Disaster

Very enjoyable episode, all main characters have a role to play. While there are several disaster movie cliches, overall they contribute nicely. Worf delivering a baby is one of the funniest things in the whole series. There are a few plot holes which have to be ignored to enjoy this episode fully (why is absoloutly no one in engineering, why is an unqualified idiot like Troi able to be in command?).

'Disaster' is by no means a yawner; there is a lot going on here. The ship is broken, the crew is separated throughout the decks and systems go haywire left and right - it's just one crisis piled onto another. And even though there are tense moments, there are also little bits of humor here and there.

It works because the characters (and their players) work well together, even outside of routine. Picard's not good with kids, but he's forced to adapt; Worf isn't a doctor, but Keiko's having that baby regardless; and Troi isn't used to a leadership role, but rank forces her to man the bridge (nice use of Ro as her aggressive adviser). Even the subtle image of the Enterprise adrift, with no power is eerie (we never see the model without its lights on; was not ready for that).

Out of catastrophe, a great episode emerges.

8/10

The Enterprise hits something called a 'quantum filament' and the ship is messed up...real bad! Several folks are killed and the ship's emergency bulkheads kick in and cut off the various parts of the ship from each other--and they cannot communicate. So, various familiar crew members are now scrambling to gain control of the ship and save it. Picard is unexpectedly is caught in a turbolift with some children, so he makes them his 'crew'. Troi is on the bridge and ends up having to take control. Warf is stuck with a pregnant Keiko...who's about ready to give birth! Eventually, of course, they're able to straighten things out and the day is saved.

This is a cute but inconsequential episode. Cute because it was nice seeing the Captain with kids, as he's always so uncomfortable around them--but he does manage to bond with them and overcame his awkwardness. Worf's also quite cute as a very uncomfortable midwife!

Enterprise is badly damaged with crew members trapped in various sections of the ship.

This is a very enjoyable episode with some nice irony and great character moments.

'Disaster' does what it says on the tin and pays homage to the disaster movie genre. Any fans of movies like 'The Poseidon Adventure' and 'Towering Inferno' should appreciate its story. The suspense does not work as well as it does in those movies because we know everything will work out for the show's characters and the production values in Star Trek are much lower.

Where it succeeds for me is in two areas. Firstly, I get a real sense of the size of the Enterprise. It depicts that getting from the bridge to engineering or Ten Forward is a huge undertaking without the help of technology. At the same time it portrays how much technology is relied upon and how insignificant people can feel when out of their depth in certain situations.

Secondly, the character situations are very entertaining. My favourite scenes involve Captain Picard in the turbolift, Counsellor Troi on the bridge, and most of all, for its comic value, Lieutenant Worf in Ten Forward. The irony of putting most characters in situations where they are highly uncomfortable works wonderfully.

Visually it is excellent, particularly in the scenes involving Riker and Data.

All cast members are excellent especially Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Michelle Forbes and Marina Sirtis.

As a fan of the original Poseidon Adventure, this episode was thoroughly enjoyable. It had all the hallmarks of that movie. Survival tactics, disagreements, comedic moments and great interaction. This could have easily been a two-part episode to flesh out how they recovered and regained control of the ship.