It's difficult for me to explain how much Star Trek: The Next Generation affected me as a child. The first full-length novel I ever read was Strike Zone, a TNG novel by Peter David. One Halloween, I begged my mother to sew me a Starfleet uniform, and may or may not have worn it outside of that holiday. I’m an unabashed TNG fan, having grown up watching it with my parents. I was permanently ejected from a Little League game for reading a Star Trek book in the outfield. At the premier of Star Trek VI, I won the trivia contest, and got a replica phaser that I was prouder of than I care to admit. And I’ve revisited the series several times, but I’ve skipped over the rough parts, of which season 1 definitely qualifies. It's been quite a while since I watched the episode pilot. However, I recently decided that I wanted to revisit the series, warts and all
Let’s say this first: Encounter at Farpoint isn’t very good. I can’t really say whether I would have said that if I didn’t know how good the show actually gets. It may be suffering from the comparison of what is coming down the pipeline. But buried in the cheesy dialogue and odd racial stereotypes are some hints of the good that’s on its way.
The Enterprise is on its way to Deneb IV, a new station that’s being offered up by a group called the Bendi for Starfleet’s use. It’s never made clear why the Bendi want Starfleet to use the station, or what they’re getting out of the deal. Whatever the particulars, Starfleet thinks something smells fishy, and have ordered Picard to negotiate for the use of the station while sniffing around. His first officer, chief medical officer, an undefined utility player who happens to be blind, and the dreaded Wesley are also at the station. On the way, they meet Q, an omnipotent being who puts humanity on trial for being too savage to keep exploring the galaxy, and figure out that the Bendi have abducted a giant space jellyfish that’s really good at making concrete, apples, and sparkly fabric. By solving this mystery, the crew satisfies Q, who disappears, after making the required comment of, “I’ll be back, assuming the test audiences like me…”
So let’s touch on the bad. Riker and LaForge are incredibly flat characters. There’s a brief moment where Riker barks at LaForge to stand at attention while talking to him, a character choice that seems petulant and childish. Tasha Yar is a complete caricature, strong only long enough to wail about her bad upbringing at the worst possible time. And for all who rightfully criticized Star Trek: Voyager for introducing a blonde woman in a skintight unitard for sex appeal, let me remind you about Deanna Troi, a woman who wears a tight miniskirt uniform, moons over Riker telepathically, and cries at five different points in the episode.
But for all this, there’s something really intriguing about some of the choices made from the beginning. Kirk was a brash upstart, the youngest captain in Starfleet history. He was a projection of the fantasy every young nerd has: finding the place where our gifts will be appreciated, regardless of our experience or age. Picard is different. He’s older, and significantly experienced. It’s not his first command. He doesn’t react brashly or with bravado. He’s disdainful of Q’s antics, blunt to Riker, and firm with Worf. With Kirk, it was remarkable that he was in command of this ship. With Picard, it makes perfect sense.
Data and Worf establish themselves very quickly. The holodeck scene with Data trying to whistle is painfully forced, and helps establish early on that Data should never smile, because it’s awful. But both he and Worf define their characters in ways that offer a lot of intriguing possibilities. Finally, the scenes between Crusher and Picard are excellent, creating a sense of history and shared pain. Yes, Wesley is involved, but nothing’s perfect.
Encounter at Farpoint isn’t a good episode of TNG, or even a good pilot. If you look at other sci-fi pilots such as Battlestar Galactica or Firefly, those showrunners do a much better job introducing the tone of the show and the characters responsible for telling this story. TNG takes quite a while to find any sense of rhythm or consistency. But from the beginning, there are intriguing possibilities, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would
Of course, the next episode is The Naked Now. This is going to be rough.
- Dietrich Stogner
Let’s say this first: Encounter at Farpoint isn’t very good. I can’t really say whether I would have said that if I didn’t know how good the show actually gets. It may be suffering from the comparison of what is coming down the pipeline. But buried in the cheesy dialogue and odd racial stereotypes are some hints of the good that’s on its way.
The Enterprise is on its way to Deneb IV, a new station that’s being offered up by a group called the Bendi for Starfleet’s use. It’s never made clear why the Bendi want Starfleet to use the station, or what they’re getting out of the deal. Whatever the particulars, Starfleet thinks something smells fishy, and have ordered Picard to negotiate for the use of the station while sniffing around. His first officer, chief medical officer, an undefined utility player who happens to be blind, and the dreaded Wesley are also at the station. On the way, they meet Q, an omnipotent being who puts humanity on trial for being too savage to keep exploring the galaxy, and figure out that the Bendi have abducted a giant space jellyfish that’s really good at making concrete, apples, and sparkly fabric. By solving this mystery, the crew satisfies Q, who disappears, after making the required comment of, “I’ll be back, assuming the test audiences like me…”
So let’s touch on the bad. Riker and LaForge are incredibly flat characters. There’s a brief moment where Riker barks at LaForge to stand at attention while talking to him, a character choice that seems petulant and childish. Tasha Yar is a complete caricature, strong only long enough to wail about her bad upbringing at the worst possible time. And for all who rightfully criticized Star Trek: Voyager for introducing a blonde woman in a skintight unitard for sex appeal, let me remind you about Deanna Troi, a woman who wears a tight miniskirt uniform, moons over Riker telepathically, and cries at five different points in the episode.
But for all this, there’s something really intriguing about some of the choices made from the beginning. Kirk was a brash upstart, the youngest captain in Starfleet history. He was a projection of the fantasy every young nerd has: finding the place where our gifts will be appreciated, regardless of our experience or age. Picard is different. He’s older, and significantly experienced. It’s not his first command. He doesn’t react brashly or with bravado. He’s disdainful of Q’s antics, blunt to Riker, and firm with Worf. With Kirk, it was remarkable that he was in command of this ship. With Picard, it makes perfect sense.
Data and Worf establish themselves very quickly. The holodeck scene with Data trying to whistle is painfully forced, and helps establish early on that Data should never smile, because it’s awful. But both he and Worf define their characters in ways that offer a lot of intriguing possibilities. Finally, the scenes between Crusher and Picard are excellent, creating a sense of history and shared pain. Yes, Wesley is involved, but nothing’s perfect.
Encounter at Farpoint isn’t a good episode of TNG, or even a good pilot. If you look at other sci-fi pilots such as Battlestar Galactica or Firefly, those showrunners do a much better job introducing the tone of the show and the characters responsible for telling this story. TNG takes quite a while to find any sense of rhythm or consistency. But from the beginning, there are intriguing possibilities, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would
Of course, the next episode is The Naked Now. This is going to be rough.
- Dietrich Stogner
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