[Nate the Great]

October 11th, 1993, "Gambit Part 1"

Fiver by Derek

The Episode

TROI: You're lying.
BARTENDER: And you're a Betazoid. I thought so.

All Betazoid actors wear contact lenses that make their irises look a bit bigger than humans. I don't think it was worth the trouble since it was never pointed out often enough. I do recall how it was used as a plot point in the novel "The Minds Eye."

YRANAC: The man you're looking for was here several weeks ago. There was a group of aliens sitting at this table. He was asking them questions.

Yranac is a Yridian. What he would consider "alien" is a question. Frankly, I think that in the Trek future the term shouldn't be used for the humanoid races, only the truly different like Tin Man, Q, Sheliak, etc.

YRANAC: He was thrown against that wall and fell there.
(Crusher scans it with her tricorder)
CRUSHER: I'm picking up some Starfleet fibre traces and human cellular debris.

The inconsistent scanning range of tricorders is always annoying. Especially in a place like this where there would be no reason for a dampening field.

RIKER: You don't understand. I can't give the eulogy because I won't be at the service.
TROI: A memorial service helps to give everyone a sense of completion. Helps them begin the healing process.
RIKER: That's exactly the point. I don't want to heal.
TROI: Will.
RIKER: I've an open wound, right here. It hurts like hell. I don't want it to get better, and I don't want to pretend that everything's all right.

Every time stuff like this comes up it makes the events of "The Bonding" more ridiculous.

TROI: I know you're angry.
RIKER: You're damn right! And I intend to stay angry until I find whoever's responsible for the Captain's death.
TROI: That's pretty selfish of you. Do you think you're the only one in pain? Do you think you have the monopoly on loss? Well, let me tell you something. We're all hurting, and we're all angry. And whether you like it or not, you have a responsibility to this crew, and you can't just indulge your personal desire for revenge.
RIKER: That is enough, Counsellor. Deanna. I'm sorry. This is not about revenge. This is about justice. The Captain died in a bar fight for nothing. Somebody has to answer for that. Then I can mourn.

I think there's a difference between revenge and justice, and it's bigger than most people think. Troi did go too far, by the way. Riker isn't claiming a monopoly on loss or anger and frankly it sounds like Troi was the one that snapped, not him.

WORF: Commander, I am receiving a transmission from Admiral Chekote at Starbase two twenty seven.

I have to scratch my head at this name choice. Surely Chakotay's character had been written by now even if Beltran hadn't been cast yet. Why create confusion?

There is speculation that Chekote was supposed to appear on Voyager, but I doubt that. Incidentally "Chakotay" supposedly means "Man who walks the Earth but who only sees the sky".

CHEKOTE [on monitor]: I suspect you're right. The question remains, are you the one to pursue this?
RIKER: The Captain's death hit me pretty hard, and I may not be completely objective, but there is no one who is more determined. I won't rest until I find out who's responsible.
CHEKOTE [on monitor]: All right, Commander. I'm officially placing the Enterprise on detached duty. Your mission is at your discretion. Good luck.
RIKER: Thank you, sir.

My biggest problem is that the Enterprise has other missions to do. Riker should've been given a firm deadline. "I can reassign your next few missions, but remember that the Enterprise is needed on Planet X for Reason Y in 2 weeks, so that's all you get to investigate."

YRANAC: Ah, Commander Riker. I've been meaning to speak to you. I was wondering if you could move me to better quarters. I don't care much for the decor here.
RIKER: These are the best quarters we have.

Does the decor really change all that much between standard guest quarters? I don't think this guy is worthy of the fancier suites that the admirals stay in. Actually, this reminds me of that holographic wall thing that the quarters were supposed to have in the series bible. Each guest can configure it to their liking.

RIKER: What do you want?
YRANAC: Not a great deal, Commander. Just a shuttlecraft. I believe I'd like to travel for a while, see more of the galaxy. You understand.

I have trouble with the idea that a person can live in a shuttlecraft long term. Even a runabout (which we know the Enterprise has) would get claustrophobic eventually.

RIKER: Take us out of orbit. Set course for the Barradas system, warp six.

Enjoy warp six while you can, Will, the speed limit hits in two months!

DATA: Aye, sir. Commander, as Acting First Officer, I must question your decision to accompany the away team. If Captain Picard were here
RIKER: He's not.
DATA: I realise that, sir. But if he were, and he wanted to lead an away team, you would tell him that the Captain's place is
RIKER: On the Bridge. Not this time.

Actually, Will, there isn't any particular reason why you would be more effective on this away mission. At least when Picard takes charge there's a reason, whether it's historical curiosity, the need for diplomacy, or whatever. In this case Data can arrest these guys and shoot a phaser at least as good as Will can.

A key problem with this episode is that we're too far into the series for it to be plausible. The whole point of Best of Both Worlds is that Riker was mature enough to be captain. His antics here just serve to prove that Jellico was right. And you never want Jellico to be right!

DATA: Bridge to Transporter room two. Can you get a lock on the away team?
CHIEF [OC]: Negative, sir. There's too much interference.

I suddenly wonder who the transporter chief is now, and how well O'Brien trained him. I realize that it was too far into the series to introduce a new transporter chief, but giving these people names would've been nice.

NARIK: (more spiky, Harper-esque) I warned you not to push the engines so hard. Two of the power shunts are on the verge of collapse. We'll be lucky if we can maintain warp six.
BARAN: How long will it take to repair?
NARIK: I can try to realign the warp core. It'll take at least eleven hours, but I'll have to shut the engines down completely.
BARAN: We're not stopping. We can't afford to be sitting helpless in space. I want warp eight available in five hours, and I don't want to hear your excuses.

I hate captains that are this poorly written. I know that the short definition of "captain" is "wants the impossible", but Baran is taking things too far. He should be asking for viable options, like a nebula or planet with thick atmosphere, not this "rewrite reality to suit my whims" nonsense.

RIKER: William T. Riker, Commander, SC two three one dash four two seven.

The whole name, rank, serial number thing is just stupid, at least in Trek.

BARAN: Dangerous? It might be profitable. A Starfleet Commander is a valuable hostage.
VEKOR: Starfleet won't negotiate with us, but they'll pursue us as long as we have him.

This is another interesting screed that I could write, but I'll skip it.