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On March 2nd, about exactly a year after I took off for New Zealand, I hitched a streetcar over to Kensington and got some Dwarven runes carved into my leg. They mean “decide,” or something close enough to it; I…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The Perfect Mate”
“Who she is changes when the next man comes into the room. And I find myself hoping the next man won’t come in.” Space whore! The Next Generation! The oldest profession comes to Star Trek c/o a deeply skeevy premise…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Cost of Living”
“Well that’s a conversation-stopper if I ever heard one.” This aimless little ditty appeals to me precisely because it’s so far off the beaten track. It’s the fifth season’s annual Lwaxana episode, and it’s about… the importance of having a…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The First Duty”
“At the time I thought you were a mean-spirited, vicious old man.” Hidden among the general mediocrity of Season Five are a few of the most memorable episodes Star Trek: The Next Generation ever produced, and right up on the…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Cause and Effect”
“ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP! REPEAT! ALL HANDS, ABAN—“ Here’s the episode of Star Trek that taught a generation about a key trope in time travel fiction: the recursive time loop. (Remember, this was a year before Groundhog Day.) For some…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The Outcast”
“For humans, the sexual act brings a closeness, an intimacy. It can be a very pleasurable experience. Inseminating a husk…” “The Outcast” is Star Trek: The Next Generation’s LGBTQ episode, and it has aged well by aging badly, if you…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Ethics”
“You take shortcuts. Right through living tissue.” After a fairly amazing year in Season Four (“Remember Me” and “The Host” being the highlights), Dr. Crusher gets the hell shafted out of her in Season Five. She’s basically been a day…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Power Play”
“Lunchtime, Miles!” Once a year or so, Star Trek: The Next Generation gets it into its head to do a ghost story of one kind or another, of which “Power Play” qualifies – though thankfully, it moves away from any…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “Conundrum”
I’m glad for rare opportunities like these: the episodes I don’t really remember. It took me a while to suss out that “Conundrum” was the one where Riker sleeps with Ensign Ro, and then backtrack that to its status as…
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Blogging the Next Generation: “The Masterpiece Society”
“What about the rights of the ones who will stay behind?” In which we once again spin the age-old science fiction trope of the eugenics society. The Enterprise comes upon a colony under threat by a passing stellar fragment –…
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