266. Dark PageFORMULA: Phantasms + Manhunt + Violations + Sins of the Father
WHY WE LIKE IT: Wait a minute, is that Kirsten Dunst?
WHY WE DON'T: Majel Barrett's crocodile tears.
REVIEW: Through this whole process, Lwaxana Troi have been the most surprising episodes. I remember most of them as annoying but this process has given me the chance to reassess them, and I think I've been unfair to the character. Dark Page, like Cost of Living before it, is an episode that's not at all like I remember. There are problems with it, don't get me wrong. Majel Barrett pouring it on emotionally is over the top in the extreme. I find her quite effective when she's being subtle however. (And I think the same can be said of when she plays Lwaxana as comic.)
But for Deanna, this is an excellent episode. Her relationship with her father is delved into more than ever before, and we even meet him (making Deanna's accent a total mystery). His death has caused a deep wound indeed, and Marina Sirtis plays this well. In the more comedic first half, Deanna is really sweet and likable in her handling of Maques as well.
And for all of Deanna's character building, it's the more comic half that I really appreciate. Where Maques' halting speech could have been very annoying, it comes off as realistic and somewhat charming instead. Lwaxana's attempts at matchmaking are funny here, and it seems Worf has given up on Mrs. Troi learning his name. And that poor lieutenant in the turbolift with two telepaths... It's also fun to see Kirsten Dunst running around as an 11-year-old girl.
Once Lwaxana collapses, the episode takes a 180 degree turn, and we have to go inside her mind. We've just done this with Data, and it all looks remarkably the same. Dark Page certainly suffers by being placed right next to Phantasms in the schedule. Sirtis keeps us interested, because the surreal imagery doesn't. The secret sister solution is strictly from a soap opera, but again, Deanna's reaction to it is in character and saves it from ridicule.
LESSON: If you want to teach telepaths to speak, you need someone who knows how to talk. A lot.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium, to my surprise: Emotional truth and a strong comedy front end redeems this episode, which I'd wrongly remembered as melodramatic pablum.
Comments
Too bad rewatching "Sub Rosa" didn't similarly improve my opinion of it. ;-)
And Lord, how that accent nonsense pissed me off when this episode aired. Earlier they tried to pin the source of her accent on her dad (like Crystal from "Roseanne"!) and then they didn't even honor that sorry explanation.
And I never could stand Lwaxana's whole "Auntie Mame in Space" routine. She never came off as charming to me, but just obnoxious.
I can see how Riker became Riker when we meet his father. I can understand Worf when I meet his foster parents. Picard's place in his family makes sense. Geordi's too.
But I don't know how Deanna became Deanna with the parents and upbringing she had. It's not just a matter of accents either.
I always thought that Deanna's uptightness was a result of her trying to act the opposite of her mother.
To BB: there were actually two child actresses in this episode. Dunst Playa Hedril, and she also plays Kestra in some other parts of the dream sequence before we realise what's going on. Another child Playa Kestra at other times. I admit I didn't realise it was Dunst until she Hendrik smiles when walking out of the observation lounge, at which point she looks just like her adult self.