118. HavenFORMULA: Amok Time + Journey to Babel + The Mark of Gideon
WHY WE LIKE IT: Lwaxana Troi and Mr. Homn are certainly memorable characters. Some tiny moments of humor.
WHY WE DON'T: Name it.
REVIEW: Oh, man, the first season hasn't exactly been solid, but this may be the first real turkey in TNG (maybe not, but it's a strong contender). The direction is stagey, the music is shmaltzy, and the Wyatt character is absolutely lame and dreadful (I'm not just talking about his clothes and haircut either). Add to that some truly ludicrous technology - the gift box, the chameleon rose, and the Tarellian ship (the TNG fx creators are happy on bubbles, as this ship design joins the Edo probe and Q's Aldebaran serpent in the recent appearance of this kitschy effect) - and the fact no real reason is given for Wyatt's telepathic connection (except Lwaxana's pseudo-Jedi explanation).
There are some bright moments, like Deanna knocking over the dinner gong and Mr. Homn's shennanigans in general, and Deanna comes across as a warm person, but otherwise... Not to say Lwaxana is an annoying character (not yet anyway), but that kind of humor only goes so far, and while it may be entertaining to see her torture Picard, her vanity and bickering with the Millers quickly become repetitve. Troi has zero chemistry with Wyatt Miller, which is just as well, not that he seems capable of that with anyone. And then there's how boring the supposed interpersonal dilemma between "Bill" and Deanna is.
As for the Tarellian plot, it is incredibly contrived. People are all drawn to this location for no explanable reason. No one questions Wyatt's final decision, or even if he was manipulated into it somehow. Not too surprising for Picard who, just before, took the loss of his councilor with too much geniality. No one seems to care Deanna would be leaving, so... should WE? And the actors' blocking goes perfectly with the plot, with characters appearing out of nowhere just to be in a scene or whatnot. Why is Adrianna in front of the viewscreen if she's not the one who's gonna do the talking? When did Lwaxana get to the bridge during the final scene? Oh yeah, and there's the worst staff meeting ever, with everyone telling everyone else something everyone knows (except us, of course). Very messy indeed.
LESSON: In the future, you won't be discriminated against because of your gender, race, species or fashion sense. Don't get sick though.
REWATCHABILITY - Low: Though there are some sweet or amusing moments, and the first appearance of Lwaxana should be considered historic, there's not enough to recommend this pointless episode. Truly a challenge to decide which of the A-plot and B-plot is the worse piece of drivel.
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