SPOILEReview: "The First Duty"
Jason Snell
This season's made me like Wesley. Though I wish Ashley Judd had been in this
one... then again, it probably would've been cramped. Still, would've been
nice to see her.
Anyway, this episode reminded me of "Family." True, part of it was because it
was set on earth, but another part was that it played me as a show based on
character interplay: Picard/Wesley, Picard/Boothby, Wesley/Lacarno,
Wesley/Beverly... There was a science fictional element, not like in
"Family's" main plot, but it wasn't the most important part.
I appreciated the performances of Stewart and Wheaton immensely. Walston was
good and all, but his part was minor. And rightly so -- it really didn't seem
relevant. Kudos to the person who suggested a mention that he was from the
Mars Colony, or better yet, that they make him an Andorian. But missed
in-jokes don't detract from the episode as a whole.
Lacarno was a weasel, and it was pretty obvious. The only catch is this: I
feel that lots of these "leader/discipline" types, especially as kids like
Lacarno, are weasels. Some of them have integrity, sure, but a lot of the ones
I've met DON'T. And yet people follow them, because while they've got the
manual that lets them know how to push the right buttons, they've got no
morals whatsoever. Lacarno was such a person.
I think lots of them grow out of it. Lacarno's screw-up, however, was so great
that he didn't get the chance. Wesley will. Picard did.
This show was actually riveting, too, because Wesley's no longer a regular
cast member.. and because I was shocked that they'd make Wesley do anything
dumb at all. Nice work. Nice writing.
I knew season 5 was improving, but this is ridiculous. I must be becoming soft
in my old age.
Grade: A
Season to date:
Redemption II: B
Darmok: A+
Ensign Ro: C+
Silicon Avatar: C+
Disaster: F (C- if Nipsey Russell guest stars)
The Game: A-
Unification I: B-
Unification II: C+
A Matter of Time: B
New Ground: D
Hero Worship: D+
Violations: A-
The Masterpiece Society: A
Conundrum: A
Power Play: C+
Ethics: B+
The Outcast: A
Cause and Effect: A
The First Duty: A
--
Jason Snell / jsn...@ucsd.edu / Editor, InterText Magazine
For subscription (ASCII/PostScript)/submission information, mail me!
"I don't want you to think we're... _Video Watchdog_ people who worship
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Timothy W. Lynch
>SPOILERama!
>Anyway, this episode reminded me of "Family."
In some ways, I suppose. I'd actually been thinking more of "The Measure of
a Man" and "The Drumhead" in terms of "courtroom drama", but a lot of elements
from "Family" were here as well.
>This show was actually riveting, too, because Wesley's no longer a regular
>cast member.. and because I was shocked that they'd make Wesley do anything
>dumb at all. Nice work. Nice writing.
Very.
>I knew season 5 was improving, but this is ridiculous. I must be becoming soft
>in my old age.
Probably. Just don't go back and watch "Disaster" now; if you end up
grading it higher, I'm all alone! :-)
Tim Lynch