"Sub Rosa" is an excellent example of an American science fiction thriller. It tells the story of a remarkable human colony called Caldos. The colony inhabits a distant planet, which utilizes the latest technology in terraforming and weather pattern controls. While visiting, the crew encounters an anaphasic life-form. These type of beings require an organic host in order to maintain molecular cohesion, because of the inherent instability of anaphasic energy. The being is hundreds of years old, and has travelled from Earth to the colony by utilizing sound scientific principles. Once the crew realizes that the parasitic being is attempting to find a new host, the anaphasic being becomes hostile, and they are forced to use a phase disrupter to stop it.
Nah, just kiddin. "Sub Rosa" is actually an episode of Scooby Doo. The Mystery Van takes the crew to Scotland. Traditional Scottish stereotypes abound and the gang is warned by an angry stranger not to stay in a certain house because it is haunted. But you know, they do stay there, and it does seem to be haunted. There's a ghost that appears and disappears. For awhile, one of the girls doesn't realize he's a ghost and is smitten with him. But then, ZOINKS, ghost. There ends up being a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything that has nothing to do with science, and everything to do with meddling kids.
Nah, just kiddin again. The actual truth is, "Sub Rosa" is a mix of both of these things. That's why it doesn't work as an episode. You can't do an episode about old Scotland and ghosts and a haunted house, and then technobabble it all away and still maintain that you're a science fiction show. I knew that this episode was bad, even though I barely remembered it. It's hard to escape the legendary awfulness of a particularly bad episode of Trek, and not since "Catspaw" have I gone into an episode with lower expectations. It still disappointed. I tried to find ways to apologize for it, like maybe that they were going for a TOS feel. But that's when I realized that it honestly has more in common with Scooby Doo than anything Star Trek. Crusher has never been my favorite character. But man, was she intolerable in this episode. Gates McFadden just.... man. I don't want to be mean but there is far better acting on any random cheesy soap opera than displayed here. Maybe that's the feel they were going for, who knows? But there's just nothing redeemable about this show. It is truly Horrible. Oh wait! I take that back. The part where Picard walks in on Crusher having the kind of sex that one has with a ghost that inhabits your body and she gets all embarrassed is pretty funny.
Published May 10, 2019
FIX THE EPISODE, BABY!!
ReplyDeleteJust take either one of my first two paragraphs and roll with it. But never, never, try to do both.