{"id":1199,"date":"2016-04-14T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T16:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2016-04-21T20:58:08","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T00:58:08","slug":"sarah-watches-tng-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/?p=1199","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Watches TNG: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

I officially began my Star Trek: The Next Generation watch through last week and I\u2019ve made it through the first five episodes. Which, let\u2019s be honest, if this show was airing today the network would have cancelled the show before all five of these episodes even made it to air. (Thank goodness network execs were a lot more forgiving in the late 80s\/early 90s!) But I promised I\u2019d push through, so while you read my thoughts on these first few episodes, I\u2019m off to watch the next batch.<\/span><\/p>\n

TNG 1.1 Encounter at Farpoint<\/b><\/h3>\n

Here we go! Starting with the pilot episode (that is really two episodes in one, but let\u2019s not quibble over semantics) it\u2019s interesting to see that even though the Enterprise appears to be starting a brand new mission, Riker and Dr. Crusher are the only two newcomers (I\u2019m sure this won\u2019t come into play at all in the future).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"farpoint\"<\/p>\n

After the ship is forced to split into two sections (which was pretty cool), we meet Q for the first time. He seems rather interesting, if not incredibly ridiculous, and I\u2019m told he reappears at some point. I\u2019m looking forward to that. However he brings the officers to trial for their\u00a0supposed crimes and oh joy, it looks like we have terrifying trials in some sort of \u201cpost-atomic horror court\u201d by the late 21st century. So, we\u2019ve got that to look forward to?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Q\"<\/p>\n

And now there are space jellyfish? Giant space jellyfish. What is with sci-fi shows and their need to put sea creatures in space? At least one of them is pink and one is blue so we are very clear on the fact that one is A Female and one is A Male?<\/span><\/p>\n

Final thought, Is Wesley a Mary Sue? (Seriously, no way he\u2019s actually that competent at ship things.) Discuss.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade:<\/strong> 4\/10 This was a weak pilot, but I\u2019m intrigued enough by the characters and I\u2019ve been promised that it gets better so I\u2019ll keep watching.<\/span><\/p>\n

TNG 1.2 The Naked Now<\/b><\/h3>\n

Honestly, I should have been prepared from the beginning just based on the title. But I pushed forward anyway and here we go. My thoughts are in list form this time because I really couldn\u2019t put them together into any sort of coherent kind of way. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Let\u2019s be real, Is the second episode of a new show really the best time to pull the \u201cpeople act out of character and it\u2019s suspicious\u201d trope? ESPECIALLY WHEN WE DON\u2019T KNOW HOW THEY ACT IN CHARACTER YET.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Yar is seducing Data and now I\u2019m convinced that Data is a super fancy sexbot. Is this incorrect?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Picard keeps referring to Riker as \u201cNumber 1\u201d and while Lauren has informed me that this means \u201cFirst Officer,\u201d in my head I\u2019ve decided that Picard is simply ranking his crew. (Wesley would obviously be last.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cDid he say Wesley, the boy?\u201d Nope, he was referring to Wesley the chimpanzee who has snuck on board the Enterprise.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"tasha\"<\/p>\n

    Grade:<\/strong> 3\/10 While this episode was rife for mocking, it didn\u2019t have much substance or apparent value to the series.<\/span><\/p>\n

    TNG 1.3 Code of Honor<\/b><\/h3>\n

    I just…what the ever-loving hell did I just watch? I\u2019m not even sure I can put my thoughts down because they are either a) THIS IS TERRIBLE THIS IS TERRIBLE on a loop in my brain or b) so incredibly foul-mouthed that even I\u2019m slightly ashamed. I want to rant over the horrible racist and sexist elements of this episode, but I honestly don\u2019t even know where to begin. So let\u2019s just agree to pretend that I gave my thoughts, you all agreed it was terrible, and then we never, ever speak of this episode again? Deal?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Now excuse me while I try to find my brain bleach.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Grade:<\/strong> Is there anything worse than 0?<\/span><\/p>\n

    TNG 1.4 The Last Outpost<\/b>
    \n<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Ohhh so this is the episode where we first meet the Ferengi, I\u2019ve actually heard of them! Though, the extent of my knowledge is that Principal Snyder from <\/span>Buffy<\/span><\/i> is one (and makes his first appearance in this episode, so yay?) But I\u2019ve been told that they are actually pretty gross and kinda skeevy, so maybe I shouldn\u2019t be excited that this is a thing that I know?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Overall this episode felt really boring to me, most of it was the crew standing around discussing what to do rather than actually doing the thing. Even the encounter with the portal was all talk and little action (with the exception of the Ferengi jumping around like creepy little monkeys). But I\u00a0totally\u00a0chuckled when Data got his fingers stuck in one of those Chinese finger puzzle toys.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"datafinger\"<\/span><\/p>\n

    Speaking of the Ferengi jumping around like creepy monkeys, I cannot take them\u00a0seriously. Which I’m learning is apparently is not unique to me as\u00a0I’ve been told\u00a0that they were supposed to be the \u201cbig bad aliens,\u201d of the season but were eventually relegated to simply comic relief. I’m not sure keeping them for comic relief\u00a0was the best choice either just\u00a0based on this one episode, but maybe I’ll change my mind as we go.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Riker\u2019s trolling at the end though, where he asked to beam a box of Data\u2019s Chinese finger toys over to the Ferengi. That was amazing. And Picard\u2019s simple response of, \u201cMake it so.\u201d Perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Grade:<\/strong> 3\/10 Again, another episode meant for mocking, not for taking seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

    TNG 1.5 Where No One Has Gone Before<\/b><\/h3>\n

    So, a “propulsion specialist” and his assistant have beamed onboard in order to increase the efficiency of the engine and the warp\u00a0drive? Got it.\u00a0He does not endear himself to any one right off, but he brought his somewhat creepy assistant The Traveler so I’m sure that’s a win.<\/p>\n

    I already like this episode because it feels more science fiction-y and less hokey than the previous eps. I’m starting to get a good sense of who the characters are and how they all fit\/work together on the ship. Riker in particular was excellent as he faced down against the incredibly arrogant Kosinski. And my heart broke a little for Picard when he has to face his\u00a0long dead mother with the realization that it’s all in his head and he can’t actually\u00a0see her.<\/p>\n

    I really could have\u00a0done without Wesley being the one to discover that it was The Traveler who was controlling the speed and not Kosinski. It felt too forced and like someone was beating us over\u00a0over the head with the fact that Wesley Is Smart. Do we really need that? (DEAR GOD WESLEY what is that shirt you are wearing? It is orange and frilly and a world of nope, even in the future where I am sure fashion choices are somewhat different.)<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"wesleysweater\"<\/p>\n

    I still don’t understand The Traveler’s weird interest in Wesley. It’s odd. And did he really have to\u00a0tell\u00a0the captain to\u00a0encourage Wesley\u2019s genius?\u00a0And did Picard really need to make him an\u00a0\u201cacting ensign,\u201d or was this simply an excuse for the writers\u00a0to have\u00a0Wesley on the bridge or in engineering\u00a0going forward? But why?<\/p>\n

    Grade: <\/strong>6\/10 I might have been a bit ore generous, but Wesley really\u00a0annoys me and a story where he is featured prominently is not going to be high on my list.<\/p>\n

    BONUS<\/b><\/h3>\n

    This was an actual conversation that we had\u00a0over text while watching episodes four and five:<\/p>\n

    Lauren: Man, S1 TNG, you really loaded up on the questionable episodes right at the beginning
    \nTeija: Yeah :\/
    \nSarah: They reeeeaallly did
    \nLauren: I prooooomise it gets better
    \nTeija: I second this promise
    \nSarah: side eyes you both<\/em> mmmmhmmm
    \nTeija: WOULD WE LIE<\/p>\n

    It remains to be seen if they are telling the truth or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I officially began my Star Trek: The Next Generation watch through last week and I\u2019ve made it through the first five episodes. Which, let\u2019s be honest, if this show was airing today the network would have cancelled the show before all five of these episodes even made it to air. (Thank goodness network execs were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Sarah Watches TNG and gives her thoughts on the first five episodes of season one. http:\/\/wp.me\/p4Vfwz-jl","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[328],"class_list":["post-1199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television","tag-star-trek-the-next-generation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.avengingforce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/star-trek.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Vfwz-jl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1199"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1211,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions\/1211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.avengingforce.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}