{"id":5389,"date":"2016-03-04T13:00:01","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T21:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5389"},"modified":"2016-02-22T21:46:52","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T05:46:52","slug":"mark-watches-the-next-generation-s07e19-genesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/03\/mark-watches-the-next-generation-s07e19-genesis\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Next Generation’: S07E19 – Genesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of\u00c2\u00a0The Next Generation<\/i>, I SHALL NEVER RECOVER FROM THIS EPISODE. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For EXTREME body horror, threat of sexual assault<\/b><\/p>\n

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EVEN\u00c2\u00a0SAY<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0ABOUT THIS EPISODE? I’m so torn because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, let me start here. I never once thought that\u00c2\u00a0The Next Generation<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0would go this far. Ever. The show is not particularly violent, and while there have been a number of uncomfortable and chilling plots over the years, there’s been\u00c2\u00a0nothing<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0like “Genesis.” I made a comment at the end of the video for this episode where I declare that this experience was like the showrunners handed the whole thing over to David Cronenberg and said, “Do whatever you want with these characters!”<\/p>\n

BECAUSE I WAS NOT READY. I WAS NOT.<\/p>\n

The Concept<\/b><\/p>\n

I don’t know how willing my brain is to accept the central idea to “Genesis” because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, it’s just so\u00c2\u00a0random<\/i>. Yes, the intron is real, and yes, there’s plenty of truth to the idea that we’ve got a lot of dormant shit in our DNA. So that means a devolution would magically turn people into a different, random manifestation of a shared ancestor in a matter of half a day\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 okay. That’s a bit much, isn’t it? I’m literally talking about a show with time travel, multiple fictional alien species, and constant fantastic elements to it, and somehow, THIS PLOT MAKES MY BRAIN HURT. I don’t know why that is!!! Why am I being picky!!! It doesn’t make sense to hold up the show to this standard but not others!!!<\/p>\n

Please tell me someone understands this phenomenon. PLEASE.<\/p>\n

The Execution<\/b><\/p>\n

Here’s where I say that despite that “Genesis” makes no real scientific sense to me \u00e2\u20ac\u201c does the mutation or activation of genes create an instantaneous affect??? – I think Gates McFadden’s direction is INCREDIBLE. I think the make-up is unreal. I think that this episode’s conviction to the concept is so admirable that I want other episodic television shows to examine it and learn that they can take their own shows to utterly absurd and horrifying lengths and it is totally fine.<\/p>\n

I don’t necessarily like everything here. I think it’s a little suspect to turn one of the show’s only black men into an animalistic creature who, if he were not interrupted, may have sexually assaulted Deanna Troi. I do understand that\u00c2\u00a0everyone<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0devolved in this episode, but I’m basing my perception on that scene towards the end where Data and Picard theorize that Worf is trying to reach his “mate.” (Side note: Wow, did they not realize what that meant, that Deanna and Worf are dating? DO THEY NOT KNOW?) I think this is mostly just an unfortunate implication than anything else, especially not something deliberately malicious. And hell, I’m even torn on that because HIS COSTUME\/MAKE-UP DESIGN IS INCREDIBLE.<\/p>\n

What impresses me most about this episode is the escalation. I’m so used to\u00c2\u00a0The Next Generation<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0giving me plots where someone behaves strangely or something weird happens that I expected it to be prolonged for a great deal of “Genesis.” However, by the time Data and Picard leave to track down an errant torpedo, the crew is already at a stage that we’d normally see twenty minutes into an episode. Fifteen minutes into “Genesis,” and everything on the\u00c2\u00a0Enterprise<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0was a disaster, complete and all-encompassing. And then Worf is spraying venom into Beverly Crusher’s face, and Riker can’t concentrate, and Deanna is obsessed with moisture and salt and I HAD NO IDEA JUST HOW MUCH FURTHER THIS WOULD GO.<\/p>\n

I seriously can’t believe the lengths “Genesis” went. It all makes no sense, and yet, Deanna is just an amphibian. Worf looks like an extra from the\u00c2\u00a0Predator<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0films. Riker is a caveman and so is Alyssa? Sort of? Who cares, because I will never, ever recover from the scene where Picard discovers that Barclay has turned into A FUCKING SPIDER. A SPIDER. BURY ME RIGHT HERE, THAT WAS THE WORST THING I’VE EVER SEEN, IT IS ALL MY NIGHTMARES COME TO LIFE, I WILL HOLD THIS EPISODE PERSONALLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE REMAINDER OF MY LIFE. Not even adorable kittens will make me feel better about it!!! (If they were here\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6. well, that’s a different story.)<\/p>\n

I don’t know if you can\u00c2\u00a0feel<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0anything about this episode aside from shock and horror. If you asked me if it was good, I genuinely don’t know how I’d reply. It happened? Gates McFadden should have directed more episodes? I’m impressed and disgusted? Will\u00c2\u00a0The Next Generation<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0ever treat me like this again? I honestly don’t know, but I am a changed man after that experience. I once lived a life before “Genesis,” and I have now entered a new period that exists after that. Welcome, friends. It’s a whole new world from here on out.<\/p>\n

The video for “Genesis” can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>.
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! 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 Death Note<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0Neon Genesis Evangelion<\/em>. 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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"