133. The Neutral Zone
FORMULA: Balance of Terror + Arena + Space Seed + Tomorrow Is Yesterday
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Romulans are back, and as far as we can tell, they're really cool!
WHY WE DON'T: They're relegated to the subplot! Booo!
REVIEW: What's wrong with the creators? Second season finale in a row (both The Neutral Zone and Conspiracy end with the foreshadowing of a new menace - at least the Romulans WILL be back), and again, they've dropped the ball. This time, the problem lies in relegating the Romulans to the B-plot. Only the Romulans? No, because the episode also features the first hints of what will become the Borg. But there's no real room here to get more that a slight glimpse of one and a mere mention of the other.
So what's this big A-plot that has nothing to do with the Neutral Zone? The discovery of some frozen 20th-century humans, which are thawed out and must now live among us. Oh yeah, and interfere with ship operations as much as possible. I'm being unkind, because it does lead to some ok moments, though sadly, all three are stereotypes without much depth. Only the "homemaker" draws sympathy out of me. The financier is a total jerk, and the country singer is only supposed to offer comic relief, though the humor falls flat under a pile of "quaint" expressions.
When the Romulans do appear, we've at least been prepared for it by an interesting report from Troi, and their warbirds sure have changed. Very impressive. We just don't see enough of them to really make this outstanding. Note the speech about humanity's evolution here, mirroring what will later come in First Contact, but I sure am tired of all the 20th-century bashing that has been a recurring theme in this first season. Just who do they think is watching the show?
LESSON: We live in the worst century ever.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Though my review was quite harsh, it's really about high expectations. It just doesn't feel like a season finale, and with that title, you'd think the Romulans would make a bigger splash. If you forget about all that, the main plot is amusing fluff, and you still get a peek at these revamped original series adversaries (I guess the Ferengi didn't work out).
FORMULA: Balance of Terror + Arena + Space Seed + Tomorrow Is YesterdayWHY WE LIKE IT: The Romulans are back, and as far as we can tell, they're really cool!
WHY WE DON'T: They're relegated to the subplot! Booo!
REVIEW: What's wrong with the creators? Second season finale in a row (both The Neutral Zone and Conspiracy end with the foreshadowing of a new menace - at least the Romulans WILL be back), and again, they've dropped the ball. This time, the problem lies in relegating the Romulans to the B-plot. Only the Romulans? No, because the episode also features the first hints of what will become the Borg. But there's no real room here to get more that a slight glimpse of one and a mere mention of the other.
So what's this big A-plot that has nothing to do with the Neutral Zone? The discovery of some frozen 20th-century humans, which are thawed out and must now live among us. Oh yeah, and interfere with ship operations as much as possible. I'm being unkind, because it does lead to some ok moments, though sadly, all three are stereotypes without much depth. Only the "homemaker" draws sympathy out of me. The financier is a total jerk, and the country singer is only supposed to offer comic relief, though the humor falls flat under a pile of "quaint" expressions.
When the Romulans do appear, we've at least been prepared for it by an interesting report from Troi, and their warbirds sure have changed. Very impressive. We just don't see enough of them to really make this outstanding. Note the speech about humanity's evolution here, mirroring what will later come in First Contact, but I sure am tired of all the 20th-century bashing that has been a recurring theme in this first season. Just who do they think is watching the show?
LESSON: We live in the worst century ever.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Though my review was quite harsh, it's really about high expectations. It just doesn't feel like a season finale, and with that title, you'd think the Romulans would make a bigger splash. If you forget about all that, the main plot is amusing fluff, and you still get a peek at these revamped original series adversaries (I guess the Ferengi didn't work out).
Comments
We are more or less told that it is this encounter which motivates them to come looking. So who are these Borg who have popped into the middle of local space, assimilated dozens of outposts, and then popped out again without hitting any major inhabited or patroled area, and failed to pass on any information about the place to the collective?
Borg on Spring Break?