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The Next Generation (TNG) Season 2

Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4 - Season 5 - Season 6 - Season 7

Full reviews to be added soon.

The Child Stardate 42073.1: The new chief medical officer, Dr. Pulaski, assumes her post, and Geordi is promoted to chief engineer. While the Enterprise is ferrying samples of a deadly virus, Deanna is impregnated by an alien lifeform and, after only 36 hours, she gives birth to a boy whom she names Ian Andrew after her father. The boy continues to grow at a fast rate and this affects the virus samples too which threaten to break out of their containment. Ian decides to leave his humanoid body. His intention was to experience birth, life and death of humanoids.

Where Silence Has Lease Stardate 42193.6: The Enterprise is trapped in a void. Suddenly the sister ship U.S.S. Yamato appears, but it's only an illusion. The whole scenario is part of a plan of an alien named Nagilum, who wants to study human reactions to death. When Nagilum announces that it will kill half of the crew in deadly experiments, Picard orders the self-destruction. Just before the ship explodes, Nagilum interferes and says it has learned enough just by watching the crew's preparations to die and releases the ship.

Elementary, Dear Data Stardate 42286.3: Data and Geordi are playing in a Sherlock Holmes simulation on the holodeck. Pulaski challenges Data by having the computer create an opponent as a match for him, Professor Moriarty. Holmes's enemy kidnaps Pulaski and even threatens the Enterprise. Picard resolves the situation when he explains Moriarty that he is only a computer program and won't be able to leave the holodeck. Before Moriarty is stored, Picard agrees to reactivate him once a method to convert him to a corporeal form is found.

The Outrageous Okona Stardate 42402.7: Charming Thaduin Okona is lucky that the Enterprise engineering crew repairs his ship while he is free to make friends among the female crew members. Picard, however, faces a dilemma when the two planet leaders of Straleb and Atlec demand Okona's extradition. Straleb's ruler accuses him of stealing their sacred Jewel of Thesia, while Atlec's raves that Okona impregnated his daughter. Eventually, it turns out that the children of leaders are involved with each other, and use Okona only as a go-between.

The Schizoid Man Stardate 42437.5: Dr. Ira Graves was Soong's mentor and is Data's "grandfather." Graves shows Data a device capable of transferring a human personality into a computer. When he is back on the Enterprise, Data exhibits unusual behavior. Deanna finds out that there are two personalities in Data; the second one is Graves. Graves refuses to leave Data's body and even becomes violent - until he finally resigns and transfers himself into the ship's computer.

Loud as a Whisper Stardate 42477.2: The mediator Riva is supposed to negotiate a peace treaty on Solais V. The deaf man uses a telepathic chorus to communicate: the Woman, the Scholar and the Warrior/Adonis. When his chorus is killed in the very first meeting, Riva is struck by grief and remorse. Deanna and Data establish a communication with him; Riva gains new confidence and beams down to the planet to teach the opponents his sign language.

This is by no means a bad, but a boring episode with long-winded discussions and negotiations and not much progress. I understand the intention to show that disabled persons may be very successful in what they are doing and to encourage them. Nevertheless it didn't touch me too much. This may have to do with Riva not being a particularly likable person. I have the impression that, although he always insists on people looking at him while talking to the chorus, he consciously uses their uncertainty and sort of awe to hide his own weakness. Not to mention Riva's treatment of his chorus (or legal slaves?) which may have to be authoritarian in order to work but appears condescending to anyone else. In the first meeting with the Enterprise officers Riva is overly confident that he could solve the whole conflict when he states that it is always a personal conflict with which I strongly disagree. Where is the logic in claiming that a war that has been going on for centuries, with frequently changing leaders who may not even know each other, should be a personal one? He appears quite arrogant too when he suddenly leaves the meeting.
Riva's world which he likes to tower above collapses from one moment to the other when the chorus is suddenly killed. It is quite obvious that he, deprived of his powers and distressed about the loss, would have to cope with it in some fashion. The rest of the story is quite predictable. It bothers me that, after so much talking has been going on all the time, the solution of the problem is overly simplified. I doubt that the Solai would have the patience to learn the sign language from Riva - after all they want to come to terms to stop the killing and might see this as a waste of time. Any other mediator may be better in this situation and I am worried about Riva's security. Well, if we see it as rather symbolic, it is a Trek-like outcome, though. It signals that a disadvantage can be turned into an advantage.
One thing that annoys me a bit is that the Enterprise obviously doesn't have records on Riva, although he is supposed to be a famous mediator - as if it were necessarily more thrilling that the crew learned that he is deaf-mute as late as they meet him. Unfortunately, guests who are invited to the Enterprise but whose true nature is unknown are a recurring motive especially in TNG. Another question is why the fanatic soldier aims at Riva's chorus and not at his enemies.
Remarkable quote: "What makes you unique isn't your blindness or your VISOR. To be special we don't need to do a damned thing. Just be what we are. There's only one Geordi La Forge. And I wouldn't want to run my ship without him." (Picard, to Geordi)
Remarkable fact: Dr. Pulaski examines Geordi and finds out that it could be possible to grow new eyes. Interestingly, exactly this will happen in "Star Trek: Insurrection".
Rating: 3

Unnatural Selection Stardate 42494.8: The entire crew of the U.S.S. Lantree has died of accelerated aging. The scientific staff of Darwin Station, the ship's last stop, is now facing the same fate. Only the genetically bred children at the station do not suffer from the disease. Together with Data in a shuttle, Pulaski examines one of the children, and she is shocked when she learns that he is actually the source of the disease. Using old transporter logs, Pulaski and the staff of Darwin Station can be cured, whereas the children have to stay in quarantine for their whole lives.

The parallel to TOS: "The Deadly Years" seems obvious, and unfortunately too much attention is paid to the accelerated aging phenomenon, and too little to the impact of the genetic enhancement. It doesn't become clear how despicable it is to play god, to mess around with human DNA with unpredictable results. It seems that everything that happens on the research outpost is not only legal in the Federation, but it is also regarded as desirable to have superchildren who are completely grown up with only six years and have telepathic powers. These children would be monsters even without their detrimental influence on natural human beings, but this is only very cautiously criticized in the episode. This TNG episode is not responsible for the blatant inconsistency that genetic enhancement is outlawed according to DS9: "Dr. Bashir, I Presume?". But it is not acceptable either that further into this TNG season, Pulaski who is fascinated by the superchildren will be upset that she has been cloned and will even kill her clone. So designing children by tampering with their DNA is okay, and merely creating a human being by cloning violates personal rights of the original?
The scientific basis of the episode is very weak, of course. However, I liked that Pulaski was overly cautious when she first had the child beamed up with a complete isolation and then continued her examination aboard a shuttle. It was also a nice idea that the transporter was used to reconstruct Pulaski's original appearance - something that will be done several times again in Star Trek.
Remarkable dialogue: "All within tolerance, Doctor." - "My manufacturer will be pleased to hear it." (Data and Pulaski)
Rating: 3

A Matter of Honor Stardate 42506.5: Riker joins the crew of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey Pagh as their first officer in a new exchange program. His extensive studies of Klingon culture and cuisine pay, and he earns the respect of his new captain and crew. In the meantime, the Benzite Ensign Mendon discovers bacteria that are eating the hull of the Enterprise. Riker's loyalty to his Klingon Capt. Kargon is questioned, when the same bacteria are found on the Klingon ship and Starfleet is made responsible for it. When the Pagh is about to attack the Enterprise, Riker uses a secret transponder to have Kargon beamed out; he assumes the command of the ship and demands the Enterprise's "surrender", thereby satisfying the Klingons.

The Measure of a Man Stardate 42523.7: When Commander Bruce Maddox wants to disassemble Data to create copies of him, Data sees no other way but to leave Starfleet. Maddox, however, insists that Data is actually no individual who may decide for himself, but is Starfleet property. A hearing before the court of a new starbase is arranged, and due to the lack of legal staff Riker has to act as the district attorney. Riker, aware that if he refused the judgment would be automatically against Data, does his best to prove that Data is only a machine. Picard, on the other hand, successfully argues that Data is sentient indeed an that Starfleet must decide in favor of him; otherwise they would endorse an army of slaves.

The Dauphin Stardate 42568.8: Wesley gets romantically involved with the young Princess Salia, but her guardian, Anya, strives to protect her from every potential danger. The situation aggravates when it becomes clear that Salia's species are allasomorphs (shapeshifters) and Anya and Salia transform themselves into ferocious creatures threatening each other. Wesley is horrified at first but then overcomes his fears and gives Salia a proper goodbye when she leaves the ship.

Contagion Stardate 42609.1: Following a distress call from Capt. Varley of the U.S.S. Yamato, the Enterprise enters the Neutral Zone, but it's too late and the sister ship explodes after widespread computer malfunctions. Varley's logs reveal that he has found the mythical planet Iconia. Picard, Worf and Data beam down on the planet to examine the Iconian technology - including a portal which allows to reach remote planets in an instant. The computer failures on the Yamato started when the ship encountered an Iconian probe, and after downloading the logs from the Yamato the Enterprise is infected too. Moreover, a Romulan Warbird approaches, but it is obvious that the enemy ship is suffering from the same problems. After Data has been disabled by the Iconian central computer, he apparently dies - but actually reboots his system to get rid of the virus. After doing the same on the Enterprise, the virus is eliminated. Picard destroys the Iconian technology to prevent it from being acquired by the Romulans. Before the Enterprise leaves, the Romulans are given a hint how to purge their computer.

The Royale Stardate 42625.4: Examining the discovery of a hull fragment of a 21st-century NASA spacecraft, Riker, Worf and Data beam down on a nearby planet. They get trapped in a soap opera about love, jealousy, money and crime set in a casino resort called "Hotel Royale". The remains of one of the NASA astronauts are found in a suite, along with a book entitled "Hotel Royale". Obviously aliens accidentally disabled his spaceship and, as a compensation, recreated the setting as described in the book, not aware that it was just pulp. To escape from the simulation, Riker, Worf and Data play it according to the book's ending. They break the bank and buy the hotel.

A world based on a book - this sounds much like TOS: "A Piece of the Action". "The Royale" manages to some extent to recapture the spirit of the old TOS episode. The trashy scenery is not to the episode's disadvantage. On the contrary, the absurdity and surrealism of the casino hotel in space is a nice contrast that reaffirms how realistic the "real" world created for Star Trek is. To see Riker, Data and Worf (who calls the elevator a "turbolift" ;-)) finding their way through the hotel is mostly fun. They would have expected anything, but definitely not a place like that, and they have to learn to play their roles, as silly as the game might seem. The solution that, in the end, they have to buy the hotel like it is written in the novel is both intelligent and amusing.
The episode, however, is not very plausible in many respects. When the aliens encountered the Charybdis, the vessel must have been very close to our solar system. So why didn't they just return the surviving crew member to Earth? Why did they bother creating the whole scenario instead? Well, maybe it is good if a small mystery remains here and then. I also wonder why Riker, Worf and even Data are so astonished that the persons in the hotel are unreal. Would they expect a real hotel on that hostile planet, and have they never heard of holograms? Another question is why they don't try to leave the hotel as soon as they lose contact to the ship. The ultimate question, however, is how the aliens could know how the hotel looked like - considering that all they had was the text of the book.
Remarkable quote: "I have come to understand that this place was created for me out of some sense of guilt, presuming that the novel we had on board was in fact a guide to our preferred lifestyle and social habits. Obviously, they thought this was the world from which I came. I hold no malice toward my benefactors. They could not possibly know the hell they have put me through, for it was such a badly written book, filled with endless cliché and shallow characters. I shall welcome death when it comes... " (from Col. Richey's diary)
Remarkable fact: In the beginning, Picard attempts to find a proof of Fermat's last theorem (a^n+b^n=c^n has no solution with integers n>2). I have not yet found it, but I have read that it has meanwhile been solved in the real world.
Rating: 4

Time Squared Stardate 42679.2: A confused second Picard appears in a shuttlepod from six hours into the future, having escaped the destruction of the Enterprise which was sucked into a giant eddy. The eddy appears as predicted, and the "present" Picard orders to hold position. Energy bolts attacking Picard lead Deanna to suggest it is he the eddy wants, but when his double tries to leave the ship for this reason, Picard decides his departure will only perpetuate the cycle. He orders a full-speed course directly into the vortex, his future self disappears and everything is back to normal.

The Icarus Factor Stardate 42686.4: Will Riker is offered the command of the U.S.S. Aries. The civilian adviser who is going to brief him turns out to be his father Kyle who he hasn't seen in fifteen years. Will accuses Kyle of being guilty of his mother's death, and the fact that Kyle almost married Dr. Pulaski doesn't exactly console Will. Meanwhile Wesley, Geordi and Data wonder why Worf is so tense recently. They find out that he missed an important Klingon ritual and they program this scenario on the holodeck. Will and Kyle manage to settle their problems in an anbo-jytsu match, and Number One eventually decides to stay on the Enterprise.

Pen Pals Stardate 42695.3: Wesley is leading a team of older crewmates researching geological changes in the Selcundi Drema system. Data, defying the Prime Directive, has answered to broadcasts of a girl on the unstable planet Drema IV. Picard agrees that the girl, Sarjenka, is brought aboard, while Wesley's team devises a plan to eliminate the tectonic stresses that are about to break the planet apart. After they have succeeded, Picard has Dr. Pulaski erase all memory of Data and the ship from Sarjenka's brain.

Q Who Stardate 42761.3: Angry about being refused a crew post, Q hurls the ship into unknown space where they encounter a new enemy - the Borg. It becomes obvious that they were responsible for the destruction of the outposts along the Neutral Zone - as well as of Guinan's homeworld. The Enterprise and a huge Borg cube are facing each other in open space. Two Borg beam onto the Enterprise, and they quickly adapt their shields to become impervious to phasers. Eighteen of the crew are killed when the Borg cut out a piece of the hull. The Enterprise manages to damage the cube and beam over an away team to examine the humanoid-cybernetic species, but the cube begins to regenerate quickly and resumes the fight. When the situation gets hopeless, Picard asks Q to take the ship back to Federation space.

Samaritan Snare Stardate 42779.1: Picard joins Wesley on a shuttle ride to Starbase 515, where the boy is taking another exam for Starfleet Academy. Picard hesitates to tell Wesley the reason why is going there - it is time to replace his malfunctioning artificial heart. He lost his natural heart in a fight with Nausicaans a long time ago. Meanwhile, the Enterprise encounters the Pakleds, a seemingly simple-minded race. However, they kidnap Geordi when he helps them repair their ship. While Riker is still negotiating with the Pakled, he learns that Picard's situation is critical. He uses a ruse to get Geordi back, and the Enterprise rushes to Starbase 515 so that Dr. Pulaski save Picard.

Up the Long Ladder Stardate 42823.2: The Enterprise rescues 200 Bringloidi colonists, who are maintaining a very simple lifestyle, from a planet threatened by solar flares. The crew learns of a second group, the Mariposans who came from Earth together with the Bringloidi 300 years ago, but settled on another planet. The Mariposan colony entirely consists of clones from the five only survivors of the ship's crash landing. As the Mariposans suffer from replicative fading, they need fresh DNA and clone Riker and Pulaski without their consent. Picard finds a solution by bringing the two colonies together again: the Bringloidi with their diversity of DNA - and their joy of life - and the Mariposans with their advanced technology.

Manhunt Stardate 42859.2: While ferrying two Antedian delegates who are in stasis, Picard has the special honor to welcome Lwaxana Troi once again. As is this were not unpleasant enough, she is presently in her "phase", a midlife period in which her sexual instinct is quadrupled. While Picard is lucky to escape to his Dixon Hill holoprogram, Lwaxana goes looking for other victims among the crew. She finally discovers the holodeck, where she mistakes barkeeper Rex, the only one who reacts on her advances, for a real person. Disappointed about the lack of passion on the ship, Lwaxana calms down again. She uses her telepathic abilities, and just when the Antedian delegates are going to be beamed to the conference, she casually points out that they are assassins.

The Emissary Stardate 42901.3: Emissary K'Ehleyr, half-human and half-Klingon, is sent to help stop an old Klingon sleeper ship whose crew is not aware of the Klingon-Federation alliance. She turns out to be a former love of Worf's. Worf is reluctant at first, but they surrender to their passion after a holodeck battle simulation. K'Ehleyr, however, refuses Worf's traditional marriage proposal. When the crew of the old Klingon cruiser awakens, Worf and K'Ehleyr act as the Enterprise's commanders, thereby suggesting that the Klingon Empire is the dominating force.

Peak Performance Stardate 42923.4: A battle simulation arranged by the arrogant Zakdorn strategist Kolrami is supposed to increase the readiness to fight against the Borg. Riker and a skeleton crew change to the 80-year-old and largely defunct U.S.S. Hathaway. With the help of Wesley, Riker manages to get warp power for one second. A Ferengi ship unexpectedly appears and threatens the two ships. Riker and Picard use a ruse to get rid of the Ferengi: The Enterprise fires a torpedo and in the very same moment the Hathaway jumps to warp, creating the illusion that the old ship was destroyed. Puzzled about Picard's illogical and brutal action, the Ferengi leave the scene.

Shades of Gray Stardate 42976.1: On an away mission on Surata IV Riker is infected with a parasite. Dr. Pulaski begins a treatment, but he falls into a coma. Deanna who senses Riker's romantic dreams while the parasite is growing concludes that negative emotions might stop the growth. She and Pulaski begin stimulating negative memories like Tasha Yar's death and other sad moments, and the organism is eventually slowed down and disappears.

Proceed to TNG Season 3

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