Synopsis: Worf finally gets some. Unfortunately, he doesn’t read any love poetry.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Apparently, Klingons do allow themselves to be…probed.

Review: Ah, our annual episode that uses Worf for something other than one-liners and getting beat up.  It’s pretty decent, and there’s plenty of fallout here that adds even more to future episodes.  I found K’Ehleyr to be a bit over the top, but a decent foil for Worf.  The final showdown where Worf takes over as captain to thwart the (suddenly awake and unaware a treaty has been signed) enemy Klingons ties things up pretty well, and shows once more that Picard isn’t too proud or rigid to allow for creativity among his bridge crew.

Synopsis: Who’s got two thumbs and doesn’t give a damn about nanites?

Memory Alpha Summary: Bob Kelso, minus the muffins

Review: We finally have a Federation scientist (Ken Jenkins) who, while obsessive, isn’t completely mad.  The scene where he grovels to the nanites is wonderful, and a more accurate reflection of what a Gene Roddenberry character might do.

Unfortunately, this episode doesn’t go very deep despite a lot of emotional dialogue.  Wesley yells at his mother for being gone which I truly enjoyed (although in reality, Wesley was the one who decided to leave his mother, not the other way around), but the whole plot about him trying to grow like a normal teenage boy isn’t fully realized.

We also discover that baseball was banned mid 21^st  century for being too slow.  Thankfully, I’ll be reaching the end of my life when that happens.

Synopsis: Duras kills K’Ehleyr.  Worf kills Duras.  Picard…reprimands Worf.

Memory Alpha Summary: I wish I could kill the occasional person at work and get a reprimand.

Review:  I never really bought this relationship between K’Ehleyr and Worf, which is to say I don’t feel the chemistry.  So I wasn’t as torn up about her death as he was, despite the fact I liked her.  Still, some good set pieces and acting makes this a decent episode and sets up several good episodes where Gowron stars (on this series and on DS9).

I have to say Alexander looks way older than two.  Perhaps Klingon children grow faster.

Synopsis: Season seven in predictable fashion pulls The First Duty from the recycling bin and gives it to an officer with more of a track record.

Memory Alpha Summary: Riker gets thrown in the brig for the first time, and not for his whoring with alien diplomats.

Review: Riker and Asshole Admiral #17 discuss “the experiment” in such obtuse terms for most of the episode and it feels a bit contrived to me.  If we’re not supposed to find out about the cloaking device until the “big reveal”, don’t show Riker talking about it vaguely for thirty minutes.  Also, Riker’s allegorical conversation with Beverly about his Bat’leth exercise with Worf is so obvious I’m surprised Beverly’s tricorder didn’t just say “contrivance.”

That said, I always like it when the characters act a bit more human and make stupid mistakes.  The relationship between Picard and Riker is developed even further.

Also, why the heck did Star Fleet sign a treaty that the Romulans could have a cloaking device but not the Federation?  It seems a little bit like conceding the Sudetenland to me.  It’s never really explained to my satisfaction.  And if it weren’t for Roddenberry, who didn’t believe honorable humans “sneak around,” the writer wouldn’t have had to come up with ridiculous explanations.  Thankfully, the DS9 writers decided this piece of canon should be shot and gave the Defiant a cloaking device.

Synopsis: Our obligatory season Worf episode that further reveals how incredibly illogical his species behaves.

Memory Alpha Summary: Killing subordinates for offering suggestions seems short-sighted

Review:  I will never get past how stupidly violent and vengeful Klingon culture is (yet still, somehow well organized and powerful), but one great thing about this episode is that it marks the time Star Trek decided they could do a story arc.  Perhaps the show being more stable in the ratings helped this decision, but it was a good one.

Worf’s brother Kurn is believable and funny, a credit to Tony Todd, the guy who plays him.  The Klingon world is realized in awesome fashion.   It’s just too bad Worf’s culture proves that ‘honor’ is just a talking point for their politicians and really isn’t the driving force behind all decisions.

Synopsis:  A race that experiences no concept of feelings tries to learn some from our emotionally mature Enterprise crew.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Better than Cruel Intentions

Review:  It’s about time somebody on the crew said something about how ridiculous the formal dresswear for the Federation is.  It’s also about time for Worf to yell and pound his chest.  Oh wait, he does that all the time.  But it’s hilarious here.

Worf: Ambassador Byleth is demanding, temperamental, and rude!
Data: You share all of those qualities in abundance! Perhaps you should try to build on your similarities.

When Worf threatens to rip out the man’s esophagus I cracked up as well.  Dorn really got into it.

As for the main plot down on the planet, the twist ending was all right but not terribly concealed.  It’s not Picard’s best solo moment, but I always love watching him think his way out of a situation.

And, of course, because it’s season seven, the theme of this episode is incredibly similar to that of Allegiance.  The idea machine was broken.

Synopsis:  The Alpha Quadrant almost turns into The Brady Bunch.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Maury Povich would have a field day.

Review:  Now this episode is sci-fi at its most complex.  In a very scientific and, frankly, cool way, we discover why most of the species the Enterprise run into look very similar in shape.  They are all descendants of an ancient species, of course.  Unfortunately, the writers painted future Star Trek writers into a corner, as many species in both the Gamma and Delta quadrants also just happen to look like humans.  But it doesn’t negate what they did here.  It’s really not that terribly moving of an episode, probably because it is so deep in discussions about DNA.  But it was cool to see the Federation’s three primary enemies all in one place “working together.”

Synopsis: Pulaski questions Data’s mystery-solving cajones, and Geordi tells the computer to beat Data.

Memory Alpha Summary:  The series, as they say, is afoot

Review:  The first episode with Professor Moriarty is solid, if really slow.  It only picks up once Moriarty appears, who is played brilliantly by Daniel Davis.  There’s not much conflict here, especially since it becomes clear early on that Moriarty is more interested in leaving the holodeck than harming anyone.  But at least he was able to tell Pulaski that he planned on filling her with crumpets all while keeping a straight face.

Synopsis:  Another orphan boy with typical child-acting skills for the crew to save and psychoanalyze.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Data proves to be a better father than Worf

Review: It’s fun to watch Data interact with this boy who is imitating him.  Also, Troi doesn’t do too terrible of a job explaining his condition and prognosis to the rest of the crew.  The final countdown, when Data saves the day by hypothesizing that the Enterprise must drop its shields in order to save the day is kind of fun, although no technobabble explanation is really given as to why his theory works other than “the other guys didn’t do this, and they died.”

I love when Timothy said he destroyed his previous ship, The Vico, when he fell and his arm hit a control panel.  The Enterprise crew explains to him that there are safety protocols in place so this doesn’t happen.  If that’s the case, how come Wesley amongst others were able to overtake the ship the first couple of seasons without using command codes?

Synopsis:  Geordi is close friends with a woman and doesn’t fall in love and blow it.

Memory Alpha Summary:  And that’s not even the identity crisis

Review:  A plodding episode that it short on excitement but still has some sweet special effects.  The best part is Geordi running simulations on the holodeck and slowing figuring things out, simultaneously creeping himself out.  But I wasn’t moved at all by the ending.  I never truly bought this deep friendship Geordi had with this woman from years back, and the climax where she saves him is painfully slow with obvious dialogue.