2.19 — “Manhunt”
Plot: The ship is on its way to another diplomatic conference. Surprise! It’s Lwaxana Troi and Mr. Homn, come back to reprise all the jokes from “Haven.” This time Lwaxana is going through some vague change that turbocharges her sex drive, which makes her no different from last time, and sets her sights on Picard. How can he escape? Why not try a Dixon Hill simulation on the Holodeck.
Thoughts: A tedious episode. They’re going a bit broad here, which feels like overcompensation to disguise a lack of new ideas. I still like Majel Barrett in this role. It’s good to see her. Those dark contacts are freaky, though.
It would be nice to have some idea of the role Betazed plays in the Federation, what’s at stake at the conference, and how Lwaxana is actually important to Betazed and the Federation. She can still be an outrageous character, but this would provide some counterpoint and context.
Dixon Hill is a left turn for the episode, feeling like an abrupt change of subject. Unfortunately, there isn’t much (any) story here, either. Did Picard just wax on about what a great thing World War 2 was for the history of Earth? I must have heard that wrong.
There was a lot of comedy left on the table in the dinner scene between Picard and Lwaxana.
This is a frock show for Lwaxana. We are supposed to admire all the different dresses. This gives me an opportunity to remember TOS 1.13 — “The Conscience of the King,” in which Lenore Karidian wore many wonderful costumes. Kodos the Executioner–and Riley! Remember Ensign Riley? He was looking for revenge, and all he found was a sad old man. That was a good show.
https://plus.google.com/+RAlexReutter/posts/5QKHKFhj7gm
Warp 2 out of 6 for this one.
Leave a Reply