The TREKKER Reviews


SERIES
The Next Generation
EPISODE
55
TITLE
The Enemy
STARDATE
43349.2


A storm. There are several people out there. It looks a bit like a typical Adelaide summer day - you know the sort, wind at 90mph and bucketing down with rain. A closeup reveals Riker, Worf and Geordi aimlessly milling around. Presumably there are looking for something but we know not what. "The Tricorders can only scan to 5m". This is some storm, so Riker in his wisdom says, "Stay in a 25m radius". Why? Is he somewhat demented? Silly question. If the Tricorders can only see to 5m and we can see to less, what is Riker using for vision - or has he got his hands in his pants again as usual?

As we have come to expect, Geordi falls down a pit. It's easy to know why though, because as all you role-players will know, infravision can't see pits! Now he is stuck in the bottom of a hole and his magic specs have fallen off. I am still reminded just how much they look like the sides of an air-cleaner that I used to have in my old Kingswood...

Riker and Worf find an injured Romulan, and after a cursory glance decide that Geordi must be off shopping and beam back to the Enterprise without him. That's right sports fans, they left the black man and took back an white man, alien though he was. A clear case of racial discrimination, so this is obviously not a politically correct episode.

After beaming back to the ship, William "King of Subtlety" Riker asks Picard if he can lead another away-team back to the surface to look for Geordi, but Picard says "No". A KKK meeting if I ever saw one. It seems to me that Riker is the only man that I know of who is suffering from a permanent case of PMT - or possibly he is just constipated all the time, I mean have you ever seen a Worf say to Picard, "I can't put the shields up Sir as I am going off to have a crap!". Nope. And you never will.

Wesley comes up with the great idea that if he drops a stationary neutrino transmitter to the planet, Geordi will not only be able to see it, but he will be able to modulate the beam and they will know where he is. The future is wierder that I imagined. I was under the clear misapprehension that neutrinos stubbed their noses at planets and just went wandering by. Not in the 24th century kiddies...

Geordi manages to get himself captured by another stray Romulan. I wonder who didn't shut the kennel door last night? In an amazing act of stupidity, Geordi has the chance to either (a) get away from the Romulan; (b) capture the Romulan; (c) do nothing. What does he do? (d) save the Romulan and then get captured again! In the confines of a cave he manages to modulate the neutrino beam a little by taking off his glasses and putting them back on upside-down, but Riker on the Enterprise passes it off as line-noise.

Back on the ship our pitiful prisoner is dying and it turns out that the only way to save him will be a transfusion of Worf's blood. Worf goes on a bit about how the Romulans killed his parents and says "No". Just about this time enter a Romulan battle cruiser from the Neutral Zone. "We will take the prisoner from you - just meet us at the edge of the zone", says the Romulan commander. "Hold on a bit, we still have someone down on the surface", counters Picard - who is clearly feeling guilty about his racist attitude earlier.

Picard gives a "Good of the many" speach to Worf but the Klingon will not do it. At this point Picard could have ordered Worf and saved a diplomatic incident, but as usual declines the sensible.

Gosh! The Romulans have entered Federation space and want their officer back. Picard with a spark of arrogance present only in the French says "You can't have him because he is dead!". Classic. A full scale battle is averted by the final return to the ship of Geordi and the other Romulan, who pleads on behalf of the humans.

Roll Credits...

Not bad in general, but not particularly character developing. I think that Picard should stop wimping out and go in guns blazing against someone other than the Ferengi.


This review is Copyright © 1993, Phil Kernick.
Permission is granted for anyone to electronically distribute it - details available on request.