Hero Worship (5x11) January 27,1992
The Enterprise investigating the disappearance of a science ship discovers a lone boy whom Data saves. The child develops an attachment to Data even to the point of mimicking him. Child Psychology hour is in full effect here. Child dealing with a traumatic event by clinging to his savior and buried emotions. A Noble effort that just doesn't work on this Saturday morning.
I did notice something interesting, last season there was an episode where a girl fell in love with Data and was pushed away by his lack of humanity. Yes he knew every sonnet in the universe but as an unfeeling android, he could not put any heart behind it. At the series worst it in one large Data crush we are suppose to have and this writing was bold. Here we have a child who tries to have a child/father relationship with Data. Again we are reminded he can't do that. I think we are setting something up, I am not sure I remember what. I remember watching the Spock episode but I think I had checked out of the series by this point.
And is just me or didn't the kid grow up to be Paul Ryan
Violations (5x12) February 3,1992
Troi then Riker in a coma and a band a psychics. Really,Really. A Hundred plus episodes and this is what you throw out. A check out the goofy pajamas.
Notable only for the flashback of Picard with hair
The Masterpiece Society (5x13) February 10,1992
Better than the last couple of episodes, The Enterprise encounters a closed society as an asteroid is about to hit their world. They are reluctant to mix with members of The Enterprise. This is a good Science Fictiony episode with a morale. For as bad as the season has been, this was a pretty good one.
Conundrum (5x14) February 17,1992
The crew memories and the ship computers have been wiped by Aliens. This is an odd and fun little episode. The writers this season have really been pushing the relationship between Riker and Troi, more so than any point in the series.
Power Play (5x15) February 22,1992
Data,Troi and O'Brien take over the ship as they are pocessed by the spirit of the command of the Essex,a ship lost 200 years earlier. This a lot like the episode with the guy from the future. This is a good episode but I didn't like the last act and the resolution at all.
Ethics (5x16) March 2,1992
If it is an episode dealing Klingons it will be one of the best of the series. Worf is paralyzed in an accident and there is no or little hope of restoring him. Worf asks Riker to assist him in ritual suicide in the Klingon tradition. Riker at first is horrified and refuses. There is a wonderful conversation with Picard about cultural relativism. Riker finds a way out, telling him according to Klingon traditions his Son must perform the ceremony,Worf decided to try a risky surgery.
I have noticed a problem with the season so far, several times I have been hooked into what is going on,but the twist at the end is just lame. Here the surgery goes bad to a point of Dr. Crusher telling Alexander that Worf is dead. Then thanks to the the redunant Klingon parts, he lives. Klingons have several stomaches,hearts and other parts. It just seemed like a weak ending.
The Outcast (5x17) March 16,1992
Science Fiction at it's best tells us something about itself. The first 20 minutes of this episode are incredibility boring and poorly acted. We are introduced to J'naii, a genderless society. Soren is working with Riker and the two have a long conversation about how the J'naii got rid of gender. Then Soren explains that some of her kind begin to embrace Male or Female roles and sometimes fall in love and it is forbidden. They have to live and love in secret. They risk bullying (todays term). It sounds a lot like they need a "It Gets Better" campaign. She moving tells the tale of someone who goes through shock therapy to cure them.
Soren and Riker kinda fall for each other, she is observed and the final scene is tragic. This is a wonderful story that relates I think to Homosexuality. This is really one of the strong episodes in the run of the series. One of the main differences between the old and new series is the new one never really tried to tell us anything about ourselves. That is one of the biggest failings of the series, the lack of a message which is the hallmark of Science Fiction. I applaud this story from 1992.
Cause and Effect (5x18) March 23,1992
This was a really good episode. The Enterprise is stuck in a time distortion. It is well crafted. I meant to point out the last few episode have brought back the poker games. I have missed the poker games.
The First Duty (5x19) March 30,1992
Ray Walston's first appearance as Boothby, Robert Duncan McNeill would later appear in Voyager and a minor character in the play would be brought back in a future episode.
Picard returns to the Academy to deliver the commencement address, meanwhile Wesley is involved in an accident and most of the episode involves the hearing. One of the best acting scenes in the whole is the scene between Wesley and Picard late in the episode. The series has been riding a really good streak of watchable episodes. I hope it keeps up.
Cost of Living (5x20) April 20,1992
At this point I am a little upset with the writers. We have a Lwaxana Troi episode this season but no Q episode. This is one to be muddled through. She is getting married and of course wants to do it on the ship. She bonds with Alexander who is becoming more and more a character on the show. This is really an episode that at best I would classify as Meh.
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