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.

***