Author: tederick
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Family”
“Yes… but let him dream.” The third part of an unofficial triptych, bringing emotional closure to the two “Best of Both Worlds” episodes, “Family” is very nearly better than both of the Borg shows, and is in many ways one of the finest episodes that Star Trek: The Next Generation ever put together. It is…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”
“Last time on Star Trek: The Next Generation…” Star Trek: The Next Generation is the series that taught me to pay attention to television writers. It’s how I learned about how a writers’ room works (and developed a lifelong ambition to work in one); how the production command structure on a series works; and what…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The Best of Both Worlds”
“Well, it’s time for the long pants.” Star Trek: The Next Generation concludes the third season with what is essentially a graduate thesis on how completely the storytelling formidability of the series had evolved over the course of the year. Spinning off the introduction of the Borg in the exemplary “Q Who” last season, Michael…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Transfigurations”
“Words come later. It is the scent that first speaks of love.” I’m fairly sure I thought “Transfigurations” was Star Trek: The Next Generation’s third-season finale when it aired in 1990; and I remember thinking “wow, what an underwhelming last episode.” I can’t even recall how or why I found out that I needed to…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Ménage à Troi”
“Females do not deserve the honour of clothing.” Let me begin by thanking “Ménage à Troi” for forcing me to look up the meaning of its title when I was thirteen, thereby introducing a whole new video game level to my masturbation fantasies as a teenager. Let me continue by averring that I flat-out fuckin’…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Sarek”
“I met him once, many years ago, very briefly at his son’s wedding.” “Sarek” was marked as the first true crossover between Star Trek: The Next Generation and its vaunted predecessor, which (with the exception of lending a few episode plots along the way) had remained largely out of the way of the sequel series…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The Most Toys”
“Loo loo loo loo loo! Loo loo loo!” This is one of my favourite Data episodes, a deeply dark and fairly unsettling one-off in which the android is abducted by Kivas Fajo (Saul Rubinek), a collector of unique items from across the galaxy. It’s a rare instance of an episode getting to have its cake…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Hollow Pursuits”
“I am the goddess of empathy! Cast off your inhibitions and embrace love! Truth! Joy!” “Hollow Pursuits” is one of those terrifying episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation that was really good – and really smart – when it first aired, and actually became more so with age. Ostensibly written as a kind of…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Tin Man”
“Is that the purpose of existence? To care for someone?” “Tin Man” is probably best remembered in fan circles for its rather extraordinary musical score, which was Jay Chattaway’s first composition for Star Trek: The Next Generation and is such a verdant explosion of orchestral emotion that it probably gave Rick Berman a heart attack.…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Captain’s Holiday”
“From the moment I met you, I knew you were going to be trouble.” Captain Picard takes a vacation and ends up on an Indiana Jonesish adventure for a mythical artifact, accompanied by a beautiful sidekick and squared off against a Ferengi and two time-traveling security guards. I mean, come on. “Captain’s Holiday” sports a…