Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 43: Samaritan Snare [VHS]

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

 

 

All this episode is missing is the Wesley Crusher save at the end.

Picture this:

Okay, we're at the end of the episode. Picard's laid out on the operating table. He's real shook up about this heart thing, so much so that he wouldn't even get it done on his own ship for fear that the crew would think he's weak.

And then, holding the Captain's heart in his hands, in walks The Boy:

"I've never done this before, but I have some great news. I just passed my Starfleet exams! Please don't be worried Captain Picard."

Perfect ender for a Second season episode. Picard learns there is strength in facing one's weaknesses and Wesley saves the day again and wraps up some daddy issues.

Perfect.

But it didn't actually end that way so it only gets four stars. Sorry, Captain Picard.

I love Star Trek: The Next Generation and have loved most of the episodes of this magnificent TV show's long run but of the few episdoes that I don't like Samaritan Snare is high on my short list of worst episodes. Sub Rosa is what I think is the #1 worst episode and this episode Samaritan Snare is the #2 worst episode! The Pakleds are really annoying and this episode is like watching a really bad B movie that could easily be made fun of by Mystery Science Theater! This episode is just plain dumb!

I really dislike this episode and like so many of those I find weak; it is largely due to it having two distinct lines to the plot. The first is that Picard's artificial heart is starting to fail and he refuses to have the surgery performed on the Enterprise. Therefore, Dr. Pulaski orders him to a star base to have the surgery. It is also time for Wesley Crusher to take his Star Fleet exams, so they travel together to the star base. They have some effective conversations during their trip and it is clear that Wesley feels closer to Picard when they arrive.
The surgery begins and quite predictably, there is a crisis and Picard is on the verge of death. Of course, the only person within hundreds of light years who can solve the problem is Dr. Pulaski, so the Enterprise is ordered to make speed to the base. This is such a weak plot device that I am surprised that the producers felt they had to resort to it. Furthermore, the costumes that the operating room personnel wear are ridiculous, and they are not wearing surgical masks.
The second plot line is that when Picard is gone the Enterprise receives a distress signal from a ship crewed by a race called the Pakleds. They are dullards and are unable to repair their ship. This is interesting for about two minutes and unfortunately, the episode runs another forty minutes. The Pakleds repeat the same phrases over and over again, which really grates. Geordi beams over and easily repairs their ship, but when he is done, the Pakleds refuse to let him return. Somehow, they have managed to hide the fact that they have shield capability from the Enterprise scanners. The Enterprise command crew then manages to deceive the Pakleds and beam Geordi back to the Enterprise. The idea that such a species could ever reach the level of space travel is absurd.
This is a boring episode, in some ways it is offensive because the lack of intelligence of the Pakleds is so stereotypically portrayed. Having Dr. Pulaski be the only person who can repair Picard's artificial heart is one of the lamest plot devices ever used in the series.

How ironic that after providing the equivalent of a new mission statement and a fresh start with the previous episode, "Q Who?" that the series follows up with this rather tepid entry. There are two plot lines. The first has Captain Picard in need of a cardiac replacement. In seems that as a lad Picard had made some unfortunate remarks concerning the parentage of a Norsican that resulted in a fight during which he was stabbed through the heart. The second plot line has La Forge beaming over to help repair a supposedly disabled Pakled ship only to be held hostage unless Riker beams over the Enterprise's computer records. However, the Pakleds are--and there is no nice way of saying this--not the brightest stars in the universe. Of course while Riker is dealing with this clowns there are complications with Picard's operation. A biomolecular physiologist is needed and wouldn't you know it, the only one close enough to save the day is Dr. Pulaski and she is stuck on the Enterprise during the, uh, crisis.

Consequently this is a trivial little episode. The Pakleds are pests more than serious threats, especially since we found out in the previous episode about the Borg. However, Picard's little aside to Wesley about how he came to need a new heart will result in the wonderful "Tapesty" episode (#141) from Season 6, where Q gives Picard a chance to live that particular moment over. This only goes to show what good writers can do with little details.

"We like things that make us go" and Picard's mechanical heart

In this episode we get to see two major events: La Forge's Crimson Force Field ALA the "Corbomite Maneuver" and we learn of Picard's mechanical heart. The A story is about aliens that retro fit technology from other planets. The infamous Pakleds are pretty much as laughable as the Ferengi. The B story was an account of how Picard got an artificial cardiac replacement after a bar room brawl in his youth. Both of these elements make this one worth the price of the videocassette.