A Fistful of Datas

The Golden Age of Star Trek: we had the 6th Season of The Next Generation and the 1st Season of Deep Space Nice on our televisions, Generations on view in our cinemas and First Contact due out soon. This season of TNG contains some excellent stand-alone episodes and several spectacular two-parters, with only the occasional make-weight. Despite the length of time it had already been on the air, it still represents some of the highest standard of television Science Fiction ever broadcast.

Oh dear! The holodeck has broken down again. Let's all have fun with another ridiculous premise because fresh ideas are in short supply. Well, now I've got that out of my system I'm going to admit that I am as fond of this episode now as I was when I watched it with my young children giggling all the way through, first time around.

If you can get over the "pastiche of a pastiche" Sci-Fi/Old West genre mix and Marina Sirtis's dreadful Western accent, and if you can suspend your disbelief for long enough, you can enjoy some great jokes and entertaining performances. For anyone who can't, it isn't worth getting hot under the collar about. The Kirk-era Original Series was not above raiding other series' sets and costumes, after all.

Brent Spiner gets some of the best lines & costume changes but it is Michael Dorn, as the gruff Klingon gradually being sucked into this fantasy at the behest of his son, who's delivery is close to perfect.

Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.

This episode (like many other of the worst Star Trek episodes) is bad not because of its poor acting or nonsensical storyline, but because the plot is completely devoid of substance. The key moments of this episode (of which there are few) lack any weight or important, and are resolved immediately and seemingly without any result or consequence.

The Enterprise is awaiting a rendezvous so Geordi and Data decide to experiment with the ship's engines interphasing them with Data's neural net. Big ,mistake, as the old adage says, if ain't broke don't fix it.

Worf and his son and Counselor Troi are in a hollowdeck program from the old American west where Worf is a sheriff and Alexander his deputy. The safeguards go off and the other characters start looking like Data.

This was a little more light than most TNG shows. Michael Dorn slowly gees int the spirit of the west and Bent Spiner does an Alec Guinness like gallery of characters.

One not to miss.

Worf and Alexander spend a bit of quality time together in a Western themed holodeck program.

This is a reasonably good episode if you do not take it too seriously and fancy a bit of lighthearted fun.

It is a standard holodeck malfunction story with Worf, Alexander, and Counsellor Troi stuck in a simulation that naturally gives them a threat to deal with and no safety parameters. There is nothing particularly original other than the way it incorporates Data's memory circuits into the technobabble.

There are plenty of character moments to enjoy. Worf being placed a number of fish-out-of-water situations as the Klingon sheriff of Deadwood is a funny concept and Michael Dorn is perfectly deadpan in all scenes. Brent Spiner and Marina Sirtis look to be having a ball in their roles too. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where the real Data starts using Western clichés when talking to members of the Enterprise crew.

The sets, costuming, props, and general Western movie art direction is all spot on.

For me it's a 6.5/10 but I round upwards.

It's not a big point and it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb but: Cowboys and Klingons don't go together. Klingons with their forehead ridges can't wear cowboy hats. Why ? How ? Cowboys are so cool, they are always ready to die. That's what a cowboy hat says: 'Shoot at me. I ain't complaining. I might not move a muscle and shoot back.' Isn't that what Klingons are about, too ? Klingons keep boasting about being ready to die: 'Today is a good day to die. Arrgghhhh.' But still: No. Klingons are not cowboys. Klingons are NOT ready to die. That's why Klingons keep talking about death. They are NOT prepared for it. Klingons can't wear cowboy hats. Cmdr. Worf can't wear a cowboy hat. It doesn't look silly (in this episode). It just doesn't work.