Search
Cookie Usage Statistics Colour Key Sudden Death Monthly Poll Caption Comp eMail Author Shops
Ships Fleets Weaponry Species People Timelines Calculators Photo Galleries
Stations Design Lineage Size Charts Battles Science / Tech Temporal Styling Maps / Politics
Articles Reviews Lists Recreation Search Site Guide What's New Forum
8472 Andorians Armus Ba'ku Bajorans Benzites Beta Annari Betazoids Bolians Borg Breen Bunnicorn Bynars Cardassians Cheronians Crystalline entity Demons Denobulans Douwd Edo El-Aurians Ferengi Founders Gomtuu Gorn Hierarchy Hirogen Horta Humans Hunters J'Naii Jem'Hadar Karemma Kataanians Kazon Kelvans Klingons Kobali Kriosians Ktarians Kzinti Lurians Malon Morg / Eymorg Na'kuhl Nagilum Nanites Nausicaans Ocampa Organians Orions Pah-wraiths Pakled Parasites Progenitors Prophets Q Remans Risans Romulans Scalosians Sheliak Sikarians Son'a Sphere Builders Spittlebug Suliban Talaxians Talosians Tamarians Tarchannen parasites Tellarites The Cloud Tholians Tosk Tribbles Trill Vaadwaur Vidiians Vissians Vorta Voth Vulcans Xahean Xindi Aquatics Xindi Arboreals Xindi Avians Xindi Insectoids Xindi Primates Xindi Reptilians Yridians Zalkonians Additional Species

Episode Guest Reviews

Reviewer : lexxonnet
Ave Rating : 3.4091 for 22 reviews
Title : Star Trek Rating : 4
Writers : Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci Year : 2258
Review : I walked into this movie expecting something truly amazing. I guess I have myself to blame for that. What I saw instead was a summer blockbuster that was exceptionally well done. It was good, but fell short of greatness. I guess being a real fan of TNG and DS9 and movies like TWOK and TUC, I was expecting some sort of a moral, or a corollary in the story. Something beyond just the facts presented. Something that would make me sit up and take notice and say, YES! that was a fantastic part of Star Trek. Instead, I saw a lot of familiar characters, lots of fun one-liners and some exceptional acting (Karl Urban and Simon Pegg were fantastic). The effects were too much of a blur for me to really appreciate them. While I really appreciate the effects in TUC, FC and Nemesis... even TWOK had spectacular effects for its time. The new movie had me feeling a bit dizzy with the pacing of the ships. While the initial movies had us expecting submarines, in this movie, each starship behaved like a TIE fighter! I still must say, the destruction of Vulcan was a heart-breaking moment, even more so at the end of the movie, when I realised there wasn't going to be a reset switch. In a way, that's what this movie does best. It creates a new exciting universe with unexplored possibilities. In many ways, this is the Undiscovered Country, and I hope to discover more of it in the following sequels.
Title : Nemesis Rating : 3
Writers : John Logan Year : 2379
Review : Nemesis for me was a good movie with a few too many flaws. It certainly didn't deserve the terrible reputation as the worst Star Trek movie ever, that solely goes to the Final Frontier. Firstly, here's what works for the movie. I love the character of Shinzon. I wish he was given more screen time to develop. I thought Tom Hardy did a good job bringing out the character, but wasn't given enough time to develop Shinzon. The rest of the cast were upto their best, with Worf being under-used and not being given too much to do. I liked the way the movie opened with the wedding ceremony. The battle scenes were fantastic beyond doubt and most importantly easy to follow. I also love the way Picard was really bothered by the way Shinzon had turned out, given that he was essentially the same person who went through different circumstances in life. Shinzon trying to harass Picard by pointing this out at every turn was absolutely brilliant. Now, the bits that didn't work. The entire scene with the Argo was utter rubbish. Prime directive notwithstanding, you wouldn't go drive a buggy around a planet's surface scavenging for parts and then start firing when some aliens turn up and pretty much race them to the shuttle craft. That was 20 minutes of the film that could have been replaced with the line "Beam it up". The "thalaron" weapon was quite silly as well especially given how long it took to deploy. Shinzon's motivation for wanting to destroy Earth was also practically non-existant. I could understand him wanting to destroy Romulus, but not Earth. There were also too many silly plot devices. The arrival of the Romulan ships should have seen the Enterprise making a run out of the Typhon Expanse and getting in touch with the fleet, not staying and trying to fight the Scimitar. The Troi mind-rape scene was unnecessary. The Scimitar was pummeling the Enterprise and then simply sat there as Troi and the Viceroy played mind games. Overall, there was just way too much silliness, culminating in the final 7-minute weapon deployment time. Data's death was also rather unnecessary and completely without an emotional impact. So, why 3 stars when there are so many negatives about the movie? Well... It was certainly a fun ride for the most part. The first time I saw the movie, I remember enjoying it quite a bit. However, on repeat viewings, all the flaws start becoming apparent. But for the amount I enjoyed it the first time I watched it, I guess 3 stars is a fair rating!
Title : The Undiscovered Country Rating : 5
Writers : Lawrence Konner, Leonard Nimoy, Marc Rosenthal Year : 2293
Review : This was an almost perfect send-off to the original generation cast. The movie was tight, acting was spectacular and the accompanying effects were executed to perfection. The story itself saw an end to the "cold-war" era between the Federation and Klingons, mirroring the end of the cold war between the USSR and the USA. Star Trek was always at its best when it represented contemporary events with a sci-fi twist, and this was certainly one of the best trek movies in my book. I would have given it 4.5 stars, taking away half a star for the "escape from Rura Penthe" sequence, which was a tad longer than it should have been, however, it didn't affect the movie too much.
Title : Living Witness Rating : 5
Writers : Brannon Braga Year : 2374
Review : When I first watched this episode, it really captured my imagination and made me think think about our own planet's history. The actors really fill into their roles as their evil counterparts. I especially like Janeway's every word, oozing with menace and Tuvok's evil grin. Robert Picardo does a bang up job as the Doctor again and the ending is handled extremely well. All in all, one of the truly great Voyager episodes.
Title : Parallels Rating : 4
Writers : Brannon Braga Year : 2370
Review : For me, this episode was an interesting premise. It kept me interested all the way to the end as an experiment in sci-fi without providing much drama along the way. The moment that really did leave an impact was when the borg-battered Enterprise tried to appeal to Riker to let them stay. Something about it really unsettled me with that scene.
Title : Message in a Bottle Rating : 5
Writers : Rick Williams Year : 2374
Review : One of the true comedy gems in Voyager, and perhaps even all of Trek. Both the EMHs deliver great performances and its a fantastic ride!
Title : The Omega Directive Rating : 2
Writers : Jimmy Diggs, Steven J. Kay Year : 2374
Review : I thought this was a good "action" episode, but the whole idea of the Omega Directive seems silly to me. It is incredibly arrogant of Starfleet to presume that just because they can't stabilise a particle, no one else can, or should even be given the opportunity to. To go as far as firing at a base, stealing someone else's property and destroying it just seems very un-starfleet to me.
Title : Random Thoughts Rating : 3
Writers : Kenneth Biller Year : 2374
Review : Its an interesting look into a different culture, one where a mere bad thought can be prosecuted. I liked the idea of a black-market for bad thoughts. It makes perfect sense that in a society of peaceful people, there will always be a small minority of anarchists. The ideas explored are interesting, but the episode does tend to waver in bits, especially because it hinges on a weak plot point of there being some danger associated with this engrammatic purge. Still, a pretty good episode.
Title : The Hunted Rating : 4
Writers : Robin Bernhein Year : 2366
Review : A very good example of an episode that looks at moral and ethical issues that are relevant to our society. The idea of programming a "super soldier" has been mooted by many governments around the world and is still being bandied about today. I like the way the episode was structured, the elusive criminal, the eventual capture, the cunning escape. It showed the Enterprise as unwilling participants in what was essentially an internal matter, and the way they handled it in the end showed the perfect response possible resolution to a difficult situation. 4 Stars. One removed for just general tackiness in bits, but a very good watch.
Title : The High Ground Rating : 4
Writers : Melinda M. Snodgrass Year : 2366
Review : Like the previous episode, this was another one that handled moral and ethical issues present in our own world. When I first watched this episode, there were several wars for independence. East Timor, Sri-Lanka and Northern Ireland among others. Looking back on this, you do tend to sympathise with the terrorists, if only initially. The episode is well structured, and the viewer constantly experiences a change in sympathies. I found myself supporting the plight of the "freedom fighters" until they decided to attack the Enterprise itself. At that point, you see the real cost of extremism. Well handled overall and a very watchable episode.
Title : Booby Trap Rating : 4
Writers : Ron Roman, Michael Wagner Year : 2366
Review : Something about this episode really caught my imagination. This idea of finding a civilisation lost in time, several millenia ago. It tended to meander along a bit initially, but once the booby trap was discovered, the process of escaping it was very well handled. The pseudo-physics made perfect sense and I remember being stunned at the level of visual effects for the time period.
Title : A Matter of Perspective Rating : 3
Writers : Ed Zuckerman Year : 2366
Review : I quite liked this episode as a detective story. It wasn't perfect, and was often slow in bits. What I liked was their view of "witness memory" or rather the unreliability of witness memory. Each witness sees and interprets events their own way and believes wholeheartedly that they are telling the truth. While that aspect of the story was good, the rest of it did feel a tad slow. I additionally enjoyed the way Data grilled Picard at the beginning of the episode and also the musical score through the episode. Its nice to see creative use of music in the first few seasons of TNG before it became bland and relegated to the background after S4.
Title : Allegiance Rating : 2
Writers : Hans Beimler, Richard Manning Year : 2366
Review : I enjoyed parts of this episode. The laboratory experiment was interesting, though not overly so. What I did enjoy was the performance of the Picard facsimile, especially when he breaks into song at ten forward. I do find it a bit unbelievable that the crew took so long to question him and revolt though.
Title : The Wounded Rating : 4
Writers : Sara Charno, Stewart Charno, Cy Chermax Year : 2367
Review : Another top-notch episode in Season 4. This episode introduces the Cardassians with whom we get intimately acquainted in DS9. The tension between the Cardassians and the Starfleet officers was very apparent and O'Brien especially portrays this sense of apprehension extremely well. The only weak point in this episode was the resolution. Picard shouldn't have allowed Maxwell to carry on in command of his ship in the first place, given that he'd just murdered 700 people. I'm even more surprised that Macet was fine with this. Still, that was a minor point in an otherwise excellent episode.
Title : Final Mission Rating : 1
Writers : Casey Arnold-Ince Year : 2367
Review : Not a great episode, the premise of it was a bit rubbish to begin with. The idea that they'd go on a shuttle with no supplies to speak off, get marooned on a desert planet, with the only source of water being protected by a weird energy force which encases any threats in plastic - ruthless, yet defeated by a scanning device. Pretty silly premise. More than blame Wheaton's acting, I'd blame the bad dialogue for making the few conversations quite cheesy. There are some redeeming moments though, Picard's final talk with Wesly being one of them. Overall, quite a forgettable episode.
Title : Stratagem Rating : 4
Writers : Terry Matalas, Michael Sussman Year : 2153
Review : I tend to like stories with a good twist and this was certainly a good one. I didn't see either twist coming, though there was obviously something wrong, I thought it was more likely a wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey episode. What I didn't like though was assuming that Degra would give them the coordinates to a Red Giant which just happens to be the one where the weapon is stored just because they want to look for his family there. I thought that was a bit of a bridge to cross, but other than that, one of Enterprise's better outings.
Title : Rise Rating : 3
Writers : Jimmy Diggs Year : 2373
Review : I quite liked this episode, mainly because they explored the concept of a "Space Elevator". One of the few episodes in voyager which warrants the "sci" in the "sci-fi". Still, it could have been handled better. The woman in the space-elevator seemed not to serve much of a purpose. Similarly with the second male with the scientist. They just seemed to be there to make it harder for us to pick out the traitor. Also, Voyager jumping in to defend a species they just met without any concerns about the prime directive seemed a bit odd. Other than that though, a very watchable episode.
Title : Pathfinder Rating : 5
Writers : David Zabel Year : 2376
Review : I really liked this episode for some reason. It was great to see Barclay on screen again, he is such an interesting character, and seeing him going through 'holo-addiction' is always funny. Given the technology, I wouldn't be shocked if more people weren't addicted to it, much like computer games nowadays. Anyway, down to the meat of the episode, Barclay's search for voyager had a note of sincerity and Troi's interactions with him were great. I like the way the Voyager crew were all slightly different, given Starfleet's limited contact with them. The scene at the end when he finally makes contact brought a bit of a tear to my eye.
Title : The Swarm Rating : 0
Writers : Michael Sussman Year : 2373
Review : Janeway seems to have gone bonkers and decides to violate the Prime Directive simply because they are "too far away from Starfleet to matter" and it would add 15 months to their journey to do otherwise. Basically, a rubbish premise to introduce the villain of the week, a large swarm of tiny ships which seem to repeal any attacks by random technobabble jargon. Voyager therefore, uses even more random technobabble to deflect the attack and save the day. On a side note, the Doctor seems to be losing his mind and a holographic version of Dr. Zimmerman is there to help. Kes lectures the holo-Zimmerman about the Doctor's right to live and hold on to his experiences and encourages him to expand his programming like the Doctor, only to shortly turn around and suggest that he kill himself to allow the Doctor to survive. All in all, utter rubbish.
Title : Brothers Rating : 2
Writers : Rick Berman Year : 2367
Review : I liked this episode a fair bit. It was great to meet Data's creator, even though it meant the reintroduction of Lore. The whole evil twin routine was interesting the first time, but it was a bit too predictable this time. I was just waiting for the moment when Lore turned evil again. Spiner put in a great performance as Data, Lore and Soong. I find it hard to believe that the ship could so easily be taken over by a single individual though, especially that Picard wouldn't already have access codes isolating his commands. All in all, it had its share of flaws, but it was an interesting romp.
Title : Clues Rating : 4
Writers : Bruce D. Arthurs Year : 2367
Review : I quite enjoyed this episode. I always enjoy mysteries and this was quite well done. The issue with the 30-second delay causing a day-long delay is in-fact explained by Data initially. He mentions having to re-align the ship's clock with the Starbase 410 to account for the "time displacement". The way the little clues fall into place leave the audience guessing as well. It loses a star for Troi's pretty silly turn as the alien.
Title : Lessons Rating : 4
Writers : Jean Louise Matthias, Ronald Wilkerson Year : 2369
Review : I really enjoyed this episode, because it is so different from the usual fare. The romance that develops between Picard and Darren is very very believable and both actors do a fantastic job giving a very natural performance. All the music was fantastic, and the references to the inner light allowed for some great character development for Picard. The end was a little bit sad, but inevitable. Its a pity the writers didn't follow this up in a later episode.

© Graham & Ian Kennedy Page views : 12,763 Last updated : 28 Mar 2024