Tonight's episode was by far the most action packed of any episode of TNG and honestly of Trek so far. Not as intense as some of the movies, but very much so for television. The multilayered automated defenses of the planet seemed genuinely dangerous and very scifi. I think this is also the first episode that mentions that Riker gave up an opportunity to command his own ship in order to serve on the Enterprise. We also learn that Crusher grew up on a colony world which I don't believe ever comes up again.
The episode begins with the Enterprise investigating the disappearance of all intelligent life from planet Minos and of the USS Drake which had been sent to investigate previously. Riker tells Picard that he knew the captain of the Drake from his academy days and that he is very competent but also very aggressive. When they arrive they are greeted by an automated messaged offering to sell them whatever weapons they might need. They send down an away team of Riker, Yar and Data who are greeted by the captain of the Drake, or so it appears. Riker quickly figures out it is a fake and tells him so. The captain disappears and is replaced by a floating weapon system that encases Riker in some sort of energy field before being destroyed by Tasha. The captain and Dr. Crusher beam down to help but they are attacked again. Picard goes to help the doctor and both of them fall into some sort of cave. Communications are out and Dr. Crusher is badly hurt and the captain is struggling to keep her awake.
Back on the ship Geordi is in charge. When he tries to beam the away team up the ship is attacked by a weapon system that cloaks as soon as it fires. Worf does everything he can to shoot it down but it isn't working. Suddenly chief engineer Jackass shoes up on the bridge and demands Geordi turn control of the ship over to him so he can run away like a coward and leave the captain and away team to die. Somebody should really replace that jerk with someone more competent, like Geordi. After sending him back to his job in engineering Geordi works on a new plan to defeat the weapon. Meanwhile the away team is fighting off another attack, the weapons seem to be adapting to them and their strategies.
In the cave Crusher is getting weak and Picard gets her to help him find some roots to help with the bleeding and treat her for shock. While looking in the cave Picard finds a panel with a flashing button. When he presses in a huge computer console turns on and a holographic sales person appears to brag about the awesome weapons that are killing them. Riker finds the hole the captain fell through and Data jumps down leaving Riker and Yar to fight off the weapons. Data helps with Dr. Crushers injuries but there isn't much they can do. Back on the ship Geordi is forced to flee and calls the engineer up the bridge. He is turning over command, of the saucer section! Geordi takes the drive section back to fight the weapons while Picard and Data try and figure out how to turn it off. They get the planet based system to turn off just before it attacked Riker and Yar by offering to buy it, but Geordi is on his own. Geordi takes the drive section into the atmosphere to reveal the cloaked weapons and Worf blasts them out of the sky. The day is saved and Geordi has proven himself ready for a promotion.
Review: This is both a good action piece and a good character story. It does a lot to give some of the characters who have been more in support roles a chance to really shine. Geordi in particular shows that he has what it takes to spend the next six seasons with the job of the jerk who tried to replace him.
8 out of 10
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