The Arsenal of Freedom

Like many stories in science fiction -including the first season of Star Trek: Picard- this episode is about the dangers of artificial life. AOF does a decent job of telling this story by obfuscating the theme initially. The episode also contains some great work from LeVar Burton, who can convey such emotion despite wearing a headband on his face.

The little conflict with this week's chief engineer also highlights the ridiculous way the highest-ranking officers just casually beam down to planets for whatever reason. Picard is only down there so the writers could develop his bond with Beverly. Silly, but it works.

We kick this episode off with Picard giving a smirk of approval to the notion of selling weapons to both sides of a conflict. America's disposition toward the middle east comes to mind but I digress. We learn that Riker was offered his own ship before accepting the post of second officer on the Enterprise. Riker's unwillingness to take command is a recurring theme throughout TNG. I sort of wish they spun him off mid series but whatever.

Next, we meet a holographic arms merchant who understands how the universe actually works: "Peace through superior firepower." Picard is impressed so he sends an away team down to make contact and negotiate a sale.

We quickly learn that Starfleet technology can't melt Tritanium so it's a good thing we are here. Looks like we might get to score a free sample, but a reconnaissance drone shows up and traps Riker in a stasis field. Realizing Riker won't be able to close the deal Picard puts Geordi in charge of the ship and beams down to the planet himself with Crusher in tow.

The super dooper sci fi weapon that destroyed a planet has garbage aim but it still manages to chase Picard and Crusher into a hole.

Back in space we meet yet another chief engineer. This time it's Lt. Logan, and he means business. Geordi handles him nicely by putting him in charge of the saucer section and sending him off into space with all the other nonessentials.

Back on the planet Tasha, Riker and Data tangle with another drone while Picard raises Crusher's legs and keeps her warm. She gets tired of his company though, so Picard goes to meet the with the salesman, gets the low down on the Echo Papa 607, and closes the deal.

Jokes aside, this episode is pretty good for season 1, and not half bad when considering the series as a whole. Geordi really feels like a character, Riker and Tasha show hints of sexual chemistry, Worf has some good one liners, and Wesley is nowhere to be found.

Verdict: A season 1 standout.

Fun facts:

Android's can survive 11.75 meter drops without issue. Picard must have landed on something soft.

Lorenz is the mathematician that developed chaos theory.

The alternative name for the Enterprise is the lollipop. She's a good ship.

The Enterprise receives a message from a long-dead planet, that continues to act as a showroom for self-sustaining advanced weapon systems. With the away team cut off after being attacked, the Enterprise itself comes under attack which forces La Forge to step up as commanding officer.

Despite a humorous cameo from Schiavelli, this episode feels a bit of a disappointment. The floating weapons look like golden hairdryers, there are too many subplots in play and the latest chief engineer Logan (Vyto Ruginis) is perhaps the most unprofessional and unlikeable officer in the whole of the galaxy! It feels like it couldn't decide whether to be a comedy, an action episode or a dramatic story and sorta ends up being none of these things.

Suggestion: Instead of prepare to beam and beam, how about being ready to beam on "go black" or something. Unless you like warning the enemy. Suddenly the ship has no one with more than one pip but a stranger we've never seen. Heck, let's put Wesley in command. Oh, he doesn't exist this episode. Duh. The obvious solution. Ok. Fun.

I've always enjoyed this episode and when I watched it again (on Blu-Ray) I was surprised how it really holds up. Sure the effects mostly stink, but this works as a great character episode. la Forge especially gets a few great moments here as he is given command of the Enterprise while basically the rest of the bridge crew (what no red shirts) heads down to a planet where nothing is working for them. It's been a while since I watched the series and I don't recall liking Geordi until later in the series. Boy was I wrong. He's professional yet so unsure (much like everyone on board save for Picard, Riker and Troi) of his capabilities but he's a great example of watching a man work on his feet. Oh and then tries that awkward scene down on that cave with Picard and Crusher. It should've been more of a development scene, but it ends up bringing up more questions than answers.