Star Trek 131: We'll Always Have Paris

131. We'll Always Have Paris

WHY WE LIKE IT: The temporal hiccup in the turbolift was kind of fun.

WHY WE DON'T: The only thing worse than the technobabble plot is the boring Picard-Manheim romance.

REVIEW: Well, a real miss with this one. In trying to flesh out Picard's past and character, they throw an old flame at him and the sparks fly... almost. Patrick Stewart is spot-on playing the anxiety that comes from seeing a former lover (especially one he's hurt) and her current love, and Michelle Phillips gives it her best (though Jenice is a bit of a tease, isn't she?), but as long as she remains married to - and in love with - Manheim, there's nothing that can happen here. And nothing does. If this was engineered to show us a jealous Dr. Crusher, well, I find that subplot rather distracting myself. We have yet to see a real motivation for Crusher's feelings or anything approaching a resolution for them, though I do find it interesting that Crusher apparently has talked about this with Troi.

But that's just the B-plot. The A-plot is a convoluted fractured time story that makes no scientific sense, and receives little explanation. The solutions are technobabble just as the problems are. My interest was peaked when Manheim talked about cracking the other dimension open in almost Lovecraftian terms, but that's quickly forgotten. The plot allows for one interesting sequence (with the turbolift), and some good effects (the 3 Datas), but is otherwise forgettable.

Picard's fencing is introduced here, which is a nice point, and Paris in the future is an interesting sight, but the entire exercise comes off as pointless, whether you're looking at the romance or the adventure.

LESSON: At least have the decency the break up with the girl by email.

REWATCHABILITY - Low: A total snorefest. Patrick Stewart and the other regulars are excellent to fine, but they are badly served by the incomprehensible plot and the dead-end romance.