{"id":4646,"date":"2015-05-08T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4646"},"modified":"2015-04-27T12:20:55","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T19:20:55","slug":"mark-watches-the-next-generation-s02e04-the-outrageous-okona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/05\/mark-watches-the-next-generation-s02e04-the-outrageous-okona\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Next Generation’: S02E04 – The Outrageous Okona"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the second season of The Next Generation<\/i>, this is not good at all. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of misogyny<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Well, this was a mess.<\/p>\n

Data<\/b><\/p>\n

At least I wanted<\/i> to like this plot. The continued examination of Data\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s humanity has been a high point of the first batch of episodes this season, so I was excited to get yet another one. Okona\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s challenge to Data was annoying, but watching Data and Guinan discuss the nuances of humor was incredible. That<\/i> is what I wanted to see more of. Guinan in particular was the most intriguing element of this story, but she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get much of a role beyond being the character who gives sage (and sometimes brutal) advice to Data.<\/p>\n

And then everything is an awkward disaster. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a value in displaying the uncomfortable, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve certainly enjoyed the exploration of it in fiction. But this is second-hand embarrassment due to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, everything being pretty bad<\/i>. Joe Piscapo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characterization, the story here is just not very good at all.<\/p>\n

Why is that? Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s partially because the writers ask us to focus on two major storylines unfolding at once. Okana\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plot takes up time that could have been spent developing Data\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journey. Instead, there are a number of very rough cuts between each storyline that are distracting and jarring. And Data\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end with any significant development at all! He might<\/i> understand the nuance of a joke a bit more at the end of this, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an incredibly subtle moment. Perhaps this is just part of a longer story, but The Next Generation<\/i> isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite known for its serialization, so this episode felt like it dearly lacked any sort of closure for this plot.<\/p>\n

But it was at least<\/i> a lot more tolerable than the other story.<\/p>\n

The Outrageous Okona<\/b><\/p>\n

How exactly is<\/i> 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n

He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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<\/i>, 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know anything about his personality or his life? This is part of the reason why Data\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re 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.<\/p>\n

Simply put, this just was not very good at all. Which sucks because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve 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.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Outrageous Okona\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., and Ireland. Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running,\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
\n<\/a>– Please check out the\u00c2\u00a0 MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"