Synopsis: Homosexual allegory. Controversy! Aaaaahh!
Memory Alpha Summary: Do not tell me about your sexual organs.
Review: A decent episode maligned more for what it wasn’t than what it was. We have characters proclaiming that the Federation doesn’t have sexuality issues, but Worf proclaiming that women are weak because they like using wild cards in poker is lame. We have Riker describing that men are different from women because they don’t put color (makeup) on their bodies, even though some do, even in this series. Even though this race’s “defect” is being born more feminine or masculine and therefore wanting sex, when they have their defect they still only have heterosexual relationships. Riker says English doesn’t have a gender neutral pronoun; actually, it does, but nobody uses it anymore. Finally, Riker falls in love with one of them, who is of course obviously played by a female actress. Overall, this episode also does nothing to address the fact that a homosexual relationship is never seen in the series run, even in the background in Ten Forward. Okay, maybe the episode is not all that decent.
Sexuality stuff aside, Frakes is very good here. He finally falls for somebody in a non-whorish way, and the pain he goes through watching the person he loves get discriminated against is believable. I also chuckled when Picard admonishes Riker for potentially violating the Prime Directive by trying to stop his lover’s sexuality treatments. This is the same guy who brought an innocent girl on board his ship to look at her own god. Pull back on the kettle there Mr. Pot.
Death By Troggles 
If it has a pulse, Number One will hit on it.
I can tell right now that this one would have enraged me.
I should think about not reading these since I plan to watch the series (maybe a ridiculous plan, given the scope of my Netflix queue) but you know me and lists…
By the time you get around to watching the series, you’ll have forgotten most of this list anyway.
Nibbish has seen most of these, but it’s been a long time. I suggested he watch them in descending order from this list, starting with lots of alcohol.
And sadly, comments from the producers of the show pretty much confirm that they used this episode to try to shut up the people begging for the show to address non-traditional relationships, and didn’t take it to a more realistic level because they were deathly afraid of social conservatives sending in complaints.
Oh, I don’t doubt that. Survivor once admitted they cut out one couple’s kiss just before it happened so they didn’t get the whining from conservatives. I actually think they handled it well…they didn’t threaten the show’s ratings, but they made an apology for it because they knew it was a drag that they had to do so. I don’t like that they had to do so, but I understand the idea of running a business.
Ahhh. There’s the relief.
As I remember it, this one was insanely preachy, and the fact that they chose an obviously female actress irritated me too. It seemed like the ending was telegraphed, so it was really just an exercise in watching Frakes act pained. And I never understood how he could “fall in love” so quickly. It’s not like they had time to develop a real relationship. This one just wasn’t fun to watch. At all.
I see where you’re at. A lot of characters fall in and out within the span of 42 minutes here. And your complaint almost made it into this one. But I don’t think the time span was super clear in this episode, and I got the feeling Riker and the…woman worked side by side together on a project for at least a week, if not two or three. Certainly not enough time for deep love to develop, but more than perhaps a fleeting crush. Of all the episodes that do this, this one’s probably the least guilty.
And yes, the ending was telegraphed.
A lot of shows make the mistake of telling a story so quickly that is has no punch.
Scrubs was the worst at this, as they were at a lot of things. The second time they put JD and Elliott together, they did it to tell this story about JD’s lack of commitment and he pulls out like a bitch at the end of the episode, even though the episode inexplicably asks us to accept that this episode occurs over the span of a long (but undefined) amount of time. Besides ensuring that the payoff has no punch, it also makes JD into such a fucking rat asshole by breaking up with a girlfriend to then have a fling with Elliott and walk out on her that every time they tease the relationship after that, I’m like “He doesn’t deserve her. He’s a horrible person. Plus, they had two disastrous relationships. I am no longer invested in the two of them as a couple.”
JD is unlikeable from the first episode and never wavers, as are several of the characters. The only one two that ever get genuine moments are Cox and Kelso
Yeah. It mystifies me that a show with so many unlikable characters thrived for so long. That works in drama quite often, but it’s rare in comedy (whoops: my favorite comedy does this, too: Arrested Development. The jokes are seventy-twelve times better, though, and the show doesn’t ever try to be the sappy show that it isn’t).
And, JD. Bad character, bad overactor. Man, he is just awful.
I’d give Scrubs credit for Season 1. If it ended there, it was a brilliant flash in the pan that dealt with some serious issues in a good way. After that…
And Arrested Development is the greatest show ever. And should be the theme for our next Werewolf. We should also have a Firefly themed Werewolf.
My recollection is that Frakes really pushed for the androgynous race to be played by only male actors.
Good on him. As it exists, it sounds like the shoot removed the punch that the script tried to give it.
I don’t feel like looking it up, but I also believe you are correct. Frakes is a pretty awesome guy.
Here you go: http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/01/05/star-trek-tng-hd-exclusive-video/
And thank you, “Inner Light”