The Good: Funny, Well-acted, Stylish, Clever, Interesting character work
The Bad: Somewhat overused plot device
The Basics: When Worf, Troi and Alexander end up trapped in a Wild West holodeck program, the viewer gets a memorable episode from "A Fistful Of Datas."
Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Picard on Star Trek The Next Generation, seemed to have the roughest time as a director. He had the poorly-character conceived "In Theory" (reviewed here!) and the ridiculously obvious "Hero Worship" (reviewed here!) that he was given to direct. Proving, however, that it was more in the writing and less in the direction where the fault for those episodes lay, is "A Fistful Of Datas," the latest outing of Stewart as a director in the Star Trek The Next Generation pantheon.
When Alexander begs Worf to spend more time with him, Worf finds himself available and joining his son for some time in the holodeck. Once there, Worf finds himself in the Ancient West, the 24th Century term for the American Wild West (Old becomes ancient in a sensible move). But, nothing goes according to plan and Troi soon shows up as a gunslinger named Durango to play with the two. The fun comes to an end when an experiment Data was doing causes the holodeck to reprogram characters in the Ancient West program with variants of Data and Worf and Troi find Alexander kidnaped by a villain with the speed and strength of an android and the cruelty of an Old West villain.
Despite having a terribly overused plot, "A Fistful Of Datas" works quite well. We must be getting sick of holodeck episodes where something goes wrong and sure enough, this episode has several aspects that are predictable for such a plot. Almost right away, the holodeck safeties fail, allowing wounds to be fatal, the voice controls stop working so they cannot simply end the program; these are predictable things that are standards in the holodeck gone awry plot.
What works best about "A Fistful Of Datas" is it is fun. At the end of the day, this is an enjoyable episode and it succeeds at being entertaining and fun where other holodeck episodes have been slow and predictable. For example, "The Big Goodbye" (reviewed here!) spends so much time focusing on the nature of the holodeck and being simply amazed with it that it fails to actually entertain. In contrast, "A Fistful Of Datas" tells a story and has a quick, fun pace that gets the viewer into the setting, as opposed to simply showing the setting off over and over again.
Character, always important, is well-expressed here by those within the holodeck. Worf is nicely portrayed as a father somewhat at odds with his son. He wants to be a good father, but he is still uncomfortable with Alexander and in "A Fistful Of Datas," he explores that rather well in his reluctance and then the way he gets into the holodeck scenario. It fits Worf quite well. Alexander, for his part, is childlike and enthusiastic and genuine in his idolization of his father.
But the real character surprise comes in the form of Counselor Troi. Here we learn that she has a deep love of the Ancient West and has always had the desire to play a rogue. This is quite a stretch for the Counselor and an interesting character turn. It seems ironic that in an episode entitled "A Fistful Of Datas" that there is almost no character development on the android; he simply experiences a minor malfunction while attempting an experiment.
That is not to say that Brent Spiner, who plays Data, is not earning his keep in this piece. Quite the contrary; as the problem with Data's program gets more and more severe, Brent Spiner takes on more and more roles within the holodeck. As a result, Spiner ends up playing no less than four distinct roles in the Ancient West. Spiner manages to create completely different character using his command of body language and a wide repertoire of accents and voices that characterize Spiner's comedic range. Spiner carries much of the episode by being menacing and cruel on the holodeck in his different roles. Here, Brent Spiner proves he is a truly great actor once again.
And Patrick Stewart finally gets his chance to direct a winning episode. "A Fistful Of Datas" is his best outing yet. Instead of being plodding or poorly-written, this is a piece that works and it gives Stewart the chance to truly illustrate his talents as a director. He makes us believe in Deadwood and he gets the best out of the cast here. As well, he manages to make a western with both a distinctive, unique feel and intriguing homages to American cinema (for example, near the end, there is a shot that Stewart reworked from the classic film Shane).
This is an episode that is very accessible to all audiences and is a nice piece to watch as a whole family. While it does have a minor science fiction plot threaded throughout, this is essentially a Star Trek take on the Western and it works very well for fans of either Star Trek The Next Generation or of the Western genre. It has enough humor and quality acting to hold the attention and amusement of anyone, though.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the penultimate season by clicking here!
Thanks!]
8.5/10
For other Star Trek episode or film reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!
© 2011, 2008, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |
No comments:
Post a Comment