UNIFICATION II


In a word: "Yawnification".

Sadly, this episode failed to deliver what few goods were promised in part one.
It had some very well-handled humor in places, but otherwise it was mostly a
third-rate suspense piece.

The only interaction between Spock and the new crew that was really
satisfying was Spock's interaction with Data, which sadly did not last very
long.  Picard's first discussion with Picard was a colossal disappointment,
as it seemed to devolve into a "TOS' approach to solving problems was wrong"
critique.  The underlying issue, of course, was individual rights vs. the
will of society, and I would certainly vote for the former, but the scene
seemed reluctant to really get at that point, instead focusing on the "cowboy
diplomacy" issue.  Later discussions between the two largely involved Sarek
and issues surrounding him, and it all seemed very pre-canned.  We saw this
back in "Journey To Babel" and Star Trek III, and there was really no reason
for us to be exposed to it again, especially with one of the principals out
of the picture.  (The only line of any real merit here was Spock's "I will
miss our arguments.")

Oddly, Nimoy's acting seemed very off in this episode.  Or maybe it was
because the script was so weak.  He seemed amazingly emotional, which is odd
as he seems to have consciously tried to swing back toward his Vulcan side 
since the time of the movies.  No explanation was provided for this
discrepancy.

The plot seemed rather weak.  First of all, I have a VERY hard time believing
that the Romulans could take and hold Vulcan with only a few thousand troops.
Planets are BIG people.  The Romulans would definitely need reinforcements
(hundreds of thousands, at least) to really hold the planet.  Especially
against the physical and mental powers of the Vulcans.  And does anyone
really believe that Starfleet would be so naive to allow ANY unusual (i.e.,
non-Starfleet) vessel coming out of Romulan territory to penetrate to the
heart of the Federation without being closely examined or escorted?  Even
had it appeared that Spock had given the ships his blessing, Spock left
the Federation without a word and was suspected of defecting.  I don't buy it.

Next loophole:  It is unbelievably stupid for Sela and company to have left
three prisoners, including A VULCAN AMBASSADOR AND SCIENTIST AND AN ANDROID
STARFLEET SCIENCE OFFICER in the same room as an important computer console!
This is an idiot plot taken to new levels of absurdity.

I still find it hard to believe that the Klingon ship could have hidden just
about Romulus for so long without being detected.  This phenomenon prompts
the obvious question, "How the hell many Romulan And Klingon ships are
skulking undetected inside Federation territory?"  The only realistic answer
would be "dozens".  But then one wonders that the Federation is still
surviving, much less intact.

Regarding the mysterious vessel from part one, I have a few (?) questions:

- The vessel belonged to a smuggler, a partner (or ex-partner) of the Ferengi,
  correct?
- How did he manage to build a ship that large, something able to do so much
  damage to the Enterprise?  Especially as Starfleet has only, to our 
  knowledge, been able to build a small handful of Galaxy-quality vessels.
  It's difficult to swallow.
- In whose employ was the smuggler? The Romulans'?  To what end?
- Why was the ship carrying so much weaponry?  Surely the Romulans have no
  need for it!
- Of what significance was Gorondon Core?  (There was no apparent connection
  to "The Enemy" aside from the planet appearing in both episodes.)  Why were 
  signals being sent there DURING THE EPISODE?  Why did the Enterprise go 
  there?  What did they hope to find?
- What happened to the vessel that was supposed to be at the location that
  the smuggler's ship was destroyed?
- What did the Enterprise gain by following the trail of the deflector?
- How did the deflector get dislodged from the T'Pau, anyway?

Observant Trek fans will note that Data's use of the Vulcan nerve pinch flatly
contradicts the long-held belief in fandom (which I think originated with
no less than Leonard Nimoy) that the pinch was dependent on Vulcan physiology,
i.e., it was an innate, not acquired, ability.  Not, I hasten to point out, 
that I'm slamming this.  I'm just pointing it out for discussion.

The conclusion was a little too sappy for my tastes.  Or maybe it's just the
last in a line of unremarkable events in an unremarkable story.  I think
the conclusion would have been more interesting had Spock *declined* to meld
with Picard.  (It would have been an interesting tie back to the issue of
the individual as very briefly touched on earlier.)

The episode did have some good lines, though.  Most notable were Spock's
"Not bad" and Data's "Perhaps you would be happier in another occupation."
Sela's reaction to the latter was quite amusing as well. :-)

Other redeeming features included, as I said, the Data/Spock exchange, as well
as the opticals (the matte of the Romulan city is quite pretty).  The
introduction of a Romulan underground that looks fondly on their Vulcan
heritage is interesting, but not much was done with it.

This was mass-market television at its most medocre.  Disappointing?  That's
not the half of it.  A by-the-numbers adventure story with gobs of plot holes 
and little compelling characterization.  Gee, that seems to be a problem with 
a lot of episodes this season.  Amazing that they haven't had any outright 
flops yet.

Grade:  D+

SEASON FIVE AT A GLANCE:
Redemption II: B-
Darmok: A+
Ensign Ro: C
Silicon Avatar: C-
Disaster: B-
The Game: B-
Unification I: C
Unification II: D+
---
Total Points: 19 1/3
Season Average: 2.417  ( C+ )
(Fall of 0.154 from previous episode.)

Last note:  Okay, we've seen two of the Big Three in Star Trek.  When do we
get to see the third?  (Hint, hint.)