TNG S04E09, S04E10, S04E11, S04E12

I realize that I'm getting a bit behind, but I'm going to do my best to catch up with a long stretch tonight and tomorrow, and then a renewed effort at sustained watching throughout the week rather than only weekend marathons.

I'm not wavering in my commitment to this "mission" one bit, I promise ;)

In this installment:
(viewed July 2-6, 2013)

Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E09 - "Final Mission"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E10 - "The Loss"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E11 - "Data's Day"
Star Trek:  The Next Generation, S04E12 - "The Wounded"

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"Final Mission"

Shut up, Wesley.

• It's always fun to yell at Wesley.
• So...how do the Gamelans eat?  O_o
  
  
  
• "Captain...of a mining shuttle?"
  
  Don't be a jerk, Wesley.
• So...I guess Geordi's "safety" check didn't cover the port thruster quad or the guidance coupling, did it?
• "Final Mission":  In which Captain Picard and Ensign Crusher get shipwrecked with a salty space captain, and Commander Riker and the Enterprise-D are off to hunt down a rogue garbage truck.
• "I can't divert any more power to the shields.  We're already hitting our maximum thermal limits.  The only other choice is to bring some other fusion reactors online, but we're running at peak coolant pressure."
  
  Wait, we have other fusion reactors?
• Aliens who encase people in ramen noodles?  That can't be good.
• This episode is Wil Wheaton's last appearance on TNG as a part of the regular cast, although he'll make guest appearances in four future episodes (and in a cut scene from Nemesis). 
  
  (He also reportedly did some voice work for off-screen members of the crew of the Narada in 2009's Star Trek reboot re-imagining.)
  
  Wil reported wanted to leave the series to pursue a career in feature film, which never really materialized.  But he's gone on to have a spectacular "grown-up" career as a television actor (with recurring roles on The Big Bang Theory and Eureka, along with numerous guest roles), author, web personality and all-around celebrity geek.  And from all accounts he's also a very, very nice dude.
  
  The cast and crew were unhappy with the way Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) had left the series, so it was decided to be more careful with the departure of young Ensign Crusher.  Having him go off to Starfleet Academy made the most sense, and it kept his character around for future episodes.
• This episode is the first mention of Boothby, the groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy's primary campus in San Francisco.
• "I was always proud of you."
• "Mr. Crusher, what are you doing in such a filthy uniform?"
  
  "You don't look so ship-shape yourself, sir."

---

"The Loss"

First World Problems, 24th Century style.

• Isn't it a little unprofessional to call your counselor by her first name?  :P
• "All of you.  You're all blank to me."
  
  Well, you've been blank to us for four seasons.  So...you know.
• For a professionally-licensed psychotherapist and Starfleet officer, Counselor Troi doesn't react very well to adversity.
• "Is this how you handle all your personnel problems?"
  
  "Sure.  You'd be surprised how far a hug goes with Geordi, or Worf."
• "Integrity field pressure has increased by 217%, Captain."
  
  That is just, like...a lot of pressure.
• I know she's only trying to goad Troi, but Guinan would be an infinitely better ship's counselor.
• "The Loss":  In which we learn that, without her telepathic abilities, Counselor Troi is only marginally less useful than she is with them intact.

---

"Data's Day"

{insert your own joke about Data's creepy smile here}

• It's nice of Data to help out Commander Maddox, given what a turd that guy was to him.
• USS Zhukov is an Ambassador-class starship.
• Keiko Ishikawa is a Douchebag-class high-maintenance  fiancée.
• This episode is the first appearance of a civilian barber aboard the Enterprirse-D.  While this barber is also a Bolian, it is not the better-known Mr. Mot.
• "My hair does not require trimming, you lunk-head."
• (Worf and Data are viewing an image of a crystal punchbowl shaped like a swan while trying to pick out wedding gifts for Keiko and O'Brien)
  
  "It is my understanding that the item should reflect the person giving it.  This does not remind me of you."
• I like how Dr. Crusher wants to keep her accomplishments in the field of dance a secret, even though she's already about as prim and feminine as one can be in the 24th Century.
• I believe this is also the first appearance of Data's cat, Spot.
• When searching YouTube for a clip of Data and Dr. Crusher tap dancing, I found this.  I can't unsee it, so now you have to see it too.
  
  
  
  
• Data asks Dr. Crusher to teach him to dance on the same day that Keiko and Chief O'Brien are getting married, and shes surprised to find out that he wanted to know how to dance for the wedding.  I love Dr. Crusher, but sometimes she's denser than Riker and Troi combined.
• "Commander Riker's easy-going manner and sense of humor is fascinating to me.  I believe it to be one reason why he is so popular among the crew.  It may also be partly responsible for his success in matters of love.  There may be a correlation between humor and sex."
  
  No, Data.  No there's not.  Trust me.
• So today was supposed to be Chief O'Brien's wedding day?  What the hell is he doing on duty in the transporter room?
• "I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid without cause."
• "Some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you."
• Keiko O'Brien is one of my least-favorite Trek characters of all time, and it starts right away in this episode.  I always thought they should've killed her and Molly early on in the Dominion War on DS9.  That way O'Brien could become a grizzled, bitter widower with a revenge complex >:)
• This is the first mention of Chief O'Brien's full name:  Miles Edward O'Brien.

---

"The Wounded"

I don't really have a funny caption for this one. It's kind of a sad episode, actually.

• This episode includes many "firsts", and one of my favorites of TNG's fourth season.
• The episode's opening captain's log contains the first mention of the Cardassians.  We're told that until fairly recently, the Cardassian Union an the United Federation of Planets were at war. 
  
  
  
  (emblems of the UFP and Cardassian Union)
  
  
  Captain Picard mentions that the peace treaty was signed a year before the events of this episode, but does not say when actual hostilities ceased.  We may assume that it was at or around the same time as the signing of the treaty, although it's possible that hostilities ceased long before a formal treaty was signed.
• We also learn that Captain Picard fought in the Federation-Cardassian War while commanding USS Stargazer.
• In both this episode and in the preceding one, we're finally getting to know more about one of my favorite Trek characters--Chief O'Brien.  He appeared in TNG as early as "Encounter at Farpoint", but it was in the fourth season that he emerged as a significant part of the show's ensemble cast.
• MILES ISN'T A FISH, KEIKO.  GIVE HIM SOME SOME DAMNED CORNED BEEF AND EGGS.
• Keiko's reaction to the revelation that O'Brien's mother not only cooked real food from scratch (as opposed to using a replicator), but also handled and processed "real meat" indicates taht--while perhaps not exactly frowned upon--the consumption of the flesh of live animals (as opposed to replicated "meat") isn't very commonplace in 24th Century human society.
• Because it's the first appearance of the Cardassians themselves, this is obviously also the first appearance of what will eventually be known as the Galor-class cruiser (simply called a "patrol ship" and "warship" in this episode).
  
  
  
  (image courtesy of Drex Files, via Ex Astris Scientia)
  
  The Galor class is generally considered a formidable warship, but somewhat smaller and less-advanced than the Federation Galaxy class (perhaps comparable to the Excelsior class, which it no doubt faced in large numbers during the Federation-Cardassian War).  The Galor class is often depicted as operating in groups of two or three ships, similar to how Klingon D7-class (and later K't'inga-class) ships operated in "packs" to even the odds against modestly-superior Federation starships.
  
  The Galor class will become one of the most prominently-featured non-Federation starships during the TNG/DS9/VOY era of Star Trek, especially on DS9.
• Our very first Cardassian, Gul Macet, is played by none other than Marc Alaimo.  Alaimo is better known for playing a more notorious Cardassian, the brilliantly-written and expertly-acted Gul Dukat on DS9.
  
  Alaimo's features inspired Star Trek make-up wizard Michael Westmore in the design of the Cardassian make-up.  Specifically, the prominent Cardassian neck ridges were a result of Westmore's observation of Alaimo's unusually long neck.
• USS Rutledge, the vessel on which Chief O'Brien and Captain Maxwell served together during the war, is never seen on screen and its class is never mentioned.  Some non-canon sources describe it as being of the New Orleans class, one of the "kitbashed" classes designed for the Wolf 359 "graveyard" in "The Best of Both Worlds".
• The Cardassian aesthetic is clearly new, with the uniforms being slightly less-defined than later iterations and these really silly-looking, uh...helmets, I guess you'd call them?  But all-in-all, it's not all that radically different than the Cardassian aesthetic that we'll see going forward.
  
  
  
• I love the look Counselor Troi gives Chief O'Brien as she and Commander Riker are leaving the transporter room with the Cardassian delegation.  She clearly picked up on O'Brien's prejudice against the Cardassians (a result of his experiences in the war).
• Poor young Cardassian just wants to be friendly, and O'Brien's all like "I DON'T DRINK WITH CARDIES!"
• "The Mistrel Boy", the song sung by the crew of the Rutledge during the war, is a patriotic Irish song written by Thomas Moore in remembrance of his comrades who died during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.  It became a popular soldiers' song throughout the Irish Diaspora, including Irish units in boht the Union and Confederate armies during the American Civil War.  It's also popular with firefighters and police in areas with large Irish-American populations (e.g. Chicago, Boston, New York City).
• "You know, sitting with the staff this morning...I could tell there were people in that room who still don't like the Cardassians."
  
  "I imagine that's to be expected."
  
  "You do?"
  
  "Sure, the war lasted a long time.  That takes its toll on people."
  
  "But the fighting's over now.  Why should anyone still feel...however they feel?"
  
  "You fought the Cardassians, didn't you?"
  
  "There were some skirmishes, when I was with Captain Maxwell."
  
  "Well, how do you feel about them?"
  
  "Me?  I feel fine.  I mean, the war is over now."
  
  DENIAL, O'BRIEN.  IT AIN'T JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT.
• After exhausting attempts to reach the Phoenix before it can fire on the Cardassian supply ship, Captain Picard orders Lt. Worf to relay the prefix code for the Phoenix to nearby Cardassian warships.  Even with the prefix code, the Phoenix is able to out-maneuver and defeat the Cardassian ship (presumably a Galor-class vessel).  This supports the conclusion that current Federation starships (e.g. the Galaxy and Nebula classes) are more than a match for the Cardassian Galor class.  In this instance, it appears to have been a case of the Phoenix's weapons range being longer than that of its Cardassian opponent.
• "It's not you I hate, Cardassian.  I hate what I became because of you."
  
  The scene in which O'Brien recalls the aftermath of the massacre at Setlik III while talking to Glinn Daro in Ten Forward is one of the most finely-acted scenes in TNG, in my opinion.  It's probably when I started to really love the O'Brien character, and when I realize that Colm Meaney was among the better actors in the Trek pantheon.
• In yet another first, USS Phoenix is the first appearance of the now-familiar Nebula-class starship (albeit with some minor aesthetic differences to the standard model seen later in TNG/DS9/VOY).  Essentially a re-arrangement of the components used in the Galaxy class, a comparison between the Galaxy and Nebula is reminiscent of the comparison between the Constitution (refit) and Miranda classes.
  
  
  
• Captain Benjamin Maxwell is an antagonist in the classic dramatic tradition of the rogue military commander, a la Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
• As intense as Captain Maxwell is, and as impassioned as his arguments are, Captain Picard is the perfect opponent to knock down every one of his arguments and remind him what he should have done instead of going rogue.  I love the scene between the two of them in Picard's ready room.
• One thing we never find out in this episode is what the crew of the Phoenix thought they were up to as Captain Maxwell ordered them to make all of these unauthorized attacks on Cardassian ships and outposts.  A commander can certainly mislead his crew--but in its military capacity, Starfleet is more akin to the military of one of the modern democracies (e.g. the United Kingdom or the United States) than it is to the obedience-at-all-costs of the armies of totalitarian states like Nazi Germany or the USSR.  Its members are bound to a higher oath than just their oath to obey the orders of their superior officers.  I would've liked to see some sort of explanation of how Maxwell deceived the crew of the Phoenix, even if it was just a throw-away line at the end of the episode.
• "Take this message to your leaders, Gul Macet:  We'll be watching."
     
  Yep, we will.  Through this series and two more.  The Cardassians will eventually become one of my favorite alien races, and--in my opinion--one of the most realistic and nuanced.  By the conclusion of the TNG/DS9/VOY-era Star Trek series, they will be nearly as recognizable as Klingons or Romulans and just as important to the Star Trek narrative.