11001001

This. Star. Base. Is. Awesome.

Que the sci- fi sound effects at -45:03 and again at -44:32 Netflix standard time and we are off to meet the Binares. Observe the subtle smiles of the one on the left (no, stage left) as they make their way to engineering.

The Bynars are an interesting race and I wish we would have seen more of them throughout TNG's run though they are, to my knowledge, a one off. Turns out its another Riker episode with Picard as second fiddle. We saw the beginning of diplomat Picard in Code of Honor but we haven't seen much else of interest since then. He's largely relegated to explaining things for the audience and badly timed and largely unnecessary words of encouragement to his crew. The most memorable character from the show isn't all that interesting yet.

We do see the crew start to function as a team here but its frustrating how underdeveloped the main cast still is. The Data/Geordi bromance is well underway though Levar Burton is still over acting: "REALLY!" The set up for something fun with Worf and Tasha is there but the writers fail to pay it off. And while Wesley is less irksome than he used to be he still has too much screen time. Troi is absent but you will hardly notice. We also get some foreshadowing of Crusher's exit from the show. Her excitement about "cybernetics and regeneration" is noteworthy given the upcoming introduction of the Borg.

As a side note, the Bynar and the Borg seem to have a lot in common which makes their absence from future episodes feel like a real missed opportunity. Computer/human hybrids were clearly on the writer's minds as they imagined the TNG universe.

The episode falls apart at the end but only if you think about it which is completely optional. How did the Bynars get the data from their planetary computer to the Star Base to begin with? Where did they store it while waiting for the Enterprise? Or did their star go super nova after they took control of the Enterprise but before Picard and Riker left the holodeck? And how does a star the in the Bynar system go nova without wiping out everything else within the solar system.

The writers don't know as much about science as we've been led to believe, but at least there are always chairs on the bridge when you need them despite the fact that they were clearly missing in the previous scene and no one else is onboard the ship.

Que the sci-fi sound effects at -3:03 and were out.

All things considered this episode is pretty easy to watch and even somewhat memorable, but the show still feels lopsided. Tasha and Worf remain underdeveloped while Data and Wesley get too much screen time. Riker is the only character that seems to have come into his own.

Verdict: Pretty good for season 1

Fun Facts:

1) In 41 seconds, two people came make their way from the bridge to a transporter room, beam out, hold a conversation, and still have time to watch their ship leave space dock and go to warp before exploding.

2) It only takes two presses of a button on the transporter pad to beam two people to separate location on the bridge on a ten second delay.

3) There are twenty transporter rooms onboard the enterprise, not counting the cargo bays.

The Enterprise docks at Starbase 74 for routine maintenance on its computers, led by a strange alien race known as the Binars. While the rest of the crew indulge in some R&R, Riker finds himself on the holodeck and falling for yet another enigmatic woman.

A bit less successful than 'The Big Goodbye', this holodeck episode works well alongside a decent narrative involving the Enterprise being taken over. The Binars are an intriguing species that deserved to be revisited in future but the subplot involving Horny Riker never really works as well as it should. After all, it's fairly obvious to the viewer what's going on so why does it take the characters so long to figure it out?

The Enterprise is in dock to have its computers updated by a group of Bynars, a species that has evolved from computers. They work on things in pairs at a rapid fire pace. Both Wesley and Riker are a bit suspicious of what is going on. While Riker and Picard sit in the a jazz club in the holodeck with a beautiful young woman, bad things are happening. Somehow, the Enterprise is being compromised. Data orders the crew evacuated because the ship is potentially explosive. Once everyone is off (except, of course, Riker and Picard) the ship leaves and goes into warp. It is now up to the two ranking officers to figure out what is happening and to remedy it. I won't spoil anything, but for the first time there is a story of real complexity, aliens that are very interesting, and a problem that could happen in this realm. The solution is quite satisfying. The other thing that works here is that the characters of the Captain and his Number One relax and show their human sides. Jean Luc in particular is probably a pretty lonely man, married to his ship. Like a brother in a monastery, everyone else comes first. Riker is a romantic and shows himself quite the smooth talker and we find that he has a great love of jazz and a penchant for the trombone.

The Enterprise puts in for repair and a race of aliens called Binaries are enlisted to help in the repair. They are a highly unusual species who always travel in 2s like Mormon Elders and co-dependent totally on the other. Their written and spoken language is in binary code like a computer.

These binaries have an agenda all their own. They steal the Enterprise to take to their home planet for reasons you have to see the show to know. The whole crew is on shore leave and later additional personnel abandon ship when it looks like a warp core breach.

All that's left on the Enterprise are Picard and Riker. For Riker the binaries have rigged the holodeck with a most fetching and sultry personality. Carolyn McCormick later the proper and professional psychiatric consultant on Law And Order Dr. Elizabeth Olivet is the alluring Minuet in Riker's program. She really distracts Jonathan Frakes until it's too late almost.

A highly entertaining story that's grounded in a certain reality. The Binaries are a lot like the Logopolitans from the Tom Baker original Dr. Who.

The Enterprise has arrived at a starbase for some R&R as well as to have upgrades made to the systems. However, instead of human techs, the freaky little Binar race scurries about the ship--chirping their strange language and acting a bit cagey as the work. Still, no one seems to really notice and most everyone has left the ship. As for Riker, he decides to stay on the new and enhanced holodeck where he meets a super-hot babe (Carolyn McCormick--who later played the psychologist on "Law & Order"). When Jean-Luc arrives at the simulation, this perfect woman seems to do her darnedest to keep the men there and entertains them wonderfully. Why? Because the freaky Binars are going to steal the ship---and they don't want to have anyone around who can stop them. Will the two command officers stop lusting after this holowoman long enough to realize what's happened to their beloved Enterprise?

Despite this being a holodreck episode (yes, I know how to spell holodeck), this is a very good one. Well written and intelligent-- something you can RARELY say about any holo episode!! But it unfortunately would lead to MORE holodeck episodes---too many.