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[Bud Brewster]

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Bogmeister compared the premise of this episode to Terminator. Read his review and find out why.
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TNG episode #21: The Arsenal of Freedom

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THE ARSENAL OF FREEDOM episode #21 / Air Date: 4/11/88
written by Richard Manning, Hans Beimler; Directed by Les Landau



This is a story about technology getting away from its creators (see The Terminator films).

In this case, it's weapons technology which wiped out a civilization. This seems to be an attack on the strategy of peace through strength — the idea that "the more powerful the weapons, the less chance they will be used".

Only it also seems the writers tried to wrap a coherent story around this high-falutin' concept and didn't succeed very well.



Also, this is a large scale story about a destroyed civilization, but it's tackled on a TV budget.

Looking at parts of this episode, I couldn't help but be reminded of certain low budget sf films of the fifties & sixties — the ones that take place on some cheesy alien planet jungle, with hostile aliens or lifeforms chasing stranded space travelers.

So, in a way this could be fun. But don't expect any great revelations or insights.



It also tries to throw a lot of things together. Picard beams down for some reason into danger (usually, it's Riker who beams down, and certainly not both captain and 1st officer), and Dr. Crusher is injured.

La Forge was placed in command of the ship when Picard left, and he's in conflict with the chief engineer. There are two newbies are at the helm, and the ship's saucer section separates, per La Forge's orders (last done in the pilot).

Whew. It's a bit of a jumble.



I also didn't know what to make of the scene when the injured Dr. Crusher instructs Captain Picard about how to use a growing plant root for medical purposes. This comes across like a joke. In the Trek universe, plants on different planets are essentially the same?

Also, the climax is reminiscent of all those TOS episodes when Kirk talked a machine to death. It's just less entertaining and maybe even an intended joke.

BoG's Score: 5 out of 10


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)