surprisingly candid about her race, the buried emotions they keep repressed, and their violent history, but that's another scene we can chalk up to the Trellium's effect on her, making her more unrestrained and open.

The harsh result of the episode is finding out that they can't stop the anomalies by using Trellium-D until Phlox finds a way to immunise T'Pol against its effects. Her selfless wish to be left on the nearest habitable planet is the Trellium talking again, and I laughed in sympathy that she could think Archer would leave any one of his crew behind. There's even a tricksy sting in the tail right at the end when we think the horror's all over, but it turns into a nightmare of T'Pol's. It's another reminder that this is no more Mr. Nice Trek and you never know what's coming, just as the Xindi should't be too secure in their beds, neither should we, the audience.

***

The Hostages

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (The Hostages)

When Starsky or Hutch are in danger we feel for them much more than for unknown guest stars who will be here today and gone tomorrow, regardless of whether they survive the episode. Consequently, episodes like this, in which S&H have time to laugh and joke around in between their serious investigations, can often seem less of an intensive experience than, say, last episode. Both this and 'Shoot Out' are about hostages, the difference is that we have to sympathise with unknowns this time as S&H are free to gallivant around the city. They made them young so we feel sorry for them, and Ellie is pregnant, so that's another reason to care, but we don't get to know them, and they are really only a means to get S&H moving. The characters that were interesting got comparatively little screen time - the older woman, Belle Kates, who we find out does care about the girl, and doesn't want any deaths on her conscience; and young Meg, the tough little girl mending her motorized tricycle, or whatever that mini vehicle was.

Belle we find out just enough about to be intrigued by, and to want her to do the right thing. We find out a little of her history, and her weariness of the business, as well as her wish to get some money together to retire on. In the end she does do the right thing, but she doesn't exactly have much choice by the time S&H come storming into her house. At least she shows that she's somewhat relieved not to have to go along with the nastier people in the outfit. She plays along to S&H's plan, so I hope that was taken into account for a more lenient sentence. Sadly, we don't find out what happened to her and whether she got a reduced sentence because of her cooperation, or not. We don't even get a conclusion to the story, as the end scene has nothing to do with the it (except for the weak astrology theme, that couldn't even be called a running gag in the episode it has so little impact), only there to end things in fun, clownish fashion. I wanted to know what Belle or the young couple felt after the event. I was expecting to see Ellie and her husband talking to S&H, maybe they visited for tea, and then they could have had another scene with Meg, too.

Kristy McNichol, who played the child must have made a favourable impression on the producers or casting agents, as she would return a couple of times more ('Little Girl Lost' and 'The Trap'), though not as that character. She continues the tradition of S&H having an instant connection with children, perhaps because of a natural joviality, or deliberately to appeal to a younger audience, though that seems unlikely as the series consistently dealt with adult themes. More likely they just had good chemistry with children, and so young characters continued to be written in. It doesn't seem very wise to ask her if she wanted a ride downtown with them, even though they were police officers, as they could be anyone saying that. Perhaps people were less concerned in those days, but I'd have thought the least they could do would be to phone her parents!

That wasn't the only faux pas they made this episode. Right before meeting the girl, they roll up opposite Ellie's house where they think she's being held, yet they don't disguise their car or do anything to make themselves less conspicuous! Hutch jokes about Starsky's appearance, then Starsky trots up to the house, but if the kidnappers had been in there you can bet they'd be keeping an eye on the street, so Starsky's planned cover of saying he was a plumber wouldn't fit with the bright red sports car! As if that wasn't bad enough, they give their appearances away far too early in the episode, and unnecessarily: Tom comes to pick up the money, they reveal they're cops, then Starsky goes out with him to the armoured van so the kidnapper sees him. Okay, so Hutch isn't seen, even though he comes to the door of the building, so he could get away with the trick to get the kidnapper out of the van at the end of the episode, but it could have been a risky thing to do. Also, after they've watched the van leave from the first stop, they rush back inside leaving the door wide open - not very security conscious!

Huggy makes a very strange appearance, probably the first of his 'street antics' that would become his way in in later seasons, though I think giving him his own locale from which he could work was his best way of being part of the stories. I think they were joking when they talked about him leaving his restaurant business behind, but he does mention his cousin Elijah, who may be the one that shows up in 'Huggy Bear and The Turkey.' Captain Dobey has little to do in this, too, there at the warehouse to make the crack about it being a good job S&H are out of uniform as they look terrible; in a briefing with Mr. Ames; and the end scene with the diet. Dobey's relationship to food is one of the running jokes of the series, but it had no setup in this episode, it just was there. Twice S&H go undercover in alternative outfits: as the money clerks at one of the supermarkets, and at the end when they take on the roles of security guards of the armoured van. Paul Michael Glaser's stunt double (I'll really have to look up his name one of these days), makes one appearance that I noticed, in the fight at the warehouse. And Hutch's distrust of Starsky's taste in food and restaurants is again played out when he takes him to the diner of the astrology-loving girl.

The astrology side of the story wasn't taken seriously, but it did crop up too often for me, such as when they visit Madame Yram's house. Another revisited joke was about odd ladies being attracted to Starsky, probably because he's a bit odd himself. The house they enter looks very much like the one Ezra performed his fake cult in from 'Terror On The Docks,' though it looked more rundown so I'm not certain it was the same one. I wasn't sure if Sweet Alice had been seen before, as she knew S&H, though they do know a lot of people. She was another of those tragic figures, who always plans to go straight, there for S&H to show a bit of kindness to. The line "Two out of three ain't bad" was used again, the most memorable thing about the 'Vampire' episode in Season 2, this time said after Starsky talks of being tall, dark and handsome. And that's about it for the conventions of the series I always look for. It was funny that Ellie looked like Barbara Good of 'The Good Life,' - dungarees and something about her face, especially as she was married to a Tom! But I'm not sure that series had been invented then, so no plagiarism suits for me.

It wasn't a boring or dull episode, it just never went far enough or explored any of the characters. That's fine for this series, it wasn't about deep psychological motivation or delving into issues, but sometimes they did, and those episodes tended to have more going for them. This was a comfortable watch, seeing S&H do what they do, not ever really being threatened, and the villains being fairly petty and small time. There were occasional moments, such as Tom following their plan, bravely insisting on seeing his wife, or Belle showing second thoughts about what she's involved with, but we never went further than the surface. I couldn't even say whether this was in the positive or negative bracket of city life, as it shows prostitutes (off duty), but also rich money companies, with mainly neighbourhoods and shopping malls, so I suppose it was closer to the positive side of city life. There's even the hint of conflict between S&H and Ames, the head of the armoured car company, who shows more concern for his money than for the hostages, but it peters out after that one scene. So not a bad episode to watch, but a weak one to think about.

**

Eye of the Beholder

DVD, TNG S7 (Eye of the Beholder)

Deanna Troi, PI. Or was she? Though it wasn't as confusing, and certainly more substantial than 'Masks,' I was still left confused as to how much of the episode was real, and at what point Troi went off into dreamland. If it was early in the story, when she first went to the tube room, then that would take any of Worf's romantic notions out of real life, even though he's been leading to an approach of Troi on the series. Somehow that seemed incredibly controversial and wrong, seeing two main characters just do such things, even with the scene where Worf almost asks Riker's permission in Ten Forward. That scene was a little off, too, as how can Riker be taking a junior officer out for a drink? Maybe it's only Captains that suffer an inability to fraternise with the lower ranks, as Picard did in 'Lessons,' I don't know.

The thing is, if that part of the story really did happen, and to be fair, being a Brannon Braga special, there's so much paranoia going around that even genuine scenes feel as if anything could happen, (I thought Worf and Riker were going to attack each other!), if that scene happened, and it's difficult to say it didn't, because Troi wasn't present then, at what point did she succumb to her nightmare? Or was that just the last few minutes when she was in her quarters alone (always a bad sign in a Braga episode, especially for Troi - the only thing missing was her looking in a mirror). Yet any scenes featuring Lieutenant Pierce (a suitably inexpressive, vaguely threatening turn from Mark Rolston), had to be in her mind due to the fact of his being dead for eight years. So even as far back as Troi looking through the records and seeing he had joined the Enterprise must have been part of the vision. So Worf never really did go all gooey on her, after all. Right?

If an episode makes you wonder, even after you've seen it before, then it's either ridiculously convoluted, makes little to no sense ('Masks'), or keeps you guessing and wondering, and this one falls into the latter category. It begins with a shocking moment of suicide, and ends with a shocking realisation of grisly murders embedded in the wall - how Braga-esque can you get! I had thought Kwan played a greater part in the story, in flashbacks and log entries, but he's actually only a small on screen presence. I don't know why, but his Napean species made me want to learn more about him and his race, but although the makeup was used again in background shots of other Trek series', we never learnt more about them. The suicide is chilling, not just for the dramatic leap into the 'fire' of the plasma, but that it could be a Starfleet officer who does it. But why was it that particular moment when Kwan felt the empathic suicidal urge if he'd been working on the nacelle tube for a while? With that, and humans having affairs and committing murder, I have to wonder what Uncle Gene would have made of it all!

Not that that matters, and I wouldn't criticise the episode for breaking any rules. On the contrary, it breaks into new territory, both character-wise and location. This could be the one and only time we ever got to visit Utopia Planitia (unless that scene with Dr. Brahms on the Holodeck back in 'Booby Trap' was the same place). Granted, it was in a hallucination or empathic echo, whatever you want to call it, and took place inside the Enterprise with no windows, but the ship was there! Such historical moments in a ship's life, always so rare, make me cherish their brief inclusion, such as the visits to station DS9's past under the Cardassians. We want to see the genesis of these created vessels that we know so well.

I thought Kwan seemed too young to be one of the many people to have worked at Utopia on the Enterprise, but he was a Lieutenant, so it could be his species had a youthful appearance for longer than humans. I loved seeing inside one of the nacelles, and not until 'Enterprise' would we have such a close encounter with that most essential part of a starship (in such stories as 'The Catwalk'). No doubt budgetary concerns were what kept these well-known, but little-seen parts of a ship out of the limelight, but you have to applaud them whenever they took the initiative and grabbed the plasma conduit by the handles to bring us more visual extensions. Another little something that was left to the imagination for the most part was the warp speed enforcement laid down earlier in the season, in 'Force of Nature.' It gets another mention here, but once again Picard is allowed to circumvent the restriction, which makes me wonder if any race or organisation ever really kept to the speed limit, seemingly an impossible thing to enforce.

The Suicide of Lieutenant Daniel Kwan (that sounds like a good title!), may be difficult to question, in terms of the aftermath, because it isn't entirely clear when Troi was acting in reality, so oddities can be explained as being from her vision, but the clues were laid down quite early of the danger she was walking into: we learn that Kwan was partially empathic, so that's an obvious pointer to Deanna; and we get an early suspect in the form of his superior, Lieutenant (there's a lot of Lieutenants in this episode!), Nara, who looks ugly and we hear unpleasant things about. Were those conversations real?

Calloway's line "It's not like Dan to take his own life," got past the script doctors - she sounds pretty stupid saying that, almost equating Kwan's behaviour with something mundane, like 'it's not like Dan to turn up late for work.' I also felt the scene between Data and Geordi on the subject of suicide (did that part really happen? Oh, I'm so confused!), came off a little facile. They talk about how if only Kwan had been able to see his problems as challenges to be overcome, he might have done better than to kill himself, but it smacks of a glibness and superior attitude - 'pull yourself together,' kind of thing. I don't suppose that's what the writer's were looking for, or that the character's really believed that expression, but then, in the future, such things are supposed to be extremely unlikely, so it could be they were struggling even to get a handle on the concept. I did enjoy Data's overly conscious body language, however, I just wish I knew where the episode ended, and Troi's mind began!

***

Masks

DVD, TNG S7 (Masks)

Seeing Data perform his superhuman abilities is a joy, and here we see him mould clay into perfect shapes at incredible speeds. But more impressively we see Brent Spiner perform his abilities, when he's tasked with recreating several personalities from a long-vanished culture. This race's technological interference was both more and less invasive than the one in 'The Inner Light,' and suggests Picard's experiences there were what kept his mind open in this situation - though there's less personal damage, apart from Data experiencing thousands of minds, the ship changes physically around them! This was a concept to be proud of, and one that could have been difficult to pull off. While I felt the production design could have gone further (for instance, the scene in Engineering when it starts to change), as I was watching I thought they should have made cosmetic changes to the actual sets, and then they did, altering a whole deck! It starts slowly with small artefacts appearing around the ship, including in Troi's quarters. When Beverly suggests it was left by a secret admirer, Troi shows no concern that a mystery person may have sneaked into her quarters, which she presumably keeps locked!

The alteration to the ship continues apace, with large Aztec-like stone blocks, jungle creepers and obelisks, until we see a deck completely change before our eyes into an alien temple. They said that deck was clear of people, but I hope they also evacuated the one above, because the temple had quite a ceiling to it. Mind you, Picard and the others weren't affected when it changed so it's likely no one else would have been. If we'd had people trapped inside stone sculptures or in the floor (like 'In Theory'), there would have been a greater fear factor, but as it was it stayed in the realm of the intellectual, with Picard slowly working it out. Spiner's performances as the four or five characters he plays (the grinning Ihat, a Masaka-worshipper, weak old man, frightened child and Masaka), gave him his passport to show off his range, and created a sinister discomfort to his interactions at first, though that isn't played up so he fades away to a shadow sitting in his quarters when he could have been used much more. You only have to look at the superior 'Voyager' episode 'Infinite Regress' to see how much better it could have been if Data had remained the sole focus.

The solution was too easy, and a repeat of Picard's tactic with the Borg in 'The Best of Both Worlds' - send them to sleep. The episode came to nothing, and to Data it was all a dream, so there was no learning experience, we don't find out why this alien library is floating though space, or what any of it really means. For that matter, it was a bit harsh to blast this 67 million year old comet which had travelled across the galaxy. They couldn't have known for sure it had anything to do with the odd happenings. Although it did go pretty far with the design, and the work that must have gone in behind the scenes looks to have been immense, I still would have liked to see more: they tease us with Riker saying the Observation Lounge has turned into a swamp, but I wanted to see it. It is a flawed episode, but even though the story never goes anywhere it looked beautiful, with a series of golden glows taking the place of the usual harsh lighting, and even the sound playing upon the strangeness of the content with panpipes emphasising an ancient and exotic culture. The CG and effects were strong, though the comet didn't look as good as the one in the 'DS9' opening credits, and considering this was created over a year after, they could have done better.

There are questions left unanswered, such as how Data's head closed up without any tampering from Geordi after he'd been giving Data a diagnostic, or how Picard knew Masaka was female when there didn't appear to be any clues. Data could easily have snapped his cranial panel back on when we left that scene, but no explanation for Picard, except his knowledge of ancient cultures. What would have made it more intriguing would have been to make it an actual technological library from an ancient Earth tribe, but that would open up a whole torpedo tube of snakes! If you watch this as an oddity with some excellent production design, and skillful acting from Spiner (I wonder if his voice was digitally altered in some way - most of the time it sounded like he was changing it himself, but as Masaka it sounded manipulated), then you won't be disappointed, and its clear, clean, colourful visuals look fantastic, but don't expect anything more than that.

**

Rajiin

DVD, Enterprise S3 (Rajiin)

The first clunker of the season, but at least it came a few episodes in, it's just a shame it shows up after a good run so we knew the series could do good stories at that point. This time they try and fob us off with a bit of mystery and action (the NX-01 gets boarded again), but can't disguise this is much less satisfying than the first two episodes in particular. They do some things well on 'Enterprise' and I have to commend the computer effects work that continues the trend of brilliance: the ship orbiting a great blue planet, the detailed x-ray bioscans Rajiin takes of Archer and T'Pol, and, most impressively, the Xindi Insectoids and Aquatics who once again are superbly animated, the Insectoids in particular really part of their scenes in a physical way. The series is also good at throwing the cast into bustling and shady alien markets (like in the pilot), with so much to look out for - was that a Targ hanging up? One of those Dabo girl aliens from 'DS9' trying to sell them something as they pass? Other aliens we've seen before? I know it can be taken as laziness that they were reusing masks or props, but I take it as a fun puzzle for those in the know to spot references or familiar races.

The action is done pretty well, though the Xindi Reptilian boarding party, even though it's the first face to face encounter between Archer's crew and their enemies, doesn't generate the same tension as previous raids have. I don't know if that's the Director's fault, or I'm getting used to the scenario, but it felt a little flat, just like when the Remans boarded the Enterprise-E in 'Nemesis' - ironic, considering both aliens were wearing the same uniforms, even if they do look great. In his defence, the direction showed occasional flair - I'm thinking of the moments of Rajiin operating in slow motion as if she's more aware of time and space than the average person, and can achieve incredible acts of agility. My personal favourite, and something that stuck in my head since I first saw it, was the leap off of the Engineering level, twist in midair to land impossibly on her back. Very memorable, though I don't agree with Archer that she herself was particularly memorable.

Rajiin was the problem with the episode, I felt. It was a bit like 'Precious Cargo,' in that if you don't buy the central guest character, the episode, if not falls apart, becomes a lesser experience. She was set up to appear as if a recurring character that would be back at some point, but as far as I remember, she never reappeared, we can only assume she was killed by her Reptilian masters. Although fun to see someone that looked like Seven of Nine at the end (maybe she could have played a young Seven…), we never found out enough about her and she remains an annoyingly unsolved mystery. Was she even part of that time? I ask because the first clue as to the connection to the Temporal Cold War (aside from Future Guy's warning in 'The Expanse'), comes when Phlox reveals the dead Xindi left behind has been engineered. The first thing you think of is the Suliban and their payment for services rendered in the Cold War.

Apart from that there's not much to like in the story. Archer gets some fighting time, but while he beats up the slave trader, he has to be rescued by one of the MACOs in his one-on-one with the Xindi Reptilian, curiously reminiscent of Kirk versus the Gorn! I guess the MACO hadn't been briefed that you don't interfere when the Captain's fighting as it makes him look less tough. For that matter where was Major Hayes? I have to assume he was in on a firefight somewhere else on the ship because we don't see hide nor hair of him, and he should be at the forefront of the MACOs, leading the way. We did see plenty of weaponry as a result of the first human/Reptilian battle netting some new weapons tech. The exploding foam gun wasn't bad, nor was the shockwave blast from the Insectoid gun, but somehow Trek shouldn't be all about the cool weaponry - that shouldn't be the thing that sticks most in your head after watching.

I was irritated by T'Pol again, with her completely losing her cool. I'm not talking about the silly 'bioscan' performed by Rajiin, but her squawking at Trip when he tries to synthesize Trellium D, the substance that should block the anomalies. They should have had some anomaly trouble during the firefight, just to distinguish this episode from future stories when they're protected. There wasn't much to worry us this time, only the repulsive alien merchant and his damp red nasal cavities - an enjoyable moment when Trip tricks him into trading for ordinary condiments which he seemed to think were drugs! Otherwise things were pretty normal, except for a nice bit of continuity that shows Archer is still suffering the effects of his recent transformation in 'Extinction,' - as Phlox notes, you can't get over changing into another life form quickly, a good example of the season dispensing with the reset button. Also very pleasant to hear Cutler's name mentioned, even though she never came back. The dissension in the Xindi council gave their scenes a bit of bite, and taking into account the integrated CG characters they were some of the highlights of the episode. So they now have a bioweapon they're creating as well as the other one. We didn't need a complication like that, and it does smack of trying to artificially draw the story out, but I like the interpersonal wrangling of the council members.

When first writing about this episode 'Star Trek Magazine' called it 'Raijin' and I actually prefer that title. Ra-Jeen sounds like some family connection to Batman villain Ra's Al Ghul, whereas Ry-Jin sounds more alien. I couldn't help but think how 'Star Wars' things were looking, from the alien market full of weirdness to the Xindi storming onto the ship like Darth Vader does in the first film (or Episode IV, whichever you prefer). It was an excellent explosion, though, and they made a right mess of the NX-01 interiors. Shame the story had no more substance than some of the 'Star Wars' prequels. Even the Xindi versus Enterprise ship battle wasn't much cop, and after a couple of pretty energising episodes that began the season, it's worrying they were already starting to buckle.

**

Shoot Out

DVD, Starsky & Hutch S1 (Shoot Out)

No one said 'Starsky & Hutch' had to stick to formulaic police show stories, and even if this one is somewhat formulaic, it's a formula not seen on the series before, and one of those that hints at the breadth of styles they were prepared to play with. This has nothing to do with competition between law enforcement bodies, or experiencing city life, be that the down and dirty streets or the posh and poisoned holes of the richly extravagant. This is in the mould of 'Key Largo' and probably many other similar stories of a group of people being stuck in a room for the duration, throwing together various characters and letting the drama unfold. That's the plan of these kinds of vehicles, anyway. Whether it's successful or not depends on the viability of the characters, the depth of their interactions and the ability to raise the tension levels through the course of their incarceration. Neither of the first two amounted to much, and with no payoff for them, they were merely extraneous pawns to wait out the conclusion with.

Not to say there was no tension, but it was handled sloppily in a way that this still-new series tended to do, much lower down on the scale than 'Pariah,' still the high-water mark for the season. The business with the gun, and Hutch's determination not to give up hope, to plan carefully with whatever was available, like a constrained, and much more cerebral Rambo, gave the story its grit, and his bravery shows through several times, whether warning the hit men he's going through to his partner in the other room, against their orders, in spite of the gun trained on him; or his dangerous action heroics with Theresa causing a diversion with a tray, so he can whip out the hidden gun and shoot the baddies. I envisioned a small tray, rather like the one she carries drinks on, but then she brings out a gong-sized thing! It certainly had the ability to distract, just a shame she was practically standing behind Hutch so the hit men didn't get diverted far!

I liked a lot of things about this episode, mainly thanks to the close directing - head shots of people talking, the rain lashing down outside on the dark, empty streets, and some of the shots used. It was the writing at fault not to give the hostages more of a story to expand them, and a conclusion to see them get something out of the experience, so it had been worthwhile. Like Sammy Grovner, the comic and his girl on the way to Las Vegas, or the old couple who felt nobody would miss them if they didn't get out of this situation; the big, sporty-looking guy, and even Theresa the barmaid. They had moments, but they weren't given a chance to show they'd learned from this brush with death, so the episode becomes treading water. In a good way for Hutch, whose resourcefulness is his asset, but there was little to gather from anyone else. I liked that Vic Monte, the gangland boss, drives in faceless, there's the sound of shooting, and he's driven out faceless, though I'd have liked that to have led into a recurring plot line of this Mr. Big S&H were having trouble with and would eventually meet over the course of several episodes.

Like the end scene, in which, for some reason, I expected to see the people who'd been involved in the hostage situation at Hutch's rather than those nondescript strangers, and which was only an excuse to get Huggy in the story (fine by me), the opening had almost nothing to do with the rest of the episode, beyond setting up that S&H were going out for a meal that night, and to give Starsky something to do since he'd be on his back most of the time, much like the series finale 'Sweet Revenge.' But it was a good opening, with Starsky showing he can act, though I suspected he was not being himself when he throws Hutch against the wall - only just, mind, as we've seen him hot with righteous indignation at a criminal's acts before. Usually the detectives play hard cop, hard cop, but here they do the classic good/bad, and it's all good fun, maybe getting the lightness out of the way before Starsky goes down so dramatically in the shootout. It leads to the only reference to running jokes of the series that I picked up, when they discuss the kind of weird food Starsky eats, as well as one of the few pop references of the episode, this time for famous horror actor Bela Lugosi (or Lugoosi as Starsky erroneously calls him!).

Another reference I picked up was to Western actor Gene Autry, whom Starsky compares himself or his wounds to. There's also a swimming pool seen clearly on screen, yet no one dives into it, mainly because it's only in an establishing shot of the hit men's apartment, so no one went near it. And the biggest and most obvious references come in the end scene when S&H bizarrely dress up as comics to entertain their guests, though unfortunately I'm not up with my American comedy history, so the only one I got for sure was Groucho Marx at the end. I imagine they did the comedy routine because they had that guy (Norman Fell), as the comic, and I believe he was a known face at the time. So I'll give them that it had some connection to the episode it followed. Not much, but some. Captain Dobey doesn't appear, but does get mentioned by Starsky, who compares Hutch's worried shouting of orders to their superior.

The villains made an odd couple; a young, cocky, uneducated type, and an older, refined, learned type. But they didn't plan too well. It wasn't clever to sit in the corner together so that everyone could talk and plot if they wanted to, and Joey should have stayed by the door or something. He was a curious character, not falling into the category of oddness we usually encounter (only Harry Sample, the crook at the beginning, or the Maharaji Jehru, as he'd created himself, did that - like the Ezra guy in 'Terror On The Docks' he was trying to fool the law by taking on a 'higher' persona of cult and mysticism, really a sham, as S&H proved), and in fact the characters inhabiting this story were more real than we usually see, but Joey took pleasure in blowing people away and the power rush, but then shows discomfort with the fact that he might have killed a cop. It doesn't stop him from threatening Hutch later, though. Maybe not the best idea of his associate's to let him drink, but it did seem to make him more relaxed than before.

I suppose what they were going for was a classier kind of episode, to try and keep the direction tight, write some serious character stuff, and build a tension-filled story that led up to an exciting climax. It did end well, but it needed more work if they were to come up with another 'Key Largo.' Having Hutch mainly work alone puts him in a different position, and Starsky shows his care for his partner when he does all he can, though injured, so it was good from their character's perspective, continuing to demonstrate the strong bond of friendship and reliance between each other. But it could have done with something extra to make it a good episode to watch.

**

Thine Own Self

DVD, TNG S7 (Thine Own Self)

Data loses his memory on an alien world. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. I'm not going to praise this episode beyond measure or even suggest it's one of the absolute best of the season, but I do like it for being an unconnected tale about Data getting on as a new person with new people, while retaining much of his advanced knowledge, a bit like his time in the past of 'Time's Arrow.' See, it's not even something that had never been done before, but what is done, is done beautifully and simply. I like how trusting and open Garvin and his daughter are, and the way they accept this weird stranger into their home, so different from them. Not the most responsible action to leave one's daughter with a complete stranger, but something about Data's way tends to put those who have trust, at ease with him. Maybe his pacifistic nature (don't say that to the blacksmith after he was slapped into a wall with the flick of Data's wrist), his measured, level tone, and polite bearing. Whatever made them accept him, he has it in spades.

It was just another village set, just another wardrobe of medieval peasant clothes, but I liked all the decoration around this story and had no trouble accepting the reality of Data's situation even though it must have been all filmed on indoor sets. It was bright and good to look at, much like the one in 'Insurrection,' and even though these were aliens with only a couple of lines of face paint to differentiate them from humans, their alienness wasn't the issue, it was all about answering the question of what Data would do if he wandered into a new life, the most advanced machine in an age of misunderstanding. Talur is very forthright and convinced in her view of 'science,' but even though she and her people consider themselves quite advanced, they have superstitions, but they're reflected in different ways. They pooh-pooh demons, yet wholeheartedly put down Data as being a mythical 'iceman' from the mountains - they haven't reached the level of understanding which tells them the more they learn, the more they know they don't know. Starfleet is shown a lot more advanced, not just in technology, but with the whole idea of learning more and exploring the unknown because they know there's so much they don't know!

The little girl wasn't the best child actor on the series, but she did a reasonable job of striking up a friendship with 'Jayden' as Data is named. If I was criticising the episode, and I don't want to harshly, because it's a pleasant tale that doesn't set out to be anything more than an exploration of Data separate from the characters and environment we're used to seeing him in. But if I were, I'd say they could have built up the friendship more, to make the moment when she wants him to show his damaged face, more meaningful and showing her in a braver light (because Data looks at his most sinister in that scene, standing in a dark corner talking out of a hood!). It's the usual kind of result with these stories of a stranger in the midst of villagers - one of them takes a dislike to him (look at the Season 3 episode 'The Ensigns of Command'), and stirs up trouble, thus providing the catalyst for danger and tension. It was never a wise move of the blacksmith and his pal to take on a guy strong enough to lift an anvil without even straining. The attack gave us the biggest uncovering of Data's real, robotic face on the series. Not in the league of 'First Contact,' but very well done all the same, especially considering this was before CGI replacement. Yes, if you look carefully at it you can see it's a prosthetic attachment that's thicker than Spiner's face, but it's done in such an artistic, realistic way that it doesn't take anything away from the mastery of that craft. Whoever did that deserved recognition.

The secondary plot of the episode is totally unconnected, but again, I don't find fault with the episode, because I like watching it, both sides. You just accept it as two stories and enjoy it. And, just like Data's story, it is a situation for Deanna that we don't see very often, so there is a thematic link of that kind. She's had the experience of feeling she's not stretched enough, and, after seeing Beverly taking on bridge duty (a rare moment to see them having a scene practically alone on the bridge), wants to take the bridge officer's test. I really liked how she tied it back to the events of 'Disaster,' in which she was forced to take command, and struggled through the experience. It made the earlier episode a fascinating study in role reversal, but this ambition could have had more impact if she'd come to the decision shortly after that story instead of suddenly springing it on Riker two years later. The episode has an odd feeling running though it, not just because Data isn't Data, or seeing Crusher in the Captain's chair, or even Riker practicing the trombone in his quarters which turns into a bizarre musical conversation with Troi. It's all that, and no Patrick Stewart, not until the last scene in sickbay, at any rate. Where was Stewart? He's not normally so absent unless he's directing!

The actual test Deanna had to go through was rather stressful, but it had its wallop of an impact when we learn the answer is to send someone to their death. It's a shocking moment, and a heartfelt one, too, because, even though we know it's just a holographic Geordi, she's still sending him to die! They don't mention the Kobayashi Maru test by name, the famous no-win scenario, that all starship Captain's have to go through, but they do talk about the possibility of there being no answer, a test to see how the candidate responds to being in that position. I liked that it was a kind of stage on from that test, as if we know about that, but this is something different. Just as hard, but in another way. That the soft Troi could do that shows what steely roots she has in her. There could have been a conflict of interest having Troi ask Riker so informally about taking it, and then him informing her he'd have to judge her, but these people are above favoritism, and they both know it. It also shows how great a First Officer he is, that he can 'play' her like that, retain his distance and frankness as her superior, but also talk to her on her level. He even calls her Imzadi (beloved), but I think it's meant much more in jest or friendship than the serious connotation it used to have. He shows that there was no conflict of interest in the end.

I thought this ended with a scene in which Data says goodbye to the village, or the healthy people he's cured, and returns to the mountains, but it ended fittingly for a pre-warp civilisation, never knowing who the stranger really was, and burying him in the square. One day perhaps, they'll excavate in future generations to see if the legend of the iceman was true, and the myth will persist even though no body can be found. There's a poetic ending for you. I'm putting the villager's trust in the drinking water down to the shamefacedness they experienced after their tempers died down and they realised they'd killed this man, because it's a lot of trusting to do after they were so against him, to then drink water from a well he'd poured a mystery cure into. Maybe they were lazy, and couldn't be bothered to make the two day journey to the nearest river?

***