Golden Age Is Five

I had my rose-coloured glasses ripped off my face the other day. So I was channel-flipping (an odd action considering I rarely watch any "live" television these days) and I came across this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And I was like, I love this, this is my favourite episode. And so I watched it, excited. And while not terrible, it certainly did not live up to my expectations.

The episode in question is the seventh (and final season) episode "Genesis," airdate March 21, 1994. The plot of the episode is basically "Picard and Data find [...] the crew de-volving into their animal ancestors". I probably didn't see this episode in first run, but in the endless repeats. Still I'd venture to say it's easily been over 10 years since I saw it. Watching again, I couldn't recall the last time I'd watched an episode of TNG.

There were certain memories I had of this episode that did not correspond with the actual product. I thought Data's pregnant cat played a larger role (it was awesome when it was revealed it had turned into an iguana and awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww kittens) and I thought Chief Miles O'Brien played a larger role when in fact he plays none, not making an appearance in the episode.

Obviously, the only reason I remembered the episode (and it's the episode I have the largest vestigial memory of) was because of the high concept plot and the make-up effects used to achieve it. Otherwise, it felt like there were scenes missing and the conclusion felt rushed. The denouement consisted of just a jokey line from Counselor Deanna Troi about having to clear her schedule. I wanted traumatic psychological fallout, damnit. Hell, Worf bit her on the fucking face.