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TNG episode #11: Haven

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 9:14 am    Post subject: TNG episode #11: Haven Reply with quote

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HAVEN
episode #11, first season / Air Date: 11/30/87
written by Tracy Torme, Lan O'Kun; Directed by Richard Compton

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Here was the first appearance of Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), mother of counselor Troi, as well as the 1st show-up of Lwaxana's valet, the very tall Mr. Homn (Carel Struycken).

The over-the-top, randy older Troi beams aboard because it's time for a wedding — a pre-arranged one between the younger Troi and a human (a very young Rob Knepper, later well known for recurring roles on Prison Break and Heroes).

Haven is the name of a planet, btw.

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This news seems to fill the younger Troi with dread and sorrow — it means she will have to leave the ship. This prearranged marriage is due to genetic bonding Betazoids practice at an early age (again copying a plot point from Amok Time).

Then her mom annoys & embarrasses her the whole time she's on-board; this is not a good day for Deanna Troi. But this turns out to be the story of Deanna's groom. He's been having visions of a blond woman, and this woman turns out to be among a group of space lepers approaching Haven.

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I don't pretend to 'get' a lot of this. The episode seems a chance to illuminate counselor Troi's background and showcase Barrett's comical acting chops. But that's about it — the story gives Deanna an easy out. Her beau, of course, goes off to be with the blond. Riker breathes a sigh of relief.

Lwaxana would return in several more TNG episodes, making the crew uncomfortable — especially Picard and a portion of the audience as well

BoG's Score: 4 out of 10


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BoG
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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some Haven Trivia

Earlier working titles for Haven were: Love Beyond Time and Space, and Eye of the Beholder. Eye of the Beholder was used as an episode title for Star Trek: The Animated Series.

110 visual effects were used for this episode.

This episode features the only significant usage of the Enterprise-D's dining room. Ten Forward will be used in future episodes replacing the dining room.

Only time that Mr. Homn speaks.

Carel Struycken who played Mr. Homn is 7' tall. He would play Lurch in The Addams Family (1991) & Addams Family Values (1993) movies.

First appearance of Majel Barrett as Lwaxana Troi.

Gene Roddenberry described Lwaxana as the 'Auntie Mame of the Galaxy.'

The living face on the gift box is Armin Shimerman who would go to play cast regular Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The script was written by Lan O'Kun and was on the verge of being dropped when it was handed off to Tracy Torme (co~creator of Sliders). Tracy felt the script was awful, and when he proceeded to rewrite it he added much more humor to it.

Torme says that it remains his least favorite script he wrote for ST:TNG.

The assignment did lead him to being hired as an executive story editor for ST:TNG.

I'm unable to find the source, but I thought that I had read years ago that it was Gene Roddenberry who suggested to the artistic team to place the engines for the Tarellian vessel in the center of the ship.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the Nitpicker's Guide

In the staff meeting that follows the identification of the Tarellian vessel, Dr. Crusher states that the Tarellians had only advanced technologically to the level of late twentieth-century Earth.

So where did they get this sophisticated star ship? It possesses warp drive--albeit currently nonfunctioning-----and transporters. Earth certainly did not have either of those incredible technologies in our late twentieth-century.

How come the amazing transporter biofilters were not able to cure the Tarellians of their disease? Crusher states that their disease is a crude, twentieth-century illness---surely no match for twenty-fourth century technology.

Captain Picard should be able to invite the Tarellians to go through the Enterprise's transporter system which could easily remove the disease.

My 2 cents: Maybe...maybe not. We have diseases here and now that can be traced back decades and centuries. Some of them our scientists can only speculate exactly what they were and their causes.

I saw a news show that said if the (unfairly named) infamous Spanish Flu that ravaged the planet during WWI was able to break out now, we'd be in deep doo-doo all over again even with the technology & medical advancements that have occurred since the days of the Spanish Flu.

So one could postulate that even in the twenty-fourth century with all its marvelous wonders in the field of medicine that there could still arise some forms of disease that there would be no quick cure for.

Especially alien diseases. And of course without this plot point we'd have a one-hour episode become a ten-minute episode. Now what do we do with those extra fifty-minutes?

Originally Captain Picard traps the Tarellian vessel in a tractor beam so the aliens cannot beam down to the planet Haven.

Yet, near the end of the show, Wyatt beams over to the plague ship with apparently no obstacles. How did he manage to transport himself through the Enterprise's tractor beam enveloping the Tarellian ship?

In some episodes they indicate that you must enter an access code to use the equipment on board the Enterprise.

Wyatt simply walks up to the console, pushes buttons, and beams himself over to the Tarellian vessel.

Note from me: Yeah, the easy-peezy operation of the transporter systems by non-crew members in all the Star Trek television shows was always an issue.

In reality the transporter should have been a highly secured area on the Federation star ships. There should have existed all types of rigid security protocols in order to enter the transporter room and then utilize the transporters.

The scriptwriters would let this plot device slip right by in order to advance the story. Seems like they could have at least attempted to create a reason as to by any Tom, Dick, and Harriett could just breeze into the transporter room and beam themselves merrily away.

I wonder as to why the Tarellians were trapped in their ship? I realize that it was a play on the legendary Curse of the Flying Dutchman tale about a vessel tragically doomed to wander forever.

However, as we're in the twenty-fourth century and bebopin' around the galaxy, were there no other solutions to the Tarellians tragic plight?

The Federation of Planets could not possibly locate a habitable planet for this race — or created a space station that would be large enough for them to enjoy life more than being confined to their space ship?

Could the Tarellians co-exist on a planet with inhabitants that would be resistant to their illness?

Could an undersea city be constructed for them to live in while the inhabitants on the surface would be safe?

In spite of this episodes flaws, I would have liked to see a follow-up about the Tarellian plague ship.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Mike, you've presented a wonderful analysis of the premise behind this episode. I really enjoyed it. Very Happy

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