Next Generation, season 5

FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 6
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 3.0
-Redemption II ****
-written by ronald d. moore
-directed by david carson
The overthrow of gowron can only be prevented by disrupting a covert romulan supply line. Picard is given a fleet for a blockade. Will and data are given commands. Sela reveals herself, while b'etor proposes dishonorable marriage to a kidnapped worf. Guinan's presence lends a nice link to "Yesterday's Enterprise". Data saves the blockade, despite a prejudiced first officer. Worf is given the life of duras' son, and spares him. Less brilliantly written than part 1, and sela is sadly one-dimensional, but the rest is too rich to be denied.
-Darmok ***
A seamless performance by paul winfield (THE WRATH OF KHAN, THE TERMINATOR) as an alien facing a life-threatening situation (and language barrier) with picard. Don't let the subtlety of winfield's work be obscured by all the prosthetic makeup. Stranded together, they must fight to survive and understand each other, and jean-luc finally realizes that winfield's species communicates exclusively through metaphor. If anyone wishes to challenge my rating system, your opportunity will never be more ripe. This one oozes excellence out of every pore (including a non-Hollywood ending, both tragic but hopeful). If you were to design a sci fi series, this is exactly the kind of script you would hope to produce. And they did...with no weaknesses. So why only three stars? Especially following a four-star episode which is objectively inferior? The only answer i can give is that mysterious factor called x. An excitement which defies qualification. Perhaps i'm being too hard on myself. Perhaps there is something genuinely missing here...some more satisfying resolution, character development, or emotional impact. Perhaps. In any case, it's brilliant - including the delightful debut of ashley judd (FRIDA, RUBY IN PARADISE) as ensign robin lefler.
-Ensign Ro ***
Ro laren (michelle forbes - GALACTICA, TRUE BLOOD) is a court-martialed bajoran Starfleet officer freed from prison, just to be part of a mission to quell bajoran terrorism. The Enterprise crew (and command staff) treat her with disdain. She is bitter, and the only one to embrace her is guinan. A fine effort made a little less so by the obviousness of another "evil (and stupid) admiral", being manipulated by cardassians.
-Silicon Avatar **
The crystalline entity attacks a colony where Enterprise is supplying settlers. The Federation's leading authority on the entity (ellen geer - HAROLD AND MAUDE, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) arrives. She is suspicious and hostile toward data, because of lor's association with the entity. They track it, and dr. marr covertly destroys it, as vengeance for the death of her son decades before. The flaw in this one is having a 24th-century human act too much like ourselves. The mechanics of grief would be no different in TREK's time, but the contours of loss would be - it's not credible that any TREK human could be so crippled decades after the fact. In any sane future, we'll have largely cured the horrific loneliness and alienation that plague us now. And...there's a riker flirtation which devolves into unrealistic, leering cliche. Just bad writing.
-Disaster ***
The last episode to air during gene roddenberry's lifetime. In terms of dramatic tension, the Enterprise was sometimes a little too powerful and indestructible, but not here. Quantum filaments pass through the ship, wreaking damage and death. Communications are down, power at a minimum, and emergency bulkheads in place. Will carries data's head through jefferies tubes to fight a core breach. Worf delivers keiko's baby. Beverly and geordi are threatened by plasma fire, and must vent their own compartment into space. Deanna takes an uncomfortable command on the bridge, where ro and o'brien can't agree. Picard is in a turbolift coming free of its moorings, with a broken ankle and three frightened children. There is a dangerous tightness throughout.
-The Game ***
Wesley! Wesley!! Wil wheaton is back, on Academy vacation. Riker brings a video game from Risa, which turns out to be a psychotropic mind-control device. Wesley and ensign lefler realize that something is very wrong, as data is sabotaged and the entire crew comes under alien mind control. Wes saves the day, and gets the girl (er, young woman). Brilliant.
-Unification 1&2 ***
GAME...ON! Sorry, the classic TREK nerd in me just got a chubby. Picard meets sarek on Vulcan, then he and data are sent on an undercover mission to Romulus, on the heels of ambassador spock (leonard nimoy!), who is suspected of defection. They are escorted in a cloaked klingon ship (captained by stephen root - NEWSRADIO, THE WEST WING), disguised as romulans. Enterprise plays cat and mouse inside a galactic junkyard with a mysterious ship, and riker plays the blues with a jaded, four-armed pianist (harriet leider - TORCH SONG TRILOGY, DREAM LOVER). Spock is sewing the seeds of reunification. Picard must tell him that his father has died. The second half loses tightness, and sela is still one-dimensional. But the spock scenes with data and picard are priceless. Classic TREK veteran malachi throne (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, IT'S A BIRD...IT'S A PLANE...IT'S SUPERMAN!) plays a romulan senator, and daniel roebuck (THE FUGITIVE, ORION SLAVE GIRLS MUST DIE!!!) an agitant. Like a movie, this one's compelling and large.
-A Matter of Time ***
Fun fun fun. Matt frewer (MAX HEADROOM, THE MEANING OF LIFE) plays an historian who appears in a 26th century timeship, collecting stories and artifacts. He turns out to be a New Jersey charlatan from the past, who stole his ship.
-New Ground ***
Deadbeat dad, chapter 2? As Enterprise assists on tests for an engineless mode of interstellar travel, worf's mom returns alexander (the TREK debut of brian bonsall - FAMILY TIES, MICKEY'S 60th BIRTHDAY), saying he's too much to handle. He continues to lie and bully, so worf decides to ship him off to a klingon school. Deanna intercedes, talking worf through his emotional minefield and the abandonment issues alexander may be facing. Most of troi's screen time revolved around being an empath or lover, not her actual job, but this is some of the best work for marina and michael in the entire series. He decides to have alexander stay onboard. Yes, the alexander factor is one of flaccidity and foreboding, but if you can look past that there's some lovely stuff here.
-Hero Worship ***
Data rescues a boy, the sole survivor of a starship disaster in which all other hands were lost, including his parents. Traumatized, the boy starts to assert that he is an emotionless android too. Troi has data encourage this. The strength of this one, aside from lovely performances by spiner and guest joshua harris (DALLAS, FALCON CREST), is how it touches upon something from which no cultural or technological advancement will ever protect us - instant, horrifying tragedy. TREK writers didn't always perfectly capture how human nature will be different in the future they paint, but this kind of loss will be with us forever. Funny and heart-rending.
-Violations **
As Enterprise transports members of a race of mind-probing memory historians, deanna, will, and beverly fall into comas. Deanna recovers, but can't recall anything. A mind rapist is on the loose. This one has potential, but doesn't come together - the only notable moment is a memory flashback of jean-luc showing beverly jack's body.
-The Masterpiece Society ***
Enterprise visits a genetically-engineered biosphere society facing a natural cataclysm. Their social fabric is so specific and interwoven, it would be shattered by any disruption. Deanna has a touching affair with their leader (john snyder - THE WARRIORS, K-9). Geordi has a touching friendship with their lead scientist (TREK guest extraordinaire dey young - SPACEBALLS, YOUNG LUST), who ultimately asks picard for asylum, along with dozens of others. Plus some fine ron canada (THE WEST WING, BOSTON LEGAL, and another TREK recidivist). Touching and thoughtful.
-Conundrum ****
-written by barry m. schkolnick
-directed by les landau
An alien vessel selectively wipes the memories of the crew, and disables the ship's memory files. They find mission orders which tell them to destroy an alien base. Worf assumes his sash means he's in command. Unbeknownst to them, there's a stranger in their midst, commander macduff (erich anderson - UNFAITHFUL, NYPD BLUE). Files reveal him as the exec (why he didn't make himself captain, is anybody's guess). The crew struggle with whether to go through with their orders, especially when the base is discovered to be almost defenseless. Raise your hand if you buy worf's refusal to fire, at the moment of truth. Crewmember kristin (liz vassey - THE TICK, TWO AND A HALF MEN) is achingly beautiful. Troi and riker sense their spiritual connection, and he beds ro. Action, humor...brilliant.
-Power Play **
A lost Starfleet vessel is found crashed on an inhospitable alien planet, 200 years later. Energy beings possess the bodies of deanna, data, and o'brien, and take hostages in ten forward. They claim to be the ghosts of the Essex, but turn out to be disembodied prisoners trying to free all the members of their penal colony. If you can overlook data being possessed just as an organic would be, and the immorality of Starfleet officers just abandoning helpless prisoners who've been abandoned by their captors, it's a fun ride.
-Ethics **
Ethical dilemmas that don't feel manufactured. Worf's spine is crushed, and he asks riker to assist him in the klingon suicide ritual. By following the dictates of his culture, is he acting cowardly in abandoning his son? A visiting surgeon wants to try an experimental procedure likely to kill worf. Beverly balks. Despite some fine moments, the alexander factor isn't the only soggy noodle in this entree.
-The Outcast ***
A lovely classic TREK feel, and one of the best poker scenes ever. The Enterprise helps an androgynous race investigate the disappearance of a shuttle. Their culture has an underground who tend toward gender-orientation, but transgressors are vilified and surgically/psychologically "corrected". Riker and one such (melinda culea - KNOTS LANDING, THE A-TEAM) fall in love. The parallels to homosexual persecution couldn't be more spot-on. Despite an occasional lack of sophistication in the writing, this might be four stars if the producers had cast a male as his leading lady, as frakes wanted.
-Cause and Effect ****
-written by brannon braga
-directed by jonathan frakes
The stuff of childhood nightmares. Enterprise is caught in a temporal time loop that always ends with the ship's explosion. Tight and fun, with poker games and picard/crusher zip. They must find a way to send a message to themselves in the next loop. In one of the most needle-moving cameos in TREK history, kelsey grammar (FRASIER, THE SIMPSONS) is perfect as captain of a ship that's been stuck in time for the better part of a century.
-The First Duty ****
-written by ronald d. moore, naren shankar
-directed by paul lynch
At the Academy, wesley is involved in an accident that claimed the life of a cadet. Their squadron was attempting an illegal maneuver, and the survivors, led by nicholas locarno (robert duncan mcneill - VOYAGER, SHARKY'S MACHINE) agree to a pact of silence. The Enterprise gets involved in the investigation. Ed lauter (THE LONGEST YARD, B.J. AND THE BEAR) plays the dead cadet's father, and ray walston (MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH) adds crotchety gravitas as boothby, the groundskeeper who once mentored picard. Jean-luc discovers the deception, and confronts wes. So tight it hums.
-Cost of Living ***
Lwaxana and alexander - cataclysm casserole! Yet somehow here, not. She's preparing to marry a man she's never met, and alexander is fighting his father's discipline as deanna tries to mediate. Lwaxana spirits alexander around, playing games, taking mudbaths, and encouraging his rebelliousness. Her loneliness is touching, and she gains as much from their time as he. She sabotages her wedding by appearing naked - yay! Can you spot the uncredited dustin diamond (SAVED BY THE BELL's screech)?
-The Perfect Mate ***
Famke janssen (X-MEN, GOLDENEYE) plays an empathic metamorph bred to become the perfect woman to whichever man she is with. For a screen debut, not bad. In an all-too-rare trekslap at monogamy, she's the only woman to ever kiss both captain and first officer. Due to some ferengi malfeasance (another turn for max grodenchick - THE ROCKETEER, BARTON FINK), she comes out of stasis early and imprints on picard instead of her intended mate. The effervescent tim o'connor (BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY, NAKED GUN 2 1/2) is her chaperon.
-Imaginary Friend **
A lonely child aboard Enterprise is shocked when her imaginary friend comes to life. "Isabella" gradually grows frightening, and is finally revealed to be an energy alien orchestrating the death of the crew because they are cruelly restrictive with their children. Picard must convince the alien that this treatment is only a manifestation of love.
-I, Borg ****
-written by rene echevarria, jeri taylor
-directed by robert lederman
A borg drone is rescued from a crash. During a fencing session, guinan drills picard with the folly of his mercy. He plans to send the borg home with an implanted paradox that will disable the collective. Beverly, then geordi, then finally guinan raise ethical objections, as the drone "hugh" begins to manifest a personality. A nuanced performance by jonathan del arco (THE CLOSER, THE MAMBO KINGS) - humanizing a monster, in the best TREK tradition. In the end, hugh voluntarily returns home, in order not to imperil his new friend geordi. The initial heartlessness of both guinan and picard may be a bit overwritten, but the structure and chemistry of this episode are seamless. It's also fascinating to contrast the treatment of hugh, with how Voyager dealt with seven. Brilliant sci fi.
-The Next Phase ***
Geordi and ro are in a transporter accident aboard a damaged romulan ship, and they become cloaked. She tries to convince him they're dead, but he figures out what happened. As plans proceed for their memorial, they must contend with a cloaked romulan, and find a way to return to normal space. Rich and rollicking.
-The Inner Light ****
-written by morgan gendel, peter allan fields
-directed by peter lauritson
Touching and exquisite - the least overt four-star TREK ever, rendered almost entirely in gentle human tones. Picard is rendered comatose by an alien probe, and wakes up in a stranger's identity on a world he's never known. He lives forty-five years surrounded by friends and family, reawakening on the Enterprise after only twenty-five minutes. The probe was a dying species' last gesture of remembrance. Stewart's performance is grand. Margot rose (HOLLOW MAN, 48 HRS.), richard riehle (OFFICE SPACE, FERRIS BUELLER), and patrick's real-life son daniel (DETONATOR, THE PROGRAM) are superb.
-Time's Arrow, pt. 1 ***
Twain TREK! An ambitious, enjoyable, over-the-top effort guilty of only minor overreaches in the writing. The discovery of data's head in a 500 year-old Earth mine leads to predatory aliens and accidental time travel. Alone at first, data enlists the aid of guinan, who is (was) a 19th-century San Francisco socialite. Jerry hardin (MISSING, THE X-FILES) plays the interfering, prickly clemens beautifully. Plus DS9's marc alaimo as a delightful saloon poker player.