tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400152815785368447.post1020121649924049003..comments2024-03-15T07:28:47.064-05:00Comments on Treknobabble: The Next Generation, Season 6: Man of the PeopleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400152815785368447.post-33874961733682502542015-07-13T19:55:08.663-05:002015-07-13T19:55:08.663-05:00I guess it is a matter of opinion that the "b...I guess it is a matter of opinion that the "being possessed by an external force against her will" trope "has long since lost its interest. " Not for me. I find such episodes always interesting and intriguing, It is entertaining to see an established character act out of character. Weird. Strange, Disturbed and what have you. I never find such episodes boring, especially if they are this well done. <br /><br />For me, the conflict Alkar came to negotiate was beside the point. It was just a convenient thing to drive the plot, to show us that he is negotiator - a mediator who needs calm and serenity to be succesful, so he dumps his negative emotions onto another person. That is all this episode is about. <br /><br />The most intriguing part of this episode for me is Deanna's transformation. She is always very level headed, reasonable, calm, pleasant. And i loved watching her melt, fall apart. The moment the calmness that defines her was taken away, she is irritable, anxious, nervous, impatient, uncomfortable in her skin, agitated, sardonic, bitchy, mean. That scene where she dresses down the ensign is everything. "How would you feel if you had to sit around listening to people whine about themselves all day?" HA! That was so great. <br /><br />I loved how they recorded her transformation this extensively. It started little - like with her just feeling like shit in the am and not wanting anything to do with anyone - to her begging Alkar to take her with him and screaming in desperation. <br /><br />Sirtis played the transformation and eventual instability beautifully and convincingly. Watching this the first time I realized how calm and together Deanna actually is. <br /><br />I also found the aging plausible. Stress, anger, bitterness - all the things Deanna exhibited and felt - do lead to premature aging. So it made total sense to me even though I agree that her being magically transformed back to her gorgeous self did seem very unrealistic. <br /><br />Overall I really enjoy this episode and, once again, I did not let the inconsistencies bother me because, overall, it works. It was Skin of Evil type of episode in the sense that you had this calm, serene man be all those things because he was able to dump all those negative emotions and dispositions - the ones that Deanna exhibited as she spiraled down - onto someone else. You cant achieve that level of togetherness and calm with meditation. Maybe Alkar had a fiery personality, insecurities, doubts, anger issues that cannot be resolved this easily. Suggesting he meditate to work them out would be as trite as telling B'elanna Torres to meditate to work on her anger issues and the things that make her who she is. poppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09064123327462038174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4400152815785368447.post-82159800436553353512012-08-11T13:39:18.417-05:002012-08-11T13:39:18.417-05:00I just like that Deanna stabs Picard with his own ...I just like that Deanna stabs Picard with his own knife. That's the knife that the Tamarian captain gave him in Darmok. Hooray for continuity!Saranoreply@blogger.com