Thine Own Self

Data’s mission to retrieve radioactive material from a pre-industrial world goes haywire when he forgets who he is. He doesn’t forget science though, which means he might be able to clean up the mess he accidentally created. Meanwhile, Deanna Troi learns the one tough lesson keeping her from the Captain’s chair. Hint: not everybody makes it. Thine Own Self goes into the Mission Log. Furthermore, would any Starfleet ship without an android have been able to take on this task? Why not? We have radiation suits today, they had them in Wrath of Kahn. Sure it appears that Data could interact with them without damage, but it also seems that they were not heavily radiated as to cause significant issues from just brief contact. There was enough radiation that smaller parts of the whole debris collection caused a plague. Remember, he only distributed a portion of what was in the box. A biologic collecting the lot would have been severely imperiled. What I don’t understand is why the whole thing couldn’t have been accomplished with sensors and a transporter. While science will still be the same, technology would be different. We will learn again to split the atom but I wonder what we would do with that information. A curious beast; nothing inherently wrong with it, it’s just ironic that the best word for it is… forgettable. I think they said they were going to beam out the radioactive bit. Good episode, albeit inconsequential. Beyond the enjoyable A and B plots, I appreciated the director’s choices on two occasions; when Data gazes out the window up at the stars, and again when the camera rises from below the plane of the glass table as Troi realizes what she needs to do. Well done! Yes, I think this was a clever, engaging episode. The Data part, not the Troi stuff…. Oh, I even liked the Troi stuff. It’s kind of funny though: if she just has to mosey down to the holodeck to take the test and “level up”, why did Wesley have to go anywhere for his academy admission test in “Coming of Age”? (That’s the season 1 episode with the elaborate “psych test” that was apparently done with actors and props when they could’ve just steered Wesley into a holodeck that isn’t marked as a holodeck and done the same thing without the greasy mess, leaving nothing but the great scent of pine.) 1. I recall in the Borg novel ‘Vendetta”, the TNG holodeck version of the Kobiyashi Maru was vs the Borg…pretty cool imo 2. This whole medical officer being in charge seems a bit silly to me…mayyyyybe on the night shift? but really….currently in the real world, if you are a physician you can be captain, but you don’t drive any ship. I think they should have made it some “bridge officer qualification” test, vs something that makes her a “full commander”. also, just too little too late w regard to fleshing these characters out… 3. Renaissance Fair..again?!?! I just wish once, we’d beam down to a planet where the culture was totally bizarre and hmmm ALIEN. Like multi legged creatures who sing or drag around an attached bucket of energy blood or have wings and crystals for eyes that are on their abdomen….ALIEN!! I know it’s really easy to go hating on Planet Ren Faire, but after the Stereotypical American Impressions Of Scotland Theme Park planet where we buried Nana (and then unburied her, the less said about which the better), I gotta say… Planet Ren Faire is lookin’ pretty good right about now. Can someone bug Riker and see if he’ll tell us where Planet Two Ladies Playing The Lute might be? Or is that a holo-program he got from Lutecrate? Really, my overall impression of this episode is: mostly harmless. As has already been pointed out, Data retains no memory of any of it, there’s an opportunity to address science vs. superstition that goes nowhere because we’re more concerned with making a conniving bad guy out of the blacksmith (more on this below)…this one could’ve had some real meat to it, but it just sort of bounces off the backboard without ever being