115 – Power Play

Grade: C+

Summary

The Enterprise arrives at an m-class moon that is supposed to be uninhabited, but there is a 200 year-old distress signal coming from it. After Counselor Troi says someone is alive down there, she goes with Riker and Data down to the surface to investigate. They crash-land on the moon, and Riker breaks his arm.

Commentary

This is a quick-starting episode, which doesn’t take long to get to the point. It’s easy to tell that there will be something wrong with Troi, Data and O’Brien, because those blue lights move into them. The only mystery is what will happen to them.

Actually, I don’t really like this episode very much. I guess it’s too similar to other episodes in which Troi and Data were possessed by other beings. Other than that, the acting falls a bit flat, though Marina Sirtis is better in this than usual. Colm Meaney is better than Brent Spiner this time. I think Spiner just tries too hard to be different from his normal character. The storyline is a bit predictable, and there are some plot holes here and there, but it really just isn’t much to write home about.

If you never see this episode, you won’t miss much.

Of Note

IMDB reports that this is the first time we see the transporter pattern enhancers in the franchise. I could have sworn I saw them before this, but I guess I’d be wrong.