Haven

God, I can't stand Troi, what a pain in the butt. OK, now that I have said and admitted it, I can now try and explain why this episode has some highlights but also is another season 1 disaster. The positives, Lwaxana Troi and Mr Homm are introduced and they are great characters, Data shines with his straight face humour and the scene at the meal is a classic. Now the downside, the main story in this episode is like watching Days of our Lives, this is a soap opera with Troi being as annoying as she is every time she appears on the screen, and Will Riker is a sookie pain in the butt, fair dinkum, Will, grow some balls.

I know one needs to inject the human element into these episodes. The characters have families somewhere. Deanna Troi is no exception. Being a Betazoid and having the ability to sense emotions and in some cases, read minds, she is a valuable member of the crew. She is not a full Betazoid (sort of like Mr. Spock's half-Vulcan). When Lwaxana, Deanna's mother, shows up (a great Scrabble word) she is a tiresome, overbearing woman. Deanna, as part of a culture that endorses it, has an arranged marriage and her mother is here with her fiancé to make sure everything goes as it should. When he sees his "beloved" he is stunned. He has been dreaming of someone else. Now the more interesting story. A doomed group of Terrelians is wandering the galaxy, trying to find safe haven (at Haven, of course). They are infected and can't be allowed to land where there is habitation. Included among the crew is the person Troi's betrothed has been having dreams about (pardon my preposition). The solution to this tale is interesting. While many find Lwaxana a refreshing change, I found her an intergalactic stereotypical Jewish mother. Of course, we haven't seen the last of her.

This episode has many flaws. 1) Wyatt (her fiancee) has never seen Deanna. 2) The flower he gives her is supposed to change color with her moods, but never does. 3) Picard lets this happen while a threat is about to wipe out an entire planet. 4) The planet this episode is named after (Haven) is completely ignored. The crew are there for Shore Leave, but no one leaves the ship. 5) Deanna, who is half Human, lives among Humans, works with Humans, fell in love with a Human, and Counsels Humans for a LIVING, has ZERO understanding of Humans!

Troi's mother Lwaxana arrives on the Enterprise ahead of Deanna's unexpected arranged marriage to a complete stranger, the somewhat drippy artist Wyatt who has been having dreams of a different woman. Meanwhile, the Enterprise must intervene when a ship loaded with plague sufferers approaches the heavenly planet of Haven.

A rather bland episode that feels like a cheap Mills & Boon novel with a sci-fi twist. The plot has no surprises and the supporting cast are weak but at least we get Barrett and Struycken, who are great fun as Lwaxana and her mute companion. Plus, watching horny Riker in a bad mood is hilarious!

Haven got pretty close to getting a "Good" rating (an 8) but the whole drawing thing messed that up.

Haven has a whole bunch of things going for it; Lwaxanna is introduced and she is hilarious. The episode takes a stab at arranged marriages, though it doesn't quite hit its mark. There's also a now strangely topical question of how to deal with the threat of infection with a deadly disease. Best of all, most character interactions are entertaining or interesting. And people actually behave like adults. Shocking!