Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 173 (Firstborn)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

Worf is a Klingon and proud of it. Klingons are a warrior people with a long, proud tradition. Being a Klingon parent, Worf wants his son to grow up with said Klingon traditions. Unfortunately, Alexander doesn’t want to grow up as a Klingon. Alexander spent the first few years of his life with his mother, K'Ehleyr, who was half human. (Alexander is 3/4 Klingon and 1/4 Human.) She didn’t particularly embrace Klingon traditions and values and passed this sentiment on to her son.

It hasn’t been easy for Worf to instill Klingon values in Alexander. It comes to a head in this episode when Worf wants to have a talk with Alexander about the first Klingon Right of Ascension. The First Right of Ascension is a coming-of-age ceremony where a Klingon dedicates himself to the ways of the warrior. Alexander has the right to refuse to undergo this, but if he doesn’t do it before his thirteenth birthday, he can never do it.

Alexander finally becomes excited when he and Worf visit a Klingon outpost that the Enterprise happens to be near. There’s a festival underway, which would be a good way for Alexander to see part of what it means to be Klingon. Alexander does get excited about his Klingon heritage and has a chance to meet other Klingons his own age. However, when Alexander and Worf are heading home, several Klingons attack them. Another Klingon comes to the rescue. He identifies himself as K’Mtar, who Worf recognizes.

K’Mtar is a trusted member of Worf’s house. (Here, house is used in the sense of noble family.) Worf’s brother, Kern, sent K’Mtar to protect Worf and Alexander. The word is that the Duras sisters are out to assassinate someone in Worf’s house. (The Duras sisters are members of a rival house.) The Enterprise eventually tracks them down. When presented with the evidence, one of the sisters notices something strange. Eventually, the truth comes out. For the sake of not ruining it, I won’t give it away. However, Worf and Alexander seem to come away understanding each other a little better.

The latter part of the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation had a sort of lame-duck feel to it. The series got to end on its own terms, which meant that everyone knew that the end was coming. You can see it in a few other episodes. They all seem to be preparing for the final episode, which ties everything together.

Here, the acting was pretty good, as was the script and the sets. However, they weren’t great. When K'Ehleyr and worf were together, they served as great foils for each other. It took a while for Alexander to fill that role. In previous episodes, he always appeared a little out of place in the episode. Even in this episode, Alexander seemed a little awkward. The character was just about where he needed to be, but not quite. (Alexander appeared in a few episodes of Deep Space Nine, but was played by a different actor and had started to accept his role as a warrior.)

It’s a good episode, but not excellent. It’s somewhere between three and four episodes, not really average but not really above average. I’m more inclined to give it three stars.


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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 58 (The Defector)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

WARNING:  I’m going to give away major details about the episode, including the ending.  If you’re not into that, stop reading here.



In the original Star Trek, there were two neutral zones.  Each provided a buffer between the United Federation of Planets and an adversary.  One was for the Romulan Star Empire and the other was for the Klingon Empire.  By the time The Next Generation rolled around, we had made peace with the Klingons, but the Romulan Neutral Zone was still in place.  Crossing the Neutral Zone is considered an act of aggression.

A Romulan scout ship doesn’t pose much of a threat, but the Enterprise sends out a message to desist.  The scout ship is asking for help, as it’s soon revealed that it’s being chased by a warbird.  The Enterprise protects the scout ship; the warship doesn’t put up much of a fight, which is odd.  No one really complains, though.  The Romulan on the scout ship is beamed over to the Enterprise and questioned.  He has important information for the captain:  The Romulans are planning an attack.  They’re actually building a base on Nelvana III, inside the Neutral Zone.  A big no-no.  Oh, and sorry for not mentioning that he was going to blow up his ship.  He’s here to give information on a potential war.  Not give out technological secrets.

So, the Enterprise gets as close to Nelvana III as they can without entering the Neutral Zone, but they can’t see anything from that far out.  They send a probe and do get some odd readings, but still noting worth going in for.  The Romulan officer keeps claiming that he’s lowly logistics clerk Sublieutenant Setol.  Except he’s not.  He reveals that he’s Admiral Alidar Jarok.  When Picard passes this up the chain of command, he gets a response not to trust this guy.  He was responsible for a massacre and is likely deceiving us.

This is pretty much a given.  He’s already lied about his name and claims that he doesn’t want to give out more than he has to.  (“Damn it, Jim.  I’m a defector.  Not a traitor.”)  Eventually, Captain Picard decides to take the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone only to find that there really is nothing.  It’s not that Admiral Jarok was lying.  Actually, it was that he was lied to.  He was fed all sorts of misinformation as a means of testing his loyalty.  He really doesn’t want a war.  Oh, and the Romulans now have an excuse to make the first move in the war that Jarok was trying to avoid.

For the most part, I liked this episode.  The only thing I didn’t understand was the Shakespeare reference at the beginning of the episode.  Honestly, though, this has more to do with not having read Henry V.  I’m sure that there is some connection that I’d get if I had ever seen it performed.  Or, maybe not.  I don’t know.

James Sloyan played Admiral Jarok.  I’ve liked him in his various Star Trek Roles.  (He’s also been in Deep Space Nine and Voyager.)  He always has an understated method to the roles.  All Admiral Jarok wants is to prevent a war.  He doest come at the crew with much anger and when he does, it’s not with a booming voice and flailing arms.  You get his point, even if you doubt it.  This is probably the most memorable Romulan outside of Tomalak.

I also find it odd that Data, the emotionless android, probably showed him the most compassion by bringing him to the holodeck so that he might see Romulus one more time.  Alas, Jarok has already made his decision.  He has to accept the fate that he’s chosen for himself.

Even though I liked it, I’m not sure I could recommend it to the casual viewer.  Most people coming into Star Trek probably wouldn’t understand this episode if it was the first they‘d ever seen.  (I’m also reviewing the VHS edition, so it’s hard to recommend buying it to begin with.)  Fortunately, we now have DVD sets, which makes the per-episode cost much lower.  We also have streaming through Netflix.  For a monthly fee, you could conceivably watch Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning.  (Since Netflix rotates their stock, I can’t promise continued availability.)  If you do have Netflix and decide to watch The Next Generation, this is definitely one of the episodes to look forward to. 

IMDb page