Weird Star Trek Episodes - The Icarus Factor aka "Daddy Issues With a Dose of THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARTIAL ARTS!"

"Whoever wins this round of American Gladiators will run through The Eliminator!"

Next up for the month, I thought I’d revisit the Star Trek universe to see what fighting goes on over there. Yeah, the Federation may be a utopia where humanity has ascended into greatness or whatever that juice Picard was drinking during TNG’s first season. Oh yeah, that reminds me… someone’s coming back to TV this week! That’ll be exciting, but let me get this out of the way first.

“The Icarus Factor” was a Season 2 episode from TNG. Things were admittedly better in this season, but the show wasn’t there yet. Some changes occurred like Geordi and Worf getting promotions, Riker getting that awesome beard, and the ship getting a new doctor that barely any fans like. Dr. Pulaski was… ‘aight, but I see why folk hate her. She took some getting used to. This episode also introduces a couple of things: Anbo-jitsu (THE ULTIMATE EVOLUTION IN THE MARTIAL ARTS… and yeah, I’m putting that in caps), and Klingon painsticks.

The episode starts out with the Enterprise going Montgomery Starbase to get diagnostics. Piccard also gives some surprising news to Riker. It turns out the captain of the Aries is retiring, so Will has been offered the position. He’s unsure about taking it, but he considers leaving the Enterprise. An advisor comes to bring what the new position details, and it’s revealed to be Riker’s dad, Kyle Riker. It turns out that the two have an estranged relationship and Will refuses to have anything to do with Kyle. Turns out that doesn’t account for Dr. Pulaski who used to be in a relationship with the pretty abrasive dude.

Meanwhile, Worf isn’t taking the news of Riker’s promotion well. In fact, he’s not taking anything well. Wesley, Data, and Geordi notice this after some goading. Wes does some research, and it’s revealed that Worf has come upon an important anniversary: the Age of Ascension. It’s a ritual that involves pain and stuff, the kind of things Klingons live for. The problem is that it’s something that’s done with family, and Worf has no relatives on the ship. The others along with Dr. Pulaski and ‘ole Miles O’Brien take it upon themselves to do a version of the ritual on the Holodeck. When Worf finds out, he goes through the grueling torture and comes out of it good…. I think.

Meanwhile, on “Starships of Our Lives,” The father/son duo still can’t get along. Kyle wants to reach out to Will, but Will ain’t having it. Even the women in their lives can’t get through to the idiots. Eventually, things come to a head and the two men decided to engage in Anbo-jitsu, "THE ULTIMATE EVOLUTION OF THE MARTIAL ARTS.” The two go at it and ultimately bond over their fight (they apparently still had lingering feelings about Will’s mother dying) and kinda make up. Afterwards, the diagnostics are done and the Enterprise leaves for its continuing voyage. Oh yeah, Will doesn’t take up the position since he’s got a seven-year contract with TNG or something. Hey, I wouldn’t want to leave Deana alone on the ship either!

Data and I wondering how Dr. Pulaski hooked up with Kyle Riker...

……………………………………………………….

This episode is okay. It’s not the best of Season 2, but it’s far from “The Outrageous Okona,” a pretty bad episode of TNG. I will say it was cool to get Will Riker’s past fleshed out a bit. We only see his dad once, so this is all we get on this front. One thing that was good was we got to get into Dr. Pulaski’s background a bit with Kyle Riker. Probably the most interesting thing about the episode was Worf’s subplot. Yeah, Wesley and the rest were needling our lovable Klingon a bit, but he needed it. “It’s not easy being mean.” The Age of Ascension ritual was weird, funny, and interesting.

As for the not-so-great, Will’s plot could’ve been handled better. You know he ain’t leaving the Enterprise, so why include that? The details of his relationship with his dad are basically brushed over during the episode. All we find out is that they had a hard time dealing with the death of Will’s mom. Also, Kyle is a bit of an ass. I don’t know what Dr. Pulaski sees in him, but she’s kinda weird too, ya know? The scene with the Anbo-jitstu (the only reason I even considered posting it this month) was kinda fun and pretty funny. “The ultimate evolution of the martial arts,” huh? I wonder if someone has thrown on the theme song from American Gladiators with this footage because that’s what it reminded me of. No wonder no one in Starfleet can barely fight except for Sisko and Worf!

Get him, Sisko!

Overall, this is alright in the end. At least we get to see Colm Meaney in the role of Mile O’Brien more here. Who knew where he’d go from here? If you’re wonder if this “Ultimate evolution” of butt-kicking ever shows up again, keep wondering. I kinda hope this makes a return somewhere  so I can have a good laugh. Anyway, I’m off to bed. Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Also, remember to keep your guard up.