Your Friday Video Link Goes To the Dogs

 

Last weekend's Movie Time post covered a film that came out last year called The Friend about a woman and a dog who bond over their shared grief.  

Since Andrea and I watched this movie a couple of weeks ago, we've come across a number of clips on You Tube where Naomi Watts and Bing made the rounds last year to promote the film on various talk shows.

Your Friday Video Link today is a clip from Drew Barrymore's show where  Naomi and her canine co-star drop by for a visit.

More dog on a talk show action with a clip from The Tonight Show where Jimmy Fallon welcomes Millie Bobby Brown and her pet doggie.    

That is at they say that for this week's edition of Your Friday Video Link.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another.

Especially dogs! 

Banana Break

 

Yep, that graphic means it's blog break time!

Back tomorrow as Your Friday Video Link goes to the dogs!

Until then, remember to be good to one another.

Doctor Who Is CLASSIC: The Sun Makers

Today is April 15th, Tax Day here in the United States.

Be sure to file your taxes and be prepared to pay up because goddam Donald motherfucking Trump's goddam golf trips to motherfucking Mar-O-Lago are not going pay for their goddam motherfucking selves. 

Am I angry about that? Yes, I am!  

Back in 1977, also pissed off about taxes was writer Robert Holmes. He turned his agression with the British tax system into a scathing satire for Doctor Who called "The Sun Makers".

Which brings us to this edition of Doctor Who Is CLASSIC! 

Producer Graham Williams did direct Holmes to dial back some of the nastier bits. And Holmes made the villainous entity a private corporation instead of a governmental agency.

Still, a whopping smack on the backside of both taxation AND rampant out of control capitalism.  

Gee, I'm glad Doctor Who back in the 1970's wasn't all WOKE and shit like it has been lately.  (Wink!) 

So what gives with this story?

It all begins when the Doctor, Leela & K9 arrive on the planet Pluto and intervene to stop this guy named Cordo from killing himself.

The cause of his suicidal distress? His tax bill.

The Company rules all, controls all.  All praise the Company!

How bad is the tax situation? Perhaps this sequence will give an idea about that.

WOMAN: Citizen Cordo, District Four?

CORDO: Yes?

WOMAN: Congratulations, Citizen. Your father ceased at one ten.

CORDO: All was well?

WOMAN: A fine death. Body weight was eighty four kilos at termination.

CORDO: I'm gratified.

WOMAN: Gatherer Hade is waiting for the death taxes.

CORDO: Yes, I have them here.

WOMAN: Pay them at the Gatherer's office.

Yep, there's a tax to be paid when someone fucking dies!

The Company barely pays it's workers a subsistence wage AND then taxes those meager earnings in ever increasing amounts. 

There's an entire Undercity filled with desperate and dejected souls, worked into subservience, taxed into submission. 

The Doctor is captured by the Company and brought to the Corrections Centre.  Gatherer Hade, an obsequeious middle management toady, is intriqued by this Doctor fellow who is so unlike the other physically and spiritually beaten down inhabitants of the Undercity.  

Leela, Cordo and K9 lead an attack on the Centre to rescue the Doctor but Hade has released the Doctor to lead him to his fellow conspirators working against the Company. 

Well, he's traded one prisoner for another as Leela is captured. Hade presents Leela to the Collector, a short hairless ill-tempered troll who sits at the center of the Company's web, tallying ever single penny of profit, every single penny of loss. 

Meanwhile, the Doctor attempts to rally the dispirited citizens to rise up in rebellion against the Company. He knows an autocratic dictatorship when he sees one and this one needs to be brought down.

And he needs to save  Leela.

The Doctor discovers the Company decimated Earth, then Mars, ravaging planet after planet until setting up shop on the planet Pluto. 

(Fuck Neil Degrasse Tyson! I was born in a solar system with 9 planets! And damn it, I say I still live in one and Pluto is a planet!)

The Collector orders Leela to be publicly executed in the steamer. It's a creepy tube where victims are, well, steamed to death.  Like broccoli. 

Leela is going to be broccolied to death.   

The Collector allows for a temporary halt in production so the workers (without pay) can attend the execution. Which they can witness for a small fee. And attendance is mandatory. 

Despite such mangaminous generosity from the Collector, the revolution is on!

Gatherer Hade is thrown from the roof to his death! 

(Man, Robert Holmes was really pissed off about that tax bill.) 

Having rescued Leela from her  death sauna, the Doctor confronts the Collector who the Doctor recognizes as a seaweed-like sentient poisonous fungus from the planet Usurius. As the rebellion proceeds, the Collector checks his computer and finds the Company is heading for bankruptcy.

The shock of this revelation is so great, it causes the Collector to revert to his natural form, a puddle of goo.  

The Doctor, Leela & K9 depart, leaving Cordo and his fellow citizens free to live their own lives, perhaps going back to Earth and rebuilding their home world. 

"The Sun Makers" is a pretty solid sci-fi story welded to a wicked sharp satire on bureaucracy, taxation, capitalism and autocracy. Robert Holmes has a lot of targets for his anger and he hits them all hard.

Gotta call out Richard Leech as Gatherer Hade  whose over the top declarations of fealty to the Collector and the Company are a source of outlandish comedy.

• Ah, what a great truth, your Sublimity. A pearl of wisdom.
• Indubitably, your Elevation
• Your Amplification
• Your Voluminousness
• Praise the Company for ever and ever. 
• Your Globosity
• Your Magnificence
• Your Supernal Eminence

Gatherer Hade was a one man Trump cabinet meeting.

There's a lot going on here that the makes "The Sun Makers" a worthy look back at classic Doctor Who.

Now, go pay your taxes! Donald Trump needs more bombs. 

Tuesday TV Touchbase: Fallout, St. Denis Medical and High Potential

We’ve got a LOT of ground to cover with this week’s Tuesday TV Touchbase!

 

Three different series with nothing in common except they all finished their second season.

 

I wrapped up Fallout last week and wow!

 

The world building in this post apocalyptic series is remarkable.   The shattered remnants of a modern society sitting alongside the desolation of a pitiful existence with mutated monsters all about.  All set to the perky soundtrack of 1950’s pop standards both well known and obscure.  

 

Lucy finally corners her daddy Hank, determined to make him pay for his crimes. Since escaping the Vault, Hank has been busy using neck embedded control thingys to turn the savage denizens of the above ground wasteland into zombies.  

Granted they are polite and productive now and no longer trying to kill each other zombies but zombies none the less and that is Lucy’s bone of contention with what Hank is up to.  In the end, Lucy frees Hank’s enslaved population while Hank himself gets mind wiped by his own tech.  But has freeing these mind controlled zombies only made things worse? 

 

(Ella Purnell who plays Lucy is another British actor affecting a near flawless American accent.) 

 

Maximus has tried to be the good guy, bringing order and justice to the wasteland but like Lucy, he has to contend with whether his actions to make things better have only made things worse.  Various factions in the wasteland are gearing up for war.

 

In the Vaults below, things are deteriorating with dwindling resources, petty bickering and the dawning realization that Vault-Tech may not have had their best interests in mind when they built the Vaults.  The shit going down in the Vaults can be intriguing but I find all the above ground adventures far more fascinating.

 

Back above ground, the Ghoul, the former Cooper Howard, can absolutely assert that Vault-Tech was up to some bad shit.  The flashbacks to the before times (where actor Walton Goggins gets to play a character with an intact nose) expose the secret manipulations by Vault-Tech to bring about the very war they profess to be protecting against.  At the center of that conspiracy is Barbara Howard, Cooper’s wife.   

In the desolation of the present, the Ghoul has tracked down the cryogenic chambers that contain his wife and daughter. 

Or suppose to.  

The chambers are empty with a note suggesting Barbara has gone to Colorado.  The season ends with the Ghoul and his canine companion Dogmeat (I am pleasantly surprised that Dogmeat has survived this long) ready for their next quest. 

 

St. Denis Medical ends it’s 2nd season with a life changing event as the perpetually grumpy Dr. Ron has to undergo heart bypass surgery after learning he had a 90% blockage that was days away from killing him. Well, damn, that’s a serious turn.  

Ron is trying to have his surgery on the downlow but word gets out and suddenly Ron is surrounded by a bunch of well meaning co-workers he doesn’t want to be there.  There is a break in his curmudgeonly armor when he actually asks nurse Alex to stay with him.

 

Meanwhile, after their big damn kiss in the previous episode, sweet innocent Matt and worldly sardonic Serena have some difficulties navigating around that without making things weird.  Thankfully they finally talk things out and we head into the summer break before season 3 with Matt and Serena in a good place. 

 

We do NOT end season 2 of High Potential with everyone in a good place involving Morgan Guillory and Adam Karadec. 

 

The murder of the week finds Karadec’s girlfriend Lucia in the crosshairs of the investigation.  And while she didn’t personally commit the killing, she was caught up in the cover up conspiracy and is arrested for her part in the murder.  Poor repressed Karadec actually put his heart on the line and this is what he gets? Geez!

 

Will this make this make the Morgan/Karadec shippers happy? Well, the scene where Karadec comes over to Morgan’s house and she calls him “Adam” and he looks so sad that Morgan sheds a tear that Karadec tenderly brushes away and… Oh My God! What’s going on here?  Well, shippers, sorry, not what you think. And quite frankly, I’m not eager to push these two in that direction.

 

Meanwhile, Morgan Guillory has her own distraction and damned if it isn’t Nick Wagner.

When Nick Wagner came on board as the new captain of the Major Crimes Unit, we didn't like him, we didn't trust him.

He was a shifty asshole and quite frankly I wanted to see this sorry jerk die a terrible and humuliating death.

Then the cracks in the facade begin to appear and oh hell no, I do not want to like the bastard but could he possibly  be a good guy? 

And there was the big damn kiss with Morgan and oh most emphatically HELL NO! And she didn't say no and girl, do not suggest after all this time, you're starting to like this guy? 

Remember when he got here? We didn't like him, right? We didn't trust him, you recall that? 

But damned if he didn't put himself on the line to help to Morgan solve the 2 season mystery of what happened to Roman and...

Is Nick Wagner going to die in Morgan's arms? NOOOOOO!

Not when we're starting to like the son of a bitch! NO! 

But that's a wrap on season 2 and we've got a summer to await what happens next on High Potential. 

That is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.

Next week,  2 shows return that have in common they are both in their 5th and final seasons and that's all.

The Boys and Hacks.  

2 totally different shows in 1 single Tuesday TV Touchbase blog post. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.   

 

 

Moon Trekking IV: Back To Earth

The rush of the Artemis II rocket hurtling into space....

The wonder of the crew as they ventured out over 252,000 miles into space....

The awe of seeing the up close Moon and the distant Earth like never before....

The exhilaration as the Orion spacecraft Integrity blazed across the sky....

The relief as the capsule gently came to rest in the Pacifc Ocean, it's 4 intrepid travellers safely delivered back to Earth...

All of that is behind us.

But let's cling to those memories for a little while longer if we can.

What Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen did was incredibly awesome in the dangerous and adventurous mission to plunge deeper into the void of space than any other human has ever gone.

But the most important accomplishment was to remind us that we can be so much more than our human limitations if we work together and trust in each other.   

As North Carolina native and NC State graduate Christina Koch said about what it means to be part of a crew, we are all part of Earth's crew.

I'm going to cop to being a fan of Christina during this mission. Her enthusiasm and near limitless good spirits while in space were inspiring.

And Christina proudly wore the mantle of "Space Plumber" as the mission specialist charged with fixing the problematic space toilet.

What we called here on Earth the "Wolowitz Zero Gravity Waste Disposal System".  

Speaking of Big Bang Theory, Astronaut Mike Massimino who played "Astronaut Mike Massimino" on the show was on hand as one of the commentators on CNN during Orion's return to Earth and splashdown.  

I think the crew naming their Orion spacecraft Integrity may have produced some awkward phrasing by reporters.

When Christina exited the craft, someone on TV said "Christina Koch is out of Integrity".  

What? We can no longer trust Christina? (Ha. Ha.) 

Well, I thought it was funny. Anyway...

Look, I needed to relieve some tension. I was emotionally overcome in the moments through the Orion craft's descent through the atmosphere and it's eventual safe landing in the Pacific and the all clear that the crew was fine.

That was a LOT! 

I think for all the seriousness of their mission and the inherent risks involved, we connected with the core humanity of these daring adventurers into space and their very real and mundane problems.   

Some random nonsense like a jar of Nutella floating by or the way the smiling plushy named Rise would bob in the gravity-less air of the Integrity module. 

The absurd next the awesome infinity that surrounded them.

And for all that we found amusing in this journey, it was never lost on me the enormity of what was happening way out there in space.

In one direction of the hurtling spacecraft lies the endless mysteries of cosmic existence.

In the other direction is our home, a bright and fragile ball of life hanging in the void.  

The exploration of space leads us forward to the unknown but it also anchors us to where we come from, a reminder of how small and precious our world is and our responsibility to protect it.

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were so much a part of our lives from their home in the deep blackness of space for over a week and I'm going to miss the joy of seeing their video messages back to Earth.  

Now they are home and probably will be making the rounds of the news programs and talk shows for interviews.  

And eyes are already on the next mission, Artemis III.

But let's try to hold on to the feeling we had from last week, the wonder of exploration, the thrill of discovery and perhaps most importantly, the warm and abiding wisdom that humanty can accomplish great things when work together.

When we remember that we are all part of Earth's crew.  

Iran So Far Away

Pop Quiz! 

Match the gauldy patter to the belligerent bully.

No peeking at the answer key. Let's have fun with this, guys!

That "hedgehog/porcupine" threat is a good one! I need to use that one myself sometime.

So....

Li' Donnie, watcha doing with that whole war excursion thingy over in Iran?

There's a ceasefire I think?

But we're still gonna kick the shit out of 'em.... I think?

I'm not sure what to think but that's OK! Donald Trump doesn't seem to be sure either.   

You know, I'm just gonna let Dave Columbo explain it to you.

So yeah, that clears everything up just fine.

So all y'all liberal snowflakes can just shut the fuck up, you crazy bastards. 

Last week der Führer threatened the Iranian people with genocide.

Yes, the FIFA Cup Peace Prize winner threatened to end the entire civilization of Iran if they did not capitulate to his demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

The same waterway that Trump says we really don't care about because we have our own oil. 

The same strait that Li'l Donnie says we don't need anyone's help with but  he's still pissed that NATO did not help us solve the problem we created by starting a war they were not consulted on. 

The ceasefire has not stopped Trump from bellowing his belligerent threats to obliterate Iran's military,

You know, the same military that the Dumpster Trumpster* said was already obliterated at the start of this alleged "excursion".

*I'm not sure about this nickname but still trying to make it work.

My wife Andrea (along with the rest of the world) is worried this is going to lead to World War III.

Me, I'm thinking this is great! We're overdue for a good ol' World War.  The last one was fucking awesome.

World War II gave us the best movies, the best songs, the best villains!  (Nazis! I hate Nazis!!) America kicked some serious ass in WWII!  AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!!!

Now WWIII is shaping up a bit different. It seems the United States might be on the bad guy side this time? We kind of did start this and I gotta admit, that's a bit awkward. 

And the script is a bit lacking.

WWII: FDR "We have nothing to fear but fear itself!"

WWIII: DJT "Open the fuckin strait, you crazy bastards or you'll be living in HELL!" 

OH, you don't think I should be making light of the potential that Donald Trump is pushing us into World War III? 

Well, you know what I have to say to that?

If you start throwing hedgehogs under me, I shall throw a couple of porcupines under you! 

So there!  

Did that line work? I so wanted the "hedgehog/porcupine" thing to work.

Apparently peace talks between the United States and Iran reached a bit of a impasse.

Iran: Please stop bombing us.

United States: But we have lots of bombs and want to use them.

Reportedly the sticking point for Iran is their access to and use of nuclear power. Iran says they don't want a nuclear bomb but thinks they should have access to uranium for a nuclear power plant.  

The counterpoint from America is no, we don't trust Iran with any uranium for any reason. No trust, no 'ranium.

Iran's counter to that is to point out the last time they agreed to not have a nuclear bomb and did not in fact have a nuclear bomb, the motherfucker who is President now was President then and it was that guy who tore up the agreement that Iran was abiding by but that idiot felt like Iran was cheating somehow.  So not a lot of trust on the other side of the fence.

So Trump is all giddy over the prospect of bombing more shit in Iran. 

Look, we got a lot of bombs. Would be kind of a shame not to use them. 

Finishing up today's post is a musical parady of the 1980's hit song by A Flock of Seagull, "(I Ran) So Far Away".

Update on this mess: Li'l Donnie has sent warships into the Strait of Hormuz and now we're gonna block it or something?

If you start throwing hedgehogs under me, I shall throw a couple of porcupines under you!

Yeah, guys, I don't think this expression is gonna catch on.

____________________________

And we're back later this morning with a 2nd post of a more positive nature as we wax nostalgic over last week's mission to the moon.  

Star Trekking - The Next Generation - Season 2 - "Peak Performance"

 

It's another edition of Star Trekking, my blog post for all things Star Trek.

This week we continue our look back at Star Trek: the Next Generation as we come to Season 2.

The season got off to a late start due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike with only* 22 episodes produced.

*It's weird to use the world "only" for a 22 episode season in today's current era of TV production where seasons can be as short as only 8 to 10 episodes.  

Season 2 brought some changes.

Jonathan Frakes grew a beard. It was an affectation that somehow parallels Will Riker becoming a more well rounded character.

After a season of not having a regular person in the role of Chief Engineer, Geordi La Forge got the gig starting with season 2. It was a role that gave Levar Burton more to work with to make Geordi more relevant and impactful. 

Gates McFadden was gone and she took Dr. Beverly Crusher with her. Apparently there was friction between her and writer/producer Maurice Hurley and Hurley got her fired. (Hurley did not make it past season 2 and McFadden was brought back as of season 3.) 

Joining the cast as the new Chief Medical Officer was Dr. Katherine Pulaski, played by Diana Muldaur.  She was a veteran of two seperate roles on the original Star Trek. Pulaski was intended to bring some snap into the otherwise congenial cast, bringing a sort of the irrascible, cranky spirit of Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the original series.  It was a character dynamic that did not wear well on TNG. She always seemed detached from the rest of the cast and most fans at best tolerated her presence on the Enterprise. 

(Muldaur was not in the opening credits but listed in the secondary credits as a "special guest star". I think that added to fans not feeling she was truly part of the Enterprise team.) 

Also joining the show was Whoopi Goldberg as the bartender Guinan in Ten Forward. Guinan was a warm and positive addition to the cast,  Whoopi was only a recurring part of the show but her presence was always welcomed.  

Season 2 was a bit more steady on it's feet in compared to rather lackluster Season 1 and there were a lot more episodes for me to choose from for today's spotlight.  

I could've gone for "Elementary, Dear Data" which gave us the fantastic Daniel Davis as Prof. Moriarty and introduced the concept of sentient holodeck programs that would go on to be used in the character of the Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager and Starfleet Academy.  

Or "Q Who" which brought back John DeLancie as Q and introduced the Borg.

Or "The Measure of a Man" which detailed the legal challenge to consider Data an autonomous sentiment life form.  

But for my spotlight episode of season 2, I'm opting to look at "Peak Performance", directed by Robert Scheerer and written by David Kemper.  

It is by no means better than those other episodes I mentioned above but I do enjoy watching this installment for some good ol' dumb fun and some pretty cool character development.  

Starfleet Command orders the Enterprise to engage in simulated combat exercises with a derelict starship, the Hathaway. A renowned Zakdorn strategist named Sirna Kolrami is on hand in the roles of observer and mediator for the battle simulation. 

Kolrami is blunt and brusque in his interactions with Picard and the crew, showing particular disdain for Riker who Picard has selected to command the Hathaway.  

Riker approaches the assignment with fatalistic dark humor but also with the conviction that he will make sure Picard has a fight on his hands.  

"Remember: Captain Riker has never lost!" 

Well, technically he's never won either, you smart ass!

Riker has to assemble a crew of 40 to make the Hathaway functional in 48 hours before the games begin. (Picard has already staked out Data to be on his team.) 

Here's a sequence where Riker recruits Worf.  

Worf kind of doesn't wanna do it.

WORF: Waste of time.

RIKER: It's just designed to be an exercise.

WORF: Useless. If there is nothing to lose, no sacrifice, then there is nothing to gain.

RIKER: You mean besides pride. Well, in this case it doesn't matter. I probably haven't got a chance.

WORF: There is always a chance.

RIKER: Slim. The Hathaway's most sophisticated weapon system, even in a computer mock-up, can't hope to defeat the Enterprise. .... You're out-manned, you're out-gunned, you're out-equipped. What else have you got?

WORF: Guile.

RIKER: Join me.

WORF: The honour is to serve.

I like that Riker gets Worf on his side by telling him how awful this experience is going to be and Worf taking that as a challenge. A great character moment for them both.

Riker also recruits Wesley Crusher (yeah, he got to stay even though Mom left the ship) because damned if RIker will not let an educational moment pass for the young acting ensign. 

Meanwhile Kolrami is puttering about the ship being a complete asshole to everybody and Dr. Pulaski thinks this bastard needs to be taken down a peg.  

It seems Kolrami is a grand master of some kind of sci-fi gobbledegook game called Strategema and Pulaski thinks that's her way to show this snotty strategist what's what.

KOLRAMI: Lieutenant Commander Data, I am intrigued by your challenge. Doctor Pulaski informed me of your desire to play a game of Strategema.

DATA: But I expressed no such interest.

PULASKI (interjecting herself between Data and Kolrfami): What Commander Data means is that he would never have asked you himself, but I know he's very interested in pitting his skill against yours.

KOLRAMI: Play against a machine. Why should I wish to?

PULASKI: I don't blame you. It's no fun going into a game when you know you're going to lose.

KOLRAMI: But I wouldn't lose. Now you're no doubt going to tell me that I have to prove it to you.

PULASKI: Come on, Data, you can't let that pass.

DATA: Indeed, I. (pause as Pulaski makes faces at him) Cannot?

KOLRAMI: Then you will play for the honour of your ship.

PULASKI: The honour of the ship? It's your reputation that's on the line. 

Yeah, I did not care for Dr. Pulaski but this was a rare moment where I enjoyed her character stirring the pot to create some drama and make things interesting and show up Kolrami.

And Data forced to translate Pulaski's non-verbal facial cues is a clever bit. 

She really wants Data to, in her words, "bust him up". 

Alas her plan to have the android destroy the prickly Zackdorn at his own game does not play out as expected.  Data loses the Strategema match.

Which creates for our emotionless android a crisis of confidence as he sulks in his quarters trying to figure out what's wrong.  

Over on the Hathaway, there is a LOT that is wrong. 

Geordi is lucky to get the lights on and Riker's asking for warp drive? Yeah, the Hathaway has a couple of chunks of dilithium but without anti-matter, their not worth a Jaloopian binflekrink.

What is a Jaloopian binflekrink? It's not worth much is what it is.

Then Wesley asks for permission to return to the Enterprise. He left a science project about plasma energy (or something) running and he needs to shut it down. Kolrami reluctantly grants Wesley permission to return but under close guard and Wes can only interact with the experiment. 

Oh no! The experiment is degrading and will need to be disposed of. Wesley will beam the experiment off the ship to be disintegrated in space.

A few minutes later....

Wesley's experiment materializes in the Hathaway's engineering section.  

Later, Riker enters engineering to find Geordi LaForge and Wesley Crusher hard at work.   

(Wesley's experiment is being put into a wall panel.)

LAFORGE: Easy now. Is that it?

WESLEY: Yeah.

LAFORGE: Good. Good work. All right, Hand me the connector on that kit.

RIKER: What is that?

WESLEY: My experiment from the Enterprise.

RIKER: Wes?

WESLEY: It deals with high energy plasma reactions with anti-matter.

RIKER: You went back to the Enterprise for that? Wes, you cheated.

WESLEY: No, sir. You told me to improvise.

LAFORGE: The hard part's going to be calibrating the thermal curve necessary to start a controlled reaction.

RIKER: Assuming you can, can you regulate the reaction?

WESLEY: There's just enough crystal to do it. We plan to channel the reaction through the chips.

LAFORGE: Are we good?

RIKER: You're better than good. Great. Brilliant. It's going to be fun. Carry on.

So that's how warp drive works? Hey kids, go out and build your own! 

I know Wesley Crusher was not well liked in his time on the Enterprise but this sequence was a good use of his intellect, skills and his youth. 

"You told me to improvise."

I was actually proud of Wes in that moment. 

Meanwhile, Dr, Pulaski and Deanna Troi present Capt. Picard with a problem.   

PICARD: Let me try to understand. You're saying that Commander Data is suffering from a profound loss of confidence, and that you believe only I can restore the balance?

TROI: Yes, sir.

PULASKI: Both Deanna and I have tried, but we're not getting through to him.

PICARD: Don't you think you both might be overreacting? Data is not capable of the emotions which you are assigning to him.

PULASKI: The effects are the same, whether they're caused by human emotions or android algorithms. Data's not on the Bridge, and I don't think Data's going to be on the Bridge until we find some way to address his problem.

PICARD: I am less than an hour away from a battle simulation, and I have to hand-hold an android.

PULASKI: The burdens of command.

Again, Pulaski was not a favorite character but that dryly delivered snark ("The burdens of command.") was a good moment for her. 

I will take a moment to acknowledge Deanna Troi continued to be underserved by the writers who clearly had no idea what to do with her. With the curmudgeonly Pulaski and the wise, droll Guinan pulling focus, Troi seemed more sidelined than ever. 

As the show improved in seasons to come, Troi would get some better treatment but it is slow in coming.

So Picard goes down to Data's quarters to tell him to get the hell over his self doubt, get his ass on the bridge and help plot a strategy to defeat Riker and the Hathway.

Picard's parting shot to Data offers some good advice: "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose". Well, true that. 

The war games get underway and thanks to some sneaky shenanigans by Worf, the Hathaway gets in the first shots and the Enterprise sustains "damages".  First blood to "Captain" Riker and the Hathaway.   

"Remember: Captain Riker has never lost!" 

But the battle simulation takes a real turn into real danger when a Ferengi vessel really attacks. 

For real? Yeah, really! 

With the Enterprise engaged in fake battle, they are unprepared for real battle and damned if the Ferengi don't get in a lucky shot and momentarily disable the Enterprise.  

Oh the damn Ferengi.  They were introduced in season 1 as an alien replacement for the Klingons. While the Klingons were all about war for the glory of it, the Ferengi were in it for the money. Profit was their honor, loss was their shame. 

Capitalism was their religion. Kindness and compassion were antiethical to their way of life. 

But the Ferengi devolved fairly quickly into parody and became jokes in the Star Trek universe, reduced to bit players sufficient only to provide a plot contrivance in someone else's story. 

Like this one.

So the Ferengi are puzzled by the Enterprise's interest in the derelict Hathaway and suspect it must have value. The Ferengi will take it or destroy it. And right now, the Enterprise can't stop them. 

Yes, Bractor the Ferengi captain is Armin Shimerman making his 2nd appearance on TNG as a Ferengi.  Shimerman will go on to play Quark, a much better and more nuanced Ferengi in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The other Ferengi on the right is David L. Lander who was Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley.  

Kolrami tells Picard to cut his losses and let the Ferengi have the Hathaway. But Picard says no, he has people on that ship and he's gonna get 'em.

But he needs a plan. 

PICARD: Number One, have you been monitoring communications?

RIKER [on viewscreen]: And Kolrami's right. You've got to save the Enterprise.

PICARD: That would leave you defenseless.

RIKER: When Bractor closes in, we'll hit our warp drive and take our chances.

KOLRAMI: Your what? Impossible! That ship was rendered warp inactive.

The reactions from Picard and Kolrami are priceless. How the hell does RIker have warp drive on that old junk heap of a starship?

But it presents an option to stop the Ferengi.  

DATA: Premise. The Ferengi wish to capture the Hathaway believing it to be value. Therefore we must remove the ship from their field of interest. 

KOLRAMI: And they will soon relocate it after a two second warp.

PICARD: There is a way. Number One, can you hear this?

RIKER : Yes, sir. We're all here. Waiting for you to pull another rabbit out of your hat. 

PICARD: Mister Data

DATA: On the Captain's signal, we will fire four photon torpedoes directly at the Hathaway. One millisecond after its detonation, the computer will trigger your warp jump.

LAFORGE: I think I hate this plan. Data, we're not even sure our warp jump will work.

DATA: If the warp engines fail to function, the result could be unfortunate.

WORF: Very unfortunate.  We will be dead.

RIKER: What the hell. Nobody said life was safe.

There's a lot going on here in this scene that I like. Geori's very human "I think I hate this plan" reaction and Worf's low key statement of the obvious "We will be dead." 

And Riker rolls the dice with "Nobody said life was safe." It's a bit reckless of him but I like to believe it's a reaction based on confidence in his team to deliver in the crunch.  

Not really a spoiler to say the scheme works and the Ferengi hightail it out of there. 

And Kolrami reluctantly concedes that Riker and his Hathaway crew did a really good job.

And it's not the only thing Kolrami will have to concede.

The strategema rematch is on! 

(The Strategema game between Data and Kolrami is in full flow. The crowd are very excited. The scores are in the 32000! and climbing. Kolrami is sweating, Data is unblinking and has a slight smile.)

KOLRAMI: Bah! (throws off the controls)

DATA: Why have you suspended the game?

KOLRAMI: Because this is not a rematch. You have made a mockery of me.

(Kolrami exits in high dudgeon)

RIKER: Data, you beat him!

DATA: No, sir. It is a stalemate.

WORF: No game of Strategema has ever gone this high.

LAFORGE: What did you do?

DATA: I simply altered my premise for playing the game.

RIKER: Explain.

DATA: Working under the assumption that Kolrami was attempting to win, it is reasonable to assume that he expected me to play for the same goal.

WESLEY: You didn't.

DATA: No. I was playing only for a standoff, a draw. While Kolrami was dedicated to winning, I was able to pass up obvious avenues of advancement and settle for a balance. Theoretically, I should be able to challenge him indefinitely.

PULASKI: Then you have beaten him.

DATA: It is a matter of perspective, Doctor. In the strictest sense, I did not win.

TROI + PULASKI: Data!

DATA: I busted him up.

ALL: Yes!

OK, that was sappy and corny as hell but c'mon! Kolrami had it coming and Data needed the win. 

"Peak Performance" is not a great episode.  The contrivance of having the Ferengi show up as a threat was, well, contrived.  

But the show's willingness to expend most of the episode's time and energy not towards the alien problem of the week but rather to getting to spend time with our characters and watch them grow and interact is why I personally enjoy this episode.

And it demonstrates the evolution of TNG's improvement over season 1. 

SIDE NOTE: Thanks to Chrissie's Transcripts Site which provides scripts for all things Star Trek and Doctor Who.

Next week on Star Trekking.

We're up to season 3 of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Things get way better for the series and it's harder to pick one episode for the spotlight. But I do! 

Data has to improvise and Picard faces an alien threat who is as bureaucratic as they are deadly.  

From Science Fiction to Science Fact.

Another installment of Moon Trekking as we look back at the Artemis II mission to... THE MOON!  

That will be paired up with our usual Mondaty political post... tomorrow.