HALF A LIFE


There doesn't really seem to be a whole lot to say about this episode.  At
least, I can't think of much.  I mean, let's see what we've got:

Lwoxana Troi, making her obligatory yearly appearance.  Her presence
subjects us to 15 minutes of what some scriptwriter apparently considers
humor.  I personally found the first fifteen minutes or so of the show to
be largely a waste of my time.  She seemed to be wasted for the rest of the
story.  I would have much rather seen a different character in her place,
and have dispensed with the suppoosed humor at the beginning.  Troi certainly
seemed generic enough after we got beyond the first quarter of the episode.

Timicin's star rekindling experiment.  A neat idea.  Obviously not much
more than a plot device, but then, it doesn't really need to be.

Timicin's culture.  This, obviously, was meant to be the meat of the
episode.  The idea was interesting, but it fell flat for me because they didn't
really go into some very relevant issues, such as:

- The right of an individual to commit suicide (and yes, I do believe that
  all people have this right.  It's certainly not one I want taken away from
  ME...)
- Whether a government should have the right to impose mandatory (and in
  some cases involuntary) suicide on its citizens.  Sounds like fascism to me.

There were also a couple of scenes that were very badly played.  First,
Lwoxana's crying scene seemed very fake (i.e., bad acting).  Second, did
Timicin's daughter really have to have a propeller on top of her head?  It
undercut any effectiveness that the scene might have had.  Third, calling the
Resolution "everything we believe in" (as Timicin's daughter did) seemed to
be going more than a little overboard.  We really didn't get enough of a look
at their culture to be able to digest such a statement.  Unless they culture
is obsessed with death (which they did not seem to be), I can't see ritual
suicide as being an all-encompassing aspect of the culture.  The statement
seemed to be present to add power to the daughter's pleas, but it failed to
do so for me.

I did enjoy the ending of the story, though, for much the same reason that
I enjoyed the ending of "Suddenly Human".  In both episodes, the focal
characters are the ones who get to make the choice, and the choice is made
for personal reasons, not for the sake of others (at least, it doesn't seem
that way to me).

One directorial moment stood out for me:  The Lwoxana/Deanna confrontation
in Lwoxana's room, with the various camera shots made against the mirror.
I always like to see directors use that technique...

I think that really covers all I have to say about the episode.  It seemed to
be a typical Trek "moral dilemma" episode, with the quirk of having Lwoxana
Troi thrown in.  It was enjoyable, but nothing especially impressive,
especially with all the little bits I *didn't* like.  I'm torn betwene giving
it a C+ and a B-, and I think I'll go with the latter because I thought
David Ogden Stiers did a fine job as Timicin.

GRADE: B-

SEASON FOUR AT A GLANCE:
The Best Of Both Worlds Part Two: C-
Family: A-
Brothers: B
Suddenly Human: C
Remember Me: A+
Legacy: D+
Reunion: B
Future Imperfect: D-
Final Mission: B
The Loss: D-
Data's Day: B-
The Wounded: C-
Devil's Due: C-
Clues: B
First Contact: C+
Galaxy's Child: F
Night Terrors: B
Identity Crisis: B+
The Nth Degree: C+
Qpid: F
The Drumhead: B+
Half A Life: B-
---
Total Points:  49 1/3
Season Average: 2.242 = C+
(Rise of 0.020 from previous episode)