INTERFACE


A wholly unremarkable episode.

Probably the best aspect of "Interface" is that the fate of LaForge's mother
is never revealed, but that's hardly a pinnacle of storytelling, since it
doesn't really make any difference in the story one way or the other.  I don't
really consider LaForge's "they gave me a chance to say goodbye" line very
interesting; it's the stuff that low-brow tear-jerkers are made of.

In just about every other way, the episode was average second-generation Trek.

First, we have the gosh-wow factor embodied in the virtual reality device, but
there wasn't anything especially thought-provoking about the way that they
handled it, or anything clever about the way it was filmed.  It was handled
acceptably, with the exception of the moment when LaForge's hands were burned
(the explanation for which I didn't believe for an instant; just a gratuitous
shock scene).

Next, we have LaForge disobeying Picard's orders.  *Yawn*  C'mon, guys, if
you're going to go this route, at least follow through and don't just have
Picard reprimand LaForge and have the issue dropped completely.  (Didn't this
happen before?  Maybe with Worf in "Reunion"?  It seems very familiar in its
low satisfaction quotient.)  Of course, since Paramount completely dropped the
ball while playing the same sort of game back in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
(another yawner), when they had a whole movie - or more if they wanted it - to
deal with Kirk's actions, I guess we're not going to get any satisfactory
resolutions to these kinds of stories on TNG.

Finally, there are the "aliens of the week".  They can read minds, they
accidentally kill people, they live in a gas giant, they can communicate with
humans (therefore exhibiting similar thought processes), they're immaterial,
they're vaguely defined, and all they want to do is go home.  How many times
have we seen some variation of this story?  A hundred?  Okay, I exaggerate,
but it sure seems like it.

In addition to the we've-seen-it-all-before plot elements, the
characterizations were all stock - and cardboard, at that.  Data and LaForge
miscommunicate, Data helps LaForge, Troi counsels LaForge (***yaaaawn!***),
Picard and Riker weave in and out of the story at essentially random
intervals.

The only part of this story that really interested me was the poetry Data was
(not) reading, though I think the idea is too abstract to be handled in any
meaningful way on television.

There wasn't anything outright intelligence-insulting about the episode, but
it just seemed to be a great void as far as the story went.  Just very blah, a
sort of painting-by-numbers.  Season seven is not off to an auspicious start.

Grade: D


TNG SEASON SEVEN TO DATE:
Descent, Part II: C-
Liaisons: D
Interface: D

Total Points (3 episodes): 3 2/3
Season Average: 1.222  ( D+ )