Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 114: Conundrum [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent episode! The way in which the episode was filmed keeps the watcher intrigued througout the entire show. In the opening segment, the camera, as it nears the beginning credits, the camera focuses in on the three main chairs of the bridge, introducing Commander McDuff, a "new member" of the crew. At first, this could have been any boring "what happened?" episode, but with the new character introduced, it sets up for a very perplexing situation.

The crew slowly progresses . . . which usually equals a boring episode, but not in this case. Every so often there is a new twist to interest the watcher even more. Therefore, this episode never gives you a chance to turn it off, for something new and startling is always happening. Even a bit of a love twist!

This is a well-written, thought-provoking episode, which was not something unusual in the fifth season of The Next Generation. Les Landau's direction is competent and helps explore the surprising love triangle in a very effective way - and the performances by the three actors involved are as good as they've ever gotten. The other highlight is Patrick Stewart, who takes this unique opportunity to show how well he knows his character and flies with it.

In the entire episode, there was only one thing that bothered me: Troi beating Data at chess? Yeah, right. (By the way, I do get the - rather obvious - point. She's a beautiful and sexy woman but she can also beat the super-intelligent android at a strategy game by using "intuition", as she says. Give me a break. I mean, it would have been fine if Troi had been seen playing chess at least ONCE during the four previous years. The scene wouldn't have been so artificial.) Anyway, at least that's at the very beginning of this otherwise great episode. Once the teaser is over, you'll get to sit back and enjoy it.

This episode is a wonderful mixture of scientific "technobabble", battling with moral and ethic issues, and character development. The initial premise of the crew having lost their memories was probably greeted with the reaction "sigh, another alien influence episode?" by many viewers. However, it exceeds these expectations and is well rounded.

When the entire crew has their memories erased, they are forced to cope with interacting with each other and reforming a command structure. The sudden appearance of a Commander Kieran MacDuff as Executive officer is coupled with the Enterprise's mission to destroy the Lysian command center, the base of the Federation's "mortal enemy". Picard and his crew must decide if their actions are justified and neccessary for peace.

Along with the amazingly cohesive and gripping A-plot, there is some charming character interaction as the crew struggles to form new friendships. Data and Geordi have a well-played scene in engineering as they wonder why he is the only android on board (the best line of the show is here, "You must have been one hell of a bartender" after seeing Data's speed). Riker is the little player in this episode, leading both Troi and Ro on, and having to face this embarrassment in the end. I thought it was very cute how Troi was able to remember Will out of everyone, but that's just me. :)

Overall, a very good episode, worthy of purchase.