Ethics

The Crusher family is annoying. The visiting doctor is a gross jerk. Ok so a lot of stuff here.

Worf is hurt, can't walk. Wants to die with honor. Abandon his kid for honor? Then his dumb kid is there saying "yes sir" all the time. Blah blah. But here is my big problem, they go ahead with a life threatening and risky surgery. The doctors and the nurse is all wrapped up and sterilized. Yet Worf is laying on the table with his hair just flopped out right where they are making an incision. Hmm... that's just sloppy and unacceptable.

Why did this happen? They can warp across the galaxy, transporters can phase people up and down to and from planets. But there are no nanites or cloned organs?

Meh ok I'm gonna shut up. I just found this Crusher heavy episode to be annoying.

well, if you're going to do an episode on assisted suicide, Worf's the right character; to a Klingon, paralysis is a death sentence, and those guys do not abide disgrace.

As written, this is standard morality stuff. Debate rages between Riker and Work, Riker and Picard, Picard and everybody, all the while a cavalier scientist is onboard with a risky untested procedure.

It's the acting from almost everyone that makes this work as well as it does. Frakes' pleas are heartfelt, McFadden's indignation comes from a place of caring for her patient, and Stewart knows how to play up the grand moralizing.

It's nice to see an emphasis on the crew as family, but it also feels like these characters are convenient topical mouthpieces.

6/10

In the original Star Trek series the Klingons were presented as a just a simple race who just liked to fight. But with TNG and the addition of Michael Dorn as Worf, a crewman on the Enterprise we got a far fuller picture of Klingon values.

Dorn is injured and he is looking at a possible life of paralysis. Dr. Crusher says in time he can regain 60% of his mobility. But that's not good enough, a Klingon is whole or he's nothing in his culture.

Time for a consultant and a futuristic neurologist in Caroline Kava is called in. Gates McFadden and her have some professional and personal differences that are part of the story.

The rest is Worf trying to decide what to do and not having other Klingons around he's not given much support.

These are the moments that counselor Troi is called in. Every time I watch Marina Sirtis I wish our school guidance counselors were like her.

I won't rehash the synopsis since that's been well handled already.

But did Starfleet cancel the industrial safety training course at the Academy? How could those barrels be stacked on the second level of the storage rack, and not even be secured? That ship is always bouncing all over the place. Someone needs to get fired.

This episode feels long, it's boring and preachy. This is a good one to skip.