| The Next Generation | |
| 57 | |
| The Vengeance Factor | |
| 43421.9 | |
A deserted building. More that just deserted, trashed. Probably just a big party the night before. I didn't see a spa, but I feel certain that if there was one it would have been full of plants. :-)
The away teams beams in and start looking around. Nothing special until "the reactor is gone". If it is one of those dodgy-brothers reactors that the Enterprise is forever servicing I would say good luck to whoever stole it, but it seems to concern Riker. After a bit of looking around, Bev discovers life signs behind a door that Worf can't open. It is however no problem for Data's android pseudopods. There are two bodies lying on the floor. I had this vision of someone with a large knife leaning over the bodies and saying "well this one was alive..."; and maybe it was just the light reflecting off Worf's skull cap...
Back on the ship, we discover that the scientists were attacked by aliens called the Acamarians. Who? Yes that's right, yet another intelligent alien race who we have never heard of before - or have we. Let's see, they were described as violent, clanish, and described as gatherers. Now look at their race. I thought so, it is a simple anagram for AMERICANS! Was Roddenberry having a final poke at that which made him popular?
We discover that "Gatherers" is just a polite euphamism for "Thieves". At least people are civil in the 24th century. It also turns out that the "Gatherers" are a splinter group of the "Acamarians" who were turfed out during the clone (oops, wrong space opera, CLAN) wars.
The sovereign of the Acamarian people wants to meet the gatherers to bring them back into the fold (yeah right), and Picard plays the emissary so well that all the action is going to take part on the Enterprise.
Enter the love interest. The Sovereign has a chef and taster who Riker decides that he would like to feed a bit of meat to. Riker asks her if she has any specialities, and finally she confesses that she does a spicy dish "made from fleshy roots". Riker nearly faints, and if he doesn't get that stupid inane grin off his face, someone is going to mess it up.
The away team beams down to YARP (yet another random planet) to meet with an outpost of the gatherers. In a small amount of non-combat we discover a rule to live by: orange good, purple bad. Yes the good guys had orange phasors which were effective, and the bad guys had purple phasors which weren't. Worf manages to capture the gatherers and then comes out with a line about personal hygene which I think is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. I mean, how clean can you be with your bottom on your forehead?
Riker's chef babe turns out to be nasty when she kills one of the gatherers with what appears to be an improved Vulcan nerve pinch. It seems that the clan wars are not over yet.
Back on the ship, Riker has a discussion with the chef about how he likes his women as equals and not as servents. She cooks him his fleshy roots and he takes one bite and runs away. That's gratitude for you. We discover that her name is Yuta... Saints, U-U-U-Utah Saints, oooo I just know that something good is going to happen. Oops. Sorry I don't know what came over me.
Bev discovers that it was not a nerve pinch at all, but a tailor made virus designed to kill a select few. Big deal. When does anyone in a ST:TNG episode die of natural causes?
Riker manages to get Yuta... Saints, U-U-U-Utah Saints, (I did it again) back into his room, and she gives the line that every guy wants to hear "tell me what you want - I will do anything". And then he gets all moral. What a dickhead. She then comes out with the tragic line that she cannot feel pleasure or passion, but I mean, who cares, she is a woman after all. :-)
The Enterprise gets to the gatherer ship where they shoot (guess the colour - yes purple) phasors at our heros. They do nothing of course. The Enterprise returns fire with ORANGE phasors and knocks out their shields immediately.
After a bit of droll dialogue, Picard, the Acamarian Sovereign and her entourage beam over to the other ship. It looks like a debate between Indihra Ghandi and Meatloaf! Meanwhile back on the Enterprise Riker discovers that Yuta... Saints, U-U-U-Utah Saints (sorry) is not what she appears to be, and is at least 50 years older that she looks. In fact she is of a clan that was thought to have been wiped out 100 years ago. Riker sure has strange taste in women. It seems she is killing off the members of the clan that destroyed her family, and the gatherer leader is the last one.
Dick, no, gun in hand, Riker beams over to the other ship and shoots a couple of gatherer guards. Why? I can only surmise he was trying to bone-up for what would be his finale. He accuses Yuta (see I resisted) Saints, U-U-U-Utah Saints (not!) of being a grandmother, and just to put the fear of God into her, shoots her. Yes that's right, Riker was getting a hard-on, shooting women. After a few more shots to soften her up, he vapourises her.
The aliens are united and we return to the Enterprise. Picard suggests that Riker get some shore leave, but he declines. I don't understand this, Picard couldn't order a Pizza. Will he never be assertive?
