Another good episode. After the second season it's hard for this show to dip under four stars. However, I must make a note of complaint at the fact that two episodes in a row use the backdrop of races and civilizations warring themselves into extinction. I just don't think people understand how hard that would actually be to do and I've always considered it shoddy science fiction. However, as in the last one, they've finally moved beyond the smug, egocentric commentary on such things and were giving the characters better problems to solve.
It begins playfully. Geordi is on a date in the holodeck and it's awkward and weird. Poor Geordi. I always thought it was unfair that he never had a girlfriend. Even Data had a purposeful relationship in one episode. The character of Geordi was originally supposed to be gay. Roddenberry wanted several gay characters from what I understand. So, I guess the fact that Geordi always missed the love train was a way of staying as true as possible to Roddenberry's original vision. But Levar Burton always seemed to make it seem real - like Geordi was the type of person that was just too busy to have a relationship. As the chief engineer he was the smartest person on the ship after Data... he was the "nerd" so to speak. Married to his work. This episode is as close as he ever gets to being charming and desirable to a woman. And it makes sense... a man like him would need an intellectual equal. Too bad she wasn't real... lol... Poor Geordi.
And it continues on in a lighthearted manner for a while. They investigate an asteroid field to find an old Promellian battle cruiser adrift inside sending out a thousand-year-old distress signal. Yes, it's noted that the Promellians and Menthars warred themselves into extinction. This time, though they don't drone on about the shame of war and how it doesn't solve anything. They don't even bother with details of whether or not they lived on the same planet or different ones. Instead, Picard is fascinated. He heads the away team to investigate the ship himself because, like most people interested in history, he's excited to see the relic ship himself. Like people who study the Titanic today. This is a small difference in the seasons, but it makes a big difference. It makes the characters more believable to see them being curious about historical events like wars or disasters and the artifacts thereof. They see the captain's final log taking full responsibility for the death of the crew without explaining exactly why. Having nothing more to go on they return to the Enterprise.
Once they get back and try to get away from the Promellian ship they fall into the same trap that had snared that ship. It is an energy draining radiation field of some kind that the Menthars set up and once the ship's power is gone the radiation will kill them all. So, this is where the fun begins.
Geordi's a great character and it was high time they'd given him some real work to do. While everyone is scrambling to extend the time they have until the shields fail, Geordi is working out the problem of how to get out of there. And his character is developed into not a lone wolf or solitary hero. He's the type that needs to work with people or at least with another person to group-source ideas and marshal his thoughts. He starts trying to work his way around the problem in engineering and finds notes from one of the Enterprise's engine designers. He decides to recreate one of the design labs she worked in as a way of interacting with another mind to solve the problem.
He ends up accidentally recreating a hologram of the designer, Leah Brahms. This is great use of the holodeck. It's not that I didn't like holodeck episodes, but it was always better when the holodeck was used as a tool and not as the star of the episode. Leah Brahms is just an empty shell speaking from recorded notes at first. But Geordi thinks she's pretty so he has the computer approximate her personality.
But it's not just so he can flirt with her. They start out with heated but productive arguments. This all points to Geordi's need for interactive problem solving. Of course the Brahms simulation eventually finds him charming and he stops thinking of her as just a holodeck creation and you see how charming Geordi actually can be when he's with an intellectual equal, which would seem to be the most realistic way he could have a relationship. He's a little embarrassed about having to introduce her to Picard since he has to keep the holodeck running in order to keep working on the problem. It looks very suspicious and unnecessary after all. But they eventually figure out the way to navigate out.
It's actually a very simple solution when you think about it, but it was a great venue to open up the topic on whether human instinct would be better than turning the process over to the computer. Kind of an extension of Dr. Pulaski's argument in Peak Performance form season two. I've also complained in the former seasons about how they were tending toward making Picard the hero of the show in the same way Kirk was of TOS. This time when Picard takes the helm to navigate the Enterprise personally, it's not in a heroic way. It's in an honorable way - taking responsibility for the death of the crew if that's how things were to fall out like the captain of the Promellian vessel. It's little differences like this that make such nice touches in the continuing seasons of the show.
After they're clear they destroy the Promellian vessels since retrieval of it is impossible and Geordi kisses his holodeck colleague goodbye.
I don't really know how to score this one. I obviously liked it, but I didn't love it. And although it's a standout episode for Geordi, I'm also aware that it's not outstanding overall. Picard just keeps getting cooler and cooler, but it wasn't about him this time and his moment was brief. And although Geordi's "romance" is sweet, it's not really what could be considered exhilarating to watch and it even borders on pathetic since the woman isn't real (at least not in this episode) and therefore not as enchanting to watch. The simplicity of the story was very well disguised this time, but it was a little simple nonetheless. I guess it just didn't grip me enough to fudge a little on my objectivity and score it higher. I have to go with only three and a half on this one.
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