A delegation of the Cairn have come aboard but they are not used to spoken language. Lwaxana Troi is onboard too so telepathy is the order of the day. I have always regarded the presence of Lwaxana as a guarantee of a bad episode but her more recent appearances have been an improvement, it has to be said. We're not even at the intro yet and already we are talking marriage for Deanna who is looking especially lovely, now she's out of uniform again. Is that Kirsten Dunst?
Lwaxana doesn't seem to be very well. Something is clearly bothering her. Shades of Fantastic Voyage about this one. There's not a great deal going on but we do have another mystery to unravel. This one revolves around Lwaxana Troi. I suppose we should be more forgiving and accept that it was right to develop the Lwaxana and Deanna background story as this would be the last time these two would feature within the Star Trek universe together. Let us not forget how far Majel Barret travelled across so many of the Star Trek series and of course, she was married to the Star Trek creator.
Unfortunately, the way Maques stares at Deanna each time he wants to communicate telepathically with her, does suggest that he is having some form of bowel movement at the same time. I'm also finding the distorted voices very annoying.
We have to admit, for a counsellor, Deanna is very slow on the uptake.
This Episodes Clue: Mary Jane Watson
(Answer's to all episode clues will appear in the reviews of season seven, episode 25: All Good Things, Part One.)
I have always maintained an attitude that TV shows such as Star Trek shouldn't be taken too seriously. I remember back in the 60s when we had the original series as well as shows such as The Time Tunnel, Dr. Who, Lost In Space etc. These shows came with a kind of unwritten understanding that due to budget restraints, viewers would have to allow for a degree of suspended belief in the laws of what's obvious.
However, reading some of the other reviews of this episode I notice I large divergence of opinions, ranging from the wonderful to the really awful. Which brings me back to my opening comment here.
IMHO, this was not a brilliant episode, or at least, the makers of TNG have already proven that they can write better: Conspiracy, The Inner Light, Reunion, Family to name but a few. Not all of these featured flashing lights, or space ships chasing one another and yet they are lauded for the imaginative way in which they told their story.
I have no issue with comic book type sci-fi shows trying to do something serious. DS9 did a wide number of 'serious' shows that were among some of the best Sc-Fi ever created.
There have previously been a few weaker stories such as Angel One, The Dauphin and Qpid which tended to open on a boring premise and go down hill from there.
IMHO, this episode: Dark Page falls into the latter category. If we consider for a moment, the sentimental crux of the show, we realise that the subject matter has been covered in many different TV shows and with varying success. I suppose we have to accept that the writers of TNG have to keep in mind their target audience, and for that reason, they cannot be as explicit in some of their images as they would have otherwise have liked; but lets take Lwaxana... she is supposed to be a Betazoid who can communicate telepathically with others who share a similar ability.
Lets be honest, for this episode (Dark Page), the Cairn inclusion was only necessary so that they could facilitate the window into Lwaxana's mind. But by her very ability, Lwaxana would never have encountered the 'tragedy' that she did. Her child of 4 years seemed to have stumbled and fall into a shallow pond all in the space of a few seconds, without any attempt to splash or kick or do anything to help herself. For a child who would also supposedly have the ability at telepathic communication at the time of her greatest peril, and with her mother and father who are supposedly only a few yards away, it just doesn't make sense. I mean, Deanna can actually feel the presence of lifeforms on a planets surface long before the Enterprise has even entered the star system containing that planet.
I would also question the suggestion that Lwaxana has always shown an overbearing control over her daughter, Deanna. If anything, Lwaxana has tried to encourage her daughter to throw off the straight-jacket of rules that seem to define her role as ships counsellor. Indeed, in a previous Lwaxana outing wasn't she the one who was encouraging Alexander (The Cost Of Living) to break the rules and go swim and paddle in the mud-bath?
If people seriously believe that anyone who has really lost a child in tragic circumstances are going to feel heartened by Deanna and Lwaxana's interaction at the end, then I can only suggest that such people are truly living in a world of fantasy.
Lwaxana doesn't seem to be very well. Something is clearly bothering her. Shades of Fantastic Voyage about this one. There's not a great deal going on but we do have another mystery to unravel. This one revolves around Lwaxana Troi. I suppose we should be more forgiving and accept that it was right to develop the Lwaxana and Deanna background story as this would be the last time these two would feature within the Star Trek universe together. Let us not forget how far Majel Barret travelled across so many of the Star Trek series and of course, she was married to the Star Trek creator.
Unfortunately, the way Maques stares at Deanna each time he wants to communicate telepathically with her, does suggest that he is having some form of bowel movement at the same time. I'm also finding the distorted voices very annoying.
We have to admit, for a counsellor, Deanna is very slow on the uptake.
This Episodes Clue: Mary Jane Watson
(Answer's to all episode clues will appear in the reviews of season seven, episode 25: All Good Things, Part One.)
I have always maintained an attitude that TV shows such as Star Trek shouldn't be taken too seriously. I remember back in the 60s when we had the original series as well as shows such as The Time Tunnel, Dr. Who, Lost In Space etc. These shows came with a kind of unwritten understanding that due to budget restraints, viewers would have to allow for a degree of suspended belief in the laws of what's obvious.
However, reading some of the other reviews of this episode I notice I large divergence of opinions, ranging from the wonderful to the really awful. Which brings me back to my opening comment here.
IMHO, this was not a brilliant episode, or at least, the makers of TNG have already proven that they can write better: Conspiracy, The Inner Light, Reunion, Family to name but a few. Not all of these featured flashing lights, or space ships chasing one another and yet they are lauded for the imaginative way in which they told their story.
I have no issue with comic book type sci-fi shows trying to do something serious. DS9 did a wide number of 'serious' shows that were among some of the best Sc-Fi ever created.
There have previously been a few weaker stories such as Angel One, The Dauphin and Qpid which tended to open on a boring premise and go down hill from there.
IMHO, this episode: Dark Page falls into the latter category. If we consider for a moment, the sentimental crux of the show, we realise that the subject matter has been covered in many different TV shows and with varying success. I suppose we have to accept that the writers of TNG have to keep in mind their target audience, and for that reason, they cannot be as explicit in some of their images as they would have otherwise have liked; but lets take Lwaxana... she is supposed to be a Betazoid who can communicate telepathically with others who share a similar ability.
Lets be honest, for this episode (Dark Page), the Cairn inclusion was only necessary so that they could facilitate the window into Lwaxana's mind. But by her very ability, Lwaxana would never have encountered the 'tragedy' that she did. Her child of 4 years seemed to have stumbled and fall into a shallow pond all in the space of a few seconds, without any attempt to splash or kick or do anything to help herself. For a child who would also supposedly have the ability at telepathic communication at the time of her greatest peril, and with her mother and father who are supposedly only a few yards away, it just doesn't make sense. I mean, Deanna can actually feel the presence of lifeforms on a planets surface long before the Enterprise has even entered the star system containing that planet.
I would also question the suggestion that Lwaxana has always shown an overbearing control over her daughter, Deanna. If anything, Lwaxana has tried to encourage her daughter to throw off the straight-jacket of rules that seem to define her role as ships counsellor. Indeed, in a previous Lwaxana outing wasn't she the one who was encouraging Alexander (The Cost Of Living) to break the rules and go swim and paddle in the mud-bath?
If people seriously believe that anyone who has really lost a child in tragic circumstances are going to feel heartened by Deanna and Lwaxana's interaction at the end, then I can only suggest that such people are truly living in a world of fantasy.