The Price

I'm shocked about the negative comments this one gets. It's one of my favorites.

Here, there are negotiations over the ownership of the first stable wormhole known to exist, and Troi begins a tumultuous relationship with a handsome opposing negotiator. This allows some development of Troi's character and also shows how her relationship with Riker has evolved since the first season.

In ways, this episode foreshadows Deep Space Nine. Not only is there a stable wormhole, but the Ferengi here are more comical than evil (granted, they are still evil, not at all purely comical as in DS9). There are other comical parts here too, like Troi's argument with the ship's computer in the opening scene.

The worst thing: The ridiculous workout outfits that Troi and Dr. Crusher wear.

Enterprise hosts an event to negotiate access rights to a wormhole leading to the Gamma Quadrant.

This is a mostly good episode with some poorly written romantic scenes but more than a few redeeming qualities.

The plot is interesting from a sci-fi and nerdy perspective with regards to the implications of the wormhole, particularly if you are interested in the premise of shows like Deep Space Nine and Voyager. It also works as moral take on an empath's ability to read emotions.

Unfortunately central to the plot is a fairly weak romance involving Deanna Troi and a guest character. These type of one-episode-wonders never work for me because I can never take them seriously. Romances on screen only get my interest if the love develops out of something meaningful the characters go through together or if they have spectacularly good chemistry. This is not one of those stories and, like most Star Trek romances, she's in love because she just is.

The best aspect of it is how it turns out for Troi in relation to the wormhole plot which gives her some strong character building moments and a good contribution to something important in the episode.

Riker has some decent scenes. One in particular where he is somewhat taunted by someone and then responds with a fantastically written and delivered piece of dialogue. It is probably the highlight of the episode and nearly made me say "well done" to a fictional character.

The visuals are okay with some great makeup and costuming for the alien effects of the Ferengi and others. One sequence of dialogue is very abruptly and noticeably cut mid discussion. The less said about Troi and Dr Crusher's aerobics session whilst they discuss men the better.

Performances are solid with good work from the main cast, particularly Marina Sirtis and briefly Jonathan Frakes. Matt McCoy looks the part of a classic slime-bag with his baby face, dark hair and blue eyes and to be fair he acts it well.

This is pure vileness. A guy "oozes" his way into the life of Deanna Troi. How did she even let this walking slime enter her room, let alone her life. He is disgusting.

I would say this episode just ruins her strong character. "Oh you have big blue eyes... therefore I will sleep with you!" I do not think any thought went into this episode at all. It is a disgrace.

If there is anything in the episode, it is totally ruined by this tacky "character". I use the word "character" loosely. He is more like a cartoon caricature.. It basically just revolves around smut. It is like a bad porn movie with no actual sex scenes.

The scene involving Riker is pretty pointless. The fact that Troi even considered this guy palatable is amusing at best. Vomit bags at the ready for this episode.

Love the Wormhole thing. However on entrance of Devinoni Ral i had to fight the immediate impulse to puke. Not in the least in how he looks. As the episode evolves it becomes clear that the character's immoral way of negotiating only adds to this premenition...

Think about this episode the next time you see Matt McCoy selling insurance on TV. Not so much that the product is defective, but that you're listening to an actor.