#star trek series review

[boldlyexplorational]

I should make an online quiz like "what kind of Star Trek the original series woman are you?"

The options are:

Sensual "alien"

Cute Yeoman

Professional, but so very horny

Hallucination - scretly an ugly monster/Crazy/ a Robot (I think it's alla one category, like "fake")

I'm open to suggestions for other outcomes

[startrekucast]

Star Trek 2x08 - "The Changeling" Review

We’re going where NOMAD’S gone before, maman! Cause we're gonna rub nubs with Nomad, a carbon unit-nullifying nuts-and-bolts type. Be careful, maman -- the utopia-seeking, string riding robots might erase your memory for the length of an episode. And then you'll have to listen all over again!

Episode Reviewed: Star Trek 2x08 - "The Changeling"

Hosts: David C. Roberson Effie Ophelders

Note: This episode of Star Trek Universe continues young Effie's first watch of Star Trek in production order. Guiding her on this journey: Dave, a stalwart fan of almost four decades who rewatches along with her, provides trivia, insights and the occasional excitement-stoking minor spoiler. 

Join Us: Site: http://startrekucast.com Apple: http://bit.ly/StuCast Spotify: http://bit.ly/StarTrekUCast Spreaker: http://bit.ly/StuCastSpreaker

[astrodances]

It may not be Starfleet's first contact with Risa, but it is Spock's, and the only way Kirk and McCoy could get him down to the pleasure planet was with the promise of something he'd want to do - in this case, play music.

Happy Winter and Happy January to @longsleevelaceration!! I'm your person for the @startrekwintergiftexchange! I took a twist on your request for Spock playing music - I hope you enjoy, and may you live long and prosper!! 😊🖖🌴✨

Blurred-background version under the cut!

[andorianminingconsortium]

Review of The Wrath Of Khan

(as much spoiler free as I can be)

As you may know, I recently started watching all the old Star Trek movies for the first time. I started with First Contact, per friend's recommendation, then watched the Motion Picture and I'm now watching chronologically. That brings me to Wrath of Khan.

First things first, I really loved it! I think it's my favourite from the ones I've watched so far! The characters were cool! The movie-only characters were cool! They uniforms looked good! Everyone's hair looked good lol

I loved the character Saavik. The fact that this character exists in a movie made so long ago (lol) proves once again how progressive Star Trek is and is a great example of what I love about Star Trek. Also when Kirk is like "you have no problem with self expression" I screeched. That was such a line. Thank you for your support of gender expression, Admiral.

I thought Khan was very well played! (Poor Chekov, man...) Khan was so evil! Great! He had such a clear goal and mindset. Loved that they didn't water him down. Now that I saw the original movie Khan, I realised that Benedict Cumberbatch in the recent movies wasn't just putting up a "slightly weird but cool villain voice". He was mimicking the way the original Khan spoke! And he did it really well! I'm impressed. The almost whispering, drawn out sillables, teeth-clenched talking. Especially Cumberbatch' iconic "I'll walk over your cold corpses" sound so much like the original Khan in my opinion! I just thought it was really neat!

I also liked the parallels between the old and new movie such as Scotty yelling "you'll flood the whole compartment!" In both movies. Great eye for detail from the makers of the new movie!

What really stuck with me was when one of the crewmates died and Scotty came carrying him in and was like "he's the only who stayed at his post" and then the crewmate, with bloody hand, touched the one white part of Kirk's uniform and left a handprint that remained for the next few scenes. That was so good! Such a chilling detail! Beautiful!

I might have forgotten something but these were the things that stuck with me most! I enjoyed it and I might watch it again after I've watched all the other movies.

My ranking so far:

Wrath of Khan - Motion Picture - First Contact

I have also just watched Search for Spock! Will review later :)

Thank you for reading!

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 111 (Jan. 9, 1988) - “The Big Goodbye”

Written by: Tracy Torme Directed by: Joseph L. Scanlan

The Breakdown

Picard is prepping for an especially stressful diplomatic mission wherein he is required to recite a specific speech in a complex alien language with a species that is deadly serious about grammar; Empasis on the word ‘deadly’. Noting his mounting anxiety, Beverly Crusher writes Picard a prescription for… a play date on the holodeck, and amazingly Picard takes the doctor’s orders to heart.  In fact, Jean Luc has such a good time playing a noir private-eye thriller that he invites Beverly, Data, and the ship’s 20th century literary buff along with him (his name isn’t important, because we’ll never see him again).  Unfortunately, this transpires at the same time that our Grammar-specific aliens arrive, pre-emptively scanning the ship, which accidentally locks the holodeck and takes the safety protocols offline in one fell swoop (which seems like a pretty substantial design flaw).

While Picard misses every single advance that Crusher makes towards Picard (and folks I gotta tell you, she’s REALLY not being subtle about it), the holo-adventure begins to take a turn for the worse as the program’s mobster-villains show up with fully lethal weapons, which they happily use on Picard’s history-nerd friend (who remarkably survives, but barely). Meanwhile the literal-grammar-nazi-aliens are getting impatient with Riker’s inability to produce Picard for their scheduled meeting (apparently explaining that a ship malfunction has Picard temporarily incapacitated isn’t a viable option).  Thankfully the holodeck door eventually opens, and Picard is able to convince the mobsters to walk through first, causing them to disappear (since there are no holo-emitters in the corridor).  And so Picard is free to deliver his nonsense speech to the grammar enthusiasts, and the day is saved.

The Verdict

Finally! A holodeck Episode!

‘The Big Goodbye’ gives us our first “just-for-fun” episode and it’s about goddamn time. Oh don’t misunderstand, the episode is exactly as ridiculous as what I’ve described above, but for the most part it’s intentional, and in this case it makes all the difference.  I’ve always had a soft spot for holodeck stories, because it gives us a look into what the crew get up to when they aren’t spouting techno-babble, debating the prime directive, or dealing with transporter disasters.

Picard also gets to have some fun here, meaning this might be the first time he doesn’t come across as a total buzzkill. Aside from some clunky pacing and a slightly anticlimactic ending, this is a pretty fun episode.  Superior holodeck adventures would follow, but this one had to walk so the others could run.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

Based on what we've seen this season, it would seem that the holodeck is still a fairly new technology, especially considering how Picard marvels at what it can do.

Right off the bat, this episode clearly establishes that holodeck characters are/can become self aware, and are capable experiencing fear (and likely pain). This is just the first of many times that Star Trek will play at this across multiple shows. As fun as these episodes are, it’s always struck me that there should be a greater ethical consideration for Holo-people and their rights.

I have always wondered why the ability to remove safety protocols was ever an option, especially on a holodeck that’s accessible to both crew and civilians alike.

Picard has no business being so clueless about women. In fact when it comes to relationships and courtship the entire crew seems to possess the emotional intelligence of an average 14-year-old.

I gotta hand it to Patrick Stewart, even when he’s spewing absolute nonsense alien gibberish, he commits 100%.

I never mentioned the set design, but this episode also looks great.  Really fun to see the noir aesthetic on Star Trek.

[quarkspeed]

Reading Killing Time now!!! Three chapters in and I honest to God wondered if I wasn’t just reading some juicy ass Spirk fanfic. It’s fantastic.

[goofyjelly]

Star Trek TOS : A Private Little War

I love the green blood details like obviously Bad Thing happening but I love continuity ✨

Kirk is so worried :( don't worry he's gonna be fineeee

THE WAY HES SITTING ON THE STRETCHER :((((((

Omfg they beam down and IMMEDIATELY GET MAULED 💀

Oh my god CHAPEL NO YOURE LITERALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIM DONT HOLD HIS HAND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS-

Like, chapel, I get that you care about him and that's great but you've gotta know it's one sided, like, you're essentially KISSING HIM while he is unable to protest like w h a t

Love Chapel tho don't get me wrong

Girl, what sort of witch craft is this???

Also William Shatner's acting is so special like no one does it like him WHAT IS HE DOING

GIRL WHAT ARE YOU DOING???

"OUR SOULS HAVE BEEN TOGETHER HE IS MINE NOW" EXCUSE ME???

McCoy is so great tho, like you're awesome, Doc

Friendship :D

Sketchy witch woman

FRIENDSHIP :D

M'Benga love you bestie thank you for being the only responsible one , Spock would be dead without you 🙏

"anything he says?" Chapel I know you're down bad but please, our boy is DYING

Witch girl wants VIOLENCE and honestly I can't blame her much. she's schemeing

Haha firesticks (I am watching this show on a fire stick)

An old custom among my people called : BE GRATEFUL , YOUD BE DEAD WITHOUT ME

Kirk subtly defending his friend, I love it. NO! I SAID I WILL NOT KILL. Kill or be killed but how about no kill? No kill at all please, I'll take that.

I'd like it if there was a normal woman in this show but oh well

OOOOOOOP THE KLINGONS!!!

"I'll make a Klingon of you yet :D" so sweet <3

Hehe Kirk is leaping around I love it he's like a doe

PFFFF ME WHEN MY PHONE GOES OFF IN CLASS 💀

SPOCK NOOOOOOO WAIT .

PFJDSLJFKDKDN WHY ARE WE ALWAYS SLAPPING HIM IN THE FACE

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WOMAN????" Oh my fucking god, Scotty was just walking by and saw the nurse SLAPPING SPOCK IN THE FACE , HE THOUGHT SHE WENT CRAZY

Spock ✨✨✨

Yes Bones I DO think Kirk's out of his mind.

Oh shit. Okay. Oh.

Bones doesn't know what to do but he knows Kirks plan is shit 💀💀💀

Balance Of Power- KIRK YOU HAVENT EVEN TOLD STARFLEET

SPOCK IS BACK 🎉🎉🎉

Kirk please don't fall for the witchcra- ah fuck too late. DUDE NOT W YOUR FRIENDS WIFE; HES GOT A GUN NOW OH NO OH- OH?

She IS the drama

Murder is wrong™

OOOOOOOO PLEASE CAN SHE DIE?

Nope NVM just stealing

This barbie craves violence- THIS BARBIE IS A TRAITOR???

This barbie is dead 💀

"you can't kill a computer" -> Bones is happy Spock didn't die

THATS IT???? THATS FUCKING IT????

WHAT????

KIRK JUST FUCKED SHIT UP EVEN MORE AND THEN FUCKING LEFT 💀💀💀 AND NOW THEY ARENT EVEN DOING THE WHOLE BALANCE OF POWER THING!!!

they were asking how long it would take to bring more weapons, ya know, to do their whole balance of power plan, and KIRK JUST BACKTRACKED

So I guess his friend is dying, then-

I am living for the Spock Angst tho, I love that. It's so funny that Spock gets slapped in the face so much in so many different episodes.

If I do a rewatch I literally might just watch all of the Spock scenes cus that's my take away from this-

This rants pictures have been taken from this star trek website ✨✨✨

[tea-earl-grey]

finished TAS!!!! which also means I've now finished all of Star Trek... post incoming about that. but first – my TAS review under the cut:

i honestly wasn't looking forward to TAS much. i hadn't really heard about it other than fans lovingly poking fun at the animation and a couple of references made in Lower Decks so i expected it to pretty much be nothing with the occasional funny line but i was pleasantly surprised.

don't get me wrong... it doesn't attempt any of the social commentary or unique scifi ideas that TOS did and the vibes are much more Saturday morning cartoon but once you know that, it's really fun! in some ways, i enjoyed it more than s3 of TOS (well there's less sexism & racism at least which is a pretty low standard to set).

yes, the animation is clunky for modern standards but it has good vibes & nostalgia to it and a lot of the background drawings/alien design is really good and allows for so much more flexibility than live action (yet again why there should be more animated Trek but unfortunately Paramount seems determined to keep cancelling things).

it's been said before but Yesteryear is the clear stand-out episode. most of the other episodes are fine and fun but Yesteryear goes out of its way to present a really great character study of Spock & exploration of growing up mixed race in a xenophobic society. in TOS proper it was so rare to get genuine character insights (part of the reason TOS was a frustrating watch for me) so this episode was an absolute coup and should be a must-watch for all Trekkies.

all of the other episodes were pretty okay. most of them had big "let's put those guys in Situations" energy and were well aware of it. (yeah sure Kirk & Spock got turned into water-breathers why not? of course we're going to defend the Devil on trial. sure let's send the gang on a mythical quest outside of our universe.) i did really appreciate that there was a focus put on characters other than Kirk, Spock, & McCoy. it was great to see Uhura command the Enterprise and have a whole episode of just Spock, Sulu, & Uhura together having an adventure.

and in my opinion the boring/bad episodes of TAS were much more tolerable than the bad episodes of TOS because of the half an hour run time. so often in TOS, there was a good episode concept and a great first fifteen minutes and then the story started to meander to pad out the runtime until the end. whereas in TAS, the episodes ran quick enough that either they didn't run into pacing problems or the poorer episodes were quick enough that i didn't start to resent them.

would i recommend TAS as a show in general? if you're a Trekkie and like TOS era – sure! it's a fun continuation of TOS just like the books and comics. if you're not huge on TOS but like Lower Decks – check out a few episodes because Lower Decks has a lot of alien species/gags that come from TAS. if you don't like either TOS or Lower Decks – maybe watch Yesteryear but i wouldn't be in a rush to watch the rest.

overall – fun but nothing super special.

[annafromuni]

Cosy Sci-Fi with Becky Chambers The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet

With cosy fantasy becoming more popular and sought after, I have started to label things as “cosy” within their respective genres. Becky Chambers’s The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet is one of those books that radiates good vibes and feels like a cosy sci-fi – something I find very difficult to pull off. If you’re a fan of Star Trek, Firefly, or any space-based adventure series full of…

[lostinaflashforward]

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY - Recensione 5x03 "Jinaal" e 5x04 "Face the Strange"

Fra simbionti e anomalie temporali, la stagione conclusiva di Star Trek: Discovery prosegue dando importanza tanto alla trama quanto ai suoi personaggi...

RECENSIONE 5x03/04

[infiniteepisodes]

I have conflicted feelings about "Requiem for Methuselah" (3x19) because on the one hand, we have a horrifying portrayal of a father lusting after his daughter and I want my eyes bleached and I never want to see this episode ever again but on the other hand, the last scene is a Top Tier Spirk scene, chef's kiss, 10 out of 10 would watch in a loop, write fanfic & songs about it, & cry rivers while doing all of that.

Can Spock please make a home call and make me forget the first 38 minutes of this episode please?

[seconddoubt]

hi how's your summer going? read any good books? had delicious ice cream? some craft project you're working on? have you sat round a campfire with friends? do you have any juicy gossip or a new celebrity you're obsessed with?

[startrekucast]

Star Trek 2x04 - "Who Mourns for Adonais?" Review

Maman, you were right. The time is passed. There is no room for gods, maman. Forgive me, maman. Take me...

Episode Reviewed: Star Trek 2x04 - "Who Mourns for Adonais?"

Hosts: David C. Roberson Effie Ophelders

Note: This episode of Star Trek Universe continues young Effie's first watch of Star Trek in production order. Guiding her on this journey: Dave, a stalwart fan of almost four decades who rewatches along with her, provides trivia, insights and the occasional excitement-stoking minor spoiler. 

Join Us: Site: http://startrekucast.com Apple: http://bit.ly/StuCast Spotify: http://bit.ly/StarTrekUCast Spreaker: http://bit.ly/StuCastSpreaker

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S4E8 "Future Imperfect"

My last review was posted like... nine months ago.

Time flies when you're lazy.

THE PREMISE

Commander Riker’s birthday celebrations are interrupted by reports of strange sensor readings from Alpha Onias 3. He beams down with Geordi and Worf to investigate but they’re quickly knocked out by toxic gases. Upon awakening in sickbay, Riker discovers that sixteen years have passed (though he can't remember any of it) and he is now the captain of the Enterprise.

MY REVIEW

Sixteen years in the future. Assuming that Riker is roughly the same age as Jonathan Frakes, that would put him in his mid-fifties. And if we compare this "middle-aged" Riker to Jonathan Frakes circa mid-2000s...

Not bad. Still, anything beats that weird adult Wesley from Hide and Q.

Then again, if we use Riker's birthday slab as an indicator, then he just turned...

...six.

I guess he was born on a leap year.

Anyway, here we are in the future, where Dr Crusher chalks up Riker's sudden amnesia to a side effect of a dormant infection which he picked up on that away mission all those years ago. An infection which Klingons just so happen to be immune to... and I guess Geordi is just built different.

Dr Crusher recommends associational therapy, with the idea being that surrounding Riker with familiar people and things will help to jog his memory, starting with a trip to the bridge. Because a man fresh out of a coma with a massive gap in his memory is clearly fit to resume command of a starship. Good call.

Riker arrives on the bridge and finds it looking… exactly the same, since new sets ain’t cheap, but there are at least changes among the crew. My boi Data is now First officer, Geordi now has ocular implants so LeVar Burton gets to act without a hunk of plastic on his face, and more species like Klingons and Ferengi are among the crew.

But what concerns Riker is the most is Admiral Picard and Troi arriving on a Romulan Warbird.

That last one is explained by ongoing peace treaty negotiations with the Romulans, which Riker has apparently been leading ever since he rescued the crew of a damaged Warbird which wound up in Federation space. Evidently random acts of kindness go a long way towards stopping wars in this universe. The Enterprise is currently escorting the Romulan ambassador to Outpost 23 to wrap things up and get the treaty signed.

Yep. Here we are in the future, and it's bright. Nothing to fear, no one to fight... I can't believe we've come so far.

Then Tomalak beams aboard.

Future Picard and Troi try to reassure Riker – yeah, he did threaten to take the Enterprise's hull as a trophy last season, but that was one time – but he's still concerned, both by the massive gap in his memory and that he might have to reveal sensitive Starfleet intel to someone he probably can't trust.

With the briefing over and Riker’s memories still thoroughly gone, Troi takes him back to his quarters, where a mysterious child is playing his trombone.

"Hi, Dad!"

Ah. He has his father's... hair?

This is Riker's son, Jean-Luc (Chris Demetral). I remember being surprised that Troi wasn't the mother... but their romance is barely more than subtext at this point, so it's not that shocking. Jean-Luc's mother was actually a woman only known as Min, who Troi explains died two years prior. Even though they have zero evidence of her existing – aside from the child she supposedly birthed, I mean – and Riker can't find any trace of her in the ship's records. They don't even have any photos of her. I guess they had to make room for their... modern art?

I think I saw the Threads logo in there.

Christ, the last time I posted a review Threads didn't even exist it's been so fucking long

The computer's been acting up for a while now, come to think of it. I'm sure Geordi will be done with that diagnostic soon.

Still, I can at least appreciate the script's efforts to make us care about this kid. Riker adjusts pretty well to being a father, though that probably has more to do with Jonathan Frakes' natural daddy– I mean dad energy.

"I guess there's only one thing we can do. We've got to build some new memories!"

But Riker is still bothered that he can't find any trace of his late wife, though Jean-Luc says he's just not being precise enough, and pulls up some old home movies. It's here that we discover that "Min" is actually Minuet (again played by Carolyn McCormick for a single shot – that's dedication for you), that hologram lady he tried to bone way back in his babyface era.

Suddenly everything starts falling into place. And speaking of hologram romantics (or holosexuals, as I like to call them), Geordi calls Riker back up to the bridge.

It's here that the attempts to keep Riker gaslit, gatekept and girlbossed completely fall apart, as he calls out all sorts of holes in the facade, like Geordi taking more than a day to run a simple diagnostic, nobody being able to properly recall past events and even Data using a contraction.

Ha! I knew Lore was going to come back eventually! AND THEY CALLED ME A MADMAN!

...No? It's not Lore? Aight. Maybe next season.

"Would anyone else like to speak up? Or shall we end this charade?"

With the wool thoroughly pulled back from Riker's eyes, Tomalak reveals that the whole thing has actually been a hologram simulation designed to trick him into revealing Federation intel like, say, the location of Outpost 23.

You win this time, Lore.

Turns out that after the away team was hit with the gas, the Romulans intercepted Riker while he was being beamed up. They used their neural scanners to create a perfect replica of the Enterprise and its crew. Add a bit of ageing makeup and some bullshit about amnesia and badda bing badda bang, you’ve got yourself a pretty convincing future AU.

As for Tomalak’s OC, Jean-Luc, he was actually some random kid named Ethan who they had taken prisoner after raiding a research outpost on the edge of the Neutral Zone.

They throw Riker in a cell with him for a lil bit — just long enough for Ethan to tell him about a secret hiding spot elsewhere on the ship — so when the Romulans come back with the intention of taking the intel by force, Riker seizes the opportunity. One distraction and a few punches in the face later, and they’re on the run.

Ethan leads Riker through a convenient crawl space to a convenient forgotten room where some convenient blueprints conveniently tell them the location of the ship’s communication centre where they could send a message to the Enterprise. But there's a catch.

Ethan: The transmitter's on a voice-activated security system only.

Riker: Do you know whose voice activates it?

Ethan: Only Ambassador Tomalak.

...The fuck you say?

Yeah, the plot be thickening. Turns out the original simulation was just crammed inside of another one. So the Romulan ship fades away... as do the Romulans... and Tomalak... until Riker is left standing back in the cave on Alpha Onias 3... with only the boy remaining.

Credit where it's due, decent plot twist.

The boy, whose real name is Barash, reveals that his mother left him in the cave — which essentially functions as Holodeck+ by manifesting anything he wants — to keep him safe. But with his mother long dead and the Enterprise being the planet's first visitors in ages, he baited the away team down to the surface and intercepted Riker mid-transport while Geordi and Worf were safely beamed back up.

But with the game up, Barash drops the facade, allowing the Enterprise to finally get a proper lock on him. Fortunately Riker realises that the kid meant nothing by it and even offers him asylum on the Enterprise, prompting Barash to finally reveal his true form.

Ah... I think you've got the wrong set, my dude. This is Star Trek. Doctor Who is on Stage 4B.

Riker: To me, you'll always be Jean-Luc.

And so Riker has himself and the kid beamed up. Da end.

We're going to see a lot of these "waking up in a different reality" plots going forward, and while I'm usually not really a fan — you're mostly just waiting for the character in question to realise something ain't right and expose whatever tomfuckery is causing it — this one ain't half bad, since it was a bit more subtle about it and had some third act twists to spice things up. So yeah.

7/10 - The first of many.

We are so fucking back.

Previous Episode | TNG Masterpost | Next Episode

[jonberry555]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 REVIEW

My Review of the finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2.

"STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series features fan favorites Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock. The series follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy."

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 120 (Apr. 11, 1988) - “The Arsenal of Freedom”

Teleplay by: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler Story by: Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin Directed by: Les Landau

The Breakdown

The USS Drake has gone missing after being sent to investigate a planet (Minos) whose entire population has ALSO gone missing; so naturally the Enterprise has been sent to figure out why there are so many missing people connected to one planet.  On a probably-unrelated-note, it turns out the Minosians were arms dealers who sold super advanced weaponry, but I’m sure that won’t be relevant to the following 45 minutes.  Anyways, the Enterprise arrives at Minos to find zero signs of life, except for a hailing frequency originating on the planet’s surface.  Obviously Picard accepts the call, but it just turns out to be one of those un-skippable YouTube advertisements for a highly advanced weapons system, and Picard is like “That was weird. We should send some people to the surface to check that out.”

For what must be a first for this ENTIRE crew, Tasha makes a rational security decision in convincing Riker to keep the away team as small as possible, in the interest of general ship safety (since there is absolutely no sign of the missing Drake, which I honestly think is a MUCH bigger red flag than Picard is making it out to be).  Riker agrees (taking only himself, Tasha, and Data), but gets himself caught in a statis field almost immediately, so Picard throws caution to the wind and beams himself AND Dr.  Crusher down to help out… somehow.  Although, credit where credit is due, Picard does have the foresight to leave Geordi in charge of the Enterprise with orders to abandon him and the away team if it means protecting the ship.

Naturally all this leads to a double-jeopardy situation.  Down below, the away team keeps getting attacked by little killer drones that regenerate-and-adapt every time one gets shot down; meanwhile separate drone starts attacking the Enterprise, slowly picking away at the shields (oh, and it can cloak, making it tough to kill).  Geordi finally figures out a way to outsmart his mechanical nemesis by using the displacement of Minos’ upper atmosphere to reveal the drone’s location.  At the same time Picard conveniently falls into a pit that happens to contain a control panel that activates the holographic salesman (from the aforementioned automated message) who prompts him to finalize the purchase of their killer drones, in order to “end the demonstration”; thus completing what has apparently been a VERY high-stakes sales pitch. 

At this point it’s been concluded that the Minosians accidentally created a killing machine that was so effective it accidentally murdered their entire species, in addition to anyone who came poking around.  Since the Enterprise is now safe, and the mystery of the Drake’s disappearance is solved (in that the crew are confirmed to have met a nightmarish end), we can chalk this up to another happy ending!

The Verdict

There’s something to be said for a straightforward adventure story, and ‘arsenal of freedom’ successfully delivers on that front.  I can’t say there’s enough going on here for me to classify this episode as one of “the greats,” but it makes good use what it does have.

The highlight of this episode has to be Geordi’s command of the Enterprise.  It’s nice to see some genuine progression for a character that I’ve often felt gets overlooked, made all the better by the fact that I found his solution to the drone battle refreshingly plausible!  Usually when Star Trek is dealing with cloaked adversaries, it gets resolved with some kind of tachyon-scanner-upgrade-techno babble.  That’s all well-and-good AS LONG the writers also take care not to abuse such genre-conventions (which is another matter entirely), but I still tend to prefer solutions that adhere to the laws of physics.  As for Geordi’s time in command, I also appreciate how this episode builds on his previous experiences, in throwing him a greater challenge to overcome.

The away team’s adventure definitely makes up the weaker half of the episode, but even that is at least cheesily entertaining, avoiding any glaringly cringy moments.  My main criticism would be over how convenient Picard’s discovery of the control panel was, allowing him to call off the drones; but this is far from the most egregious deus ex machina on a Star Trek show, and it certainly won’t be the last.

But yeah, fun stuff.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

I’ve gotta say, the skies of Minos are a beautiful shade of bluescreen- I mean blue.

TNG always suffered from a “women character problem”, in that the writers seldom knew what to do with them, so I was pleasantly surprised with this episode.  It’s not so much that writers did anything groundbreaking with the ladies here, but this has been their best overall use of them up to this point, by my reckoning. Tasha is shown to be competent and reliable, Crusher is able to keep her wits about her after she’s injured (even getting some added backstory), and even Deanna’s council to Goerdi isn’t half bad (which is really saying something for these early episodes).  The show still has a tremendous amount of work left to do in this regard, but it’s at least a tiny step in the right direction.

BATTLE BRIDGE:  This is only the second time we’ve been shown the Enterprise’s saucer section separating from the rest of the ship.  It’s a pretty cool feature that will be seldom used, but it’s an effective way to sell the raised stakes of a given situation, and thoughtfully applied here.