TNG – The Hunted

 

Plot – It’s one of those episodes where a planet is being considered for entry into the Federation and it’s absolutely clear that this is some kind of political boy’s club where the stuffier you are, the better. The Federation seems to be made up of bureaucrats and politicians at this point and it’s certainly not an alliance of planets that I would want to ally myself with. It’s extremely telling that a man who is willing to risk his life for what he believes in is hunted down by the Enterprise, who are trying to impress their new friends and potential allies when they are the ones who are technically in the wrong. Hunt a man down like a dog to make themselves a more impressive power in the Quadrant. Very telling. Why doesn’t the Federation do a more thorough check on the planets that they want to indoctrinate? Do they they just send Picard in to get an impression of them and then take his word for it? Don’t they look into their views on capital punishment, military indoctrination, etc? At the end of the episode Picard gets to make a speech where he condemns the government of this world for its treatment of its ex-military servicemen but he has entirely forgotten at this point that the beginning of the episode that he himself considered them ‘very suitable’ for Federation membership. Trek is moving out of its black and white morality into a greyer area but it hasn’t yet quite got the guts to look inwards and really criticise its heroes. That time would come, never fear.

Character – Anybody who makes a suicide run at the Enterprise in a ship that is infinitely smaller and less intimidating gets my vote. Danar is very well played and written with a nice line in sarcasm (I especially like how he tries to wind up Troi, who is attempting to be kind to him). It would have been very easy to have just made him a victim who is really a nice guy but there’s an arrogance there that means that whilst you are rooting for him, you’re still a little irritated by him too.

It’s refreshing that Troi gets something to do but frustrating that she is written as an utterly empathic bleeding heart as usual. I wish there was a little more steel here, that she was more willing to mouth back to Danar or to look down on him a little. Troi loves everybody and everyone and seeks out emotional justice for all…and that’s a little eye rolling. More marbled, even unlikable characterisation would make her far more interesting.

Where Troi is a little one note and behaves exactly how you would imagine her too, Picard is far more considered and interesting. He’s standout because he has been sent to this planet to do one thing, and he decides to fight his Federation principles and make his own choices.

Production – Oh gosh. The old matte painting planetary surfaces. I still miss them. They might have a remarkable 2D quality about them but with the added visual effects and lightning they have a sense of grandeur and of ambitiousness that the effortlessness of CGI lacks. The paintings would get better and better throughout TNG and DS9 until a point where planets like Bajor and Cardassia look absolutely authentic. It was with the advent of fully CGI planet surfaces in Enterprise where weirdly the shows started looking a little cheaper at time and that is because nothing dates worse than CGI in its infancy, whereas a vivid painting will always be extremely beautiful.

It’s only when you start having a fight in the Enterprise sets that you come to realise that they are essentially made out of flimsy plastic, cardboard and egg cartons. As Danar throws the Enterprise security team about the sets wobble with dramatic precariousness. There’s an energy to these scenes that I really like (TNG can sometimes be quite listless and so an extended fight scene is always welcome) but also a mannered feel to them too (clearly the stunt arranger doesn’t often have to put together a fight of magnitude very often and it shows). They would get much better at this sort of thing on DS9 and VOY when violence would become as important as politics.

Worst moment – Worf hiding in the turbolift whilst one of his security officers is being tackled and beaten doesn’t feel very honourable. At least he gets to prove his worth in the third act when he goes one on one against Danar and gets a ton of empty plastic crates thrown at him.

I wish they hadn’t done that – Roga’s transporter beam dance has to be seen to be believed.

A reason to watch this episode again – It’s season three TNG and so it has a sheen and confidence that sets it above much of the first two years…but that doesn’t mean that The Hunted is an especially accomplished episode of TNG. As usual it has some pretty ugly things to say about the Federation and how they conduct themselves politically in order to gain new powerful allies and this episode seems to be calling them out at times in how they are willing to behave in order to secure that relationship. Even persecuting innocent men. Fortunately, the Enterprise has Picard at the helm and Patrick Stewart playing him and so with some pontificating and riveting acting, the emptiness of what the Federation is doing and the consequences to the innocent are pointed out. It’s all a little heavy handed as you can imagine and with Troi empathising with the prisoner it all gets a little intolerably twee at times. But there’s action aplenty, a nice chance for Stewart to look thoughtful and I do appreciate the effort to point out the hypocrisy of a collective of planets that has gotten a little too big for its boots. If it doesn’t quite have the sense of angry purpose that it should, that is because Gene Roddenberry is still with us and the criticism of the Federation cannot quite be full bloodied at this point. In a few years DS9 would be savaging everything the Roddenberry ideal stands for, but at the moment the franchise is still a little too in thrall of the great man.

*** out of *****