THE HOST Oooh... I bet we get some interesting commentary on the ending of this one! But anyway... This episode reminded me a lot of TOS' "The Alternative Factor" in that as soon as we saw Riker-with-host outside of Sickbay I was saying "What the heck did you let him out for?" You've got this guy who's supporting this symbiote which may have some negative effect on him - there's no way to know. I personally would not have allowed him to leave sickbay until everything was all over. And I *certainly* would not have allowed him to start conducting the negotiations. There was probably no need: Just tell the aliens that the mediator was injured in the attack, tell them of the symbiotic relationship (which Picard did in the actual story, obviously), and that a new host is on the way and will be there in forty hours. The time pressure did not seem to be overwhelming in the episode. The people were willing to wait for the mediation - they could probably wait a little longer. (I know that many will disagree with me on that, but that's the way I see it.) Meanwhile, I found it very difficult to plug into Crusher's romantic tribulations because I was too worried about whether or not Riker and the host were going to survive the next forty hours - something I found it very odd that Bev was NOT visibly worried about until towards the end. I mean, it seemed quite possible that within forty hours she would no longer have a relationship to worry about. First thing first. Get through the next forty hours, and then worry about what to do. Big let-down of the episode: We don't get to find out what Riker thought of having his brain usurped by the symbiote. Given his previous attitudes toward infractions on his personal freedom (e.g., "Up The Long Ladder"), I suspect he might have reacted very strongly to it. And probably very ambivalently, since he DID volunteer - but he obviously didn't know exactly what he was volunteering FOR. So all in all this turns out to be a rather simplistic, one-track episode. Well, okay, the one track was handled rather well, actually. Once we got over the early bits (why does TNG have such trouble with the beginnings of episodes lately? :-) the romantic issues were presented well. I found many of Gates McFadden's expressions and reactions quite convincing, especially during her two major private encounters with Riker-with-host. (Anyone think she's pregnant with Riker's kid now? :-) :-) A plus in the episode: Nice background music in the Crusher/Troi scene in Ten Forward. Actually made me sit up and notice and get more involved in the scene. (That music, with a little refinement, might make a nice theme for Troi, I think.) And then, of course, there was the conclusion. I probably deserve a few lashes with a wet noodle for not predicting that the new host would be female, but it did take me by surprise. I was even happier to see that they did play the denouement out fairly well, without giving either the impression of homophobic writers (though that "kiss-the-hand" thing was a little too obviously a device to avoid a big woman-to-woman smooch) or the impression that they were trying to make some big statement about homosexuality. I guess when it comes right down to it, the conclusion is saying that outward appearance *is* an issue after all, even in the rosy world of TNG, that it's NOT just what's inside that counts. At least, not to Bev. (I did find it curious that the symbiote didn't volunteer to find another host to live in - a male one. That would have put some additional spin on the ending.) Tangential Question: If they've gotta have surgery to join and disconnect, how did the symbiotic relationship between the two species ever come about? It seems far-fetched that they *evolved* that way. Hm.) For what it was, "The Host" was okay entertainment. But, it raised some questions it didn't answer and didn't fully deal with some of the points it addressed. Seemed like a half-assed effort... or maybe it was just too big to squeeze into 45+ minutes. It did have a lot of potential, IMHO. Oh, well. I've seen worse, and this was pretty fun. 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- The Host: B- --- Total Points: 52 Season Average: 2.261 = C+ (Rise of 0.019 from previous episode)