4-01 The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
It is somewhat difficult to separate The Best of Both Worlds in two parts because they form a coherent whole, no matter that they were three months apart, production-wise, and that the writers had no idea how to resolve the story when they wrapped shooting of part one. But I have to admit that the second part does suffer a bit in comparison to the first, but not by much.
Some things are resolved too nicely. The cliffhanger moment just peters out when the firing of the deflector dish fails, and then the Borg cube just leaves them. I understand that for plot (not to mention the entire show) purposes, the Enterprise had to remain in business. Even if the Borg didn't think they had the time to assimilate the crew, blowing up the ship would be just as easy an afterthought as what they did at the battle of Wolf 359.
But it was still a very exciting and compelling story. Riker showed that he could fill the big chair and actually save Earth. I also found it interesting that it was Guinan and not Troi who told him he had to let go of Picard if he wanted to succeed. Of course he ought to have figured that out himself, since he knew that the Borg now knows all Picard knew. Cleverly Riker used that to great effect here when he fooled the Borg and was able to retrieve Picard/Locutus.
The ending did seem a bit sudden, but that was perhaps necessary. There was just no way they could defeat the Borg with conventional means, so having Data interface with Picard/Locutus/the Borg was rather inventive, as was (at the behest of Picard) the command to put the Borg to sleep. But it was a bit of a stretch that doing so would cause the Borg cube to explode. Why didn't they just fire on it and destroy it themselves instead?
The ending with Picard staring out of the window thinking about all he had done and experienced as a Borg was chilling, but it is also a moment that makes one wonder how Starfleet operates. A competent military would never allow a person that had, however unwittingly, aided and abetted the enemy back in command. Also, even given 24th century medicine, it was much too easy to remove all those Borg implants.
I'll end this review with just one more Riker rant. He's even made Captain here, although it's something of a brevet commission, and he saves the day, yet he will get back to being Picard's X.O. Conveniently his intended ship, the Melbourne, was destroyed at Wolf 359, but Shelby says the fleet would be back at full strength in a year, and presumably Riker could have any pick he chose., but nooo… I guess fighting the Borg scared him too much!
Anyway, it's still an excellent episode, and I give The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2 a grade of 9+ out of 10.
4-02 The Family
Family is quite a remarkable episode. It's the first time Star Trek seriously dealt with the aftermath and the consequences of previous events, and for that alone it should be applauded. All too often the dreaded reset button™ is used. Still, after Family it's still pretty much a return to the status quo ante. The episode is also unusual in that it's devoid of a real plot.
Picard's return to his family's winery in France is the highlight and we learn more about him as a person here than we got to know the previous three seasons. He's still a stuck up, know-it-all bore, but he comes of as a real human being. I liked his brother Robert, played very well by Jeremy Kemp, better even if he sort of bullied Jean-Luc. Their mud fight and drinking binge make up was perhaps a bit clichéd but I thought it was hilarious.
The appearance of Worf's adopted parents could have been embarrassing, but it was handled well even if the Russian Jewish couple skirted awfully close to parody. But there was genuine warmth there, and Theodore Bikel and Georgia Brown did an excellent job. Bikel had a somewhat similar role in an episode of Babylon 5.
Even the scene with Wesley Crusher and the holographic recording of his dead father was nice, and I'm no Wesley fan.
I will happily give Family a grade of 8 out of 10.
4-03 Brothers
This episode could just as well have been called Family, Part 2, since it deals with Data's "family". Brent Spiner really outdid himself here, playing three characters, often interacting with each other - Data, Lore and Dr. Noonien Soong. The reappearance of Lore wasn't surprising, and neither was the appearance of Dr. Soong. And it was very well done, even if it was clichéd to have Lore impersonating his brother again. But learning more about Data's origins is always a good thing in my book.
The first ten minutes or so, with Data commandeering the Enterprise was also exciting, but really, after that Starfleet shouldn't let Data near a starship again if he can switch behaviour at the touch of a button. Equally weird was Riker for not arresting Soong on the spot, since the old man had effectively kidnapped a crew member, endangering everyone in the process.
The plot about the sick kid and his brother was just filler that was only inserted to add artificial tension, and created a forced parallel between the brothers and Data and Lore. And no, brothers don't forgive each other just because they're brothers.
The old man makeup on Spiner wasn't very convincing, but they seldom are. And Soong's lab looked nothing like a proper cybernetics lab, just how an ignorant set decorator might think a science lab is supposed to look like.
These are minor quibbles though, for Brothers is a good episode. I'll give it a grade of 7- out of 10.
, was so awful I think this episode is a 1. it only gets a 1 because it gave everyone else time off with their family, friends, or maybe they had a barbecue while celebrating the dismissal of Wesley....
