Wanderlust

1.11 — “Haven”

1.11 — “Haven”

Plot: The Enterprise flooshes to planet Haven, seeking rest. In an extraordinary collision of coincidences, the ship runs into Counselor Troi’s surprise wedding party (neither the groom’s family, nor Troi’s Betazed mother, are from Haven, so this ambush makes no sense), and a plague ship full of Tellarians. Nobody talks to the Tellarians (why not? I guess they don’t respond), but the locals are nevertheless afraid they will land on the planet and spread disease, and ask Picard to blow them out of the sky. Which, of course, he will never do. Troi reveals that she has been betrothed since birth to Wyatt, a man she has never met, something she had decided to put out of her mind. Commander Riker is chagrined. Troi decides to shrug, be a trooper, and hope for the best. The only remaining conflict in the episode is… can Troi’s mother, Lwaxana, learn to get along with her prospective in-laws?

Thoughts: Few things about this episode make sense. The betrothal supposedly came about because the Millers are old friends of the Troi family. So why don’t they get along with Lwaxana? Why do they seem not to know each other? I guess the friendship ran through Troi’s father, who, oddly enough, we learn nothing about. Is he dead? Just divorced? Stuck in interstellar traffic?

The whole deal with the arranged marriage confuses me. Everyone seems to be fine with allowing it to happen, but who is for it? Lwaxana doesn’t seem to care very much. The Millers are white people from Earth. Apparently arranged marriages will become a thing in 300 years? There could be a science fiction explanation for this–something about the need to propagate in far-flung colony worlds–but I’d like to hear it. Meanwhile, if all the participants are either indifferent or unwilling, why is this wedding happening?

Betazed culture is all about openness, frank sexuality–and arranged marriages? Does not compute.

Wyatt has grown up, graduated from Med school, but never attempted to contact his betrothed, or even to send her a save-the-date card for their own wedding. Why does Troi tell Picard and Riker that she’s leaving the ship before she even meets Wyatt, let alone has a discussion with him about where they will live, or their careers? Why not stay on the Enterprise? Maybe Dr. Crusher needs an intern.

I actually feel bad for Jonathan Frakes, who isn’t given anything coherent to play. Riker loves Troi, but they can’t get together, because… um, no reason really. The writers have Troi say it’s because Riker wants to be a starship captain, but as far as I know, being captain doesn’t require a vow of celibacy (at least, no one told that to Kirk!). Maybe there could be a problem with Troi being in Riker’s chain of command, but since the episode already establishes that she is perfectly prepared to subordinate her own career to that of her husband, I still don’t get it. 

I went to Chrissie’s transcript site (http://www.chakoteya.net/nextgen/episodes.htm) to look up the explanation of the Riker/Troi relationship given in “Encounter at Farpoint.” There isn’t one. It’s as if the characters’ attraction for each other got written into the show bible with a big asterix to fill in the details later, but so far the writers haven’t gotten around to it.

I also feel bad for Frakes for the horrible scene in which we see him in his quarters watching holograms of young female harp players. I can’t even blame him for smirking. That scene wasn’t his fault.

Troi is very passive in an episode which is supposed to be all about her. “I have to marry a stranger? Okay, fine.” “He’s going to ditch me now for his psychic soulmate? Whatever.” She tells Wyatt she wants to go through with the wedding–but why? Are we supposed to feel bad for her at the end? I’m confused.

The real story of the episode should be about the plague ship. The Enterprise has the opportunity to rescue the sole survivors of a dead planet, who have been through a terrible ordeal, and are being treated like pariahs. The crew could demonstrate their technical acumen, and 24th century values, by curing the plague and negotiating resettlement for the refugees. All sorts of interesting dynamics could have been explored–maybe the disease has mutated? But no–the plague ship is just the MacGuffin, the vessel for Wyatt’s magical date with destiny. Which is a pretty dumb subplot. In the end, the Enterprise waves goodbye to the Tellarians without even offering assistance. 

I know, I’m overthinking it, right? This episode is just supposed to be about how much fun it is to watch Majel Barrett play Lwaxana Troi. And it is! Thanks to her, and strong supporting performances by Sirtis and Stewart, the episode is surprisingly watchable. It’s good to see Barrett playing a character who is not a doormat, like Nurse Chapel.

The awkward banquet scene reminds me of the awkward banquet scenes in two of my favorite TOS episodes: “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” and “Space Seed.” The banquet at least gives Yar the opportunity to get her hair done, and squeal like a schoolgirl at the prospect of attending a nudist wedding. What a bunch of prudes they are in the 24th century!

Based solely on Lwaxana, I’m tempted to give the episode a low pass. But, no. Grade: Fail.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Haven_(episode)

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7 responses to “1.11 — “Haven””

  1. Randi Cohen Avatar
    Randi Cohen

    OK, so the plot makes no sense, as usual.  But this episode does have several things that no other episode has had up until this point: humor, intriguing character/society, and some emotionally genuine moments .

    Also that is a super-cool talking mask.

    Lwaxana Troi, perhaps only in comparison to the smug and self-satisfied or simply pallid other characters on the show, comes off as very likeable.  Interesting culture of complete honesty that Betazoids have, which I enjoyed thinking about — I am not sure it is incompatible with arranged marriage really — perhaps they simply have no illusions about “true love”?  But certainly that could have been explained more, as you point out, Kev.

     

    I found Deanna’s fiance to be very likeable for similar reasons.  I totally love the scene in the holodeck where he says to Riker, “Running all this is a big job!”   Awesome.  Lets Riker know how silly and self-important he is while saying all nice things in a genuinely benevolent manner.  I don’t agree that Riker’s job ambitions holding them both apart necessarily does not make sense — perhaps Deanna wants a man who will prioritize the relationship over his profession, or at least hold both in equal esteem?  If so, Riker has consistently been so self-absorbed that it is not hard for me to see her point.

    Touching scene of Wyatt discovering the drawings of himself on the wall of the Tirellian ship.  Although one does wonder how he is planning to do the research needed to stop the plague if he catches it himself.  Perhaps it kills people really really slowly?

    I remember when watching the series originally I found Lwaxana Troi annoying, but on this viewing I found her delightful, because she has a way of puncturing the pomposity/smugness of the Captain as well as everyone else around her, and just because I like the idea of someone feeling free to tell the whole truth as they see it all the time.  Or perhaps it is just that the other characters are so poorly drawn at this point… Lwaxana, for all her obnoxiousness, is clearly someone who is in sharp focus for whomever is writing her character.

    Overall this is the first episode of the series that I found to be enjoyable.  I even found both Troi and Riker to be mostly likeable in it.  No particular moral/philosophical point that I could see, and yes the plot was weak, but still there were a few moments that felt “real” character-wise, which is a first IMO for the series.  Hopefully not a last!

    Reply
  2. sunny jim Avatar
    sunny jim

    You know, I actually liked this one.  Not for the super 80’s big hair, which was really something.  (Although, the Haven ambassador-person was wearing a dress that I really liked…) 

    I love Lwaxana Troi, pretty much always.  I love how uncomfortable she makes Picard.  And I love trying to figure out if she’s misreading him and being honest, or if she’s reading him perfectly, and knows that pretending he’s attracted to her will push his buttons, which is fun.  I love how Deanna turns into a six-year-old girl around her mother, which is so totally relatable. 

    I really like Wyatt in this, too.  I don’t find it too “fantasy” a premise, or plot-illogical, that there was an arranged marriage, and Wyatt always thought that his dream lady was his intended.  I think the universe is far stranger than we know, and a psychic connection between soul-mates doesn’t seem that improbable to me. 

    Also, I think the Millers have motives for the marriage – Lwaxana’s from a very powerful family, with a variety of inherited titles.  Perhaps this is their way of gaining power and prestige?  It’s not like that’s never happened before.

    I think the inconstancy in Deanna’s character is poorly drawn, but that the underpinnings are sound:  She’s known her whole life that there’s this arranged marriage that could pop up in her future.  For some reason, the life she’d rather have with Riker is off the table. (Maybe she dreams of white picket fences, a big yard, and a nuclear family?  We don’t know.) When she meets Wyatt, he’s a good dude, and she can see herself having the kind of life she wants to have.  But she’s conflicted, of course, so when he goes off to the plague ship, she can be both sad and relieved. 

    Maybe I’m just too willing to go along with whatever bullshit the writers foist off on us.  Having watched this much of Season 1 now, it’s really clear to me that the writers’ room is full of people who really don’t know what women are, or what they’re for, or how to write them in ways that make any sense.  Regardless, this is one of the few Season 1 episodes I like. 

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  3. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I was reading through the “Haven” page on The Viewscreen (http://www.theviewscreen.com/haven/) and picked up on a few more details. They do say Mr. Miller was the special friend of Troi’s father, and that he is the one who tracked Lwaxana down and reminded her of the vows they had made. Since Miller and Troi’s father are both human, it’s odd that they should be such proponents of a Betazed bonding ceremony, but perhaps there are business reasons for the Millers’ interest, because Lwaxana is “Daughter of The Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.” Although if this is essentially a trade deal, you would think that would make the union more odious to Wyatt and Deanna.

    Reply
  4. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I just rewatched the scene where Wyatt displaces Riker out of his own Holodeck simulation.  It’s an incredible scene, and it works. Wyatt is charming, and the actors are really present. I don’t care for Troi as a character, but I like Marina Sirtis as an actor. It’s the writers just keep letting us down. 

    Reply
  5. Randi Cohen Avatar
    Randi Cohen

    Yes, I loved that scene… and I find it interesting that the votes on this episode were fairly clearly split along gender lines (and the “big penis” episode last week was a huge thumbs down for me while the male contingent were able to give it slightly more leeway).

    In reading back over the comments, I think maybe we women are more likely to see a romantic plotline and character interactions as interesting enough to carry an episode in absence of anything else.  

      

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  6. Kevin Black Avatar
    Kevin Black

    I want romantic episodes that also make sense! Like “The City on the Edge of Forever” and “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky!”

    Reply
  7. Randi Cohen Avatar
    Randi Cohen

    i definitely prefer those also!

    Reply

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