Star Trek - Space: The Final Frontier

[Cyril Sneer]

My biggest sticking point with RLM's recent season 1 retrospective video was their suggestion to TNG newcomers to skip it entirely (and season 2 IIRC). Not only does that mean you miss out on the entire character of Tasha Yar (and thus a big reason why Yesterday's Enterprise is so fondly remembered), you also miss a lot of decent episodes, even some I'd say are pretty good. It may not reach the heights of some of the later seasons, but that's fine. It's a perfectly adequate first season.

RLM are the worst kind of fanboy snobs.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

So this is looking at the galaxy edge on right? What's that pink cube looking reflection thing?

It's in that galaxy, with it's "milky way" in the view. It's just like how the "milky way" of the Milky Way is visible in an interstellar scene in this galaxy. So yeah, it is the galaxy seen edge-on.

As for the pink cube thing, that's a nebula. Nebulae look odd in SpaceEngine sometimes. Also that one galaxy seems to have a lot of nebulae, at least in SE. Which means that one episode may be right in showing a lot of nebulae there.

No magical blue places where dreams and nightmares are manifested in SE yet.

 

[ditto]

What if Lucas directed Star Trek and Roddenberry directed Star Wars?

What if David Lynch directed Star Trek?


Oh that would look exactly like the Motion Picture.

 

[Miller]

On a side note, as a fan of Bones, Pulaski's great. I wish she could've stuck around after season 2, even if only as a guest star.

I like mommy Crusher but Pulaski was way better written, she actually interacts with the crew.

 

[White Devil]

RLM are the worst kind of fanboy snobs.

Probably why so many on this forum have a hard on for them.

 

[XYZpdq]

I like mommy Crusher but Pulaski was way better written, she actually interacts with the crew.

yeah, "Bones but he's a girl" isn't _much_ of a character but it's still more than Crusher

 

[Captain Syrup]

RLM are the worst kind of fanboy snobs.

It hasn't escaped my notice that Plinkett criticized the Dominion War. He came around to DS9 once something worse came along.

Such is the nature of gatekeeping.

I like mommy Crusher but Pulaski was way better written, she actually interacts with the crew.

Antagonizing Data was a mistake. It put her at odds with the audience and establishes her as a killjoy.

We do know she declined top billing as a ploy to negotiate better pay. She didn't have the experience she was hoping for and didn't get along with the cast.

Sounds like a Geneviève Bujold situation. What Paramount wanted is a company man, and Bujold isn't it.

 

[Van Darkholme]

The actor who played Icheb had to flee the set on multiple occasions, to hide his erection. (True story. He talks about it at conventions.)

Can't blame him, I would've had the same reaction at that age...big tiddie blonde in tight clothes at arm's reach, must have been hard (pun intended) to concentrate.

All you get nowadays is a fat ginger and some tranny trill (who is also kinda fat), no wonder they're all gay on that ship.

(For the record: I'm more of a Jadzia and Ezri type of guy)

 

[ditto]

yeah, "Bones but he's a girl" isn't _much_ of a character but it's still more than Crusher

All this talk of TOS is making me nostalgic.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Probably why so many on this forum have a hard on for them.

CyrilSneer is just a little buttblasted, cause he blames the crushing dislike for the SW prequels solely on the Plinkett review and not on the shoddy screenwriting and atrocious characters/acting of the prequels themselves.

 

[White Devil]

CyrilSneer is just a little buttblasted, cause he blames the crushing dislike for the SW prequels solely on the Plinkett review and not on the shoddy screenwriting and atrocious characters/acting of the prequels themselves.

I mean yes, but RLM would be faggot Supremes without that. They try so hard to be nerd Siskel and Ebert's except they come off as shittier than shit ass TotalBisquit and it makes me want to punch them.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

In Master of Orion 2*, there's "space crystal" monsters that can attack spacecraft. There's also giant space amoebas that can feed on planets (at least turning them into "toxic" worlds).

*(space 4X game - "Civilization in space")

 

[Flexo]

Yeah, that's basically my feelings on season 1, now that we're starting to get into season 2 (which I've heard also improves as it goes along). A lot of the criticism seems to be in retrospect, where people are judging it based off of the higher quality of the later seasons, even though many shows have to work out their kinks before reaching the form they're generally remembered to have (and I'm not talking about Gene's kinks). That's not to say season 1 doesn't have its stinkers, but they're nowhere near as bad as they're often made out to be.

Yeah... they kind of are. Perform this experiment with your group. On one night, watch Peak Performance and then go straight to season 3, Ensigns of Command*. (Letting Shades of Grey be in the competition is cheating as it's an awful clip show that only exists because of a writer's strike so it's hardly fair.)

*Or "Evolution." Ensigns of Command was produced first, but Evolution aired first. Like Unification parts 1 & 2, it's an oddity of TNG.

My biggest sticking point with RLM's recent season 1 retrospective video was their suggestion to TNG newcomers to skip it entirely (and season 2 IIRC). Not only does that mean you miss out on the entire character of Tasha Yar (and thus a big reason why Yesterday's Enterprise is so fondly remembered), you also miss a lot of decent episodes, even some I'd say are pretty good. It may not reach the heights of some of the later seasons, but that's fine. It's a perfectly adequate first season.

On a side note, as a fan of Bones, Pulaski's great. I wish she could've stuck around after season 2, even if only as a guest star.

Or like they said, you can watch about... 3 episodes of S1 & 2 and then just go on to the good stuff. (Encounter, Tasha's death, Q Who, Measure of a Man - ok 4).

Oh yeah! Replies to review.

Spoiler: extreme nerdity

• Encounter at Farpoint: Decent opening to the series proper, although it dragged a bit. Fairly simple plot, mostly just there to set up all the characters. I like Q’s funny hat.

Ironic when you consider that Q was a late addition because the story was so short and underwhelming in the first place.

• The Naked Now: Laughably bad episode, easy to wonder how anyone stuck with the series after this. First instance of Wesley being totally obnoxious. FULLY FUNCTIONAL ANDROID.
• Code of Honor: Also laughably bad. We wuz space kangz. Tasha’s fight at the end is pretty funny to watch.

Exactly. It's a miracle the show survived these when shows without an episode even half as bad as these get canceled all the time.

• The Last Outpost: Meh episode. Good example of season 1 weirdness in how the Ferengi don’t really act like they do later on. Not much stuck out to me about this one aside from that.

You don't remember data & the finger trap? Some of the worst preachiness.

• Where No One Has Gone Before: The first episode that I’d actually consider pretty good overall. Traveling to the edge of the universe makes for a good premise. Wesley being the key to fixing everything again is still dumb, but aside from that, a decent watch.

Begin the traveler jokes... "I travel... to stay one step ahead of the law."

• Lonely Among Us: I forgot what this episode was until I looked it up, so I guess that says it all. Humorous to think about Picard beaming into space and out of the series.

Me too. Isn't this the one with the dog vs snake aliens?

• Justice: Classic horndog Gene episode with all those skimpy outfits. Decent overall, nice little Picard speech towards the end. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one rooting for Wesley to get executed.

Dunno about "decent." Barely tolerable maybe.

• The Battle: Another weird Ferengi episode. You can tell that they wanted them to be a Klingon/Romulan replacement, but they just weren’t quite working in that role.

It really shows how desperate they were for drama in this series that TWICE at this point part of the conflict is an alien taking over the captain to fight the crew.

• Hide and Q: I enjoyed this one, even if it teased me with getting rid of Wesley twice in one episode. Pretty standard Trek fare, but Q’s still fun even if he isn’t quite how he is in later appearances. Also fun costumes on Q.

True, but this is probably Q at his worst on TNG (notice the qualifier - I'm not counting others).

• Haven: A little silly but alright overall. Not much to say except oh no Lwaxana

Ironically if it wasn't for Lwaxana this episode would be forgettable too.

• The Big Goodbye: So yeah, maybe the holodeck isn’t quite all it’s cracked up to be if a glitch can trap you inside and make it possible for the projections to kill you. Decent episode, worth it for Picard’s alien greeting at the end.

It is fun to think that the holodeck was a very new tech, nearly still prototype phase on TNG and on the Federation flagship. It's like a Jurassic Park situation waiting to happen...
"How did you lose the captain?"
"Well some Russians downloaded malware into our holodeck while Picard was using it..."

• Datalore: Important for setting up future episodes, goofy but still entertaining. Brent Spiner was really chewing the scenery as Lore, probably because he was actually able to act differently.

Oh yeah, this one should probably be watched. Always torn on how enjoyable Lore is as a complete ham.

• Angel One: Definitely on the bad end of the scale, but entertaining in various ways, especially Riker’s outfit. Apparently it was commentary on apartheid (with the men being oppressed like black people), but if so, I didn’t see it.

Not to mention nobody could act.

• 11001001: Pretty good episode, though Minuet is kind of silly (and Riker continues to be horny). The Bynars are neat, and the plot is good overall.

Weak, but this one is getting closer to what the show could later be. Here you can really see what the show would become.

• Too Short a Season: Pretty meh episode, not much to say about it except for the aging (de-aging?) makeup. Not their best work by a longshot.

Wasn't this a S2 episode? *checks* Dang, how many times did Star Trek go to the "rapid aging" well??? (I think it happened once or twice in TOS too.)

• When the Bough Breaks: Yet another episode that teases me with getting rid of Wesley. Pretty standard Trek plot, but this time with child abduction!

Very forgettable again. What's funny in the first season is how many of these "galactic changing" things (the crystalline entity, this super advanced race) the Enterprise encounters but which are never brought up again. (At least the entity is.) Ever wonder if this super-race might have been helpful against the Dominion? Or what if the Borg found them...

• Home Soil: Another interesting episode, I like the exploration of finding a lifeform so alien that you don’t even recognize it’s alive. One of the high points of season 1.

RLM was right, it's just "Devil in the Dark" all over again - even to the point of using the emotionless crew member to communicate with the alien lifeform.

• Coming of Age: I liked this one too. I think this marked a bit of a turning point of toning down Wesley’s Gary Stu-ness (he probably would’ve passed if Gene had total say). Served as a bit of a recap episode as well as setting up Conspiracy, but not in a way where you had to see those episodes to follow the plot.

Nah... Wesley was properly toned down in Evolution of S3.

• Heart of Glory: Worf finally gets an episode! I like how the episode deals with the Klingons post-treaty, and how some of this warlike race are unable to accept a peaceful coexistence. Also you get a lot of Klingon death screams, so that’s nice.

Not a great episode but enough camp it is enjoyable.

• The Arsenal of Freedom: Pretty good episode overall, where pretty much everyone gets something to do (except Troi but when does she ever). I like that it has both external and internal conflict, between deducing the source of the weapon probes and Geordi’s command being questioned.

I will grant you that a big thing that saves this episode is the actually semi-clever solution to it all.

• Symbiosis: Has some goofy moments like the anti-drug PSA but alright overall; I don’t agree with the solution but I understand how Picard got to it (and how the Prime Directive handcuffed him in that way). Funny that it’s something of a Wrath of Khan reunion. Also I can’t watch it without thinking about the opening to Star Trek: Acid Party.

Probably the best Prime Directive episode ever. And it's still not that great. Probably does have some interesting retro viewing with the opiod epidemic though.

• Skin of Evil: RIP, Tasha, it’s a shame you weren’t developed as much as you could’ve been. Not much else to say about this episode, though I feel bad for the actor who played Armus; it must not have been fun to act underneath all that black goo.

Again, you kind of wonder what would happen if the Founders ran across Armus...

• We’ll Always Have Paris: Some alternate dimension technobabble shenanigans, but an entertaining watch overall. A bit of character development for Picard.

I literally only remember this episode because it produced some of the trippiest cards ever in the Trek CCG.

• Conspiracy: Doesn’t really fit all that well with TNG as a whole, but who cares, HEAD EXPLOSION. Funny how the bugs were set up to be some major threat later on, but they were simply never referenced again.

I think it has been addressed in the books. Good luck.

• The Neutral Zone: Kind of a weird season finale, but okay overall. A little heavy-handed with the whole “we’re so much more evolved than those primitive 20th-century types” schtick, but damn if the musician guy wasn’t great. Also first appearance of the Romulan Warbird, so that’s cool. Another harbinger of things to come with the hints at the Borg.

I also only remember this for 2 reasons.
1) One of the Romulans is Dukat.
2) One of the people unfrozen is the Agent from H.A.R.M.

 

[Captain Syrup]

The hedge fund guy from "The Neutral Zone" is a better lie detector. That's canon.

 

[BScCollateral]

Where No One Has Gone Before: The first episode that I’d actually consider pretty good overall. Traveling to the edge of the universe makes for a good premise. Wesley being the key to fixing everything again is still dumb, but aside from that, a decent watch.

The one moment in this episode I really liked was the scene where the Traveler and Wesley first interact. IIRC correctly, it went something like

The Traveler is typing into a computer, and Wesley is looking over his shoulder.
WESLEY: Wait, I don't understand that.
TRAVELER: [Presses two buttons] How's this?
WESLEY: Ah, I see it now.

Sorry, but something like that happened in almost every STEM course I ever took. Watching it, I'm convinced someone involved actually took a math course or something. I don't get that impression in much any more.

 

[Travoltron]

Kate Pulaski is technically a better doctor than Crusher.

Pulaski had several show-breaking abilities like being able to erase selective parts of people's memories, and also has the skills to fix Geordi's eyes. Crusher couldn't do these things.

 

[Intelligent Calcium]

According to some TOS novel, arsenic is an essential vitamin for Klingons. I'd still eat whatever the based Klingon chef on DS9 offered me, though.

 

[Captain Syrup]

Crusher couldn't do these things.

Crusher couldn't fix Worf's spine. She tried to impede the doctor who, eventually, did.

They should have kept Bev on the holodeck, because that's where she does her best work.

 

[Flexo]

Beverly fan here and I think you're all missing that she was such a skilled doctor while being a ginger (one of the franchise's only).

It's probably why she and Data got along so well.

 

[horni]

A little heavy-handed with the whole “we’re so much more evolved than those primitive 20th-century types” schtick

One thing from that episode that I remember went along these lines:
the rich guy: "I need to contact my bank, check my accounts!"
Picard: "we have rejected the concept of gathering material goods, money won't do you any good"
the rich guy: "oh yeah? thanks to my money I am standing here where I am, cured and alive!"

Pretty solid argument in my opinion.