Enterprise visits Turkana IV and the crew meet Tasha Yar's sister Ishara.
This is a mostly good episode with some great character moments, particularly involving Lieutenant Data.
The story is okay but fairly uninspired, predictable and culminates in Captain Picard addressing the crew with something like South Park used to parody in their "I think we've all learned something here today" speeches. However, the tribal mentality of gang culture is highlighted effectively when it compares Ishara Yar's choices in life to that of Tasha.
What works very well are the character moments between Data and Ishara, particularly towards the end. It would not be a spoiler to say that we see Data learning about some important aspects of humanity such as trust and betrayal. Showing it from his perspective I found to be very poignant.
Ishara is a memorable guest character not just for being Tasha's sister, but for giving more context behind Tasha and Turkana IV. The contrast between Data and the Enterprise crew's feelings towards Ishara and Tasha is very well done.
Visually I think it is strong, particularly the action scenes on Turkana IV.
Performances from all are great, especially Brent Spiner who captivates in some of those touching moments of human discovery. Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn are also good.
Beth Toussaint is perfectly cast as Ishara. She gives a solid, natural performance, and has such a striking screen presence it almost distracts you from what her character is doing on board Enterprise. By the end of a very obvious and frustrating story, you almost forgive the crew for falling under her spell.
This is a mostly good episode with some great character moments, particularly involving Lieutenant Data.
The story is okay but fairly uninspired, predictable and culminates in Captain Picard addressing the crew with something like South Park used to parody in their "I think we've all learned something here today" speeches. However, the tribal mentality of gang culture is highlighted effectively when it compares Ishara Yar's choices in life to that of Tasha.
What works very well are the character moments between Data and Ishara, particularly towards the end. It would not be a spoiler to say that we see Data learning about some important aspects of humanity such as trust and betrayal. Showing it from his perspective I found to be very poignant.
Ishara is a memorable guest character not just for being Tasha's sister, but for giving more context behind Tasha and Turkana IV. The contrast between Data and the Enterprise crew's feelings towards Ishara and Tasha is very well done.
Visually I think it is strong, particularly the action scenes on Turkana IV.
Performances from all are great, especially Brent Spiner who captivates in some of those touching moments of human discovery. Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn are also good.
Beth Toussaint is perfectly cast as Ishara. She gives a solid, natural performance, and has such a striking screen presence it almost distracts you from what her character is doing on board Enterprise. By the end of a very obvious and frustrating story, you almost forgive the crew for falling under her spell.