Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:FantasticThe Enterprise finds the Vico near a black cluster half destroyed, and its crew dead. When they board the ship to retrieve its computer core in order to find out what has happened, they discover one survivor. It is a young boy named Timothy, and he is trapped under a collapsed bulkhead. He can't be beamed out, because....you know, reasons. So the rest of the crew leaves, and Data lifts the beam and rescues the boy. They beam out a split second before everything collapses.
When they get back, the boy is of course shaken. He clings to Data for comfort. When he begins talking, he says that aliens boarded the ship with phaser rifles and caused the damage. Later at starship school, Timothy doesn't fit in with the other kids that didn't just watch everyone they know (including both parents) die a horrible death. Troi suggests, for some unimaginable reason, that the autonomous robot known as Data spend unsupervised time with Timothy. Data begins the encounter by immediately insulting the boy's block-building skills and making everything worse. Next he makes being soulless and completely devoid of emotions sound glamorous. Then rounds out the visit by showing off how well he can play blocks, creating a perfect building in seconds. This really cements what a disaster Timothy's attempt was. Great therapy, session Android Freud!
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Things only get worse when the boy begins imitating Data and insisting that he is an android as well. He even dresses like him, which of course is an improvement over the Star Fleet standard issue idiotic-sweater-for-children that he arrived in. Troi feels that the best thing to do would be for everyone to go along with it and encourage Timothy to explore his android side. What?! Ok, this is not a healthy young child with an imagination that is playing pretend with action figures or pretending to be a superhero. This is a boy who only hours earlier lost his entire family and is now creating a new personality for himself with no emotions in order to wall himself off from the reality of his situation. And we're encouraging this? Eff you Deanna Troi! I mean it's one thing to let the boy deal with things in his own way, but quite another for Data to help him fix his hair and Crusher to pretend to do an android checkup, at least for a boy this age. I mean, he's not four years old, he's more like ten or eleven. Picard eventually comes to his senses, and simply confronts the boy and demands that he tell the truth. It turns out Timothy believes that he is responsible for killing everyone because he accidentally pushed a button on the bridge when he was stumbling around. They explain that it's not his fault, because pushing a single button doesn't destroy ships (unless of course it's any of the many buttons that cause an immediate warp core breach).Eventually, the Enterprise begins to suffer the same fate as the Vico. Huge shock waves keep pummeling it to death. They keep putting more and more power to the shields, and Timothy comments that this is exactly what the crew of the Vico were doing right before they were gruesomely killed. Ok, why is this kid even on the bridge? I mean he just said last time he was on a bridge he might have stumbled into the "make the front fall off" button and everyone died. Anyway, contrary to any sense, Data instructs them to drop the shields. It works, because shields make shock waves worse in dark cluster situations I guess?
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| Exactly how I would look if I found myself suddenly on the set of The Wiggles singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat. |
Published May 15, 2017
FIX THE EPISODE, BABY!
ReplyDeleteBoth the A story and the B story just need more here, and to be flipped around. The Vico's plight is now front and center, and the recently-orphaned boy is in the background. So here goes:
The Enterprise answers a distress call from the Vico, and find it heavily damaged. They have taken large amounts of casualties. Every 7 hours or so a huge shock wave is pummeling the ship, and they are slowly increasing in frequency. The captain of the Vico is at his wits end, and has lost many of his most valued advisors. It's clear that it will take both crews to solve the problem, but the captain is hesitant to turn the investigation over to a crew that he is unfamiliar with.
A small boy is trapped, and Data rescues him using his super-strength. They beam him to sick bay, but he's ok. They hail the Vicor and ask for coordinates to beam him back to his quarters, but are informed that his quarters were destroyed and his parents are dead. Timothy cries, alot, as children who have lost their parents do. The boy clings to Data, and it is Data who suggests that perhaps the boy could stay with him temporarily. Troi agrees that it's maybe the only option, but she will be spending plenty of time observing the boy and counseling him as well. Since the shock waves are spaced out nicely, Data and the boy have time to bond. Data introduces Timothy to his world. The boy has never seen a cat, and he learns to interact with it. They paint. They run boring diagnostics. The boy also introduces Data to his world. They sing, and play goofy make-believe games that are horribly awkward for the android. Timothy picks up on some of Data's mannerisms, and when the captain asks him how he's doing, he responds, "All systems are functioning within normal parameters, sir." It's cute, not creepy at all like that mirror scene in the original. In a meeting, Data also uses a phrase that he has picked up from the boy, which draws funny looks from the other officers. They are both in uncharted territory here, but by putting a little trust in each other, they actually begin to come out of their shells and enjoy the company.
Meanwhile they're making no headway on the shock waves, and the Enterprise has been sucked into the situation as well. They were forced to move closer and divert their own power to restore the shields of the Vicor. The two ships are now locked together and in dire straits. It is only with the power of both ships that they are able to fend off damage. If either of them lose shields or are destroyed, the other will go too. The waves keep coming faster and faster, until Data realizes that the shields are causing the waves. They must both drop their shields simultaneously to avert disaster. The captain of the Vicor and his crew are not sure they should trust this thrown-together conclusion, and likewise the crew of the Enterprise is uncertain if they can trust the Vicor to follow through on their end. But a heartfelt plea from Picard about trust and working together convince them. They drop shields, and the whole thing is over.
Timothy stays on the Enterprise to be delivered to his aunt and uncle at a nearby planet. Saying goodbye to Data, Timothy asks how the android will process the separation. Data responds with something like, "My positronic net by-processes have become accustomed to your presence, even becoming dependent upon your input as feedback, and will need to re-acclimate in your absence." The boy responds with, "I love you too, Data," and gives him a hug before stepping on the transporter to beam away.
*tears*