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lauraredcloud at 02:53pm on 12/07/2008 under star trek
lauraredcloud at 02:53pm on 12/07/2008 under star trekWe open with Crusher narration so we know it's going to be a Crusher episode. She's welcoming on board her old mentor, Dr. Dalen Quaice, who only wants to talk about how old he is and how everyone he knows is dead. Way to go, Captain Bringdown.
Crusher drops by Engineering to see Wesley, who's running an experiment in the warp drive and being yelled at by Geordi for taking too long. Oh, great, this is going to be one of those episode where it's all Wesley's fault. Why do they let him run experiments? They always go horribly, horribly awry. Case in point, there's a mysterious flash. Geordi's like, out out out out! and Wesley slinks off.
Crusher goes back to see Dr. Quaice, but he's gone; his quarters are empty, and the ship's computer says "There is no Dr. Dalen Quaice on board the Enterprise." Okay, moving along nice and speedily before the credits.
Crusher reports her guest's disappearance to the rest of the crew. Nobody remembers seeing him or hearing he was going to be on board--Picard even starts to give Crusher a minilecture about proper procedure for guests, but she insists she put in the request months ago. Crusher points out grimly that the computer's sensors wouldn't pick him up if he were dead. Riker wonders if the ship's computer has been tampered with and Picard wonders if Dr. Quaice has any enemies. He agrees to a thorough search of the ship, orders a diagnostic and has Data research Quaice, seeming really concerned: "We should leave nothing to chance." I like how everyone pitches in so readily. Actually, right up until the very end when there's just fast and furious technobabble (oh, sorry, spoiler alert), everyone in this episode acts logically, jumps to the appropriate conclusions, and takes the smart action. There's no point at which you're yelling at the screen, "YOU GUYS ARE SO STUPID." It's impressive!
Data can't find any information about Quaice--not in the Starfleet records, nor any medical or birth record. And O'Brien doesn't remember beaming him on board. He remembers Crusher coming to the transporter room, but, he says, she just looked around and left. Crusher brings O'Brien to sick bay to examine him, despite his protestations that he feels fine, but when she calls her assistant, nobody responds. When Crusher reports that her staff is now missing, and what's more, nobody remembers them--not even their families. Picard and Riker are confused: Crusher has never had a staff. "Why am I the sole medical officer on a ship of over a thousand?" Crusher demands. (I'd be more concerned about why the missing doctors' families believe they are on board a ship.) Picard corrects there--there are only 200 people on the ship.
Worf is the first credited character to go mysteriously missing. The ship's complement dwindles to 100. Crusher also narrowly avoids getting sucked into a giant ball of blue energy at one point. Someone does suggest Wesley's experiment as a possible cause (they're learning)--something about a "warp bubble"--but Geordi says there's no way that could have got beyond engineering. For some reason.
Crusher begs Picard to go back to the starbase for a full diagnostic. "I realize you have only my word..." "Your word has always been good enough," said Picard. I like that everyone is supportive and errs on the side of believing Crusher; they would be justified in thinking she's just crazy, since her memory provides the only evidence that there's something abnormal going on, but they've known her a long time, they trust her, and things like this happen in Star Trek, so it's nice that they give her the benefit of the doubt. Besides, "nobody believes me because it seems crazy, but it's really true!" plots are so tired.
Crusher, herself, is doubting her sanity, though, which also provides an interesting moment and logical step in her thought process. She asks Troi to assess her sanity. "What if it's not some elaborate conspiracy? What if it's just me?" she asks. "What if it is just you?" asks Troi. "So what? You have acted in the best interests of your ship and your crew... And if this turns out to be just a mistake, then we'll be a little late arriving at Uranian IV. That's all." A refreshingly logical speech from the Troister! Suddenly Crusher remembers about Wesley's existence.
She runs to some room filled with nothing but maps of the ship (Wesley's bedroom??) calls for Wesley desperately, sure she's not going to find him. Then... he walks in! Kind of a cool moment, actually. Wesley seems to be edging toward the "you're-crazy" side, but he says he's already contacted Kozinski to talk about the possible ramifications of his experiment. I remember Kozinski! He was in that Season 1 episode. He was working with the Traveller, that tall supergenius alien with three fingers on each hand who wore pajamas and kept eyeballing Wesley with creepy lust. Nice callback. Anyway, Kozinski doesn't know much, and Wesley has been unsuccessful in his attempts to contact the Traveller. He doesn't even know if he's still alive. Oh yeah, he was sick. (Yeah he was.) Crusher rushes down the hall, telling Wesley they'll get the captain to help them track down the Traveller, but when she turns, he's gone. Maybe he just got bored and went home.
She doesn't waste much time mourning, just heads on over to the bridge. Picard is the only one there. In fact, she and Picard are the only crewmembers on the ship! Crusher gives an extended Oscar-clip tribute to absent friends. Picard listens very patiently, then approaches and says, "Perhaps you should confine yourself to sick bay." Ha! Crusher laughs crazily. "It's all perfectly logical to you, isn't it? The two of us, roaming about the galaxy in the flagship of the Federation, no crew at all!" "We've never needed a crew before," says Picard, poised sexily. This is where the sex would happen, if this was a slash story. Oh, close enough: Crusher tells Picard she needs to say something, and she may not get another chance. She begins, looking down at her hands, "Jean-Luc, you and I..." But when she looks up he's gone. Buck up, Crusher. That's what my love life is like, too.
Alone on the ship, Crusher has another near-miss with the ball of energy. Okay, wow, we're still only 30 minutes into the episode. They dispatched with everyone right quick. Is the rest of the episode just going to be Crusher and the voice of Majel Roddenberry?
No, we zoom out past the energy and we're... back in Engineering with Wesley and Geordi! Crusher is the one in the warp bubble, and the non-bubble crew knows about it, and have been trying to get her out. (Remember, the next time you see a giant blue vortex attempting to suck you, submit!) But they have failed. Wesley looks devastated. Suddenly a voice announces they should not give up yet. The Traveller has appeared on board! Wesley gazes upon him with eyes wide with love.
The last fifteen minutes of the episode are a lot lamer than the first 30, so I'll try to be quick. The Traveller explains that the pocket universe or whatever that Crusher is in is being sustained by her thoughts, and was created by the thoughts she was having when the bubbles was created. While this does explain some things (why it tapped into such a basic, nightmarish type scenario; why it didn't make much logical sense) it also creates some disturbing questions (how is this possible? do people only give Crusher the benefit of the doubt in her dreams?) The question is, what can be done to get her out? Geordi and Wesley have exhausted the technobabble options they were able to come up with. But the Traveller tells them there are more things on heaven and earth. He lays his hand on Wesley's arm. "There is a power in each of us that most people have not begun to realize. But you have begun." Okay, too easy.
Back in the bubble, Crusher questions the computer. She's triumphant when she stumps it, which is kind of a cute moment. Still, it doesn't help her situation. It's not just people that are disappearing now: the bubble is collapsing. The Nothingness is approaching! Bits of the ship are disappearing. Life support will break down in four minutes. We should note that this is a Dream!Life Support, so it's okay if that estimate doesn't make sense. I'm a little unclear as to whether the bubble is Dream!Collasping. Could Crusher have just survived in there forever if she'd been thinking pleasant thoughts? She will die, though, when she believes she's going to--I think the Traveller established that--so there's real danger. And the moment when Crusher asks the computer, "Here's a question you shouldn't be able to answer. What is the nature of the universe?" and the computer responds "The universe is a spheroid region approximately 700 meters in diameter" is pretty cool.
The Traveller is still being all mysteriouslike and Yodaing Wesley in Engineering: "We will be going beyond mathematics." This takes the form of Wesley closing his eyes tight and moving his hands swiftly just below shot while the Traveller intones, Guide-style, "Let it go, Wesley. Let is all go. Yes. The ability is there inside of you." Yeep.
In the bubble, Crusher more or less figures out what is going on, which is both unrealistic and unneccessary. She "Leia.... hear me..."s to Wesley, and I don't think it works, really, but they manage to create another vortex and Crusher lets herself be sucked back to the real world. She hugs Picard first and then Wesley, then asks how many people are on board and Picard says 1,014, and everything is fine! The end. Shhh, forget all your questions. All's well that ends well, right?
Crusher drops by Engineering to see Wesley, who's running an experiment in the warp drive and being yelled at by Geordi for taking too long. Oh, great, this is going to be one of those episode where it's all Wesley's fault. Why do they let him run experiments? They always go horribly, horribly awry. Case in point, there's a mysterious flash. Geordi's like, out out out out! and Wesley slinks off.
Crusher goes back to see Dr. Quaice, but he's gone; his quarters are empty, and the ship's computer says "There is no Dr. Dalen Quaice on board the Enterprise." Okay, moving along nice and speedily before the credits.
Crusher reports her guest's disappearance to the rest of the crew. Nobody remembers seeing him or hearing he was going to be on board--Picard even starts to give Crusher a minilecture about proper procedure for guests, but she insists she put in the request months ago. Crusher points out grimly that the computer's sensors wouldn't pick him up if he were dead. Riker wonders if the ship's computer has been tampered with and Picard wonders if Dr. Quaice has any enemies. He agrees to a thorough search of the ship, orders a diagnostic and has Data research Quaice, seeming really concerned: "We should leave nothing to chance." I like how everyone pitches in so readily. Actually, right up until the very end when there's just fast and furious technobabble (oh, sorry, spoiler alert), everyone in this episode acts logically, jumps to the appropriate conclusions, and takes the smart action. There's no point at which you're yelling at the screen, "YOU GUYS ARE SO STUPID." It's impressive!
Data can't find any information about Quaice--not in the Starfleet records, nor any medical or birth record. And O'Brien doesn't remember beaming him on board. He remembers Crusher coming to the transporter room, but, he says, she just looked around and left. Crusher brings O'Brien to sick bay to examine him, despite his protestations that he feels fine, but when she calls her assistant, nobody responds. When Crusher reports that her staff is now missing, and what's more, nobody remembers them--not even their families. Picard and Riker are confused: Crusher has never had a staff. "Why am I the sole medical officer on a ship of over a thousand?" Crusher demands. (I'd be more concerned about why the missing doctors' families believe they are on board a ship.) Picard corrects there--there are only 200 people on the ship.
Worf is the first credited character to go mysteriously missing. The ship's complement dwindles to 100. Crusher also narrowly avoids getting sucked into a giant ball of blue energy at one point. Someone does suggest Wesley's experiment as a possible cause (they're learning)--something about a "warp bubble"--but Geordi says there's no way that could have got beyond engineering. For some reason.
Crusher begs Picard to go back to the starbase for a full diagnostic. "I realize you have only my word..." "Your word has always been good enough," said Picard. I like that everyone is supportive and errs on the side of believing Crusher; they would be justified in thinking she's just crazy, since her memory provides the only evidence that there's something abnormal going on, but they've known her a long time, they trust her, and things like this happen in Star Trek, so it's nice that they give her the benefit of the doubt. Besides, "nobody believes me because it seems crazy, but it's really true!" plots are so tired.
Crusher, herself, is doubting her sanity, though, which also provides an interesting moment and logical step in her thought process. She asks Troi to assess her sanity. "What if it's not some elaborate conspiracy? What if it's just me?" she asks. "What if it is just you?" asks Troi. "So what? You have acted in the best interests of your ship and your crew... And if this turns out to be just a mistake, then we'll be a little late arriving at Uranian IV. That's all." A refreshingly logical speech from the Troister! Suddenly Crusher remembers about Wesley's existence.
She runs to some room filled with nothing but maps of the ship (Wesley's bedroom??) calls for Wesley desperately, sure she's not going to find him. Then... he walks in! Kind of a cool moment, actually. Wesley seems to be edging toward the "you're-crazy" side, but he says he's already contacted Kozinski to talk about the possible ramifications of his experiment. I remember Kozinski! He was in that Season 1 episode. He was working with the Traveller, that tall supergenius alien with three fingers on each hand who wore pajamas and kept eyeballing Wesley with creepy lust. Nice callback. Anyway, Kozinski doesn't know much, and Wesley has been unsuccessful in his attempts to contact the Traveller. He doesn't even know if he's still alive. Oh yeah, he was sick. (Yeah he was.) Crusher rushes down the hall, telling Wesley they'll get the captain to help them track down the Traveller, but when she turns, he's gone. Maybe he just got bored and went home.
She doesn't waste much time mourning, just heads on over to the bridge. Picard is the only one there. In fact, she and Picard are the only crewmembers on the ship! Crusher gives an extended Oscar-clip tribute to absent friends. Picard listens very patiently, then approaches and says, "Perhaps you should confine yourself to sick bay." Ha! Crusher laughs crazily. "It's all perfectly logical to you, isn't it? The two of us, roaming about the galaxy in the flagship of the Federation, no crew at all!" "We've never needed a crew before," says Picard, poised sexily. This is where the sex would happen, if this was a slash story. Oh, close enough: Crusher tells Picard she needs to say something, and she may not get another chance. She begins, looking down at her hands, "Jean-Luc, you and I..." But when she looks up he's gone. Buck up, Crusher. That's what my love life is like, too.
Alone on the ship, Crusher has another near-miss with the ball of energy. Okay, wow, we're still only 30 minutes into the episode. They dispatched with everyone right quick. Is the rest of the episode just going to be Crusher and the voice of Majel Roddenberry?
No, we zoom out past the energy and we're... back in Engineering with Wesley and Geordi! Crusher is the one in the warp bubble, and the non-bubble crew knows about it, and have been trying to get her out. (Remember, the next time you see a giant blue vortex attempting to suck you, submit!) But they have failed. Wesley looks devastated. Suddenly a voice announces they should not give up yet. The Traveller has appeared on board! Wesley gazes upon him with eyes wide with love.
The last fifteen minutes of the episode are a lot lamer than the first 30, so I'll try to be quick. The Traveller explains that the pocket universe or whatever that Crusher is in is being sustained by her thoughts, and was created by the thoughts she was having when the bubbles was created. While this does explain some things (why it tapped into such a basic, nightmarish type scenario; why it didn't make much logical sense) it also creates some disturbing questions (how is this possible? do people only give Crusher the benefit of the doubt in her dreams?) The question is, what can be done to get her out? Geordi and Wesley have exhausted the technobabble options they were able to come up with. But the Traveller tells them there are more things on heaven and earth. He lays his hand on Wesley's arm. "There is a power in each of us that most people have not begun to realize. But you have begun." Okay, too easy.
Back in the bubble, Crusher questions the computer. She's triumphant when she stumps it, which is kind of a cute moment. Still, it doesn't help her situation. It's not just people that are disappearing now: the bubble is collapsing. The Nothingness is approaching! Bits of the ship are disappearing. Life support will break down in four minutes. We should note that this is a Dream!Life Support, so it's okay if that estimate doesn't make sense. I'm a little unclear as to whether the bubble is Dream!Collasping. Could Crusher have just survived in there forever if she'd been thinking pleasant thoughts? She will die, though, when she believes she's going to--I think the Traveller established that--so there's real danger. And the moment when Crusher asks the computer, "Here's a question you shouldn't be able to answer. What is the nature of the universe?" and the computer responds "The universe is a spheroid region approximately 700 meters in diameter" is pretty cool.
The Traveller is still being all mysteriouslike and Yodaing Wesley in Engineering: "We will be going beyond mathematics." This takes the form of Wesley closing his eyes tight and moving his hands swiftly just below shot while the Traveller intones, Guide-style, "Let it go, Wesley. Let is all go. Yes. The ability is there inside of you." Yeep.
In the bubble, Crusher more or less figures out what is going on, which is both unrealistic and unneccessary. She "Leia.... hear me..."s to Wesley, and I don't think it works, really, but they manage to create another vortex and Crusher lets herself be sucked back to the real world. She hugs Picard first and then Wesley, then asks how many people are on board and Picard says 1,014, and everything is fine! The end. Shhh, forget all your questions. All's well that ends well, right?