Enterprise transports an important passenger and Wesley becomes romantically involved with her.
I found this to be one of the weakest entries in the second series mainly due to the lack of chemistry in the romance and the terrible visuals. It does have some saving graces that make it just about watchable, such as Guinan's contribution to the final scene and the unintentional humour generated by some of the effects and physical performances.
The story is a fairly uninspired teenage romance doomed to failure with some reasonable themes around parental attachment and protectiveness. I did not care for the relationship at all, as it is one of those typically bad 'they're in love because they are' type situations. Romances rarely work on episodic television as there is only 45 minutes to get you invested and the ingredients to make it work are not possible in such as short space of time unless its particularly cleverly written and well acted. For me a screen couple either have to go through something meaningful together from which the love develops or the actors need sizzling chemistry from the moment they share the screen. Neither of this happens in 'The Dauphin'.
As a romance, it is nowhere near as bad as it is an attempt at a creature concept. The visuals are truly horrible, with costumes and camp physical performance that would look bad in the original series. In addition to this the general visuals are awkward and poorly choreographed. The fight scenes, the entry of the security team and Wesley's first sight of his love interest are but a few examples of unintended comedy.
The less said about the scenes where Wesley seeks romantic advice from the crew members the better as most of it is pretty cringe-worthy, particularly Riker who comes across as creepy as ever when trying to be amorous.
Performances are generally decent. Will Wheaton is solid, but is no romantic lead and likewise Jamie Hubbard. Paddi Edwards does well with some quite poor material, as does Michael Dorn. The standout performer is easily Caryn Johnson as Guinan in two scenes, but mostly so in the final sequence where she is effortlessly natural.
I found this to be one of the weakest entries in the second series mainly due to the lack of chemistry in the romance and the terrible visuals. It does have some saving graces that make it just about watchable, such as Guinan's contribution to the final scene and the unintentional humour generated by some of the effects and physical performances.
The story is a fairly uninspired teenage romance doomed to failure with some reasonable themes around parental attachment and protectiveness. I did not care for the relationship at all, as it is one of those typically bad 'they're in love because they are' type situations. Romances rarely work on episodic television as there is only 45 minutes to get you invested and the ingredients to make it work are not possible in such as short space of time unless its particularly cleverly written and well acted. For me a screen couple either have to go through something meaningful together from which the love develops or the actors need sizzling chemistry from the moment they share the screen. Neither of this happens in 'The Dauphin'.
As a romance, it is nowhere near as bad as it is an attempt at a creature concept. The visuals are truly horrible, with costumes and camp physical performance that would look bad in the original series. In addition to this the general visuals are awkward and poorly choreographed. The fight scenes, the entry of the security team and Wesley's first sight of his love interest are but a few examples of unintended comedy.
The less said about the scenes where Wesley seeks romantic advice from the crew members the better as most of it is pretty cringe-worthy, particularly Riker who comes across as creepy as ever when trying to be amorous.
Performances are generally decent. Will Wheaton is solid, but is no romantic lead and likewise Jamie Hubbard. Paddi Edwards does well with some quite poor material, as does Michael Dorn. The standout performer is easily Caryn Johnson as Guinan in two scenes, but mostly so in the final sequence where she is effortlessly natural.