187. LegacyFORMULA: Angel One + Datalore + The High Ground
WHY WE LIKE IT: Data's arc.
WHY WE DON'T: A completely forgettable hostage rescue plot. Another headstrong female character that lacks any charm.
REVIEW: It's no secret I wasn't Tasha's biggest fan, and revisiting her past indeed interests me less than any other character's. Tasha's home planet has some interesting bits of design to it (the matte painting, the oriental neon sign), but is basically a random confluence of gray corridors. In fact, there's little to distinguish it from other by-the-numbers civil war/terrorist-ridden worlds as seen in Too Short a Season or The High Ground, and no character is given any kind of psychology except the main guest star.
As far as guest stars go, I'd rather see some stage actor I don't know because they haven't done much tv than someone who cut their teeth on soap operas. Beth Toussaint is of the latter category, and once again, the show churns out a "strong" female character that thinks "strength" is a measure of how stridently they can deliver macho dialogue. I can see the crew's initial mistrust since she looks nothing like Tasha (more of a Linda Hamilton type, really), though they both have questionable severe haircuts. However, once we get later into the story, everyone lowers their guard and we're meant to believe she endeared herself to them. It doesn't quite work because the audience scarcely cares.
The only thing saving the dull guest star and even duller plot is Data's story arc. This is really a story about him, and his learning a lesson about trust and friendship. Once again we get start things off with a poker scene, this time to illustrate that the android isn't as naive as he once was. But by the end, he's shown not to be as wise as he thought. His conversation with Riker at the end is the gem of the piece, and once again, it seems like Data protests too much when he claims not to be hurt by Ishara's betrayal.
LESSON: If you want street cred, your gang should really stop agreeing to let the governement put proximity alert implants in its members.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Data is eminently watchable, but the acting and writing aren't up to par as far as the guest stars are concerned. A Low Medium, but still worth it for everyone's favorite android.
Comments
But seriously, while I didn't care for the plot, I did love the Data subplot. We're talking about a diamond in the rough.
I also didn't really say that I basically thought the two merits of the episode were the Data suplot, and, what I thought was a decent performance by Beth Toussaint as ISHARA (thank you memory-alpha) was decent, although I thought the script had problems.