Legacy

So Tasha Yar's sister, looks just like Sarah Connor, gets close to Data, talks about Cybernetics, in a decent episode. But for me was def a rip-off of the Terminator. Or maybe I just have the hots for the Sarah Connor look from Terminator :-)

Enterprise visits Turkana IV and the crew meet Tasha Yar's sister Ishara.

This is a mostly good episode with some great character moments, particularly involving Lieutenant Data.

The story is okay but fairly uninspired, predictable and culminates in Captain Picard addressing the crew with something like South Park used to parody in their "I think we've all learned something here today" speeches. However, the tribal mentality of gang culture is highlighted effectively when it compares Ishara Yar's choices in life to that of Tasha.

What works very well are the character moments between Data and Ishara, particularly towards the end. It would not be a spoiler to say that we see Data learning about some important aspects of humanity such as trust and betrayal. Showing it from his perspective I found to be very poignant.

Ishara is a memorable guest character not just for being Tasha's sister, but for giving more context behind Tasha and Turkana IV. The contrast between Data and the Enterprise crew's feelings towards Ishara and Tasha is very well done.

Visually I think it is strong, particularly the action scenes on Turkana IV.

Performances from all are great, especially Brent Spiner who captivates in some of those touching moments of human discovery. Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn are also good.

Beth Toussaint is perfectly cast as Ishara. She gives a solid, natural performance, and has such a striking screen presence it almost distracts you from what her character is doing on board Enterprise. By the end of a very obvious and frustrating story, you almost forgive the crew for falling under her spell.

In an effort to save a couple crewmen from a fellow Starfleet ship that has become involved in a civil war on a planet that turns out to be the birthplace of Tasha Yar. The civil war has led to great violence, including the slaughter of trespassers. One group, the Alliance,has held the other at bay. It turns out that Tasha Yar's sister is an insurgent rebel. She is brought on board the Enterprise and joins them in rescue efforts to save the two men trapped below the planet. The leaders of the alliance give an ultimatum and the Enterprise must act. Ishara Yar masterfully gains the trust of the crew and is given great latitude in the rescue operation. During this time she is very critical of her sister. Data informs her of Tasha's great character and bravery. It seems the war on the planet excludes any sisterly affection and Ishara felt that Tasha took off rather than fight. I really believe that the show went for more believable encounters and actions. This is one of those that shows us that the writers were really gaining steam.

This episode takes us to the home planet of the late Tasha Yar. It's the anarchic planet she describes ruled by gangs. Two members of a shuttlecraft crew are crashed there and one of the gangs is holding them.

Another has Beth Toussaint who is Tasha's sister. They offer to help, but they and Toissaint have thie own agenda.

Beth Toussaint does well and she really does convince that she could have been Tasha's sister. She shines in this story.

Another hum drum unsatisfying episode with massive potential. The main thing I noticed is that Beverly Crusher's attitude about insisting on beaming down to a violent area is puzzling. She insists that she can take care of her self however she recently almost got herself and everyone else killed in a terrorist episode that recently preceded this one, the High Ground. At the end of the episode she admitted she should've listened to the captain and beamed up at the beginning. Apparently she learned no lesson that stuck.

I get in this era of longform storytelling the lack of continuity of TNG is even more frustrating than it was during its initial run.

The best part of this episode is Beth Toussaint's compelling performance and it's a shame that they had to throw her away so quickly rather than make her a recurring character .