114. Lonely Among UsFORMULA: Journey to Babel + Return to Tomorrow + Obsession
WHY WE LIKE IT: The stuff with the delagates can be funny.
WHY WE DON'T: It shouldn't be. And the A-plot is pure drivel.
REVIEW: The entire plot with the energy alien jumping from body to body, finally settling in Picard and beaming the good captain out for a stroll is, well, terrible. Though it gives something to do to Troi (hypnosis), and possessed Picard unloading on his officers holds some entertainment value, the whole thing comes off as repetitive and boring. Part of it is that the antagonist is unseen and ends up not being a villain. Another reason is that it makes no sense for starship officers not to have more recourse than that when their captain is clearly possessed. They wait and wait and wait and are totally ineffective. Never mind that the ending requires extreme suspension of disbelief and some technobabble to boot.
The B-plot with the alien delagates is more entertaining (despite some iffy make-up), but I don't think the light touch given those scenes is appropriate. The ending where Picard shrugs off all responsibility when he learns that a delegate has murdered and cannibalized another is almost as unforgiveable as the jokey music that plays over it. The episode reveals Picard's interest in detective fiction (soon to be explored), giving us some at first amusing, but ultimately annoying, humor derived from Data's emulation of Sherlock Holmes.
LESSON: Sentient, warp-capable energy clouds are bad news. (Kirk learned this long ago, of course.)
REWATCHABILITY - Low: Not even the Anticans and Selay can save this one. Total rubbish.
Comments
Is there anything I like about Tasha?
Stay tuned.