In the fourth episode of the second season of The Next Generation, this is not good at all. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
Trigger Warning: For discussion of misogyny.
Well, this was a mess.
Data
At least I wanted to like this plot. The continued examination of Data’s humanity has been a high point of the first batch of episodes this season, so I was excited to get yet another one. Okona’s challenge to Data was annoying, but watching Data and Guinan discuss the nuances of humor was incredible. That is what I wanted to see more of. Guinan in particular was the most intriguing element of this story, but she doesn’t get much of a role beyond being the character who gives sage (and sometimes brutal) advice to Data.
And then everything is an awkward disaster. There’s a value in displaying the uncomfortable, and I’ve certainly enjoyed the exploration of it in fiction. But this is second-hand embarrassment due to… well, everything being pretty bad. Joe Piscapo’s character is not fun to watch; he sticks out like a sore thumb. And while I enjoy Brent Spiner getting the chance to bring a different kind of humor to Data’s characterization, the story here is just not very good at all.
Why is that? Well, that’s partially because the writers ask us to focus on two major storylines unfolding at once. Okana’s plot takes up time that could have been spent developing Data’s journey. Instead, there are a number of very rough cuts between each storyline that are distracting and jarring. And Data’s story doesn’t end with any significant development at all! He might understand the nuance of a joke a bit more at the end of this, but it’s an incredibly subtle moment. Perhaps this is just part of a longer story, but The Next Generation isn’t quite known for its serialization, so this episode felt like it dearly lacked any sort of closure for this plot.
But it was at least a lot more tolerable than the other story.
The Outrageous Okona
How exactly is Okona outrageous? Was that a reference to his outrageously gross misogyny? Most likely not, given that the show expects the audience to view Okona in a desirable way. Riker venerates him, as do other characters like Wesley. There’s nothing wrong with promiscuity or having multiple sex partners or eschewing a monogamous life. My problem is in how the show chooses to represent these things. Okona comes across as a womanizer, the kind of guy who moves from one woman to another, making grandiose promises just to get them in bed. He then moves on to the next woman with the same act.
He’s a lot like Captain Kirk without the confines of being a starship captain. That nomadic style of living is also made to seem like something attractive to certain men aboard the Enterprise, which is fine, except that Okona is SO BORING. What else is there to him? Why does everyone like him so much? Why is he given such a huge chunk of the script when we don’t actually know anything about his personality or his life? This is part of the reason why Data’s story suffers, but the lack of development of Okona is the other half. There are, at best, two entirely separate episodes jammed into this episode, and unfortunately, neither one of them is very good. Why should we care about these characters? Who cares about Benzan and Yanar? I DON’T. We’re given all these new people and stories, but are expected to be thrilled by things that are on the screen for less than five minutes.
Simply put, this just was not very good at all. Which sucks because I’ve enjoyed the other two episodes I watched this week a lot! I thought this was off to a decent start. But lord, this was a stinker.
The video for “The Outrageous Okona†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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