Well, it’s Star Wars day, and I’m talking about a TNG
episode… yeah, I’m that guy. Honestly, I would’ve done a post on the 7th season on Clone Wars (it just ended today), but I’ll wait on that. I might as
well start off Sci-fi Month with my favorite sci-fi franchise. Tonight, it’s Star
Trek’s version of an alien abduction episode… yeah, Trek’s done those, but this
is a little different. It’s from the sixth season of the show.
The episode starts off with life on the Enterprise-D
drumming along. Riker’s a bit restless, and it doesn’t help that Data has
decided to host a poetry session in 10-Forward. “Ode to Spot” is definitely a
classic. Also, Geordi is also making modifications to the sensor array. Things start
to feel off on the ship when other members start to feel restless and a little
paranoid. Riker, Geordi, Worf, and others feel like something’s off. Even Data’s
been screwed with, and all this comes as they find a weird anomaly in Cargo
Bay 4.
You know it's bad because Riker has issues when the hair is razzled.
Counselor Troi gets Geordi, Riker, Worf, and others who’ve
had weird feelings together. They head to the holodeck and are able to describe
that they were on a weird operation table. Dr. Crusher checks them out and it’s
revealed that they were experimented on. They were also taken through the anomaly in Cargo Bay 4. As the anomaly starts
to get worse, they find out that two more members have been taken. He's sent back, and they find out that his blood was changed into a liquid polymer. I don’t know
what that means, but that doesn’t sound good.
The anomaly starts to get bigger and endangers the ship. They
find out that the array may have found a species in another part of the
universe. In order to close the anomaly, someone has to get sent in
to set up a homing beacon. Riker volunteers to do the deed since they have been
taking him a lot. The aliens (hooded crustacean aliens) bring Riker through
their anomaly and try to experiment on him. Luckily, Riker wakes up, sets up the
beacon, saves the other missing crew member, and gets back to the Enterprise. The Enterprise is able to close the anomaly, but a piece of it somehow leaves the ship. In the end, the crew
is befuddled and wonder about these aliens’ true motives.
…………………………..
This was an interesting episode of TNG. It took the idea of
the modern alien abduction craze and made an episode out of it. I’ve seen docs
that would have folk detail being abducted by aliens. I even remember this one
movie from the 90’s called Fire In the Sky that was about a dude who supposedly got
taken by aliens. The episode takes that path and runs with it. Yes, we got a
weird anomaly showing up in the ship, but its cause was definitely an interesting
one.
Okay, Riker isn't the only one with hair issues. Deana, you alright? I guess Mr. Mott doesn't do ladies' hair well!
There are some pretty good moments from the episode. Data’s
poem session at the beginning was one-part funny and one-part touching. The best
moment from the episode is when the abductees head to the holodeck and try to
piece together their experiences. It’s a pretty creepy scene especially when
their descriptions become more and more threatening. The scene where Riker is
transported to the aliens’ universe was also cool. We don’t see much of their
faces, but the costume work is nice. I also liked that it ended up a foreboding
tone. We get no answers on these aliens, and unfortunately, we will never find
out on these things. Maybe a comic picked it up because I don’t know.
Other than the episode dragging a bit and Counsolor Troi’s
weird wig, this was a nice episode. It doesn’t feature any main aliens from the
franchise, but it did make for some interesting 42 minutes of television with
its good tone. I don’t know what’s coming next yet, but I do know that this isn’t
the last time I’ll be visiting creations of Gene Roddenberry. Anywho, Peace,
God Bless, and May the Fourth Be With You!
Also, try not to run into the evil version of Mr. Krabs.
"Argh! Gimme me money, Riker, or I'll cut off more than yer arm, 'ole boy!"
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