I had this on in the background between jobs one evening, and was puzzled by yet another "talkie" Star Trek episode. Female terrorists who wear makeup, a pre-Voyager Tuvok who is unarmed as a terrorist, and a lot of talking over what during Kirk and Spock's hay-day would have been a kind of James Bond action in space kind of episode, with a few fist fights, Kirk and Spock calling for help from Sulu or Scotty, and probably some bloodshed.
Instead we get another examination of personality types and interaction with the plot serving as a background for character exposition.
And that's really why Star Trek the Next Generation was such a "different" show, but really a bad one. A lot of TV throughout the years has looked at character interaction. The old Mental Hygiene films from the 40s, 50s and 60s gave didactic instrution on how to behave, have manners, keep yourself well groomed and so forth. Conventional television is actually the "fun version" of the same kind of films, and so it is that Star Trek the Next Generation offers the same thing.
And so it is that the primary focus is on how Riker, Geordi and Dr. Crusher push Data on a guest character who proves to be obnoxious. So it is that the "action" (if you want to call it that) is very much soft peddled. And so it is that we really don't get a sense of why the Enterprise is being hijacked or sabotaged in the first place by a bunch of second rate terrorists or infiltrators, the female members of which wear makeup.
Again, the plot is there to serve as a background tableau for an examination of people interacting with one another, and to serve as a lesson for the audience, in this case the "smart" audience or the more imaginative audience who like the Star Trek name brand for their entertainment.
Otherwise had this episode been written with a more conventional framework, then we would have gotten a look at the political and social framework of why the antagonists were trying to sabotage the ship. Again, it's another therapy session.
The music has a lot of soft violins and soft horns, the lighting is soft and clinical. Again, it's a hospital like feel. And yet, people kept watching, even though it was very unsatisfying. The show was not aimed at inspiring people, but aimed at instructing and catering to the therapy minded.
The whole series is like this. And during its initial run I kept taking a chance on an episode here and there. And, time and again, this broader and younger audience and therapy oriented show format is what kept pushing me away, and kept me questioning who watched this. Well, I guess now I know.
