Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 163: Parallels [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Parallels is arguably the most enjoyable "alternate reality" episode of all time. From its inception, one of the underlying messages of TNG is "anything and everything is possible." Parallels takes this to the extreme. I really enjoyed the way the normally unflappable Worf becomes increasingly baffled when confronted by weird gifts, ever-changing realities and the truly awesome (frightening?) discovery that he's suddenly married to Deanna Troi -- a fact he doesn't remember and probably never even consciously considered. The storyline shifts very quickly between realities and is downright surreal. I loved every minute of it. Non-TNG viewers might find Parallels confusing, but fans will definitely appreciate it. A lot.

Two things make "Parallels" great:

1. It's a Worf episode. You can't go wrong there.

2. It features parallel (or alternate) realities. Trek has almost always been successful with this type of episode. Remember classic Trek's "Mirror, Mirror"? Or TNG's "Yesterday's Enterprise"? You get the idea.

It's fun to see our favorite characters in new roles. As Worf bounces around from reality to reality (he hit one of those time warp/quantum flux space anomalies that seem so common in Trek), we see an Enterprise where Captain Picard was lost to the Borg, Riker is now the Captain and Worf is Riker's first officer. We see a reality where Wesley Crusher is the chief security/tactical officer. Another reality has a Cardassian flight control officer and the Federation is at war with the Bajorans! And in yet another reality, Worf is married to Troi! Fun all around!

Usually, this type of episode would feature Riker or Picard or Data as the central character bouncing through parallel universe to parallel universe. But this time it is Worf. It isn't that Worf doesn't get his own stories (only Picard and Data had more in TNG's seven year run), it's just that Worf stories are generally tied into Klingon politics or raising his son Alexander. It's nice that we get to see Worf as the central character in an episode dealing with time and space rather than the interworkings of Klingon politics.

Strong episode and one of TNG's best. It is a darn, fun episode, too. Worf as first officer...what could have been...

I'm not a THG fan, but this episode is as good as best from any of the shows. Worf keeps shifting from parallel universe to universe. The differences are at first subtle, then more and more pronounced. The only way it could have been better is if Worf had stayed in a universe where Riker was captain.

When this episode was first shown on television and when I first watched it on video, I was rather disappointed at the fact that the writers of the episode could have done a lot more with the parallel universe idea than they actually did. After all, in episodes like "Mirror, Mirror" in the Original Series and its (first) sequel "Crossover" in Deep Space Nine, they were able to put together some very creative ideas for how single events can change the course of history. In "Parallels", I was hoping for an all-out whirlwind tour through some of the strangest parallel worlds that the writers of Star Trek could come up with. Back then, I was disappointed.

However, having gone back and watched it a few days after the Voyager episode "Shattered" aired - a story basically designed to give a quick look back at the history of the series - I put in "Parallels" again to see how it had aged. I realized that the episode was less about parallel worlds than it was about examining the historical dynamic of The Next Generation and what made it such a wonderful series.

In retrospect, the episode was put together quite well. The episode moves from mystery to psychological thriller to science fiction with well-written ease and slows along the way to highlight the decisions that took the Enterprise to where it was at the end of the TV series.

I found the episode to be a wonderful example of Star Trek: The Next Generation in its full maturity as a series. It exemplified the best ideas of Star Trek and told a compelling story with interesting science at the same time. If you haven't seen it already and are a fan of Star Trek - or even just science fiction - I most definitely recommend owning this tape.

The ... Voyager equivalent to this episode is "Non Sequitor". This episode, unlike "Non Sequitor", is excellent. Through this episode we get to see how life could have been different for Worf, with many different possibilities. Looking back now, I don't know why the Worf-Troi romance ever went on -- I think Troi and Riker are meant for each other, but that doesn't wreck this excellent episode at all!

This is one of the best episodes of any STAR TREK series. Worf gets to be in different realities and sees how his life could've been if he had made other choices. In some of those realities we even see him married to Deanna Troi and even with children! It's a shame that we didn't get to see those kids. This is when his romantic relationship with the Half-Betazoid begins. It's something that you see in a few episodes later until the shows finale, but it was never pursued in the movies. I loved them together even if many fans disagree. Worf and Deanna have a special bond that I believe began in the episode "ETHICS" and you can see fully developed here, but only in the other universes.

But the show is much more than a romance, it's sci-fi (or STAR TREK which is the same thing for me) at it's best. It gives the questions of "What if?" some interesting answers and makes us think how our own lives could've been different. Buy it and you won't be sorry, just entertained.

This is my favorite of the Next Gen episodes. I like most alternate universe stories, but in this one you are able to see Worf's character developed a little further. It is too bad that his relationship with Deanna has never been explored as it should have.

Spoiler Warning:

"Parallels" was an exmple of what Next Generation did best. Action/adventure stories and speculative "what if" sceneros. Worf is on his way home from a Klingon Olympics type game on his home world. He crosses a space anomoly that allows him to shift from one reality to another. In one he is married to Troi! In another Riker is captain; while Picard was forever a victim of the Borg encounter! In one universe he couldn't be rescued from them.

This one is worth the price of the video. The scene of thousands of Enterprises appearing in Worf's true reality is worth it. The interaction between a "married" Worf and Deanna in his room are priceless.

the fact its changing from one alternate realty to another is an interesting plot in itself. It's an episode you can watch over and over.

Although it is an excellent story, what happemed to the Worfs in the other realities? You know, the ones that he replaced. Where did they go? Did they get bumped when he came in? The story is without resolution there. Nothing is perfect.