24th March, 2023: ‘The Bounty’.
Frankly … ?
It’s Friday: and … ?
Fish and chips are being cooked, as ever.
And … ?
Equally as frankly, I’ve just seen this video:
And am wondering why many Americans boil water for tea … in the microwave!
That … ?
Like fish on a Friday, is possibly one of those mysteries we’ll never know the answer to!
At any rate … ?
It’s Friday, 24th March: and I’ll be the next episode of Star Trek Picard — ‘The Bounty’ — tonight.
And then?
Reviewing it, tomorrow.
I’ll see you then!
Then shifts: to show us that the USS Titan is fleeing the nebula: and distracting its pursuers with false homing beacons.
Over on the Shrike, those beacons are something that Vadic (Amanda Plummer), is not happy about: ordering the death of one dissenting crewman … before demanding a list of everyone of Picard’s known associates.
Vadic has plans.
Post titles?
Post titles, we see the USS Titan swinging around a star.
Before we join Dr Beverly Crusher and Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Gates McFadden and Patrick Stewart) in the Titan’s sickbay.
After intense study? It seems Jack (Ed Speleers) has gone inherited Irumodic Syndrome from his father.
A terminal version.
That might take decades or days to catch up with Jack.
Something Beverly wants the Admiral to talk to Jack about.
Something Jack doesn’t take kindly to: he feels he was doomed before he was born.
Meanwhile … ?
The Titan has visitors: in the shape of Worf and Raffi (Michael Dorn and Michelle Hurd) … along with the intelligence they’ve brought.
The Changlings? Have something planned for Frontier Day: now only forty-eight hours away.
And the portal weapon?
Isn’t the only thing Vadic and the Changelings have stolen from a high security base.
They’ve taken something else from the Daystrom Institute.
Something powerful, unbeatable and potentially life threatening: and something that they can only access by getting on to the base, without being seen.
The Titan’s crew is going to need a miracle, or a fluke, or an ace in the hole …
Or a very good engineer.
They’re going to need Geordi La Forge … inside of forty-eight hours.
~≈🖖≈~
Now …
What DID I make of ‘The Bounty’?
What did I think?
First things first, I have to give Amanda Plummer her due: her opening scene — in this episode’s teaser — was both superb …
And very reminiscent of her father: David Plummer played General Chang in Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country.
I can’t help but wonder when she got her talent for the theatrical.
Talking of performances?
Something I noticed that Star Trek: The Next Generation seemed to do well, was focus on its ensemble cast.
Mostly?
By having a cast member of the week approach.
This week’s episode would be about Captain Picard, last week’s about Troi, next week’s, Data.
Picard — the series — seems to be working somewhat differently: it’s got various separate threads, assigning them to a character, and letting the relevant actors rip.
‘The Bounty’ has a possible issue.
Yes: the Admiral, himself, along side Ed Speleers’ Jack are central.
And both Stewart and Speleers do very well.
But? The story’s more about the older Next Generation cast, as much as it is, the newer characters.
Yes: LeVar Burton makes a very welcome return, as do the various Star Fleet vessels he’s curating in the museum.
But? I felt we could have had a little more of Raffi and Seven: who, in the midst of the re-uniting families, seemed … possibly a little too distant.
With that said?
With that said, there’s a scene between Burton’s Geordi, and Sharpe-Chestnut’s Sidney La Forge, between father and daughter, that’s as riveting as anything Amanda Plummer’s done in this series.
Yes: one relationship seems short changed.
But that does allow us to — however briefly — examine another.
And — in the raid on Daystrom Station*? — give us a great deal of tension.
And … ?
Gives a double twist at a climax.
Riker† is confronted by a a fellow hostage.
And something very like Data … telling Admiral Picard that it’s his dead body been stolen.
~≈🖖≈~
Yes: I hear you ask.
“Paul, what did you make of ‘The Bounty’?”
“What did you make of it?”
Frankly?
‘The Bounty’ is yet another great little episode: and one that’s given us a nasty little twist in the tail.
In all honesty, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
And yes: I’m going to be back, next week!
Just so you know?
Tomorrow night is Sunday, 26th March.
I’ll be watching the next episode of AppleTV+’s For All Mankind, ‘The Sands of Ares’, tomorrow.
I’ll see you then: and you can let me know what you think …
‘The Bounty’.★★★★
* Just as a thought … ? The episode’s title is from the HMS Bounty: the stolen Klingon ship that we see in Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock and Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home. Jack Crusher manages to persuade Sidney La Forge that pinching the Bounty’s cloaking device … is a good idea.
† Just as a minor technical point? There’s a scene in ‘The Bounty’, where seemingly random notes are played over the intercom system on Daystrom Station: that trombone playing Captain Riker names, as they’re played. Then recognises as ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’: the nursery rhyme Data was trying to whistle, when they first met.
‘The Bounty’ even uses brief clips from ‘Encounter at Farpoint’, from The Next Generation’s first episode. Those restored clips? Look superb.
‡ Those links will go live on the 1st April. Seriously!
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