134 – A Fistful of Datas

Grade: C+

Summary

The Enterprise has arrived at its next assignment just a little early, which means all of the crew can spend some time relaxing. Mr. Worf, his son Alexander, and Counselor Troi spend time on the Holodeck in a simulation of an 1890s Old West town. The trouble starts when LaForge connects Data to the ship’s main computer.

Commentary

Honestly, I found this episode to be a little mediocre. It seems to be TNG’s answer to “Spectre of the Gun”, the Original Series episode when Captain Kirk and crew have to go back to a small town in 1890s Arizona. The TNG version is much funnier, though. My favorite part is when Commander Riker tells Captain Picard that the replicators are creating nothing but cat food.

The storyline isn’t that great, however. We never really have the feeling that Worf could be in danger. Even when Alexander gets kidnapped and the other Holodeck characters have the accuracy and power of an android, there still isn’t much to worry about. The slow motion ending was pretty lame, I thought. We’ve seen that sort of thing way too many times already.

The acting is also mediocre – it’s good in some parts, and bad in others. Marina Sirtis seems to do a pretty good job, but this show is mostly a Brent Spiner vehicle. He does OK with his several roles, but it gets old after a while.

If there’s anything I really liked about this episode (besides the cat food bit), it’s how Worf reacts when he finds out he’s the sheriff. It’s just the way you’d expect the Klingon warrior to react. But that’s just not quite enough for me to like the entire show. The sixth season isn’t very good so far. Hopefully it will get better.

Of Note

Data’s poetry makes a comeback in this episode as well. It turns up when Riker is practicing for one of Dr. Crusher’s plays.