ST: TNG S01E09 "The Battle"

Another Ferengi episode, but as characters they haven't been developed more here yet than when we first saw them.

There is some nice interaction between first officers that is quite fruitful, but other than that, this is a very weak mind-control episode, and I'm just not a fan. It earns a Bad.

ST: TNG S01E08 "Justice"

Here again is an episode I'm not entirely sure what to do with. Wesley breaks an unknown rule on a planet they visit and is sentenced to death which the Enterprise cannot allow, but acting violates the Prime Directive (I know, I know, it would have been a less annoying series without him, but they have a point).

There is a lot of silliness and some things simply don't add up--namely, that they would be visiting a pre-warp society in the first place given the Prime Directive. Still, bad as that may be, the concept is interesting and worth analyzing when it comes to citizens of one group visiting another and the potential consequences and how to seek peaceful relations. There's a very good quote where Data asks Picard if one life is worth 1000, and Picard responds that he will not make this a matter of arithmetic.

As much as it pains me, I'm going to call this one Good.

ST: TNG S01E07 "Lonely Among Us"

We still can't move beyond silly dress uniforms, evidently, no matter how futuristic the society. Here we have to transport delegates from two races, one furry and one reptilian, but get waylaid by an accidentally acquired alien that hops from body to body via the ship circuitry and wants to go home.

"Something was afoot." We get our first look at Data as Sherlock Holmes, pipe included, which is fantastic, although any time Data acts "more human" he becomes quite arrogant (though I've heard that could just be more "Brent Spiner" given that it's similar to Lore and many of his other roles). We also get an interesting discussion of "mutiny".

While I love the Data scenes, and the real problems of shuttling delegates that hate and want to eat each other make for some easy comedy in the So Bad It's Good department, I'm afraid this one tips the scales into Bad if nothing else than due to the ridiculous finale involving the Captain. Supposedly of his own choosing (which does not fit the character anymore than the episode "Hide and Q" where Riker becomes an arrogant Q) Picard is beamed into space as energy, is found to be incompatible with the aliens, moves his energy back into the computer, and is rematerialized from that using his saved transporter pattern (even though we later can't do something similar with Moriarty in "Ship in a Bottle", but I'm getting ahead of myself). Bad.

ST: TNG S01E06 "Where No One Has Gone Before"

A Wesley-saves-the-day episode. Not only that, a Wesley-has-a-destiny episode.

We do get to see "where none have gone before," a place where thought is powerful, but between the annoying sham specialist and the Traveler's interest in Wesley's (now acting ensign) potential, I just do not like this one at all.

Maybe it has some legitimate aspects, but I can't see through my bias and dislike, so this one earns a Bad in my book.

ST: TNG S01E05 "The Last Outpost"

Here we meet the Ferengi for the first time and they are depicted as disgusting, barbaric, and imbecile, though they gradually become more intriguing characters in later episodes, and especially in Deep Space Nine.

Data gets his fingers stuck in a Chinese finger trap, which is kind of ridiculous, and then there's the "challenge" on the planet that feels very much like the scene from Monty Python, "...and what is your favorite color?" It is kind of interesting, the concept of an outpost so far away that fails to notice the extinction of its empire. Also interesting is the philosophical discussion towards the end of their dealings with the being on the planet:
"Shall I destroy them?"
"Then they would learn nothing."
"But...what if they never learn?"

While there are some thoughtful moments and a lot of laughably bad stuff, I still think this one earns a Bad.

Sharktopus

A while back, a friend loaned me Sharktopus on DVD, and though it falls short of the repeat-viewing qualities inherent in Tremors (I really love that movie), it was certainly good for a few laughs and some great quotable lines. Such lines include "Oh no, not like this!" from an eminent victim and this classic from the head scientist, "They're more accurate when shot with a grenade launcher and, since we only have two darts, accuracy is key."

The filming had a lot of the terrible shaky camera stuff that I have trouble watching for long. There's gratuitous women in bikinis in various suggestively posed positions, including one who just found a coin with a metal detector before being attacked and the pervy old guy watching it all shrugs, retrieves the coin, and walks off.

I started to say that Deep Blue Sea was better (it is), but it depends on what you're looking for--this was a SyFy original, afterall, so you pretty much know what level of cinema to expect. Plus it had a trailer for Dinocroc vs Supergator--oh yeah.

I'm afraid I still have to give this one a Bad, but it has solid So Bad It's Good moments, so toss it on in the background while doing other things sometime.

Rubber (2010)

I recently saw a movie about a murderous tire that explodes heads via telekinesis. Yep, you read that right.

There were a few amusing scenes including the tire's early experiments with what it can destroy and its stalking of a pretty woman. If they'd just stuck with that, it might have been a Tremors-quality B movie, but no.

I desperately wanted to like it in the So Bad It's Good sort of way, but unfortunately they tried to be way too meta with it and it just ends up being Bad.

ST: TNG S01E04 "Code of Honor"

Though an improvement on the previous episode, we are still in the grips of the first season curse here.

Being the first episode to mention the Prime Directive as a motivating factor in the course of action, Code of Honor is an example of some of the nuances to dealing with different worlds and different cultures, especially when the technology differs as well. They need to obtain through trade a very important vaccine, but must figure out how to reach a solution diplomatically with a people who have different standards of right and wrong. This raises some very interesting questions on whether or when to compromise on standards to save lives--is business always neutral or is boycotting an appropriate stance when principles differ? In addition, there is an interesting power structure here with the men as leaders but the women as landholders.

There's a scene that used to annoy me, but now I have come to respect the view Geordi espouses while shaving when Data asks him how anything can be too efficient, "Thousands of things are too efficient, Data--at least for humans."

Overall, I give this a So Bad It's Good because I don't mind it so much as previous ones (we started with the bar pretty low), but it definitely takes itself more seriously than most things that earn this dubious honor.

ST: TNG S01E03 "The Naked Now"

This episode is an updated version of an original series episode, whether meant to please old fans, or for lack of other ideas ready after they got the go-ahead on their pilot, I'm not sure. This is also the episode Denise Crosby, playing Tasha Yar, will never live down for her character's seduction of Data.

Acting Captain Wesley Crusher? And a drunk Data?
Data: "Did I say something wrong?" Worf: "I don't understand their humor either."

While the tense interplay between Dr. Crusher and Picard was amusing, I don't think it's enough to salvage this episode from simply being Bad. Picard's closing remarks: "I put it to you all, I think we shall end up with a fine crew...if we avoid temptation." Yes, let's avoid the temptation to revisit this.

ST: TNG S01E01 & S01E02 "Encounter at Farpoint"

The episode that started it all is also the one that elicits the most groans when I tell people I am watching it again. As with everything I cover here, others have done detailed summaries and analysis, so this is only meant to spark nostalgia and discussion. This isn't the worst episode of TNG (there are several candidates; the leading contender is perhaps the second season closer, "Shades of Gray"), but it is certainly clear that they were still finding themselves at this point and there are many changes ahead (for the better) as the show matures. When it originally aired, the episode was in one two-hour long shot, but has since been broken into two parts and listed as episodes one and two, so I will follow that numbering here.

We begin with an introduction to our new captain, stepping out of the dark and then followed by shaky cameras past several mini-skirted or shorts-wearing crew members to the bridge where we have a painfully undeveloped Data and a tearful Troi. This is followed by introducing Q, a powerful alien mainstay of this series that I generally wish they'd left out. Here also is the first time they use saucer separation, but it becomes the quickly suggested extreme measure for a number of occasions to follow.

So far, TNG is frightfully similar to the later parody, Galaxy Quest. When going back and watching season one, it's very clear that the production value increased as the series went on. Also, they changed the uniform colors for command rank from the original series gold to the red here, leaving the gold for security and engineering, and I like it. The first half ends with a nod to the old series in the form of a cameo from an aging McCoy.

The second half gives us the Pinocchio aspect of Data, an introduction to the holodeck which features later in several good episodes, and unfortunately young Wesley's first visit to the bridge (with some exceptions, this character is largely annoying, even given my tendency to like the geeky advanced student sorts). In the end we also get of course, the final order, "Engage" that we come to know and love.

I fear my nostalgia clouds my judgment on this one--there are so many aspects to this episode that are groan worthy that I won't even attempt to list them, and yet I know how good it gets and they had to start somewhere. I'm betting that someone watching this fresh for the first time would instead label it simply as Bad, but I just can't. I will say that I think the second half is stronger than the first, and I'm going to give Encounter at Farpoint as a whole a So Bad It's Good.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

One of my all-time favorite shows (behind Babylon 5 and Firefly), I never tire of re-watching this one. I have some fond memories of seeing some episodes with Dad as a kid, though they scared me, then beginning in college, I watched the show straight through in order many times (yes, even the bad episodes from early seasons). While I'm debating between buying the DVDs or waiting on the Blu-Ray, Netflix streaming is keeping me supplied.

Having still never seen Star Trek: The Original Series (I know, I know), I certainly consider TNG to be the definitive Trek over Deep Space 9 and Voyager (and Enterprise is just too bad to be a contender) but I am one of those crazy people who is a completist and just as I prefer watching shows straight through in order, I also am likely to watch all Trek that exists, eventually (stay tuned!). TNG has some big overarching plot (truly my preference, hence adoring Bab5), but generally is more episodic in nature, and it handles this well. Some episodes are certainly better than others and many are "message" episodes (which I happen to love) on various topics, some of which were quite novel for the time period. Great quotable lines abound, many courtesy our dear Captain (they could not have done better than Patrick Stewart). They do a good job of making the cast feel real and like a family, plus there's plenty of humor.

Still, there are many Bad episodes and some So Bad They're Good, but what can I say, I love this show, and I think the rest win out to make this show overall very Good. =)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Netflix streaming has such an odd assortment of the old and the new, both good and bad, and can be great when you're in the mood for indulging in some nostalgia. Last night, I decided to re-watch some Abbott and Costello, best known for their amazing Who's On First act, whose movies my sister and I enjoyed as kids. In this adventure they meet not only Frankenstein's monster as the title implies, but also Count Dracula and the Wolf Man.

The humor is completely typical of their style, a combination of slap stick and witty word play, the latter of which is what sets them and the Marx Brothers apart from the Three Stooges, in my opinion. While some are better than others, they're all similar enough that if you've seen one Abbott and Costello movie, you've pretty much seen them all.

There's a nice cameo of The Invisible Man at the end, who was featured in a follow-up flick of theirs. I'm sort of torn on what to label this one, but accepting the nature of the comedy with its groaners that are intentionally So Bad They're Good, I think this classic earns a Good.

B:TAS S01E02 "Christmas with the Joker"

This episode is responsible for "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg, the Batmobile lost a wheel and the Joker got away!" followed by "Crashing through the roof, in a one horse open tree, busting out I go, laughing all the weeeee!" Ah, good times.

Robin makes his first appearance and is basically there to state the obvious, while Mark Hamill does a great job as the Joker. I generally prefer the grimmer psychological terrorist versions of the Joker as they make a truly frightening and harder to grapple with villain, but for day to day viewing, this gleeful pie-in-the-face Joker is just what the doctor ordered.

Oh, and there are Betty Blooper dolls among other toys to defeat in an old toy factory to the tunes from The Nutcracker. =P A Good, with a spoonful perhaps of So Bad It's Good, but then, what else would you expect with the Joker?

B:TAS S01E01 "On Leather Wings"

The pilot is off to a great start with a police dirigible, and a glimpse at DA Harvey Dent before he becomes two-face. Then, as Batman reads the headline "Gotham Police Declare War on Batman", Alfred quips, "I gather you've been reading How To Make Friends and Influence People" for which he receives a wry smile.

There are a few easy sight gags for the kids in the audience, but no Jar Jar, thankfully. Oh hey, this Dr. March guy is voiced by the guy who played Odo in Deep Space 9. And yeah, Batman's computer is terrible, but so rarely are those any good in flicks that I can shrug that off.

Batman takes care of "The Man-Bat" and all is well. I declare this episode Good.

Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

Airing on Fox during their Fox Kids afternoon lineup, Batman was one of the staples of mine to watch between the time I got home from school and when Dad got home for dinner. I remember loving it, and from what I hear it holds up well for a wide range of viewing audiences (unlike some of my other beloved shows from childhood *cough*Thundercats*cough*), so I'm looking forward to re-watching it. My friend loaned me Volume One of the DVD collection, so I'll be watching it in that order, production order, though I've heard some prefer viewing this by airdate due to the way characters are introduced.

It has a great opening credits theme (something shows like Star Trek: Enterprise forgot were important to grab audiences). Also, I love the sort of film noir style, termed Dark Deco in the Wikipedia entry--less grim than the contemporary Tim Burton films, more of a '40s look, none of the camp of the '60s TV show and film, and achieved appeal to a general audience. Besides, it's harder to go wrong with a favorite like Batman than with Superman a.k.a. The Boyscout.

I anticipate this show will fall solidly in my "Good" category.

The Good, the Bad, and the So-Bad-It's-Good

Most media comes in three flavors: the Good, the Bad, and the So-Bad-It's-Good. There will be a little of each of those here (ok, maybe a lot of some of those categories) as I spotlight some nostalgia from my childhood and some new things I've been meaning to get around to. This is mainly for amusement and to spark some discussion on which of the three flavors best matches each item as well as perhaps some recommendations for future consumption.

For starters, here are a few favorites I've seen a million times that I'd like to cover eventually, episode by episode:
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Babylon 5
Firefly

And if that doesn't have you rejoicing, weeping, or running the other way, just wait 'til I get started! =P