First-Time Watch – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5, Episodes 10-12
Aaron and Nate continue Aaron's first-time, release-order watch of Star Trek with three more episodes from Season 5 of The Next Generation: “New Ground,” “Hero Worship,” and “Violations.”
This batch gives us three very different looks at children, trauma, and family—and ends with one of our strongest negative reactions of the entire watchthrough.
This week, we get
Worf learning some hard lessons about being a parent
A child dealing with trauma by becoming Data
A deeply uncomfortable attempt at Star Trek horror
One of our least favorite episodes of the season
We covered
New Ground
Hero Worship
Violations
New Ground
Worf’s son Alexander is back, and this time he’s moving in. Worf suddenly has to figure out how to actually be a parent rather than leaving the responsibility to someone else.
Things we discussed
Hating what they do with Worf’s character
Conversations with kids
The naivete of somebody who is new to the parent role
Capturing the challenges of raising a child who might be a bit different than other kids
Relating to the episode
When it really mattered, Worf stepped up
Would Worf have acted differently if it wasn’t Alexander?
Having a reason why you do things
Why go through the wave instead of around it?
How old is Alexander?
Hero Worship
A young survivor begins imitating Data as a way of coping with the trauma of losing everyone else aboard his ship.
Things we discussed
Trauma responses and children
Nitpicking issues with the episodes
A rushed, disjointed episode that gets cleanly tied up at the end
Great performances
Patrick Stewart-directed episodes
How would we rate these episodes in a different season?
Violations
Star Trek takes a turn toward psychological horror as members of the Enterprise crew experience disturbing memories connected to a visiting group of telepathic historians.
We did not enjoy the results.
Things we discussed
Fuck this episode
Trying to be too clever
Everything was a swing and a miss
A Star Trek horror episode
“This is the worst thing since Code of Honor”
Nothing redeeming about this episode
Not a strong slate of episodes
An uncomfortable episode
Would Gregg have given this episode a 9?
Easily the worst episode of the season
Final Thoughts
Future podcast plans
Movies vs. TV as a storytelling medium
The importance of stories
Where we are on our Trek:
Last week we covered:
Next week we will continue with:
If you want to see my journey from the very beginning, start here:
Also, be sure to check out Nate’s and my other podcast – The In Lap with Aaron and Nate – to listen to us discuss all things Formula 1 on race weekends, wherever you listen to your podcasts.