Star Trek The Next Generation Ruminations S4E22: Half A Life

[@paulscott2037]

I love how she even asks Picard's permission to disembark. And specifically calls him Captain, not Jean-Luc as is her custom. I honestly think this episode does a lot to show that her usual bluster is effectively a mask. It's how Betazoid aristocrats are expected to behave so that's what she does. And I mean she does love life and lives to the fullest so behaving that way is no great sacrifice for her but it is nevertheless a cover for a lot of how she really feels. Which makes sense. In the same way that Vulcans repress emotions for their society, Betazoids might just over express themselves for theirs. So you're a Betazoid and you feel angry or sad or jealous or envious but you don't want people to know you feel that way so instead you just... act as hard as you can with another emotion.

[@linsqopiring6816]

The last place where that explanation would make any sense would be on a planet of empaths. Putting on false bluster is the one place that would never work. It's the "please Captain Picard" that was the mask.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

would that actually work... given that they are Betazoids and by nature Telepathic

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

The most efficient captain’s log ever: “Ship’s councilor, Diana Troi’s log: My *mother* is on board.”

[@francoislacombe9071]

There is a throwaway line in this episode I find very interesting PICARD: The Prime Directive forbids us to interfere with the social order of any planet. LWAXANA: Well, that's your Prime Directive, not mine! Picard apparently accepts that argument and subsequently makes no attempt to stop Lwaxana based on the Prime Directive. This, in my opinion, implies that the Prime Directive is only a Starfleet thing, maybe at most a Federation government thing, and that it doesn't apply to people in general. That would make it a rather pointless rule to adhere to since anyone with a spaceship could go to any planet and contaminate the local cultures to any degree they wish, on purpose or not.

[@Special_Tactics_Force_Unit]

It absolutely applies to everyone on a Starfleet vessel. If the captain let's someone on their crew, even a civilian, go down there and mess shit up possibly on a planetary scale... Wait, hold on. Doesn't the PD only apply to non warp capable civilizations? They were definitely warp capable so why would he even say Prime Directive stuff, it doesn't matter here. She can't influence the civilisation at this point.

[@timf7413]

There are actually multiple episodes that suggest that the Prime Directive is a Starfleet issue (along with some scientific entities) opposed to a general Federation issue. That said, I tend to think that most average civilians in the Federation have extremely limited opportunity to interfere with other races to begin with, so it's probably a non issue. In on screen canon, we don't really know if "anyone with a spaceship" truly has unrestricted travel to go where they want and do what they want. That's certainly not the case on Earth, even in countries and societies that value individual freedom.

[@timf7413]

That's a bit murky. The PD is generally shown as absolutely applying to all pre warp cultures, but is also often (but not always) also depicted as applying to non Federation member worlds, except for when action is being taken as part of official diplomatic relations between governments.

[@rafetizer]

@@Special_Tactics_Force_Unit The way Picard was applying the Prime Directive here was his refusal to take up the fight against their cultural tradition, which is pretty much what Lwaxana wanted him to do. Once Timicin requested asylum, however, he was completely willing to protect the guy. (still wasn't going to try to change their society, though)

[@weswyleven9540]

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[@RavenheartIndustries]

"Maybe I'm a burden on my children" ~ L. Troi "YES YOU ARE" ~ D. Troi "AGREED" ~ EVERY STARFLEET OFFICER MOMMA TROI HAS ENCOUNTERED

[@Tuvok_Shakur]

I think this is the only TNG episode where I like L'waxanna. In all of the earlier episodes she just seems like a caricature to me.

[@subraxas]

I think that there is one more, later TNG episode where she is likeable, or at least not obnoxious, as well. Plus, there are two DS9 episodes, out of three, where she is great too.

[@SeruraRenge11]

I generally don't like her because Majel Barrett is quite frankly not a good actress (she gets away with it as the ship computer because she's allowed to be wooden), but this episode is an exception. I actually like her performance here.

[@linsqopiring6816]

Really? She was never more annoying than in the first half of this episode.

[@SeruraRenge11]

I should note that the sun wasn't going to die, it was going to turn into a red giant. But that would still mean the end of all life in the system.

[@manco828]

It takes many millions of years for a sun. Once it starts. I don't like how they presented the situation that it was such a rush. They really had plenty of time. Our own sun will increase in brightness within a billion years , and life won't be possible on Earth anymore. But that's a very long time.

[@manco828]

I was fine with the portrayal of the bureaucrat, If you look at our current date bureaucrats they behave exactly the same way.

[@Special_Tactics_Force_Unit]

This is probably my favorite episode out of all of TNG.

[@Z1gguratVert1go]

Relocating your civilization HAS to cost less energy than rejuvenating a star.

[@roystonsbailey]

The ending was powerful, one of the most memorable moments of TNG for me.

[@athrunzala6919]

I loved him in MASH! And he was great here too. Troi was her least annoying and best here As for the bird hair story I would have liked it if she didn't let it settle on her being the one to stop it, I always thought it would be nice if she said no, it was her Grandmother or Aunt, because Troi at least having a role model would provide depth to her she's been lacking forever. Hey look it's ensign Ro!

[@rafetizer]

I'm not precisely sure this is the impression you were under, but she doesn't take credit for it - Timicin says it must have been someone like her.

[@rafetizer]

The pro-resolution argument probably would have come across better if the other aliens weren't so one-dimensional about it. Both the minister and Timicin's daughter just come off as pricks, which may be the result of giving them too small a portion of the runtime. This episode probably would have worked better if it had ten more minutes to explore the topic. As it stands, the minister has to get his point across in about a minute, and Forbe's character only gets a bit longer. There's no time for nuance, just, "BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT! IT'S TRADITION/I'M ASHAMED!!" The best argument comes from Timicin himself when he points out that the elders were put into "deathwatch" facilities to live out their waning years in loneliness. Ouch. That one hurts, though killing them well before they reach that point is still a lousy alternative. Lwaxana tends to annoy every viewer, myself included. But, she really shines in this particular episode because she's got more to be concerned with than just fooling around. I didn't take much notice as a teenager watching this, but as an adult I truly appreciated this story. (especially since my parents passed age 60 more than a decade ago) Maybe her change in attitude can be attributed to her being more familiar with the Enterprise crew, and simply making minor adjustments to her behavior. She's still throwing her titles around and making casual demands, but she's got a better idea of what she can get away with and what might be too much, even for the relatively patient Enterprise crew. Also, she's probably trying to impress Timicin, and his quiet dignity may be leading her to mimic it. (well, as much as Lwaxana Troi can be quietly dignified) A few of the technical details made me laugh a bit; Timicin has been working forty years, spending a significant chunk of that time developing a guidance system for photon torpedoes. I'm pretty sure the Federation could have helped him accomplish that in a _much_ shorter amount of time. Like, weeks or months, if not faster. Then the idea is to inject helium to jump-start a pooped-out star. I have a feeling you're not going to even make a dent with eight torpedo-loads of helium, even if you compress it. Ah well, whatever. That's the smallest, least significant bit of the story. The fact that the test fails is the important part, in this regard. I guess they don't want to leave their planet (or try very hard to save it) because a super-nova is like one big, fun resolution for everyone! Yay! C'mon kiddos, it's a cosmic carnival ride - the atom spreader! You'll get to experience all corners of the solar system simultaneously! Yee-haw! Can't leave home because moving loses your cultural identity. Now, being wiped from existence, that's definitely _not_ losing your cultural identity. Why, all those other races you've avoided talking to will carry on with the stories of your culture for millennia! Oh, wait. They don't know any of your stories. Instead, a few people on the Enterprise will be like, "Yeah, I met a few of those guys one time. They were dicks. And that one chick had stupid hair." *shrug* "I like to think all of them died in like fifteen, twenty years because they refused help and their sun went nova." Lmao. Amen brotha.

[@AdamCollings]

Hmm. Surely there's at least 2 more Lwaxana episodes? The weird one with Alexander and the mud bath, and the really good one in season 7.

[@JanetDax]

This is the episode where Luxwana Troi learns humility.

[@wangbot47]

>millions of years Oh no Lore. Billions.

[@Z1gguratVert1go]

He either misspoke, or, he knows something we don't!

[@810PRODUCTIONS]

I have heard you call other stars a "sun" long enough. The line must be drawn here.

[@rafetizer]

I read that second sentence in Picard's "First Contact" voice.

[@Z1gguratVert1go]

"Stars are big... AND TERRIFYING" That made me LOL. You've either played Elite Dangerous to think that, or you should never play it!

[@harpercole5321]

There's actually two more Lwaxana episodes to go (you probably forgot "Cost of Living" - can't say I blame you!). This one I like, thanks to the two main actors. After getting continuously rebuffed by Picard, it's nice to see Lwaxana actually making some headway romantically! 60 seemed ancient when I first watched this episode at age 15 - less so now I'm 41. It's hard to believe that the tradition would have endured without challenge for so long, given evolution, the will to live and all that.

[@danielyeshe]

I would say that the age it kicks in would at least chance.

[@Eelco_de_Boer]

Mem-summary: Lwaxana Troi causes trouble when she finds out that a scientist she has fallen in love with is due to commit ritual suicide. (it's the one with David Ogden Stiers, one of the reasons I allways liked this episode)

[@dertyp3463]

this episode made me cry

[@Pondimus_Maximus]

Another one of TNG’s top episodes. The late, great David Ogden Stiers was phenomenal in this episode. 🖖😀

[@AlucardNoir]

Unlike what some "progressive" liberals might have to say on the matter, geography does dictate culture. The Inca had A frames while the architecture of the Pueblo in north america was surprisingly similar to Egyptian, Hitite and Arabian architecture. The land, the weather, the crops that grow in a region, the animals that live in that region. Culture is limited by the human form and by the medium in which it's practitioners live. Even language changes as one moves away from ones place of birth - dialects anybody? To say that geography doesn't matter, that we are in no way shaped by it, when there are high altitude populations literally shaped to the genetic level by their oxygen poor environment is ridiculous. The aliens de jure were a product of that world, every war, every famine, every plague, every language, every dialect, every arhitectural style, every plant and every animal they eat - even if it's replicated, their civilization, their history, their language, everything they are on a cultural level was defined by that world. Even we today envision changes other planets to make them more like Terra, to make then suit us better, to bring part of our home with us wherever we might go. I'm an atheist, my grandmother wasn't and she died almost half a month ago. I've been growing a beard. It's tradition, you grow a beard for 40 days as a sign of mourning. And it's working, it's a means to be forced to remember those that have died. Every time I look in a mirror I'm forced to remember why I'm growing this patchy mess on my face. Tradition defines what we were, where we were and how we got were we are now, how we became what we are now. Land, land is part of what shaped those traditions. I might not agree on the death at 60 aspect of the episode, but I have to disagree with you on the tradition and land parts of your rumination.

[@grumpyotter]

Your comment might have been worthy of response if you hadn't started with the unfounded slur.

[@theonlymatthew.l]

@@grumpyotter my thoughts exactly. Well reasoned argument, prefaced by unreasonable generalization & hate

[@rafetizer]

I'm not sure I've ever heard any progressives suggest that geography doesn't influence culture. It's more that people aren't greater or lesser due to geography. But, if you look at people as individuals, even those within geographical areas are different from one another. Not everyone in Mexico is a Catholic. Not everyone in Canada says, "eh" or "buddy" after each sentence. Not everyone in the US likes football, beer, and camping. That tends to be the point of progressive liberals, at least the ones with half a brain. (obviously, just like my examples here, not every progressive liberal is going to be equally wise. Bear in mind politicians tend to behave in ways that they think will get them elected, not necessarily in ways that they will act when the situation is unavoidable. Most of us aren't politicians.)

[@SeruraRenge11]

Sure sure sure but....if your culture dictates the entire species dies if they don't haul ass off of where they live, you have either a bad culture or a very stupid one. Like, this is the kind of shit that people constantly criticize the Klingons for, that they're so culturally bound to things that it's a wonder they ever managed to become a spacefaring species in the first place.

[@manco828]

Appeals to tradition are the last refuge of scoundrels.

[@grumpyotter]

I'd like to know how they killed the people. Was it like the Logan's Run Carousel--some sort of public thing? Or private with each family and a syringe? Ugh.

[@anthonygagan4398]

There is a difference between this and homeward. In that episode it was worfs brother asking for help not the civilization asking

[@gcooper642]

I've moved around a lot in my life. I can make anywhere home, but I'm not sure about Mars...

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

Relative to who takes credit for an episode, what's the difference between "story by", "teleplay by" and "written by"?

[@Lorerunner]

It actually depends (go figure) but usually Story By is for the people who pitch the original story idea, Teleplay By is the people who write the final draft handed to the actors, and Written By tends to be a more catch all (aka when one person does multiple of the drafts or versions)

[@paulscott2037]

Ian, not Jack. Wrong dead father. :p Though I completely understand why you made the error. I have done before often too.

[@nefdsnet]

Yepp, Ian Andrew Troi. Just scrolled through the comments to see if anyone caught that yet. Seems like the good Doctor is still on Lore's mind. 😃

[@SeruraRenge11]

I've heard people say that the way the episode treats Lwaxana's position on it is a counter to the TOS era where Kirk and team would show up, tell them their culture was bad and wrong, dismantle it and then leave while the people just stand there in a now unraveled society. That this episode is saying that that Cowboy Captain way of viewing other cultures is wrong. Let me be the first to say that yes while Lwaxana is going around being extremely judgemental of this culture and they just want to preserve their tradition, NONE OF THAT IS GOING TO FUCKING MATTER IF THE SUN DIES. If your culture causes the death of your species out of stubbornness, you have a bad culture, moral relativism can eat a dick in this scenario.

[@tubeviewerX20]

Of course *having* to move your entire civilization and culture to a new planet is one thing. But one’s homeland that their ancestors fought and died for, where they built their civilization and whose natural beauty they appreciate with familiarity is the reason, Lore. I don’t understand your feelings on this, but anyways great rumination as always.

[@rafetizer]

It's one thing if you're just moving, but it's another if your entire species perishes because of not moving. Basically, move = lose identity? I guess? Complete species annihilation = lose identity. At least the first option allows you to carry on your traditions, and you know, living.

[@SeruraRenge11]

@@rafetizer Pretty much. There is a point where it crosses the line into a suicidal action which I guess is part of the point.

[@linsqopiring6816]

I wouldn't say none of their arguments were valid I would just say they aren't enough.

[@mr51406]

I also want to pay tribute to David Ogden Stiers. Fantastic actor! One of us too 🏳️‍🌈. See his character arc on M*A*S*H who went from annoying to endearing. Similar to how in this episode Lwaxanna is starting her own transition from bodacious to endearing too. 🔸I agree with you Lore. Home is where I am well: “Ubi bene ibi patria.” 🔹Another reason for the poignancy of the episode is that Barrett in real life was dealing with Roddenberry’s decline at this time.

[@JimJones-zc9mk]

If I were on that planet I would lie about my age, I'm not turning 60 I'm turning 50 LOL ! ! !

[@GrimDarkNarrator]

Pro-suicide arguments for or against, I definitely found the limit of 60 years old to be ridiculous and immersion breaking. You are still perfectly capable of contributing to society and caring for yourself at 60 years old. Provided, of course, you don't suffer from a debilitating disease or similar, but in that case you would've been a burden to others all your life anyway. If the limit would've been 75 or 80, it would've been a lot more believable, in my opinion.

[@kevanos4636]

At 6 min 28 seconds, what do you mean? kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKXSqZKgo55qqpY You will be here when our sun dies?

[@DrownedInExile]

I agree that the second half where warships get dispatched, is getting absurd. Stinks of the old "threat of the week" cliche.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

I think, there is no place for an equal argument and discussion on certain things... killing off old people is one of those... now, you could discuss it as a discussion on the Prime Directive, whether one has a right to impose ones morality on another culture or whether moral colonialism is evil... and that discussion could be acceptable, but complaining about them not giving any "pro-arguments" in the episode - I feel that's sort of like looking at that episode with the 4 lights and Cardassians capturing John Luke Picard and wondering why there are no valid arguments given for the use of torture.

[@nickokona6849]

The thing about this episode for me looking back at it is that this species should be more Neitzchean. Cultural identity is meaningless if you’re dead. Survival comes first. It’s the primal driving force of any species not yet extinct. Where there’s life, there’s hope. The other thing is to me it seems like it’s trying to make a case for moral relativism, which I personally think is a bullshit concept. Morality ultimately comes down to well being. Given that framework, there are objective statements that can be made about an action or belief as it relates to the goal of well being. It is against your well being and the well being to kill yourself and possibly cause the extinction of your species. That’s an objective fact. I maybe this culture has no sense of morality as we would define it... but he idea that because a culture decides ritual suicide, the mutilation of children, or whatever, doesn’t make it moral just because that culture says it is. I also wonder if in universe the Federation gave Gideon Sayateks information to these people. Sayatek successfully restarted a dead star.. This episode reminds me of the short story The Lottery.

[@rafetizer]

Reminds me of the Sliders episode with the death lottery. (possibly inspired by that story you mentioned)

[@SeruraRenge11]

Moral relativism ultimately ends up creating the paradox of tolerance, which is shown in Star Trek but never actually addressed. Many races within the Klingon Empire still practice slavery, yet the Federation does nothing to even persuade them to stop because of the PD. Some people are so afraid of being seen as cultural imperialists that they will bend over backwards to accept the most barbaric practices as cultural differences, even if said practices existing in their own society would lead to horrible levels of oppression.

[@nicholassterling8483]

Lore, I like this review, but I disagree with your assessment of Dara. Her appearance in the episode is one of the most powerful moments in the episode and in fact in the series. You missed the point. She doesn't NEED an ARGUMENT. Blood is thicker than water. Nick :-)

[@PredatorianStyl]

I dont see why you are so much into storylines in video games. I think video games are about the gameplay and not the story. If you want a good story, there are enough shows and movies out there.

[@rafetizer]

I think it's just a thing that goes along with being an RPG style gamer. Those tend to benefit from story more than any other game type, since the idea is you're stepping into certain roles anyway. (live the game rather than just play the game)

[@shoresean1237]

1 - They should have told the UFP that this scientist only had so long. 2 - Why do so many of these worlds send out their entire fleet (or at least a huge one) just to get back one person? I hope Lxwana looks at Timicin's daughter, smirks, and says "Honey, for pulling that guilt trip, I am going to see to it every last one of you sees your 65th Birthdays!" One last nit: Stiers, just before his final beam-out, should have turned to Picard and company and said : "Gehe-ntlemen!"

[@rafetizer]

He got back to the planet and put on his Korean jazz record for one last spin.