Seasons 3 & 4 of The Next Generation were a big jump in quality for the franchise, and easily ranked as the best and most consistent seasons yet. Season 5, on the other hand, couldn't quite stack up.
Whereas Season 4 went in a more serialized direction with its Klingon story arc, this season feels a bit more like the episodic Trek from prior seasons. I think this was a bit of a shame since the Klingon Civil War that Season 4's finale ended on could have easily worked as a season-long story arc, though the resolution we did get was still satisfying enough. We did get another cliffhanger finale, and while I enjoyed its exploration of Data's mortality and neat twists, I did wish it had a bit more buildup and gravitas. The closest thing we have to a running storyline in Season 5 is the introduction of Ensign Ro Laren, who I thought was alright. She has a solid backstory and the same ambition and gutsiness as Shelby from TBoBW, a character who I really liked. Unlike Shelby, however, I found Ro to be a bit abrasive and unlike the similarly late Pulaski, the season never really gave her time to gel with the rest of the crew. It wasn't until The Next Phase, one of the last episodes of the season, where I felt like the show was actually using the character well. Just as last season's main theme was family, this season's main theme seems to be children. Picard gets over his hatred of kids (multiple times), Worf has to take care of his son, Wesley shows up a few times, and Keiko gives birth. Thankfully, the kid actors never got too overwhelming to drag down the season too much.
In my opinion, Season 5's greatest strength is probably its creativity, as it contains some of the best and most inventive outings in the whole show (Darmok, Cause And Effect, I Borg, and The Inner Light). These are pretty much entirely standalone episodes yet they proved to make just as much as an impact as the continuity-driven stuff if not moreso. I actually think the main reason why I enjoyed this season as much as I did with its flaws was just how fantastic the best episodes were. However, I feel like the writers this season also kinda fumbled one of the things Star Trek tends to do pretty well, and that's the political stuff. Aside from a few exceptions like Darmok, many of the episodes this season that try to convey a certain message end up ranging from tone-deaf (The Outcast) to unsubtle (Violations) to muddled (Ethics). I admire how Star Trek continues to take risks and have these episodes with important themes and messages, but if done poorly, they could end up being some of the worst in the series (The Apple, The Omega Glory). Sadly, Season 5's attempts at delivering messages fall into the latter category more often than not (with one in particular that I'll elaborate on below), and it seriously drags down the season.
As mentioned above, when this season is good, it's freaking amazing:
Darmok: I've always been fascinated with stories about communicating in unconventional ways. The Martian is one of my favorite books ever, Pushing Daisies forces the characters to show their affection for each other without touching, and then of course, there's the fantastic Arrival. Darmok is a fantastic episode about the Enterprise crew trying to communicate with a species that only speaks in references and metaphors. Predictions of internet memes aside, it's a powerful episode that nails how it feels to slowly understand a language. In the start of the episode, the Tamarian language sounds like incomprehensible nonsense, but by the end, you begin to have as much of an understanding as Picard. It's as Star Trek of an episode as you can get.
Unification: As good as The Next Generation has gotten, I still feel like my favorite "era" so far has been the Original Series films. Unification feels a lot like those first six films, and as a whole, it feels like this two-parter was made for me. The first part has a mystery not unlike the great first act of The Menagerie, Sarek gets an emotional final scene with Picard before his death, the aftermath of the Klingon war is briefly explored, Sela is back, the Romulans are fleshed out with a peace-loving faction, it sets up my favorite Trek film (VI), and of course, Spock is back! Sure, one could argue that Unification is just hollow fanservice, but I found it to be a really entertaining adventure on top of the Original Series tributes.
Cause And Effect: It's easily to write this episode off as another Groundhog Day clone... at least until you see when it was made. Cause And Effect was aired in 1992, Groundhog Day aired in 1993. This was a time loop episode before time loops were popularized, and a pretty fun one at that! The opening scene where the Enterprise blows up is a fantastic hook, and I love the directorial choice to shoot each time loop a completely different way rather than reuse footage, as it does a good job of conveying how the crew are growing more aware of their situation.
I, Borg: While I liked the Borg as intimidating villains, they were a bit one-note compared to the Cardassians and Romulans. There's only so much you can do with them after Best Of Both Worlds, so the decision to tell a personal, introspective story with them exploring free will and the consequences of their past actions fits perfectly. I love how each character gets a chance to talk with Hugh, and how they all impact his evolution in their own ways. I love how the crew's past experiences with the Borg aren't forgotten and are used as compelling reasons not to trust Hugh. And I like the idea that Hugh's newfound individualism could somehow spread throughout the Borg.
The Inner Light: The Inner Light isn't my favorite episode of TNG. It's not even my favorite episode of Season 5 (that would be Darmok). However, this is still a fantastic piece of television buoyed by Patrick Stewart's best performance yet and an ending that manages to be both thought-provoking and devastating. There's a lot to this episode, from the fact that Picard lived an entire life and realized how much he truly wants a family, to the reveal that Kataan was dead the whole time, to that amazing final flute solo.
However, I meant it when I said it was uneven, and there was one episode in particular that I want to single out as awful:
The Outcast: Oh, I have a serious bone to pick with this one. I admire the attempt at making an episode about homosexuality in 1992 and I'll admit the novelty of how the episode somehow works better as a story about trans identity than sexuality, but you can very much tell it was made in the early 90s. I have a laundry list of problems with The Outcast, like how they used the almost cartoonishly straight Riker as the protagonist, or how Soren wasn't played by a male actor, or the show's complete lack of understanding of gender fluidity, or how the main conflict was resolved with conversion therapy, or how it's a science-fiction show that takes place three centuries in the future yet somehow straightness and two genders is just a universal constant?! I want to say the writers behind this episode had good intentions, but you can tell someone in the production wanted to make sure it didn't become "too controversial". TOS wasn't perfect, but with its diverse cast, it tried to be groundbreaking for the time. Playing it safe wasn't in Trek's nature, so it's a shame to see that was the case here.
Overall, Season 5 of TNG is a good season, but it's probably the most uneven of the series to date. It has a great start and a great end, but a fairly shaky middle section. It has some of the best episodes in the whole show, along with some of the worst since Season 2. It can range from incredibly creative to painfully tone-deaf and muddled. At its best, Season 5 has some of the best Star Trek ever, but it's just not consistent enough.
3/5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment