16. Shore LeaveWHY WE LIKE IT: Filmed on glorious location, including the first ever shot of Vasquez Rocks.
WHY WE DON'T: I can't STAND Finnegan!
REVIEW: Though basically inoffensive, this episode is repleat with moments that annoy me. It does start off well, though, with the crew badly needing shore leave "after the last three months", which would include most episodes since the start of the series. And Kirk's hesitation while voicing his log is a good, human moment. Great location shooting, though maybe they should have limited themselves to a single environment, saving others for other worlds. The variety is nice, but we'll tend to see the same rocks each time they go on location.
The creators remember Sulu's interest in botany, and add collecting weapons to his many hobbies. McCoy's death is well realized, and Kirk reacts much as the Romulan Commander did to losing his closest confidant in Balance of Terror. The Caretaker has only a brief scene, but he's immediately likeable. And Barrows, the first of many replacement yeomen suprisingly goes for McCoy.
But that doesn't save the episode for me. The script is haphazard and messy. There's a huge reset button at the end. And they just try too hard to make the episode light-hearted (concluding it with extended forced laughter). I'm most annoyed by Finnegan, and his fight with Kirk goes on for way too long as the "funny" music gets more and more strident. Ugh.
Other than that, everyone acts giddy and out-of-character, doing things they really shouldn't. Kirk has too much fun after McCoy's been killed, the Doctor's romance is awkward and strange (had they been seeing each other already?), Sulu gets trigger-happy, and no one, NO ONE, figures out their imaginations are coming alive until the very end.
I also object to 23rd-century characters having to explain to each other about 20th-century things. Do people in the future really not know what a plane, a firearm and an amusement park are? Barrows' hat. Her amazing, self-repairing uniform. Alice as a blonde (they apparently still watch Disney films in the future). Martine referred to as Teller (yet still Angela) being all too cozy with Rodriguez after her fiancé died in the last episode. The ethical questions raised by resparking an old romance with a plastic dummy. I'll stop now before I think of something else.
LESSON: Getting beat up is a great way to relieve stress. ("Sleep forever, Jimmy-boy!")
REWATCHABILITY - Low: I know it's well regarded, and I don't think it's truly bad. It's not. But don't make me watch it again. Please.
Comments