110. The Naked NowFORMULA: The Naked Time redux
WHY WE LIKE IT: Data proves he's fully functional.
WHY WE DON'T: Well, we've been through this exact plot before, and it's not as well done here.
REVIEW: Two major mistakes make short work of this episode. The first is that it copies much too closely the plot of The Naked Time, but manages to make it less interesting. The second is that it's way too early in the game to remove characters' inhibitions to reveal something about them. Point of fact, not a lot IS revealed, as the actors and writers are still looking for who these people are. Oh, Geordi has always wanted sight? Not a big surprise. Where the original series had very different behaviors assigned to each infected character, this cast gets little more than amourous feelings to play. Troi wants Riker, Beverly and Picard want each other, Tasha wants Data... Yeah, yeah. They're going for "sexy", but they most often achieve "dirty".
On top of that, Data gets drunk? Bad characterization, even if it leads to an amusing moment or two. Wesley is not yet intolerable, but his saving the ship (with a trick Scotty once used without problems) weakens the entire crew. I like MacDougal as chief engineer, but her appearance just shows that there should have been a cast member with that job from day one. Troi's new costume? No, sir, I don't like it.
On a positive note, the potential relationship between Beverly and Picard is first hinted at here, and watching these early episodes, you almost get the idea Wesley is really Jean-Luc's son (he looks at him much like Kirk first looks at David). If I didn't know any better... Though the plot is a copy of an earlier episode, I'm glad they at least acknowledge it in the script. More subtly, the same rattling sound accompanies each infection, but it's way more subtle than in The Naked Time. Wish it'd been a little clearer. Once they were past the point of the simple hommage, they might as well have gone for it entirely.
LESSON: We are doomed to repeat history.
REWATCHABILITY - Low/Medium: I'd say Low for plot and style (there's even some subpar editing), as I was rarely anything but annoyed at this (the only tolerable characters are Beverly and maybe Data and Riker). If I'll concede to a Medium it's because so many things in here are going to pay off later (Picard-Crusher, Data-Tasha, Data's functionality). So it IS an "important" episode.
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