TNG: When The Bough Breaks

            This is a serious meh episode. Not the worst episode of all time, and certainly not the worst episode with children in it, but also not great. When Wesley stands out as the best acted character in a room you know you are in trouble. Also any episode that is so clearly supposed to be about Atlantis is going to raise some eyebrows from me. The idea of a people developing a computer so advanced that they forget how to use it doesn't actually seem as unreasonable as some of the other things in this one.
            We begin with Riker being run into by a young man in the hallway on his way to the bridge. When he arrives he is told by Picard that he may be intersted since they are following a trail some sort to what may be the mythical lost planet of Aldea. Aldea is supposed to be able to hide itself and sure enough when they arrive a planet appears out of nowhere. Riker beams down to negotiate but finds out that the Aldeans what some of the children from the Enterprise. The Aldeans scan the ship and locate all the kids. Riker is sent back up and the children are stolen. The Aldeans are no longer able to reproduce and apparently this is their best plan. 
            While Picard tries to negotiate the return of the children Wesley is busy trying to learn about the computer that runs the planet. He is given voice access to it and the other children are taught art and such, but none of them are happy. Picard isn't having any luck and at one point the Enterprise is thrown many light years away to show they mean business. Dr. Crusher has learned the Aldeans are suffering from radiation poisoning and probably don't know it since they are all dirty hippies instead of scientists. She doesn't actually say this, but she should have.
            Wesley organizes some passive resistance and Geordi finds a hole in the planets shields. Picard gets the Aldeans to beam him and Dr. Crusher down to negotiate again (the Aldeans are kinda dumb) and manages to get the children while Riker and Data take over the planetary computer system. The Aldean leader agrees they were wrong after he has already lost and agrees to work with the Federation to solve their problems.

            Review: Kinda a dull episode with central roles played by sub-par child actors. Also, what culture anywhere is going to put up with having their children stolen? For and advanced people the Aldeans aren't very good at what they do.

3 out of 10