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Old 04-27-2022, 04:44 PM
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Nate the Great Nate the Great is offline
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PICARD: All right, fine, good, let's throw the Prime Directive to the winds. Let's detain her against her will. Let's destroy any chance of peace between these worlds. Let's interfere in their society, their customs.

Picard has a point here. At most he can recommend that these people aren't ready for Federation membership. That's it.

CRUSHER: That slave trader who calls himself an ambassador, he has confined her to her quarters.

There's a difference between pimps and slave traders. A big one.

KAMALA: I'm afraid my premature emergence from stasis has left me a little vulnerable to the desires I sense from men. Nevertheless, this is who I am, Captain. You might as well ask a Vulcan to forgo logic, or a Klingon to be nonviolent. I cannot change, and I don't want to until the time has come for me to bond with my permanent mate. Why does it bother you?
PICARD: Frankly, it's difficult for me, for many of us, to easily accept that a sentient being can live only to be what someone else wants them to be.
KAMALA: But that's what gives a metamorph pleasure.

One of the most annoying things about episodes like this is that practically every conversation could result in lengthy discussions of the moral implications. I'm offended that she equates "Klingon" with "violent". Klingons try to attain and defend their honor, and we've seen that they're willing to scheme and use other nonviolent methods to attain this.

KAMALA: But you know me better than you realise. I am independent, forceful, brilliant, and adventurous. Exactly as you would have me be, Captain.

Oh, the discussion we could have about how well Picard's previous girlfriends match this description. Let me just say that Jenice Manheim doesn't seem to fit this very well.

BRIAM: She is still in the Finiis'ral, the height of her sexual allure, Captain. Every man on the ship will be fighting over her.
PICARD: Not every man.

I have to agree with SF Debris on this one. Picard can't even trust a Vulcan woman for this job?

MINER 1: Excuse me, but I'm absolutely certain that we met once at Paloris Colony.
KAMALA: I've never been to Paloris Colony.
MINER 1: Neither have I. Why don't we find out what else we have in common.

This is such a lame attempt at a pickup line. Only mention of Paloris Colony. I do wish they could've used one of the existing TOS mining colonies like Delta Vega or Janus VI or Ardana.

KAMALA: What are you all having, boys?
MINER 2: Aldorian Ale's our drink.
KAMALA: Then, it's mine too.

Only mention of Aldorian ale. One wonders if they meant Andorian ale, but that beverage won't appear until DS9.

DATA: Thank you, Lieutenant. The crowd seemed a bit too ebullient for comfort. Perhaps you would enjoy a quiet visit to the arboretum.
(Data leads Kamala away, then she turns and growls. Data hauls her out of the room before Worf growls back and then catches himself)

"Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects, and claw at you..."

KAMALA: I stay informed on a wide variety of subjects. After all, one never knows when the conversation might turn to Ventanan archeology or to the dark woman of raven brows and mournful eyes in Shakespeare's sonnets. Or to the gardens of Les Eyries near the village where you grew up.

I get the implication, but there's just too much information out there for any one person to be fluent in all of it.

KAMALA: My empathic powers can only sense a man of deep passion, and conviction. So controlled. So disciplined. I am simply curious to know what lies beneath.
PICARD: Nothing. Nothing lies beneath. I'm really quite dull. I fall asleep each night with an old book in my hands.

I don't like this description of Picard. It may be accurate, but there's more to him than she's mentioning. How many antique books does Picard own?

QOL: The bribe is ten thousand more.
LENOR: Ludugial gold. The purest in the galaxy.

An RPG module claims that ludugial gold is impossible to counterfeit, just like latinum. I do wish that gold-pressed latinum had been introduced WAY earlier.

PICARD: I'm reminded of piano lessons when I was a child. Preparing for some dreaded recital.
KAMALA: You still play?
PICARD: No. I regret that I gave it up. It used to please my mother. But I didn't like performing in front of an audience.
KAMALA: Shy?
PICARD: No. Just not very good.

Actually, Picard never plays the Ressikan flute in public either. Apparently Yvette appears in STP. I always thought that the illusion in "Where No One Has Gone Before" is Picard's grandmother, but no, that's Yvette.

PICARD: Kamala.
KAMALA: Do you find me unattractive?
PICARD: I find you unavailable.

I'm offended when people think that physical attractiveness is the only important factor in deciding to have a relationship. I refer you to my "'60s gender politics" comment from the retrospective entry on "Is There In Truth No Beauty."

KAMALA: When I was a child, I took music lessons, too.
PICARD: Really? What instrument?
KAMALA: All of them.

I repeat my earlier comment. This is impossible. A human orchestra has a couple dozen different kinds of instruments by itself. Toss in dozens of alien races and you have hundreds of instruments. It's just like any of the other subjects that she claims to be fluent in, impossible.

KAMALA: A starship captain must encounter all sorts of lifeforms. Am I one of the most unique you've ever met? Please say yes.
PICARD: Yes.

Actually, she isn't, not by a long shot.

CRUSHER: For your thoughts. Penny for your thoughts.
PICARD: Do you have one?
CRUSHER: I'm sure the replicator will have one on file.

The issue of replicating antique currency is another interesting discussion that I'll skip.

PICARD: Acknowledged. You can't go through with the ceremony.
KAMALA: Would you ask me to stay and ask two armies to keep fighting? Having bonded with you, I've learned the meaning of duty. He'll never know. I'm still empathic. I will be able to please him. I only hope he likes Shakespeare.

This is supposed to be heartwarming, but I find it horrifying.

The fiver

Captain's Log: We are carrying a mysterious, highly valuable gift that Ambassador Briam of Krios will present as a peace offering to Chancellor Alrik of Valt Minor. Our guest says that he would have preferred us to use an armoured delivery ship, so I have dealt with his complaint by ordering the Enterprise's outer hull to be painted in suitable shades of gray.

I'm sorry, Marc, but this was a lengthy setup for a particularly weak and irrelevant joke.

Briam: All the same, I request that you declare your cargo bay to be strictly off limits to everyone.
Picard: Before I do that, I'll need proof that this gift of yours is truly as priceless as you claim.
Riker: (over the comm) Captain, two Ferengi in a damaged shuttlecraft are requesting that we rescue them.
Picard: All right, I'm convinced.

Ha. The joys of medium awareness.

Picard: Was this the place that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?

Illium is another name for Troy of the Trojan War. I'm not sure why Marc would mix and match references to the Illiad.

Kamala: (smooch!)
Computer: Warning -- ambient temperature levels approaching the combustion point of Starfleet uniform material.

Ha. You have to wonder what the combustion point it, it must be above that of today's cloth.

Crusher: Well I believe that people should marry for love, whether they're royalty or not.
Picard: You mean like King Charles the Third and Queen Camilla?
Crusher: Exactly.

Charles isn't king yet, and I'll bet Marc thought that he would be by now. Charles married Camilla in 2005, after this fiver was written.

Picard: I'm already married to a special lady -- she's called the Enterprise.

Picard never had the loverlike attachment to his ship that Kirk had. This doesn't seem like Picard. He'd me more likely to say that he's married to his Starfleet career.

Kamala: I like it that way. Hey, boys! Wanna work up some sweat in the gym with me? Dr. Crusher told me there's a great ThighMaster machine in there I should try.

This is a reference to Famke Janssen's later role as Xenia Onatopp in Goldeneye.

Kamala: Will you visit me from time to time? We could listen to Mozart, make love, talk about archaeology....
Picard: Kamala, please stop doing this. There's only so much temptation a man can take.

Of course you could argue which of the three Picard finds the most tempting...

Picard: Yes, and I'm having trouble picturing what she'll transform into once she finally meets the Chancellor.
Beverly: From what I've seen of Alrik, my guess would be a cross between a stockbroker and a bureaucrat.
Picard: Oh, thanks a million for that particular image.

Maybe the Ferengi came a bit too early, then. Hehe...

(Picard watches Kamala's ship depart at Dolorous Speed)

"Dolorous" means "sorrowful."

Memory Alpha

* Famke Janssen turned down the role of Dax on DS9. The makeup was recycled for Terry Farrell when the original Trill makeup didn't work out.
* Memory Alpha compares this episode to "Elaan of Troyius." Aside from broad strokes, I don't see it.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Picard agreed to add extra security to the cargo bay, so how did the Ferengi get in there? It occurs to me that all of the cargo bays should at least scan for a commbadge before opening the door.
* Phil notes that on the xylophone notes get higher going left to right on one level and right to left on another level, very confusing.
* Wouldn't Kamala be herself if she's only surrounded by women?
* In "The Mind's Eye" it's declared that Krios is a Klingon colony trying to get its independence. Oops.
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