The TREKKER Reviews


SERIES
The Next Generation
EPISODE
73
TITLE
Transfigurations
STARDATE
43957.2


Geordi and Worf are in 10-Forward. Worf is counselling Geordi on women. See Geordi prattle on. Geordi prattles well. Geordi is a geek. I suspect that many comp-sci students out there can associate with him well.

Oh no, a small spaceship has crashed on a planet. On inspection there appears to be road kill. Not quite, the alien is still alive, but his system needs neuro-feedback, so the Doc wires Geordi to the alien's brain via her tricorder. That makes lots of sense, the chief engineer is used as jumper leads.

Part of the alien computer is found, and it looks suspiciously like a bottle of Blue Ciricao with some leads stuck in the top. Data and Geordi work at trying to interface to it. I think that they would have more success and enjoyment trying to drink it.

"Less talk, more synthahol!". Worf the great conversationalist.

The alien gets better remarkably, but to noone's real surprise, can't remember a thing. This is what we call plot development. This is what I call dull. O'Brien has been kyaking on the holodeck and dislocated his shoulder. Our alien John Doe finds that he can remarkably heal it with just a touch. Oh great, another infinitely-powered alien, only this one doesn't know it. Probably immortal as well.

Geordi and Data finally work out where John came from, and he mysteriously doesn't want to go back, but doesn't know why. Since it is in the same direction as the Enterprise is currently going, he will have a couple of days to form some firm reasoning.

John has been having powerful energy pulses that cause him great pain. This I'm sure is what happens when you lick power sockets. Not content with staying on the ship, he decides to steal a shuttle and get away. He manages to get the airlock doors open before being confronted by Worf. I often wonder just how simple the Enterprise really is given the number of times it is either taken over, or partially subverted by aliens. Worf takes a tumble over a balcony rail and breaks his neck and dies. This is the second time - he should be more careful. John miraculously heals Worf. Yawn.

An alien vessel has been on an intercept course with the Enterprise and now is finally in weapons range. They are from John's home planet, and tell Picard that he is an escaped prisoner and has been convicted of being "a disruptive influence". Oh what a crime. Will Picard break the Prime Directive again just because he doesn't like their morality? The Enterprise is given 2 hours to return John, and are equally well armed and so might be able to press the point.

Picard asks what his crime was to need the death penalty, and the aliens decided that this impertinance should be answered by seemingly magically stopping all the crew from breathing. Nice trick. John of course merely touches a wall and the entire crew are healed.

John personally beams the commander of the opposing ship to the Enterprise bridge and informs him in a somewhat dictatorial way that he is simply evolving beyond his physical being, and that all Zalconians can join him - give us a break, a whole race of super-powered aliens. I thought that the Q was enough. The Zalconians have been suppressing this information, but they no longer can. Yay!

John turns into a golden energy being, waffles on for a while, and then leaves.

Roll Credits...

Really a nothing episode. We met another non-corporeal being with super-powers. Blarg.


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