The planet of the ladies! There are parts of this episode that clearly would have fit just fine into TOS, but it manages to have enough of a TNG twist to not feel out of date either. Examining sexism through a reversal of roles is a classic scifi idea and it does kinda point out to me how few woman had command positions in Starfleet at this point. I know, Voyager, but that hadn't happened yet. I also consistently forget how much I enjoy Riker. I remembered him being a little weak as a character, but this is another episode in which he is quite good.
The episode opens with the Enterprise looking for survivors on the lost freighter Odin whose wreckage they have stumbled upon. The nearest habitable planet is the female dominated Angel I. It has been a long time since they spoke with the Federation so Picard decides Troi should make contact. They reluctantly agree to allow an away team when they learn the Enterprise plans on removing the survivors. They meet with the planets leadership council, but they refuse to tell them if there even are survivors, but Troi figures out they are lying and that there must be some of them left at least. Back on the ship Wesley manages to get snow all over the captain as he exits the holodeck and also apparently infects him with a virus he picked up on a field trip. The crew start getting really sick and Crusher is struggling to find a cure.
Meanwhile on the planet they devise a scheme to find the survivors by looking for metals not naturally present on the planet including apparently platinum which seems kinda unlikely. Riker flirts with the head of the planet while the rest of the away team make contact with the survivors. The survivors are fugitives since they refused to submit to the normal role of men on the planet and have been hiding for years. They also have families on the planet now and don't want to leave.
The away team returns with the survivors and the head of the planet says she has no choice but to execute them now. On the ship the virus has gotten so out of control that Crusher won't let them beam back up again so they are stuck on the surface to figure things out. Just before the execution Riker gives an impassioned speech about how killing these men will only make them martyrs which sways the head of the planet and she agrees to just exile them forever. Crusher solves the disease mystery and they are off to the neutral zone to stop the Romulans!
Review: The virus B story wasn't the strongest in the series but it did help keep things moving. The scene of Riker dressing up on the revealing traditional male clothes of the planet is pretty classic. Overall an enjoyable episode, but not one to make anybodies top ten of all time either.
6 out of 10
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