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Star Trek: Voyager: Eye of the Needle (1995)
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.
My husband and I, who are die-hard TNG fans, have recently started watching through the Voyager series for the first time. We have been enjoying every episode, but I must say, this is the best one so far.
Eye of the Needle is so well written and well acted. I found the main storyline, with the wormhole, highly compelling, and the surprising ending was unexpectedly touching. The secondary storyline with the holographic doctor was also touching. As well, it was interesting to see Captain Janeway in her nightgown with her hair down in one scene - it made her seem more like a regular person, a feminine woman at that, and not just a tough-as-nails Captain (although she is that too).
All in all, a really top-notch episode which I continued to think about for several days after watching it. I truly hope that there are many more well-written episodes like this one to come in this series.
Star Trek: Voyager: Ex Post Facto (1995)
I always enjoy a good murder mystery.
My husband and I, who are both die-hard TNG fans, recently started watching through the Voyager series for the first time. So far, we're really enjoying it. This episode was no exception. I see that it has received a lot of negative reviews, but I found it entertaining.
Murder mysteries are fun. This one was well done I thought, as I did not suspect who the real murderer was until it was revealed. Yes, the alien race looked funny with feathers glued to their heads, but it's all good. I don't watch Star Trek for realism, I watch it to be entertained by the creative storylines and characters. And I did find the creative makeup jobs here entertaining, as well as the story itself.
What I liked best about this episode is that it prominently featured Tuvok and developed his character. He was already my favourite character, but now I like him even more. The actor, Tim Russ, does a wonderful job of presenting the highly logical and dispassionate Vulcan personality.
Knight Rider: Knight Flight to Freedom (1986)
A bit of a strange episode, but had some fun moments
This episode, in which Micheal, KITT and RC3 travel to an imaginary Central American country to rescue an American diplomat and stop a military coup, was a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, there were some fun moments: We see a Turbo Boost within the first few minutes (I know it is a recycled shot, but still fun), and not once but twice we get to see KITT drive through lava - possibly the most outlandish feat KITT is supposed to have performed yet.
On the other hand, the story of this one was really outrageous, and not only because KITT drove through window-deep lava. Michael almost single-handedly stops a coup in this country by punching a bunch of people out? All the military guys with machine guns are defeated by his fists? And at one point he is placed before a firing squad (with RC3 secretly the commanding officer). He appears to be shot and there appears to be blood on his shirt, but of course he's actually just pretending. Huh? It is never explained how he survived: Did RC3 put blank rounds in the guns? Or did Michael have some kind of bulletproof vest on? Where would they find either of those things? And where did the fake blood come from? It drives me crazy that they never explained that, nor other things in this episode, such as what motive there was for the general to take over the country in the first place. Not that I expect Knight Rider to be filled with realism, but it would be nice if they gave at least a weak and cheesy reason for things happening.
Knight Rider is one of my favourite shows from the 80s, and it was pretty funny watching KITT driving through lava, so I gave this episode 7 out of 10, even though it definitely isn't the best episode out there.
Star Trek: Picard: Võx (2023)
My enthusiasm for Season 3 just took a serious hit.
After being pretty bored with Picard Seasons 1 and 2, I felt pleasantly surprised when I started watching Season 3, and it seemed that the story was actually moving forward at a nice pace, not to mention that it finally felt like real Star Trek - being on a spaceship and all. As the episodes progressed and all the old familiar characters joined in, I enjoyed it more and more. Episode 8 I think was the high point. I was so excited to watch the next episode!
But my enthusiasm took a serious hit when I watched Vox. What were the writers thinking? The compelling storyline that had been built up, with an unusual and interesting antagonist (the goo people) was completely derailed when we find out that the bad guys are really the Borg. Again. Seriously? The writers couldn't possibly come up with something more original than that? I was really enjoying having a new and unique bad guy to learn about, and then it ends up being the very same bad guys from both Seasons 1 and 2! I can't believe the writers did this. I thought for sure Jack was going to be something cool and unique, a new kind of human, a Q, or infected with some virus that gave him supernatural powers, anything new and interesting...but no, it had to be the BORG. Good grief!
Though my main disappointment with this episode is with the Borg being there, I also see other problems with this episode that bother me a lot. For instance:
*There is no way on God's green earth that Worf would EVER leave behind a partner to die. He and Raffi were partners and friends - he simply would NOT leave her behind on the Titan. Very out of character.
*Shaw's death was not done very well - they could have given the poor guy a better send off than that - and I feel like they only killed him off because they wanted to have only the original officers of the Enterprise-D on board there. That's rather cold.
*Since when does Deanna do mind melding? Did she gain new abilities since we saw her last? If so, an explanation is in order.
*Also, what happened to Deanna and Riker's daughter, Kestra? They haven't mentioned her at all. If the goo people kidnapped Deanna you would think they would kidnap Kestra too.
*I really don't see why Jack ran to the Borg at all. Sure he was mad at his dad and questioning his identity, but after showing himself time and time again to be a Good Guy, I find it really out of character that he suddenly turned some guns on Picard and took off to join everyone's worst enemy. It was too sudden of a change and I didn't believe it.
*Like others said, it was great to see the good old Enterprise-D again. Not only because of the nostalgia, but because finally we can actually SEE the crew! The Enterprise had proper lighting! (and carpeting, yay!) But come on...do they really expect us to believe it can be piloted by only 7 people? That's a bit of a stretch...
*Wasn't the Excelsior the ship that Elnor was on? And we saw it be destroyed. So Raffi was grieving Elnor's death for most of Season 2, and was ecstatic when he got another chance. But this time when he dies she doesn't even notice or care? Okay.
*Lastly, and most importantly, did the writers even watch Season 2 at all? What happened to Agnes, the "good" Borg queen who changed the Borg into a benevolent species? Now suddenly the Borg are once again obsessed with assimilating humanity? Starfleet in particular? Talk about a lack of continuity!
I am just so disappointed. A fantastic season, ruined with one stupid episode. I would actually have given this episode a three out of ten, but I gave it five because it was truly enjoyable to see the bridge of the Enterprise-D once again.
Star Trek: Picard: Monsters (2022)
Even worse than the previous episode.
Monsters, the seventh episode of Season Two of Picard, was even worse than the previous episode, to which I gave three stars.
I consider myself to have a pretty decent attention span, but I was bored about a minute and a half into this monstrosity of an episode, as I was watching the painfully tedious descent into Picard's subconscious mind while he lay in a coma and his brain revisited childhood trauma...and it went on and on and on. What on earth does this have to do with anything? Have the writers forgotten what this season was even about? Where is Q? What happened to Dr. Soong and his "daughter?" What about that whole going-back-to-the-past-to-change-the-future thing? The story was absolutely spinning its wheels in this episode and went nowhere.
The only bright spot for me was seeing that Tallin was actually Romulan. This does explain a lot, including why Laris, who is clearly her descendant, looks so much like her. I do like this actress, who I must say is beautiful, and I do like both Tallin and Laris as characters.
But on the whole, this episode was awful. The script is so strange and all over the place and doesn't go anywhere. I really feel for the actors because they have nothing to work with here. Especially Rios, who does nothing in this episode whatsoever but hang around the clinic and flirt with the pretty doctor. Santiago Cabrera is a very talented actor, but his talents are being shamefully wasted here.
I guess I will keep watching just to see how they pull together this train wreck of a season. But it feels like punishment.
Knight Rider: Knight Song (1985)
Light on Action
We really love Knight Rider at my house and are currently watching it all the way through on DVD. While the first three seasons were pretty much non-stop fun and action, there is a noticeable drop in the level of action in Season Four. I'm guessing that the budget was cut and they were no longer able to smash up another Trans-Am every episode doing Turbo Boost shots? I can understand that, but I also think that Season Four is just not as entertaining as a result.
In this episode, Knight Song, Michael, Bonny and RC go to Chicago and become embroiled in a sort of turf war in RC's old neighbourhood. Although we do get to enjoy the glorious sight of Michael smashing through an upper-story window, other than that there is very little action in the episode. KITT basically does nothing - no Turbo Boost, no Super Pursuit Mode, I don't even think he squeals his tires. There is a scene at the end with a garbage truck that would be been amazing if KITT boosted over the truck, but he doesn't and the scene falls flat.
On the bright side, RC finally does something in this episode. He beats up the bad guy, who is his friend from the old days. Up until this point in the series, he's done almost nothing, except drive the truck a few times and insert an electric plug once when Bonny's computer wouldn't turn on. Oh, and he delivered Bonny to the women's prison. It's strange that they hired a new actor and then basically let him sit there and do nothing.
For a Knight Rider fan this episode is still worth watching - they all are. But Season Four is definitely not he same in terms of amazing action shots.
Star Trek: Picard: Two of One (2022)
Season Two is getting more disappointing with each episode.
I am not a fan of this new kind of Star Trek series where a single storyline is carried on over 10 episodes. It just takes forever to get anywhere and contains too much filler. However, although Season One did drag for me quite a bit over the middle few episodes, yet I still felt it was worth watching. Season Two, not so much.
I feel Season Two is a step down from the first season. The same great cast of actors is here, but what the heck is going on with the writing? With each new episode, more annoying problems spring up, more rabbit holes are found to go down, and the story becomes yet more complex and convoluted; yet nothing is really solved and no answers are found. This is getting really annoying. This episode in particular felt like a total mess. Everything is going wrong, nothing makes sense whatsoever, nobody seems to know what to do next, and even Picard has no idea what Q really wants from him...for that matter we are not sure that Q himself even understands all that is going on (as he seemed confused in the previous episodes). Characters we thought were on the side of good are now seemingly not...and then when it was already confusing enough, Picard gets hit by a car and has a heart attack and then goes into a coma...even though we know he is now a synthetic life form...what!? Confusion and chaos reign in this episode, and I really disliked it.
I still gave it 3 stars because I think the actors in this series are excellent - except perhaps for Patrick Stewart himself, who, as much as I hate to say it, I think should have retired from acting by now. His speech is noticeably slow and slurred in this season, and though I am a great fan of his work in general, I think there comes a time for everyone when you're just to old to keep working. I think he has reached that time, though I am sure he's trying his best. The other actors do an excellent job with what is, in my opinion, a terrible script.
Also, as others have said, it appears almost this entire season is taking place on Earth...how can you call a show "Star Trek" that does not take place in the stars?
Just disappointing.
Running Home (1999)
A quality family film
My husband and I watched this movie on cable tv a long time ago, and found it very memorable and touching. For many years we tried to remember the movie's name so we could watch it again, but without luck. (I guess because it was a small Canadian production it's not well known.) Recently we were able to find the name of the movie through Reddit, and so were able to finally watch it again about 20 years after the first time.
We enjoyed it just as much this time, or more. It's a quality family film with action, suspense, great acting (especially by the two main actors), and some very moving and emotional scenes. I definitely cried at the end. A real unknown gem.