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WARNING: The following post contains amnesiac spoilers [how's THAT for an
oxymoron, gang? :-) ] for this week's TNG outing, "Conundrum". Be prepared
for a rude awakening if you don't bail out now.
My word, that was fun!
Well, we've finally got a *really* memorable outing in 1992. The last few
have been interesting, to be sure, but this one really grabs you. At least,
it grabbed me. More on that, after a word from our special correspondent in
Synopsis, CA:
The Enterprise is tracking some odd signals which could be a sign of
intelligent life. Troi and Data are in Ten-Forward: Troi manages to beat
Data at three-D chess and then coaxes Data into paying off his bet. Beverly,
meanwhile, is examining a diver who missed a dive by a little too much.
Riker and Ro, en route to the bridge, are arguing over innovative techniques
and proper procedure. Once they arrive, a ship comes into range, and appears
to be the origin of the signals. It's a one-man craft with minimal armament,
so they hail it and keep shields down. The craft's scans then mimic an
optical data reader and increase more than tenfold in power, so the shields
go up.
Data, behind the bar, offers Troi her winnings: a Samarian Sunset [a drink],
traditionally made. Suddenly, a green flash washes over Data, and then the
rest of the crew in rapid succession. On the bridge, everyone seems oddly
confused...and rightly so, for all have suddenly lost all memory of who they
are!
They quickly realize that they're on a starship, and Ro (at helm..."Looks
like I'm the pilot") finds that the helm is down. Riker and Worf examine
tactical, which is also inoperative. Everyone's ability to do these things
makes it clear that while their identities have vanished, their basic skills
have not. Riker notes that Picard, with four pips, is probably the
starship's leader, although Worf (also decorated, with the sash) points out
that there are other possibilities. Picard, however, points out that who
leads is unimportant right at the moment; the important thing is to find out
their identities and mission. And, as an unidentified person in a
commander's uniform points out, they need to know what happened to them, and
how.
Geordi scans and finds traces of debris in front of the ship. Ro theorizes
that perhaps that ship somehow attacked them and caused all this, and that
return fire destroyed it. If so, Picard reasons, other damage might also
have occurred; but unfortunately, he finds no way to interface with the
computer at present. Geordi calls up general system directories and finds
that communications are out, which destroys any chance of a distress signal.
They decide to talk to the crew, hoping they have their memories--but they
decide to do it carefully, as there may be a boarding party on board. Worf,
taking charge, orders crewmembers to select a representative from each of
their groups and report to the bridge that way, remaining calm.
In sickbay, we find Beverly and her patient equally affected. Bev's basic
medical skills seem intact (she fixes her patient's arm without even thinking
about it), but nothing else--and the patient's even worse off, having no
visible clues to what she does. ("I'm a patient in a bathing suit. That
doesn't say much.") The eventual report to the bridge is that everyone's
been similarly affected.
Worf, in the command chair, gives a rundown of their tactical capability, and
concludes from their formidable armament that they're a battleship. Ro
decides to go to Engineering to try to restore systems; and after Riker stops
her from dashing off half-cocked, they and Geordi all go down (after
receiving permission from Apparent Captain Worf).
Geordi and Ro make rapid progress. Riker suggests Geordi get essential
systems control back up to the bridge [first priority being weapons,
propulsion, and shields, second being personnel files], while he and Ro
survey the personnel decks to see if everyone's all right.
Picard and the unnamed commander report to Worf that there have been no
apparent injuries or deaths, and that all the systems are starting to come
back. Worf says that combat-readiness is top priority, and rejects Picard's
suggestion that the ship's logs are just as if not more important. The
systems come back on line. "Now, we are ready." "The question is, for what?"
After a test of tactical systems reveals no problems at all, Picard suggests
a full diagnostic of command systems. Worf initially objects, but when the
unnamed commander agrees with Picard that damage may still be present,
agrees. (Beverly's need for normal brainscans to compare to current ones,
i.e. medical records, is given next highest priority.)
Riker and Ro finish deck ten and head for Ten-Forward, engaging in a little
flirtatious bantering along the way. When they get there, they talk to the
group's representative (Deanna), who tells them of two anomalies. First, the
bartender is an artificial lifeform (Data); and second, she can sense strong
emotions while the others cannot. She senses something vaguely familiar
about Riker...but then Worf calls down to tell Riker and Ro that they've
finally accessed the personnel files.
The biographical sketches are out of reach, but the crew manifest is there.
The positions are as one would expect, except that Will Riker is now *second*
officer, with the first officer being the heretofore unnamed commander,
Commander Keiran MacDuff. Picard orders the rest of the bridge crew to the
bridge, and tells an apologetic Worf to think nothing of his brusque behavior
earlier.
A bit later, the crew has a conference. They've discovered their situation.
The ship is called the Enterprise, they're all in the United Federation of
Planets, and the Federation has been at war with the Lysian Alliance for
years. It's likely that a new Lysian weapon, which has already resulted in
the capture of over a dozen Federation ships, is responsible for what
happened to them, and that it's turning the tide of the war. Their mission
is to enter Lysian space and destroy the Lysian central command. Troi,
disturbed by the violent nature of the orders, suggests confirmation with
Starfleet; but Geordi and Worf hasten to point out that their orders include
radio silence, and that any attempt to communicate with Starfleet would
result in them being detected and stopped, thus jeopardizing not only their
own safety, but that of all the other ships on other frontiers assisting in
portions of this endeavor. Picard, faced with little choice, orders a course
to the Lysian central command.
Riker shows Troi to her quarters, where she invites him in. She tells him
that the war simply feels wrong to her, but acknowledges that war is likely
to feel wrong in all cases. She again senses something familiar about Riker,
and links it to past, pleasant emotions. Unnerved by the events of the day,
however, she backs off, and Riker bids her good night. He returns to his
quarters, only to find Ro there, dressed for bed. She tells him that "for
all we know, we could be married," and suggests that they see where things
lead them. "What if I snore in my sleep?" "What makes you think you're
going to *get* any sleep?"
Later, the Lysian border is crossed, and 37 hours remain until they reach the
central command. A vessel identified as a Lysian destroyer lies ahead, but
scans show it to be negligibly shielded and poorly armed. The destroyer
hails them, but before Picard can respond, MacDuff argues against it, saying
first that their orders are to destroy all enemy ships, and second that it's
quite possible the new Lysian weapon is transmitted via communications
channels. Before Picard can decide what to do, the destroyer gives up its
attempts at hailing and powers up its weapons. It fires, and the Enterprise
responds, blowing the ship to bits. MacDuff is pleased, but Picard remains
uncertain...
At a conference, Ro then recommends a randomly oriented approach to the
central command in an effort to shake off whatever Lysian pursuit there may
be. Beverly points out that there are techniques which may restore their
memory, but that without the medical records it could be very hazardous to
try. Geordi and Data renew their efforts at locating the records
(speculating simultaneously on Data's origins; why is he the only one among
the crew?), and finally break through to the relevant section. They find,
however, that the mission reports, the crew recordings, the personal logs and
the medical logs are all gone. In short, everything that could possibly give
them a clue to who they are is missing.
Troi, meanwhile, visits Riker in his quarters, feeling restless and claiming
that *everything* feels wrong to her. Riker, to put her at ease, starts
talking about what he's found out about himself: his trombone [which he
appears to play better than he did before] shows he's musical, a souvenir
from "a place called Alaska" shows that he's athletically inclined and
interested in mountain climbing, he's interested in exotic food, and "I
vacation on a planet called Risa," as the horgon makes clear. Troi notices a
book, and opens it to read a dedication: "To Will. All my love, Deanna."
This, as Riker points out, may explain the familiar feelings she's been
having. Suddenly, Ro walks in. Troi and Riker insist nothing was being
interrupted, and a somewhat flustered Troi beats a hasty retreat. Ro asks if
Riker's sure nothing was going on, because "I have a feeling that I used to be
the jealous type."
Geordi tells the others of just how specific and selective the damage to the
computer was, but MacDuff points out that it is consistent with the
information they have on the Lysian weapon. Beverly says that she could try
the procedure without the records, but it would be dangerous; and MacDuff
hastily volunteers for the process. Unfortunately, he appears to go into
convulsions early on: the process is too dangerous, and isn't making any
progress. Beverly concludes she's back to square one.
Picard and MacDuff talk about the mission. Picard is concerned about the
utter lack of corroborative evidence, and the circumstantial evidence against
their orders (namely the lackluster Lysian ship). He compares their
situation to being "handed a weapon, taken into a room, and told to shoot a
stranger", and says he simply can't do it without some moral context.
MacDuff agrees that it would be nice if "all the questions were answered,"
but points out in return that Picard may, simply due to his own moral
discomfort, end up prolonging a war and causing thousands of deaths on both
sides. Picard broods.
MacDuff, meanwhile, calls Worf to his quarters. When Worf arrives, MacDuff
appeals to him as another person "born to combat"; in short, as a fellow
warrior. He says that their skills make them uniquely qualified for the
battle ahead, and implies that Picard's wavering on the issue may force them
to take matters into their own hands. The mission must, after all, succeed.
The Enterprise finally enters the Lysian system, and sails through a barrage
of sentry pods with negligible effort. Riker immediately points out that it
seemed *too* easy, but agrees that no battleships have been seen yet. They
reach the central command, and find no vessels arrayed to defend it, minimal
defenses (a single photon torpedo could destroy it), and over fifteen
thousand people on board.
Picard orders a standby. Troi claims it all is simply wrong, Riker points
out that the Federation's mortal enemies can't be that far behind in weapons
technology, and MacDuff argues that others are depending on them, that they
must attack, and attack now. Picard decides otherwise. "I shall not fire on
defenseless people." He orders a channel open--and MacDuff belays it. He
claims that something is wrong with Picard, claims command, and orders Worf
to fire. Worf refuses, but when he tries to prevent MacDuff from doing so,
MacDuff tosses him aside easily. Riker and Worf fire on MacDuff, stunning
him and revealing him as something not human at all!
Some time later, with the crew's memories restored, the Lysians identify
"MacDuff" as a Suttaran, the Lysians' true enemies and their equal in weapons
technology. "MacDuff" attempted to use the Enterprise to end his race's war
in one swift stroke, and almost succeeded. Picard expresses deep regrets to
the Lysians for what has happened, and Riker tries to deal with the aftermath
of his abortive romances with Troi and Ro, only to find the two of them
together, and seemingly perfectly accepting of everything he did. They leave
him confused and befuddled.
Well, now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Now, onwards:
As I said earlier, something was a little lacking in the last several TNG
outings. I've enjoyed all of them (some more than others, of course), but
none of them really reached out, grabbed the back of my head, and yanked me
in. This one managed it, in spades.
Lots of people tried to excuse "Disaster" [yes, excuse; I thought it was
loathsome] by saying "well, it was fun because we got to see people out of
their element for a change." Fine; that's not how you do it. THIS is.
Far less contrived, far less cliched, and a lot more insightful. Nice.
Very nice.
The core story reminded me slightly of "Clues", in that they're working with
a puzzle where the pieces don't quite fit. I think that with one exception,
however (more on that later), it worked somewhat better than "Clues" did.
Although it was clear shortly into the first act that "Keiran MacDuff" was
behind all of it, there was nothing to indicate *why*. More importantly,
given the situation, there was no reason to expect the crew to figure it out,
so we were free to speculate on KM's motives and examine how airtight he
managed to make his technique.
And it was pretty airtight, I must say. Don't like the orders? Too bad,
thousands of your allies are counting on you. Want confirmation from
Starfleet? Aw, damn; the orders include mandatory radio silence at all
times. The "mortal enemies" might try to contact you? Well hey, the
"weapon" that hit you might just be used VIA the communications; better not
answer! Picard's concerned (and rightly so) about the moral issues at stake
here? Jar him by pointing out the second edge to that sword. Bev's found a
technique which is dangerous but might work? Quick, be a good little first
officer and volunteer for it first (beating Riker to the punch, mind), then
fake convulsions and have no "improvement" in your already-functional memory.
Worried that you're looking one-sided in always agreeing with action-oriented
Worf? Agree with Picard about the diagnostic.
For the first time in a long while, I had to sit back, whistle, and just say
to myself, "Damn. He's good. He's really good."
His slip-up, in fact, was entirely understandable. He appealed to the
obvious side of Worf's nature: the warrior, the defender of the Federation,
the anxious-for-battle Klingon. What he missed was Worf's commitment to
honor and fair play, and his unwillingness to outright disobey his captain.
Had Keiran been around to hear Worf apologizing to Picard for his behavior as
"captain", he might have tried a different tack; but he didn't. He only saw
the Worf who was quick to assume the captain's role, and who was impatient
with Picard when he suggested a course other than that of battle. Very, very
slick work.
As long as I'm on the subject...the whole show was designed to more or less
show what kind of behaviours are deeply rooted in the Enterprise crew. Troi
is still very passionate on the side of life; Riker is still a lech ;-) ;
Picard is still the "accomplished diplomat" unwilling to simply obey orders
he considers unethical; Worf is still a hothead. Intriguing. (I noticed, by
the way, that Keiran's reference to Picard as a diplomat was delivered with
just a slight hint of scorn. A telling statement in its own way, and one
that crewmembers other than Worf might have picked up on.
The most intriguing character trait related to the amnesia was the one that