Overall Rating: 1.0
Although many people think this is the worst TNG episode ever made...I think there are a couple that were probably worse. That said...this one is not only bad form, bat storytelling, and bad acting...it's also mind-bendingly boring.
Plot Synopsis:
The full details can be found here. Not that you need details. Suffice to say - plant stabs Riker...Riker almost dies...thinking negative thoughts barely cures him.
The Skinny:
OK...it's the second season of your barely-surviving remake of the classic cult fan favorite Trek franchise. You're hit the end of a season that showed some hints of promise but was, overall, a little weak. This second season is actually on the short side, with only 22 episodes. What should you do to get folks ready for the next exciting year? Which you just barely secured, narrowly avoiding cancellation? I know! A CLIP SHOW!!! *headdesk*
The science is stupid...the plot is rehashed from many science fiction and television tropes, the acting...what little of it there is...is lousy...and it is the final episode to feature Dr. Pulaski...so it starts off with a big -2 points from me, since she sucks...and hard. Oh...and did I mention...Riker's brain is a frightening place filled only with sex and violence? Can we make him a little less attractive as a main character, please? I mean, is this really what the writers of this show think men think about? Maybe it's what Gene Pervenbury thinks about...but some of us are a tad better rounded. Sheesh.
Awful...awful episode...no redeeming value at all.
Writing: 0.0
There WAS no writing...therefore, they get no points.
Acting: 0.0
There WAS no acting...oh...aside from Marina Sirtis being annoyingly melodramatic and the gargoyle they've got cast as the doctor doing a really strained job of her role. So again...no credit.
Message: 3.0
Um...I'd normally give it a 6 since it's message-free, really...but I'm giving it a three beacuse I don't like their interpretation of what goes on in the mind of a Star Fleet officer. Pretty simplistic and uninteresting if you ask me. The sad thing is...they COULD have made it interesting...if they'd used it as an opportunity to explore the depths of Riker's emotional core and learn about his past that we HADN'T seen yet...it could have been a nice episode. Instead they gave us a cheap clip show and turned Riker into a neanderthal. They might have been short of funds...but you can do a cheap episode without splicing four clips together and looping them over and over until they fill up 30 minutes of screen time. That was one of DS9's strong suits.
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