Star Trek: The Next Generation
"Disaster"
Air date: 10/21/1991
Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore
Story by Ron Jarvis & Philip A. Scorza
Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
The random spatial anomaly of this week hits the Enterprise, leading to shaking cameras that go on for longer than usual and cause all the lights to shut off. Uh-oh. The ship is dead in space, and the characters are trapped in various parts of the ship with no communications, each facing their own individual crises. The title says it all: It's a disaster movie on the Enterprise.
Here's an episode that plays like a collection of half-baked C-stories rolled into a single show whose tepid premise was used to justify the summation of its parts. The result is the ultimate procedural hodgepodge. (1) In what must've been his worst nightmare, Picard is trapped in a turbolift with three children (whose early whimpering proves especially unconvincing). (2) La Forge and Crusher are trapped in a cargo bay with a radiation leak that could cause some containers with volatile chemicals to explode. (3) Worf is trapped in Ten-Forward with a pregnant Keiko O'Brien, who is going to give birth imminently, making Worf the reluctant midwife. (4) Riker and Data must crawl through Jeffries tubes to get to engineering, leading to Data's head ultimately being detached. And, perhaps most frighteningly, (5) Counselor Troi is in command on the bridge.
Many of these pieces employ the usual disaster clichés (Keiko giving birth is especially well-trodden), and there's a notable lack of tension and conviction throughout. But perhaps most problematic here is the depressing realization that Troi is so utterly useless. Putting her in command proves painfully contrived, as the story demonstrates how she's the only bridge officer who doesn't speak Trekkian technobabble — begging the question (rank be damned) of why she would take command in the first place. Both O'Brien and Ro have to walk her through what's happening in the early going. (O'Brien is the very definition of competence, and Ro, while abrasive, is at least someone you know will have your back. Troi, on the other hand — sigh.) Troi gets more decisive as things proceed, but the early hemming and hawing is so overplayed that her transformation into The Decider isn't believable.
I'm honestly not even sure how the ship ultimately gets repaired. The episode basically resolves each of the vignettes and then stops, with everything suddenly returned to normal. TNG has done far worse (an episode where Picard says, "I shall appoint you my executive officer in charge of radishes," can't be all bad), but move along, nothing to see here.
Previous episode: Silicon Avatar
Next episode: The Game
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154 comments on this post
Fri, Apr 1, 2011, 1:05pm (UTC -6)
Yes Troi being in charge is a conceit but I personally didn't mind it.
Fri, Apr 1, 2011, 3:08pm (UTC -6)
One word: Starbase
BTW, if you want to convince yourself Troi is useless, fine. But that doesn't change the fact that she's hot & became more interesting as the show went on.
Sat, Apr 2, 2011, 2:50pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Apr 3, 2011, 7:59pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Apr 5, 2011, 12:04am (UTC -6)
I agree with Derek. No matter how many times I watch it, I always laugh out loud to Worf's "You may now give birth" line.
Man I love TNG.
Tue, Apr 5, 2011, 9:20am (UTC -6)
Thu, Apr 7, 2011, 1:12pm (UTC -6)
But Troi is just awful. Next to the Ferengi in DS9 and most of the Voyager crew, she's easily the worst Trek character.
Thu, Apr 7, 2011, 3:12pm (UTC -6)
And let's not forget, no matter how cliched Keiko's giving birth was, it led to a great character moment years later.
Fri, Apr 8, 2011, 10:57am (UTC -6)
Fri, Apr 8, 2011, 5:10pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Apr 9, 2011, 12:13am (UTC -6)
Sat, Apr 9, 2011, 4:54am (UTC -6)
But did anyone else want to smack that Jay Gordon kid for insisting that his name is not "Jay?"
Sat, Apr 9, 2011, 9:16am (UTC -6)
As for Worf, he probably has his two greatest lines in the entire series here. "YOU CANNOT"!!
"Congratulations, you are fully dilated. You may now give birth"
Sat, Apr 9, 2011, 11:27pm (UTC -6)
This episode was one big wink.
Mon, Apr 11, 2011, 5:37pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Apr 20, 2011, 5:01pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Apr 28, 2011, 7:24pm (UTC -6)
Fri, May 6, 2011, 2:02pm (UTC -6)
I'm starting to think that Jammer hates TNG, too. In his review of "Muse,' he referred to "Darmok" as "a TNG classic," yet he gives the episode a mere 3 stars. How it's not as 4 star worthy as, say, "The Visitor," is something that baffles me.
Sat, May 7, 2011, 11:27am (UTC -6)
(Rolling my eyes.)
Sun, May 8, 2011, 11:14pm (UTC -6)
Thu, May 12, 2011, 6:09am (UTC -6)
Secondly, for other people on the post supposing he hates TNG, I think that's fairly ridiculous. Why would anyone spend the hours watching all of the episodes and then spending more hours reviewing them if they hate the show to begin with.
Regarding "Darmok" I don't think it's difficult to acknowledge an episode as a "classic" even if you don't care for it personally. I can say WEST SIDE STORY is a classic film, even though I'm not a fan of it myself.
Also, MadBaggins said something along the lines of Jammer rating average TNG lower than average VOY even though TNG is the better show. I agree that TNG is the better series, but I don't think you can necessarily accept Jammer's rating scale across different series. For example, he gave "Timeless" 4 stars, his highest rating. I do think "Timeless" is a better than average VOY episode, but compared with other 4 star episodes from different Trek shows I don't VOY holds up. VOY featured more average or middling episodes than TNG so if VOY happened to feature a better than average episode for themselves I get the higher rating, but I don't match every three star TNG episode with every three star VOY episode and think they perfectly match.
I don't know if any of the previous paragraph made any sense, but I think you just have to take the rating scale for each series and apply it specifically for each series.
But in the end it's all a matter of opinion. I'm sure there are tons of episodes people disagree on for whatever reason. For example, Jammer enjoyed Joel Grey's guest performance in VOY: "Resistance." I didn't. But that doesn't mean I hate VOY.
Feel free to disagree, but I just think it's silly to believe someone would invest this much time and work into a review site (regardless of the show) if he or she actually hated it.
Thu, May 12, 2011, 9:04am (UTC -6)
And the notion that I somehow "hate" "Darmok" because I "only" gave it three stars is just silly. I actually LIKE "Darmok." But I don't like it as much as a lot of other TNG episodes. Ergo, three stars instead of four.
As for the claim that I "hate" TNG (or even Voyager, for that matter) is ridiculous. If I hated any of these shows I wouldn't have reviewed them. I would've stopped like I did at the end of the second season of Andromeda.
Thu, May 12, 2011, 12:31pm (UTC -6)
Thu, May 12, 2011, 2:57pm (UTC -6)
JAY KAY.
Fri, May 13, 2011, 12:11am (UTC -6)
For example, if he used Voyager or perhaps even other Trek grading scale in his BSG reviews, I guess around 75% of all episodes would have to get 4 stars ;)
Either that, or he'd have to invent a fifth star.
Fri, May 13, 2011, 6:34pm (UTC -6)
It's hard to rate an episode like this I think. It's pretty stupid, it isn't about anything, it takes itself WAY to seriously and yet is offensively casual at the same time. Yet...the moments which work are so hilarious it's hard not to recommend an episode like this.
In college, I took one Shakespeare course on comedies/histories and one on tragedies. While it was necessary to mention and even dissect the opposing dramatic means in both classes, it was extremely helpful on the whole to keep them separate. If such a division of episode types exists for TNG, I think that would help in justifying ratings like 3 stars here.
I dig the very 24th century goodwill going on here, but I'm not too happy to find it confirmed that Jammer's reviews are on the whole a reflection of what he likes and doesn't like. I will grant DS9 episodes (which as I series I pretty much hate) their 4-star dues when they're good (which occasionally they are) even though I can't bring myself to like them. It makes the whole effort of reviewing seem like an exercise in realising one and Jammer have the same tastes.
Fri, May 13, 2011, 6:34pm (UTC -6)
Fri, May 13, 2011, 11:35pm (UTC -6)
It's not like I pick certain themes and say, "moral plays on TNG are all boring" and "everything dark and gritty on DS9 is great."
Sat, May 14, 2011, 1:07am (UTC -6)
"And the notion that I somehow "hate" "Darmok" because I "only" gave it three stars is just silly. I actually LIKE "Darmok." But I don't like it as much as a lot of other TNG episodes. Ergo, three stars instead of four."
I took this to mean that your evaluation of an episode's quality is subject to the whims of your own personal reactions rather than attempted objectivity. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that personal taste can account for half a star or at most a star and a half, but....let me put it this way; how do you think people would react if you gave "City on the Edge" less than 4 stars?
Sat, May 14, 2011, 7:57pm (UTC -6)
Oh c'mon Elliott, you really don't mean that, right?
It seems to me that the first criterion a reviewer has to take into account is exactly that -- personal reaction. We are all human beings, we like what we like. I for one prefer it that way; otherwise you can end up with those bogus critiques where it's obvious that the reviewer doesn't really like/dislike a certain show/movie/whatever but feels obligated to adjust his opinion to be in line with an intangible "objective consensus".
In fact, that's a pretty common fan behaviour where you can see them desparately trying to convince themselves of a greater truth.
I also think that Darmok is among the very best Star Trek has ever produced. It reminds me of LeGuins masterpiece Left Hand of Darkness in its timeless beauty and humanism. But hey, if Jammer thinks otherwise, it's silly trying to show him the error of his ways.
BTW, your DS9 hatred is really spinning out of control. No need to be on some crusade against it.
Sun, May 15, 2011, 3:45pm (UTC -6)
Wed, May 25, 2011, 6:24am (UTC -6)
I meant every word I said.
That reviewers feel obligated to adjust their ratings to accomodate something objective is not "bogus" ; of course a reviewer cannot divorce himself from his humanity (no one is a Data), but the attempt at objectivity is a responsibility of informed opining. Personal rections are worth mentioning absolutely and can factor marginally into one's evaluation, but should never eclipse the analysis.
I am not so much on a crusade against DS9 as one in favour of VOY--I think DS9 was the inferior incarnation and I'm definitely in the minority, but DS9 advocates seem to be much more vocal on this site so I feel the need to speak a little more loudly in compensation.
Tue, Jun 21, 2011, 2:31am (UTC -6)
Sat, Jun 25, 2011, 2:46am (UTC -6)
Troi may have the highest rank (LtCmdr) of everyone left on the bridge, but she is a godamn psychologist, for crying out loud, she is not a part of the chain of command.
In any real world organization, Ro would be in charge, seeing as how O'Brien isn't an officer.
May seem like a nitpick, but I just couldn't buy the rest of the episode when the whole plot hinges on such a nonsense.
Oh god, now I remembered Beverly Crusher commanding the Enteprise in Descent :shudder:
Thu, Jul 14, 2011, 10:21pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Aug 3, 2011, 2:47pm (UTC -6)
There were women in Ten Forward when Keiko was giving birth (including one wiping her forehead) so why did Worf need to be the one to deliver the baby? Guess writers thought the contrast would provide more humor.
And it's too bad Riker didn't think of detaching Data's head at the hearing that decided he was a human being etc. It would really have been difficult to convince anyone that Data was nothing more than a computer in the shape of a man!
Sun, Sep 4, 2011, 2:39pm (UTC -6)
@Angel
Being considered attractive =\= useful. :)
At any rate, this score is a bit lower than I'd personally provide. It's a two-and-a-half star over here: Troi's incompetence is grating and the one-on-top-of-the-other cliche syndrome, irksome.
Oddly enough, while I usually don't care for stories involving children in my fiction I thought Picard's end of the deal was surprisingly OK, no doubt in large part because Patrick Stewart could read the phone book and get an Emmy nomination out of it.
Speaking of things that very rarely do it for me, the baby delivery was something I was dreading going back into "Disaster" as an adult. I hate the vast majority of these scenes. And yet the dialogue between Worf and Keiko proved exceptional. Possibly the highlight of the hour. Never, ever thought I'd say that.
Thu, Sep 8, 2011, 7:59pm (UTC -6)
I heard once (and I say this with the caveat that I don’t see it on Memory Alpha, so I don’t know if I heard this as a rumour that was in fact false) that this episode was actually a ‘test’ episode to see if O’Brien and Ro would work strongly commanding the ship, as Ro was originally intended to join O’Brien on DS9 instead of Kira. This would explain why those two take ‘charge’ on the bridge for a time. This episode probably had some contribution to the later concept of the Bridge Officer Test that Troi would herself take (which make you wonder – had Lt. JG LaForge already taken this test in the first season when he took command at least one time? And if so, The later episode would suggest the test is only open to Lt. Cmdrs, as the position promotes Troi to Commander.
Sun, Sep 25, 2011, 9:40pm (UTC -6)
Back to the episode...did noone else notice the ridiculousness of Georgi LaForge having to ask "where" when Beverly says the wall is hot considering that contraption on his face?
Mon, Oct 3, 2011, 12:40pm (UTC -6)
I'm not exactly sure how a review is supposed to be objective either. Other than the technical aspects of the production, or perhaps the originality (or lack of) in the storyline, isn't a review basically describing what you liked or didn't like about something? Was it fun? Was it entertaining? Was it boring and predictable? Does it accomplish it's own goals?
Those are highly subjective. It's all based on opinion. Which I totally get scaling between shows, if you think a series is generally subpar, good episodes seem great in comparison.
Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 3:54am (UTC -6)
Apart from the fun and excitement, this episode ranks among the most illogical ones on TNG, e.g.:
- there is no one in the whole of engineering or an engineer closer to it than Riker and Data?
- no power in engineering or the possibility of getting it without the bridge rerouteing it? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?
- ensign Black Guy on the bridge trying to get the first turbolift out of there!
- discussion in the dark conference room with only 3 people while ensign Black Guy had to stay on the bridge and every minute counted
- Keiko not getting a more private spot to give birth, like pull a table into the corridor or hack another door while you're there...
- indeed, Geordie not detecting the plasma fire with his visor
- cargobay outer doors, forcefield and environmental control working fine but the door to the hallway is stuck like every other door on the ship.
Still, it was a fun episode
Sat, Jan 28, 2012, 7:59pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Apr 25, 2012, 4:41pm (UTC -6)
There's no way this is on the same level as The Inner Light, but neither is it so mediocre (such as "Hosts" - at least it is for me) that I would recommend a pass. I would give it 3 stars using Jammer's rating system.
As a side note, of all the subplots, I found the one on the bridge the most interesting and entertaining. You got (at least by what the show potrayed) an incompetent commander, an officer who doesn't follow the rules if she doesn't feel like it, including safety procedures, and you got the straight man O'Brien. As far as I was concerned, they could have made the whole show the interplay between those 3, and I would have been fine with it.
Some episodes I couldn't wait for them to end so I could get them out of my mind (that one with Llaxwanna Troi and Alexander in a mud bath comes to mind), but this wasn't one of those, I was entertained throughout.
Sat, Jun 16, 2012, 7:47am (UTC -6)
Sun, Jul 1, 2012, 10:07pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Aug 13, 2012, 11:59am (UTC -6)
Sat, Sep 15, 2012, 3:46am (UTC -6)
Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 9:31pm (UTC -6)
I mean... I really like "Disaster". It's the epitome of a so-bad-it's-kinda-good disaster movie, like "The Day After Tomorrow". It contains more than its fair share of stupidity and arbitrary plot points, e.g. Keiko's precipitous and (in)conveniently timed labour, a woefully ignorant and unqualified Troi in command, and the fact that the button to re-pressurize the cargo bay is bizarrely NOT on the same panel that opens the door and *de-pressurizes* it!
But it is fun, much like episodes like "The Royale", "Qpid", "The Ensigns of Command" ("My grandfather is buried on that mountain!!"), "Schisms", and "Liasons". (okay, the last isn't really fun apart from the "Love me!!" line)
I really, really don't understand why people get hung up on star ratings. What does it has to do with *your* enjoyment of the show? Maybe Jammer should add a "for entertainment purposes only" disclaimer, hah!
Tue, Feb 12, 2013, 11:23pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Apr 16, 2013, 7:50pm (UTC -6)
Worf boredly checking his uniform while they talk baby names.
The immediate analysis that it's a 'quantum filament'.
Ensign Black Guy checks the turbo lift before he checks his injured colleague right next to him. Then again she is a red shirt so he must have known she was dead.
'Stop crying!!!'
Ro's face on learning Troi outranks her.
'Heat? Where?'
'It's like a cosmic string?' 'No.'
Half a million amps?
'You bore that well'. Ultimate compliment from Worf.
'Can't you tell?'
Bay repressurisation takes 0.5 seconds.
'That is not the correct port sir.'
The magic wink.
Gotta love it.
Sat, Jul 6, 2013, 7:02pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jul 11, 2013, 9:06am (UTC -6)
Anyway, this is something different, something fun -- especially considering it is essentially a bottle episode. It may not be great, but it has always been one of my favorites.
Wed, Jul 17, 2013, 4:19pm (UTC -6)
Stories ranked:
Picard & kids: ***. "Executive officer in charge of radishes." Picard getting over his frustration with kids and finding a way to connect to them. Them refusing to leave him behind. Slight but fun.
Worf & Keiko: ***. Of course it's a cliche, but Worf is so much fun here. "You may now give birth." "You bore that well." As was mentioned above, Worf casually brushing on his uniform while discussing baby names. "This is not a good time!" "And now you must push and I must reassure you -- firmly but gently -- to push." Hee.
La Forge & Crusher: *1/2. The only panel to repressurize the bay is on the other side of the room, then? Thanks.
Data & Riker: **1/2. Worth it for the wackiness of Data's head separation, and Riker's reaction, though not otherwise notable.
Troi, Ro and O'Brien: **. Here is where, as Jammer points out, the main trouble lies. Troi is written as incompetent a little beyond what she should be -- surely even she knows what a containment breach would mean? Meanwhile, the rules which govern the episode are so arbitrary that we have no real sense of what Ro and Troi's differing positions really mean in terms of probability. This does make good use of O'Brien's professionalism and Ro's abrasiveness.
Even still, I'm not sure what, in-universe, the correct solution is. Troi seems not well-informed enough in ship's systems to be an appropriate commander in this situation, but she clearly is the ranking officer, and it also makes sense that someone whose field is with the human side of the crew would have a high rank without as much knowledge of the ship's systems as Ro/O'Brien do. Further, Troi's position as advocate for the crew and for saving the greatest number of people actually does rely to some degree on what her "job" is on the ship, as the person who is supposed to look out for the crew's interests. That Troi has a decent rank is because the Enterprise puts high emphasis on her role as counsellor, and it makes some sense that this value for the lives of individual shipmates is the thing that she ultimately does contribute to the command set-up, in contrast to Ro's pragmatism. (Troi turns out to be right, but as she says to Ro, Ro easily could have been.)
Episode as a whole:
Overall though I just like this episode for the fun of spending time with this crew, in whose company I could pass hours. It's filler, and much of it is stupid, but there are some bright spots. In general, this episode has the same type of problem that many future episodes have (say, "Masks") which make the ship seem entirely fragile to the point where one wonders why it is out there at all; in order to drive the not-very-serious plot forward, the entire ship is placed in jeopardy which is then removed the moment the individual subplots are finished. So, you know, not a serious endeavour. 2 stars, but a high 2 stars.
Sat, Sep 7, 2013, 11:08am (UTC -6)
Sat, Sep 7, 2013, 11:19am (UTC -6)
Mon, Dec 16, 2013, 4:20pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Dec 25, 2013, 3:16pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Mar 27, 2014, 6:36pm (UTC -6)
Also, regarding Worf: he may have been the only one there with medical training.
Thu, May 22, 2014, 7:21pm (UTC -6)
As for Troi's plot, yes, she was way too clueless and didn't portray it well, but Ro and Miles were good. O'Brien should have been in politics. Take the useless figurehead and prop her up as the authority figure and support her whole-heartedly, and then give her "advice" when she finds herself indecisive. Take command without anyone realizing it. Smiley really should have taken over the mirror universe...
And the Worf plot was hilarious. Don't forget Keiko; she had some great lines too!
Since there's not much to talk about really, I'm going to harp on a very minor point. Namely, why weren't there oxygen masks in the cargo bay? Normally I'd complain about a lack of OSHA compliance, but we did see them in The Hunted. So why weren't they here? Did the writers forget? Or did they think they needed more dramatic tension?
Because if they were going for dramatic tension, they failed. We know they aren't going to die. Characters don't just get meaningless deaths in the middle of a season... unless your name is Tasha, of course (and even her death was less pointless than if Geordi or Bev died here). And even then, you are absolutely not killing off two characters in a pointless death. So of course they are going to survive. Admittedly, 99 times out of 100 the heroes live in fiction. But does that mean there's never dramatic tension or suspense? Of course not.
But what drives suspense and tension in those instances is still uncertainty about the future. We may guess that the characters will survive, but we don't know how they will. We don't know how they're going to get out of this mess. When two Warbirds decloaked in front of the Enterprise in The Defector, there was tension. Of course the Enterprise wouldn't be destroyed.... But how would it escape? We had no clue, so real tension was present. Would they fight their way out? Would a Picard speech save them? Would Jarok offer his life to spare the Enterprise? Who knows? So when the Klingon ships decloaked, the tension shifted, and we could all breath easier. It worked. But here? We know the plan: hit the button before you run out of oxygen. The only uncertainty is how much fake drama we can get in having the actors stumble about. But of course one of them will hit the button. No tension at all.
So why have it in at all? The suspense was present at the beginning when the fire appeared. First there was the attempt to move the barrels. That bought some time. So how to solve the problem? Blow it out the airlock. And that's all you need. If you want a little extra suspense, make some technobabble situation that Geordi has to Macgyver the thing to blow due to some system being down; people have already pointed out how silly it is that the outer door works just fine but the door to the hallway doesn't. Use that as your plot device, and you don't have to worry at all about the silly contrivance of people stumbling over themselves to reach a panel. And you also don't have to try to explain why, yet again, the Enterprise seems to be lacking in all common sense when it comes to safety.
And how hard is it to hold your breath for more than 15 seconds anyway? Clearly neither of these two were ever swimmers.
Wed, Oct 22, 2014, 11:20pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Oct 23, 2014, 8:44am (UTC -6)
We all have it in us to handle problems we are not comfortable with, I think that's more what it is. Picard is not BAD with kids (see his charming exchange with his nephew), he's uncomfortable around them. In fact some people are very GOOD at things they are uncomfortable with, but they have to try.
I think that's the moral of it all. Picard was good with the kids, Troi ends up being good with command (at least enough to not let Ro push her around), and Worf is able to deliver the baby.
The other 2 weren't really fish out of water stories, but I would have liked if they had tried to push them a little more to conform to the theme. Maybe instead of the silly plot with the cargo bay Beverly gets injured and has to talk a squeamish Geordi, who is more comfortable dealing with computers, into performing triage on her. Or something like that.
Sun, Nov 9, 2014, 12:59am (UTC -6)
Mon, Dec 8, 2014, 9:45pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Dec 20, 2014, 7:05pm (UTC -6)
"But did anyone else want to smack that Jay Gordon kid?"
yes
Sat, Dec 20, 2014, 7:10pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Feb 18, 2015, 6:16pm (UTC -6)
Fri, May 1, 2015, 12:08pm (UTC -6)
3 stars from me.
Mon, Jun 29, 2015, 8:38pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 5:44am (UTC -6)
The main problem with "Disaster" is, like Jammer said, it's "a collection of half-baked C-stories." Taken on their own, most of the stories could legitimately be good, but forcing them together like this harms each one. What we end up with is a situation where there are too many dishes in the fire so none of them are properly cooked. At least two of the five needed to be jettisoned and the time spent on them used to better develop the remaining three.
The first one that really needed to go was the LaForge/Crusher story. Aside from the novelty of putting two characters who rarely do much together in the same story, what did this one actually add to the mix? Nothing. The story connects in no way to the others. Not only that, but it really adds no character development to either Crusher or LaForge. It was a nice little diversion, but a needless one.
The second that needed to be dropped was the Worf/Keiko story in Ten Forward. The only element this story added to any others was a moment's concern from Chief O'Brien on the bridge when he wants to know what happened to Ten Forward because that's where Keiko was. The story did provide some good humor to the episode with Worf, of all people, having to be the midwife. But, did we really need a whole sub-plot focused on Molly's birth? Good grief, she's not even named in the episode! (And, as an aside, given that "Disaster" aired less than ten months after "Data's Day," where the O'Brien wedding took place, and given that Keiko directly tells Worf that she still had another month before her due date, she and Miles sure didn't waste much time, did they?! LOL!) This was another nice diversion, but another needless one.
The three remaining stories - Troi/O'Brien/Ro, Riker/Data, Picard/kids - are what this episode should have focused on exclusively. Even without the compression the first two stories are forcing on them, only one of these remaining three is handled properly.
Let's start with the Troi/O'Brien/Ro story. I'm most likely in the minority here, but I actually like the idea of putting Troi in command, even if it makes absolutely no sense. (Seriously, the character who "should" have been put in command once the Conn Officer was killed was Ensign No-Name at Ops, but we all know that wouldn't happen. One of the main or recurring characters would be placed in command, not some random nobody. But of the three characters we focus on, Troi is the last person in line for the job. O'Brien obviously would be a better choice since he's clearly the most competent of the three. But, he's an enlisted man, not an officer, which has been established by this point. Ro should have been placed in command. Once she climbed out of the turbolift shaft, she should have immediately assumed command. She, unlike O'Brien, is an officer. And, unlike Troi, is a Bridge Officer. Troi may in fact vastly outrank Ro, but the Bridge Officer status should be the determining factor. Ro is trained for situations like this; Troi isn't. And, really, how interesting would it have been to have Ensign Ro in command, especially so soon after joining the show?) But, despite all of that, I'm willing with roll with the idea of Troi in command because it actually gives her something constructive to do that doesn't involve her ill-defined empathic abilities and isn't a romance plot. As for her initial indecision giving way too quickly to decisiveness - that's exactly why this story needed more time to be properly fleshed out. Cut out the "pregnant woman antics" and give us more character development for Troi!
Now the Riker/Data story. This one is essential for the episode because it's the one that ultimately solves the main dilemma - the warp core breach. (Another aside - how the hell does Troi not know what a containment breach is?!) However, of all the stories, this one is the one that absolutely begs to be developed further. It's ultimately nothing but Riker and Data crawling through some Jefferies Tubes, nothing else. Good Lord, give them something to actually do!
Finally, the Picard/kids story. The one, and only, story of the five that's properly developed and utilized. What a wonderful situation to put Picard in. It has no relevance to the other stories, but I don't care because it gives us some marvelous character growth for Picard. It's quite possibly the most humanizing story he's had thus far. And, we actually get kids acting like kids! That's something Trek has really struggled with. I have no problems with this one.
So, what is "Disaster"? Well, it's not a disaster of an episode. Each of the five stories are enjoyable in their own way. They just didn't need to be crammed together like this. "Disaster" is a perfect example of something not being greater than the sum of its parts.
5/10
Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 7:10am (UTC -6)
This episode was more about Troi/Picard than anything else. I'd have jettisoned the Data/Riker story to add more suspense to the Troi story. Troi may be second guessing herself, but WE know Riker/Data are going to make it in the nick of time... we're watching them do it. And honestly... Worf's plotline provided a decent humorous C plot to a heavy episode.
I'd have gotten rid of Crusher/LaForge and Data/Riker. Then I'd have refocused Troi's story to make IT the A plot, left Picard's story entirely alone and kept Worf for the comic relief.
I think I'd still rate this higher than you though. 7/10
Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 7:12am (UTC -6)
The other 3 stories were filler, the fish out of water stories were the ones I liked. Data's story existed entirely for the cool factor of removing his head. It was empty.
Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 9:25am (UTC -6)
"The Data/Riker story honestly did nothing for me either (you seem to agree)."
I do agree. Three of these five stories left me cold, but I can't see getting rid of this one because the whole plot depends on it. Unless you're going to have Picard and the kids emerge from the turbolift shaft in Main Engineering and have Picard be the one who fixes the problem, I can't see how you can cut it.
Wed, Jul 29, 2015, 1:54pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Aug 15, 2015, 3:53pm (UTC -6)
Troi is easily my least favorite character in TNG, but I actually really enjoyed seeing her in this scenario. More to the point, I enjoyed how Ro and O'Brien reacted to her. Overall, this surprised me by being my favorite plotline of the episode.
So I guess my ideal modification of this episode's storylines would have been:
-Troi/Ro/O'Brien on the bridge (as is)
-Picard and Beverly in the turbolift
-Data and Riker saving the ship (expanded)
While I enjoyed Worf's dialogue, I agree with others that the time spent with him and Keiko in Ten Forward limited the other, meatier plots.
Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 1:57pm (UTC -6)
Seeing how characters who don't normally interact deal with a set of problems provides fresh insight and motivation to character development. Ro's ultra-pragmatic approach tests Troi's aptitude for command. Worf makes an unexpectedly competent doctor (and despite the hilarious delivery scenes, the best line is still "You bore it well"). Data's severed head makes for a comedic vision all its own.
It's shallow but it's sharp and it's both fun and funny. Worthy 3 stars.
Wed, Jan 13, 2016, 9:50am (UTC -6)
I don't generally like cute children episodes (I loathed When the Bough Breaks) but in this one it worked because they played well off Picard and his well established discomfort with kids. Patrick Stewart just made the episode, and I liked how he was forced by circumstance to adjust to the needs of his "crew", particularly when they refused to abandon him in the turbolift and committed mutiny on him.
The Geordi / Crusher plot was not all that interesting, but Worf's line "You may now give birth" to Keyko was gold and stole the show. Cliched? Sure. But what can I say, it worked.
As for the other A plot, mainly Troi on the bridge, I enjoyed that as well. Note I am certainly not a fan of Troi's character by any stretch of the imagination. But here it worked, because it played into all the criticism Troi has received over the years as being useless, as being little more than eye candy. You could just feel Ro Laron channeling all of the pent up contempt from the fans. Here was finally something for Troi to do, a real decision she was forced to make in the heat of command and not something that could be solved by psychobabble. I liked it. That she got let off the hook in the end (rather than blowing up the ship) was a necessary evil.
Mon, Aug 1, 2016, 7:10pm (UTC -6)
I too find the Picard-story horrible, but the parts where Worf has to be Keiko's Birth facilitator made it all worth it.
Tue, Aug 2, 2016, 10:10am (UTC -6)
Wed, Aug 24, 2016, 9:52pm (UTC -6)
I always thought ships counselor was a special rank somewhere between crewman and ensign.
Wed, Aug 24, 2016, 10:37pm (UTC -6)
It does seem strange, but I suspect that what happens is the moment an officer becomes senior staff and the head of a department they are immediately promoted so that they aren't in charge of people above them in rank. It would make the chain of command difficult to maintain on a ship otherwise. This would certainly be true of a ship's chief medical officer regardless of what their rank had been before; you can't have someone who effectively outranks the Captain in certain situations be an ensign. I imagine department heads in the sciences maybe have to be senior grade lieutenants or something like that (which I believe Neela Daren was). It's a little less clear since we don't ever see a 'counseling department', but still since Deanna is senior staff and is effectively Picard's attache in all diplomatic and strategic scenarios, she can't be a mere ensign and have that kind of responsibility. The show failed entirely to show her in that role, mind you, relegating her instead to inane chatter, but if you think about what she does and where she sits on the bridge she's more like a psi-corps telepath (from B5) than a therapist. That they choose to focus on her therapy sessions in later seasons rather than her tactical contribution is...well, sad.
Fri, Nov 18, 2016, 4:07pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Nov 18, 2016, 4:21pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Nov 18, 2016, 6:22pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Nov 18, 2016, 11:14pm (UTC -6)
@David
I have been thinking about the lack of harnesses or whatnot, and while watching an episode of DS9 where their runabout crash lands through trees (!) while the two main characters only shake and rattle a bit, I've come to the conclusion that the Federation believes their inertial dampeners will always function properly to keep folks from flying about too much. Without them, the crew would be paste on the back wall when they went to warp. So they must believe they will always function to keep everyone on an even keel when the ship is violently shaken.
Now, we know that every ship in the fleet has folks flying this way and that, so the inertial dampeners don't always work quickly enough for sudden emergencies, but this was the only thing I could come up with. Reality is they probably thought folks falling down (and chairs falling over in TOS) would add something to the drama. Or, they didn't want them bolted down to chairs when those darned plasma conduits would blow, or the consoles with no circuit breakers going kablooie (above comment by NCC-1701-Z), that suddenly work properly when someone steps over a body to take over that same console.
I always thought they missed the boat on this one...
Take care Everyone... RT
Sat, Dec 17, 2016, 11:21am (UTC -6)
Sat, Dec 17, 2016, 12:30pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Dec 18, 2016, 10:02am (UTC -6)
Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 4:13am (UTC -6)
Fri, Jan 20, 2017, 9:05pm (UTC -6)
I am in the minority for hating the Keiko/Worf crap. Ugh. Stupid humor as a woman goes through something that is (take your pick) deeply meaningful, very bloody and painful, a risk to her health, a vulnerable moment in which her naked privates are on display. But yeah let's yuck it up!
I am also apparently the only one who thought THE classic line of the episode was "Wait.- Data-- are you asking me to take off your head???"
Sat, Jan 21, 2017, 3:38pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Feb 22, 2017, 11:49am (UTC -6)
2.5 base minus one half for annoying children, and another half for a woman giving birth.
Its only because im feeling generous that i dont knock another half off for the singing
Thu, Feb 23, 2017, 10:37pm (UTC -6)
I did find myself puzzled that everything is going fritz, but the artificial gravity is fully functional. Shouldn't that be futzing out, at least in random locations? Yet not only is it functional, it's functional enough to be a hazard in of itself. Even when I first saw it that puzzled me.
Ever since movies like Event Horizon and shows like Battlestar Galactica have portrayed this more accurately, I've disliked shows that portray exposure to a vacuum inaccurately: trying to hold your breath is a death-sentence.
Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 3:26am (UTC -6)
Wow, someone pissed in your Wheaties this morning. From your apparent disposition in your post, I guess it had to be some children and a pregnant lady... :)
Mon, May 15, 2017, 10:48am (UTC -6)
Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:51pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:53pm (UTC -6)
I could say the same of your review. What did you find boring? How would you improve the episode?
Sun, Jul 2, 2017, 7:47pm (UTC -6)
"you have the bridge Number One" joke ending. A little too cutesy and cheesy for a show called Disaster.
This episode would be referenced in season 7 when Troi decides to take the bridge exam and become a full commander. Riker only passes her after Deanna proves she can order people to their deaths if it would help save the ship and crew. Yet, in Disaster the same Riker doesn't want Data to possibly risk his "life" in order to save the Enterprise. Seems like a classic case of "do as I say, not as I do."
Wed, Oct 11, 2017, 4:24pm (UTC -6)
3 stars. The Klingon is brilliant and it's the only episode I can think of where Troi's presence on the set doesn't make me want to scream.
Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 10:36pm (UTC -6)
The character did get a lot better as soon as she was allowed to forego her bunny outfit and actually use her brain and in some essence that all started here in this episode.
I think the episode deserves 2 stars just for that.
Plus midwife worf that's another half a star.
Mon, Dec 25, 2017, 6:01pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Apr 23, 2018, 12:18pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Jul 10, 2018, 7:29pm (UTC -6)
We know Ensign Ro is very driven and extremely pragmatic but her belief that a bunch of people are dead and to take drastic action (saucer separation) was ridiculous. Perhaps the writers put this in there just to have Troi exercise her authority.
There were also some cool shots/moments like looking up the turbolift shaft -- get an idea of how massive the ship must be. Also liked Geordi/Crusher sending the cargo out into space -- although I have to wonder why the bay door was able to function perfectly but none of the other doors on the ship could... Also pretty cool was Data's head separated and still functioning (managed to contain the anti-matter). I always wonder why the gravity plating never fails in these situations -- probably too costly to create zero gravity...
Worf helping Keiko give birth was an entertaining scene -- I guess she prematurely gave birth but this was also a bit cliche/contrived along with all the other vignettes. Worf had some good lines here and Keiko wasn't annoying, for a change.
And like magic the ship is functioning in the end so we get a reset albeit after an arbitrary cosmic phenomenon damaging the ship in the first place.
Barely 2.5 stars for "Disaster" -- not a disaster of an episode by any stretch but with plenty of flaws, contrivances, arbitrary situations. Not sure what has been gained from this episode -- Troi gets a taste of command and takes a jab at Riker since he doesn't have to command, maybe Picard gets a better understanding of kids? Should be some lasting damage from this episode but a quick trip to the star base will make everything perfect again.
Thu, Jul 26, 2018, 3:59pm (UTC -6)
Throughout the episode we are led to believe there are many fatalities.
Well we only see one dead bridge officer-not anyone we ever met before.
If a quantum filament can do that much damage to a Galaxy Class ship it is a wonder there is still a fleet.
Mind you this episode at least confirms that the 1701D was just thrown together by some cowboys and should fail its MOT.
Seriously-the ship's systems are that fragile?
I agree with Jammer.
Thu, Jul 26, 2018, 7:45pm (UTC -6)
And for all of you who whine all the time about how preachy Next Gen can get in social commentary episodes, you should wetting yourself over the happiness of a straight-on action episode.
Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 11:34pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Aug 7, 2018, 9:32pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Aug 29, 2018, 9:56am (UTC -6)
How is it that nobody notices the officer on the bridge lying there dead? It takes 5 minutes for the Three Stooges to notice "oh, hey, a body on the floor".
Troi is totally useless as usual this time. And to someone who said she never wore a uniform, she did in Season 1--she had the micro miniskirt (paired with huge big hair).
Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 8:08am (UTC -6)
Mon, Nov 19, 2018, 11:02pm (UTC -6)
- seeing how the turbolifts work
- Picard stuck with children in a life and death situation (would say borrowed from Jurassic Park but that was two years later (maybe from the book?))
- Troi in command
- Worf as a medic
- O'Brian's most important situation yet I think
- Data willingly electrocuting himself/Data's head detached
- venting to put out a fire/enduring space vacuum
it does end very abruptly, but otherwise it definitely deserves more than 2/4.
Tue, Apr 16, 2019, 2:20pm (UTC -6)
I always liked this one. It's good to see the bridge crew work together to solve problems. And Troi got the most interesting assignment - taking charge. For once this wasn't The Captain Picard show. There were interesting pairings: Geordi and Crusher in their matter of fact roles but together when they normally aren't, I like Worf in most scenes and he as the best deadpan expressions "That birth was orderly", Picard and children, and finally Data and Riker -probably the most boring of the threads.
I will now read the review and comments above to see what others thought. I predict all sorts of shitting on Troi by armchair captains who have never had to lead in real life and hate for Keiko ..but I have pleasantly surprised before.
Tue, Apr 16, 2019, 2:48pm (UTC -6)
3/5 means that I am glad I watched it or listened to the music or read the book but I wont buy or keep a copy (or turn the radio channel if the song would happen to be on)..then 4/5 and 5/5 mean I would buy my own copy of the book or music or keep the tv episode (if I did such a thing) 5/5 means I shout my love form the rooftops.
2/5 means that I regret reading the book/listening to the music or watching the episode and 1/5 means I will shout my dislike from the treetops
I just realized that I actually have been rating episodes as 7/10 when I mean 3/5.
In this case, someone asked why a woman didn't help Keiko rather than Worf? really? Worf has had training. What an odd comment. Men with medical training work with women patients and women with medical training work with men patients. It works better if someone with medical training helps with a delivery. I assume this comment was because Worf would see Keiko. Women's "private parts" are not just for ogling and titillation or the private enjoyment of an intimate partner.
Another person made the comment - I think the wonderful William B - that we really don't have the probabilities to know whether Troi or Ro is more reasonable. I agree with this. Ro is more vocal and her loud approach is a sign of lack of leadership.
Wed, Apr 17, 2019, 6:39am (UTC -6)
It's understandable given how Hollywood works, but it was a bit weird. More egregious was Riker and Data attempting to get to an empty Engineering. So not ONE of Geordi's engineering crew realized that the situation was dire and tried to get there? Every main character was uninjured, but ALL of the goldshirts were and couldn't help? A bit silly. But ignoring that, it's a good episode.
Wed, May 1, 2019, 7:39pm (UTC -6)
I feel there is a lot of overthinking in these comments about nitpicky details in this episode that interferes with why we watch Trek—to escape vicariously through characters we adore and see how they cope with absurd circumstances that none of us will ever experience .
Sat, Sep 28, 2019, 3:08am (UTC -6)
Every time I make a command decision people die, or almost die! Hell I butted heads with Counselor Troi and she ended up being right, ay yai yai!! I think I'll finally quit Starfleet since I don't belong here. I heard my cousin Leeta is going to Jupiter Station, maybe there's an opening for a Dabo girl at Deep Space 9.
Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 1:35am (UTC -6)
Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 7:10pm (UTC -6)
Too bad for Ens. Mandel. Four characters on the bridge and you disappear halfway through the episode. They even have a strategy conference and you're not invited.
Fri, Jul 31, 2020, 3:49pm (UTC -6)
Man that's harsh!
'Disaster' strikes me as a pretty good episode. The kids are passable (as kids). It's great seeing the steady movement of Troi toward command, and her calling it right saved the ship. She pushes back against the caustic and intimidating bad girl Ro. More points are logged when nasty Ro has to eat crow! Thus sayeth the Raven. Ro admitting she was wrong was in itself a reason for putting the episode ahead of others.
Of course Jammer has a point....birth scenes in time of crisis are hackneyed as hell, but this one was comparatively memorable. Loved Worf's line " Now is not a good time Keiko!" Michael Dorn does the panic stifled by chagrin thing so well and rises to the challenge by burying himself in his trusty tricorder.
It rates a 7/10 despite Riker removing Data's head, and Picard dealing with those kids was really charming. His little girl no. 1 also did a good job with the part.
Sat, Aug 1, 2020, 10:49am (UTC -6)
Good to see Ro again. I like her spirit. For an ensign, she's certainly highly uninhibited when speaking to senior officers, and I see that she has her non-dress-code earrings on as well. There's a certain darkness though, isn't there, given her past, in that her plan - ultimately overruled by Troi - could have cost the lives of a number of her comrades?
We're reminded in this episode that the Enterprise, despite being involved in potentially lethal military confrontations every other week, is home to a sizeable population of children. It makes no sense.
Fun to see Data's head detached. What a shame he doesn't have a couple of spares, like Kryten in Red Dwarf.
Interesting that Troi is addressed as "Sir"; I'm pretty sure Janeway (for example) always gets "ma'am".
Why is the ceiling in the turbolift so high? Given that there's a hatch there that gives access to a ladder running up and down the shaft. What's the point in making it harder to use?
Geordi and Beverley's plan to repressurise the cargo deck seems reckless; what if the repressurising function isn't working because of the damage to the ship? I think this whole idea was recycled from Airport '77.
And of course - Keiko giving birth. It's the little touch that almost transforms the whole episode into a parody of disaster movies rather than an homage.
I don't understand why someone we don't recognise should be in charge of the bridge at the beginning of the episode, and I don't get how everything seems pretty much back to normal at the end of the episode. Would have been better if we'd seen another starship arriving to tow the Enterprise to a Starbase.
Despite all that - fun.
Fri, Aug 14, 2020, 6:04am (UTC -6)
Of course I can fan wank it, but blah. It just feels like a cheap import without any sci-fi thought.
Tue, Jan 5, 2021, 2:34am (UTC -6)
Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 11:44am (UTC -6)
I have understood that in the beginning when female officers appeared male soldiers did not really know how to adress them. This might have been the case 1990 but hardly in 2370. I have also understood that some female officers prefer sir so it seems to be individual.
In the series Chief O'Brian normaly gets orders from male Officers, except Dr. Crusher but there a response would be "Yes Dr. Crusher".
I did enjoyed the triangel drama on the bridge. I had no Problem with how Troi handled it. She accepted that she had to make decissions in an area where she had no expertices. She listened to both opinions and decided. Ro did follow her orders and cooperated with O'Brian. Both Ro and O'Brian whre very constructive.
The birth sceen was also entertaining. Geordi Crusher plot was not fantastic but no disaster. Data never loosing his head also ok. Picard in the lift would not have been funny if it had not been for the fact that (he beleivies) that he does not come clear with children. Here, like Troi, had to adapt and did it.
The episode was entertaining.
Thu, Jun 10, 2021, 8:19pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:16pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 2:29pm (UTC -6)
Haha, how much practice have you had staying safe in explosive decompressions?
Fri, Sep 17, 2021, 1:49am (UTC -6)
PILLER: That’s because it just isn’t Trek.
BERMAN: Why not? Anyway, what you got for the next episode?
PILLER: I thought we could do that one about the giant intergalactic sentient radish that kidnaps Data to create sentient salad dressing for its survival.
BERMAN: Yeah! Let’s go for it!
PILLER: You know what? I’ve just come round to the disaster movie idea.
BERMAN: Great. We could have Picard stranded with kids, Keiko stuck in Ten-Forward having her baby with - let’s see - someone unlikely as midwife..
PILLER: Worf?
BERMAN: Perfect! And we could put Troi in charge on the bridge.
PILLER: What about Data? Crusher? Geordi? Riker?
BERMAN: You’ll think of something.
PILLER: We need a title.
BERMAN: Yeah. The Day The World Stood Still? Or, what about The Need For Enterprise? No, wait! Three Kids, An Android, And A Baby?
PILLER: Hmm. I’ll just call it Disaster as a code name until we come up with the real title.
As a disaster movie cliche set on The Enterprise, it’s got to be 3 stars. As a TNG episode? 2.5, for Worf as midwife and Data having his head removed! There have been worse episodes…
Tue, Oct 26, 2021, 6:05pm (UTC -6)
But looking at TNG S5 as being a ramp-up for DS9, it seems to me that, along with Ensign Ro and a few other episodes, Disaster plays as a very overt opportunity to set up DS9 for us to an extent. We have many serious interactions between Ro and O'Brien on the bridge, who might well have ended up butting heads again on DS9 had Forbes accepted the job. The cavalier and edgy Ro going up against the more somber and thoughtful O'Brien gets more screen time here than one would expect as a side-story in an episode of the week. So my guess is they were already sowing seeds. And then there's the Keiko's birth subplot, which in hindsight maybe has so much screen presence since they were setting up her family for DS9.
Since TNG and DS9 thrived when using side characters and recurring personnel, it never occurred to me there might be an ulterior motive for this episode, but now that I've thought about it I'd be shocked if this was just a coincidence.
Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 3:53pm (UTC -6)
The line from Riker about Data needing a bigger head was also a nice touch.
I have a feeling that Ro and O'Brien would have had a friendship on the show. The stories of Ro having left the camps, joined Starfleet, served time might have made it easier to turn to someone who knew her. Bringing in Kira Nerys changed the dynamic. While I think Michelle Forbes is probably a better actress in some ways, Kira's anger at the occupation and love for Bajor made her relationships very different, but I liked what they were trying to do with Ro.
Tue, Feb 22, 2022, 3:24am (UTC -6)
The children were bad child actors, like almost every child who appeared in TNG. I think the only child that wasn't grating was Clara in Imaginary Friend. I even found Wesley Crusher annoying, until he grew up a bit. But I think the point of the Enterprise having families was to connect viewers with the prospect that anyone could explore space, even children. Nonetheless, in this episode the children were particularly off-putting.
Data and Riker's premise was fine. Crusher and Geordi's scenario worked fine except for the decompression part. With zero atmospheric pressure any body cavity, including their lungs and ears, would've had the air sucked out instantly. But alas, science fiction doesn't have to be science fact. What I don't understand is why the manual override for the door didn't work. Was the door damaged? It looked fine to me. When the "manual" option doesn't work in Trek episodes, it drives me nuts. The ship has to be falling apart for something manual to stop working.
Worf and Keiko's part was well acted, but the trope of the "emergency birth" has been done to death. Also I am just so sick of television talking about waters breaking when that is something that usually happens after labour has already started. The woman isn't just standing there and randomly her water breaks.
I personally give this episode a 3 because it does a lot of character development and more or less manages to portray 5 sub-plots. A cosmic string? Meh... who knows or cares what that is.
Tue, Feb 22, 2022, 1:22pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Mar 18, 2022, 1:32am (UTC -6)
Sat, Mar 26, 2022, 6:28pm (UTC -6)
Particularly, the bridge crew doesn't know if there are survivors in the drive section, yet they seem to have plenty of access to monitoring, such that they know there's a risk of the technobabble failing and blowing up the ship.
Ok, maybe they could detect that remotely in a variety of ways.
But far worse, the bridge can detect that engineering doesn't have power to its monitors and FAR FAR worse, despite the extensive problems, the bridge can send power all the way down there without the slightest problem.
And Beverly and Geordi's scene-- an actually pretty good scene overall. And I did like the green fire. But, again, the details are annoying. Geordi has to ask Beverly where the wall is hot? VISOR conveniently stopped working? And despite the usually extremely flexible LCARS system, they have to walk all the way across the room to repressurize the bay?
Why can't they program the computer to do that?
Blah, one of the most grating episodes evar.
Sun, May 8, 2022, 10:03am (UTC -6)
Okay, Troi is way out of her depth and, ultimately, she didn't have to make any hard choices, which is unfortunate character-development-wise. The whole thing is absurd anyway: They're, like, three milliseconds away from core kablooey, Troi & Co. have no idea there's anyone "down" in Engineering, let alone doing something about the impending breach, yet, Troi STILL doesn't order a saucer separation. Seems legit. Then:
"I was wrong, Counselor."
"You could easily have been right [...in which case, we'd all have been blown up into itty-bitty kingdom come, thanks to my navel-gazing]."
Well... Okay, then... Still, she's got a nice little caboose and that'll do me!
Picard's kids were pretty annoying at times but those scenes, mercifully, didn't take too much time. Plus, there was something wholesome about them, especially the final shots.
The pregnant chick and the "The baby can't wait, it's coming out now, NOW!!!" routine... Yeah, very novel. Never been done before. Yawn. I was afraid there at one point that we'd not get to be treated to her screaming in labor while making passive-aggressive-cum-witty repartee with a Clueless Man Who Doesn't Understand Womyn™ but I needn't have worried. We got that, too, in its full splendor and glory. Finally, the baby cries, all is forgiven and forgotten, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...scene.
The cargo bay depressurization experience was just about the most unrealistic depiction of anything I ever saw on Star Trek! LOL!
I really enjoyed the Riker-Data scenes; definitely the highlight!
What I find really unbelievable is how the entire ship can be totally paralyzed and rendered not just inoperative but have parts of it turn into a death trap just like that. There are no redundancies, no safeguards, no failsafe devices, no manual/mechanical overrides... - nothing. Give me a break. Even a washing machine fabricated 20 years ago couldn't be knocked out cold by a solar flare or whatever the "anomaly" was.
Tue, May 24, 2022, 1:30am (UTC -6)
Leave and rex cancelled with drills and simulations for everyone for several weeks.
Thu, Jul 7, 2022, 1:52pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jul 7, 2022, 9:43pm (UTC -6)
Hah nice, blink and you'll miss it, but once you see it you can't un-see it. I can only imagine how tough it must've been dealing with the (generally bad) child actors on a series where multiple takes and reshoots just weren't a thing that they had the time and budget for. Sure if someone flubbed their line they had to try again, but at some point they just had to call it good enough and move on.
Tue, Oct 11, 2022, 1:33pm (UTC -6)
TROI: Yes. How big is a quantum filament?
O'BRIEN: It can be hundreds of metres long, but it has almost no mass, which makes it very difficult to detect.
TROI: So, it's like a cosmic string?
O'BRIEN: No. that's a completely different phenomenon.
Yes, it's never the wrong time for a quick cosmology lecture.
Fri, Nov 18, 2022, 1:17am (UTC -6)
And I've always thought the writers missed a golden opportunity somewhere in the Riker-LaForge storyline after Data's head is detached to work in something referencing the TOS Spock's Brain episode "Brain, brain, what is brain?" If you're going to go camp minus well go all in.
Fri, Nov 18, 2022, 7:59am (UTC -6)
I think Worf’s best line was one word in Deja Q:
Q: “What must I do to convince you [that I am mortal]?”
Worf: “Die.”
Sun, Dec 18, 2022, 12:55am (UTC -6)
Part of what I enjoy the most out of this ep is the out-of-the-ordinary character pairings that puts the regulars in situations out of their element. You’ve got some great multiple storylines: Picard & the kids, Data & Riker, Worf & Keiko, Troi, Ro & O’Brien. Yeah, there’s some cheesy stuff in it too, but it’s one of my favorites when I do a rewatch. 👍🙂
Mon, May 1, 2023, 5:42am (UTC -6)
“I planted radishes in this special dirt and they grew up all weird.” Picard not knowing how to respond and moving swiftly on is one of several lovely and funny moments.
Decidedly enjoyable for what it is! Three stars!
Sat, May 13, 2023, 9:44am (UTC -6)
Sat, May 13, 2023, 10:36am (UTC -6)
"Gripe: Picard's French origins are reflected in silly stereotypes-- there's more music to France and I presume French kids than Frere Jacques or Aupres de ma blonde; or an occasional Edith Piaf. "
Nice post. J-L Picard as written is ambiguous. 'A Picard was at Trafalgar' as was said in one episode. Qu'est-ce que cela signifie? Did this Picard serve under Villeneuve or Nelson? Personne ne sait.
Sat, May 13, 2023, 10:42am (UTC -6)
They didn't end up casting a French actor, but an English one. At that point they were only going to push him being a Frenchman so far before it would become farcical. The only reason they probably didn't alter his background once casting was done was because they had already settled on the name Jean-Luc Picard. And as for Shatner, why would the actor's Montreal origins be relevant to the character, who is from Iowa?
Sat, May 13, 2023, 11:22am (UTC -6)
Growing up in Montreal would not necessarily make you bilingual, especially in Shatner's generation. No doubt he'd have been able to get along in French but doubtful he was completely fluent.
Mon, May 29, 2023, 7:07pm (UTC -6)
H e has claimed to have spoken it "in the streets" as a kid though when he spoke it at a McGIll ceremony, it sounded Anglo-accented. He has probably forgotten a lot if he indeed had it.
My whine about Stewart portraying the Frenchman is not really about SHatner being authentic as Kirk did not have to be. Just a whine that the character is so veddy British when so much is made of a french backstory, and all we get are cliches like a French provine as a name plus wine-growing and Frere Jacque an little of Stewart using it - i think he did to Minuet on holodeck. Even Nichelle Nichols got to speak Swahili.
Mon, May 29, 2023, 7:35pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Jul 1, 2023, 3:43am (UTC -6)
Sun, Jul 9, 2023, 12:35pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 5:00pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 5:36pm (UTC -6)
I've always said that making Troi an empath was a mistake.
Tue, Jul 25, 2023, 9:57pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jul 27, 2023, 9:58am (UTC -6)
Sat, Sep 23, 2023, 10:01pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 2:19am (UTC -6)
Picard's awkwardness is fun, Data and Riker's adventure is fun, Worf and Keiko are hilarious, and Troi's story is serviceable. Beverly/Geordi's story is the weakest. It could have been removed and the story would have lost nothing.
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