Episode #142,143: Birthright, parts 1 & 2
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Episode #142,143: Birthright, parts 1 & 2
BIRTHRIGHT, parts one & two / Air Dates: 3/7/93 & 3/14/93
written by Brannon Braga; Directed by Winrich Kolbe
Another 2-part TNG episode which may not have required the double-length; hence, it's slow in parts. Enterprise-D arrives at Deep Space Nine for various routine work, but we only see one regular DS9 character - the annoying Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig). He has some gizmo which he wants to find out more about and ends up working a lot with Data, who has his first dream or vision after an overload occurs.
Meanwhile, Worf is approached by a shady alien (an unrecognizable James Cromwell) who claims to have info about Worf's supposedly deceased father. The thing is, if Worf's dad is alive, this does not sit well with the concepts of Klingon honor, since it means Worf's dad surrendered to an enemy rather than die honorably in combat. The two of them end up journeying to an unknown jungle planet where Worf finds a hidden colony composed of Klingons and Romulans.
It turns out that the older Klingons here - those from the generation of Worf's father - were indeed captured by Romulans during battle. For them, this is a fate far worse than death; to insure that dishonor did not fall on their families, these Klingons chose not to return to their homes; with help from a compassionate Romulan commander, they have remained in this hidden prison-now-hidden retreat. It's all a very radical take on both Romulans & Klingons, who are known for a deep mutual hatred. This suggests that these long-running hatreds are not a given, perhaps not even natural.
The thrust of the story (in the 2nd part) becomes the efforts of Worf to teach the ways of Klingons to the younger generation in this compound; these are the offspring of the older exiles - they have known no other life than at this strange little colony. Since Worf was warned not to disrupt life in the compound, this soon marks him for death; but, his efforts may gone too far by this point. In addition, this becomes a learning experience also for Worf, who cannot fathom, for example, a marriage between a Klingon and a Romulan.
The problem with this 2-parter is not Worf's quest, which is somewhat slow but still watchable. No, the problem is all the stuff with Data and the tiresome Bashir. This is all in the 1st part (a silver lining) only, but all these repetitive dreams that Data has and his lengthy explanations of his paintings is about as exciting as watching paint dry. It was meant as an evolutionary step for Data's character but doesn't really go anywhere. BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10
Extra TNG Trivia: actor Cromwell would return to the TNG universe, sort of, as the 21st century inventor Cochrane in the TNG film Star Trek-First Contact (1996)
Last edited by BoG on Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:54 pm; edited 1 time in total
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