TNG Season Two, 1988-89
The Child – The writer's strike forced the writers to rewrite an existing Phase II script, with mixed results. This version is nowhere near as bad as the original, although Troi maintains Ilia's motives and acts mostly out of character. The best change is the conference room scene; the focus is on Troi while the crew argues about what to do with her own child. She gives a declarative statement about delivering the baby, and Picard immediately ends the discussion—very respectful. Another good change is the shift in tone from a gooey story centered on the child to a near-horror story because, uh, that's kind of the correct approach when talking about something that impregnates itself without asking.
Diana Muldaur does an excellent job with a terrible casting situation. She brings a crusty doctor that, while obviously recalling McCoy, is also possibly more clearly established than other characters the previous season. Her badgering of Data, however, does come off as mean-spirited, since it's more than clear to us after twenty-five episodes that he is a person.
To Maurice Hurley's credit, he does take the time to make sure the B and C stories are thematically in tune: the Enterprise is itself "pregnant" with several strains of bacteria, one of which is jumpstarted by radiation coming from Troi's kid. Wesley is also unsure if he wants to leave the Enterprise and continue his development elsewhere. His scenes with Guinan (a welcomed appearance by Whoopi Goldberg) are executed very well and speak to the uncertainty of the character as well as his story. He ends up being the titular "child" at the end, adopted by a crew ready to give him crap daily. Overall, it's not a bad return to the fall season, but it does continue S1's trend of building up to not much of a climax for forty five minutes.
Where Silence Has Lease – The Enterprise observes a strange space phenomenon, only to be observed back by the nightmare fuel that is Nagilum. For all its touting as an advocate for scientific exploration, this is one of the few episodes in the franchise that I remember where the scientific method is actually given some dramatic purpose. Data's speech about "I don't know" being the start of knowledge is pretty important, and I'm glad it's followed up with an entire act devoted to forming hypotheses and testing them. We still live in a world that doesn't fully understand how science works; it's great to see something like this in 1988 of all years. There is still a moment similar to TOS where Pulaski has an untested intuition that immediately turns out to be fact, but "Silence" does a good job of discussing the idea of scientific ethics and best practices.
The Riker-Worf subplot is more of a fun couple vignettes than a true plotline but I like it. In the first couple seasons of a show, it's good to include some character building scenes like these even if they don't advance individual arcs. Screen time is always going to be some kind of story mileage covered, and television is a format that rewards time and breathing room.
Elementary, Dear Data – I love this episode. Data could very well be my favorite TNG character for being so thematically rich and so well acted by Brent Spiner, so to have a story where we see Data just indulge himself is wonderful. Pulaski's skepticism also serves an important narrative purpose for once, instead of just being antagonistic for the sake of it. She serves as the true voice of scientific rigor this season, and her pushing of Data and Geordi to prove that Data has true intuition really helps to include a semblance of Socratic discussion alongside the (very well paced) dramatic structure.
Moriarty could also very well be a new kind of android, similar to "Blade Runner"'s replicants but his matter generated by transporter/replicator technology. I still have questions about that—does a holodeck character have tissue? Considering how holodeck food can be eaten and pages can be carried out into the ship with no problems, it's somewhat disturbing to think that a generated person could be organically complete but theoretically falling just short of consciousness. It could be that all holodeck humans have limited sentience but not true self-awareness. It wouldn't be a far leap for the Federation to improve the technology so that they could beam entire armies onto enemy ships with one template. These are questions the episode wants you to think about—it's not just a great Star Trek story, it's a great science fiction story that pays a loving homage to Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Outrageous Okona – Mudd returns in the form of Okona, an affable space rogue who apparently has many adventures off screen. I kind of give a side-eye at this episode because it seems as much of a backdoor pilot as it is a very first season kind of story. Okona, a too perfect and too competent character, kind of takes over as the protagonist, something I find annoying for a show with a large ensemble, who end up looking like guest stars on some other show, similar to TOS' "Assignment: Earth". In the meantime, he manages to seduce Teri Hatcher the transporter attendant and possibly gives Wesley a bisexual awakening. This is also the first time that we see a direct retcon with Data's statement about not being able to get drunk, contradicting what happens just a year earler in "The Naked Now".
Data continues his thematic rollin' with an attempt to understand humor and a B story that is much better than the A, with some quality time spent with Guinan. The last bit with him staring disappointed at an empty room is genuinely sad and a great development—Data is making a great realization about his limitations, but he's still determined to continue to try. It's that perseverance that saves him from being a Spock clone. This isn't about the classic dilemma of balancing emotions with logic, it's about the very difficult journey of understanding who we are and what we can become. It makes Geordi that much more appreciated as a clearly good friend, encouraging and humorous, never punching down.
Loud as a Whisper – A then-timely episode that fits well with the franchise's mission. I remember a lot of late-80s media promoting deaf awareness. "Children of a Lesser God" had just come out recently, and the country was a couple years away from the American Disabilities Act. TNG was certainly no exception and even raised the bar a bit—Riva is not a token deaf character but has his own flaws, his self-confidence leading to the death of his intepreters. He preens himself but he also shows substantial power, his silence forcing us to focus on his presence as a legendary diplomat. Really cool character work by Howie Seago, himself a deaf actor. This is a good episode for Troi, although I question her skills as a therapist necessarily being different from a diplomat's, especially with Riva insisting all peacemaking starts with the personal—I had my share of mediation training alongside group counseling classes as a social worker, so it's weird to see Troi back away from a natural task for her.
There is much about deaf culture that is reflected well here. The communal emphasis is illustrated with Riva sharing much of his life with his friends, who have a literal telepathic link. The characters make no distinction between ability and culture, instead going out of their way to learn five different sign languages to help Riva with his mission. The solution for replacing Riva's interpreters ends up being Riva himself, who decides to teach the warring nations his own sign language to create a natural common ground, a real-life point of pride for many deaf people. This episode may not have as much stay in fans' minds, but it's a quietly great story that highlights TNG's professional compassion.
The Schizoid Man – W. Morgan Sheppard (aka the Civ 5 narrator) uploads his consciousness into Data's body in what is sort of an update to "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Requiem for Methuselah". Ira Graves is a narcissistic, sexist, emotionally labile old man who plans on living forever, with the hopes of finally courting his young lab assistant. It's not a bad episode, just a tired one. It's mostly a retread of "Datalore" where we've already seen what a sociopath Brent Spiner looks like. Yep, he's still good at acting like a creep!
But I gotta rant. Writers need to do a better job of researching the DSM-V when it comes to using mental health terms accurately. Neither "schizoid" nor "schizophrenia" refer to split personalities; the former describes a person who is very static in emotional expressions and overly abstract in thought—you know, Data! Schizophrenia's primary symptom is disorganized thinking, which may or may not, but often does, include delusions and hallucinations. Graves himself displays anti-social behaviors and severe narcissism...okay, I'm done.
Unnatural Selection – At the beginning, Picard asks Troi if Dr. Pulaski's passion ever gets in the way of her judgement. It's an issue for him because Pulaski happens to be the best dramatic driver for TNG at this point; everyone else is too polite to be more than reactive role models. It's also refreshing to see Diana Muldaur get her own episode to really shine as an old-school Trek actor, especially playing against Patrick Stewart.
Much like "The Naked Now", this episode updates TOS' "The Deadly Years", but centers the action on preventing wider destruction. The story ultimately cops out with technobabble but not before Pulaski shows that she has more passion than android killjoy in her. She's exactly a scientific skeptic because she considers herself ethically bound by her practice to test all possibilities of potential immediate benefit to humanity. It's what makes her risk her own life in search of even the hint of options for the Enterprise. It's the kind of episode you wished happen in the first season so that the show could make a strong mark for itself—fortunately, the stirring pot of television allows us to watch these changes in progress.
A Matter of Honor – Riker does an exchange program with a Klingon Bird of Prey while an insufferable suck-up joins the bridge crew. It's mostly a fun hour, as we watch Jonathan Frakes play it smooth with Klingons determined to give him as much grief as possible. The episode does well as an inverse "Code of Honor", where instead of the alien society subverting the Federation's open hand, Riker uses the same open hand that now happens to be holding the weapon of cultural research. He gamely navigates the Klingon system and ends up on top, winning the captain seat and the Klingons' respect because he's William Freakin' Riker. No Decker clone is this Frakes, but the Kirk of the 24th century.
The Measure of a Man – A philosophical argument is brilliantly set against a courtroom backdrop as Picard attempts to argue for Data's rights as a sentient being. This is one of the great episodes of television, not just Star Trek, with the structure, the themes, and the acting firing on all cylinders and complementing each other. The little character moments help set up the stakes for the final act, giving the feeling that this could easily have been a movie by itself (in fact, there are two extended versions on the Blu Ray).
One of my favorite moments is when Maddox is asked to describe the three criteria for sentience: intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. Picard immediately catches him when he slips and mentions self-awareness first—it shows that Maddox momentarily lacks self-awareness and would technically be considered not sentient, thereby throwing the whole concept into question. There's a point at which we have to consider if the Uncanny Valley is a mask for our own biases and discrimination. Is it that someone who looks different even objectively appears different, or are we so enveloped in our contexts that we fail to find humanity when it's obvious? Is asking someone to prove their humanity an impossible task? Should I watch this several more times and find out?
The Dauphin – Man, I don't know about transplanting a literal Disney princess story into Star Trek. It sorta works? The problem comes from the love story being so centered on Wesley that it enables bad tropes about courtship. For every moment where Salia shows straightforward attraction and mutual interests, there's Wesley acting entitled to her because he caught her eye for two seconds. It definitely gets weird when Salia changes shape in front of him; Wesley's negative reaction is an all too common experience for transwomen. Worse yet, Salia's actor is ten years older than Wil Wheaton, which really increases the ick factor. There are some legitimately great scenes, though, such as Riker and Guinan showing Wesley how to flirt. They quickly get into it for real and tell Wesley to buzz off.
No, wait...it's Worf explaining Klingon mating rituals. Michael Dorn's timing is fantastic.
Contagion – A fairly standard procedural that sees the Enterprise at risk of structural explosion from an alien computer virus. Quite a few fun bits that keep this around the same quality as "Arsenal of Freedom". Geordi has quietly been developing into a no-nonsense, sassy chief engineer over the past few episodes, and I love it. Picard leads the away team for a bit of action. Data gets into a pickle. Picard ends up on the Romulan ship...you know, fun bits. This episode is notable for including the originally rejected idea of transporting between planets by traveling through gates.
The Royale – A Twilight Zone-like episode that would have been at home in TOS S1. Data, Worf, and Riker are trapped in a false reality that exists within our universe, a hotel taken from the pages of a dime-store novel. A fun forty-five minutes for this trio as they puzzle things out like a computer adventure game. Brent Spiner continues to be a riot with Data putting on cheesy Las Vegas affectations.
Time Squared – Picard comes back in a shuttle before Picard leaves the Enterprise. We never find out why, but that doesn't stop the episode from being an amusing situation for the crew to overcome. More importantly, it's a good illustration for Picard's priorities. Like Kirk, the ship comes first, as well as it should for any trained Starfleet captain. He only leaves when he realizes he's the one being targeted and therefore a risk for his crew. That may or may not be the case for Future Picard, who seems to be stuck in an infinite loop and is unable to consider other options. It's almost more of a ghost story than time travel—Future Picard moves erratically until he is more in sync, and even then his mind seems mechanical, like a spirit going through the same motions. Present Picard is able to dispatch with his "future", exorcising the Enterprise.
The Icarus Factor – Riker's been getting a lot of entertaining development this season. We're definitely moving past the no-drama rule that Roddenberry wanted—I can't really see a Riker resentful of his father existing in the first season. Pulaski also gets some great moments with Riker's dad, casting a new light on the kind of person she is. The story is well structured and leads up to a good climax where Riker fully shows that behind the quick smile is a slow, smoldering, regretful anger that will take even longer to address.
Troi is colder in this episode, unsuccessfully hiding behind her counselor role to keep from revealing her feelings with Riker. She does that pretty often this season, displaying more obvious attempts to protect professional boundaries than character development, which can sometimes look condescending to the audience. I suspect the writers are deferring to common therapist stereotypes and possibly presenting personal problems with the idea of therapy—it's a trope that appears too often in pop culture not to notice.
Pen Pals – If there's an episode that reflects the highs and lows of TNG, it's this one. Data unilaterally responds to a child's radio signal from a doomed planet, despite the Prime Directive explicitly banning it. It's a bit of a reach that Data the encyclopedia on all things would be ignorant of this, but hey, storytelling. The first half deals with the ethics of communicating with the child and the morality of helping the civilization. The latter is kind of weaksauce philosophy, but I'm with Picard on the former. Data could have put the ship at great risk, and the episode does a good job of showing Data get pulled into a dual relationship that demands more of the rest of the crew. This is a potentially dangerous situation where the crew did not have say or consent, and this is where the Prime Directive makes the most sense.
I enjoyed this first half, but it's also the kind of example video you'd watch at professional ethics conferences for the continuing education credits. Thankfully, the second half pays off so well with its dramatic heavy lifting. Data's relationship with the alien kid is really cute and shows how much Data cares. He really is the most empathetic character on the ship! We can forgive the first half's flat procedural when its ethical substance really helps the second half to inform both Data's development and our hesitation in this scenario. For once, the Prime Directive is a real ethical dilemma and not just a half-baked argument that makes no sense.
Q Who – In the search of strange new worlds, new life, and new civilizations, are there places you shouldn't go? Does the Prime Directive consider the development of the spacefaring civilization itself? Q decides to answer these questions for Picard by flinging the Enterprise right at the Borg's doorstep in an episode that brings a sharp tonal change to the franchise. In the midst of reworked Phase II scripts and updates to TOS ideas comes something that can legitimately be called new: a true enemy that cannot be reasoned with, cannot be destroyed, cannot be escaped without divine intervention.
I appreciate this episode more than I like it, but I can't deny it's a gamechanger. These villains are original to be sure, and effectively menacing. They mostly work as a foil for what Star Trek is about—I just think this episode in particular might have gone too far over the thematic edge, killing off eighteen crew members for edginess's sake. It doesn't serve much thematic purpose except to deconstruct Star Trek even further than Nicholas Meyer would go, saying that maybe humanity shouldn't explore anything beyond the sky and stay home. Is Picard really that arrogant to want to explore? Of course not; he immediately decides to "get the hell out of there" as soon as he sees the Borg ship, possibly also techno-organic, repairing itself like a plantar wart in fast forward. As an episode meant to shake things up, it definitely falls right into the territory of Dark Age comic books like "The Death of Superman" and "The Dark Knight Returns", as well as the deconstruction dystopia that is "Batman v Superman".
But. But. The real question is Ensign Sonya Gomez, whose clumsiness could mean that she is indeed Phase II's Myra Kart reimagined. I knew I liked her for a reason!
Samaritan Snare – Pretty good episode for Picard and Geordi, who is being held hostage by the Pak'led, a race whose social development is far outpaced by their avarice and ambition. LeVar Burton has done great things with the time his character is on screen this season, and it pays off pretty well here. Like his actor, you'd have to try really hard not to like the guy, and his peril sparks concern for the audience as well as the crew, even though we know very well he'll be fine by the forty-minute mark. For both storylines, the crew proves to be the thematic and literal support.
The episode does interesting things with the idea of image. Picard is reticent to reveal his heart condition and show vulnerability in front of his crew, while the Pak'led are keen on pretending to be vulnerable to pull the crew into their trap. If anything, the Pak'led prove Picard's point: image can be a commodity that must be treated with caution. On the other hand, being vulnerable is kind of how human beings develop relationships, so it's interesting to see Picard "trapped" on the shuttle with Wesley for his own good. It's entertaining to see Picard wake up with Pulaski standing over him—despite Picard's best efforts, he has a crew that cares about him as an equal family member as well as looks up to him as a captain. Much better display about who these people are than the baseless assertions thrown around last season.
Up the Long Ladder – There's an interesting exercise here that doesn't build up to much. Two colonies emerge from the same generational ship: one is technologically and culturally behind but more socially advanced; the other the logically inverse, one relatively advanced in technology and taste but socially regressed, repulsed by any form of sexuality. The crew taps its toes and goes aha, why not merge the colonies! Great job, Enterprise! Still, there's plenty to like, especially the Irish folk who beam aboard with the whole kit and kaboodle of hay and farm animals, to O'Brien's surprise. Rosalyn Landor does a terrific job as Brenna Odell, the feisty Irish woman to end all feisty Irish women.
Manhunt – Majel Barrett is wasted in this ridiculous episode about Lwaxana Troi experiencing the opposite of menopause and seeking consummation with Picard, Riker, Worf, Geordi, then settling for a hologram. I don't know, I guess I like the Dixon Hill holodeck scenes, but Troi doesn't even get a minor character status this episode, and Lwaxana is her mother! Standout scene: Michael Dorn commenting on the squid-like delegation with his usual wry abruptness. It's worthy to note that even with the least of the episodes this season, TNG is becoming like pizza: even when it's bad, it's at least edible with fun character scenes here and there.
The Emissary – It's the later-season Worf episode, right on schedule. Worf continues to develop as an appealing character, balancing his Klingon heritage with his Starfleet upbringing in interesting ways. There's much of Spock that has been spread out over the crew: Troi's split heritage, Data's logic, and Worf's struggle to understand himself. He's much further along than Spock was in TOS, his identity more fully formed after years of living emotionally isolated. His encounters with people from his heritage and past are all the more revealing, as they show what kind of unique person Worf has become, displaying pride in his Klingon heritage even as he upholds Federation ideals.
K'Ehleyr is the effective flip side of the coin and a winner of a character, played with gusto by Suzie Plakson. She has dual heritage like Troi and identifies as human, but can't deny the biological Klingon bad blood that pushes her into Klingon society anyway. Even without Klingon DNA, she is another strong woman character in what's turning out to be an impressive bench compared to TOS' soft-focused fetishizations. And interesting to boot: she is the flawed pursuer in deepening her relationship with Worf, until Worf declares that she is his wife in Klingon culture. Her response reflects the kind of sophistication TNG has been able to achieve this season, very aware of TOS' thematic strengths and being able to add to and expand them with cool wrinkles. Like "Loud as a Whisper", it's a quietly great episode that successfully puts a science fiction twist on present-day human themes.
Peak Performance – I'd say this is the kind of fun episode that TNG needs more often, were it not for this season doing a great job of molding most of the crew into enjoyable characters. Riker and Data are highlighted as the characters who have gotten the most growth this year, doing their best against a fantastically pompous Roy Brocksmith as an alien strategist. The rest of the crew also have fun moments to shine, including the interplay between Geordi and Wesley as they get scrappy under their opponents' noses. As the last real episode this season, it's a great showcase for the kind of people our Enterprise-D crew are and how they've achieved interesting differences from TOS' holy trinity. They're a true ensemble now, and that makes a true television show.
Shades of Gray – The studio had marching orders to use up their remaining budget on a clip show, and oh boy, it's a bit of a howler. Riker gets thorned by a carnivorous plant while on an away mission, and lies down for a good map. Pulaski and Troi stimulate his brain with episodes from the recent past to release endorphins that can fight off the neurological invaders. It's as cheesy as it sounds, not the least because it breaks every rule of brain physiology even in 1989.
And yet, it's still not as bad as "Too Short a Season" from S1. The reason? We have the writers explicitly acknowledging the growth Riker has gone through, while affirming Dr. Pulaski as a terrific character who has turned out to be more textured than a female Dr. McCoy. Data had a really strong run in the season's first half, but Riker and Pulaski have more than stepped up as interesting characters who know how to be humans as well as role models. They're great examples of gender when it adds to a person instead of defining them. Riker is a guy as virile as Kirk but leans on supportive humor and gentleness as well as a commanding presence. Pulaski is equally larger than life but exemplifies passionate persistance and disciplined scientific inquiry. She would have a large feminist following if she were a real-life person today. "Yass, queen, yass!"
On the other hand, Troi is easily the biggest disappointment this season, and the episode seems to agree, juxtaposing crying by her dying child's side in the opening episode with...crying by her dying Imzadi's side in the closer. It's often said that the TNG writers didn't know what to do an empath who could read a ship's emotions from afar. In reality, the writers had no idea how to write a therapist—most of her functions this season were assumed by Pulaski, who was likely still written with Bones' level of psychological training. She offers support here and there but the most recognition she receives—from the writers and from the crew—is a pat on the head by Picard at the end of "Loud as a Whisper". For its sometimes heavy reliance on pop psychology, it's a shame that Troi can't be more than the cold, condescending authority figure, because the idea of a social worker role on a starship is incredible sci-fi. Writers then and today are often not equipped to write about therapists very credibly, so maybe it was for the best that Troi didn't get more screentime than a TOS non-trinity character this season.
Then again, everyone is kind of what Troi is supposed to be, anyway. In addition to promoting great, interesting women characters, TNG asserts TOS's themes while adding many instances of kind, professional behavior that can be emulated in any time period, not the least because of its exceedingly likable cast. For a social worker like me, it was a formative show that helped inform much of my professional practice.
Top Tier, ranked
The Measure of a Man
Elementary, Dear Data
Pen Pals
Samaritan Snare
Peak Performance
The Emissary
The Icarus Factor
The Royale
Loud as a Whisper
A Matter of Honor
Unnatural Selection
Contagion
Q Who
