116. The BattleFORMULA: The Last Outpost + The Wrath of Khan
WHY WE LIKE IT: Picard's past holds some promise, and the Ferengi aren't as over-the-top as in The Last Outpost.
WHY WE DON'T: Data's solution to the Picard Maneuver makes no sense.
REVIEW: The Ferengi are back without all the pantomiming, and that's a good thing. What's good about them remains: Their ships, their worship of the all-mighty dollar (or equivalent) and their ears ;-). The Battle offers no real mystery, with Bok shown in control of Picard's headache from the first, so it tends to get a little tedious at times, but the look into Picard's past is rather fun. Thanks to the Picard Maneuver, it seems the crew IS working under a legendary captain, and it makes sense that his being an older man, he would have captained other ships before the Enterprise. This differentiates him from Kirk in an interesting way. Too bad none of his old crew ever came to visit after this. The nightmare sequences are interestingly directed, I guess, and Bok's defeat at the hands of his own crew is a good moment.
What let's The Battle down is the rest of that ending. There are so many ways to counter the Picard Maneuver, and yet, Data's makes no apparent sense (he even contradicts what the Maneuver is). Truly messy script-writing, and a non-dilemma. Never mind that Picard has been under alien influence twice in the last three episodes now.
LESSON: Headaches and the common cold will, in the future, be replaced by the viral headache and the uncommon cold. (Referring to all the stuffy noses and wrinkled brows featured in later shows.)
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Still worth a look for tamer Ferengi and a peek into Picard's first command, but the story's a bit obvious and the ending doesn't quite work.
Comments