| The Next Generation | |
| 106 | |
| The Game | |
| 45208.2 | |
Read all about it: Riker Romps with Red-head alien on Risa! The romping is done in pyjamas and on a bed, and climaxes when she introduces him to a new VR head-set game. If you finish a level, you get a pleasurable reward...
Finally the Enterprise is going somewhere interesting - to the unchartered Phoenix Cluster. Clustered on board are a gaggle of scientific missions, and the boy-blunder Wesley Crusher on holiday! I thought it was too good to last. The bridge crew seem moderately pleased with his first appearance in a year, and throw him a surprise party. How much fun can we cope with?
Riker finds Troi keeping her curves rounded by chocolate injection in 10-Forward. She seems moody, so he introduces her to his new game. She then introduces it to Beverly. The game is spreading...
Wes is being his usual rambunctious self, and goes down to Engineering to see what sort of trouble he can cause. The trouble is Ensign Robin Lefler - a girl! She starts hitting on him, and he responds. He asks her out for a coffee, and she refuses, but then counter-offers dinner! Things are looking up for Mr Crusher.
Bev summons Data to the sickbay, and asks him to reprogram a tricorder. While he is doing it she turns him off. Enter Troi and Riker who help lift Data onto an operating table. Things get even weirder when Bev opens his skull and starts redecorating with a laser-scalpel. Just what exactly is going on? It couldn't possibly be that the crew is possessed - again! Bev then summons Picard, and decides against trepanning him. Instead she lies about Data, and Riker recruits Geordi to the game. I would have thought that Geordi would have been immune to a visual game, and even if not, would have had difficulty strapping both it and his visor on. Oh well.
Wes is getting ready for his date, when in pops his mother, the junkie. She tries to get him to try the game, but since Wes has a one-track mind, he can't cope with that and Robin at the same time, and passes. Bev skulks off. Wes and Robin had a lovely dinner, and to top off the evening, they decide to reverse-engineer the game. They sneak off to hook it up to a neural simulator. Wow, what a fun evening. I wish I could have that much fun.
The results are a little unexpected, as they determine that the game stimulates the pleasure center and is addictive. Everyone who's tried it already knows this. Wes goes to see Picard, who agrees to an investigation, and as soon as Wes leaves, straps on the plastic too. Now everyone is hooked.
Wes decides to check out Data, and finds the cutting. He isn't happy when he realises that only Geordi or his mother could have done it. What he should then have done is got a phaser and shot the lot of them for being traitors, but no...
There are aliens off the starboard bow... and when they hail the Enterprise, Picard responds with: "The Enterprise is secured. We are awaiting instructions". It's Riker's Risan Red-head, and her instructions are to distribute the game to other starships and bases! Naughty, naughty.
Finally only Wes is left, when Robin uses the game to pleasure herself in ways that Wes couldn't. Riker and Worf have prepared second surprise party for him, this time with phasers! After leading them a merry chase through the ship they finally catch him and force him to play. It looks like the end, when...
The theme from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is piped throughout the ship and the lights dim. The saloon doors burst open as Sheriff Data strides in. He has his trusty six-gun, which looks remarkably like a flash-light. He fires on all the bad-guys! As the strobe hits, they seem to regain their senses. Data orders the alien ship be taken in tow, and the shields raised. The Enterprise is saved, again, just...
Thankfully Wesley waves goodbye to Robin, and heads back to the academy.
