Plot – ‘It looks like they had a battle with time’ ‘And lost’ – what a very TOS exchange. ‘We could be looking at the future of humanity!’
You can understand Pulaski’s excitement – imagine a version of humanity with such an advanced immune system that infection is impossible? If they are genetically engineered, isn’t this contradicted by later developments in The Wrath of Khan and Dr Bashir, I Presume? Surely Starfleet doesn’t condone this research?
An immune system so powerful that it actively seeks out illnesses and eliminates them. Wow.
I enjoy the fact that ultimately Picard was right and was right to take the precautions he did to protect the Enterprise from infection.
I’m sure there’s more than a few people that would like Pulaski to be consigned to oblivion and spread her atoms across the galaxy!
At this stage of Trek, destroying a Starfleet vessel is something that deserves the utmost respect.
Character – It’s bizarre that seven episodes into the second season that this is the episode where Pulaski is given some serious consideration. It almost feels like her first episode in how it centres on her; her strengths and her weaknesses. She’s cautious, intelligent, caring to a fault. She’s also argumentative, opinionated and impulsive when the situation is desperate. My eyes always draw to Pulaski in a scene because she’s the least predictable person. I also feel that Diana Muldaur is an actor that draws the attention. In a moment when I wanted to kiss her, Pulaski says that Picard doesn’t have to quote the rulebook at her. I wish more characters had displayed that kind of individuality on this show especially in the face of such bureaucracy.
For Picard he finally has a crewmember who doesn’t bend to his authority but challenges him and that is a refreshing dynamic that honestly wouldn’t really happen again. He cuts her down at one point and asks that she lets him finish his sentences once in a while. That’s well deserved after she has cut him off at every turn. Even she knows she has crossed a line. Strangely there is more development between Picard and Pulaski in one season than there is between Picard and Crusher in six. And the latter has in built potential to outshine the former given their previous history. Picard and Pulaski are actually pretty similar ultimately; strong authority figures who cling onto their moral values and over time they come to realise that. Apparently, she has been an admirer of Picard’s for some time, which he finds extraordinary.
I have a real issue with the two central female characters on this show (Crusher and Troi) in terms of how their characters were written and their performances and yet all of the female characters elsewhere I pretty much adore (Kira, Dax, Janeway, Torres, Seven). Even the TNG periphery female characters are well defined and performed (Guinan, Ro, Pulaski). Troi just grinds my teeth in all the worst ways. The last thing I would want if I was starting a new job is her observing and assessing me.
Performance – What a shame that Muldaur had such a miserable experience on TNG because I can only imagine what an actress of her skill could have brought to the next couple of seasons given how the quality of the series as a whole took a massive step up at about the time she left (but was nothing to do with her leaving). She brings a gravity and a personality to the role of the Doctor, two things that I find severely lacking with McFadden.
Production – I used to think that it was the classiest of work environments when I was a kid but now I see the Enterprise Bridge as a blandly lit lounge with officers slouching, padded leather chairs and polished wood. It is the ultimate expression of late eighties sophistication.
There’s a very sweet FX shot of the shuttlecraft landing at Darwin station that looks horribly dated now but I would have considered the height of visual splendour in the early nineties. The matte painting is imaginative and gets my imaginative juices flowing at the excitement of visiting an alien world.
The old age make up on Pulaski is far from convincing. She looks about 900 and her face has grown considerably. It’s more like monster make up.
Best moment – Pulaski beaming back aboard the Enterprise and being greeted warmly by all present, especially Picard. It feels like a final endorsement of a character I have already grown to like.
A reason to watch this episode again – It’s a neat little mystery with some fine ideas and a satisfying ending but ultimately the character work is much more interesting than the plot. As a second introduction of Pulaski it works a treat and whilst Muldaur might have had trouble with the prosthetics, she finds a way to fit into this crew in a very unique way.
*** out of *****
Clue for tomorrow's episode:
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