Yeah this last episode, wtf happened to the Chemistry/Fluidity between Picard and Riker on the bridge.
Pretty sure they were trying to present that dismay on Riker’s face and reactions, as well; I’m assuming that Picard will wind up being a Changeling/Founder who was trying to cripple the Titan. So much so, I felt they over-sold it. Of course, that’s probably giving too much credit.
Changelings are in this now?
Somebody ping me if they bring Sisko back. I’m still annoyed by them using his name as an easter egg in the second season and not giving us an appearance to go along with it.
What’s the significance of changelings?
They never put the toilet seat back down.
Convenient Big Bad that is already established in canon that can conveniently shapeshift and infiltrate therefore supporting whatever galaxy wide conspiracy rubbish they want to run with.
This is the answer. The talent is spread too thin.
Okay, that’s the farthest we have gotten into a season of this show without major disappointment.
Not quibble free, definitely some goofy science. But still, a tense and enjoyable hour.
Yeah, my only quibbles with that episode were regarding the dialog with regards to power at the beginning of the episode wasn’t consistent with what they said at the end. Didn’t they mention at the beginning that they needed minimum power to the warp core to prevent a warp core breach or something like that?
But yeah, I really enjoyed myself this morning watching this episode. For once it was very dialog heavy, and the tales they told took me to those places. I really felt like I was watching Wolf 359 again, even without accompanying visuals, for instance.
Well that was a ton of fun, shockingly so.
Yeah, I agree. Another really good episode, getting at a lot of what made the original TNG so warmly remembered. The Engadget review linked above (which I think at this point is unreasonably negative about the shows we’ve seen so far) suggests the next two episodes might be a little more tiresome. So they could still whiff this. But it really does feel so far like they’ve internalized some criticism of earlier seasons. I’m not hate watching this season at all.
Yeah, definitely not hate-watching this season. (So far).
Plus having my own headcanon in place for why the lighting is so dark (terrorist threat forced everyone in the federation to get eye implants that auto-adjust lighting) has helped in my enjoyment as well.
You know what another big change in this season is? Just the dialogue. Consider how a major conflict between Ryker and Picard was resolved this episode, in which Picard and Crusher pitch a risky plan to Ryker, who wants to wait for a rescue:
Ryker: I will not choose certain death.
Crusher: If Deanna was here, she’d say it’s about trust. Look where we are. Here. All of us. In this moment. Let’s do what we spent our entire lives learning to be great at.
Picard: We’ve been here before, Will. If this is the end, let’s face it together, doing the thing we know we do best.
In past seasons, every beat of this conversation would have been pounded into the ground with a sledgehammer, especially the unspoken last part of Picard’s sentence: “the thing we’re best at it is trusting each other.” But this season, they leave it unsaid, and it’s all the more powerful for it.
That does remind me of the one scene that bothered me. Using the tractor beam at the end. It was a fist pump moment for me, but they had to ruin it a little bit when a crew member piped up
Crew Member on the Bridge: You did the thing with the thing.
Riker: That’s right. I did the thing with the thing.
Me: Facepalm.
I mean, knock on wood, and I was SUPER skeptical of this season after being burnt so badly in S1 and S2 but hey, I’ve been enjoying the show thus far.
I want to give some kudos to Jonathan Frakes as both actor and director in the last couple of episodes. Although in theory he came onto TNG as a “face”, his screen presence just could never compete with the high wattage beacons of Stuart et al. But having matured as an actor, and directing himself, he really put in an excellent performance and these last two episodes, despite some hackneyed bits, were very well directed. Also, Jeri Ryan and Todd Stashwick, building some chemisty.
I keep wanting Dr. Crusher to be found out as a changeling. Her plastic surgery bothers me every time they show her face. She looks like she got attacked by a botox alien. :(
Speaking having an unusual 1st name sure seems to up your chances when auditioning to play and doctor on the Enterprise.
I just watched this episode and HOLY SHIT they are bringing back those aliens from season 1 that put worms in their necks, then disappeared and were never mentioned again.